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The man whispered, “God, speak to me,”
And a meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, “God, speak to me,”
And the thunder rolled across the sky,
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you,”
And a star shone brightly.
But the man did not notice.
And the man shouted, “God, show me a miracle!”
And a life was born.
But the man did not know.
So the man cried out in despair, “Touch me, God, and let me know You are here,”
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away –
And walked away unknowingly.
Author unknown
Sahaja Yoga is about gaining self-realisation and developing, through meditation, those powers, those perceptions, that knowledge of the spirit, that oneness with Divinity which self-realisation grants. All of us are born with a life force, a seed of God’s love, within us. It is known by its Sanskrit name, Kundalini, and it resides at the base of the spine. This seed, sprouting, can rise up through the energy centres that exist along the spine, eventually piercing the crown of the head and emerging as a cool energy that can be felt.
The realisation of the self is just that – the process of gaining and becoming conscious of the self, the spirit. The spirit, in other words, becomes manifest on the central nervous system. In earlier days this process was a most arduous one requiring long-term sacrifices and dedication. Now, however, it has become possible for us to receive our self-realisation very easily, and very sweetly. This is because Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the founder of Sahaja Yoga, discovered in 1970 a simple way of granting the moksha, the enlightenment, the liberation, the rhu, self-realisation – all names for the same thing. If the desire is strong and the circumstances are appropriate, self-realisation, with all its wonder, can be gained.
Self-realisation draws our energy, our attention, into the central path of our being. This implies, of course, that there are other parts of our being that are not so centered. Indian philosophy can help us here, especially since it is concerned with doing, being, living – not, as in the West, where philosophy is concerned with thinking and giving active shape to thought.
Indian philosophy holds that the attention can flow along the raja guna which is the right side, the tama guna which is the left side, or the satwa guna, the central path.
So, let’s consider the right side first. What is it? The right side, in its extreme, can be demanding, aggressive, hard-edged, harsh, sun-bright. It’s about self-promotion. It’s concerned with tomorrow, projecting into the future. And being in the right side can cause tensions, anger, even violence.
And the left side, the tama guna? Again, in the extreme, it is emotional, pulling on memories, moon-lit. It’s about the pain of lost joys; it’s regretful, yearning. It’s all about yesterdays and sorrows. Being in the left side can cause insecurity, depression, opting out.
And between left and right, there’s the centre. The centre is balance, grace. It is gently confident, drawing us into ourselves, reflective. A song that sings of the centre says, “Come, the Mother calls you to go deeper in silence, to find the earth of your beginning; that innocence within you, that innocence unfolding from which flow the rivers of your soul.”
The left and right channels are, of course, part of our being. A very necessary part. They are not all bad. We can have good memories and make good plans. And when we are centred, when we are balanced, the left and right sides play their appropriate roles. However, when aspects of the left or the right start to predominate, start to take us over, then we run into troubles. In the far left, insecurity can turn into depression and even forms of cancer. In the far right, heavy thinking and anger can turn into diabetes or violence. It’s the peace and open-heartedness we can achieve through our self-realisation, granted to us through the grace of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, that bring everything into the good balance.
Brian Bell
Sahaja News is designed to provide useful, interesting information about Sahaja Yoga meditation. Sahaja Yoga was started in 1970 by Shri Mataji who developed a simple, unique technique for attaining self-realisation. Sahaja Yoga is practised by people all over the world, and countless people today are enjoying the benefits of Sahaja Yoga meditation.
News items cover a wide range of topics, including the teachings of Shri Mataji and other great spiritual leaders, Sahaja Yoga events in Australia and other countries, the subtle system and chakras, methods for balancing the chakras and meditation methods.
Poems, artwork and photographs, heart-warming and inspiring stories, and personal experiences of Sahaja Yoga practitioners are designed to provide a balanced, harmonious approach to the subject.
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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