Calming Power of Sahaja Yoga –
The practitioners of sahaja yoga know well and also experience various physical, mental benefits of sahaja yoga. One of the leading benefit is its power to calm down the person however stressed, hot tempered, annoyed, aggressive, argumentative etc. etc. . . . he may be.
Following experiences of renounced Indian artist can make
the point more clear and visible.
Sangeetha Ramprasad
believes in the calming power ofsahaja yoga
Stress seems to dog everyone these
days — from young children to the elderly. Sangeetha Ramprasad comes to their
rescue, bridging the world of Carnatic music with meditation, the art of
stilling/calming the mind. Sangeetha had her initial training from her mother,
vainika Revathi Srinivasan, an A-Top Grade artiste of AIR Chennai. Tutelage
continued under Rajalakshmi, disciple of D.K. Jayaraman, before intensive
training from T.M. Thyagarajan.
It was years later, in Bahrain where
she is now settled, that she quite serendipitously got exposure to a sahajayoga session. “I felt a peace descend over me. It was then that I decided to
practise it myself,” she describes the experience. Sangeetha says that her
music and her entire attitude to life itself have been affected at a very
elemental level due to her practice of sahaja yoga.
Emotional equilibrium
So what is sahaja yoga and what makes
it different from all the other forms? R. Ramesh and Anusha Ramesh, long term
practitioners, elaborate: Sahaja Yoga was started by Mataji Nirmala Devi as a meditative tool to achieve an emotional
equilibrium amidst stressful conditions.
Unlike other variations where self-realisation is the end goal, in sahaja yoga,
it is the beginning. Designed with the grihasta (householder) in mind, it is
effortless and does not require renunciation. Practised in over 150 countries,
it is taught collectively in large groups free of charge where everyone, from a
toddler to the most elderly, can practice and experience its benefits.
How has it changed Sangeetha and her
music? “Now, I sing to connect with the divine, really feeling the music,” she
says. “Earlier, I experienced stage fright and would be concerned about meeting
expectations. Now, I experience the music and render what I inwardly feel I
should.” Anusha Ramesh adds: “When Sangeetha sings, I can feel the soothing
vibrations.” Sangeetha has composed pieces in Tamil in praise of Mataji. R.
Ramesh finds it amazing how the words, the ragam and the music all fall into
place beautifully in her music whilst bringing out the bhavam.
Sahaja yoga awakens the kundalini
shakti within oneself.
Kundalini manifests itself via various chakras (nerve centres). Sangeetha has
rendered thematic concerts where she has selected ragams and songs that she
says has helped awaken the various chakras. Since the core belief is that one
is but an instrument of the divine, ego is reduced/eliminated thus putting the
entire focus on the music itself
