DOING JUSTICE TO INDIA'S DEEPEST HERITAGE:

THE UNIQUE MESSAGE AND WORK OF SHRI MATAJI NIRMALA DEVI.

• To grasp the magnitude and significance of the message of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi we need to put it in an historical context.

• It is widely recognized in the world that India offers a treasure of spirituality and, as documented by statistics and surveys, many of the Western tourists visiting India in this century were seeking it. An impressive body of philosophical and literary writings sustains this claim about the prestigious heritage of India. While Chinese scholars acknowledge the contribution of India to Chinese thought, the German Sanskrit scholars traced back the birth of cosmology to the veda. From the Upanishadas to the Gita, Indian teachings present a path for self improvement. Any Indian familiar with the culture of his country knows that the experience of self realization (sammadhi) is the life achievement to be sought. Saints and poets such as Goraknath, Machindranath, Markandeya, Adi Shankaracharya, Gnyaneshwar, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Ramdas, Tukaram or Sainath of Shirddhi extol the power of Shakti and hint at the role of Her form, as the Kundalini energy, in bestowing the experience of Self realization on the seeker. It was known that the awakening of the Kundalini was traditionally granted by a master to a disciple (sadhaka) on a one to one basis. Buddha spread such teachings over Asia where the achievement of self-realization was sought by millions of people. Even Christian prophecies such as those of John of Jerusalem or Joachim dei Fiori propose that the Mother, the Holy Spirit as the Shakti will create a new age of prosperity and peace (sattya yuga) after the era of the barbarians (kali yuga). Lao Tseu or Japanese Zen masters dwell on the same subject of union with the whole. But the roots of this knowledge must be found in India.

• India is known for being a store house of spirituality but two major hurdles remained: a).- how, actually, to raise the Kundalini was not known and incompetent or misguided attempts were considered dangerous ; b).- raising the Kundalini of a few meritorious disciples would not be enough to achieve an impact on modern society and thus, could not bring about the expected transformation towards a more peaceful, just and prosperous world. Besides, in a context of intense competition for material gains, which characterize a still largely impoverished sub continent, hordes of Indian charlatans and self made petty masters sold fake meditation and yoga systems to the naïve western seekers.

• Indeed, in the sixties and seventies, many self proclaimed teachers built financial empires, in their attempt to sell ways and means to achieve a consciousness breakthrough. With the test of time, they could not deliver: the methods proposed were found badly flawed and these false gurus lost their credibility. All the while, the reputation and fame of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi kept growing slowly but steadily in over hundred countries. Why was it so? Why was Her style and message so fundamentally different from other proposals brought forwards on the spiritual stage?

• Shri Mataji transmitted the experience of self-realization to a few disciples in Maharashtra in the early seventies. She did so after decades of intense meditative studies on the psycho somatic condition of the modern man, uncovering the various obstacles to the raising of the Kundalini given the specific permutations and combinations of our subtle channels (nadis) and centers (chakras) of energy. Twenty nine years later, through Her prodigious energy and commitment, hundred of thousands of people in five continents bear witness that Her method, entitled Sahaja Yoga, does indeed trigger the awakening of the Kundalini.

• Sahaja yoga does not use any manipulative practices such as the many teachings that advocate ontogeneous training, mechanical repetitions of mantras or complicated exercises. As a "natural, living, spontaneous, " process, in the words of Shri Mataji, sahaja yoga simply builds up the capacity of the sadhaka (practitioner) to build up the framework in which the mastery of the Kundalini can operate. As a result, in aftermath of Self realization, the practice of spontaneous meditation generates countless benefits at the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and even material levels!

• The world scientific community is taking notice! Shri Mataji received various awards from academic institutions in Russia, Rumania or Italy. Professor Gennady Shipov, author of a Theory of Physical Vacuum, declared he considered Shri Mataji as the source of cosmic energy. A recent medical conference held on 2nd September 1998 at the Faculty of Medicine of the National University in Mexico City confirmed the results of similar events held elsewhere in the world. Doctors can document that diseases such as high blood pressure, bronchial asthma, epilepsy or migraine have been attenuated or cured by the practice of sahaja yoga. Important research work is presently under way in Australia. Sahaja healing techniques are even reported to have cured cases of cancer.

• Closer to day to day life, higher work satisfaction, closer team work, increased creativity and productivity of managers and employees have been reported in large corporations, which have introduced sahaja yoga a part of human resources development and staff welfare programmes. feedback from people practicing the sahaja meditation taught by Shri Mataji are invariably positive and prove the astounding effectiveness of Kundalini awakening. According to colleagues or relatives who do not follow sahaja yoga, their behavior is more caring and compassionate, yet they prove to be dynamic and achieve results.

• One may thus say that the ancestral wisdom of India had proposed, as a sort of hypothesis, a process for the self-improvement of the individual and the consequent change of society for a better world. We find traces of this proposal in other mythologies and cultures. But, in concrete life, this hypothesis had not been fully tested, beyond the rare exceptions of selected disciples receiving Kundalini awakening from an enlightened master. Now, with the Advent of Shri Mataji, that age-old hypothesis of Self-realization is validated and reproduced at a "en masse" level. This makes the unique distinction of Shri Mataji as a global spiritual leader in the history of spirituality. She does not only preaches, She does it ! She does not only expose the comprehensive theoretical background of spirituality; She delivers the actual experience of Self-realization and has empowered Her followers to expand the verification of the spiritual hypothesis as, they, themselves, can grant Kundalini awakening. The power to bestow such powers is without precedent in the records of mankind. We are facing a truly historical event and a truly exceptional personality. And some seers or prophets such as Brighu Muni had announced Her coming.

• It is in this context that many people, from all wake of life, have found ground in their personal experience to recognize Shri Mataji as an Avatar, the incarnation and manifestation of a Being higher than what man can conceive. Many who have not gone through the experience of Kundalini jagruti still eagerly recognize Her overflowing compassion, intellectual brilliance or healing powers. Many others have been witnesses of miracles She performed and have documented them. However there is a widespread feeling that it would be auspicious if the recognition of Shri Mataji's selfless work for mankind's improvement could be recognized at a public level and in an authoritative manner. A committee has been formed to support Her candidature for the Nobel Peace prize. However, it is in India that the understanding for the magnitude of Her message is expected to be widespread, for Shri Mataji gives meaning, shape and reality to India's sacred writtings on Self realization. It is hoped that this understanding might find its way in a public award expressing the current and growing trend of gratitude for Her unique work.