Let’s Explore this Jedi-Essay on Sari and Things with Expressive Symbols of Love from Sahaja Yoga Meditation with Shri Mataji’s Quotes of Wisdom
Detachment is Complete Poetry in Sahaja Yoga
Many students of Sahaja Yoga Meditation coming to our classes start asking:
‘Now, what should we wear? What is closer to the idea of a yogi, what is recommended?’
Maybe because of the popularity of Jedi order from ‘Star Wars’ or because many sport or spiritual practices are using uniforms or a particular dress code. However, in sahaja yoga we experience a Natural and Spontaneous Connection to this Power of Life that is Universal. This says a lot.
Below, in simple words and stories some truths are provided that bring peace and humorous wisdom; also some barriers might be removed – we become citizens of the world.
I remember that when watching recently Star Wars with my family I had realized with amazement the similarity between Yoda’s way of talking and Shri Mataji’s as well how the Force is the Shakti (power) that in Sahaja Yoga is venerated as the doer in creation; and a jedi’s conduct and connection to the force is entirely sahaj! But, with one improvement: no special clothes or lightsaber use nor training are necessary. No exterior compulsion or ‘special effects’ are required. The search starts within and the transformation is within.
You might find really interesting and enjoy meditating on the following advises:
Shri Mataji:‘For things now.Things have no value unlessand until there are emotions behind it.’“For example the Sari I am wearing today, was bought for Guru Day.. Then I said if you insist I may have, but I wore it today just to say that this was bought with that devotion, that love that: ‘on Guru Day, Mother would like to wear something of a lighter shade‘; white-the pure color of silk,-complete detachment. But in white all the colors are mixed, then only it becomes white-such a balance and unity it is. It should be that you should become white and whiter than snow. DETACHMENT IS PURITY, IS INNOCENCE. INNOCENCE IS SUCH A LIGHT, LIGHT THAT REALLY BLINDS YOU TO ALL THAT IS FILTHY. You would not even know that a person has come with bad intentions. A person comes to you, comes to steal. You’ll say, ‘come along, what do you want’. You’ll offer him tea and all that, then he says,. ‘ I have come to rob you”. “Alright rob me, if you want to”, So he might not rob you at all. That is what is innocence, which one may develop, only through DETACHMENT. DETACHMENT IS OF THE ATTENTION. Do not allow your attention to get involved into something, even rituals of anything…If some mistakes may be committed, what does it matter ? If you see on the abstract plane.It’s LOVE.This is just a step forward, like somebody ran very fast and fell down before reaching me and says,‘Mother, Sorry, I fell down before reaching you, I should have not done that. But, mother see, how I prostrated before you’.It’s a complete poetry-DETACHMENT.”
“So, one has to develop that DETACHMENT to be a GURU [teacher, master]… Sometimes one has to wear those dresses to announce to the world because if you have to work in a short time then you have to take to that intensive behavior like CHRIST, you can say or Adi Shankaracharya. All these people had a very very short life. In that short life they had to achieve -such a tremendous task that they had to actually take a military uniform just to avoid problems, NOT to impress others. Now-a-days people do it just to impress others that they are detached and do just the things opposite to it. So, we understand that first work is not to harm anyone-AHIMSA [Sanskrit term]. Not to kill anyone. That does not mean that you do not have to eat meat and fish and all that. That is all nonsense. Of course you should not hanker after food, no doubt about it. You do not kill anyone means, you do not kill a human being. THOU SHALL NOT KILL. So first thing is not to harm anyone.”
” Enjoy your generosity. How many times must I have told you about Generosity.I remember once I wanted to give a Sari that I had from abroad. You see, in India, people like that kind of a Sari very much, although I do not understand why they like this nylon sort of Sari. A lady said, “I have not got a Sari from abroad and I would like to have one imported Sari”. I had only one such Sari left with me because I am quite good at giving away. So, I told one of my niece in-laws that I want to give away this Sari to her. On a holy day, we can give it to elders and so I’ll give it to her. She said, “You have only one left now, why do you want to give away even that? You have given away all you had”. I said, “Now, I feel like giving. I will give it away”. And we were discussing this in the kitchen and I said, “why do you tell me, I am not going to take advice on this point”. And at that time, the bell rang and a gentleman came, he had brought 3 Saris for me from Africa and one of them was exactly the same as one I had. Because I had given some silk Saris to this lady when she was going to Africa, she thought she could send me some Sari, and she sent me these Saris.You are just standing in the centre: from one door it comes and from the other it goes.It is nice to see all that movement. It is very interesting.
Apart, from that the way you give it, the emotional side of it is so beautiful, you cannot imagine it. I met a lady after say 30 years of her married life in London, suddenly and she said, “Oh what a coincidence”. I said, “why” ? She said, “(today)I am wearing the same pearl necklace you had given me on my wedding-day .. and I should meet you”.
The whole thing, the whole drama changed with the meeting!
It is HOW YOU GIVE even a small thing it is the Greatest Art of Giving that one has to learn in Sahaja Yoga.
Give up the mundane type of things, like if you go to somebody’s birthday, you send a card, ‘thank you, very much’.
“Make it a more deeper significant thing. Let us see how you develop your symbols of love.”
“When you have these things of vibrations and you will give it to a Sahaja Yogi, he will know what it is. 🙂
“Never lack in generosity… Gradually, you will be amazed how through small things you win over as if the vibrations flow through those things and work out for those people.
Then, for a Sahaja Yogi it is important to use things which are more natural in their character. Give up artificiality and be more natural. I do not mean that take out the roots and eat them or you eat the fish raw. I do not mean that. Always you must avoid going too far with the things. But try to lead a life which is more natural. Natural, in the sense that people know that there is no vanity about you. Some people can be the other way round. You see, they will dress up like a tramp, just to attract more attention. I mean there can be both ways. .. So you have to be a natural person; very natural in your behavior. It can mean anything absurd also to some people who do not use their wisdom. WISDOM IS VERY IMPORTANT IN SAHAJA YOGA, that you have to keep intact all the time. Natural means you must wear natural dresses, which are suitable to you, e.g. in this climate there is no use to wear dress like Rama [exemplary Indian king and warrior considered an Avatar] used to wear. He will not wear anything on the top, there was no need. You have to wear the dress of whatever country you belong; whatever suits the occasion. Whatever you think is dignified and good. It speaks for your.. elegance and your personality. .. No clownish things are necessary, no dandy stuff is necessary. Simple, beautiful dresses should be worn which give you dignity. Actually in the East, people believe that God has given you a beautiful body and it is to be adorned with the beauty of what human beings have created, just to respect it, just to worship your body. For example in India women wear their Saris and Saris are expressive of their moods and expression of their worship of their bodies, because you must respect your body. Dresses should be such that they should be for utility as well as dignity. There is no need to have uniform clothes for Sahaja Yogis at all. I don’t like it.”
“There should be Variety as Nature is.”
“Everyone should look a different person.”
“For Puja [special occasion/celebration] etc. all can wear something similar, it doesn’t matter. Your attention need not be on the variety. But outside, you should be normal person. You are all householders, nobody has to announce something. For you people, I don’t even advice to put the red mark [tika on the forehead] when walking on the street. You should be NORMAL PERSON, not to be pointed out. You need not be dressed absurdly or in funny way but in a normal way as others wear. To be normal is very important in Sahaja Yoga.
Then we have to know that Sahaja Yogis have to get over all kinds of discriminations and identifications according to races, color and different religions in which you are born…
“But these identifications will linger on. To accept anything new, you have to be reborn and you are REBORN NOW [this Kundalini energy is awakened in Sahaja Yoga and this is considered the second birth]. Now, you are DHARMATIT [term in Sanskrit] means you need not follow any particular type of religion. You are open to all religions and the essence of all religions you have to take.
You have not to denounce any religion or insult any religious incarnation at any time, it is a sin. It is a great sin in Sahaja Yoga and you know who they are.
There should be no racial understanding of oneself. You could be Chinese or of any group. You could be anything. As long as we are human beings, we should know that we laugh the same way, we smile the same way.
This is all conditioning in our mind of this society that some are touchable, some are untouchable. This is in our Indian community .. Horrible. Brahamanism of India has ruined India completely and you learn from for example, who was Vyasa, the one who wrote GEETA, who was he ? He was illegitimate son of a fisherwoman. That is why deliberately he was born like that. All the Brahmins who read Geeta, ask them who was Vyasa ? Brahmins [what actually should be] are those who are realized souls and for realized souls, there is nothing like such non-sensical things like where and in what caste or community you are born. With all education and everything in the West, we [still] find this nonsense of Racialism, I just can’t understand. If somebody is fair or dark, after all God had to make variety, in color, in every way. Who told you that you are the most handsome people going round?! May be for some markets here, or in Hollywood, it may fit but in the kingdom of God, all these so called, handsome people, will be denied entry-marrying seven husbands and all sort of things. The beauty is of the heart and not of the face, that shows and shines. Maybe, people are a little bit aware of it… They are quite aware but there is too much “showing-off” they are doing. Some people like black hair others like, red hair, I mean there have to be all types of hair, why do you like a particular type of hair; this I cannot understand. There is nothing ‘like’ or ‘dislike’. What God has created is all beautiful who are you to judge that I like or dislike, ‘I’, Who is this ‘I’?! is Mr. EGO, which is being tampered by this society, which teaches you how to smoke cigar and… All this training and conditioning has to be thrown away just like filth and see that God has created all of you as his own children. It is such a beautiful thing. Why you want to make it ugly with these ugly ideas?! All this ugliness of “I like or dislike” is nonsense.
Only there should be one word “I LOVE”. Forget everything.
There is no need to remember what British did to Indians or Germans did to Jews.
Forget everything.
Those people who did it are dead and finished.
We are different people, we are saints.
This is for the statutes I have told you, which YOU have to imbibe.“
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Wonderful and powerful message, thought provoking.
Excellent for self interrospection. I wish if everyone follows Shri Mataji’s advises word by word, the world will become a much better place for all of us to live in peace and harmony.
To begin with let me start doing that for myself.
It is a complete bliss. A complete worship of body as mother (Shri Mataji) say. The right dress code/protocol that lies deep within and can not be felt or discussed but is innate protocol without any doubt.
Do we ever seek within ourself a simple question: who taught protocols to Jesus and Shankaracharya or Mose or Abraham?
Protocol ofcourse do never come from outside.In ancient times to balance the right coefficient of protocol surrendered to Divinity a few selected rituals were carried out/practised by saints- who knew essence of spirituality and that effected in better understanding and maintaining them too for their spiritual ascent.
But illusion as would always attract ,the people later were tempted to follow an easier path for their ascent by choosing more rituals than worshipping and understanding their inbuilt protocol. This has certainly made us drift from our normal balance of leading a balanced human life.
Adam and Eve did not have much resources with them at that moment but now we have and we have enough choice too. But unfortunately that is fast fading with drag-away-attractive culture. It is so attractive that the innocence of people are challenged and we are faced with a lot of struggle within to seek within and seek alternatives from others who are themselves ignorant.
But this text from mother (Mataji means ‘Mother’, not sure how many of those that do not speak Hindi know this) is indeed just a shower of bliss when we learn the subtle meaning of chastity, innocence, fashion, style, love,attachment and detachments.
“The beauty is of the heart and not of the face, that shows and shines.”
Great message. As sahajayogis,we should just look at the beauty of the hearts of each other….and try to make our hearts clean,pure and full of love.
Love is where all things blossom. I enjoyed reading this deep reflection.
This article is very beautiful, it made me to re-focus my attention. It is Refreshing.
I would like to share this with you:
“Those who will be blessed have to humble down in their heart”
By doing it, we will be able to keep our attention stable. Sometimes it is not easy but meditation helps us to introspect and gives us the strengths to become our own gurus. God may bless you ~
Love is the body of the Spirit that is clothed in the bliss of divinity.
I bought the pink sari while backpacking in Malaysia 2 years before discovering Sahaja Yoga. I just loved the colours. I had lots of questions about wearing it for the first time. I felt open-minded to try, and detached from my ideas and conditionings about fashion. I was meditating with others, in a sea of saris one afternoon…at the end I realized that I felt like part and parcel of the whole. We were not divided by wardrobe, by culture, by city, I felt really like I was part of something bigger than myself, and felt no separation with others around me.
Imagine if we can feel that every day and know we are part of that beautiful human race. Every one of us is a child of God.
Paula,
You are as beautiful in your heart and in your thoughts as your beautiful face.
Yes…
And this one can be also a good contribution: http://shaktipower.wordpress.com/2007/05/14/mini-or-maxi-feel-the-difference/
🙂
I feel we are “spirit”… having a human experience, the illusion is that we are human and think we are having a spiritual experience… until we awaken and discover we are already who we thought we were not.
i learned all my yoga skills just by watching yoga videos online and just immitating what they do ;’.
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Such a relief to actually read these original Shri Mataji’s words, which confirm how I had always felt about being pressured to wear a certain type of clothes for certain occasions…it does not matter what you wear. I wish all people who practice Sahaja Yoga and pressure others to “fit in” by wearing Indian clothes read this article.
Just so heart touching …Matajis message of innocence ,purity of heart worshipping our body and everyone else .
Humble attitude and Love All