Meditation
The Sahasrara Chakra, or crown chakra, is situated at the fontanelle area at the top of the head. Fontanelle means fountain, and there are many references to the cool breezes that blow and the fountains that flow in the Kingdom of Heaven, above, in all major religious texts and mystical traditions.
As man is the epitome of evolution, so the epitome of man is the joyful integration at Sahasrara Chakra. Each day allow the attention to rise into Sahasrara and dissolve within the cool breeze of your Kundalini.
The Sahaja Yoga affirmations for the Sahasrara Chakra are: “Mother, by your grace I am protected from all the challenges to my ascent”; and “Mother, verily You are the Victory over all the challenges to my ascent.”
The Sahasrara is the uppermost point of the manifest Creation. It is a privileged place for us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven within. Here in silent majesty is the subtle source point for the three great powers that create, sustain and resolve the creation in all its myriad forms. At this point we go beyond the relativity of temporal existence, beyond time and drama, spontaneously in the Flow of the Divine
vibrations. This is the point of Oneness, the realisation of Heaven on Earth, achieved by the Sahaja Yogi. Here the complete perfection of the human potential begins to flower. The awakened cool breeze of Kundalini begins to cleanse and nourish the whole subtle body and the Grace of God falls within.
In the Silence of Sahasrara the whole instrument is integrated. Each chakra has its place. Here the Kundalini opens the lotus petals of the Sahasrara and enlightenment or realisation takes place.
After realisation, you may feel a pulsation and a flow of cool vibrations. This is the baptism by which you know you are truly born again. Your new vibrational awareness signals that you have moved into the subtlest level of communication, in collective consciousness.
We become vessels for Divine power and our presence begins to awaken others. We learn to appreciate the real depth and beauty of people, of Nature and all things by their vibrations. We no longer judge by opinion but by vibrations. Just ask a question and a positive answer comes as a flow of cool vibrations. Just sit in meditation and ask the vibrations. It is conversation at its most sublime.
The presiding deity of Sahasrara, Sri Kalki, is still to come. With His eleven destroying powers (Ekadesha Rudra) He is the final, most awesome incarnation of the evolving principle of Shri Vishnu. Meanwhile, we have the presence of Shri Mataji to awaken the seekers of the world to their rightful inheritance and their
fully enlightened powers. Shri Mataji, as the source of this MahaYoga, has Her place, too, at the Sahasrara.
As Shri Mataji has said, “Without opening the Sahasrara, God itself was a myth, religion itself was a myth, all talk about divinity was a myth. People believed in it but it was just a belief. Now if the will of God is so important, it has to be proved. Now through Sahaja Yoga, after the breaking of the Sahasrara, you have now, for the first time, felt the will of God, which is such an important thing. Now the will of God you are feeling on your finger tips. After realisation, you have discovered the absolute science which is the will of God.”
Pavan Keatley
(Illustration: sahajayogaspirituality.com)
Sahaja Yoga, first of all, is for personal improvement, is for the inner improvement as far as the personal side is concerned. This means your intelligence must improve, your temperament must improve, your heart must clear out, your feelings must be all right, then your health should be all right, then your relationship with others should be all right, your ego should go away, your superego should go away. All these things are there. But this only helps a personality, just a personality that is very limited, that is yourself. But now, this personality can become an instrument, if you can develop that depth within yourself.
But normally what happens, people are very much still worried about themselves, about their wives, about their children, about their husbands or their household … we have to be those instruments … We have to develop that depth within us. That depth is possible and you can really cure many problems of your country if you could just meditate on them …
My working style is different because I have very sharp and effective instruments. Now for you also, it is important that you also develop those deeper feelings within you, deeper sense within you.
Shri Mataji, 1987
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)
Kundalini is “… a residual energy, means it has created the whole universe of human beings but it has not been yet manifested. That’s why it is called as a residual energy. This energy is within us.”
In this world of constant change, we are constantly seeking change; “… so why not we change our Complete being through Self-realisation?”
And finally, “There are so many things I’ve said. There are so many lectures which I would like you to hear … these are beautiful, precious lectures … So if you really are interested in yourself, interested in your ascent, interested in becoming one with the whole, to be in the Kingdom of God, then please take these tapes, listen to them, meditate on them. Meditation will become easier.”
The above quotes are from various lectures given by Shri Mataji, the founder of Sahaja Yoga, over these many years since the day She gave the first human being Kundalini awakening in 1971. That was the beginning of the journey for human beings – the journey that signalled the culmination of this long evolutionary process which started out at the stage of the amoeba.
Taking Self-realisation is the end of the journey as the human being. A new dimension is opened out in the human brain, a brain enlightened by the Spirit or Atma.
The first fundamental question we ask in the guided meditation that facilitates the awakening of Kundalini at all Sahaja Yoga public programs is, “Am I the Spirit?” It is this Spirit that all holy scriptures have alluded to and which all seekers of yoga have sought.
It is the human attention that has to become enlightened so that wherever this enlightened instrument falls, that becomes enlightened. The enlightened attention is a powerful tool. It is penetrating and purifying, and it is through the enlightened attention that we can know the Atma and become one with it. That is the aim of Yoga.
Meditation is a state of being where we are fully aware but there are no thoughts. It is also the state where we experience joy. To use a lake as an analogy, the lake’s surface is free of ripples; therefore, the reflections are perfect. Seeing all the details as they are, we know the truth. So, too, it is with everything in our lives. If we can see them with the same kind of clarity we will know their truth and thereby know, without doubt, what must be done.
Everything in the universe, from the largest to the smallest indivisible particle, is imbued with the Spirit. This is that which gives things life. It is only the ego and superego that developed in the human beings that distorts this knowing.
Sahaja Yoga is different from all other types of yoga and meditation practices offered. In this yoga we have to know experientially by doing. There is nothing to be learnt through the mental faculties. It is to be known through our nervous system, to be felt and sensed. We have to feel the cool breeze of the Kundalini. We have to feel our chakras and channels on our finger tips and, if we are sensitive enough, at their locations in the body or on various parts of the body where the nerves end. We have to feel the chakras and channels of others if we are to help them. And ultimately, we have to feel and be in the Joy which is the expression of the Atma. There is no guesswork. We are either Sahaja Yogis or we are not.
We can become experts, become very slick at applying the various cleansing and clearing techniques and sometimes even get lost in them, thinking that is what Sahaja Yoga is. It helps in mastering the instrument but that is only so that the Kundalini can flow properly, allowing the Atma to shine. If we are sincere about our ascent, about becoming one with the Spirit, we will surrender to our Self-realisation and to Kundalini. She is our mother who has been with us all through our evolutionary process and She knows how to lead us to our destination.
As Shri Mataji has advised, please listen to Her lectures. This entire Yoga system is based on Her teachings. She has made all that was once secret and hard to understand, knowable and doable. You can do this by attending a Sahaja Yoga public program on a weekly basis and with your own enlightened discretion applying what you hear. Each week you will learn a little bit more and you will be that much more closer to your goal of becoming a Yogi, Sahaja style.
Greta