She Dedicated Her Life to Humanity

She was a visionary willing to share her view of a better world that includes a place for each of us, side by side, as one. She was also the founder of Sahaja Yoga, a unique meditation technique and a worldwide movement in over a 100 countries. Sahaja Yoga Meditation is the practical application of her vision.

Unlike many other visionaries, Shri Mataji had a practical solution to turn her vision into reality. Her experience was deep. From her days in the ashram of Mahatma Gandhi to her nation’s fight for freedom, she showed that she very much understood this world. She knew who we were and where we were going. She knew our culture better than we do, our souls and our dreams. In short what she offered was something very simple. This something is Self-Realization.

 

In 1970 Shri Mataji discovered a technique to trigger the awakening of the primordial Inner Energy within each human being. Since then, She traveled extensively to educate and enlighten people all over the world. Her unique discovery has already transformed millions of lives and many more transformations are to come.

 

Shri Mataji’s humanitarian and spiritual work draws admiration not only from countless individuals across the globe who have personally benefited from her teachings, but also from governments, dignitaries, educational institutions and organizations. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice and received The UN Peace Medal, in addition to having a large number of other international awards and recognitions.

Accepting award from Claes Nobel

Enlightenment, attainment and vision are not just the property of the distant past, nor the promise of a remote future.

 

One day promises have to be fulfilled. We cannot always live in the realm of future hope. As Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi would say, “It can all happen now”.

Read about life and work of the Great Spiritual Leader on http://shrimataji.org/

 

Sahaja Yoga to Be a Part of BRICS Summits

8th BRICS summit 2016, New Delhi

At the 8th BRICS summit 2016, a world conference of leaders for international relations and security, a participant Sahaja Yogi had a chance to read the following article about the Islamic State from a Sahaja perspective- Why ISIS. After it was read, the BRICS committee was so impressed that they have included Sahaja Yoga to be a part of all their future summits and conferences. BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Below is the Sahaja article from the latest book written by Yogi Mahajan and Pragya Pradhan, that was read by Pragya Mishra at the 8th BRICS Summit about the crisis of Islamic fundamentalism and it’s spread:

Why ISIS?

Young boys in front of “membership office” for ISIL, Al-Bab, Syria; photo credit: humanrightsactivists.wordpress.com

“A country’s youth is its greatest wealth because it is its most precious potential. But the glitter of gold also attracts thieves. Thieves like ISIS are stealing it. In the past they stole over 3000 young men and 500 European girls. The youngsters joined ISIS not because they were Muslims or subscribed to its ideology, but because they were sick of their robotic lives and sought adventure, or they were disillusioned teenagers trying to find purpose and score a goal inside their head. Mind you these were highly educated youth in high profile jobs! Not just that, the ISIS propaganda machine is engineered by smart tech-savvy young brains produced by the top American Universities like Harvard, Yale, Princeton etc. It belies the myth that education makes a man, or smartness is akin to wisdom. Yes, education is an essential element but it has failed to provide safety valves to protect the world’s most precious gold.

Something has to happen in our awareness for the safety valves to open. It was thought that religion was the answer, but it also attracts thieves; fundamentalists have split the human race in the name of god. According to Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, founder of Sahaja Yoga, “After self-realization it is easy to perceive the truth that all these religions were born on the same tree of spirituality, but that those in charge of each religion plucked the flowers from the living source and are now fighting each other with dead flowers of merely partial truths.”

But why seek the safety valve elsewhere when it is placed within us since our creation. Socrates said, ‘know Thyself’. The self is the universal being within us. Chinese philosophers Confucius and Lao Ste described it as an energy ‘chi’. This indwelling energy is also described as the cool wind of the Holy Ghost in Christianity, Ruach in the Hebraic scriptures and kundalini in the ancient Indian texts. As we connect with our kundalini she opens this safety valve. Intuition flows through the valve and enables us to recognize the wolf in the lamb’s clothes. But wait, the intuition not only protects us but also expands our awareness into collective consciousness. The light of collective conscious helps us to integrate.

As we integrate it becomes possible to understand who we are inside, and hence realize that we are no different from everyone else. We are cells in one cosmic body, and if one cell has cancer it spreads to the whole body. The late President Roosevelt said something similar; poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. As we integrate, we no more have to imagine ‘all men are brothers’ but it is a living experience because we feel unconditional love for our global family on our central nervous system.

Today the human race is once again bonding as thousands of youth who are enjoying the peaceful vibrations of their kundalini are spreading those vibrations to others. Apart from transmuting the vacuum in their lives their kundalini also transcends their attention to a new Gandhian- Lincoln high, and hence they don’t have to ramp up any other dose. Thus, our kundalini is not only the catalyst for bonding the human race but also provides modern solutions to the age old problems of terrorism, fundamentalism, fascism, racialism and immorality. We cannot solve modern problems with worn out tools; we need a baggage – free postmodern youth with open minds and ignited spirits.

In India we have a saying, “If age could, if youth knew.” What if the youth knew from an innate source within? What if it empowered them? What if it opened their eyes of discretion to decipher truth from untruth – then there would be no ISIS.”

By Yogi Mahajan & Pragya Pradhan

Book is available on amazon.com

#sahajayoga #sahajameditation #sahajayogameditation #BRICS #ISIS

 

Enlightened Music

Today is a Birthday of the great Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), who was truly the master of western classical music.

Born Realized, he showed prodigious musical ability from the age of three. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. The phenomenally talented child became the object of scientific research in London.

Mozart’s music activates the central channel of the human subtle system. In his opera The Magic Flute, he express the qualities of the seeker of truth through the characters of Tamino and Pamina and those of the Adi Guru through the character of Sarastro (Zarathustra).

Shri Mataji about Mozart:

“… so many here who were realized souls. Even in other countries, who were realized souls, never went to any college, never went to any university but wrote such great things. If they are born realized, like Mozart, from childhood they are geniuses.” (Public Program. Geneva, Switzerland, 13 June 1985)

“When I listen to music of Mozart, I cannot think. I feel only the joy of its creation that’s flowing in My being and
enriching Me.” (Public Program Day 3. Vienna, Austria, 6 September 1983)

Let’s enjoy together his timeless and ever flowing Symphony no. 40

Photographs of Mozart’s musical instruments and compositions: http://www.mozartforum.com/photos_autographs.htm

 

The Power of Innocence

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the founder of Sahaja Yoga meditation, always focused on the power of innocence, which is the quality of the first energy center – Mooladhara. All children are born with the strong Mooladharas, and that’s why they are innocent.

“Innocence is such a great thing that it cannot be destroyed. It is the quality of the Spirit. It has all the wisdom of the world, all the understanding of the world; and when anybody tries to harm the innocence, the world, the whole world – which may not have cared so much for innocence, might not have worshiped innocence so much – they all stand up against anybody who tries to harm the innocence. You can see in your own lives around you, when anybody tries to trouble children – all of the them, whatever they are, whatever they are coming from, whatever maybe their nationality, they all jump, all jump to control and to safeguard that child. What is it? What is it within us that makes us so very conscious to protect the innocence? It’s really a shame, a great shame for us, when we find in this world that innocence is under attack. Anything else can be tolerated.

Innocent people who have done nothing wrong, those who have no malice, who are living like little children, I should say, if they are attacked by anyone – we cannot bear any innocent person or ‘innocent being’ being harmed. We don’t realize that within us there is the ocean of love and ocean of understanding for children. Why? Why should it be? Why should we feel like that, especially for children? Especially for innocence? There are people who are always attacking innocent people, innocent children, there are. But no-one wants to support them. No-one thinks that it’s proper to ill-treat children. And those who have done this have to suffer…

But human beings have been given freedom to choose their ascent, to choose the right, to choose the truth. Only through innocence they can achieve that. Only the innocence is the source of joy. Without innocence you cannot enjoy anything fully.”

“This innocence never gets destroyed because it is eternal. But it may happen that it will get covered with some clouds by our mistakes that we commit. But once you get your realization, your innocence is re-established, it manifests. And you become innocent, your attention becomes innocent.”

-Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

 

Happy 91th Birthday, Shri Mataji!

Today millions of people around the world are celebrating the 91th Birth Anniversary of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi – the Great Spiritual Leader, the Great Visionary. In recognition of Her strength, love, devotion and compassion, many people call Her “Mother”. Those of us who have not heard or read about Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi could be surprised that the personality of such stature has not reached their awareness before… The impact of Her work and Her contribution to the well-being of humanity as a whole is hard to estimate.

When She was young, Shri Mataji worked with Mahatma Gandhi in the fight for India’s Independence. Her vision of universal peace and unity continues his dreams on a spiritual level. Gandhi recognized Shri Mataji’s spiritual gifts in Her early childhood and consulted Her on spiritual matters. Shri Mataji maintained that there is an innate spiritual potential – Primordial Energy – often referred to as “Kundalini”, within every human being, and it can be spontaneously awakened. She emphasized that this awakening, described as Self-Realization, cannot be purchased. Money has never been charged, nor will it be, for the experience of Self-Realization or for the teaching of Sahaja Yoga Meditation.

For more than forty years she travelled internationally, offering free public lectures and the experience of Self-Realization to all, regardless of race, religion or circumstance. Only in 1990, Shri Mataji conducted more than two hundred events in twenty-six countries, including Brazil, India, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, France, England, Poland, Spain, Italy, the United States, and many more. The distance she traveled in that year exceeded 83,885 miles, which was the equivalent of circling the globe three times.

Her unique discovery of a simple technique to trigger the awakening of the Primordial Energy, transformed millions around the world and many more are to come.

International Awards and Recognitions

● Italy, 1986: Declared the ‘Personality of The Year’ by the Italian Government.
● Moscow, Russia,1989: Shri Mataji had a meeting with the Head of the Ministry of Health, USSR. Following which Sahaja Yoga was granted a ‘Full Government Sponsorship’ which included funding for promotion and scientific research.
● St. Petersburg, Russia, 1993: Inaugurated the first International Conference on Medicine and Self-Knowledge, which became an annual event at the Academy thereafter.

● St. Petersburg, Russia, 1994: Got appointed as Honorary Member to ‘The presidium of Petroyaska’s Academy of Art and Science’ and was told, “You are even higher than science.” Only twelve people so far have been granted this honor; Albert Einstein is one among them.
● Brazil, 1994: The Mayor of city of Brazilia welcomed Shri Mataji at the airport and presented Her with the ‘Key to The City’, and sponsored all of Her programs.
● 1994: Nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
● Romania, 1995: Awarded Honorary Doctorate in Cognitive Science by Prof D. Drimer, head of the Ecological University Bucharest.
● Sydney, Australia, 1995: The Mayor of Sydney officially welcomes Shri Mataji during Her visit to Australia.
● Beijing, China, 1995: Official guest of the Chinese Government to speak at the United Nations International Women’s Conference.
● India, 1995: The Indian Government has granted Shri Mataji a one hour prime time television series, broadcast nationally.
● Sophia, Bulgaria, July 26, 1995: General Secretary of the international ‘Ecoforum for Peace’ expressed appreciation to Shri Mataji and wished realization of Her goals and ideals.
● 1996: Nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
● France, May 2, 1996: International Award ‘La Pléiade’.
● India, 1997: The ‘Unity International Peace Award’ by the Unity International Foundations. Shri Mataji’s name included to the List of The Greatest People of The Planet  for her fundamental contribution to the scientific and spriritual development.

● London, UK, 1997: Tribute to Shri Mataji at the Royal Albert Hall by Claes Nobel (Chairman of United Earth Organization and grandnephew of Alfred Nobel, creator of the Nobel Foundation). In his admiration speech Mr. Nobel acknowledged: “Shri Mataji’s discovery brings genuine hope to humanity”.
● Delhi, India, 1998: Greetings from the President and Prime-Minister of India on Shri Mataji’s 75th Birthday.
● India, 1998: A road in Navi Mumbai got named as the H.H. Shri Nirmala Devi Marg.
● Pune, India, 2001: Manav Ratna Award in recognition of Shri Mataji’s selfless work for all humanity.
● Moscow, Russia, 2003: Sahaja Yoga awarded “Best diagnosis and therapies of regenerative medicine 2003” by the Ministry of Health of Russia.
● Cabella Ligure, Italy, 2006: Awarded Honorary Citizenship of Italy by the local assembly for the Municipal Office of Cabella Ligure, Alessenandria Italy.

Awards and Recognitions in North America

“Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the Mother, is recognized internationally as the most significant force in the world today and she will awaken in us the force that will change our life and change the world.”
– Dwight Tillery, Mayor of Cincinnati, September 10, 1992

● New York, USA, 1989-1994: Invited by the United Nations for four consecutive years to speak on ‘How to achieve world peace’.
● New York, USA, 1989: The U.N. Peace Medal as a recognition for Her outstanding contribution to the humanity and World Peace.
● USA,105th Congress, 1997 and 106th Congress, 2000: Honorarium read into Congressional Record by Congressman Eliot Engle commending Shri Mataji for her dedicated and tirelesswork for humanity.
● Cincinnati, USA,1992: Dwight Tillery, Mayor of Cincinnati, proclaimed September 10th as “Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Day”.
● Philadelphia, USA,1993: Edward G. Rendell, Mayor of Philadelphia,  October 15th as “Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Day”.
● Los Angeles, USA, 1993 and 1994: Letter of Welcome and Continued Friendship was granted by Mayor Richard Riordan on behalf of the people of Los Angeles.
● New York, USA,1994: Police escort was granted for a welcoming parade honoring Shri Mataji and celebrating her association with Mahatma Gandhi. The half day march originated on 5th Avenue and encircled Central Park.
● British Columbia, Canada, 1994: Letter of Welcome was granted by the Premier of the Province of British Columbia, Mr. Mike Harcourt, on behalf of the people of Canada.
● Vancouver, Canada, 1994: Letter of Welcome was granted by Mayor Philip W. Owen on behalf of the people of Vancouver, Canada.
● Yonkers, New York, USA, 1996: Letter of Welcome was granted by Mayor of Yonkers, New York. September 26 was proclaimed as “Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Day”.
● USA, 1999:  Honorary Proclamation by the US Congress which was submitted to the Congressional Records.
● Berkley, USA, 2000: Shirley Dean, Mayor of Berkley, proclaimed June 5th as “Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Day”.
● Cincinnati, USA, 2001: Charlie Luken, Mayor of Cincinnati, proclaimed March 21st as “Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Day”.
● New York, USA, 2001: Congressional Recognition and 78th Birthday Greetings by House of Representatives.
● Plano, Texas, 2001: Special Recognition on Shri Mataji’s 78th Birthday from Jeran Akers, Mayor of the city of Plano, Texas.
● Texas, 2001: Special Greetings on Shri Mataji’s 78th Birthday from Rick Perry, Governor of Texas.
● Pittsburgh, USA, 2001: Tom Murphy, Mayor of Pittsburgh, proclaimed March 21st as “Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Day”.
● New York, USA, 2001: New York State Assembly Honoring Shri Mataji on the occasion of Her 78th Birthday.
● British Columbia, Canada, 2001: 78th Birthday Greetings by the Premier of the Province of British Columbia, Canada.
● Austin, USA, 2008: Will Wynn, Mayor of Austin City, proclaimed March 21 as “Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Day”.
● Prince Edward Island, Canada, 2010: Special Greetings on Shri Mataji’s 87th Birthday from Robert Chiz, Premier of Prince Edward Island.
● Ottawa, Canada, 2010: Warmest Congratulations on Shri Mataji’s 87th Birthday from the Prime Minister of Canada.
● Toronto, Canada, 2010: Special Greetings on Shri Mataji’s 87th Birthday from Premier Dalton McGuinty on behalf of the Government of Ontario.
● Toronto, Canada, 2010: Warmest Congratulations on Shri Mataji’s 87th Birthday from Mayor David Miller and Members of Toronto City Council.
● British Columbia, Canada, 2010: Warmest Congratulations on Shri Mataji’s 87th Birthday from the Premier of British Columbia, Canada.
● Washington, USA, 2010: Birthday Congratulations from the White House by Michelle Obama and recognition of Shri Mataji’s life as an important part of the American story.
● Washington, D.C., USA, 2012: Vincent Gray, Mayor of Washington, proclaimed March 21 as “Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Day”.

Some humanitarian institutions founded by Shri Mataji

Shri Mataji also founded many Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) which include:

1. An international health center to help patients from all over the world to use Sahaja Yoga Meditation techniques in order to treat their ailments. This health center has been producing very successful results in alleviating the symptoms of a number of incurable diseases such as cancer, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. (CBD Belapur, Vashi, India)

2. A charity organization for poor people “Nirmal Prem” in Greater Noida, India to provide shelter  to destitute and homeless women, where they can also optionally learn Sahaja Yoga (Greater Noida, India)

3. An international music academy (PKS Academy, Vaitarna, Maharashtra, India) to promote classical music, as well as classical dance and fine arts.

4. An international theater company whose international cast and crew has successfully toured throughout Europe, Australia, Israel, India and the USA. Its mission to produce performances that promote racial and cultural understanding worldwide (TEV).

5. A number of educational establishments to provide culture, ethics and moral values in children have been established (ISPS-Dharmshala in India, Canajoharie International Sahaj School in USA, Cabella International Sahaj School in Italy and others).

Read about life and work of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi on http://shrimataji.org/

 

It Is Character Which Makes a Great Scientist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He didn’t start talking until he was four. He didn’t learn to tie his own shoe laces for quite a long time. He was probably the last person in the class to learn to read. His teachers declared him mentally slow and when he finally managed to get through school, he failed the entrance exam to college.

And today we are celebrating the birth anniversary of Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879); who’s name immediately springs to mind when asked about the world’s renounced geniuses.

Yes, the very same genius was all this and more as a child. But he was born Realized – his Inner energy was awakened and connected to the Primordial source since birth. He overcame his obstacles and excelled in the same field for which he was declared unfit, and went on to discover the secrets of the Universe and win a Noble prize for his services to Theoretical Physics.

Our Favorite Quotes by Albert Einstein

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

“Study, and, in general, the pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all of our lives.”

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”

“I see a pattern, but my imagination cannot picture the maker of that pattern. I see a clock, but I cannot envision the clockmaker. The human mind is unable to conceive of the four dimensions, so how can it conceive of a God, before whom a thousand years and a thousand dimensions are as one?”

Dr. Einstein and A Train Ticket

Einstein was once traveling from Princeton to Boston on a train. The conductor came down the aisle punching the tickets.
 When he came to Einstein, the physicist reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.
 It wasn’t there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it.
 Then he looked under the seat and still couldn’t find it.


The conductor said, “Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.” 
Einstein nodded appreciatively.

The conductor continued down the aisle. 
As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

The conductor rushed back and said,
 “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry,
 I know who you are. No problem.
 You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.”

Einstein looked at him and said, 
”Young man, I also, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going. That’s why I am searching for my ticket.”

10 Golden Life Lessons from Albert Einstein

 

Love Is a Supreme Intelligence

Pure Love, which enlightens us all, is the real quality of the Heart Center. Before our Inner Energy gets awakened and opens up all our energy centers, we may not always love for love’s sake. Because of our conditionings we may confuse feelings of Love with those of possession, sex and selfishness. Pure Love is detached, it gives without interest. Like the tree which gives shade to one and all, it is without prejudice and motive. True Love is the quality that emanates from the Spirit and not from the body or mind. When we talk of loving someone, we should understand the direction in which this Love is flowing. Bodily attraction is physical. It can arise out of sex appeal, or the conditioned response to a dream image of a prince charming or even from an artist’s or ad-man’s projection. There are even those who exercise seductive arts to ensnare a good “catch”. We can see this in those who indulge in excessively trendy fashions. These people are especially at risk in their relationships because they relate not as two Spirits, but as two fashionable physical forms. This kind of physical attraction is not true Love because it comes from the mind, and mind does not love – it merely wants. When the want of the mind is attained, then the novelty wears off. For instance a child is excited and attached to a new toy, but after a few days as the novelty wears away, the excitement dies. The same occurs with relationships which are based simply on physical attraction. That which is illusory cannot love or be loved.

Love is often mistakenly taken as restricted to male and female. In fact Love is the flow of life in all limbs, between children/parents, brothers/sisters, friends, old people, etc. When many people share and care, then the whole society opens up its Heart Center. It becomes a collective society and changes the world. This is the power of Love. Love is the principle behind all creation, all vibrations. We say that God is Love and Love is God, because in its depths we cease to be. In true Love there is no “I” and “You”, there is simply the merging in the Spirit. In this state we experience true human unity, the true oneness of life. Physically we can appear as different colors, shapes, characteristics, but as we become the Spirit the drops all become one ocean, with the vibrations dancing in different rhythms, taking different patterns, breaking and remaking again in a perpetual cosmic dance. Hate and jealousy develop an anti-current which flows against the cosmic rhythm. Where there is Love there is Growth, Celebration, Joy and Evolution!

12 Quotes About Love by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

1. We are all part and parcel of one country. And that country is of Love.

2. The light of Love is so sweet, so beautiful, so enamoring, so abounding. You can feel that Light within you which is of pure Love, pure relationship and pure understanding.

3. What do we have to achieve? Not your position, not your wealth, not all these outward things, but you have to achieve a Loving heart.

4. It is important to learn that Love is your life, Love is spirituality.

5. This all-pervading divine power of Love is the ocean of knowledge, is the ocean of bliss and compassion, but above all it is the ocean of forgiveness.

6. Some are rich, some are poor, these are transitory things. Look into the heart within and enjoy that Love. With that Love you elevate and once more rise to greatness.

7. If love is killed, joy is lost. You cannot have joy without Love.

8.  You can do marvels and miracles if you have developed the understanding of Love.

9. If you have love, you can correct people without saying anything to them because Love is a supreme intelligence.

10. We do not know our potential, our beauty, but once this connection with the mains is established you will be surprised at the results and the dynamism. Through our love we can absorb the defects of others and cleanse them. This is the power of Love. So far we have never used the power of Love.

11. It’s all on a shifty sand we are standing, all the time … The reason is, I want you to stand on rocks. And this Rock is emitting Love, is emitting that Divine Love. And the Joy of that Love is really so Beautiful.

12. When the day will come when human beings will be understanding the beauty of Love, then from the heavens there will be flowers falling on us. It is my vision. It’s the future for you, to see how peacefully you can talk to people, how sweetly you can Love others, how much you can give to others.

Want To Be Loved? … Meditate!If we want to find a true Love, we have to become Love ourselves.

Open up your heart: Click Here To Meditate

 

The Humble Statesman

Shri Mataji has often mentioned the greatness of America`s 16^th president, Abraham Lincoln. Speaking of Lincoln, Shri Mataji said: “Everyone… an American… should think of Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln believed that everybody must have freedom. And that government should be for the public, for the people. Whatever he talked, he practiced. Whatever he believed in he worked it out, and he gave his life for it. That’s why he’s a great man.”  Lincoln – a ‘realized soul’ – was born with a a deep spiritual nature that he reflected throughout his life through his display of humility, simplicity, humor, diplomacy, sweetness, compassion, and a sense of collectivity and equality.

Abraham Lincoln was not a lucky man, at least when it came to material prosperity. He was born into a life of poverty, lived in a three-walled log cabin during his childhood, and lost his mother and a sister to the rigors of American frontier life. However, the difficulties that Lincoln faced during his youth elicited within him a sense of simplicity and humility that many across the world continue to admire.

President Lincoln had no formal education. In fact, until the age of 15 he did not know how to write. When he went to Congress in 1847 and filled out a biographical blank, he came to the question, “What has been your education?” He answered it with one word – ‘Defective.’ However, Lincoln conquered his broken education with his unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Sitting by candle-light till the early hours of the morning, he studied books on law, philosophy, and algebra, and he spent hours lying under Illinois’s greenest trees, memorizing his favorite poems. To himself, to his friends, and to fellow politicians he encountered during his political career, Lincoln often recited the following line from one of his favorite poems: “Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?”

In 1837, Abraham Lincoln rode into Springfield, Illinois, to begin what he then called his “experiment as a lawyer.” Comparable to India’s Mahatma Gandhi, Lincoln carried all his earthly possessions in a saddle-bag. A few years later – still unemployed and in debt – Lincoln made his first public address. Using the speech to announce his candidacy for the Illinois State Legislature, Lincoln proclaimed through the dirt roads of Springfield: “I was born and have ever remained in the most humble walks of life. I have no wealthy or popular relatives or friends to recommend me.”

            Indeed, Lincoln had few friends when it came to politics. When he became a United States Congressman, his peers on Capitol Hill simply viewed him as the tall, lanky, self-educated lawyer. To them, Lincoln was the biggest joke that walked through the halls of Congress. Nonetheless, Abraham Lincoln proved his political brilliance through his presidential campaign debates with Stephen Douglas. He also displayed his great power as an orator through his numerous public speeches, the most notable being his Second Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln proved to Washington D.C. and the rest of the world that intelligence and responsibility must not be supported with arrogance and over-confidence, but rather with humility and wisdom.

            In addition to humility, President Abraham Lincoln expressed many divine qualities through his life experiences and through his discourses to the American people. Lincoln’s expression of diplomacy was truly unique in American politics. To the surprise of many, Lincoln – upon being elected as America’s 1^st Republican president – appointed numerous campaign opponents to his executive cabinet. He contended that this diplomatic strategy would benefit the American people, for the executive branch of government would not express solely the opinions of one person, but rather the contradicting opinions of many experts.

President Lincoln also implemented the quality of collectivity in many of his political endeavors. Lincoln knew, better than anyone, the value of personal liberty and the individual pursuit of the American Dream. Indeed, his own life was the very definition of the American Dream. Nonetheless, Lincoln had a firm belief in the power of collectivity and in the responsibility that government held by being an instrument of that power. “The legitimate object of government,” he wrote, “is to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, by themselves.” At a recent event commemorating President Lincoln’s 200th birthday, President Obama stated that “Lincoln recognized that there are certain things we can only do together. […] Only by coming together, all of us, and expressing that sense of shared sacrifice and responsibility – for ourselves and one another – can we do the work that must be done in this country.” Lincoln’s emphasis on collectivity elicited the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation, the executive order that granted freedom to slaves in America. Yet another democratic ideal – equality – permeated throughout America, due to President Lincoln’s actions.

Abraham Lincoln also held the strong opinion that human beings are simply instruments of the Divine, and that they must recognize and witness their place in the Divine’s play. The following lines on this topic, which President Lincoln wrote in his personal diary during the Civil War, display his wisdom:

“The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God’s purpose is something different from the purpose of either party — and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that this is probably true — that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere great power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And, having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.”

             President Lincoln faced numerous obstacles during his political career. Upon being sworn in as president, he become responsible for ending the Civil War and for resolving the impending social issue of slavery. Americans could not have asked for a more honest, wise, and humble Commander-in-Chief during this time. Born with deeply spiritual qualities, Lincoln constantly expressed humility, diplomacy, kindness, and compassion. Furthermore, through his actions, the Union was kept united and collectivity truly reigned.

It is apt to conclude this brief account of America’s most humble statesman with the following eloquent words that he said during his first inaugural address:

“I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

 

The Citizen of the World

Since 1986, every third Monday of January is observed as Martin Luther King day in the United States.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American activist and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement using nonviolent civil disobedience. He became a national icon in the history of American progressivism. On October 14, 1964, Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born Realized – with his Inner spiritual energy awakened. Shri Mataji many times had praised this visionary American patriot as a Realized soul. Can you recognize the essence of Martin Luther’s King life, ideals and words of truth in Shri Mataji’s following quote, describing a Realized person?

“Today world needs only Peace. Everything else that we have today is worthless without peace. We have to see how peaceful we are … Have you not found peace in Sahaja Yoga? … basically we are people who believe in peace, because without peace no growth can take place. There has to be complete peace. If there is peace in your heart, if there is peace surrounding you, you grow into a beautiful nation. Not out of fear, not out of pressure, but from inside, if you are person who has complete peace within the heart, not that he is not afraid of anything, but he emits peace. He gives peace. Anybody who goes near such a person, gets the peace, the feeling of peacefulness. You all have got your Realization. That is, your Spirit is now emitting Vibrations of Peace and Joy. Wherever you are, you will emit peaceful vibrations. You will create peace. You’ll find out ways of creating peace, how to establish peaceful atmosphere. It’s very important that we have to grow in such a manner that we create peace and give peace to others and become examples of it.“

Did you know? Martin Luther King, Jr. was directly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s testament to the revolutionary power of non-violence.
Dr. King argued that the Gandhian philosophy was ‘‘the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom’’.

– MY PILGRIMAGE TO NONVIOLENCE-

(by Martin Luther King, Jr., excerpt)

“Then one Sunday afternoon I traveled to Philadelphia to hear a sermon by Dr. Mordecai Johnson, president of Howard University. Dr. Johnson had just returned from a trip to India, and, to my great interest, he spoke of the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. His message was so profound and electrifying that I left the meeting and bought a half-dozen books on Gandhi’s life and works.

Like most people, I had heard of Gandhi, but I had never studied him seriously. As I read I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. I was particularly moved by the Salt March to the Sea and his numerous fasts. The whole concept of “Satyagraha” (Satyu is truth which equals love, and agruha is force: “Satyagraha,” therefore, means truth-force or love force) was profoundly significant to me. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform. Prior to reading Gandhi, I had about concluded that the ethics of Jesus were only effective in individual relationship. The “turn the other cheek” philosophy and the “love
your enemies” philosophy were only valid, I felt, when individuals were in conflict with other individuals; when racial groups and nations were in conflict a more realistic approach seemed necessary. But after reading Gandhi, I saw how utterly mistaken I was.

Gandhi was probably the first person in history to lift the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction between individuals to a powerful and effective social force on a large-scale. Love, for Gandhi, was a potent instrument for social and collective transformation. It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking for so many months. The intellectual and moral satisfaction that I failed to gain from the utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill, the revolutionary methods of Marx and Lenin, the social-contracts theory of Hobbes, the “back to nature” optimism of Rousseau, the superman philosophy of Nietzsche, I found in the nonviolent resistance philosophy of Gandhi. I came to feel that this was the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom. ”

September 1, 1958
New York, N.Y.

 

Celebrating the Sun

Every year on the 14th day of January Makar Sankranti is celebrated on the Indian sub-continent to welcome the north-moving sun. On this day, we wish you renewed life force, hope and creative energy!

Shri Mataji on Makar Sankranti:

“Today is the day where we celebrate the change of the axis of the Sun and that he moves towards the tropic of Cancer. Tropic of cancer is the one which represents the motherhood, the motherhood of the earth.

This tropic of Cancer has passed through quite a big area of land while the tropic of Capricorn has not. And the area through which it has passed it has created different beautiful manifestation of the mother qualities on this earth. We celebrate this change because the sun has now moved into the new dimension so that all over the world there will be the warmth of the sun.

Warmth of the sun represents the warmth of God’s love. This is the reason why we celebrate this festival by giving you some sort of a sweet made out of sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are given because they are also heat giving and now as we are coming from the cold we come to the hot season in a way hotter season so to prepare you with that warmth of the Sun.”

January 14, 1987