In union there is strength

We believe that Indian guru Mata Amritanandamayi known as the “Hugging Saint” is Embezzling The World. Help us to spread the truth about her.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Many ex-devotees and critical opinions

Since the publication of Gail Tredwell's book, Amma's PR team has lauched a smear campaign against her. They have invented various theories for the public to doubt her testimony :

  1. The book is boring and poorly written, reading it is a waste of time
  2. Gail is lying to become a billionaire by selling a scandalous story about a famous person
  3. Gail has been traumatized when she was a little girl, her book is a recollection of false memories
  4. This book is a setup orchestrated by the Christian church in order to attack Hinduism
  5. The story has been invented by a ghostwriter who wants to prove that Amma is an illuminati shapeshifter
  6. Gail has lived 20 years in India and has become fluent in Malayalam. Yet, she doesn't understand that there is a huge difference between indian and western cultures.
  7. Gail suffers from extreme mental disorders, she has been abusing Amma, her family, her swamis, her ashramites and the children for 20 years. 
  8. Gail is on a mission for Vatican's Opus Dei to destroy Hindu saints and mahatmas.
  9. Due to Sannyasa chastity, Holy Hell is nothing more than a by-product of Gail's suppressed lust which was channelled into anger and vengeance.
What's next?

The truth is that a lot of devotees have left the organization over the years. Some don't want to look back and keep silent to avoid troubles. Some have been harassed and are now afraid to talk. Some still have relatives or close friends who are faithful devotees and they are afraid to raise conflicts... Still, browsing on the web reveals critical stories, articles and backpackers accounts among the countless gushy praises.

Jovan Jones wrote a series of critical books about Amma after spending 2 years in Amritapuri. Her publication triggered Amma's PR smearing machine as it can be seen through this link.

Michel Walsh left the organization and has been obviously cyber-stalked, as it shows on this link.

Saadya wonders if Amma is really as compassionate as she pretends.

Rahima tells her story, from innocent belief to disillusionment.

Mokshalom thinks that Amma siphons the energy instead of giving it.

Ron Rattner who knows Amma since 1987 has seen a change in her darshan. He also stepped gradually toward disillusionment.

A western renunciate who originally testified on the Ex-Amma yahoo group, tells how her disappointment gradually increased as she got closer to Amma.

Alex is puzzled by the cult of personality around Amma.

Meera Nanda thinks that Amma sustains the dependance relation of her devotees through old-fashioned supernaturalism.

Lallous makes some striking remarks like this one : "Teachers should teach us how to fish and not give us fish, err…I mean a hug".

Indian renunciate who prefers to remain anonymous has experienced the other side of Amma.

Too Many Spiders makes a striking comment regarding a cultural issue in the movie Darshan. She also makes an obvious comment about Amma's shape, so obvious that no one mentions it.

A New Sun in Western Skies notices that Amma hasn't been truthful with New York Times reporter.

Amma, hug this cause! the Coalition for a New Century even created a blog to convince Amma to boycott the hotel in 2008.

Rabbi Michael Lerner declined an award bestowed by Amma and says that she lacks "commitment to social justice that might force her to take a stand on behalf of the most oppressed".

Marco Mandrino from Hari-om yoga school makes a parallel between Amma and Mick Jagger! The topic seems funny but his conclusion sounds so true.

Erik Davis from Salon also agrees "that the magic often lies with the devotees rather than the object of devotion". He has also interviewed an ex-devotee who left when she "realized that seva might be short for slave labor"

AskMetaFilter an anonymous user wonder if his friend has joined a cult. The other posters try to help him find out.

My Peace & Love a little bit of humor. An internet user finds it ironic that the fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone goes on a rant after meditating with Amma. Cutrone met Amma in 1991 and is considered to be part of her American PR team.

Anonymous the comment made the August 23, 2008 at 10:48 am reports 6 issues. Is the 5th one referring to what happened in 1983?

Adriana Auderset is a painter and spiritual seeker who gives us an overview the ashram's lifestyle. In her opinion they only want money and control.

The Broken Yogi tries to understand the reasons underlying the cultic patterns that are present in guru's communities.
Announcer is a mysterious blogger who thinks that Amma is an energy vampire.

Re*witched! she wanted to discover the darshan with her mother. She ended in such a terrible state that she won't give it a second try.

1st Timer Jen wants to visit Amritpuri and asks for tips on a forum. One month later Jen is back and the review is not in favor of the ashram.

PinkyBinks have seen the evolution of the ashram over 11 years. Goods circulate in cycles to generate money.

Stuart Edwards experienced the darshan, waiting for the greatest revelation of his life. Did he got it?

Buddha Skolen this danish spiritual seeker points out the discrepancies between Amma's claims and actions. She relies more on material means than on spiritual ones.

Dan Kapelovitz has waited 4 hours to get the famous darshan. He is disappointed. He is even insulted by a devotee of the Mata.

Duff McDuffee in the paragraph entitled "Marketing and Miracle", he writes : "Gurus like Amma seem to me a poor substitute for finding one’s own wholeness and true nature"

Jon's blog tells us that the hugging saint could get banned from a hotel near Coralville Iowa, following complaints about her devotees behavior.

When a Goddess Falls Back to Earth: Ammachi and the publication of "Holy Hell" in India Guruphiliac tells how the goddess is falling back as a mere human.

Amrithanandamayi Manoj quotes extracts from an interview of Sreenie Pattathanam. We can use this to guess the content of the banned book.

Technology and the Esoteric in the paragraph entitled "The hugging saint is also the slapping saint" Reality Sandwich submits a theory to explain the origin of Amritanandamayi's dark side.

Anorak illustrates this post with a funny picture and asks a question that is in everyone's mind since long : why does she counts the darshans that she gives?

Navin Mathews would like to rid his country of "the scourge of the opportunist who prey upon the weak and the superstitious".

Real Face of Mata Amritanandamayi a Facebook page by someone who seems to be mad at her.

God men and women: A case study Mata amritanandamamyi doesn't appeal to this ex-devotee of Sai Baba

Fake Clouds Following By People Amritanandamamyi is referenced in this short list of fake gurus.

Axel G doesn't feel anything divine in the hugging saint. According to him, she is not a spiritual master.

Big Pharma vs Big Mama Ravi Chivukula makes a daring comparison between the pharmaceutical industry and Amritanandamayi. According to him the main difference is that the she has no no accountability, no responsibility, no transparency.

Jcbaran reports his one hour interview with Mata Amritanandamayi. We can clearly see that she repeats the same "teachings" over and over again. Whatever the question that people ask her, she only picks at random one of her predefined standard answers, like a trained monkey.

Tom's Travel Blog is asking five questions to Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. It deals with very concerning issues, nailed by the ashramites themselves. Is Amritapuri's management listening to their substantiated complaints?


The ex-devotees and critical points of view are numerous but scattered. That is one of the reasons why Gail Tredwell seems to be the only one complaining about Amma. One of the other main reasons is FEAR. Many ex-devotees are afraid of the organization. How come that the mother of the compassion inspires fear to her ex-followers? Have they seen a frightening aspect on the other side of the medal?