The Pure Heart

When the heart is purified with sincerity
Then even enemies become friends.
Tigers may come near but will never attack one.
Poison offered to such a one will turn into nectar,
Any harm directed towards him will result into good,
Harsh words will sound polite.
Any pain afflicted will become the source of happiness.
The flames of fire will turn cool.
For God All Merciful is pleased.
If one’s heart is full of compassion,
If one loves others more than oneself,
God will look upon such a one with an eye of mercy
And bless his heart with His presence.

Tukaram (1608-1660)

(Photograph: dabase.org)

3 comments April 10th, 2008

Freedom and Liberation

Freedom and Liberation is the title of an inspiring new film about the life of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. Having premiered in Germany in 2007, the film will shortly be shown in many countries of the world to celebrate the 85th Birthday of Shri Mataji, on 21 March 2008.

Freedom and Liberation traces the life of Shri Mataji from her very early years growing up in India as Nirmala Salve, the daughter of Prasadrao and Cornelia Salve. While the family was wealthy, having descended from the Indian Shalivahan dynasty, all that was to change with the coming of Mahatma Gandhi’s Independence movement, working to free India from many centuries of British rule. Shri Mataji had already met Gandhi and stayed at his ashram on many occasions. Gandhi was very fond of Nirmala, and recognised that there was something very special about her.

As Shri Mataji’s parents were very active in the Independence movement, helping to organise protests against British rule, they went to gaol many times. As a small child, she was often left to look after the family. From living in large, expensive homes, the family came to live in huts. However, the children knew how important their parents’ fight was.

With the coming of freedom in India, Shri Mataji was able to turn her attention to her vision, the liberation of human beings from the chains of ego, greed, hatred and conditionings. She knew that she had a special task to undertake, but it was many years before she started her spiritual work. In the meantime, she married, became a mother and then a grandmother. As her husband, Sir CP Srivastava, was a distinguished diplomat and later Secretary-General of the United Nations Shipping Corporation, she moved in very high-level circles.

One day, however, Shri Mataji realised that she had to do something to save humanity from the fraudulent “gurus” who were robbing, misguiding and ruining people in the name of spirituality. She meditated deeply for a long time, and on the night of 5 May 1970 she opened the Sahasrara of the world, an event that symbolised the next great step in the evolution of humankind.

From this time, her real work began. Starting with small groups in India, she developed a unique method for giving realisation to people. Then she developed a method for giving realisation en masse, to many thousands of people at a time. She called this method Sahaja Yoga.

After moving to London because of her husband’s work, Shri Mataji gave realisation to groups of people in England. From this time, she began to travel tirelessly , first to Europe and then further afield, talking to people and giving realisation. Her message spread throughout the world, and today Sahaja Yoga is practised in over 100 countries.

The film is unique in that it shows recent interviews, not previously seen, of Shri Mataji and her family. It provides insights into the tremendous love, compassion and humility of Shri Mataji  that drove her to undertake this enormous work.

The film was made in Germany, directed by Carolin Dassel and produced by devifilm GbR (Carolin Dassel and Joseph Reidinger). If you want to find out more about the film, follow the link: www.freemeditation.com/freedom

During March 2008, the film is being shown all over the world. If you want to have details of screening sessions in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and Romania, follow the link: www.freemeditation.com/freedom

Film session times for Australia are shown below: 

Australian Capital Territory
Belconnen
Friday 14 March, 7.00pm
Belconnen Theatre, Belconnen Community Centre, Chandler Street, Belconnen

New South Wales
Sydney: Contact 0425 237 062

Strathfield
Saturday 15 March, 7.30pm to 10.00pm
Strathfield Town Hall, Cnr Homebush Rd and Redmyre Rd, Strathfield

Cremorne
Monday 17 March, 6.30pm to 9.00pm
Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, 380 Military Rd, Cremorne

Paddington
Tuesday 18 March, 6.30pm to 9.00pm
Chauvel Cinema, Paddington Town Hall, Cnr Oxford St & Oatley Rd, Paddington (entrance on Oatley Rd)

Katoomba
Sunday 16 March, 3 pm
Edge Cinema, Katoomba    

Avoca
Saturday 15 March, 2.00pm
Avoca Beach Picture Theatre, Avoca Drive, Avoca

Queensland
Cairns
Friday 28 March, 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
Meeting Room, Cairns City Council Library, Abbott St, Cairns

South Australia
University of Adelaide
Saturday 15 March, 4.30pm to 7.00pm
Napier Lecture Theatre, University of Adelaide

Goodwood
Saturday 15 March, 4.30pm to 7.00pm
Goodwood Community Centre, 32-34 Rosa Street, Goodwood

Tasmania
Contact: (03) 6245 1476 or 0416 435 278

Hobart
Tuesday 18 March, 7pm
Community Centre, Cooper St, Glenorchy

Burnie
Wednesday 19 March, 7.00pm
Health Centre, Jones St, Burnie

Devonport
Thursday 20 March, 12.00 noon
Library, 21 Oldaker Street, Devonport

Launceston
Thursday 20 March, 7.00pm
Community Centre McHugh St, Kings Meadows

Victoria
Contact: 1300 742 242

Melbourne
Friday 14 March, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
Saturday 15 March, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
Treasury Theatre, Treasury Place, Melbourne

5 comments February 29th, 2008

Power of the Goddess

The power of the Goddess that you have got within yourself has now to be deliberately projected….

The power of the Goddess is of love. Whatever She does with the whole world is through her compassion and love. The whole body, the whole being of the Goddess is made of compassion and love and nothing else. This power gives full understanding of the reality and also this enlightenment inside and outside.

For example, if you love somebody, you know everything about that person. It has nothing to do with money. It’s the highest, most valuable, very important power that you have. Even when you think about something noble, something benevolent, this power is filled into that thought and then this thought fills in, into the universe, into your country, into individuals.

The aim of this compassion and love is only one: to see everyone joyous – that’s all, joyous in the real sense of the word. This power cares for the collective as well as for the individual. It cares for the whole world as well as a particular nation. All the time this power works – especially in modern times – to better the lives of the people of the whole world …. So it’s like an ocean of love and compassion that wants to touch every shore. It wants to touch every heart but some are just like stones….

Thus, this love is the power of the Goddess. It is very subtle, silent, but it manifests…. It is this Goddess who is ruling this universe, who is in your centre heart, who looks after you and looks after the whole universe. It is nothing but the pure desire of love. It knows how to express. It knows how to act. You don’t have to do anything. It is spontaneous. What goes against it is your mental activity because the mental activity will say, “Oh my, how can you love somebody like this? It’s no use.” It’s a mental activity which gives you funny ideas. The mental activity is limited and linear. Everybody has different fixed ideas. That’s why they are fighting. That’s why they are having wars. But this power, which is of love, gives you the absolute truth. Then how can you fight? So what we need is this power because our power is very limited.

Shri Mataji, 1995

Add comment February 19th, 2008

Blueprint for Life

It is now widely acknowledged that our life and what happens to us on the outside, in our relationships, at work, at home, depends on the state of our being on the inside, that is, how we think and feel and how we act, whether it be with kindness, selfishness, anger or compassion. This is because all human beings have inside them a “subtle system”, which is a blueprint that incorporates all the ways we should conduct ourselves in our lives. Our lives on the outside are a reflection of the condition of this subtle system. If we live in accordance with this blueprint and are able to balance our subtle system, then our lives will be happier, healthier and more productive.

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, who founded Sahaja Yoga in 1970, has given many public lectures about this subtle system and how it works. The subtle system consists of seven chakras, three channels and the residual life force, which is a dormant energy called the Kundalini which resides in the sacrum bone at the bottom of the spine. 

Each of the seven chakras has certain qualities which manifest in our lives when the chakras are clear. For example, if our heart chakra is clear we will show the traits of courage and compassion in our lives. If there is a blockage in a chakra, it manifests in our lives. For example, a blockage in the Nabhi chakra may lead to us having problems with money. When the Nabhi chakra is cleared either the financial difficulties will disappear or we just won’t be worried about them any more and we will find a way to manage. 

The three channels need to be in balance. When the left side and the right side are balanced we can operate in the central channel, which is the present. In order to be in the present, we need to achieve our Self-realisation, which occurs when the Kundalini rises up the central channel, through the limbic area in the brain and out of the fontanelle bone area at the top of the head to unite with the All-pervading Power of the universe.

When this happens, we become connected to the universal, Divine power that created us. We become more knowledgeable about ourselves and are able to know the state of our subtle system, our chakras and channels. As we begin to meditate and strengthen this connection after attaining our Self-realisation, we become “thoughtlessly aware” and our Kundalini flows through our chakras, clearing them. As a consequence we become better people, we automatically act in more constructive ways and all our bad habits drop out. We begin to demonstrate the positive characteristics of the chakras in our behaviour, and the positive qualities of the chakras manifest in our lives.

Recent research has shown that people are happiest when they demonstrate the “virtues” in their lives. It is already well-known that people who are happy have stronger immune systems and are healthier than those who are not. Investigation of over 200 religious and philosophical texts including the Upanishads, the Koran, ancient Greek philosophers and Christian texts has demonstrated that there are six universally accepted traits that are regarded as virtues that are revered in every society. They are wisdom, courage, compassion, judgement, self-discipline and forgiveness. The universality of these traits indicates that they are innate and are part of the blueprint of human beings. The fact that people feel happiest when they express these virtues in their behaviour also indicates that they form an innate part of the human experience.

It is time that we looked inside and looked to our roots, in order to find happiness and fulfillment that will be for our good, and for the good of our family, our town, our country and ultimately for the good of the whole world. As Shri Mataji considers it the birthright of every human being to have their Self-realisation and the knowledge of the subtle system, Sahaja Yoga is always taught free of charge. 

Kay Alford

(Photograph: wikimediacommons)

Add comment December 29th, 2007