The Perfect Bridge
Dear premies, again, it's been a very beautiful darshan line, a very beautiful experience. And I was just thinking that we come, we come to these festivals … and first day we are still involved in the hustle and the bustle of getting there. And you get extremes like what happened with initiator Francisco to what happened with Randy tonight. And, I mean, you just get through all these hustle-bustles, but finally you are there, to understand, to realize.
And it's just like a lot happens, but finally you open up, open up to the fact of what that experience really is. Because there is no point to talk about the experience, say, "Oh yeah, it was beautiful. Oh yeah, it was beautiful. Oh yeah, it was beautiful." Because we're just talking, merely just talking about this experience. Just repeating the sentence, "It's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's beautiful", doesn't give us any of the gist of its beauty. It doesn't give us any of the experience of its real beauty.
But when we do open up our hearts, from inside, when we do let go to Guru Maharaj Ji, when we do surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji, to let Him take over this boat, to let Him take over this machine, then a miracle happens. Then, something very incredible in fact takes
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place. And that experience really starts to manifest for us, personally, as real as … I mean, it's like, can you imagine, what Armstrong must have felt, when he first stepped on the moon?
It's just like maybe when he was little, and he'd be doing something very naughty, and his father would come out and say, "If you don't behave yourself, I'm going to kick you to the moon." I mean, I don't know; I don't know if really this happened or not. You figure: "I'm going to kick you so hard you're going to land on the moon."
Or to have all the fantasies – oh, moon is made out of great big cheese. Or like the fantasies, you know, when finally they did land on the moon, none of the pundits in India could believe that. And it's just like, how real must it have been for Armstrong, to in fact step out of his machine and touch that moon, be on that moon! That's how real Guru Maharaj Ji can make that experience of life for us. Because what is life? What do we know about life? We live it! If you ever ask the sun, how brilliant it is, how could the sun tell you, how brilliant it is?
Always to me – this is always a thing that happens, it's like, whenever I'm sitting some-
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where, and I reach to feel my part, I always go on this side. And I go like this and I can't feel my part, because it's on this side. But when I look in the mirror, it's on this side. And to me, I have never seen my face, and I will never see my face, because it's my face. That's it.
Either it will be through a video machine, or it will be through a reflection of a mirror, reflection from a water, or from a lake. But, as you see me, I'll never be able to see myself (Laughter). And I mean, this is a fact, and as I see you, you will never be able to see yourself (Applause). I guess, it has more meaning than just seeing.
But the same way, this is how the life is. How do we know what this life is? We live it. What does our life look like? What is good? And what is bad? How many times do you sit down on a park bench and reminisce about the bad things you have done in your life and wonder even if as a matter of fact, are they really bad? And I mean, what is this life, when we don't know this life? It's just like if you have an aeroplane, and you want to find a pilot for the aeroplane. So you go up, looking around for a pilot at the airport, and you say, "Is there a pilot around? Is there a
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pilot around? I want him to fly my aeroplane." And the pilot comes … you see this one guy saying, "Oh yeah, I'm a pilot." And you say, "Okay, let's go to the airplane. I want you to fly it." And it's just like, you see him walking towards the aeroplane and he doesn't know where is the cockpit and where is the tail. He doesn't know how to open the door.
Besides the fact he knows how to fly, he doesn't know anything.
All of a sudden he gets inside the door, and instead of turning towards the cockpit he starts going backwards, towards the tail, to find the cockpit. How is he going to fly the aeroplane? And as soon as you see that, you know, as soon as you see these oddball things happening, you go, "Wait a minute! This guy is no pilot! This guy doesn't know how to fly an aeroplane. What's he doing?"
When the guy sits there in the cockpit in the captain's seat and turns around to you and says, "Do you know how to start this thing?" But this is our life. This is the way it is.
We always look outside to live our lives, to somebody else. Make a motto, make somebody a hero. Or take a scripture, or take this, or take that, and say, "Okay, this is what my
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life is going to be." But life is not bound by scriptures! Life is not bound by people!
And, like I was saying yesterday, "Yes, I am father of Hansi, Hans Pal Singh Rawat. Yes, I am father of Premlata Rawat, Yes, I am father of Dayalata Rawat." But yet, their life is theirs. Their life doesn't belong to me. And my life doesn't belong to them.
The same way, premies, we try to live the life. What about the life? What kind of life did in fact exist before all the scriptures were there? The life was there. Life has always been there. Life will always keep on going. And so, what it boils down to is that we, personally, do not know anything about this life. We don't know what it looks like, what it is, whom does it belong to.
I mean, every question about life is a paradox to us. It's just like you take a look, you walk in a street, and somebody comes up to you and says, "I am your friend." What will happen to you? At that immediate moment you will be shocked, because you've never seen the person, you don't know who he is. And then you start thinking, "Is he really crazy? Or is he in fact sane? Is he a good guy? Or is he a bad guy?" And then you start evaluating his life. We all evaluate
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each other's life. "Man, is that guy good? Is that guy bad?" We evaluate our life. Have I done enough things good in this lifetime. As a matter of fact, there is even a song in Hindi, that goes on: when you're little, you just play and play with your neighbours and your neighbours' kids and everything. Then you start to grow big and you have to go and get caught into the whole net of education. And then you get out of there and then you get involved in marriage or something like that. And then you get out of there and, you know, your life is already there on a platter sitting in front of you, and it's just completely up to you, how you want to slice it from there on.
And the song just keeps on going to say that it's just like a spider's web, such a sophisticated web does a man build for himself, that in fact he himself, the, spider itself, gets caught in its own web. And its own actions, which are supposed to provide food for that spider, ultimately become the tool of that spider's death. Same way for mankind. Same way for human beings.
But when we dedicate this life to Guru Maharaj Ji, when we let go of this life as our own, when we surrender this life to Guru Maharaj Ji, then in fact does it start to take
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shape. Then in fact does it start to become into a miracle. Then does it in fact become, instead of the eighth wonder of the world, becomes the first wonder of the world. Becomes the first fulfillment, becomes the first prize, becomes complete. But unless we dedicate this life to Guru Maharaj Ji, if we keep it as our own, then, you know, it's like this: it took me a long time, and as a matter of fact I still don't understand it: why can't you push a car from inside?
I have sat down, tried to push the seat, tried to push the dash-board, and nothing happens. Why in fact, can't you … I mean, that force that, you know, it would take from outside to push the car, it's the same force, it's the same two hands, the same you. But why can't you just push the dash-board? And isn't the dash-board a part of the car. And by pushing the dash-board you can push the car, too, just like the trunk or the hood? But finally you realize that's not the way it works. You have to be somewhere else, standing on a different part. And then when you push the car, then, in fact, will it move on the ground.
And it's the same way: we lived our lives, plus tried to guide our lives. Most of our time is spent living our life. And therefore, where
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this life is going to go, is it in fact going to just become like that spider's web, or is it going to be in fact something more beautiful? We don't know. We have no control. And this is not the way that this life was generated. This is not the way this life was created. To just start from a point and to end up in a point, to end up in a dump.
And why do you think Guru Maharaj Ji, why do you think Perfect Masters incarnate in this world? So that somebody can sit there and write a book? I mean, all of a sudden does the perfectness lack something, that it wants to come down and have a big book written about it? Or a religion formed behind it? Or a portrait painted? Or a picture taken? Or a statue made? What happens? There it is, this absolute perfectness. And all of a sudden it decides to come into this world for what reason? So that some people will recognize the perfectness, and say, "Oh yeah, you're perfectness", and write a book? Or make a statue? You know, paint a portrait? What, what is the reason for that perfectness to come?
And this is the other way of looking at it, because this is exactly what happens. To a lot of people that's what a Perfect Master comes
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for. "Oh yeah, when a Perfect Master comes, let's sit down and write a book about him. Let's paint a statue! Let's paint a portrait! Let's do this! Let's take a picture! Let's get into that." Instead of really understanding the gist of why does that perfectness in fact come.
And when that perfectness does in fact come, it has its own purpose, it has the true meaning that it wants to give us: of love. It has the meaning that we are lacking. It has that missing link that we are lacking in our lives. Because it's like a great puzzle. And this puzzle is so gigantic. You know, I have never put a whole puzzle together. Not one of those big ones, where you got little pieces. Maybe I put Premlata's puzzle together, you know, a little thing with Mickey Mouse, and you just do this and this and this and you put it together – that's simple enough for me! Or sophisticated enough for me. But I can't seem to be able to put those things together, and it's like even if I pick up the right piece to put it some place, because the other piece is missing, I say, "Oh no, how is this … even if this fits here, how is it going to work?" Because, like, okay, you put a corner piece, and then you take this other piece which looks
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like the piece that should go there, you try to put it there and you say, "Well, wait a minute, this doesn't make sense, because where is the other piece?" Then you start looking for the other piece, and you try to put the other piece in there and you say, "Wait a minute, this doesn't make sense, where is the other piece?" I mean, I guess that's why they call it a puzzle.
But the thing is, that this is what the life is like. "What am I missing in my life?" I mean, nobody asks themselves a question like that. That's absurd! "What am I missing in my life?" You go up to somebody, a poor person, a rich person, a happy person, or an unhappy person, and ask them a flat, straight question, "Sir, what are you missing in your life?" And he is going to say … a poor person is going to say, "I'm missing money in my life. I'm missing a nice house in my life." I mean, whether or not … I mean, let's put it this way: say, somebody wrote the story "Alladin". And whoever wrote it, well as soon as he placed Alladin at the point where Alladin could have wanted whatever Alladin wanted, what did he have Alladin desire? What did he have Alladin wish in his story? Money, castle, food, wife, you know, the princess. And I mean, this is like,
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this was the ideal of the author, who wanted to say, "Okay, now Alladin," you know, request for all these things.
You go up to a happy man – I mean, happiness, so far this world is concerned and you say, "What are you missing in your life? What would you like in your life?" And they would say, "More happiness."
When you strike happiness, there is no more or no less happiness. When Guru Maharaj Ji reveals that Knowledge, when Guru Maharaj Ji gives that love, when Guru Maharaj Ji gives that grace, there isn't like more or less. It's all. Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't give us a little piece and say, "Here, try to grab that one. Try to grab that one." But Guru Maharaj Ji gives us the entire mine. All our own. For us to just dig into. And get as much as we want, as much as we want, as much as we want!
And so, premies, to me it becomes quite obvious, it becomes quite clear, that for centuries and centuries and centuries and centuries … I don't know how many centuries, has this humanity, has this mankind, has this man, woman included, tried to lead their own life? Until now, this is 1978, almost the end of 1978, and they haven't done anything that's worthwhile for a standing ovation.
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Nothing. I mean, nothing seems worthwhile. What has it done?
You would think, when you look at United States, and there were people who were fed-up of the whole English system; they didn't want to pay tax; they didn't want to be buried under the whole, entire English system; so they got themselves a ship and they sailed over to United States, America. They wanted happiness, a pursuit of happiness. And so they went over there, and they said, "This is where we're going to be." They started up the Colonies and stuff, and the British people said … The whole story goes, and George wanted tax. And they had the big Boston thing, you know, tea-party, and everybody got really mad and said, "Listen, we're not going to pay you any taxes. Forget it! We want our own freedom!" And this is the way it happened, I guess. What I am told, that's the way it feels like.
And here were these people, who were really in pursuit of happiness, in pursuit of freedom. They left England, and went to America. Now, what, three and a half hours away by Concorde. From London to New York. Well, for ship I guess it took them days and days to get there; they fought and
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they did everything. Well, they got there. And so, I mean, they fought this great war, and they did everything for the freedom, for the pursuit of happiness, for the pursuit of freedom, for the sake of it. Well now they're free. And, you know, everything is just the way, I guess, the forefathers saw it, but nobody is happy. It wasn't like: "Oh yeah, that was it. That was the ultimate solution." As a matter of fact, they didn't stop there.
Once they had gotten from England to America, they wanted to go to the moon. And they did go to the moon. And that still didn't bring them happiness. Yes, you know, okay, it sounds ridiculous. They didn't want to go to the moon because they wanted freedom. Sure, they didn't go to the moon because of the same reason why they moved from England to America. They went to the moon to research, to see what it was like to do this. There is this whole, probably a 100-page scientific explanation behind it, but to me, is that really it?
From my perspective, this scientific research can go on for ages and ages and ages and ages and ages and ages and ages. And in my perspective, I also see that they can explore not one moon, but 800,000 million
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moons. To me, not only can they actually devise to have a little machine, you know, like a Coca Cola machine. But the thing is, this machine doesn't take any money, and not that every month a guy has to come, collect the money and refill the machine, but the machine is entirely capable of making its tomatoes, okras, egg-plants, potatoes, entirely everything, plus Coca Cola, plus Pepsi Cola, plus orange juice – I mean, into every food support system, that you can possibly think of.
You know, and they could have these machines, and everybody could be given one machine, "Compliments of the government". That would be a change, but "Compliments of the government. Here, people of my country, here is a machine for you. And from this machine on you'll always have food, any kind of food that you desire." Do you really think that's going to become … that would be an outrageous scientific achievement. That really would be an outrageous thing. Because you don't have to refill it – just, out of the blues, creates everything that it wants to.
But, premies, that kind of a machine is already here. Out of the blues. I mean, do you once in a while see a great big truck come
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from the Creator of this earth, and collect all the money, and dump in all the okras and potatoes and everything. And the accessibility, so far that is concerned, there are people, to them, all that food, all the clothing that they could possibly want, is accessible. But are they still happy? No.
Happiness doesn't come by … it's like this: if you've got a bucket, and you've got a hole in the bucket, how many gallons will it take to fill it up? That's like the question of saying – there was an aeroplane flying from United States to Canada. I heard this a long time ago, when I was in India.
There was an aeroplane flying from United States to Canada: and it crashed right on the border of United States and Canada. Where did they bury the survivors? It took you a little while to understand that one, too (Laughter). And to me, it was, "Oh my God, what would happen?" I guess, the Canadians would be buried in Canada, and the Americans would be buried in America. But why would you want to bury the survivors? They just came out of an accident, why would you want to kill them back again?
But that's the kind of thing: how many gallons of water will it take to fill a bucket up
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which has got a hole in it? But Jesus, you could put the whole ocean in there, and it would just keep coming out. This to me is the problem with this world. It has got a hole somewhere (Laughter). And you keep dumping everything in there, everything! And nothing happens.
And the question is: Is this person going to do it? Is this government going to do it? Is this solution going to do it? None of these things are going to do it. And Guru Maharaj Ji again, as always, has the solution (Applause). And that is why the Perfect Master comes. And it's just like the Perfect Master sees a situation, and also understands, that it is not a simple question of telling somebody what to do, because if this guy was wise enough, smart enough, to understand a language, and therefore be able to implement what had been said to him, he would already have found the solution by now.
So the Perfect Master comes in this world, with the solution, and hands him over as straight, as simple as it can be. "Here! Here is your Silly-Putty. Here is your seal. Here is your glue. Glue this hole and that will be it." And it's just like, that is how simple it is. That is why in this world – I mean, by now you
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would think that all the houses that have been made, since the time of Aryans and Dravidians, would be sufficient for every person in the world. But no, they're destroyed, finished. Somebody comes there with bullets, somebody comes there with cannons, somebody comes there with bombs, and destroys them. Because that's the hole! The mind. That thing is that hole, and we all give into that hole.
And this is why we have to understand the importance of Guru Maharaj Ji. This is why we have to listen to Guru Maharaj Ji. Guru Maharaj Ji is not … I mean, there is a song, again, in Hindi: a saint says that we are like businessmen, travelling salesmen. And some travelling salesmen, the song says: load up the donkey, load up the mule. You know, load up, not the donkey or the mule, but load up with betel nuts or different things. And we load up with this love, with this Knowledge; and we sell, we distribute this Knowledge.
And it's just like Guru Maharaj Ji is not and again, it's one way of putting it – but Guru Maharaj Ji is not a salesman. Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't sell anything. Guru Maharaj Ji can't sell anything. How can Guru Maharaj Ji sell this Knowledge? It's literally impossible. Not literally impossible, it is impossible. It
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cannot happen, because what is the value of this Knowledge?! What kind of value are you going to place on this Knowledge?
And it's just like one saint says, "You can have all the money of this world, of this entire earth, and that wouldn't even equal to one cent." So I mean, you would have to have a lot! And still even that wouldn't add up. And this is why Guru Maharaj Ji has to be understood in our lives now! So that we can in fact listen to Guru Maharaj Ji, and take in our heart His instructions, how to fill up the hole that we have.
And when we listen, and when we are open to Guru Maharaj Ji – this is what Krishna says. He said, "Go to the Perfect Master of your time, without any doubts, and with an open heart like a child, ask." And, again, it's been said, "Ask, and it shall be given. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." But with an open heart, like a child. And then, when we go to Guru Maharaj Ji
But nowadays, you look at the whole situation and it's completely adverse. You might not have questions about ice-cream; you might not have questions about a camera; you might not have a question about your enemy; but you will definitely have doubts
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and questions against Guru Maharaj Ji. Of course, mind doesn't want to let you go! Mind doesn't want you to become a part of that.
And yet, who are you? Are you mind? Or are you what you really are? So, why get ground? Why get squashed in between the everlasting paradox of the mind?
And this is what Guru Maharaj Ji says, "You have to let go! You have to realize, because Knowledge is simple. If you will be sophisticated, you will never understand it."
You know, it's like this: if you want to imitate a horse, how do you do it? You have to get down on your knees, and your arms. You don't imitate a horse standing up. Just like, you just stand up and say, "Here, I am imitating a horse, walking on a street." If you want to imitate a horse, you have to look something like a horse: be on your knees and your legs, I mean, on your arms, on your hands. And that would look like four legs and you can imitate it, a little bit.
When you go to Guru Maharaj Ji it's just like, you have to have that heart, because Knowledge is simple. You do not acquire simplicity by being sophisticated. Nor do you acquire sophistication by being simple. But
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the fact here is that you want to acquire simplicity because Knowledge is simple.
And it's just like, you see that to everyone of us this happens, everyone of us – it doesn't matter who we are. We always become that sophisticated self, and Guru Maharaj Ji says, "No, no, no. Be like a child. Your questions and your doubts will go away. Because these questions and these doubts are not from you. These questions and doubts, how can they be from you? You are mine! In you dwells what, who you really are. You are incredible. You are not in the category of day and night. To you, seconds don't pass. To you there is no death; there is always constant life and power and energy. How can you, who you really are, have questions and doubts?"
But then you go, "Hah, excuse me, sir, I didn't understand that! What did you say? How can we be that?" Always doubting and questioning, and doubting and questioning.
I know. I used to sit at the roof-top of Prem Nagar, in India, in front of my room, and everybody would be there: and questions, and questions, and questions, and questions.
In United States, when I was in Boulder, I used to be in a teepee, sitting there: all the premies – questions and questions, and
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questions and questions, and questions and questions. And even then the answer was: "You come to me, to ask me questions. Why? Because you think I can give you the answer. But that's what I want to make you, so you can answer all your questions. For how long are you going to ask me?" And still, that's the same exact answer. There is a solution. There is a one answer to all your questions. It is the answer. And that's what I want you to have. I mean, that's the part of the deal. And then you can have it. And then all your questions can go away. All your confusions can disappear. All your mind, and all your fancy concepts can in fact disappear.
To me that's like "Wow!" I don't know, maybe to you it's: "Hm, I would like to keep a few back, in case I need them." But to me, yes, it is possible. And in fact, is possible, to get rid of all that mind, to get rid of all those concepts, and be in the most truest, beautiful form that we want to be, that we are.
And, premies, only by letting go to Guru Maharaj Ji does this happen. Because Guru Maharaj Ji can take that life and put it in that machine, put it in his boat. And that boat will in fact then take you there. But, if you keep hopping away, if you keep jumping off, then
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how is Guru Maharaj Ji going to take you? No, it's impossible. But when you let go, you know …
It's like, I know that a lot of times a couple of people will get together, and maybe they're having a problem hanging the screen, or building the stage, or getting the tape recorder set up together, or getting the film for the camera or getting the guitar strings together. I mean, it can vary from that corner to this corner of the hall. From that side to that side of the hall. And they'll get together and they'll say, "You know, you should really let go, man! You should just really let go!" And I know, that a lot of people have picked up this term, "Let go! Let go! Let go!"
Let go, and grab! Let go, and grab! That is not a thing that you keep doing every twenty seconds. If you keep doing that you are liable to jerk your arms off. You're liable to really lose it. You're going to be taking that chance. Guru Maharaj Ji says, "No, don't do that! Let go once and for all. Let go of that concept. Let go of that maya. Let go of that mind. Don't keep going back to it! Don't keep saying, 'I let go! Here it is. Ooops!' " (Guru Maharaj Ji grabs with his hand).
And it's just like skiing in the back of the
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boat. And there you are, and you want to do all these fancy manoeuvres. And Guru Maharaj Ji … and all you can see is this boat, a skiing boat, a small boat, far away. And the only link between that boat and you is the skiing-rope. And Guru Maharaj Ji is in the skiing-boat. And Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Relax. I'll take you around, I'll take you through this obstacle. I'll take you through that obstacle. No problem." And you sit there and you go, "Ah, I want to do some fancy jumps. I want to turn around 360 degrees, flip up in the air. I'm going to let go of the rope and try to grab it back again." While you are going into all these things, you see this finger going: "No, don't do that!" (Guru Maharaj Ji waves his index finger from side to side.) You know, obviously you know what that finger is saying, "Don't do that. No!" This means: No! You know that. But, at that moment, you question it. "I wonder, if he is feeling from which way the wind is coming. I wonder, if he's got a drop of water on top of his finger, he's trying to shake off. I wonder if his finger went to sleep and he is just trying to go like this … trying to shake it."
At the time all these things happen, when you obviously know, without a question, this
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means: "No! Don't do that!" And there is Guru Maharaj Ji taking you through. And all of a sudden you do all these flips and flops, and you let go; you let go for a little bit, you know, and that's it!
After that happens, I guess, the amount of time it takes you to figure out, – "What happened?" is the amount of time you're going to be still going on your skis, because of the momentum. And then – plop! That's it.
You know, and I've seen this happen a lot of times. Sometimes I'll take some premies skiing, you know, and there they are, everything is going fine. Everything is doing great, and all of a sudden, they'll try to go from one side to the other side of the boat, just do this fancy thing; and they'll hit a big wave and plop – that's it! And this always happens.
And Guru Maharaj Ji knows one thing: He knows that this is shark infested water. And it's almost like, if you can imagine, it's a rescue trip. Guru Maharaj Ji wants to rescue you. He can't bring the boat all the way on top of the shore, because that will probably damage the boat, and you need the boat to make your get-away.
There is this whole – you can imagine, a rescue operation, and it's dark, and there is
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this Captain, this experienced, experienced, experienced Captain who knows his way in and out of the water, like it was daytime. And so, what he does is, he says, "Okay, you wait right there on the shore at a certain place, and I'll come up, and because I can't bring it on the shore and it's not safe enough for you to swim, what we will do, is we'll have you ski off the shore. And this is how the operation is going to work, till I've taken you to a place, where I can pull you in, and it's not too far away, and then you can be on the boat and then everything will be fine. But, don't try anything funny! Because if you do, you will fall, you will hurt yourself, and this is shark infested water."
I mean, I don't know, there is a lot of premies here from a lot of different countries, who really don't even feel anything about sharks probably. They have never seen a shark; they don't know what a shark would do to them, because they probably don't really come in contact with water so much, with the ocean – just nice lakes here and there, streams. But, anyway, the rescue operation begins when you say, "Yes, okay Guru Maharaj Ji! I will do what you ask me to do. Okay, Guru Maharaj Ji, let's do it!" Guru Maharaj Ji says,
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"Fine. Let's begin."
So Guru Maharaj Ji comes with his boat, takes a rope and throws it on the shore. And I mean, you can just imagine, in this example you can just have so many goof-ups happening.
First of all, you come to the shore and go, "Where did Guru Maharaj Ji tell me to stay? Where was I supposed to be?" And if you do manage to find out where you are supposed to be, then you go, "What am I supposed to do now?" Grab the rope! Grab the rope! That's it. Grab the rope! "And what do I do after I grab the rope?" And, I mean, all these goof-ups can happen.
But, nevertheless, let's, you know, understand that no goof-ups happen, and finally the rope is thrown and you do catch it and you're off! You're off and you're proud of yourself. It feels good. It feels good to be rescued from this miserable island. And now here you are, nice, powerful, big boat; nice thick ski-rope. And, here you are, beautiful skis, smooth glass water, and you say, "Oh boy! I wonder if I could just do a couple of flips?" Or, "I know, I know, I want to do a slalom-skiing. I can let go of one of my skis." Or, "I'll put the ski-rope behind my knees." I mean, all these
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things that happen, and finally, somehow, you do it, and that's it.
And we can't take that chance. We can't afford that chance to goof-up, to space-out so much. You know, and this is why Guru Maharaj Ji even keeps saying, "Look, just ski straight. Don't goof-up. Don't do it! It's not for your benefit."
And so premies, what I am trying to say basically, is that if we are going to let go in our lives, then let's do that. Let's let go. Let's let go of that maya. Let's let go of that mind. Why this whole game of: "I let go – oh, oops, there it is!" You know, I let go, grab it again. I let go, grab it again. For how long is this game going to go on?
So, now is the time, because you can do it. It can really happen. It can really manifest, for all of us. Yes, maybe to some people it is too much of a dream. Maybe to some people it is too much of a fantasy. Maybe to some people it is like: "Man, not me! The guy who is sitting next to me must be the fortunate one."
Maharaj Ji is saying, "No! Not the guy who is sitting right next to you. Not the guy sitting in front of you. Not the guy sitting behind you. You. You are the one who can
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have that fulfillment. You are the one who came here for that fulfillment. That fulfillment is yours. It belongs to you." And Guru Maharaj Ji just says, "Here it is! Take one step. Just take that little step. I'll give you that what you want. But between you and me," Guru Maharaj Ji says, "There is a bridge. Between you and me, there is a gap. And I cannot reach you, and you cannot reach me." And He says, "I have a plan and by implementing this plan we will be able to actually bridge this gap. And when we have bridged this gap, then I can reach you, and you can reach Me. Then we can have that communication; we can have that connection, that we really want."
Because I know that the people in this world, you know, "Oh yeah, what about Shastras? What about this? What about scriptures? What about everything else?" But none of those things are going to fill them, make a bridge. It's not written in any scripture. It's not. To me, it isn't. To me, it's not written. There are no instructions in any single scripture, how to make a bridge. I don't think there is any chapter like that in the Bible, or in the Koran, or in Ramayana, or in Gita.
The Perfect Master of the time knows
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how to make the bridge. He knows. That's what an engineer is for. He can take the situation, he can take the distance, he can take everything, and make a mathematical, make that perfect calculation, that needs to happen for it to be able to become a perfect bridge. And you just can't go to anybody for the perfect bridge.
Nobody has the building materials. Guru Maharaj Ji has the building materials. Guru Maharaj Ji knows how to make the bridge. Guru Maharaj Ji knows how big the bridge is going to be. And that's all we have to do, is to go to Guru Maharaj Ji and say, "Okay. Rescue me. Help me. Yes, I am going to let go." And then Guru Maharaj Ji will come and will help you. Always has, always will. This is what Guru Maharaj Ji is for.
But our ego, our mind, our selfishness, our idiocity, you know, reminds me of this tape. Right as you enter the place where we are staying, at the residence, right before you come into the foyer, there's two doors. And right there, there is marble. And it's very, very slippery, when you walk there with wet shoes. So I said, why don't you put a thin carpet down there. And the doors open inside, so you can't really lay anything down, like
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carpet or anything, or like a mat, because then it will block the door from opening up. So, I guess, Sergeant Hampton finally decided what to do, and he put double-sided tape, double-sided adhesive tape, on that piece of marble.
Before I was coming here, I had my choppals on, my sandals on, and I just stood there for, I guess, not even a minute; then I tried to move, and I was stuck to the tape. This really happened, you know, this really did.
I always thought this only happened in movies, but it actually happened to me (Laughter). There I was – I tried to turn around, I couldn't turn around. Tried to take my first step, and that was it. But that's what mind is like. There you are, stuck! And all of a sudden you try to move and you can't move. And you know, you say to yourself, "That can't happen to me." It just did happen to me. And it can happen. And that's why we need that protection. That's why we need the shelter of Guru Maharaj Ji's grace so much. Because how many … can you name the things in this world that can disattract you from Knowledge, from Guru Maharaj Ji? I can't. Too many. Too, too, too, too, too, too,
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too many things. I mean, it would take … I don't know if it's even possible. But we have to, in this lifetime, conquer all those things, and put ourselves at the Lotus Feet of Guru Maharaj Ji, put ourselves at Guru Maharaj Ji's mercy, put ourselves at Guru Maharaj Ji's grace, so that Guru Maharaj Ji can take us and give us that fulfillment that we really want. And it's not difficult.
As a matter of fact, it's possible by … I mean, it could happen just like this. Just like that. Snap your fingers, and that's it! It could happen in million years; it could happen in three million years. Oh yeah, it could happen in zillion years, but, it can happen just like that! And that's what we have to shoot for. Not three zillion years. Who knows who is going to live three zillion years? We don't know if we are even going to live a hundred years. Talking about three zillion years.
And when you see that, this life has to become Guru Maharaj Ji's now. We have to find the purpose of this life now. Not when we are eighty years old ready for our retirement. No, this is a lot of concepts!
Oh yeah, first you are a kid. So all you do is: play, play, play, play, play, play, play. Then you study, study, study, study, study,
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study, study, study. I mean, this is just a lot, a lot of concepts. Then you grow up, and then you get married, find a job, and then work, work, work, work, work.
And then when you are completely useless, when your hands shake that much, you can't see anybody, you can't sit down, can't get up, then you can do what you have always wanted to do in your life. This is really true. This is what the retired people say. Now I'm going to retire and do what I've always wanted to do.
What are you going to do? There are not too many things that you can do, you know. Forget about the high jump. Eighty-nine years old, trying to shoot for a high jump. I mean, it's outrageous, for those things. But Knowledge, Knowledge is nothing like that.
I mean, this sounds like a perfect, good solution to keep everybody busy. If you don't know what you are supposed to do, that sounds like a pretty nice solution. You get up and you play, play, play, play, play, play, play. Nothing else, just play, just pure play. You don't have to study, you don't have to do anything. Just play, play. You eat food, you play. You read books, you play. You take a nap, you play. Just play, play, play.
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And then, you study, study, study. No play, play, play. You study, study, study. You study in the school, you study after the school.
I personally used to study before we went to school, in the school, and after the school. Study, study, study. And I mean, I can't imagine being ninety-eight years old, or eighty-nine years old, and saying, "Yeah, this is my life, and now I'm going to start thinking about God." No, I mean, it's almost like ridiculous.
We have to dedicate now, whenever the time is. Whenever we can approach Guru Maharaj Ji with that open heart is the time to go to Guru Maharaj Ji. I mean, you have to understand that Guru Maharaj Ji is there for that reason, just for that reason. And He can help us, He can give us that satisfaction, He can give us that Knowledge, He can give us that perfection.
I mean, in this world, what else can you desire that is for this life? Is tongue your life? I mean, really, is tongue your life? Desire food. Is tongue your life?
Reminds me of that example, where, you know, one day, all the limbs of the body had a fight. And the ear said to the nose, "Oh, I'm greater than you are." And the nose said to
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the mouth, "I'm greater than you are." And it went on like this. Everybody said, "I'm greater than you are." And it's just like it was a chaos.
And so the soul, who was very, very quiet, all the limbs went up to the soul and said, "How come, you don't say anything? Do you think you are the greatest?" And the soul said, "No, I don't say I am the greatest. But look, there is only one way to find out: one of the limbs has to leave one at a time, and by whose absence all the limbs become nonfunctional, is the greatest limb, is the greatest thing in the body."
So, first, the eyes went out. And the eyes came back and said, "How was it?"
"It was okay! It was just, you couldn't see, that's all." And the ears went out. "How was it?" – "It was okay. Just couldn't hear, that's all." And it just happened, you know. The nose went, and the mouth went, and finally it was the time for the soul to leave. And as soon as that soul started to leave, all the limbs cried out, "Wait, wait, wait. It's okay."
All these things that we pursue in this world, are these the things to really desire? I mean, okay, you want food, you are probably very hungry right now. I am. I haven't
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eaten anything all day long. And maybe food is the thing to desire … Okay, you want food, you need food to live. You need food to exist. But what about for who I really am? I need food for that. Oh yeah, it's nice to look at nice things. But what about for that thing that's really inside? That's what we have to desire for. That's what we have to want for. When we want for that, all our satisfaction, all our fulfillments can be fulfilled by Guru Maharaj Ji's grace. When Guru Maharaj Ji bestows His grace upon us, when Guru Maharaj Ji bestows His Knowledge upon us, His blessings upon us, then everything is perfect.
When we bestow our blessings upon ourselves, then everything goes berserk, everything goes haywire. When Guru Maharaj Ji bestows His grace, His blessings upon us, then everything is in the way it should be. When we dedicate our lives to Guru Maharaj Ji, then everything falls in its right perspective.
So premies, you know, this is only the second day of the program. And tomorrow there will be satsang – with our luck. And it's just that we all come together and just to be able to enjoy and just to be able to open up to that beauty. So I hope I see you tomorrow. Thank you very much.
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