The Dark Roots of Caste System in India

They have asked me to talk about Indian culture today because Bombay is the place where Indian culture is disappearing, that's what they say. But I don't think so, because the roots are so deep that we cannot give up that culture so fast.

Now as it is for the people who are coming from other countries, they have to realize that this country had no religion as such, because there was not one book, they didn't follow one person, they didn't have any organizations as we have for other religions, we never had a higher priesthood or all those appointed people, it was all done very spontaneously. The whole thing worked out very spontaneously.

But behind all that was, as I told you before, the attitude of Indians or our style was, not to challenge or to question what these great saints have given us. Because we accepted their status as saints, as higher personalities in a way - in a sense they were higher than us. So we didn't want to challenge them, and whatever they said we accepted. As a result that became sort of, you can call it, a way of conduct or way of life.

But as a religion we had nothing, except that later on the caste system developed. Before that there was no caste system because non-Brahmins wrote about Shri Rama or wrote about Shri Krishna. It's very surprising how we accepted all that, never challenged whether it was written by a Brahmin or not.

'Brahmin' was that who knew about Brahma principle, the principle of all-pervading Divine Love. Everybody was not a Brahmin, but later on they made it like this, whosoever is born in a Brahmin family was a Brahmin, whosoever was born in another caste belonged to that. But because of the father's heritance, you can say inherited, they also had the profession that they were following. So according to the professions, the religions, or you can say the castes were established; no religion, but caste."

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

December 31, 1998

New Year Puja

India Tour

Kalve

The culture of the Spirit is timeless

"Today I was thinking of talking, telling you about the Sahaja Culture...

So the culture is the pattern of behavior we have with others. Is a common pattern of behavior we are supposed to have with others...
So the culture of the Spirit doesn't change. It's universal, and is higher than any other culture. Apart from that it integrates all the essences of all the cultures...

So for a person who is imbibed with the culture of spirit, the Sahaj culture, impresses others by his calmness and relaxed attitude. Relaxation never means lethargy, by any chance. It doesn't mean lethargy. Lethargy is against relaxation. A person who is relaxed cannot become lethargic. "Relaxed" means a person who's alert and calm. These two things for human beings is an impossibility, because if they are alert, if they are alert then they're not calm. If they're unhappy, sad, then they think they are very, very calm. So this is one of the things one has to remember, that you have to witness yourself all the time. Not to condemn yourself, but witness.

Now I said the word "witness" means "detached". Now what happens with this, when you start condemning yourself, you miss every good point. For example, you have some experience of a sudden height being achieved. All right? At that point you should catch hold of it, hold on to it, keep doing, but don't forget that you may go back, no. And then wait for another higher moment to come, hold on to it. That's how you climb Himalayas. But not that, "Oh Ma. Now it's all right, but what will happen next?" Then you are gone down, because you have to face yourself in the way, knowing what are your powers. You are a spirit now, you are no more an ordinary human being, so you have no business to condemn yourself, or to degrade yourself, or in any way to feel unhappy. No way. Past is past. What happened a moment before is finished. "Now I am going to rise. Now I am going to rise."

So a person who has a Sahaja culture is not only spontaneous, but is inspired, is an inspired personality. A person who is of that kind, an inspired visionary, then other people get impressed by such a person that, "See, there's a man who's inspired, who talks in an inspired way, in a way that is something very different from others." Something new he says, new that is nourishing. "

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi    October 6, 1985    "Sahaj Culture"    New Jersey Ashram, USA

What Diwali Means

Now you have to enlighten many lights. We call it "Deepawali". Diwali is Deepawali, means "the rows of lights". And by celebrating this Diwali with so many of you, I'm sure we'll have such a torch of light which will go round the whole world. Just remember you are not a small drop, now you have become the ocean and you have to spread. Now you are sitting on your thrones, and assume your powers. You have all the powers within you, you have to just manifest it. You have to just feel yourself, understand yourself, what is your responsibility. You've been asking for light, now you've got the light. You have become the light, now give light to others...

Now the celebration of Diwali should be that we carry the light all over the world and enlighten people, as many as we can. None of our private things, none of our own problems are important. So that is what it is, that we have to realize that we have got a certain position which no one has in this world. So once you understand, your own esteem goes up and you see for yourself what you have to do.

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
October 25, 1992  
Diwali Puja  
Timisoara, Romania