Memories of our Divine Mother: 13. MORE TALES OF INDIA


The Great Adi Shakti Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
The Paraclete Shri
Mataji
1) PD Chavhan said:

This place will be used for our international seminars

Some time back, just before the programs at Ganapatipule started, Chavhan and seven yogis went with Shri Mataji to do a public program in Ratnagiri. After the program was finished, they were to catch a ferry back to Bombay. On being told that this ferry would be very late, Shri Mataji said that they should still leave now for the ferry. The ferry was to be taken from a place called Jager. I knew that it was way too early and also that there was nothing to do there for timepass.

I then told Shri Mataji," Mother, there is, close by, a Ganesha temple which is in the sea and also on land, which we could go and see. It is only about a half an hour away, so we will easily be back in time.” Shri Mataji said okay. We were all packed into cars and went to see this Ganesha temple.

This Ganesha temple is at sea level and sometimes the sea enters into the temple at high tide. Shri Mataji then entered inside the temple, where the swayambhu was at sea level, to check the vibrations for about ten minutes. Then Shri Mataji came out and told us that this swayambhu is very much awakened and is very powerful. In fact, it is much more powerful than the astavinayak in Maharashtra. These are the eight Ganesha swayambhus in and around Maharashtra" " swayambhus from Mother Earth.

Shri Mataji then asked Chavhan," Why didn't you notice this before?” Chavhan said that he only came here now for the first time after Sahaja Yoga. Shri Mataji then said that this place will be used for our international seminars. Shri Mataji spoke about the swayambhu. It has got the powerful vibration of Shri Ganesha and also the very powerful vibration of sea, void, power of Adi Guru Dattatraya. So by coming here at least two chakras can get cleared out, Mooladhara and Void.

Chavhan then started thinking about how to arrange all of this," I don't know anyone here to do this"And getting in a state. Shri Mataji then said," So you are now worried about how to do this. Don't worry. I will do everything and will tell you in good time what to do and automatically everything will work out.”

After this we all decided to go and watch the sunset and have a footsoak. Here Shri Mataji said that"Now I am going to show you a miracle. Look out over the ocean and tell me what you see.” "No, Mother, we see the waves all coming in our direction from all the sides. The waves are coming towards us.” Shri Mataji then said," Okay, now watch. I will change the direction of the waves.” Shri Mataji then walked towards the south and the waves all went in that direction. Then Shri Mataji walked in the other direction and the waved all went the other way. Then when Shri Mataji stood still, all of the waves also stood still.”

They seemed to be standing, waiting for the next instruction. Shri Mataji said that"You may be having doubt that possibly the wind is doing this, so I will show you again.”She then did everything all over again. Shri Mataji said this is the second time that She has done this miracle. The first time was in America.

After they had finished at the Ganesha temple, they then went back to Jager to wait for the ferry. By this time the sun had set and they were all waiting on the port. Shri Mataji then said to them that"Now I will show you all another miracle. The Ganesha temple is in that direction," pointing.”Now look. Do you see anything over there?” They all said that"No, Mother, we can't see anything.” Shri Mataji again pointed in the same direction and said look again.

As they looked, they could see slowly appearing a huge stream of light. It was like a huge cylindrical circle of light, as if thousands of volts were coming out of Mother Earth and going straight into the heavens.

Shri Mataji then said that"There is no other light around here, not even moonlight, so that light is coming from the Ganesha temple.” Shri Mataji also said that"This light will not stop until I tell it to. This light is coming from the swayambhu of Shri Ganesha and I am taking it out.” Shri Mataji then asked us if we all had seen this light and should She stop it. All the Sahaja Yogis present said that they had all seen it and that Shri Mataji could now stop it from coming out of the Ganesha temple. The light was there for about ten minutes.

We all are very lucky to see such a thing and I have not seen anything like that since then.

PD Chavhan




2) Seetha Murugappan said:

You just feel like hugging someone

While meditating [in Ganapatipule in December of 2000], Mother Kundalini started relaxing this body. She was preparing this soul to receive Shri Mataji in her heart. Then the call came," Mother has arrived!"Mother Kundalini jumped in alert and respect, the heart anticipating the arrival of the Divine Mother. She is coming. The moment we saw the car, our hearts rejoiced and tears were ready to fall. The heart starts beating faster in anticipation of seeing Mother for the first time. Sir CP comes out of the car and your heart just sings welcoming him. Then slowly, very slowly, Mother steps out of the car. At that moment we felt like running to Her already. She took small steps and walked to the chair. Though this soul could only see Her back, already all of us were in such tears of joy. The heart cries out joy beyond all joy just to see Her. This feeling goes beyond any kind of love ever felt. At that moment you just feel like hugging someone to your heart's content. Shri Mataji turns and pays Her respects to all present. The music continues. With the joy of seeing Her, a new transformation takes place.

Seetha Murugappan




3) Linda Williams said:

Those people have a place in the Kingdom of God

Mother went up to Dharmsala, to Talnoo, Yogi Mahajan's place [now the site of the International Sahaja Public School]. Although it was only March, Mother said there should be a public program outside on the shores of the Dal Lake. Usually there was snow at that time, but the weather was good and the sun shone and, at least by the lake, there was no snow. Yogi had given posters to the headmen of the villages far up in the mountains and about three thousand people, many of them hill people or Gaddis, came down over the mountains. They are rough folk, who do not speak Hindi, but a language called Gaddi and they are said to count among their ancestors the Pandavas, who were in these parts at the time of the Mahabharata. They got their Realization by the thousand and some of them said they had been waiting for the Goddess to come for a long time and were glad, but not surprised, when She came on that Spring day to give them moksha. They were worshipers of Durga and had been for thousands of years.

In the evening, we met up at Yogi Mahajan's ashram at Talnoo" " that is, the Sahaja Yogis. There were a few foreigners and quite a few people from Delhi. Outside the hall where we were listening to Mother was a verandah, which then sloped down sharply to the valley below. In the darkness we could see the shapes of some of the hill people, who had been at the introductory program earlier, crowding to the windows. Some of the Sahaja Yogis tried to shoo them away because Gaddis are rough and sometimes even smelly.”Let them be. Those people have a place in the Kingdom of God," said Mother.”You city Indians and, most of all, you Westerners, it is not so sure.”

Linda Williams




4) Gillian Patankar said:

You are all right now

During the [1982-83] tour I developed a cough, which was quite uncomfortable and went on for some days. Nothing seemed to fix it. We were in Vaiturna and there was to be a procession ending in a public program. Shri Mataji was radiant in a decorated bullock cart and the musicians were playing and everyone was dancing. We received a message from Shri Mataji to dance barefooted around the bullock cart, which we all did with great joy and enthusiasm. The procession ended and the program proceeded. After the program, we all went to Her Feet. When my turn came, I went to Her Feet as normal and then heard Her laugh. I looked up and Her hands were folded in namaskar. She was looking at me with such love and She said," Look, you are all right now.”And, sure enough, my cough had completely gone.

Gillian Patankar




5) Nirmal Gupta said:

It was tremendous to see that light

I saw Her at Ganapatipule and She was listening to Debu Chaudhuri playing classical Indian music. And he was playing for hours and after that the vibrations were tremendous. And after he had finished playing, Shri Mataji got up and embraced him. And somebody took a photograph that time with a Polaroid camera, so it came out immediately, and in the photo all around were vibrations. Light could be seen all around them in the photo. It was tremendous to see that light, in the photo, at that very moment.

Nirmal Gupta




6) Silvi Naidoo said:

Looking so fresh

It was my first time to go on the India tour. I was so sleepy to begin with, but as the whole trip progressed now, even after a long music program, I would still doze off occasionally, but then one would wake up and see Mother looking so fresh, as if She had just arrived, even at four in the morning. And Her face would look so different to when She first came in, like a little child.

Silvi Naidoo




7) Gillian Patankar said:

Finally I had met my Mother

I had had my Self Realization for a year and a half. During that time we had listened to Shri Mataji's talks and watched Her on video and seen Her photos, but most importantly experienced Her presence and love in meditation and in all the little miracles that occurred in my daily life. But now, in December 1983, I was finally going to India, on India tour and would, for the first time, see Shri Mataji. I could hardly wait.

Our trip to India was exciting. Travelling with a group of Sahaja Yogis is always fun. We arrived in Bombay, of which my first impressions were hot and smelly, and went by bus to Lonavala. We all disembarked from the buses and unloaded the suitcases. At this time, we were all standing in an open aired carpark underneath a hotel. My desire to see Shri Mataji was overwhelming, but we were informed that we would probably not see Her until the next day. I remember feeling very disappointed, as if I could not wait another second.

So there we were standing around with our suitcases" " mine was right in front of me" " just waiting, as one does a lot of in India. A car pulled up. I vaguely remember someone saying Shri Mataji is here and, in what seemed like only seconds, there She was coming towards me. I remember being very conscious of my suitcase being in the way. Then I saw Her. My first impression, in a flash, was that She was quite small in stature. And then She was right in front of me and I was overwhelmed with the love that was pouring from Her. She moved fast through everyone, as if gliding, not walking, and smiled and welcomed everyone. There was a coolness all around Her. Then we all burst into tears, oceans of tears of joy, our hearts opening and just overflowing, exploding with love, like a release. It is very hard to explain. It seemed like everyone was just standing there and crying. It was quite extraordinary.

Later Shri Mataji said, at the puja, from my memory, that the tears were the result of the power of Mahakali, opening the left side. For me, finally, I had met my Mother.

Gillian Patankar




8) Ruth Flint said:

I'm one with Mother

It was probably Easter '83 and Shri Mataji had asked at the last minute for one representative per Western country to go to India for Her birthday celebrations, which were very close to Easter. So everybody jumped in a plane and we stayed there for quite a few days. We would sleep in a guest house and the whole day we would spend it with Shri Mataji in a teensy flat, where She was staying, where we were all quite cramped and She would receive all these people and work on these people and it was just wonderful.

What I want to talk about now is the day before Shri Mataji left Bombay to go to, I don't know, Bangalore or somewhere. And it was on Easter Sunday, She went to Rajesh Shah's flat. And there, there were only us, the Westerners who had been invited, Rajesh and one or two Indians. She received" " I don't know if it was the mayor or a high personality from Bombay or a few high personalities, but it was a totally different atmosphere than in this cramped little flat where She had been the rest of the week seeing all these people. After this official gentleman of the town of Bombay left, Shri Mataji said to us, the Westerners" " that was a few hours before She left to the airport and we were also supposed to take soon our planes and go back to our respective countries" " She said now we could go to Her Feet. At that time, She would lift Her Feet. We would slip our hands, one hand under each of Her Feet, our head touching the top of Her Feet and She would signal by lifting Her Feet, so our hands would be free for us to withdraw. And so one after the other, we could go to Her Feet and slip our hands under Her Feet and this was a treat, even at that time when it happened relatively frequently.

There I have to add a little parenthesis. Until then every time Shri Mataji would go away and I would say goodbye to Her, I would cry and feel like an orphan or an abandoned child" " parenthesis closed. The event described here is the strongest, deepest spiritual experience I have had with Shri Mataji.

So my turn came. I put my hands under Her Feet and soon after I felt and heard a crack in my forehead. It was not only a feeling, but also a noise. After this crack, I felt that my forehead was one with Her Feet. My forehead was touching Her Feet, the top of Her Feet. It was one with Her Feet, I was integrated in the same blood circulation as Hers and there was no more any separation, physical separation between Shri Mataji and me. I was absolutely one with Her. That was an unbelievable moment of bliss, of course. I could not hold myself of exuberance and joy of just being one with Mother and one with God. That lasted, lasted and I was in a state of exultation. Of course, I had no notion of time at all.

Then She lifted Her Feet, I withdrew and was in such a state of joy and bliss that Derek Lee, who was next to Mother, asked what happened to me. I just felt exhilarated.”I'm one with Mother. I'm one with Mother.”

A little later, Mother left for the airport and She called me to sit next to Her in the car to go to the airport. It was one of these little Indian cars and I think there were three of us in the back" " Shri Mataji, me and maybe Gregoire and maybe Rajesh in the front. I was squeezed against Her and, of course, the state of bliss continued. We accompanied Mother to the airport, we waved Her bye-bye as we usually do and there, for the first time, I was not crying at all and not in the mood for crying. I was waving bye-bye in a state of perfect joy and just feeling," I'm one with Mother.”So it was obvious that I was not going to be sad.

For many years after that I did not cry any more when Mother would leave. I must confess that since it has happened a few times, maybe not to cry like a baby as I used to before that experience, but still to have big sadness. And probably the strength of this experience of feeling one with Mother, one with God had a little bit receded.

Ruth Flint




9) Gillian Patankar said:

I can still see Her

We had all been on a long climb, to a temple called Supta Shringi, outside of Nasik [during the India tour of 1982-83]. In all, it had taken us hours to climb up and down. We arrived back very hot and were just standing around in the sun waiting for the buses, when a car pulled up. Shri Mataji alighted and said we were all too hot and our livers were hot. The car boot was opened and it was full of green guavas and green channa, still on the branches. Shri Mataji distributed these to everyone and, as we ate, you could just feel yourself cooling down. I can still see Her standing there full of so much concern and love for everyone.

Gillian Patankar




10) Elizabeth O'Gorman said:

You are all My soldiers

On my first India tour, in '84 or '85" " I think it was at Vaiturna" " we arrived towards the end of the group and there were about fifteen or twenty of us who went to sleep in the house where Mother was sleeping. We were sleeping in the hallway and around the place on the floor. And in the morning Shri Mataji came out of Her room, still in Her sleeping sari. One of the American ladies was having difficulty putting on her sari, so Shri Mataji came over and smiled and laughed and helped her to put it back on again, talking to her all the time. And when Shri Mataji had finished, She had finished and stood back and realized She had put it on back to front. So She took it off and then put it on again the right way, talking and laughing, and at the end She took the paloo [the end of the sari that is usually left hanging] and tucked it in round the front, as you do if you are working, and she said," There, that's how the soldiers wear them and you are all My soldiers.”

Elizabeth O'Gorman




11) Claire Nesdale said:

To me it was magic

On my first India tour, we were in Maharashtra, in the middle of the tour. We were way up on the plateau, way inland at a very isolated town, just a large village. It seemed quite ancient. And Shri Mataji had organized that we should have a procession through the town and She used to ride on a bullock cart. And we waited for about an hour in the hot sun and we were all getting quite hot in our saris and kurta pyjamas. And then the bullock cart came and Shri Mataji came and some musicians came. And Shri Mataji led us with the musicians through the village to a pendal. The pendal had a backside" " three open sides and a top that covered us so that we weren't in the sun. And there was a stage with a backdrop. Shri Mataji sat on the stage and the musicians played.

She tried to get all the Westerners in out of the sun. She saw that She could only get about half the Westerners in out of the sun. She was quite concerned about this. The sky was totally blue. It was on the high plateau and you could see for miles. And there was really just low mountains way in the distance. And the sky was completely blue, not a cloud in the sky. So She looked out from the stage to the centre point of the sky and concentrated very hard at that point. So I thought I would watch what She was doing. I looked up and there was not a cloud anywhere to be seen, not anywhere even on the horizon. And She concentrated quite hard and then looked away and looked at the musicians and looked at us. And then She looked back up at the sky and I watched Her again. And then She looked at us and a few minutes later She looked back at the sky and I looked back as well.

Right in the middle of the sky where She was concentrating a grey cloud was starting to form. It was forming quite thickly and it was like" " to me it was magic. You could see a cloud starting to form from nothing. It was quite a dense grey cloud. It wasn't white, but was quite a heavy sort of cloud. And then She was concentrating on it and it was growing. It was growing from the centre outwards. Then She stopped looking at it and looked back at us. within minutes the cloud had grown and grown and was now spreading out and, within about ten minutes, it covered the whole sky. You could watch it from the centre point spreading out in a circle, until within about fifteen minutes we were completely covered in shade from this heavy thick cloud. And in not much more time it reached right out to the horizon.

So She had covered the whole sky with clouds just to protect us from the hot sun. She had been so obviously worried about us being in the hot sun that She had created this cloud to cover us. And that was my first miracle.

Claire Nesdale




12) Phil Trumbo said:

A great honour to put flowers around Her neck

I was on the India tour, maybe 1987 or so, when the India tour was mainly around Maharashtra, and we were at a small village called Rahuri. And I was meant to coordinate the video team that was documenting Shri Mataji's tour. And it was sort of mainly getting a bunch of people into a bus and getting there on time and making sure the equipment ran and making sure the local electricity wasn't out at the moment and trying not to be intrusive on the experience. It was quite fun, but quite a grueling adventure.

We were at this event where these musicians were playing qawwali and part of the qawwali was going up and making an offering of rupees to the performers. And after doing that Shri Mataji suggested that people go up and make a symbolic offering of a few rupees to the people who were operating the video and audio equipment for the work that they had done. And at the time I was sitting a bit back and wasn't actually operating the equipment, I wasn't up on stage or anything. So people were given this sort of honourary thing at Shri Mataji's request. It was quite sweet, a symbolic gesture, and I didn't receive anything, for whatever reason, because I was out of sight or whatever. And after the program I was at a low point, kind of tired and it struck me that I was feeling a bit left out and, even though it was a small symbolic gesture of no economic value, I was feeling quite bad emotionally because somehow I hadn't rated the acknowledgement of this reward from my Mother. And I started getting off on a bad emotional trip about it, until finally something clicked in my head and a voice seemed to say to me," Your Mother would never do anything to make you feel bad. Your Mother would never do anything to displease you and make you feel bad about yourself, so know that. If you are having this feeling, it is actually not coming from Shri Mataji.”And I just sort of cried with these tears of joy, knowing this and believing it and feeling that I would always have this trust from Shri Mataji, even though I hadn't gotten the outward sign of this approval.

So the next day it was time for all the Sahaja Yogis to leave. We were having this going away ceremony. Actually, I think Shri Mataji was giving advice to the newly married people" " very humble surroundings in this little humble farm at Rahuri. As we got ready to leave, She just sort of gestured towards me and there was a garland that was to be offered to Her as She left. And I came to the stage and the organizer, Mr. Dhumal, gave me the garland and I was able to garland Shri Mataji and She just sort of smiled quietly as I did it. And no one had spoken to Her about my disappointment or the fact that in some way I hadn't been rewarded for my efforts or hadn't been recognized. But it was this knowledge, this subtle knowledge on Her part, that I had just been a guy on the video crew and I had been supported somehow. And my feeling had somehow got through the unconscious and I was rewarded in a way that I never imagined.

It was a great honour to be able to put flowers around the neck of your creator.

Phil Trumbo




13) Nirmal Gupta said:

It was like moonlight

In 1980 I did a yoga course and they told me about kundalini. My desire was to awaken this kundalini. So I tried to follow the eight steps of Patanjali on my own. But I gave it up and then in 1987 I came to know about Sahaja Yoga. Somebody told me that it was spontaneous awakening of Kundalini. I couldn't believe it. It seemed impossible, but they said," No, try.”So I went to the Safdarjung temple in Delhi and, just by looking at the photo of Shri Mataji, I got my Realization.

And after that, I was very sure. It was 21st of November. On the 1st January 1988, on New Year's Day, I saw Shri Mataji for the first time. They announced that Shri Mataji was not coming that day, but would come the next day. I was disappointed because New Year's Day was special, but then they announced that Shri Mataji was coming. And then She came and I saw Her for the first time. At that time the program was in Malgond, in the village there, and I saw Her coming out of the car and walking one or two steps. And after that I got lost. I don't remember anything, and then I saw Her on the stage. It was like moonlight, watching Her.

Nirmal Gupta




14) Jean-Louis Barbier said:

Having done what my Mother had told me

Some years ago, [my wife] Regina and I used to follow Shri Mataji wherever it was possible in Europe. One day, maybe in 1988, I was by chance walking with Shri Mataji along the pavement of an airport, sort of opening or clearing the way for Her. As I was next to Her, She addressed me, saying," You should transcribe the bhajans tapes. Listen to them and write them down and you will be able to sing them during India Tour.”I was quite stunned that She knew that I was having the capacity to transcribe bhajans from the tapes to music paper. I simply said," Yes, Shri Mataji.”

One day during the following India tour, we were in a town of Maharashtra, maybe Sangamner, that day the talented and omnipresent Swiss bhajan team was not there. I did not hesitate. Someone had to sing bhajans as an opening to the evening public program that Shri Mataji was going to hold. I usually never get on stage for singing, but that day I felt like propelled to sit in front of the microphone and I started using the lines I had transcribed several months before. There was an Indian brother sitting next to me. We sang together with much enthusiasm.

When Shri Mataji arrived, I just felt that I was at the right place, having done what my Mother had told me to do. Since that day I haven't sung bhajans on stage.

Jean-Louis Barbier




15) Nirmal Gupta said:

Because I am with them

When I went to Ganapatipule in 1987, they announced that"Okay, now the program is over and now we are going to Bombay and on the 10th January will be the Sankranti Puja in Bombay.”So first I felt the program is over so soon. And I had the desire to go closer to Shri Mataji, but I felt that I could not go closer. But I went to the puja in Bombay and was sitting quite towards the back and in my heart thinking," I want to go to Shri Mataji" "" like physically. In the beginning the desire is very strong or something. So I was sitting there and Shri Mataji gave Her lecture and afterwards they were going to start the puja and once they started the mantras Shri Mataji stopped them. And She said," People sitting here are thinking that they want to come to Me. Why are they thinking like this? Because I am with them.”And I was indeed thinking like that. I was amazed and thought," Oh, my God, She knows everything.”Because I had been thinking," I want to go to Her.”And then She announced this. I pulled my ears and that was it.

Nirmal Gupta




16) Edwin Tobias said:

Each thought a strand in the web

During the 1988 India tour we visited a handicraft exhibition in Pune. There were many stalls with clothes, jewellery, leather articles, carvings and other things from all over India. Shri Mataji was also there for some time to look at the exhibition and do a little shopping.

Like everyone else, I strolled from one kiosk to the other and stopped at some very nice wooden carvings. I liked some of them very much, specially a Buddha statue. I took it in my hand to look at it closer. As I was standing there, I realized all of a sudden that Shri Mataji was standing next to me and was looking at some carvings, which the kiosk holder was showing Her. As usual, She was surrounded by a large crowd of people.

Somehow being so close to Mother was too much for me and I went two steps backwards, so I was standing behind Her. I was thinking that I would not keep all the things bought here in India, although I liked them very much, but I would use them as presents for those who stayed back in Austria. But if" " I was thinking" " Shri Mataji would touch one of these statues, I would keep it and place it on my altar at home. Lost in this thought, I did not realize that all the people had left and as I looked up there was only Shri Mataji there. And not only this, She looked at me, came towards me. Everything was so bright all of a sudden. She greeted me and asked if I had already purchased something. I was so perplexed that I couldn't answer. I also had the feeling She was not expecting one. Then She saw the Buddha statue in my hand and said," Ah, Buddha, how beautiful.”And She took it to look at it. Then She gave it to me in a very friendly and gentle way.

I was so stunned that I didn't move for several minutes. Something just happened, the way as I was thinking two minutes before. At this moment, I knew again that each thought which will be thought is in Shri Mataji and has some effect" " and not only around ourselves. Every thought adds a strand to the web, which may be for our good or our downfall.

Edwin Tobias




17) Nigel Powell said:

She misses nothing

It might have been the second India tour I was coordinating, or third tour, maybe 1993 or 1994. I went to see Shri Mataji to talk about the about the start of the tour. And this was in Delhi in the new temple. Anyway, I am wearing a khadi kurta pyjama, which I bought cheap in Delhi. And Shri Mataji takes one look at it and laughs. And says," What are you wearing?”So I walk up to Her and hold my arm out and She says," Come here, come here.”She drags me over and I hold my arm out and She says," Oh yes, this is cheap, cheap khadi. You should get decent kurta pyjamas. You see, you can tell the difference.”And She proceeds then to show me how you can tell the difference between the different types of cotton by pulling the threads apart with Her fingernails. She grabbed my sleeve and said," See, that's thin. You can tell it's not very good because if it stays together when you pull it apart with your fingernails, then that is very good cotton. So next time buy better cotton.”And that was my introduction.

And later, on the postscript to that, we were in Yamunanagar about two weeks later dancing round a fire and Shri Mataji suddenly bursts out into laughter and drags me over and points at my kurta and, lo and behold, I have got a hole in it! It was at the back and I hadn't noticed. And the funny thing is I hadn't remembered. I didn't correlate the two things together. But She did. She immediately remembered the conversation about the cheap cotton.

She misses nothing. Her Attention is so acute that even the smallest things She notices and remembers. That's what really amazed me afterwards when I thought about it.

Nigel Powell




18) Rosemary Maitland said:

It was done by silence

I was really quite nervous of Mother because of my conditioning about anyone who is in authority. I was really very nervous that I would do something wrong and this stayed in the back of my mind. And we went to India. It was to look at textiles in Gujarat, not for Sahaja Yoga. And we found when we got back to Delhi that there was going to be Shivaratri Puja and if we changed our flight we could go to it. Shri Mataji asked to see my husband and I went along with him, thinking I would sit outside and wait for him. Anyway, we both went in and sat with Mother and somebody had brought the kind of fabrics that we had been looking at in Gujarat. But Mother described much more to us and taught us about the symbolism of the designs that these simple fabrics had. And I found that relaxed me a lot, looking at something that I had already seen.

And it was amazing the way Mother worked on me because I was much too shy to say anything. And She took Her shawl off and She had Her brown shawl, which was very, very soft. I thought She said it was made of bird feathers and said it is so soft that would pass through my wedding ring. And yet it is as warm as a blanket. And She said," Feel it.”And my husband held it and I held it. And Shri Mataji held it. And it was as if the silence was complete and I just" " as if Shri Mataji was saying," I've got you.”And I remember this complete feeling of peace and I remember thinking," I wish everybody could feel this idea that we really are just held by Mother.”She didn't say anything to me. It was just done by silence and holding Her shawl.

Rosemary Maitland




19) Linda Williams said:

On the other side of that ocean

I was staying with some Sahaja Yogis in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa, in 1990, and we were looking through their photo album of photos of Mother. I saw one of the back of Mother's head and behind was a sky the colour of apricot over the sea, with some coconut palms.”That was at Gorai Creek," I said to one of my hosts," Did someone give you a copy of the photos I took?” "No," he [Ajeet Ramphal] replied.”I took those photos myself.” "But I was the only person there with a camera," I continued.”No, actually there was one other person, I do remember now. Was that you?”So here we were, the other side of the same Indian Ocean, seven years later.

Gorai was a beach north of Mumbai, on a peninsula. We went down from Delhi and stayed in Mumbai and, to get to the [Sahasrara Day] puja, took a suburban train right to the end of the line, then a tonga [pony cart] and finally a ferry across the creek to the beach. The place of the puja was on the beach under the palm trees and, being May [1983], it was hot and the breeze through the trees was most welcome.

Mother talked about the palm trees in the puja talk and said they always bend towards the ocean and recognize it as their father, Lord Vishnu. After the puja was finished many people hurried to get back to the ferry, which took one across the creek to the train station for Bombay, because it was said that the ferry stopped at dusk and it was nearly dusk then.

Some of us were loath to leave Mother, who was still there, and also loath to leave the now cool beach. Mother walked down towards the sea. It was a wide beach and the tide was out.

Linda Williams




20) Bogunia Bensaude said:

Shri Mother stopped some distance from the retreating tide. She bent down and began to create a Ganesh in the sand and then ornamented it with flowers and kumkum. She moved a few paces forward and then stood quite still, with an intent expression and looked out to the sea and the sunset-reddened horizon. Great power and majesty emanated from Her. To some present, it felt as though the Adi Shakti was ushering out forever the dying embers of the Kali Yuga and invoking the ocean, Dharma, to assert itself.

The image of Shri Ganesh lay in the sand, a symbol of the advent of the age of truth, innocence and wisdom. Shri Mataji called on the sea to wash over us all. We chanted the mantra to Samudra Devata, the God of the Ocean, asking His blessings.

Several Sahaja Yogis saw the wave coming inward towards the shore and leaving steps in the sand as they retreated. Then the sea came rushing up to Shri Mother, flowed past everyone present and encircled the Ganesha. The evening star, Venus" " the Devi's own sign" " was seen high in the twilight sky directly opposite the Devi, our most beneficent Mother.

Bogunia Bensaude




21) Linda Williams said:

From seemingly nowhere, a man appeared with a basket of flowers for Mother and She decorated the Ganesha. Then we stood back and admired it, after which Mother looked towards the sea, a good fifty metres off and dead calm, with little ripples and certainly no big waves. She told us all to say the mantra to the sea, Samudra Devatur. So we started saying," Aum twameva sakshat Shri Samudra Devatur sakshat.” And after we had said it a few times, the most extraordinary thing happened. The sea came up to the Ganesha in the sand in a narrow stream about a metre wide, not violently, but just enough to bathe the Ganesha and dissolve it into the seawater. Then Mother walked down to the sea, where the shoreline was some way out and the water receded again, but Mother put Her Feet in the ocean and spoke about vibrating all the shorelines of the Indian Ocean. Strange, if one considers that the two of us who were to meet on the other side of that ocean seven years later, were standing just behind Mother at that moment.

After this, Mother went away and we began to walk, quite a long walk, to the ferry. As we were going up the track a bit dubious as to whether there was even going to be a ferry when we got there because it was pitch dark by this time, a car went past us and we went into the side. The car stopped"

Linda Williams




22) Bogunia Bensaude said:

"And a beloved voice called out," Why are you walking? There's a truck waiting for you.”"

Bogunia Bensaude




23) Linda Williams said:

" "Don't worry. I have asked the ferry to wait for you and there is a truck to take you to the ferry.”Thank you, Mother, as always. Mother put Her Feet in the ocean and said something like," Whenever I put My Feet in the ocean, I vibrate the whole ocean because the current takes the water right round that ocean to all the shores touched by it.”

And seven years later there I was, with Ajeet, in a land on the other side of that ocean.

Linda Williams




24) Elizabeth Ravenscroft said:

The reflection of the universe

I had been not too well by about the third week after the [1990 India] tour began. It was at the Krishna River where it all came to a head. I was taken to Shri Mataji and laid at Her Feet. She placed Her Feet on me and She massaged my head with oil and She shouted at the bhoots to go away from me. It was all quite bewildering, but beautiful and wonderful at the same time because there was Mother really, really helping me to sort all this stuff out.

And after that beautiful experience, I started to experience the most extraordinary feeling of thoughtless awareness, like I've never experienced before or since. It is something that one has to get back to, although I have not yet got back to it. For a brief time I have experienced satchitananda and it is beyond words.

We were on our way to Kolhapur the day this happened and for three days I was still quite ill. My thyroid had collapsed and one of the things Shri Mataji had said while working on me was"You must drink" and I was very bad at drinking. I tried to drink at least two litres of water a day because, as Shri Mataji had said," You don't want to end up in an Indian hospital.”She said," You might not ever come out again," which was enough to frighten me.

What I experienced in those next three days was a sense of euphoria. I don't quite know how to express it. It seemed as if there was a video playing and about six feet in front of me was a spot and everything was flowing out of me into this spot in front of me. Whether my eyes were closed or open this continued. There were some really lovely things and some really uncomfortable things, but I was able to witness whatever it was. And this obviously was a clearing. It eventually stopped, but for two nights I almost didn't sleep. I was just in this state of wonderful, peaceful awareness of everything around me. I wasn't tired and was able to eat again, but by the time we had the puja in Kolhapur, I knew this was my opportunity to go to Shri Mataji and thank Her for everything that She had done for me.

I was sitting at the back and, as the ladies were invited to go up, it seemed pretty impossible to ever get there because there were so many people in front and, as I reached the stage, there were more than seven ladies there, but the person who was there said," No, stay.”I was in the middle and the mirror was placed in my hands and I knew that I was holding the reflection of the universe to Mother. I knew I had to be extremely still. The mirror was extremely big and I couldn't see anything. I sat there for what seemed like hours. It was probably about twenty minutes, but Mother gave me the strength. I don't know where else it could have come from. I was sad because I couldn't see what was happening. I couldn't see them decorate Mother's Feet or anything and I was quite sad about that. There were eight people on the stage. I don't know how common this is because usually seven are invited, but I was the eighth and was somehow allowed to stay. It was such a gift. The mirror was taken away and I was handed the tray with the crown on it and had to place the crown on Mother's head. And in that moment everything that I had wanted to do for Mother was answered. I couldn't tie the tie at the back of Her head, but my attention was on Mother's head for quite some time, until, I think, it was Alganesh rescued me. But it was obviously all for a purpose and to this day I feel enormously blessed.

I missed a point. It wasn't until I got back to South Africa and tested, that the tests came out very extreme. The doctor said he had never seen anyone with such a badly collapsed thyroid walking around and that I should have been on a drip in a hospital. And I mentioned that I had had a healing from a very special lady in India and he said," Well, that's it. Because other than that, it is impossible that you are still functioning the way you are.”So that was a miracle.

Elizabeth Ravenscroft




25) John Henshaw said:

An experience out of time

In Pune I was working on glass, on stained glass in Shri Mataji's house. On this occasion Shri Mataji arrived and we did namaskar and She looked at various people and asked how their families were and all this stuff. And then She invited us up to Her apartment because, at that time, when the building was at a certain stage, She lived there, not in the main house. And She just sat down there, and then She started. And there were about twenty people in the room. First of all, She scolded the woman who was looking after Her at the time and She said," You don't treat people like dirt because you happen to be looking after Me.”Then She progressed to every person in the room, such as"You've got a liver. The livers are dreadful.” "Your vibrations are shocking.” "Your Swadisthan needs clearing out.” "You need to shoebeat this. Shoebeat that.”She went right round the room and then She looked at me. So I gave a big smile. I was waiting. And then She said," And what do you think of this house?”So I said," I think it is quite fantastic. it's one of the most imaginative things I have seen in my life" "" you know, teaching art and architecture and so on. And then She sat there" " no other comment. We were there, I calculated later, from about 12:30 in the afternoon until about seven in the evening, sitting in meditation. I thought," It must be afternoon by now.”And when I went down to get a cup of tea, everything was dark. It was seven hours roughly and the time went. And the sense of time was totally cut through. So I guess it was some level of existence.

Maybe in the future we will experience more of this. And the concern about time" " nothing, so tightly bound. It felt like the whole day, you were out of time. I have never felt an experience out of time like that.

John Henshaw




26) Sunny Redican said:

The feeling did not wear off for a long time

The first time I met Shri Mataji I can remember is in 1990 or 1991 [when I was four]. We went to Pratisthan, Shri Mataji's house in Pune, for some work for the school and we had to wait later than midnight and when we got to meet Shri Mataji I think it was around 2 am. I can't recall properly and then there was a puja of Shri Mataji. And when Shri Mataji saw me, She mistook me for a girl or so everybody thought. And then, after that, we went away, but while I was there I got this awesome feeling of love and extreme bliss and the feeling did not wear off for a long time.

Sunny Redican




27) Gautama Payment said:

Everybody knew Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

I remember one New Year's Eve [1995] I spent at school in India, probably the best New Year's celebration of my life. My class and a few teachers from Shri Matajai's school in Dharamsala had just moved down to Pune for the next three months in order to study harder and excel in our upcoming exams. We were also to be the first class to graduate the tenth grade government board exams and our results would be a great factor for the school's reputation. This was also to be our first of two consecutive study periods for, 1996 and 1997, at this time of year and so we were also still settling in and getting used to the changed environment. I guess we had all just got back from Ganapatipule and were getting back on track for regular school.

On the day of New Year's Eve it just so happened that I had gone out into the city with a classmate to look around and see the area near where we were staying. On foot it took a lot longer and we got back sometime in the early evening to find no one at home. This was very unusual and soon after we found we were supposed to be at Pratisthan where we had all been invited to spend New Year's Eve with Shri Mataji. So, as fast as we could, we found the nicest clothes we had and went back out to catch a rickshaw to be there. Being in Pune only a week now, we did not know our way around yet and had trouble giving directions to the driver where to go. We kept saying," Pratisthan, Pratisthan"or"Shri Mataji's house"In Hindi. So we just told him to follow our road by road directions and we would get there. Eventually one of us must have said," Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi"And then the driver brightened and said in Hindi," Oh, Shri Nirmala Devi's house.” Of course, Pune was the city in which Shri Mataji lived and, when they had programs, there were banners everywhere, posters on every possible surface and hanging banners across the streets from building to building. Everyone knew Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.

Gautama Payment




28) Ajay Arora said:

On the thirty-first of December I took permission from Uncle Yogi [Mahajan], if he could ask and take permission from Shri Mataji if we could come to Her house in Pratisthan and sing some bhajans. So Uncle Yogi went to Shri Mataji and Shri Mataji said," Yes, they can come. And they must decorate one of the rooms in Her house and they must come in the evening and sing some bhajans.”

So we were all there in the day, putting some balloons and some colourful papers. And in the evening we reached there about eight or nine o'clock. And just next to Pratisthan, at the other farmhouse, there was a lot of loud music going on, which was like rock pop music.

Ajay Arora




29) Gautama Payment said:

By the time we arrived" " it had only been about fifteen minutes' drive, the sun was setting and I remember the next house up the road had been having a large party, as was the rest of Pune on this day of New Year's.

I am not sure what happened next, but I remember then sitting with the rest of my class" " ninth grade, total of eight students" " in Shri Mataji's main living room. She came in soon after and sat upon Her throne and talked with us.

Gautama Payment




30) Ajay Arora said:

Shri Mataji entered the hall at about nine o'clock. And it seemed, looking at Shri Mataji, as if She was a bit tired, as if She was fighting all the negativities, especially on the thirty-first of December, when all the people do all the drinking and dancing.

Ajay Arora




31) Gautama Payment said:

She asked us of school and how things were in Dharmsala. What was to be said? It was Her school and everything was good. As usual, I think She also asked of how the food was. I remember more than once, even in later years, Her concern for the food at the school. Soon after, we got a harmonium out and tablas and were singing for Shri Mataji.

Gautama Payment




32) Ajay Arora said:

And I was playing tabla, sitting at a distance of ten metres away from Shri Mataji. And there were two more Sahaja Yogis from Pune who were playing the harmonium and tabla. And there were eight students from Dharmsala who were singing the bhajans.

Ajay Arora




33) Gautama Payment said:

I remember feeling that we were not singing our best, as a few of our class were not there at the time and also the key in which we had started some songs was not ideal, but then, we were singing for Shri Mataji. It did not matter, She knew already everything. So we sang many bhajans for Her and that night may have led to our future vocal classical training, which we all had while in Pune every night of the week.

Gautama Payment




34) Ajay Arora said:

As we were singing the bhajans, I just felt" " it was like a very blissful breeze started coming out of Shri Mataji. Suddenly, after two or three bhajans, the vibrations increased and it was amazing that as soon as the bhajans stopped I just put my hands towards Shri Mataji and I felt such a gush of wind. It was as if real wind which was blowing from Her. And then we all stood up and we sang the three maha mantras to Shri Mataji and it was amazing. When we looked at Her, She looked completely fresh. She looked as if She had taken a bath and everyone was just drenched in those vibrations. So it gave us a feeling that when in the presence of Shri Mataji, when we were praising Her, She was actually taking Her true form and it was just a very blissful experience to see Shri Mataji and how beautiful and how full of love She was for all of us.

Ajay Arora




35) Gautama Payment said:

At Shri Mataji's request, we were shown around the entire house, floor to floor, room to room. The entire house had been designed and built completely under Shri Mataji's guidance with such beauty and grandeur of a palace. At night it is all lit up, especially on New Year's with lights around the entrance and above the doorway, where Shri Ganesha's statue resides.

On our way, we also met with Sir CP reading a newspaper and leisurely watching the television. After such an awe-inspiring tour, Shri Mataji then provided for dinner with the best pizza and food from Her own kitchen. After, while waiting for rides home, we got to fire off some crackers and fireworks along with the rest of Pune, erupting into noise and sound as the clocks struck midnight.

Gautama Payment




36) Linda Williams said:

She is always with us when our attention is on Her

We were having a simple puja to celebrate the fifth birthday of [International Sahaja Yoga Research and Helath Centre near] Vashi [India] and we were all sitting in the meditation room saying the 108 names of Shri Mataji. Then the phone rang and the gate man came in and spoke to Dr Rai. I thought this odd that he should disturb a puja, but was sitting at the back so could not hear what they were saying, although you know I can understand simple Hindi. It turned out that Shri Mataji had told someone to ring up from Pratisthan and give this message. She said," I felt such good vibrations coming from Vashi. Were you all doing My puja?”Just shows yet again how Mother is always with us when our attention is on Her.

Linda Williams




37) Gautama Payment said:

Such beauty and simplicity we all desire

Diwali has always been a joyous festival and one I have many memories of. From the firecrackers at [the International Sahaja Public] school in India and deepa lamps illuminating all the landscape in a halo of light, Diwali is a time of joy and celebration, as it was when the festival first began all those many years ago.

Shri Mataji celebrates Diwali Puja every year with many fireworks and crackers lighting up the occasion. It was on just such a celebration [in about 1995] that I had been so fortunate and, with the rest of my class, attended the puja in Nargol India" " the very same beach where Shri Mataji had opened the Sahasrara of the world in 1970.

The puja had been hosted by the French collective and was set up along the seashore under a big pendal that blew with the sea wind. Though the puja was not so large by Indian standards, the fireworks display was magnificent, especially as I had found myself with the best view and just behind Shri Mataji.

Our class had been unusually lucky to come all the way from the north [near Dharamsala] by train. As always, Shri Mataji had so much attention on Her school. Spontaneously, so much always happened and we were always so fortunate, such as one of my friends spontaneously, at the right time and place, was the only one there to open the door of Shri Mataji's car for Sir CP. But the best was always the sweetness and joy Shri Mataji creates.

After the puja our class went up onto the stage to present to Shri Mataji gifts from the whole school" " wooden candlestick holders we had carved and a crown handmade with materials that we had put together" " not yet completely dry.

As usual though, Shri Mataji beamed with Her big smiles, saying how much older we all were, with the girls of our class in saris now. And, with the sweetness and simplicity only the Adi Shakti has, commented that Her head was a little bit small for the crown we had made.

Such beauty and simplicity we all desire, such sweetness as only Shri Mataji can show.

Gautama Payment




38) Seetha Murugappan said:

The heart followed Her

On the last day in Ganapatipule, which was during the weddings, I was feeling a little under the weather caused by the clearing of the Vishuddhi. I asked permission from Shri Mataji to go into the ladies' pendal to sleep, got ready for bed and slept. Suddenly the voice of Sir CP woke me up with a jerk. The voice brought back that energy into this soul once again. I ran out of the hut, which is situated next to the main pendal where the weddings and puja are held, and stood there listening to his every word with full attention. I felt so much energized. It was an amazing and beautiful talk he gave.

After that they were about to leave Ganapatipule and go to Bombay. This soul wanted to see both of them before they left. Since I was not dressed properly, I decided to stand outside the ladies hut and watch the car go by. Mother knows everything and She knew very well that Her child wanted to say goodbye to Her. Before getting into the car, She stood holding the car door and She looked right at me. Oh, Divine Mother! I was a little surprised at first, but that feeling was taken over by the gratitude and love towards Her. I said my goodbyes to Her and thanked Shri Adi Shakti for such a great blessing. She smiled and entered into the car. This heart followed Her in.

Seetha Murugappan


Related Articles:
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 1
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 2
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 3
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 4
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 5
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 6
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 7
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 8
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 9
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 10
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 11
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 12
Memories of our Divine Mother Shri Mataji 13






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