Shri Mataji
“Among the things our leaders seem to be missing is a comprehension of the staggering speed at which these change epidemics occur: one bank fails, then fifty; one country develops an atom bomb, a dozen try to follow; one computer or one child comes down with a virus, and the speed of its spread is incomprehensible.” (Ramo, 2009, p. 10)
“We are entering a revolutionary age. And we are doing so with ideas, leaders, and institutions that are better suited for a world now several centuries behind us.” (Ramo, 2009, p.8)
“What we face isn’t one single shift or revolution, like the end of World War 2 or the collapse of the Soviet Union or a financial crisis, so much as an avalanche of ceaseless change.” (Ramo, 2009, p. 8)
Joshua Ramo is accurately describing the challenges we are facing in our daily lives in a time of rapidly accelerating change and uncertainty. Our present leaders are as disoriented and confused as we are and not able to identify the problems now facing us, let alone solve them. We need to find our own way to survive, and thrive, through the chaos.
Fortunately, there is a surprisingly simple solution. Sahaja Yoga is uniquely suited to giving us the ability to cope and even find peace of mind and enjoyment during these difficult times. Sahaja Yoga is a meditation practice developed in 1970 and described by its founder, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, as the final step in the evolution of human beings. It allows us to be still like the hub of a wheel while the outside spins and whirls dizzyingly around us.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Practising Sahaja Yoga meditation helps us to see the true situation clearly by getting rid of our biases and prejudices and allowing us to make an accurate assessment of the situation as it is. Unless we see the truth, we will not be able to develop an effective action plan, both personally and as a society.
Until now, too much emphasis has been placed on details and logical thinking and rationality – all activities of the left hemisphere of the brain – in making decisions, to the exclusion of the input of the right hemisphere. Better, more livable solutions are more likely to come from the right hemisphere: the emotional, the personal, the particular, the natural world, the vision of the whole, and intuition and inspiration. Sahaja Yoga meditation brings the left and right hemispheres of the brain into balance so that they interact effectively in decision-making in individual and collective issues.
Creativity is essential for finding workable solutions to the new and unprecedented challenges of our present age. Some of our old solutions may be able to be combined in new and creative ways to solve present problems. It is often in meditation that inspiration comes to us. Being in a state of silence, without thoughts, allows the inspiration to flow through.
Resilience is important in allowing us to cope well with whatever adversity comes our way. If we live a life that is grounded, well-adjusted and emotionally stable and we lead a healthy lifestyle, we are setting the groundwork to be able to withstand many upheavals. If we are flexible, adaptable and not attached to particular ways of doing things, and can live without whatever we don’t have, our chances of surviving various crises are much enhanced. In addition to helping us to achieve the above, Sahaja Yoga meditation gives us hope and quiet optimism and an acceptance that whatever happens is for the best.
So often, when stress in society becomes too great, the rule of law breaks down, and morals and decency disappear. Practising Sahaja Yoga meditation automatically makes you a moral person. During meditation you find out for yourself how you should behave. You don’t need anyone to tell you, and you know it so clearly, so thoroughly, so deeply within your own being that you don’t want to go against it. The meditation also gives you the strength to act only for the right, to be a moral person even when there is enormous pressure to act otherwise.
Sahaja Yoga is the ideal adaptation to an environment of constant change now prevalent in our society. It is a living process; it is not static. It is not based on a set of rules, but is fluid and intuitive and flexible, and gives us the opportunity to adapt to whatever circumstances are prevailing, always within a totally moral framework. It is not a break from the moral precepts of the past, but a progression towards their logical conclusion. It is not in competition with the institutions of the past, merely the next step in their evolution to a higher, more complete and integrated manifestation. Sahaja Yoga meditation is all you will ever need to survive and thrive in “the age of the unthinkable”.
Kay Alford
Ramo, JC. The Age of the Unthinkable, Little, Brown and Co, 2009.
Let this Diwali enlighten you with light of love. You yourself are the lamps which burn high and don’t get pressed by the cover. They become much more powerful than the cover. It is their own asset. When they are hit upon, they are disturbed and extinguished.
Why are our lamps disturbed? You should think over it. Is there no transparent sheath around them? Have you forgotten your Mother’s love and therefore you are so disturbed? As the glass protects the lamp, in the same way my love will protect you. But the glass should be kept clean.
How can I explain? Have I to say like Shri Krishna, “Leave all religions and surrender to me,” or as Shri Jesus, “I am the way. I am the door.”? I want to tell that I am that destination. But will you people accept it? Will this fact go to your hearts? Although what I say is distorted, the truth will always stand. You cannot change what it is….
Diwali is the day of real aspirations. Invoke the whole universe. Many lamps have to be lit, and looked after. Add the oil of love – Kundalini is the wick – and awaken the Kundalini of others with light of the spirit within you. This flame of Kundalini will be kindled, and one within you will become the torch. Torch is not extinguished. Then there will be spotless sheath of my love. It will neither have any limits nor any end. I will be watching you. My love for you is showering as many, many blessings.
Excerpt from a letter from Shri Mataji to Sahaja yogis in New York in 1976
Shri Mataji
I met an elderly couple whilst doing my junk mail run. We started chatting whenever I reached their letter box, until they stopped being in their garden when I walked past.
Weeks went by before Mr Jones called out to me and came to talk. He told me that his wife had been very sick and since then she had “terrible nerves and couldn’t do anything”. She wasn’t even leaving the house and just wanted to stay in bed. He said that he had been told that I taught meditation and asked me if I would come to their house and teach his wife to meditate to see if that would help her. Normally, I would never agree, but these people were in their 80s, and I could feel how much concern and love he had for his wife. So I agreed.
Mrs Jones invited me to sit next to her on the lounge. We began talking, and I explained how Sahaja Yoga worked. I showed her the green meditation card with the photograph of Shri Mataji and explained the process of Self-realisation. I put the card down as I showed her where to place her hands and explained the affirmations. I felt the vibrations flowing as we closed our eyes for her to receive her realisation. The vibrations became very strong, and so I guided her through a short meditation. Finally, we opened our eyes. I looked at Mrs Jones. Her eyes were filled with tears. I asked her how she felt. She replied with a smile, “I feel relaxed for the first time since…” She never finished the sentence but just took hold of my hand.
We sat and enjoyed another short meditation. Then I left, telling her that I would come back in a week. When I returned Mrs Jones told me that she had been meditating twice a day and that she felt a lot better.
A few days later I saw the local doctor.
“Look at you!” she exclaimed. “I feel like I’m looking at a completely different person! What have you been doing?” I told her that I was still meditating. For some reason, I mentioned Mrs Jones. The doctor replied, “Yes, I know. I saw her yesterday. It’s remarkable what you have done for her.”
I felt so humbled because I knew that I had not done a thing. I wandered into the chemist shop to buy soap. To my amazement, I received the same kind of reception from the chemist. I gave the same reply to the question of what I had been doing. Once again, I was incredibly humbled and, to be honest, stunned as the chemist said, “It’s amazing to see the change in Mrs Jones. She told me about the meditation and said that she’s been out gardening, and she’s even had her hair done.”
This experience reminded me that it is just pure desire and thoughtless awareness that enables Self-realisation and nothing more. We actually do nothing. I also learned that you are never too old to be transformed. Mrs Jones was proof that Sahaja Yoga absolutely transforms a person, including the person “giving” realisation.
Lisa Barron
Shri Mataji
In all humour we should understand what this stupid thing called ego is. In all humour, not in seriousness, for I don’t want you to again feel guilty…. This is the art of living. This is the art of living a Sahaja yogi life. It is the art of living it, how with little few things you see how to manage.
Now you must have seen how in my lectures I say quite serious things. But in your bubbles of laughter, it just settles down in your mind. That is how you should do it, because humour is one of the greatest things that push the thing through, makes the people understand, and it does not harm anyone. That is how things improve.
Shri Mataji, 14 September, 2002