Shri Ganesha
Konkan is the coastal plain between Mumbai and Goa in Maharashta, India. Ganapatipule, a place of pilgrimage for Sahaja yogis for many years, is situated in Konkan. Ganapatipule was chosen by Shri Mataji because of the presence of a Shri Ganesha Swayambhu.
Sahaja Yoga events have been taking place on a regular basis for the last seven years or more in this area and a number of new Sahaja Yoga centres have been established there as a result.
The report below tells the story of recent Sahaja Yoga programs in Konkan.
“On the weekend of 15 February 2008 we, a small group of Sahaja Yogis from Mumbai, went to the Konkan Agricultural College to give realisation. About 1,500 students got their realisation as well as the Principal and all the staff. We showed them some research on sunflowers treated with vibrated water which gave a higher yield, and trees affected by acid rain treated in the same way, done by Dr Mylany in Austria some years ago, and they were very impressed.
On the weekend of the 1st March there was a mela (fair) at a swayambhu, Anganewadi Taluka Malvan, a Devi temple in southern Maharashtra, in the village of Bharadi, between Goa and Ratnagiri, near Ganapatipule. We had a Sahaja stall to give realisation to people who came to pray there. We distributed about 15,000 leaflets, and were given the balcony of the local school, because the stall was too small. We put the photo of Shri Mataji on the balcony and gave realisation to crowds of people, in batches.
We are not sure how many people got their realisation – we were too busy to count – but probably about 10,000, maybe more, and there were not many of us Sahaja Yogis. Many of those who received realisation asked for the address of their local centres so they could follow up, because they came from all over Maharashtra and even further away. There were many students, teachers, businessmen, artists, stall vendors and even the police who were on security duty there.”
Deepali Bandakar and Ravindra Gaonkar
You can find out more about the spiritual significance of Ganapatipule at:
http://sahaj-az.blogspot.com/2008/02/ganapatipule-history.html
On a foggy Fourth of July morning, 2007, the San Diego Sahaja Yogis set up a booth at the Standley Park Fair in Clairemont. We finished setting up by 8:30 am and were all set to spread the message of Sahaja Yoga to the crowds that were starting to trickle in. There were only a couple of us, as it was still early in the morning.
At about 9 am, a little girl in a brown dress and a bright, neon-yellow windbreaker walked up to our booth. She couldn’t have been more than eight or nine years old. We observed for a minute or so as she read the poster set up in front of the booth. Then Keona asked her if she would like to try meditating. The little girl said she was open to it. We went through the experience of Self-realisation with her, and she seemed to enjoy it immensely. We asked her what her name was and she said it was Emily.
Emily left the Sahaja Yoga booth, but twenty minutes later she was back. She just stood by our booth, smiled at us and waved as we were giving Realisation to other seekers. She did this about four or five times during the day. Since this was a Fourth of July fair, there were lots of other attractions for the children – face-painting, drawing contests, a balloon parade and many other events. Emily would go away from our booth, but kept returning as if the tremendous vibrations kept pulling her back.
About two hours later, she came back, this time with her mother. And then she came back with two friends, and soon a small crowd started forming in front of our booth. At one point, our entire booth was filled! We had about six children and seven mothers and other ladies crowded into our little tent, and the more the people saw this, the more they were interested in what was going on. We had to borrow extra chairs from our tent neighbours and the organisers, and people were spilling out of our allotted space to get their Realisation.
Everyone got their Realisation, and we had a long list of names of people interested in starting a new Sahaja Yoga meeting in that area. The vibrations were tremendous because the children all had their Kundalinis up in no time! And little Emily joined them a second time to sit down and meditate with us. It was the sweetest experience to see this little Angel with light in her eyes and a big smile on her face enthusiastically telling everyone about the Sahaja Yoga booth. She kept pointing people to our booth even when she was in line for the rock-climbing wall or the face-painting booth.
Towards the end of the day, she came back to the booth, hugged Keona tightly and just smiled. She said she would love to come back to meditate some more. We told her mother that she was a very special child, a Realised soul who recognised the significance of the work we were doing. We asked her mother to please bring her to every meeting once we started.
We haven’t stopped talking about our little Angel whose innocence did Shri Mataji’s great work for us that day like a little Shri Ganesha, Shri Hanumana and all the Shakti powers rolled into one!
Viraj and Keona Talpade
San Diego, USA
The Mooladhara Chakra is placed at the very base of the spinal column. It has an important role as support for both the subtle body system and Kundalini, and so it is closely related to balance and stability. The Mooladhara Chakra is placed below the Mooladhara which houses the Kundalini. It is the foundation of the psyche, where it is grounded and supports the other centres. Any strong disturbance to its sensitivity throws the individual off-balance and causes mental disturbance.
The qualities of the Mooladhara Chakra are innocence and wisdom and eternal childhood. To awaken these you can use the affirmation, “Mother, please make me the innocence.”
The Mooladhara Chakra is the seat of our grounding force, our connection with Mother Earth. It is made of the Earth element and represents the beginning and primary principle of Life.
In the beginning, gross matter was created using the four-petalled Carbon atom as the first building block. Like Carbon this chakra has four petals, a stable configuration. The Earth is our vehicle for Life and is innocent in this role. She does not judge – matter simply is and supports. In the same way the innocence of a child simply is, without thinking, judgement or concern, and this quality is in concert with the innate pure wisdom of a child. Children often see and speak clearly. “From the mouth of babes”.
When this chakra is awakened its magnetic force starts working. A person whose Mooladhara Chakra is awakened has an inner sense of stability and direction. The qualities of this chakra are those of innocence, wisdom, purity and eternal childhood. These qualities are naturally inherent within each being, but we can through various practices damage this centre. This is the centre that governs the retention, elimination and sexual aspects of human beings.
An awakened and lively Mooladhara chakra brings forth spontaneous wisdom, innocence, dedication, purity and joy. Such a personality is auspicious, and contributes good fortune to his or her surroundings.
The presiding deity or personification of the Mooladhara chakra is Shri Ganesha, the child with the head of an elephant. He is innocent and helps us to remove obstacles in our way.
Clearing the chakras in the Subtle System is an important part of Sahaja Yoga. Sitting on Mother Earth is a very simple technique for clearing the Mooladhara Chakra. If you wish to find out more ways of clearing the chakras, you are very welcome to come to any of the Sahaja Yoga programs held throughout Australia. Please see the main website, www.sahajayoga.com.au, for details about meeting places and times.
(Photograph: www.sahajayogatorino.com)