Shree Maa : The Life of a Saint Book

She knew from her birth that she was divine. One of her most difficult
realizations was the understanding that everyone was not so gifted as to have God Consciousness all the time, nor were they all endowed with the capacity to go into deep meditative states, called in Sanskrit, samadhi, any time they choose. Can you imagine a life that never had any doubt of the fact that you came to this world as a divine messenger with a divine mission?

Her first recollection was the sound of the voice of the nineteenth century saint Shree Ramakrishna, who she considers to be her guru, saying, "Oh, you came again. Much more needs to be done in this Age of Darkness. You' ve got to show what divine life means, what spiritual practice is and what sacrifice is." With that instruction her sojourn on planet earth began.

Shree Maa is one of the great women saints in contemporary history. She has been the subject of numerous books, and articles, interviews and stories in newspapers and magazines. She has inspired and contributed to the authoring of more than three dozen books in a dozen languages and has been the author of numerous songs which have been recorded on CDs and cassettes. Her picture stands on the altars of uncountable worshipers around the world. Yet she shuns publicity, prefers the solitude of her own spiritual discipline, loves the quiet regularity of her rhythm of worship, cooks and sews for her ever-expanding family of devotees, and sits for prayer, worship and meditation, ten, twelve, fourteen hours a day, every day of her life. Her advice is sought by politicians, leaders of industry, businessmen, educators and simple household people. Yet she remains the simple, objective friend of the universe, who wants nothing for herself but to share her life of prayer with all. She is Shree Maa, the Holy Mother of Kamakhya, and this is her story.


This book tells the amazing journey of this great soul from before her birth in Assam, India to her arrival and travels in the US. In the first section of the book, Swami Satyananda describes Shree Maa' s early childhood. We learn about the prophecy that Shree Maa' s parents received from a well known Guru that they would give birth to a Divine child. Her relationships with family and friends are explored as well as some of her early mystical experiences. At the age of seven, Shree Maa started wandering into the forest alone to talk to the wandering sadhus, or holy men, who traveled nearby on pilgrimage. We are allowed to listen in as they share their wisdom with her.

In the section on her Wandering years, we follow Shree Maa as she leaves home and travels around India in a God intoxicated state. She wandered into the deepest jungles, filled with man eating tigers, poisonous snakes and brutal dacoits (outlaws), without any concern for impending danger. "What risk, what fear?", she later joked with disciples. "When I am one with the soul of existence, how will anyone or anything cause me harm?"
She could be found sitting on the rocks, beside the river streams, or at the foot of a tree, or in the caves of the Himalayan foothills. Her renunciation was legendary. She wore only the simple cloth she was wearing and went days without food, looking inside to some greater reality that few can comprehend. She would experience such deep samadhi for such long periods that an aura of illumination would radiate wherever she sat to meditate.

The section on her Indian devotees contains many fascinating stories about those who were drawn to her as she began to wander through India. We discover how she taught some of her closest devotees. One story tells of her encounters with Hanumandasgunda, one of the most ferocious outlaws in Assam. Hanumandasgunda met Shree Maa when he was running from the police, who were hot on his trail, and he ducked into a room where Shree Maa and some devotees were sitting. With just a few words, she melted his heart and he became her ardent devotee and protector.

The next section describes her early encounters with Swami Satyananda Saraswati, the author of this book. Swami Satyananda was born in the US and had been living in India for 15 years when he first met Shree Maa. One day, Shree Maa unexpectedly walked into the temple in which he was meditating. At once, they recognized each other. She put a sweet in his mouth and a flower on his head and walked out of the temple. Swami Satyananda couldn' t follow her because he had made a commitment to stay in that temple for another several weeks. How he miraculously found Shree Maa and how they traveled together throughout India for the next five years is a captivating tale.

In the last section of her story, we follow Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda as they arrive in Los Angeles with only the clothes they are wearing, a small amount of money and a bag of scriptures. As they travel through America, they have many interesting adventures and finally settle in semi-retreat in Northern California.

This book also includes 12 stories of Shree Maa' s relationship with her American devotees. These stories, written by the devotees themselves, allow us to see how this great saint impacted the lives of the westerners she met. Each person shares a different way that her love and wisdom transformed their lives. Here we get a rare and very personal view of Shree Maa .

The last section of the book is comprised of forty two short teaching stories that are favorites of Shree Maa. These engaging stories, recounted in a captivating way by Swami Satyananda, each contain an important teaching. These playful, joyous stories capture the essence of Shree Maa' s teaching style.

Very few saints of Shree Maa' s stature have ever visited the West. It is even more unusual that such a enlightened soul actually lives in the United States. This wonderful book captures the beginning and middle of a story that is still unfolding. The future chapters that will be written may have a significant impact on our ideas of spirituality in the west.