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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".<ref name=coney-women>{{cite book |author=Coney, Judith|publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |title=Sahaja Yoga &ndash; Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement |chapter=Chapter 6: A woman's role in Sahaja Yoga |pages=119-144}}</ref> 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 [[Manusmriti|"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.<ref name=coney-women/>
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".<ref name=coney-women>{{cite book |author=Coney, Judith|publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |title=Sahaja Yoga &ndash; Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement |chapter=Chapter 6: A woman's role in Sahaja Yoga |pages=119-144}}</ref> 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 [[Manusmriti|"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.<ref name=coney-women/>


Coney has written that Sri Mataji did not display consistent views on women but gave a number of messages about the status of women. One the one hand she said women are not inferior but described the sexes as complementary. She regretted what she saw as the loss of respect for women in society in both the East and West &ndash; a phenomenon she attribute to the work of "[[demon]]s". She viewed Western [[feminism]] suspiciously, seeing it as a "route to damnation" because it required women to deviate from their true nature.<ref name=coney-women/>
Coney has written that Sri Mataji did not display consistent views on women but gave a number of messages about the status of women. One the one hand she said women are not inferior but described the sexes as complementary. She regretted what she saw as the loss of respect for women in society in both the East and West, although she viewed Western [[feminism]] suspiciously, seeing it as a "route to damnation" because it required women to deviate from their true nature.<ref name=coney-women/>


=== Family ===
=== Family ===

Revision as of 04:04, 9 July 2019

Sahaja Yoga
FounderNirmala Srivastava (aka Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi)
Established5 May 1970
Practice emphases
kundalini, meditation, self-realization[1]

Sahaja Yoga is a new religious movement, founded in 1970 by Nirmala Srivastava (1923 – 2011).[2][3][4] Srivastava is more widely known as Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi or as "Mother" by her followers, who are called Sahaja yogis.[4][5]

Sahaja Yoga is not only the name of the movement, but also the meditation technique the movement teaches and the state of awareness that is said to be achieved by the technique.[6] According to the movement, this state is the state of self-realization produced by kundalini awakening and is accompanied by the experience of thoughtless awareness or mental silence.[7] The movement teaches the belief that self-realization through kundalini awakening is a transformation which can be experienced on the central nervous system and results in a more "moral, united, integrated and balanced" personality.[8]

Srivastava described Sahaja Yoga as the pure, universal religion integrating all other religions.[4] She also claimed that she herself was a divine incarnation,[9] more precisely an incarnation of the Holy Ghost, or the Adi Shakti of the Hindu tradition, the great mother goddess who had come to save humanity.[4][10] This is also how she is regarded by most of her devotees.[8] It has sometimes been characterized as a cult.[11]

Meaning of the name

The word 'Sahaja' in Sanskrit has two components: 'Saha' meaning 'with you' and 'ja' meaning 'born'.[9] 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."[12] and Yoga means union or yoking and refers to a spiritual path or a state of spiritual absorption. According to a book published by the movement, Sahaja Yoga means spontaneous and born with you meaning that the kundalini is born within us and can be awakened spontaneously, without effort.[7]

The term 'Sahaja Yoga' goes back at least to the 15th Century Indian mystic Kabir.[13] and has also been used to refer to Surat Shabd Yoga.[14]

In 2000, the term 'Sahaja Yoga' was trademarked in the United States by Vishwa Nirmala Dharma.[15]

History

Before starting Sahaja Yoga, its founder Nirmala Srivastava earned a reputation as a faith healer.[10] With a small group of devotees around her, she began spreading her message of Sahaja Yoga in India in the year 1970. As she moved with her husband to London, UK, she continued her work there, and year by year the movement grew and spread throughout Europe, by the mid-80's reaching North America. In 1989, Srivastava made her first trip to Russia and Eastern Europe.[3] Srivastava charged no money, insisting that her lesson was a birthright which should be freely available to all. "There can be no peace in the world until there is peace within," she said.[16]

Sahaja Yoga ashrams are present in diverse countries which include the following : Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Kuwait, Nigeria, United Kingdom, United States of America, but are not limited to the aforementioned countries.[17]

Beliefs

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.[10][4] There are however important elements of Christian origin, such as the eternal battle between good and evil.[10][4] 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.[10][4]

Sahaja Yoga beliefs are seen by the organisation as a re-discovered ancient knowledge[18] that should be treated respectfully and scientifically, like a hypothesis[19] and if found by experiments as truth, should be accepted.[20] Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi is considered to be an "avatar" by many of her followers and as a carrier of the divine presence which leads some critics to find the organization as cultic. Advanced concepts are not generally taught until a beginner is understood to have gained enough knowledge of their own subtle system through actual experience. Without direct experience of the meditation, some people have reported difficulties understanding or proceeding to the more advanced material. Sociologist, Judith Coney, for example, reported facing a challenge in getting behind what she called "the public facade".[n 1] She described Sahaja yogis as adopting a low profile with uncommitted individuals to avoid unnecessary conflict.[22]

Judith Coney observed that the movement tolerates a variety of world views and levels of commitment with some practitioners choosing to remain on the periphery.[23]

Meditation

The meditation technique taught in Sahaja Yoga emphasises the state of "thoughtless-awareness" that is said to be achieved.[24] The classification of meditation techniques is based on the amount of mental activity studied from a scientific point of view. At the high end of the thinking activity spectrum lie methods such as visualization. At the low end is mental-silence oriented techniques such as Sahaja Yoga Meditation and Zen meditation.[25] The technique of Mindfulness, where mental content is simply observed, lies towards the lower end of the spectrum. According to Manocha, Sahaja Yoga is the next logical step, where the meditator not only observes mental content without reaction, but regularly attains a state of no unnecessary mental content at all, while remaining in full control of their bodies and senses.[26] This state is the Eastern notion of the term ‘meditation’ where one actually feels a state of ‘mental-silence’, or ‘thoughtless-awareness’.[26] According to the founder of Sahaja Yoga, this state is the state of self-realization produced by kundalini awakening and is accompanied by the experience of thoughtless awareness or mental silence.[7]

Role of women

Religious sociologist Judith Coney has written that in general, Sri Mataji's vision for the role of women within Sahaja Yoga was one of "feminine domesticity and compliance".[27]

Some parents of Sahaja 'yogists', analyzing Mataji’s remarks, noted that women play a subordinate role.[11] 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".[11] 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".[27]

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".[27] 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.[27]

Coney has written that Sri Mataji did not display consistent views on women but gave a number of messages about the status of women. One the one hand she said women are not inferior but described the sexes as complementary. She regretted what she saw as the loss of respect for women in society in both the East and West, although she viewed Western feminism suspiciously, seeing it as a "route to damnation" because it required women to deviate from their true nature.[27]

Family

Human rights lawyer Sylvie Langlaude has described the configuration of familes within Sahaja Yoga as "unusual", noting that from birth children become familiarised with the movement's beliefs and Sri Mataji's status by being closely involved in its day-to-day rituals.[28]

The Subtle System – Chakras and Nadis

Chakra Kundalini Diagram

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 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.[n 2] The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience informs that there is no biomedical evidence of chakras.[30]

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,[31] the United States of America,[32] and Austria.[33] It is registered as a religion in Spain.[34]

The organization is governed by the World Council for the Advancement of Sahaja Yoga (WCASY), proposed in 2003 and formed the following year.[35][36]

In addition to directly promoting Sahaja Yoga, the council promotes Sahaja culture, runs schools, a health centre, a youth movement, and a project for the rehabilitation of "destitute women and orphaned children".

Membership statistics

There are no available statistical data about Sahaja Yoga membership. In 2001, the number of core members worldwide were estimated to 10,000, in addition to which around 100,000 practitioners more or less in the periphery were estimated to be found.[9] 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.[37] In a news article in Indian Express published on the occasion of Srivastava's death in 2011, however, Sahaja Yoga centers were told to be found in over 140 countries.[5]

Schools

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[43] and TakingITGlobal which aim at discussing global issues, and ways of solving them.

The Yuvashakti participated in the 2000 "Civil Society & Governance Project"[44] 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".[45][46]

Funding

The methods for practicing Sahaja Yoga are made available free of charge to those interested. According to the official Sahaja Yoga website there is a fee for attending international pujas to cover costs and voluntary dakshina.[47]

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". However, the movement had been criticised because of encouragement of its members to make donations to pay the travel charges for Mataji's visits to their respective countries.[48]

Cult allegations

Cult expert Jean-Marie Abgrall has written that Sahaja Yoga exhibits the classic characteristics of a cult in the way it conditions its members.[11] These include having a god-like leader, disrupting existing relationships, and promising security and specific benefits while demanding loyalty and financial support.[11] The true activities of the cult are hidden behind the projection of a positive image and an explicit statement that "Sahaja yoga is not a cult".[11]

Judith Coney found that most people who leave the movement voluntarily still had positive things to say about it.[n 1][49] A smaller group of ex-members have made complaints against the movement which have been reported in the press. In 2001, The Independent reported the allegation made by some ex-members, that Sahaja Yoga is a cult which aims to control the minds of its members.[50] In 2005, The Record reported that some critics who feel that the group is a cult have started their own websites.[51] In response to this, Sahaja yogis in one centre reflected on the ways in which some of their beliefs are disguised when in contact with non-members. Coney described this discussion as a "frank and revealing".[n 1]

A 2008 court case in Brussels ruled that Sahaja Yoga had been wrongly labelled as a cult by a Belgian state authority and awarded the group compensation.[52][53][54]

In 2013, De Morgen reported that the Belgian Department of State Security monitors how often politicians are contacted and lobbied by organizations. The list of organizations includes Sahaja Yoga.[55]

In 2001, The Evening Standard reported that Sahaja Yoga has been "described as a dangerous cult" and "has a dissident website created by former members". The reporter, John Crace, wrote about an event he attended and noted that a Sahaja Yoga representative asked him to feel free to talk to whomever he wanted. He remarked, "Either their openness is a PR charm offensive, or they genuinely have nothing to hide." He proposed that "one of the key definitions of a cult is the rigour with which it strives to recruit new members" and concluded that there was no aggressive recruitment squeeze.[56]

A 2001 INFORM leaflet says that the emphasis on complete devotion has led to problems and controversy. There is a culture amongst a minority of Sahaja yogis to believe that those who deviate in particular ways may be possessed by 'negativity' or may be said to be mentally abnormal. Those who fight the pressure to follow the Guru's suggestions and radically change their lifestyle risk being expelled. It is claimed that this may bring problems for those who still believe in the power of the Guru and fear 'losing vibrations'.[9] This expulsion is not enforced but is something understood socially and other yogis are not expected to change the way they react to those who have been expelled. It is also not a permanent expulsion; there have been cases of returning Sahaja yogis following brief periods 'out'.

David V. Barrett wrote that some former members say that they were expelled from the movement because they "resisted influence that Mataji had over their lives". According to Barrett, the movement's founder's degree of control over members' lives has given rise to concerns.[48] The Austrian Ministry for Environment, Youth and Family states that "Sahaja Yoga" regards Nirmala Srivastava as an authority who cannot be questioned.[57]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Judith Coney wrote in her book Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement, "Finally, throughout the study I faced the challenge of getting Sahaja yogis to let me get behind the public facade. This was achieved with varying degrees of success. On one fortunate occasion, for instance, I attended a national puja, after which there was an extremely frank and revealing discussion of why Sahaja Yoga had been seen as a cult in a particular press article and of the level of secrecy in the group. There I listened to a number of speakers talk about the ways in which they disguised some of their beliefs when in contact with non-members."[21]
  2. ^ Sudhir Kakar wrote in his book Shamans, Mystics and Doctors, "Essentially, Mataji'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. Mataji'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."[29]

References

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  35. ^ "Historic video affirming the role of World Council for the Advancement of Sahaja Yoga". Sahaja Worldwide Announcements and News (SWAN). sahajayoga.org. Vishwa Nirmala Dharma. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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