Known as Amma (Mother), the Indian holy woman Mata Amritanandamayi has brought her message of divine love and compassion to an estimated 30 million people through spiritual hugs and her bountiful blessings. She has also founded a vast network of charitable institutions, including colleges and universities, hospitals and clinics, orphanages, women's shelters, and housing projects. Dr. Janine Canan, a poet and psychiatrist, has gathered 125 teachings from Amma's public talks, personal dialogues, and songs for this collection. They are organized into the thematic chapters: Love, The Cure; Divine Mother; Nature Without Error; Spiritual Education; Opening the Heart; Surrendering the Ego; A Guiding Light; Practicing Remembrance; Seeing the Good; Entering the Stream of Grace; The Blissful Self; and One Truth. This collection reveals the Sacred Feminine in all her glory and celebrates the nurturing love that is at the center of every person's divine self.

Here are some samples of Amma's teachings:

• Things, whether money
or other objects, are gone forever
when you give them away.
But not love! The more you give,
the more your heart is filled.
Love is a never-ending stream.

• Children, don't waste a single second.
Serve others, above all the poor,
expecting nothing in return.

• Just as the person who offers God flowers
is the first to enjoy their fragrance,
the person who offers compassion
is the first to receive its blessing.

• Wherever a heart beats
with compassion:
God is there.

• To experience
supreme everlasting joy,
the supreme sacrifice is required:
the sacrifice of your ego.

• Into the cup of intellect
pour devotion,
and drink!