How would you describe, in general, the individuals who practice Sahaja Meditation on a regular basis… is there any such thing as a "typical" Sahaja personality?
Well, yes and no. First, let me point out that the objective of Sahaja Meditation is not to turn people into robots or automatons who lose their individuality, their identities or innate personalities; in fact, the goal is quite the opposite. Sahaja Meditation philosophy is all about accepting individuals as individuals, understanding their personalities and enjoying their company without judging them. So actually, it embraces and celebrates the differences in personalities of all its practitioners. As the old expression goes, variety is the spice of life.
Just as the world has different continents, cultures and people with different physical attributes, there are Sahaja Meditation practitioners all over the world, of different cultures, backgrounds, professions, ages, and genders, so it would be impossible to typify an overall "Sahaja personality." There's no such thing. Certainly no two individuals are exactly alike. We all have different hopes and dreams, different psyches. Knowledge and understanding evolves differently for each of us. No two people live the exact same human experience.
That was the "No" part of my answer. Now for the "Yes" part…
Despite the diversity in cultures, backgrounds, geographies, beliefs, origins, professions and ages, there exists amongst all Sahaja Meditation practitioners a powerful undercurrent of desire for goodness and for shaping and molding our personalities into what you might characterize as a strong, independent, ideal, successful, compassionate, humble personality. This common goal tends to create a common set of values and principles that they all believe in and strive towards. At the root, these aren't new ideas. They've been spoken about for centuries by saints in every religion; for instance, striving to be egoless, to forgive and move on, et cetera. So you can infer the general Sahaja personality to be typically nice, friendly, simple, helpful, dynamic and joyous. The folks also have a deep and abiding respect for nature, an innate desire for self-improvement. They are often creative.
And they tend to not think 'round and 'round in circles, confusing ourselves, or get caught up in wrong-headed thinking without at least being able to quickly realize that they're on the wrong path.
The Sahaja people that I've met are architects, lawyers, IT professionals, doctors, house wives, mothers, teenagers - normal people from virtually all walks of life and all professions. There are many talented and creative people who practice Sahaja Meditation; in fact, many are exceptional artists, writers and so forth. They're all educated, peaceful, mature individuals. There's nothing funky or freakish about their lifestyles or beliefs. They're people of solid character who have well-adjusted personalities. I've worked closely with many who volunteer to help conduct events and meditation classes and always found them to have strong moral principles (no scandals, affairs, financial improprieties, et cetera).
I don't want to suggest that Sahaja Meditation folks are all necessarily the loveliest, daintiest people on earth. They're not perfect, none of us are. I've even had minor disagreements and difficulty adjusting to a few Sahaja practitioners on a few occasions, especially when their behavior went against typical Sahaja personality traits. For instance, I've encountered some Sahaja people who were a little rude or angry or upset. But what's important is that they'd come around in a little while, apologize in a big way or explain their behavior and feel bad about it, until I'd end up feeling bad for them and forgive and move on. None of us is perfect.
You have to understand that new people keep coming into Sahaja Meditation all the time and there are no restrictions of any kind — anyone can participate in our meditation classes. So someone who's not yet mature may also behave badly and there's nothing wrong with it. All of them are a work-in-progress. They are all dedicated to improving ourselves. They have an awareness of our own personal problems and they work each day to improve. They don't live under the illusion that it is acceptable to, say, be rude to others, insult someone, or do anything to disturb or inconvenience anyone.
Sahaja Meditation folks are generally courageous individuals who don't shy away from speaking certain truths that have been learned through real experience, as opposed to beliefs that that are imaginary or illusionary or just faith-based. The Sahaja personality doesn't try to convince anyone just for the sake of winning an argument at any cost or manipulating them. They fully realize that some will never be convinced. In other words, they're not trying to cast a wide net in hopes that we will convince thousands of people that we have a great story to tell.
But they are always hopeful that the message of Sahaja Meditation will resonate with a few mature individuals just enough to compel them to at least try the experience of seeking enlightenment, then stick with it long enough that the experience will begin to speak for itself and the desire to continue pursuing it becomes self-sustaining. People who have benefited from Sahaja Meditation always hope that "True Seekers" who have a thirst for real spirituality will receive what they are destined for.
It might be fair to say that the ideal Sahaja personality is someone who is a knowledgeable, well evolved intellectual, yet remains humble and retains, throughout his or her life, a pure desire to help humanity.
At least, these are the goals that they strive for. That said, each of them is a work-in-progress and by no means perfect. I've seen lots of people practicing Sahaja Meditation that would hardly be considered "ideal personalities" in anybody's book — they may not always exhibit the best possible behavior. They are human. They have their faults as I have mine, but with one difference: they probably know the personality traits to strive for and are working towards it each day.
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Just as the world has different continents, cultures and people with different physical attributes, there are Sahaja Meditation practitioners all over the world, of different cultures, backgrounds, professions, ages, and genders, so it would be impossible to typify an overall "Sahaja personality." There's no such thing. Certainly no two individuals are exactly alike. We all have different hopes and dreams, different psyches. Knowledge and understanding evolves differently for each of us. No two people live the exact same human experience.
That was the "No" part of my answer. Now for the "Yes" part…
Despite the diversity in cultures, backgrounds, geographies, beliefs, origins, professions and ages, there exists amongst all Sahaja Meditation practitioners a powerful undercurrent of desire for goodness and for shaping and molding our personalities into what you might characterize as a strong, independent, ideal, successful, compassionate, humble personality. This common goal tends to create a common set of values and principles that they all believe in and strive towards. At the root, these aren't new ideas. They've been spoken about for centuries by saints in every religion; for instance, striving to be egoless, to forgive and move on, et cetera. So you can infer the general Sahaja personality to be typically nice, friendly, simple, helpful, dynamic and joyous. The folks also have a deep and abiding respect for nature, an innate desire for self-improvement. They are often creative.
And they tend to not think 'round and 'round in circles, confusing ourselves, or get caught up in wrong-headed thinking without at least being able to quickly realize that they're on the wrong path.
The Sahaja people that I've met are architects, lawyers, IT professionals, doctors, house wives, mothers, teenagers - normal people from virtually all walks of life and all professions. There are many talented and creative people who practice Sahaja Meditation; in fact, many are exceptional artists, writers and so forth. They're all educated, peaceful, mature individuals. There's nothing funky or freakish about their lifestyles or beliefs. They're people of solid character who have well-adjusted personalities. I've worked closely with many who volunteer to help conduct events and meditation classes and always found them to have strong moral principles (no scandals, affairs, financial improprieties, et cetera).
I don't want to suggest that Sahaja Meditation folks are all necessarily the loveliest, daintiest people on earth. They're not perfect, none of us are. I've even had minor disagreements and difficulty adjusting to a few Sahaja practitioners on a few occasions, especially when their behavior went against typical Sahaja personality traits. For instance, I've encountered some Sahaja people who were a little rude or angry or upset. But what's important is that they'd come around in a little while, apologize in a big way or explain their behavior and feel bad about it, until I'd end up feeling bad for them and forgive and move on. None of us is perfect.
You have to understand that new people keep coming into Sahaja Meditation all the time and there are no restrictions of any kind — anyone can participate in our meditation classes. So someone who's not yet mature may also behave badly and there's nothing wrong with it. All of them are a work-in-progress. They are all dedicated to improving ourselves. They have an awareness of our own personal problems and they work each day to improve. They don't live under the illusion that it is acceptable to, say, be rude to others, insult someone, or do anything to disturb or inconvenience anyone.
Sahaja Meditation folks are generally courageous individuals who don't shy away from speaking certain truths that have been learned through real experience, as opposed to beliefs that that are imaginary or illusionary or just faith-based. The Sahaja personality doesn't try to convince anyone just for the sake of winning an argument at any cost or manipulating them. They fully realize that some will never be convinced. In other words, they're not trying to cast a wide net in hopes that we will convince thousands of people that we have a great story to tell.
But they are always hopeful that the message of Sahaja Meditation will resonate with a few mature individuals just enough to compel them to at least try the experience of seeking enlightenment, then stick with it long enough that the experience will begin to speak for itself and the desire to continue pursuing it becomes self-sustaining. People who have benefited from Sahaja Meditation always hope that "True Seekers" who have a thirst for real spirituality will receive what they are destined for.
It might be fair to say that the ideal Sahaja personality is someone who is a knowledgeable, well evolved intellectual, yet remains humble and retains, throughout his or her life, a pure desire to help humanity.
At least, these are the goals that they strive for. That said, each of them is a work-in-progress and by no means perfect. I've seen lots of people practicing Sahaja Meditation that would hardly be considered "ideal personalities" in anybody's book — they may not always exhibit the best possible behavior. They are human. They have their faults as I have mine, but with one difference: they probably know the personality traits to strive for and are working towards it each day.
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