Modernity and its imbalances: Constructing modern selfhood in the Mata Amritanandamayi Mission

Abstract

This article explores the orientations towards ‘modernity’ among devotees of the popular female guru in contemporary India, Mata Amritanandamayi. It examines the understanding of modernity popularised by this guru and shows how this understanding informs the world views and lifestyles of her Indian followers. These followers, most of them educated, middle-class urbanites, are exposed to modernity in their everyday lives. The understanding of modernity in the guru's fold leads devotees to idealise a form of selfhood that allows expression for their faith and emotions and that thereby facilitates the transcendence of the so-called ‘imbalances' of modern personalities and lifestyles. The realisation of this form of selfhood does not mean a rejection of modernity. Instead, it purportedly better equips followers to cope with the stresses of modernity. This article analyses the logic that underpins this view of modernity, and the different interpretations, within this guru's fold, of the modern West and of its relationship to India.