The Life of Sri Mataji Nirmala Devi founder of Sahaja yoga

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the founder of Sahaja Yoga, was born on March 21, 1923 to a Christian family in Chindawara, near the city of Nagpur in Central India.

She is a direct descendant of India's royal Shalivahana dynasty.

She was born with her complete Self Realization and knew from a very young age that she had a unique gift which had to be made available to all mankind.

Both She and Her parents played a key role in India's Liberation Movement from under British rule.

Her father, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and helped write free India's first constitution.

He was a renowned scholar, master of 14 languages, and translated the Koran into Marathi. Her mother was the first woman in India to receive an Honors Degree in Mathematics.

Fighting for India's Freedom

As a child, Shri Mataji lived with her parents in the ashram of Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi saw the wisdom of this child and used to appreciate her immensely, affectionately calling her Nepali due to the Nepali features of her face.

Even at a young age, her deep understanding was evident to Gandhi, who frequently sought her advice on spiritual matters.

Shri Mataji's involvement in the freedom struggle is extremely remarkable. She was very courageous and played a daring role as a youth leader of this campaign.

In the 1942 "Quit India Movement" announced by Gandhi, she was even arrested , put in jail and tortured along with other freedom fighters for actively participating in this movement.

Shri Mataji was born with a complete understanding of the human nervous system and its energy centres.

In order to become acquainted with the scientific vocabulary attached to these subjects, she studied medicine and psychology at the Christian Medical College in Lahore.