You are transmitters...

What an idea! Come to think of it: 'we are transmitters'...this is the kind of stuff that keeps young people, boys or girls, dreaming for ages - unable to sleep. And we have lost the art of dreaming, of imagining...and sometimes when we read casually what Mother reveals to us in such simple, but oh! so profound terms, we are truly awestruck!
We are transmitters...! It's like reading and enjoying comic books like Batman and Robin, or Superman, or Spysmasher, or Captain Marvel. I did when I was young, and I used up all the money I earned at the golf course just buying those comic books. And when we couldn't buy a comic, we exchanged with someone else from our old stock, because those stories carried us into a wonderful world of imagination, where the good guys always had the last word. We can relive that today in reality, which is much better than reality TV! And it's all for free and so real...just imagine it...we are transmitters of Divine Love, and with this we can be agents of change!

Here's what Mother says:

You are transmitters

You are transmitters. Everywhere you are sitting in meditation you are transmitting vibrations, do you know that? At that time if you are thinking, say of your jobs and your other things which you have been thinking before, the transmission is poorer. Think of love. Think of the whole country, think of the whole world at that time. You are transmitters of these waves of love, and love will flow from you.

I told you once that you are made in the form of Ganesha, and that’s what you have to do. You know there are vibrations from you coming out. You are sending vibrations out, you know that. That means you are like any deity which is thrown out of the Mother’s, I mean Earth’s, womb, and a big temple is raised, and thousands of people go to worship that. And they say it is a temple, of a Jagrut Devta, means a person…jagrut means enlightened, awakened. And that’s just a stone, a stone that comes out and people build a temple on top of that and go there and worship that, while there are so many already sitting here, so many jagrut, realized souls. These are living, these are moving, these are understanding. They maneuvere. The stones only emit vibrations, to clear the atmosphere, but you, you can raise the Kundalini. They cannot raise the Kundalini, you can.

And what are you doing about it? Such a precious thing you have got. What are you doing about it? Is it because there is no business with it, that we are taking it so slowly? Supposing it’s an enterprise, then everybody would be up and doing. Is it? We have to change our ways and methods of understanding. The reward of God is thousand-fold than any enterprise can bestow upon you. When He blesses you, you wouldn’t even have words to thank Him, to that extent He goes.

Are we depending on Him or on our own old ways? We have to change very much, we have to transform ourself into new style of thinking. It is very, very important. I hope you’ll think about it, what I have talked to you today. Don’t take to life which has not brought any happiness to you. You have your friends, who are Sahaja Yogis. Change your friends. Change your methods of life. You’ll enjoy much more.

This is for you to understand, about yourself and about the importance of Sahaja Yoga. Unless and until it is an enterprise, nobody takes it up seriously. This is the style of Western thinking. It has to be whether it is hocus-pocus or real enterprise, doesn’t matter. As long as there is money exchanges, everybody is up, and doing. But when it comes to Sahaja Yoga, they have no time, even to meditate. Because we have not yet loved, we have not felt that love within ourselves. I wish you could all feel that depth of love. Then you would go all out, to work it out for yourself and for others.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extract from Talk at Caxton Hall, 15/10/79

Read more: http://sahaj-az.blogspot.com/2009/07/you-are-transmitters.html#ixzz180TiG1kK

Interview with Shri Mataji in Vienna

Interview with Shri Mataji in Vienna

What Shri Mataji did and continues to do relentlessly and tirelessly is helping to bring about our own personal transformation and to raise our awareness to a higher level.

Interview with Shri Mataji in Vienna. July 9, 1986
Those of us who have not heard or read about Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi could be surprised that the personality of such a stature has not reached their awareness before… And rightfully so – the impact of her work and her contribution to the well-being of humanity as a whole is hard to estimate.
What Shri Mataji did and continues to do relentlessly and tirelessly is helping to bring about our own personal transformation and to raise our awareness to a higher level.
Her discovery of a simple technique to trigger the awakening of the primordial energy, often referred to as “Kundalini“, within each human being has already transformed millions around the world and many more are to come. This simple technique transcends the heights of scientific discoveries and artistic achievements. It transforms our societies on the fundamental level, brings us back to our roots so our future development can be balanced, empowering and harmonious among ourselves and towards nature. It is not a book or a lecture – it is a living process which is waiting to happen within each and every one of us.
Knowledgeable in science, art, politics, economics, sociology, medicine, Shri Mataji maintains that peace in our societies can only be brought about through discovering peace within ourselves. After thousands of lectures and programs, Shri Mataji is leaving us a treasure of knowledge so vast and profound that generations to come will draw wisdom and inspiration from her words. Like a magician with a gentle movement of her wand, she left us examples of what to aspire to. Yet, her ultimate magic, the awakening of our Kundalini energy, leaves us speechless about her greatest stature.
1. Can you speak about your whole life?
I’m a story teller (Shri Mataji laughs) It is something like an autobiography.
2. Can you describe the circumstances during your childhood?
I belong to a family of very enlightened people. My father was a linguist and he was master of fourteen languages. He knew about 26 languages and he translated even Koransharif into Hindi language. My mother was in those days, was a honors in mathematics. So both they were very well-educated and enlightened people.
At the time of my birth my mother dreamed something which she could not explain. But after that she had a great desire to go and see a tiger in the open field. My father was a great hunter, because tigers were a menace in the area where we were living. It was a hill-station called Chindwara. So there was a king who was very much interested in my father.
Somehow or another a letter came that there is a tiger, very big tiger and they are frightened of him that he might be a maneater. So my father took my mother and moved to that place. And they were sitting in what we call as a Machan. Where they built something for people to sit on top of a tree, from where they can shoot nicely. And then my mother tells me that a big huge tiger, of very big size, very beautifully appeared on the field and she felt tremendous love for the tiger.
It was a full moon day and she felt extremely compassionate towards the tiger and when my father raised his gun to shoot, she stopped and she wouldn’t allow him. The tiger went away and he never came to that forest again.
But that made my father think, because he himself is a realized soul. That must be somebody what we call a goddess Durga, who is fond of the tiger must be born to my mother, because the symptoms where rather funny that the lady should like to see a tiger. So he told my mother: “Now are you satisfied?” Because they were struggling with the gun. He said: “Is there of Durga sitting in your womb, that you are trying to protect a tiger?” She said: “Yes, yes stop it now, I won’t allow you!”.

Shri Mataji with her family
Like that there were many incidents in my life, because I am of a Christian family, Protestants and when I was born my mother didn’t feel any labour-pains or anything just I was born. She did not know how and I had no blood on my body, nothing. I was clean washed that is why they called me as Nirmala.
But my grandmother said that she should be called as Nishkalanka. That means the one which has no spots on her. But that is the name of a man. So they said alright we call her Nirmala meaning the same – Immaculate.
Now all these incidents. And then my father, being a realized soul, he felt tremendous vibrations from me and he felt that this life is great and that she will do something great in this life. I do not know why, but I don’t know if he dreamed or he understood it, but all the time if I remember when he talked to me, he used to say that: “You have to find out the way of giving “en mass” realisation all the time.
As I told you, he was a great scholar of so many things and a very wide read man, so he gave me a good education in religion, in different religions, and also a good education about human beings. What are their problems? Why did they act like this? Why don’t they take to God? Why are they hypocritical? All kind of things he talked to me.
He also knew about Kundalini. But not so much. Of course when I was born, I knew all about Kundalini myself. I knew all about it, from my very childhood. So I was a very aware person – extremely aware. I did not know how to talk to, because – you see – people did not have that awareness, you can’t talk to everyone like that.
So I was regarded as a very joyful person at the same time very serious also, very deep and then I started my studies as a child. I was not very much interested in the studies, though I used to do them very well. But I used to read lives of great men and things like that.
At a very young age I read Bernard Shaw. When people were reading their expectations I was reading Bernard Shaw. But as such I did not have any interest in particular, in reading some text books, because I thought they were childish and there was nothing to be read about it. Then I told my father that I have to do medicine. So he said: “Why?” I said: “Because I have to talk to doctors.” He said: “You have to talk to doctors?” “Yes!”, I said.

Shri Mataji lived in the ashram of Mahatma Gandhi when she was 7.
But it so happened in my childhood, when I was about 7 years of age. My father was a congressman, he had joined congress when I was 4 years of age. He used to live with a style very westernized – you see. He threw away everything and became a real Indian and started leading a life of a martial. Then he made us study our languages, Sanskrit he made us study in an Indian school not in a missionary school.
Because missionary is very, very unkind. They threw us out of the school, when my father was in the congress. They were against us completely. Then at the age of seven years, I happened to go with my father to Mahatma Gandhi. He was about 70 miles living with us. But the first time he took me down and Mahatma Gandhi, he liked me very much. He said: “Leave this child here!”
So I had not taken clothes or anything to stay there and my father sent to me everything. And he was very fond of me. But I was a little girl. But he understood that there was something about me. He consulted me on very serious problems sometimes, surprisingly. Like one day he wanted to make me a prayer-book alright, so he asked me: “How should I put these series and all that.” So I told him, how to put the series and he put the series in that way.
I used to go back for my school and again to go back to Gandhiji. Every year like that. And he called me Nepali. He gave me a name “Nepali”. Everybody used to call me Nepali that time. Then I grew up with him very intimately, he was a very, very kind person for children.
Otherwise an extremely strict man, with himself and with others, very strict. A big disciplined man. And he would make everybody get up at 4 o’clock, have your baths everything be ready for your morning prayers at 5 o’clock – you see – and he used to walk very fast. I also learned walking fast with him. In his company I had to walk fast.
And he had been extremely loving and a very nice person. And he would listen to me, because I was a child. Supposing I had forced him to eat more or something then he would have laughed and accepted. Very kind person.
But with others, he was very strict and I used to tell him that: “Why are you strict with them too much?” He said: “But you are a little girl, you got up in the morning, why can’t they get up?” I said: “I am little, that’s why I get up, they are big, so they can’t get up.” Like that you see a little child.
Then my father went to jail and my mother also went to jail five times. My father went to jail twice. Once for about two and a half years and he was the only supporting member of the family. By the way we came from a very old royal family, which is called as Shalivahanas. They have a calender also in India.
And then, when they took my father to jail we had to leave our house and we had to live in huts and had all kind of problems. But also me, they pestered a lot because I helped many people there. I joined effort to movement and in a very serious way I became the leader there. But we were young people.
I thought unless and until I take a very positive stand, it may not work out with them. It is not gracious to say how they tortured me. What they did to me. But they really tortured me. I was a young girl of nineteen years that time. It is over now, so it is finished. After that my father went to jail again and then when he came back, he got elected as the member of the central assembly, later on as the constructor of the assembly and then of the parliament.
My brother was also member of the parliament later on, now recently he was the minister in the cabinet. Another brother is a high-court judge in Bombay. They are all doing well despite the fact, that our parents neglected us in a way, because they gave their lives to the country, but that never deterred as from studies and we came up very well.
When I was in 1942 two movement my college justicabled me from the college and threw me out and I had to go to another college to study far away from my house. Then I studied for two years science. Then I did my medical. I didn’t do fully, because just after that the 1947 riots broke out. So college was closed and I did not want to know more, because what I wanted to know, I think to know about it. So I did not need, and I got married.

Sir C.P. Srivastava - Husband of Shri Mataji
You must have heard my husband work is now the secretary in general of the International Maritime Organization. He held very high positions. He was also secretary to Shastri who was our prime minister, who was another very great man. But he did not survive long. If he had survived things would have been different, I think, for our country, because he was a Gandhian, out and out Gandhian.
I mean he lived like an ideal Gandhian personality. So that’s how my life went on. But inner being was still seeking the way and methods of giving “en mass” realization.
My father said: “Before you do not develop this technique of giving “en mass” realization do not talk about religion. Let nobody know that you know anything about it, because they will crucify you or….” He was rather worried that people won’t understand, or you may write another Bible or Gita – no use.
First of all you must give them realization. If they get their realization then they will realize that there is something about it, about this human awareness. For example, he always used to give an analogy. Supposing we are born on the tenth storey and everybody is on the ground. You must at least make them climb two storeys so they know that there is something above. Otherwise no use talking about it.
And he said: “This is the mistake between the saints and the incarnations was, that they never realized that these people are still on the ground. They have to still enter into the medium. So that is what you have to be very careful that first of all you must give realization to them.”
So I was seeking the ways and methods, working it out inside myself through my own style of meditation in the sense that I would work out all the permutations and combinations and when I met one person then I would see what problems that person had, how you can overcome it, like that I would try to study that person internally.
And I went to many people to find out, but I found they were great hypocrites. I saw so many of these Gurus, most of them. When I saw them, I was surprised they were all hypocrites. Money making and also. I went to Rash Neesh also to see him and he said that I should come to his program. I did not know what sort of man, because he was talking about Gita and I thought he might be knowing something about it.
I went there but my husband said: “No, I won’t allow you to go to this program. So he arranged his own…….. There I could see all the things which were going on. And that is the day somehow or another I said: “I must open the last chakra!” So the last chakra was opened and I saw the Kundalini, which is the primordial force within us, which is the Holy Ghost within us, rising, like a telescope opening out. And then I saw the whole thing open and a big torrential rain of beams started flowing through my head all over.
I felt I am lost, I am no more, there it’s only the grace is there, that is there. I saw it completely happening to me. But I was amazed that when I went to Rash Neesh, because he forgot even to say good bye, because he never realized what had happened or anything, so I was surprised, I said: “This man doesn’t know anything about God!” and then I discovered that they are all hypocrites and they are telling lies.
So in 1970, 5th of May this happened and just after that we had a very big lecture in Carnagy Hall. This is a very big hall and thousands of people had come and I told them very frankly that these are all thugs and hypocrites, some of them are demonic, some are evil people. I told their names everything. I told them: “Do not go near them!” There were some foreigners also.
And there were so many others whom I told these things very clearly and they got frightened. They said: “You should not say like this. They will come and murder you.” But nobody did anything and nobody even went to the courts. And that’s how they try to bring bad name to me. They paid money to the newspapers to publish things against me, because I said: “You cannot pay money!” So they thought that I was trying to harm them by saying such a thing that you can’t take money in the name of God.
If it is a job you can do it, but Gods work is not a job. And the struggle started from the day I started giving realization. And I started with one lady who got realization first. Then we got about twelve people who got realization. In two years got only about 14 people realization. Then gradually when 14 people got realization then many others started getting realization.

Six of the first seven Western Sahaja Yogis
But I started also curing people, because that was helping a lot. Then my husband got elected to this post and we had to come to London.
So when I came to London we had one program. So the Indians abroad are not so much interested in God, they are more interested in money. So none of the Indians stayed there. They all run away and only the foreigners who were there, were about seven hippies and so I had to work on them – seven hippies – for four years I was working on them to give them the realization. They were difficult, their liver was bad, their head was off, terrible time. But in between I used to go to India.
And in India also the work was done. For three month always I have been in India. So we started working in the villages, specially surprisingly were my forefathers were ruling in that area. There we started moving in a very big way. And there then we started taking the people from India.
And some people came from Australia to India, like that and the work started moving in those directions. Gradually the work improved and people found that this is the way we can transform ourselves. Many people were taking drugs, or alcoholics or mad people all kinds of people. They felt better and they got cured. It was established that Sahaja Yoga is something very important.
Now, when I travel all over the world first my husband used to pay for everything, wherever I went he had to pay – any expenses he used to do for me. Gradually now this people pay for my travel, but otherwise they do not have to pay for anything else. That is how we started our work. There was lot of opposition and the media-people would never understand it. Because it was not such a sensation as you can say, nothing to people feel exited but in a way it is a very great thing, because this is the solution of the whole world, one should try to do it.
Then we had very great people who came to Sahaja Yoga, like we can say the main high court judge, who is now the president, who has given Nicaragua some judgment and many lawyers and even barrister. We have one barrister here from Algeria and doctors and then they took over and they started helping me out how to propagate Sahaja Yoga.

A public program in India
But it was a difficult task in the west. Of course in India it is spreading very fast in the villages, but the city people in India also the people are westernized and they will start analyzing. They don’t know much about our past, they don’t know anything about our heritage that we have our Kundalini.
But some people do know about Self-realization. But these Gurus could not stick on in India because nobody would accept them. So they all run away abroad. And that was something a blessing for me also, because I did not have to fight them there. And it started working out and then people found that it helps in every way and they found so many miracles about it and that’s how Sahaja Yoga was settled quite a lot.
But still I would say that we have not been to certain countries so far and in the west, I would say that so much work has to be done there, because as soon as you start any work in any place first of all they want me to cure people and to help them with cure. Now if I pay attention more to that then the main work is to create doctors out of everyone that is neglected then you become unpopular. They think: “Oh, she’s not sympathetic”, this and that.
But now as we have everybody can cure now everyone. I don’t cure anyone directly. But they don’t like it, they want I should be there and their ego to be pampered and all these things are there, it’s rather difficult. We are not running any lecture like we should please others, sort of things, not that, but whatever is reality. If a person has intelligence, pure intelligence, he can see that this is something very different.
And for that one has to understand that you cannot force on anyone that you get your realization in the same way you cannot force me that I give you realization, because if does not work, it does not work, it’s such a living force. And that upsets them very soon. I feel that the way this industrial revolution has come in the west. People have lost their knowings perhaps they are so confused with all these gurus coming down here confusing them and all kind of new things coming. They don’t know where to look.
Unless and until you get your evolution completed. Unless and until you reach that absolute state of understanding the chaos will remain.
So one has to try to get to that. But one must understand: You cannot pay for it. There is no effort. After getting realization they feel so satisfied, they forget about it. But after that you must know how to give it to others. As Christ has said: “The light which is enlightened you do not put it under the table!”
That’s how what happens that, though I give realization to some hundred people, only out of them five, six will come forward to help us out. But still I must say, a lot of work has been done. Especially Austria. I am very proud of Austria, and the way they have never given me any problem, never – very good people have come out of Austria. Very balanced, level headed people. Very level headed.
They are not extremists, they don’t go to extremes, so there is no fanaticism about them. They are sensible people. And something so lucky that Austria was found out. Because I never expected that in Austria there will be so many people. But somehow – like water finds it’s own level, Sahaja Yoga finds its own level. We just come down to Austria. We haven’t been to Norway, to Sweden, to Denmark, Finland. I visited those places, because of my husbands job but I have not …….
Now we have sixteen centers in Australia. And Australia is a very progressive Sahaja Yoga thing. We have got schools now there. They are running schools and the teachers are extremely well-behaved and visionaries and they look after the children very well. The government people sent somebody for observation and they have remarked that whatever they proclaim that’s what they manifest. And they have given good certificates to us.
But the greatest achievement on the outward life is this that Cambridge University has accepted Sahaja Yoga for research work with respect. By one doctor Lee who is doing the research about Sahaja Yoga in Cambridge University – he is already doctor. And there is another great thing has happened in Delhi University that the Delhi University has accepted that a person can do, only a doctor can do a P.H.D. of we can say a doctorat in Sahaja Yoga and he gets the highest degree, called the doctor of medicine. And perhaps after some time they will allow anyone to do that. This is about the medicine part of it.

Shri Mataji experimented with sunflowers in her farmhouse in Pune, in the late 1980’s, and produced tremendously big ones, more than 12 inches in diameter. They were very heavy and gave on the average 250 mm. of oil. This was reported in the newspaper. The photo shows Shri Mataji with the outsize sunflowers.
In agriculture we have done lots of research by say, we have somebody here, an expert of agriculture. He has also done a lot of research and he found out that with vibrations he started after realization. If you vibrate the water and if you water the plants with that then sometimes you might get even ten times more breed that’s what they did in India. In one of the agriculture universities. But here also they found out that there is tremendous difference between the growth of an ordinary plant.
Another thing that I found out in agriculture that if you give vibrations, then even an ordinary cow can give lot of milk. But if you have hybrid cows than you see it’s not good for the brain, because a person who takes hybrid milk also, gets hybrid. I mean his brain gets little wobbly. So better to have a pure milk from a cow which is not been put to this kind of an experimentation.
Moreover food also, if you eat hybrid food it’s not very good for us, for that spoils our nerves I think. But ordinary seeds you cannot use, because they have weakened and they cannot reproduce. So, when we vibrate them, they produce very well, just like – better than even sometimes hybrid things and the food tastes very well, and it doesn’t give those complications.
So this can help in agriculture in India and the government has allotied us a lot of land where we are going now to experiment and we are going to start experimentation there to show that how we can use this. But many farmers who are Sahaja Yogis have done a lot of job and they have discovered that even animals and this what you call farming, everything is helped very much by vibrations.
So it improves the lives of people. We have on the other side, social side, I can tell you that we have marriages, international marriages. We arrange international marriages between people, they have to know each other and they are together and first of all they are together for one and half month with us on the tour.
They can see each other and the marriages are fixed and we have seen that such marriages are extremely successful. 99 % marriages are successful. Once in a while maybe a mishap but mostly there are no divorces that take place. Once in a while, if it’s not successful we have no objections to divorce also.
But mostly they are successful and they get children who are very intelligent and who are themselves born-realized children mostly. So the problem is much less and the family life improves. The quality of life is 1000 times better. People are very joyous, happy, they do not complain and they enjoy life and they give to others. They share what joy they have.
3. What do you think are the important points in the education of children? What is important to be given to the children?
First if they get realization. If they are already born realized no problem, but if they have been given their realization then they will start to see things from a different level. They become the Spirit. So their self respect awakens. Such children behave in a very dignified manner. They talk in a very elderly manner. They see solutions of all kinds and they are tremendous beings. But we have to guide them properly by our own behaviour.

Shri Mataji with children
How we behave, the greatest thing is how we behave that’s how the children like. We put the children to some tests how they are. We find out if they have any physical problems, we cure them. If they have mental problems we cure them. If they have any other problems, social problems or anything, we try to help them out. So that basically if a human being is alright in childhood then fundamentals are alright for the child.
The foundation is laid down then to build a child up in a good quality is not difficult. So now we find like great artists are there. There are great musicians. At a very young age, they have started playing violin. I mean suddenly they have become dynamic also and very humble. They are very humble and self respected and very well behaved.
Surprising how the atmosphere is and how it works out. And the other day a lady asked me about the women then I told her that a woman’s power as a mother is very great. She felt hurt about it and I did not mean that you should be just a mother. She is a mother, means she is compassionate. She is kind. She is not aggressive like men. That is a very big quality that is a very big power in a woman, that’s what I was suggesting. That that is what we have to have. Is not to compete with men. This is Madness. To compete with men, and to go about like that.
So we have to understand that life has to be enjoyable. Life should be a blessing, not to be a misery. We create our own miseries by these false ideas by our own conflictions, we have in our mind mental projections we have in our mind or our own obstinacy, whatever it is. All these things can be cured if you take to Sahaja Yoga, because you become a balanced person, level headed, mild person and you become a witness. The whole thing becomes like a show, like a drama and you become fearless, you start seeing the whole thing like a drama. This is what a human being has to achieve.
We talk of peace, we talk of no war, we talk of many things like this, atomic bomb, this and that. All that is not going to work out. Only what is going to work out is the transformation of human beings. If the human beings are transformed things will work out absolutely first class. Not only that, but that they will enjoy the bliss of life.
We are missing the point all together. This is a very important thing that human beings must say one thing: “What have you achieved out of all this?” Just for a minute to stop and think.
4. What are the causes of illness?
The physical, mental, emotional, all illnesses are caused by the imbalances that live within us. By our extreme behaviour. And supposing, say now cancer. Cancer is caused by the over activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Supposing a person is a very sad person, he cries and weeps and all the time feels guilty and thinks he is the worst person ever born. He has committed so many sins and all sorts of nonsense. Then he goes to the left side, according to us, and crosses over to the collective subconscious area and there, according to us, what they call as Protein 58 and Protein 52.
Doctors call it that way, but we call it as the dead souls. They exist there and they catch hold of you and they trigger the cancer. But supposing by any chance you can bring the attention fully away from that in the centre. You can get cured. So it is the centres within us which are subtle, which are basically seven centres. There are many others, but basically seven. If you can put them right you cannot have any sickness or illness of any kind.
5. Can you explain. You said, that your parents supported you very much in your learning and in your studies? Is it correct?
Yes, of course!
6. Is it normal that the parents support their child in a form like this?
In India all parents support their child.
7. And you can learn everything what you want to?
Yes, yes, I mean that is true. But the basic thing is: Parents are very benevolent to their children, very kind to their children. And to them the child’s education, the child’s upbringing and the child’s life is very important. That’s why we know they are so we depend on them, they look after us and they are very wise people. They sacrifice everything for us. So whatever they say, we think it’s nice and by doing this, we have not lost anything so far.
In India if you find Indian children, when they came abroad they always stop. They are very obedient children and they behave very well. We don’t have all this problem. Teenage-problem, homosexuality, we don’t know even these problems. Because we are so close with the parents all the time. They all the time watch us we don’t have drug problems. None of these – only in the cities little bit it happens and it disappears. Because parents are all the time with their children. They live together, the whole family lives together.
And not only with the parents, but all the relations and all the people in the village and in the city everyone knows each other. Such a joyful system we have, that we do not normally fall, sort of go to wrong ways and methods and we do not become obstinate also.
8. But you grew up in a Christian family! It’s not a normal situation that Indian people are Christian?
Yes, I know, I was born in a Christian family deliberately, because I personally think that protestants are the greatest fanatics. They are very sophisticated, their fanaticism is in their brain. Nobody can make them out that they have fanaticism, that they are very great fanatics, the greatest of all. But that times were very enlightened people they understood Christ very well.
They say, I told you about Paul when I was ….. First time I took the Bible in the hand and I asked my father: “Who is this Paul?” He said: “It’s an imprudor, forget it, don’t believe him at all.” So they understood all these things very well because my father was a realized soul like Khalil Gibran.
If you read Khalil Gibran he says the same thing about Paul, the same thing. So if you are an enlightened person you see the essence of everything. Whatever religion you are born, you don’t ignore any other religion, you try to learn about other religion and then you find the essence is the same in every religion.
What is there to fight? And that’s how you belong to no religion, you belong to every religion that’s what happens. But my parents were very enlightened people I must say, and I was very lucky to choose them as my parents.
9. You have been an enlightened child – is it correct?
Yes, I have been born as an enlightened child.
10. You don’t feel sometimes very lonesome, because all the others are different?
No, No. If you know how to share with others. Actually I was like a mother to them from my very childhood. When my father and mother went to jail, I was about 5 1/2 years of age. So I had all the duties of the house in my little frock and I used to get all the duties like the grandmother. I never felt lost. My life on the whole is very collective on temperament I am extremely collective. I can live anywhere, I can sleep anywhere and I can live in the jungles, I have no problems or that I am extremely collective.
I was expressing my temperament from very childhood. I was very friendly with all the people from that area where we were living and my mother was known as Nirmala’s mother. Father was known as Nirmala’s father. So they said: “We have lost our identity because of her.”
So I was a very friendly person. I never felt lonely and when I am with myself I am never lonely at all. I enjoy myself very much.
11. When you have been to that ashram with Gandhi. What were your impression, you remember about Gandhi?
Oh, Gandhiji was a tremendous man and I used to learn a lot from him. He was not at all hypocrite that’s one thing. And he was not like politicians who say something do something wrong. He was very outspoken and always he put himself on the testing point. And he used to confess if he made mistakes immediately. One very great incident I remember when I was a small child. They were having a meeting together and we girls were there sitting, only giving them water and things to all the people. People were there like Jawaherlal Nehru and Mollana Azad. All these people were sitting there. They were discussing something and then suddenly Mahatmaji Gandhiji said: “I was very late, we will have lunch here.” So they said: “Yes we will have lunch here.”
They had to go to the guest house which was far away. So Mahatmaji Gandhiji asked for “Baa”. She had gone out. So he got up, he had a key with him always of the store-room, he opened the store and he asked the people who were in charge of cooking to measure everything according to the people there are, properly everything. And then they measured it out everything was done.
Then he put the key back and then he went and sat there nicely. So these people said: “Bapu, we did not know you have to take so much troubles. You see to go all the way and looking for her. It didn’t take much time, about 15 minutes, but still. So he said: “What do you think?” This is the blood of my country, I cannot allow it to be wasted.
http://www.freemeditation.ca/news/2009/06/24/interview-with-shri-mataji-in-vienna/

SHRI MATAJI ON ‘MEDITATION’

Meditation is actually facing yourself & correcting yourself will full understanding as to what you are.

Meditation is a very general word. It is not a word that explains all the three steps one has to take for meditating. But in Sanskrit, they have very clearly said, how you have to move In your meditation.

First is called as ‘DHYANA’, and second is called as ‘DHARANA’ and third is called as ‘SAMADHI’.

Luckily Sahaja Yoga is such a thing that you get everything in a bundle. You avoided everything else. You got the Samadhi part. That’s the beauty of it.

The first part of meditation is ‘DHYANA’. First when you have seeking , you put your attention towards the object of your worship. This is called as ‘DHYANA’. And the ‘DHARANA’ is the one is which you put all your effort, concentrate, all your effort. But this is all drama for people who are not realised. For them, it is just a sort of an acting that they do. But for a realised soul it is a reality. So the first, the Dhyana you have to do. Some do it of form, another of the formless. But you are so fortunate that the formless has become a form for you. No problem, you don’t have to go from form to formless, from formless to form; its all there, in bundle. So you concentrate or think of some Deity, some point of Nirakar, for the formless, or of Nirakar itself. Its all a mental projection as long as you are not a realised soul.

But once you are realised, you have just to think of Dhyana, whom you are going to concentrate, or you can say Meditate on.

But once you start Meditating on a person your attention starts moving. That is also possible after realisation, though it is in a bundle; but some people have it part of it, like that.

So when you Meditate, still your attention can get disturbed every moment.

It can happen , depending on the intensity of your concentration. So there are some Sahaja Yogis I have seen, they are cooking and there’s another one is meditating. The meditating one will say: OH! I can smell it is burning”. So there is no Dharana. Dhyana is there, but not Dharana. The second part of it is very important, that you have to put your attention continously on to your deity.

Then you develop a State which is called as Dharana, in which your attention becomes one with the Deity. But when these mature, the third stage of Samadhi, comes in.

Now for some people who think that without realisation, they can reach Samadhi. I think, they are absolutely mistaken. But after realisation also, when the Dharana is established, have to get to the position where you become ‘Samadhi’ . Now, what is that State? When that state comes into your mind, then whatever you do, the Deity that you worship, you see that Deity in your work; whatever you see, you see the Deity giving you the show; you can put it like that.

Whatever you hear, you find the Deity telling you the truth, whatever you read, you find there what the Deity would tell you. So, in that state, whatever you do with your eyes, nose & all these organs, all that, becomes a kind of manifestation of the Deity whom you worship, automatically.

You don’t have to think now I must concentrate, alright, I will not have these thoughts , I have to now think about this. It becomes automatically there”

NIRMAL VIDYA

10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SAHAJA YOGA

• Sahaja Yoga is a great new spiritual movement, which is growing rapidly throughout the world. Some would have it that Sahaja Yoga is actually a new religion. It was started by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi in 1970.
• Shri Mataji was born in India during1923. She is a very high(ly) spiritual person who can be likened to a 'Messenger from God'.
• Sahaja Yoga is the fastest way to get your self realisation. Indeed you receive it on your first contact with Sahaja Yoga.
• In practical terms self realisation means the awakening of your kundalini, which is the sleeping dormant power within each one of us. The kundalini is located in the sacrum bone.
• Once you have learnt the very simple SahajaYoga meditation, which takes no more than 10 to 15 minutes twice a day, you will start growing spiritually. This is the prime purpose of Sahaja Yoga.
• Growing spiritually means that your ability forgive others and yourself, the control of your anger, your ability to love and show compassion, your creative ability, your ability to live in the present and other qualities will all improve.
• Your health can be expected to improve. Miracles cures are possible although this aspect of Sahaja Yoga depends on what you need rather than what you want. Sahaja Yoga helps to cure chemical addictions.
• Your life situation can be expected to improve in terms of your relationships with other people and also in terms of your financial position. Again this is in terms of what you need rather than what you want.
• Your power of prayer will greatly improve.
• Sahaja Yoga is a very practical and easily understood spiritual path. Shri Mataji has given hundreds of talks which, are all available on audio tapes, videos and CDs. These deal with how we are expected to behave and live our lives. The content of this knowledge is all free of charge.
Contribution by Huntly Reid from Cape Town.

Shri Mataji spoke about this knowledge and how to master it during a talk at Rahuri, in Maharashtra, on 31/12/80.
A full transcript can be found Nirmala Yoga no.1, pp20-21 but there is dearth of these old documents. So it helps to be able sometimes to have just a snippet from some of the treasures that Mother has left us. She was speaking on Nirmal Vidya, the Pure Knowledge of the Divine.
Here is Shri Mataji in her own words:

Nirmala Vidya
It is the special power by which we do all Divine work, even forgiving. When you say, "Mother forgive us", the technique by which I forgive you is Nirmala Vidya. The technique by which I love you is also Nirmala Vidya. The technique by which all the mantras are manifesting themselves and are effective is also Nirmala Vidya.

Nirmala means pure, Vidya means knowledge. Nirmala Vidya is purest knowledge or the knowledge of this technique. It creates loops, the energy creates loops and creates also different formations by which it acts and draws all that is unwanted, impure, and fills it up with its power. ...

How subtle it is. Only by saying Nirmala Vidya, you just invite that power, the whole thing, the whole technique to attend to you and it attends to you. You dont have to worry. ... That technique is called Nirmala Vidya. That technique once mastered, by surrendering into it, it completely obeys, absolutely.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extract from Talk at Rahuri, Maharashtra, 31/12/80.
Full transcript in Nirmala Yoga no.1, pp20-21

Significance of Diwali Events

" There are five days they celebrate there... "
“……..as you know there are five days they celebrate there. The first day is the thirteenth day, where it is the gruhalaksmi’s day that is the day when the gruhalaksmi is worshipped. But a gruhalakshmi has to be worthy of the worship, and then some utensil is given, to the gruhalakshmi. Some sort of a utensil is to be given to the gruhalakshmi as a present. That is the day Lakshmi was born, Lakshmi, was born out of the Mother Earth, out of the, we should say Mother Earth, but She came out of the Sea, after the churning, so that is the birth of the Lakshmi. She’s the giver of wealth. Wealth which is material as well as spiritual. ...
So that’s the day of the gruhalakshmi when She’s born. She must have these qualities, if she’s a miserly, calculating type of a woman; she is not a woman at all to begin with. If she’s worried about her own clothes and her own comforts and her own things then she’s not a gruhalakshmi. She makes others work and sits down and all orders about, she’s not a gruhalakshmi at all. She has to work, for others, she has to do for others, she has to look after. That’s the thirteenth day.
Then the fourteenth day is the day when Narakasura was killed. You know Narakasura has taken his birth, and he’s to be killed, the Sahaja Yogis are going to kill him. You have to come up to a point and definitely he can be killed. When Kartikeya is awakened within you, he can be killed. But for that you have to be just like gold, untarnishable. You need strong people to do that. A sword that can kill him has to come out of your [metals or mettles]. Then Narakasura can be killed. He is one of the worst possible asuras. That is the fourteenth day. When he was killed, the gate of hell was opened and, all those where, his disciples or his followers or satanic people were put. That’s the only day you can sleep late, and a good news for you.
Then the fifteenth day, is the darkest night, which we had, darkest night. That is the night when you put the lights on, because it is the darkest night the negative forces can walk in. So the lights are put, because Lakshmi can come in. You’ll be surprised how Lakshmiji is, that if a bottle of wine enters from one end, She disappears from another. ... That’s the responsibility of women, to keep the Lakshmi intact. So that’s the Lakshmi Day when we say that Lakshmi Puja takes place because that is the day you invite the Lakshmi to come in, the Rajalakshmi, the Lakshmi by which you become the king of the family or the, royal, benevolence you can call it, the regal, feeling in the family, that is the day.
Then comes the day, next to that is the first, of the month in, that is the calendar, My forefathers, because you’re all My children you have to use the same calendar Shalivahanas calendar and that is the first day of the Shalivahanas calendar. And what do they do in the morning time, to celebrate it, they take one of these, jars, Aquarius, and put a shawl with it, and that is put as a flag, representing the Aquarius and the Shawl of the Mother. That’s why they are called as Shalivahana, the ones who carry the Shawls of the Mother. The Carriers of the Shawls of the Mother. That’s how they put it up. The shawl on top of it the Aquarius, this should be actually the flag of the Sahaja Yogis, that you make it the, Aquarius or we can say the, jar, what do you call that, pitcher, or not pitcher but this lota business what do you call that - there’s nothing used like that here. That one is to, kumbha we can call in kumbha, and the shawl is there, so they put it up that’s why they call it as Gudi Padwa means - first day of the moon is Padwa Gudi means this. So they put it up and that is how they say that today is the New Year day, for the Shalivahanas.
Shawl is the covering of your Mother, which gives it warmth and also, it covers her modesty. Shawl is a sign of regality and modesty and chastity. So you stand for that, of your Mother. You protect it, like Ganesha does. Only on one point He gets angry, if anybody says or does anything against the Mother, then He comes down. That’s why Christ has said: ‘Anything against Me I’ll tolerate, but anything against the Holy Ghost, will not be forgiven.’ That’s the Son, talking about the Mother, that’s what happens.
So today is, the second day. Second day is the Bij, is the, they call it the, Bhav-bij or Bhaubij is the day when the brother, and the sister, who are the seeds, of one tree, have that, pure exchange of affection. The sister does the aarti of the brother, gives him a tika and then brother gives her something as a token of his love, as a present.
... So this is the fifth day is Dwija. So from thirteenth, to the fifth day they celebrate Diwali. For us Diwali has a very great significance that is, from one light many lights are awakened and they are put in a line, so they are called as Diwali - means ‘the lights put in a line’. So when you hold My Hands together all of us, through that, the energy passes and the enlightened rasa is established, and the whole world has to become, that beautiful [rain or reign], of your Mother where, nothing but the bliss of your Father, and His enjoyment, when He sees, His Own Creation dancing, in that Ocean of Bliss. May God Bless you. (H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Speech extract from Diwali Puja, Hampstead, London, 1983)

" Now, there are many things that have happened during these four days and that’s how it is celebrated with such a great enthusiasm "
“……..Here we are here, all of us, to celebrate a four-day festival called as Diwali. Diwali comes from the word dipali in Sanskrit, the word deepa means ‘the light’, and ali means the ‘line’, the ‘rows’. Now, there are many things that have happened during these four days and that’s how it is celebrated with such a great enthusiasm. The first thing is the day of the Lakshmi’s birth, that is the thirteenth day of the moon: teras they call it. Is the real day when Lakshmi was born out of the sea; that’s why She is called as Miriam or Mariam. Word ‘Mari’ or ‘Marie’ also comes from the word ‘sea’. So, She’s born out of the sea, is created out of the sea. And the wealth of the sea, so far, thank God, human beings have not yet exploited, but they may one day start doing that also. And a lot of wealth is still there, so when people start getting worried about exhausting the Mother Earth, we must know that sea is much more than the earth is. So nothing is exhausted, still there is such a lot reserve for you, and one should not worry as to the supply of wealth that can come from the sea.
Now, this Lakshmi is the goddess, who stands on the lotus. She represents all the well-being, the wealth, the glory of wealth, the decoration of wealth; whichever is auspicious. Whatever is not auspicious is not wealth. According to Sahaja yoga, or according to any scripture, it is not wealth at all. So She’s a lady who stands on a lotus, showing that a person, who has got wealth, has to be a person who does not assert his pressures on people, who doesn’t push people around, who doesn’t pressurize. And then, She’s a lady, She’s a mother. So wealth, is the first opening to our seeking. But when you start seeking the wealth, you realize that the superficial wealth that you are seeking is not sufficient, is not going to give you complete joy. So you start seeking the deeper wealth. As I said that: ‘On the Mother Earth you’ve exploited all that is possible.’ Still there, deep down in the sea, lot of wealth still.
So then the seeking moves toward the deeper seeking. So the same Lakshmi becomes Mahalakshmi. When you start expanding yourself to higher and deeper valuables then this Lakshmi doesn’t lure you much; She’s just there for your glory, but not for your satisfaction. The wealth is there for distribution. You enjoy the - there’s no word for daan, I think? Oh, ‘generosity’, but ‘generosity’ is different. But what I’m saying: ‘Generous fondness’; it’s a fondness, you see, that you should be generous. That is a very great happiness and joy that you feel. That is the greatest, when you are generous, when you give away. That’s a fondness, that’s a kind of a human expression of one’s own being, that you want to be generous. And this generosity only can come when Mahalakshmi principle is born in you.(H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Speech extract from Diwali Puja, London, 1982)

" First of all you have to know there are four days that are celebrated in Diwali, but there is one more day added to it in Maharashtra. "
“………First of all you have to know there are four days that are celebrated in Diwali, but there is one more day added to it in Maharashtra. The first day of Diwali is called as Dhanatrayodashi, is the thirteenth day of the moon. Because that day is the first day when Lakshmi, the first… was born on the thirteenth day. That means She was born as a Gruha Lakshmi, as a housewife. Now there are eight Lakshmis. ... the first is the form of a Gruha Lakshmi. She is born as a Gruha Lakshmi to begin with. That means the awareness of human beings also, started really getting into evolutionary process when they started their family life. When they were vagabonds moving about, then the awareness was just like animals. Though they had become human beings, but they were like animals. Then when they established their families, then the Gruha Lakshmi started working and that's how the first advent of Gruha Lakshmi was felt. So She is the first Lakshmi who was born, and that's why on that thirteenth day is the day of the Gruha Lakshmi, of the housewife. And so one has to go in the market and buy some utensil or something that she uses for cooking in the house. In India on the thirteenth day everyone goes and buys a pot or say… we can say, what you call, a cooking utensil or something. Or they may buy a sari or something or gold or something for the Gruha Lakshmi. That is the day of the housewife. So, to reach the Lakshmi one has to understand that motherhood is very important.
The motherhood as a Gruha Lakshmi is important. And the second day is even more important, because Narakasura was killed. Horrible Narakasura as you know him. But actually that day many rakshasas are killed in many… That's the day fixed for killing rakshasas. And then they are put in the hell; on the fourteenth day they are put in the hell. So that’s called as Naraka Chaturdashi, that is the day when the hell is opened out. That day Sahaja Yogis are supposed to sleep in the night while everybody does all kinds of tantrikavidya and all that on the fourteenth.
Then the fifteenth is that darkest night, that’s the darkest night when there is no moon. Absolutely that's the day when they celebrate the Diwali. But symbolically in India also, Shri Rama returned to Dwari, to his place on that day and was crowned on that day. So the significance of Diwali is expressed in this manner, that this is the day when Narakasura, with all of them are killed, they have all gone to Narak, they have gone to the hell, and the people now are safe from them and they are celebrating the joy. And that is the time when Christ was born. That's why lights are lit just in the night, ‘cause He was born at twelve o'clock in the night.
So the next day to that is the day is celebrated in India only in Maharashtra. ... That's the first day of the moon. That is the forefather of your Mother, Shalivahana; they started a calendar, from that date. And so on the first, that means the first day of the moon, the New Year is celebrated. Now see symbolically if Christ is born and the New Year is celebrated, next day. As soon as He is born New Year starts. So next year it starts: the New Year. That is a New Year in many parts of our country where Shalivahana lived. The Shalivahan was my forefather, I should say they were My… they were just a dynasty. And this dynasty ruled in India since very long. Even in the old puranas it is written that they helped Krishna in their war. You know all the story about Shalivahana quite a lot. And so the New Year started. So for us, that is the New Year, for Sahaj Yogis that is the New Year, you have to accept it. And your Mother is of that dynasty. I mean no force on you, but if you like you can have it.
Then the second day is also very important. Is the second day is the moon, that is the moon came out of the sea. According to this mythology, the Lakshmi came out of the sea and with Her this moon came out, which was only a two-day-old moon, the new moon but a two-day-old moon, and this was regarded as the brother of Lakshmi, because they were born at the same time from the sea. So He is the brother of Lakshmi. It’s all symbolic; this is very, very symbolic. Now you see the left side is… left side you know is that of… belongs to Mahakali, and a brother had to be on this side, on the left side. But actually you'll be amazed that he is the brother of Lakshmi. He is not a brother of Mahakali. But because he’s the brother of Lakshmi, he is accepted as the brother of all the goddesses, one brother for all of them. So he is the only brother who is this moon, so he is your uncle, he is your maternal uncle. It's very interesting, because we have a special right on our maternal uncle, we can always ask for his help”. (H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Speech extract from Mahalakshmi Puja, Hampstead, London, 9/11/1980)

" It’s the day of Mahalakshmi Puja night, not only of Lakshmi Puja; there’s a difference between the two. "
“……..It’s the day of Mahalakshmi Puja night, not only of Lakshmi Puja; there’s a difference between the two. Mahalakshmi is one of the main powers of Adi Shakti. As you know: Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati, Mahakali. Now these powers have powers at a material level also, at a subtler level also. So Mahalakshmi power is achieved after Lakshmi power, as you know. There are eight powers of Lakshmi.
This Lakshmi was born or came out of the sea, the great sea, which was churned thousands and thousands of years back. And She came out of the sea because She is the daughter of the sea. That's why She's called as Neeraja. Neera means 'water' and ja means 'born out of.' This has happened thousands and thousand years back that She was born. So what is that? What is this Lakshmi? See symbolically, what is it expressing? It is expressing the awareness. Lakshmi expresses awareness, and She came out of the sea, you know that; the awareness first started growing in the sea.
The life started existing in the sea, to begin with, and then it grew out. Without the life there is no awareness. First the life, because everything is jarda, everything is dead, and when it becomes life it means it has awareness. So the awareness started growing in the sea. This is the symbolic expression. In the gross level you can understand this way. But actually the subtle level, it is the other way round. But because we see things from the gross level, we say that "that is symbolic,” but actually from the other side if you say, “this is symbolic.” Do you understand this point? So for Me it is symbolic to see how the life came into being in the sea and that it became aware. For Me it is symbolic and for you it is symbolic the other way round. I mean if I see something from this side, I see this way and while you see from that side you see this way. Do you understand this? If you want to paint something on a glass, how do you paint it on the glass? Have you any idea? You start painting first the outermost things that you have to paint. For example if you are painting the Goddess, first you will paint Her ornaments, then Her sari, then Her body. Like that it will be moving deeper from this side, if you are painting it on the glass, because you have to see it from the other side. But supposing you have to paint it on a canvas, you’ll paint it the other way round. You first paint the body, then the sari and then the ornaments. So to one thing it is symbolic because they think this goes from their angle, to the other person who is from the other angle this is absolutely symbolic. And surprising that everything is so symbolic and so much just the same, that whatever you may say, the subtle remains subtle and the gross remains gross. The one who is at the subtle level sees the gross as a symbolic expression of his subtle attention.
Now She was born in the sea. She was called as Neeraja. Or Neera that means “water.” My name is – one of them is Nira as you know; out of Nirmala one name is Nira, Neema and Neela, like that I've got three names, four names I should say the big one is Nirmala. So this Nira part means what, that She was born in the sea, that… the name of Mary is also the same. Miriam or Mary, I don't know how you say in English, but Maria comes from Marie, the word Mari. Mari itself comes from the word Meri. So this Mahalakshmi, Mary is named, and She is, because She was born in the sea and that's how Her name was Mary. Mariana they call Her, some people call Her Mariana, sometime call Her Miriam. All these words are indicating that She was born in the sea. So She is Mahalakshmi. Now Mary is Mahalakshmi and Ganesha is the child. Now see how symbolically it works, that only in Diwali the Lakshmi and the Ganesha are worshipped, only these two personalities. Can you understand that?
The symbol of Mahalakshmi for Me is Mary, for you it is Mahalakshmi is the symbol. And the symbol of Ganesha outside is Christ. He is symbolizing Ganesha. So, both of them are worshipped only on Diwali. Actually this is the Christmas. This is the real Christmas that was before also, and this was the time baby Christ was born, not the 25th of December. Though it's a misunderstanding, doesn't matter, keep it up. Doesn't matter, whenever He’s born, because there used to be a very big festival, and after the festival He was born, called as Valaanan. I don’t know what you call in modern times, that time it was called like that. And then this child was born and that was the time Christmas was celebrated. It was just tallying with that, but somehow it shifted, I don't know how, how it shifted. And there might be somewhere you'll find out that real Christmas was shifted.
... Now the awareness that was seeking up to Lakshmi, means you achieve money, achieve position for achieving Grace, once you have achieved the Grace of this, you want to achieve God. And this new awakening within you that you have to achieve God now, is the power of Mahalakshmi. By the power of Mahalakshmi only, you achieve your saintliness, your Realization. That's why She came on this earth as the Mother of Jesus Christ. That was Mahalakshmi, not Lakshmi but Mahalakshmi.
May God bless you. (H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extract from Shri Mahalakshmi Puja, Hampstead, London, 9/11/80)
http://sahajayoga.org.in/nirmalnagari/calender_significance.htm

Launch of Blossom Times for Nov-Dec'08.

Jai Shri Mataji.

Dear All,
We are pleased to announce the launch of Blossom Times Volume 2 issue 6, for Nov-Dec'08. The same can be viewed and downloaded from www.blossomtimes.org/download.

We all know that today's world is facing many challenging problems, and in this latest issue of Blossom Times we have touched upon the aspect of currently existing problems, along with the offered solution of Sahaja Yoga meditation. Also this issue gives a bit more insight into an introspection angle of 'why meditation' and other topics such as evolution and transformation etc.

We thank all those who have conbtributed to this issue of BT.

Kindly note that henceforth this magazine will be available ONLY through internet and not in print, this is being done to keep the clear focus of it being an electronic media.

We hope that all of you will have a great reading. Also those who wish to contribute to next issues of BT, may kindly send mails to editor@blossomtimes.org.

Warm Regards

Blossom Times Editorial Team

On greed and Dharma

I am not sure to what extent people all over the world were shocked, surprised, or even scandalised by the recent revelations that one person was accused of defrauding several investors of an estimated $50 billion US in December 2008.

The FBI was told the man confessed that his investment-advisory business was a "giant Ponzi scheme" and that investor losses exceeded at least about $50 billion, according to a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. That figure represents the collective amount that investors believed they had invested with the firm -- not the amount they initially invested, known as principal, according to people familiar with the investigation. This was just one of the symptons of a sick world economy, and the financial crisis which is the result. Greed and corruption in government and business, as well as in society is the rrot cause of the present world economic malaise, which is threateneing to close down companies and render millions of workers jobless. That is the situation in the United States where the election of Baraq Obama may herald welcome changes.

Meanwhile across the oceans, in South Africa, where a lot of hope was generated fourteen years ago with the accession to the presidency by Nelson Mandela in 1994, things are not looking so bright either. In an attempt to clean the country of massive corrution and fraud in public and private sectors, the former president Thabo Mbeki created an anti-corruption squad known as the Scorpions. However, their success in bringing to book even big names in the ruling party and elsewhere, may have led to their own demise. Last year at the ANC's conference in Polokwane the party resolved that the Scorpions must go. Now legislation has been passed to give effect to the resolution.

At the same meeting, at Polokwane, the ANC elected Jacob Zuma, whom the Scorpions had investigated for years and accused of corruption and fraud, as its new party president in place of the country's former State President, Thabo Mbeki. Zuma had been fired by Mbeki in 2005 for alleged corruption from the post of Deputy President in the government. This was followed, after the Polokwane conference, by the party firing Mbeki from the post of President of the country. An interim President, Kgalema Motlhantle, has been chosen by the part while waiting for the outcome of next year's election in March or April, when it is almost certain Jacob Zuma will become the country's President.

The unexpected result of all this has resulted in a breakaway part being created in December, called the Congress of the People, which has seen a sizable number of ANC leaders and members abandoning their party for this new one, and which promises clean government based on morals. The new part has gathered a huge following in a matter of weeks mainly from the middle classes of all races and age groups. Time will tell which way the wind will blow.

Why is the world gripped so much by greed? Is there a way out?

Wherever greed grows in people its twin is right there: the quest for power. And lust.

What can we learn from the Teachings of Shri Mataji on greed, to take but one problem?

Talking at the Shri Ganesha Puja in September 1997, Shri Mataji reminds us of how the Kundalini in us acts builds "primordial taboos" within us which if not followed or respected "something goes wrong"in our lives.

"The Kundalini leaves the Mother Earth as a reflection, and what does she do within us to build us up, in which way? So it is the primordial Power which is coming out of the Mother Earth. Mother Earth itself acts like a Mother. She looks after you, she gives you whatever you want; and another miracle thing is that the highest tree is a coconut tree, and a coconut will never fall on any creature or any human being. That means it’s all thinking, all understanding, all consciousness, all awareness is coming from the Mother Earth. But we never understand it. As it is we take for granted.
Now what does she do for us, for us human beings? She’s the primordial Power. What she does is to build in us a primordial – we can call “restrictions” or “primordial taboos” or “primordial dharmas.” For example, you see the steel is here. It has its own dharma, it cannot behave like wood. Wood has its own dharma, it cannot behave like silver. They all have their dharma and they are bound in that dharma. Everything that is in the nature has its own dharma. ...
We have in the same way primordial taboos built within us which are dharma. A human being has to be like that. If he tries to be something else, something goes wrong with his life. It’s like say if you have a glass, you drop it on the ground, it will break – that is the dharma. In the same way when human beings start deviating from the line of dharma, they get into trouble."

(Shri Ganesha Puja, September 1997)

And in another lecture She touches on the freedom from greed, lust and all the other "nonsense" that comes with Sahaj Dharma:

"This is to be understood very clearly that the Sahaja Dharma is that you are just free - complete freedom from lust, greed and all nonsense. You are above it. You are above - this Sahaj Dharma is above the Dharma established by Shri Krishna or by Shri Rama. Because you have reached that state. It’s in complete freedom you have to be dharmic. Whatever is not good for you, you should not do. I don’t have to tell you that, “You don’t do this or you don’t do that.” Whatever I say may not be acceptable but immediately your vibrations will tell you.
This is Sahaj Dharma. In the Sahaj Dharma, you get rid of all kinds of, as they say: kaama, krodha, mada, matsa, lobha, moha. Means - lust, anger, attractions, then [hindi words] – greed, greed; that’s very important, greed – greed. And attractions."

In his stunning book, "The Confessions of An Economic Hitman" on how the US corporate world colludes with the US government for the control of the resources and the leaders of Third World countries, John Perkins says some interesting and shocking things.
He says that we know in many countries economic growth benefits only a small portion and may in fact result in increasingly desperate circumstances for the majority.
"This effect is reinforced by the corrolary belied that the captains of industry who drive this system should enjoy a special status, a belief that is the root of many of our current problems, and is also the reason why conspiracy theories abound" he points out.
"When men and women are rewarded for greed, greed becomes a corrupting motivator" observes Perkins. He adds that when we equate the gluttonous consumption of the earth's resurceswith a status appproaching sainthood, when we teach our children to emulate people who lived unbalanced lives, and when we ddefine huge sections of the population as subservient to an elite minority, 'we ask for trouble' . And we get it, he observes.
But listen to the Sufi poet from 14th century Turkey, whom Shri Mataji describes as talking like Sahaja Yogis:

"I tie up greed, and release generosity.
I shackle anger, and liberate meekness.
I bind consumerism, and unbind piety.
I tie up ignorance, and unfetter respect for the Absolute.
I restrain passion, and release the love of the Absolute.
I tie up desire, and free fulfilment.
I bind commodification, and liberate awareness".
(Haji Bektash Veli, 1248-1337)

And how does Shri Mataji view the Buddha in relation to Dharma, the antidote to greed?
She says:
"Buddha had dharma. His body was clean, His mind the attention, did not find any joy in the worldly greed or desire. His cup was ready and it emptied when he was tired and surrendered and that was the moment: like torrential rain, the “Shakti” filled His cup and made Him the “Shakta”, the Enlightened One. So, when you are talking of virtue, you are warning them to keep the cup intact and clean".
Is the world ready to listen? Can we move back from the brink of self-destruction? Shri Mataji points us towarss Dharma and its essence:

"This is how I describe Dharma in short. Dharma is the sustenance of all things that are born or created. It is super nature that gives valences to atoms in an element. It is Dharma that is expressed as the quality of these elements. For instance, gold has a quality that it is untarnishable. The human beings are like perfected instruments, like computers. Of course, if their Dharma is in balance, they are the best receptors. You can understand that the divine awareness is like the main electrical current which starts the computer (Self-realization). If the Dharma in the instrument is lacking, self-realization does not give full results. It becomes like a second hand car. Dharma is the fulcrum and the one who is in Dharma never gets into imbalance. So the attention has to be on “ Dharma”, the point where the gravity of sin does not act.

"The information of Dharma comes from the Unconscious but the movement from the fulcrum can take the human attention so much in one dimension or so much like a sea saw that ultimately the beam of life tilts towards one side, either towards hell or towards destruction. Because, if the extreme movements are like a sea saw, the delicate flower of human awareness becomes confused and people suffer from all kind of diseases".

But She does not leave us empty without reference about what we can do here and now. And that is the practice of Sahaja Yoga. She says:

"Sahaja yoga is the proof of all the scriptures that are challenged. But I had to come to explain, to give realization and to tell you the “know how”.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extract from a Letter to a follower, London, 1976

Perhaps as we move into a New Year with the world hesitating how to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ, it is appropriate to pause and consider how His whole life was to the epitome of compassion, generosity and concern about the well-being of others and for the plight of the poor. Qualities that should be the driving force for the creation of a new society in the world of today. Sahaja Yoga offers the way towards realising this potential for us to become the change we seek to see around us, as Ghandi once exhorted those who call for change.
When you think of the amount of money involved in fraudulent schemes and deals all over the world and the amount of children dying from hunger, preventable diseases, HIV-Aids, the lack of clean water and health facilities, of medicines, education and the ravages of war, producing millons of orphans and neglect, it sets one thinking. Yet there is a solution; and it is not greed for money and power. It is loving each other, as we love ourselves as Christ teaches; and Shri Mataji reinforces and makes possible through Self-Realisation and the pracice of Sahaja Yoga which restores human beings to their original state of sanctity through the healing Power of the Holy Spirit.

Wishing all people of the world a Blissful Christmas in 2008.