Shri Ganesha - Source of Wisdom, Power of Truth

 

The first blessing of Shri Ganesha, which I think is the highest, is the wisdom– that we learn what is good for us and what is bad for us, what is constructive and what is destructive, what should we do to achieve our Self-Realization. Those people who have got wisdom are very lucky people.

But wisdom comes from no source but your own understanding of life. When a person starts thinking, “Why am I doing such and such thing? What is the effect of my doing? What is the result of my behaviour? Is it good for me or bad for me?” then wisdom comes in.

Even if some people know that this is bad for them, still they do not have power to control themselves. Still they do lots of bad things which they should not do. The reason is, the power of wisdom is not there. A person who is wise does not only know what is right and wrong, but also he knows very well his own power not to do something wrong. He just does not do it.

Wisdom is a complete power within ourselves by which we try nothing; it just spontaneously works through us and we do things which are proper and right. In this wisdom, many people have risen very high in life.

For example, we’ll take the example of Kabir. Kabir was born to a weaver, they say. They don’t think he was born to him but he was found by a weaver, whatever it is. And he belonged to a Muslim family. But he realized that the Muslims as they are practising their Islam is not going to give him what he wants. He has to seek his Self, he has to know himself. So what did he do, is to go on the bank of River Ganges in Benares, and he stayed there waiting for a great realized soul called as Ramanand, Swami Ramanand. When this Swami Ramanand came back after his bath, immediately he caught hold of his feet. After bath, if somebody catches the feet of any Brahmin, he would shout at him. But he was a saint, he was not a Brahmin. He said, “My son what do you want?” He said, “Sir, give me initiation. I want Self-Realization.” And Swami Ramanand immediately agreed. All the other people said, “Sir, he is a Muslim. He is an orphan brought up in a Muslim family, how can you give realization? He’ll not accept any of the principles which look like [they’re] coming from Hindu religion.” Ramanand looked at Kabir. He could see a great seeker there. He said, “You don’t know him, I know him.” And he took him with him and Kabira became a great saint after that. He’s accepted by Hindus and Muslims. Because he had that power of wisdom, he went to a man who was not belonging to his religion, who may have not accepted him, who might have just thrown him in the river also, possibly. But he knew also through his wisdom that this man is the one who will love me, because I am a seeker of truth.

So this power of truth works not only that you know what is right and wrong, again I say, but that you just don’t do something that is wrong. Now one may say, “Mother, what is the source again, of this wisdom?” The source is Shri Ganesha. The source is Shri Ganesha, which is the giver of wisdom.

Once Shri Ganesha is insulted and He disappears behind the clouds of ignorance, then people start doing things which are unwise. This happens with many things. Supposing these days, in the democratic countries, they are not supposed to say anything about the morality, about how people should behave, what should be their relationships. They don’t try to look after the society because they think looking after the society is not our job, it’s a private affair, it’s a private thing. As a result, people take freedom into their hands and start insulting Shri Ganesh.

When Shri Ganesha is insulted, complete blockage takes place in a human being, I think. He becomes an idiot. He becomes a stupid fellow; he doesn’t understand how to go on further with wisdom. Without wisdom, whatever steps one takes is destructive.

Excerpt:

Shri Ganesha Puja. Berlin (Germany), 21 July 1993.

CHISELLING OUT THE PERSONALITY

 

CHISELLING OUT THE PERSONALITY

Let the people see how you behave....That is how Sahaja Yoga will spread. They’ll see you in the society. They’ll see you everywhere. I was told the Governor of Nevada went to Bulgaria and there he saw some Sahaja Yogis in Bulgaria. He was so impressed by their behavior that he wanted to meet Me – but just now I don’t know if I’ll have time or not – but, he wanted to meet Me.

So our behavior should be such, should be very humble, sharing, caring, so that people are impressed by it. And there’s no need to have any shyness about it. Some people think we are very weak. We are not. You have got the powers. You are not weak any more. One thing. In the same way, you are very strong and that’s why you are very humble. Only strong people can be humble. People who are not strong always are aggressive. We have solved some problems in Sahaja Yoga, like morality and all that. Of course, I agree. But still, still I think the attention is not so correct as it should be – absolutely pure. We worship Ganesha, and the power of Ganesha must show because, as I have told you, that innocence is not lost, it’s only covered and it can be cleared out.

The whole world we can save. We have to save the whole world. My vision is too big; and you are My children, you are My hands. I cannot ask anybody else to do it. And that’s why I have to tell you that you just be worried about the people who are around, care for them, show them love, and I’m sure they will understand that you are something really different from others.

It’s not difficult, because some of the value systems in America are so much convoluted, so much perverse that if you just go against it, people will be amazed. “How are they like that?” You have capacity. What I’m saying, you have powers. You are just like diamonds. Diamonds can be seen anywhere. Only thing, you should chisel out yourself a little bit. Chiseling out is very important, and that’s possible through your meditation, introspection – simple things like that.

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

03-Dec-2000

All reactions:

5Hitesh Barot, Chandrakant Pawar and 3 others

3

LIGHT AND SOUND CARRYING VIBRATIONS

LIGHT AND SOUND CARRYING VIBRATIONS

After realization when you start to use the flame, you must have seen that it is soothing and black things come out sometimes.

I know somebody who told me that the whole wall comes out, he was amazed how the wall came out. Then you have also seen that if my photograph is there then the flame reacts. Then you definitely, awaken that flame, because so many have been cured through my photograph.

What happens is that when my photograph is placed and you people put a flame there, then the flame gets awakened and the light that passes through that flame carryies the vibrations. Material things carry [vibrations], like sound, you have seen that, I can clear you out with sound waves. As such by different chakras, like today, I am clearing out your Hamsa, by touching this mic and on the right side there is a problem then I touch with the right side the vibrations were so much neglected. On the left side is not… then the problem of the fear of left side is just the other way around.

So even sound can carry the vibrations.... but unless until you are realized soul, you can not awaken the Mantras. So to say Mantras before realization like mad is wrong, now doing sadaka with the photograph, in all that nothing is wrong, but to pay so much attention to one sentence is not necessary.

Supposing there is a photogragh and you are try to look at the flame in front of the photograph, then you are paying more attention to the flame and not to the photograph. On the contrary if you pay attention to the photogragh, the flame puts the light to the photogragh, then you get complete [vibrations].

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

Jan 24, 1982

PROCLAIMING OF THE ‘UNIVERSAL NIRMALA RELIGION’

 

PROCLAIMING OF THE ‘UNIVERSAL NIRMALA RELIGION’

There was a question that, in America and in England, no trust which is not a religion can be registered. Of course, Sahaja Yoga is the religion, no doubt, is the universal religion, is a religion that integrates all the religion, brings all the principles of religions together and shows the – shows the oneness. It integrates all the incarnations. It integrates all the scriptures. It’s a very integrating great religion which we can call as the universal religion and, in Hindi, it is called as Vishwa Dharma.

Now to make it more particular, I thought that if you say universal religion then it may not be that particular because like the Buddhist, then we have got people who are called after Christ as Christians and after other people according to the incarnations. So this time the incarnation being Nirmala, I thought we can call it “The Religion which is Universal, in the name of Nirmala.” So to make it short, I thought we can call it “Universal Nirmala Religion”. What do you say to that?

Now Nirmala, you’ll be all called as ‘Nirmalites’. Is the one who have been enlightened by Nirmala, it goes, light shabda (word) goes, the word light goes very well with you people because you are enlightened. Others are just lights without any flame. So this is Nirmalites, means the ones who are being enlightened by Nirmala. So if you like the name, we can call it ‘Universal Nirmala Religion’. If that suits your people in the west, I think that’s a good name. So we have now proclaimed and pronounced that this is a religion which is a pure universal religion. When you say Universal Nirmala means pure or immaculate religion. And I hope you are agreeable to that.

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

19 Jan 1985

Blind Bhakti full of ritualism is not useful

 

We don’t know that God almighty is the ocean of compassion and love. We human beings have to achieve a [certain] state to know Him. We don’t know God. We don’t know ourselves. First, we have to know ourselves. Once we know ourselves, then only we will know God.

I have seen ritualistic behaviour in the South(India) very much. I was surprised how people were doing everything with their heart, but they did not know why they were doing it. They have such Bhakti(Devotion), but such a blind Bhakti that it will lead them nowhere. I used to think that when will I be able to tell them to be beyond this. You have to have Shraddha(Faith), and Shraddha is enlightened Bhakti. Unless and until you have your enlightenment, the Bhakti has no meaning. Like this mike if it is not connected to the mains it has no meaning. Unless and until you connect it to this all-pervading power of Divine Love which we call as Brahm-Chaitanya Our Bhakti has no meaning because there is no connection– like telephoning to someone without the connection. The simple thing is that this connection, this Yoga has to take place.

You might have read lots of books or may know so many things like Vedas. So what? It’s like you have a headache and the doctor suggests a medicine. He writes the name of the medicine. You are reading the name of the medicine but are not taking the medicine. When are you going to take it? Unless and until you take that you are not going to achieve by any chance whatever is promised to you because it is such a deep ignorance about all these ideas we have learnt and has penetrated into us. Such a lot of ignorance. That ignorance is really like a ditch of no return. I have seen people who have read books after books. There are people who do one lakh mantras, fasting and reach nowhere. They are the most hot-tempered people or they have no joy in their heart. They leave their families, come out of it and think that they have done a great sacrifice. God does not want all this non-sense. Why will God who is your father who is so compassionate and loving personality want you to suffer?

Why should you suffer? By suffering how will you gain moksha is beyond me. If you take it the other way as Kabir has said. ‘By starving if you are going to achieve your moksha(Liberation) then already there are many people who are starving in this country so they will all get their mokshas. He says if by shaving your head you are going to get moksha then the sheep which is shaved every year should be there before you are there’. They all have made fun of them. They have all said all kinds of things for you to know that all these outside things are of no help. Of course you do it genuinely, because you want to have your liberation, your enlightenment. As a mother, I tell you, you don’t have to do all this. Please don’t do it. First of all, if you want to upset your mother you always say I will not have any food. So why do you want to do it. There is no need.

Excerpt:

Talk to Sahaja Yogis, Madras 17-01-1994

Sahajayoga is not just a Precept, it is Practice

 

Now we have to understand a few things about Sahaja Yoga very clearly and there is no compromise on these few things that we have to accept. Because, as I told you, Truth cannot compromise for you, you have to compromise for Truth.

So the first is that Sahaja Yoga is not just a precept, is not just a precept: it is practice. It is not just a mental idea. Now you got realisation, all right, but it is not sufficient. Even if you think that you got realisation so, now, you are all right, you become the Spirit, all right; but still, it is more a mental conception than a real identification. So it is not that if you get your realisation, and you start the awakening of your Kundalini, starts very well. Still, it is to be understood that it is the practice of Sahaja Yoga which is more important than the precept of it. There are many people in India who can’t read or write, who don’t have all these mental activities as you have and are not so complicated as you are [Shri Mataji is laughing]; some of them are aboriginal people, just living in the villages, very simple people. They get realisation, they feel the joy much faster than the complicated ones will and they just start working on it. You have to work it out. This is not the compassion that speaks, talks, elaborates and advertises, but it works. Sahaja Yoga is a thing that works, the religion that works. And this is what we must understand first of all, that it is not the talking, it is not the precept that you are a great soul: you have to become.

Not that you are not, you are. But you have to be aware of it. More light has to flow into you. Definitely, you must be something special to get it, no doubt. But you must allow your lamp to be cleared out, cleansed, so that more light is given. And it works wonders for people who honestly want to ascend in spirituality.

As I told you before also that it is a concept that many people have that Sahaja Yoga cures people. It is not true. It is just as a by-product it may cure you; just as a by-product.So one must understand the blessing has come to you only because you are a seeker, you have done a lot of good in your past life and this life also and that God has chosen you to be in His Kingdom.

But it cannot be demanding, you cannot demand, you cannot demand anything from God, He has to give you because He knows what you deserve. And He gives you much much much more than what you deserve. I mean, I have seen people who have been in Sahaja Yoga that after one year they start asking, “Mother, what did we do to deserve all this?”. They just can’t believe it. I said, “Must be something, you must know there must be something that the blessings have come to you”.

This is one thing that one has to understand that you cannot make Sahaja Yoga compromise for you, you have to understand all the techniques and things about Sahaja Yoga. Now the thing could be that you may start doubting, you see, so that’s what we have people who are doubting about it and doing all kinds of things; you see, in the beginning, they are rather slow movers. So we have to sort them out, to begin with, because the second stage of awareness is doubtless awareness: you are doubtless about yourself, doubtless about the working of Sahaja Yoga, doubtless about God’s existence, doubtless about His Laws. You become absolutely doubtless, not mentally, it’s a state, it’s a state of your being by which you achieve lots of results and you really become powerful: you can see your compassion so powerful, so discrete, so understanding, so forbearing. And you are amazed at yourself, you really become a saint in the real sense of the word, that you become humble, flowering, beautifully, not taking anything aggressive upon yourself; and you are really in the Kingdom of God that you feel that you are looked after, protected, guided, blessed, every moment you walk along.

And that’s the state everybody should aspire to reach this doubtless awareness; and unless and until you reach that state, we don’t call you Sahaja Yogi, you may start calling yourself, but that’s left to yourself. There are not sort of… we do not have sort of certification, or things going on; or we do not give any written certificates to people, nothing of the kind. It is you who have to certify yourself.

So gradually people grow up into beautiful beings. They start having their self esteem fully established, understanding themselves.

Excerpts:

Conversation with yogis. Melbourne (Australia), 13 March 1983.

All reac

Effect of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on Quality of Life, Anxiety, and Blood Pressure

 

Following is the  result of some research and findings of research paper -

The positive perception in quality of life may be due to the fortified tranquil concentration in meditation. EEG studies showed increasing h oscillating networks during meditation.11,12 Theta band power is related to orienting, attention, memory, and affective processing.11,12,37 The increasing h band power was observed to be correlated with experience of happiness during meditation.11 Previous study also showed lower perceived anxiety reported by individuals with higher h power.38 When facing negative emotional stimuli (such as viewing an adverse movie clip), nonmeditating controls experienced a heavier emotional workload, indicating by a greater c synchronization in EEG than individuals who practice meditation.39 The better coping of negative stimuli may contribute to a better-perceived quality of life and greater reduction in anxiety in the meditation than controls. Among self-reported hypertensive patients, at baseline, patients who practiced meditation had better blood pressure control than patients who received conventional treatment. After treatment, systolic blood pressure decreased by 9.4 mm Hg in the meditation group. The finding is of clinical and public health significance. High blood pressure was the primary or contributing cause of 11.31% deaths in United States in 2003, and the estimated direct and indirect cost of high blood pressure was $63.5 billion in 2006.40 If further validation of the effectiveness of meditation on hypertension control is obtained, cost-effective intervention programs could result in significant lives saved and savings to individuals. Hypertension is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke, and it is estimated that a population-wide 2-mm Hg reduction in diastolic blood pressure could prevent 6% risk of coronary heart disease and 15% risk of stroke or transient ischemic attack.41 Previous study showed that a 12 mm Hg decrease in systolic blood pressure for 10 years was thought to prevent 1 death for every 11 patients treated.42 The decrease in blood pressure associated with meditation treatment could potentially lead to decrease in cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Table 4. Effect of Meditation on Anxiety Level and Blood Pressurea Clinical anxiety (n = 129) Systolic blood pressure (n = 41) Diastolic blood pressureb (n = 41) Pulse (n = 41) R2 0.5539 0.8494 0.9326 0.7454 Parameters Est. p Est. p Est. p Est. p Meditation (reference: controls) - 8.46 < 0.001 - 12.01 < 0.001 - 5.42 0.081 Meditation versus controls in hypertensive patients with diabetes - 12.32 < 0.001 Meditation versus controls in hypertensive patients without diabetes - 6.12 < 0.001 Baseline value 0.48 < 0.001 0.80 < 0.001 0.59 < 0.001 0.70 < 0.001 Self-reported history of type 2 diabetes - 0.32 0.77 a Covariates in models for (1) systolic blood pressure and pulse: meditation and baseline value; (2) diastolic blood pressure: meditation (stratified by type 2 diabetes), baseline value, history of type 2 diabetes; (3) clinical anxiety: meditation, baseline value, physical activity and marital status. b p-Value for interaction between meditation and self-reported history of type 2 diabetes on diastolic blood pressure: 0.0053; Est., estimated. 594 CHUNG ET AL. The present study also showed that meditation was associated with greater decline in diastolic blood pressure compared to conventional treatment. The rate of decline was greater for patients with both hypertension and type 2 diabetes, with an estimated 12 mm Hg reduction in diastolic blood pressure. Hypertensive diabetic patients are at a greater risk of developing complications such as retinopathy43 and nephropathy.44 For patients with type 2 diabetes, tight blood pressure control reduced by 32% the risk of diabetes-associated death, by 44% the risk of stroke, and by 37% the risk of microvascular disease than less tight control.45 While it requires three or more drugs for patients with type 2 diabetes to control blood pressure, meditation may be an effective lifestyle intervention for hypertension management. The study was subject to several limitations. Because this was an observational cohort study, participants were selfselecting into the study groups. It was possible that individuals who practice meditation regularly could response better to treatment than controls. The distribution of confounders between two study groups could not be balanced by randomization. Although results were adjusted for covariates such as baseline quality-of-life values, duration of meditation, and other confounders, between-group differences could still exist. The small percentage of foreign patients recruited in the study might influence the generalizability of the results. In multivariate analysis, Indian nationality was associated withhigher psychologic quality of life than non-Indians. However, the effect of meditation treatment versus controls was significant after controlling for country difference. The study evaluated the effect of meditation within the specific setting of the Health Center, and the effect could be partly attributable to the rigorous life in the Health Center. Doctors in the Health Center also meditated, which could contribute to better health care delivery and less perceived anxiety in patients. Quality oflife is best measured by self-report. The concern regarding responses that were positive but not truthful was controlled in the study by adjusting the tendency to provide socially desirable answers. The sample size of the hypertensive subgroup was small; nevertheless, within-group or between-group differences in blood pressure were sufficient to result in reasonable power. The estimated post-hoc statistical power of observing the 9.41 mm Hg decline in systolic blood pressure was 62% in the study. A common challenge in behavioral studies is the recruitment and retention of the participants. This challenge did not hamper the current study, and the retention rate was very high. Since the study period was brief (2-week commitment from each subject), the burden of participation was minimized. Based on the finding of the study, we suggest future investigations on the effect of Sahaja yoga meditation on hypertension or hyperglycemia control. Another area for investigation is derived from the observation that participants in the meditation group did not smoke or consume alcohol; how meditation influences health behavior and interferes with disease progression is to be elucidated. Conclusions The current study reports that patients who receive Sahajayoga meditation treatment in conjunction with conventional treatment benefit in perceived quality of life, anxiety, and hypertension control. Further investigation on the effectiveness of Sahaja yoga meditation for managing chronic conditions, such as prehypertension, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes is recommended.

 Acknowledgment The study was sponsored by the travel grant of University of Pittsburgh. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Isha Pandilwar (International Sahaja Yoga Research and Health Center), Drs. Prashant Salvi and Reshma Vishnani (Mahatma Gandhi Mission Hospital) for their assistance with data collection, and Ms. Tracy Tischuk for editorial support. Disclosure Statement Dr. Sandeep Rai and Dr. Madhur Rai were both affiliated with International Sahaja Yoga Research and Health Center. References 1. Testa MA, Simonson DC. Assessment of qualit

reference -THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE Volume 18, Number 6, 2012, pp. 589–596 ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2011.0038