“Freedom and Liberation” in Brisbane

On Sunday 25 May 2008, “Nirmala Devi – Freedom and Liberation” was shown at the Logan Entertainment Centre. Preceding the film, the Brisbane Sahaja Yoga music group, “Sahaj Sangeet”, performed for 40 minutes.

Even though the film had been shown previously during March this year, this was the Brisbane Sahaja yogis’ first event at a large venue. We had decided to go all out and the music group had been practising for weeks. More than 25,000 flyers were distributed in 13 suburbs and posters placed in most of the libraries. A broadcast email was sent out to all Queensland subscribers. The Entertainment Centre also promoted the event on their website and in their weekly newsletter. Glenda, Coralie and Robert did a radio interview and a newspaper article with photos appeared in the “Logan and Albert News”.

During the planning stage, it soon became apparent, as Glenda constantly reminded us, that the venue staff were extremely professional and their desire to give us the best chance of success was foremost. At 10.00am on the day of the event, the musicians arrived for sound checks which were thoroughly performed by the audio technicians. We rehearsed a few of our songs while adjustments were made. It certainly sounded impressive.

Dr Akshay was to be our “anchorman” and to finish our rehearsal, he went through his introduction after which we did our run-on behind closed curtains.

It soon became time to change into our kurtas and saris and get ready for the big event. Ten minutes before curtain time, we lined up in the order in which we would be sitting and silently raised our kundalinis, sitting in quiet meditation.

Then we heard Dr Akshay’s voice welcoming everyone and announcing the sequence of events. We had no way of knowing how many people were sitting behind that curtain but we hoped there were many.

Suddenly, Glenda waved us forward and we quickly took our places on stage. As the curtain drew back, we started singing the “Maha Mantras”.

We looked into the audience but saw only complete darkness! All the lights were on us! At first this was a little disconcerting, but then we forgot about the audience, and just gave it our all. The mood lights were constantly changing and sometimes we would get a glimpse of a few faces.

All too soon, we had finished our performance and the curtain drew back again. Now the audience was actually clapping!

We made our way backstage to the welcome lunch which the yoginis had provided. After the 20-minute interval we joined the audience on the balcony to watch the film.

Everyone seemed to be intently interested and at the conclusion of the film, Dr Akshay demonstrated where to place the hands. Then the screen faded to Shri Mataji giving Self-realisation. Only one couple left at this point and even the two audio technicians got their realisation.

We found out later that a little over one hundred people had attended. For Queensland this is probably our best result so far. We later mingled with the crowd in the foyer, handing out flyers and talking to interested people. All the comments we received were favourable and it certainly gives us encouragement to do more events of this kind in the future.

Peter Hewitson

Add comment June 1st, 2008

Heart and Higher Heart

A heart is healthy not only if it gives but also if it receives. If for some reasons it cannot, then it aches and can make the whole body and the whole being become sick. It hurts because we are human beings. So whatever affects the heart can have an enormous impact on our moods and personality, on our physical health and spiritual wellbeing.

As Sahaj yogis, even if we are dealing with difficult people or difficult situations, our heart can ascend to a higher level. After Self-realisation, our enlightened attention can take us through the reactions of ego and super ego and rise to Sahasrara. Thus we enter a new and higher realm of pure forgiveness and of pure love, in which the heart can expand and let the vibrations flow both ways to the whole (also called Heaven on Earth).

After realisation, we are all walking on that path and our Kundalini (our inner spiritual Mother) is pushing us to grow and ascend as much as She can, and as much as we accept to face ourselves.

The tendency in this modern world is to make brain our God and believe that everything can be explained. But brain cannot explain heart. Being ourselves so small, how can we even think of trying, even more when it comes to our inner spiritual Mother’s Heart?

How can we explain the love that a normal human mother’s heart can have for her child or children? Where is it coming from? That love is so powerful, it can move mountains if it has to; it can fight to death if it has to. It can protect, heal, comfort but also correct, guide, strengthen. There is no end to what it can give and do. But this love (present in all of us) can become sick and tired if it is not allowed or not in a position to give or receive. Both movements of giving and receiving are essential for a heart to be healthy, to remain strong so that this Love can flow freely and without effort.

Raising our heart beyond brain is like freeing ourselves from all these entanglements that can be so overwhelming in life. It is the expansion of our small heart to a higher dimension, a higher Heart that encompasses and cares for the Whole world.

Our Heart belongs to Thee, our Heart belongs to our higher spiritual Mother (both ways), if we let it.

Meenakshi Pujari

(Photograph: www. sahajaradio.org)

2 comments May 15th, 2008

The Aquarian Age

So, now a New Age has started which is called the Age of Aquarius, meaning the pitcher carrier of spiritual holy water that is the work of Kundalini. (Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi)

Since the 1960s and ’70s there has been much talk about the Aquarian Age, especially due to the song, “Age of Aquarius”, from the musical, “Hair”. The words, “New Age”, refering to the Aquarian Age, have also become commonplace and seem to refer to a wide range of alternative philosophies, music, therapies, meditations, exercises and diets. But what is the real significance of the Aquarian Age?

Western astrological thought indicates that we have just come out of the Piscean Age and have entered the Aquarian Age. Each Cosmic Age lasts about 2,000 years and has its own atmosphere or world view due to the influence of the prevailing zodiac sign on all of the planets during their transit, as well as their configurations and the relationships between them.

Dan Costian PhD, author of “Bible Enlightened”, relates that in each Cosmic Age a new avatar or incarnation of the Divine took birth on the earth in human form in order to reveal another aspect of spirituality to human beings. In the Age of Gemini (c6000 – c4000BC) this Divine incarnation was Rama, in the Age of Taurus (c4000 – c2000BC) it was Krishna, and in the Age of Aries (c2000 – 1BC) it was Abraham, Moses, Zarathustra, Confucius, Lao-Tse and Socrates. In essence, the planets “set the scene” by providing the atmosphere or mood of the time to harmonise with and to reflect the message of the incarnation of the Divine of that Age.

The Age of Pisces extended from about 1AD to about the year 2000. The avatar or incarnation of the divine in this Age was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The early Christians used the symbol of the fish, the sign of Pisces, in order to recognise each other. The birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem had been foretold by the prophets and was heralded by a star in the East, which guided the Three Wise Men to the baby in the stable.

Various predictions about the date of the beginning of the Age of Aquarius have been made. The Adi Sahasrara, the seventh and last chakra, was opened on 5 May 1970. This cosmic phenomenon was witnessed by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi and she has described it in one of her lectures. This event has paved the way for the spontaneous awakening of the Kundalini energy so that people en masse can receive their Self-realisation, their connection with the Divine. I believe that this is the date of the beginning of the Aquarian Age.

So what can we expect the Age of Aquarius to be like? Eccentricity, originality, independent thought, love of innovation and contempt for tradition are all strong traits of Aquarius. So we can expect that there will be a shake-up of the old order and a questioning of all ideas about society, religion and relationships. This will lead to a search for new ways of being.

This time of questioning started happening in the late 1960s and ’70s when a lot of old ideas, traditions and indoctrinations were examined and thrown out. It led to the sexual revolution, a lot of experimenting with drugs and experimenting with new religions mostly from India, including ones promulgated by false gurus who saw an opportunity to make money. So it had quite a few negative consequences, but it was necessary for people to move beyond the staid, narrow ways of looking at things that had prevailed for some time and to become “seekers of truth”. Under the influence of Aquarius people will not accept what others tell them and like to learn through their own experimentation and experience.

Aquarius encourages the progress of humanitarian and social causes. So the Aquarian Age is one where pure love and altruism prevail. People work selflessly for the good of the whole, without exploiting or manipulating others.

Unity and integration are themes of the Aquarian Age. We can look forward to a truly multicultural world where individual differences are valued and respected while at the same time we are able to work co-operatively for the good of everyone. The sign opposite Aquarius is Leo which has an ennobling and enriching influence.

Originality and innovation are qualities of Aquarius. So we can expect inventiveness and creativity in all spheres of life.

The truth is another important aspect of Aquarius. All falseness and corruption should disappear. The appearance or exterior will be less important while the essence will be of utmost importance.

We can look forward to an end to “blind faith” in religion and to a time when the mystical knowledge that has been hidden and kept secret will be revealed – a time when people will be their own gurus, and know the truth within themselves, with the rising of their Kundalini.

Now very interesting it is to see that this Kundalini is the one which is called as the Kumbha – in Sanskrit language, means the Aquarius. We call it Aquarius, as one of the signs, and is the same as Kumbha in Sanskrit language. So it is the Age of Aquarius, is the Age of the Kundalini. Secondly is the Age of the Kundalini which will nourish, which is the Mother within you, which will rise, will give you the completeness of it, and which will connect you with your Spirit which ultimately gives you the enlightenment by which you become collectively conscious. (Shri Mataji Nirmal Devi, 1983).

All of these positive changes will not happen if we sit back and do nothing. The time is right for them to happen, but we must desire the change and take steps to bring about the change within ourselves. The first step is to desire to have your Kundalini awakening. The second step is to go through the process of attaining Self-realisation. You can do this by going to the link:

Sahaja Yoga Meditation – Self-realisation

The third step is to meditate regularly, preferably with other Sahaja Yogis as the meditation is easier and more powerful in a collective situation. So that means contacting the nearest Sahaja Yoga centre and attending the beginners’ classes, which are always free. By doing this you will be helping all the positive aspects of the true Aquarian Age to manifest on our earth.

Kay Alford

(Photograph: beyondthelookingglass.org)

2 comments May 1st, 2008

A Joyful Day at Woodstock Community Centre

Many thanks to Greta and Melike for their report on the joyful day at Woodstock Community Centre in Burwood, Sydney,  where Sahaja Yoga participated in Burwood Council’s 2008 International Women’s Day celebrations. 

“Everything in Sahaja Yoga is always sahaja, i.e. spontaneous, and this day wasn’t any different. Room 2, upstairs, was allotted to us.  Just as we had set up the room the way we wanted, the organiser came to tell us that we had to move to Room 1, downstairs, because the television set was too big to be brought up.  Dismantling quickly, we set up again in the new room, only to realise that it was much better and perfect for our needs!  We were located just off the main auditorium with a lot of traffic.  We had planned to screen a lecture given by Shri Mataji which was on DVD but when we got to Room 1, we found only a video machine.  So once again, a change of tack was required, and the three meditation sessions scheduled before the screening of the film turned into one long session while the right equipment was obtained. 

The organisers were very helpful and supportive of our efforts, steering people towards us throughout the day. About 40 to 50 people got their Self-realisation.  There were many interesting activities which vied for visitors’ time, thus preventing many from participating in the meditation sessions.  However, handbills for the film, Freedom and Liberation, flyers showing the nearest Sahaja Yoga public programs, and Sahaja Yoga information pamphlets were distributed, with everyone expressing a sincere desire for follow-up.

The meditation session helped to clear the atmosphere in the room, lightening it as the heart chakra opened.  Just as we finished the meditation, people flowed into the room for the screening of the film, only to find the fuse had blown! This created another glitch, with most of the people streaming out again to get refreshments.  By the time the electricity problem had been solved an almost new group of people had settled into the seats.  These people watched the screening of the film, The Vision, and enjoyed the experience of the guided Self-realisation meditation.  Everyone felt the peace and quiet of the Cool Breeze of the Spirit.  Many of the women live locally and expressed their desire to attend the free Sahaja Yoga programs at the Belmore Community Centre in Burwood.

Somewhere in the morning I found a few minutes to get a cup of tea.  One of the ladies who had come in during the meditation session came up to me and said, “I don’t know if I’m imagining it or not, but I am moving much more freely”, indicating that she felt much freer in the joints.  I looked at her smiling, calm face and told her that it wasn’t her imagination but that this is what happens when people do Sahaja Yoga, and that there is often an instantaneous relief of whatever problem they may have had previously.  It was very satisfying to know that we had made a difference. 

No-one left without feeling the Cool Breeze, and right up to the last minute people were coming to take their Self-realisation.  A few women’s organisations asked for introductory meditation sessions to be held at their own venues. We also left flyers and brochures on the community centre’s information table for any future visitors to the centre.

A special thank you to Aunty Joy whose initial research had made it possible for Sahaja Yoga to contribute towards the celebrations for International Women’s Day 2008, “Women’s Business: Celebrating 100 Years of Paid and Unpaid Work” sponsored by Burwood Council.  We would also like to thank the staff of Burwood Council for making our participation an enjoyable event. ”

Greta and Melike

1 comment March 18th, 2008