TRANSCRIPTION OF FELICITATION AT UNITY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 1997-0406, NEW DELHI, INDIA

Doctor U.C. Rai: 1984, I met Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. She was giving a talk usually in a hall, one of the halls [UNCLEAR] when She was there. And She said that Sahaja Yoga is considered, if you do not think it is possible, why don’t you do some research? And that was the beginning in 1984 of doing some research on Sahaja Yoga. I was a professor at that time. I asked one of my students to take this subject and he started doing it.

And the first thing that came to my mind, that if I ask somebody to do this Yoga, then I must be very clear as to what are the advantages of this Yoga on his body. And therefore, the first thing before diseases are ready, I would like to tell you only a few. One was, that there was a change in the secretion of neurotransmitters. And these neurotransmitters, as doctors here will know, had an array. You see, these are usually produced when you are in a state of psychological stress.

If there is a greater production of adrenalin the body, it can give rise to so many things. It produces anxiety, neurosis, it can produce hypertension, palpitation and so on. I thought that it is a very good thing. That, if by doing Sahaja Yoga for fifteen to twenty minutes, you can decrease the production of adrenalin, which is the culprit for giving heart attack, hypertension, anxiety, neurosis, sometimes insomnia and so on, then why not we do another research and try to find out, that whether it would be helpful in the treatment of essential hypertension.

And another thesis was done. Now, this student got his M.D. on the subject. Then we took another one to find out what is the role of Sahaja Yoga in the management of essential hypertension. And this again was a post-graduate doctorate thesis. And I don’t know whether Doctor Gupta is here or not. Professor Saroj Gupta, she was the head of medicine at Lady Hardinge Medical College. She was a cardiologist also. She had [break in recording] left their medicine and they maintained their normal simply by doing Sahaja Yoga fifteen minutes a day.

Now, this was something very encouraging for us. And I told Shri Mataji about it. And then one day Shri Mataji told me, “Doctor Rai, Sahaja Yoga can even cure epilepsy as well”. Now, I was really surprised. I told Shri Mataji, it is all right for hypertension, insomnia, right for anxiety and other things, but epilepsy is very difficult to treat. For one and a half year, I did not take the research up. Because I was not able to conceive how would it help in the management of epilepsy? But fortunately, what happened, Doctor B Ramamurthy who was a famous neurosurgeon from Madras – I happened to go to a conference, and he had a paper. And in his paper he showed; what he did actually was, he collected the EEG waves from the saints in the Himalayas into a module. And after that, from that module, he transmitted those waves, through the [UNCLEAR] simulation, into the epileptic patient. And he demonstrated that if such waves are transmitted into the person, the epileptic patient improves.

Now that gave me an idea, that what Shri Mataji is saying can be true. Because when we do Sahaja Yoga, it actualises in our brain, it increases our alpha index, that is, the index of the alpha waves in the brain. And these alpha waves are more in cases of persons who are doing meditation. And my student is here in this gathering. She did research, she did work for two years, three years, I think. And this time, I thought I should not do it alone. I should take the help of another person, neurologist, who are expert in the field of neurology.

And so we asked one neurologist, Doctor Gupta. Doctor S Gupta, he was there, and he was one of the supervisors. And I asked Doctor Selva Murthy, he was at that time a physiologist and now he is a director at the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences. And there, at the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, we had a very good [UNCLEAR] EEG machine. So we thought [UNCLEAR]. Because Shri Mataji is coming, I think we should receive her].

[Shri Mataji and Sir C.P. Srivastava arrive at the venue. Sahaja Yogis receive and escort them to the podium area. All dignitaries are welcomed with floral bouquets, amidst applause].

Doctor U.C. Rai: I have told them about Sahaja Yoga and its medical effects.

Shri Mataji: Ah.

Speaker: Now I would request the chairman to welcome Shri Mataji.

[Applause].

Speaker: Now Juhi(?) Talwar will present a bouquet to Shri Mataji.

[Applause].

Speaker: Mrs Malini Khanna will present a bouquet to Shri [?] former governor.

[Applause].

Speaker: Doctor U.C. Rai will present a bouquet to His Excellency, Sir C.P. Srivastava.

[Applause].

Speaker: Your Holiness Shri Mataji, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my proud privilege to welcome Her Holiness, Doctor Nirmala Devi. She is married to Doctor C.P. who was a talented student of his time, who later joined the Indian Administrative Service. And rose to the high position of private secretary to then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. And later retired as Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation of the United Nations.

Currently, Shri Mataji is stationed in Italy but keeps on moving from one country to the other, enlightening people on the benefits of Sahaja Yoga. With the result that today this science is practised in more than sixty-five countries. She has blessed millions of people in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America. She is having several chapters in Russia and has recently opened one in China.

Sahaja Yoga was originally described in Markandeya Purana as Doctor U.C. has shortly mentioned. But centuries back, it remained in oblivion, until Mataji Herself re-discovered it in 1970. According to Her, the practice of Sahaja Yoga transformed the personality of a person. Not by giving lectures or writing books, but evolving an all humane society, comprising of good, law-abiding citizens. Who are full of love and compassion and fraternal peace. Those who fully understand one another and have no ill-will towards anyone, irrespective of diverse caste, colour or creed.

All [UNCLEAR/over the world], hundreds and thousands of people have given up drugs and alcohol. And are today leading a happy and healthy normal life. Shri Mataji’s special work has been acclaimed universally. Her program of self-realisation has been received with great enthusiasm all over the world. I have no words to describe how significant it has been for global transformation. For Her contribution towards awakening of Kundalini, Self-knowledge, the Petrovskaya Academy of Arts and Sciences in St. Petersburg, has conferred its prestigious membership upon Her.

The University of Ecology Bucharest awarded a Doctorate for Her exceptional contribution in creating awareness among people [UNCLEAR/to Kundalini]. Friends, I would like to quote here, remarks made by none else than Claes Nobel, the chairman of the United World on a new human epoch for mankind. This new epoch will constitute a much-needed giant leap forward in the evolution of the species of human beings.

In the end, I express our sincere gratitude and considerations to Shri Mataji for Her very thoughtful gesture to grace us with Her august presence.

[Applause].

In appreciation of Her noble work, and Her outstanding contribution in the creation of a happier, healthier society, my organization, the Unity International Foundation is pleased to nominate Her Holiness Doctor Nirmala Devi, with its highest award, the Unity International award for international understanding.

[Applause].

Earlier recipients of this prestigious award are world-renowned personalities like the late Governor-General of Mauritius, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the late Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, the President of Argentina in 1985, Raúl Alfonsín and the latest among the recipients is the [UNCLEAR ] President [UNCLEAR]. The award will be presented later this year, seeing the convenience of Shri Mataji.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a standing ovation to Her.

[Applause].

[UNCLEAR]. Now I request our chairman, Mr Jyoti Jain, to tell us something about the award that we are going to present to Her Holiness Doctor Nirmala.

Chairman: What is Unity International? Unity International is an organisation dedicated to the twin ideals of one world, one family. It has been working for the last [UNCLEAR] to promote understanding among the people of different origins, irrespective of their diverse ideologies and customs. Having the inspiration of two great protagonists of secularism and international fraternity – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Doctor Zakir Hussain, Unity International was established in 1962 and this year we are celebrating the 35^th anniversary of its inception.

The former President of India, the great Gyani Zail Singh, nurtured it for long and helped it achieve its [UNCLEAR]. Besides other activities, from time to time, Unity International honours outstanding personalities for their contribution to international understanding and world peace.

We have four categories of awards. The highest award is only given to the heads of states and governments and the recipients are eminent personalities told by Doctor Anjali(?). The late Governor-General of Mauritius Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the late Swedish Premier Olof Palme, the President of Argentina Raúl Alfonsín and others.

Our second award is for the scholars, artists and people from the cultural field who have been richly contributing to the human civilisation through their respective professions and vocations. Award recipients are a Japanese medical scientist, a Norwegian singer, an Australian human rights activist, a Hungarian painter, a member of the British House of Lords and so on.

Unity International also gives awards for national understanding and one of the recipients of this award is Doctor P Satyanyanjali(?) who is presiding here today. And the other recipient who has already been announced is Khurshed Alam Khan who is the Governor of Karnataka.

Our fourth type of award is the ambassador of the year. And among the recipients are the ambassador for Argentina, China, Russia and so on.

The foundation is pleased to give its highest award, so far only for heads of state, to Her Holiness Doctor Nirmala Devi.

[Applause].

It will be presented to her later, on a mutually convenient date. It is ladies and gentlemen, one of the highest pleasure of announcing this award to Her Holiness.

Thank you.

Speaker: Excellencies, I now request Her Holiness, because everybody has been waiting for almost two hours to listen to Her. I request Her to give Her words of wisdom to the august members.

Shri Mataji: I am very much grateful for this great organisation that we should have international unity. Now as far as efforts are concerned, people have done lots of research, conferences and also, they have tried to convince people that without unity we cannot exist. The reason is that this world is one. We are all part and parcel of this world. But we are not connected as we are in the body, that even if we get a pinprick, the whole body knows about it.

Because we are not awakened. Our awareness is not such that we can feel this collective awareness within us. This collective awareness has been talked of by Jung, long time back, but not clear, as it should have been. In the collective awareness what happens is that, as Doctor Rai has told you, this Kundalini which is your own power.

So, as a result of that, you become part and parcel of the whole. You become aware of others. And this we call collective consciousness. About which Jung has talked. He has talked and described. But to understand it properly, we must have that experience.

The experience of becoming one with this all-pervading power of divine love.

You have heard about it – in the Bible, in the Koran, in all our Indian scriptures it is described. That there is a power, a very subtle power which does all the work for us. Now, we do not believe that it exists. And even when I tell people, they think it is something beyond our intelligence. But you have to go beyond your mind. That is very important.

Now, this mind power, which we consider to be very precious is just made by us; through our ego and through our conditioning. Mind, it is a myth. It is created by us, and we just play into the hand of our mind as we use our computers. The computer has been made by us. And this computer is ruining us. In the same way, this mind controls us. And we always take guidance from this mind which is awake. I mean, if I say that you should not be shocked. Because we are very much identified with this mind.

I must tell you that if this mind goes on, it can make anyone mad. It can get identified with any idea. It can get identified with any person or stupid thing. And it can be [UNCLEAR]. So, it can lead human beings to wars or anything that will ruin unity between us. For example, I was talking to someone who wanted to have a separate state. I said why do you want to have a separate state.

So the gentleman said, “You see, then we can have the Prime Ministers”. I said, why? Because he wanted to become the Prime Minister. Now in our country, we have the same. Our country has been divided into three more countries like Burma was a part of our country, Sri Lanka was a part, Pakistan and we also have Bangladesh. Now if you go to these countries, you will be surprised that they are in a mess, complete mess.

For example, the people who fought for their freedom and separation, most of them were murdered. Like you know Habib-ur-Rehman was murdered. Then in Lanka Badrinayake was murdered. Then also again, Pakistan, Bhutto was murdered. These people, they wanted to have some kind of position so they started saying, “We must have a separate state, separate identity”. But for whom they fought? Fought for whom? But still, they do not see the point. By getting separated from the main land, how much they are suffering.

Now also in Europe, they have started a big campaign that we all should be united. Now, all that uniting is so artificial that it has affected the growth of these countries. I went to Greece in the beginning, it was very rich. But when I went later on people were saying, “ I don’t know why we joined this European market; we are not capable. They are going to rule us, these Germans are going to sit on us”. And I felt that even the unity, which was done, so-called, it was not done properly. I thought it was very, very artificial.

Otherwise, they would have been happy. Same in Russia I have seen how Belarus trying to come back Russia and I’ve told this to the Ukraine people, why are you separated from Russia. As it is, they are suffering. So the idea that one country should separate from another to achieve something – I have not seen any country which has achieved something better. So, this unity works in a different way – which is not artificial, which is within.

When you get your self-realisation as Doctor has told, then what happens is that you get within yourself, a new dimension. By which you feel the collective consciousness. You can feel it. On your fingertips, you can feel what is wrong with you, through self-knowledge. Also through the collective consciousness, you can feel what is wrong with others. So once that happens, unity comes so fast. I am Myself amazed; the way things are happening in Sahaja Yoga.

I went to Russia. I was a little shy of publicity. But when I went for My first trip to Leningrad, I was amazed. That two thousand people were sitting outside and two thousand people sitting inside. I just could not understand. How could these Russians take to Me so easily? But they said, “What about us? We cannot get inside these halls because it is [UNCLEAR]”. I said, “Does not matter, I will come back”. When I came there, all of them got realisation. I came out, they were still sitting there. “What about us?”. I said, “All right, you come tomorrow. I will be there in the morning”.

In Russia, we have big, big places there and lots of very beautiful gardens. “So you come and sit on the stairs, and I will talk to you”. You will be amazed, five to six thousand people came. Those who were inside, those who were outside and many others. I was amazed. I said, “How is it you have taken to Me? What have I done for you? What makes you think that I can you give something special?”. They said it is so obvious. I was surprised at their sensitivity. And I found Russians, also other Eastern bloc people are extremely sensitive.

One of the reasons for sensitivity, perhaps, maybe, I do not know, is because they think that they were oppressed or whatever it is. But the thing is, they have lost their sense of possession. They are not possessive. They were told by the government; you can take your flats and live there happily. They said, “No, no, no, do we do not want, you look after it”. The cars were given to them, they said, “No, no we cannot keep the cars in government control, we cannot control our cars, you take them”. They have no sense of conditioning in them. They are such a clean slate.

Another thing they do not know anything about any condition. Because they were not told about [UNCLEAR], they were never told about God, they were never told about all these things. Which is also creating problems in our country. I was so surprised that these people took to Sahaja Yoga so easily, that next program I had, we had eighteen thousand people. It is amazing the way Russians have taken to Sahaja Yoga.

I do not know the Russian language. They said, “Mother, you look like a Russian”. I said, “Maybe”.

And they were so sweet and so kind. And then we had a program of two hundred and fifty scientists. I must say Russia has developed science in such a subtle manner. They have a very deep science. And they all were there, I started telling them about science. To talk about something else may not be so good, so better start on science. One gentleman got up and said, “Mother, we have had enough of science. Now you please tell us the science of the Divine. We are anxious for it”.

That way, I must say the Indians are quite complacent. They (Russians) are really seekers of the truth. They want to know what is the truth, they want to know what is the Divine. Perhaps they were not allowed to know about [UNCLEAR/it] or whatever it is they have done. One thing I noticed about them is that they are really introspective. If you read any one of their great authors, even the hero will introspect. It is the temperament of introspection that has worked in them. And they want to know what are we doing, why are we here? And this has [UNCLEAR/led the way] that they have accepted Sahaja Yoga.

They are so deep, so deep, that even in a program of eighteen thousand, people got cured. Just by My entering. I was amazed. They told Me, “Mother, we got cured by Your lecture”. My lecture? It was that great. So much confidence they now have.

When there was this coup, I was also in Moscow. And I told them, “Do not worry about this coup that is happening”. You would be surprised. They said, “Mother, why should we worry? We are in the Kingdom of God”. Can you imagine? So sensible.

Mr [UNCLEAR] talked about Claes. He is really a remarkable man. He just listened to one of My lectures. He studied it to his depth. And I cannot explain how a man so learned, so well educated, how could he take to Sahaja so easily. Because intellectual people have their brains very much troubled with their thoughts and ideas. Somebody meets one type of a person, he becomes identified with him, another type of a person, he becomes identified. You listen to somebody’s lecture, that lecture goes into your head. So that whole the time, the brain is covered with outside ideas which are not yours.

Unless and until they are your experiences, they are not real. And to get this experience is very easy. Of course, this, our country is a country of great humans. I must say, even in China, I was surprised when I went there, they came and asked Me, “Mother, is this the treasure of which Chinese talk about? The treasure of spirituality is within?”. But they have read about it. They know about it. They are all just waiting to get something out of us. But here I find not that much.

Here we are busy with, I do not know what. And we have no time to pay attention to ourselves, to know ourselves, which is told by everyone. Christ has said, “Know yourself”. Muhammad Saheb has said, unless and until you know yourself you will not progress. I mean there is no religious scripture who has said about it, that you should know your Self. You should have Self- knowledge. It takes you beyond your mind and beyond science.

Doctorsaab has asked Me to talk about meta-science. I do not want to discuss about something which is meta-science. Science, as you know, has its own limitations. First of all, it is amoral. There is no morality. And so, science can go any further, anywhere – you kill people, destroy countries, and you do not feel anything. Because it is amoral. Now, morality does not mean outside restriction, but it means [UNCLEAR], compassion and love. Pure love for others is morality. In that pure love, you understand what is to be done, what is not to be done.

But if you artificially start anything like a moral [UNCLEAR] or something, such people can become extremely dry and also very hot-tempered. It should come from within, that you should know that you are nothing but a pure Spirit. You are not this body or mind, you are not this ego, you are not these emotions, but beyond that. You are the pure Spirit. And once you become – even knowing it is not sufficient – becoming is the point. If you become that, then you will be amazed, how great it is. Not that you become collectively consciousness automatically, but also you become a fountain of love as [UNCLEAR]. Unless and until this happens, you cannot bring it in [UNCLEAR/use].

For example, I have been working Sahaja Yoga at a level which I would not call at a government level or any official level. I never tried to disturb My husband’s office or anything. But I was just standing on My own. First of all with seven hippies. Gradually it grew up into such a sweet thing.

Then we went to Russia, Africa, Eastern bloc and most of the European countries, even to America and South America. It was, just people felt that say if one person was from South America, he said, “Mother, what about South America? When are You coming to South America? We need You very much there”. When I went there, I found so many seekers. They are not seeking money, power, nothing. They are just seeking, that is all.

Now, I must tell you a sweet story about Germans. First, they are so [UNCLEAR/full of seeking]. First time I went to Russia, then twenty-five Germans came to Moscow. I said, “How are you here?”. They were Sahaja Yogis. They said, “Mother, don’t You think that we Germans killed so many Russians? Don’t You think that it is our duty that we should come and give them what they need?” – with so much love and so much compassion. Look at these Germans, they are really so sweet, so soft, you will not believe that they have anything common with Hitler.

Then there were Austrians; they are also Germans. So they went to Israel. I said, “Why did you go to Israel?”. There was no arrangement for anything. Just they went and stayed there. They said, “Mother, the thing is that we felt very responsible for these Israeli Jews. Because so many have been killed in our country. And so we cannot forgive ourselves and we have to do something about it”. Imagine, Germans going to Israelis and talking about that. And they caught hold of some very nice, young people about thirty or so.

But I was amazed that they came to Egypt. So I asked them, “How are you here?”. They said, “Why not? Because we have to make friends with Muslims. So we have to be here in Egypt”. I said, “Very good”. Automatically they are working out this unity. Automatically. I do not tell them. They just do it on their own, understanding what is needed, is an inner understanding, inner meaning. Now, this is what is really [UNCLEAR/something to be proud of]. That we human beings are capable of tremendous peace if we fall into this ocean of Love.

And we do it in such a beautiful manner, such a sweet manner that you cannot believe that they are human beings. They are acting like angels. They are absolutely beyond all limitations of the human mind.

The other day I read an announcement or rather, news about a gentleman who was saying that “I am going to start a jihad”. For what? To get rid of all the immorality they have in the West and all sorts of things, the drinking and all other things he was describing. So, one Sahaja Yogi telephoned Me, “Mother, what is the need to do jihad for that? There is Sahaja Yoga to get rid of all these things. We all were drunkards, we were all doing all kinds of nonsensical things, we believed in all kinds of immoral things”. We don’t need to do jihad for that. You just get it yourself, get so much cleaned and above all these things that are within us, what we call in Sanskrit “apadhi” meaning all these appendages within us fall off.

By itself, it happens. I assure you it happens. It will happen to you also. There is nothing special. Because this Kundalini is your own. And this Kundalini when it rises, it just works out. It is your own mother, your individual mother, it knows everything about you. And when she gives you your second birth she is very happy. Very. You all can have that.

Specially for Indians, I would say, we have so many seekers. So many seekers. So many great incarnations. It is like some lotuses have come out and the rest is still just [UNCLEAR]. Now we have to understand that we Indians are born in this great country of yoga, because of our previous lives, maybe. Maybe some sort of blessings.

But we are not taking advantage of it. Problem is, we are not taking advantage of this Yogabhoomi. It can very easily give you yoga and give you all the blessings of the Divine. We have to try, and we have to work it out. The meta-science part is that I can tell you so many things about the soul, about so many things that have not been explained so far, through Sahaja Yoga.

For example, the first chakra. (in Hindi): Is it not here (Mother may be referring to the chakra chart).

Sahaja Yogi: It is there.

Shri Mataji: The first chakra called as Mooladhara. See, this chakra, it is made of carbon atoms. Now carbon atoms, the [UNCLEAR/symbol] of carbon atoms is “C”. If you take hold of a carbon atom and take a photograph, what you will see, you will be amazed. If you see from left to the right, the same thing looks like Omkara. Just like Omkara. But if you see from down upwards, you will see alpha and omega. Christ has said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega” and he is the incarnation of Shri Ganesh. It can be proved.

So many things can be proved. I may not be able to tell you all that in this short time. But I would say that there are many things that can be proved, the source of all these things can be proved. Another thing is that when you get Self-realisation you can get the cool breeze coming out of your hands and you can feel the all-pervading power. Now with this thing, you can say what centre you are catching. Because these are seven centres on the right hand, seven centres on the left hand.

You can easily feel on your fingertips, the different centres. Even a small boy can feel that. Anybody can feel that. Once you start feeling, anybody can tell you what is wrong with you. Or even you can tell what is wrong with you because you [UNCLEAR/sense it]. As I told you this morning, if there are ten children and they are realised souls, and if you put somebody before them and ask them what is wrong with him, they will raise one finger, all of them, the same. Because it is absolute knowledge.

So they will all raise the same finger. Supposing they raise this finger. There is something wrong the throat and if you ask the person, “Something wrong with your throat?”, he will say, “How do you know? I have not spoken; how do you know?”. I said, how do you know, is that the knowledge is communicated to you through this power, this is wrong with this person.

We are also in this country suffering from lots of false gurus and false [UNCLEAR/people]. Some of them were in jail and have come out, and have become great gurus, making big money and all. And especially they take to rich people. They go to any city and they find out who is the monied man. Who is rich and who is in power. Who has a big position? And they approach them. These people, actually, you can find them out on your fingertips. Because you will just start feeling it.

It is written clearly in the Koran that your fingers will speak, your hands will speak, at the time of “kiyama”, at the time of resurrection. They will speak and tell you about yourself and others. You can feel your own centres and you can feel the centres of others. Supposing you know how to control and correct your centres, you can also correct the centres of others.

Now the curative that comes to you, it is not a big miracle. Because all these seven centres, these are responsible for your physical, mental and emotional being. And above all, the spiritual being. [UNCLEAR]. And that is the personality which has a complete union. Not only himself, because he will be deeply integrated. There will be no conflict within himself. He will be absolutely peaceful. And outside also, he will be very genuine, very loving and he will win over everyone.

Sahaja Yoga has another little problem that if one Sahaja Yogi goes somewhere – we had one Sahaja Yogi who came to us in London and then he went to Italy. He went to Italy, he told Me, “Mother, I am feeling very frustrated, I am feeling no cool breeze, there are no Sahaja Yogis”. I said, “All right, I will go”. I went there, we had a program and so many became Sahaja Yogis. And then we were amazed at how they have grown. I do not know how many, thousands, thousands are there.

Like that Sahaja Yoga started spreading, not by Me I would say but people who went from here to there. Like one seed is transferred from one place to another, there are many seeds which transfer, and they sprout. Now among these Sahaja Yogis how they [UNCLEAR/love], it is very surprising. Extremely surprising how they love each other. There was one Sahaja Yogi whose mother was torturing him, and he was extremely fed up. He said, “Mother, I want to die. I don’t want to live”. I said, “No, no, do not say that”. “No, I will take another life and I will come back”, and all that.

And when this bomb blast came, he was the only Sahaja Yogi who died. But from all over the world the inquiries came, from all over the world. People said, “You must do something about this, and you must know where to bury him. And he was a saint”, and this and that. I mean, Bombay people were amazed, in the municipality, how this one gentleman had died and all over the world people were disturbed. If something happens to somebody, say in Australia, all the Sahaja Yogis all over the world start working on him. It is surprising how they feel for each other.

As if, I told you if there is one prick here, the whole body knows about it, in the same way, this becomes a living organisation of people who are realised souls. They are so aware, so aware. Whether it is Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, or could be European countries or could be American.

Now, Africa, I was told, there are four hundred very strong Sahaja Yogis. I have never been to Africa Myself. And I was really amazed to see there are four hundred Sahaja Yogis in one city of South Africa. Now what they are doing is to collect more and more Sahaja Yogis. And that is how they are working. It is very surprising how it works and where it works.

For example, I was thinking, Maharashtra is good to work because they have such great saints like Gyaneshwara and all that. But Maharashtra is a hopeless case I think, now I have given up. They are all intellectual people, all useless, just go on arguing, arguing to no end. Though they have so many saints, so many people to tell them about it. Gyaneshwara is a great saint who lived there. Either they are ritualistic, “karma-kandi” or they are intellectuals. So Sahaja Yoga is not meant for them.

I am very sorry to say because I took My birth in Maharashtra. Because people in Maharashtra are so impervious. But I was surprised, in Delhi, earlier I used to say Delhi is [UNCLEAR/busy] and all that, nothing will work out. Delhi, it is working out very well. But I was more surprised about U.P. I was married in U.P. and what I knew about U.P. people, was they used to behave very proudly. Eat well and enjoy life. Very lazy and I should say people who indulged in all kinds of drinking and gossips and all those things. That is all. Such a limited life.

But in Lucknow suddenly, it spread out like fire. It is spreading so fast there. I was amazed by how it has taken place, in Benares also, and also now in Bihar. But most surprising was in Bengal. First time I went there, there was only one lady in the program. Now I cannot have a program there at a hall, I have to have it in a very a big ground or a big stadium.

Anyway. Where it spreads, God knows. Where it is congenial, one cannot say. Very surprising. And this is what it is that, if you are really wanting to have peace of mind, this is what you call a mother’s temptations. “Pralobhan” as they call it. Mother says, “You want to take the medicine, go take the chocolate”. Same thing we say, “If you really want to have unity, [UNCLEAR]”. As I told you at the very beginning [UNCLEAR]. And Sahaja Yoga will work very fast. Because that is the only way you can get natural, inborn, spontaneous love.

We have a program every year in a very far-fetched place called Ganpatipule. There, I was amazed, people come from all over the world. There are some rich, some are poor, some are [UNCLEAR]. We do not have many arrangements there for all these people, because we did not have much money or all these things. But they do not want it. They can live wherever they are, they are enjoying themselves. I told them, “Don’t you think it is very uncomfortable?”. They said, “Mother, we are just sitting in the comfort of the Spirit. Our Spirits are so comfortable, we don’t bother”.

They do not bother Me that this is not good, that is not good, nothing. Just they enjoy. And if you see the way all these nationalities enjoy themselves, you will be surprised, that the unity in their rational [UNCLEAR]. There is such beautiful understanding. Such a beautiful flow of enjoyment. Of course, they pull each other’s leg sometimes, but for fun. All the time they are full of joy and happiness. All these petty things like rivalry, competition, all this drops out. They have no time for all this because they have all become the saints.

And it has been said by so many that, these are men of God and they will become the inheritor. Not only capable, but it is their birthright.

We have so many of them now, surprising I never knew there would be so many Sahaja Yogis. I never understood that, because there used to be one or two, like Sufis and they suffered so much, one you meet here, another in Turkey, one in Tunisia, one everywhere. I went to Tunisia; I was amazed by how it worked there. And all these petty problems are finished.

Of course, as Doctor has told you, it cures. That is nothing great. It cures. [UNCLEAR]. Because you develop the witness state by which you just, you do not react. You just watch. This helps you to understand yourself better. You just change completely, the panorama of your own being, and people who come close to you are also amazed. “What has happened to this gentleman. He was a fighting cock, a shouting fellow, how has he become so quiet? Why he has become so loving and why has he become so much interested in us.”

The personality of our, the human personality, is as described in the shastras as an egg. And a bord is also called as “dwija” means born twice. And the one who knows the “Brahma” is also known as “dwijaha” means twice-born. Now once you become one with the Divine, you are born again, in the real sense of the world. It is not like you just put up a signboard saying, “I am born again”. But if you are born again, it means that you have powers.

The greatest power is that you love. And you enjoy your love. This power works.

Now we have a lady here from Mexico, I told about her in My program. I never knew she was here. Luckily she is here. So I will tell her story. She is a person who met Me because she was working with the U.N. She met Me in New York.

She got her realisation, very easily. And she went very deeply into her emotions. Then she got early retirement to go to Mexico and her son was studying, a very young one. She wrote to Me that, Mother there is some disease, a Mexican special disease, which only very few people in my family get when they are sick. At a very old age. They get some sickness and then they get this disease. But they are very old, when they are just dying, they get this disease. But unfortunately, my son has got it and he is a young boy. And I do not know what to do.

So I started wondering, now what to do. I was just putting My attention. So the first letter came like this, the second one came like that. The third one she said, “I implore you. Save my child”. And the fourth one came saying that, “Mother, I am amazed. My son is cured”.

[Applause].

All the doctors have said that. Then it is not a miracle, it is not a miracle. It looks miraculous. So many patients have been cured. Doctor Rai has cured so many patients also. He has now gone to Vashi where I have built a humble type of a hospital. He is working there. And for the poor, we do not charge. We never used to charge anything but then they asked us, so we said all right ten rupees. But otherwise, people who are going and staying there have to pay.

And so many have been cured. And so many have [UNCLEAR] through Sahaja Yoga. So curing is just a “pralobhan”, we call it a temptation. For you to understand that more than that would help. It is not the end of it. I have so many wrestlers, come to Me and say, “Mother, give me peace because I am now on the verge of collapse”. So I cannot understand the wrestlers who have the best health, best muscles, best everything should think like that. Then it is better that I should get peace in my life.

So to get peace, this collective consciousness has to become one with the divine power. It is the greatest opportunity for all human beings and for all the world. Enjoy the real unity that exists within us. Now, this is the one point, is the very important one – that I cannot force it on anyone. It is your freedom. You have to use your freedom.

I have seen some people who have got realisation. They go very deep. But some just get all right. It is just like the parable of Christ that some seeds got sprouted and fell on the path. So, there are some who just get sprouted and do not come. But to depth people just jump into and are great. I mean, I am Myself surprised how people all over the world have worked it out. And how such unity of a real nature, absolute understanding and joy-giving unity exists.

I was asked to speak only for ten minutes. I did not know how much I would say all this in ten minutes. The time would be too much. So, I hope you all take to Sahaja Yoga. Just take to it. Then we will see. Thank you.

[Applause].

Speaker: Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very thankful to Her Holiness, Doctor Nirmala Devi for Her celestial message. Celestial message to all of us. And we hope that She will keep on Her gracious blessings on us in future also. Because all of us spiritually benefit by Her words of wisdom.

Now, in our program, there is a very distinguished personality present here. In fact, he does not require any introduction, but still, as a formality, I have to say something about him. I mean, Sir C.P. Srivastava, who is a very well-known personality in our country. Needless to say, he was a very brilliant officer in the Indian Administrative Services. And later on, he became Secretary to our late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

He was in Tashkent where Shastri died. And he has written a book also, on the late Prime Minister. It is very informative, on, one of the best biographies written on the subject so far. Doctor Srivastava has held very important positions in the government and in the United Nations. He was the Chairman of the Shipping Corporation of India and then he went to United Nations as Secretary-General.

[There is a break in the recording].

Sir C.P. Srivastava: I know you have been here for a long time and I assure you, I have no intention of holding you up for more than a few minutes. But since I have been given the honour of saying a few words, I will certainly take advantage of that. I am grateful to Unity International for that privilege. I am going to speak about my own experience of Sahaja Yoga and how I have seen human beings being transformed.

I have worked in government offices and without being modest, I have provided good [UNCLEAR], I have worked very hard. But I assure you, I have not been able to transform even one single individual. All that happened was perhaps, a few people took my example and started working very hard. But to transform a human being is an impossibility.

You can transform a machine but a human being who has so many options; it is impossible, normally, to transform a human being. I do not know what your experience is, but in my experience, it is extremely difficult.

Can you hear me there at all?

Audience: Yes.

Sir C.P. Srivastava: And I said, “Unless and until I see Sahaja Yoga working, I am sorry, I will not accept it”. And I know that if you do not get people of that kind, it will be a problem. But I did not see initially what it was all about. And then something happened.

I was transferred from India to the U.K. to the International Maritime Organisation. I was sent there. And very early something happened which changed me and changed the course of events in some way, about this matter. What happened was this, quickly. We were living outside London. One day my wife went to Piccadilly Circus and found a young man lying there on the [UNCLEAR], a white young man. And he was obviously in great trouble. She said, “Why are you here? What is the matter with you? Don’t you have anyone to look after you here?”.

The boy said, “I am sorry. I have no one”, and he was suffering from all kinds of diseases. Drugs and so on. She said, “Come to Me”, and She brought him home in the car. And when I returned in the evening, I found a young man sitting in my drawing-room, in my house, whom I had never seen. And the more surprising was that he was wearing my clothes.

So I thought I was seeing some sort of an apparition. I proceeded, went to my wife and asked, “What on earth is the matter? Who is he?”. And then She explained to me, this is the story. So I said, “That is it? Thank God. I am happy you have brought him home”. And I will not go into details, but he stayed with us for about two, three months. And gradually, his transformation took place.

And within two months that boy was cured of his diseases, he blossomed into a beautiful young man, he was an engineer from Australia who had gone astray. He went back to his mother and father. He became a good man, a happy man, and can you imagine the happiness of the parents of that boy to have received him back.

And that I thought, was a very good thing. And every Sahaja Yogi is a miracle. To transform someone, even an evil person to a good person – I have no other words for that. Now thereafter I began to see people who were accustomed to drugs. And they came up just overnight. You don’t know, it is not a fable – I have seen it myself. I told you already, I am a very hard nut, I am not easy to convince. So when you see a person who gives up drugs overnight, what do you say?

And he says, drugs have gone away, I have not given up anything. Alcoholism goes away, immorality goes away. You can quote it. [UNCLEAR], Sahaja Yoga, go there. We [UNCLEAR/1:08]. And so, I began to believe. And I accepted it. I could see I was wrong, and my eyes were opened.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have put very briefly exactly how I see Sahaja Yoga. [UNCLEAR] aside, if you see the world, the developed world or the developing world, everywhere people are worried. They do not have peace in society. The people who have two refrigerators, two cars, are they happy? No. Those who do not have enough to eat, are they happy? No, obviously.

Why? And I will tell you my reason. And the reason is this. You know, communism and capitalism, both have created a society in which ethics has lost its value. Communism believes in the supremacy of the state, and capitalism in its extreme form believes in the immorality of society. And I am not saying [UNCLEAR] morals, I am saying the ethical ways have been forgotten. And all over the world, people are tortured. They are looking for something new.

The established religions with millions (of people) following have unfortunately become ritualistic. They are really not transforming human beings from [UNCLEAR]. The result is you go to some lecture, or go to a mosque, and we know people in this country are very religious, but the [UNCLEAR] is white, yellow, Asian. [UNCLEAR]. Because we believe in one united family. This is the message of Unity International. It believes that ultimately, all people are the creatures of one almighty God.

Almighty God, the Father, cannot distinguish between one group and another group. Now that God has given you, me, everybody, a spark; a spark that is inside us. A spark which is there. If only you want to know. You have heard of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. It is in you, these two persons. You can, if you want, awaken Doctor Jekyll in you – if you really want. No one can repost.

But if you want to be good, there is a way. It is to awaken your own power. You do not need somebody to give you this power. Somebody cannot give you this power. You have your own power. All you have to do is that you dare to awaken it and you become good. Every simple man. And if you become good, then good governs your day-to-day activities. Then you will not think of evil. Harming somebody. You will not think of abusing somebody.

You will think of doing good. Because inherently human beings are good. Because Sahaja Yoga helps humans to awaken the goodness within them. And to exorcise the evil. And a good human being is badly needed in Sahaja Yoga. It is only on the basis of being a good human being you will have a good family, you will good children, you will have good states and you will have unity.

Otherwise, you know all this effort will be futile. Personally, I was at the United Nations for sixteen years. I think the U.N. should be promoting human resource development, not for promoting enterprise, symmetry only. They should be promoting a better human being. Combining normal education with some education on the ethical lines.

Now I am not talking very high principles of morality. The basics, the basic elements of ethics, which are common to all religions. And that is Sahaja Yoga. Sahaja Yoga is now spreading. She is my wife and [UNCLEAR], what can I do about that? I have to acknowledge and accept it. She has been in many countries and I have been to many countries myself. Initially, I was a distant observer. I am still not too close. But I see this happening every day. So my sole prayer is that human beings everywhere will take advantage of this.

Her main contribution is not, in my view – people have talked of Kundalini before. Her main contribution is She says, sitting in a gathering, five thousand, ten thousand people, they can get realisation, if they want. That is Her contribution. In other words, this is a new hope for mankind.

Formerly, you know people said you go to a “rishi” (sage). They would say you sit down here for ten years, and you do this penance and you do that. No. You remain normal, get an education, get [UNCLEAR/married and have children], have a family. But be good. This message of goodness can be passed on to a gathering, or to a few or to individuals. And that is the hope for mankind.

A large number can get the benefit, if only they want. I hope I have not taken too much of your time. Thank you very much.

[Applause].

Speaker: Thank you, Mister Srivastava. After Mr Srivastava’s very thought-provoking speech,

[Break in recording. Another speaker takes the podium].

Speaker (in Hindi): Srivastavaji, Doctor Rai, Shri Saxena, friends, I am happy and pleased on this occasion which has been organised by Unity International Foundation and that too on yoga, yogashastra. The experiences that Shri Nirmala Devi has, and especially, what Doctor Rai told us; after listening to that – the ancient yogashastras and scriptures that we have in this country, we are gradually forgetting them. They reminded us again.

I will give you an example. We are [UNCLEAR/original inhabitants here], but outsiders whether they are from Russia, or Germany or other higher places, they show more interest in this. I had a friend in Hyderabad. He was a very big man [UNCLEAR]. His son had an interest in buying and collecting antiques. He came upon an ancient manuscript which was written on “tadpatra” (palm/papyrus). He kept it and then he felt, ”What will I do keeping this with me, better donate it to a museum or university”. He went and offered it, “I have this, if it is useful to you, please take it”. And no one paid any attention to it. Said, “You keep it with you”. Some friends came to him from a museum of [UNCLEAR/natural history] in Hyderabad, it is also here.

While talking it came up that he had such a thing. They saw it and said, to keep it safe and not give it to anyone. And they called two German professors. They took one look and took it with them for two months. They studied it non-stop, stopping maybe only to eat. After two months they called and said, “Can we have it?”. He said, “Why?”. They said, “This has very important information and we need it for our university”. And he got an opportunity to go to Germany.

He was curious and asked them what was in the manuscript. They replied, “This ancient manuscript is full of knowledge. From this, we wish to extract the knowledge of science and medicines within it”. What I mean to say is, as Mataji has said. She went to Russia. Why did people come in their thousands to meet Her? They wanted to know what this science is. They were curious about imbibing it. And we are forgetting.

How many people from us will come today? Very few. Very few people will try to understand. And to just any other gathering, they will go in their thousands. They are of no use to us. What I mean to say is that our ancient scriptures that are full of knowledge about yoga and just any type of science, it is essential to know that. Mister Srivastava talked about peace. The people of Europe despite being wealthy, being millionaires, they still do not have peace.

I will give an example. I had the opportunity to go to Bombay. I was waiting at the airport. There was a European lady also there. She had a scripture in her hand, and she gave it to me saying, “Read this”. I asked her where she was from. She said she was from [UNCLEAR] and that she had her home here in Juhu. Hare Rama Hare Krishna is there.

I got the opportunity to go there. I saw there were a few Indians there, but other people were there. English, French, Germans, Americans, quite a few people, but very few among us. And they were quite young also in their twenties and well educated too. I asked them about their education – some were doctors, engineers, philosophers, there were also millionaires. I asked them why they were here. They said, “We have everything, but we do not have mental peace”.

What I mean to say is that in our ancient scriptures, the yoga and shastras that are there, there is a need for them. I am happy that Nirmalaji has undertaken this task. I have been told that her kin are spread all over the world. Europe, Africa, America and all the countries in Asia. And people are taking an interest in it.

I would like to say one more thing. We have here people of a [UNCLEAR] type. Among sadhus, saints, rishis – what do we call that type of animal? – the kind of living beings who trick and betray people. People have told me so. I have been to many countries. I have been to Italy, I have been to Europe, I have been to China, I have been to Japan, I have been to other countries in Asia. Wherever I always hear about two types of things. There are a few people who explain about the shastras, the Vedas and show the path in the true sense of the word. There are some people who, for their selfishness betray the world.

[UNCLEAR]. I am happy that Doctor Nirmala Devi is active in spreading this yogashastra in the true sense. And today’s event has been organised by [UNCLEAR].

Unity International Foundation has been performing an important task in all these years. I first came to Delhi thirty years ago, thirty, thirty-five years ago. I became a Member of Parliament [UNCLEAR]. At that time, the important work that was being performed through this organisation, when I see it, I am happy to see that they choose those people who are truly engaged in the welfare of mankind. They have honoured and encouraged them.

[Applause].

[UNCLEAR/earlier presented to Doctor Nirmala Devi at (?) Hall]. Today, I am delighted to honour Doctor Nirmala Devi once again.

[Another speaker takes the podium]

Speaker (in Hindi): [UNCLEAR/Raviji] thank you. You referred to some hall. I think, seventeen years before today, we had given an award to Paula Pal (?) in this very hall. Paula Pal has personally come from the station to receive. Paula Pal and her three children were here and She(Mother?) had come to give the award. So we are creating history again.

So what happened is that, at Unity International, as Raviji said, and we go back a long way – for us stopping bombing or making guns go silent is not going to help. Peace will come only if you transform yourself within. Your thoughts will change, and a new form of humanity will take birth. And that humanity, when they have no enmity or hatred towards anyone, then peace will be achieved automatically. So this a very nice philosophy of Shri Mataji and we respect it highly.

And we appeal that Mataji continues to support us and we continue working further in this domain.

[Applause].

Now only the last item is left and that is tea. But before that, we would like to propose the vote of thanks. And I would like to invite the very dynamic, [break in recording].

Sahaja Yogi: Doctor Nirmala Devi, Sir C.P. Srivastava, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. We have all gathered here this evening for the Unity International Conference to bestow the Peace award to Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. We are indeed very fortunate and blessed to be in Her presence. She has immersed us in joy and complete happiness.

We are the seekers and You have shown us the way to the truth so beautifully and exquisitely. We thank You for that. Shri Mataji, we thank You for showing us the path. For showing us the way of uniting our individual consciousness so we all feel the all-pervading Divine Love, the paramchaitanya. The Divine power that knows no nationality, no boundaries, no race nor religion. No caste, nor creed, nor colour. Our own collectivity as Sahaja Yoga is the prime example of all this.

My own personal experience has been a remarkable one. I could never imagine that a day would come when we would sit together; different people of different backgrounds, different races from all over the world as one. This is really the purpose of Unity International and I am ever so grateful to Unity International for bestowing this honour upon Shri Mataji.

We are also extremely grateful to Sir C.P. Srivastava for gracing us again. Your personal experiences and observations of Sahaja Yoga are indeed enlightening. This is the first time I ever had to speak publicly. And I admit I would like to hear you speak again very soon. It is a real pleasure to hear you speak. Thank you very much, Sir C.P.

Honourable Shri Satyanaraynaji, for the knowledge that you gave up and your advice to us, we are grateful. Many thanks to you.

My thanks to Shri Anil for organising this function and the rest of the Unity International team and all of Shri Mataji’s distinguished guests here. My thanks to Mr Jyoti Jain who announced the award of Unity International with [UNCLEAR] to Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. I must also thank Professor U.C. Rai for his explanation of Sahaja Yoga, of the chakras and how our bodily systems work. I must tell you at this stage that I myself have been in Sahaja Yoga for just about two years now. And it really had transformed my life. It has radically altered the way I speak, the way I think, the way I react to people and the way I look at the world. I am sure that all of you will experience the same bliss and joy and peace that we have found in Sahaja Yoga.

I also thank Mr T.P. Seth for sponsoring this evening’s function and all those people who put in tremendous efforts in making this a success. Last but not least, please accept my gratitude and thanks for being present with us here today this evening. We are very honoured to have you here and on behalf of the organisers, I would like to invite you to tea in the adjoining room.

Thank you very much.

[Applause].

[Shri Mataji is conversing with attendees who are gathered around Her seat. End of recording].