A beautiful daughter, beachside home, family and friends close by, a well-paid, part-time job within walking distance of home and a great social life that came with free babysitters – that was my life before I came to Sahaja Yoga. Compared with our previous home, a small cramped house in inner Sydney, I felt as though I was on a permanent holiday. However, I kept yearning for something else. I described it once as wanting to find my spirit’s home.
When I told a friend about this yearning she brought me the local paper to show me an advertisement about a Sahaja Yoga program, complete with Indian music, food and meditation. It was a four-week course at a library in a nearby suburb and it was free. It sounded great and I told my friend that I would go.
I was not a “new age” person and knew nothing about the Kundalini or self-realisation. I did, however, have dreams from time to time that were premonitions. These dreams always left me with a strong awareness of their message when I awoke.
I had a strict deadline at work and, as usual, was behind schedule. So, the day before the program I decided not to go. However, that night I had one of those dreams. I dreamed I was at the library walking around with a pile of books in my arms. I came to a doorway and looked in. There were two men standing in the room getting ready for the Sahaja Yoga program. I kept walking. When I passed the room a second time, the two men approached me and asked if I was going to the program. I said that I couldn’t because I was too busy. One of the men smiled at me and said, “What a shame! Because you think you are so busy, you will miss out, and this is just for you. It is what you are looking for.” When I awoke the next morning, I remembered the dream and knew that I had to go to the program.
As I got there, I was puffing away on the last of my daily packet of cigarettes.
When I walked in, I was dumbstruck. The room was exactly as it had appeared in my dream and, amazingly, two of the men present were the same ones who had approached me in my dream!
When the presenter was explaining the process of self-realisation, I found it very difficult to believe and decided to leave. However, as I was about to leave, a video began. It was Shri Mataji. I couldn’t take my eyes from Her, and Her opening words captured my attention. She asked us to keep an open mind like a scientist and to see for ourselves how it works. I decided to listen. Every word that Shri Mataji uttered, provided the missing pieces of the jigsaw that formed my life. I hung on Her every word.
Before I knew it, I was doing exactly as I was told to get my realization. When I held my palm over the top of my head, I felt the cool breeze that I had scoffed at in the beginning. It was there! I felt transformed, but I didn’t realise the magnitude of this transformation until later, when I realised I had forgotten to buy my essential packet of cigarettes.
I saw another friend on the way home who exclaimed, “Whatever you’ve had, I want a ton of it! Look at your eyes! You look amazing!”
Unused to such a greeting, I mumbled something about a wonderful meditation program and raced home to see for myself. When I looked in the mirror, I saw that I had a glow and my eyes were sparkling. My whole face looked softer. I had changed! My spirit had come home.
I continued to meditate and, before I knew it, nights on the town, alcohol and smoking were replaced with peace, joy and an amazing feeling of contentment. I am forever grateful to Shri Mataji for finding me.
LB