A free bird

Now this main question today, which I'm going to tell you about that what is God's realization. First is the Self-realization and there are many ambitious people who want to become God-realized. First and foremost thing we should know that human beings cannot become God. It's not the becoming of it. You have not become also in a way spirit because the spirit is emitting through you, using you, giving you, looking after you. If you become the spirit there wont be any body left, nothing will be left. So with this body intact, your spirit is acting through this body, is giving you all the light. But one cannot become God Almighty; this one has to understand very clearly.

But what is God's realization - is to know about God. You see, to know about God means to know how His powers are working. How He controls by becoming part and parcel of God Almighty. Like my finger doesnt know about my brain, but it acts according to my brain. The finger cannot become the brain, but it has to act absolutely according to my brain because it is so connected, it is so one. Here when you have the God-realization then you know about the brain, you know about God, you know about His powers, you know everything about Him.

As far as I'm concerned its a difficult task for you, because I'm a Mahamaya. Its very difficult for you to know each and everything about me. I'm quite an elusive person as you know that well, and whatever I do or whatever I achieve, it is just for you to see and understand that after all this is Adi Shakti and She can do all these things. You can also do all the things but you cannot become me. But you have to know, to know through love, through devotion, through prayers to know the God's Powers is the way you are God-realized. Then you can control the nature, you can control everything, if you have that knowledge within you about God. For that a complete humility is needed that you cannot become God, cannot become God Almighty. You cannot become the deities but definitely you can become God-realized. Means God acts through you, uses you as His power, as His channel and that you know, that you know what He's doing to you, what He's telling, what His vision is and what is the information. The connection is like that.

Many people in Sahaja Yoga have been benefited, I know. But they don't know how they have been benefited. What has worked it out? How it has worked it out. What connection of theirs has helped them? Once you do that you know that clearly how things are working out, with what power you have achieved it, then its a God's realization. Such people become extremely powerful in the sense that they can control so many things. There have been many saints of that kind but sometimes they fell from even that and they developed their ego. They didnt have their own humility that they should have, that devotion, that dedication, that surrendering. They fell down and you see them, I've seen some of them that they become quite proud of their achievements and they don't want to give it to anyone. They think they have achieved it with great difficulties and why should they give it to others. Such people are not going to rise very higher. But you people who have got your realization and who are humble, who know that out of humility only you are going to achieve your surrendering.

Islam means surrender. Mohammed Sahib has talked about Islam, meaning, you surrender. If you cannot surrender you can never know God. He's clearly said that. Unless and until you know yourself you will not know about God. So as Sahajis you have to know all the little, little things, all the big things and all the great visions, that you can do it because of the grace of God, because His blessings, because of His love for you, that you have entered into the Kingdom of God. I may say you have entered, I may say you have achieved that state, I may say that. But still you are not there. ...

One of the qualities of Shiva is complete detachment and that is what you have to develop, is to become completely detached. Detachment doesnt mean that you neglect anything. I've explained to you many-a-times that like the sap in the tree rises, goes to different, various places and then evaporates or it goes back to Mother Earth. In the same way your detachment should be. If you get attached because its your son or if you get attached because he's Australian or maybe he belongs to certain family or certain class then you are still limited. All this limitations have to be dropped, if you have to cross over. And these limitations create such a big load that whatever I may try, whatever you may try you cannot stay in thoughtless awareness.

That's a very beautiful state in which all of you should be there. In that you are not dominating nor you are compromising. You stand on your own legs and you know for definite that you are not swayed away by any idea or any domination or any subjection of yours by anyone. So you become completely a free bird, absolutely a free bird, and then it becomes your job to achieve your flight. One flight is up to the thoughtless awareness. The second one is up to the doubtless awareness and the third one is to God's realization.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extract from Shivaratri Puja 1996, Sydney, Australia
(1996-0303)

Prayer

1975-0209 Short Prayer by Sahaja Library


You must pray to God and ask what you want. Ask for “complete satisfaction in my heart, joy in my heart, bliss in my heart, so that the whole world becomes blissful. Give me love, love that I could love the whole world and that the whole world becomes one in love. Give salvation to this humanity. Which is suffering. Take me to your feet. Cleanse me with, with thy love.”

Now see if there is God or not? You can feel within yourself. He hears you. He understands you. He's the glory of all the glory. He loves you. He protects you. He guides you. He created you to reveal His love, but accept it.

Any time any thought is coming you pray and you will be moving in the waves of that ocean which is unconscious mind, which starts with thoughtless awareness.

[long pause]

If you cannot become thoughtless, you pray to:  "forgive me for what I have done and forgive those who have done harm to me."

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, talking to the early Sahaja yogis, India, 1975 

(1975-0209)

Absolute truth in Nirvikalpa

So, the relationship with God if it has to establish, we have to become first of all the spirit; then only this relation can be established. One may certify oneself, “I am this, I am that” but it’s no good, it is of no use; because this human body is given to you. Imagine what this divine Power must have done to make you a human being – how gently, carefully, beautifully you are made a human being. And now, why this human body you have got it? What are we using it for? We must evaluate our human life, what is it for? Is it for just insurance or I don’t know what else they do; but is it for something, that we become the light of the world?

So this light of the spirit spreads in the attention, and the attention becomes dynamic, active, works out, it’s very alert and extremely punctual. Then this attention doesn’t get bored at all. People don’t know what is boredom is, because this boredom comes when your attention becomes tired. But here the attention is full of light, so they don’t know what is boredom is.

The second thing that is the nature of spirit is that it tells you the truth, the absolute truth, nothing but the truth. Anything that these chaitanya lahiris tell you, when you are matured enough, not before that; when your connection is complete – otherwise halfway you are connected and halfway you’re not, then no – but when you are mature: that is the state of nirvikalpa. When you become that, then your attention is absolutely correct, your vibrations are correct and the report is absolutely correct, and what information you get is hundred percent truth; so the truth about anyone.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extract from 2nd Public Program, Madras (Chennai), 7/12/91

The Real Becoming

When you start surrendering and the faith comes in, then your awareness rises higher than this, and these small, small, little, little things which have become subtler, they start departing from you. This is the third state where your three gunas you can see, but they do not affect you.

So in the first state you have desire. In the second state, which is a very big thing, you see the desire being fulfilled, but all these subtle things are mixed up with you. In the third state you see them, third stage, but they do not affect you. This is the third stage when one has to see that they do not affect you. You do see catching, but then you do not call catching, you say recording. You think you are an instrument, you are just recording. The effect of that becomes very small, very small. You become so powerful within that the effect of this catching is very little, you just record this effect. This is the third state of your ascent. Now this, at this third state. To rise up to this third state, the only way is complete faith. Faith is - first of all you have to learn certain things about faith. One of them is the protocol, but with faith, if you learn protocol then you will not feel bad about it. But if you're forced onto it, you'll feel bad. You see, the mixture state is still on. ...

So the third awareness comes in where you start seeing all these, recording it. This is the third state. Then the fourth state comes in. In the fourth state - is called as the Turya Dasha, is the fourth state. Turya is the fourth state. In the fourth state you dominate these three gunas, you control all the elements. At this stage, you just say and it works. You have seen yesterday what happened with me. It just works, you become master of these three gunas. Like I used to describe that first you are sitting in the car and somebody's driving you. He uses your left and right side, or you can say, the brake and accelerator, and the car is driven. Then he starts teaching you how to drive. Then you start learning by using your left and right, accelerator and your brake. Then the third stage comes in where you become a driver, but still you are worried about the master who is sitting behind, that still you are doing a mistake, you are doing wrong. But then the fourth stage comes, you become the master. You make others drive. Order here, anyone, order the Sun, order the Moon, order. Order means just tell them, I mean not question of any domination is there. Just desire. Just say it, it works out.

Now this fourth stage is called as Turya Dasha. Then comes the fifth stage in which - I don't want to give you names because you’ll stick on to those. They are not so clear cut. They mingle from each other you see, and they are mixtures. But in Turya state when you mature properly, then you jump into the fifth state, in which you do not even, you do Sankalpa. You do not even determine or say anything. You just, anything slips out of your mouth, may not even slip out - it works. Is a state. There you handle the whole situation, sitting down here. ...

Sitting down here, you know each and every thing. Then not only you have mastered it, but in that you can enter into it. Now, for example, I’ll tell you what. I can enter into your subconscious, into your collective subconscious, into your supraconscious, into all the areas you see, I can if I want to. This is when you have mastered it completely, then you enter into it. When you are the master, then you enter into it. When you're master of this house, you can enter into any place.

Then comes the seventh state and that is the state where you, just you are. Your being there is sufficient. Just being there. Nothing exists, but you - for yourself. Now all these seven states you can reach, because I stand beyond them and I have come down to the first state. I'm trying to pull you out. If you do not drag me down, I can pull you up very fast. So only request is don't drag me down.

That's how the becoming is going to be. Now this is the basics, the scaffold … you can call the basic structure. Now you are filling all the beautiful things in between - how to do it. And all the things can nicely, again, arranged and re-decorated and can be done properly. But this is the basic structure of becoming.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmal Devi, extracts from the Talk, 'The Real Becoming', Old Arlesford Seminar, UK, 1980 (1980-0518)

* there is no mention in the transcript of a sixth state.

You have to know yourself

At the very outset one has to know what is the Truth, what are we seeking. It’s quite clear that we do not know that. That’s why we run after things which are false, which are more attractive, but basically they are very dangerous, very dangerous. And that has been happening – I’m sorry to say - in every country that people are just trying to mislead all the seekers who are truthful, who are honest, who are innocent. So what is the Truth that you have to find? Is said in all the books in all the scriptures that you have to know yourself. We always talk like this: I like this, I like that, I want this, I… But, we don’t know who are we. Who am I? Ask that question to yourself: who am I? Am I this body? Am I this mind? What am I? And then you reach really honestly a point where you realise that you don’t know yourself. You even don’t know your body, you even don’t know your mind. With this kind of a confusion we are living and that’s why all kinds of problems come up.

First thing is that you have to know yourself. It’s possible. Now the time has come for you to know yourself. It’s been promised that these are the times when you will know yourself. For that I have to say that already our creator has done a good job in the sense he has put this Kundalini in the triangular bone. This bone is called as Sacrum, meaning sacred. Means the Greeks knew it was a sacred bone. And this Kundalini, the one which is within you, is actually your individual mother, your mother. So, this power is placed within you, it’s your own power, and your individual mother. You have a mother which is not shared by anybody. And she’s the one who is going to give you your second birth by which you will know what you are. It is absolutely yours. Somebody asked me: “How much do we have to pay?” I said: “It’s your own, how can you pay?”

And you have to believe that it is with everyone of us, all over the world. Whatever maybe your creed, whatever may be your religion, whatever may be your colour, it is with everyone, it is placed there. Just as every human being has a heart. This is such a global Truth that all of us have this Kundalini within us. To raise the Kundalini might have been a problem, once upon a time. And it was the tradition that only one person among thousands was given realization or was awakened this Kundalini – was very rare. But these are the times when it has to be en-masse. It has to be worked out. And there are so many seekers now also. They were never so many before.

But the problem with us is this - in modern times - that we want to know everything through our rationality or through science. Both these methods are not sufficient. If they were, there would have been no problems for us. We have to go beyond it. Like Einstein has said that there’s an area beyond our human mind which is called as Torsion Area. And all the truths, absolute truths are known when you enter into that Torsion Area. This Torsion Area has different names. For example in Sanskrit it’s called as Paramchaitanya. In the Qur'an it’s called as Ruh. In every religion it has been described. But as you know religion also what it has taken in many different shapes in the hands of human beings. Human beings have a speciality of spoiling everything. ... So, even the religions in the hands of human beings are completely, completely ruined. And that is how we are today facing problems. People who believe in one God are fighting among themselves. How can that be? So much of perversion that has come through religion. ...

When you get your Self-realisation, then in the light of your Spirit you see the Truth. And the truth you see what is good for you and what is harmful. You can see very clearly and you also have power to take to things which are good for you. You are no more a weak person and immediately you give up whatever is wrong and whatever is destructive. This has, absolutely has happened to so many people in Sahaja Yoga. Not only that but all other things, all other problems, addictions and things like that, identifications have dropped. Because that’s not the Truth. The Truth is you are a part and parcel of the great being. You are one of the cells of the great being.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extracts from Talk at Royal Albert Hall, London, 10/7/99

Mana and Prana

We have got Prana and Mana. Now Prana represents the right side and the Mana Shakti is the left side. These two have to be dissolved. Laya means to disolve. How do we do it? To dissolve these two things, they are connected with each other, after realization and not before.

So before meditation we give ourselves a balance, alright! Which side is more, which side is less, at that time. Supposing you are emotionally that time disturbed then you put your right to the left. If you are that time disturbed on the left side, I mean, disturbed in the sense that your left side is frozen then you raise your left side and give yourself a balance before meditation. So once you have given yourself a balance then the best thing is to pay attention to your emotions, to Mana Shakti, watch them. You can enlighten your emotions, by thinking of your Mother, alright? Just enlighten them. See, which solve the problem. Whatever are the problems in the Mana, alright? So once you get connected, with those emotions, and you start looking at them in your meditation, you will see these emotions are rising, within you, and if you try to put these emotions on your Mother, as they said at the lotus feet of your Mother, they will start also dissolving, those emotions and they will become, sort of eh..expanded, expanse, you see. You will extend that in such a way that you will feel you are in control of these emotions, you are in control of them. And by controlling those emotions which are expanded, enlightened are powerful. And these emotions when you feel that way, mean, the cause of those emotions can be solved. ...

Mmm, see, you settle down. Valaya take place between your Prana and your Mana. Both the Shaktis become one. Now at this stage when you are silent, now you think of your intellect. It's lost. Just think of it, it's lost, it's no more there. So what's happening, actually that this Laya the attention goes into the intellect, and enlightens the intellect. Ah, see the thought is not there, try to find your intellect within yourself. Now see, see where is my intellect, try to find it. It's not there. It's not working. Again try it. It is working. But it has become the Samashti, it's become the collective now. Ah! See now, did you follow that. There is no thought. This exercise will give you this thoughtless awareness, establishment of thoughtless awareness, there is no thought.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extract from Practical Session at Bramham Court ashram, London, 29/10/81

Diwali 2002

Diwali 2002 from Sahaja Library

Today on this day of Diwali, I would say that you enlighten yourself with thoughtless awareness. It is not difficult. It’s within you because thoughts are coming from this side and that side and they are not the waves of your brain - no, just your own reactions. But in case you meditate in the real sense of the word, then you’ll get into that thoughtless awareness, which is a very important point and all these nonsensical thoughts, which are of no use to you, will disappear. They won’t be there and then your growth is possible and you’ll grow very well.

Many people are here who will say, “Mother, we don’t get that state” - try. Try that. I don’t believe you cannot get it. All of you can get that thought that, “I can get it!” and you will get it. In that, you don’t have to discard anything, you don’t have to see anything, just go into meditation and you will be amazed how it will work. Of course, you are very much there, most of you, but still, I would say, increase that thoughtless awareness, that area.

Today is very important because of this day of Diwali. Diwali is supposed to be enlightenment day, but enlightenment within is how much you are in thoughtless awareness and everything works out because you are the ocean of it. You have it within yourself. Only you have to tap it. If you don’t tap it, then it doesn’t work out. You have to just tap it and you will be amazed that you are a source of such joy, source of such happiness. I should say a source of real enlightenment.

So today’s message is that, while meditating, go into thoughtless awareness. No thought is important because it’s your own creation. But if you have to become with the Divine creation, you have to get to that state of thoughtless awareness, minimum of minimum. Once that comes to you gradually it will grow and you will be amazed how you’ll be able to grow into Sahaja Yoga in a very big way.

Thank you very much.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, conclusion to Talk at Diwali 2002, USA

Peace beyond thought

Now our attention is outside, the reason is our brain has become like a prism, and the rays that come into us of awareness also are thrown out and as a reaction our attention goes outside. If I tell you take your attention inside you cannot take it, just cannot. Something has to happen inside and that's why when this Kundalini rises within you then your attention is attracted inside and this happening takes place. And then you find that you can enter inside as well as outside. But otherwise you cannot. Many people say that we are praying, now you are praying outside there is no connection, first the connection must be established. So when your attention is outside you react to everything. For example, I come and see these flowers, then I react to it and then I say something, or another thing I see all the time I am reacting outside. As a result of all the kind of sensations we get out of our reactions our attention becomes absolutely disturbed and we get into lot of troubles. First of all our eyes are not steady, they go on hovering from here to there, God knows what are we looking for. The eyes become impure because we start thinking about things, as soon as we see something we start thinking and a barrier is created. For example there is a beautiful piece something very beautiful you see, and looking at it if there’s a thought you cannot enjoy. But if there is no thought, there’s pure rapport, pure connection, between that beautiful art and yourself. Then you just see it and enjoy that joy of the artist which he has poured into it, without thinking about it. Otherwise normally people will think, “How many pounds can I save?” or “What should I do? Should I purchase it or not?” All sorts of nonsensical flippant, cheap ideas can come into your head. Or could be something higher also “This color is not matched with that and this.” But a person who is a realized soul will just see, just like children, they just look, in the same way, without thinking. So the first thing that happens to your attention that the thoughts subside. Thought is the first problem that has started with ego and now when the thoughts subside then you become peaceful.

People talk of peace, “We should have peace” – how can you have peace? It’s not possible, is an impossible situation. You see we think by thinking, by organizing, by manipulating, we'll have peace. You cannot. You cannot have peace that way. How will you have peace? When the peace is established on your attention. When your attention is peaceful, when we are absolutely without any thoughts, then the peace resides. After all, the peace is disturbed by the human beings only, isn’t it? It is not disturbed by something else, is disturbed by human beings and now if the human beings are not peaceful, how can you have peace by talks? On the contrary when there are talks be sure that there will be some violent action after that. Always it happens because thought is incapable of keeping your attention in balance.

Now how do you remove the thought from your mind is the problem, thoughts are all the time in your mind. If you get possessed you may not have thoughts, but otherwise, which is the other way? The other way is the Kundalini when it rises. A thought rises and falls off and another thought rises and falls off, but when the Kundalini rises, then what happens, these thoughts become elongated and starts some working inside. And there is gap in between and this gap is the place of our peace. If you achieve that peace, the world peace can be achieved. By just taking placards, by shouting for peace you cannot establish peace, peace has to come from the hearts of human beings. In the hearts of human beings peace can be only established when you establish the spirit within it, its core where it manifests the bliss of peace. When you start enjoying the bliss of peace you don't want wars, you don't think of wars and that is the state where now the human beings have to rise and go to that. So these horrible times here which we call as Kali Yuga, the modern times, which are the times of complete illusion and when all the value system is changed, where everybody seems to be unhappy and sick, is the time also preceding the Krita Yuga, the time where everything will be done, perfected and established, that's the meaning of Krita Yuga. So to begin with primitive times, which we call Krita Yuga are established again, the primitive is again established, but here with awareness, like as I told you the matter becomes aware of itself. The Kundalini, which is a potential thing, which is a potential power of desire within us, which as we can call the primitive, manifests itself and becomes aware of itself. That is what is Sahaja Yoga today. It's all Sahaja, it's all spontaneous, all life process has been spontaneous, but today that is what it is. So, spontaneously our attention becomes peaceful, absolutely peaceful, and when that peace is achieved, that peace is established within your heart through the ascent. Then, every bit of that peace emits peace. Such a person wherever he is, he emits peace wherever he is. If there is quarrel going on there will be peace.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extract from Talk, Chiswick Town Hall, London, 10/7/84

"We cannot meditate"

1976-0330 Gudi Padwa:To be in Meditation by Sahaja Library

We cannot meditate. We only can be in meditation. When we say we are going to meditate, it has no meaning. We have to be in meditation. Either you are inside the house or outside the house. You cannot be inside the house and then say that, “Now I’m outside the house”. Or when you are outside the house, you cannot say, “I’m inside the house”. In the same way, we… you are moving in three dimensions of your life, of emotional and physical and mental being. You are not inside yourself. But when you are inside, that you are in thoughtless awareness, then not only that you are there, but you are everywhere - because that is the place… that is the point where you are really in universal. From there you are in contact with the principle, with the shakti, with the power that permeates into every particle that is matter, into every thought that is in motion, into every planning and thinking of the whole world. You permeate into all the elements that have created this beautiful earth. You permeate into earth; you permeate into Akasha [sky/ether], into Teja [meaning light], into sound. But your movement is very slow. Then you say, “I’m meditating” – that means you are moving in permeation with the universal being. But you are not moving yourself. You are just unloading yourself, to be free from the weight of things that do not allow you to move.

When you are in meditation, you must allow yourself to be in thoughtless awareness. There, the unconscious itself, the Achetana itself will take charge. You will start moving with the force of Atita [beyond]. The unconscious is going to work it out. It is going to take you there, where it wants you to go. You keep to thoughtless awareness all the time. Try to keep to thoughtless awareness as much as you can. When you are in thoughtless awareness, you must know that you are in the kingdom of God and His people, His arrangements, His consciousness, is going to look after you.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Gudi Padwa, Delhi, March 1976 (1976-0330)


transcript

Beyond the Mind

Today, I'm going to talk about the mind. People don't know what this mind is. It is very easy to understand for Sahaja Yogis, that we are the ones who react, react to everything that is outside. The reason is, we have two horrible tendencies, one which is an ego, and another tendency is that we are being trained that way, or we can call it the superego or the conditionings. So, both the things, our ego and conditionings, are all the time acting outside. This reaction, which is built in within us, is just like bubbles in the ocean, and these bubbles keep us away from reality. These bubbles are of thoughts, and they just blast you all the time in your head, and you don't know why they have come. When you depend on this artificial mind of yours, then you have no discretion as to understand what is good and what is bad. This mind is the one where all kinds of evil things start, all kinds of quarrels, fights and possessiveness, lastly, the war also comes there. It is in this mind only, which is nothing but a myth, all these concrete, destructive ideas, somehow or other, come up, and then they start growing and growing.
Then you find people whom you can impress, also, put ideas into their heads - by reading, they learn, or by their lectures, or by mesmerism, whatever kinds of things they can do. They put your mind into such a frame that you accept these destructive ideas, for yourself individually, or maybe for the collective.
So this mind is just a myth, and we are working through this mind. We are all the time satisfying ourselves by saying 'Oh, that's my mind', 'My mind wants it'. ...

Because this mind, which is just a bubble, as I told you, and is so limited, that it cannot comprehend the beauty, the glory, the expanse of reality- this mind is just a collection of all the garbage, we should say, which we have to, somehow or other, deny, and tell ourselves that 'I have to go beyond my mind. So-called mind of mine has done no good for me. And this mind of mine, which has been all the time controlling me, is just like the watch we have made and is controlling us, or like the computer that controls us'.
So we have to be careful that we are the ones that have created this mind, and this mind has no business to control us. Many people try to control the mind. There's a way of doing it, that 'I'll control my mind now'. Now, try to understand, how will you control the mind only though mind? Either by ego or by your conditioning. You have no means of controlling your mind, because it is the mind which you have created, and that is just existing there, which you cannot control, though you might think 'I can control'.

You have to go beyond this mind. And to go beyond this mind, the most helpful thing is Kundalini awakening, because She passes through your limbic area, pierces through your fontanel bone area, and just takes you away, out, into the realm of reality, and the Yoga takes place between your brain, I should say, your heart, with this All-pervading Power. She's the One which connects, She's the One who does it. Many people are doing Sahaja Yoga, I know that, but it's difficult for them, sometimes, to get to meditation, to establish this thoughtless awareness, which is an extremely important state which you all should achieve. So many Sahaja Yogis are there, and I'm happy to know that they are getting deeper and deeper, but as long as they are in the turmoil of their mind they cannot progress.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extracts from Birthday Puja 1996

The Enlightened Personality

An enlightened personality, I can tell you, is a person who is beyond his mind. And he is in contact completely with this all-pervading power of divine love. As a result everything in that person is guided, helped by that divine love. That power is so great that it looks after you, it organizes everything, it thinks, it understands, it is wisdom of all the things. You become a person who is so collectively conscious.
Today we need people like that. Otherwise you always think about yourself. About others you can only think when you are collectively conscious. But these days there are so many people marketing their spirituality, you see. That’s also there. And just people jump to it, I don’t know why. Why don’t they find out what is the gain, what did you gain out of it? Nobody wants to know.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Press Conference, London, July 1999

Nirvichara in meditation

Sahaja Yogi: How do you attain nirvichar (thoughtlessness) in meditation?

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi: In meditation? There is no vichar (thoughts) during meditation. Why should thoughts come in meditation? You are not to seek anything during meditation. It is only to be felt within. It is you who have to discriminate whether you have realised this or not during meditation. In meditation, first you will come to know your own mistakes, where you were wrong, and where you were right. When you start realising your own mistakes, then you are on the right track. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you see yourself. What is the use of seeing others? The trouble with us is, we always like to see others in the mirror. Then how will you identify your own faults if you start to see others in the mirror?

(Q+A after Shri Krishna Puja 2003, Pratisthan, Pune, India)

The second stage

Now, to become a Guru, what do we have to do after our realization? Guru word means gravity. Gravity means a person who is grave, who is deep, who is magnetic. Now as you have learnt in Sahaja Yoga that realization takes place in complete effortlessness. So normally a Guru tries to make his disciples effortless, which is called as Prayatna Shaithilya - means "relax your efforts.” Without doing anything you got your Prayatna Shaytilya, otherwise Kundalini would not have risen.
Then the second stage is Vichara Shaithilya - the thoughtless awareness. This also you got it without doing anything. And the third is complete negation of thought - Abhava - and the bliss of peace. So one has to understand that you have to pass them, through three stages. First, when you get your realization all these things come spontaneously, for that moment. When you raise the Kundalini of others, these things happen to them spontaneously. You too have that power now to raise the Kundalini of people and to establish it in them. But we must understand why it has to be done that way, why we have to have Vichara Shaithilya.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Guru Puja 1984

Effortlessness: How to meditate

In the same way vibrations are coming, they are radiated. What you have to do is to expose yourself to it. The best way is not to put in any effort. Don't worry at what point you have a problem. Say, many people during meditation, I have seen, if they catch somewhere they go on looking after it. You just don't have to worry. You just let it go and it will work by itself. So you don't have to put in any effort. This is what meditation is.

Meditation means exposing yourself to God's grace. Now the grace itself knows how to cure you. It knows how to mend you, how to settle down itself to your own being, how to keep your Spirit kindled. It knows everything. So you don't have to worry as to what you have to do or what name you have to take what mantra you have to do. In meditation you have to do absolutely effortless, expose yourself fully and you have to be absolutely thoughtless at that time.

Supposing, possibly, you might not be thoughtless. At that time you have to just watch your thoughts, but do not get involved into them. You will find gradually as the sun rises, darkness goes away and the sun's rays go into every part and makes the whole place enlightened. In the same way your being will be completely enlightened but if you put in an effort at that time or try to stop something within you or try to give it a bhandan it will not.

Effortlessness is the only way into meditation, but you should not be lethargic about it - should be alert and watch it. The other side could be that people just dose off. No, you have to be alert. If you dose off, nothing will work out. That's another side of it. If you are lazy about it, nothing will work out. You have to be alert and open, absolutely aware, completely effortless, absolutely effortless. If you are absolutely effortless, meditation will work the best.

Don't think about your problem at all, whatever chakras you have, anything, just expose yourself to the vibration. See when the sun shines all the nature exposes itself to the sun and receives the sun the sun's rays start acting. In the same way the all-pervading power starts working. You are not to manoeuvre it, you are not to do anything about it. Just be effortless, absolutely effortless. Do not take any names (mantras). Do not bother if your Agnya is catching, this is catching, that is catching. It is working out.

It will go on working as long as it can and it will do the miracle that it has to do. You don't have to worry about it. It knows its job. But when you put an effort you actually create a barrier for it. So no effort is needed, be absolutely effortless and say 'let it go, let it go' - that's all.

No mantras are to be chanted. In case you find it's impossible then you can take my name, but there is no need even. When you put your hands toward me that is the mantra, it is sufficient, this gesture itself is mantra. You see there is no need to say it more, but the thought in the mind the emotion, is what we spread our hands to that and it should work. When this emotion is absolutely complete, there is no need to say any mantra - you go beyond it. So one has to be absolutely effortless, absolutely effortless.

Meditation is for your own ascent, is for your own capital gains that you have to have. But once you got it, you also achieve your powers. Like if you become the governor, you get the powers of the governor. At this time you don't have to think about anybody else. You are not put your attention towards anybody else but just receive, just receive it. Do not think about any other problem, but that you have to be absolutely effortless. It would work the best on the people who are just receiving it.

You have problems, that's why you are here, but you cannot solve them, they are to be solved by divine power. This must be understood fully, that we cannot solve our problems. So leave it in the hands of divine power and expose yourself effortlessly, absolutely effortlessly.

H.H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, How to Meditate, London, 1980

audio + transcript

Turiya

"... most important for all of us is to know that there's a nadi which passes through left Vishuddhi into the heart. Starts from the heart, goes up, passes through Agnya. It has four petals, opens up. This is the one which gives you the state which is called as Turiya.
We live in three states. In the living - in the awakened state, jagruti - our attention goes to this, that, and all that, we spoil our attention.
But the second one is the one what we call is that we sleep. When we sleep also all these things that have happened come to us from our past and things like that.
But then we go to the deeper sleep called as sushupti. Is a state where you have deep sleep, and you dream of something that is reality also. You may dream about me. Like it's the ethereal part of the subconscious where some beautiful informations are passed. Supposing I've come, say, to Italy. Italians might know in their sushupti that I have come here or maybe anybody might know, depends on.
But the fourth state is called as Turiya. There are two more states. You are in the Turiya state, is the fourth. Turiya means fourth. Fourth state is where, that you are in a thoughtless awareness state. When there is no thought - just think of it - when there is no thought you have to be innocent. When there is no thought you have to have vibrations. When there is no thought you cannot be attached to anyone. So into that thoughtless state you have come now, is the Turiya disthuti. And in this state, when you are, these four petals which are within you have to open out in your brain. They come from your heart to your brain. And that is when you absolutely understand what is God. Absolutely know what is God is. That is the time when one receives the real knowledge. But unless and until these four petals open one may fall back."
HH Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, MahaShivaratri Puja, 16/2/91

"So, when you are in the center you witness, you start witnessing. When you steady yourself in the center. Because some people are such that they start on the left, go to the right, they become so ego-oriented that it’s impossible to deal with. But if you stay in the center, that’s the fourth side, is staying in the center. Turiya is the fourth dimension. If you could stay on that then you become a witness. And that’s the point where you start sucking the joy of every moment. Every moment, of everything, of every work, of every friendship, of every relationship, of every understanding."
(Talk, Brompton Square, London, 7/12/81)

"So the relationship with the Adi Kundalini is that it is the reflection of the Adi Kundalini. Now the reflection — supposing you take an Indian mirror; you look in the mirror and you’ll find you look like nothing on earth, it will just cut you into three pieces, maybe, or anything. But if you take a Belgian mirror, say, then the reflection is correct, full – but still not three dimensional. But this is a four dimensional reflection — four dimensional it is, what is called as turiya state. And that four dimensional personality you have reflected because of your reflector of your desire. The reflector is the desire and the reflection is complete."
(Shri Adi Kundalini Puja, 11/8/91)

"Turiya is the fourth state. In the fourth state you dominate these three gunas, you control all the elements. At this stage, you just say and it works. You have seen yesterday what happened with me. It just works, you become master of these three gunas. Like I used to describe that first you are sitting in the car and somebody's driving you. He uses your left and right side, or you can say, the brake and accelerator, and the car is driven. Then he starts teaching you how to drive. Then you start learning by using your left and right, accelerator and your brake. Then the third stage comes in where you become a driver, but still you are worried about the master who is sitting behind, that still you are doing a mistake, you are doing wrong. But then the fourth stage comes, you become the master. You make others drive. Order here, anyone, order the Sun, order the Moon, order. Order means just tell them, I mean not question of any domination is there. Just desire. Just say it, it works out. Now this fourth stage is called as Turiya Dasha.
Then comes the fifth stage in which - I don't want to give you names because you’ll stick on to those. They are not so clear cut. They mingle from each other you see, and they are mixtures. But in Turiya state when you mature properly, then you jump into the fifth state, in which you do not even, you do Sankalpa. You do not even determine or say anything. You just, anything slips out of your mouth, may not even slip out - it works. Is a state. There you handle the whole situation, sitting down here.
Sitting down here, you know each and every thing. Then not only you have mastered it, but in that you can enter into it. Now, for example, I’ll tell you what. I can enter into your subconscious, into your collective subconscious, into your supraconscious, into all the areas you see, I can if I want to. This is when you have mastered it completely, then you enter into it. When you are the master, then you enter into it. When you're master of this house, you can enter into any place.
Then comes the seventh state and that is the state where you, just you are. Your being there is sufficient. Just being there. Nothing exists, but you - for yourself. Now all these seven states you can reach, because I stand beyond them and I have come down to the first state. I'm trying to pull you out. If you do not drag me down, I can pull you up very fast. So only request is don't drag me down."
(Talk at Old Arlesford Seminar, UK, 18/5/80)

interesting powerpoint

The Life Eternal

"What are you searching? Why are you aimlessly and listlessly running about? The joy that you have searched in material gains, the joy that you are looking for in power, the joy that disappeared in the words of books-the so-called knowledge - is all lost in yourself, and you are still searching and seeking! You can pay attention to everything outside, yourself! You are lost in your thoughts, like babes in the wood! But there is great hope that you can rise into the Heaven of "thoughtless" awareness, which we call Self-realization.
I invite you to this feast of Divine Bliss, which is pouring around you, even in this Kaliyuga, in these God-forsaken modern times. I hope you will come and enjoy the spiritual experience of the Life Eternal."
(H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, 1972)

Enlightenment

"Enlightened means a personality, enlightened personality, I can tell you, is a person who is beyond his mind. And he is in contact completely with this all-pervading power of divine love. As a result everything in that person is guided, helped by that divine love. That power is so great that it looks after you, it organizes everything, it thinks, it understands, it is wisdom of all the things. You become a person who is so collectively conscious.
Today we need people like that. Otherwise you always think about yourself. About others you can only think when you are collectively conscious. But these days there are so many people marketing their spirituality, you see. That’s also there. And just people jump to it, I don’t know why. Why don’t they find out what is the gain, what did you gain out of it? Nobody wants to know."
(H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Press Conference, London, 8/7/99)

Divine Protection

"If you are a Sahaja Yogini, then at the time of crisis, you should become thoughtless. That’s one of the signs. I have seen with myself, if there is any crisis in the family, I just become thoughtless. That means what? That God takes you in, your problems. He puts His hand, He puts His protection and He takes you out of it and makes you absolutely thoughtless. And in that thoughtless awareness you discover what is right, what is wrong. So even in crisis, this thoughtless awareness is all the time extremely alert. It becomes much more alert than normal. That’s the sign of a Sahaja Yogi and the sign of Sahaja Yogini … In wisdom you understand that all the Deities are just with you. And whatever happens to you, they are before you. Nobody can harm you. Nobody can touch you. You are so protected. Lotuses are not protected. You are so protected that if anybody tries to harm you, immediately there is protection. Also your own protection is there, as I said, that you jump into thoughtless awareness."
(H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Diwali 1991)

Beyond

H.H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi has indicated that "God has created fourteen levels within us" (Sahastrara Puja, 1983), these being the seven chakras associated with our physical being, the three additional chakras (Lalita, Sri and Hamsa), and then the four chakras above the Sahastrara - Ardha-Bindu, Bindu, Valaya and Pradakshina.

Many of us have experienced that enlightened awareness that is beyond the Sahastrara, often in India, particularly in Ganapatipule. But how to describe this state? The legendary Nath yogi, Matsyendranath (probably 11th century CE), puts it like this:

"Dearest, (in the pinda exist) the chakras of five lines, 16 lines, sixty four petals, the truly beautiful 100 petal (lotus)[Agnya?] and the beautiful thousand petal lotus [Sahastrara] and above this is a very brilliant 10,000,000 petal lotus. Above the 10 million petal lotus is a 30,000,000 petal lotus, each pericarp of which is similar to a flame. Above this is the all encompassing, eternal, undivided, independent, steady lotus – pervading all, stainless. By its will (sveccha) it causes creation and dissolution. Both the animate and inaminate are dissolved in this linga."
(Kaulajnananirnaya Tantra, third chapter)

Dreams

"The reason for dreams is that when you are sleeping your attention moves either to the supra-conscious side or to the subconscious side. Your attention starts moving and then you start seeing things which are connected with your subconscious or your collective subconscious…. You may go into your supra-conscious side where you see your future and all these things.
But the reason why you get your dreams actually is that the unconscious pushes within you, or we can say the Kundalini or your Atma is trying to guide you to the right path. And how does it guide you to the right path, is through dreams.
But these are misunderstood. How are you guided by these dreams? Understand these dreams, because you are so confused.
First you go deep into yourself and you touch the unconscious, sushupti. But from there, you come out. And then when you are coming out, you touch your subconscious or maybe the supra-conscious. So whatever anabhuti [feeling] you had or whatever experience you had of the depth of the sushupti gets confused. And you don’t know what you dreamt and you don’t understand and you forget it.
But those who are realised souls, go to their sushupti and see exactly what they have to know. Like many people in Bombay when I came, they didn’t know I was coming, but they were at the airport because they got the dream.
So at the sushupti level, at the deep level, you get the communication with God if you know how to go in and come out fully aware. But if you get confused with supra-conscious or subconscious areas … your chitta [attention] is not so clearcut. Then there can be a big confusion."
(H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Talk on Agnya Chakra, Delhi, 3/2/83)

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