It was the 16th September 1975 that we first met Shri Mataji in that Judd Street flat and, similar to my brother, Pat A., it was a most momentous feeling. Even walking up the street to go to that flat, I had the strongest urge to run away I’ve ever had in my life. Even though I didn’t know where I was going and I had only been told, “This lady is a yoga teacher, but she doesn’t teach Hatha Yoga.” But I can remember thinking that if I wasn’t with people that I felt all right about all this — and would say, “What on Earth are you up to?” — I’d have run away. That’s how strong I could feel the force I was walking towards. And when we went in the flat and we were told to take off our shoes, which was strange for me, and told to sit down, I saw Shri Mataji working on this Indian gentleman, very strongly and sort of telling him off and sorting him out and I thought, “She is a Goddess.”
That was my first thought that came into my head and then I thought, “What on Earth do I mean by that? I don’t even know what a Goddess is.” But that’s what it felt like. Then She got on with seeing to everybody and when my turn came, She actually got up and walked around, as well as sat down, and She told me to put my hands out and asked me what I felt. And that second I felt my attention drawn to my hands and said, “Oh, I feel something.” She just said, “May God bless you. You’ve got it.”
I thought, “I’ve got it.” I had no idea what I had, but I knew I had it. And that was it. And She then went on to everybody else. It was just great. I was dealt with.
Maureen R.