The Myth of Leadership

Advice given by H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

It’s the greatest myth ever going, is this leadership. There’s nothing like leaders in this Sahaja Yoga, it’s just a joke. And your Mother is very good at playing serious jokes. So be careful - don’t be childish about it, you have to understand that this is a big joke going on and it’s just a testing point and if I test you wrong, you can tell me, but I think this has worked well, because I can test people very well on that level and immediately I know when the person gets onto the horse of ego.
(extract from Guru Puja 1990)

This leadership business is a myth, and this myth must be seen as a myth. Whether you are leader or not leader makes no difference. But the maturity has to come. ... I want you to realize yourself, “What are we doing wrong? Where are we doing right?” and don't judge Sahaja Yoga on what merits you get out of it. If you are not getting merits there's something wrong with you. If you can really understand this, then you will become subtler and subtler and all your gross attachments will become absolutely negligible. You may have concern, but you won't have attachment. From inside, this complete detachment has to come up.
(extract from Guru Puja 1994)

If somebody becomes leader, I don't know what happens to him. It is a myth. There's nothing like leadership in Sahaja Yoga, nothing like that. It's just a myth. But suddenly people jump up. It is ego that gets pampered. But this ego can be easily managed if you worship the Raja Lakshmi. She is the giver of balance.
(extract from Shri Raja Lakshmi Puja, New Delhi, 1994-1204)

Now you become, supposing, I don't know what, position, but supposing you become – the Governor - then you think you can do what you like, because you have become the Governor. This mind doesn't know that you have become the Governor, you are not the Governor. This governorship is ruling you, not that you are ruling the governorship. Once these ideas come into your head, you start behaving in a manner in which you should not behave. Even among Sahaja Yogis there are leaders. Leaders also start sometimes thinking, 'Ah, I'm a leader'. It's a myth – absolute myth - leadership in Sahaja Yoga is an absolute myth, which you should know. But once they know they are leaders, see, they become, sort of - absolutely mindful and full of thoughts. Thoughts how to dominate, how to control. When they start controlling others, then you must know that it is the mind which is telling them to control. Why to control anyone? If you are a real Sahaja Yogi, there is no need to control. There is no need to maneuver, to manipulate.
(extract from Birthday Puja 1996)

Anybody who tries to show off, if you run after that person, that means you have not fathomed your own depth. You must know what is your depth. And don’t get impressed by somebody because he can dominate you very well and he can go about. Just stand on your own two legs and see for yourself.
(extract from a talk to the Australians on India Tour, 1988-1217)

You all have direct relationship with me, not through anyone. If you want to accept somebody's agency, then I can't help you. But otherwise you all have a direct access to me. You all can grow your Spirits; nobody can dominate you. Everyone has complete freedom to know their Spirit. And the Spirit is something cannot be dominated by anyone. ... Thank God we don't have any organization. Thank God we don’t have secretaries, assistant secretaries, under secretaries, vice secretaries, upper secretaries, lower secretaries - we don’t have any nonsense. Otherwise even that would have been dominating to people. Then they would have fought that. So we don’t have that problem. We don’t have any money problem, because we don't have all these nonsensical ideas. I have solved these problems by having no institutions, no positions. Everybody has position.
(Q+A, London, 1982-0806)

Now leadership is just hocus-pocus, I must tell you. If somebody says, "Mother, you become the leader." I say, "No. [laughs] I know. I know that joke." So it's a joke. Leadership is a joke, you see, and if you know it's a joke, then only you'll work it out better. Because, you see it is this, there's nothing like hierarchy in Sahaja Yoga, as you know. We are all one, same. We cannot say that hands are better than feet and the feet is better than this. Nothing of the kind. In the same way, everything is very important and everything circulates like the blood cells. So we do not say that this blood cell is good and that blood cell is bad or this blood cell is higher, that blood cell is higher. In the same way, everybody is circulating. So one should not have any fear. Also fear of the leader should not be there. There's no need to fear the leader. If you are on your gravity, you keep to it. He will understand you. As long as leader is on the gravity, he'll be there. As soon as you go away, goes away from the gravity, he'll go away himself. So you stand on your own gravity point and nobody can disturb you. You should have no fear, nothing, nothing to bother in Sahaj Yog. As it is, you are all saints. What is there to bother? The whole Ganas, all the angels, all this all-pervading power is looking after you.
(Shri Ganesha Puja, Perth, 1992-0209)