From time immemorial, turmoils have shaken the earth. When such turmoils happen, mother earth summons such celestial bodies like sages, hermits, ascetics, mystics or enlightened souls in human form to guide humankind out of disasters. Anandmurti Gurumaa is one such celestial being who stands out amongst the galaxy of spiritual leaders.
Born on the 8th of April 1966 at Amritsar in Punjab, India, she is not only a convent educated arts graduate in the worldly sense, but Master of Life and Beyond. She has been a mentor, counselor and a guide to people around her right from her schooldays. As she says, ‘A rose is born a rose, and need not do anything to be a rose.‘
As a child, her home was always being visited by spiritually evolved people. When at the early age of fifteen, she went for a pilgrimage and was surrounded by admirers and seekers, it was not a surprise for the family. She traveled through her teens and by the age of twenty four settled down in Rishikesh in a hermitage.
But destiny wanted her to spread her wings far and wide so that she could reach out to the maximum number of troubled souls. Soon she was seen on television, which made her available to millions of viewers worldwide. She established her Ashram in Gannaur, Dist. Sonepat, Haryana where various residential retreats and workshops are being held throughout the year.
The ashram is a place full of positive energy, tranquil and calm, full of natural beauty, which enables the seekers to evolve naturally under Gurumaa’s guidance. Now she is based in Gannaur, Harayana where she is available to her disciples year around where various residential workshops are organized. Her ashram is a beautiful place with beauty and empty spaces to rejoice and evolve spiritually.
Persona Par Excellence :
Anandmurti Gurumaa showed extraordinary signs of a mystic in the making early in life. From the very beginning she was being blessed by mystics and sages right at her home. From the tender age of nine, Gurumaa would put such questions before her school teachers and others that they would be surprised by her sharp intellect and deep insights into spirituality. Those around her felt it remarkable that a child of her age could ask such profound questions.
From an early age, Gurumaa showed a special affinity towards the seers. She would listen to their talks and ask them various questions. They would happily answer all her queries as they knew she was not just curious but had a genuine desire for knowledge. Gurumaa also started writing poetry at an early age.
These poetic expressions came from the depth of her heart. They are her innocent offerings to the divine where the divine is seen as the beloved and sometimes as a friend.
Gurumaa had also begun in her own way to deliver satsang even while she was a schoolgirl. After school, she would rush to deliver her satsangs. People were drawn to her and made every endeavour to be a part of that Amrit Varsha.
Anandmurti Gurumaa: A Mystic MasterMesmerizing persona, piercing eyes, a crystal clear mind, the wisdom of the ages and a beautiful demeanour - such is the personality of Anandmurti Gurumaa. Defying definition, pragmatic, realistic, of liberal views, she is open-minded like the sky and intense like space.
Gurumaa had a sober but happy childhood and a fiery youth. She was always seen meditating or sitting in silence. A bubbly spirited teenager, she was not seen with girls of her age but with yogis and gurus. Meditating and lovingly serving spiritual masters, she had her awakening at the tender age of sixteen.
At a very early age life groomed her to be a master and a guide to other seekers. Soon the fragrance of her spirituality spread and people from all over started coming to her seeking knowledge and guidance. Busy meeting people and traveling to nearby cities, she was never restricted by her gender.
Surprisingly, even her parents never restricted her or forced her to do anything she didn’t like to - which is pretty unusual for Indian parents.
Her satsangs were getting crowded and her popularity was soaring in the small city of Amritsar. One day she went into silence and after seven months of deep silence, she left her home and hometown for good. She started wandering and traveled mostly in North India, finally settling in Rishikesh - a holy city on the banks of the Ganges.
In Rishikesh she went into silence for a longer period and wanted to remain in silence for ever. However, the world needed her presence to show light to the mankind groping in dark. Out of her compassion for humanity she came out of silence and began to show the way.
Then her traveling started again, but this time to address conferences, meet people and to give them guidance. Later she started her meditationretreats which gave her a working ground. Thousands of people would come to unlearn the worldly ways; to rise above dogmas and doctrines of religion. She simplified meditation for the masses and made it of such ease that no one ever felt that this path was for a chosen few only.
As fish to water, so did poetry come naturally to her. Gurumaa has written hundreds of poems. She has also set them to music and sung them in her mellifluous voice.
People sometimes wonder how an apparently simple girl has achieved such heights in such a small span of time. In thinking so, are they not merely looking at the physical and missing the important point that spirit is ageless and the mind carries all its achievements from one life to the next? Gurumaa’s early speeches carried such fervour that she was branded a rebel. While the young ones loved her for her modern thoughts, the elders felt challenged.
People who witnessed her eccentric behaviour; her fervour; her fiery spirit; her zealous soul; her divine dance - soon realized that she was much more than what she appeared to be.
Gurumaa says she does not belong to any one tradition, religion, path or label. She considers herself a citizen of world and is not limited by narrow considerations. She is a free-spirited, transendentalist and is carving out a path-less path for seekers.
She says that no guru can grant you enlightenment; no master can awaken your kundalini; one has to toil hard oneself in the presence of the master- but without making the effort seem a strain. Seek, but with patience; meditate, but without any goal; sharpen your awareness so that you rise above the ‘me-mine-I’ syndrome of identification with the self.
Today Gurumaa resides in a beautiful ashram in Gannaur, Harayana, India. Ever welcoming to seekers; ever inviting to all; a hard task master who will not appease your ego, Gurumaa says, “People do not need a living guru; they need a look-alike guru, a toy. As one has to surrender totally to the guru, people, who love their selves so much, find it difficult to do so. Therefore most prefer to stay away!”
Gurumaa has spoken on almost every subject: psychology, religion, family, society, mysticism. Her talks are interspersed with beautiful music and her soul stirring singing.
Anandmurti Gurumaa is a living master who is so ordinary in her extraordinariness! She is a challenge to the intellect, a pleasing sight to the eyes, humorous, and a lively new age Buddha. She is the embodiment of love and knowledge.
