Today we have gathered here to do the Sahasrara Puja. 'Sahasrara', the word 'Sahastr', in Sanskrit language, means one thousand. And there are one thousand petals in our brain, which get enlightened.
Of course, the doctors are quarreling on that point, but forget about them. Now these petals are kept ready for our enlightenment and these are really the nerves - one thousand nerves - which are there for the enlightenment of the brain.
So when the Kundalini rises she enlightens those one thousand nerves which become like, as you see here, the shape of these flames - like a petal. And that's why it is called as Sahasrara - the center of Sahasrara.
In the human beings it is a very important center, because this is the only center by which we think and we try to stop whatever we don't like. This is the center which reacts; reacts in such a manner that, without any discretion we start saying 'no' to this and 'no' to that - on small things also. Like somebody might say, 'I don't like this carpet, I don't like this house, I don't like that'. This language itself shows that - who are you? First find out. But you cannot become your Self unless and until this Sahasrara, this brain, is opened out and the Kundalini becomes one with the Paramchaitanya. Before that you are in complete ignorance about what is good and what is bad. Whatever you think for this brain is good, you do it. But whatever is really good you do not know because you do not know the reality.
Now we have to understand the consciousness that we have - consciousness of being alive, consciousness of so many things we have, and the so-called Knowledge we have about everything. All that consciousness is stored near the liver, for your information, by this diaphragm. But then this consciousness starts rising higher and higher, then you become aware. In the evolutionary process you become aware. Aware of things without going through your brain. You just become aware. And how? Not by thinking. Not by understanding or seeing, but you become aware because your brain has now started working in a manner that's very, very sensitive.
So you just become aware of some sort of a fear, or maybe some sort of a goodness, or anything. But it goes even further. The growth of consciousness, which becomes aware, goes further - where you start liking a person or disliking a person. But still it's nothing definite and sure. You dislike a person because he has a particular type of a face, maybe eyes or maybe anything. Or maybe because you have known somebody who has been very nice, so you start transferring that image on to others. With these transferred images you can hate or love someone. Then you start saying, 'I hate this', 'I hate that', which has no actual substantial meaning. You hate it because, perhaps, maybe such and such a person looks like somebody.
Now you go further with it then you see that 'such and such a person ...', now I'm not talking about things but about persons '...such and such a person has done this harm to me' - something positive. So you start feeling that you should hate that person. Now you start hating that person. With that hatred you develop new faculties of how to harm that person. Then you start thinking how to destroy that person, how to make his life miserable. Then you may beat that person, you may shout at that person, you may try to kill that person - you can do anything.
So now the awareness is going towards another direction, which is darkness, which is not light. Because in the light you won't do such a thing. In the light you see everybody is sitting. You know how far you are, where you are sitting. If you want to go out, you know how to walk out. But when in the darkness you are there, you just don't understand, and you go on behaving in a manner which cannot be explained otherwise, except that because you are a human being.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi May 9, 1999 Sahasrara Puja Cabella Ligure, Italy
Of course, the doctors are quarreling on that point, but forget about them. Now these petals are kept ready for our enlightenment and these are really the nerves - one thousand nerves - which are there for the enlightenment of the brain.
So when the Kundalini rises she enlightens those one thousand nerves which become like, as you see here, the shape of these flames - like a petal. And that's why it is called as Sahasrara - the center of Sahasrara.
In the human beings it is a very important center, because this is the only center by which we think and we try to stop whatever we don't like. This is the center which reacts; reacts in such a manner that, without any discretion we start saying 'no' to this and 'no' to that - on small things also. Like somebody might say, 'I don't like this carpet, I don't like this house, I don't like that'. This language itself shows that - who are you? First find out. But you cannot become your Self unless and until this Sahasrara, this brain, is opened out and the Kundalini becomes one with the Paramchaitanya. Before that you are in complete ignorance about what is good and what is bad. Whatever you think for this brain is good, you do it. But whatever is really good you do not know because you do not know the reality.
Now we have to understand the consciousness that we have - consciousness of being alive, consciousness of so many things we have, and the so-called Knowledge we have about everything. All that consciousness is stored near the liver, for your information, by this diaphragm. But then this consciousness starts rising higher and higher, then you become aware. In the evolutionary process you become aware. Aware of things without going through your brain. You just become aware. And how? Not by thinking. Not by understanding or seeing, but you become aware because your brain has now started working in a manner that's very, very sensitive.
So you just become aware of some sort of a fear, or maybe some sort of a goodness, or anything. But it goes even further. The growth of consciousness, which becomes aware, goes further - where you start liking a person or disliking a person. But still it's nothing definite and sure. You dislike a person because he has a particular type of a face, maybe eyes or maybe anything. Or maybe because you have known somebody who has been very nice, so you start transferring that image on to others. With these transferred images you can hate or love someone. Then you start saying, 'I hate this', 'I hate that', which has no actual substantial meaning. You hate it because, perhaps, maybe such and such a person looks like somebody.
Now you go further with it then you see that 'such and such a person ...', now I'm not talking about things but about persons '...such and such a person has done this harm to me' - something positive. So you start feeling that you should hate that person. Now you start hating that person. With that hatred you develop new faculties of how to harm that person. Then you start thinking how to destroy that person, how to make his life miserable. Then you may beat that person, you may shout at that person, you may try to kill that person - you can do anything.
So now the awareness is going towards another direction, which is darkness, which is not light. Because in the light you won't do such a thing. In the light you see everybody is sitting. You know how far you are, where you are sitting. If you want to go out, you know how to walk out. But when in the darkness you are there, you just don't understand, and you go on behaving in a manner which cannot be explained otherwise, except that because you are a human being.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi May 9, 1999 Sahasrara Puja Cabella Ligure, Italy
