Shree Mataji Nirmala Devi, founder of Sahaja Yoga, died in Genoa, Italy, on Wednesday. She was 88. Her maternal uncle hails from Rahuri, Ahmednagar, while she has a house on NDA Road.
She is survived by husband CP Srivastava, an IAS officer who was joint secretary to former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, daughters Kalpana Srivastava, Sadhana Verma, sons-in-law PK Srivastava and Romel Verma and grand daughters.
Nirmala Devi had begun the promotion of Sahaja Yoga from May 5, 1970. This method of meditation is now popularised in 140 countries in the world.
Her parents played a key role in India's Liberation Movement from under British rule. While her father was a scholar who knew 14 languages and translated the Koran to Marathi, her mother was the first woman in India to receive an honours degree in Mathematics.
Nirmala Devi started an international hospital in Mumbai to help patients all over the world cure themselves through Sahaja Yoga methods. She has also set up an international cancer research centre in Mumbai in order to study the effects of Sahaja Yoga methods on curing various illnesses, an international music school in Nagpur to promote classical music, a charity house in Delhi.
