It is not every day that a major city of the western world is convulsed with "guru fever" for a three-day spell. But this is what happened in London last July when twenty thousand of Guru Maharaj Ji's devotees flocked into the city to celebrate the Guru Puja (Guru Worship) Festival, renamed the "Summer Celebration of Love and Light." Their influence over London and its people during that brief period far exceeded their number. They gripped the nation's life with their love, their innocence and their vitality. For three days, the country became one big smile. Pictures, interviews and stories about the Divine Light Mission, premies and Guru Maharaj Ji filled the pages of the national press. And the ripple spread all over Europe, as, from Paris Match to La Stampa, the European news media chronicled this amazing explosion of bliss, the love and joy which continually flows between the young Satguru, His Holy Family and His countless disciples. "They come to me because they love me," Guru Maharaj Ji explained to one reporter, "and I go to them because they are like my breath, I cannot live without them."

In this issue of Divine Light, we publish some of the discourses given during the Festival by Guru Maharaj Ji and the Holy Family, the perfect souls who have come together at this time to lift the human race back into God-consciousness, which is where we belong.

Published Monthly Vol. 3 No. 2

Just grasp the theme.

SATSANG OF SHRI GURU MAHARAJ JI-13th July 1973. Alexandra Palace, London.

Guru Maharaj Ji arrived at Alexandra Palace unexpectedly as soon as the festival opened.

I just came here to see what was going on, because so many people were saying that this is really fantastic. And I really think it is fantastic, without doubt. And then our main programme, our main function, is going to start from this evening.

Really we have to understand the purpose of our life. I think it's damned important that we understand what is the purpose of our life in this world. Because man can achieve everything. Nothing is impossible for him. But the thing is, what is important for him? He must receive that.

You can go to so many ice-cream parlours and get so many different kinds of ice-cream, but that doesn't matter to you if you don't like any of them. You go to an ice-cream place and you see a whole list of ice-creams there, but what really matters to you is whether the kind of ice-cream you like is there or not. You go to buy a suit. There are thousands and thousands of suits, but the thing is, the thing that you have to watch out for, is whether there is any suit that might suit your specifications. And if not, you walk out.

In the same way, there are many things man can achieve in this lifetime, oh, I can't say how many; there's thousands and thousands of them. But what is the most important thing for him, what is the most best thing for him? He has to receive that, and I think that that important thing is the aim of his human life. I think that is very, very important. Because why are we in this world, why has God given all this that we see around? There is a purpose for it, I think, and that purpose is to understand Him.

Well, anyway, our main programme will start from this evening, and that's when we'll tell you something more, because this programme continues for a long time. You see, when you go and hear a record, there is something in it, in the song there is a theme and the theme is that something that you appreciate in it. In the same way, when we come to hear satsang we hear it and see there is a theme to it. Maybe I talk about something else, or maybe I talk about Knowledge but in a different way. Or maybe someone else talks about Knowledge in a different way. But there is always something that you have to grasp from it, there is the theme, and that is what you should try to grasp.

And let me tell you something; this is not a religious festival. And if you think it is a religious festival, then it is the true religious festival. Because religion means realisation of God, and this is the one religion which is inside all of us. That is the realisation of God and that's what this is about – the true religion. Not the religions that we have been believing in for so long, but the real one, the true one, which is the realisation of God. And I think the sound people will also play around with the sound a bit, so that it becomes proper, because up here it's very hard to listen to what's being said – it just echoes and echoes and echoes. Well, anyway, about this Knowledge, about this spiritual subject, about this truth, we will talk more about it this evening. I think you'd better come up earlier so that we can start our programme earlier. Thank you.

From Darkness into Light.

Satsang of Shri Mata Ji. 13th July 1973, Alexandra Palace, London.

Now my dearest friends, there is one queen bee and there are so many bees. Wherever the queen bee goes, all the bees follow. They have got a very internal and eternal relationship. The bees collect all the juices from the flowers and keep them behind their heads. Then they submit the juice to their queen bee. And the queen bee takes it not on a plate, not in any kind of receptacle, but directly they nod their head before the queen bee, she takes it, very naturally. So there is a very great relationship between the queen bee and all the bees.

Now, in the same way, all the devotees are related to the Lord, just as all the bees are related to their queen bee. Those bees make the queen bee extremely happy by their service. In the same way, from time immemorial all the devotees try their level best to please their Lord. When the Perfect Master comes in this universe, people don't recognise Him. But the Almighty Lord teaches people the technique of how to live in this universe happily. That Perfect Lord changes the lives of men from darkness to Light, from sorrow to happiness.

Now, before all human beings in this universe, I have to say only one thing, and it is that Guru Maharaj i has come to save the whole of mankind, but the world doesn't understand. Shri Guru Maharaj Ji has come to give you Knowledge, to put bewildered humanity on the right path. To reveal that Holy Eye, to give that Holy Knowledge within us, that is the universal aim of Shri Guru Maharaj i. All human beings have become bad, their mentality is going lower and lower, and therefore Shri Guru Maharaj i has come to make them realise their aim in life, not understanding which, all are troubled. Human beings have established so many religions, but the Almighty Lord, the Perfect Master, doesn't come to establish any religion. The Almighty Father created only human beings; it was human beings who created so many religions. When no human being was alive, all these religions never existed. But from time immemorial, the Almighty Father has come into this universe to teach us one thing, and one thing only, what the aim of our life is. And by that Knowledge, by that realisation, real peace was attained by those who desired it. And to let us know the same thing, Shri Guru Maharaj i, the Almighty Father, has come, as He has always come, into the world. When human beings forget their aim in life, then the Almighty Lord comes and gives His Knowledge.

Today human beings have created weapons which could destroy the whole universe; the hydrogen bomb and many other weapons have been created only to kill people. But saints have always predicted that, without True Knowledge, the human mind will grow so much that it will destroy the whole universe. And now due to that mind, a man is killing another man, a man is eating up another man, and the whole world is fearful. God, our Almighty Father, created this beautiful garden not to be destroyed and made into dust. But it is us, it is we people, who are destroying this whole beautiful garden. Now, Shri Guru Maharaj i is here with us, so the time has come for us to realise our real aim; if you want to be saved, you can be. Don't keep this precious human life, which is really God's precious gift to us, in darkness. Bring it from darkness into Light. Leave the darkness and come into the Light of the Almighty Father.

If you get thirsty, if you get hungry, you ask people who are alive for food and drink. You cannot ask people

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who are dead to satisfy your thirst, to get your hunger satisfied. You have to go to a living person. Similarly, to receive that Supreme Knowledge, you have to go to the Living Lord and He will satisfy your hunger, He will quench your thirst by giving you the True Knowledge. Therefore realise that, understand that and don't keep this life in darkness.

Now, this great and holy festival is being celebrated here in London. From time immemorial, Guru Puja has been celebrated to worship the supreme Lotus Feet of the Almighty Father, Shri Guru Maharaj Ji, who has come to lighten the extinguished lamps of humanity, and to give the real message, the same message He has always given, to every ear. Because we have forgotten the message of our Lord, the Knowledge of our Father, we are so much troubled, and this is why He has come. He has come to give this Knowledge to the whole human race, but not to animals. Because this human life is very great. It can do actions and it can enjoy their fruits also. But as animals we can only enjoy, we cannot do any work. This is why Lord Krishna said to Arjuna, "Oh, Arjuna, to know the mystery of the Supreme Action for which this human life has been given to you, go to an enlightened soul, go to a Perfect Master, guilelessly, without any pride. Open your hears to Him and please Him, then the Perfect Lord will give you Knowledge of your soul, and when you know that Knowledge all your sufferings will be finished." The Almighty Lord will not give you riches, a family or any kind of material thing, because all these things are easily available in other species of life.

Therefore this human life is very precious. In it you can plan for this life and for the life hereafter also, and help others to do the same. Therefore, finding such a special gift like human life, you should not remain in darkness; you should come into Light. Saints say that a man who doesn't receive Supreme Knowledge in his human life is like an animal without horn and tail. Because animals also drink, animals also eat, animals also have got fear complexes, they also have children, they have all the same things we have also got. But there is one thing more special that humans have and that is that they can receive Knowledge, and animals cannot.

Now, the minds of today's humans are absolutely uneasy; there is no rest for them. Many people tell me that their mind is very crazy, their mind is very disturbed. Due to these minds, man of today has become very barbarous, very dangerous. We think that this mind can be controlled by external methods, but the real means of controlling the mind is inside. And when a human being forgets that internal means of mind-control, the Almighty Father comes and shows it to him. Always the Almighty Father comes.

You might have read the story of Lord Buddha. He had a kingdom, He had a wife, He had everything. He had lots of those things which you are striving so hard to get. We have to have a job to get those things, but He got them automatically. But still there was an essential thing which he needed and that was not present in His family or all His possessions, and for that He left His entire kingdom, His entire family, made His body absolutely clean, and when He finally came to His Perfect Master, He immediately received Knowledge. And when He received Knowledge He became enlightened Himself and made others enlightened. He was liberated and by the commandment of the Almighty Father, He liberated thousands.

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From ancient times mankind has received inspiration from the saints, remembering them and celebrating their birthdays. Why? Because those great souls recognised their aim, fulfilled it, and told all of us to follow that same aim. Great souls never die; they simply change their body, just like a man who changes his cloth, throws away the old and wears new cloth. Similarly the Great Soul changes His old body and takes another one. We get great inspiration from the lives of all those great souls and read their stories.

Now today, people have got different ideas about Shri Guru Maharaj Ji. But really they cannot understand who Guru Maharaj Ji is. One saint, Saint Kabir, said, "If I tell the truth about Shri Guru Maharaj J people don't believe me. But I have got no fear of people. I must always tell the truth." And if you are to understand and realise who Shri Guru Maharaj Ji is, then you must create within yourself a great hunger, a great thirst, because that subject is very subtle. Who is Guru Maharaj Ji? He is Supreme Light, He is Supreme Nectar, and to let us drink that Nectar and see that Light, Guru Maharaj Ji comes. Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Remain in your religion. I have not come here to make you separate from your religion, but to know that thing which is according to your religion, that thing which is written about in your scriptures. You do not know that, and you must know it."

If children take birth in Christianity the parents tell them to read the Bible and to go to church. In the same way, Moslem parents tell their children to read the Koran, go to the mosque and do all the rituals. In the same way, Hindu parents say to their children to read holy scriptures and go to temples. But if you want to learn the True Knowledge, you have to go to this school, this eternal school of Guru Maharaj Ji. If you want to be an engineer you have to go to college to learn engineering. And if you want to be a devotee, if you want to be a saint, if you want to be really holy, you have to come and take shelter under the supreme Lotus Feet of Shri Guru Maharaj Ji.

And one thing more. If you think that now we have received Knowledge, this is everything, you are mistaken. After receiving Knowledge of soul, if you have not got great love for Shri Guru Maharaj Ji, if the relation of the devotee and the Perfect Lord is not good, if the devotee doesn't obey Him and doesn't change his life according to His instructions, then that Knowledge will not liberate you. Because the Almighty Father can give you Knowledge and can take that Knowledge away from you also, for He is Almighty. You see, in this universe, everybody deceives others. Even your beloved can deceive you. A true friend can also deceive you. Your wife can also deceive you, but our Almighty Father, Shri Guru Maharai Ji, cannot deceive you. Because He is the ocean of love and He comes into this universe only to give love. And if you want to receive it, then you have to come into His shelter.

There are so many words for water in different languages, but water is the same all the world over. That which the words indicate is the same for all, and what is necessary is to know what water is and to drink it. Similarly, that Holy Name, that True Name, that Supreme Harmony of the Lord, is described by different words in different languages, but it is one for the whole universe. Therefore listen very peacefully. Understand in the heart, and then ponder over and know that

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thing. Now the Lord has come to change our hearts from darkness to reality.

This is a most precious message I give to you. I have known that thing within myself, and you can also know that object which is very very pleasant and very very great. This body is very beautiful, but it is very transitory. In the end, it will be left here; this body will not go with us. All of us have to go from this universe one day. All the saints have said that, just as you stay in an inn and leave when your sojourn is finished, similarly, one day you will have to leave this universe. This is not our true country, but what you have to receive whilst in this human universe, this you have to think about. And for that purpose this human life has been given to you.

If you want to cross the ocean you must have a boat or ship. You can go to other places by car, you can go by tonga, you can go by so many conveyances, but to cross the ocean, you must have a boat. Similarly, to cross this ocean of illusion, you have to have the Holy Name, you have to have the ship of Knowledge, and if you receive the Knowledge your life will be absolutely pure. Now, this Knowledge is given to those people who are really thirsty, who have got great love for it; only they can receive Knowledge. This Knowledge is not given to those people who are not very persistent, and who don't try to receive it. So receive Knowledge by all means, because it is a very holy thing.

Serve Knowledge from your heart, and you'll get it. All the saints have said that if you knock on the door, it will be opened to you, and if you do not knock, then it will not be opened to you. This human body is very transitory. It is like a bubble of water; just like a piece of delicate glass it has got no certainty of its future. Therefore you should not leave this supreme duty for tomorrow, because tomorrow is the name of death.

There was once a king whose name was Ravanna. He was a very mighty king in this material world, but he died for his bad actions. And when he was living his last breath, he told the younger brother of Lord Ram whose name was Lakhsman, "Oh Lakhsman, I have learned two lessons from my life. If any good idea comes to the heart, don't leave it for tomorrow, and if any bad idea comes to the heart, then please do leave it for tomorrow."

All the bones and skins of animals, they can be utilised for any purpose when the animal dies, but this human body is so useless, it only lies in the graveyard after death. It is not utilised for any purpose. Therefore know the aim of your human life. Otherwise it is the most useless thing in this universe. And those people who have received the Knowledge should give inspiration to others still living in the dark, and tell them, "Oh people of the world, come into the Light; don't remain in darkness!" For this human life even gods and goddesses beg the Almighty Father, because in it the Supreme Action can be performed. Therefore perform that Supreme Action which is your ultimate goal, your real goal. And in this three-day function hear all the satsang very patiently and with great love, because then, definitely, you will gain much in your hearts. Therefore know that, and by knowing, all other aims will be fulfilled.

Blessings to all the premies.

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Now is the time.

Satsang of Shri Bal Bhagwan Ji at Cuffley Campsite, 12th July 1973.

So many people in London have Rolls-Royces and they have a house in Highgate, but nobody is understanding that only Guru Maharaj Ji has such a large following. If you believe that Guru Maharaj Ji is the Lord, then it's up to you to justify your belief for yourself. It's up to you to see that your belief is correct, or whether it is wrong. It is up to the believer to prove his belief. When three wise men from the east knew that the Lord had been born, that the Lord was on the surface of the earth, they came all the way from India to Jesus Christ, and they brought with them three gifts. In many pictures the three wise men are coming, are prostrating before Jesus Christ and are giving those gifts to Him. Why was that? When the Jews were giving a cross to Jesus Christ why did those people bring gifts to Jesus Christ? They brought gifts because they knew that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, was the Lord. Now, if you people believe that Guru Maharaj Ji has given you True Knowledge, then you have to offer Him all the best because Guru Maharaj Ji is on your planet, He is on your earth, and it's up to a devotee to offer all that he has, the best he has.

So, dear premies, now is the time to understand what Guru Maharaj Ji is giving. Many people who have seen "Satguru Has Come" saw Maharaj Ji saying that people think they are accepting Him, but He says, "No, you're not accepting me, you're not accepting an Indian boy, you're accepting my Knowledge." Why was Buddha worshipped? Why was Jesus Christ worshipped? Why were other Perfect Masters worshipped? Because they gave Knowledge. They gave Knowledge, and that is why they were worshipped. It is for this only that they are worshipped and nothing else. So, dear premies, you must understand now, because as the Mission is growing – as is happening now – there are many, many people who just can't accept it. Because in two years' time all this has come. I see this festival is just like an Indian festival, only the flesh is white and red; otherwise everything is just like India. Many people think we are spreading Indian oriental culture. But, just try to understand, why do you want that oriental sun? That sun comes from the east, so why do you want that sun? Why do you buy Japanese tape-recorders? They're from the Orient, they're from the Far East. Everybody buys Japanese cameras and tape-recorders and other stuff. Why don't you say, "Oh, these things are coming from the east, why should I buy them? I should only buy western things." No. Nothing is of the east and nothing is of the west.

Those people say – I have heard many priests saying this – "This is Indian religion. This is eastern religion." Now those people say they want to unite east and west, but in themselves they have the idea of a difference between east and west, and that's something contradictory. Because you cannot unite people if you are dividing them. Really you cannot. To unite them you have to have something universal.

Today we say, "Oh, I'm a Hare Krishna man, "I'm a Hare Krishna freak," or "I'm a Jesus freak," " I'm this," and "I'm that," – everybody has something of his own. But try to understand, anybody who says, "I'm a Christian," "I'm a Buddhist," or who can say they belong to any religion, all those people stayed for nine months in their mother's womb. What was their religion at that time? There wasn't any Hare Krishna, there wasn't any Christianity, there wasn't any Hinduism. What was their religion at that time? And that is the only basic source. Really, we have to bring back that nine months period because then there was no caste, there was no colour, there was no materialism. There was no caste, colour, and creed. And that is why Guru Maharaj Ji says that we have to understand that reality, that fact, that fact of life.

Many people say, "Oh, I don't believe in God. I'm an atheist," and they are very proud of that. But it's nothing to be proud of, you see, because whether God is existing or not is a controversial issue, but you cannot deny that you are existing, and if you are existing then you must know who you are. So, dear premies, you must understand that secret. If we know that we are existing then we must know who we are. Now many people believe, "Oh, we are man, I am flesh, I am these bones." But that's not correct. A name has been given to you – like I say my name is Bal Bhagwan Ji – a name has been given to me. But before that name was given to me, what was I?

Once, Swami Dyan – he was a saint in India – he wanted to realise himself. So he went in search of a Guru, and he came to Guru Maharaj Ji's house. It was very late, he was knocking at the door, and the Guru said from inside the house, "Who is there? " Swami Dyanand said, "If I knew who I am I wouldn't have come here." You see! So, really, dear premies, now is the time to experience, to realise. That is why Guru Maharaj Ji says meditate.

If I tell you, "Dear premies, surrender yourself," you'll say, "Oh, this Bal Bhagwan Ji is very emotional. He's talking about surrendering." But you look at those people who earn their hard living, their hard money. After earning that money, after getting that money, they go into a pub and buy some wine, some spirits, some drink. It seems they want to replace their own internal spirit, or maybe there is no spirit inside them, so they take all these spirits. They get drunk, they go out in the street and they lie completely flat there, you see, and a dog comes and licks their face.. Then they can surrender to that wine.

But before that, if you tell them, "Surrender to reality," they say, "Oh, that's very, very difficult to understand, very very difficult to understand." Why is this? This is very strange. Now, dear premies, you must understand the reality. All this is all wrong. This is not a correct thing, because many people go to pubs but there is no peace down there. People want to get lost actually, and that is why they drink, because they can't find their aim. But God never created us to go into a pub, not

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at all.

So, dear premies, now we must really understand how this Knowledge has united us, because there are premies here from Hong Kong, there are premies from Taiwan, there are premies from Beirut, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Australia, Copenhagen. There are premies from all over the world her_ America, Canada, and people are coming from Dublin tomorrow, 1,000 people are coming from Dublin, and France. All these people will be coming here. Just see how these people are pouring in.

If I give you a garland, can you imagine all those flowers in that garland staying in the air without a string? No, you cannot imagine that. If I break that string, if I take out the string, all those flowers will fall down. Now they are just flowers, they are unconscious things. They're just flowers, they're not human beings. But imagine, all these human beings are united together just like that garland. What is that string? What is that bond that is uniting us together? People can't understand that. They can understand Rolls-Royces, but they can't understand the bond of love. Why? Because their eyes are closed. They're completely blind. They're blind because they cannot see the other world, and they are dead because they can't see the other being. They only see this world.

Guru Maharaj Ji has come as an example of how to live in this world. And there must be some example. If I go in the Himalayas, or if Maharaj Ji was in the Himalayas, nobody would see him. It's very very easy for us to go to the Himalayas because our house is just next to them – we are in the foothills of the Himalayas – so we could go and sit there, but then how would you get darshan? So, dear premies, understand, because mysterious are the ways of God. Very, very mysterious. Nobody can see them. They're complete. ly a mystery, you see. Swami Ram Krishna said, "God is neither a Mr, neither is He a Mrs, but God is a mystery." That mystery has to be solved, and every devotee has to solve it for himself.

Once Vivekananda was sitting before his Guru, and in his heart was praying: "Oh, Guru Maharaj Ji, give me Light. Give me some moral strength. Give me inspiration." The Guru said, "Vivekanand, I am very ashamed of you." At this, Vivekananda got a shock. "What is this?" I have been to the west, I have spread Guru Maharaj Ji's Knowledge, and now this Guru is telling me that He is very ashamed of me?" He said, "What wrong have I done? What is my mistake? Please tell me." And the Guru said, "Vivekanand, you are very, very selfish, because now you are praying for me to give you moral strength, inspiration, and Light. You are asking for yourself, and this is selfishness. You should ask on behalf of the entire world, of all humanity." And really, premies, the same thing applies to us. By coming to satsang alone, we become very, very selfish. We should bring other people with us also.

And now I think it's getting very late and people want to sleep. So you can sleep now, but tomorrow we have a fantastic programme at Alexandra Palace, and I think your minds will be blown when you go there. Now, when you go inside that place, if you ask a non-premie: "Sir, please tell me how many pounds have these Divine Light people spent on decorating this hall and putting up all that stage and everything?" And his approximate idea will be at least a hundred thousand pounds. But he's completely a fool. He doesn't know the figures and facts. Like, there's a hundred foot rainbow there. Now all that cloth was completely free. The wood that we used was completely free. The paint that we used was completely free. No, it doesn't cost us anything. The only cost was for a small picture of Guru Maharaj Ji. That was the only cost. But these people are so gross because they are completely blind. They think that in putting all these posters up and printing those posters, Divine Light Mission has to pay for everything. Now, if we had to pay for everything, there'd be nothing of the things that you are seeing now. Like, we have our own printing press, and the devotees they stand, they work day and night, and they print. You saw the Dulwich Hall, many people went there. All that hall was painted by devotees. If you hire people, oh, you'd have to spend millions and millions, and we don't have that

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money. All the premies are doing their work just for love and devotion and it is said that love has no prison walls. It's just like that. There is no limitation on the love that devotees have. More like, it's just flowing through many, many channels. Premies are working in the press, and premies are working in the art department, and premies are working in different, different sections, they are just working day and night, and other people can't understand it because all their lives they have been completely robbing people. They just want money, money, money, money. And everything they come up with – a new ad, or a new magazine, or a new anything – they just want to extract money. They can't even conceive of the idea of selfless service, really. But when they see devotees doing that, then they slowly, slowly begin to understand.

And so premies, now is the time that you should all join in. I'm not telling you people to leave your houses and to move into an ashram. I'm just telling you to work. Because even if you are living with your family, you can still do service. Service is not limited. So, dear premies, now go back. I think many more brothers and sisters will be joining us tomorrow, and then I think there'll be many more people in the hall. And it seems that the hall will also get smaller and smaller, you see, because more and more people will be coming. So you can see how everything is just increasing. The family is just increasing and increasing, so now it's a big family. And there'll be a beautiful band down there, Blue Aquarius. And there'll be many other people also. Then on the 14th we have a big procession. It is starting from Speakers' Corner, that is in Hyde Park, and ending at Trafalgar Square. Now the procession is to be big, very very big and there are big banners and leaflets and placards and all different things. But the most important thing is that people should

maintain a discipline. They should not go off the road and then go into the road and just roam around – they must have a discipline. This is what we want. And I think people should hurry up; everybody should reach Speakers' Corner by 2 o'clock – 2 to 3 o'clock you see, and then we can stand in line, and we can start the procession. And this procession is going to shake London, because people here always think a procession is a protest, is a riot. But this is the first time they'll actually see a peace parade! Yes, a peace parade a parade for peace! People have peace demonstrations, but I think all the peace demonstrations ended in a riot. Didn't they? Yes. So how can you call them peace demonstrations? But this is going to be truly a peace parade. It'll just be a very, very nice parade, a peace parade. We are going to have a beautiful procession, and it's just going to show the world. So now blessings to all the premies, and they must go and sleep. Thank you very much.

'Once, Swami Dyan-he was a saint in India - he wanted to realise himself So he went in search of a Guru, and he came to Guru Maharaj Rs house. It was very late, he was knocking at the door, and the Guru said from inside the house," Who is there?" Swami Dyanand said, "If I knew who I am I wouldn't have come here."' - Shri Bal Bhagwan Ji.

They call me the Pefect (sic) Master

SATSANG OF SHRI GURU MAHARAJ JI - Alexandra Palace - 13th July1973.

Dear premies,

We have all assembled here for some reason, for some purpose. You people are here to listen to what we say, and we are here to tell you about something. Now I am going to say a very funny word to the world, and this word sounds very very strange to the world, but for that purpose we are assembled here, and that word is peace. You see, peace in this world has become very strange for people. Peace in this universe has become antique. Has become unique. It's like an antique thing that was there thousands and thousands and thousands of years ago, and somebody sees it now he says, "Wow, it's antique!" If people see a 1939 car today, they say, "Wow, look at that old car, it's antique!" This is what it is. Peace has become an antique in this world.

But a Perfect Master has always come into this world to reveal this Knowledge, to reveal this peace. I'm not talking about one saint. All the pictures you see around this hall and I think even more than these have come – were saints who came into the world to reveal this spiritual Knowledge, to reveal this peace that we have forgotten. And if we want today to receive and achieve this point of peace we have to go to Him who is known as Perfect Master. Now when we say the word Perfect Master, let me tell you, it sounds very strange to people and to the news media. It just sounds very strange to them, and one of the questions they put before me, or before premies, before people who have received this Knowledge, is, "Why do you call Him Perfect Master? Why do you think He is the Perfect Master?" Well, according to them, those people who say I am the Perfect Master are trying to say that I am very perfect. But the point is – they are not realising what the meaning of Perfect Master really is. Why do they call me Perfect Master? See, if someone teaches you maths, if someone teaches you English, if someone teaches you science, you call him maths master, English master, science master, respectively. Same way, I can teach people peace.

Again, I have to tell people that I am not a prophet. I am just an ordinary human being, with two legs, two eyes, and I work, and I have voluntarily put myself here so that I can reveal this Knowledge to people, because I think people need it, because people have forgotten what this Knowledge is. So I am just teaching them perfectness and that's why they call me the Perfect Master.

And as a matter of fact, I am the Perfect Master, because I can reveal this peace. I am not saying I am bodily perfect. I am not saying I am perfect because of this reason or that reason, but simply for one reason and that is because I can reveal this Knowledge which is perfect. This Knowledge is within everyone; whatever you see see that fan turning, see these amplifiers working, see the lights, see yourself alive, see people around you alive, see these tube lights go on – it's all because there is something there. To the people who have read science, it's electricity that is making the fan turn, it's the platinum glow that's making all these things work. The amplifier system is also being operated by electricity and so are the speakers and microphones that make this PA system work.

But let me tell you something. The wire is there, the machines are there, everything is there, but still they cannot work, because they work due to something else, and that is the primordial vibration, vibrating within all human beings, making them alive, and that's the Knowledge, that's the perfect peace that we have to realise in this world. It's not a question of just going and pressing a button and the light comes on. Sometimes you have beautiful buttons and they work fine, you have these big bulbs and they work fine, and you have wires and the wires work fine. Everything is there, everything is properly hooked up, but there is no electricity. So understand what is making the electricity generate in this world. What is making us alive? Heart beating? No – not heart beat. It keeps us alive, yes, but there is still some thing that is making the heart beat. And when that thing goes away from us, we are dead.

There was a whole drama before you that these people just played; it was about Lord Buddha. When He was born, many priests came, many people came, and many predicted that either He was going to be emperor of the whole universe, or He was going to be the Lord of the Universe. They said two things. And the king thought, if He becomes a saint, then who will continue after me? So what did he do? He kind of trapped Him in this huge castle where there was just pleasure and pleasure and pleasure – nothing else; just pleasure. All the pleasures in the world which existed at that time were there in this castle. No suffering whatsoever in this castle, but one day, when Buddha had grown up, He came out and was taking a ride in this chariot. Of course they couldn't bring a chariot up here on the stage, but that's what they were trying to show with that guy. And Buddha was going along and He sees a cripple, He sees this strange-looking guy, and says, "What is this?" He asks His chariot-driver, "What is this?" And the chariot-driver answers, "He is sick, he is ill." And Buddha thinks, "What is sickness, what is illness?" And so the chariot-driver says, "This is a thing that happens and it can also happen to you. This is something that happens to everybody, and it can happen to you." Buddha said, "Really?" Because never in His life had He realised that this could happen to Him.

And then they saw that old guy, and Buddha says, "Who is this? Why is he like that, so ugly-looking?" The chariot-driver answered, "Well, he is old, and you have to also become old one day." Buddha said, "Really?" And the chariot-driver said, "Yeah, you have to also go through this stage."

Then they go further on and see a dead body coming. Buddha says, "Well; what is this? Why is he lying down?" And the chariot-driver said, "Well, he is dead." "What do you mean, he is dead?" Buddha said, "What is death?"

And the chariot-driver answered, "It is something that comes to everyone and it is also going to come to you." And Buddha freaked out. He completely freaked out. He couldn't understand what was going on, because in His whole lifetime – about thirteen, fourteen or fifteen years – He had never experienced suffering. And then suddenly He sees these old-looking things, and completely freaks out. And knowing that these are also going to come to Him, He probably freaked out even more. And then He became interested in finding the salvation to all those miseries, to all those sufferings. And finally He received Knowledge, He received the salvation to all those miseries He wanted to overcome.

Now this was a very beautiful drama I think, and they presented it before you. You saw it, and you tried to grasp something from it. But what good did that then do to you? You see, when people are put in concentration camps, they are not given water sometimes. They are thirsty, they are begging for water, and then the jailer comes by and takes a glass, pours some water and drinks it. By seeing him drinking water, mind you, that doesn't help that prisoner in the concentration camp, because that jailer might drink a hundred glasses of water but it is not going to quench the prisoner's thirst. If he wants to quench his thirst, a glass of water has to be personally given to him. We see all these examples, we hear all these examples, we read all these examples about receiving this Perfect Knowledge and getting blissed out, but that's not enough. It does no good to us except it just relaxes us for some time, because it's a story; it just makes us feel good. But if we also want peace we have to receive salvation, otherwise there is suffering, suffering, suffering and more suffering for us in this world. That which seems to be pleasure today can turn out to be suffering within no time at all.

People go to churches and are very happy. They go to get married and they are extremely happy, and the husband says to his wife, "You don't know how happy I am," and they really are happy. Then they come back home, and the bride starts drinking some coffee. Then she spills it over the bridegroom's suit, and he says, "What did you do that for?" And she probably freaks out and says, "I am going to give you a divorce!" Next day they go and get a divorce. That love, that pleasure, was divorced, was separated. Now you don't want that. You buy a car, you say, "Wow! I bought a new car. I feel very happy." Then when you are driving it maybe your hubcap falls off, and that's when your love falls off.

So what is true love? It is not in these materialistic things, You see, if you get a pen, you want to use it. A pen is one of the things that businessmen at least greatly require, right? But when you get a pen – suppose I bring you a golden Shaeffer, or a golden Parker – you don't eat it, do you? No you don't: You take it and put it in your pocket. Why? Why don't you eat it? Why don't you make it come so close to you that it's in your stomach? And that'll be pretty close to you, won't it? But you don't, because there's a special place for it and you want to keep it limited right there, so you pin it to your suit pocket or something. This is the world, and according to how much you are concerned with it, it has to be limited in its place.

But really to understand the value of this life, there was this farmer and he was passing by this desert and he sees this big rock shining very beautifully. I don't know how many thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of rocks he had seen in his lifetime like that, so he picks it up and he throws it out, and he starts walking again. But then comes a jeweller and he takes up the rock, kisses it, kneels down and says, "God, thank you very much, you have given me a fortune! You have given me a huge diamond!" Because the jeweller realises the value of that stone. It's not merely a stone for him – it's a diamond. But the farmer did not realise it. He threw

it away. To him it was merely a rock.

Today we are doing so many things in this world, making Apollos, making jets and rockets, and you just don't know how many amazing things are going on in this world. They're just unbelievable, the things that are happening in this world. Every day, different ideas and different new things are coming out. I was watching television in Denver and an ad came on saying that if you have any more ideas, please give them to us and we will help you to do them. And I said, "How many more ideas do they want?" They have so many different things in the world, and still they are not satisfied with them. Still new ideas are wanted. They are wanted and wanted and wanted and they are wanted in different ways. Why? Because people do not realise the purpose of their human life. They do not realise why they are here.

Governments have done so much to prevent crime, to prevent murder, but have they succeeded? You might have seen movies of the West, western movies, when there used to be cowboys shooting people and caring nothing about life. It was a time when there was no law, and you can just imagine, people were just being shot and shot and shot. Then when a few people realised that life was important and it could do something good for people, they came out with this idea of law. But they just couldn't get people to relate to it, and still the same thing was going on. People became outlaws. That was, oh, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years ago, but today, in 1973, which people would call a very civilised world, crimes and murders still are going on. Still people are murdering people, still people are being assassinated. What's the simple reason for this? It means they still do not understand the aim of this human life, they do not understand why this human life has been given to them.

It's the same case as the jeweller and the farmer. The jeweller understands the value of it, so he keeps it, he loves it, he respects it, and the farmer does not, so he hates it and throws it away. This is just an example, but it means something. It means something to me at least. People came up in this hall and saw people raising hands and shouting and people getting blissed out and they probably said, "What's going on?" And this is what one of the press reporters asked me when I got out of the plane, the first time I came to London in 1973. This press reporter asked me, "What do you think about that great mob which is standing outside for your reception?" And, you see, I knew why they were there, why the premies were there outside It was not because I had told them to be there; it was simply that they loved me and I loved them. That's why they were there. And I think that as a matter of fact they also printed that; I don't know if they did or not, but I think they did. And this is as simple. But people come in and they see all this going on and they don't understand it, so they assume different things. But it's nothing more than this. I love them, they love me, so they do it. They do it in praise.

But understand what real love is. Real love is not in these materialistic things. Real love, real peace, is inside us. And that's what I promise. I don't, I can't promise you money, I can't promise you anything except one thing, only one thing, and that one thing is peace of mind. I can promise you that, that's all. I don't say I am a Messiah, I don't say I am a prophet, I don't say I am anything. I just say I can give you peace, because it's inside you and I can reveal it to you because I have that capability. I am not assigned to this work by anyone; it's a voluntary act. I am giving people peace because they need it in this world. See, Lord Krishna even said, "Whenever there will be a decline in true religion, I will manifest myself forth in this human form to protect my devotees and to destroy evil." And see, He comes. He has manifested himself. He always comes.

We are seeing so many different religions in this world, which proves that people have not yet been able to get peace. Why? You go to a cloth

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shop, you see one type of cloth, you don't like it, you say, "Give me another one." And you see that one and you don't like that either, you see the third one, and then the fourth one and then the fifth one and then the sixth one and then the seventh one, the eighth, the ninth, the tenth, and maybe you see twenty-five kinds of cloth. And then maybe the twenty-sixth you like that one. This is what it is. Why is it that there are so many religions in this world? What do they prove? They prove that people have not been able to realise what they wanted to realise, so new religions have been coming up, people have been coming up with new ideas and it's all just been going on and on and on and on and I don't know for how many years, how many centuries, this will go on.

But no, there is only one solution to perfect peace in this world. You see, perfect peace does not come from war. War brings war, war does not bring peace. Always war has followed war, and always peace has followed peace. World War I, World War II, and – I don't know, it's a big question World War III. It's a big question, so I don't know. Maybe it'll happen but most probably not. Most probably there will be a time instead when people will realise, when people will understand the aim of human life. And this is what our whole Mission is working for – to tell people about the aim of human life. You see, in this world we perform many different actions, but which is the most superior action? This is what you have to find out. This is what man has to find out. Amongst all actions, which is the most superior one? This is what we have to select. This is the point that people have not been able to understand, and this is why I am here. To tell you about that action. And that action is an action, so I cannot speak it. It's the action that Krishna revealed to Arjuna, Ram to Hanu man, Jesus to John and all the saints to their devotees. The galaxy of saints came and revealed the most superior action to their devotees. And this is it. This is what gave them peace, this is what gave them satisfaction of mind.

I often give one example, it is that thousands of years ago there was water – there wasn't Pepsi Cola and all these drinks we have today. But there was water, and when people were thirsty they used to drink water. Right? Thousands of years later, people have thousands and thousands and thousands of drinks – well, especially in America, they've just got a huge selection of these things. You go and you find this big huge machine. Maybe there's a couple of these machines, for a really different range of choices. You put your coins in, push the button and the drink comes out.

But what I am amazed at is that after having so many drinks, when a man feels thirsty he still drinks water! Water is still there, holding the same importance as it had thousands of years before. Now this example carries a meaning. In the beginning of this world, there was this Knowledge and when man wanted to have peace he had to receive Knowledge. That's what he had to do. He had to get it from the Perfect Master. And now, in this 20th century, if we want peace we still have to receive Knowledge. Now there might be many people who say, "Why do we have to receive Knowledge to get peace?" Well, you see, I'll tell you.

Once there was a toad, and this toad came out of the ocean and he went into the land. And it got too late for him to go back into the ocean, so he goes up to this frog from a well and says, "Friend, now I am isolated and I want some shelter for the night. Can I come into your house?" And he says, "Come on in, you are most welcome." They both stay in the house, they both take their dinner and they start talking about things, and the frog from the well says, "Where do you come from?" And He said, "Sir, I come from the ocean." The frog said, "What's the ocean? I never heard that name. What is ocean?" The toad said, "It's a big, big, big well." "Oh," he said, "It's a well, eh?" And he made a small circle and said, "Your ocean is that big?" He said, "No sir, it's much bigger than that." He made a bigger circle and said, "That big?" And he

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said, "No sir, it's bigger than that." Finally he was making circles all around the well and he came to the borderline of the well, and he said, "Is the ocean that big?" And he said, "Sir, it's bigger than that." And the frog from the well said, "I don't believe you, you must be kidding. Your ocean can't be bigger than my well." "You should see it for yourself," the toad said, "I can't convince you of anything, so come along with me to the ocean tomorrow and we'll see." Well, next morning came. They both went there. To the surprise of that frog from the well, he couldn't find an end to it. He was just swimming and swimming and swimming, and he swam and swam for hours and hours and hours, and he never found the end of it.

You might say, "What is all this? What is this Divine Light Mission?" But come here, understand what's going on and then you will be able to understand what we tell you. Maybe you are not understanding because this Knowledge of course is a practical experience. You have to realise it and only then can you understand this Knowledge. So now, I think the period has come when people have to receive this Knowledge, because there is so much crisis in this world. There is so much crisis in this world, and there is only one solution for it and that solution is not money. I tell you that it's not money. There was once a time when money was the main point of life, and people were getting satisfied with money. The best example is of India. People think India is very poor, and that's why people are suffering there. But let me tell you this, there was a time when India was called the Golden Bird, and every nation that knew India had eyes tacked upon her. Because they knew that there was an enormous amount of wealth in India. They knew it. And that's why invaders originally came into India. But mind you, even at that time, when there was so much gold in India, people were not satisfied. So now also, if that much gold goes back into India, people will not be satisfied.

There was an emperor who had had an architect build a beautiful building which is still standing today, the Taj Mahal. You might have seen pictures of it – it's a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful building. It's made of white marble, it's just gorgeous looking. And when the architect finished building it, the emperor had his hands cut off, to gain the monopoly of the building, so the architect couldn't build another building as good as that. Now do you call that peace? It's suffering, total suffering, and still having all that amount of money.

So peace isn't that. At that time people had food, but still they were suffering. They had clothes, but still they were suffering. They had money, but still they were suffering. They had everything possible, but only one thing was missing. One thing they didn't have, and that was this Knowledge. This Knowledge was missing, and I think that's the only thing that can give people peace. And if we try it – I have tried it – it works fine, it works beautifully, it brings peace. It sure does. Because it is within us. It's not brought in from somewhere outside. Peace is within us. And we take this Knowledge and see the peace within us, and then peace is really with us.

I have heard people saying, "Peace be with you, brother." It kind of never works out that way. Maybe this has been said many times to many, many leaders, and it never worked out. But what can really work out is Knowledge. And when Knowledge is with you, then peace is with you. Because what is peace? It is not the word peace. It's not that simple word peace. You might think it's peace, but no, it's not that. Peace is something beyond that. When you talk about God, or when I pronounce the Word God, some people are thinking of something else, not God. Then who was He? Who was God? It is written, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And this Word is that primordial vibration. At that time, mind you, nobody was able to speak any word. Nobody was able to speak because in the beginning there was no moon, no stars, nothing. But this Word existed. In which form? All your languages from A to Z were made long

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after the Word was created. Oh, millions of years later, probably, came the English language. So it's not in that language, it's not in Hindi, it's not in Sanskrit, it's not in any of these languages. Not in Italian, not in French, not in German. No? This Word is unspeakable, but still it is there. So the word Word has been used as a pronoun, not as a noun. It is indicating something; that something is the primordial vibration, and this is what we have to achieve today.

And to receive this Knowledge we have to go to a Perfect Master, to someone who can reveal it to us. If you are thirsty you go to water, the water never comes to you. In an aeroplane you only have to do one thing, push a button, and the waitress comes to you and says, "What do you want?" "I want water." She brings you water. Water comes to you. But understand, she had to go to a source to get the water.

Today, if we want water we just turn on the tap and water comes, but eventually we find out that that water which is coming from the tap comes from somewhere else, the source, and if that is a lake, then the water comes there by rain or by rivers. And the rain and the water in the rivers comes from the clouds, and the water in the clouds comes from the ocean. And then that's the big question. From where does the water in the ocean come? That's the mystery. The unsolved mystery. No one knows. It's just there, and when people first came they saw it already there. So no-one really knows how it came about. They just see that it's right there, then they probably made a chemical combination for it – H20 – and it works out as water. This was the whole thing, it was already before you, and you found it there. But still there had to be a source for everything. There had to be a source for the tap, there had to be a source for the lake, there had to be a source for the river, there had to be a source for the rain, and there had to be a source for the clouds.

Same way, if we want to receive Knowledge today, we have to go back to the source which can reveal this Knowledge to us, which can show us the Light inside us all. And that's what the whole procedure is. That's all it takes to reveal the Knowledge inside us.

And it's instant. How much time does it take you to see yourself in the mirror? It sure takes you a long time to get up out of bed. It sure takes you a long time – maybe it does, maybe it doesn't – to put your slippers on, and maybe it takes some time to get to the mirror, maybe a couple of minutes or something like that. But how much time does it take to see yourself in the mirror? I think we can't time it. You see, you just turn yourself around, there you are instantly. It doesn't take a second. It doesn't take, I don't think it even takes a millionth of a second; it takes an instant! So that's the point! Maybe it takes some time to find a Perfect Master. Maybe it takes some time to receive Knowledge. But it doesn't take any time after you get Knowledge. It doesn't take any time to get peace. Because it is right there. If there is a big tank, maybe it takes time to take a nail and make a hole in it, but it takes no time for water to leap out of it.

So this is the whole thing, and that's what we have to receive – Knowledge. Maybe we don't call it Knowledge; maybe we call it peace; maybe we call it Word; maybe we call it something else. And today people are trying to understand all these things with their minds, but it doesn't work out that way. Suppose I know how to drive a car, right? Then I go to an airport, and I say, "Oh, what a beautiful plane!" The owner is there so I say, "You want to sell it?" And he says, "Yeah." So I pay him cash and he sells me the plane, and I get the key and pop in. I've never driven a plane in my life, but I figure out how to start it somehow, and then maybe somehow I figure out how to take off. You know, maybe I've seen someone working

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that plane who was just showing how everything works, and I try to put the power on and maybe it works out the same, somehow. But I tell you, it won't work out when I want to land! Because there's a skill needed there, so it's not going to work out properly for me. Because no one knows what's going to happen. Maybe I'll fall short from twenty feet and collapse into the runway, or something like that! As a matter of tact, big aeroplanes don't even have a key; they start with switches. Anyone can just pop into the plane and start starting it. But isn't it completely ridiculous that a man who has always driven cars suddenly pops in and off he goes? He can't do that. He needs the whole procedure, he needs the whole experience to actually understand, to figure out how things work. mind thinks this is God. That's what happens. That's what they think God is and that's what Krishna says to Arjuna when they were standing in the middle of this huge battlefield.

So what I am trying to tell you is, just don't hop in and bop in and start driving a plane, just like that. You've got to have a procedure to do that. And it's the same thing – once you've completed that procedure, once you've got to that point, it doesn't take any time. And that's what people are trying to get to. They are in the world and their experience is limited in the world. Our minds are in the world, but our minds are limited, not the world. And we suddenly think about peace and try to figure out what peace is; what we come up with is nothing! It's the same thing here. Your experience has always been limited in the world, and then suddenly you come here and start figuring things out about peace – you just won't be able to make it! Whatever you will presume about it, it will be wrong. Because until now people have usually figured out that God is an old guy with long, white beard and big long nose, sitting on a high-backed chair, and maybe red velvet and light all around Him, and clouds, and beautiful big pillars. Some people figure Him out like that. Other people figure Him out as a big huge bright sun, you know, shining. It's got a couple of eyes and a nose and a mouth and ears, and it's smiling to people – that's how some people figure Him out. But other people think, "Oh no, God ain't like that!" They figure Him out as a young guy with four or five hands and many fingers. So you see, people are trying to figure out God in different ways. But can I ask you, who saw Him, really? Who saw Him? Nobody. The Krishna is telling Arjuna about these things, and at one point He says, "Oh Arjuna, you cannot see me with these eves." Arjuna says, "What do you mean, I can't see you? I am seeing you!" But Krishna said, "No, my true form is something else. What you are seeing is just my body, and my body was once created and it's going to die, it's going to be finished, one day. What I am is something else – that constant and permanent energy, the primordial vibration." And that is when Arjuna realised the Knowledge. He just collapsed on his feet, he just completely collapsed on his feet and said, "Excuse me, all this time I've been calling you my friend. I've been saying you are like a brother and all these things. Now I realise. You are perfect. All this time I have been watching you, I have been listening to you, and I have been thinking you are my best friend. But now I realise you are not that, you are perfect. You are everything."

It is the same as the example I gave you. If I have only driven a car in my lifetime, and I know that there is a steering wheel, and there's a throttle, and there's a brake – I know these things – then my experience of driving has always been limited to cars. And then suddenly someone gives me a 747 to drive, what am I going to do? How am I going to drive it? It doesn't take a key to switch on the aeroplane. So in the same way, if we try to imagine with our intellect, right, that's what we will get – imagination. Now I'll give you one more small example. Probably many people here have seen the Albert Hall. Maybe not many

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Americans, but probably all English people have seen the Albert Hall. Now, suppose we are all flying in this big aeroplane, and there are people sitting there from England, there are people sitting there from Germany, there are people sitting there from Spain, from India, from America, from everywhere, and then suddenly we are talking about halls, and I say, "Well, I saw the biggest hall. Oh, it was huge!" People from Britain, people from London, who have seen the Albert Hall, will say, "Wow! He saw the Albert Hall!" Alright? Then people from Germany maybe they've got a big hall in Germany – will say, "Wow! He saw that hall!" And people from Spain – maybe they have a big hall too – will say, "Wow! He saw that hall!" See? Because that's what they think is the biggest. That's the biggest hall they ever realised. And the people who know the Astrodome will say, "He saw the Houston Astrodome!" Because that's the very biggest hall. See? Because your experience has been finite. And when people come with an experience, whatever it is, that's what they try to figure something out as. That's what happens.

If I say I had a terrible flight from London to Los Angeles, maybe some people would think, "Oh, it must have been a terrible flight because the engine started quitting." Other people might say, "It must have been a terrible flight because there was something wrong with the PA system." Others might say, "It must have been a terrible flight because the plane caught fire." Because that is what happened to them, and that was their experience of a terrible flight. But then when I tell them this flight was terrible because there was no water to drink right from London to LA – I am not joking, this was true! – then they know. But whenever anyone talks about terrible flights now, I'll say, "Wow, didn't you have any water in the plane?" You see, because this is my experience. I was having a ridiculous flight, and what I thought ridiculous was that it was a flight without water.

So these are our experiences. And we always try to figure out God by these experiences, and we never make it. We never make it. Because God is not like that. God is something that even these eyes can't see. Because these eyes were made to see this whole huge world, and God is a dimension beyond this world, beyond any limits of creation and destruction. If we try to imagine with our brains a time – I am sure that time existed – I am quite sure about it, don't ask me for any proof but I am quite sure that time existed – when there was no sun, because I think the sun has been created, and when there was no moon, because I think the moon has been created, and no earth, because I think the earth has been created, and no darkness, because I think darkness has been created, and no sunlight, because the sun was created; there was no darkness, there was no light, there was no earth, there were no stars, there was nothing; nothing was there, nothing can you make me a picture of that time? If you just leave the whole paper blank, it's probably going to be white. But there was no light there at that time. If you paint it on black paper, that will show darkness, and there was no darkness there. Paint the earth, but it wasn't there. There was nothing there, just emptiness. The light you see, the clouds you see, the bright blue sky you see, weren't there at that time. They have all been created and they'll all be destroyed. So to imagine that's going to take a long think. And you won't be able to do it anyway. Because you just won't be able to! Can you speak a word that is unspeakable? If it's unspeakable, how can you speak it? And even if you try to think up a word, any word you can think of, you can speak it. It might not have any meaning to it, but still you are able to speak it.

So for any painting you try to make of that time, you will be thinking, "Oh, maybe the moon, maybe the sun, maybe the stars," and so on. But they weren't there at that time. And the Word was there. In which form was it? God was there. In which form was He? He didn't have hands, He didn't have eyes, He didn't have a nose, He didn't have all these things. So in which form? Not round, not triangular, not square, not rectangular, not straight, not bent, not parallel. What was it? How was it? Not a pentagon, not a hexagon, not any of these things, but still He was in some form, wasn't he? And it's for us to realise that. And we can realise that, the form He was in. Sure we can! And this is what realising the Knowledge is, and that is something that can bring peace to us, that can bring bliss to us. That's the real bliss. Taking drugs and tripping out is not bliss. It's just tripping out, you see, and when you're tripping out you are totally confused because you cannot make your mind up. The mind becomes dumped.

Sometimes people see light, and they say, "Wow! I saw light!" They aren't salvated. They haven't received salvation. If you are in a car, right, driving very fast, and suddenly the driver slams his brakes on. If you don't have a seat belt on, and the whole dashboard is made of wood, you are going to see a very bright light, an extremely bright light; maybe it will blind you for some time. But that's not light. You can't call that salvation. That's not salvation.

But with this Knowledge you see the Light which can also be visualized by the blind. Now that's funny, isn't it? That the blind can see this Light? But yes, they can. And the dumb can hear this primordial_ music going on within us. I can't explain to you in words how far out this Knowledge is, how far out this thing inside us is. It's the most perfect, most far out thing. But we have to go inside and search for it. And we will find it.

There is one point in the Bible when John was baptising people. Now everyone, I think, understands the meaning of baptism. And then when he sees the Lord, when he sees Christ, he says, "Are you going to baptise me, or am I going to baptise you?" All the baptism he was doing wasn't true. That's why

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he says, "Are you going to baptise me or am I going to baptise you?" See, it's like this. Suppose I know how to drive a car and I join a driving school, and when the man tells me about the engine parts, I start telling him about everything. And then he puts me behind the steering wheel, and I drive the car before he can. That's what he is going to say, "Have you come here to teach me or am I going to teach you?" And that's what happened at that time. The instant communication, the Light that he could see in Christ, it was just unbelievable for him. And that's why he had to say, "Am I going to baptise you or are you going to baptise me?"

And so you see, the Lord we are searching for is right now within us. It's right here. We are searching for God, aren't we? If you are searching for God, God is right here. Everywhere, within our hearts, it's everywhere. It's omnipresent. It's in these pillars, and these lights, and these bolts, and in this cloth, and our body. Even in the sound vibrations that are coming out of me. Everything you see is a vibration, and vibrations have collected together and formed into shapes, and there will come a time when the whole thing will just disintegrate and the vibration will be released, and you won't see that anymore. And that vibration is God, and that's what we have to realise..

In this world, you've got a lot to do, right? If we're old we've got a lot to do, if we're young we've got a lot to do, and if we're middle-agers we've got a lot to do. So whoever we are, we've got a lot to do, right? But what is the thing we are meant to do? We've got to do a lot of things, but what is the thing we are meant to do? If we aren't doing that thing I think a time comes when we become insane. People are sent to this world for some purpose and they don't complete it. Suppose Britain sends a spy to Germany and they spend hours and hours and hours on him, giving him cameras, training him to do things. not to tell if he gets a beating, and things like this. And they send him to Germany and he goes and sits in a restaurant, books a place in a restaurant for himself, and sits and relaxes there. What are the British people going to think? They'll think he's insane. They'll think, "We did all these things with him to get the mission solved, and he just sits there and relaxes. What kind of guy is he?" And that's probably what God is thinking about us right now: "I make a perfect being, self-propelled, self-everything, self-generated, I make a beautiful world for him, I give him everything he needs, and then he comes here and starts relaxing. He makes his aim to eat, drink and be merry. What kind of guy is he?" And that's what happened. And there was one time when this went to such an extreme that God had to destroy the world. You know the story of Noah's Ark? And this is what happens every time. When those people who crucified Jesus saw the disciples of Jesus, they said, "These people are insane." But the disciples of Jesus knew that those people were insane.

So now, I have nothing more to tell you. I have nothing more to say to you except realise this Knowledge. I can go on talking to you for hours and hours, but that won't do any good. We've got a three-day function and that's all the time it takes. So what I wanted to tell you was that which is the greatest thing. And what is the greatest thing to do? That's what we have to do, because this is why we have appeared in this world. That is the reason why we are here in this world. To know, to realise and to understand this perfect Knowledge. So come and listen to what we want to tell you because it's not a religious thing. We're not trying to preach you religion. We're trying to tell you a fact, and that is the Knowledge that is inside of us. That's what we are trying to tell you about. And that's all. So realise this because this was meant for you. Thank you very much.

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Do not waste your human life.

Discourse of Satgurudev Shri Hans Ji Maharaj, Pahar Ganji, Delhi-28 August 1951.

Dear Gentlemen,

When many people attend a programme, satsang really comes from the heart. Sons, wives, wealth, all these can be found in the house of a sinner also, but the company of saints and their spiritual discourses are not easily available. Thus said Saint Tulsidas, and when Hanuman met Vibhishan he said, "Oh, Hanu man, now I am sure that without the grace of God, the company of saints cannot be attained."

This means that without the Lord's grace the darshan and satsang of saints is not possible. As soon as saints meet, discourses about the Lord begin. But even though you may get the company of saints, you may not get their satsang, if you do not have the grace of God. Even a split second's satsang is of infinite value, for, while we get the fruits of our good or evil actions only subsequently, the fruits of satsang are seen immediately.

Tulsidas says that countless sins are destroyed by satsang, even if you listen for only one moment, half of a moment or even a quarter of that. One immediately sees the results of immersion in the company of saints; by such company a crow turns into a cuckoo and a heron into a swan. Today the people of the world have forgotten the wisdom of discrimination; even animals and birds distinguish between harmful and good. It is written in the Ramayana that animals and birds recognise what is useful or harmful to them, but this human body is the treasure-house of virtues and Knowledge. If you beat an animal, it will instinctively try to save itself; everyone knows that. But man has the higher powers of wisdom and thought, for the human body is the treasure-house of Knowledge. Eating, sleeping, fearing and reproducing are all common to both man and animal, but man is endowed with wisdom, and without this there is no difference between him and animals.

All creatures are equal but the human form is best of all. The aim of taking human birth is to realise God, who is the preserver, the saviour and the creator of all, the same God who kept us safe in our mothers womb. He should be attained. Saint Surdas says, "Who can be as wicked and lost in the senses as I, for I have forgotten Him who has given me this beautiful human body; such an ungrateful wretch I am. Just like a village pig I run after sense pleasures and feed my stomach. Spurning the company of those who are devoted to God, day and night like a slave I serve those who are opposed to God. Who can be a greater sinner than I? Oh Lord listen to me; where can I turn my head?"

There is no other form equal to this human body; every creature craves for it. It is the ladder that can take the soul to either heaven, hell or to final liberation. It is while in this body that we can attain the blessings of wisdom, detachment and devotion. Those who do not cross the ocean of life and death after receiving this human body are ungrateful ignorant people. Indeed they are killers of the soul.

Suppose there is a horse, a very beautiful animal. In order to tie it up one has to use reins. If a lion, the king of the jungle, is captured, he is put into a cage. Amongst all the various forms of life, only the human being has freedom of action. After a soul has taken birth into the lower forms of life according to its desires, and has fulfilled them, then, by the grace of God, he receives a human body. The sole purpose of receiving this human body is devotion to God and the attainment of liberation. While upside down in the womb of our mother, we prayed to God, "Oh God, please save me from this suffering, and I promise that I will remember you all my life." But as soon as we come into the world, we become slaves of maya and remember everything but God.

Saint Kabir says, "You spend the night-time sleeping and the day-time eating. This human birth is as precious as a jewel, but you are spending it fruitlessly, running after worldly pleasures." Even if a man becomes the best scholar, the greatest politician or excels in the arts, all these are useless to him. They are transient because they are related to the body. After one leaves the body one cannot merge with God through the knowledge of any of these worldly sciences. And the only purpose of having this human body is to merge with God.

From the time we wake up to the time we sleep, all our actions are directed towards the gratification of the senses, which even animals do. Wherever there is a feast, even a dog wants to take his share. A cat has her share of milk and other good things even without owning a cow or earning a wage. In the same way that animals eat and enjoy themselves, so does man spend his days. Once I asked a policeman why he was directing the traffic and he replied that it was his duty. I further asked him why he performed his duty and he replied that he did it in order to earn his livelihood. Then I asked him, "Do you spend the same time remembering God?" He said, "No." In the same way, we waste our time trying to satisfy our passions.

The world is composed of five elements – ether, air, water, fire and earth. Each of these elements has its own characteristic. The property of ether is sound vibration. For the sake of sound, the deer loses its life. In order to capture it, the hunger attracts the deer by calling it through a certain type of grass. The property of air is touch. An elephant is caught by its sense of touch. In order to catch it, a paper she-elephant is placed above a pit. Following its senses, the elephant is attracted to the make-believe elephant and falls into the pit. It is then tamed by starvation. Although it is such a strong animal, the elephant is easily captured because it is devoted to its sense of touch.

Nobody really enjoys worldly pleasures. We think that we are enjoying them but we are not really. In fact enjoyments are exhausting us. Sri Sukhadeva told Rambha, "We have been born several times, and I thought that I was enjoying you, but in fact it was you who was enjoying me!" Similarly, the whole world runs after the five senses of sight, touch, hearing, smelling

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and tasting. When a moth sees light, he is attracted to it and is burned up. But still it does not care. The property of water is taste. When the fisherman casts the baited line into the water, the fish attempts to eat the meat with the result that it is caught. The fisherman then takes it out and bakes it in the hot sand. The fish loses its life for the sake of indulging its sense of taste.

The property of earth is smell. The wasp sits in the lotus flower and enjoys its smell. When the sun sets the lotus closes and the wasp is trapped inside. In the morning an elephant comes to the pond to play in the water and tramples on the lotus, with the result that the wasp also loses its life. Thus the wasp loses its life for its sense of smell. Similarly we are wasting our I ives like animals for the sake of gratifying one or another of our senses. Think over what will be your own fate.

Many people say that so-and-so is a great man, but in reality who is great? Are businessmen great men? No, they are like the worms which live in excitation.

A worm which produces silk is called a silk worm, and in the same way the man who eats a variety of food and then transforms it into excretion is called an excretion worm. Isn't that right? Some people say that belonging to a high caste denotes greatness, but who is great? In fact he is great who has the Knowledge of God, one who has experienced that place from where there is no return. In other words, he alone is great who attains liberation. Huge numbers of people may attend a satsang meeting, but unless they gain wisdom and discrimination, they are wasting their time. Some scholars who have learned a few verses of the Gita or the Ramayana and who can give a commentary on these scriptures think that they are very wise, but still they are unaware of the Knowledge of God. Only that satsang is useful and valuable from which one learns how to see God face to face; that is true satsang.

What is the state of the world today? School children are taught not to tell lies, but today politics and diplomacy are synonymous with lies. What is the result of falsehood? There is a famous story which gives the answer.

Once there was a shepherd boy who lived in a village. While in the forest he always used to cry, "Help, a wolf is attacking me!" although there was no wolf within miles. For a long time the villagers would run to his rescue – but after some time, when each time they found no wolf, they no longer believed him. One day, however, a wolf really did come, and, although the boy cried, "Wolf! Wolf!", no-one came to rescue him. He was killed. Once bitten, twice shy.

Today the world is so tired of dogma and hypocrisy that even if a great man were to tell about Truth, he too would be dismissed as a dogmatic hypocrite. I tell you with certainty that if you understand my satsang, then you will surely accept it.

If you are devoted to God, if you are realising Him who is described as Elahi Noor in the Koran, Divine Light in the Bible and Param Prakash in our own Indian scriptures, then you are surely freed from the bondage of birth and death.

What will you lose if you don't know God? This human life will, be wasted. Once a leaf falls from a tree, it can never grow again. Similarly, once you leave your human body, it is very difficult to obtain another because you would have to go through birth into the 8,400,000 species of life and would have to suffer according to your actions. You do not know when God will grace you with a human body again.

Every scripture sings the glory of the Name, and asks, what is that Name which is remembered by the child while it is upside down in the mother's womb? In what language does it remember that Name?

When Hanuman was presented with a valuable necklace of pearls, even though its value was not the equal of the service he had done, he accepted it. He started to break the precious pearls one by one to see whether the Name of God was hidden inside. Some people who were observing the scene asked, "You are breaking these valuable pearls to see whether the Holy Name is within, but if you broke open yourself, would you find it there?" Hearing this Hanuman broke open his heart and revealed that place where the Holy Name dwells. Did you ever think about what that Holy Name is? There are some learned people who say that this Holy Name can only be realised by Hanuman but our scriptures tell us that it is omnipresent. Because God is omnipresent, His Name is also within every human being, animal and bird. Because Ram, the Lord, is within you, His Name is also within you. Lord Krishna says in Chapter 8 verse 5 of the Gita, "Whosoever concentrates on me at the time of death, keeping his attention fixed on my Name and Light, he attains me. All other human beings remain in the cycle of birth and death."

What is this Holy Name? At the time of death, our senses fade and this body mortifies. The tongue becomes twisted. At such a time, what Name shall we remember and in what language? Just as a walking cane cannot blossom or bear fruit even if nectar should rain from heaven, in the same way even if Brahma the Creator should come to teach with his four mouths, a learned fool could still never understand this Supreme Knowledge. Today people respect Shiva Ji but they have no regard for his teachings or principles. They do not realise how much devotion Shiva Ji had for his Guru and how much love for his brother disciples.

Once Shiva Ji's Guru Smarth Ram Das, was lying in a cave suffering from acute stomach-ache. He was lying there alone, when someone from a nearby village was passing by. Hearing the groaning, he approached the cave. There he saw Guru Maharaj Ji lying suffering from the ache. At once the villager ran to Shiva Ji and told him about Gurudev. Hearing the news, Shiva Ji at once ran tc the Lotus Feet of Guru Maharaj Ji, prostrated before Him and with folded hands humbly enquired about His health. Gurudev replied that

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He had acute stomach-ache which could be cured only by the milk of a lioness. Hearing this, Shiva i immediately prostrated himself before Guru Ji and, taking a bowl, hurried off into the forest. It was a very dark night. It was so dark that Shiva Ji could not even see his own hand. Thunder pealed in the sky, lightning flashed and rain fell heavily. But Guru Ji's devoted servant and worshipper continued on, regardless of the storm, to achieve his goal. Suddenly, by the glare of a flash of lightning, Shiva Ji found himself standing before the entrance of a cave in which a lioness was feeding her cubs. Remembering Guru i's face, Shiva Ji greeted the lioness and humbly requested, "Oh mother, my Guru Maharaj Ji has acute stomach-ache which can only be cured by drinking your milk." When he requested so humbly and with such a sincere heart, by the grace of Guru Maharaj i the lioness remained still while Shiva i milked her into the bowl. As soon as he had finished milking her, the lioness padded off into the forest, and Shiva Ji at once returned to Guru Maharaj Ji. When he gave the milk to Him, His pain was immediately relieved. In this way, Shiva served his Guru Maharaj Ji sincerely and earned the name of the Venerable Shiva.

But these days, the people who respect Shiva Ji and want to build the future of India on his ideals say that one should not accept any man as Guru, because human beings may fail at any time. The flag should be one's Guru. But in order to attain Knowledge of Consciousness, one has to accept the living conscious Satguru.

Turn the pages of history and see all the great souls who had a living conscious Guru.

So gentlemen, what I want to say is that we should know that True Name and Light in this very lifetime, that same Light which the Living Lord Krishna revealed to Arjuna. For if we do not see that Light while in this human form, will we see it when we are born in the form of a pig or an ass? Only man is able to cook rice pudding, but not pigs, donkeys or even gods. Although all beings are capable of enjoying, it is only in this human body, which is not easily available, that we can experience the radiant Light of God. Some people claim to have known the mystery of God through simply reading the scriptures, but they are mistaken. It is written in Das Bodh that learned scholars of the scriptures cannot understand the mystery of life. For instance, we may read in the Gita about the Ganges, but unless we go to the Ganges, we cannot experience it. So you should go to Guru to ask for the True Knowledge of God. Some people say that Knowledge can be attained without Guru, but it is impossible. All the scriptures say that Knowledge cannot be attained without Guru, and that without Knowledge, one cannot attain liberation.

Have you ever thought why Guru should be compared with the sun? No, you are too busy reading the scriptures. I mean to say only this, that you should experience Holy Name and Divine Light yourself. In the Gita, Lord Krishna says, "I am in all life, and all life is in me. My form is Light. I am omnipresent." People read this but they do not understand what it means. Many people say that there are various ways of realising God, but, in the Gita Lord Krishna says, "He who leaves his human body meditating on the Holy Name with his last breath, he alone can attain me."

So it is the only way. How can there be another? People read the Gita again and again but they do not attain Knowledge by it. Can God be attained by simply shaving off the hair or wearing a beard? Or by reading the scriptures? No, God cannot be attained like that. Some people say that whatever mantra you chant, you can attain God through it. Yet while chanting, your mind will still be working. So how can this be meditation? Saint Kabir gives this example: "The rosary is turning in your hands, your tongue is chanting the mantra, but your mind is revolving in various directions – this cannot be meditation."

Therefore use this precious life carefully. It is not readily available. Sense pleasures are available in all the other 8,400,000 species of life, but it is only in this life that you can attain liberation. So when you realise Divine Light, the aim of your human life is fulfilled. He who seeks, finds, He who seeks the True Master will surely find Him. Thus can one realise the Holy Name and Divine Light about which such a lot has been said.

One who desires, he can attain it.

"Even if you listen for only one moment, half a moment or even a quarter of that, one immediately sees the result of immersion in the company of saints; by such company a crow turns into a cuckoo and a heron into a swan. - Shri Hans Ji Maharaj.

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DIVINE LIGHT ASHRAMS