May 5th World Realization Day

May 5th Declared World Realization Day in Honor of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Founder of Sahaja Yoga Meditation

The Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Sahaja Yoga World Foundation proclaimed the May 5th as World Realization Day, also known as Sahasrara Day, in honor of the work and vision of the founder of Sahaja Yoga meditation, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. The date marks the day in 1970 when Shri Mataji managed to transcend significant cosmic barriers through her deep meditation under a Bilva tree on a remote beach in Nargol India, and open the seventh Chakra known in Sanskrit as the Sahasrara.

Recalling Her unique experience Shri Mataji explaines: “That was the day I told myself: ‘Somehow or other, I must open the last chakra…’ So the whole night I sat under a bilva (bael) tree near the seashore. I was just thinking, “How will I manage this en masse realization?”… I was all alone and felt very good… I felt that the time had arrived… At that moment, I noticed that the Kundalini rose like a telescope within me, opening [the chakras] one after the other, traveling upwards. I felt that whatever energy was above suddenly entered within me like a cool breeze from every direction. I saw a big torrential rain of breeze flowing through my head all over. I felt that I was lost, I was no more… There was only the grace…”

By effecting this momentous change, Shri Mataji opened the door to a new era of universal emancipation through spiritual growth, and most importantly, She enabled the opportunity for large numbers of people to receive their spiritual enlightenment quickly and easily. Instead of having to retreat to mountaintop austerity, anyone could energize the vital Kundalini energy inside of them and become connected to the cosmic spirit through yoga meditation.

Shri Mataji made this process, called Self-Realization, into the root of a form of yoga meditation she called Sahaja Yoga. Uniquely among practices of this kind, the key is ‘thoughtless awareness’, which elevates through mental silence, rather than through using visualization or other kinds of mental focus. This form of meditation has grown massively over the past 40 years and is now practiced in over 122 countries. Practitioners come from all walks of life and cultures, and typically discover the kind of peace, satisfaction and general well being that modern society tends to degrade.

Shri Mataji, who as a young student worked with Mahatma Gandhi in the non-violent struggle for India’s independence, was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and received the U.N. Peace Medal in 1989. She spent more than 40 years traveling the world to spread her message of peace and unity through her soothing form of meditation. Uniquely among the so-called gurus of the time, her key message was that every person carries the seed of their own mastery inside themselves. They can in effect become their own guru, without need to resort to dogma or ritual. The meditation would provide all that anyone needed to unlock the reality behind this material universe, and help them find purpose and enjoyment in their existence once more.

Shri Mataji passed away in 2011, but Her legacy lives on in the lives and community work of her followers around the world. She repeatedly explained that every person has the right to obtain their Self-Realization, and the process of giving Self-Realization to anyone who asks for it, free of charge and with no obligation, carries on today as strongly as when this extraordinary personality was alive.

The tree on the beach in India which was the only witness to the cosmic breakthrough has now been designated Nirmal Tree, named after Shri Mataji, and is officially recognized as a place of deep spiritual significance. It is hoped that the 5th May, a date which one day may rank as the most important anniversary in the history of mankind, will serve as a universal and suitably loving memorial to the guru of gurus and teacher of teachers, who brought tangible, meaningful spirituality to a world lost in fear and confusion.

More information can be found at www.shrimataji.org