Mind Body Spirit Festival Report
Nov 14th, 2014
Shri Mataji, founder of Sahaja Yoga
Please enjoy this report on the Mind Body Spirit Festival held from 30 April to 3 May 2009 at Darling Harbour, Sydney. A very popular Sahaja Yoga stall was provided as part of the Festival.
Wow! What better way to celebrate Sahasrara Day than to gather 70 yogis at Darling Harbour, over a period of four days, to give Self-realisation to over 2,500 seekers.
Our [Sahaja Yoga] stand stood as a beacon of light in a sea of confusion, attracting seekers continuously throughout the festival, in a non-stop stream of humanity. The scene around our stall was reminiscent of the sort of crowd that one might encounter during Diwali in India, richly colourful and diverse, with a sense of wonderment and awe. For the Hindus Diwali is a very special time, for the Christians it’s Easter and for the yogis it’s Sahasrara Day, the day we celebrate Shri Mataji’s opening of the Sahasrara – the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Throughout the festival over four full days the seekers came, drawn to an energy that few understood, but which virtually all, with very few exceptions, felt deeply within. At times in rows three persons deep, they stood with arms outstretched and hands above their heads, as the yogis worked as instruments of the Divine, gently spreading Shri Mataji’s love over everchanging waves of humanity.
Seekers and yogis alike were all moved by the sheer beauty and the joy of the experience. Each had a story to tell, each an experience that would somehow change them forever.
When time allowed, seekers would sit on small stools and would be taken through affirmations and Self-realisation in the traditional manner. At other times the pressures of the crowd necessitated a slightly less orthodox “group†approach. Typically this involved three or four seekers gathering around a yogi wearing Shri Mataji’s photograph. After first placing their hands towards the earth, and asking Mother Earth to take away the negativity, with hands outstretched and eyes closed the seekers would then ask from their hearts, “Almighty God, please give me Self-knowledge. Please give me the knowledge of my true nature.†The vibrations flowed, the seekers smiled, opened their eyes and their faces beamed with joy. Here are a few of the many, many wonderful experiences of some of the finest seekers you could ever meet.
AÂ 74-year-old Scottish woman who felt vibrations immediately in both hands: “Oh, my God, I can feel it !” – as she then placed her hands above the hands and towards the body of the yogi giving her vibrations, “Oh, my Lord ! I can feel it in your hands, your arms! My God – your whole body ! God bless you, God bless you!”
A 13-year-old boy answering a yogini’s question concerning what he thought of his experience: “That was so coool! – the whole experience! I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
A 56-year-old European lady feeling pain in her left arm, receives vibrations to remove the pain: “My God ! You’re a Magic Man… what magic was that?”
A 60-year-old man who had attended Mother’s program at the Town Hall in 1991: “Shri Mataji said that if I didn’t want to have Self-realisation I could say no, so I did say no – I was afraid. But now I’ve changed. I was ready for this, and I thank you for this blessing. I feel wonderful!”
An Indian Sahaja yogini speaking about her experiences with the seekers: “This is just like giving realisation in India, it’s so easy; that’s why I keep coming back every day.”
All seekers who left the stall were provided with a small gift bag containing a list of venues for follow-up programs, an audio CD of Shri Mataji leading a guided meditation, and a brochure explaining Sahaja Yoga in a little more detail.