Death Must Die

Description

Death Must Die It is a matter of great pleasure that this new edition of Death Must Die is coming out. It is very interesting to know of Ma’s teachings as recorded by Atmanandaji. She stayed closely by Ma for many years (almost 40) and has written with an open mind of her relationship with Ma and of her life in the ashram.

Atmananda accepted Ma as her Guru. Ma’s teachings are all embracing and She would respond to each individual according to his or her unique disposition and character. In this context, when someone would ask Ma if they could accept Her as Guru, Ma would reply: “I am whatever you think”. Ma performed this role of Guru, and even Ishta, for Her devotees in order to lead them on the path of perfection. In Atmananda’s relationship with Ma as Guru, Ma was the Absolute in which all faiths and beliefs, all dualism and non- dualism everything was included: One Purna Akhanda Whole where even the minutest part cannot be excluded.

During my stay in Dehradun I found Atmananda always busy translating Ma’s words. In this she was extremely since- re, minutely trying to understand the subtle meaning of each word. She would scrupulously ask various Bengali devotees about this to ensure that her translations were as accurate as possible. She would persevere in this work, often under trying and adverse conditions, always doing it in a spirit of true dedication and humility. Ma had asked Atmananda to maintain a diary for her introspection, and She thought that it could be of great value for sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) in the future. I hope that spiritual seekers will derive great benefit from going through this book.

This book gives an intimate first-hand account of a courageous woman’s spiritual quest in close association with several of India’s greatest modern saints. Unfolding against the back-drop of Benares in the 1940s, where she lived as a teacher and musician. The great Bengali mystic, Sri Anandamayee Ma. Atmananda, as she came to be kinown, was also closely associated with J. Krishnamurti, but she was drawn deeper into the heart of Indian spirituality, encountering Sri Ramana Maharshi at his ashram in South India in 1942 and ultimately coming to Anandamayee Ma. Although written in a diary format, her story reads almost like a novel. A rare record of a remarkable spiritual odyssey.