Sri Samadarshini is one of the closest disciples of Sri Bhagavan and Sri Amma, the founders of the Golden Age Foundation. She attracts very large groups of people in India. Her presence is one of deep love and compassion that is felt by all who meet her. In this exclusive interview with a Swedish journalist, Sri Samadarshini shares the teachings of Sri Bhagavan.

The interview took place on a sunny day in April of 2003 in the little village of Varadyapalyam 90 km north of Chennai/Madras on the south Eastern coast of India. This is the main campus of Sri Bhagavan and Sri Amma's Golden Age Foundation.

We came to Sri Bhagavan Ashram late in the afternoon, after almost a day in a taxi. They had been waiting for us. As soon as we got down from the taxi, a dasaji ("monk") called Prasad came and met us. He showed us to our room. We got a nice air-conditioned room and a late lunch.

Sri Samadarshini had obviously been waiting for us for a while, so we hurried to a big room that was shown to us. It had no furniture except for a large fan in the ceiling. Sri Samadarshini was sitting on the floor on a mat with another female dasaji next to her. Sri Samadarshini was all dressed in white and her face expressed joy and a relaxed smile.

I was both tired and a bit nervous because there had been no time to prepare myself in my normal way before the interview. We had been ready to leave for another interview when Naveenji, one of the other dasajis, announced a small change of our plans. Instead of travelling to Chennai/Madras for some meetings, we would go ahead and meet some people here in Varadyapalyam. My knowledge about Sri Samadarshini was very limited. I knew she was involved in the work with Shristi - the Art of parenting and also Women's Movement. I also knew that she was one of the very close disciples of Bhagavan, (She is one of the seven so called Acharyas of Sri Bhagavan) and prior to the interview, I felt somewhat nervous.

After a couple of minutes of the meeting with Sri Samadarshini, all tension was gone. It was something in the air around her that made me feel very comfortable and I felt relaxed to ask her any questions I wanted. She responded to each and every question very seriously and often with a big laugh.

Do you have healing power?

Yes.

And what does it mean, can you see through a person?

In India we have retreats for awakening the higher sacred self. And then we have what we call diksha. Diksha is actually transfer, awakening the energy from within, the kundalini, and cleansing the bodies for allowing the grace to flow. When we give diksha we first connect to Sri Bhagavan´s and Amma´s conscious and then we give it. When we do it in this way, it happens to each person even if there are thousands of people that have received. They can touch and heal. It is not a complicated process like Reiki, we just think of Sri Bhagavan and it starts; just think of Sri Amma and it starts. Then you do not have to have fear that maybe the negative energy in the person will pass on to you, or maybe you will get various diseases. No such risks exist in this healing process.

In a day we heal thousands of people. It is not only the dasajis that heal, thousands of devotees do this, they just think of Sri Bhagavan and Amma with great love and say "Sri Bhagavan please help" they need to have that feeling. They heal not only for physical problems, but also for relationship problems, for fear or any other problems. According to Sri Bhagavan the real problem is a disease in consciousness and this disease in consciousness manifests itself in the external world. So when you heal you touch a person's consciousness.

Let me say, I have a very powerful contact with Sri Bhagavan in my higher sacred self, if I want I can ask Sri Bhagavan and see what is wrong inside your body and then heal. We do not usually do it, we straight away pray and start the healing. Unless we feel that what the person say is not correct, or we feel that the medical report is wrong, than we ask for seeing where the problem is.

And at the same time as you heal a person you give the person the healing power, is it like that?

No, we just heal. During the retreats this transport of power can happen.

Can you give the healing power to anybody?

Yes, but I have to ask Sri Bhagavan.

Can you give it to me?

No, he says no. If he says no I cannot do anything. For example when I am conducting a retreat, it happens that for some reason Sri Bhagavan does not want the diksha to take place. No matter how much I try to get connection it will not happen.

Do you ask why?

No I do not. Usually Sri Bhagavan and Amma tell us why, we are speaking back. Often I pray for myself at night, I close my eyes and Sri Bhagavan speaks to me and then he can say, "Today we did not want it to happen." I have many experiences like this. And one day he may say: "Today great healing will happen during the retreat" and even if we have not focused on healing, healing will happen. Even if I conduct an ordinary retreat something will happen. This is the phenomenon. It is not something that is constructed by thought. This is predicted. Sri Bhagavan and Amma never go out of the ashram. They have millions of followers out there but very, very few have met them. But their consciousness is affecting the lives of people. They are manifesting in their homes, eating food with them, talking to them. We are enjoying it.

Can Bhagavan separate his daily consciousness from the part of him that is in contact with the millions of devotees?

I tell you what Sri Bhagavan has said. In his awaken consciousness he speaks to us all. He is not in touch with that part of himself but he knows where all his manifestations are and what he is doing to people. And sometimes he is having a review of all people that have been helped that day.

What are your daily functions and your goals in the foundation?

My basic work is on the spiritual sphere. Besides the meditation and the sadhanas we have to do for ourselves and for the mankind, very often I conduct retreats, retreats for thousands of people. Two days ago I conducted a retreat, there were around 25,000 people there on the beach. Before that I conducted a retreat for 11,000 people at Bangalore. So I am going tomorrow to the other coast and another part of India and there I will perform a homa. So I am basically involved in guiding people, seekers, conducting special courses for women and teaching man how to get connected with Sri Bhagavan and receive the grace. That is what I love to do most. Basically I conduct homas, retreats and teach. Earlier I used to conduct level three retreats for the Indian seekers. Now I do not. Others have taken over. I am basically on tour, in a month I am on tour 25 days.

Would there be any chance for you to go to Europe?

No, I work here. I work in India. I have requested Sri Bhagavan and Amma that I want to do my work here. There is so much to do in India, but in case Sri Bhagavan orders me to go I will go. But really I prefer to work here.

To me it looks like you have total trust in life, in Sri Bhagavan and Amma. That trust, you cannot get it by effort, is it so?

Yes, it comes by grace.

And the balance between discipline and effort, can you say something about that?

It has to happen to you, that is what I believe. Trust happens to you, joy happens to you, love happens to you. It can happen through mystical experiences or it can happen just by listening to a teaching. I tell from my experiences and the people I have met. Sometimes just by listening to some teaching of Sri Bhagavan it happens, or just look at one photo of Sri Bhagavan and it happens. They do not think about it and arrive at it. If you think about it, we do not say that it is wrong the only thing is that there is another side of the mind playing up saying "it can not be true, do you think it is possible? It cannot be true." That is the nature of the mind. One part says yes and is comfortable with it until the other part says no. That is how the mind survives; this is the struggle of man. There is nothing wrong with it, when it happens, see it, and do not try to arrive somewhere. Just see it, nothing is wrong. It is perfect as it is. That is how the human mind has been designed. You can be comfortable with a yes for a minute, for days, maybe for months, then all of a sudden there is the other side of the mind saying no, this can not be true. See it, now the other side is playing, now the first side is there again, you do not try to do something about it, you allow it to be, be aware of it.

How to not let it rule you?

The moment you are aware of it cannot rule you. If you are aware of it, it is like you are riding on the donkey; otherwise the donkey is riding you.

You have to listen to another part of yourself and in west we are brought up with listening to the mind. When we need to switch and listen to another part of ourselves, how do we do that?

All you have to do is to see this conflict. That is what you can do, that is what you need to do. The rest of it is not in your hands. You can ask Sri Bhagavan and Amma to help you. Ask very clearly.

Is Amma never meeting the devotees?

At least now, Amma meets the devotees inwards. Amma is mostly by her self. Amma is more into answering the prayers. Amma and Sri Bhagavan are like two sides of the same coin. Sri Bhagavan is the yang and Amma is the yin. Amma is seeing people but does not of speak much. She meets her female desciples. We are guided by Amma.

Is it then better to pray to Amma than to Sri Bhagavan?

Sri Bhagavan is also answering, but Amma is faster. I get Amma first, she is fast, devotees also do that.

Do they care for different aspects?

No, it is not like that. Both of them are only focused on enlightenment and helping man with their suffering, no matter what it is. India is a developing country and people have a lot of problems. Amma and Sri Bhagavan are equally concerned about it. They help in many ways. They are also very concerned about relationships. To Amma and Sri Bhagavan relationships are very sacred. You are relationships Sri Bhagavan says, life is relationships. So we help people with it.

When you are praying, are you doing it in any special way?

Certain prayers are for individual causes, certain prayers are sadhanas. We do certain prayers that are only meant for us, which basically are there for helping in the process of enlightenment. We are always doing them in the same way. But for example in Bangalore there is a dasaji, she is like a bird, a very happy person and a very informal person. Before when I asked her to pray she always refused. She used to say: "if I ask for it he will not give it to me. He will give everything to me that he wants, not what I want". Finally I said to her, it cannot be like this, you have to discover your own way of praying, and there is no universal format. Suddenly she realized that whenever she closed her eyes she was thinking of Sri Bhagavan physically and then she started to pray to him and said please Sri Bhagavan, this is my dream let my dream become your dream and she imagined whatever she wanted. And then she said thank you, and it happened. Because she is a very informal person Sri Bhagavan answers in an informal way. Another woman said that she fights with Sri Bhagavan. Her husband was sitting quietly beside her and said "Sri Bhagavan, whenever she wants something she fights, so do not give it to her unless she fights. When I request, you give me, not when I fight." So different individuals share different relationships with Sri Bhagavan. Some fight and get, some dream and get, some ask and get, some beg and get, and everyone has their way.

You do not need to go down to a transcendental space or something like that?

Not at all, it is not so complicated. Things are not so difficult as man has made them to be. I may have to ask for something when I am standing in a bus line, I cannot go down to a transcendental level standing in a bus line.

What is the difference between me manifesting something and Bhagavan manifesting something?

The quantity and the quality I should say, (laugh!), the magnitude of the phenomena. There have been instances when the dead came back to life. I asked some dasajis to collect some classical examples of dead coming back to life, I expected between 15 and 20 examples, but now I can write a book on them. Only in ten years there have been so many. The movement started only ten years ago. In this short time so many things happened, it is incredible. In history of spirituality these things have happened, people have come back to life, healing has happened, people have manifested. But now, the numbers of it, and it is only the beginning of the phenomena. Sri Bhagavan was recently telling me "I have not even revealed one per cent of my power of my consciousness, I am just waiting."

For?

The Golden City, and for the actual work for enlightenment to start. If in ten years of time, this is the magnitude, what is there going to happen very soon? You take the Bible; all the experiences of Christ's lifetime can be contained in a book, all the experiences. But every single devotee, let us say for three years, five years, each one can write a book of their own life's experiences and their own life's miracles. It is the magnitude of the phenomena and this is necessary for the enlightenment of man, if it is less it is not sufficient. Anything less then to spread love and spread peace is not sufficient for the enlightened man.

And the Shakti Staala is what is going to create the magnitude?

No, it is Sri Bhagavan who will create it. He decided that this is way he is going to operate. But basically it is how much he goes into himself. In the beginning of the movement there were no miracles, the devotees were praying for it, they said ," Sri Bhagavan! You must do it, you must operate. The ordinary man needs to see this, they are intellectually poor, and they need to see it". Sri Bhagavan said, "Okay, they will have it" Amma blessed and said, "Okay, we will do it". From that day started the phenomena. Fragrance came from the photographs, water flew from the walls. It started happening, now it is an ordinary phenomenon, it keeps on happening here and there. So the moment they take it inside themselves, they go inside they build it, it happens.

If I want something can I ask for it?

You can build it yourself.

A number of years ago Sri Bhagavan was not here, but now the opportunity to manifest is bigger. Is it so that it is easier now?

Yes.

Is it important to be aware of Sri Bhagavan and Amma? To see their pictures?

For certain kinds of help that you need, it is very helpful. What we have seen in India is that even if people have not met Sri Bhagavan or do not even know his name but have seen his picture, it helps. Some have not seen the picture they just know his name, it helps. What is most important is to get connected to him. It helps very much.

But if you take my father for example, he will not use Bhagavan´s name, but rather use Jesus, will it be easier for him now to manifest when Sri Bhagavan is here than before?

Yes, Sri Bhagavan says, "It is not that everyone should know me, it is not that all humanity should worship me or come in to the movement. It is enough that a section of humanity get enlightened, the rest will come automatically." They are playing their roles silently; they are affecting man's relationship with the divine. It is happening silently, it is their work, you need not know it. Let us say, you just have to drink the water. Very few need to know, very few are curious to know, the rest are happily drinking the water and bathing in it.

We are so overwhelmed that you gave us so much time. Thank you.

I am so happy and this can help so much. Even if just one single person gets benefited this meeting has been so sacred.