Nirmala Srivastava

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Born(1923-03-21)21 March 1923
Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, India
Died23 February 2011(2011-02-23) (aged 87)
Genoa, Italy
Known forSahaja Yoga
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1947)​
Websitehttp://www.sahajayoga.org/

Nirmala Srivastava (née Nirmala Salve; 21 March 1923 – 23 February 2011), also known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, was the founder and guru[1] of Sahaja Yoga, a new religious movement.[2][3] She claimed to have been born fully realised and spent her life working for peace by developing and promoting a simple technique through which people can achieve their self-realization.[4][5]

Early life

Born in

Shalivahana/Satavahana dynasty.[8] The former union minister N.K.P. Salve was her brother and the lawyer Harish Salve is her nephew. The Salve surname is one of several in the Satavahana Maratha clan.[citation needed
]

She passed her childhood years in the family house in Nagpur.

Christian Medical College in Ludhiana and the Balakram Medical College in Lahore.[9]

Shortly before India achieved independence in 1947, Shri Mataji married

honorary KCMG by Elizabeth II.[14] They had two daughters, Kalpana Srivastava[15] and Sadhana Varma.[16] In 1961, Nirmala Srivastava launched the "Youth Society for Films" to infuse national, social and moral values in young people. She was also a member of the Central Board of Film Certification.[citation needed
]

Sahaja Yoga

Main article: Sahaja Yoga
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi temple in Naddi

Nirmala Srivastava founded Sahaja Yoga in 1970.[17]

Practitioners believe that during meditation they experience a state of self-realization produced by kundalini awakening, and that this is accompanied by the experience of thoughtless awareness or mental silence.[18]

Shri Mataji described Sahaja Yoga as the pure, universal religion integrating all other religions.
Adi Shakti of the Hindu tradition, the great mother goddess who had come to save humanity.[19][21] This is also how she is regarded by most of her devotees.[22] Sahaja Yoga has sometimes been characterized as a cult.[23][24]

Later work

Nirmala Srivastava in 2011

In 2003 a charity house for the rehabilitation of destitute women was set up in Delhi (the Vishwa Nirmala Prem Ashram).[25] She set up the Shri P.K. Salve Kala Pratishthan in Nagpur as an international music school in the same year, to promote classical music and fine art.[5][26]

Until 2004, during her travels, she gave numerous public lectures,

better source needed
]

She spoke on several occasions about the harms of drinking alcohol[30] and that many people were cured from addiction when they got their self realization through Sahaja Yoga.[31]

Honors and recognition

  • Italy, 1986. Declared "Personality of the Year" by the Italian Government.[32]
  • New York, 1990–1994. Invited by the United Nations for four consecutive years to speak about means to achieve world peace.[33]
  • St. Peterburg, Russia, 1993. Appointed as honorary member of the Petrovskaya Academy of Art and Science.[34]
  • Romania, 1995. Awarded honorary doctorate in cognitive science by the Ecological University Bucharest.[35]
  • China, 1995. Official guest of the Chinese Government to speak at the United Nations International Women's Conference.[36]
  • Pune, India, 1996. On the occasion of the 700th Anniversary of Saint Gyaneshwara, she addressed the "World Philosophers Meet '96 - A Parliament of Science, Religion and Philosophy" at Maharashtra Institute of Technology.[37]
  • London, 1997. Claes Nobel, grandnephew of Alfred Nobel, chairman of United Earth, honoured her life and work in a public speech at the Royal Albert Hall.[38]
  • A road in Navi Mumbai, near the Sahaja Yoga Health and Research Center, was named in her honor.[39]
  • Cabella Ligure, Italy, 2006. She was awarded honorary Italian citizenship.[40]
  • Cabella Ligure, Italy, 2009. Bhajan Sopori and his son Abhay Sopori composed the raag Nirmalkauns in her honour.[41]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9780190466190
    . A few female gurus have gained international recognition... Sahaja Yoga's guru, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.
  2. ^ "Advies van het Informatie- en Adviescentrum inzake de Schadelijke Sektarische Organisaties (IACSSO) over Sahaja Yoga" (in Dutch). IACSSO. 7 March 2005.
  3. ISBN 978-1-892941-04-6
    .
  4. ^ Wayne Dyer, "The power of intention" "She is the primordial mother", p56-57, Hay House, 2004
  5. ^
    Indian Express. Express News Service. 25 February 2011. Archived
    from the original on 27 February 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  6. ^ a b c H.P. Salve, My memoirs (New Delhi: LET, 2000), chapter 1
  7. ^ "Origin and meaning of the name Nirmala". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2011.[verification needed]
  8. ^ a b "Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi's Family and Heritage". Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  9. ^ a b Biography at shrimataji.net Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi - Childhood". Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  11. ^ a b H.P. Salve, My memoirs (New Delhi: LET, 2000), chapter 4
  12. ^ "A message for one and all, The Hindu, 7 April 2003". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  13. ^ "Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi - College Years". Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Burke's Peerage". Burkespeerage.com. 8 July 1920. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  15. ^ "Portraits of former IMO Secretaries-General unveiled". Imo.org. 21 June 2005. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  16. ISBN 978-2-88169-001-3
  17. ISBN 978-0-02-865997-8
    .
  18. ^ Srivastava, Nirmala (1989). Sahaja Yoga Book One (2nd ed.). Australia: Nirmala Yoga.[non-primary source needed][page needed]
  19. ^
    ISBN 0-7007-1061-2
    .
  20. ^ INFORM staff. "Meditation and Mindfulness". INFORM – the information network on religious movements. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  21. ISBN 0226422798
    .: 191 
  22. ^ "Prophecies and Fulfillments". Sahaja Yoga Meditation. Vishwa Nirmala Dharma. 7 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017.
  23. ^ "Advies van het Informatie- en Adviescentrum inzake de Schadelijke Sektarische Organisaties (IACSSO) over Sahaja Yoga" (in Dutch). IACSSO. 7 March 2005.
  24. ^ Abgrall, Jean-Marie (2000). Soul Snatchers: The Mechanics of Cults. Algora Publishing. pp. 139–144.
  25. ^ Arshiya Khanna (16 November 2006). "A New Childhood". The Times of India. Archived from the original (Editorial) on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
  26. ^ "Shri P.K. Salve Kala Pratishthan". PKS Academy. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  27. ^ We want the world to know... Archived 4 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine "Shri Mataji has completed her work"
  28. ^ "Sunday 23rd March. You have to forgive – Easter puja talk". Shrimataji.org. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  29. ^ Shri Mataji allowed to offer her puja on the occasion of Buddha Purnima Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine (20 May 2008)
  30. ^ "Saturday 17th May. Will power and the menace called alcohol". Shrimataji.org. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  31. ^ "Stop Drinking with Yoga".
  32. ^ Rome, Marcus (21 May 2011). "Yogi shared teachings at no cost". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  33. ^ "A Selection of Awards and Recognitions". Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  34. ^ "International Scientific Conference, St. Peterburg". 00:15:46. 14 September 1994. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  35. ^ "Medical Conference, Ecological University of Bucharest". 55:17. 2 August 1995. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  36. ^ "Fourth World Conference On Women, Beijing, China". 13 September 1995. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  37. ^ "Public Program at Maharashtra Institute of Technology". 25 November 1996. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  38. ^ "Tribute To Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi By Claes Nobel". 3 July 1997. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  39. ^ "Awards and Achievements". Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  40. ^ "Cittadinanza onoraria, Il Secolo XIX" (in Italian). Il Secolo XIX. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  41. ^ "Nirmalkauns (Pandit Bhajan Abhay Sopori) in honor of Shri Mataji". YouTube. 0:14-3:03. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

Bibliography

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nirmala_Srivastava&oldid=1218691296"