Art & Music

The link between art, music and the spiritual dimension has been well documented down the ages. We express the joy of the spirit through our creative works, and it is this part of humanity that survives the best through all the changes in society that happen over time. Sahaja Yogis cherish the arts and develop a keen sensitivity for all forms of beauty, whether man-made or natural. The urge to experience beauty through artistic endeavour has driven the community to become very much involved in music, painting, sculpture and other forms of creative expression around the world.

The Theatre of Eternal Values is a European based project which brings together a rich and varied set of actors and actresses from around the world to produce classic works from the world's masters such as Shakespeare, Mozart, Moliére and others. The members of the troupe are a mixture of professional and amateur dramatists from over seventeen countries, who are united through their practice of Sahaja Yoga meditation. It was founded on the principle that it is possible to transform theatre into a spiritually profound experience, for both performer and audience. As such, it is a unique experiment which has garnered much interest from public and critics alike.

Since its inception the group has toured and given performances in New York, Milan, and Bombay, receiving critical acclaim wherever they perform.

The William Blake Appreciation Society was formed by a group of English practitioners of Sahaja Yoga to celebrate and explore the many wondrous works of William Blake, artist and philosopher poet extraordinaire. The group has close affiliations with the official Blake Society, and recently scored a major coup when two members identified and located the actual burial place of the great poet in London. There are now moves to commemorate the location properly with an official ceremony and stone or statue and talks are underway with local government officials in London to see how this could be accomplished in time for the poet's anniversary in 2007.

The group often holds exhibitions of Blake's arts and writing, and there are also Blake Walks, which trace the life of the great personality by visiting some significant places in his life while living in central London.

The Shri P. K. Salve Kala Pratishthan Music Academy in Vaitarna, India, is an international college of music established by Shri Mataji as a way to combine the spiritual resonance of Sahaja Yoga meditation and the practice of classical forms of music. The academy is situated within a beautifully landscaped 40 acres plot around 100 kilometres from Mumbai, and runs year round residential courses in many of the most beautiful forms of Indian and Western classical arts and music. Visitors to the site often comment on the sense of peace and tranquillity they can feel, and this is testament to the fact that the college promotes regular and diligent meditation as part of the whole learning process. Classes are held in pottery, music, dance and drama and the college regularly releases CD and DVD recordings of the work of the pupils.

The IPO is an international group of Sahaja Yogi musicians who have been collaborating for more than 10 years on the production of a range of classical and Western style music CDs. The group emphasises the connection between the vibrations of true yoga and the spiritually uplifting vibrations of beautiful music, and for this reason the musicians have been encouraged to use a wide range of international instruments, from the classic simplicity of the violin to the primordial sound of the Australian didgeridoo, the Indian sarod and sitar and the glorious tone of classical voice.