Anandamayi Ma was an Indian saint and yoga guru who was known for her perpetual state of divine joy and was described by Sivananda Saraswati as "the most perfect flower the Indian soil has produced." She was born Nirmala Sundari Devi on 30 April 1896, in Kheora, Tipperah District (now Brahmanbaria District), in present-day Bangladesh. Her father was a Vaishnavite singer, and her mother was a homemaker. Her family lived in poverty, and Nirmala attended village schools for about 2-4 months. When she was 12 years old, she was married to Ramani Mohan Chakrabarti, whom she would later rename Bholanath.

They had a celibate marriage, and Nirmala spent most of her time in a withdrawn meditative state. In August 1922, at the age of 26, Nirmala enacted her own spiritual initiation, which involved complex rites corresponding to those of traditional Hinduism. Her husband was appointed as the caretaker of the gardens of the Nawab of Dhaka, and they moved to Shahbag in 1924.

During this period, Nirmala went into ecstasies at public kirtans. Her disciple Jyotiscandra Ray suggested that Nirmala be called Anandamayi Ma, meaning "Joy Permeated Mother" or "Bliss Permeated Mother," and was chiefly responsible for the first ashram built for Anandamayi Ma in 1929 at Ramna, within the precinct of the Ramna Kali Mandir. Anandamayi Ma reinstated a formerly abandoned ancient Kali temple in the Siddheshwari area in 1926. From her shift to Dehradun onwards, various scholars were drawn to her light, gift, power, and message of love, though she continued to describe herself as "a little unlettered child."

Anandamayi Ma was a spiritual teacher who emphasized the importance of self-realization as the ultimate goal of human life. She believed that all paths lead to the same destination and advocated spiritual equality for women. Her teachings were not limited to any particular religious tradition but were open to people of all faiths.

Anandamayi Ma's teachings were primarily conveyed through informal talks, which were transcribed by her attendants and devotees. Her style of teaching included jokes, songs, and instructions on everyday life, along with long discourses and silent meditation. She emphasized that only actions that kindle a person's divine nature are worthy of being called actions.

An important theme in Anandamayi Ma's teaching was the idea of non-duality. She believed that suffering arises from perceiving duality and that finding the One everywhere and in everything can end pain and suffering. She frequently referred to herself in the third person as either "this body" or "this little girl" in order to detach herself from ego.

Anandamayi Ma did not advocate a specific spiritual method for everyone but believed that each person should follow their own inborn nature. She did not give formal initiations and refused to be called a guru. She maintained that all paths are her paths and that she had no particular path.

Anandamayi Ma's teachings continue to be published in the Ananda Varta quarterly, which is published in English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Bengali. The Sri Sri Anandamayi Sangha in Haridwar organizes an annual Samyam Mahavrata congregation for collective meditation, religious discourse, and devotional music.