News, events and articles about Sahaja Yoga meditation worldwide

Meditation

Om signEveryone is now familiar with the stereotypical image of a yogi sitting cross-legged chanting the sound, “OM”.  But what is the real significance of “OM”? 

OM is the primordial sound of the universe, the first sound, the sound that was made at the Big Bang, the beginning of our universe, and it resonates within our being. OM has the power to take us into meditation, to make us one with the universe, to take us into the the silence and the peace that is the vastness and the power of the universe, like the stillness of a bottomless lake that has no ripples. 

The sound, OM, was made when matter first started to divide and differentiate and to recombine. OM is actually made up of three separate sounds, A-U-M, that together make the sound, OM. The first is “A” which sounds like “ar” as in “car”. The second is “U” which sounds like “oo” as in “book”. The third is “M” which sounds like “m” as in “man”. These sounds can help to keep us in balance.  How?

Human beings have within them a subtle body which consists of three channels and seven chakras.  The three channels are connected to our emotions on the left, our physical and mental activity on the right and our integration and balance in the centre. If we are over-emotional we are operating too much on the left side, and if we are thinking and planning too much or are over-active physically then we are using our right side too much. These situations cause the imbalances which lead to physical and mental health problems. 

The central channel is generally activated only when we achieve our Self-realisation.  This happens when the residual life force (called the Kundalini) which resides in the sacrum bone in every human being rises up through the spine, through the limbic area in the brain and out the top of the head at the fontanelle bone area. It then connects us with the All-pervading Power of the universe, the force that created us, the force that keeps the planets in their orbits and makes the seeds sprout in the Mother Earth.

Once we have our Self-realisation we can go into “thoughtless awareness”, the state of true meditation in which we are awake and alert but we are not thinking. In thoughtless awareness the Kundalini flows through us, balancing our subtle systems and clearing our chakras, giving us good health and feelings of well-being. As we continue to meditate and to strengthen this connection, the Kundalini flows more strongly and we are able to enjoy the silence, the space between the thoughts, to be the pure consciousness, to feel one with the whole of creation.

After our Self-realisation, when we have that connection to the force that created us, the sounds of the OM (AUM) can help to clear and balance our channels.  If we use as a mantra the sound, A (“ar” as in “car”), it will help to clear the left channel, the sound, U (“oo” as in “book”), will help to clear the right channel and the sound, M (“m” as in “man”) ,will work on the central channel. As a result, the whole system will come into balance.

The sound, OM, also has the power to clear each of the chakras when sung at the pitch which resonates with the particular chakra, and it can raise the Kundalini when sung up the musical scale.

So, sit comfortably, on the floor or on a chair, hands palm upwards on your lap.  Take a few deep breaths, and relax.  Now sing, “Aaaaoooommm,” and let the sound take you into meditation, into the stillness and the silence and the peace that is the vastness of the universe where you are at one with the whole of creation and are nothing but pure consciousness.  Enjoy!

Kay Alford

(Illustration: affirmations.goingon.com)

There will be a realisation stall at the Leura Fair to be held in Leura in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on 6 and 7 October 2007.

The Leura Fair is held as part of the Leura Garden Festival. People come from all over to visit the beautiful gardens in their springtime splendour. The main street in Leura where the Fair is held is lined with beautiful blossom trees in full bloom.

Please come along and enjoy the gardens, the ambience and the opportunity to find out about Sahaja Yoga meditation. 

                             Blossoms

(Photograph courtesy of geekphilosopher.com)

A Cultural Evening of Meditation, Music and Dance will be held at Richmond near Sydney. The program will include meditation through realisation, a recorded talk by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (the founder of Sahaja Yoga), a performance by the world music group, “Music of Joy”, and a special dance performance by Sandeep Bodhanker and students.

Please come along and enjoy a wonderful evening of music, dance and joyful meditation.

Date:  Saturday 6 October 2007

Time:  7.00 pm

Venue:  Richmond School of Arts (opposite library)
Corner March and West Market Sts
Richmond

Peace of a deep oceanThe founder of Sahaja Yoga, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, worked out the method of raising people’s Kundalinis en masse, the method used in Sahaja Yoga. After a new person’s first program, described in the article, “Your First Sahaja Yoga Program”, we teach you how to clear your chakras each day and how to bring up your Kundalini each day. We also encourage you to feel the difference in the depth of your meditation when you meditate with other people compared with when you meditate alone.

Sahaja Yogis who have been meditating for years still clear their chakras daily and attend collective meditation as often as possible; preferably daily and certainly a minimum of once a week.

There is an important reason to clear your chakras daily: when your Kundalini first rises, it is like a few strands of a rope coming up. It can come up a lot more strongly if your chakras are clearer. While the Kundalini does begin to clear the chakras, when it is up, our chakras do need some help – hence the Sahaja Yoga clearing methods taught at programs, using the natural elements.

The connection between clearing your chakras and the Kundalini is this: the clearer your chakras are, the more the strands of Kundalini can rise. The more strands of Kundalini that rise, the deeper the meditation you have. The deeper your meditation is, the more peaceful and connected to the Collective Unconscious you are.

The connection between the Kundalini and collective meditation is this: your Kundalini comes up more strongly when you are in contact with other people whose Kundalinis are up. Because you are connected to the Collective Unconscious, you are also connected to everyone else who is connected to the Collective Unconscious. Hence, when you meditate together, everyone’s individual connections become stronger, i.e. their Kundalinis rise more strongly when people are together. When people are together in meditation, the peace and deep, quiet bliss that results is indeed the “peace that passeth all understanding” spoken of in the Bible.

(Photograph courtesy of copyright-free-pictures.org.uk)

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