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Sahaja Yoga | |
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Founder | Nirmala Srivastava (aka Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi) |
Established | 5 May 1970 |
Practice emphases | |
kundalini, meditation, self-realization |
Sahaja Yoga (सहज योग) is a meditation based yoga which helps practitioners find peace, harmony and true connection with the divine. This yoga has been founded in 1970 by Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011). Nirmala Srivastava is known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi or simply as "Mother" by her followers, who are called Sahaja yogis.
This yoga is based not only on meditation, on simple techniques but above all on direct experience and direct inner connection to the divine. Everyone can directly feel the immediate change and improvement of one's condition when practicing even for the first time. Practitioners experience during meditation a state of self-realization produced by authentic kundalini awakening, and that this is accompanied by the experience of thoughtless awareness or mental silence.. Mind is at rest, peace is inside, love can be truly expressed and one's health and well being is largely improved.
Shri Mataji described Sahaja Yoga as the pure, universal religion integrating all other religions. She is a divine incarnation, more precisely an incarnation of the Holy Spirit, or the Adi Shakti of the Hindu tradition, the great mother goddess who had come to save humanity. . Sahaja yoga must be experienced by practitioners as true scientific experiment and faith is developed only based on experiment and true divine connection is confirmed by millions of people in 140 countries all over the world !
Etymology
The word 'Sahaja' in Sanskrit has two components: 'Saha' is 'with' and 'ja' is 'born'. A Dictionary of Buddhism gives the literal translation of Sahaja as "innate" and defines it as "denoting the natural presence of enlightenment (bodhi) or purity." and Yoga means union with the divine and refers to a spiritual path or a state of spiritual absorption. According to a book published by Sahaja Yogis, Sahaja Yoga means spontaneous and born with you meaning that the kundalini is born within us and can be awakened spontaneously, without effort.
The term 'Sahaja Yoga' goes back at least to the 15th Century Indian mystic Kabir and has also been used to refer to Surat Shabd Yoga. Sahaja can also mean 'comfortable', 'natural', or 'uncomplicated' in Hindi.
History
Before starting Sahaja Yoga, Shrivastava had a reputation as a spiritual healer. In 1970, with a small group of devotees around her, she began spreading her message of Sahaja Yoga in India. As she moved with her husband to London, UK, she continued to help people always for free and with total dedication in order to emancipate humankind. The movement grew and spread throughout Europe, by the mid-80's reaching North America. In 1989, Shri Mataji made her first trip to Russia and Eastern Europe. She did not charge for her classes, insisting that her lesson was a birthright which should be freely available to all and for no cost at all. As of 2021, Sahaja Yoga has centers in at least 69 countries.
Beliefs and practices
The movement claims Sahaja Yoga is different from other yoga/meditations because it begins with self realization through kundalini awakening rather than as a result of performing kriya techniques or asanas. This self realization is said to be made possible by the presence of Srivastava often through a photography of her. The teachings, practices and beliefs of Sahaja Yoga are mainly Hindu-based, with a predominance of elements from mystical traditions, as well as local customs of India. There are however elements of Christian origin, such as the eternal battle between good and evil. References to a variety of other religious, spiritual, mystical as well as modern scientific frameworks are also interwoven in Srivastava's teachings, although to a lesser degree.
Religious sociologist Judith Coney has reported facing a challenge in getting behind what she called "the public facade" of Sahaja Yoga. She described Sahaja yogis as adopting a low profile with uncommitted individuals to avoid unnecessary conflict.
Coney observed that the movement tolerates a variety of world views and levels of commitment with some practitioners choosing to remain on the periphery.
Kundalini
Further information: KundaliniWithin the Indian mystic tradition, kundalini awakening has long been a much sought-after goal that was thought rare and hard to attain. Sahaja Yoga is distinctive in claiming to offer a quick and easy path to such an awakening.
Meditation
Meditation is one of the foundational practice within Sahaja Yoga. The technique taught emphasises the state of "thoughtless-awareness" or state of mental silence and inner peace that is the goal to be achieved.The world will be a better place if everyone had peace inside!!!
Role of women
Nirmala Srivastava's vision for the role of women within Sahaja Yoga is to empower women to embrace their feminine power defined as shakti and be fully in harmony with their spouse in order to build powerfully balanced family and society.
Sahaja Yoga draws both on the ideal wifely qualities of the goddess Lakshmi and on wider Hindu traditions. Coney believes these traditions are summed up in "The Code of Manu" which holds that woman should be honoured and adorned in the family.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Srivastava gave a number of messages about the status of women in order to empower them and help them realize that they are the pillars of the society. She regretted what she saw as the loss of respect for women in society in both the East and West.
Family
oting that from birth children become familiarised with the movement's beliefs and Nirmala Srivastava's status by being closely involved in its day-to-day rituals including meditation, foot-soaking, and devotional singing.
The subtle system – chakras and nadis
Sahaja Yoga believes that in addition to our physical body there is a subtle body composed of nadis (channels) and chakras (energy centres). Nirmala Srivastava however equates the Sushumna nadi with the parasympathetic nervous system, the Ida nadi with the left and the Pingala nadi with the right sides of the sympathetic nervous system.
As mentioned in the bible and all the scriptures, we are in the end of times, which is called as final phase of the world (Kali Yuga) before the apocalypse, a lot of confusion is going on in the world and everyone should try and be aware of how to contribute to improve themselves and the world through an authentic meditation based on awakening the inner divine power that is residing within each of us.
Organization
Vishwa Nirmala Dharma (trans: Universal Pure Religion, also known as Sahaja Yoga International) is the organizational part of the movement. It is a registered organization in countries such as Colombia, the United States of America, and Austria. It is registered as a religion in Spain.
Membership statistics
There are no available statistical data about Sahaja Yoga membership. In 2001, the number of core members worldwide was estimated to be 10,000, in addition to 100,000 practitioners more or less in the periphery. There are varying reports about the movement's distribution worldwide. According to the Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Sahaja Yoga World Foundation, Sahaja Yoga centers are established in over 140 countries. In a news article in Indian Express published on the occasion of Srivastava's death in 2011, however, Sahaja Yoga centers were said to exist in 140 countries.
International Sahaja Public School
Main article: International Sahaja Public SchoolThe International Sahaja Public School in Dharamsala founded in 1990, teaches around 250 international students annually as of 1999, and has accepted children from the age of 6.
Yuvashakti
Sahaja Yoga's youth movement is called "Yuvashakti" (also "Nirmal Shakti Yuva Sangha"), from the Sanskrit words Yuva (Youth) and Shakti (Power).
The movement is active in forums such as the World Youth Conference and TakingITGlobal which aim at discussing global issues, and ways of solving them.
The Yuvashakti participated in the 2000 "Civil Society & Governance Project" in which they were "instrumental in reaching out to women from the poor communities and providing them with work".
Vishwa Nirmal Prem Ashram
The Vishwa Nirmala Prem Ashram is a not-for profit project by the NGO Vishwa Nirmala Dharma (Sahaja Yoga International) located in Noida, Delhi, India, opened in 2003. The ashram is a "facility where women and girls are rehabilitated by being taught meditation and other skills that help them overcome trauma".
Funding
According to the dictates of their founder, the methods for practicing Sahaja Yoga are made available free of charge to those interested.
According to author David V. Barrett, "Shri Mataji neither charged for her lectures nor for her ability to give Self Realization, nor does one have to become a member of this organization. She insisted that one cannot pay for enlightenment and she continued to denounce the false self-proclaimed 'gurus' who are more interested in the seekers' purse than their spiritual ascent".
References
- "Experience Your Self Realization". sahajayoga.org. Vishwa Nirmala Dharma. 12 June 2006. Archived from the original on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- Jones, Lindsey, ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA . ISBN 978-0-02-865997-8.
- ^ Coney, Judith (1999). Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Movement. Richmond: Curzon Press. ISBN 0-7007-1061-2.
- ^ "Sahaja Yoga founder Nirmala Devi is dead". The Indian Express. Express News Service. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017.
- ^ Srivastava, Nirmala (1989). Sahaja Yoga Book One (2nd ed.). Australia: Nirmala Yoga.
- ^ INFORM staff. "Meditation and Mindfulness". INFORM – the information network on religious movements. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ Sudhir Kakar (1991). Shamans, Mystics and Doctors: A Psychological Inquiry into India and its Healing Traditions. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226422798.
- "Sahaja". A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press. 2004. ISBN 978-0-19-172653-8. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- Ray, Nihar Ranjan (October 2000). "The concept of 'Sahaj' in Guru Nanak's theology". The Sikh Review. 48 (562). Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- Soami Ji Maharaj (1934). Sar Bachan: An Abstract of the Teachings of Soami Ji Maharaj, the Founder of the Radha Soami System of Philosophy and Spiritual Science: The Yoga of the Sound Current. Translated by Sardar Sewa Singh and Julian P. Johnson. Beas, India: Radha Soami Satsang Beas.
- Melton, J. Gordon (2009). Encyclopedia of American religions (8th ed.). Detroit: Gale. p. 1005. ISBN 978-0-7876-6384-1.
- Posner, Michael (11 March 2011). "Spiritual leader founded Sahaja yoga movement". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
- "Sahaja Yoga Worldwide Contacts – Locate Sahaja Yoga Near You". sahajayoga.org. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- Coward HG, ed. (2000). "Contributors". The South Asian Religious Diaspora in Britain, Canada, and the United States (SUNY Series in Religious Studies. State University of New York Press. p. 289. ISBN 0791445100.
- Coney, Judith (1999). Palmer, Susan J.; Hardman, Charlotte (eds.). Children in New Religions. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-2620-1.
- "Administrative Panel Decision 'Vishwa Nirmala Dharma a.k.a. Sahaja Yoga v. Sahaja Yoga Ex-Members Network and SD Montford' Case No. D 2001-0467". WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. 16 June 2001.
- Sylvie Langlaude (2007). "Chapter 1: Religious Children". The Right of the Child to Religious Freedom in International Law. Brill. p. 33.
- "Registro Publico Entidades Religiosas 30-06-2004" [Public Registry of Religious Entities]. Ministry of the Interior and Justice: Republic of Colombia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- "List of ECOSOC/Beijing and New Accredited NGOs that attended the special session of the General Assembly". United Nations. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- "Austria – 2006 Report on International Religious Freedom". Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: US Dept. of State. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
- "Religion in Spain". Sahaja Worldwide News and Announcements (SWAN). sahajayoga.org. Vishwa Nirmala Dharma. 19 July 2006. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Sahaja Yoga World Foundation (7 May 2017). "From Nimala Srivastava to Shri Mataji". Shri Mataji: A Life Dedicated to Humanity. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- Wittkamper, Jonah, ed. (2002). "Guide to the Global Youth Movement" (PDF). youthlink.org. Global Youth Action Network. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2005.
- Tatke, Vinita (February 2000). "Case Study Civil Society & Governance Project". Archived from the original on 3 January 2004. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
- Khanna, Arshiya (16 November 2006). "A New Childhood". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
- "An interview with Gisela Matzer" (PDF). Blossom Times. Vol. 1, no. 3. 31 August 2007. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2007.
- Barrett, David V. (2001). The New Believers. Cassell. pp. 297–8. ISBN 0-304-35592-5.
External links
- [REDACTED] Media related to Sahaja Yoga at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
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