Mata Amritanandamayi AKA Amma AKA Mother Ammachi, etc.

[Sparks]

I started commenting about her in another thread, then realized I better start a new topic. I'll begin with quoting what I wrote earlier, and then add more comments not relevant to the original topic:

Ha colaborado con grandes personalidades del movimiento espiritual en el mundo como Dharma Mittra “La Roca del Yoga” (Eminencia del yoga ubicado en New York). Matha Amritanandamai Amma (Mujer santa que abraza a millones de personas alrededor del globo).

Google Translation:

He has collaborated with great personalities of the spiritual movement in the world such as Dharma Mittra "The Rock of Yoga" (Eminence of yoga located in New York). Matha Amritanandamai Amma (Holy woman who embraces millions of people around the globe).

I found this about the first one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_Mittra

Of all the numerous persons and groups Ravi has collaborated with, I recognize only the second name in the quote (although slightly misspelled). She has been mentioned a few times before in the forum:

"Mother Ammachi" has been accused of all kinds of cultic abuses herself.
http://brontebaxter.wordpress.com/blowing-the-whistle-chpt-9-amma-the-mother-saint-hugging-away-your-personhood/
http://cult-of-the-hugging-saint-exposed.blogspot.com/

There is footage of the so called "hugging saint" Amma Amritanandamayi. No real context is given and her name is not listed so far. There is no mention of the fact that a former follower wrote a book "Holy Hell: A Memoir of Faith, Devotion, and Pure Madness" about her traumatic experiences with this abusive cult leader.

Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Amritanandamayi

https://amritaworld.org/
https://www.amritapuri.org/
https://www.facebook.com/amrita/

About the book mentioned by Piff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Tredwell
https://nandakishorevarma.wordpress.com/2014/03/15/a-review-of-holy-hell-by-gail-tredwell/comment-page-1/

[Sparks]

"Mother Ammachi" has been accused of all kinds of cultic abuses herself. […]
http://cult-of-the-hugging-saint-exposed.blogspot.com/

Upon scrutiny that article is actually in defence of 'Amma'. It criticizes this 2009 article:
http://mokshalom.com/node/434 [Is Amma the Hugging Saint for Real?]

In 2013, it was reposted here:
https://allpeopleandallreligion.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/is-amma-the-hugging-saint-for-real/

There are similar-named websites and articles out there:
https://cultofthehuggingsaint.wordpress.com/a-critical-look-at-the-biography-of-amma/
https://www.apologeticsindex.org/554-hugging-saint-cult
http://cultofthehuggingsaint4.blogspot.com/

This one comments on the article that educatedindian pointed to in 2012:
http://cult-of-the-hugging-saint-exposed-exp.blogspot.com/

[Sparks]

https://amritaworld.org/
https://www.amritapuri.org/
https://www.facebook.com/amrita/

Be aware that these three links are kind of Amma's 'official' pages. You may add these:

https://www.facebook.com/MataAmritanandamayi/
https://www.amma.org/
https://www.amma-europe.org/
https://www.amrita.edu/
http://www.embracingtheworld.org/
https://theammashop.org/

See also: https://www.oprah.com/spirit/amma-hugging-guru

To end this mess for today, I'll add a 2012 article and then a 2013 response to that article:

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-hugging-saint-191058/
https://allpeopleandallreligion.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/the-controversial-rolling-stone-article-on-amma-the-hugging-saint/

[Sparks]

Three weeks ago, a large, comprehensive, and (alas) laudatory (only) article at this large website:

https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/hinduism/profiles-faith-hindu-guru-amma-mata-amritanandamayi

Such a way of writing biographies I will put in this category:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagiography

However, when referring to modern, non-ecclesiastical works, the term hagiography is often used as a pejorative reference to biographies and histories whose authors are perceived to be uncritical of or reverential toward their subject.