Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi is an Indian spiritual leader revered as a saint by her followers, who also know her as "Amma", "Ammachi" or "Mother". She is widely respected for her humanitarian activities and is known as "the hugging saint".

Mata Amritanandamayi was born Sudhamani in the small village of Parayakadavu, near Kollam, Kerala in 1953. Her schooling ended when she was nine, and she began to take care of her younger siblings and the family domestic work full-time.

She is said to have had many mystical experiences as a child.Since 1981, she has been teaching spiritual aspirants all over the world. She founded a worldwide organization, the Mata Amritanandamayi Mission Trust, which is engaged in many spiritual and charitable activities. she is offering hopes and solace to many needy people in India. She has set up many charitable institutions, educational centers and hospitals.

In 2006, Amma was honoured with the 4th Annual James Parks Morton Interfaith Award at the Interfaith Centre, New York. In Oct 2007, Amma was awarded for her humanitarian activities at human rights film festival, Cinema Verite, in Paris.

“Only when human beings are able to perceive and acknowledge the Self in each other can there be real peace. —Amma”

Annie Besant

Annie Besant the daughter of William Wood and Emily Morris, was born in 1847. Annie's father, a doctor, died when she was only five years old. In 1867, at age nineteen she married 26-year-old clergyman Frank Besant, younger brother of Walter Besant. He was an evangelical Anglican clergyman who seemed to share many of her concerns. Soon Frank became vicar of Sibsey in Lincolnshire. Annie moved to Sibsey with her husband, and within a few years they had two children: Digby and Mabel. The marriage was, however, a disaster. The first conflict came over money and Annie's independence. Annie wrote short stories, books for children and articles. As married women did not have the legal right to own property, Frank was able to take all the money she earned. Politics further divided the couple. After leaving her husband Annie Besant completely rejected Christianity and in 1874 joined the Secular Society. n 1877 Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh decided to publish The Fruits of Philosophy, Charles Knowlton's book advocating birth control. Besant and Bradlaugh were charged with publishing material that was "likely to deprave or corrupt those whose minds are open to immoral influences". Besant wrote and published her own book advocating birth control entitled The Laws of Population. The idea of a woman advocating birth-control received wide-publicity. Newspapers like The Times accused Besant of writing "an indecent, lewd, filthy, bawdy and obscene book". After joining the Social Democratic Federation, Annie started her own campaigning newspaper called The Link. Like Catherine Booth of the Salvation Army, Annie was concerned about the health of young women workers at the Bryant & May match factory. On 23rd June, 1888, Annie published an article White Slavery in London where she drew attention to the dangers of phosphorus fumes and complained about the low wages paid to the women who worked at Bryant & May. he became involved in Indian Nationalism and in 1916 established the Indian Home Rule League of which she became President. She started a newspaper, “New India”, criticized British rule and was jailed for sedition. She came to be associated with rationalistic congress group of workers who did not appreciate Gandhi’s views. Mrs. Besant and Tilak worked together till his death.

She believed that she should be born a Hindu in her next birth. She wanted to be cremated at Benaras on the banks of the river Ganga. She breathe her last when she was eighty-six years old in 1933.