chakras
On Saturday 31st May 2008, we invited people who had been attending regular weekly meditation programs to come to the Sahaja Yoga Centre at Wamuran, 60 km north of Brisbane, for an advanced meditation workshop. We had emailed subscribers to the newsletter as well, but as it turned out, the weather had other ideas!
Heavy rain, storms and flooding hit the Sunshine Coast area that weekend and some people indicated they might not be able to attend. Preparations were well in hand, however, and plenty of food and refreshments had been organised.
Despite the conditions, ten guests braved the elements and the muddy driveway, to further their knowledge of Sahaja Yoga. After the introductions, some light refreshments were offered, and then it was into the meditation room to start the proceedings.
After a formal welcome to Wamuran, a brief introduction to Sahaja Yoga followed. After this we went through the Self-realisation, as some people had never attended a program. Then out came the footsoak bowls. Yogis helped in clearing chakras during the guided meditation and we could feel the vibrations increasing. A demonstration of working on one’s own chakras was then given and instructions for meditating at home.
A period of quiet meditation followed, accompanied by some sitar playing. The vibrations were strong during the meditation, and people’s faces seemed to take on a more serene appearance.
A talk by Shri Mataji called “Establishing Your Self-realisation” followed. We rounded off the workshop with some bhajans, ending with the Maha Mantras. Meditation then continued, accompanied by some quiet music.
The delightful smells from the kitchen soon brought our attention to our nabhi chakras, however, and then it was time to mingle around the dining table savouring the cuisine. Our guests were genuinely happy and at ease, and most didn’t want to leave, staying for cups of tea, laughing and chatting with the yogis. Some even helped with the washing up!
Amazingly, it was only after everyone had gone, that we realised that it hadn’t rained at all during the entire program, even though destructive winds and torrential rain had been forecast.
The feedback from the guests was extremely positive. We are planning to hold monthly workshops in the future on the last Saturday of each month.
Peter Hewitson
Wamuran
The Sahasrara Chakra, or crown chakra, is situated at the fontanelle area at the top of the head. Fontanelle means fountain, and there are many references to the cool breezes that blow and the fountains that flow in the Kingdom of Heaven, above, in all major religious texts and mystical traditions.
As man is the epitome of evolution, so the epitome of man is the joyful integration at Sahasrara Chakra. Each day allow the attention to rise into Sahasrara and dissolve within the cool breeze of your Kundalini.
The Sahaja Yoga affirmations for the Sahasrara Chakra are: “Mother, by your grace I am protected from all the challenges to my ascent”; and “Mother, verily You are the Victory over all the challenges to my ascent.”
The Sahasrara is the uppermost point of the manifest Creation. It is a privileged place for us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven within. Here in silent majesty is the subtle source point for the three great powers that create, sustain and resolve the creation in all its myriad forms. At this point we go beyond the relativity of temporal existence, beyond time and drama, spontaneously in the Flow of the Divine
vibrations. This is the point of Oneness, the realisation of Heaven on Earth, achieved by the Sahaja Yogi. Here the complete perfection of the human potential begins to flower. The awakened cool breeze of Kundalini begins to cleanse and nourish the whole subtle body and the Grace of God falls within.
In the Silence of Sahasrara the whole instrument is integrated. Each chakra has its place. Here the Kundalini opens the lotus petals of the Sahasrara and enlightenment or realisation takes place.
After realisation, you may feel a pulsation and a flow of cool vibrations. This is the baptism by which you know you are truly born again. Your new vibrational awareness signals that you have moved into the subtlest level of communication, in collective consciousness.
We become vessels for Divine power and our presence begins to awaken others. We learn to appreciate the real depth and beauty of people, of Nature and all things by their vibrations. We no longer judge by opinion but by vibrations. Just ask a question and a positive answer comes as a flow of cool vibrations. Just sit in meditation and ask the vibrations. It is conversation at its most sublime.
The presiding deity of Sahasrara, Sri Kalki, is still to come. With His eleven destroying powers (Ekadesha Rudra) He is the final, most awesome incarnation of the evolving principle of Shri Vishnu. Meanwhile, we have the presence of Shri Mataji to awaken the seekers of the world to their rightful inheritance and their
fully enlightened powers. Shri Mataji, as the source of this MahaYoga, has Her place, too, at the Sahasrara.
As Shri Mataji has said, “Without opening the Sahasrara, God itself was a myth, religion itself was a myth, all talk about divinity was a myth. People believed in it but it was just a belief. Now if the will of God is so important, it has to be proved. Now through Sahaja Yoga, after the breaking of the Sahasrara, you have now, for the first time, felt the will of God, which is such an important thing. Now the will of God you are feeling on your finger tips. After realisation, you have discovered the absolute science which is the will of God.”
Pavan Keatley
(Illustration: sahajayogaspirituality.com)
There is joy before Realisation and after Realisation, but before Realisation there is no capacity to enjoy. That capacity to enjoy comes to you after Realisation and the main thing that happens to you is the discretion. Then, like the swan, you just take the milk of eveything. Your attitude towards everything becomes very different. You start seeing things from a different angle.
Once we had to go to a very ancient temple to see some art. I, My son-in-law and My daughter were walking about. We had to walk for miles up the hill and then, when we were very tired, we went into a temple and just lay down. They were so tired.
At that time I said, “See these elephants here, how beautiful they are. Every one has a different type of a tail and a different type of a trunk. All the poses are different. So many of them are like that.”
My son-in-law said, “We are so tired. How can we look at these things?”
Because My attention didn’t go to My tiredness, but to these beautiful things, same thing – you start sucking in the milk. There is joy, but you cannot feel the joy because the power – that subtle power of divine discretion – is not there. Once that comes in, you start enjoying everything.
Things are just the same. Life is just the same. Nothing has changed. Same house, same family, same city, same environment, but you start enjoying because the sensitivity of your Hamsa chakra is now only for divine discretion and you immediately know and then you don’t want to do anything with the thorns. You only want to gather flowers and you know how to gather flowers and you are in joy.
Shri Mataji, 1992
It is now widely acknowledged that our life and what happens to us on the outside, in our relationships, at work, at home, depends on the state of our being on the inside, that is, how we think and feel and how we act, whether it be with kindness, selfishness, anger or compassion. This is because all human beings have inside them a “subtle system”, which is a blueprint that incorporates all the ways we should conduct ourselves in our lives. Our lives on the outside are a reflection of the condition of this subtle system. If we live in accordance with this blueprint and are able to balance our subtle system, then our lives will be happier, healthier and more productive.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, who founded Sahaja Yoga in 1970, has given many public lectures about this subtle system and how it works. The subtle system consists of seven chakras, three channels and the residual life force, which is a dormant energy called the Kundalini which resides in the sacrum bone at the bottom of the spine.
Each of the seven chakras has certain qualities which manifest in our lives when the chakras are clear. For example, if our heart chakra is clear we will show the traits of courage and compassion in our lives. If there is a blockage in a chakra, it manifests in our lives. For example, a blockage in the Nabhi chakra may lead to us having problems with money. When the Nabhi chakra is cleared either the financial difficulties will disappear or we just won’t be worried about them any more and we will find a way to manage.
The three channels need to be in balance. When the left side and the right side are balanced we can operate in the central channel, which is the present. In order to be in the present, we need to achieve our Self-realisation, which occurs when the Kundalini rises up the central channel, through the limbic area in the brain and out of the fontanelle bone area at the top of the head to unite with the All-pervading Power of the universe.
When this happens, we become connected to the universal, Divine power that created us. We become more knowledgeable about ourselves and are able to know the state of our subtle system, our chakras and channels. As we begin to meditate and strengthen this connection after attaining our Self-realisation, we become “thoughtlessly aware” and our Kundalini flows through our chakras, clearing them. As a consequence we become better people, we automatically act in more constructive ways and all our bad habits drop out. We begin to demonstrate the positive characteristics of the chakras in our behaviour, and the positive qualities of the chakras manifest in our lives.
Recent research has shown that people are happiest when they demonstrate the “virtues” in their lives. It is already well-known that people who are happy have stronger immune systems and are healthier than those who are not. Investigation of over 200 religious and philosophical texts including the Upanishads, the Koran, ancient Greek philosophers and Christian texts has demonstrated that there are six universally accepted traits that are regarded as virtues that are revered in every society. They are wisdom, courage, compassion, judgement, self-discipline and forgiveness. The universality of these traits indicates that they are innate and are part of the blueprint of human beings. The fact that people feel happiest when they express these virtues in their behaviour also indicates that they form an innate part of the human experience.
It is time that we looked inside and looked to our roots, in order to find happiness and fulfillment that will be for our good, and for the good of our family, our town, our country and ultimately for the good of the whole world. As Shri Mataji considers it the birthright of every human being to have their Self-realisation and the knowledge of the subtle system, Sahaja Yoga is always taught free of charge.
Kay Alford
(Photograph: wikimediacommons)