Inspirational stories
General contributions
Once as a child I had read a story about some birds. A net was cast and so many doves, they were caught in the net and they discovered that, “We are misled, misguided.” They saw some grains and they were misguided. So how to get out of the net was impossible for them. It was an impossibility. One could not get out. One tried to get out, others got more entangled and he gets even worse.
So what to do? They all said, “Why not we all fly out with the net itself and then with our beaks we’ll cut out this net and we’ll be freed, but first get out from here. Put our energy together, all of us, and let’s fly out.” And that’s what they did. They spread their wings, all of them put together, and took off and off they went and they were freed.
Today’s Sahaja Yoga is that kind of a trick. One person cannot work it out. It is impossible. If one person has to do it, it’s an impossibility…. One has to become a whole group to lift up the society higher, so that you can really get rid of the shackles of this bondage.
Shri Mataji, 1982
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.
The benefits that Sahaja Yoga brings to our lives are infinite. Vibrations are not just there when we meditate; they are there every second of our lives, just waiting for us to let them help if we shut off our thoughts long enough for them to be heard.
When teaching a class of thirty boisterous Year Four children, I found that it was often difficult to remember this. The class was particularly challenging as it had more than its fair share of strong personalities. Two children had been diagnosed with behavioural disorders and one child suffered from a form of autism known as Aspergers Syndrome. However, one day that all changed.
I was having a hectic time with my class. We had just finished sport and we were awaiting the much-anticipated shopping spree at our P & C Mothers’ Day stall. The children were bouncing off the walls, and all I could do was think of how much I wanted to meditate.
This was the moment that I remembered I had vibratory help, literally at hand. So, I wrestled to get into thoughtless awareness. As I did this I remembered that relaxation techniques, although rarely taught, were a part of the Physical Education and Personal Development curriculum. The class could learn to use meditation to relax!
I managed to settle my class down and then told them that I understood that they were very excited and that probably their heads felt as though they were ready to explode with thoughts about the stall. What will I buy? What will be there? Will there be anything left? Is it our turn next? Or maybe there were thoughts about what just happened at sport. On top of it all, I dared to sympathise, they had a bossy teacher telling them what to do! The class smiled in agreement. They also agreed to try a way of helping them to relax and feel better.
I didn’t explain a thing. I didn’t talk about what would happen. I didn’t use the words, “cool breeze”, “Kundalini” or even “meditation”. I simply asked them to sit comfortably and copy me.
I sat for meditation with palms upturned. I began to move my right hand slowly upwards in front of me until it reached the top of my head and lightly touched the centre of the fontanel area. Thirty pairs of eyes all watched, and thirty hands all did as I did. We did this a number of times. Then we held the right hand above the tops of our heads, as we do in Sahaja Yoga to feel the Kundalini. I didn’t even so much as hint that they would feel anything.
After a few seconds, I lowered my hand back onto my lap and asked them to close their eyes. Every eye shut. They were meditating! The room was completely silent, and the meditation that I was having was incredible. The whole atmosphere had changed.
It was difficult to stop my own meditation, but it occurred to me that I should ask them to write down their experiences, if they had any and only if they wanted. I quietly got out some paper as I told them to open their eyes.
When I looked at them, they were all glowing. Stunned, I asked them to put up their hands if they felt different from when we started. The entire class put up their hands. I asked if they felt anything above the tops of their heads. I will always remember the smiling, nodding faces of the “cool” girls up the back. I told them that if they wanted to, they could write down what they felt, and began to hand out the writing paper. Each child wrote.
By the time they had finished, it was our class’s turn to go to the Mothers’ Day stall. My usually rowdy class quietly left the room and enjoyed a successful shopping experience.
Later, I read their descriptions of how they felt. If I had any doubt about whether or not they had truly gotten their realization, they were immediately removed as I read comments such as, “I felt as light as a feather,” “It felt cool,” and “I loved it”.
The one that moved me the most lacked any poetic description, but it was full of meaning. It said, “I felt normal”. It was written by the boy with Aspergers.
LB
As you may know, the head of a company survived the 9/11 attack, because his son started kindergarten. Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts. One woman was late because her alarm clock didn’t go off in time. One was late due to being stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike because of an automobile accident. One of them missed his bus. One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change. One’s car wouldn’t start. One went back to answer the telephone. One had a child that dawdled and didn’t get ready as soon as he should have. One couldn’t get a taxi. The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work, but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.
Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a ringing telephone – all the little things that annoy me – I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment.
Next time your morning seems to be going wrong, the children are slow getting dressed, you can’t seem to find the car keys, you hit every traffic light, don’t get mad or frustrated; God is at work watching over you.
May God continue to bless you with all those annoying little things and may you remember their possible purpose.