Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 537 Shri Amati (ōṃ amatyai namaḥ)

The Goddess Divine Mother is the form of ignorance or nescience. 

The Divine Mother is in avidya (ignorance) form. From Brahman, She takes five elements form (Akasa, Vayu, Water, Fire and Earth) which are in avidya state without any intelligence. From them such wide universe is created by Her. Vidya (knowledge) and avidya (ignorance) are both the forms of the Goddess Divine Mother, needed by devotees to reach liberation or Brahman. The static or Jada Akasa is not good for Chit (knowledge). Balance elements Vayu, Agni, Water and Earth are useful for all kinds of universal beings. Most of the beings are ignorant and the Divine Mother in those forms is called Amati. Those matured yogins reaching the Brahman never discard the universal beings with ignorance. The Divine Mother plays with such yogins and other beings having ignorance (Amati). They all praise Her for all her Kindness. 

Svadmati is split into svadat + amati. In Namam 445 Mati had been discussed earlier. Avidya is ignorance. Even if we know something, but not fully in proper form, it is also called avidya. Amati is lower-level knowledge. The Divine Mother is in this form also.

Avidya, Mahat, and Ahankaram are three tattvas due to Maya. In those, Mahat is related to intelligence, through which avidya slowly expands into vidya form. If there is no growth in that way, it is called avidya or amati. This is close to earlier creations in the universal beginnings. This is the Goddess Divine Mother’s form also.

Amati or avidya means ignorance as we saw earlier. A deity with these names is presiding over activates done according to emotions without applying discrimination by humans.

As the Katha Upanisad (1.ii.2) explains, the unintelligent man wants to amass objects of pleasure. Therefore, he discards the path of good and chooses the path of pleasure. The same Upanisad (11.lV.2) also says, “The ignorant (the childlike) pursue external pleasures and fall into the widespread snares of death.”

It is Amati (ignorance) that pushes the humans into the path of physical pleasure and to the state of death.

Amati also means first creation, which was without any intelligence.

Durgacharya takes this Namam as mati, interpreting it as knowledge of the Self.

Opinions or interpretations differ.

The Sarsvati Devi, representing the Divine Mother is giving 

all  Knowledges and forms of arts to humans.

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 15 July 2021.

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.       The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Sithbavandar