The sun shone, bright and cheerful on the Sahasrara Puja weekend, as the characteristic wet and grey of May retreated in the face of Divine joy. The venue, Chalfonts Scout Camp, was amidst woodland with tall, majestic trees all around. In the grounds was the main Puja pendal along with other stalls...

viz. the café, the Crepe n Gallet stall, stalls selling Sahaja yoga literature, T-shirts for fund-raising, tapes, videos n DVDs, photographs of Shri Mataji, pendants and an eclectic collection that appeals to aesthetic yogis. Another stall, Vashi, offered people treatments and workshops to enjoy the bliss, if they weren’t already. At the other end of the puja pendal were the Food Stall and the Childrens’ Area.

Have you ever seen thirty or more children, from a few months old to nine-ten years old, playing in harmony? This was the place to witness this remarkable phenomenon. Children enjoyed doing various activities, thoughtfully selected and quietly supervised by mummies and aunties! No tantrums or cacophony here…..it was harmonious and beautiful, on all the three days! Little Ganas and Ganeshas enjoying the vibrations!

Everywhere yogis were enjoying themselves. There was this palpable feeling of love and joy. One felt it effortlessly. People were cheerful meeting old friends and making new ones. All the socialising during the day seemed to increase the appetite for further enjoyment as the evenings came on. The children had a collective meditation on Friday, singing songs awakening the deities in the chakras. Little children singing with such innocence and pure love took one from the joyful state of thoughtless awareness to Nirvikalpa Samadhi, confident that the future generation was so there already!

The evening programmes were wonderful as the entire pendal sang and danced to the bhajans and qawallis. We were all in meditation without being in one! No sign of fatigue to be seen as the marvellous programmes, presented by the talented yogis & yoginis of all ages went on till past midnight. It started with, as Sir CP said, ‘Baal Shakti’(the childrens’ sahaja wing) singing and dancing ‘We are the little Nirmalites…’, followed by the group song by our very able Yuva Shakti ‘Our promise to You Mother…’, the songs/ bhajans sung in POP style to the devout ones many yogis/yoginis from around the globe, esp. the hosting countries, who we know by face but don’t quite remember the names. Then the Scots had everyone singing ‘he Donald, ho Donald…’ followed by a comic play performed by Austrian brother and sisters. It was a comedy that easily set new signposts to our yogic sense of humour. Crisply written, superbly acted and presented! Wow, can’t wait to get hold of a DVD ASAP. And then a timeless recital of Classical Hindustani music that brought the evening to a close.

What a commendable performance by everyone that evening! So good to see how so many of our brothers and sisters are blessed with amazing talents by our Shri Mataji!

The Puja was so strong and powerful that one doesn’t have adequate words to describe. As our Mother arrived closer to the venue, the vibrations became stronger and stronger reaching a crescendo during the puja.

‘Salutations to You, O Goddess, of very dreadful appearance, of frightening valour, of tremendous strength and energy, the destroyer of the worst fears.

O Devi, it is difficult to have even a glance at You.’

Thousands of hearts joined together to worship our Holy Mother, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, and gratefully Thank Her for giving us our Self-Realization so easily and effortlessly and this wonderful opportunity to worship Her in Sakshaat Roop in the heart of the universe, the land of Albion, England where it all began in the seventies thanks to Shri Mataji!

A serenity prevailed as yogis/yoginis quietly took the vibrations and prasaad after the puja. Many lucky ones got puja souvenirs and everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Outside the lights shown like stars twinkling in vibrant colours. It was a festival of worship and joy par excellence.

Thank You, Shri Mataji, for this wonderous experience and for the hundreds of brothers and sisters who toiled behind the scenes to make it happen so beautifully and seemingly simplistically! A truly collective effort!

Sushmita, Oxon.