We were in a village in Maharashtra on one of the India tours in the mid 1980’s and the electricity broke down when Shri Mataji was about to give an introductory talk. She had some of the Sahaja Yogis sing Adi Ma and Jogawa, and then just asked the people to put their hands out and feel the cool breeze, which they did. Also, at that village where there was a procession with Shri Mataji on a bullock cart, and She later told us what the driver had said to Her. He spoke so eloquently about Her; it was like the devotional poetry of Kabir, even though he was a simple countryman. She also said he had been a great king in a past lifetime.
About Paithan – a village which was originally called Pratishthan and had been the capital of the Shalivahanas’ kingdom – or Satavahanas as they were sometimes called – Shri Mataji’s ancestors. We went there once on the tour in 1987, and there were a lot of ruins and it was a very poor village now. Shri Mataji gave a talk, a public programme to the villagers. They did not even have electricity and someone fanned Her with a folded up newspaper, and after the programme we went and had tea in the headman’s house.
Mother told us this instructive story about the sort of misunderstandings created by Westerners. There was a missionary who went to an Indian village. He told the villagers they were sinful and guilty, but they would be saved if they confessed their sins. When the missionary came to leave, the village headman said: ‘Thank you, sir, for telling us something we did not know. You have told us that we are guilty. We did not know that before.’
Linda Williams