Does
Sahaja Yoga accept other religions?
The word RELIGION
comes from a latin word ("religare")
which means "to unite". The essence
of all major religions of the world is the
same: truth. The purpose is the same: to lead
a better life, united with the power which
created us. The religions were all based on
the teachings of Divine incarnations who came
on this earth, at different times and places,
to guide humanity towards its collective emancipation.
Through the process of Self Realization achieved
in Sahaja Yoga, the truth of these religions
becomes apparent: it is not not revealed through
compliance to dogmas. It manifests through
the liberation of our potential for a higher
state of well being. We thus come to truly
grasp and accept the essence of these great
teachings, not on a mental basis, not by trying
to reconcile the differences and ritualism
which was added to them over the ages by the
people in charge, but through our own experience.
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What
is Yoga?
"Yoga"
literally means "union" with the
universal soul. Most people today associate
yoga with the mordern version which offers
stretching postures and breathing exercises.
This physical exercise was just a small part
of the ancient system of Yoga, which aimed
at achieving union byawakening the inner Self
through meditation. This also involved a deeper
understanding of ourselves and why we bahave
and feel the way we do.
" Sahaja
" means "born with you". In
Sahaja Yoga we use the powers which are already
within us to achieve a peaceful state of balance,
well being and self knowledge.We gain a new
awareness of ourselvesand of any inner imbalances
which may affect our feelings and our behaviour.
Each individual
can validate this for himself.
Through the
meditative practices and techniques we can
master ourselves, and thus become our "own
masters". The Sahaja Yoga meditation
technique encourages us to develop a new awareness
of ourselves so that we can grow and evolve
toward becoming truly balanced, peaceful and
compassionate for the benefit of ourselves
and others.
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What
is Meditation ?
Meditation
is the personal experience of going beyond
one's thoughts, worries and upsets, and being
in a state of peace and calm, but still fully
alert. In Sahaja Yoga, this state is quickly
established.
People who
can meditate regularly find they become healthier
and calmer, with an improved outlook on life.
When the inner spirit is awakened and nourished,
our emotional, mental and physical problems
are solved.
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What
is Sahaja Yoga?
Sahaja Yoga
is the next stage in the evolution of human
consciousness. This experience, which started
to spread in 1970 thanks to Shri Mataji Nirmala
Devi, has since been extended to more than
90 countries. The knowledge of Sahaja Yoga
is very old, yet it was kept secret and mainly
only transmitted from guru to disciple. Therefore
for a long time,only very few people had access
to it. Now Shri Mataji has made this knowledge
accessible to all, and Self-Realisation has
become a reality for hundred of thousands
of people all over the world.
Sahaja Yoga was foretold a long time ago by
numerous spiritual traditions and religions.
Until the advent of Sahaja Yoga we manifested
our concepts and our ideas by means of our
ego and our conditionings, without being able
to achieve a state of thoughtless awareness,
which is a collective dimension. Because there
is no absolute norm for distinguishing an
authentic teacher from a false one, many seekers
of truth have allowed themselves to be misled
by following false and self-proclaimed "gurus",
who are driven by power and money.
Sahaja (= spontaneous) Yoga (= union with
the Self) takes our awareness beyond relative
thinking and into the realm of reality which
can be perceived in a tangible manner on our
central nervous system. The result of this
experience, also called Self-Realisation,
Second Birth, Baptism, Satori etc., is that
our spiritual evolution happens without effort,
just like a seed which transforms itself spontaneously
into a great tree. The spiritual evolution
which is the moving force behind this process
brings us into physical, mental and emotional
balance. As Shri Mataji says, "You cannot
know the true purpose of your life unless
you are connected to the power that created
you!"
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What
are vibrations and the Kundalini?
The Kundalini
is the power of pure desire within us - a
maternal, spiritual energy which resides in
a latent state in the triangular sacrum bone
at the base of the spine. The awakening of
the Kundalini was always the goal of all the
religions and all the spiritual traditions
throughout the world.
"The Kundalini cures you, improves you and
showers you with blessings. It keeps you free
from all the problems of the material world,"
says Shri Mataji. The manifestation of the
Kundalini energy is known as vibrations, from
the Sanskrit word Chaïtanya. After Self-Realisation
(the awakening of the Kundalini) these subtle
vibrations can also be felt in the form of
a gentle, cool breeze coming from the fontanel
region of the head (on the top of the head)
and also in the palms of the hands.
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What
is Sahaja Yoga meditation?
Sahaja Yoga
Meditation is a non-intrusive, self-regulated
approach to addressing a great need within
society. The meditation technique, which is
basis of the spiritual path, is easily learned
by the average person. There is growing acceptance
within society of the positive role Sahaja
Yoga Meditation can play in the reduction
of stress, leading to an enhancement of the
individual's physical and psychological well
being, and an improvement in the sense of
balance, equanimity and self control.
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How
is Sahaja Yoga different from other types
of Yoga?
Sahaja Yoga
is different from the other types of Yoga
because it begins with Self Realization instead
of this being the unobtainable dream of a
distant goal.
Traditionally, a guru used to have only a
handful of disciples and look after their
growth for a lifetime, guiding their inner
cleansing day by day. Few souls were able
to achieve Self Realization after many years
of passing through various stages (yama, niyama,
breathing techniques, postures, etc.). For
those few souls, it was like trying to cleanse
a completely obscure room without having any
light.
In these modern times - that Shri Mataji calls
as the Blossom Times because of the state
achieved by human consciousness collectively
- she has devised a method by which this happening
(Self Realization) is achieved spontaneously
(Sahaja), without any effort. A little light
is then lit within us (a new dimension becomes
available to our awareness) and through Sahaja
Yoga meditation we can then grow much faster,
without having to go through any penances,
while living normal lives amidst our own families
and societies.
This is because, in the light of the new awareness,
we become our own gurus, our own guides. After
Self Realization, we are able to feel a gentle
cool breeze flowing above the head and also
from the center of our palms. We can feel
on our fingertips any blockages in our energetic
centers and are able to clear them using this
energy which has been awakened in us (Kundalini).
Moreover. we become collectively conscious,
i.e. we can feel others' centers and cure
them as well. The fact that we are all part
and parcel of the Whole becomes a tangible
reality in our day to day life.
Becoming one with the pure Spirit in us is
the ultimate goal of human life described
in various terms in all religions and spiritual
traditions of the world. Self Realization
is the first step: once this connection is
initially established, it needs to be nourished
with our attention and regular meditation,
enabling us to find out why we are here and
to ultimately fulfill the destiny of our life.
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When
and How did Sahaja Yoga start?
Shri Mataji
had always known that She had the power to
awaken the Kundalini and that She had come
to make that awakening accessible to all human
beings. But She wanted to wait until her family
obligations permitted Her to achieve her true
mission. Saddened by the extent of the damage
done by dishonest so-called 'gurus', Shri
Mataji's wish was that all the seekers of
truth should attain their Self-Realisation.
Accordingly, in Her meditation on 5th May
1970, Shri Mataji opened the seventh chakra
. The Sahasrara chakra (which has a thousand
petals) is at the primordial level of the
personal evolution of every human being, that
of spiritual integration.
Shri Mataji started by giving Realisation
to a small group of seekers in India. Then
a first group of a dozen seekers received
the awakening of the Kundalini: Realisation
en masse had started. Sahaja Yoga spread very
rapidly in the villages in India, where innocent
people were ready to receive this divine gift
with an open heart.
When Shri Mataji's husband was appointed as
Secretary-General for Maritime Affairs at
the United Nations, London became their place
of residence. Some Western seekers started
to receive their Self-Realisation . then,
gradually, Sahaja Yoga spread through Europe
and the United States. In 1989, Sahaja Yoga
spread like wildfire in Russia and in the
Eastern European countries, where thousands
of seekers filled the stadiums and public
meeting places to hear Shri Mataji speak and
receive their Self-Realisation. Today, Sahaja
Yoga is established on the five continents
and is present in more than 90 countries.
How
does it benefit me ?
Is
Sahaja Yoga easy to practice? What effects
/ benefits does it have?
It is the
sincere desire of the seeker which is the
driving factor of the Kundalini. When the
seeker is thoughtless, it is his desire that
allows the spontaneous energy of his subtle
system to transport him into the silence of
meditation. Meditation requires neither physical
nor mental effort. It is a spontaneous happening.
The benefits:
Very quickly,
the benefits of meditation are felt in various
aspects of our life.
•
Physical benefits:
It is our
subtle system which co-ordinates all the work
done by the organs and the cells in our body.
When one of our subtle centres is blocked,
physical dysfunctions appear in the organs
it controls. It is then that most illnesses
appear. Traditional medicine tries to cure
the symptoms. Sahaj meditation allows us to
attack the causes directly, by rebalancing
our subtle system and by cleaning our centres.
Thus, even so-called incurable illnesses can
be cured in a spontaneous manner by the purifying
work of the energy of the Kundalini.
•
Mental benefits:
When we enter
a state of meditation, we enter a realm of
silence ; the thoughts which assail us fade
away, and the reality of the present is revealed
to us in all its intensity. Our senses send
us a direct image of the world which is not
altered by our mind or our conditionings.
The mind even becomes the enlightened servant
of our illuminated spirit.
•
Emotional benefits:
When the Kundalini
is awakened and we are immersed in a state
of meditation, our emotions are also brought
into balance. All the weaknesses which hinder
the expression of pure and sincere sentiments,
such as greed, insecurity, jealousy etc. are
reduced when the joy of meditation is felt.
This joy is absolute, devoid of all duality.
This same joy becomes the motivation of our
emancipation.
•
Spiritual benefits:
Last but not
least, Sahaj meditation reveals to us the
Eternal,Divine being that is Truth, Awareness
and Bliss. We become part and parcel of the
whole,like a drop in that ocean of Love,and
in meditation we melt into that Primordial
being. This experience is the next stage in
the evolution of an ordinary human being's
awareness: that person is said to be born
again or realized. This means that our spiritual
essence, that had been hidden until then,
becomes Reality. We can now set about purifying
our inner being, with the help of the self-knowledge
that Shri Mataji gives us and the relationship
we establish with Her in our meditation. Our
union with the Divine will become stronger
and stronger as we go along and that is without
doubt the most precious benefit that Kundalini
awakening can bring us. This Middle Way that
is established within us day after day by
our Kundalini will shower blessings of all
sorts upon us, not only of a physical, emotional
or psychological nature, but also material,
social and professional benefits.
There are
immediate benefits in Stress relief and a
feeling of peace and contentment. Physically,
it helps in prevention and cure of illnesses
which are otherwise difficult to cure. mentally
and emotionally. it helps one to attain balance,
and spiritually one can attain the highest
level of enlightenment. Practitioners of Sahaja
Yoga have easily given up smoking, drinking
and drugs, and lead a very normal, balanced
and moral life.
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Who
can practice Sahaja Yoga?
Everyone can.
There is no restriction of caste, creed, religion,
nationality, age, or sex.
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How
much will this cost me?
Self-Realisation
is free. We cannot pay for a living and spontaneous
experience, just as we cannot get a seed to
sprout by paying Mother Earth.
On the other hand, we consider it our privilege
to create this Internet site and we are willing
to pay for doing so, just for the pleasure
of sharing with you what has become of our
lives since we received our Self-Realisation.
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Is
there Membership to Sahaja Yoga
You cannot
become a "member" as there is no membership
or power structure in Sahaja Yoga. There are
local coordinators who administer day to day
mundane activities of sahaja Yoga in each
country.
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Children
and education in Sahaja Yoga
One of the
most deeply held commitments amongst people
practicing Sahaja Yoga is that of the well-being
of our children. There are tens of thousands
of remarkably happy and harmonious families
practicing Sahaja Yoga around the world, and
tens of thousands of remarkably happy, well
adjusted children have been born into these
families.
Parents in Sahaja Yoga are concerned, as all
parents are, with helping their children to
grow to adulthood without falling prey to
the traps of peer pressure, drugs, violence
and immorality along the way. We use the techniques
of Sahaja Yoga to help our children stay balanced,
alert, healthy and self-aware. As they grow
up, we teach them how to meditate, and to
understand the subtle inner workings of their
own energy systems, to know when they are
in a healthy, balanced state and when they
are not. We teach them how to treat imbalances
within and to take responsibility for their
own states of mind and awareness.
We have found that as a result, children in
Sahaja Yoga develop a beautiful reverence
for goodness, for practicality and for righteousness.
They maintain a bright, positive attitude
toward life long after children of similar
ages begin to show signs of encroaching cynicism
and disillusionment.
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Freedom
of Choice
Just as a
tree cannot be forced to grow it is not possible
to make someone meditate. This is why freedom
of choice and personal freedom are essential
for the practice of Sahaja Yoga meditation.
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Contribute
to Improving Our Society
Sahaja Yoga
meditation does not require us to go to any
form of extreme behaviour. In fact, the aim
of this meditation technique is to help us
become normal, balanced, productive and responsible
members of society.
As each individual
becomes more balanced, peaceful and compassionate,
society as a whole will also benefit and improve.
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A
Personal Experiment
Sahaja
yoga does not require us to believe anything
that cannot be proven with our own experience.
There is no blind faith or dogma. The best approach
is to treat it like a personal experiment- make
an honest attempt at meditation for, say, one
or two weeks and see for yourself whether or
not it gives you any benefit.
