About
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Nirmala Salve was born in 1923, near the centre of India. In her youth, she often spent time with Mahatma Gandhi. As a teenager, she joined Gandhi's movement to obtain India's independence from England. Her whole family was involved in these struggles and they underwent much hardship, including arrest and the loss of property. She was forced to give up her college studies in medicine.
Shortly before India achieved its independence in 1947, Nirmala married Chandrika Prasad Srivastava, a high-ranking civil servant. He later served as a Joint Secretary to India's Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri. They had two daughters. After both had grown up, Mrs Srivastava started to spend time lecturing about spiritual matters and giving practical instruction. She travelled extensively and came to be loved by thousands of spiritual seekers around the world.
Shri Mataji was twice nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. She was regarded by many as a completely divine personality but was frequently opposed by more conventional religious figures, by moneymaking gurus and by the media.
Shri Mataji passed away in 2011.
The Book
Meta Modern Era is a book written by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, first published in India in 1995. It describes many shortcomings of modern life, particularly as observed in the West and in developed countries. Many false understandings about wellbeing and human life and its priorities are mentioned, together with some suggestions for solutions, via the inner transformation of human beings.
This Website
The main content on this site is a variety of extracts from the Meta Modern Era book. Thirty two pages of extracts are presented here. Two are from the Preface and 30 more pages of extracts come from the body of the book.
Sahaja Yoga
Sahaja Yoga is an evolutionary process. In a concrete way, it unites a human being with the world, the cosmos and everything that is outside of the person. A connection is rapidly established and is then gradually strengthened.
Awareness of one's own condition and an understanding of life improves with time. Most people will experience a reduction in some of life's difficulties and develop a feeling of greater wellbeing and satisfaction in their lives. These are things to be experienced and not just believed as being potential, or only to be expected in the long term. A form of gentle experimentation and observation is involved. However, nothing complicated or strenuous or mystifying is required.
Quite quickly one may achieve a more relaxed or meditative state. There should be conscious alertness, combined with reduced mental activity. The body generally feels more comfortable. Often the thinking process will stop for a while and this is therapeutic. Meditation is a state without thoughts or with very few, which is to be achieved. Meditation is not an activity to be performed but you may have understood the opposite!
Many so-called experts teach and sell 'techniques' of meditation but they are artificial. They do not live up to the marketing which goes with them. As Shri Mataji has explained, you are either inside a house or outside of it. You are either in a state of meditation or you are not and you cannot 'do' meditation.
"The easiest of easiest is Sahaja Yoga. The essence of Sahaja Yoga is that it’s the easiest thing to do. And that is why we should take full advantage of that easiest method, made easy, absolutely for you."
Quotation from Shri Mataji, 24th July, 1983.
A broader introduction was given in a book by Shri Mataji, which is sometimes known as Sahaja Yoga Book One. This link is to text found at the beginning of the first chapter:
Sahaja Yoga Book One, Chapter 1
And here is a short extract from a Public Programme in London.