SAHAJA YOGA in PERSPECTIVE

SAHAJA YOGA in PERSPECTIVE

By Huntly Reid, a South African Sahaja Yogi.

Introduction

A long time ago the Chinese sage Lao Tse said: -

There will always be the sound of war and thunder and death until man achieves God and enters into his tranquillity.

Anyone who listens to the news of the world everyday will agree that at the present time mankind is a long way from "achieving God" and nowhere near "entering into his tranquillity".

What we want to do in this small communication is to tell people about the teachings of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi and about Sahaja Yoga. It is only through self - realisation and inner transformation that man is going to achieve God and enter into the tranquillity that Lao Tse talked about.

It is necessary in the first instance to approach Sahaja Yoga with a completely open mind and to by pass all the accumulated conditionings in our minds. The reason is that Shri Mataji's teachings have tremendous implications for human beings and are difficult for ordinary people, particularly in the west to accept. It is our purpose in this leaflet to try to bridge this gap of incredulity.

We are all 'one' in a spiritual sense and the reason why there is so much conflict in the world is that we simply do not realise this. If there are divisions amongst human beings or countries then there are going to continue to be conflict on all levels of human interaction.

New comers to Sahaja Yoga realise this to be so once they have received their self- realisation.

What is Sahaja Yoga?

Sahaja Yoga represents the last step in the planned spiritual evolution of human kind. This is seemly a pretty presumptuous statement. All that we can ask of the reader at this stage is that they should keep their minds open as they read what follows and not to make any premature judgements.

Human beings are now able to receive self-realisation through the Grace of God without having to perfect themselves spiritually. Self-realisation is what has variously been referred to as nirvana, samadhi and being born again by the great religions of the world.

Sahaja Yoga is a meditative yoga. Meditating for ten to 15 minutes once or twice a day is all that is needed. In a state of thoughtless awareness all opposites such as happy/unhappy merge and one enters into a state of pure joy or bliss.

Humans are no longer isolated within their conditionings or egos but are able to spontaneously achieve a direct link with the infinite, the collective unconscious or God however one chooses to express it.

Yoga means the yoking or union with God and Sahaja means spontaneous. Sahaja Yoga thus means the spontaneous union with God.

One does not have to pay any money for self-realisation. It is your birthright. Does one pay mother earth anything for growing the flowers? The position is similar with the 'flowering' of your kundalini.

Who developed Sahaja Yoga ?

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, probably the greatest spiritual person alive today, developed Sahaja Yoga.

She was born on the 21st March1923 in Chindwara, India, into a Christian family. As a young girl she was associated with Mahatma Gandhi. Shri Mataji studied medicine in Lahore. She is married to Sir CP Shrivastava a retired former Secretary General of the United Nations Maritime Organisation in London.

Shri Mataji, now a grandmother, has been travelling the world since 1970 teaching the techniques of Sahaja Yoga.

Shri Mataji is a lady who has great spiritual powers and yet she has extraordinary humility, is a font of wisdom and common sense and is full of laughter and joy.

How does Sahaja Yoga work?

Everyone is born with a kundalini, which reflects the power or energy of the Divine. The kundalini resides at the base of the spine in the sacrum bone where it lies dormant.

Self-realisatiion consists of spontaneously awakening the kundalini from its resting-place and raising it through the various centres of the subtle energy system, which are called chakras and which are situated in the spine. When the kundalini penetrates the fontanel bone then one can feel a soft cool breeze coming out of the top of the head. This is the cool breeze of the Holy Spirit.

Self-realisation is done in a simple guided meditation, which takes only a few minutes.

It is stressed that one has to ask for self- realisation. The kundalini cannot be raised against ones will. Self-realisation is only granted by the grace of God.

Various qualities are associated with the different energy centres. For example wisdom and innocence are qualities of the Mooladara chakra.

What benefits does one get from Sahaja Yoga?

A general overall improvement in your health can be expected. If one has been struggling with damaging habits such as the various chemical additions, then one may find that these may suddenly just fall away as the power of the kundalini begins helping one.

Techniques of working with the energy centres are taught which bring them into harmony and balance. The improvement in health, which is experienced, is a direct result of the restoration of balance within the energy centres of the bodies subtle system. 'Miraculous cures' have also been reported. The prime purpose of Sahaja Yoga is however spiritual development - any health benefits that one receives are just by-products.

Personal relationships with friends, colleagues and loved ones can be expected to improve. One becomes calmer and better able to withstand the stress caused by the problems of modern day living. This is the direct result of regular meditation.

The spiritual growth achieved in practising Sahaja Yoga is of prime importance. The inner peace and joy, which one feels within oneself is quite indescribable - it has to be experienced.

How can one measure spiritual growth?

This is of course an impossible question to answer. One can perhaps get an indication if one introspects on how one is shaping up against the six enemies of the spirit, which are anger, lust, materialism, competitiveness, lack of detachment and vanity.

What does Sahaja Yoga teach?

Sahaja Yoga is a spiritual movement, which lays great emphasis on following the middle path. There should be no fanaticism about anything. Living a righteous life is a most important factor in growing spiritually. Guidelines for righteous living are those given by the great spiritual leaders of the past. Moses' Ten Commandments and Christ's teaching to forgive your enemies and to love your neighbour as thy self are examples.

Sahaja Yoga teaches that there is nothing wrong with sex in marriage, but that sex as exploited in the Western lifestyle is totally against the spirit.

Vegetarianism is not a requirement of Sahaja Yoga.

Sahaja Yoga does not encourage smoking or the drinking of alcohol. Both damage your subtle centres (chakras) and hence impede your spiritual growth. No one will however point a finger at you in Sahaja Yoga. Your own introspection coupled with the vibrations you feel in your hands and fingers will tell you what your problems are and you can thus take corrective action on your own. You become your own master or teacher.
Sahaja Yoga believes in reincarnation but it is not stressed. How you live your present life is the important thing.

Sahaja Yoga is not rational or logical in the sense that we could ever have worked it out with our limited brain. However now that we know how Sahaja Yoga works it is possible with hindsight to see a totally ordered structure and plan - God's total plan for the spiritual evolution of human beings.

What proof is there for the claims of Sahaja Yoga?

Shri Mataji says quite clearly that you should not believe any of the claims of Sahaja Yoga unless you can feel the cool breeze on your central nervous system after self-realisation. The cool breeze that you feel in your hands and on the top of your head is a subtle but definite feeling. You will not be able to mistake it.

No amount of speculation or intellectualisation will convince you of the truth. One has to have the courage to go ahead and ask for self-realisation after which one finds it much easier to comprehend the truth of Sahaja Yoga. Your brain becomes enlightened by the power of the kundalini.

The marvel is that self-realisation is possible before we have perfected ourselves spiritually. It is like a small pilot light being switched on in a dark room. We are given sufficient light in which to view or introspect ourselves and we can set to work to improve our spiritual standing.

The cool breeze is a definite physical sensation and not a meta physical speculation.

How does Sahaja Yoga compare with older established religions?

Sahaja Yoga is not a religion. It does not have any theologies, doctrines or ideologies. These all tend to come about once the spiritual leader who started the movement dies and his followers then start their interpretative activities, which normally lead to priestly castes, power bases and concepts of God.

In Sahaja Yoga all that exists are the teachings of Shri Mataji recorded on either video or audiotape. These are available to all Sahaja Yogis. As yet very little has been written about Sahaja Yoga it is all so new.

Sahaja Yoga teaches that all the major spiritual leaders such as Moses, Christ and Buddha were sent at specific times by God to teach specific lessons to humankind. It has all happened according to God's plan for our spiritual evolution. With the advent of Sahaja Yoga it can be said that all the religions of the past have now been integrated into a great new universal spiritual movement.

In conclusion

Christ said that one has to be born again. Self-realisation through the raising of the kundalini is the true meaning of what he said. This rebirth is something, which happens within and is not an external happening.

All the great teachers taught that one should 'Know thyself'. Knowing about the kundalini and the internal subtle system and its workings is 'Knowing thyself'.

You can find more information on Sahaja Yoga at www.sahajayoga.org