Aparna Ganguly
Are you aware of Self Realization ?
Being born in India, an early initiation into religion and different idols of Gods was an obvious occurrence in my life. My parents were God fearing simpletons who did not believe in spending hours together praying or worshipping in front of an idol nor did they hand us (me and my siblings) over a list of rituals & made them compulsory for us to follow but believed in being respectful towards the divine and have an attitude of gratitude for every small good thing that happened.
I must confess here that I did have weird dreams of Gods and in my dreams I often found myself talking and even arguing with Gods! Later we had religious epics as part of our school curriculum and of course we cannot forget how our Indian TV channels always have one of these religious epics running throughout the year!
Seeking Self realization – The Journey Began
My spiritual seeking began way back in 1992, when I stumbled across ‘Complete works of Swami Vivekananda’. It was for the first time that I realized how the divine can actually be manifested and many other details about life and afterlife and the Laws of Karma. The one thing that stuck me was the mention of Kundalini shakti or the serpent energy that lies dormant in every human being at the base of his spine and can be awakened by many kinds of Kriyas and Yoga Asanas. One thing that was always mentioned in mostly all the books that I read on kundalini shakti was the fact that one must not (NEVER) try raising the divine energy by just reading or referring to books but only under the guidance of an adept Guru!
And then I also read somewhere ‘ When the student is ready, the teacher will arrive’!
Well folks, I used to practice pranayama, read the Bhagvad Geeta (many times over) – honestly I did not really know exactly how does a student prepare for his true spiritual Guru!
Did Silva Method of Mind Control, Art of Living and Reiki
In my seeking (of my Sadhguru – true spiritual Master), I did try out many things. Among the many things three of them are worth mentioning. I did try out couple of tricks as mentioned in the Silva Method of Mind control book – things like attracting customers and converting them. Yes, it did work. I was the Academic Counselor in an IT Institute and we had targets to meet. End of the month was nearing and I had not even reached ¼ of my set target. I thought of using this trick I once read in Silva …and guess what folks!- It did work ! In fact it worked so well that I over achieved my target. Yes of course I was happy – but that was just a temporary happiness. Month got over and soon new targets were set….hey! I wasn’t seeking this! I guess money and riches were never my priority – maybe because my parents took care of all my material needs and I never felt any dearth of it. Well that was God’s grace (and my karmas) I guess – to be blessed with such parents!
Next in my spiritual pursuit I came across Art of Living. I went through the courses – both Basic and Advanced – it was more of cleansing at the physical and mental level. Whole lot of Pranayama…and kriyas and mudras…but this was something we did in school too. Yoga and pranayama was taught in schools too and more importantly – where is the spiritual experience?
Then someone suggested Reiki and I joined the course as well! In the second level the Reiki Master mentioned something called the Distance Healing and Inviting. He clearly mentioned that ‘those who are seeking their spiritual gurus may also use this method to attract their Gurus towards themselves…and in fact many who have done this 2nd level have found their respective Gurus!’ – now this was certainly a much awaited ray of hope for me specially!
I did Reiki level II in December 2001 and in June 2002 I came across the One I was probably seeking for eons! Sahaja Yoga.
How I met my Sadhguru !
My reporting head was a very nice and sober gentleman and I used to call him Partha da. As it usually happens, during coffee breaks or lunch breaks we happen to talk about personal things and I often talked about my spiritual endeavors and how I healed my Alsatian through Reiki etc. when he suddenly commented one fine day (the greatest day of my life ie.)…
He: Ok, You are very interested in meditation right?…there is a student here whose father told me about meditation when he came to admit his daughter (Priyanka Guha).
Me: What kind of meditation?
He: I don’t know much..he was just mentioning that he conducts meditation at home so you can ask her about it.
Me: When does she come?
He: She’ll be coming in shortly – I will let you know when she comes.
After a while….
He: Here she is – that is Priyanka – you can go an ask her.
She was waiting outside her class that was about to begin and I called her.
Me: HI…you are Priyanka right? Partha da was telling me that you all conduct some kind of meditation at home…can you tell me what is it or how is it done?
She: Well….have you heard of Kundalini shakti…
(Folks…honestly I was about to faint!!! Like I had gone to yoga centers asking them to teach me this only and they had just looked at me cluelessly…probably passing me off for some mad cap!…I remember once while I was in Ambala Cantt, I used to attend a Computer course (ancient ones – DOS, Cobol, Foxbase kinds) and just beside the Institute (it was a Sanskrit College actually with 2 rooms given for Computer classes) there was a big Yoga Center…I had gone to enquire there…about Kundalini Yoga and they had given me such a look as if I was asking them for Planet Jupiter!!)
Me: Wha….I only want Kundalini Shakti awakening yoga…don’t tell me you teach that….
She could clearly read the excitement in my eyes and she even mentioned that ‘ you are a true seeker so you found your way to the divine wisdom’….And then she started telling me about the chakras (about which I had already read a lot) and then how you can actually feel – the movements, the warm and cool waves, the catches, the obstacles and how it gets cleansed….after that she gave me a pamphlet and asked me to go to any of the centers that was close to my residence…and it was given free of cost….so folks that is why my favorite quote is: When the student is ready, the teacher does come!
What happens in Self Realization?
With the grace of the Guru, your dormant spiritual energy in the form of ‘kundalini shakti’ begins to rise from the base of the spine (Mooladhara Chakra) and reaches the top of head (Sahasrara Chakra). You can actually feel your spiritual energy (aka. Kundalini shakti) rise through different chakras (7 chakras in all – corresponding to the endocrine glands in our physical body system).
What does the spiritual energy do while it rises?
Kundalini Shakti – your personal divine Mother cleanses you at all levels. We have been accumulating many ideas, conditionings since ages … throughout our present life and various past lives– some ideas and ideals are worthwhile whereas some are absolutely worthless. The divine energy cleanses one chakra after the other and while doing so we get to feel the cleansing process in the form of warm or cool waves, tingling sensations and we actually come to know where and on which spot we are being cleansed.
Anyways, it is a huge science and fortunately there are many authentic websites that will give you a detailed understanding of the functioning of our subtle body and how we can harness our spiritual energies to achieve greater goals and universal well being.
What are the charges and who should be approached to learn Sahaja Yoga?
Charges are nil – you can be taught and initiated into Sahaja Yoga by approaching any Sahaja Yoga center near your residence. If you want a corporate presentation for your entire Organization – then even that can be arranged. Here are few sites that you can check out in details about what happens and how things happen and what can you do to awaken your spiritual self. Don’t you think it’s time?
References:
http://www.freemeditation.com/sahaja-yoga/
http://shrimataji.org/site/sahaja-yoga.html
For further details – you can write to me directly at – aparna@b3net.org
Sikander@87
Dear Aparna-ji,
You stumbled through many false gurus, yet managed to find the right one! You were lucky. Others may not be so lucky. They tend to get caught in those level 1’s and 2’s. So how did you know that Sahaja Yoga was your sadhguru?
Personally, I was not religious, but I was a silent seeker. I had worked out early on that organised religion is not the right answer. In fact, I would wait outside the temple when my parents went there (on occasions few and far between)! When I was given my realisation – BANG! I knew this was IT! But I understood why they call it ‘realisation’ only after 3-4 months in Sahaja. I divide my life into two parts – the part before Sahaja and the part after, where everything changed, but nothing changed on the outside!
Regards,
Surajit
Great – why don’t you write about yourself, your occupation and a little bit about Before Sahaj & After Sahaja – there are many seekers – may help someone!
About me: I am a Mechanical Engineer. I have worked in Engineering and Projects in Chemicals, fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries.
Sahaja Yoga does not ask you to give up your job, give money, go to the Himalayas to pray, put on funny uniforms or malas or tilaks, chant mantras. In fact, it does not ask for any external changes. The only change that happens is INTERNAL.
Before Sahaja – I was hesitant, shy, not very confident while taking decisive action.
After Sahaja – I realised that all people belong to the same ‘family’, I understood the real meaning of Vasudeva Kutumbakam. Thus, I became much more direct and confident in my dealing with people. Even when giving out unpalatable decisions to my juniors, I did not hesitate. At the same time, I developed an empathy, a deep empathy for what the other guy must be feeling. This helped me to touch the other person in a more effective way.
Before Sahaja – I could not read people’s emotions, and could not understand why they were reacting the way they did.
After Sahaja – I could see the way ego played around with people’s minds (including mine) and the things it made them do! Ego is such a powerful thing, anyone can have lots of ego, even the guy who does a menial job. Ego manifests itself in so many ways in people. Sometimes ego plays tricks on me: I get the feeling I am a Great Yogi! So it is not easy playing with and winning over ego. One has to constantly introspect one’s actions. One should be humble towards Nature/God/Almighty for having created us and given us a wonderful life to live and enjoy!
Before Sahaja – no realisation
After Sahaja – ‘Realisation’ ceases to be a term, I really understood what it meant after a few months in Sahaja Yoga. Oh My God, so THIS is what it is all about, I said to myself. The whole thing, the world, the people around me, appeared to be in a BIG movie, with me also playing a part and also watching it. The script was pre-written, but it was coming to me as I was speaking my lines! I don’t know if this makes sense to any of you. Sorry if I can’t make you understand, but realisation is a deeply personal thing.
Our movies and TV serials make god into a colourfully dressed character whom you joke and talk with. But let me tell you this: setting your eyes on God will shake you up FOREVER! You will never be the same again!
Before Sahaja – I was sometimes happy, sometimes depressed, sometimes frustrated, sometimes used to lose my temper.
After Sahaja – Always have a positive attitude. When I get angry, I can watch myself getting angry and cool down immediately.
Before & after Sahaja – no change in my material status, my job status, no sudden jumps up the corporate ladder etc. Also, no change in my external appearance, but huge changes in my internal state of affairs. But, of course, things have moved very smoothly after Sahaja, as easy as 1-2-3!
Before Sahaja – I had many desires, wishes…
After Sahaja – All my unfulfilled wishes have been fulfilled, one by one. I have got more than I ever wanted.
A little about Sahaja – It is a form of meditation leading to realisation, re-discovered and presented in this modern age by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (Nirmala Shrivastav).
Shri Mataji had single-handedly propagated this method for over forty years from 1970 onwards. She has described the subtle spiritual system that all human beings have, its three channels and seven main spiritual energy centres called chakras. She has lectured in detail about the spiritual, emotional, psychological and physical manifestations of each of these chakras. Also, she has given the ill-effects (emotional, psychological and physical) that can happen if the chakras are ‘caught’ up. Many of these facts have been corroborated and proven by Western science.
Just as there are physical laws of nature (like gravity, force, acceleration), chemical laws (electrochemical series, reactions), and biological laws (genetics), there are also Spiritual Laws of Nature. Shri Mataji has throughout her life emphasised that we must abide by these spiritual laws as well.
In Sahaja, there are no levels, no leaders, no certificates, no exams to pass, no fees to pay. In fact, one has to be one’s own master. Of course, beginners are encouraged to ask questions, and not to take things as they are told. You should question the logic of everything, because Sahaja is very scientific. It is only when you know your own tantra (inner workings) do you become ‘swa-tantra’ (free). That is when you become your own guru.
There are numerous centres in Indian cities and towns. You need to go there once a week (mostly in the evenings), and meditate at home as told by your centre colleagues. Foreign countries also have centres, though not as many. See http://www.sahajayoga.org for details.