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Sahaja Yoga (सहज योग) is a religion founded in 1970 by Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011). Nirmala Srivastava is known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (trans: Revered Immaculate Mother) or simply as "Mother" by her followers, who are called Sahaja yogis.

Practitioners believe that during meditation they experience a state of self-realization produced by kundalini awakening, and that this is accompanied by the experience of thoughtless awareness or mental silence.

Shri Mataji described Sahaja Yoga as the pure, universal religion integrating all other religions. She claimed that she was a divine incarnation, more precisely an incarnation of the Holy Spirit, or the Adi Shakti of the Hindu tradition, the great mother goddess who had come to save humanity. This is also how she is regarded by most of her devotees. Sahaja Yoga has sometimes been characterized as a cult.

Etymology

The word 'Sahaja' in Sanskrit has two components: 'Saha' is 'with' and 'ja' is 'born'. A Dictionary of Buddhism gives the literal translation of Sahaja as "innate" and defines it as "denoting the natural presence of enlightenment (bodhi) or purity." and Yoga means union with the divine and refers to a spiritual path or a state of spiritual absorption. According to a book published by Sahaja Yogis, Sahaja Yoga means spontaneous and born with you meaning that the kundalini is born within us and can be awakened spontaneously, without effort.

The term 'Sahaja Yoga' goes back at least to the 15th Century Indian mystic Kabir and has also been used to refer to Surat Shabd Yoga.

History

Before starting Sahaja Yoga, Shrivastava had a reputation as a spiritual healer. In 1970, with a small group of devotees around her, she began spreading her message of Sahaja Yoga in India. As she moved with her husband to London, UK, she continued her religious activities there, and the movement grew and spread throughout Europe, by the mid-80's reaching North America. In 1989, Shri Mataji made her first trip to Russia and Eastern Europe. She did not charge for her classes, insisting that her lesson was a birthright which should be freely available to all. As of 2021, Sahaja Yoga has centers in at least 69 countries.

Beliefs and practices

The movement claims Sahaja Yoga is different from other yoga/meditations because it begins with self realization through kundalini awakening rather than as a result of performing kriya techniques or asanas. This self realization is said to be made possible by the presence of Srivastava often through a photography of her. The teachings, practices and beliefs of Sahaja Yoga are mainly Hindu-based, with a predominance of elements from mystical traditions, as well as local customs of India. There are however elements of Christian origin, such as the eternal battle between good and evil. References to a variety of other religious, spiritual, mystical as well as modern scientific frameworks are also interwoven in Srivastava's teachings, although to a lesser degree.

Religious sociologist Judith Coney has reported facing a challenge in getting behind what she called "the public facade" of Sahaja Yoga. She described Sahaja yogis as adopting a low profile with uncommitted individuals to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Coney observed that the movement tolerates a variety of world views and levels of commitment with some practitioners choosing to remain on the periphery.

Kundalini

Within the Indian mystic tradition, kundalini awakening has long been a much sought-after goal that was thought rare and hard to attain. Sahaja Yoga is distinctive in claiming to offer a quick and easy path to such an awakening.

Meditation

Meditation is one of the foundational rituals within Sahaja Yoga. The technique taught emphasises the state of "thoughtless-awareness" that is said to be achieved.

Role of women

Judith Coney has written that in general, Nirmala Srivastava's vision for the role of women within Sahaja Yoga was one of "feminine domesticity and compliance".

Some parents of Sahaja 'yogists', analyzing Nirmala Srivastava's remarks, noted that women play a subordinate role. The texts of Nirmala Srivastava say that "if you are a woman and you want to dominate, then Sahaja Yoga will have difficulty in curing you" and that women should be "docile" and "domestic". Judith Coney writes that women "are valued as mothers and wives but are limited to these roles and are not encouraged to be active or powerful, except within the domestic sphere and behind the scenes".

Coney has observed that "Gender roles for women and men within Sahaja Yoga are clearly specified and highly segregated, and positions of authority in the group are held almost exclusively by the men". Coney writes that the ideal of womanhood promoted within Sahaja Yoga draws both on the ideal wifely qualities of the goddess Lakshmi and on wider Hindu traditions. Coney believes these traditions are summed up in "The Code of Manu" which holds that woman should be honoured and adorned but kept dependent on men in the family. Women are also described in this book as "dangerous" and needing to be guarded from temptation.

Coney has written that Nirmala Srivastava did not display consistent views on women but gave a number of messages about the status of women. On the one hand she said women are not inferior but described the sexes as complementary. Describing the man as the head of the family, she likened the woman's status to the heart: "The head always feels he decides, but the brain always knows that is the heart one has to cater, it is the heart which is all-pervading, it is the real source of everything". She regretted what she saw as the loss of respect for women in society in both the East and West. However, she viewed Western feminism suspiciously, seeing it as a "route to damnation" because it required women to deviate from what she thought was their true nature.

Family

Human rights lawyer Sylvie Langlaude has described the configuration of families within Sahaja Yoga as "unusual", noting that from birth children become familiarised with the movement's beliefs and Nirmala Srivastava's status by being closely involved in its day-to-day rituals including meditation, foot-soaking, and devotional singing.

The subtle system – chakras and nadis

Sahaja Yoga believes that in addition to our physical body there is a subtle body composed of nadis (channels) and chakras (energy centres). Nirmala Srivastava however equates the Sushumna nadi with the parasympathetic nervous system, the Ida nadi with the left and the Pingala nadi with the right sides of the sympathetic nervous system. Psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar writes that Nirmala Srivastava's additions to this widespread traditional 'tantric' model include giving it a scientific, neurological veneer, an elaboration of the health aspects and an introduction of notions of traditional Christian morality.

Chakras do not physically exist.

Apostasy

In common with similar movements, most people who have left the Sahaja Yoga movement do not describe their experience as being unremittingly negative, often finding something positive they can say. Nevertheless, in interviews with ex-members Judith Coney heard various complaints from ex-members, including that they had experienced unwanted arranged marriage, had been dismayed by the difference between the reality of the movement and what they had expected, and had found their time in the movement frightening.

In general, members who believed that had gained some form of supernatural protection from being in the movement, were fearful of being exposed to retribution for having left, perhaps in the form of a terminal illness or fatal accident.

Eschatology

Within the Sahaja Yoga belief system, because we are in the final phase of the world (Kali Yuga) before the apocalypse, the Earth is rich in demons, who use satanic forces to possess people, impersonate gurus, and spread evil.

Judith Coney writes that Nirmala Srivastava claimed to be Adi Shakti, who had returned to earth to save it from "demonic influences."

Coney writes that Nirmala Srivastava identified what she saw as increased decadence in society as the work of demons "intent on dragging human beings to hell".

Organization

Vishwa Nirmala Dharma (trans: Universal Pure Religion, also known as Sahaja Yoga International) is the organizational part of the movement. It is a registered organization in countries such as Colombia, the United States of America, and Austria. It is registered as a religion in Spain.

Membership statistics

There are no available statistical data about Sahaja Yoga membership. In 2001, the number of core members worldwide was estimated to be 10,000, in addition to 100,000 practitioners more or less in the periphery. There are varying reports about the movement's distribution worldwide. According to the Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Sahaja Yoga World Foundation, Sahaja Yoga centers are established in over 95 countries. In a news article in Indian Express published on the occasion of Srivastava's death in 2011, however, Sahaja Yoga centers were said to exist in 140 countries.

International Sahaja Public School

The International Sahaja Public School in Dharamsala founded in 1990, teaches around 250 international students annually as of 1999, and has accepted children from the age of 6.

Yuvashakti

Sahaja Yoga's youth movement is called "Yuvashakti" (also "Nirmal Shakti Yuva Sangha"), from the Sanskrit words Yuva (Youth) and Shakti (Power).

The movement is active in forums such as the World Youth Conference and TakingITGlobal which aim at discussing global issues, and ways of solving them.

The Yuvashakti participated in the 2000 "Civil Society & Governance Project" in which they were "instrumental in reaching out to women from the poor communities and providing them with work".

Vishwa Nirmal Prem Ashram

The Vishwa Nirmala Prem Ashram is a not-for profit project by the NGO Vishwa Nirmala Dharma (Sahaja Yoga International) located in Noida, Delhi, India, opened in 2003. The ashram is a "facility where women and girls are rehabilitated by being taught meditation and other skills that help them overcome trauma".

Funding

According to the dictates of their founder, the methods for practicing Sahaja Yoga are made available free of charge to those interested. Nevertheless, according to the official Sahaja Yoga website there is a fee for attending international pujas to cover costs.

According to author David V. Barrett, "Shri Mataji neither charged for her lectures nor for her ability to give Self Realization, nor does one have to become a member of this organization. She insisted that one cannot pay for enlightenment and she continued to denounce the false self-proclaimed 'gurus' who are more interested in the seekers' purse than their spiritual ascent".

What is the need for Sahaja Yoga

Sahaja Yoga is no organization, it is no cult, we do not have any membership, we do not force anybody to come or if somebody wants to go away we can not stop.

A person is called as ‘Sahaja Yogi’ by the quality of his or her evolutionary status and only these people are allowed to come in the inner circle of Sahaja Yoga and get the higher knowledge about Spirit. There is no money, there is no such nonsense going on. https://www.amruta.org/1982/04/29/public-program-rome-29-apr-1982/?highlight=cult%20and%20sahaja%20yoga

Sahaja yoga is not a cult! It is your evolution, is your natural thing that’s happening to you. It’s not a cult! Where there’s nothing like bad and good, every guru is good, every pub is good, every madman is good; it’s not like this. In a cult, everybody is good you see, there is nothing like bad thing, every thing is good, what is wrong? That’s cult. But in natural processes, we have discretion. And we know what is good and what is bad. If you have seen a sunflower, it knows which way to turns its face. The trees know which way to turn their faces, which way to move. The roots know, where to go? How to go towards the sources of water? They just don’t go towards the…a…deserts! That is also good! So this is not a cult! You must know that. This is not where everything is all right as long as you give some money, or as long as you are a member or as long as you think you belong to some sort of a organization…No, it is absolutely there’s no compromise. There is no compromise with darkness, with untruth, with anything that is destructive for human beings; we cannot compromise. https://www.amruta.org/1982/04/07/shri-matajis-wedding-anniversary/?highlight=cult%20sahaja%20yoga

Sahaja Yoga is not a Cult. It’s a living process whether you are a hindu, muslim, christian, anything, is meant for you and it is your right, your birth right to have it. And then after that, once you get the sprouting of the seed, you must allow this tree to grow. https://www.amruta.org/1998/07/05/public-program-at-royal-albert-hall-1998/?highlight=cult%20and%20sahaja%20yoga

There is no cult in Sahaja Yoga, every individual has a different personality. But the common thing is one, and that is the Spirit. 

https://www.amruta.org/1982/11/26/what-you-can-do-london-1982/?highlight=cult%20sahaja%20yoga

The most important thing is that Sahaja Yoga is not a cult. You have to be absolutely normal people. Don’t have to behave, like in the ears you put in five pounds of cotton and walk about. You should look very normal people. Do not behave in a manner that you look absurd. You see, maybe, some people told me they do it because they want to show off they are different. This is not punk rocks here. We are not punk rock. You have to be very normal, balanced, good people, respecting our elders, very normal people. Nothing abnormal should be done. And that is the person who is the most normal is the person who is the real Sahaja Yogi. Because you normalize by Sahaja Yoga all abnormal things. https://www.amruta.org/1980/12/05/marriage-and-collectivity-advice-at-chelsham-rd-1980/?highlight=cult%20sahaja%20yoga

References

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2. Jones, Lindsey, ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA . ISBN 978-0-02-865997-8.
3. ^ Coney, Judith (1999). Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Movement. Richmond: Curzon Press. ISBN 0-7007-1061-2.
4. ^ "Sahaja Yoga founder Nirmala Devi is dead". The Indian Express. Express News Service. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017.
5. ^ Srivastava, Nirmala (1989). Sahaja Yoga Book One (2nd ed.). Australia: Nirmala Yoga.
6. ^ INFORM staff. "Meditation and Mindfulness". INFORM – the information network on religious movements. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
7. ^ Sudhir Kakar (1991). Shamans, Mystics and Doctors: A Psychological Inquiry into India and its Healing Traditions. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226422798.
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20. Sylvie Langlaude (2007). "Chapter 1: Religious Children". The Right of the Child to Religious Freedom in International Law. Brill. p. 33.
21. Sudhir Kakar wrote in his book Shamans, Mystics and Doctors, "Essentially, Nirmala Srivastava's model of the human psyche is comprised of the traditional tantric and hatha yoga notions of the subtle body, with its 'nerves' and 'centers,' and fuelled by a pervasive 'subtle energy' that courses through both the human and the divine, through the body and the cosmos. Nirmala Srivastava's contributions to this ancient model are not strikingly original: as a former medical student she has sought to give it a scientific, neurological veneer; as a former faith healer, she has elaborated upon those aspects of the model that are concerned with sickness and health; as someone born into an Indian Christian family she has tried to introduce notions of traditional Christian morality into an otherwise amoral Hindu view of the psyche." See Kakar (1991), p. 196
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External links

• Media related to Sahaja Yoga at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website

• Sahaja Yoga
• Religious organizations established in 1970
• Religious organisations based in India
• New religious movements
• Hindu organizations
• Meditation
• Yoga schools