
Welcome… Here you’ll find a compilation of Questions and Answers (Q&A’s) relating to the Sahaja Yoga meditation technique and its philosophy, as taught by its founder, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. These Questions have been posed to Shri Mataji at various events, such as public lectures and interviews. The answers below are Her response to the questions. Each event is grouped using the Q&A Categories feature (on the right sidebar). New Q&A’s are regularly posted on this page.
Question: What is the qualification of a guru?
Public Lecture (Miami USA '90)
Question: What is the qualification of a guru? What should a guru be?
Shri Mataji: See, it was asked to Guru Nanaka and he said, “Sahib mili hain
so hi sat guru.” Meaning: the one who makes you meet the Divine is the only one who is the SatGuru. Who is the Guru. Otherwise all the rest are useless. Then he has categorized them as agurus, kugurus, he has categorized them, but the one who is a SatGuru, the one who is the real Guru is the one who makes you meet God. Makes you meet this Divine power.
Question: How do you feel about people asking for money for spirituality?
Public Lecture (Miami USA '90)
Question: How do you feel about people asking for money for spirituality?
Shri Mataji: Is correct, you see that’s a very correct question you asked me, that how do I travel because most of time my husband pays but now these people (Sahaja yogis) are feeling ashamed of themselves that how he should pay for your salvation so they pay to the airfare not to me, all right? To the what you call the travel agents, not to me, for this hall they have collected little money and they are paying for it. But, you would not like me to pay for your food, for your chairs, for everything. That’s not expected.
See if I have to travel they should pay, it’s in all self-esteem and in self-respect, but I did it for years together first when I came to America I came on my own, My husband paid for everything. Luckily he has money so and he thinks this is a good work so he pays for quite a lot of things, but that’s a different thing, that’s very different, that’s very little that they have to pay, that’s different and it’s all our accounts are known. I don’t know what they do, how they collect money, where they spend it, I don’t see, I’m very bad at accounts! I just don’t understand, but what I’m saying that sometimes if they want to pay for my travel it’s correct, because I think they must have self-respect, my husband shouldn’t pay for my travel, for this hall, for their food, for everything, is it proper? It’s not proper.
So, if you go to one extreme that you give thousand of pounds to somebody, because he gives you a funny mantra, and here people ask me who pays for the hall, I mean they must pay, don’t you think so, in self-respect you all must pay.
Question: How do you balance one’s problems?
Public Lecture (Miami USA '90)
Question: How do you balance one’s problems?
Shri Mataji: Yeah, I’ll tell you now what is the problem is, now if you see it clearly [SHRI MATAJI POINTS TO THE CHAKRA CHART] there are three lines you see them, okay? These are the
three channels we have of autonomous nervous system. The two channels the one is the left and another is the right and the central one is the parasympathetic nervous system and these two are left and right sympathetic nervous system so before Realization whatever we do we can only go to the left or to the right with our effort, for example, now supposing, you want to increase the rate of your heart, you have to run, if you run rate will increase, but you cannot decrease, automatically it happens through the parasympathetic nervous system, so whatever you try like this any this psychotherapy, this therapy, that therapy, you are putting in your effort, isn’t it?
But here you get connected with that power which sooths you down, which looks after you, which works it out by itself, and if you really know how to keep your connection all right you don’t have to worry.
So this is.. you don’t have to retain a doctor, you don’t have to go to a psychiatrist, nothing of the kind, automatically you are looked after, because now you are connected, but before this you have to put in an effort, this is effortless.
Question: I want to know what qualifies someone to be a guru?
Public Lecture (Miami USA '90)
Question: I want to know what qualifies someone to be a guru? And, what makes you do the work you do?
Shri Mataji: Oh, because I love it! It’s so beautiful to see people getting their Realization. You will also do the same once you get it, it’s so beautiful. The most beautiful thing is to give Realization to someone and so joyous because if you are selfish, if you are low type of a person then you feel funny about yourself, but if you are benevolent you feel so happy about the whole thing, you enjoy your benevolence, you enjoy your virtues. Just start enjoying and that’s only possible after Realization, then you just do it, I know why am I doing it, what should I do otherwise? I mean what I’m saying that supposing somebody else can do this I would like to retire myself but it’s difficult to get someone like that. I’m sorry to say. Can you do it madam for my sake? You can’t that’s the point.
I’ve been trying for, now I’m
sixty-seven years of age. I wish somebody could take my place but doesn’t work that way. But in any case when you get your Realization at least try to give Realization to some people and you can do it, not difficult. But not at my level, that’s the point is, once you come to my level, I’ll be very happy to retire. [AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
Question: Am I correct that what you’re saying is that God and man are one?
Public Lecture (Miami USA '90)
Question: Am I correct that what you’re saying is that God and man are one and you are just trying to reconnect us with God, and for that one cannot pay, or be nonsensical, they just have to have a clear and open mind..
Shri Mataji: Yeah, that’s it. That’s it.
Question: That’s all?
Shri Mataji: That’s it’s. She’s understood me very well I must say. That’s it. That’s it. Just what you need an open mind and another thing you need a little bit because I think we save time to waste it so we have to save time little bit to pay attention to our ascent. Little bit, not much, little bit time we must give and we must develop ourselves, first just the sprouting of the seed takes place then we have to fix it up properly and that takes hardly a month and you can become all of you can become great gurus. He’s a big guru but look at his dress and all that you can’t believe. He knows everything about Kundalini, but you can’t make it out from him you see we are normal people, very normal.
Question: How can we practice this system?
Shri Mataji: Yes. Now there are no exercises madam nothing it just spontaneously happens to you and you get it there. Little bit of course I’ll tell you how to raise it again and again today only but then we have to a very nice center here and we have very good Sahaj Yogis and you’re welcome to come there and they will teach you each and everything.
(Editor: Location of international meditation centres are located here http://www.sahajayoga.org/worldwidecontacts/default.asp)
