Sri Karunamayi was born in 1958 in South India. Sri Subbaramaiah and Smt. Annapoornamba was her father and mother, respectively. Sri Subbaramaiah and Smt. Annapoornamba did not have any children for a very long time. Therefore, the couple travelled all the way from Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh to Mysore in Karnataka and offered prayers to Sri Chamundambe by following a rigorous Vrata for ten days. They used to stay in the temple from the morning Suprabhata Seva to the Goddess till the Yekanta Seva for the Devi and returning to Mysore, every day. Sri Subbaramaiah was a scholar in the dialect of Andhra Pradesh. Being a ardent lover of Sanskrit and Telugu languages, Sri Subbaramaiah was a trader in Mica. He was also studying spiritual texts with all devotion and interest. After a deep study of the works of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Sri Subbaramaiah became very spirituous and philosophical. It is to be noted that Karunamayi's mother was a devotee of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. Once, Sri Ramana Maharshi had whispered to Annapoornamba that she would give birth to a divine mother, who would be respectfully called as “Thayi” by the people around her and she would dedicate herself to the service of humanity. Needles to mention, this spiritual attitude and life style of her parents, had a great influence on Sri Karunamayi, especially during her childhood.

During her childhood days, Sri Karunamayi was immersed in prayer and worship. Both of her parents had received a divine vision that Sri Karunamayi would not be an ordinary person. Even her astrological chart indicated that she would dedicate herself to the service of humanity. Naturally inclined towards charity even as a child, Sri Karunamayi or Amma, as she is fondly called, would give away food and clothes to anyone in need. As a child, Amma enjoyed helping her mother in the preparation of flower garlands for her mother’s daily worship of Lord Rama. She also loved to hear prayers and verses rendered in Sanskrit by her father. Though she had never studied Sanskrit, she would often surprise her father with spontaneous insights into the inner spiritual meaning of the verses. When Amma’s parents invited learned scholars to their home to deliver discourses, the scholars were often shocked and amazed to hear the most intricate thoughts that flowed spontaneously from Amma’s mouth. They had never heard of such a young girl discussing the spiritual essence of Sanskrit hymns with such expertise.

Once, a family servant had contracted cholera, a deadly contagious disease and nobody was going near him. However, Amma tended closely to the servant, unmindful of what might happen to her own health. Within a few days, the servant recovered from the disease and Amma had not contracted the disease, as perceived and apprehended by many others. On another occasion, during a religious festival, Amma came to know that some poor people who had come there, had not had any food for several days. Amma immediately brought them and provided them with food that had been prepared by her grandmother, specifically to be offered to the God during a special ceremony. When her grandmother saw what Karunamayi had done, the latter said: “Ammamma (grandmother), today you have done a very good thing. This is how the food so nicely prepared by you has been accepted by the Lord in the form of these people.” Amma’s grandmother was moved by her granddaughter’s universal outlook and magnanimity. She quickly brought the remainder of the food and distributed it among all those who were in need of food.

As she grew into a young woman, Amma felt an inner urge to spend more and more time in the family worship room and immerse in prayer and meditation. As she was then a first-year college student, she had to make time for meditation, which she did by reducing the time she used to spend on sleeping. As her meditations deepened and intensified, she began reducing her intake of food. These meditation sessions grew longer, Amma once went into a room in her house, locked the door from inside and remained there in meditation for a month. Though her family members were perplexed, they did not dare to disturb her as they had witnessed the profundity of her meditations before. When she finally emerged, she appeared to be a totally different person to her family members. Even though she showed the same sort of affection towards them as she used to show earlier, her demeanor had transformed into a symbol of impersonal, universal and sublime love. Determined to fulfill the sacred purpose for which her life had been destined to, Amma gently told her mother that it was time for her to go into seclusion in the sacred Penusila Forest and meditate there in solitude. Always respectful of her daughter’s divine wishes, and trusting completely in God, Amma’s mother did not stop her from going.

In 1980, at a tender age of 21, Amma left the comfort and security of her parents’ home and travelled by foot to the remote and sacred Penusila Forest, where a number of India’s ancient sages had meditated for hundreds of years. There, she was free to live according to the principles established by the sages of the Vedic era. Waking up at 2:30 a.m., Amma used to take bath in cold water from a holy river. Wearing only a simple cotton sari, she would go to one of the forest’s many sacred groves and remain there, absorbed in meditation for hours, days, or even weeks at a time. Local villagers, who spotted her sometimes, mistook her for a statue, as they could not even see any movement of breath in her perfectly still form. Some of the mischievous persons used to toss small pebbles on her to ascertain whether she was alive or not. Others, feeling that only an incarnation of Divine Mother could sit for so long in such deep meditation, used to leave small offerings of fruit before her. Even after emerging out of her meditation, when she was seeing stones or fruits around her, Amma remained unperturbed. She always maintained a state of perfect equanimity and gave her blessings to all, regardless of how they treated her. Amma never felt that these meditations were done for her own sake, as she was following the example of India’s ancient Vedic sages, who meditated for hundreds of years to discover the best teachings for the sake of the entire mankind. Through austerities, Amma could determine as to which Vedic teaching and practice was of rich benefit to people living in this difficult modern age. After performing such intense tapasya for over 10 years, Amma decided that it was time to share her knowledge with all those who thirsted for true spirituality.

During Amma’s stay in Penusila forest in Andhra Pradesh, Amma became intimately familiar with particular problems faced by local people, including lack of access to adequate healthcare facilities and education. Since then, Amma, along with the SMVA Trust and innumerable volunteers, has implemented various humanitarian projects. They include offering food and clothing to underprivileged, free houses to those in need, relief to those affected by natural calamities, free medical, dental and eye care to impoverished, free education and mentorship programs to stop child labor, free wheelchairs to the physically challenged, water treatment projects to alleviate toxic water resources, leprosy care and a mobile health clinic to reach out to communities living in remotest places.

On a spiritual level, Sri Karunamayi aims to inspire and encourage everyone to progress on whatever spiritual path he or she chooses as she believes that all paths lead to the same goal of spiritual liberation. The essence of Amma’s message to the world is that we should realize the great opportunity we have as human beings to love one another, to offer ourselves in service to the world and inculcate inner peace. The true purpose of human life lies in the development of virtues of compassion, truthfulness, wisdom, contentment and unconditional love. As each of us practice and integrate these inner values with our whole being, the inner transformation that occurs will ensure peace to our families, communities and the entire world. Amma is dedicated to spreading the message of World Peace as she believes that all human beings essentially belong to ONE family in this interconnected world. Internationally, Amma is sought after to speak on issues relating to tolerance, harmony and respect between different religions, culture and nationalities. She has been invited to speak at the Parliament of World Religions, UN SEAT, and various other Global Peace forums.

Amma’s Global Peace Mission seeks to address the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual suffering of all beings in order to ensure peace individually, among families and communities and across the world. As such, Amma, along with the SMVA Trust & Volunteers, has developed and implemented multiple humanitarian projects in order to relieve all beings from pain and sufferings that visit their lives at various stages. Amma has toured the world from the US to Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and throughout India, in order to spread the message of World Peace, which begins by spreading love, respect and compassion for everyone, every family, community and the world at large.

Emerging from her seclusion in Penusila Forest, Amma was invited by a follower to stay in Bangalore, where a simple building was constructed to house a temple as well as living quarters. She began giving public discourses on various aspects of Sanatana Dharma, India’s ancient spirituality, and conducting sacred ceremonies to promote world peace and universal well-being. At this time, Amma began Her work on serving humanity by eradicating poverty, providing free medical care and housing for the disadvantaged, stopping child labor through free education and mentorship programs and by providing water treatment facilities to impoverished communities that have been severely affected from toxic water resources. After performing such intense tapasya for over 10 years, those people who had heard of her forest meditations and wisdom, entreated Amma to move to a more urban area to share her knowledge with all those who thirsted for spirituality, wherever they may live in the world. In 1995, Amma began reaching out to the world, beginning with the US, where she offers public programs, annually. During these programs, Amma gives teachings and blessings, holds meditation retreats and performs sacred fire ceremonies for the benefit of mankind. During her visits to each city, countless followers come to narrate their cups of woes, worries and problems and to seek her blessings or guidance. And to this end, Amma uses her own sari to wipe away the tears from her children’s eyes as she comforts every follower with Divine Motherly Love. Amma often likes to say that her only work in this world is to remove the suffering from the hearts of her children. This, she does through her kind, loving words of spiritual guidance and encouragement, healing touch and divine knowledge and insight. Today, Amma divides her time between the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and India, fulfilling her life’s mission of providing comfort, solace and spiritual guidance to all who go to Her.

Sri Karunamayi is revered in India as an embodiment of Divine Motherly Love due to the love and affection she showers liberally on all people, animals and even plants, the spiritual knowledge and guidance she gives to humanity and the humanitarian works she has undertaken. “Amma” as she is affectionately called by her followers, is simply the Telugu word for “mother”. Telugu is Amma’s native language. Although it is not possible to convey the experience of being in Amma’s vibrant presence, we humbly attempt to provide a brief glimpse into her nature through a brief sketch and description of Amma’s mission.