Ananda Moyi Ma - The Joy-Permeated Mother

Dadi: "Beta Guddu, have you ever met someone whose face just radiated happiness? Not because of anything they said, but just from being near them?"

Guddu: "Like someone whose smile makes you smile too?"

Dadi: "Exactly! Let me tell you about a woman who was so full of joy that people called her the "Blissful Mother" - Ananda Moyi Ma."

Guddu: "Ananda means bliss, right Dadi?"

Dadi: "Very good, beta! Her name means "Joy-Permeated Mother." And everyone who met her said she truly was filled with a joy that seemed to come from somewhere beyond this world."

Guddu: "Was she a regular person?"

Dadi: "She was born like any child, in a village in Bengal, more than a hundred years ago. She had almost no formal education - she never really learned to read or write properly."

Guddu: "But she became famous? How?"

Dadi: "Here's what was extraordinary - even without book learning, she would answer the most difficult philosophical questions with such wisdom that scholars would be amazed. It was as if knowledge flowed through her directly from the divine."

Guddu: "That's incredible! How did people discover her?"

Dadi: "As a young woman, she began falling into deep meditative states spontaneously. She would become so absorbed in divine awareness that she'd lose track of whether it was day or night. Her devotees said if no one gave her food, she wouldn't ask for it or eat on her own. They had to feed her with their own hands!"

Guddu: "She forgot to eat because she was so focused on God?"

Dadi: "It's hard for us to understand, beta. Most of us are very aware of our bodies - we feel hungry, tired, cold. But Ananda Moyi Ma had become so identified with the soul within that her body's needs barely registered."

Guddu: "Did she ever say anything about herself?"

Dadi: "She said something beautiful that I want you to remember: "My consciousness has never associated itself with this temporary body. Before I came on this earth, I was the same. As a little girl, I was the same. When I grew into a woman, I was the same. And now, I am the same.""

Guddu: "So she felt she never changed?"

Dadi: "Her body changed - from baby to child to woman to elder. But her inner self, her true identity, never changed at all. She always knew herself as the eternal soul, not the changing body."

Guddu: "That's what the scriptures teach, isn't it?"

Dadi: "Yes, beta. But knowing it as an idea and living it completely are very different things. Most people understand the concept but still feel attached to their bodies. Ananda Moyi Ma actually lived that truth, every moment."

Guddu: "Did important people meet her?"

Dadi: "Many! Even the famous yogi Yogananda came to see her. When they first met, even though she had never seen him before, she walked up to him and said, "Father, you have come!" She recognized his soul, not his face."

Guddu: "She could see people's souls?"

Dadi: "She seemed to see everyone as divine. She recognized no caste differences, treating everyone with the same love. Poor and rich, high and low - all were equal before her."

Guddu: "What did she teach?"

Dadi: "Here's the interesting thing - she said, "This body has not come to teach anyone anything." She didn't give formal teachings or write philosophy books. But just being near her transformed people. Her presence itself was the teaching."

Guddu: "Like how sitting near a fire makes you warm?"

Dadi: "Beautiful comparison, beta! Yes, exactly like that. People came to her confused and left feeling peaceful. They came with questions and found answers arising in their own hearts. She was like a mirror reflecting the divine that exists in everyone."

Guddu: "Did she travel?"

Dadi: "All over India! Wherever she went, crowds would gather. She blessed countless people. Generous devotees built ashrams for her in various places."

Guddu: "What happened to her?"

Dadi: "She left her body in 1982, in a place called Dehradun. Her samadhi shrine there is still visited by people seeking her blessings. Though her body is gone, her followers say her presence can still be felt."

Guddu: "She sounds like such a special person."

Dadi: "She was, beta. But here's what she would want you to understand: the joy she radiated isn't unique to her. That bliss, that ananda, is the true nature of every soul - including yours. We've just covered it up with worries and desires and fears."

Guddu: "So we're all blissful inside?"

Dadi: "That's what the sages tell us. Ananda Moyi Ma didn't become joyful - she simply stopped forgetting that she always was joyful. Her name describes what we all truly are, beneath all the noise of the mind."

Guddu: "The Joy-Permeated Mother... I like that name, Dadi."

Dadi: "And remember, beta - every mother is a reflection of the divine mother. Including yours. Whenever you see someone filled with pure love, you're seeing a glimpse of what Ananda Moyi Ma showed so completely."

Guddu: "I'll remember, Dadi. Joy is our true nature."

Dadi: "Perfect, beta. Now, shall we find some of that joy in our evening prayers together?"