An Open Letter to Sahaja Yogis from Ex-Sahaja Yogis

Dear Sahaja Yogis and Yoginis

At the outset we must ask you to refrain from judging us harshly until you have given us a fair hearing. Please resist the temptation to assume that we are embittered losers, still smarting from a failure to reap the rewards of Sahaja Yoga, desperately seeking some sick satisfaction by maliciously slurring Shri Mataji's good name. Nothing of the kind is true. Even further from the truth are wilder speculations such as our being in the pay of the press, the Catholic Church, anti-cult organisations or false gurus.

We ask that you honour your own intelligence by admitting the possibility that we may have a good intention. We feel a moral responsibility to share our experiences and findings with all those who have an interest in Sahaja Yoga. Both our actions and motivations are similar to those of ex-members of many other religious movements who have set up similar websites. If we are wrong, we trust that a wise and just God would consider our intentions and be compassionate.

Like you, we joined Sahaja Yoga because we desperately wanted to know what is going on in the universe, to be touched and transformed by Truth, to experience peace and joy, to crawl out of confusion and rise into sublime Transcendence. Sahaja Yoga not only offered a solution to all our own problems, but also offered the chance to be instruments that play some small but significant part in God's plan for the salvation of humankind.

We experienced the sensations known as 'vibrations', the peace of meditation and the joy that comes from the belief that these are tangible signs of God's Grace. We did not doubt that that we would die while still believing that Shri Mataji is the Goddess. When we heard of people leaving Sahaja Yoga, we would shake our heads in disbelief that anybody could turn their back on God's plan for humankind's salvation.

Even though some of us have been out of Sahaja Yoga for a decade, we all still feel a kinship with Sahaja Yogis. This is inevitable after so many years in the company of similarly committed people, pursuing the same goal via the same path. Although many of us have changed greatly in our views since leaving Sahaja Yoga, it is only fellow travellers such as you that can really understand the life we lived for those years. In the same way, we are the outsiders who can best understand the experiences and lives of Sahaja Yogis, and reach the most informed outside judgements on Sahaja Yoga.

Although we have rejected the dogma of Sahaja Yoga, many of us remain deeply interested in pursuing goodness and Truth/truth. Surely we have common ground with the many good and decent Sahaja Yogis who seek answers to life's most profound questions and who are serious about discovering and fulfilling their highest purpose in life. We hope that those Sahaja Yogis will have enough faith in themselves to allow themselves to read our experiences and findings.

The following webpages will be of particular interest to long-term Sahaja Yogis:

• Testimonies of ex-Sahaja Yogis
• Sahaja Yoga finances
• Shri Mataji's response to criticisms
• The historical background of Sahaja Yoga
• Charges against Shri Mataji
• What are the vibrations?
• Translation of unofficial Sahaja Yoga webpages into French, German, Italian and Portuguese

These webpages concentrate on the negative side of Sahaja Yoga. This is not to say that there is nothing positive in Sahaja Yoga - it would be foolish to suggest that. However, the positive side of Sahaja Yoga is already depicted in numerous publications on the Web, in books and in newsletters such as Divine Cool Breeze. These webpages redress the balance with factual information that would never find a home in official Sahaja Yoga publications, and would only be the subject of hushed whispers among a few Sahaja Yogis who would consider it their duty to protect others from these truths.

Whether one decides that Sahaja Yoga is more good than bad is bound to depend partly on one's personal experiences. A Sahaja Yogi who has been the subject of unjust and cruel treatment from Shri Mataji is bound to have a different view than a Sahaja Yogi who has only seen it happen to others, or has had no experience of such scandals. However, that such injustices occur at all, has obvious implications for judgements about the truth of Sahaja Yoga, whether Shri Mataji is really the Goddess she claims to be, and whether Sahaja Yoga is really God's vehicle for the salvation of humankind.

For this reason criticisms have concentrated on Shri Mataji's own behaviour. Many of us know of numerous scandals involving the bad behaviour of world leaders, national leaders, local leaders and rank-and-file Sahaja Yogis. However, recounting these serves little purpose. It is Shri Mataji's own behaviour that is most relevant in judging the truth claims of Sahaja Yoga. Here the evidence is damning.

Of course we know the old excuses that are wheeled out in the face of every injustice and cruelty: "it is a test", "it is a subtle teaching device", "there must be some purpose even if we don't know it", "it is a maya" and "you cannot judge a Divine Incarnation with limited human concepts". These excuses cover all eventualities, can never be disproved, and are relied upon by the followers of all false gurus. Some Sahaja Yogis who know of Shri Mataji's injustices, cruelties and profiteering have even argued that she is testing the faith of her followers by behaving like a false guru. Other Sahaja Yogis have now realised that such mental gymnastics, which serve only to deny manifest reality, are taking rationalisation too far.

If, perhaps because of your own experiences, you accept the truth of these criticisms, refuse to indulge in the contortions of the above excuses, and no longer wish to support an organisation that is rotten at its core - your journey to a life without Sahaja Yoga may have started. We know how difficult such a decision can be. Some of us have taken years before being ready to admit the painful reality: we have been deceived, what looked like truth was falsehood. We are here to help you find the answers to all those questions that haunt your mind.

Shri Mataji has been forthright in declaring the dangers of leaving Sahaja Yoga. Indeed, some of us have been waiting a decade for the incurable diseases with which Shri Mataji personally threatened us. Death eventually comes to all of us, but we don't expect it to come to us any sooner than it does to similarly-aged Sahaja Yogis or members of the general population.

We have found that the world outside Sahaja Yoga is like that inside in other ways: there are calm people and anxious people, generous and selfish people, sensitive and insensitive people, clever people and fools, inspiring and dull people, and all combinations of the above. Seek and you will find people who are good and decent, who share your values, whose friendship will nourish and deepen you.

Although the world is undoubtedly pervaded by suffering and illusion, in the midst of all the craziness there is good as well. There are many who seek truth, meaning and beauty through artistic self-expression or spiritual practices, who seek to become more sensitive and aware, and who try to apply the truths they experience within their hearts to their daily lives. And there are people who are not focused on such lofty goals but are basically decent, who try to be kind to their fellow humans, who sincerely come to the aid of those who are misunderstood, disadvantaged, persecuted or mistreated.

Once you step outside of Sahaja Yoga you will discover that you are, simply, who you are. It's your own qualities and efforts that determine what sort of person you're going to be and what sort of life you're going to live. When you leave Sahaja Yoga, you will not suddenly fall apart or find yourself transformed into a wanton debaucher. You'll neither become a demon nor go crazy. Nor will you need assume an attitude of uncritical acceptance of the world.

Sooner or later you will find meaning and purpose in life through alternative spiritual practices, through pursuit of personal interests, through career, through helping people and through friendship and love. Your finances will not suddenly become the object of divine sabotage. Ex-Sahaja Yogis are doing anything and everything, vocationally speaking, from collecting unemployment cheques to running companies. Some are materially successful and some are not.

Whatever your situation and beliefs, if you wish for a more personal exchange, just email us. One of us will reply. Who knows? We might know each other already! We look forward to the pleasure of exchanging ideas and experiences with old friends and friends yet unknown.

With love and respect,

Simon and Juan
Sahaja Yoga Research Group