The Void
By Shri Mataji
Saha means ‘with’, Ja means ‘born’. Sahaja also means effortless or spontaneous. Yoga literally means union or connection. This method of meditation is born with every human being and it connects us with the inner peace and silence that exists deep within each of us. Sahaja Yoga was founded by Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi in 1970. It involves the awakening of a subtle spiritual energy known as the Kundalini which lies dormant in the sacrum bone, rolled up in a spiral of 3-1/2 coils. The gentle awakening of this Kundalini energy and the inner journey of self-discovery is known as self-realization. This process of self-realization is centuries old and was practiced by saints throughout the history for example Confucius, Moses, Sai Nath, Guru Nanak, etc. However, this technique was passed by these primordial masters to just one or two disciples and this could never become popular. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, developed this method by which a normal householder can experience this awakening sitting in his or her house.
Shri Mataji was born in India, and was brought up with a Christian background. She started teaching the technique of Sahaja Yoga meditation to a couple of people in India in the early 1970’s. Then, slowly more and more people in India started to practice it. In the late 1970’s Shri Mataji moved to London, England. There she also started to teach Sahaja Yoga meditation to a small group of people. Now the meditation is practiced in over 50 countries, at no cost. Sahaja Yoga meditation is free. Previously, to get kundalini awakening, the person would have to dedicate a number of years of his life to get the experience. He would have to find a genuine guru who would then open one chakra at a time. Shri Mataji, through the technique of Sahaja Yoga meditation, was able to awaken the kundalini and the chakras in seconds. In this article, we will discuss the region that surrounds 2nd and 3rd energy center often referred to as the Void. In the figure below it is the yellow circle shown around the 3rd energy center, Nabhi chakra.
In the article on Sahaja Yoga, published in previous issues of Natural Awakening, human subtle/spiritual system, Mooladhara, Swadhisthana and Nabhi energy center were discussed, respectively. As discussed in December article, human body is made up of 3 channels and 7 energy centers. The left channel controls our emotions, the right channel controls the actions and planning and the central channel gets us into balance and is responsible for our assent. Surrounding the second and the third energy center is a Void which incorporates all the aspects of existence such as personality, the effects of the planets and gravitational forces on our being, our behavior pattern and physical sustenance. This is an area of outside influence. It represents that vacuum which separates our level of awareness from the truth while we are still in the unenlightened state. When the kundalini fills this vacuum then our attention is lead out of the sea of illusion into the awareness of reality. This is the center of ten Primordial Masters who incarnated to lead mankind into the realm of truth and reality. They were: Raja Janak (10,000-16,000 BC), Abraham (2000 BC), Moses (1300 BC), Zarathustra (1000 BC), Lao Tzu (640 BC), Confucius (551 BC), Scorates (469 BC), Mohammed (570 AD), Guru Nanak (1469 AD), Shirdi Sainath (1856 AD). When Kundalini bridges this vacuum, one becomes the master of self and all innate laws of nature are awakened in that person. Such person becomes a very honest and able leader and has gravity in all his expression. This center controls the functioning of stomach, digestion, intestine and part of liver in human body. Its element is water. Each chakra in human body has different qualities and by healing and balancing these chakras, we awaken and enhance these qualities within us. The qualities represented by the Void are gravity, ten commandments, righteousness and sustenance. Each Chakra is represented on our hands, feet and our head. Following figures show these places for the Void.
Before our physical birth we experienced a continuing sense of nourishment, connectedness and security. After our physical birth we then experience ourselves as separated and so it is only natural that we seek and long for that sense of connection, nourishment and security. This seeking finds expression in many ways. Sometimes we seek gross physical pleasures and external and material satisfactions in the world, yet these invariably do not fully satisfy us, they prove to be stormy, transient and therefore illusory. Perhaps this leads us to understand that the means to really satisfy ourselves, the kingdom of heaven lies within us and so we may begin seeking in earnest for our inner or ultimate fulfillment.
There is a gap between the separated and conditioned sense of self we experience ourselves and the eternal spiritual core of our being which is completely secure, connected and joyful. This divide, between the illusory and relative nature of the world and the ultimate reality, is manifest in a physical gap in the central channel, within the para-sympathetic nervous system. This gap actually exists physically between the sacral outflow and the vagus nerve, encompassing the subtle area called the Void or the ocean of illusion. To cross this gap, this ocean of Illusion we need to develop balance, self-mastery and pure desire. We also require the help of a true Guru. Someone who will awaken Kundalini so we will be able to discern the correct path and cross the Void, to the heart, where is the true Self, the eternal Spirit.
It is in this state of disconnectedness that seekers may search for a guide or Guru to help them find the way, a path or process to cross the Void, the illusions and connect with that source of all satisfaction, joy and fulfilment, the Divine Source, Tao, or God. There have been many great incarnations of the principle of Guru or Spiritual Teacher who have incarnated to guide groups of sincere seekers towards their Self-Realization. The personifications or incarnations of this principle include Abraham, Moses, Mohammed, Zarathustra, Lao Tze, Confucius, Sai Baba of Shirdi, Guru Nanak, Raja Janaka and Socrates. Also there have been false gurus who have plundered and damaged the seekers. The goal in Sahaja Yoga is to help the true seekers to find their Self-realization so they can become their own gurus.
Most often for the seekers, so far, the only assistance has been to receive a set of guidelines or rules of behaving that will help maintain individual and collective balance. So we have sets of rules in the religions such as the Ten Commandments. Moses, as an example of the Guru principle, led his people out of slavery, across the ocean and to the Promised Land. Shri Mataji in this modern era holds a unique place in the tradition of Gurus because she has created a method for en masse Kundalini awakening and so facilitated the creation of so many potentially enlightened Gurus.
Only Kundalini can bridge that great divide between illusion and reality. On first awakening, Kundalini ascends through the central channel up to 6th center. It covers the lower plate (moordha) then descends like melting clouds on the Ida (left channel) and Pingala (right channel) nadis to the Void. It fills this area and then the three combined powers re-ascend the Sushumna (central) to open the lotus petals of the Sahasrara. The Spirit, which is said to be watching through the manifold subtle auras of the heart, has its seat at the top of the head in the center. When the individual spark of the Spirit is raised and reunited in Union or Yoga, with the all-pervading and all-powerful source at the apex of the Sahasrara then the reality of the essential core of existence is realized and this enables one to start to become his own Guru, based on a new enlightened awareness.
These are some simple techniques that can help balance the Void and establish its qualities within any individual. In order to get more information, it is advisable to attend Sahaja Yoga classes which are completely free. No money is charged anywhere anytime as it is a non-profit organization.
Seekers who wish to achieve their awakening can visit any center, which are run in various parts of Houston, Monday through Thursday in the evenings. Details can be found out at www.houston-meditation.org for all Sahaja Yoga meetings in Houston. There is no prerequisite for the class. Feel free to contact [email protected] with any questions regarding this chakra or the practice of Sahaja Yoga. Another website which can be referred to is www.freemeditation.com.