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!

Mrs. Srivastavu quotes the opinion of Mrs. Srivastavu about the Jews without any comment: "The Jews refused to agree with Christ. They said, "We will not agree with Christ, we must suffer." They have suffered, suffered and suffered, and as a result they got Mr. Hitler, they are now becoming Hitlers themselves. You can imagine that the misconception that it was necessary to suffer led to the birth of Hitler in order to satisfy their desire."94

The founder of Sahaja Yoga clearly cultivates megalomania in her followers. Despite the fact that, as Mrs. Srivastavu writes, "... Sometimes Sahaja Yogis will even make mistakes..."95 Its main message to her disciples is different: "... You must believe that you have gone beyond your human personality and have now become a superman. First of all, this faith must come to you. That's what we call faith. That belief is not false faith, it's not blind faith when you just believe in something. But this is a fact"96; «… By starting to practice Sahaja Yoga, one rises so high above others and his prudence becomes so perfect that neither the media, nor television, nor entrepreneurs, nor false teachers, nor misleading methods, nothing can lead him astray. He becomes powerful, free, holy, leading an angelic life"97; «… The Sahaja Yogi, as soon as his inner religion is awakened, becomes a man in whom poise and wisdom are an integral part of his essence, so that he can never think of committing a sin or of being self-willed, of making someone unhappy or of killing someone."98 "All these people (Sahajists. – V.P.) profess a religion called Vishwa Nirmala Dharma, which means "the natural pure religion within us." These people received true enlightenment. They experienced true baptism because they feel the cool breeze when the Kundalini breaks through the fontanelle, and as a result they became religious, saints, yogis, yoginis, and seers. They are not like ordinary people who have not entered this new, fourth dimension of awareness and have not asserted themselves."99 "As his collective consciousness improves, the Sahaja Yogi becomes very objectively aware of the blindness of the people around him... He is bound by the bonds of a truly spiritual religion and is no longer like other people who claim to profess a religion, but who can commit any sin against their own religion."100 Well, not so long ago there was a whole state of supermen (the Third Reich), but, as you know, a holy place is never empty, apparently, new supermen began to be born. In general, Nietzsche's ideas live and flourish.

The founder of Sahaja Yoga, probably fearing accusations from critics, insists that she does not take money for spiritual realization: "Sahaja Yogis should never worry about money because we don't take money for our spiritual work and always condemn people who take it under the name of God. Remember that we are in the kingdom of God and that it cares for all our needs. You will see for yourself when you see that every time you do some work for Sahaja Yoga, money will somehow come to you. Not in some illegal way, not under pressure, but in a very miraculous way."101 However, if the readers think that ordinary Sahajis are not interested in their participation in Sahaja Yoga, they are deeply mistaken: "Money can be charged for books, magazines, audio and video cassettes, rings, pendants, medals, badges, for seminars and tours. Money cannot be charged for treatment and self-realization. Leaders can be paid for travel if leaders are not working. Teachers and school principals should be paid authorized salaries."102

In Sahaja Yoga, one can also find outright intimidation of its members: "... If Sahaja Yoga does not spread, a third world war is inevitable and people will suffer greatly from it."103 One of the favorite methods used by sects is to indoctrinate members of sects with phobias.104 For example, Jehovah's Witnesses have intimidated their followers by appointing the end of the world many times before. True, it has not yet come, but the leadership of the sect is not very embarrassed by this.105 As we can see, Mrs. Srivastavu also does not disdain to resort to such a psychological technique and is engaged in banal intimidation of her followers. If this is not the case, it will be interesting to know from the Sahajis how they react to the above information about the Third World War? Do you feel delight or fear?

The author of the article, as a person who is engaged in critical analysis of Sahaja Yoga, was especially interested to know Nirmala Srivastava's opinion about the critics. And this is what he learned: "All deceitful people, of course, are afraid to face the truth because Sahaja Yoga is against their interests. They reject Sahaja Yoga and violently oppose it"106; "Protect yourself from negative forces and negative people, as they feel challenged. Because they live in a lie all the time, they get angry with you and try to harm you."107 As we can see, before seeing the critics and not reading their works, Mrs. Srivastavu already knows in advance that they are deceitful, live in lies and are afraid to face the truth. Not speaking on behalf of other critics, but only on his own, the author of this article is ready for a public polemic with any Sahajist: it will show who is "living in a lie". Speaking about the critics, Mrs. Srivastavu continues: "... A Sahaja Yogi should be lenient to all criticism and know that they are like blind men talking about an elephant and leading everyone into darkness."108 Probably, an uncritical attitude towards her system is more to Mrs. Srivastava's heart. And what about her call to science when you get to know Sahaja Yoga? Or were her words about the inadmissibility of blind faith109 an empty declaration? After reading the following lines from the work of Mrs. Srivastavu, the author of these lines trembled: "If on Vishwa Nirmala Dharma (on Sahaja Yoga. – V.P.) are attacked, then the Sahaja Yogis of the whole world must oppose it."110 Yes, it is hard to stand up to the Sahajis all over the world. Can a person come out of Sahaja Yoga and remain a normal person in the eyes of Sahajists? Of course not. As Mrs. Srivastavu writes, "Some of those who are leaving may of course try to defame Sahaja Yoga. But their propaganda should not disturb or upset anyone, because we are now in the Kingdom of God and all these lies and attacks will not affect our growth or the growth of Sahaja Yoga in general."111 If people reject Sahaja Yoga, then from the point of view of the Sahajists, the only reason for this is the spiritual blindness of people: "We have to respect our elders, we have to respect our parents, even if they don't understand Sahaja Yoga, we have to forgive them because they are blind."

As we can see, Sahaja Yoga has nothing to do with science. However, as well as to Christianity. Sahaja Yoga is based on the uncritical belief of one man, Mrs. Nirmala Srivastava, who can be called a mystic and her movement as a whole is mystical. Although even this classification of the movement of Mrs. Srivastavu is made by the author with great stretches and only because he does not see any other way to classify his teaching and practice. The teaching of Sahaja Yoga is inconsistent and in general, in the author's opinion, it is difficult to call this teaching religious. Rather, the ideas put forward by Mrs. Srivastavu are a set of general words about spirituality, abundantly seasoned with religious terminology. At the same time, Madame Srivastavu does not seem to know the meaning of many religious terms. If we take into account the identity of many ideas of Sahaja Yoga with the ideas preached by occultists (the unity of religions, the doctrine of "divine energy", hatred of monasteries, speculation on science, instillation of phobias, megalomania, mysticism), then it is quite possible to talk about the spiritual unity of occultism and Sahaja Yoga. In any case, we have to state the significant closeness of these teachings to each other. It is sad to realize that there are people who take "spiritual masters" like Nirmala Srivastavu seriously. It is to be hoped that the Sahaja Yogis who will read this article will not label the author as a liar before reading it, but at least try to reflect a little on the meaning of what has been said.

1 Sahaja Yoga. Advice and recommendations for seekers of truth. Nirmala TO. 2000. P.10.