Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi – founder of Sahaja Yoga

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi is unique.

Her words and personality radiate a love that is beyond the everyday. Her compassion is deep. There is no one like her.

Shri Mataji teaches a meditation called Sahaja Yoga. It centres on the natural experience of Self Realization – a profound awakening of the spirit.

But to say that she “teaches” meditation is inadequate. She also teaches peace, tranquility and spiritual ascent. These are her gifts. She also shows us how to look inside ourself and to become our own guru. Her teaching is also a giving.

Many people feel a deep devotion to Shri Mataji because they recognize her uniqueness. When she entered their lives they felt changed. They discovered their better self when they met her.

Shri Mataji was born in 1923, many years before most of us. She was born in British colonial India, a place a world away from our comfortable homes in the West – but not so far, it would seem, from the dwelling place our inner Self. The spiritual roots of India are not foreign to our true being. Our heart knows when it is home.

Shri Mataji fought in the freedom struggle that brought nationhood to over 350 million people. She knew Mahatma Gandhi. The political liberation of 1947 was followed by a spiritual liberation about twenty-five years later. This second revolution took the form of Kundalini awakening. As a gift to each of us, Self Realization is there if we want it.

Shri Mataji’s words have been heard by great numbers of people. She has travelled to many countries. Her love has travelled even farther.

Verbs are inadequate when describing Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. Born. Married. Founded. Travelled. Said. Lived. These words can map the life of most people, but not Shri Mataji.

Nouns come closer: teacher, founder, guru – and, most importantly, mother.

Words are steps. They describe points in time, but not the totality.

Perhaps qualities are the way. Wisdom. Compassion. Vision. Love. Shri Mataji is all these things. And more.

When describing Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, words point us in the right direction, but they never complete the portrait.

We can only say that we are blessed that she is here now, that our lives overlap with hers, that with joy we can unwrap her gifts in presence of our spirit.

Our understanding completes the portrait.

She is unique. She is love.

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi is a visionary.

She is 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 is also the founder of Sahaja Yoga, a worldwide movement in over a hundred countries. The yoga is the practical application of her vision.

The problem with visionaries is that there is a fine line that separates their vision from everybody else’s dream. That line, as fine as it is, is an important one. People will ask the simple question “How do we get there? Unless there is a practical solution, what’s the use?” The gap between the vision and the reality will, for many people, always be unbridgeable.

This is not the case with Shri Mataji. Her experience is deep. From her days in the ashram of Mahatma Gandhi to her nation’s fight for freedom, she has shown that she very much understands this world. She knows who we are and where we are going. She knows our culture better than we do, our souls and our dreams.

In short, the key to opening the door, the practical solution that she offers is something very simple. It is Self-realization.

Remember those dreams you had of the perfected society, the harmonious people, the contentment and tranquility? Remember those book you read – Siddhartha and The Prophet – the stories of enlightenment, rumours of the Buddha, inner knowledge and true peace. It is like that.

And why not?

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

Richard Payment

Learn more about the Life, Work and Travels of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, founder of Sahaja Yoga meditation.