Pratishthan
Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi lived in Pratishthan from 1986 till 2010. Her residence ‘Pratishthan’ was named after the capital of her ancestors the Shalivahanas ( presently called Paithan).Pratishthan, was gifted to H.H. shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Sahaja Yoga Trust (National Trust) on 08 December 2010.
The National Trust established H.H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Museum at Pratishthan, Pune on19 July 2015 in the memory our Glorious, Divine and most Beloved Mother.This is the first museum of its kind in the world because it extols the Glory of Adi Shakti, the Primordial Mother, who incarnated on earth on 21 March 1923 as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi and was the founder of Sahaja Yoga system of Meditation practiced all over the world today.
The construction of Pratishthan commenced on 08 January 1986. Shri Mataji personally designed Pratishthan to demonstrate how vibrations penetrate matter and create the coefficient of vibrations. Thus She created every floor as a chakra, every room a petal of that chakra, and Her bed room the abode of the Primordial Kundalini, guarded by the Swayambhu of Shri Ganesha that was miraculously unearthed in the Conference Hall (Meditation Hall). Each and every room was vibrated by Her presence. If you witness with the eyes of your Kundalini you will enjoy the creation of the cosmos in every room. Shri Mataji used to say “Mix a little colour to soften the harsh tones, and break the rigid lines for the Kundalini to spiral.” Thus we could make our world a beautiful reflection of Pratishthan.
She built a grand staircase for the Kundalini to spiral up the Sushumna channel to the Sahastrar. Another staircase to its left formed the Ida channel that serviced the Annapurna chakra in the Nabhi, and the one to its right, the Pingla channel emanated from the right Swadisthan, the centre of creativity and music.
All the material used was to enhance the vibrations . Whereas material that was bereft of vibrations like plastics, synthetics, and aluminium were taboo. Marble absorbs the vibrations most, and She specially chose pink marble to embrace Her Sahaji children with the glow of Her love. The engineers suggested an imposing facade but She did not want her Sahaji children to feel distant from Her by its awe, and hence She said that Her children who were coming to their Mother’s house, should feel the warmth of Her love. On a visit to Rajasthan She was drawn by the vibrations of the humble Rajasthani stone craftsmen, and bought a Haveli. She then reassembled the lattices to create a homely, Motherly facade. Not just that, She placed her first born son Shri Ganesha on the threshold to escort the new born babies to the Lotus Feet of their Mother.
Since the land was at different levels, the engineers suggested reducing the plinth to zero level. But Her divine vision transformed the disadvantage to an advantage and incorporated a split level instead. From time to time She stayed in every room.
Since the land was at different levels, the engineers suggested reducing the plinth to zero level. But Her divine vision transformed the disadvantage to an advantage and incorporated a split level instead. From time to time She stayed in every room. Even before the house was ready She moved into a make shift room above the garage to supervise the construction. Six months later, Her husband, Sir C.P. Srivastava retired as Secretary General of International Maritime organisation and they temporarily shifted to a suite of rooms on the first floor. Six months later they shifted to the top floor. When the ground floor was finally completed, She moved into the Peacock Room (The current bedroom).
Shri Mataji’s Leela is full of surprises, and to unfold Her Divine Leela, the museum has been divided in three stages. The ground floor was used as Her personal residence. The corner room was Her bedroom which She named the Peacock Room. It opens into a spacious living room, dining area, study and reception room of Shri Mataji.
The first floor in Phase 2 will display Shri Mataji’s life in photographs from different countries and gifts of Sahaja Yogis from all over the world. At the beginning of Sahaja Yoga in 1970, Shri Mataji instructed the yogis not to give Her gifts. But how else could they express their love? As the loving Mother yielded to the devotion of Her children and She added this special floor to treasure their heartfelt sentiment. However small a gift was, it had a large place in Her heart, and She preserved each token in beautifully carved chests for posterity to cherish how much She loved her children. The master display gallery of the museum is the music hall. It displays puja artefacts and items used by Her.
At the ground floor lies a beautifully manicured Garden of Eden, and adjacent to it stands the Nirmal Dhara Fountain.
At the ground floor lies a beautifully manicured Garden of Eden, and adjacent to it stands the Nirmal Dhara Fountain.
Adjacent to Shri Mataji’s bedroom is the gallery of pictorial display depicting her journey from childhood to Maha Samadhi in which She emancipated humanity through Her unique discovery of Sahaja Yoga. As you look carefully through the eyes of your Kundalini you will discover many sweet insights to carry home for your ascent in your onward journey in Sahaja Yoga!
Shri Mataji wanted to settle down in Maharashtra after the retirement of Sir C P and was looking for a place near Pune & Mumbai. She was keen to settle down in Maharashtra since this was vibrated and Holy land and the birthplace of Shivaji Maharaj.
During the period of early eighties She was invited as a Key Note speaker for the International Rotary conference at Delhi, where She met Mr. Bahri Malhotra, who was the owner of Weikfield industries and also the owner of this land, then. She expressed Her desire to settle down in Pune and he was happy to show this land to Shri Mataji. The first purchase was made of 3 ½ acres and this was followed by purchase of adjacent land from other local farmers to the count of about 10 acres which comprise the total land of Pratishthan.
The name “Pratishthan” was given from the town called Paithan which was originally known as Pratishthan and was the capital of the Shalivahan kings the ancestors of
Shri Mataji. When the place was selected and bought by our Beloved Mother, it was discovered that this was the place visited by
Shri Sitaji, when she used to stay at Valmiki ashram (now known as Valmiki Nagar near Pune). During the summer season since this area was always green and cooler, Sitaji used to spend some time here.
Shri Mataji has spoken about matter emitting vibrations and till this Divine was created, Sahaja Yogis were only aware about the Kundalini or Swayambhu emitting vibrations. She explained the building should be made in such a way to allow free movement of vibrations. This is only possible when the building is not in a straight line. The architects made an elevation showing rectangular building with sharp corners turning in right angles and presented the design to
Shri Mataji. She broke the corners and straight lines and gave curves instead. The whole structure of Pratishthan is not in a form of a square or a rectangular building, but in the aerial view, we can see it to be like a trapezium, with curves and free space for the vibrations to flow.
She explained to the architects that “The spirit has to penetrate matter and if they learn to do that then they could create Swayambhu which would be like fountains of vibrations”. And thus Pratishthan became a fountain of vibrations. We can experience this phenomenon at every corner of Pratishthan which is blessed with that immense flow of divine bliss.
Shri Mataji as the Adi Shakti is Parameshwari, the supreme Goddess and hence Her knowledge is beyond science. The whole structure, the architecture and design of Pratishthan, was made and proposed by Shri Mataji Herself. Each and every minute detail was observed and given by Her to the architects and engineers and the construction was done in Her Divine presence.
Shri Mataji wanted this structure to be very solid, so that it would last till eternity. Each part of Pratishthan was made with the intent that it could be vibrated with the Divine Blessings and in the presence of Shri Adi Shakti.
The land of Pratishthan was a part of a hill. The architects suggested filling the plinth to have a flat area to build the structure. Shri Mataji suggested instead that the house be built at split level and that’s how we see the Conference hall (Meditation hall) is at a higher level than the room of Shri Mataji.
While the bedroom of Shri Mataji was being constructed, She suggested that two small rooms be built under Her bedroom, so that an even surface could be provided for construction and the two rooms below could be used as store rooms.
Shri Mataji wanted natural ventilation in every room, so the design was so made that the rooms were not in a straight line but were located in a zigzag manner with each room having windows on both sides. This allowed cross ventilation for free movement of air and light. Hence every room even in summer remains cool and pleasant.
Shri Mataji was very particular, about the use of only natural material while making Her house. She said Marble has the best vibrations, because it sucks the vibrations. She Herself brought all the marble from Makharana for the flooring. Shri Mataji selected pink colour, since it is the colour of Mahalaskmi and it expresses the Motherly warmth.
The Rose wood was sent by Her son-in-law from his forest in Bihar. All the wood came from Champaran in Bihar.
She envisaged the problem of maintaining such a huge house, so she decided to put white stones on the exterior walls, which required no maintenance or painting on regular basis. So once while She was travelling in countryside of Maharashtra She found these stones which She asked yogis to buy. Walls of Bedrooms were covered with Satin fabrics. In all common areas She put terracotta tiles on the wall. The architect suggested putting ceramic tiles. She said that when there is such abundance of natural marble, why to use artificial ceramic tiles. So all bathrooms were made of marble floors.
Pillars of the courtyard were cast in cement. She wanted to give them an antique finish, so for several days She experimented with various paints. Finally She invented a method of doing so. Similarly she got Cornices finished in the same antique design. So the whole house blended with the façade of Rajasthani lattice work also called jharokas
When She was away in Delhi, in Her absence the architect constructed a narrow staircase to the higher floors. When She returned, She was surprised and said that how could such a narrow staircase be made for such a house. Next day She got it all demolished and designed a wide staircase for the house. She had a natural sense of proportion and therefore everything in the house was in balance. And that balance created the coefficience of the Kundalini.In this way, She explained that everything has a balance and coefficience and Her photograph emits vibrations which have the same coefficience. This is how the spirit penetrates matter. The secret of Pratishthan is how the spirit can penetrate into matter. You may be sitting in any corner of Pratishthan you will feel the vibrations. So it is a natural Swayambhu and nobody can disturb it. It is the innate quality of Pratishthan and it cannot be disturbed.