Sahaja Yoga - The Term

The Term

The word 'Sahaja' in Sanskrit has two components: saha meaning 'with' and ja meaning 'born'. Sahaja means natural, simple or innate and Yoga means union or yoking and refers to a spiritual path or a state of spiritual absorption. According to a book published by the movement, Sahaja Yoga means spontaneous and born with you meaning that the kundalini is born within us and can be awakened spontaneously.

In 2000 the term 'Sahaja Yoga' was trademarked in the United States by Vishwa Nirmala Dharma.

The term 'Sahaja Yoga' goes back at least to the 15th Century Indian mystic Kabir. and has been used to refer to Surat Shabd Yoga. The term is also used to describe the basic meditation practice of Ananda Marga. Rajneesh (aka Osho) described 'Sahaja Yoga' as the most difficult of yogas because it involves no effort and is natural and spontaneous. According to the Sahaja Yoga movement, one cannot put in any effort to awaken the kundalini; just have to ask for it to happen as it is spontaneous.

Read more about this topic:  Sahaja Yoga

Famous quotes containing the word term:

    A radical is one of whom people say “He goes too far.” A conservative, on the other hand, is one who “doesn’t go far enough.” Then there is the reactionary, “one who doesn’t go at all.” All these terms are more or less objectionable, wherefore we have coined the term “progressive.” I should say that a progressive is one who insists upon recognizing new facts as they present themselves—one who adjusts legislation to these new facts.
    Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)

    ... feminism is a political term and it must be recognized as such: it is political in women’s terms. What are these terms? Essentially it means making connections: between personal power and economic power, between domestic oppression and labor exploitation, between plants and chemicals, feelings and theories; it means making connections between our inside worlds and the outside world.
    Anica Vesel Mander, U.S. author and feminist, and Anne Kent Rush (b. 1945)