Austria
Such paradise
When Shri Mataji went to Austria for the first time, in Autumn 1982, and She was staying at Gregoire and Catherine K.’s home, we were about twelve or fifteen of us sleeping in their flat and Shri Mataji stayed. For five or six days it was just paradise. In the early morning around six o’clock Shri Mataji would sit in the lounge and we would bring Her first cup of tea and then slowly all the yogis would wake up and gather round Her, most of us in pyjamas or nighties, then slowly getting ready. She would sip Her tea. Shri Mataji breakfast would come much later and She would speak about things and tell stories which were not taped.
One morning She started talking about the astrological signs and asking the yogis around which sign they were and giving a description of each astrological sign. In the evening, after the program, we would eat there. She would sit at the table. Most of the days She ate with us. We would sit all round Her at the table. We were approximately twelve all sitting at the same big table with Shri Mataji. It was just fantastic.
Eleanore F.
The greatest master of all time
We were at the airport in Vienna with flowers to say goodbye to Shri Mataji. We were very close to the exit. Shri Mataji took the flowers and took two or three steps away from us and then She turned around. ‘And don’t forget, you have to save the world,’ She said to us and then She went away.
There is a very famous astrologer in Austria and he is called Ben Jack. Five Sahaja Yogis did a course on Astrology with him. He told us he had done thousands of horoscopes of famous people, especially the ones who had in some way influenced human history. One day we brought him the horoscope of Shri Mataji, and asked him to tell something about it.
The first thing he said was that the aspect of motherhood was like the queen of Austria, Maria Theresa. He said that the subject of this horoscope would continually keep on becoming more and more famous, even after She is no longer in this world. Then he said She had the highest spirituality. Nobody can be compared with Her, and no one can oppose Her. He said no one could create such a horoscope out of their imagination, because nobody could believe that such a person could exist. One week later, this astrologer met us and told us that we have a very great guru or master. Then he said that soon people will not be interested in the outer life, but the inner life, and this time is coming now.
After some months another Sahaja Yogi went to the astrologer, and he was showing horoscopes of many famous people, Goethe, famous politicians and so on. Finally he said ‘I am going to show you the horoscope of the greatest master of all time – Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.’ Then he explained it in terms of astrology.
Werner S.
See, we are all connected
My first strong memory of meeting Shri Mataji was in 1986 and She came to one of our new ashrams in Vienna. We had four in Vienna then. She came to our ashram after a shopping session, to have a rest. When She was there, we did a small Ganesha Puja, in that we washed Her Feet. The yogis in the room were sitting around the bed where She was, and Shri Mataji took out a perfume and put it on Her right hand. Then She asked everyone in the room to smell their own right hands. Everybody in the room could smell the perfume as if Shri Mataji had put it on our hands, not Hers. Then the yogis in the room were all smiling and Shri Mataji smiled back and said, 'See, we are all connected.'
Guenter T.
Some rose-oil perfume
On the 13th of October 1987, Shri Mataji blessed the Gumpi ashram in Vienna with Her visit. She kindly allowed the ladies of the ashram to wash Her Lotus Feet, after which we offered Her some rose-oil perfume, bought in India, to put on Her Feet. Shri Mataji put some on the back of Her hand and told us all to smell the backs of our own hands. Everybody could clearly smell there the scent of the perfume.
‘Now you have to believe that you are all in My body,’ Shri Mataji said to us.
We were all amazed and delighted.
Brigitte S.
Someone has been listening to me
Back in the early nineties, we had a lot of fun following Shri Mataji’s tours through the East Bloc. Two of Sahaja Yoga Austria’s satellites, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, were on the schedule every summer. We normally travelled by car or bus, but one time my wife surprised me by booking me on a flight from Budapest to Prague. It was the same flight that Shri Mataji was to take. I arrived at the tiny airport with two of the Austrian Sahaja Yoga coordinators amidst a sea of flowers held by joyful Sahaja Yogis, seeing Shri Mataji off.
As the five of us, including a Sahaja Yogini who was attending Shri Mataji, passed through immigration, Shri Mataji turned to me and said cheerfully, ‘Oh! You’re also coming!’ We sat in the front row of the first class section in the small jet. After take-off, Wolfgang H. went back a couple of rows to explain Sahaja Yoga and give Self Realization to an Indian gentleman who had expressed interest back at the airport. On my right sat Hermann H. reading a newspaper. To my left was an empty seat, the narrow aisle, another empty seat, then Shri Mataji. Her eyes were closed and She appeared to be in deep meditation.
For over twelve years I had grown accustomed to praying to Shri Mataji and enjoying most of my prayers coming true. One of my favourites is the following, ‘Shri Mataji, please bless me with pure attention and pure desire.’ At that moment, feeling a bit shy and nervous to be sitting so close to the Incarnation, I began thinking my prayer in the hope of attaining perfect inner balance, peace and clarity. I got as far as, ‘Shri Mataji, please — ‘ when She suddenly lifted Her head and looked over at me. I was hoping for a positive response, but I certainly didn’t expect such a personal one. I stopped the prayer and waited till Her head sunk back down on Her chest before quickly finishing my heartfelt, but shaken, request.
After that, I sought to regain my composure by picking up a piece of newspaper and browsing through it. It took a minute or two for my excited heart to slow down to normal. Soon Wolfang returned to his seat and the rest of the flight proceeded blissful, but uneventful. I should mention that my attention and desiring really have improved.
Edward S.
She would always take away our feelings of not being good enough
This happened in Austria. We had an ashram in the middle of the city and Shri Mataji wanted to go shopping on one of the main shopping streets, which was very close. We were told that Shri Mataji might pass by, and that Shri Mataji might come for a snack at lunchtime. We quickly prepared some food and got one room ready just in case we had a bedroom ready.
Shri Mataji came and She ate and She said She wanted to rest there. So we took Her to the room and someone asked if She was tired and whether Her Feet were tired, so She let us wash Her Feet. Then She took out a bottle of perfume that was standing there. She opened the bottle and smelled the perfume. ‘Oh what a fragrance!’ She said, and we were all very interested. ‘Do you want to smell it?’, She asked. ‘You only have to take your own wrist and smell it.’ And She put it on Her wrist, and we all smelled this perfume on our own wrist, even though the perfume was on Her wrist.
Then She said She would like to sleep. There were four of us ladies living there at that time, so the men left the room and Shri Mataji laid down on the bed and She told each of us what we should do. To one of my friends She said ‘Massage My left Foot,’ and to another ‘massage My right Foot, massage My arm’ and to me - and I always felt this terrible left Swadisthan - She said, ‘Can you massage my left Swadisthan.’ I hoped She did not feel too much pain from my left Swadistan. I started to do this, and then She seemed to fall asleep and snore in a way that it was the purr of a tiger. Then suddenly out of the deep sleep She opened Her eyes. ‘Now it’s gone! Now you massage here!’ She did that a couple of times – one moment She was in deep sleep and the next She would say: ‘Now here! Now here!’
The whole time I felt bad that I had all these thoughts passing through my mind. I realised later that She was working through me, but at the time I thought the others were all in bliss and I was in that state with all these thoughts. After about an hour Shri Mataji got up and said we had really helped Her. We all pulled our ears, and She had Her tea and went to the programme and I was in complete bliss. I was in meditation, witnessing how I had changed, how I had reacted to all this, and I know we all have to be there one day, in that state.
On this visit we had so little time to get ready, that we just threw everything into the kitchen, and we knew we must keep the kitchen door closed so Shri Mataji would no see the mess. What happened was Shri Mataji passed it and the kitchen door was wide open. She looked into the kitchen and grinned and said ‘Ah. That’s your kitchen! How lovely!’ As soon as She said that we were all free of our feelings of guilt and felt Her motherly love. She was telling us that it didn’t matter and She knew it was all our love for preparing everything for Her. She would always take away our feelings of not being good enough.
Sabine H.
Worrying about small things
In those days, 1984, things worked out very slowly. We didn’t have a mantra book. We didn’t have this, that. Gregoire K. was our very nice leader and we were a very small collectivity in Austria. There were about twenty people; in the following year, about thirty-five.
Shri Mataji came once a year and Gregoire was always with Mother. One day he had a big meeting in the United Nations, where he was working, and he asked me if I could drive because Mother wanted to go shopping. ‘Yes, of course. I can drive any car,’ I said and took his very nice Audi and was driving Mother. Another lady, Sorana, came with us. We were driving in the centre of Vienna. I was in an unbalanced state and I was so worried about finding a parking space.
I had no idea really who Mother was. When we were shopping, She just touched me once with Her Nabhi finger. She touched my left Nabhi, said something to me and that was it. After that, we enjoyed it very much, like always when you are with Mother.
We were in different shops. In one they tried to cheat Her, so it was a big story. And then we were sitting in the car nicely chatting, Mother like a very nice lady and somebody was bringing some sandwiches and Coca-Cola, so it was a very, very nice experience.
Later I could not understand that I had been worrying about such a small thing like parking!
Edith P.
I almost forgot to call
I was in Austria and Shri Mataji was in Australia. I had to get a decision from Her concerning some law case. It was a very important decision, and I was trying to call Her. They said ‘Shri Mataji is asleep.’ I knew She would go to the airplane right after that and it would be too late for a decision from Her. So again we tried to reach Her, and again they said ‘ She is sleeping.’ Then I knew She would wake up and then go to the airport. I knew I had to catch this moment when She was coming out, because everyone would be busy and no one would go to the phone to call me in Austria to say that Shri Mataji was leaving at that moment.
I tried several times, but with no success. Then I just sat back and said to myself, ‘OK, Shri Mataji, just let me feel when You are ready,’ so I waited. All of a sudden I was so blissed out, so drenched in vibrations that I almost forgot to call. So I pulled myself together and called, and they said ‘Yes, She is just going out now, hold on.’ So I was able to talk to Her on the phone, and She was in Australia and I was at the other end of the world, and just on vibrations I got the ten or fifteen seconds where I could reach Her.
Wolfgang H.
June 1988: Puja, programmes and music
Sri Mataji gave a very powerful talk before the Ekadesha Rudra Puja in Mödling began, in which She touched upon many subjects. She pointed out that in past times there had only been one rakshasa at a time to be dealt with, but that in modern times, ‘they are like mosquitoes’, so many of them. At one point in the puja one of the other musicians leaned over and hissed ‘Phil!’ and gestured to me to accompany the mantras being said, on the harmonium. At first I wasn't convinced, but then, ‘Why not?’ and started to play. At that moment our Divine Mother looked up to see who it was and She blessed me with a big smile!
In the evening was the first public program in Vienna, in a large and pleasant hall in the city centre. The Viennese had conceived a new way of holding programmes; first there was some music from some of Vienna's classical musicians then a general introduction setting Sahaja Yoga in context of modern seeking, then some more music during which Sri Mataji arrived. She spoke for quite some time, and after Her discourse most of those present received their Self-realization. Sri Mataji left shortly afterwards to return to the Melichargasse ashram.
On Thursday evening the second Vienna public programme took place, much as the previous evening's, in front of a full audience of several hundred people, with one important difference. Sri Mataji stayed on after the programme to talk to the new people who had come for their realization, remaining on the stage until 1 a.m. The bhajans group went back onto the stage and sing some bhajans. Sri Mataji really enjoyed this, and so did the public and the rest of us. It's the first time that bhajans have been so much integrated into a programme. A team from Austrian TV was also present, and they filmed both Sri Mataji's talk and a few minutes of bhajans. At their request we re-recorded Jo Gawa next day at the ashram for broadcasting.
On Friday morning, we packed our things and waited for Sri Mataji to leave, after which a group of us had the very great privilege to accompany Her shopping in the centre of Vienna. Sri Mataji was shopping particularly for fabrics, as I remember. She also bought some ties for Her husband. In fact there were so many of us accompanying Her that most of us had to wait outside the shop while Sri Mataji went inside with a few leaders.
Friday lunchtime it was time to leave Vienna and head off south for Graz, near the Yugoslav border, where we had the privilege of lunching with Sri Mataji on the way in a beautiful farmhouse in a village where Sri Mataji was entertained as before by the Viennese string players. She talked to them about classical music, particularly Mozart, and then She talked about Indian music. Sri Mataji was served Chinese food here, and enjoyed Her stay in the farmhouse so much that She decided to return there to rest all day Saturday before leaving for the airport fly back to London.
Friday evening the public programme in Graz took place; perhaps 200 to 300 new people plus a good number of Sahaja Yogis. As before the introduction was partly spoken and partly musical - we had a most receptive audience - and Sri Mataji arrived to the singing of ‘Mahishasura Mardini’. She was seated regally in the centre of the stage, surrounded by flowers and sarees. After Her talk and the giving of realization we resumed the bhajans and also sang two Spanish songs, which went on for the rest of the evening, which the public loved.
The last time we saw Sri Mataji was at the airport before She left for England. She took a seat towards one end of the concourse, and the 200 or so Sahaja Yogis - nearly all Austrian - sat around Her on the floor. She spoke to us about the need to be diplomatic in our dealings with people coming to Sahaja Yoga for the first time; how we should speak to them gently and not hurt them, and how we should speak discreetly and sweetly and not use ‘the language of chakras’ too much to discuss whatever problems they might have. Then Sri Mataji listened to a few songs sung by some Sahaja Yogis, Her name was taken for the last time with a loud ‘ki Jai’ and the Divine Mother left for England.
Phil W. email
There will be an equilibrium
In September 1994 Shri Mataji was going from Austria to Romania and She was looking at the price list on board the plane. Wolfgang our leader was somehow quiet, because for us it always seems very expensive, what they sell on the planes. So he said, ‘For us it is quite expensive.’
‘Don’t worry, ‘She said, ‘It will become even more expensive, because the prices have to go up in the West, so people will start to buy the things from the East and there will be this equilibrium in the trade.’
At one point I was writing a small thesis for my degree in Austria, and I was able to ask Shri Mataji what companies should do with the profits. This was in 1988. Shri Mataji said the companies should reinvest most of the money into the workers of the company. They should see the workers’ children get an education, that they should take over the social responsibility of the workers. Not to give them the money, but to make their lives better.
Sita W.
A very solid country
All around the world we have met Shri Mataji at airports. It is such a rare moment when we can be there and just give Her flowers. Once in a while She would have something to say to us, or we would sit at Her Feet, and She would share beautiful words and pieces of advice, like, ‘How is it going there?’ and ‘Do you have a good job?’ and ‘How are the children?’ One time we were in Washington, and it was just after the 9/11 tragedy and the economy was going down and the company my husband worked for went bankrupt, so Shri Mataji advised us to go back to Austria.
‘Your husband will find a good job there. You are moving around too much,’ She said, because we had moved twenty times. ‘Your children need roots. It is not good that you move so much. If you go to Austria the children will get a good education because it is a very solid country. If you go there everything will work out for you. She emphasised that children must get a good education and they need to be qualified and it is important to study and She elaborated quite some on this point.’
Sure enough the education system in Austria is wonderful, my husband has a good job at the UN and I am working out so many things in the strong and beautiful collective. It is such a blessing to get this advice from Shri Mataji.
Angela R.