Shri Mataji
Forgiving others, while often difficult, is one of the most important things we need to do for our spiritual growth. Shri Mataji, the founder of Sahaja Yoga, has said that if Jesus Christ had not come on the earth, we would not have been able to have the spontaneous attainment of Self-realisation which has been made possible through the methods of Sahaja Yoga. The reason is that the quality of the Agnya Chakra is forgiveness. By forgiving those who crucified Him, Jesus opened the Agnya Chakra. If the Agnya Chakra had not been opened, it would not have been possible for Shri Mataji to open the Sahasrara, the last Chakra in the human evolutionary process.
If we do not forgive, the Agnya Chakra remains closed, and we cannot experience the full blessings of Self-realisation. If the Agnya is not fully clear, we are dominated by our thoughts which come either from the past or the future. If the thoughts are coming from the past, we are governed by the Superego or conditionings. If our thoughts are of the future, we are governed by the Ego, the notion that we are responsible for creating what is going to happen in our lives. It is only when we are released from both the Ego and the Superego that we are able to be in the present. In the present, there are no thoughts, and we can then enter into a state of thoughtless awareness or true meditation.
One way of opening the Agnya Chakra is to recite the Lord’s Prayer which was given to us by Jesus Christ. The key phrases are:
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”.
Thus, the Lord’s Prayer is actually a mantra specially designed to open the Agnya Chakra.
Jesus also said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Light.” Another way of opening the Agnya Chakra is to use light. Thus, looking at a candle flame or a fire is an effective way of clearing the mind of thoughts and opening this chakra.
This, then, is the true meaning of forgiveness: letting go of thoughts of the past or of the future, in order to prepare the Agnya Chakra for the last great breakthough in our evolution. When we do this, we are no longer burdened by guilt, regret or anger, but attain a peaceful state of mind where we can experience the joy of being in the present. Of great significance, however, is that this state also paves the way for the attainment of Self-realisation.
(Photograph courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org)
On Tuesday 11 September, Shri Mataji arrived in Australia with Her husband, Sir CP Srivastava, and their family. They will be in Sydney for an extended stay.
All the Sahaja Yogis welcome Shri Mataji and Her family, and wish them a very enjoyable stay. We are very grateful that Shri Mataji has decided to come to visit our country again. People from all over the world are arriving to join in the many joyous celebrations that have been arranged.
The founder of Sahaja Yoga, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, worked out the method of raising people’s Kundalinis en masse, the method used in Sahaja Yoga. After a new person’s first program, described in the article, “Your First Sahaja Yoga Program”, we teach you how to clear your chakras each day and how to bring up your Kundalini each day. We also encourage you to feel the difference in the depth of your meditation when you meditate with other people compared with when you meditate alone.
Sahaja Yogis who have been meditating for years still clear their chakras daily and attend collective meditation as often as possible; preferably daily and certainly a minimum of once a week.
There is an important reason to clear your chakras daily: when your Kundalini first rises, it is like a few strands of a rope coming up. It can come up a lot more strongly if your chakras are clearer. While the Kundalini does begin to clear the chakras, when it is up, our chakras do need some help – hence the Sahaja Yoga clearing methods taught at programs, using the natural elements.
The connection between clearing your chakras and the Kundalini is this: the clearer your chakras are, the more the strands of Kundalini can rise. The more strands of Kundalini that rise, the deeper the meditation you have. The deeper your meditation is, the more peaceful and connected to the Collective Unconscious you are.
The connection between the Kundalini and collective meditation is this: your Kundalini comes up more strongly when you are in contact with other people whose Kundalinis are up. Because you are connected to the Collective Unconscious, you are also connected to everyone else who is connected to the Collective Unconscious. Hence, when you meditate together, everyone’s individual connections become stronger, i.e. their Kundalinis rise more strongly when people are together. When people are together in meditation, the peace and deep, quiet bliss that results is indeed the “peace that passeth all understanding” spoken of in the Bible.
(Photograph courtesy of copyright-free-pictures.org.uk)
On the evening of 12 December 1981 there was a meditation meeting held by Sahaja Yogis in Shri Mataji’s presence in England. Shri Mataji asked one Yogi of Polish origin to take an important role in the meditation. And She said to her, “Now you have to pray for Poland from your whole heart because there is a great danger coming. Pray that the bloodshed can be avoided.”
So this Yogi prayed from her heart during the whole meditation. And next day it was announced that on the same night, 12-13 December, martial law was proclaimed in Poland. There was no war because nobody was fighting, but some people were put in gaol and some citizens’ rights were suspended. In Warsaw and other big cities there were tanks and the Polish army roamed the streets. There was a small fight in one of the coalmines, and ten workers were shot dead by the police.
The Polish Yogi was disappointed. She thought that her prayer and Shri Mataji’s efforts failed. But she didn’t know that all this was really a blessing. If on that night Shri Mataji hadn’t worked for Poland and hadn’t saved our country, we would have been in severe trouble because there were huge armies from all the communist countries waiting all around the Polish borders, ready to enter and massacre everyone. Even some of the troops inside Poland were from outside countries. Everything depended on this one night: only hours separated Poland from disaster.
I was in Poland at that time and I was really surprised by the mildness of the event. Of course, people were not happy, and many anti-communist people were held in gaol, but life was almost quiet and normal. In a short time the tanks disappeared from the streets and telephones started working, and although many telephone lines were tapped, it didn’t do much harm to the average citizen. There was little bloodshed, and no major problems.
The Polish Yogi told me her story recently when I brought her a Polish newspaper with the whole story of what had occurred that night. She was surprised, as she had not known before the full significance of the events of that night.
Hania Turczyn-Zalewska
Poland