You’ve heard of Sahaja Yoga, but what is it? When people think of yoga they often think of Hatha Yoga which has a big emphasis on the physical level involving postures etc. Sahaja Yoga is a form of meditation, or a better definition might be that it is the key to meditation where meditation is defined as mental silence, thoughtless awareness or nirvichara.
Meditation only occurs when we have experienced self-realisation, which is a state in which the kundalini, a coiled energy, has awakened from its slumber at the base of the spine, and has risen up through the energy centres situated on the spine, pierced the fontanelle bone at the top of the head and has connected with the all-pervading power. If you have not experienced self-realisation you won’t be able to go beyond thoughts, but will just be battling them in an effort to achieve silence, but this is a bit like banging your head against the wall.
So you could say that self-realisation is the starting point for Sahaja Yoga. This is not how it used to be. Prior to Sahaja Yoga people who wished to achieved their enlightenment would retire from society and would spend years, decades to overcome their attachment to the physical, emotional and mental aspects of their being. They would cleanse energy centre after energy centre, starting from the root energy centre, the Mooladhara and working their way up. Most of the time they would fail or give up.
In Sahaja Yoga you first experience self-realisation and then you go about clearing the chakras, or energy centres. Normally only a few strands of the kundalini rise up all the way to the top as there are obstructions in the chakras preventing more strands from rising up. The task of the person who has achieved this first step on their spiritual path is to then cleanse these energy centres in order to allow further strands of kundalini to rise up, and hence to deepen the experience.
How would you know which energy centres need cleansing? Well, one of the amazing results of getting self-realisation through Sahaja Yoga is that you are able to perceive your energy centres on your finger tips. This is known as vibratory awareness. Each finger corresponds to a different chakra, so that if a particular finger tingles or burns we know that there is a problem in the corresponding chakra. If you attend a Sahaja yoga program near you (and these are free) you will find out what to do to cleanse each centre. The cleansing methods are amazingly simple!
The other result of self-realisation is that you are able to enjoy mental silence, and at a deeper level, bliss. As you cleanse the chakras within you and continue to meditate you are able to discover the beauty within.