3.ABOUT SHRI MATA JI

1.Birth And Childhood
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi was born on March 21, 1923 to a Christian family in Chindawara, India. Her parents were Prasad and Cornelia Salve, direct descendants of the royal Shalivahana dynasty. Seeing the beauty of this child who was born with a spotless brilliance, they called her Nirmala, which means 'Immaculate'. Later on she came to be known by the name of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi - the revered Mother who was born with her complete Self Realization and knew from a very young age that she had a unique gift which had to be made available to all mankind.







Her parents played a key role in India's Liberation Movement under British rule. Her father, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and helped write free India's first constitution. He was a renowned scholar, master of 14 languages and translated the Koran into Marathi. Her mother was the first woman in India to receive an Honors Degree in Mathematics.




2.Fighting for India's Freedom

As a child, Shri Mataji lived with her parents in the ashram of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi saw the wisdom of this child and used to appreciate her immensely, affectionately calling her Nepali due to the Nepali features of her face. Even at a young age, her deep understanding was evident to Gandhi, who frequently sought her advice on spiritual matters
Shri Mataji's involvement in the freedom struggle is extremely remarkable. She was very courageous and played a daring role as a youth leader of this campaign. In the 1942 "Quit India Movement" announced by Gandhi, she was even arrested and put in jail along with other freedom fighters for actively participating in this movement.







Shri Mataji was born with a complete understanding of the human nervous system and its energetic counterparts. In order to become acquainted with the scientific vocabulary attached to these subjects, she studied medicine and psychology at the Christian Medical College in Lahore
 
 
 
 
3.Honors and Awards

 
 
In North America



New York, 1989-1994:


Invited by the United Nations Sahaja Yoga Organization for four consecutive years to speak on ways to achieve world peace.






105th Congress, 1997 and 106th Congress, 2000:


Honorarium read into Congressional Record by Congressman Eliot Engle commending


Shri Mataji for her dedicated and tireless work for humanity.






"Shri Mataji's discovery brings genuine hope to humanity."


Claes Nobel, (grand nephew of Alfred Nobel, Nobel Peace Prize Foundation) Chairman of the United Earth Organization.






International Recognition






Nobel Peace Prize nominee






Romania, 1995:


Awarded PhD in Cognitive Science from the Ecological University of Bucharest






China, 1995:


Official guest speaker at the Women's Conference in Beijing as a guest of the Chinese Government






Brazil, 1994:


Presented with the key to the City of Brasilia following official sponsorship of the series of Sahaja Yoga programs in the country






St. Petersburg, 1993:


Invited to inaugurate the now annual International Conference on Medicine and Self-Knowledge






Appointed as Honorary Member of the Presidium of Petrovskaya Academy of Art and Science. In the history of the Academy only twelve people have been granted this honor, Einstein being one of them.






Moscow, 1989:


Government sponsorship of Sahaja Yoga research granted after meeting between Shri Mataji and the Russian Minister of Health at that time.






Italy, 1989:


Named Personality of the Year by the Italian Government.