Amma was born in a poor fishing village in Kerala, Southern India, in 1953. Her father [Sugunanandan] sold fish to make a living. Her mother [Damayanti] relates that the child wasn’t born crying as babies usually are, but with a beaming smile on Her face. She was given the name Sudhamani (Ambrosial Jewel).
Even as a small child, it was clear that She was unique. At six months She could walk and talk, and by the age of three She was constantly singing. By the age of five She was composing beautiful, extraordinarily profound hymns to Her beloved Krishna.
Amma had no feelings of strangeness when She came into this world. Everything was so utterly familiar to Her, and when one knows everything about the world one can only smile. When one beholds the entire universe as a play of Consciousness, what else can one do but smile? —Amma
