How would you describe Mataji's role in Sahaja Meditation today?
Shri Mataji (1923 - 2011) founded the Sahaja practice of meditation in 1970.
Her favorite analogy is: "I have made the food for you. If you are hungry, go ahead and eat it, you don't need to worry about how I cooked it, only whether you enjoy it and it satisfies your hunger. But if you are not hungry, there is nothing I can do to help you."
The majority of Sahaja Meditation practitioners consider her to be a spiritual guru and guide.
Do you think there's a difference in how Easterners and Westerners view "gurus?"
Yes, definitely. My impression is that Westerners seem to inherently have difficulty understanding why another human being or individual must be respected upfront, without questioning. The questioning attitude comes first for Westerners; they tend to want to see proof first, be given specific reasons why a person should be respected or revered.
Historically, in Eastern culture, gurus are revered, respected and not questioned much — unquestioned obedience and belief is intrinsic to Eastern Guru philosophy. While Sahaja Meditation is of eastern origin, where gurus tend to be revered, it's not fanatical.
With respect to Shri Mataji, words like worship, guru, or revere have different meanings for different cultures around the world, even among Sahaja practitioners, so I don't think it's particularly useful to get too deeply into semantics. The attitude towards Shri Mataji varies from individual to individual. But I think the common denominator is respect and admiration for her as a guru or teacher and acceptance of her teachings as a premise for verifying various concepts of Sahaja Meditation. Certainly, that's how I see her.
Most important to know is that the practice of Sahaja Meditation is an inner journey of spiritual and personal evolution aided by collective meditation. While the knowledge and techniques used derive the fundamentals from what Shri Mataji created, it is left to the individual to craft their individual journey of self-improvement using these techniques and the teachings of Shri Mataji as and when they see the need.
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Her favorite analogy is: "I have made the food for you. If you are hungry, go ahead and eat it, you don't need to worry about how I cooked it, only whether you enjoy it and it satisfies your hunger. But if you are not hungry, there is nothing I can do to help you."
The majority of Sahaja Meditation practitioners consider her to be a spiritual guru and guide.
Do you think there's a difference in how Easterners and Westerners view "gurus?"
Yes, definitely. My impression is that Westerners seem to inherently have difficulty understanding why another human being or individual must be respected upfront, without questioning. The questioning attitude comes first for Westerners; they tend to want to see proof first, be given specific reasons why a person should be respected or revered.
Historically, in Eastern culture, gurus are revered, respected and not questioned much — unquestioned obedience and belief is intrinsic to Eastern Guru philosophy. While Sahaja Meditation is of eastern origin, where gurus tend to be revered, it's not fanatical.
With respect to Shri Mataji, words like worship, guru, or revere have different meanings for different cultures around the world, even among Sahaja practitioners, so I don't think it's particularly useful to get too deeply into semantics. The attitude towards Shri Mataji varies from individual to individual. But I think the common denominator is respect and admiration for her as a guru or teacher and acceptance of her teachings as a premise for verifying various concepts of Sahaja Meditation. Certainly, that's how I see her.
Most important to know is that the practice of Sahaja Meditation is an inner journey of spiritual and personal evolution aided by collective meditation. While the knowledge and techniques used derive the fundamentals from what Shri Mataji created, it is left to the individual to craft their individual journey of self-improvement using these techniques and the teachings of Shri Mataji as and when they see the need.
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