Biography

Her parents both shared a deep love of their country, its great spiritual tradition and values. They were actively involved in the struggle for Indian independence. As a child, Nirmala frequently stayed with Mahatma Gandhi in his ashram. Due to their affiliation with the Swaraj movement, her parents were often jailed for their participation in this nonviolent movement to free India. Thus, at a very young age Nirmala, already showing signs of great leadership, took responsibility to care for her older and younger siblings during their parents’ absence.

In her teens, she, too, joined this struggle for independence by becoming a youth leader, bravely leading picket lines and defying armed police. She also was jailed and tortured for her participation in the Quit India Movement but this never affected her determination to take part in the fight for the freedom of India. In 1942 she chose to study medicine because as she later said that “I studied a little bit of medical science to understand what a human being is.” (22/12/73) However, in 1947 these medical studies were cut short due to the troubled times, so her family then thought it would be timely for her to marry.

So it was on the 7th April 1947, that Shri Mataji, then the 24-year-old Miss Nirmala Salve married Chandrika Prasad Srivastava and settled into married life, supporting her eminent husband in his diplomatic career and raising their two daughters. From this time to 1970, Shri Mataji courageously stood against prejudice, offered protection to those in need, nourished a growing family, farmed the land, encouraged culture through music and film, constructed numerous homes, engaged in charitable work, fulfilled everyday household duties, was a loving wife and mother, a supportive sister and eventually a grandmother.

All the while, she was deepening her perception of human nature, focusing her attention on the best way to help human beings rise to their highest potential. She understood that this transformation could only occur through the process of Self realisation, which is the activation of the inbuilt subtle energy present in all of us. Her father had intuitively known his daughter’s potential. Shri Mataji recounts:  “My father felt that I would do something great in this life. I don’t know if he dreamed it or simply understood it, but all the time he used to say, ‘you have to find out the way of giving en-masse realisation.’ By realisation he was meaning the need for a deep, spiritual awakening in people.” (9/7/86)

Then on 5th May 1970 on the seashore near the village of Nargol, just before dawn, having meditated all night she had a profound experience. She describes it thus:
“I was all alone and I felt very good. There was no one around to say a word. And then, in meditation, I felt that the time had arrived when the Sahasrara [the crown chakra] must be opened. At the moment I desired for the opening of the Sahasrara, what I noticed was that the Kundalini rose like a telescope within me, opening one after the other, travelling upwards. It was like the colour of molten, red-hot iron. Then I saw the external structure of the Kundalini that kept rising up, creating sounds at each chakra. The Kundalini rose up to pierce the Brahmarandhra.” (29/10/95)

The Brahmarandhra is the fontanel bone area at the top of the head. The experience Shri Mataji described was that of Self realisation, the connection that enables a new awareness of spiritual dimensions that so many desire.

“I felt at that moment whatever energy was there above suddenly entered within me like a cool breeze from every direction. I saw the whole thing open and a big torrential rain of breeze started flowing through my head all over. I felt I was lost now, I was no more. It is only the grace that was there. I saw it completely happening to me.” (29/10/95)

Shri Mataji knew that this experience was the trigger for her to be able to start giving Self realisation and raising the awareness in human beings.

“It was then I realised that there was no harm in starting the work. The confusion was over. At last, the time had come. There was nothing to fear. This ultimately had to be done. I had come to this world for this purpose only, to awaken the collective consciousness in human beings. I thought, until people receive their Self realisation or understand their own Self, this task will be impossible. Whatever else one would have tried to do in this world would be of no use at all.” (29/10/95)

Shri Mataji continued, “I worked it out on an old lady who knew me well. When she received her realisation I was then satisfied. I felt many others could also get their realisation. It was easy to give realisation to one person. It was very easy to make one person aware, but to work it out on a collective level on the masses, some more work was needed.”

So she gathered a group of seekers around her and worked with them and eventually twelve had their realisation. She knew then that mass realisation was possible. She then gave realisation to all who were willing and worked with infinite patience, giving lectures and imparting cosmic truths skilfully in simple terms. She taught spiritual culture and clearing techniques to a growing band of followers, and Sahaja Yoga was gradually established. It was then that she became known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the Respected Pure Divine Mother.

In 1972 Shri Mataji sold her own jewellery to finance a trip to America to hold programs and give Self realisation. She felt that America would be significant in spreading Sahaja Yoga to the world. The response was disappointing, as materialism and superficiality distracted seekers from their spirituality. However, a seed was planted and she returned nine years later with much more success. In 1973 her husband was transferred to London and Shri Mataji landed on 31 December 1973 to begin her work with the seekers of the United Kingdom.

Again she was disappointed with the condition of “her seekers”, who used drugs and were physically, mentally and emotionally distraught. She worked for four years on seven people. Housing them, feeding them, clearing them, spiritually nurturing them, guiding them and eventually enlightening them. She said “I could see the defects of people but I knew that when this unconditional love will be showered on them they would come to Sahaja Yoga one day and attain God” (5/3/1989).

Eventually, in 1977 she started giving public programs at Caxton Hall in London where she lectured and worked on people individually, spending hours dealing with their problems, pouring vibrations of love and raising them up and bestowing realisation. In 1980 she began giving realisation programs in Paris, then Switzerland and in provincial cities throughout the UK. In March 1981, programs were held in Hong Kong and Australia with great success. She returned to Europe to continue her work and later that year she went back to America. Meanwhile, she was constantly travelling to India where Sahaja Yoga was thriving.