He rHo l i n e s sMa t a j iSh r iNi r ma l aDe v i

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All that has taken us away from Inner Peace… In the absence of peace, human beings are in perpetual pursuit of worldly comforts and materialistic pleasures. Every individual, in search of joy and happiness, is running away from his own ‘Self’ which is the real source of joy. Although unprecedented improvements in Medical Science has provided cure to various physical ailments, they have failed to give human beings their true contentment, inner silence and bliss. Man’s inability to cope up with the malicious effects of fast life and stress has resulted into an acute phase of restlessness with lack of mental stability. While students and children have indeed lost the mirth in their being with the nature, much due to technological advancements, they have, in general, also lost the scope of developing into a virtuous personality of balanced, blissful and benevolent temperament. A peculiar kind of bigotry among the young generation born from the imbalance in their intelligence quotient (IQ), emotional quotient (EQ) and spiritual quotient (SQ) have led them to indulge in narcotics, alcohol, tobacco and other addictives. These perhaps deliver some amount of mental and physical relief, but by and large entangle the subjects into addiction of various such unhealthy products. Their attention then grows more and more outward and they often lose their innate moral values. Not unnaturally one may find some getting trapped into the pitfalls of depression, or other ‘Stress disorders’. These completely disturb the milieu interieure of their being which ultimately lead them to suffer from hosts of psychosomatic diseases.

Discovering ‘Bliss’ amidst Pandemonium Our ‘inner being’, the seat of our awareness, on the other hand, is an energy of the Divine Love. All the evolution and manifestation of material energy is guided by this supreme energy of Divine Love. We are unaware of how powerful and thoughtful is this unknown energy. The silent working of awareness is so automatic, minute, dynamic and expansive that we are really surprised when it first appears as silent throbbing vibrations through our being after ‘self-realisation’. Since we often fail to fix our attention onto something that has no form (abstract being: Nirākara), our attention wanders outside on ‘forms’ (Sākara). After self-realisation it is possible to direct our attention from Sākara to Nirākara i.e. from ‘outside’ to ‘inside’ our being and to 1

achieve the state of Nirvichāra Samādhi or Thoughtless Awareness. This affords our brain to calm down in a divine tranquillity without taking us into the state of sleep: Inflexions of our psychic functions gradually diminish and meditation begins. Being Effortlessly in Meditation: Sahaja Yoga Concentration on an object (or a ‘form’) demands strained and speculative functioning of our brain which results increased frequency of psychic inflexions – the state of mindfulness. In contrast to various techniques of ‘mindfulness’ meditations, Sahaja Yoga is a method of ‘mind-emptiness’ or ‘effortless’ meditation. This unique system of meditation pivots on completely relaxing the person for becoming sensitive to the grace of the All-pervading power after the awakening of the subtle, dormant spiritual power or Kundalini, present in the sacrum bone at the base of the spine. This awakening or selfrealisation is possible spontaneously in Sahaja Yoga. Kundalini is the innate mothering power that progressively nourishes our spiritual growth thereafter. The renowned Indian saint and mystic Jnanadeva documented its existence, around 1290 AD, in his renowned work, Jnaneshwari. Once awakened, Kundalini expresses itself as throbbing vibrations or cool breeze on top of the head, on palms, and on fingertips. From feeble sensations, these generally grow stronger as and more this meditation is practiced. Sahaja Yoga simply requires an individual to seek oneness with All-pervading Divine power both through individual and collective meditation. The harmony evident in collective meditation, at any nearby Sahaja Yoga centre at least once a week, gradually helps the seeker to get into this silent state of bliss more effortlessly and effectively. Going deeper in meditation is not something that one can force along. It is a matter of allocating a few minutes every day, morning and evening, when one can sit quietly, do nothing and experience the power of inner being through introspection. To a seeker, the benefits are tangible normally within a month of practising this meditation seriously, if not within a week or two. Questions that often bewilder our psyche (such as: Why can’t I feel ‘better’? – less tired / stressed, mentally-physically-emotionally stronger / healthier, more apt to tackle anxiety for enjoying life) are innately helped with answers once the bliss in meditation is experienced. With peace inside, a person starts losing fear, anger and mental instability. This naturally promotes inner discipline, wisdom, creativity, contentment and the ability to understand one’s own self. 2

Sahaja Yoga around the world: a Brief Outline Her Holiness Mataji Shri Nirmala Devi propounded the experiment of awakening Kundalini in human beings en masse and termed Her method of meditation as Sahaja Yoga. ‘Saha’ means ‘with’ and ‘Ja’ means ‘born’; hence ‘Sahaja’ is that which is ‘inborn’ or ‘spontaneous’ and ‘Yoga’ signifies the ‘union with the All-pervading Power of Divine Love’. Shri Mataji kept a very busy schedule, travelling all around the world to teach the techniques of Sahaja Yoga meditation, since 1970. She explained the way this meditation transforms a person’s inner being and consciousness. When the foetus (child in the mother’s womb) is about 2½ months old, the column of rays of consciousness, emitted through the All-pervading Power, pass through the brain enlightening it. The spiritual feature of the human brain being prism-like, the column of rays falling on it gets refracted into four diverse channels. These energy channels or nadis of the subtle human body manifest as the four aspects of the nervous system into the gross body: • • • •

The Parasympathetic Nervous System – Sushumna Nadi The Sympathetic Nervous System (right) – Pingala Nadi The Sympathetic Nervous System (left) – Ida Nadi The Central Nervous System (the brain and spinal cord)

Similarly, there are seven energy centres or chakras in the subtle body, (viz. Mooladhara, Swadisthana, Manipur or Nabhi, Anahata, Visuddhi, Agnya and Sahasrara), which correspond to various nerve plexuses in the physical aspect or gross body. As the Kundalini rises, through the Sushumna Nadi, from the sacrum towards the Limbic Area of the brain (Sahasrara), the seeker starts experiencing various sensations arising from the interaction of Kundalini with these energy centres. Flooded with the power of Divine Love, these energy centres glow with the virtuous qualities evident in a person who is practising the meditation sincerely. Kundalini awakening results in the integration of the ida and pingala nadis, finally balancing their action with the sushumna nadi.

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Expression of the subtle at the gross or physical level results in establishment of Holistic health in the seeker through meditation. At the beginning of Sahaja Yoga, those few people who started feeling the spiritual power were astonished at the way by which it worked. Though they argued and disputed over it, they could not disbelieve their own experience. Under the instructions of Shri Mataji they tried giving this power to others, which really gave them the faith that this was the true spiritual experience! Shri Mataji invested Her own time and money to talk to people and give them the key to their own spiritual power. She neither charged for Her lectures nor for Her ability to give Self Realisation. She insisted that one cannot pay for one’s own enlightenment and she continued denouncing the false, self-proclaimed gurus who were more interested in the seekers' purse than their spiritual ascent. Holistic Health through the restoration of Inner Peace: a Scientific Review 1. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) defines Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as one of the most common childhood disorders which can continue through adolescence and adulthood with symptoms such as difficulty in ‘staying focused’ and ‘paying attention’, difficulty in controlling behaviour, and hyperactivity (over-activity). A study published in the journal ‘Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry’ (1359–1045; Oct 2004) revealed remarkable therapeutic effects of Sahaja Yoga on children diagnosed with ADHD. The Sahaja Yoga Meditation intervention was designed by the researchers, Dr. Linda J. Harrison (Charles Sturt University, Australia), Dr. Ramesh Manocha (University of New South Wales, Australia) and Dr. Katya Rubia (Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, UK), as a family treatment programme, which was expected to have effects on parents as well as children. At the end of the programme, 92% of parents agreed that the programme had been personally beneficial. The overall benefit was rated at 4 (M=3.91, SD=0.92) on a 5-point scale. Parents were also asked to rate the extent to which they felt that Sahaja Yoga had benefited the relationship they had with their children. The results were in keeping with the three aims that the researcher made during the study. First, core 4

symptoms of ADHD were improved. Children also reported that they felt calmer, less panicky and more relaxed. Second, associated symptoms of ADHD, such as anxiety and poor confidence, were reduced; parent ratings of child self-esteem showed significant improvements in children’s confidence, social abilities and involvement. Third, functional benefits were noted, child–parent relationship quality improved through a significant reduction in the level of conflicted interactions. Parents reported that the children’s approach to school and homework had improved during the Sahaja Yoga course, and the children themselves said that they were more able to concentrate at school. Improved sleep was another positive outcome reported by parents and children. 2. In 2006, effects of Sahaja Yoga on the Neuro-Cognitive Functions in Patients suffering from Major Depression were investigated jointly by some of the doctors (V.K.Sharma, S.Das, S.Mondal, U.Goswami and A.Gandhi) working at the Departments of Physiology in Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC) & Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) and the Department of Psychiatry (LHMC), New Delhi. The abstract of their study published in the ‘Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology [2006; 50 (4): 375–383] goes as: Cognitive functions are impaired in Major Depression. Studies on the effects of Yoga on cognitive functions have shown improvement in memory, vigilance and anxiety levels. 30 patients suffering from Major depression (age 18 to 45 years) were randomly divided into two groups: Group 1: (10 males and 5 Females) Patients who practised Sahaja Yoga and also received conventional anti-depressant medication. Group 2: (9 males and 6 Females) Patients who only received conventional antidepressant medication. Group 1 patients were administered Sahaja Yoga practice for 8 weeks. Neuro-cognitive test battery consisting of Letter cancellation test (LCT), Trail making test ‘A’ (TTA), Trail making test ‘B’ (TTB), Ruff figural fluency test (RFFT), Forward digit span (FDS) & Reverse digit span test (RDS) was used to assess following cognitive domains: Attention span, visuomotor speed, short-term memory, working memory and executive functions. After 8 weeks, both Group-1 and Group-2 subjects showed significant improvement in LCT, TTA & TTB but improvement in LCT was more marked in Group-1 subjects. Also, there was significant improvement in RDS scores in only Group-1

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subjects (P<0.05). The results thereby, demonstrate that Sahaja Yoga practice in addition to the improvement in various other cognitive domains seen with conventional anti-depressants, can lead to additional improvement in executive functions like manipulation of information in the verbal working memory and added improvement in attention span and visuo-motor speed of the depressives. 3. One of the most fascinating article ‘Non-linear dynamic complexity of the human EEG during meditation’ by Dr.L.I.Aftanas, and Dr.S.A.Golocheikine, published in the Elsevier-Journal, ‘Neuroscience Letters’ [330 (2002) 143–146], provided a handful of researches that prove the therapeutic effects of Sahaja Yoga on Stress. In their prior study [Neuroscience Letters, 310 (2001) 57– 60], high-resolution EEG investigation of this meditation showed human anterior and frontal midline theta and lower alpha, that reflect emotionally positive state and internalised attention.

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In 1994 similar studies on stress-reduction were carried out on 32 patients suffering from epilepsy by Prof.U.C.Rai, Dr.U.Panjwani, Dr.H.L.Gupta, Dr.S.H.Singh, and Dr.W.Selvamurthy. The patients were randomly divided into 3 groups: Group-I subjects practised Sahaja Yoga meditation for 6 months, Group-II subjects practised postural exercises mimicking Sahaja yoga and Group III served as the epileptic control group. Galvanic skin resistance (GSR), blood lactate and urinary vinyl mandelic acid (U- VMA) were recorded at 0, 3 and 6 months. There were significant changes at 3 & 6 months as compared to 0 month values in GSR, blood lactate and U-VMA levels in Group-I subjects, but not in Group-II and Group-III subjects. The results indicated that reduction in stress following the practice of Sahaja Yoga was, in fact, responsible for the clinical improvements of the patients.

Sahaja Yoga: Where does it stand today? Sahaja Yoga, the invaluable gift of Shri Mataji to mankind, has been recognised internationally by several prestigious institutions. To speak of a few: 7

1. In 1989, the then Soviet Russian Ministry of Health, after their meeting with Shri Mataji, granted Sahaja Yoga full government sponsorship, including funding for promotion & scientific research. 2. In 1989, Shri Mataji was honoured with the United Nations’ peace prize in New York. From 1989 to 1994, She was invited by the United Nations for four successive years to deliver lectures on how World Peace can be achieved through Sahaja Yoga. 3. In 1993, She was conferred the Honorary Membership of the Petrovskaya Academy of Arts and Science, St. Petersberg, Russia, for Her extraordinary contribution towards bringing about inner peace among human beings. 4. In 1995, Shri Mataji was conferred an Honorary PhD in Cognitive Science by the ‘Ecological University of Bucharest’ at Romania. 5. At both the 105th Congress (1997) and the 106th Congress (2000), the Congressional Records of the United States of America highly commended Shri Mataji for Her dedicated & tireless work for humanity. 6. In 2001, She was conferred the Manav Ratna Award in Pune, India. 7. Beyond all other institutional recognitions, She is revered as the ‘compassionate Divine Mother’ by Her followers, as the ‘Messenger of Peace’ by Ayatollah Rouhani, ‘an Avatar of the Modern Era’ by Claes Nobel, grandnewphew of Albert Nobel (the creator of the Nobel foundation) and Chairman of United Earth. Since the inception of this unique technique, without distinction of race, religion, age or social status, a large number of people have acknowledged the value of Shri Mataji’s teachings and have established Sahaja Yoga centres in over 120 nations. In Sahaja Yoga, they have not only succeeded assimilating the true essence in the integration of all religions and spiritual paths, but have also come up to spread the fruits that they have achieved through their inner bliss. Sahaja Yoga Demonstration Workshops at schools, colleges, corporate offices and even at prisons have triggered inexpressible euphoria among the people, spreading this message of the Divine-Love, from the overwhelming feedbacks that they have received.

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