Mata Vallabhananda Mayi
Sri Lalitha Amma, presently known as Mata Vallabhananda Mayi and Peethadhipathi of Sree Chakra Datta Sree Pada Sree Sai Paedam, was born in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. From very young, she has been a staunch devotee of Goddess Sri Lalitha Devi and Shirdi Saibaba. As divine intended, Sri Lalitha Amma’s devotion inclined towards Lord Dattatreya and specifically towards Lord Sri Pada Sri Vallabha – the first Kaliyuga incarnation of Lord Dattatreya.
Sri Lalitha Amma belongs to a strong spiritual family and is the youngest child. At the age of 3, she performed Gowri pooja,Tulsi pooja and followed spiritual practices which are traditionally performed by elders. Her extreme devotion and dedication took her family by surprise. She would spend several hours in the mandir, aligning her mind with the thoughts of Goddess Lalitha Devi.
At 14 years old, observing her unwavering devotion, her neighbour – a religious Brahman Pandit, initiated her into Sri Lalitha SahasraNama (1000 names of Goddess Sri Lalithambika) parayan. She partook in the parayan for 48 days and attained a high state of bliss. She developed clairvoyance, foreseeing events in the family before they would take place through regular visions.
Priests in the temple used to adorn her like Durga Ma during Navratri festivals and felt divinity in her presence. When the family would plan an outing, she would get vivid visions of the place beforehand and feel deeply connected on visiting them. She was considered auspicious for the family.
After her marriage in 1997, Sri Lalitha Amma moved to Chennai. In 2003, she had the first vision of the holy padukas of Lord Sreepada, but she was not aware as to who they belonged to. When she was trying to find out whose padukas they were, like divine providence, Mataji’s elder brother took her to Pithapuram, the birthplace of Sreepada Sree Vallabha.
Mataji happened to see the same padukas as seen in her vision there. At the same time Sreepada Sree Vallabha gave her darshan and told her that she must set out and introduce his divinities to the world. So, in order to know more about Swami, Mataji purchased the book – Sreepada Sree Vallabha Charitamrutam.
When she visited the temple of Sathyanarayana Swami in Annavaram, she once again had the Darshan of Lord Sreepada Sree Vallabha, who firmly asked Mataji to do Prachar about his avatar. There was no turning back after this and she took to the worship and Prachar of Sreepada Sree Vallabha Swami.
As ordained by the Lord, Sri Lalitha Amma undertook a solemn vow (Sankalpa), to spread the glory of Lord Sree pada Sree Vallabha across Tamil Nadu. She was chosen by the Lord himself, in order to establish his Darbar. She performed holy paduka pooja of Lord Sree pada Sree Vallabha daily.
She always felt a strong desire to build a temple and was seeking direction and guidance. Her devotion towards Lord Sreepada became intense and as per divine will she decided to start a Spiritual Centre near her residence in Pammal in 2015. The Spiritual Centre was known as Sri Dattatreya Nilayam. She regularly performed homam at the Centre on the day of Swami’s birth star i.e. Chitha star and Sitharama kalyanam. Slowly, stream of devotees began visiting the Centre, and Sumangali pooja, sacred lamp pooja (villakku pooja), recital and parayan of Lalitha Sahasra Nama and Datta SahasraNama were conducted.
Lalitha Amma’s vision to build a temple for the Lord, propelled her to pursue a suitable place for the same. During that time, she happened to meet several Shiva Devotees who were on a mission to renovate old Shiva temples. Through their help and divine guidance, Amma reached Melsirunai village, about 11 kms from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. This direction came to her on 10th September 2017. Amidst the fields, Sri Lalitha Amma had the Darshan of a 1000-year-old Shivalinga which was neglected and ignored without any poojas or religious customs.
Soon after this Sri Lalitha Amma in her vision got directions and blessings from Kanchi Paramachariar also known as Maha Periyava, affirming that Melsirunai was the right place to build the temple of Lord Sree pada. Soon after this blessing Sree pada Sree Vallabha gave Sri Lalitha amma divine vision confirming that it was the most sacred place for his temple to be built.
Subsequently, Sri Lalitha Amma set up a small temporary structure of Lord Shiva and Nandi in the village. As per divine prediction, it was learnt that the name of Lord Shiva was Akshayalingeshwar. Infact, Maha Periyava told Sri Lalitha Amma in her vision that only after she builds a proper shrine for Akshayalingeshwar, will she be able to construct a temple for Lord Sree Pada.
Thus, a unique temple of Lord Sree Pada, Lord Dattatreya and Lord Sai Baba was constructed for World Protection in Melsirunai Village, the consecration of which took place on 12.02.2020. She was given Deeksha naam by her Guru Sri Datta GopalKrishnaji as Sri Mata Vallabhananda Mayi. Sri Datta Gopalakrishna ji is from Sreerangam and has been a staunch Datta Upasaka for three decades. As per the divine vision he had, he moved to Chennai in search of Lalitha Amma and found her at Pammal, in the same locality that he had moved to from Sreerangam.
Sri Mata Vallabhananda Mayi was initiated by Lord Sreepada Sree Vallabha himself to Kriya yoga, Srividya and Sri chakra sadhana. Her mission is to spread the word of Melsirunai temple, which will help mankind to transcend from Kali yuga to Satya yuga by inviting Kali yuga Avatar Sree pada Sree Vallabha.
