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Abraham Lincoln
On 12 February 2009 Abraham Lincoln’s 200th Birthday was celebrated in Springfield by America’s new 44th President, Barack Obama.
Shri Mataji has paid tribute many times to Abraham Lincoln and his achievements. Here are some quotations from her talks.
But I would say when I see Abraham Lincoln I think he was a great brother to the Statue of Liberty. The way he fought for women in such pure love and without taking any money, without charging them anything, to punish the husbands who were drunkards. That’s just like a very good, powerful brother to behave. But those feelings are now dying out, I think.
Shri Mataji, 1987
So you are very different from all others, because a Spirit has given birth to your Spirit. You have been cleansed by the Spirit. So you cannot live like that, like all other human beings are living. All the clashes, all the problems of human beings are because they are not what they talk. Ideals are out, out of their life. That is how a Sahaja Yogi will show himself off, compared to anybody else.
Take an example say of Abraham Lincoln, all right? Abraham Lincoln believed that everybody must have freedom and the government should be for the public, for the people. Whatever he talked he practised. Whatever he believed in he worked it out, and gave his life for it. That’s why he’s a great man. Think of Mahatma Gandhi. They were not like Christ, Incarnations. Think of any great man. Think of Shivaji Maharaj, any one of the Saints. They were human beings. But once they knew this is the principle on which we have to live, they become one with the principles. They do not compromise.
Shri Mataji, 1983
I was looking for a way to manage stress (emotional, mental or physical) and this led me to Sahaja Yoga meditation which provided an easy technique that could be practised whenever I liked. “Simple” and “effortless” are the two qualities that make this a unique method of achieving mental stillness, or a state of thoughtless awareness, or silence, or peace – basically, the state of meditation.
Like me, there are people in over ninety countries enjoying the benefits of Sahaja Yoga meditation today. And here is an opportunity (which is always free of charge) suitable for people of all ages and backgrounds to do the same. People who have jobs, families, day-to-day activities to deal with, people like me who have practised this meditation for several years, run these classes voluntarily to help the community.
The principles and basics will be explained. So there is no need to worry if you are new to meditation. The programs run for about an hour and the starting time is 7:30pm every Wednesday. People are free to join at any time. Please feel free to attend any of the classes, and we would love to hear how your experience was.
Time: Wednesdays, 7:30 pm
Venue: Lidcombe Community Centre, 3 Bridge St (underneath Lidcombe library), Lidcombe, NSW
For further details: Phone 0425 261 119 or 0403 754 773
Nitin Gupta
Our beautiful planet Earth
Great writers have given us inspiring lyrics such as the song, “Imagine”. Great people say great things that inspire us.
One of my favourites at this time is something like “Change an individual and you change the world”.
These three ideas keep coming into my head, along with the saying, “As it is without, so it is within”. Or is it the opposite? Whichever way it goes, it makes sense and is obviously true.
If we look sick, generally we are. If our normally neat homes look like a disaster for no obvious reason, then there’s a big chance we are feeling like a bit of a disaster inside as well.
At this point in history we all seem to be wondering what will go wrong next in the world – our jobs, money, housing and so on.
Thanks to Shri Mataji we can meditate and learn to dissolve these worries. She has told us the qualities of each chakra so that we can feel the true peace we have within us. These are the qualities that the entire planet needs. She tells us we can help to save the world by helping it to change.
This is a huge statement until we remember it starts with us. If it is true that “Change one person and you change the world” and “As it is within, so it is without”, then if we can clear our chakras we have done just that. We have begun to change the world.
Not convinced? If you are practising regular Sahaja Yoga meditation then you must have noticed some change in your niche in the world. If we all could do it our improved personal worlds would finally have to connect.
Imagine that! I did and came up with the idea for this article.
Lisa Barron
Sir CP Srivastava
Sir C.P. Srivastava, Shri Mataji’s husband, has been given the award of Padma vibhushan by the President of India for his extraordinary services rendered in India. He was awarded this honour along with the other top ten luminaries for 2009. The award was announced on the occasion of India’s Republic Day, 26th January 2009.
The Padma vibhushan is the second highest civilian award of India . It is awarded to recognise exceptional and distinguished service to the nation in any field, including government service.
For more information about Sir C.P .Srivastava, see Sir C.P.’s biography and other awards, click here.
(Photograph: www.sahajayoga.com.au)