The religious market of modern Russia is flooded with a huge number of both traditional and "non-traditional religious organizations." The activities of many of the so-called "non-traditional religious movements" raise questions about both their theory and their practice. And today we will try to consider one of such movements of "non-traditional spirituality", namely Sahaja Yoga, given that its founder Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (Nirmala Srivastava) herself calls not to accept her teachings blindly: "We must be free people, people with an open mind, like scientists, to see for ourselves what the truth is. If someone preaches something, says something, it should not be accepted blindly"1. It is only fair that we try, as far as possible, to answer as impartially as possible a number of questions: Does Sahaja Yoga have anything to do with science? Is it possible to combine Sahaja Yoga with Christianity? What is Sahaja Yoga? This is all the more relevant because, as Nirmala Devi teaches, "Our value system must change, and if it does not automatically change, then we must work specifically on it." So let's think about whether Nirmala Srivastava offers a system of values worthy of application. Very often, representatives of "non-traditional religious movements" reject criticism addressed to them, hiding behind the critics' incorrect understanding of what the founder of this or that organization wanted to say. In order to reduce the possibilities of such anti-criticism, in this work the author will actively quote primary sources, which will allow readers to independently figure out how justified the conclusions of the article are. In any case, the author will adhere to the principle "the texts speak for themselves", reducing his comments to a minimum. I would also like to note that all the information given in the article about Sahaja Yoga is borrowed from primary sources, i.e. books and magazines published by the Sahajists themselves. No other sources of information about Sahaja Yoga were used in the article. Well, now, after a short introduction, let's move on to the main topic of our article.

Mrs. Srivastava writes: "The word 'Sahaja' means 'innate' and 'Yoga' means the 'union' of our real Self (Spirit) with the all-pervading Divine Energy, the energy of love and compassion that permeates every atom of the universe. This energy, which does all the living work in the universe, is known in Hinduism as Paramchaitanya, in Islam as Rukh, and in Christianity as the Holy Spirit."3 To what extent the identification of the Holy Spirit with the "All-Pervading Divine Energy" is justified, we will discuss below. In the meantime, let us dwell on the question of the claims of Sahaja Yoga. As Nirmala Srivastava writes, "Sahaja Yoga is the ultimate goal of every religion, every form. It is not limited to one religion, but combines the best of all religions"4; "The task of Sahaja Yoga is the liberation of all humanity, at any level"5; "Sahaja Yoga is not an individual, but a collective achievement, and it works under the condition of collectivity... Sahaja Yoga is manifested only in the collective"6; "There is no hierarchy in Sahaja Yoga. There are no priests. All are equally equal."7 Nirmala's words about the equality of all in Sahaja Yoga should not be taken with much credence, at least the status of Nirmala Srivastavu herself is clearly different from that of the ordinary members of her organization. We will talk about this below. In any case, as can be seen from all of the above, Mrs. Srivastava's claims are very serious, in fact, Sahaja Yoga claims a leading religious role in the world. Who is the founder of Sahaja Yoga?

The founder of Sahaja Yoga calls herself Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. Nirmala Devi was born on March 21, 1923 in India in a Protestant family8. Her parents were highly educated people. His father translated the Quran into Hindi, and his mother had a degree in mathematics. As a child, Nirmala Devi often visited the ashram of Mahatma Gandhi9. She studied at a medical college. In 1947, she married Mr. Srivastava, who worked for 16 years as Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization at the United Nations. Nirmala Srivastavu has two already married daughters and four grandchildren.10 But that's what can be said about the ordinary side of her life. Now let's move on to its sacred status in Sahaja Yoga. So, who is Nirmala Srivastavu in the eyes of the Sahajists? As Mrs. Srivastavu teaches, "I declare that I am the One who is to save humanity. I declare that I am the One Who is the Adi Shakti11 (Holy Spirit), Who is the Mother of all mothers, Who is the primordial Mother, the Shakti, the Desire of God, Who incarnated on this Earth to give meaning to Herself, to this creature, to the people. And I am sure that through My love, patience and My strength, I will achieve this. I was the One who was born again and again. But now, in My absolute form and with My absolute powers, I have come to this earth not only for the salvation of people, not only for their liberation, but for the sake of giving them the Kingdom of Heaven, the joy and bliss that your Father wants to bestow upon you."12 It should be noted that in the system of Sahaja Yoga the main place is occupied not by yoga, but by its founder: "You should completely devote yourself to Me, not to Sahaja Yoga, but to Me. Sahaja Yoga is just one of my expressions. Leave everything, you must become devoted. Complete self-sacrifice – otherwise you will not be able to ascend further. Do not argue and do not ask."13 In fact, Nirmala Srivastavu claims the role of Jesus Christ, who is the only Savior for Christians (Luke 2:11).

The founder of Sahaja Yoga talks a lot about the science and scientificity of the system she has created, probably due to the influence of her parents, whom, judging by the ideas put forward by her, Nirmala Srivastavu clearly did not rise, at least in terms of education. For example, about Sahaja Yoga we read: "Sahaja Yoga is a meta-science, a science of spirituality, confirmed by practice and scientific research and uniting the true knowledge of all religions of the world."14 Apparently, Mrs. Srivastavu does not realize that metascience, parascience and other pseudosciences have nothing to do with academic science. Science in general does not aim at uniting "the knowledge of all religions"15, this is claimed by theosophy, Bahaism, agni yoga, etc., i.e. teachings of a mystical kind16, but not by science.17 There is only one science, it is based on logic, rational thinking, and scientific methodology.18 Everything that rejects the scientific approach does not belong to science, including mysticism. This may not appeal to representatives of metasciences, but it is true. And, by the way, a real scientist does not make unsubstantiated statements. If Mrs. Srivastavu assures her disciples that Sahaja Yoga is scientific, I would like to see the references to the studies, the methodology used in the research, the results, etc. But in reality, the big words about the scientific nature of Sahaja Yoga are never supported by real evidence in the form of references to scientific studies that anyone can get acquainted with. Representatives of the world of science do not do this. That Sahaja Yoga has nothing to do with science is evident from the words of Nirmala Srivastavu herself: "... Science cannot explain how the process occurs. The principle of action of this energy can be understood only when you feel it, when you receive realization."19 If science cannot explain the principle of action of the energy invoked by Mrs. Srivastava, then what does science have to do with Sahaja Yoga? Further, Nirmala Srivastavu assures his followers that science cannot answer the questions that Sahaja Yoga answers: "Where do so many of us get the feeling of disappointment, hopelessness and uncertainty? Why do people die from mental and physical disorders even in developed, advanced countries of the world? Science does not provide an answer to this question. Let us then turn to spirituality."20 So what is Sahaja Yoga for Mrs. Srivastavu herself – science or spirituality? Or maybe Mrs. Guruinya herself was already confused about who she was and what her system was? It is interesting to note that Nirmala Srivastavu's statements about the scientific nature of her system and at the same time about the inability of science to answer the questions answered by Sahaja Yoga, in the author's opinion, clearly violate one of the main laws of logic, namely the principle of non-contradiction. These statements are clearly incompatible with each other. But if Sahaja Yoga rejects the foundation of science, logic, then how can Sahaja Yoga be scientific? As mentioned above, science is based on rational thinking. In contrast, Nirmala Srivastavu rejects rational thinking: "It is not a mental, not a rational understanding; it is the light of the Spirit that gives energy and spontaneously dispels the darkness"22; "Enlightened people were called Gnostics. This name comes from the Sanskrit word gna, which means "knowledge". But the knowledge that is not acquired through the brain, because the brain, or reason, leads to rationality, which has no wisdom behind it. Rationality can lead anywhere, it can justify anything, because it is not absolute. Therefore, it is necessary to go beyond rationality, to develop a higher perception of divinity, with the help of which it is possible to understand real problems and find their correct solution."23 In fact, the word "gnostic" comes from the Greek word gnostos – accessible to knowledge, knowable, understandable, from gignosko – to learn, to know.24 But let's not find fault with such a "scientist" as Nirmala Srivastava over trifles. Given that she is the "absolute deity form" on earth, she probably knows better. Criticism is welcome in science, science as such simply does not exist without criticism. In Sahaja Yoga, the criticism is rejected: "Now all knowledge comes to us from Divinity, and this knowledge is absolutely pure. They cannot be doubted, they cannot be changed"25; "One of the great troubles of intellectuals is that they never want to accept anything as absolute, but always strive to find alternatives for everything. There is no alternative for spiritual growth. … But some of those who have come to Sahaja Yoga have also deviated and say that there must be some other methods and opportunities for spiritual growth. This is just the reaction of an escapist (draft dodger)..... There can be no other way of transforming man, as it is said in many ancient books."26 Perhaps the desire of intellectuals to be critical of what they encounter is a misfortune, but it is on this approach that academic science is based, and there is no other science, as mentioned above. This fact can be attested to by any person who has had the privilege of studying the subject more thoroughly than Mrs. Srivastavu did. For example, an uncritical person will take Nirmala Srivastava's statement about "ancient books" on faith, and a critical person will ask the question: what are these "ancient books" that the author refers to and where can you get acquainted with them? However, again the author finds fault with the "absolute form of the deity" over trifles. Nirmala Srivastava's attitude to the mind is interesting: "This mind is just a dump of all the garbage, one might say, which we have to give up in one way or another and say to ourselves that 'I have to go beyond my mind. This so-called mind of mine has done nothing good for me"27; «… The first step is thoughtless awareness, where you go beyond your mind, you become above your mind, the mind cannot affect you."28 Yes, if such a statement had been made by a scientist, his colleagues would probably have advised him to change his field of activity, for example, to become a mystic. In any case, in the author's opinion, Nirmala Srivastava's statements about the scientific nature of Sahaja Yoga do not have any serious, really scientific confirmation.

Let us get acquainted with the teachings of Sahaja Yoga. As a professional theologian, it is difficult for the author to comment on some things. The reason is not a lack of knowledge, but rather that some of the statements that the reader will encounter below are not so much worthy of analysis as of being placed under a humorous rubric. For example, Mrs. Srivastavu pays great attention to Ganesha.29 In traditional Hinduism, Ganesha, or Ganapati, is the eldest son of Shiva and Shiva's consort Parvati.30 Ganesha is depicted as a man with a fat belly and an elephant's head. Indian legends say that Parvati sculpted a man out of mud and placed him in front of the entrance to her chambers. When Shiva came, he was very angry when he saw a stranger at the door of his wife's chambers, and he blew off his head. Parvati was in despair, and Shiva promised to replace the felled head with the head of the first creature he came across. Such a creature turned out to be an elephant. In Hinduism, Ganesha is considered a deity who creates and removes obstacles that appear in front of a person. He is the patron of all endeavors, as well as the embodiment of wisdom and education, and is the patron of the arts and literature. His first images date back to the V century A.D. But it should be noted right away that the Sahaja Yoga of Nirmala Srivastavu has nothing to do with traditional Hinduism, and not only because there is no proselytism in traditional Hinduism (you can be born a Hindu, you cannot become a Hindu31), but also because the teaching of Sahaja Yoga is a fantasy on the topic of Hinduism and Christianity, but nothing more. Here is what Nirmala writes about Ganesha to Srivastav: "Shri Ganesha is created (by the Mother) from the element of the Earth and can very easily dissolve in Her. Shri Ganesha's immersion in the sea dissolves His body made of clay, and the vibrations of His essence vibrate the water, which is the Mother of the Mother (Grandmother), as it vibrates when the clay of His body settles at the bottom of the sea."32 «… Shri Ganesha emits electromagnetic vibrations, ... Shri Ganesha is located in the pelvic plexus, which governs sex"33; "Shri Ganesha as a corrector guides the subject by sending symbols in dreams"34; «… Shri Ganesha is always one with the all-pervading Divine Energy, because He has the head of an elephant."35 It will be especially interesting for Christians to know that "Shri Ganesha is the elder brother of all Sahaja Yogis... He is in human form as Jesus Christ."36 Moreover, "... we have Shri Ganesha and Jesus Christ located behind and in front of the head. In the back is Mahaganesha and in front is Jesus Christ. Both of them help to correct our vision, understanding, and give you wisdom."37 An interesting revelation about Christ is the following information: "Christ dwells in the sun".38 The above statements of Nirmala Srivastavu about Christ are left uncommented by the author. To any more or less sane person, they say a lot on their own.

Often, Mrs. Srivastavu speaks of the "All-Pervading Divine Energy." What kind of energy is it? As stated above,39 the "Divine Energy," according to the teachings of Nirmala Srivastava, is the energy of love and compassion that permeates the entire universe. Nirmala Srivastavu identifies this energy with the Holy Spirit of Christianity. Nirmala Srivastavu writes, "All scriptures say that there is an all-pervading energy of God's Love. It is a subtle energy that does all the living work and cannot be felt at the level of human awareness. Sahaja Yoga means that the seeker of truth has from birth the right to have self-realization spontaneously. Self-realization, or self-realization, is the goal of the evolution of man, as well as of all religions."40 An analogue of this energy can be found, in particular, in Agni Yoga, where it is called psychic energy. Nirmala Srivastava cannot be called a theologian or even a competent philosopher either in education or in the content of the ideas she put forward. Therefore, her teaching resembles an assortment of different ideas mixed with each other without any special logical connection. Sahaja yogis believe that Nirmala Srivastavu promotes the spiritual realization of his disciples, supposedly awakening the kundalini energy. It should be explained here that kundalini in traditional Hinduism (tantra) is a kind of creative latent energy, which is located at the base of the spine, as the yogis assure, in the form of a snake coiled in three and a half rings. At the dawn of his spiritual search, the author himself was fond of Eastern spirituality and for some time communicated with a group of Aurobindo's followers, and representatives of this movement "raised" his kundalini in just a couple of minutes, which suggests that Mrs. Srivastavu has serious competitors in this market. But let's get back to our story. Sahajists believe that Nirmala Srivastavu can awaken this energy with his blessing, by which the awakened energy rises up the spine to the top of the head and the disciples of Mrs. Srivastavu become spiritually perfect human beings. How do Sahajists become convinced of the attainment of spiritual realization? It turns out that it feels. For example, Nirmala Srivastavu writes: "... to feel the All-Pervading Energy as a cool breeze (vibrations) in the upper part of the head, on the palms of the hands, on the body. Everything created by this energy has vibrations that give knowledge about everything that surrounds us on a subtle level. That which has cool vibrations is auspicious"43; "The cool breeze of the Holy Spirit is the Energy we feel in Sahaja Yoga"44; "When our channels45 and chakras are pure, the subtle system is in balance, then cool vibrations of the same intensity are felt on the palms of both hands."46 If the "cool vibrations," i.e., sensations, are beneficial, then there are also unhelpful sensations: "If someone starts doing something wrong, their cool vibrations immediately indicate it, and sometimes they may even disappear. So it is better to always rely on your vibrations. But in order to feel the vibrations correctly, you must be in a state of meditation. You may also be misled by your mind. Therefore, the best thing to do is to be in a meditative form and rely on your vibrational awareness."47 As we can see, the criterion of spiritual growth in Sahaja Yoga is simple – the feeling of "vibrations" in the body. To the critics of such a subjective system of spiritual self-evaluation, Mrs. Srivastavu replies, "It is easy to deny, but it is unwise for a true seeker of Truth to deny the existence of the All-pervading energy simply because he does not yet feel it. One must have the open mind of a scientist."48 Well, the degree of scientific nature of Sahaja Yoga has already been mentioned above. It is interesting to note that Nirmala Srivastavu sees the scientificity in his system in the following: "This faith is not blind, it is an experimentally tested faith. It has been found to manifest itself at the tips of your fingers."49 Apparently, Nirmala Srivastavu had heard about the experimental testability applied by science. But she never understood what its essence was. I will have to say a few words about this, because, apparently, her followers are not strong in this matter either. Science does not deal with the questions to which Sahaja Yoga directs its energies and does not apply its methods. This is a fundamental point that Sahaja Yogis do not understand. The experiment is actively used in the natural sciences, for example, in physics, mechanics, etc., and this experiment must meet certain criteria that are analyzed by scientific methodology, unfortunately for the followers of Mrs. Shpivastavu, Sahaja Yoga does not meet these criteria in any way. If we look for parallels with science, then the method used by Sahaja Yoga is closest to what is called introspection in psychology. Introspection is internal self-observation of one's sensations. This approach to the study of the inner world of a person in psychology was popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but now it is little used in modern psychology,50 primarily because of the great subjectivity of the results obtained. In addition, the descent of the Holy Spirit is not necessarily the cause of certain sensations in the whole body and in the tips of the fingers. All psychics experience such sensations, and without any interference from Nirmala Srivastavu.51 The author of the article, again at the dawn of his own spiritual search, had a chance to experience them himself, while he has never been a follower of Sahaja Yoga, moreover, he has not even heard of Sahaja Yoga and its founder. So there is no need to talk about the scientific testability of Sahaja Yoga in the form offered by Nirmala Srivastav. Sahaja Yoga is not based on science, but on the uncritical belief in the divinity of one person, namely Mrs. Srivastava. References to the experimental testability of Sahaja Yoga are unfounded. What is the practice of Sahaja Yoga?

The practice of Sahaja Yoga is based on meditation. Mataji writes, "Meditation is the basis of Sahaja Yoga practice. Usually this term implies contemplation, contemplation, but in Sahaja Yoga it has an incomparably greater meaning. This is the state of consciousness in which we find ourselves spontaneously when the Kundalini reaches the Sahasrara chakra. During meditation, we are in union with the All-pervading energy, our spiritual growth takes place, physical, emotional and mental problems are solved. This is a subtle living process, in the course of which a state of thoughtless awareness is reached – the mind calms down, thoughts go away, but at the same time we are fully aware of ourselves and the world around us."53 Meditation (Latin meditation – reflection, from meditari – to ponder, to reflect)54 is a term stolen by supporters of "non-traditional spirituality" from Roman Catholics, for whom meditation means meditation on the Holy Scriptures, which does not imply the attainment of a thoughtless state. The very idea of equating the term "thinking" to a "thoughtless state" demonstrates the degree of logic and honesty of those who use such "explanations."

Who is the main object of meditation in Sahaja Yoga? As you might guess, Mrs. Srivastavu said, "Put a portrait of Shri Mataji, light a candle in front of him. The photograph of Shri Mataji is a source of vibrations, and the flame of a candle has the power to neutralize negative energies."55 "It is good to look at the portrait of Shri Mataji for a while, one can recite the Lord's Prayer..."56 About the portrait of Nirmala Srivastava the Sahajists are taught: "One cannot sit or lie down, ... and also to be with your back to him for a long time."57 In Sahaja Yoga, visualizations are also allowed, which are strictly forbidden in Orthodoxy as a direct path leading to a state of delusion.58 Sahajists are taught, "... in the absence of a portrait, one can imagine it in one's mind and direct one's hand to this mental image."59 In the practice of Sahaja Yoga, mantras are used, and Mrs. Srivastavu identifies Christian prayers with the mantras of Hinduism, which is fundamentally wrong. Prayer is a living dialogue with God, but mantras are magical, there is nothing in common between them60: "... there are some mantras (verses of praise) that produce strong vibrations in any language, for example, the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father"), given personally by the Incarnation – the Lord Jesus Christ, which is a very effective mantra,... is a mantra any word spoken (or written) by Shri Mataji Herself."61 But no Christian reads the Lord's Prayer to produce "strong vibrations." How does Sahaja Yoga relate to other religions, for example, Christianity?

It should be noted right away that Nirmala Srivastavu is not familiar with Christianity well and, apparently, does not like this religion very much. For example, about the Christian Church, Nirmala Srivastavu writes: "... there is no morality left in them. There is no respect for the law, no respect for God, and no respect for chastity, which was the main essence of Christ."62 It turns out that Christians have never been concerned with the problems of spiritual growth: "When Christ came, He spoke of the problems He saw. But the main thing He was talking about was the resurrection, the ascent, and that ascent He was talking about. He spoke of the Spirit, and by His resurrection He showed that He was exalted. But people did not understand this point, they never thought about the need to ascend in Christianity, no one was bothered by the idea that they needed to grow. They took some trifle somewhere and built their theories on it. There, too, later there appeared a man called St. Paul, who had never seen Christ and who founded the Christian religion, which was absurd, which was directed against Christ."63 Probably, such luminaries of Orthodoxy as St. Seraphim of Sarov, Sergius of Radonezh did not exist at all before the appearance of Nirmala Srivastav to mankind. Where could they come from if, according to Mrs. Srivastavu, Christians were not concerned with their spiritual growth, and Christianity itself was directed against Christ? As for the speculations of Nirmala Srivastavu on the topic of the Apostle Paul, they are not original, which, in the author's opinion, is one of the confirmations of the true source of the spiritual inspiration of Mrs. Srivastavu. Similar ideas can be found in Daniil Andreev's occult book, The Rose of the World. Nirmala Srivastavu recounts Daniel Andreev and his reproaches against the Apostle Paul almost word for word.65 Like the author of "The Rose of the World", Mrs. Srivastavu demonstrates to readers a very poor knowledge of the Bible (we will talk about this in more detail below), for example, the Holy Scriptures say: "... The Holy Spirit said, "Set apart Barnabas and Saul for Me for the work to which I have called them." Then they fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, and dismissed them. These, having been sent by the Holy Spirit, came to Seleucia..." (Acts 13:2-4), let us recall: "... through the laying on of the hands of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit is given" (Acts 8:18). Mrs. Srivastavu declares that she is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.66 Given that the Bible directly testifies that the Apostle Paul was led by the Holy Spirit, we can draw one conclusion from two things: either Nirmala Srivastava is lying, and the spirit by which it is led has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit, or the Bible is lying, but then it is unlikely that Nirmala Srivastava should refer to it. Taking into account that there is no Christianity without the Bible, it is necessary to state the fundamental incompatibility of Christianity and Sahaja Yoga. And if a Sahaja Yogi calls himself a Christian, he is either ignorant of his own teachings or a liar. You can't be a Christian and still reject the Bible. Speaking of Christians, Nirmala Srivastavu writes: "Christ made this point when he warned: 'It is said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I say, "Now that you may not have adulterous eyes." He spoke of the eyes because He controlled the eyes. In the West, it is very difficult to find men and women who do not have adulterous eyes. Followers of Christ have such horrible, crazy eyes that you don't know what they're doing. They cannot keep their eyes at rest. They are constantly rotating to the sides."67 Where in the Bible does it say that Jesus controlled the eyes? Christ spoke of adultery: "Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. 5:27-28). The words of Jesus are a moral precept, not an attempt to control anyone's eyes. And by the way, if Mrs. Srivastavu uses the Bible, why does she do it selectively? The Apostle Paul, in her opinion, is not led by the Holy Spirit, although the Bible teaches otherwise, and in the matter of adultery for some reason it refers to the Holy Scriptures? Strange selectivity. It seems that in the Bible, Nirmala Srivastavu sees only what he wants. Speaking about other religions, Mrs. Srivastavu writes: "Any religion can be professed externally, but at the same time a person is capable of committing any sin, even murder, doing something dangerous to society or harming himself. Some may be righteous because of their fear of tradition. Among the professors of these religions, there are, of course, many sincere, devoted, and innocent people, but they themselves do not know that all religions were created to ascend to higher realms of spirituality. Whereas a Sahaja Yogi, as soon as his inner religion is awakened, becomes a person whose poise and wisdom are an integral part of his essence, so that he can never even think of committing a sin or of being self-willed, of making someone unhappy or of killing someone."68 Christina is not followed out of fear of tradition, as Nirmala Srivastavu lies. Fear, at least in Christianity, has never made anyone righteous, as the Bible says directly: "In love there is no fear, but perfect love casts out fear, because in fear there is torment. He who fears is imperfect in love" (1 John 4:18); "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). The sweeping accusation that all Christians can commit murder or any sin will be left on the conscience of Mrs. Srivastava. The reference to the fact that Christians fought with other countries and even with each other is also untenable. Did Christians fight because they were Christians, or because those in power perverted the principles of Christianity, and religion served as a cover for completely non-religious goals? In fact, all these accusations against Christianity and other religions are unfounded and are based on nothing but the demagoguery of Nirmala Srivastavu. As for the fact that there are Christians who are such only in name, this has long been known to Christians themselves. Maybe Nirmala Srivastava dislikes only Christianity? Far from it: "Religions now have only partial knowledge, which needs to be supplemented and proved by Sahaja Yoga."69 An old song: organizations that claim to have managed to unite all religions in themselves (and this is claimed by very many: Baha'is, Theosophists, Agni Yogis, and Moonies) begin with beautiful words about the "brotherhood and equality" of religions, and end with cursing all those who do not recognize them, and proclaiming themselves to be the one and only.70 Nirmala Srivastavu does the same: "... this religion (Sahaja Yoga. – V.P.) is the quintessence of all religions. It is the only religion that gives the opportunity to experience real sensations within oneself, that gives this sensitivity to spirituality..."71 Maybe Sahaja Yogis are distinguished by special love for others? But no, Nirmala Srivastava teaches: "... Those who are not Sahaja Yogis should not be chosen and supported by you. You should stand only for the Sahaja Yogis and support only them. Maybe sometimes the Sahaja Yogis will even make mistakes, I don't say anything, perhaps, but those who are not Sahaja Yogis, you should not help, you should not support them."72 «… Those who do not come to Sahaja Yoga and do not rise to the right level will be thrown out. It's a fact, but you... should not have attachment to such people".73 It should be noted that Christ did not teach what Mrs. Srivastava teaches. In order to understand this, it is enough to get acquainted with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-38). The ideal of Christianity is to help one's neighbor regardless of his religious views. In the above parable, this can be seen very clearly: a fellow believer passed by, and the Samaritan, who for the orthodox Jews was an outcast, a second-class person, helped, and completely unselfishly. If the Sahajists had studied Christianity not in the narration of Nirmala to Srivastav, but directly, they could have learned that Christ called to love enemies: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what special do you do? Do not the Gentiles do the same?" (Matthew 5:44-47). It is clear that Nirmala Srivastava is very far from the moral heights to which Christ called.

In Sahaja Yoga, the popular myth of the unity of the source of all religions is maintained. By the way, Nirmala Srivastavu is not original in this matter either. As already noted, the same is stated by Theosophists, Bahá'ís, Agni Yogis, Moonies, Sathya Sai Baba, and many others, and the entire New Age movement is built on this. The most interesting thing is that they all assert their special chosenness and truth in comparison with the rest. Thus, it turns out that all religions, of course, are equal, but their organization is "more equal" and "truer" than everyone. The same position is taken by Mrs. Srivastavu: "Sahaja Yoga is the ultimate goal of every religion, every form"75; "Adi Guru Dattatreya is the primordial guru. That is, he is the prototype or primary image from which all gurus emerge. He is the principle of the Guru. As Adi guru, he incarnated many times to guide humanity on the right path. He came in the form of ten great primordial teachers.76 In his images of Confucius, Zarathustra, Lao Tzu, Nanaki, Moses, Abraham and Mohammed, Dattarey was the foundation of great religions..."77 There is no point in examining the question of the compatibility of the above-mentioned religions, since this has already been done more than once.78 Nirmala Srivastavu writes: "... Are Nanak, Mohammed and Moses the same person? There is no difference between them. We can prove in Sahaja Yoga how important it is to know that they were all the same person and preached the same thing but at different times."79 Knowledge in the field of religious studies is not a strong point of Mrs. Srivastavu, we will point out only one fact that Nirmala Srivastavu does not even seem to be aware of. Sikhism, which Nanak founded, is different from Islam, Christianity, and even Judaism. For example, neither Christians, nor Muslims, nor Jews aim to break the chain of reincarnation, as the Sikhs do. Nor do they aim at union with the Divine, as Nanak again called for.80 But the most ridiculous thing is that Sikhism rejects what Sahaja Yoga teaches, for example, Sikhism rejects the theory of Avatars, i.e. the idea that God manifests Himself by incarnating in a series of His different avataras, about which Sahaja Yoga says: "I feel that there are two concepts and are active in this world. One of them is that people believe that there is only one God and that there cannot be many aspects of Him. This is wrong. Christ said, "Those who are not against Me are with Me." So what is meant by this mental concept of God is that he is something like the Rock of Gibraltar. Look at this canopy that you have prepared for this program, there is so much light in it, and all of its sources give the same light to all of us, they do not give different lights, do they? How can they be at odds with each other? What kind of battle can there be between them? They contribute to the same light. There is only one canopy, but for us there are so many lights in it, one is not enough for us. This kind of personality is born in different periods of time. In each period of time, a personality must be born who will enlighten one aspect of human consciousness and awareness."82 In the above quote, Nirmala Srivastavu again refers to the Bible, but given that Mrs. Srivastavu does not quote exactly, the original phrases have to be searched for meaning. Srivastavu seems to prove the acceptability of the avatara theory for Christians by referring to the following verse of the Bible: "And John said, 'Teacher! we have seen a man who casts out demons in Thy name, and does not follow us; and they forbade him, because he does not follow us. Jesus said, "Do not rebuke him, for no one who has done a miracle in my name can soon curse me." For whoever is not against you is for you" (Mark 9:38-40). But perhaps it is the following verse: "He who is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters" (Luke 11:23). In any case, none of them prove the avatar theory in any way. Moreover, there are verses in the Bible that are directly opposed to this theory: "As many as they have come before me, they are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not listen to them" (John 10:8).

The founder of Sahaja Yoga opposes not only traditional religions, primarily Christianity, but also the so-called "non-traditional religious movements," which should probably be regarded as a kind of struggle with competitors. For example, she opposes the Hare Krishnas,83 whose movement is as much a parody of traditional Hinduism as Sahaja Yoga: "Take, for example, Hare Rama, Hare Krishna. They are antichrists, and they openly admit it, but they are really acting against Sri Krishna, absolutely against Krishna... They have no right to invoke the name of Kṛṣṇa when they stand before people like madmen, dressed in these horrible clothes in a very strange way, not knowing how to wear dhotis and kurtas, and women sarees. Men also buy these bodhis (tails) and put them on their heads, shaving them at the same time. Did Krishna shave His head? For His hair was really part of His inspiration, and it was always described, always described in poetry. … They come here, say "Hare Rama, Hare Krishna", read the Gita, say a few memorized words and earn their living from it, perfectly settled. … That is how people engage in anti-divine activities and anti-Krishna activities."84

In this article, we have repeatedly said that Mrs. Srivastavu and her followers do not know the Bible. Here are a few more examples confirming this fact. The Sahajists write: "Know that She is the embodiment of the prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ when He said, 'I will send you a Comforter, a Counsellor and a Saviour, a holy spirit who will teach you all the truth.' This knowledge should not be blind faith, you can see for yourself."85 Claimants to the right to be the Comforter can be lined up, for example, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, claimed the right to be called the Comforter.86 By arrogating to herself the title of Comforter, Mrs. Srivastavu once again demonstrates her ignorance of the Bible, which by no means says that the Comforter will become incarnate and come to earth as Christ, the Comforter is the Holy Spirit: "The Comforter, the Holy Spirit (emphasis added). – V.P.), whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you" (John 14:26). Of this Comforter, Christ said: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him and does not know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you (emphasis added. – V.P.)" (John 14:16-17). If we take the idea of the Sahajists to its logical conclusion, we can say that the sending of the Comforter, which was to take place (and did, as Christians believe), according to the promise of Christ, in Jerusalem shortly after His ascension – "And having gathered them together, He commanded them, 'Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, of which you have heard from Me' (Acts 1:4) – dragged on until 1970. when Madame Srivastavu felt herself to be a deity. The Comforter, as Christ said, must bear witness to Him, i.e. to Christ: "When... the Comforter will come, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness to Me" (John 15:26). But do the Sahajists bear witness to Jesus Christ and not to Nirmal Srivastav? Christ taught that the Comforter would bring to mind all that He taught: "But the Comforter ... shall bring to your remembrance all that I have said unto you" (John 14:26). But what did Christ teach, for example, when speaking about the new messiahs? Let us turn to the Holy Scriptures: "... false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will give great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand. Therefore, if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out; "Behold, [He] is in secret chambers" – do not believe; for as the lightning proceedeth from the east, and is seen even to the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of man" (Matt. 24:24-27). If Nirmala Srivastavu claims the place of Christ, then her coming could not be overlooked, "for as lightning proceeds from the east and is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:27). And if not, then the only place where you can find prophetic words about her coming is the verses quoted above that speak of false messiahs (Matthew 24:24-27). Despite all her pretensions, Nirmala Srivastavu is not even able to retell the story of the New Testament without mistakes, for example, she writes: "Christ was such prudence. When Mary Magdalene was stoned, He had nothing to do with a prostitute, I mean, nothing at all, no relationship, but He could see in prudence that these people had no right to stone her. He stood there in His own courage and said, "Those who have committed no sin can throw a stone at Me." It is this power of His prudence that people simply felt..."87 If Mrs. Srivastavu had bothered to read the New Testament, she might have noticed that the content of this New Testament episode is quite different: "Here the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman who had been taken in adultery, and placing her in the middle, they said to Him, 'Teacher! this woman was taken in adultery; and Moses commanded us in the law to stone such people: What say thou? And they said these things, tempting Him, that they might find something to accuse Him. But Jesus, bending low, wrote with his finger on the ground, paying no attention to them. And when they continued to question Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her." And again, bending low, he wrote on the ground. And they, hearing [this] and being rebuked by their conscience, began to depart one by one, from the elder to the last; and only Jesus remained, and the woman standing in the middle. Jesus, having risen up and seeing no one but the woman, said to her, "Woman! Where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you? She answered, "No one, Lord." Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more" (John 8:3-11). Mrs. Srivastavu does not seem to consider the Bible to be a valid authority as a Christian, as she does because she makes gross mistakes in quoting it and confusing the meaning of the passages to which she refers. Nirmala Srivastavu writes: "... to understand Jesus Christ, one must read Devi Bhagavad. But if you recommend it to Christians, they don't want to listen to you because the Bible is the last word for them. How can this be? The Bible records only four years of Christ's life, ... the distortions came to the Bible from St. Paul, who had never met Christ and had nothing to do with him. I don't know why it's in the Bible. He was not a realized soul, but simply a "superconscious" Roman soldier, a disgusting soldier who had killed many Christians. And suddenly this Mr. Paul is placed in the Bible, and he is accepted by the whole world."88 Again, the lack of education of Mrs. Srivastavu affects. The Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen, not a Roman soldier, which is far from the same thing. Further, the Bible actually begins with a story about the creation of the world, and not with a description of the birth of Jesus Christ. The New Testament does tell in detail about the last years of Christ, but at the same time it tells about His birth and about His visit to the Temple in Jerusalem at the age of twelve (Luke 2:46-48). The Epistles of the Apostle Paul do occupy a lot of space in the New Testament, but the New Testament also contains Epistles of other authors, as anyone can see by reading the table of contents of the New Testament, for which Mrs. Srivastavu apparently had neither the strength, nor the time, nor the inclination. To believe that the first Christians were more stupid than Mrs. Srivastava and admitted into their circle a person who distorted the teachings of Christ is at least naïve. Imagine a situation: a new apostle comes and begins to preach something contrary to the teaching of Christ, and the other apostles silently allow it! And this is on the condition that all the apostles, with the exception of the Apostle John, accepted a martyr's death for their devotion to Christ, by the way, including Paul. As for the attitude to religious books other than the Bible, Christians do not deny them at all. They simply follow the principle bequeathed to us by the holy apostles: "But if we, or an angel from heaven, preach to you any other gospel than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). If the book openly preaches anti-Christian ideas, then why accept it? The Bible is indeed in the first place for any Christian, because the experience of the Christian Church confirms its truth. And what, apart from her own teachings, can Mrs. Srivastavu offer in return? Perhaps, to begin with, she should at least raise the level of her theological knowledge? In the opinion of the author of the article, it is foolish to follow a person who makes gross mistakes when quoting the Bible, does not know the history of the Church and at the same time tries to criticize it. Nirmala Srivastava's ignorance of the texts of the Holy Scriptures can be seen in the following quote: "For example, in the Bible, where this process is called the 'tree of life,' it is said: 'I appear to you in the form of tongues of fire.' When the Kundalini rises, it passes through various centers, which, when illuminated, become like tongues of flame. The cool breeze of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost is the energy that can be felt in Sahaja Yoga. In the Gospel of Thomas, the feeling of Sahaj is very clearly defined as the ultimate goal of our religious life."89 I would like to know more precisely, where in the Bible the process of raising the kundalini is called the "tree of life"? If we open the Bible, we can read about the tree of life, including the following: "Blessed is the man who has gained wisdom, and the man who has gained understanding, for the acquisition of it is better than the acquisition of silver, and the profit from it is greater than from gold: it is more precious than precious stones; and nothing that you desire can compare with it. Long life is in her right hand, and in her left hand is riches and glory; Her ways are pleasant paths, and all her paths are peaceful. She is the tree of life (emphasis added. – V.P.) for those who acquire it..." (Proverbs 3:13-18). No matter how much the writer was looking for, he was not lucky enough to find any hints that the "tree of life" is the raising of the kundalini, so he would be very grateful to the Sahajis if they could name a verse that would indicate this circumstance. In the Bible we read: "And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a thorn bush. And he saw that the thorn bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not burned" (Exodus 3:2). It is probably this verse that Nirmala Srivastavu relates in some way to the raising of the kundalini when he speaks of "tongues of fire," but we do not see any connection between this biblical verse with either the rising of the kundalini or the "tree of life." Probably, the author does not approach the material scientifically enough. About Pentecost in the Holy Scriptures it is said: "And there appeared to them cloven tongues as of fire, and they rested on each of them" (Acts 2:3). Should this verse also be taken as evidence of the kundalini going up on the back? As for the Gospel of Thomas,90 it should be noted first of all that it appeared in the second century A.D., while all the canonical Gospels were written in the first century, therefore, in order to refer to the older books, the canonical Gospels found in the New Testament should be used for this purpose. But if the Sahajists turn to the apocrypha, which the author has nothing against either, it would be interesting to know in more detail where in the Gospel of Thomas it speaks of the raising of the kundalini.

It has already been mentioned in the article above that Sahaja Yoga rejects traditional religions, including Christianity. Here are some more interesting passages from the Sahajist literature on this subject. In unison with the occultists, the Sahaja Yogis reject monasteries: "There is another extreme which has not been confessed by Christ at all – I don't know how it got into the Christian religion. This is the creation of monasteries..."91 The same ideas can be found in the occult teaching of Agni Yoga: "We are resolutely opposed to monasteries as the antithesis of life, only the hotbeds of life, the communities of the best manifestations of work, will find Our help." Probably, the spiritual kinship of occultism and Sahaja Yoga has an effect. The hatred of the occultists' monasteries is quite understandable: after all, it was the monasteries that contributed to the formation of the majority of Christian saints, who were able to distinguish demonic delusion from God's grace and always actively denounced the attempts of any pseudo-teachers to seduce Christians with demonic delusion. Mrs. Srivastava also does not like the Christian priesthood: "If an unrealized priest puts his hand on the child's head, then the child has problems. We have seen this in many realized children who have strabismus, a shift in the brain, and strange behavior. We had to treat them."93 And this is understandable: who among the occultists would like people who are able to turn any occult miracles to dust!