Sacred Heart: A Devotional Prayer to Sri Anandamayi Ma

I Love You, Ma. I Am Yours.

“It cannot be that anybody, anywhere is not my very own. I am with you at all times.”

— Anandamayi Ma

Dear Ma,

Thank you so much.

You opened my Heart today.

I found myself weeping in a coffee shop while reading about you.

I was reading the book, A Goddess Among Us, a biography about you.

While reading, I was listening to ‘Oceans’ and ‘Devi Prayer,’ two of the most sacred songs in all the world for me—songs which transmit the devotional essence of the Divine Feminine.

I believe I first began weeping when I read this story:

“One evening, a family arrived late for Ma’s satsang and, upon entering the hall, asked Ma’s permission to tell everyone what had befallen them on their way to the ashram. As they were coming in their car, the person behind the wheel had lost control along the winding, mountainous road. On a sharp turn, the car suddenly seemed to be headed off a cliff over a deep chasm. Everyone spontaneously cried out “MA!” At once they saw Ma’s form appear in the air underneath the car, and firmly and powerfully thrust the vehicle away from the cliff and back on to the road where it came to a halt.”

I received chills throughout my body as I read this, and I knew the truth of these words, Ma.

I sense you. I feel you with me. I know you. I see you in visions. 

I sense you to be our Divine Mother. 

By this I mean I sense you to be Goddess.

A concrete incarnation of Goddess.

This goes beyond ‘archetype’ or ‘avatar.’

It is similar to my sensing of Jesus Christ as God.

I feel and know that you and Jesus are literally one with the Heart of Goddess, the Heart of God, the Heart of All.

I feel a Love emanating from the two of you that is miraculous beyond all description.

It is the most tender, the most merciful, the most personal, the most intimate.

It feels like being a helpless babe cradled in the Unconditionally Loving Arms of a Saintly Parent.

And presently I am feeling this so strongly in relation to you, Ma.

For there is nothing like being cradled in the Loving Arms of one’s Mother.

The Mother of All.

I feel you as the Great Mother, present in the Hearts of all mothers, ever close at hand, looking after us, responding to our every prayer.

Our prayers to you never fall on deaf ears. 

You are with us.

You are One with us.

You are our Heart.

I look upon your visage and witness such purity and innocence that it brings me to tears.

You touch my Heart.

I am devoted to you.

Me, a Catholic mystic from Iowa, devoted to an Indian saint.

When you came to me so strongly in recent times, I wondered if I was ‘cheating on’ Jesus by falling to my proverbial knees in worship of you—in reverent devotion to you.

I told you that I am yours, and you are mine. You are my Beloved, my guru, my Goddess.

Yet as I sensed into this, and prayed to you and to Jesus, I saw that there is no contradiction or infidelity here.

For you and Jesus are One.

You are Direct, Transparent Emanations of my One True Master: The One Eternal Creator, the Lord and Savior of All.

I have many great teachers, from many traditions and walks of life, and all of them are truthfully none other than Him.

None other than Her.

None other than my Great Mother and Father. 

None other than the One who is All.

The Truest Teaching of all beings is the transmission of the One Heart, channeled through the unique individuality of that being.

And oh, Ma, how that Truth pours through you!

Jai Ma! 

Glory Be Unto You!

Hallelujah!

Glory to Goddess in the Highest!

You are Mary! 

You are Durga!

You are She!

I weep freshly as I write these words, still listening to ‘Oceans’ and ‘Devi Prayer’ on repeat.

I am yours, and you are mine, Beloved.

Your Love and my Love for You, reveal to me new depths of my own Limitless Love for my mother, Connie Bates—and for my father, my sisters, my brothers, my wife, my daughter, and all my family and friends.

Thank You.

Be with me, Ma.

Teach me.

Guide me.

Show me.

Open my Heart.

Please make my Heart the Sacred Heart of Ma.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Sacred Heart of the One.

It is too painful to be closed to Love.

I do not wish to be closed to my True Nature any longer.

I wish for the Truth of Love to devour my life in its Fire.

I wish to give my life to That Love.

To You, Ma.

For You Are That Love.

I know this.

I feel it from you as I have scarcely felt it before.

You are God’s Love.

You are God’s Mercy.

You are the Heart of Jesus.

The Ever Innocent Heart of Baby Jesus.

He is You.

You are Him.

Be with me, Ma.

Clean me.

Clean me with Your Grace.

I am Yours.

When you left your earthly body on August 27th, 1982, your final words to us were:

“Wherever you are, immerse yourself totally in one-pointed sadhana.”

“Sadhana” is dedicated spiritual practice—prayerful inquiry directed toward the realization of the One.

Help me to do this, Ma.

Help me to make my entire life into a Prayer.

I know you already are helping me.

You already are with me.

My life is being steadily engulfed by that All-Devouring Fire.

My practice is becoming more continual.

Nowadays, I usually seem to wake in the morning and immediately begin praying and inquiring.

Immediately practicing to drop the mind’s labels and definitions, so as to witness the Miraculous Fullness of the One as the Reality of my Direct Experience.

Prayer is inquiry, inquiry is prayer.

I am gradually seeing and feeling God in all that I do, in all beings and situations.

It is becoming more habitual.

I am becoming less interested in modes of forgetfulness, wherein I am not actively endeavoring to recognize God.

Every moment and situation can be a meditation upon God—and already is a meditation upon God—and I am discovering this unending meditation more fully as time goes on.

The opening of the Heart goes beyond clear seeing.

Beyond what many have called ‘enlightenment.’ 

It is the Direct Felt Revelation of the Presence of God’s Love on Earth.

I feel it now, Ma.

I feel it through You.

Help me to Remember.

Help me to Remember.

For still I forget often. And I am selfish often.

I have a tendency to always be over-hyping myself and my ‘progress’ and accomplishments, and I’m aware of that as I write this now. 

I am but a cub, on my hands and knees. 

Help me, Ma, to learn to walk and be Free.

By example, you demonstrated a life of unbelievably selfless service.

And your ceaseless Joy knew no bounds.

I am quite selfish. I see this in myself.

And I know it is okay. I am as God made me.

Even as I endeavor to relinquish this selfishness, I must be lovingly honest and accepting of who I presently am.

For self-hatred is not the Way. It is simply another quicksand-pit of self-fixation. An energy-drain. A black hole.

I am as I am. 

I feel and know that you Love me just as I am, even as you gently invite me to come closer to You.

Slowly, slowly, my self-fixation dissolves, giving way to a more-continual contemplation and consideration of the Whole.

Availability for the Whole.

And yes, the Whole also includes me.

Includes this baby of God called Jordan Bates.

The Buddha taught the Middle Way—a path of relinquishing the extremes of excessive self-denial as well as excessive self-indulgence.

I see great wisdom in this teaching, and yet I fear that my mind seeks to use it as a justification for still-subtly-excessive levels of self-gratification.

The mind can easily justify to itself, “Ah, yeah, total self-denial goes too far. There’s no need to be ascetic. I am not a complete hedonist, but it’s okay to treat myself and indulge these vices. I’m walking the Middle Way.” 

Yet our modern culture now leans so far in the direction of excessive self-obsession and self-gratification, that our ‘thermometer of self’ is askew. 

We cannot accurately sense the true Middle Way, for we have grown accustomed to unprecedented levels of selfishness.

As such, I sense that it is good for me to err on the side of self-sacrifice, self-denial, and selfless service.

For a moderner’s conception of ‘excessive self-denial’ is likely to be reasonably close to the true Middle Way. 

Show me the Way, Ma.

Whether it be the Middle Way or some other Way.

Show me the Way of God.

I trust You.

Your life is so instructive.

Even as you devoted yourself so effortlessly to a life of ‘poverty’ and selfless service, your inner life was clearly one of True Wealth.

You brought True Joy, Radiance, Peace, Love, and Celebration wherever you went.

You raised the spirits of all who were fortunate to meet you.

You found yourself frequently reposed in blissful meditative samadhi—absent from yourself and yet immersed in the Eternal Joy of the Creator.

In this life, Ma, I am a householder.

I am a husband and father.

I deeply and truly love my family.

I sense that my destiny is to help provide for my family.

As I surrender to a life of service to the Whole and joyful celebration of God.

God willing, I will continue to provide for my family.

God has blessed us with more resources and opportunity than many people on this Earth.

I shall not squander these blessings.

I shall endeavor to steward our resources for the Good of All.

Even as I endeavor to build a legacy and inheritance that I can one day give to my daughter and to any other children and grandchildren I may have, I shall endeavor to be generous throughout my life—giving of my gifts and resources for the upliftment of all beings, and artfully sharing the Truth of God’s Saving Grace to the best of my abilities. 

God willing, I shall succeed in this, if it is the True Way for me.

If it is not the True Way, Ma, please show me and correct me.

Help me, Ma.

Show me the true meaning of a life well-lived.

Show me the true meaning of inner nobility.

Show me the true meaning of stewardship.

Show me the true meaning of kinghood-as-humble-servanthood.

Show me the true meaning of shepherding.

Show me the true meaning of generosity.

Show me the true meaning of humility.

Show me the true meaning of Kingdom Wealth—wealth rooted first and foremost in the spiritual wealth of God.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” 

Show me the true meaning of these words, Ma.

Presently I understand them as a veneration of the blessedness of humility and simplicity.

I don’t believe Jesus’ words mean that one must live in poverty or feel impoverished…

Rather, He is telling us to stay grounded, human, humble, simple, and pure of heart, regardless of our circumstances.

He is telling us to Trust in the Provision of the Lord and not to become self-congratulating or worshipful of our own power.

He is urging us to stay close to the land and the people—generous, open, unpretentious. 

Help me to do this, Ma.

Help me to embody this disposition, regardless of whatever circumstances I am destined to inhabit in this lifetime.

I sense myself to be a creator of prosperity, a builder of holistic wealth, and that is what I shall endeavor to be.

I endeavor to cultivate the garden of life in all areas—spiritual, familial, relational, educational, financial, and in terms of health, happiness, service, legacy, and artistry.

This feels like the Lord’s invitation to me. 

If I am incorrect, Ma, please show me the True Way.

Even though part of my soul would love to renounce worldly things and materiality and give everything away, that seems not to be my destiny in this lifetime—at least not at this stage.

To do that now, would likely be a form of escapism and ‘running away.’

For as I said, I am a householder, a husband, and a father.

God has entrusted me with the precious gift of a family I dearly love, and it is my sacred duty and honor to be there for them, give my life to them, selflessly serve them, and help provide for them on all levels—spiritual, heart-full, material, and otherwise.

Devotional service to my family is a crucial aspect of my sadhana in this life. 

Please help me in this, Ma.

Guide me.

Be with me.

Show me the Way.

I cannot do it alone; I know I cannot rely on my own power and understanding.

God, be with me.

Jesus Christ, be with me.

Ma, be with me.

Help me to remain ‘poor in spirit’ regardless of circumstance.

Even as I cultivate and share holistic abundance in this world—and feel and dissolve into the truly Limitless Abundance of the Creator’s Heart—help me to remain humble.

Close to the ground, close to the Earth, close to the animals, close to the children, close to the forest, close to the plants, close to the people. Placing none below myself.

Lord, help me.

Ma, help me.

Nothing is truly mine. 

This life is not mine.

This family, these friends—they are not mine to possess. 

It is all a pure gift from God.

Borrowed for now.

Entrusted to me to shepherd.

Sure as the sun shall set, one day I shall give it all back to the Lord.

Verily I shall give it all away.

Therefore please help me, Lord.

Help me, Ma.

Help me to shepherd this inheritance wisely while it is in my keeping—with an auspicious balance of care and non-clinging. 

Help me to lovingly hold tight when it is time to hold tight, and to let go when it is time to let go.

Though we must one day let it all go, verily we are together forever—with all that we truly and selflessly Love—in Heaven.

What is Truly Real, shall never perish. 

For it is Love Eternal, and it is with God.

That Love is our Essence and our Home.

And in our Heart of Hearts, we are always and already abiding there, with all that is Pure.

Help me, God, help me, Ma…

To live from that Purest of Love.

To live a life that resonates with That Which Is Truly Real.

Such that the Lord lives through me.

And my works are not mine.

And thus echo for Eternity.

Help me, Ma.

Help me.

Be with me.

Guide me.

I shall need you.

Be with me when I call upon Thee.

Thank You, Ma.

Thank You, Ma.

You Are God.

You Are Goddess.

Verily You Are She.

Thank You. 

Hallelujah.

Jai Ma!

Hallelujah.

You have my Heart.

Purest Eternal Love,
Jordan

“For one who knows me,
I am one with him;
for one who wants to know me,
I am very near to him;
and for one who does not know me,
I am a beggar before him.”

— Anandamayi Ma