Mother of All

by Richard Schiffman

'Mother of All' is the compelling story of one of the great mystics of our time. Mother Anasuya Devi of Jillellamudi was revered by millions in southern India for her homespun wisdom, motherly love, and extraordinary spiritual powers. Her profound yet enigmatic teachings powerfully challenged traditional patriarchal views and rejected the common Hindu belief that the world is an illusion. Married and the mother of three children, she was a living witness to her own core teachings that the earth is sacred and that spirituality comes from embracing life in full. Author Richard Schiffman -- one of only a handful of westerners who ventured to her remote village -- gives a first person account of his life-transforming experience with "the Mother."

Reviews:

"'Mother of All,' by Richard Schiffman, is one of those quietly powerful books that may just change your life. It tells the story of Anasuya Devi, a rather unassuming woman who lived a simple life as a wife and mother in southern India. Very slowly, those around her begin to recognize through her quiet wisdom and unorthodox perspectives that she is, in fact, an embodiment of the Divine Mother. In her later years, she was known as the Jillellamudi Mother or simply Amma, the "Mother of All.

Richard Schiffman achieves a difficult feat of balance, giving us a narrative that is at once a work of devotion and well-grounded biography. His writing has the clarity and insight of one who has delved deep in his spiritual journey while keeping his intellect sharp.

We benefit from Mr. Schiffman's balance because it allows a compelling, profoundly inspiring portrait of the Jillellamudi Mother to tenderly emerge from his writing.

Highly recommended!" - New Vision Recommends

"...magnificent portrayal of a very great human, contemporary and timeless, a uniquely unusual expression of God's being in the world." - Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Soul:

"A 'must read' classic. Amma's grace surcharges this work, richly inspiring all aspirants in the awakening to Divine Spirit." - Timothy Conway, Ph.D., author of Women of Power and Grace