The 5th of May, World Realization Day
5th of May Declared World Realization Day In Honour Of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Founder of Sahaja Yoga Meditation
The Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Sahaja Yoga World Foundation is pleased to announce the declaration of May 5th as World Realization Day in honour of the work and vision of the founder of Sahaja Yoga, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. After years of meditation and study of the human condition, Shri Mataji, on the 5th of May in 1970 in Nargol, India, opened the final subtle energy center -'Sahasrara (fontanel) chakra' in Sanskrit -located in the limbic area of the brain.
This unprecedented breakthrough opened the door to a new era of emancipation through inner transformation. Shri Mataji discovered a process which could trigger spiritual awakening in large numbers of people. This awakening, called self-realization, is the activation of the vital kundalini energy which exists inside of every human being. Without retreating to practice austerities on a mountaintop, one could receive this gentle awakening spontaneously, simply by asking for it.
Shri Mataji made self-realization the basis of a meditation she called Sahaja Yoga. The key to this practice and what distinguishes it from other methods is 'thoughtless awareness', which elevates through mental silence rather than using visualization or other kinds of mental focus. Sahaja Yoga meditation has grown prodigiously over the past 40 years and is now practiced in over 100 countries. Practitioners come from a wide variety of backgrounds to discover peace, satisfaction and well-being through this unique meditation.
Shri Mataji as a student participated with Mahatma Gandhi in the non-violent struggle for India's independence, was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and received the U.N. Peace Medal in 1989. She spent more than 40 years travelling the world to spread her message of peace and unity through Sahaja Yoga meditation. Unique among so-called gurus of the time, her key message was that every person carries the seed of their own mastery inside themselves. They can become their own guru without resorting to dogma or ritual.
Shri Mataji passed away in 2011, but her legacy lives on in the lives and community work of her followers around the world. She repeatedly explained that every person has the right to obtain their self-realization free of charge, and the process of delivering self-realization to anyone who asks for it carries on today as strongly as when she offered the experience in person at countless public programs.
The 5th of May could one day be recognized as the most important anniversary in the history of humanity. Until then, it will serve as a universal and loving memorial to the guru of gurus and teacher of teachers who brought tangible, meaningful spirituality to the modern world.
This article was first published on May 3rd 2013.