Stephanie -
I've been practicing Reiki for a while. Can I practice this meditation as well, what's the difference?
Dear Stephanie,
This is a great question and I think I've heard this question being asked at Sahaja Meditation centers on several occasions. I am not an expert on Reiki so bear with me on this one (I am not really an expert on Sahaja meditation either, but significantly more experienced I should say!).
To my knowledge, some things that ring similar - Reiki uses the spiritual energy, seemingly like Sahaja Meditation does. It has some mention and reference to chakras as well. However, it is not clear to me that it uses the Kundalini energy that resides at the base of the spine.
Sahaja Meditation on the other hand is very clear about what this energy is, where it is located, how it moves up and so on. Secondly, vibrations are the sensory perceptions of our body detecting the flow of this energy. Every practitioner can feel the energy and the vibrations and work on himself / herself. I've not been able to figure out yet whether Reiki really uses the Kundalini energy or not. I've also heard people practice it tell me that some kind of an aura is used and so on. Does Reiki really awaken the Kundalini? I am not sure. Or does it allow the practitioner to feel and manipulate the energy? In Sahaja Meditation, every practitioner becomes an expert over time without the need for a "healer" or "teacher" or "expert" to work on him / her.
Still more important, a big difference is that Reiki is heavily centered and focused around therapy and healing, where as the goal of Sahaja Meditation is very different - it is do with enlightenment or Self-Realization, personality improvement and spiritual emancipation. Cure is only a coincidental benefit.
Lastly, there seems to be some focus on breathing in Reiki whereas there is little or no focus in Sahaja Meditation on breathing techniques.
Coming to the question on whether the two can be practiced at the same time, I'd say No. You would probably confuse yourself, your physical and subtle system by doing both.
You will need to be clear about what your goal is, where you are likely to get maximum benefits and do the one thing that helps you meet your goals. If your goal is Spirituality, enlightenment and overall self-improvement, Sahaja Meditation is the way to go, if your focus is healing, then you are probably looking at Reiki - but with either, I'd suggest that you be clear about what you are really doing and why.
-Shankar
I've been practicing Reiki for a while. Can I practice this meditation as well, what's the difference?
Dear Stephanie,
This is a great question and I think I've heard this question being asked at Sahaja Meditation centers on several occasions. I am not an expert on Reiki so bear with me on this one (I am not really an expert on Sahaja meditation either, but significantly more experienced I should say!).
To my knowledge, some things that ring similar - Reiki uses the spiritual energy, seemingly like Sahaja Meditation does. It has some mention and reference to chakras as well. However, it is not clear to me that it uses the Kundalini energy that resides at the base of the spine.
Sahaja Meditation on the other hand is very clear about what this energy is, where it is located, how it moves up and so on. Secondly, vibrations are the sensory perceptions of our body detecting the flow of this energy. Every practitioner can feel the energy and the vibrations and work on himself / herself. I've not been able to figure out yet whether Reiki really uses the Kundalini energy or not. I've also heard people practice it tell me that some kind of an aura is used and so on. Does Reiki really awaken the Kundalini? I am not sure. Or does it allow the practitioner to feel and manipulate the energy? In Sahaja Meditation, every practitioner becomes an expert over time without the need for a "healer" or "teacher" or "expert" to work on him / her.
Still more important, a big difference is that Reiki is heavily centered and focused around therapy and healing, where as the goal of Sahaja Meditation is very different - it is do with enlightenment or Self-Realization, personality improvement and spiritual emancipation. Cure is only a coincidental benefit.
Lastly, there seems to be some focus on breathing in Reiki whereas there is little or no focus in Sahaja Meditation on breathing techniques.
Coming to the question on whether the two can be practiced at the same time, I'd say No. You would probably confuse yourself, your physical and subtle system by doing both.
You will need to be clear about what your goal is, where you are likely to get maximum benefits and do the one thing that helps you meet your goals. If your goal is Spirituality, enlightenment and overall self-improvement, Sahaja Meditation is the way to go, if your focus is healing, then you are probably looking at Reiki - but with either, I'd suggest that you be clear about what you are really doing and why.
-Shankar