Many of you have expressed the wish to know more about Sri
Daya Mata, president and sanghamata (Mother of the Society)
of SRF/YSS. We often receive inquiries as to: "How is she? Does
she make public appearances or conduct classes that I might
attend? Where does she spend her time, and what do her activities
consist of?" We are happy to share with you a few glimpses into
her daily routine, as well as some news of her recent activities.
Daya Mata is a devotee of God and a monastic, whose life is
wholly given to serving God and humanity through her Guru’s
teachings. Through the years, her daily life has followed the
spiritual routine established by Paramahansa Yogananda for all
the monastic disciples: regular daily meditation, service, recreational
exercise and spiritual study. People often ask her how she lives
a balanced life, given her enormous responsibilities. Invariably
her reply is: "I am able to carry on all these duties not in
spite of our spiritual routine, but because
of it. That is where my strength, inspiration, and guidance
come from — meditation in the morning, noon, and evening; and
keeping my mind constantly focused on God in between meditations,
as Paramahansaji taught us." And she always reminds us that
if she is able to do this, so are we — and thus reap the benefits
of our spiritual efforts while living our active lives, finding
joy and fulfillment even in the midst of a demanding schedule.
As was Guruji’s custom, her day begins and ends with meditation—in
the morning in her private quarters and in the evening in our
Guru’s shrine. Here she deeply prays for the healing and well-being
of those who have requested spiritual help through Self-Realization
Fellowship, and for world peace. Before assuming her daily duties,
she reads and reflects upon a thought from Paramahansaji’s writings,
carrying into her day some spiritual principle to put into practice.
In such simple, practical ways, she has made the truths he taught
the motivating force in her life.
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Though it has been nearly seventy years since she first dedicated
her life to God in Paramahansaji’s ashrams, her schedule continues
to include many hours of active service for her Guru’s work.
She has always preferred the word "service" to "work," and her
life is a testimony to Paramahansaji’s statement that love is
the greatest stimulant to the will. Daya Mataji works directly
with a number of monks and nuns who serve as her assistants
and secretaries, who can attest to her keen concentration and
tremendous ability to accomplish whatever needs to be done.
She has been known to give dictation to more than one assistant
on different topics, in between handling telephone calls on
completely separate subjects while waiting for her secretaries
to catch up!
With compassion and attention to each person’s need, she reads
the many letters she receives from Self-Realization Fellowship
members and friends, and prays deeply for God’s blessings upon
their lives. In addition, she meets regularly with the monks
and nuns who are responsible for different areas of the SRF
work, including the monastics who guide and oversee the spiritual
and practical aspects of our ashram communities.
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When asked, "What are the principles that guide your decisions
in carrying on the SRF work?" Daya Mata has told us: "Basically
there is one principle: the desire for attunement with Master.
First and foremost I am a disciple of my guru. My desire in
all I do is to uphold the principles he taught, rather than
to impose my own wishes. When I am asked my opinion about something,
I never respond without first reviewing in my consciousness,
‘What would Guruji say if he were here?’ Then I endeavor to
give the answer that I think he would give, or that he definitely
did give and I recorded among the many notes I took over those
twenty years I was blessed to be with him."
In addition to the vast number of organizational responsibilities
she handles in connection with Master’s growing worldwide work,
Sri Daya Mata spends a significant amount of time working on
the many vital projects entrusted to her by Paramahansaji and
the Board of Directors, including transcribing the thousands
of pages of shorthand notes she had taken during his lectures,
classes, and informal talks for more than 20 years. Just as
the Guru himself spent the latter years of his life in semi-seclusion
at Encinitas and later at an SRF ashram in the Mojave Desert,
beginning in the late 1960’s Daya Mataji was encouraged to make
use of a property SRF had acquired, to enable her to have periods
of uninterrupted seclusion in which to concentrate exclusively
on those essential projects. (Two years ago SRF purchased a
second residential building adjacent to it, as there was a need
to house nuns who could assist Daya Mata with her projects and
other work.) The Mother Center at Mt. Washington has always
been "home" to her, from the time that she first entered the
ashram as a young girl (except for a period she spent in Encinitas
during 1937 to 1948 when Paramahansaji was there working on
his Autobiography and The Second Coming
of Christ), and Mt. Washington remains her primary residence
to this day.
She considers no aspect of her service more important than
her participation in the SRF Prayer Council, deeply meditating
and sending healing blessings to all who have requested help.
And in addition to her individual correspondence with devotees
who write to her for spiritual guidance, she keeps in touch
with all members of Self-Realization Fellowship through her
seasonal letters of spiritual guidance and inspiration, as well
as through her articles in each issue of Self-Realization
magazine. Though she herself does not use a computer or access
the Internet, she tells us she is looking forward to contributing
regularly to the communications on this web site, as a further
link with the worldwide spiritual family she lives to serve.
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During her younger years, Daya Mataji traveled much throughout
the world in order to spread Gurudeva’s teachings. In more recent
years she has not been able to visit distant countries or cities,
but working with the Board of Directors, she continues to oversee
all vital decisions and matters involved in guiding Guruji’s
worldwide mission according to his ideals. Through her prayers
and correspondence, she maintains a loving concern for each
devotee who is following this path, fulfilling the words Gurudeva
once wrote to her, "inspire all with your spiritual motherliness."
Ever since Paramahansaji’s birth centennial in 1993, we have
seen a tremendous growth in both awareness of and interest in
his teachings. This has resulted in a corresponding growth in
the SRF work, which many of you are noticing. In closing for
now, Daya Mataji would like to leave you with these thoughts
regarding this new phase in our ongoing development:
"We must always remember the point behind our service, behind
our entire lives — the reason we came on this path and follow
our Guru: to find God. When we put that first, we will find
the blessing in every experience, every challenge.
"The true strength of Self-Realization Fellowship — its ability
to grow and adapt and serve in the new millennium — lies in
the effort of each of us to live in the spirit of Guruji. And
of course, for me that means one thing — the immortal words
he spoke to me just before his passing: 'When I am gone, only
love can take my place. Be so drunk with the love of God night
and day that you won’t know anything but God; and give that
love to all.' "
