Stop feeling Guilty..

"Don't be too harsh on yourself. Stop feeling guilty about what has happened. Forgive yourself and forgive others.''

For Mataji as she is popularly known, peace lies within an individual and it needs to be discovered. According to her, it is essential to go into the meditative state to reach that state. "And it is just the beginning of a transformation that takes us to a higher level of awareness,'' she said.

Shri Nirmala Devi noted that people were not aware of the subtle system that works within every being. Explaining the concept of "kundalini awakening'', she says that the kundalini was the energy that lay dormant in the sacrum (bone at the base of the spine). In a broader sense, kundalini awakening was the process of self-realisation, which helps a person overcome stress and heals the harried nervous system. She believes that self-realisation was a person's first encounter with reality.

According to the shastras also, she said, power resides within every human being. Sahaja Yoga uses this subtle inner instrument -- kundalini, to bring about a balance in the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being.

"When the kundalini is awakened, it helps the person humble down. It also brings about self-realisation. The awakening itself is known as self-realisation,'' she said. She added that people needed to relax today, and that too was possible with this awakening.

In her book, "Stress Management through Sahaja Yoga", she has explained that the left sympathetic nervous system, represents the power of desire of an individual, while the right represents power of action. "And it is the left side that you can control," she said, adding that there should be a balance between the two.

Sahaja Yoga aims at achieving holistic health care for people with meditation. Elaborating on the benefits of meditation, she said that a person could attain a peaceful state of mind and still stay alert. "One feels compassion for humanity and is able to let go of anger, hatred, fear, resentment and other negative traits that inhibit a person's growth,'' she said.