Eternally Inspiring Recollections of our Divine Mother Sahaja Yogis’ stories of Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Volume 4 1987 - 1989 This book is humbly dedicated to our Divine Mother, Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi that Your name may be ever more glorified, praised and worshipped Thank You, Shri Mataji, for the warmth and simplicity and all the many ways in which You showered Your love upon us. And thank You for the great play of Shri Mahamaya that helped seekers to love and trust You, often without yet understanding the Truth that You were and are. The heart of this book is to remind us of the magic of Sahaja Yoga. The spirit of this book is to help our brothers and sisters all over the world, and also in the future, to know a small part of the beauty and glory of You, Shri Mataji, as a loving, caring Mother whose wonderful power of divine love dispelled and continues to dispel all our uncertainties. Sift now through the words that we found when we tried to remember. What follows is our collective memory, our story together. We ask Your forgiveness if our memories are less than perfect, but our desire is to share with others the love that You gave us, as best we can. Acknowledgements The editor would like to humbly thank all the people who have made this book possible. First and foremost we bow to Her Holiness Shri Mataji, who is the source and fulfilment of all, and who graciously encouraged the collection of these stories. Contents Chapter 1 1987 - January to March - India Chapter 2 1987 -April – England and Italy Chapter 3 1987 - May - Australia Chapter 4 1987 - June to August - England and America Chapter 5 1987 - August – England and France Chapter 6 1987 - September to November – India, Europe and England Chapter 7 1987 - December - India Chapter 8 1988 - January to March - India Chapter 9 1988 - April to June - England and Europe Chapter 10 1988 - July – Europe and America Chapter 11 1988 - July and August – Europe Chapter 12 1988 - October - India Chapter 13 1988 - November and December – India Chapter 14 1989 - January to April - India and Nepal Chapter 15 1989 - April and May – Italy and England Chapter 16 1989 - May - Southern Europe Chapter 17 1989 - June - The Americas Chapter 18 1989 - July – Europe Chapter 19 1989 - August to October - Europe East and West Chapter 20 1989 - December – India Chapter 1 1987 – January to March India India Tour 1986/87 – Mr Dhumal´s Farm We were on the Maharashtra tour going east to Rahuri, and Mr Dhumal invited all the yogis to stay the night at his farm. We arrived quite late, tired and hot as usual from the long journey. I had a desire to take a photo of our Mother and saw an appropriate opportunity, as Mother was approaching us towards the house, I quickly went ahead of Her and crouching on the ground in the garden I took this photo. Shri Mataji at Mr Dhumal’s farm All the yogis gathered in a big makeshift tent with a podium set up for the music programme. At first we were all expecting to have dinner, at least our stomachs were telling us logically that we were hungry. Instead the concert started with Indian classical music. After several performances, we were offered green sprigs of channas or chickpeas. Eating them was like manna from heaven, we truly enjoyed the offering, with the hope that dinner will be served soon. The music just continued and went on for hours as our attention sometimes got lost in the thought of the dinner. Meanwhile the vibrations was working and balancing us, we started enjoying the music and completely forgot about time and our hunger. Our Mother accompanied us in the concert and was aware of everything and nothing escaped Her attention. After several hours the music stopped. ‘You have enjoyed the beautiful music, at first your attention was on the dinner, but the vibrations took your attention away from the food – now the dinner is waiting for you,’ Shri Mataji said. We all had a gratifying smile on our faces. Joaquin Orús Around the villages We were in a village in Maharashtra on one of the India tours in the mid 1980’s and the electricity broke down when Shri Mataji was about to give an introductory talk. She had some of the Sahaja Yogis sing Adi Ma and Jogawa, and then just asked the people to put their hands out and feel the cool breeze, which they did. Also, at that village where there was a procession with Shri Mataji on a bullock cart, and She later told us what the driver had said to Her. He spoke so eloquently about Her; it was like the devotional poetry of Kabir, even though he was a simple countryman. She also said he had been a great king in a past lifetime. About Paithan – a village which was originally called Pratishthan and had been the capital of the Shalivahanas’ kingdom – or Satavahanas as they were sometimes called - Shri Mataji’s ancestors. We went there once on the tour in 1987, and there were a lot of ruins and it was a very poor village now. Shri Mataji gave a talk, a public programme to the villagers. They did not even have electricity and someone fanned Her with a folded up newspaper, and after the programme we went and had tea in the headman’s house. Mother told us this instructive story about the sort of misunderstandings created by Westerners. There was a missionary who went to an Indian village. He told the villagers they were sinful and guilty, but they would be saved if they confessed their sins. When the missionary came to leave, the village headman said: ‘Thank you, sir, for telling us something we did not know. You have told us that we are guilty. We did not know that before.’ Linda Williams Pasta for everyone In January 1987 Shri Mataji invited 300 Western yogis from the India Tour to stay at Pratishthan. She graciously enquired what they would like for lunch. The Italians, who were rather homesick, promptly responded, ‘Pasta!’ There were only ten packets of pasta in the kitchen and each packet should serve about six people. Shri Mataji started cooking. Everyone had the pasta, and the Italians ate several helpings, yet there was enough left for another meal. Yogi Mahajan It was done by silence My husband and I went to India to look at textiles in Gujarat, not for Sahaja Yoga. When we got back to Delhi we found there was going to be Shivaratri Puja. Shri Mataji asked to see my husband and I went along with him, thinking I would sit outside and wait for him. However we both went in and sat with Mother and somebody had brought the kind of fabrics that we had been looking at in Gujarat. Mother described much more to us and taught us about the symbolism of the designs that these simple fabrics had. I found that relaxed me a lot, looking at something that I had already seen. It was amazing the way Mother worked on me because I was much too shy to say anything. She took Her shawl off and it was very, very soft. She said it was so soft that it would pass through my wedding ring and yet it was as warm as a blanket. ‘Feel it,’ She said. My husband and I held it. Then Shri Mataji held it and it was as if the silence was complete. I just felt as if Shri Mataji was saying, ‘I’ve got you.’ I remember this complete feeling of peace and 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 Hume So tuned in In 1987, when we were staying with Shri Mataji at a Sahaja Yogi’s house on Prabhat Rd, Pune, a lady called Mrs Bhikule was there and she was so tuned in to Shri Mataji that she would suddenly wake up in the night. ‘Ji, Shri Mataji,’ she would say, and would go to Shri Mataji’s room. ‘I was just about to call you,’ Shri Mataji would smile and say. Deepa Mahajan A cautionary tale In the eighties, Shri Mataji came to live in Pune. ‘Shri Mataji now that You have come to live here all will be well with Pune,’ I said to Her. ‘No, it does not happen like that. In My presence all the bhuts come out,’ She replied. ‘Shri Mataji, You must come to my house and have food,’ a Sahaja Yogi from Delhi would ask Shri Mataji daily. She would avoid by making some excuse or the other. One day he insisted. ‘Shri Mataji my house will be blessed by Your coming,’ he said. ‘No son, it is not like that. Sometimes skeletons in the cupboard come tumbling out. You must be careful never to insist on My coming. If I want to I will come,’ She told him. This fact was confirmed when Shri Mataji came to Pune before Pratishthan was built and stayed at the house of a Sahaja Yogi. She could not sleep and was very uncomfortable for two days. On the third day She told us there was something there that was disturbing Her. She told us to look around. Then She pointed to a picture of Her on the wall and said that something was not right with it.