Spritual Path - A Challenge or a Blessing ?

I was 21 years old when my mother died. This put me in the situation of asking myself what is the purpose of life. Many questions invaded my mind and my soul: if we all die one day, what is the purpose of building a family, a life, of spending money making life more comfortable, getting married, having children? When we die, we take nothing with us. And what is God? Is He a very old man, with a long beard, as I was told in childhood? If He is love and forgiveness, why do so many people suffer? Is this a world ruled by God?

And thus began my quest…

All of my life, I’ve been a perfectionist. In adolescence, I started analyzing myself, my reactions, all aspects of my behaviour. With introspection and sincerity, in time, I was able to see the true problems inside me. I experienced a spiritual growth, because I had the desire to change myself, but it was more intuitive, based on instinct. I let my “inner voice” to guide me, without having an explanation of what this inner voice was: does it come from God or am I possessed? I was unable to explain how this inner voice got born into me, not able to describe to others how I felt, or to teach them how they can listen to their inner voices too. A whole world was inside me: birds, trees, sunshine, joy, peace, beauty. I felt as being a sister to everything around me.

Many times my friends asked me: “Why do you do this?” I answered: “Because I feel it's better this way.” Sometimes they considered me naïve and didn’t respect me, because I didn’t react the way they expected. Other times they considered me ambitious and admired me because I obtained what I wanted. I was neither naïve, nor ambitious. I was a seeker, and I was in a process of changing and understanding myself. I was aware that there was something else beyond what I saw, beyond shapes and colours, something I was not taught at school or by my parents. It is something that touches the soul, not the mind. It’s not meant to be known by a logical mind, but to be discovered and experienced by a thirsty soul.

My mother’s death put me in the situation of asking myself what is the purpose of life. She got married, had two children. At 35 years old she got ill, at 47 she died… 12 years of suffering and despair. What is the worth of being born? For what reason?

So what is the purpose of life and its final goal?

God is its final goal. And the purpose of life is to improve yourself - “spiritual evolution” as it’s called. Life is just the environment for us to learn and manifest.

It took me one year to find my way. I went to different movements, from churches (orthodox, or others that believe in Jesus) to different forms of yoga. I was told that we were all sinners (which cut my wings and hopes for a better life), that we had a destiny (then what about “free will”?), that we should be afraid of God (I’ve never been afraid of God; ashamed yes, but never afraid), that around us were a lot of energies, some benefic, some malefic and many other things that led me to a dispute, but not to a Change.

Nobody spoke about wisdom and knowledge. I was not interested in acquiring paranormal powers, influencing people, or conquering the world. I was interested in living according to God’s will. I was not interested in living a life to impress people, but a life that would fill me with joy and satisfaction. Was I asking too much?!

I started Sahaja Yoga with the same attitude I had for the others: pure desire and an opened mind. It might have been My Way or just an experience.

Why did I stay in Sahaja Yoga? Because in the beginning I had the same inner experiences I had at adolescence. More than this, I began to understand my previous experiences.

The system of chakras was a revelation for me. It felt like my eyes suddenly opened and saw. For many years I thought that physical body and spiritual life were two completely different things, because nobody told me that there were interactions between them. The system of chakras is the link between the human body and the Divine. Through this system, we have spiritual experiences. It is also a link between physical body and our behaviour, feelings, and psychic processes. It manages everything in us. If a chakra has a problem, at the psychical level we don’t manifest the qualities of that chakra (e.g. love, wisdom, morality etc.). And at physical level, the organs fed by that chakra have problems. This is how diseases appear. I didn’t know this. When working on a chakra, we can improve both aspects. The system of chakras is the key, because it links everything in us. In the Bible it is written that angels write everything you do in a Book of Life. I do believe that this book is the system of chakras.

I wanted to know more about these chakras, about their qualities and influence. Through my own experiences and introspection, I understood myself better. I realized how important it is to be friendly to myself. The roots of most adults’ problems originate in childhood. I was able to see the good and bad influences of my parents, to point exactly to events in my childhood that made me react in a certain manner in my adult life. I was able to see false impressions I had about me, about my abilities, my qualities. Our mind is full of projections of the truth and conditionings accumulated during life. We are lost and stuck in them.

In 8 years of practice, I saw many people coming, many people leaving. As a friend said, Sahaja Yoga is an opened door: people are free to come and to leave. Sahaja Yoga offers you a method. It’s your free will to use it or not. It is a method that helps you to know yourself, the good parts and bad parts, to understand and accept yourself, to change yourself. You are the scientist and also the rat. Experiment and accept whatever comes as the truth, even if it doesn’t fit your education, conditionings or is opposite to what you trusted in all of your life.

Everybody has latent qualities. We don’t use them because we are not aware of them. A spiritual path should help us get rid of superficiality and become aware of the truth inside and outside us. It’s not easy to face and change our bad habits. The fight is within and at the end, we are the conquerors but also the vanquished.

Curiously, I was born in an orthodox country, but I felt this knowledge of yoga closer to my very deep thoughts about life. For awhile, I thought I was the only person having fancy ideas about life and God, so I was wondering why I was born in such times, not having too many things in common with the others. I felt lonely. But when I read “Geeta enlightened”, by Yogi Mahajan, I knew I wasn’t alone anymore. An ex-Sahaja yogi told me that Bhagavad-Gita is a fairy tale. For me, is a book about the Absolute.

In my country, if you want to evolve spiritually, you leave your family and friends to go to a monastery, become a monk or nun, living an austere life. It’s not easy. Not too many people have the courage to do this and the perseverance (determination) to live this way for the rest of their lives. I was thinking to go to a monastery too, but I always found myself too weak to live my whole life as a nun. My deep desires were to have a normal life, with family, children, friends, but also to evolve. How to do both? How to remain a daughter, a wife, a mother, a friend, but also to evolve? This is another reason I like Sahaja Yoga: due to the power of Kundalini, you can change, without being necessary to leave your family.

Practicing Sahaja Yoga, many miracles, smaller or bigger, have happened to me. When you tell them to others, they have no value, but when it happens to you, you know that it's divine.

In time, I changed many of my ideas:

Sometimes we think that God doesn’t want to help us. This is false. God doesn’t have desires.
The relation is just the opposite: we have to open up to God to receive His help and blessings.

Everything should obey to morality. Even intelligence.

The qualities hide powers in themselves. You can change bad things using the power of love or the power of innocence.

The action is the one that follows a desire. Take care of what your desires are.

The pure desire and attention have the power to clean.

Introspection is the key of any spiritual growth, regardless of the way you chose.

There is a difference between love and attachment, between dignity and pride, between personality and ego, between will and ambition, between detachment and indifference.

Diplomacy doesn’t mean lying, but to tell the truth in a manner the others can accept.

Youth is not an age, it’s an inner state. If you have joy in your heart, you will be young forever.

Wisdom is the capacity of doing the right thing at a certain moment. I consider it more important than intelligence.

When you are creative, you get never tired. Even if you have to do the same thing again and again, every time you feel like it’s the first time you put your attention on it.

A perfect person is not a person who manifests all good qualities at superlative. It is a person who is equilibrated (in whom the chakras are equilibrated). He behaves according to what is needed at a certain moment. He might be warm and loving with hopeless people, but also very strict with arrogant ones.

Life is a game. And it's not us who establish the rules of the game.

Many people talk today about having control over your life - they try to give you recipes. I think that the wisdom and faith can help you have a good control over your life.

When your spirit shines, everybody smiles at you.

In life we are used to fight to change things according to our ideas. Put your boat on the river of life and let the river guide you. It always finds the ocean.

Beauty is simple and innocent.

Nothing is to be destroyed, but to be enlightened.

When you meditate, you are not in a transe. You are aware of everything that happens around you, but nothing can bother you. Your attention is not on the noise around, but on Sahasrara.


Sahaja Yoga Experience from Andra - Montreal

Sahaja Yoga - Awakening of the Latent Energy

I was told by my astrologer when I was young, in this lifetime my latent energy (Kundalini) will be awakened. Obviously I was interested in my career and other worldly pursuits I did not pay much attention. Being a lifelong student in philosophy and having strong roots in Hinduism, I still had questions and was constantly seeking.

In 1993, I found Sahaja Yoga in New York City. I got my self realization, as my Kundalani was awakened. At that time, I was suffering from Hepatitis A and I followed the practice and in two weeks I was completely clear.

Meeting Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (founder of Sahaja Yoga) two months later was the turning point in my life. HER sheer presence gave me feeling that I was home at last. My search was over. She smiled and my heart turned. My rational mind of course questioned everything while I continued to feel of integration and joy I felt every time I meditated. The real transformation had begun!

The Sahaja Yogis (practioners of Sahaja Yoga) gave me so much love and affection and I knew then that the awakening of the latent energy (Kundalini) was the awakening of the vast potential within us. It manifested the collective consciousness and for the first time I understood the meaning of "ONE". "ONE" means not the other. I could feel everyone through vibrations.

Love was not a concept anymore, it was a reality. In today's time we struggle to understand what love means. It's so simple and spontaneous, because the awakening of the Kundalini (latent energy) is so spontaneous. It is us a reflection of GOD's mysterious creation!

So why not get your self-realization and awaken you energy, it’s your birthright.


Sahaja Yoga experience from Nita - Toronto