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Ma
Jaya Sati Bhagavati:
Kali Natha Yoga and the Path to God
By Kali
Ma Das
Ma Jaya is an American Guru in the lineage of her Guru, the
very beloved Indian Saint Neem Karoli Baba. This year, Ma Jaya's
portrait will be hung in the Hall of Honor at the prestigious
Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Preachers of Morehouse College,
joining the images of Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi and other
bringers of world peace. Ma Jaya is a Trustee of the Parliament
of the World's Religions and is founder and spiritual director
of Kashi Ashram in Sebastian, Florida where she resides.
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KMD: How close is the average person to a spiritual
awakening?
 MA:
It's an individual thing. The beauty of karma is that each
karma, each moment of karma, each section of karma is completely
unique in itself. It becomes very individual. The Guru comes and
takes the blinders off the chela's eyes like I'm doing
now, and says, “Now love me. Now follow me if I go into the
war torn areas of life.” Now are you a little bit uncomfortable
when I bring up the death of children, the death of life, the
death of ego? And then the marriage of human beings and God starts.
And the honeymoon is over. And for some it's a great and
unbelievable shock.
KMD: How does Kali Natha Yoga differ from the
asana practices being taught elsewhere?
MA: Hatha Yoga is very ancient. All of the yogas concentrate
on the body and the mind and the soul. Kali Natha Yoga takes it
one step further. Kali Natha Yoga takes from the heavens, takes
from the highest point where one can be and brings it down to
where one is. So you move your body in the course of the four
winds. You move your body in accordance to the very ancient scriptures
of the Gods and the Goddesses, but it doesn't become exclusive.
Where one may put Lord Vayu, another will put Christ. Where one
may put my beloved Kali, the other may put my beloved Mary. One
takes their beloved and makes a liquid gold and they drink for
the rest of their life which spreads through their body like a
physical essence. And then life is changed, for Kali Natha Yoga
is the yoga of the Mother's Heart and the Ancient Nathas. (10th
century revered teachers of Hatha Yoga).
KMD: Many of your chelas (students) have been
able to experience various levels of samadhi, yet still be very
grounded, very productive, even driven individuals in the world
outside of your ashram.
MA JAYA: One sits in front of the Himalayas in prayer,
legs crossed, it's very beautiful. Why take birth to do that?
The great yogi Milarepa taught from the very cave that he stayed
in and he also taught to serve humanity. When you take God's
gift, when you take the Mother's gift, and you bring it out
into the world, you may not say “Oh I'm so gone, I have
to sit, I can't move.” You must use this gift because
a certain flow happens within the body. The body becomes like
liquid. And if you don't give it away, it retains the ground.
Then nothing new can fit in that place. You have to keep it moving,
keep it moving, just like the earth goes round and round. The
only way you can keep Kali Natha Yoga in motion is by giving it
away, serving others. When there is need, and you have the slightest
ability to fill it, you do it. This grounds you. With enough ground,
you can sit and take the luxury of Nirvakalpa Samadhi. After a
while, after many years, you'll have the direct instinct and
wisdom to do mahasamadhi at will when your time is near to leave
your body. That's what mahasamadhi is. The Nirvakalpa is the
samadhi of earth, heaven and earth meeting. That's why Kashi
is called paradise on earth.
KMD: Must we experience spiritual death to continue
to move towards God?
MA JAYA: It's painful. Some people stop. It is very
painful. I lost everything. But then I got it all back. It is
very painful. The more you cling to it, the more you prefer attachment
to detachment the harder time you're having.
KMD: But it cannot be avoided. It is necessary
to the path.
MA JAYA: Absolutely. You can't take the earth to God
and say “Please excuse this tree or that tree. I'm very
attached to this, I'm very attached to that.” That's
why satsang is so beautiful. Because you are all learning
at the same time.
Ma, as her students call her, has dedicated her life to serving
humanity, including those with HIV/AIDS and other life challenging
illnesses, caring for the elderly, feeding the poor and nurturing
the spiritual development of her thousands of students around
the world. In Uganda, Ma's Providence Orphan's Center has
been named in her honor. As a pioneer in the fight for human rights,
Ma Jaya founded World Tibet Day.
Ma Jaya will teach an intensive the first weekend in April at
Kashi Atlanta Ashram. For information on this and the open darshan
and registration for the intensive, call 404.688.6757.
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