Shri Mataji's talk on the global problems facing women today

Address by Dr (Mrs) Nirmala Srivastava to the Inter-regional Round Table Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, September 13, 1995

Brothers and Sisters of the World,

It is a great honour for me to talk about global problems of women in front of this distinguished assembly. First of all I would like to offer my profound gratitude to the government and the people of our host country, the People's Republic of China. I have had the privilege of visiting China on two previous occasions and I am a great admirer of the wisdom and culture of this great nation that I have visited.

This is, beyond my imagination, the most glorious time in the history of the world that at this time we are so much aware of the problems of women. Women as a whole have definitely suffered over the ages because we have not realised what their importance is and what their proper role is in human society. Society itself, which is her creation, tries to control or put down the womanhood.

In the East, we can say, that due to fundamentalist influence women have been under great pressure and their morality is based on fear rather than freedom. In the West they have fought for their freedom, but what they have attained is spurious freedom. The women in the West have the freedom to abandon all social and moral values. Thus in the East, we can say, that most of the women are timid, oppressed and cannot express themselves, while in the West we find most of the women are reduced to a sex symbol. They are keen to expose their body; their anxiety is to appear in fashion advertisements and very cheap popularity. Most of them accepted this position because otherwise they could not have survived in that chaotic world of the West.

What most of the women in the East would regard as very humiliating and degrading is regarded as something very glorifying in the West. I have seen both the worlds very deeply and I feel that unless and until you bring a new culture by which women from the East and women from the West can both rise in their own esteem and express themselves in such a way that they create high moral standards for their society, women neither in the East nor in the West will rise to their full stature of feminine speciality. The speciality is that if women are respected for their womanhood, understanding what they are capable of and how they can empower themselves with all the education needed, all the security will be provided to them and they will provide security to the society.

All the fundamentalists who talk of religion expect women to be absolutely moral and the men can do whatever they like. I feel we have to educate men more than women. I must admit it is not difficult to collect money for poor women in the developing countries and help them to get out of their poverty, but unfortunately, my knowledge is that the money we are collecting may not reach the poor women but may end up into the pockets of the corrupt ministers, bureaucrats and other people in charge.

I do not want to criticize any UN organization because I know they are very honest in their purpose, but they must be made aware of what is happening under the table. We in India have two very big states called as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which are very much helped by UNICEF as well as the World Health Organization. UNICEF started a project called Angan, meaning courtyard, where the children were to be educated and brought up in a proper shape. This project is not at all working for the children but all the money goes into the pockets of all the corrupt people who are in charge of that project and the children do not get even two percent of what is being sent for them. Same with the World Health Organization, which is sending medicines and equipment to India. These medicines are sold in the market and are completely used by the recipients for their own gains. The same happens to WHO equipment. So the poor people never get any benefit and they remain all the time helpless.

One has to have a very good network of people, specially women, who are involved and who are honest, compassionate and who would like to make the best out of this money, helping the women to achieve social equality. The main work of womanhood is to create a good society.

Immorality and corruption are the two horrible monsters which are eating up our society. I would blame the mothers of these immoral and corrupt persons because they failed in their duty as mothers in their childhood. The loving training of the mother is the first and most effective influence in shaping the children into beautiful citizens. Mothers who have never tried to guide with great concern and love, or the wives or the daughters who are falling into the fear of the men or of the destructive culture, have not done their duty as integral members of the family to strengthen the moral fibre of the men.

It is important also to see how children are treated in these two cultures of East and West. What we see in the East is that children would listen to their mothers if they are not under fundamentalist culture. This culture relegates women to the level of an inferior human being, fit to be dominated by men and children. In the West also the same thing happens. Children don't respect their mothers neither do they listen to them.

I feel this is because, generally, the Western women spend more time looking after their body and looks than on looking after and loving their children. The nexus between the mother and children weakens and breaks. It is for this reason that many children become street urchins. Fortunately there are still many families in the East and some in the West who deeply defy the corrupting trends of today and look after their children and bring them up properly.

But still I must say that the children in the East are not that much ruined as they are in the West. The reason, also, is that in the East there are many people who have not taken to fundamentalist culture or to the Western culture and have a very good society and produce children who are exceptionally good although this number may not be very great. But whatever culture they have inherited, since long, traditionally, is very much ingrained in them and to them the moral value system is the highest, more than money or power.

The West is now full of problems. Though they have money, they don't have peace within and without. The truth is that women are the potential power of every civilization and every country. It is evident that women are the creators and the preservers of the entire humankind. This is the role that the almighty God has assigned to them. Seeds cannot create anything by themselves. It is the Mother Earth which provides the flowers and the fruits and other bounties. Similarly, it is the woman who creates the child, who nurtures the baby and eventually brings up the citizen of tomorrow.

Women must therefore rank with Mother Earth as the edifice of the entire humanity. Unfortunately, men have utilized muscle power to gain a dominating position over women. They have not recognized that women are complementary and equal but not similar partners in human endeavors. A society that does recognize this fundamental truth and does not given to women their rightful role is not a civilized society.

In my own country there is a saying in Sanskrit, "Yatra nayra pujyante tatra ramante devata" , which means that "Where the women are respected and respectable, there resides the Gods of our well-being". So it is for us, at this moment, to recognize the value of this great power that is given to us by our Creator. But what do we find? Whether in the East or in the West, women have not been able to give a full manifestation of their greatness. I am not suggesting at all that the only role of women in society is that of the Mother, the pro-creator and preserver of children, or that of a wife, or a sister.

Women have a full right to participate as equal partners in every aspect of life; social, cultural, educational, political, economical, administrative and the rest. In order to prepare themselves for this all pervading role, they must have the right to education in all branches of knowledge. But if they are mothers, they have a great responsibility towards their children as well as their society. Men are responsible for the politics and economics of the country but women are responsible for the society. Women can also support men and they can take leading part, of course, in any position but, it is very important that they should not forget that they are women who have to manifest deep motherly concern and love. If they become manly and aggressive the balance of society cannot be maintained.

At the same time I must submit that while we ask for the rights of women we must also stress the fundamental duties of women to the human society. The women in the West, or those who are educated in the West, have gone to the other extreme when they are taking to political, economical or administrative role. To compete with men they have become much too s elf-willed, self-centered and ambitious. They have no more their soothing and pleasing qualities which can keep the balance. On the contrary, they become dominating, pleasure-seeking individuals. They are far more worried about their physical attractions than having a pleasing, sweet and dignified personality. They give into their baser self much faster than men, wittingly or unwittingly.

All this leads to chaotic societies and children grow up into street urchins, thieves and even murderers as we read everyday in the paper. What we need is a balance between the two extremes. We need women as equal but not similar partners wit h men, but with a subtle understanding of the nature of men and how to bring them into the centre with inner balance. We need balanced women in order to have a balanced human race with peace within itself. You might say all this is excellent in thought, but how do we achieve this state of balance? How do we stem the tide of diseases, corruption, immorality and immaturity. How do we end the present state of conflict and confusion? How do we bring about peace within every mind and heart?

I very humbly submit that there is an answer to these questions. There is a new way.

Whatever I am going to tell you now is not be taken for granted. You should, of course, have your minds open like scientists and treat whatever I am stating as a hypothesis. If this hypothesis can be proved, then you have to accept it as honest persons as the absolute truth because it is for your benevolence. It is for the benevolence of your family, It is for the benevolence of your country and for the benevolence of the whole world.

I am here to tell you about the last breakthrough of our evolution. This breakthrough of our evolution in our awareness has to happen in these modern times and has been , moreover, recorded in the writings of many seers. These are the times called as the "Decadent Times" last called by the great saint Vyasa who has written the Gita, and it is the decadence of humanity that we see around in every way possible.

Now I would like to tell the secret knowledge of our inner being which was known in India thousands of years back. For our evolution and spiritual ascent there is a residual power within us which is located in the triangular bone at the base of our spine. This residual power is known as Kundalini. Though the knowledge of this power was available thousands of years back in India, the awakening of the Kundalini was done, traditionally, on an individual basis only. One guru would given awakening to one disciple.

As a result of that awakening, what happens is that you achieve your self-realisation, your self-hood. Secondly, when this power is awakened, it rises and passes through six subtle energy centres in your body, nourishing them and integrating them. Ultimately, this power breaks through the fontanel bone area called as the Talu or the Brahmarandra and connects you to the all-pervading power of Divine love, which is described in the bible also as the "cool breeze of the Holy Ghost" also in the Koran as "Ruh" and also in the Indian scriptures as "Paramchaitanya". Patanjali has called it as "Ritambhara Pragya". Whatever the name, this is a power which is all-pervading, which does all the subtle works of living process, of evolutionary process. The existence of this all-pervading energy is not felt before realisation but after self-realisation you can feel it on your finger tips or at the centre of your palm or above the fontanel bone area.

Moreover, this process has to be spontaneous, "Sahaja". "Saha" means "with" and "ja" means "born". That means the right to get this union with the all-pervading power of Divine love is the birth right of every human being. Our mental energies are limited. Our limited mental energy, which is linear in movement and has not sustenance of reality, reaches a point and stops. From there it boomerangs and all that mental, linear movement comes back to us as a punishment sometimes. So now we need more energy, higher energy, deeper energy and for that this happening has to take place.

I must say that in the West, I have met many people who are true seekers of Truth and are fed up of artificiality of the Western life. Also they didn't know what they were seeking sometimes and they have made lots of mistakes. They have gone to false gurus who have taken lots of money and the people have become bankrupts and mentally and physically handicapped. The one thing you must note is that the awakening of the Kundalini and thus achieving self-realisation is a living process of evolution for which we cannot pay anything. It is like putting a seed in the Mother Earth. It sprouts because Mother Earth has the power to sprout it and the seed has an in-built germinating quality within it.

In the same way we have this germinating power in the triangular bone which Greeks called as Sacrum. Actually in some people you can see this triangular bone pulsating and the Kundalini very slowly rising, but where there are no obstructions and if the person is a balance being, the Kundalini rises form the Sacrum just like a jet and passes through the fontanel bone area to become one with the all-pervading power. This Kundalini is the spiritual mother of every individual and She knows or has recorded all the past aspirations of Her child. She is anxious to give second birth to Her child and during Her ascent, She nourishes six energy centres. When a person is not connected to the all pervading power, he is like an instrument which is not connected to the mains and has no identity, has no meaning, has no purpose.

As soon as it is connected, all that is built in inside this instrument starts working and manifesting itself. When this Kundalini rises it connects you to the all pervading power, which is vital and which is an ocean of knowledge as well as an ocean of bliss. After the awakening of Kundalini, you experience many coincidences which are miraculous and extremely blissful. Above all Kundalini is the ocean of forgiveness. So what ever mistakes you have committed in the past are forgiven and instead you get your self-realisation as a blessing.

The consequences of the awakening of the Kundalini and thereby the attainment of self-realisation are numerous. First and foremost, such a person is constantly in contact with or is in fact a part of the all pervading Divine power. He seeks the truth by using his new awareness. And truth is one, all self-realised persons see this same truth. Thus conflicts are avoided. Purely mental activity without self-realisation, leads to conflicting ideas and even wars. All this is avoided after self-realisation.

Now, let us see how many other things happen in a person who gets realisation. Firstly you start feeling the cool breeze of the Holy Ghost on your fingertips, which represent the subtle energy centres. Thus you know the truth on your finger tips. You transcend all the limitations of race, religion and other ideas and you go beyond your mind to see and feel the reality and understand it. The next thing that happens is that you become thoughtlessly aware. We live in the future and the past through our thoughts. They come to us from these two areas of time but we cannot be in the present.

While these thoughts are rising and falling we are jumping on the cusp of these thoughts. But when Kundalini rises She elongates these thoughts and thereby creates some space in-between which is the present, which is the reality. So the past is over and the future doesn't exist. At that time you have no thoughts. You reach a new state as you become thoughtlessly aware about which Jung has written clearly. At this moment whatsoever happens is recorded in your memory well and you enjoy every moment of this in reality. When you become thoughtlessly aware then you become completely peaceful within yourself.

A person who has achieved this peace also emits peace and creates a peaceful atmosphere around himself. This peace is very important. Unless and until we have this peace we will never truly understand whatever our ideas are, whether universal or just limited. You can feel your own seven centres on your fingertips. Also you can feel the centres of others because you develop a new level of awareness which is called as collective consciousness. When such new awareness is established into you, you start feeling also the centres of others.

I must tell you that these centres are responsible for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being and when they are affected or they are in jeopardy, people suffer from one disease or another. As a result of the awakening of the Kundalini and the nourishment of these centres, an important development would be that you will feel an inner balance and you will enjoy good health. Many diseases, even some incurable ones, have been cured by the awakening of the Kundalini. Even the data base of the inherited genes may be restructured after self-realisation through the awakening of the Kundalini. As a result, a person who might have inherited genes indicating criminal tendency might become a good man.

Our attention also becomes very pure. In the light of the spirit we can see things much more clearly than when we were blind. For example, a person who goes with his blind eyes and feels an elephant and then another comes in and a third comes in, all of them have different ideas about the elephant, depending on whichever part of the elephant they have touched. But if they open their eyes then they can all see the same thing, the reality and there will be no quarrel and fights.

A self-realised person can feel the absolute knowledge on the fingertips. Supposing someone doesn't believe in God. A self-realised person can suggest to the non-believer that he should ask the question: "Is there God?" The questioner will get, you will find, a very nice cool breeze coming into his being. He may not believe in God but there is God.

Unfortunately, so many of those who believe in God are also absurd, hypocritical, cruel, weird and so immoral that people have lost faith in God, But while those who represent God may be wrong, God himself exists and his power also exists which we call as the all-pervading power of Divine love.

This is the power of love and compassion and not of aggression and destruction when it is imbibed in a yogi or in a self-realised person, it works in a very different way like an angel. Such people can cure others and cure themselves. Even mental cases have been cured. Not only that. Even those who have been to wrong gurus in their search of truth have achieved their spiritual stability after leaving false gurus and coming to the path of self-realisation.

In the next stage, you become thoughtlessly aware, when your Kundalini is stabilised and you know undoubtedly that you have achieved your self-realisation, that you have attained all the powers that can be utilised. You become very powerful because you can raise the Kundalini of others. You become very active and you don't feel tired easily. For example, I am seventy three years of age and I am traveling about every third day, but I am quite alright. This energy flows into you and fills you up with vitality. You become extremely dynamic and at the same time extremely compassionate, kind and mild. You feel that you are protected and thus you are confident but not egotistical. Your whole personality changes. This is the kind of global transformation which is taking place with such a speed all over that I, myself, am surprised at how it is working out so fast.

Actually, this knowledge existed a long time back but my contribution, if there is any, is that we can now achieve en-masse realisation. Thousands can achieve mass realisation. It is a gift of this time where it was predicted that such global transformation will take place. In as many as 65 countries, thousands of people have attained their self-realisation through Sahaja Yoga.

The power of Kundalini is the pure desire of attaining your selfhood. If someone doesn't want to have it, you cannot force him because the Divine respects the freedom of that person. If he wants to go to heaven, he can go there, or if he wants to go to hell, he can go to hell. Self-realisation can be attained easily if the people have a sincere and pure desire to get their self-realisation. But if they stick to some of their ideas, which are fixed, the Kundalini won't rise. Also it cannot work for idiots or for immature people. It works for people who are wise, who are more in the centre, and it works very fast.

I was amazed to see that it has worked even on people who were drug addicts , who were alcoholics and who were very immoral. But they all had an intense and pure desire to secure self-improvement, self-realisation. So many of such people achieved their goal of self-realisation. Overnight, they gave up their drugs, their alcoholism . Thus you become very powerful and at the same time you understand that you are now glorified and you start behaving in a very dignified and a very sensible manner.

This is how a new culture is born and this new culture takes you , in a way, into a new style of life where you become innately, I say innately, righteous. Nobody has to tell you: "Don't do this" and "Don't do that". It is all achieved through your enlightened attention. This enlightened attention is also full of power. Wherever you put your attention it works, it creates peace, it creates harmony and also it creates a new dimension of collective consciousness.

So to blame your genes for your mistakes is not going to work out anymore because these genes can be changed in their database and can be brought to the level of a very righteous, angelic personality. The ego and the conditioning of a person gets dissolved by the ascent of the Kundalini and he becomes really a free bird. Absolute freedom is achieved in reality and his behavior changes tremendously with great faith in himself. He becomes a witness of the whole drama of life.

When you are in the water you are afraid of getting drowned, but supposing you get into a boat, you can watch the same waters with enjoyment. But if you learn how to jump in the water and save others then it is even a higher situation and so we have a higher awareness which we call as doubtless awareness. Above all, we fall into the ocean of joy. Joy is absolute. It doesn't have duality. It is not like happiness and unhappiness. It is a singular thing and once you jump into it you learn easily how to enjoy everything, whether it is beautiful or ridiculous. In one case you see the beauty; in the other you see the humour as to how people are ridiculous.

The remarkable thing is that Sahaja Yogis have become great musicians, great writers, great speakers, great administrators. In every way they have rise very high, specially in their attitude toward others. They respect everyone and they know what is wrong with other people so that they can approach them carefully, gently to see that this person who has these problems can be easily evolved and become a self-realised soul. It is like one candle lighting another candle. This work is going on all over the world and there is great hope that it will also start in China.

Before this, somehow, I could not start my work but the Divine coincidence has given a chance to me by this conference to talk to Chinese people, who I find very wise and sensitive, about the great treasure of spirituality. This is not a coincidence. It was inevitable and has been brought about by this all-pervading power. In your life also you will notice lots of coincidences but you will not know how to connect them to something that is Divine unless and until you get connected to the Divine power.

Confucius has taught the humanity how we can improve our relations with other human beings. But Lao Tse in China has very beautifully described Tao, meaning the Kundalini. And I have had a voyage through the Yangtze River through which Lao Tse had gone many times. I know he was trying to show that this river which is the Kundalini, is flowing towards the sea and one should not be tempted by the nature that is around. The nature around the Yangtze River is very, very beautiful, no doubt, but one has to go through the river. Also there are lots of currents which flow and can be quite dangerous and we need a good navigator who should take his ship across to the point where it is nearer the sea. At that stage it becomes very silent and extremely simple in its flow.

This country has been endowed with great philosophers, I would say the greatest was Lao Tse, because humanism was for the preparation of human beings for their ascent about which Lao Tse had spoken. But because of the subtle subject it was not described in such a clear-cut manner as I am talking to you. It is such a pleasure for me to talk to this august gathering here. After traveling all over the world, I realise that China is one of the best countries as far as spirituality is concerned.