
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: Shri Mataji, what is Sahaja Yoga? I mean, what is the main idea of it?
TV Interview ORF (Vienna, Austria ’88)
Interviewer: Shri Mataji, what is Sahaja Yoga? I mean, what is the main idea of it?
Shri Mataji: Sahaja, Saha means with, Ja means born. Born with you.
That is spontaneous. Yoga means Union with the Divine. Now, many people in the modern times won’t believe there’s anything like Divine. But supposing I say, “There is,” with an open mind of a scientist you must accept it as a hypothesis to begin with. Now, we have the Divine power, very subtle power everywhere, but we can’t feel it. With our human awareness we cannot feel it. With human awareness we also don’t know the absolute truth, we live in a relative world. So there has to be a breakthrough. And the breakthrough has to take place in our evolutionary process. And Sahaja Yoga is the method which gives you that breakthrough.

Interviewer: How does it do this?
Shri Mataji: Now, within us is placed – is a energy which we call as Kundalini in Sanskrit language, which is a residual energy in the triangular bone called as Sacrum also means sacred bone, so maybe the Greeks knew about it. It rises like a primule in a seed, passes through six centers and pierces through the last one here and gives you what we call as the Self Realization or real baptism – real. Continue Reading »
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: Most people say that from their previous experiences they find that it is not possible to have a moment or so where there is no thought.
Public Lecture (Brisbane Australia '87)
Shri Mataji: Is true. You cannot till the Kundalini is awakened, you can’t have. You see one thought rises and falls another thought rises and falls. There’s a little space in between which we call in Sanskrit as Vilumba, very little spaces. Now what happened with Kundalini awakening, both these thoughts become elongated and this Vilumba increases. So you will automatically have that. You won’t have to worry about that. (Public Lecture, Brisbane 5th May, 1987)
Question: How did you begin this Sahaja Yoga meditation, how were you initiated in this group?
Public Lecture (Brisbane Australia '87)
(Public Lecture, Brisbane 5th May, 1987)
Shri Mataji: I was not initiated. I had this from my very childhood. You see I know you would like to know about me, but it’s better first you know yourself. Then you will know about me better. All right?
Question: Shri Mataji, would you say a few words about the golden age? The forthcoming golden age?
Press Conference (London '99)
Question: Shri Mataji, would you say a few words about the golden age? The forthcoming golden age?
Shri Mataji: You see, Aquarius, as they say, Aquarius according to our astrology is the Kundalini. The Kundalini is Aquarius according to Indian, I should say, Indian science of Astrology.
And, you see, they, what they say that this age of Aquarius is very important, because this will change the lives of people. And that is what they have already described about this, that now there was Kali Yuga, means the worst possible times. The whole Kali Yuga means the absolutely the worst and worst possible time for our destruction. That was over. Then comes Kruta Yuga, I mean, overlapping. Now, in Kruta Yuga, this all-pervading power, they call it Paramchaitanya, becomes active. It starts helping people to come along.
That also has been going on some days.
After this, is Satya Yuga. It’s the age of truth. But it’s a last judgement. If you take to truth, alright, well and good. But if you don’t take to truth you are judged. It’s like this. Continue Reading »