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Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi) - http://amma.org
For the past 30 years Amma (1953 - Present) has dedicated her life to the uplifting of suffering humanity through the simplest of gestures - an embrace. In this intimate manner Amma had blessed and consoled more than 21 million people throughout the world.
When someone asked Amma why she receives every person who comes to her in a loving embrace Amma replied, "If you ask the river,' why do you flow?' what can it say?"
Recommended works about/from Amma:
"Ammachi: A Biography" by Swami Amritaswarupananda
"Amma: A New Biography" of Ammachi by Judith Cornell
"Messages from Amma" by Dr. Janine Canan
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Anais Nin
Anais Nin (c. 1903-1977) Writer and diarist, born in Paris, of a Catalan father and a Danish mother, Anais spent many of her early years with Cuban relatives. Later a naturalized American citizen, she lived and worked in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. Author of avant-garde novels in the French surrealistic style, she is best known for her life and times in The Diary of Anais Nin, Vols. I-VII. New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1966-1980; and The Early Diaries of Anais Nin, Vols. --IV, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978-1985."
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Hafiz
"Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz (c. 1320-1389) is the most beloved poet of Persians and is considered to be one of history's greatest lyrical geniuses. Though he is still little known in the Western world, many notables including Emerson, Goethe, Garcia Lorca, the composer Brahms and even Nietzsche were deeply affected by him. Emerson once remarked that 'Hafiz is a poet for poets,' and Goethe wrote that 'Hafiz has no peer.' The range of Hafiz's work is astounding, striking a chord of recognition in people from every stratum of mind." - From "Love Poems From God" by Daniel Ladinsky.
Recommended works about Hafiz:
"Love Poems From God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West" by Daniel Ladinsky (translator)
"The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the Great Sufi Master" by Daniel Ladinsky (translator)
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Kabir
"For five hundred year the poems of Kabir (c. 1440-1518) have been recited and sung throughout India. Kabir was a great religious reformer in his time, as well as a famous artist and musician, founding a sect that still claims to have a million followers. Kabir achieved a remarkable synthesis of Hindu, Muslim, and even Christian belief. Rabindreanath Tagore, the famous Bengali poet and novelist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, was a major force in bringing the wonderful poems of Kabir to the attention of the West when he published some translations of Kabir in 1915.
Some present-day readers of Kabir liken him to something of a tough guy, a Zen-bruiser, a divine smart-aleck, but there are many dimensions of this great Master that one can bring to light, including his rarely revealed tenderness and his delicious freeing humor." - From "Love Poems From God" by Daniel Ladinsky.
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Mira
"Mirabai (c. 1498-1550) is the most renowned woman poet-saint of India, her songs sung by Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs alike. She was born a princess in the area of Rajasthan, Her great-grand-father founded the city of Jodhpur.
It has been said that when Mira was a small child she brought a plate of food to a sadhu ( a wandering ascetic) at the palace gate. He whispered a few words in her ear and bestowed a tiny statue of Krishna into her hand, which she forever treasured. There are no other accounts of her having had a teacher of formal religious instructions, so perhaps those few words held some key to a spiritual awakening." - From "Love Poems From God" by Daniel Ladinsky.
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Rabia
"Rabia of Basra (c. 717-801) is without doubt the most popular and influential of female Islamic saints and a central figure in the Sufi tradition. She was born nearly five hundred years before Rumi, and although it is rarely said, she, perhaps more than any other poet, influenced his writings.
"Rabia grew up in a part of ancient Mesopotamia that is now Iraq. She was the fourth daughter of impoverished parents, and a story connected with her birth tells of the Prophet Muhammad appearing to her father in a dream to tell him that his daughter would be revered as a great saint." - From "Love Poems From God" by Daniel Ladinsky.
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Rumi
"Jalaludin Rumi (c. 1207-1273) is considered one of the greatest poets known to history. His influence throughout the Islamic world for over seven hundred years and more recently in Western countries is astounding. He is currently one of the most widely read poets in the English language.
Recommended works about Rumi:
"Love Poems From God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West" by Daniel Ladinsky (translator)
"The Essential Rumi" by Coleman Barks (translator)
Rumi was born September 30, 1207, in Balkh, Afghanistan, which was at that time considered the eastern edge of the Persian empire. When he was about eight years old his family was forces to flee from the invasion of the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan. They settled in Konya, Turkey, where Rumi remained for the rest of his life. His father , Bahauddin Walad, a scholar and a mystic, became the head (sheikh) of a dervish college ( a divinity school). Rumi succeeded to this position upon his father's death and often would read to his students from his father's mystical diary/testament, Maarif." - From "Love Poems From God" by Daniel Ladinsky.
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St. Francis of Assisi
"Francis Barnardone (c. 1182-1226) is the most beloved saint of the Western world. His love for nature and his hymns to the sun, moon, earth and birds have captured the hearts of millions of Catholics, and the respect of millions of people of all faiths. This saint achieved the highest state of consciousness possible to man, a divine union with God." - From "Love Poems From God" by Daniel Ladinsky.
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St. Teresa of Avila
"Teresa of Avila (c. 1515-1582) is undoubtedly the most influential female saint in the Western world, and she has made great contributions to spiritual literature and poetry. She was a woman of tremendous courage who is rightfully credited with remarkable political and religious reform achieved against the strongest - and most insidious - chauvinistic forces.
A realistic picture of Teresa's life did not even reach the English-reading general public until the 1960s. She was known to have had a remarkable quick wit and a stunning, even provocative, sense of humor, as well a great physical beauty. Her complete works include seven books, four hundred and fifty letters, and assorted poetry. Her writings are considered masterpieces of mystical prose and verse." - From "Love Poems From God" by Daniel Ladinsky.
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St. Thomas Aquinas
"Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274) is widely regarded as the greatest Catholic theologian. Once could say he was a spiritual master, always striving to reveal to others the path of Christ. It is said that toward the end of his life he asked Jesus to pass judgment upon one of his books, and Jesus replied: "You have written well; continue to write whatever your heart wishes to express." - From "Love Poems From God" by Daniel Ladinsky.
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Tukaram
"Tukaram (c. 1608-1649) is the most influential figure in the development of Marathi literature, and probably the most famous saint who wrote in that language. He was born in the small village of Dehu on the banks of the river Indrayani in Maharashtra, India, not far from the still-thriving city of Poona. He was remarkably prolific; some attribute 8,000 short poems to him. He wrote entirely in Marathi, an Indian dialect still commonly heard in West Central India. His poems were playful and earthy, sometimes very innocent and sometimes thought-provoking, often changing from serious to comical within a few lines. His poems in the vernacular are called abhangs, which are poetic songs of a teaching and devotional nature. Even today many children in India grow up hearing these poems (the milder ones) recited and set to contemporary music. It is commonly believed that Tukaram attained the same spiritual heights as Rumi, Hafiz, and Kabir. Like Hafiz, it is said his poems are an intimate journal of discovering God within. The are also similar to Hafiz's work in their brilliant humor." - From "Love Poems From God" by Daniel Ladinsky.