Above the Sahasra – 5 May 1983

On behalf of all of you, I thank the Sahaja Yogi organisers of Bombay who have made these arrangements, and on my own behalf also, I thank them a lot. This is a beautiful place they have chosen for us. It is also a gift of God that at this time the thing about which I was going to speak, sitting under the same trees, the talk of Sahasrara is taking place. Fourteen years ago or we could say already thirteen years have passed and now the fourteenth year has started this great work of opening the Sahasrara was accomplished in this world. I have told you about this many a times, on every Sahasrara day, as to what had happened, how it was done and what is its importance.

But the fourteenth birthday is very important, because man lives at fourteen levels and the day he crosses over the fourteenth level, he becomes a complete Sahaja Yogi. Therefore, today Sahaja Yoga has also become Sahaja Yogi. Like this, God has created fourteen levels within us. If you simply count them, then you know that there are seven Chakras within us; besides these there are two more Chakras, about which you do not talk much. They are the Moon chakra (Lalita chakra) & Sun chakra (Shri chakra). Then there is the Hamsa Chakra.

Thus there are three more: seven plus three make ten. Then there are four chakras above the Sahasrara. And about these chakras also, I have told you- Ardhabindu, Bindu, Valaya and Pradakshina. These are the four. After coming to Sahaja Yoga and after your Sahasrara has opened, you have to pass through these four chakras, Ardhabindu, Bindu, Valaya and Pradakshina. After passing through these four chakras, only, can you say that you have become a Sahaja Yogi. And if you see from another angle, we have to cross fourteen stages to reach up to Sahasrara; if you divide them then there are seven chakras situated on Ida Nadi and seven on Pingala Nadi.

When man makes his ascent, he does not do so in a straight direction. He comes first to the left then to the right, then again to the left and then again to the right. And when Kundalini ascends, She also does so, dividing Herself into these two. The reason for it can be understood if I take the example of two ropes. These two ropes together, side by side, in the process of going up or coming down cross over twice. (here Shri Mataji explains the rising of Kundalini along Ida & Pingala Nadis; making 4 loops – two each in opposite directions – (clockwise and anti clockwise) at every chakra.)*

When Kundalini ascends, you see on the chakra whether the left is caught or the right is caught. Although Kundalini is only one, but on every chakra you see both the things – thus you know whether left is caught or the right. Thus, within us, if each chakra is divided into these two – left and right, then seven two’s are fourteen. So, within us, first of all, fourteen stages have to be crossed before reaching the Sahasrara. And if you understand this, that these seven [main chakras], and seven above [Sahasrara], then in this way, also, a path of fourteen is created.

Therefore this number fourteen is very important in Kundalini shastra (science), very important. It’s a very important thing. We should fully understand that we become entitled to the blessings of Sahaja Yoga only after rising above these fourteen stages. We should unceasingly march forward and get completely dyed in it [in its colour]. Rajana, birajana – these words I have told you many a times before also; but today, specially, we should understand, on Sahasrara day, what is rajana (to reign, to be the master) and what is birajana (to assume).

Now, you are sitting, you look at these trees. This is the tree of shriphala. Nariyal is called shriphala. Coconut is called shriphala. Whether you have ever thought about it or not, I don’t know, but it is a thing to be really thought about – ‘Why is it called shriphala?’ This grows along the sea coast and nowhere else. The best fruit grows at the sea coast. The reason is this, that the sea is the dharma. Wherever there is dharma, only there, the shriphala blossoms. Where there is no dharma, shriphala will not grow there.

But all things are contained in the sea. All sorts of cleanliness, dirt, everything is inside it. This sea water is also full of salt, it has salt in it. Christ had said that, “You are the salt of the earth,” which means that you can enter into everything; you can impart taste to everything. Without salt man cannot live. The Pranashakti (Life force) that we take in, if we don’t have salt within us, then even that Pranashakti cannot work. Salt is the catalyst. And this salt fully organises for us to live, to live in this world, to live in the prapancha. Without salt man would be of no use.

But when this tree rises towards Paramatma then it leaves all the salt below. Everything is left behind. And then the sunlight falls on these trees, and with the falling of sunlight, the sap of its leaves and the sap of the whole tree is sucked upwards because evaporation takes place. Then this water flows upwards through the trunk. Leaving everything it crosses those fourteen things and on reaching the top, shriphala is formed (the coconut fruit itself). You are that same shriphala. And it is essential to offer shriphala to the Devi. Without the offering of shriphala, the puja is not considered accomplished (sampanna).

Also shriphala is made up in a strange way. There is no fruit in the world like the shriphala. No part of the tree goes to waste; each and every part of it is used, from its leaves down to everything is used. And of the shriphala (fruit) itself, each and every part is used. You can see that the shriphala is also like a human being’s Sahasrara. Like the hair we have, the same way shriphala also has hair. This [Sahasrara] is the shriphala. This has hair on the outside for protection. The protection from death is provided to us by the hair. Therefore hair has been given great respect; hair is a great and very powerful thing because they protect you. You are protected by them. And inside this, like we have cranial bones, that too you see, that inside the shriphala there’s a hard kind of a covering on the outside, like this. After that, inside us, grey matter and white matter – these two things are inside us. In the shriphala also you see white matter and grey matter… and inside that is water, which is like the cerebrospinal fluid inside us. Inside that also there is water – that is the limbic area.

So this sakshat shriphala, itself is…if, for them (trees) this is the fruit, then for us, this [brain] is the fruit. Our brain is the fruit of the whole of our evolution. Whatever has been our evolution to date that, from amoeba, today we have become humans: we have got all that as a result of this brain. From the brain, all this, whatever we have got, is through this brain. Within this are all kinds of powers; of all kinds. Within this is collected all the wealth that has been received by us.

Now, the Spirit resides inside this heart and after Sahaja Yoga its light spreads within us in seven layers from both the sides. That can happen only when one’s Sahasrara is open. Till now, we have been doing the same job with our brain. Before realisation, ego and super-ego, through these two, whatever work is to be done, that we do; nothing except this. Ego and super-ego or you can say manas and ego. With the help of these two we do all our work. But after reaIisation, we work with the help of our Spirit. Spirit, before realisation resides within the heart, it’s absolutely separate as a kshetrAgnya (witness). Its job, whatsoever it may be, just to witness, it keeps doing. But its light is not in our attention (chitta). It is separate from us. It is not in our attention.

After realisation it comes into our attention first. First it comes into the attention. And attention, as you know, is in the Void. After that, its light comes into the Truth, because with the entering of light into our brain (as the brain gets enlightened) we know the Truth. ‘Know’ doesn’t mean that we know through the intellect, but know in reality, sakshat, that, this is the Truth. After that its light is seen in the heart. The heart becomes profound. The heart starts expanding, it starts becoming vast. Its power of love starts increasing. That’s why it’s called Satchitanand: Sat, chitta and anand (Truth, attention and bliss): the Truth within our brain, attention within our dharma and joy within our Spirit. These start getting enlightened.

Its light spreads gradually at first, this you all know. Its light grows slowly and slowly. It’s a subtle thing. It’s very subtle at first because of the gross setup we live in. In that setup it becomes difficult to catch hold of that subtle but gradually that hold also develops. After that you start to grow, to progress. With the opening of a single curtain of Sahasrara, the Kundalini comes up. But its light does not start spreading all around just then. The Kundalini has just come up and you have saluted the seat of Sadashiva. Within you the light of the Spirit has started flowing hazily but it has not yet fully blossomed in this brain. Now the surprising thing is that if you want to spread it through your brain you cannot. Now a perfect balance of our brain and our heart will have to be shown.

You know well, that when you work too much with your intellect, heart failure occurs. And when you work too much with your heart, the brain fails. There exists a relationship between them, it already exists; it’s a very deep relationship. And because of this deep relationship, when you get your realisation, their relationship has to become deeper. The relationship between the heart and this brain should be very deep. The moment it gets completely integrated, your attention becomes completely Parameshwar swaroop (one with Divine). This very thing is also said in Hatha Yoga that manas (superego) and ahamkara (ego) both get dissolved (laya). But just by telling like this nobody is going to understand. How can the dissolution of ego and super-ego be done? So they get after super-ego then they get after ego. If you beat down the ego, the super-ego comes up and if you beat down the super-ego, the ego comes up. They just cannot understand that: What is this madness? How will this go?

How to win over the super-ego and the ego? There’s only one door for that: Agnya chakra. By working on the Agnya chakra these two, ego and super-ego, get completely dissolved. And as soon as they get dissolved the heart and this brain first establish a complete concord. But the oneness doesn’t come. It is this oneness that we have to achieve. So your heart, that itself, becomes the Sahasrara and your Sahasrara, that itself, becomes the heart. What you think is in your heart and whatever is in your heart that alone is what you think. When your state becomes like this then any kind of doubts, any kind of disbelief, any kind of fear – no such thing remains. Like, when a person fears, what is done to him? He is taught through the brain: “Look here, there’s nothing to fear. Look, you were afraid for a useless thing. Now take a light and see.” Then, although he understands through his brain, still he fears.

But when both the things become one – you try to understand this point – that, the brain through which you think, which makes your manas, understands and takes care of it. If that brain itself becomes your manas this means, just imagine, that there’s such an instrument which has an automatic accelerator and brake; and both are one. Whenever it wants, it becomes the brake and whenever it wants, it becomes the accelerator and what’s more it knows everything.

When such a state comes you become the complete Master. Such a state we should definitely achieve. Till now you people have progressed a lot; you have reached quite a high level. Definitely now it should be said of you that, now you have become shriphala. But I always talk of what is ahead because, if this [coconut] tree is to be climbed then – have you seen how people climb it? If you ask a man to climb and watch him then you will see that he wraps a rope around himself and keeps hooking that rope higher on the tree. When that rope is hooked higher up then he climbs up with the help of that rope. In the same way, as we climb, our own rope has always to be kept hooked higher. And only when you learn this can your climbing be very quick. But mostly we keep hooking the rope lower. Even after coming to Sahaja Yoga we hook the rope lower and say that, “Mother, we have made no progress at all.” Now, how possibly can there be any progress when you hook the rope in the opposite direction and make arrangements for coming down? While coming down you do not even need to hook the rope. You just loosen it a bit and – zoom – you will come down! That arrangement is already made for coming down. It is for climbing up that the arrangement has to be made. So, to become something, hard work has to be put in. And to lose whatever has been achieved, no hard work is required – you can easily come straight down to the ground; there’s no question about it.

If you understand this point then you will realise that you must always look upward. If you are standing at any step of a ladder but your gaze is fixed higher [you can climb]. Then if this person is higher than another person but he is looking downward, he will come down. This is why sometimes even very old Sahaja Yogis come down. People say that, “Mother, he was such an old Sahaja Yogi; was for so many years with you; did this, did that.” But they were looking down so what can I do? If their gaze is downward they come down. You should always look upward.

Now even to see this fruit you have to look upward. Even their gaze is upwards. The gaze of all these trees is upward. Because they know that without keeping their gaze upwards, neither they can get the sun nor get this work done and nor can they become shriphala.

Trees should be very well observed and understood. You can learn Sahaja Yoga very well from a tree. These are very great Gurus for you. Like, when we look towards a tree, we should first observe how it settles its roots. First, it takes care of and fixes its roots. And to take care of and fix its roots what does it do? It keeps penetrating and going deep into the roots. This is our dharma, this is our attention. Within this it keeps going deep. And with that attention it sucks that All-pervading Power. This is an upside down tree. It’s better to describe like this. These roots start sucking the All-pervading Power and, after sucking this, after all what has it to do? Then its sight goes higher, and this way that shriphala is formed. Your Sahasrara is also like this very shriphala. It’s extremely dear to Mother. And this very Sahasrara should be surrendered to Her. Many people said to me yesterday that, “Mother, we feel the cool vibrations in the hands; also in the feet, but not here (Sahasrara).” Who presides there? Just know this and the coolness will come from here.

And the One, who is sitting there is the fruit of all things. The roots of this tree, fixed in the soil below, they are also born out of it. Its trunk, its hard work, its evolution – all this in the end becomes that fruit. Everything is inherent in that fruit. You put that fruit in the soil and again the whole of this thing will be born out. It is the meaning of everything. It is the ultimate of all.

In the whole world, whatever work of God has taken place until this day, whatever work He has done, its whole complete form, the form of its fruit is our mahayoga of today! And who is its swamini you know!

So, at such an auspicious time you have come on this earth and received this. So you should feel blessed and, becoming like this shriphala, you should be surrendered in offering. The fruit is only removed from the tree when it is mature; otherwise it is useless. Before it is mature it cannot be offered to Mother. Therefore develop maturity. Give up childishness. Till childishness remains you will keep sticking to the tree. But for offering, what is the use of the fruit which is sticking to the tree? Only when it is removed from the tree and then offered is the puja considered accomplished.

So, to help you understand Sahaja Yoga in a very great symbolic form sakshat shriphala itself is standing before you. It is indeed a great blessing that, here, today, all of us have gathered and in this great celebration all these trees have also given us company. They are also (nadita) resounding with all the things; they are also vibrating (spandita), and they are also listening and dancing to the same rhythm. They also understand the special significance of the whole thing. In the same way you also have shriphala in you. Fully mature it. There is only one way to mature it: that you must have concord with your heart. The important thing is to become one with the heart. There is no difference between the heart and the brain. From the heart we desire and from the brain it is fulfilled. When both the things become one, only then will you be fully benefitted.

Now for common people Sahaja Yoga is a very secret thing. They are not going to understand because their daily life is of that level only. On that level they move. But your level is different. You must live at your own level. When you look towards others, mostly it is with compassion because: What are these poor people? What is going to happen to them? Where will they go? They don’t understand. What is their state? On what path are they going to land up? Understanding this, you people should try to understand that, if, by explaining to them, they can understand Sahaja Yoga it’s very good; try to help them understand. But if they do not bother, then there’s no use of breaking our heads before them. There is no use of breaking one’s shriphala. Keep it safely protected. Its job is much higher. You have got it for a very much higher purpose and keep it at that higher level and only on attaining that accomplished, wonderful, unique state can you consider yourself blessed. Therefore, there’s no need to break our heads for meaningless things.

There’s no need to argue with anyone. But your own state must be maintained and you must not come down. Until this happens, the full surrender, which was to be achieved within you, you have not achieved in Sahaja Yoga. Whatever was to be imbibed, that has not been achieved. Whatever growth was to occur, that has not been achieved. Whatever was to be your mastery and full growth, that hasn’t been achieved and you got caught in a misconception. Therefore on no false premise should you think that, “I have become some great Sahaja Yogi” or anything. When you become very great, then you bow down and you keep bowing down automatically.

Look at these trees. The breeze is blowing in the opposite direction. Actually the trees should be bent towards this side (the land) when the breeze is flowing in this direction. But in which direction are the trees bowing down? Have you ever noticed that all the trees are facing that direction? Why? The breeze is coming from the sea and pushing them, even then, why are the trees bending towards the same side? And we don’t know how much further they might have bent without this breeze! Because they know that the sea is the one who is the giver of everything. Being reverent and extremely humble, they are bowing to it. And the one who is the giver – that is the dharma, the dharma which is inside us. When this gets fully awakened, starts fully manifesting, only then will the shriphala inside us be so sweet, so beautiful and so nourishing. And then the world will get to know from your life itself what you are, and not from anything else.

Now, fourteen times you have celebrated the birthday of this Sahasrara, and how many more years will you celebrate? But till this Sahasrara day, whenever you celebrated this birthday, your Sahasrara has also been opening and growing, along with it.

To accept any kind of compromise, to loosen hold of your Self, in any matter, does not behove a Sahaja Yogi. A person who is a Sahaja Yogi should bravely make his path and move forward. Any number of obstacles – the relatives, the family, this, that, all such ridiculous diversions – they have no meaning. These have been with you a thousand times. In this life you have to achieve something; and by your achieving it, if the others also get it, then they are blessed; it is their good fortune. If they don’t get it will you pull them up by your hands? It is like this, that if you go to the sea and have huge stones attached to your feet, and you request the sea, “Look, Sir, please swim me across.” The sea will reply, “First remove those stones tied to your feet, otherwise how can I carry you across?” To your feet you have tied these huge rocks. It is better to get rid of them, and if you can’t cut them off, then at least do this – keep yourself away from them. All these types of things that you have tied to your feet you must break them and rise higher. Tell them, “Go! Whatever you want you do, but have nothing to do with us.” Because there are so many more such badhas, and attaching these unnecessary badhas as well is of no use.

Look at the way these trees hold such a heavy fruit so high. How heavy is this fruit – it has water inside. It holds this fruit high. In the same way you have to hold your head high and while holding it high, remember that the head should be respectfully bowed towards the sea – the sea, which is the sign of dharma. It has to be reverently and humbly bowed towards the Dharma. Many Sahaja Yogis do not understand at all that, unless and until we have fully settled in the dharma, we just cannot be Sahaja Yogis. They go on committing all kinds of mistakes. For example many people take tobacco, smoke cigarettes, drink liquor; keep doing all this; and then they say, “We have not progressed in Sahaja Yoga.” Then how can that be? You yourself are after your own life.

There are some small-rules in Sahaja Yoga; very simple and straight forward ones. You have been given the power to follow these. Bring them fully in your daily observances, in your behaviour. And the biggest thing that is expressed in the bowing of the trees is to be reverently, devotedly, humbly bowed and to make that love shine through from within. Everything that you have received from the Divine, while surrendering that love to the Divine, we should keep in mind that we have love towards everyone.

Finally, it should be said that the brain or the Sahasrara in which there is no love – there I do not reside. Only the idea of love should occur in the mind. And what is to be done to manifest and radiate this love? If you reflect deeply, you will know that I am saying the same thing that: how can we fill our hearts with love? We should only consider that: “Whatever I am doing, is it in love? Is this being done in love? All that I am doing, is it in love? Is everything, my talking and all my activities are being done in love?” You can even beat someone in love; there is no harm in that. If there is something false we can beat the person; there is no harm. But is it happening in love?

The Devi killed so many rakshasas out of love. Even they were loved. And so, in order that they may not further deteriorate from rakshas to maharakshas and also because of the love for Her bhaktas, in order to save them, She killed the rakshasas. In her infinite power (anant shakti) also, is the expression of love only. That which is benevolent (hitha) is love. So are you expressing that sort of love is for their benevolence? This has to be understood. And if you are really doing that then you have accomplished and established that thing about which I have been speaking, namely that concord which should be achieved. So that concord has been established within you. There is only one Shakti (power) which we may call ‘love’. And it is only love that shapes all things to become beautiful, shapely and fully organised. That which is just dry thought has no meaning. And you know that dry thought comes only from ego.

And the second thing which comes from super-ego may well make it look beautiful from the outside but it is quite hollow inside. Therefore, one thing is dirty but dry, the other thing looks beautiful but is incapable of giving any joy (neeras), is absolutely hollow. One is without joy and the other quite hollow. The concord between these two is not possible to be attained in any way because they are in opposition to each other.

But after realisation and after coming to Sahaja Yoga, all contrariness is lost, and the two things which appeared to be in opposition to each other seem to become as if they are two parts of one thing only. And this happening should take place within you. Only the day when this happening takes place within us, can we accept that we have fully celebrated the 14th birthday of our Sahasrara.

May God bless you.

On this auspicious occasion: on my own behalf, on behalf of all the Devatas and on behalf of Paramatma, infinite blessings (anant ashirwad) to you all.