Sahaj Marg (The Natural Path), a form of Raja Yoga, is a heart-based meditation system. The essential features of Sahaj Marg are Meditation, Cleaning and Prayer. The cleaning of impressions (called samskaras) is claimed to be unique to this method. Meditation is on the supposition of divine light in one's heart. It is done for one hour every morning. Cleaning is done to remove the accumulated grossness in oneself. It is undertaken in the evening after the day's work is over and lasts for 30 minutes. The bed time prayer is for 10-15 minutes.
Contents
Practice
The daily practice includes:
- Morning meditation on the supposition of divine light in the heart (approx one hour)
- Evening cleaning of past impressions (i.e., imagining the day's accumulated impressions out ones back and being replaced with divine light. 30 minutes)
- A prayer-meditation at bedtime (10-15 minutes)
Weekly practices include the following:
- Group meditation sessions or Satsangh are held locally twice a week - Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. Satsangh is translated to association with truth ('sat' meaning Truth and 'sangha' meaning association, together or group). Satsanghs are held in many centers around the world ;
- Cleaning sessions.
- Universal prayer. The universal prayer is a feature of the practice that is dedicated to the welfare of all. The instructions for the prayer are as follows:
At 9:00 P.M. sharp every abhyasi (practitioner), wherever he or she might happen to be at the time, should stop his or her work and meditate for fifteen minutes, thinking that all brothers and sisters are being filled up with love and devotion and that real faith is growing stronger in them. It shall be of immense value to them, which their practical experience only shall reveal. - Constant remembrance. Meditation, cleaning and prayer make up the basic elements of the Sahaj Marg practice. Practice becomes dynamic and infused with life and feeling when it leads to the remembrance and experience of our connection with the divine within on a constant basis. One cultivates this ongoing connection through a specific training of mind and heart referred to as constant remembrance.
History
The organizational body, Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM), was formally registered in 1945 by Shri Ram Chandra. Chandra was born on April 30, 1899 in Shahjahanpur, in a large town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India and died on April 19, 1983, at the age of 83. As part of the Sahaj Marg spiritual practice, Babuji adopted a technique taught by his master Lalaji using pranahuti.