Sahaja Yoga Introduction Feed on Posts Comments Agnya chakra Sep 22nd, 2008 Shri Mataji, founder of Sahaja Yoga The Agnya, situated in the middle of the brain, is the gateway to the last energy centre, the Sahasrara Chakra, and so it is the penultimate step on the journey to our Self-realization, our yoga, our union with Divinity. It is the Kundalini, the life force within each one of us, rising from its coils at the base of the spine, in the sacrum bone, rising up through each of the energy centres, and eventually piercing through the bone at the top of the head, the bone that was soft in our babyhood – the fontenelle bone – it is the freeing and activating and rising up of this Kundalini energy that brings about our enlightenment, our moksha, our Self-realization. And to our great good fortune, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the founder of Sahaja Yoga, has found a very simple way for us to take this wonderful leap forward in our evolution, this realization of the Self, this manifestation of the Spirit, this ability to feel the very essence of our being on our central nervous system. Self-realisation is a great gift, through which we gain sweet meditation, our health, well-being, peace and joy. Our oneness with the Spirit. The Agnya. Sixth of the main energy centres, situated at the crossing of the optic thalamus (the pineal and pituuitary glands). It influences, and is influenced by, what we see, what we hear, what we think. The day of the week that the Agnya chakra is associated with is Sunday, its colour is white, its planet is the sun, its element is light (this is very important – we’ll be coming back to it) its gemstone is diamond, its place on the hand – where we can feel if the Agnya energy centre is clear and doing its job – or not – is the ring finger, and the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ was directly related to the opening up of this chakra. Continue Reading » Tags: Agnya chakra, forgiveness, Lord Jesus Christ, Lord's prayer Print This Post Posted in Introduction | No Comments » The three channels Jul 22nd, 2008 In each human being, the energy flows in one of three different channels. For simplicity we refer to them as the left, right and centre. Prior to Self-realization through Sahaja Yoga, the energy flows – the attention settles – in the left or the right. The left – the tamo guna – is concerned with desire, with yesterdays, with the moon, with conditioning, with memory. If the left side is out of kilter we can become cold, insecure, depressed, fearful. On the other side is the right channel – the rajo guna – concerned with action, with tomorrows, with the sun, with planning. If the right side is out of kilter we can become tense, aggressive, even violent. Some of us swing from one side to the other, and back again with painful consequences. But Self-realization opens up the central channel – the satwa guna – bringing about the yoga, the union of the spirit with the Divine energy of creation. And once this central channel has been opened, then good meditation, health and well-being follow. When the energy flows along this central channel the other two – the left and the right – are brought into balance so that insecurity and depression on one side, tension and aggression on the other, disappear. The energy that flows through the central channel is called kundalini, a sanskrit word. There is no English word for it. This power is the mothering energy in us, the nurturing energy, the energy that transforms us into spiritual beings. It is a reflection, in miniature, of Divinity. It is a seed of God’s power, the First Power, the Adi Shakti, the Holy Spirit, the Devi, the Feminine Aspect of God. The Goddess. And it is our honouring of this Divinity within us, our dedication, our worship, that strengthens the flow of kundalini, and opens up the rich world of the spirit. Brian Bell Tags: ida, kundalini, pingala, rajo guna, satwa guna, self-realisation, sushumna, tamo guna Print This Post Posted in Introduction | 1 Comment » Self-realisation Jul 2nd, 2008 Self-realisation is a frequently used – and often misused – word. In common parlance it can mean discovering the power to get on top of things, or making big personal discoveries, but technically it means the realisation – that is the manifestation – of the Self – which is the Spirit. In other words, the ability to feel the Spirit on the central nervous system. And to be able to feel the spirit on the central nervous system each person must gain – and there are a lot of names for it – the experience of moksha, union, yoga, liberation, the rhu, all names for the same thing – the experience of Self-realisation. Again technically, this is the awakening of the life force in us – in Sanskrit, it’s called kundalini - which resides in the sacrum bone at the very base of the spine, and its rising up through the various energy centres along the spine to make the union – the yoga – with the great energy of creation around us. This union takes place at the very top of the head, at the Sahasrara, the so-called Crown chakra. In earlier days, when this experience of Self-realisation was desired by seekers of truth, they had to dedicate themselves fully to the task, working very hard over a long period of time. Sometimes with a guru or spiritual master, sometime on their own, undertaking penances and a tough life in some isolated, inhospitable place. Why the long hard work? Well, through conditioning and fears, through over-emotionalism, lust, lethargy and ritualism on one side, or, on the other, greed, over-activity, living in the future, egocentricity, the desire to dominate, through any or all of these activities, these energy centers of ours, these chakras, become misaligned and they collect, over time, a lot of impurities, a lot of negativity. And since these energy centres affect our whole being – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual – they are of major importance to our development, our evolution. Well, these earlier seekers of truth, through their dedication and hard work would clear, one by one, each energy centre, making way for the kundalini to rise, until, eventually, the Sahasrara or Crown chakra was reached, and Self-realisation took place, granting powers – health, balance, well-being, peace, Divine knowledge, joy. Well, in our day and age, things have changed. In fact, the old, harsh processes have been turned on their heads. Now, today, it is possible, through the grace of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the founder of Sahaja Yoga, to gain Self-realisation in a very simple way. All that is necessary is desire, and the appropriate circumstances. So now-a-days, instead of clearing out the energy centres in order to gain Self-realisation, the opposite process takes place: Self-realisation is granted in order to clear out our energy centres, clear our whole subtle energy system. Self-realisation, gained in this way, becomes a natural, spontaneous part of our evolution. It’s is the first time in human history that this collective way of gaining Self-realisation has been used. And since 1970 Shri Mataji has been travelling the world granting seekers the gift of moksha. Brian Bell Tags: meditation, moksha, rhu, sahaja yoga, self-realisation, Spirit, spirituality Print This Post Posted in Introduction | No Comments » And God Created the Cosmos May 19th, 2008 And God created the created the Cosmos. “Before a cosmic cycle (the Creation) starts, the ultimate reality is undifferentiated as Parabrahma; it is infinity, abstract, without manifestation. The Creation starts when this reality separates into two; Sri Sadashiva the Primordial Father, and Sri Adi Shakti, the Primordial Mother. “HE” is the Eternal Witness; “SHE” is His power, the Holy Ghost.” Shri Mataji Continue Reading » Tags: "Shri Mataji", Add new tag, meditation, sahaja yoga, seeker, self-mastery, self-realisation Print This Post Posted in Introduction | No Comments » Seeker’s Entreaty May 11th, 2008 It has been prophesised that a spiritual age would come marking the end of one cycle, and the beginning of new creative period in which all things would be now possible. At that time, God the Mother and the Preserver and into whose self the world is absorbed will be born upon the Earth. Having already saved humanity on a number of occasions, symbolically appearing as Protector and Saviour in many different forms. The great Goddess will appear to take humanity to a different and higher plane. We have lived in a world where political rulers are people desiring power, inflicting death on innocent people, are prone to take the land and possessions of others and are obsessed with holding onto their earthly power. We live in a time when the Earth is valued only for her mineral treasures. Money alone confers nobility. Power is now the sole definition of virtue upon the Earth. It is no wonder that nations have become greedy and untruthful, the powerful rule over all the people of the earth. Continue Reading » Tags: "Shri Mataji", Prayer Print This Post Posted in Introduction | 2 Comments »

about Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

Birth and Childhood

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

was born on March 21, 1923 to a Christian family in Chindawara, India. Her parents were Prasad and Cornelia Salve, direct descendants of the royal Shalivahana dynasty. Seeing the beauty of this child who was born with a spotless brilliance, they called her Nirmala, which means 'Immaculate'.
Later on she came to be known by the multitudes by the name of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi - the revered Mother who was born with her complete Self Realization and knew from a very young age that she had a unique gift which had to be made available to all mankind.

Her parents played a key role in India's Liberation Movement from under British rule. Her father, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and helped write free India's first constitution. He was a renowned scholar, master of 14 languages, and translated the Koran in Marathi. Her mother was the first woman in India to receive an Honors Degree in Mathematics.

Fighting for India's Freedom

As a child, Shri Mataji lived with her parents in the ashram of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi saw the wisdom of this child and used to appreciate her immensely, affectionately calling her Nepali due to the Nepali features of her face. Even at a young age, her deep understanding was evident to Gandhi, who frequently sought her advice on spiritual matters.

Shri Mataji's involvement in the freedom struggle is extremely remarkable. She was very courageous and played a daring role as a youth leader of this campaign. In the 1942 "Quit India Movement" announced by Gandhi, she was even arrested and put in jail along with other freedom fighters for actively participating in this movement.

Shri Mataji was born with a complete understanding of the human nervous system and its energetic counterparts. In order to become acquainted with the scientific vocabulary attached to these subjects, she studied medicine and psychology at the Christian Medical College in Lahore.

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Sahaja Yoga is born

Shortly before India achieved independence she married Sir. C.P. Srivastava, one of India's most dedicated civil servant officers, who was knighted by the Queen of England. In India it is believed that the wife brings luck to her husband - this is most certainly the case for Sir. C.P. Srivastava.

He rose in government ranks very quickly though he was an absolutely honest person. He held the post of the Joint Secretary to the Prime Minister's office of the late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri in the years 1964-66. Shastri himself was an ideal model for a Prime Minister in India's political history. Afterwards he was elected for 16 consecutive years to be the Secretary General of the United Nations International Maritime Organization.

As Sir C.P. Srivastava moved in fame from the Indian history to the worldly scene, Shri Mataji, after fulfilling her familial duty of bringing up her two daughters, embarked on her spiritual mission.

Although she knew about her own spiritual consciousness she did not know how to present it to the people of modern times. She was also aware of the problems encountered by the earlier spiritual personalities who came on this earth like Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, and others when they prophesized the truth directly to the people.

As she was pondering on the many faceted problems confronting human beings, on the 5th of May, 1970, on a lonely beach of Nargol (about 150 km from Mumbai) a divine spiritual experience filled her whole being and suddenly she found an answer to her question. She discovered a historical process of en-masse Self Realisation through which thousands of people could get this connection to their Spirit and thereby their inner transformation.

Sahaja (=Spontaneous) Yoga (=Union with the Self) was born.

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Spreading of Sahaja Yoga around the world

Shri Mataji made this experiment of awakening the spiritual power of every human being (which the Hindus name the Kundalini, the Muslims as the Ruh and in the bible it is described as the Holy Ghost) and was amazed at the results.

She tried it first on people near to her and noticed they were transformed physically, mentally and spiritually. Slowly she found out that only this process had the potential solution for all human problems and therefore she decided to spread it on an en-masse level. She invested her own time and money to talk to people and give them the key to their own spiritual power. Those few people who started feeling this spiritual power, which flowed like a cool breeze over their whole body, especially over the palms of their hands and on top of their head (around the fontanel bone area) were quite astonished that it worked. Though they argued and disputed over it they could not disbelieve their own experience. Under the instructions of Shri Mataji they tried giving this power to others, which really gave them the faith that this was the true spiritual experience that was being prophesized in every religion.

Amazingly, without any financial support from any person, Shri Mataji neither charges for Her lectures nor for Her ability to give Self Realisation, nor does one have to become a member of this organisation. She insists that you cannot pay for your enlightenment and to-date she continues to denounce the false, self-proclaimed "gurus" who are more interested in the seekers' purse than their spiritual ascent (see our Seeker's Guide).

Since 1970, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi has kept a busy schedule, travelling around the world to teach the techniques of Sahaja Yoga meditation. She has demonstrated her capacity to trigger the awakening of the spiritual power in human beings (Kundalini) at an "en masse" level.

Large numbers of people, without distinction of race, religion, age or social status have acknowledged the value of her teachings by establishing Sahaja Yoga centers in over 75 nations. These people who live a normal family life, tap to their inner spiritual power through daily Sahaja Yoga meditation and have achieved a complete balance of their lives on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels. They understand the integration of all religions and spiritual paths not at a mental level, but through their direct, tangible experience on the central nervous system. Thousands of years ago, the Blossom Time was prophesized to come when, in these modern times of crisis, thousands of seekers of Truth are going to experience this connection with their Spirit.

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International achievements and recognition

An official guest in the former Soviet Union, she enabled over 100,000 people to experience their Self-Realization. She regularly speaks to audiences of 10,000 to 20,000 in the former Eastern bloc nations and has filled year after year the Royal Albert Hall in London for her conference on Sahaja Yoga.

Shri Mataji has delivered thousands of lectures, given many television and radio interviews, and been the subject of hundreds of newspaper articles around the world. An articulate speaker, Shri Mataji is the founder and sole director of Sahaja Yoga or "Vishwa Nirmala Dharma", which is an established non-profit organization in many countries worldwide.

Shri Mataji has been recognized worldwide by several prestigious institutions for her selfless work and for the powerful results of her spiritual teachings. In 1994, the Mayor of Brazil's capital welcomed Shri Mataji at the airport, presenting her with the key to the city, and sponsored all of her programs. In 1995, the Indian Government granted Shri Mataji a one hour primetime television series, broadcast nationally. During the same year, Shri Mataji was an official guest of the Chinese government and was invitied to speak at the International Women's Conference in Beijing. Also in 1995, she was awarded by the Romanian Ecological University an Honorary Doctorate in Cognitive and Parapsychological Sciences.

She has been recognized and greeted by the mayors of several cities in North America (Yonkers, NY, 1994 & 1996, Los Angeles, 1993 and 1994, British Columbia, 1994, Cincinnati 1992, Philadelphia 1993, Berkeley, 1997). She was given a Proclamation by the US Congress in 1997 which was submitted to the Congressional Records. Shri Mataji was declared "Personality of the Year" in 1986 by the Italian Government.

For all these, and more, see our awards and recognitions section.

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NGOs created by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

In her tremendous compassion and concern to alleviate human sufferings, Shri Mataji has been able to create a number of NGOs (Non Governmental Organisations) to solve the most immediate problems of the world in the last 25 years. To mention a few:

An international hospital in Mumbai to help patients all over the world to get a chance to cure themselves through Sahaja Yoga methods. This hospital has been producing quite successful results in curing a number of incurable diseases like cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis etc.
An international cancer research centre in Mumbai in order to study the effects of Sahaja Yoga methods on curing various illnesses, including psychosomatic diseases.
An international music school in Nagpur to promote classical music.
A charity house for the poor people in Delhi, to provide shelter to destitute and homeless people. Also to help them through the process of Sahaja Yoga to become better individuals.


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Conclusion

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi has dedicated her life to triggering the spiritual ascent of mankind through Self Realization, reclaiming the role of women in the spiritual evolution, and guiding humanity to correct today's moral dilemmas. It seems that the light of Gandhi's vision is being brought to fulfilment by this great lady who is revered as the compassionate Divine Mother by her followers, as the "Messenger of peace" by Ayatollah Rouhani, an Avatar of the modern era by Claes Nobel, grandnewphew of Albert Nobel (the creator of the Nobel foundation) and Chairman of United Earth.