At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Saraswati Raman for an exclusive interview with us. Saraswati is a Leader, Transformation Coach, Author, Spiritual Writer, Yoga Coach & Consultant and Change Enabler. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, her background, and her valuable advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Saraswati:
Talk us through your background and your journey, please;
My professional career began as an officer in Canara Bank from where I retired as Senior Manager after 34 years of service having comprehensive experience in all vital areas of banking operations; excelling as a gifted Training & Development professional having 7 years experience in developing, conducting training programs for the Bank Officers and Managers on all aspects of Banking, particularly in Core Banking implementation.
My career background includes handling HRM Administrative functions, Credit Analysis, evaluating Credit Risk, Deposits, Advances, Cash, Recovery, Customer Deliverables, Audit, etc.
As Faculty, I have trained more than 3500 clerks, Officers, Managers and Executives; conducted over 250 training programmes including sessions on handling clients, behavioural aspects, interpersonal relationships, and communication skills apart from Banking related subjects.”
One highlight of my career was that I was recognized for assisting the author MV Kamath in writing Canara Bank’s prestigious autobiographical project – The Canbank Odyssey – A Canara Bank Story”.
How did you discover your passion?
Over the years I have realized that the secret to manifesting your destiny lies in your thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. In other words, what you think determines your realities. Thoughts – which are energy – go out into the universe and attract matching vibrations. So, if you can change your thoughts, you can change your life and the world around you and the best way to do that is through meditation.
Having an experience in meditation for over 40 years and being a certified Yoga teacher, I conduct online and in-person meditation and guide the participants through a process whereby they enter into a state of thoughtless awareness and come out fresh, energetic and clear about their tasks ahead.”
I am also a Transformational Coach and facilitate a person in getting an insight into himself, by holding an enabling space that makes the transformation or change to happen spontaneously through insightful questions in an empathetic conversation. The person experiences the change in vision which propels him to take steps for bringing that vision into reality.
I believe in respecting the freedom of all to decide for themselves and lead dignified lives provided they are given the enabling space to express and grow.
How did you take to meditation as your passion after retiring from the Bank?
After a marriage that ended in divorce in 4 months due to incompatibility because I was transferred to a different city during my probationary period, I began questioning the meaning of life itself which led me to devote more time to studies of the scriptures and engaging in meditation while pursuing the corporate career.
After a couple of years, I decided to pursue a course in Vedana with the Chinmaya Mission but a spiritual awakening during one meditation session led to an out of the body experience, which caused shifts in consciousness and deep spiritual experiences.
But my absorption and absent-mindedness were misconstrued and I was asked to leave the course. My parents were advised to take me to a Psychiatrist and I was diagnosed as suffering from Schizophrenia and put under medication.
The medication and other treatments went on for 16 years. The medicines that I was taking had made me a patient and a passive recipient, leading to suppression of nerves, cutting the interceptors that carried messages between nerves and thoughts, leading to suppression of emotions, feelings, love, beauty, courage, bravery, and every desire as a side effect of the medication.”
I was living a life inconsequentially, numbed of emotions, pain and dreams. The days came and went. My office routine continued, with nothing to celebrate, nothing to grieve, nothing to talk about.
The breakthrough in this monotony came in the year 2000 when a dialogue with an office colleague, discussing my early days in spirituality triggered a recollection of events. He suggested that I attend a Sahaja Yoga meditation session at one of the centres in Thane.
That one session shook up something in me which inspired me to attend every day of the week. The self-motivated discipline and regular meditation increased my awareness which made me realize the addiction, slavery and dependency on medicines and their consequent side effects, which I was taking for Schizophrenia over the years.
The relentless practise of this meditation on a daily basis, gave me the awareness of what the medication was doing to my mind and body and got the confidence to give up the medication overnight after 3 years of meditation. From then on it was a path of progressive enlightenment. I have now been off medication for 18 years now and the cure has been meditation and regular workouts.”
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
It was as though the meditation had released all the bottled up energies and desires. Coming off medicines revived the energy centres in the brain and the neurotransmitters that had been numbed for all these years.
I soon got my promotion in the office, and also was able to do my MBA and MD in Alternative Medicine. I also did a certification as an Image Consultant.
Apart from another promotion, I was appointed as Faculty in the Regional Staff Training College of my Bank to train others. I decided to pen down her gratitude in the form of books on Sahaja Yoga and related subjects so that many more people can be benefitted from the Sahaja Yoga method of meditation and its effects.
Please share with us, how do you motivate your clients?
My passion is writing and I have penned a few books that are available on Amazon. A brief about the books written by me is given below.
In these three parts of the book, I explain my own experiences of how I cured myself through Sahaja Yoga meditation, after having been medicated for 16 years for Schizophrenia. The handling of the emotional and mental challenges is inspiring and encouraging for anyone undergoing trauma and other mental illnesses, even stress and depression which has become a modern-day ailment for all.
The second part deals with music and its impact as a therapeutic tool which I learned under the late Dr. Arun Apte and how combinations of various notes can be used to activate and energize the various chakras leading to the healing of even psychosomatic diseases.”
The third part speaks of how the Divine incarnated in various forms on the Earth to help in increasing the momentum of human evolution. Each avatar’s unique contribution is described with dexterity interspersed with quotes from Shri Mataji herself on those incarnations.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
There have been many teachers in my life, but the most important of them all was books.”
I pursued several courses online after that. I am a graduate of the Feminine Power Mastery Course – The Power to transform your life-2017-18 and have also done, The Art of Love, Feminine Power- the Essential course for the awakening women- 2012, Journey into Freedom, Freedom into awakening, and Awakening to an evolutionary relationship to life, through the Evolving Wisdom, as also Soul-mate secret.
Other courses done by me through online in the field of self-development are, The 11 Forgotten laws by Bob Proctor and Mary Morrrissey, The Science of Getting Rich by Michael Beckwith and Bob Proctor, the Gabriel Code by Jon Gabriel, Best Seller Blueprint by Jack Canfield and Steve Harrison, The Power of We by Thomas Hubl, Wired to Thrive by Gregg Braden and others. I have also done a full course on Transformational Coaching.
What are some of the strategies that you believe has helped you grow as a person?
My sustained and disciplined meditation helped me in living in the present.
This in turn helped me in contemplation, self-reflection, diagnosing the weaknesses that I had developed such as isolating myself, self-sabotaging, emotional eating for suppressing pain, lack of motivation, a deep vulnerability in the face of challenges, distrust, and the fear of failure.
I began to deeply enquire into the motives of my response, the situations that were responsible and which were irreversible except to replace them with new approaches and new responses based on the knowledge that I had gained through the training and courses.
I felt cheated as the pattern has been repeating itself in several forms when I watched my hard-earned fruits being gobbled up by others, in my job, by colleagues, superiors and even by those below me in rank. I want to break this pattern and stand up for the recognition I deserved.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
But it was The Morning Pages, a practice of writing down something every morning after waking up before you begin the day’s routine that I finally got down to write my life’s travails, on whatever it was that came to my mind that day, irrespective of when it occurred.
The Morning pages was a ritual that was part of a creative release of pent up emotions built within as a part of a cellular release therapy for weight loss. I have always been a voracious reader, and the insatiable appetite for knowledge takes me to untrodden frontiers of learning which makes me want to wake up to another day.”
Another passion since the past 10 years or so has been my workouts and strength training at the gym. It is rare that I miss out on those precious moments of the mind-body connection. It keeps me healthy, active, and motivated.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
To begin with, success itself could mean different things to different people.
A posh house, a car, a good bank balance could mean success to one, a good family and a position of influence to another, while a good education and self-respect to a third person.
For me, success would mean that I never lack the resources for my needs and those things that make me feel good, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.”
This could take the form of:
> Sufficient money to meet my requirements
> Plenty of time and space for myself, freedom to think
> Plan and execute actions for myself
> Few close relationships
> Peace and contentment
> Ability to honour my values at all times
> Disciplined and a healthy routine without sacrificing leisure times
> Clean, green surroundings and fresh airy atmosphere.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Students and young professionals must find out early on what is it that they are passionate about and then go about setting to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be good at their area of choice.
The inspiration will come from within if they pursue what they like rather than follow someone else’s dreams or what has succeeded for someone else.
They should then devote time and energy to focus on their chosen path and never look back.
Difficulties and challenges are all part of the game in any field and they come only to make you stronger and confident for the long haul.
Last but least, could you please share with us a brief introduction about your books?
(1) Sahaja Yoga– The secret to Self-Unfoldment and Transformation
The book describes Sahaja Yoga as a process of meditation wherein the sacred feminine energy called the Kundalini residing in the sacrum bone is awakened and ascends through the seven subtle energy centres called as chakras connecting to the Cosmic energy that is all-pervading at the Sahasrar Chakra.
There are chapters to each of the qualities that activation of the chakras brings out within us such as pure innocence, spontaneity, creativity, security, compassion, collectivity, forgiveness and integration. A step by step guide has been given on how to activate the chakras, how to achieve balance and how to increase the vibratory awareness has been given which is very easy to understand and practice.
The chapters on Stress management and Managerial transformation through Sahaja Yoga give a contemporary angle to the ancient knowledge and its relevance to the modern workplace and style of living.
(2) The Mystery Of Sound
The Mystery of Sound is the fruition of the essence of music learnt from Dr. Arun Apte and a tribute to the research made by Him due to the grace of Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.
It captures some of the subtle discoveries in the use of Swara phrases for curing psychosomatic diseases, stress and depression and bringing a healthy balance of energies in one’s life.
The book talks of the subtle energy system, the bija mantras and how these sounds can be used to activate the energy centres.
The healing power of sound and the use of certain methods invented by Dr. Arun Apte like the woodpecker method for the treatment of diseases like ADHD have been brought out nicely to tackle the very widely prevalent problems of today.
(3) Incarnations – Steps for Momentum in Human Evolution
This book, “Incarnations, Steps for Momentum in Human Evolution”
explores the journey of various incarnations or avataras, who have taken a human birth at various points of time for giving that much-required push to human evolution. In this book the author has nicely interwoven, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi’s clarifications on the occasion of several pujas on the meaning of various Avataras, together with the incidents from their lives that the Supreme reveals to initiate the change that he seeks to initiate in the Cosmos.
When any aspect has to be manifested at the microcosmic level, at the level of the living organism, the Supreme has to initiate that change at the macrocosmic level. The book brings out the little known facts of avatars and their links to the energy centres of the human body. The Buddha, Mahavir and Kalki Avatars are also included in this unique book. The book contains some beautiful pictures collected from various archives that enhance the quality of the book.
(4) Sahaja Yoga- An Experiential Treatise
The latest book released by Authorhouse UK in December 2014, is filled with practical applications of the powers of Sahaja Yoga to problems that we encounter in daily life. Shri V. N Phadke, who had the good fortune to be with Shri Mataji since the time She began Her work in the 70s and seek personal guidance in experimenting with Sahaja yoga in proving or disproving certain practices or rituals, also put in concerted efforts in applying Sahaja Yoga techniques to cure various illnesses of the body.
This book presents the English translation of the anecdotes and experiments of Shri V. N Phadke in using Sahaja Yoga to cure health problems like kidney stone, fever, stomach aches, rashes, heart problems and paralysis. The book reveals the possibilities of Sahaja Yoga and with patience and courage, can be used for various purposes.
(5) “Shri Hayagreeva: Secrets of Worship”
This is the story of Shri Hayagreeva who was the incarnation of Shri Mahavishnu. If there was someone who could be a teacher to Goddess Saraswati herself, it was Shri Hayagreeva. Haya means horse and griva means neck. So the deity with a horse head from his neck is known as Hayagriva. He taught the Vedas to Brahmadeva and Lalita Sahasranamam to Agastya Muni. Book is available on Amazon
(6) “Sri Saraswati”
Shri Saraswati is a book about Goddess Saraswati, her incarnations, her worship and the important place she occupies in learning, arts and music. She is seated on a white lotus, wearing a white silk sari and holding a book in her lower left hand, representing the epitome of true knowledge. Her four arms represent the various aspects of human personality — learning, mind, intellect, alertness and ego. These four arms are also known to reflect the 4 Vedas — Rigveda, Atharvaveda, Samveda and Yajurveda.
(7) “A Soul’s Journey to Eternal Peace:
The book “A Soul’s Journey to Eternal Peace” is an exploration of a Seeker beginning from the realms of the known and venturing into the unknown to discover a path of attaining Eternal Peace. We all wish for everyone who has died, “May the soul rest in everlasting peace” but seldom are consciously aware of what it really signifies.
(8) “Yogeshwari”
The book “Yogeshwari – The Ganesh Gita” which is available on Amazon was published as a Kindle version. The Yogeshwari is a commentary on the Ganesh Gita a book which contains 11 chapters, and 413 Slokas which illuminates the consciousness of that Supreme Truth which the Brahmanaspati, Ganesha instructed to King Varenya and enlightened him.
The message naturally dwelt upon the intricacies of the more deep states of Samadhi culminating in the Seeker attaining the experience of being in the state of the Divine.
(9) My latest book “The Secret of Shri Vinayaka ” – The Untold Truths about the Ultimate Teacher, is a Four-Part commentary on the secrets hidden in the ancient Indian Scriptures as propounded and taught by and from the times of the manifestation of Vinayaka – One without a Head or Master.
The Shri Vinayaka principle is propounded in the book “The Secret of Shri Vinayaka” in the form of a collection of Vaishnava hymns contained in three hundred and five books revealing the knowledge in four parts in a comprehensive manner.
This Four-Part series of, “The Secret of Shri Vinayaka” are titled as:
(1) The Nectar of knowledge
(2) The Bliss of knowledge
(3) The Essence of Leela
(4) The Coming of the Seed
This essence of knowledge contains the meaning that is conveyed through a hundred Upanishads and therefore it is known as the mother of all.
This book is under editing and yet to be published. Watch out for it.
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