Sahaja Yoga is about gaining self-realisation and developing, through meditation, those powers, those perceptions, that knowledge of the spirit, that oneness with Divinity which self-realisation grants. All of us are born with a life force, a seed of God’s love, within us. It is known by its Sanskrit name, Kundalini, and it resides at the base of the spine. This seed, sprouting, can rise up through the energy centres that exist along the spine, eventually piercing the crown of the head and emerging as a cool energy that can be felt.
The realisation of the self is just that – the process of gaining and becoming conscious of the self, the spirit. The spirit, in other words, becomes manifest on the central nervous system. In earlier days this process was a most arduous one requiring long-term sacrifices and dedication. Now, however, it has become possible for us to receive our self-realisation very easily, and very sweetly. This is because Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the founder of Sahaja Yoga, discovered in 1970 a simple way of granting the moksha, the enlightenment, the liberation, the rhu, self-realisation – all names for the same thing. If the desire is strong and the circumstances are appropriate, self-realisation, with all its wonder, can be gained.
Self-realisation draws our energy, our attention, into the central path of our being. This implies, of course, that there are other parts of our being that are not so centered. Indian philosophy can help us here, especially since it is concerned with doing, being, living – not, as in the West, where philosophy is concerned with thinking and giving active shape to thought.
Indian philosophy holds that the attention can flow along the raja guna which is the right side, the tama guna which is the left side, or the satwa guna, the central path.
So, let’s consider the right side first. What is it? The right side, in its extreme, can be demanding, aggressive, hard-edged, harsh, sun-bright. It’s about self-promotion. It’s concerned with tomorrow, projecting into the future. And being in the right side can cause tensions, anger, even violence.
And the left side, the tama guna? Again, in the extreme, it is emotional, pulling on memories, moon-lit. It’s about the pain of lost joys; it’s regretful, yearning. It’s all about yesterdays and sorrows. Being in the left side can cause insecurity, depression, opting out.
And between left and right, there’s the centre. The centre is balance, grace. It is gently confident, drawing us into ourselves, reflective. A song that sings of the centre says, “Come, the Mother calls you to go deeper in silence, to find the earth of your beginning; that innocence within you, that innocence unfolding from which flow the rivers of your soul.”
The left and right channels are, of course, part of our being. A very necessary part. They are not all bad. We can have good memories and make good plans. And when we are centred, when we are balanced, the left and right sides play their appropriate roles. However, when aspects of the left or the right start to predominate, start to take us over, then we run into troubles. In the far left, insecurity can turn into depression and even forms of cancer. In the far right, heavy thinking and anger can turn into diabetes or violence. It’s the peace and open-heartedness we can achieve through our self-realisation, granted to us through the grace of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, that bring everything into the good balance.
Brian Bell