Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi discovered the unique method of meditation SAHAJA YOGA – which allows one to achieve inner enlightenment, and reveals the true potential of mankind. Shri Mataji devoted her entire life to the development and dissemination of this method, and today hundreds of thousands of people around the world practice and benefit from Sahaja Yoga. The classes – always free – are offered in over 80 countries around the world
THE GREAT MASTER OF YOGA
Shri Mataji showed that within each person there is a motherly spiritual energy called KUNDALINI, the awakening of which leads a person to a state of spontaneous meditation. Unlike many ancient teachers who were only able to share this experience with a few individuals, Shri Mataji could raise the Kundalini in thousands of people, which was previously considered impossible.
It is the opportunity to awaken this inner spiritual energy that distinguishes Sahaja Yoga from other methods of meditation. It is an extraordinary living experience which allows us to touch the very essence of ourselves, to uncover our very best qualities and to achieve a state of complete peace and satisfaction.
FROM NIRMALA TO ‘SHRI MATAJI
Initially Shri Mataji taught this method to a few seekers in India, awakening their Kundalinis and giving them Self Realisation. Since ancient times only the most worthy and dedicated had managed to attain their Self Realisation through TAPASYA (GREAT PENANCE), cleansing and introspection.
Somehow, the presence of Shri Mataji combined with her loving attention and her work on seekers’ subtle systems became the catalyst for this process. After a while her students reached a sublime state of inner freedom and lightness, expe riencing a cool breeze on the palms of open hands and above their heads.
As an expression of love, respect and gratitude for Nirmala, and her unique ability to grant Self Realisation, her students began calling her SHRI MATAJI, which literally means RESPECTED HOLY MOTHER.
INNER DEVELOPMENT AS THE FOUNDATION OF A HEALTHY SOCIETY
Shri Mataji, in her lectures and conversations, paid attention to many aspects of a person’s life saying that the inner state, enlightened by the practice of meditation, will find an outward manifestation in all spheres of human life.
SHRI MATAJI’S EARLY LIFE
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi – a descendant of India’s royal Shalivahana Dynasty – was born in 1923, at noon on the 21st of March – the Spring Equinox – in Chindwara, the centre of India, in a Christian family. She was born completely self-re alised and from a young age knew that she had a unique gift which had to be made available to all mankind.
Both Shri Mataji and her parents, Prasad and Cornelia Salve, played an active role in India‘s fight for independence. Her father, a talented lawyer and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and helped write India‘s first constitution. He was a renowned scholar, fluent in 14 languages.
As a child Shri Mataji and her family lived for some time in the ashram of Mahatma Gandhi who affectionately gave her the nickname NEPALI. Even at a young age, her deep wisdom and understanding was evident to the Mahatma.
Shri Mataji played a courageous role as a youth leader in the fight for freedom. In 1942 she was arrested, imprisoned and tortured for her participation in Gandhi’s “QUIT INDIA” Movement. She later studied medicine at the Christian Medical College in Lahore, in what is now Pakistan.
Shortly before India’s Independence, Shri Mataji married Mr. C.P. Srivastava who would go on to become one of India‘s most respected high-ranking civil servants. Mr. Srivastava held the post of Joint Secretary to the Office of the Indian Prime Minister, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, between 1964-66.
Later, he was unanimously re-elected for four consecutive four-year terms, as Secretary General of the United Nations International Maritime Organisation based in London. He was knighted by the Queen of England in 1989 and received similar honours from many countries for his service to the international maritime community .
SHRI MATAJI’S SAHAJA YOGA WORK
After fulfilling her familial duties of bringing up two daughters, Shri Mataji embarked on her spiritual mission. On the 5th May 1970 she was meditating on the many problems of humanity on a lonely beach in India, when a blissful Divine experience filled her whole being and she knew that
the moment had come for her unique spiritual gift – the ability to give en-masse Self Realisation – to be shared with humanity. Soon thousands of people in many countries were receiving the transforming experience of Kundalini awakening and discovering for themselves that – using Shri
Mataji’s techniques – they could also pass this experience on to others, as one candle can be used to enlighten another.
Unlike the many so-called ‘gurus’ of the modern era, Shri Mataji neither charged for her lectures or for giving Self Realisation. She always insisted that one cannot pay for enlightenment. She warned of the dangers of going to false gurus and enterprises who package spirituality as a business. Self Realisation and spiritual enlightenment are beyond money. (The knowledge and experience of Sahaja Yoga meditation is always and unconditionally 100% free. All individuals who run meditation classes – either online or in person – do so on a completely voluntary basis because they want to share their experience. )
Shri Mataji created many non-profit organizations in various fields of public life. From a centre for destitute women and orphans to international schools, from health centres using the methods of Sahaja Yoga to academies teaching classical arts – the list of Shri Mataji’s achievements is striking in its diversity.
