Editor
“The basic seeking power is humility… If you think you know everything, you cannot humble down … and you cannot seek. Even if you seek, you don’t want to follow anybody else’s path …you’ll do whatever you want to do.”
“One thing is very important in your humility … you should be a humble person … not think that you are something special … or some sort of a self-important person… once you think you are important, then you are not part and parcel of the whole… If you start thinking like that, anywhere in your journey of Sahaja Yoga, then I must say that you are not in the Sahaja Vasta, the Sahaja State.”
“Those who are humble can only become friendly with each other, can share their problems with each other. So humility can only help you to articulate, to have rapport with your friends. But humility should not be sympathetic – it is a detached quality that does not get attached to any person.”
“Only a person who is not guilty will be really humble, because guilty people are aggressive … are sarcastic… A humble person is a free person, free to be humble, to be kindly, to be gentle, to be compassionate – that sort of Sahaja Yogis you have to be. When people meet you they will be impressed. Humility doesn’t have any subservience, and is very different to compassion. Humility is a very human quality, is a special quality only the bhaktas have. It is such a beautiful quality of taking the showers of bliss, and a person who cannot take, is so lonely. Such a person cannot get companionship with anyone.”
Shri Mataji
When Abraham Lincoln was campaigning to become the President of the United States, one of his arch-enemies was a man named Stanton. For some reason Stanton hated Lincoln. He used every ounce of his energy to degrade him in the eyes of the public. So deep-rooted was Stanton’s hate for Lincoln that he uttered unkind words about his physical appearance, and sought to embarrass him at every point with the bitterest of diatribes.
In spite of this, Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Then came the period when he had to select his cabinet which would consist of the persons who would be his most intimate associates in implementing his program. He selected Stanton to fill the all-important post of Secretary of War.
There was an immediate uproar in the inner circle when the news began to spread. An adviser was heard saying to him, “Mr. President, you are making a mistake. Do you know this man, Stanton? Are you familiar with all of the ugly things he said about you? He is your enemy. He will seek to sabotage your program. Have you thought this through, Mr. President?”
Mr. Lincoln’s answer was terse and to the point, “Yes, I know Mr. Stanton. I am aware of all the terrible things he has said about the best man for the job”. So Stanton became Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War and rendered an invaluable service to his nation and his President.
Not many years later Lincoln was assassinated. Many laudable things were said about him as the greatest of all Americans. Even today, millions of people still adore him as the greatest of all Americans. HG.Wells selected him as one of the six great men of history. But of all the great statements made about Abraham Lincoln, the words of Stanton remain among the greatest. Standing near the dead body of the man he once hated, Stanton referred to him as one of the greatest men that ever lived and said, “He now belongs to the ages”.
If Lincoln had hated Stanton both men would have gone to their graves as bitter enemies. But through the power of love Lincoln transformed an enemy into a friend.
It was this same attitude that made it possible for Lincoln to speak a kind word about the South during the Civil War when feeling was most bitter. Asked by a shocked bystander how he could do this, Lincoln said, “Madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” This is the power of redemptive love.
You must pray to God and ask what you want. Ask for:
“Complete satisfaction in my heart, joy in my heart, bliss in my heart, so that the whole world becomes blissful.
“Give me love, love that I could … love the whole world and that the whole world becomes one in love.
“Give salvation to this … humanity , which is suffering.
“Take me to Your Feet.
“Cleanse me … with Thy love.”
Now see if there is God or not. You can feel it within yourself. He hears you. He understands you. He’s the glory of all the glory. He loves you. He protects you. He guides you. He created you to reveal His love, but accept it.
Any time any thought is coming, you pray and you will be moving in the waves of that ocean which is the unconcsious mind, which starts with thoughtless awareness.
If you cannot become thoughtless, you pray:
“Forgive me for what I have done and forgive those who have done harm to me.”
Shri Mataji, 1975
The reason why many turn to substance abuse is that they are unable to d
eal with life’s problems. Depression and anger, sadness and frustration are further fuelled by drug-dependency, alcoholism or both.
Daniel Goleman in a book entitled Emotional Intelligence says that it is the lack of application of intelligence to emotions that makes one lonely, depressed, angry, unruly, prone to worry, impulsive and aggressive.
A scientific assessment of the emotional and spiritual mind has emerged in an attempt to understand why we can be reasonable one moment and irrational the very next moment. Goleman attributed it to two minds, one emotional and the other rational; one that feels and one that thinks. The rational mind is prominent in analytical approach while the other one can be impulsive, powerful and at times illogical. He argues that the emotional mind is far quicker than the rational mind at making split-second decisions without analytical reflection about the potential consequences. This can be bewildering to the analytically inclined rational mind.
Spiritual teachers such as Buddha and Jesus touched their disciples’ hearts by speaking the language of emotions. This is why their teachings are so effective.
Why is improving the emotional quotient (EQ) or imbibing spiritual intelligence important? Because it helps us deal with problems in a constructive manner, and stops us getting addicted to harmful habits like substance abuse.
Family members can take an interest in improving the EQ and spiritual quotient (SQ) of their near and dear ones as an effective way to combat drug abuse. One method is practising yoga and meditation to enhance emotional intelligence and manage stress. To manage stress, we need to leverage intelligence without having to make drastic changes in lifestyle. Not everyone can retreat to the Himalayas or engage in difficult Hatha Yoga.
Sahaja Yoga, founded by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, is a method which helps achieve self-realisation in a simple and practical manner. Sahaja Yoga is based on the principle that enlightenment and good health require proper balance within the seven major chakras.
Shri Mataji says, “En masse inner transformation by self-realization is the reality now. Sahaja Yoga is the spontaneous union of individual consciousness with the all-pervading power through the awakening of the residual power of the Kundalini.
“Just as an egg gets transformed into a bird or a seed into a plant, Sahaja Yoga helps transformation of a person to a higher awareness level. The awakening of the inherent dormant energy can be accomplished in a practical and simple manner.”
Adapted from India Times