Sunday, December 28, 2008

Meditation: How-To & Importance

In this video, recently posted, one can know the importance of meditation. Shri Mataji elaborates on meditation, achieving the meditative state and benefiting from the process. What is the role of meditation? At what point are we in meditation? What happens to us in that stage? These questions are answered in this brilliantly selected extract:


Monday, December 22, 2008

Lifestyle Changes to Become Centered

Welcome to another edition of the Learn Sahaja Yoga blog! Today's quote teaches us how to deal with our ego and superego, the two sides of our brain. Ego is the left brain, the terminal end of the right side and the superego resides in the right brain, the terminal end of the left side. (Refer to chakra chart in the sidebar).

Now we have to see that we have problems for superego and ego. Now superego is the left side, is darkness, tamo guna and our past. Those who have left side problems should think of the future - gives them balance, if they think of the future. For example, a person who is lethargic should take to working. Put your mind into working for the future planning: what to do, where to go, how to do. That will keep you away from drag of the left side, and gradually then you can balance yourself also.

Now the right side of a person, when it is activated very much, he has to balance it, not with the left side but with the center. That is, a person who is very hard-working must develop a witness state. You try to do a work, any work, indulge into work in thoughtless awareness, as a witness. Whatever work you are doing you just say that “I am not doing it.” This you can do it after Realization, become thoughtlessly aware and start doing your work.

So the compensation of the left side is done by movement to the right; and of the right side, movement in the center. Left side is the tamo guna, right side is the rajo guna, the center is the sattwa guna. But still these are three gunas. That’s not the state which we have to achieve.

Star Wars & Sahaja Yoga



It is a cheesy, yet endearing thing to compare pop culture with spirituality. But in the case of Star Wars it comes even closer because Goerge Lucas consulted with various eastern scholars in formulating the story and characters of the original Star Wars.

I was introduced to Star Wars quite late into my life, by my wife, of all the people. I was a trekkie, and the trekkie fire had been dwindling because it is actively atheist and Greeko-Roman in it's search for truth. Star Wars came as a breath of fresh air. It was a lot like Mahabharata, where evil burgeons into an empire and the good is sent into exile, but eventually good prevails. And there is no confusion between good and bad. The bad are ugly, black and distinct... well mostly. Here are the top 10 quotes from the Sahaja point of view, IMO. Share your favourite moments in the comments:

You underestimate the power of the Dark Side! -Darth Vader

You know, sometimes I amaze even myself. -Han Solo

Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him? -Obi Wan Kenobi

Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them. -Obi Wan Kenobi

The Force is strong with this one. -Darth Vader

Oh, great warrior, hmm? War does not make one great. -Yoda

My ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Its energy surrounds us. -Yoda

Your father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true-from a certain point of view. -Obi Wan Kenobi

-- (Original compilation: Associated Content)

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Incognito: New Book by Kalbermatten

"Love that can be lost isn’t the love I seek"


(Press Release) A new book by Gregoire de Kalbermatten , "Incognito", in Czech and English, published in Prague, Czech Republic, soon!



This eternally valid quotation from Gregoire de Kalbermatten’s Legend of Dagad Trikon is to be seen on the posters in the streets of Prague, introducing two auspicious events that take place there on 6th December – public presentation of the tiny collection of Gregoire se Kalbermatten’s Aphorisms, quotations and poems, both in Czech and English, under a symbolic title „Incognito“, and the public programme with his lecture, meditation and music by the bajan group „Vítr do dlaně“ (Wind in your Hands).

The booklet is illustrated by the photos taken by sahaj photographers in Cabella, India and New Zealand and its graphic design has the souvenirlike character. We hope the content will please both intellectually and poeticly-oriented readers. The very intention to collect these fragments of wisdom was motivated by the desire to share their message with other soul mates and spread dharmic sahaj culture throughout the world. The book will be available at our Borotin stand in Cabella at Sahasrara puja.

Everybody is warmly invited to join the launch in Prague (more info at martah AT sky.cz).

Thank you for supporting us with your enlightened attention and for spreading the news to other sisters and brothers!


Jai Shri Mataji!!!

On behalf of the author’s team
Marta Heinlová, the translator

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Guided meditation: Video


Today's meditation lesson comes from the fantastic Canadian website: freemeditation.ca

There are all possible permutations and combinations of the basic self-realization exercise available, my preference of media (video/text/images) and time constraints! Isn't that just great?


Sahaj vs. Mental Solutions

Often we forget our nature as spirit and run around like headless chicken, looking for solutions in the old human way: legal, mental, financial, medical and material solutions to problems of life.

Then the moment of zen arrives when we would introspect and dispel the darkness under the lamp itself through introspections. I was happy to cure myself overnight of the flu by the elegant power of self-realization, introspection and dropping false emotional ideas clogging up the left side. 

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Flowers




There are places troubled and poor in the whole wide world
People cry for our help but nobody would like to go
And only suddenly fair like a message of God
Among those poor grounds beautiful flowers grow:

Flowers don’t know the bad and good
Comforts and prestige they don’t know
They grow in every country, in every neighborhood
On stones and on sands the Flowers grow.

People like to create and compare brands
And according to taste they make divisions
And so they turned the earth into separate lands
And so they turned the truth into separate religions

But Flowers don’t know the bad and good,
Comforts and prestige they don’t know,
They grow in every country, in every neighborhood
On stones and on sands the Flowers grow.

And if we go all out and listen to our hearts
We’ll see that each person around is our sister or brother
We will feel that the earth is the whole and we’re only a part
And so we will not judge, but we will love each other

For Flowers don’t know the bad and good,
Comforts and prestige they don’t know,
They grow in every country, in every neighborhood
And lets wish that in our hearts these Flowers grow.

-- Alla Levitan




Poem (c) 2008 All Rights to the poetic words reserved by the poet. No part of the poem can be reproduced, performed or published without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.
Images CC licensed by Martin_Helgan 

Monday, December 15, 2008

Music of Joy: Joie de vivre in Argentina

Music of Joy concerts celebrate the arts and culture in Sahaja Yoga. These musical presentations are filled with world music, not just Indian classical and folk. They are increasingly popular in Argentina and Brazil, apart of a few other countries in Europe. Videos from the most recent one in Argentina:







Update! New Bharatanatyam Video out:

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Achieving Self Mastery

Being our own master sounds too good to be true, however when you consider it is based on the living work of the true masters (Lao Tse, Confucious etc.), it starts being plausible. Vedic commentary does mention that the work of powerful saints, yogis and siddhas permeates into society via the ether through ideas that travel in the sub-concious. The ten most important masters of knowledge of this world have achieved the distinction of not only doing living work during their lifetimes, but the work remains within all humanity as the ten petals of the "void" region within us. The void region is the region surrounding the third chakra of peace & generosity below:



Religions followed the true masters, but the essence of their teachings stays within us as it is born with us (sahaja).


Toni, a yogi, recently came up with a mnemonic to remember the 10 primordial gurus, which was the inspiration behind this blog post:

R espected
A nd
M ighty
Z eus
L eads
C ourageous
S ouls and
M any
G ood
S aints

R aja Janaka
A braham
M oses
Z oraster
L ao Tse
C onfusius
S ocrates
M uhammed
G uru Nanak
S ai Baba

On Rails Of Fire

Inspired by the Life of Lal Bahadur Shastri

The Train of Life

Is rushing through

The country side

Through silent lands you go deep

Where joys and worries are asleep

And then in evening’s humble verse

You’ll hear the pulse of the Universe

The pulse of Love inside your being

The flow of Love the heart would bring



Across the night,

Across the day,

Beyond the Time

That flies away,

And all the wars and troubles you cross

To pour Love on the Universe. . .

The night is dark

When only Star

Of hatred

Lies on its Altar

But if you simply open your heart,

It’ll bring the world Another Light,so

Let your Spirit shine across

The battlefields of the Universe:

There is no force that is stronger than Love

All the weapons melt in the Fire of Love . . .

Across the night,

Across the day,

Beyond the Time

That flies away,

And all the wars and troubles you cross

To bring Peace to the Universe.

The winds of hatred, the snow and rain

They cannot stop or slow your Train

The life might want to hit you hard

But There Is God inside your heart!

And if you want to help the world

Become a flute in the hands of God

And let the melody of Grace

Just flow freely through the space

Across the night,

Across the day,

Beyond the Time

That flies away,

Beyond empires that fall and rise

TO TURN THE EARTH INTO PARADISE . . .


-- Alla Levitan

(c) 2008 All Rights to the words & image reserved by the poet. No part of the poem can be reproduced, performed or published without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

Mountain

(CC) licensed photo by philipbouchard
I see a mountain from my window
Standing like an ancient sage
Desireless, full of love.
So many trees and so many flowers
They plunder the mountain all the time.
Its attention is not disturbed
And when the rain pours like
Many pitchers of clouds bursting
And it fills the mountain with greenery.
The storms may come soaring,
Filling the lake with compassion
And the rivers flow running down
Towards the calling sea.
The sun will create clouds and
Wind carries on its feathery wings
The rain on to the mountain.
This is the eternal play
The mountain sees
without desires.

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi