Following was the important message given by Mataji Nirmaladevi to a group of IAS and IPS officers on stress management.
Many a head nodded in agreement as Nirmala Devi, spiritual leader and founder of Sahaja Yoga, said, "Don't be too harsh on yourself. Stop feeling guilty about what has happened. Forgive yourself andforgive others.''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
She was speaking to the officers of Indian Administrative
Service on "Stress and Tension Management'' at the Y.B. Chavan auditorium
on Saturday afternoon.
She described the IAS
and IPS officers as the "spine of the country'' and said that they should
not be under any kind of stress or strain.
For Mataji as she is
popularly known, peace lies within an individual and it needs to be discovered.
According to her, it is essential to go into the meditative state to reach that
state. "And it is just the beginning of a transformation that takes us to
a higher level of awareness,'' she said.
Nirmala Devi noted
that people were not aware of the subtle system that works within every being.
Explaining the concept of "kundalini awakening'', she said that the
kundalini was the energy that lay dormant in the sacrum (bone at the base of
the spine). In a broader sense, kundalini awakening was the process of
self-realisation, which helps a person overcome stress and heals the harried
nervous system. She believes that self-realisation was a person's first
encounter with reality.
According to the
shastras also, she said, power resides within every human being. Sahaja Yoga
uses this subtle inner instrument -- kundalini, to bring about a balance in the
physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being.
"When the
kundalini is awakened, it helps the person humble down. It also brings about
self-realisation. The awakening itself is known as self-realisation,'' she
said. She added that people needed to relax today, and that too was possible
with this awakening.
In her book,
"Stress Management through Sahaja Yoga", she has explained that the
left sympathetic nervous system, represents the power of desire of an
individual, while the right represents power of action. "And it is the
left side that you can control," she said, adding that there should be a
balance between the two.
Sahaja Yoga aims at
achieving holistic health care for people with meditation. Elaborating on the
benefits of meditation, she said that a person could attain a peaceful state of
mind and still stay alert. "One feels compassion for humanity and is able
to let go of anger, hatred, fear, resentment and other negative traits that
inhibit a person's growth,'' she said.
Nirmala Devi started
the propagation of Sahaja Yoga in 1970 and today over 85 countries the
world-over, have Sahaja Yoga centres. Having been associated with the freedom
struggle, she said, that this technique of self-realisation also makes a person
patriotic. "As those who practice it are above materialism and can
sacrifice anything,'' she noted.
Commenting on the
human tendency to brood over the past, she reiterated that to feel bad about
the past was inconsequential. "If you feel bad, you torture yourself.
Learn to stay in the present and stay balanced,'' she said.
