Welcome to Ivory Coast
Play on Joan Of Arc and Talk, Eve of Diwali Puja - 1998/10/24
https://www.amruta.org/1998/10/24/evening-talk-before-diwali-1998/?highlight=1998/10/24
So I wish you all a very happy Diwali, and a very prosperous New Year. The whole evening was so full of joy, peace that I don't know how to describe. The whole event was worked out so beautifully by the French. Especially people from South Africa, from Benin, from Ivory Coast, from Kenya, and also many others who have come from various countries, have shown their talent, their joy, their happiness. The best part of it is that I've found them to be very well equipped with …
Extract:
Sahaja Yogini: Ivory Coast.
Shri Mataji: Hum?
Sahaja Yogini: Ivory Coast.
Shri Mataji: Ah!
I always, I don’t know why, I forget this name “Ivory Coast”. I’ve been there, once, I’ve been there. And somehow, Ivory Coast, I don’t know why, it makes me feel that it is a place where people are like Ivory and their hearts are shining and glimmering with the hope for Me and for the whole world at large. I’m so overwhelmed that I don’t know what to say about everything
Extract:
Sahaja yogis from Côte d’Ivoire come onto the stage.
Shri Mataji Yes what’s it.
Sahaja Yogi : I am trying to translate what he said.
Sahaja Yogi : Oh, it’s very nice. He is saying that he would like to contribute from his heart and give you this humble but beautiful present because they have been a little bit tortured by people all over the places in Africa and then..
Shri Mataji : He comes from which part?
Sahaja Yogi : From Côte d’Ivoire this is the flowers in the earth of Côte d’Ivoire Shri Mataji that he would like to present it to you to be blessed.
Shri Mataji : Thank you.Côte d’Ivoire where is it?
Sahaja Yogi : Ivory Coast, sorry Shri Mataji.
Shri Mataji : Oh I see, my husband goes there very often.
Sahaja Yogi : Really?
Shri Mataji : Yes, Beautiful. Thank you very much. May God bless you. May God bless you.
1hr 23
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Interview - 2000/09/11
https://www.amruta.org/2000/09/11/interviews-in-turin-2000/?highlight=2000/09/11
Everybody is in problem, everybody needs it! There are no boundaries. We have in South Africa, we have in Benin, where all the people are black, you know? We have seven thousand people in Benin. And Ivory Coast: the President of Ivory Coast is a sahaja yogi. In Eritrea also. So we have Sahaja Yoga everywhere now spreading, because everybody wants peace. Russia is the best. Thousands and thousands are there. Because of communism, they were thinking inside, they were going inside, they became very deep. While in democratic countries, see, they offer so many chances for us …
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Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa.
The de facto capital is Abidjan; the administrative capital designate (since 1983) is Yamoussoukro.
For more than three decades after its independence from France, Ivory Coast was known for its religious and ethnic harmony, as well as its well-developed economy.
The Western African country was hailed as a model of stability.
But an armed rebellion in 2002 split the nation in two. Peace deals alternated with renewed violence as the country slowly edged its way towards a political resolution of the conflict.
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Despite the instability, Ivory Coast is the world's largest exporter of cocoa beans, and its citizens enjoy a relatively high level of income compared to other countries in the region.
Here is a short Introductory video to Ivory Coast
Sahaja Yoga in Ivory Coast
I bow at the sacred feet of Shri Mataji. I implore His maternal forgiveness for any errors or omissions in this modest presentation.
Ivory Coast is one of the first African countries where Sahaja Yoga is established.
As far as I know, the first contact of an Ivorian with Sahaja Yoga dates back to 1986. It was about Enock, an officer of the Ivorian army. That year, he met an Indian Sahaja Yogi passing through Abidjan. It was this Indian Sahaja Yogi who gave him Self-realization.
But it was in 1990 that Sahaja Yoga really started in Ivory Coast. That year, Jean Claude LAINE, the first leader of Sahaja Yoga in Ivory Coast got in touch with Switzerland Sahaja Yogis. The Swiss Sahaja Yogis sent to him the photograph of Shri Mataji with the basic documents of Sahaja Yoga so that he would be able to experience Self-Realization.
Switzerland Sahaja Yogis provided Jean Claude LAINE, from a distance, with all the assistance he needed to start Sahaja Yoga in Ivory Coast. In the same year, 1990, Swiss Sahaja Yogis invited him to India via Switzerland all expenses paid. In India, Jean Claude LAINE met Shri Mataji. On his return to Ivory Coast, he began to give Self-Realization to some people with whom he meditated in Bouaké, the second city of Ivory Coast. In 1992, Jean Claude LAINE attended a Puja in Cabella, Italy.
In Abidjan, three Sahaja Yogis are at the origin of the implantation of Sahaja Yoga. They are Jean Claude VIGNON and a couple of Sahaja Yogis from Belgium: Françoise and Daniel Collard. Jean Claude VIGNON had received Self-Realization with his sister, Gisèle VIGNON who herself received Self-Realization in 1990 in France where she was studying. I don't know exactly in which year Jean Claude VIGNON received the divine grace with Self-realization.
Daniel Collard first met Jean Claude LAINE in Cabella in 1992. He moved to Ivory Coast in 1993. As soon as he arrived, he got in touch with Jean Claude LAINE. It was Jean Claude LAINE who put Daniel Collard and Jean Claude VIGNON in contact in Abidjan. Françoise and Daniel Collard plus Jean Claude VIGNON started to meditate together in Abidjan. Their meeting with Jean Claude LAINE will mark the birth of a Sahaj community in Ivory Coast shared between Bouaké and Abidjan.
From 1994, the arrival of some Sahaja Yogis who got the Self-Realization in 1993 and were living in France, will give dynamism and strength to the collective. In 1997, a group of 7 Sahaja Yogis from Switzerland came to Ivory Coast to help the collective. With them, the first public program was organized in which more than a thousand people received Self-realization. An interview with the Swiss Sahaja Yogis was conducted and broadcast on the national radio of Côte d'Ivoire.
In 1997, a group of 7 Sahaja Yogis from Switzerland, among whom Eric Delanoe and Serge Crettenand, came to Ivory Coast to help the collective. They spent two weeks. It was an extraordinary Sahaj experience. With Swiss Sahaja Yogis was organized the first public programs in Abidjan and Bouaké. More than thousand people got their Self-Realization. An interview of Switzerland Sahaja Yogis was arranged and broadcasted on the national radio of Ivory Coast.
In 1997, at the request of Shri Mataji, Antonio the Leader of France at that time came to visit the Ivory Coast collective with Christian, another Sahaja Yogi from France. In 1997, a group of Sahaja Yogis from Ivory Coast attended their first Puja with Shri Mataji at the Diwali Puja in Lisbon, Portugal.
In 1999, Shri Mataji granted a scholarship to Bamba Seydou, a musician, to study Indian classical music at the Nagpur Academy for over a year. Until the year 2000, the number of Sahaja Yogis in Ivory Coast was around 1000. The various problems that have undermined the cohesion of Sahaj collectives everywhere have not spared Côte d'Ivoire. Many people have left Sahaja Yoga, others have left the collective but do their meditation at home.
Today there are an estimated 350 active Sahaja Yogis who meditate regularly in Ivory Coast with at least 15 centers.
Program of activities (Attoban - Bonoumin) :
Saturday morning 9am - 10:30am: Self-realization for newcomers
Saturday evening 4 - 6 pm: collective meditation
Puja every Sunday 9:30am - 11:30am.
Sahaja Yoga in Ivory Coast - FRENCH
Je m’incline aux pieds sacrés de Shri Mataji. J’implore Son maternel pardon pour toute erreur ou omission dans cette modeste présentation.
La Côte d’Ivoire est l’un des premiers pays africains où Sahaja Yoga s’est établi.
Pour ce que je sais, le premier contact d’un Ivoirien avec Sahaja Yoga date de l’année 1986. Il s’agit de Enock, un officier de l’armée ivoirienne. Cette année-là, il avait rencontré un Sahaja Yogi indien de passage à Abidjan. C’est ce Sahaja Yogi indien qui lui a donné la Réalisation du Soi.
Mais, c’est en 1990 que Sahaja Yoga va véritablement démarrer en CI. Cette année-là, Jean Claude LAINE, le premier Leader de Sahaja Yoga en CI a eu un contact avec des Sahaja Yogis suisses dont Eric Delanoe, Serge Crettenand. Les Sahaja Yogis Suisses lui ont transmis, par la poste, la photo de Shri Mataji avec les documents de base de Sahaja Yoga afin qu’il se prête à l’expérience de la Réalisation du Soi.
Les Sahaja Yogis Suisses ont apportés à Jean Claude LAINE, à distance, toute l’assistance dont il avait besoin pour démarrer Sahaja Yoga en Côte d'Ivoire. La même année, c’est-à-dire en 1990, les Sahaja Yogis Suisses l’ont invité en Inde, tous frais payés, en transitant par la Suisse. En Inde, Jean Claude LAINE a rencontré Shri Mataji. A son retour en CI, il a commencé à donner la Réalisation du Soi à quelques personnes avec qui il méditait à Bouaké, la seconde ville de CI. En 1992, Jean Claude LAINE a participé à un Puja à Cabella, en Italie.
A Abidjan, trois Sahaja Yogis sont à l’origine de l’implantation de Sahaja Yoga. Il s’agit de Jean Claude VIGNON et d’un couple de Sahaja Yogis de la Belgique : Françoise et Daniel Collard. Jean Claude VIGNON avait reçu la Réalisation du Soi avec sa sœur, Gisèle VIGNON qui, elle-même, avait obtenu la Réalisation du Soi en 1990 en France où elle étudiait. Je ne sais pas exactement en quelle année Jean Claude VIGNON a reçu la grâce divine avec la Réalisation du Soi.
Daniel Collard avait rencontré Jean Claude LAINE à Cabella en 1992. Il est arrivé en Côte d’Ivoire en 1993. Dès son arrivée, il a pris contact avec Jean Claude LAINE. C’est Jean Claude LAINE qui a mis Daniel Collard et Jean Claude VIGNON en contact à Abidjan. Françoise et Daniel Collard et Jean Claude VIGNON ont commencé à méditer ensemble à Abidjan. Leur rencontre avec Jean Claude LAINE marquera la naissance d’une collectivité Sahaj en Côte d’Ivoire partagée entre Bouaké et Abidjan.
A partir de 1994, le retour de certains Sahaja Yogis qui avaient pris la Réalisation du Soi en 1993 et vivaient en France, va dynamiser et renforcer le collectif. En 1997, un groupe de 7 Sahaja Yogis de Suisse sont venus en Côte d'Ivoire pour aider le collectif. Avec eux, fut organisé le premier programme public au cours duquel plus de mille personnes avaient reçu la Réalisation du Soi. Une interview des Sahaja Yogis suisses fut réalisée et diffusée sur la radio nationale de Côte d'Ivoire.
En 1997, à la demande de Shri Mataji, Antonio le Leader de France à l’époque est venu visité le collectif de Côte d’Ivoire avec Christian, un autre Sahaja Yogi de France. Un groupe de Sahaja Yogis de Côte d’Ivoire a participé à leur premier Puja avec Shri Mataji lors du Diwali Puja à Lisbonne au Portugal en 1997.
En 1999, Shri Mataji a accordé une bourse à Bamba Seydou, un musicien, pour étudier la musique classique indienne à l’académie de Nagpur pendant plus d’une année. Jusqu’en 2000, le nombre de Sahaja Yogis en Côte d’Ivoire atteignait les mille. Les problèmes divers et variés, qui ont entamé la cohésion des collectifs Sahaj un peu partout, n’ont pas épargné la Côte d’Ivoire. Beaucoup de gens ont abandonné Sahaja Yoga, d’autres ont quitté le collectif mais font leur méditation chez eux.
Aujourd’hui, on estime à environ 350 Sahaja Yogis actifs qui méditent régulièrement en Côte d’Ivoire avec au moins15 centres.
Amon ETTIEN
Côte d’Ivoire
Avec les bénédictions de Shri Mataji.
Programme des activités (Attoban – Bonoumin) :
Samedi matin 9h – 10h30: réalisation du Soi pour les nouveaux
Samedi soir 16h -18h : méditation collective
Tous les dimanches 9h30 – 11h30 : Pujas
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Bolo Shri Bhagavati Sakshat, Shri Adi Shakti Mataji, Shri Nirmala Devi Ki ! Jai
Contacts
Country Coordinator
Amon ETTIEN
Phone: 225 0707375918
Email: amonettien@gmail.com
Olivier Morokro
Phone: +225 0101125421
Email: omorokro@gmail.com
Photos
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