Advice to French Sahaja Yogis, respect your dignity, preserve your Vishuddhi, Grilly, (France), August 24th, 1982

I think that it is important that they must develop a behaviour which is very dignified.

The whole culture, somehow or other, has created an atmosphere that people talk in a casual way. They are not guarding their words to see what they speak. And they speak just because they want to speak all the time and that’s also another way of aggressiveness that all the time, they want to see, speak, don’t allow others to speak. As if we have something very important always to tell while the others do not matter. It’s a very aggressive, egoistical style.

But by doing this they develop a kind of casualness and a non-serene attitude. Also, the behaviour is extremely casual and not dignified. And it shows that they have no respect for themselves. If you have respect for yourself, then you will know that you have to speak something that will give you respect. So, you are careful as to what you speak because when you speak, you are manifesting your intelligence, your understanding, your love. It’s an expression, it’s a rapport with another person.

But if it is not with dignity, with guarded words, with proper understanding as to what you are doing, it will just create a useless, frivolous talk and can also create a misunderstanding leading to a greater dislocation of Sahaja Yogis from each other.

So, I would suggest that French must aim, first of all, at speaking less. Bring it to minimum, better not speak much. And when you come back from your work, then you are excited. The nerves are not under your control, because you have never tried to control them, and you start talking and jabbering with each other saying all sort of nonsensical things, this one is excited, that one is excited. Better have a silent meditation, absolutely silent meditation for an hour every day. Practise it because we have to imbibe the new culture of Sahaja Yoga in which seriousness is not wanted of the English, but also, we do not want the frivolousness of the French.

Now, in between is serenity and the blissful state.  To achieve that, you have to practise silence. After one hour of silent meditation – which may be too much for you to remain silent for one hour, but try, for at least two weeks you try this – and then, gradually, you can have half an hour silent meditation and start my tape. Listen to my tape without talking. Try to listen than to talk. You are not to reflect but just listen and take it inside. But all the time if you keep a mind which has to listen and then to reflect, nothing will go in your head because your mind will be thinking of your own things that you have to say.

Even I’ve noticed when I am speaking to you, you are still thinking of what you have to say to Me. But supposing you decide that: “I have to say nothing after what Mother has said. I’ve not to tell Her anything. She knows everything. And just to keep quiet after what She has said.” If you decide like that, then you will listen. But if you all the time think: “What am I going to say after that?” Because I’ve seen with French, that you say one thing, they’ll say another. At the end, they must end up. You can never end up with them. You see, if you say one word, they will say another thing. Then you say another thing they will say another thing. It will go on till you give up. You say: “All right, yours is the last word.” So, they have to have the last word, always.

So, this is the problem. It is also an aggressive temperament by which you spoil your Vishuddhi completely. And the Right Vishuddhi is the real problem with the French. Then, from Right Vishuddhi it descends to Left Vishuddhi, Left Nabhi because you become frantic.

Everything is to be paced in proper pace. There should be a proper rhythm in the way you talk, the way you walk, the way you move. Even the walking of, say, I’ve seen the French women like the whole body moves, (thumped?), that’s not the way to walk. You have to walk with dignity with your measured feet. Try to practice this as an exercise. How you walk [?] The best way is to put a book on your head and walk straight, with steps which do not shake your body but which are dignified and give a rhythmic beautiful movement to your body.

And even if you talk, try to see that your voice is not frivolous, is deep, sonorous, coming from your heart. And not a frivolous, flippant tone in which just to go on jabbering. That’s not the way, there’s no end to it and when you talk to people, put your eyes to that person, don’t turn your eyes to the sides, this, that, and try to listen than to talk. That’s the main point [it]. Try to listen than to talk. Because, if you don’t even look at the person who’s talking, then what will happen that you will go on talking, talking the peripheral is talking, the other side is looking at another side, you are looking at another side. Both are talking, nobody listens. It’s a waste of energy.

I don’t mind even the waste of energy. But what I mind is that it has a reaction. The people who see, the other people – new people who come in- they think it’s not Sahaja Yoga. it’s no[t] good, people have not changed. They are just the same.

But among all other French who are casual about themselves, who have no respect of their dignity. If you stand up like that, you will show that you are a special type of people who have got a special type of dignity. That will impress them much more than anything else. Apart from that, when you start respecting your dignity, you will respect the dignity of others. This is the basic problem that exists between the Sahaja Yogis that they do not respect their own dignity and that is why they cannot respect the dignity of others. And then, when the newcomers come in, in their presence they start quarrelling among themselves. They have- they must have a sense of shame about it, you see, in the sense of honour,  that it is dishonourable to be like that. It’s bad manners for Sahaja Yogis to be like that. If one is talking then another should keep quiet and support him. Then another is talking, keep quiet. The more you keep quiet, the deeper you will be.

So, please try to develop a dignified behaviour among yourselves. And try to understand that, even when I’m talking as here, it’s the French who will come back with an answer. Always! In a group, it’s the French who will always have something to say. You see, they always think that they are wiser than the other. Don’t believe that you are the smartest people. If you understand, this smartness is stupidity and is of no use in Sahaja Yoga, you will not try to outsmart another. The whole style of talking is also outsmarting another.

You see, we had one Frenchman in there. And we couldn’t understand the way he used to talk, like Regis. You see, he thought he was smart and he said something smart, you know, just to give one punch into the nose or sometimes putting a dagger into a person like that. It would . . . He would come out with something so funny and so flippant and so piercing that people didn’t know what was he about, you see. Why can’t he talk properly? Especially the English, you see. This is the way it is and that’s how I’ve seen that, I’ve heard also that many girls from Paris are anxious to marry the Arabs. Then Arabs don’t mind having them because, you see, they think they are smart and all that. But once they marry, I heard that Arabs get so fed up with their smartness that they’ll say: “Take all the money from us but leave us, you see. Just leave us and go away. We have had enough of you. We don’t want you anymore.”

This kind of a smartness and the sort of being very, very sarcastic, is not the way we are going to establish good relationships. It’s anti-love, it’s anti-God. So, one has to be absolutely a very sweet, genuine person. So, this smartness comes from people who are gross and who are outside, who are not genuine. Genuine people never say anything that will hurt others, normally. And they are careful, they are careful as not to say because they are genuine to themselves. So, they are genuine to others. They understand that they’ll be hurt. And in this flippant way, you’ll never understand how you hurt each other.

All the time teasing others is a very bad habit. Teasing this person, teasing- I never tease you. Have I ever teased you? Whatever I have to say if I’m angry and if I don’t like something, I just tell you on your face. If I like it, I tell you on your face. What is there to tease? It’s some sort of a sadistic idea is just to go on teasing. Even you tease children! You tease old people. I’ve seen people go[ing] on teasing. They want to find some sort of a victim whom they’ll go on teasing all the time.

So, I have to tell you that this is very important that you develop the dignity when you talk, when you walk, the movements of your hands, just to go on frivolously moving your hands. These hands are now the expression of God and be careful about it, be humble about it. Use them for saying “namaskar” [homage to your Spirit] and very humble things. Try to see that you express humility through your hands. And not some sort of a frivolous behaviour like turning the hand suddenly and doing- I can’t do it even if I want to, the way you people do it.Because you have trained your hands like that, they just go twisted down like that, something happens to them, I don’t know why.And also, don’t use your Vishuddhi to express something like when you say: “How are you?” Then you just shrug your shoulders. Shrugging the shoulders is not good at all for your Vishuddhi. Don’t use your shoulders in that way, shrugging. And clenching your teeth is also a very bad- some people have a habit of clenching the teeth. You see, just pressing the teeth when they are angry  betrays it. And that’s [inaudible] because all this pressurises the Vishuddhi.

Even the movement of eyes pressurises. All these things, you see, Vishuddhi is a very sensitive centre. And to keep it all right, you have to be alert about it. The best thing is to keep a dignified face not too straight back, not too forward. But, in the centre, you keep it in a dignified way. Some people have too much of it, some people go down like this when they talk. That’s not proper. When you talk, you talk like this. So, there is no need to pull down your head. Even for a little bit. If I do it, I have to correct myself, you see. It’s not good to push it down. So, one should understand what things impress. You should not be also in a way aggressive like a hawk on a person when you are talking. Be like that, talk to a person in a way that a person thinks you are absolutely relaxed.

And that is how one should behave. Your behaviour will definitely improve your inside. So, try to improve that and try to understand. Now, for everything, even to say “yes”, don’t shake your head. Try, because, you see, even if you shake otherwise it’s all right. But what I am saying, if you shake your head now, what will happen Vishuddhi won’t be all right. Just to have the maximum effect, what you have to do is not to shake at any cost your head. Try to not to shake. But it’s difficult because you are not used to it. You see, all the time you go on shaking like this, like this you see, all the time you go on. I’ve seen many people [inaudible] They just go on like this. Even if someone somewhere then you have to say “no”, still it’s like [inaudible] look at them. They’re still shaking forward ways, you see, all the time not to do. And even any movement, you have to do not a jerky movement. Any jerky or fast movement is to be avoided. If you have to say “yes”, “yes”, like that, just move your head slowly. Or if you have to say “no”, just say “no” that you shouldn’t have a jolt about it, like this, you see. You just see how much it wobbles. You just when you do like that. You can feel it’s wobbling.

All the time if you go on attacking your Vishuddhi what can your Vishuddhi, poor thing, do? Isn’t it? So, be careful about your Vishuddhi, look after it and movements should not be jerky and should not be fast, speedy, but should be dignified and done with great care. And certain exercises, I will tell you now about how to do to improve the Vishuddhi. All right? Which you can tell them later on. And don’t doubt each other when you tell anything to them because I’ve recorded it, because they will doubt if you should tell them anything, you see, that’s the trouble, another trouble with you [unsure]. French – [cut in the audio]

They find it difficult. That’s why I always say, you see, the British are the best in this respect. Because, you see, they listen, they listen more than anything else. They are quite intelligent but they don’t think that they are super intelligent, you see. Their intelligence is expressed by listening. Always you’ll find they listen quite a lot. They keep quiet normally and they listen. In Sahaja Yoga it helps. You shouldn’t be quiet with people whom you are going to meet, but that’s all right, you need not be quiet. But also, you don’t jabber with them. [Laughter]. You will not impress people by jabbering.

H. H. Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi