GURU MAHARAJ JI / DENVER / 2/25/79
"This Knowledge is for every human being. And the differences go away.
And you look at a person's face and you don't see his face but you
look into his heart. You look in that person's eyes and you look in that
person's love and you look in that person's real heart."
Dear premies, you've heard a lot of satsang today. And I don't know why but I could hear a lot of noise in the background. I was listening to satsang and to me satsang is very important. I think that without satsang … I'll give you an example which will explain it to you a little bit better.
In Malibu after the fire, the trees looked so barren. They were okay and they didn't all die. They took the fire. Some of those trees were supposed to be completely surrounded by the fire but they were okay. Because after a little while you could see little sprouts sprouting up. When I arrived there, when I came there, the trees were just brown. The grass at places was a little brown. And the whole hill was, of course, dark dark brown. And so I said, "Why don't we spray these trees green and it'll look nice?"
And first we tried one color and it was just way too off. It was not the kind of green that trees are. And then we finally got the color right. Of course it sounds pretty bad painting the trees green. But it would wash the soot down when you did it and it would make them look good.
And so we finally got the color right and sprayed all the trees. Not all the trees. but quite a few that you could see, with this green color. And now these trees are really starting to become green from their nature, not because of the paint. And to me. that's the way satsang is.
We seek that greenery, we seek that natural color, that happiness, that connection, that - I don't know - association, in talking about something. Chitchat. "Oh yeah, you know." I know that sometimes in the residence we start talking about something. And all of sudden I go. "Whoa! Wait a minute. Where are we going? This is pure chitchat. And it's getting purer and purer and purer." Because the talk is senseless.
In Malibu, we were talking about Iran. And we were debating as though our debate were really going to affect events. No, it wasn't. And I know that's the way, a lot of times. it happens. You just get into that chitchat. You just ease right into the chitchat about cars or politicians or anything. And that's just like trying to paint those trees green so they will look good.
But the natural color of those trees. now that those sprouts are becoming big, cannot be matched. Now that color that we painted on them looks terrible, because its own greenery is starting to come out and that looks far superior, far better, far prettier. far more like what that tree really likes.
I know this brain thinks and thinks and thinks and thinks and thinks. Even in the morning when you wake up and don't know what's going on, you start thinking. "Oh, I better get up. Oh, I better do meditation. Oh, I better get up, take shower. Oh, what time is it? Let's get ready and go to the program." Or sometimes when you take afternoon naps - maybe you go from Los Angeles to London, and you check into a hotel room that afternoon and you're taking a nap - you can wake up and be completely disoriented. You don't know where you are You don't know where the window is. You don't know where the door is. You don't know where the light switch is. You don't know anything. Even at that time, even at that stage, this brain is clicking away: thinking, thinking. thinking, thinking - constantly thinking.
One day we were reading about how the brain really works. This brain can take an entire page, picture it, and then process it. You don't have to read word by word by word and have recognition for each word: the brain has the capability of entirely taking in the whole page.
Or, it can compose a dream for you, 3-D, in color, and true to specs, just within your wild specifications, in the dream stage.
And when such a powerful brain, when such a strong. such a developed brain is taken and the commander for the brain, the governor for the brain. is mind, then what are you doing? What are you doing? You're taking that power, you're taking that potential and using it for a completely useless purpose.
I know at least 45 to 75 percent of the things you think about have no relevant value. have nothing to do with anything. You think things like, "Oh wouldn't it be nice if it were a little cooler?", if you don't have air conditioning. Or, "Wouldn't it be nice if it were a little warmer?", if you don't have any heater. You see a car on the road: "Wouldn't it be nice if this car were painted purple instead of chartreuse?" "Wouldn't it be nice if I could fly?"
A lot of times that happens. I know a lot of premies write me cards and they say, "Guru Maharaj Ji, I'm writing you this card and I'm just wishing I had wings and I could fly where you are." Well, you don't have wings, so forget about it! And these are some of the top-of-the-line thoughts. "Wouldn't it be nice if I had an Aladdin's Lamp?" Completely irrelevant things for us.
But satsang. The joy of giving satsang and the joy of hearing satsang is absolutely fabulous, is absolutely incredible. It's a joy that is indescribable.
One time in Washington, D.C. people were reading lectures from pieces of paper. And there was one lady giving her lecture and she fouled up her cards. And all of a sudden, it was stutter and stop. And then she got it together and just skipped a few pages here and there and went on going. I know that it's not an experience. Somebody just sits down, thinks things and writes it. No experience at all.
That's what people used to think happened with me in India. They couldn't believe that I could give satsang. They'd say. "Oh, there's a tape recorder hooked up. He just lip- synchs to it." (He pretends to speak. Silence.) The tape recorder just went
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dead.
And really, premies, the joy and the pleasure that comes from satsang! You can only give satsang if you are experiencing something. And you can only listen to satsang if you are experiencing something. You know, is like one radio and another radio. One transmits and one receives, only if the frequencies on both radios are right on the button. When the transmitter transmits at 101 and the receiver receives it at 101, you will hear it. And where does that experience of satsang come from?
I was there backstage. and I was hearing satsang on a television. And it was just so beautiful to hear satsang. Because in your heart you knew what this person was talking about. You knew. You know what the heart of the matter is. And you tune to that frequency. Raja Ji gave an example about driving to prove what he was trying to say. And he just said it and it was like, okay, that's fine. That's great. And you don't even have to go that far. You don't even have to register it You just grab the meaning, because you know where that meaning is coming from, when we open our hearts - that's a biggy. When we open our hearts! That's a big one. Really a big one.
"What do you mean, 'when we open our hearts?" Initiators get up there for hours and hours. "Open your heart. Surrender. Let go." Not all the initiators got the chance to give satsang. But I know if every one of them did that's what it would be. "Let go. Open up your heart."
And what does it mean, "Open up your heart"? How do you open up your heart?
First of all, we're not talking about your "pumper." That has nothing to do with It. It has a very basic function, has arteries, has input and output valves. And as a matter of fact, it can be simulated. When they do open heart surgery they hook the pumper up to a great big manual pumper and it does the same thing. It's not that heart.
And this is a problem of the English language. I mean. unless you get so sophisticated that nobody can understand you, you can't get through. And I know sometimes people get up and really throw words out. You know, I only went to the ninth grade. That was it. And I don't know those sophisticated words. I really don't. And very simple language is what I can understand and very simple language is what I can speak. I know this is why some people have such a hard time relating to satsang. "What do you mean 'open up my heart? What heart?"
Yeah, it is that heart that has that feeling. It is you. above and beyond your kidneys, your guts, your liver, your heart. your ribs, your lungs, your Adam's apple, beyond all that. Beyond your physical being is a being. And this being lives in this body. And this body, saints have said, is like a dirty cloth. You take the dirty clothing and you throw it away. And that's what this body is.
And yet there is a being inside this being. There is a Rawat inside this Rawat which is not called Rawat. And that's the place that nothing in this world strikes. Nothing. Maya can't touch it. Illusion can't touch it. Worldly objects can't touch it. Nothing can touch it except Guru Maharaj Ji. Guru Maharaj Ji knows. because he has seen the real you. not the you that you think you are. But the real you. which is neither going to die nor was ever born. It doesn't eat. it doesn't drink. and it doesn't wet. That baby inside a baby that doesn't need a diaper. That you that is always constant.
There is something inside of you that is constant. I know it. Because that is the thing that I want to relate to. That is the thing that I want to completely hook up to, instead of between this body and the real me and this space which has been created by my doings, my concepts.
Now, what's wrong in concepts? If everybody left their concepts here, you wouldn't be able to get back home. Now, that's a nice one. But anyway, you might relate to a very simple concept that if you want to go somewhere you should walk. And so if you wanted to go back home, you need to get to your car. to your bus, eventually to your airplane or the final means of transportation. That's fine. It's a concept. To me, is a concept. Of course, it's a concept.
To eat food is a concept. Now you might think that's an odd one. No, it's not. There are people in India who have taken to a different kind of concept. And they do extremely gross things. But their concept is that when stomach says, "I want good, nice. warm, delicious food." they eat something that's horrible, that is not food. You wouldn't call it food. They say to their mind, "Here it is. Eat this." When they want to say. "I want nice, cool shade to rest in," they put themselves out in the hot blazing sun. "Here you are. Eat this one." They are trying to harness themselves by completely reversing their will and their wish.
So those concepts . If you want to eat food - I mean, good food. edible food - that's okay. And if you want to go to sleep when you're tired. that's okay. And you wake up in the
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morning and you take a shower, that's okay. If you take a bath, that's okay. (If you don't take a shower or bath at all, maybe that's not so okay.)
But then there are concepts about something that you don't know, in an area about which you have no idea. And those are the concepts that I refer to as being wrong. I know and I believe in the concept that when you get tired, go to sleep. No problem. I do! I do myself. I go to sleep. I eat food. I walk when I want to go from one place to the other place.
But then at one time when I was very young I really liked airplanes. And I had an idea how an airplane flew. And my idea was that when the wheels get rotating at the same RPM as the propeller does, the plane lifts off. The first time I learned how to fly was here in Colorado. I went to a school here. And this instructor was there. He wasn't a premie. He wasn't very nice at all. And he told me, "Okay, now you're going to fly." And if I said, "Oh, of course. I know how to fly. You just have to get the wheels at the same RPM as the propeller and you'll take off," what would he have done? He probably would have patted my back and said, "Son, you've got a long way to go, because that's not the way it works."
First of all, what gives him the authority to pat my back? Nothing whatsoever. But next is, what gives him the authority to tell me that that's not the way it goes? The reason is that he knows how to fly. He has flown. (Not himself, but he has flown an airplane.) And he has an Instructor's Permit. God didn't give it to him; FAA did - to teach people how to fly. So he has that right to tell me that that's wrong. Why? Because he knows what's right.
In the same way, when it comes down to a concept, an idea. I think I can say that that's wrong. Because I know what's right. I've experienced it. I know when people say God is this way and God is that way, I say, "Forget it. You've got a long way to go." I don't pat people's backs because I know I don't have the right to. But I know that when I have experienced something. then it gives me at least the authority to advise you that what you're doing is wrong.
Once there was a king. And this king was going to die. And this king had been a very just king - donations and all that. And he was dying. So all the sadhus and mahatmas gathered around, looked at the king and they said, "Oh, wait minute." They all agreed that this king is bound to hell, simply because he doesn't have realization, he does not have the Knowledge. How can he tune in? How can he go where he really wants to go?
So they all went to Guru Maharaj Ji and Guru Maharaj Ji said. "Forget it. You just don't give a person Knowledge just because he's dying."
So they all came back and they didn't know what to do. So amongst all of them, they chose this one person to represent them and to somehow convince Guru Maharaj Ji that he really did need Knowledge. This guy happened to be a little bit funny-natured and a little bit outspoken.
So he goes up to Guru Maharaj Ji and says, "Guru Maharaj Ji. I've got a very big problem. I've got a very big question to ask you. One day I was walking and at a distance I saw a well. And this well didn't have anything surrounding it. It was just a well. It was for travelers. And two blind men were walking together. And then at a far distance, not so far from the well, I saw this one person standing who wasn't blind or anything. He was just watching the blind men."
And he says, "You know, the most amazing thing happened. The blind men fell into the well and it hurt them!" So he said, "My question is. whose fault is it? I mean, somebody has to be legally punished for this. People get hurt. You just don't let it go."
And Guru Maharaj Ji said. "Well, of course. Listen. Don't you know? It's very simple. The guy who built the well, it was not his fault. It was certainly not his fault. He built it for the benefit of the travelers. And it was certainly not the fault of blind men, because they were blind. How could they see? I mean, they're blind. It was the fault of the person standing there. who's watching all this happen, and let them fall in."
This is where the story serves as my example. He then said to Guru Maharaj Ji, "Well, this is what's happening. That person is dying. It's not his fault. He is dying; he's dying. And you are there, you know he's dying. But you're not doing anything about it!"
Anyway, then Guru Maharaj Ji said okay and he went and gave him Knowledge.
I see this world. And this world has ideas, has concepts. How many kinds of people do you think are in this world? Well, you name it, you've got it. There are atheists who don't believe in God. To them, anything goes. It's all the same. "There is no God. God, can't you see? For God's sake, can't you see there is no God?! There is you. You're alive. You do your number; I do my number. Everybody does their number. What's God got to do with it?"
Then there are people in this world who don't think about anything else but God; who don't know God, who've never seen God, but only dance around the word "God." There are jokes about them. I mean, there are ridiculous jokes about God, about churches. about praying to God.
There is this one joke. I've heard it a lot of times. There was a parrot; this parrot was female. This lady had it and all the time this parrot would say really obscene things. This lady used to visit the church every day and so she went up to the reverend and said, "Reverend, I've got a beautiful-looking parrot that says some of the most obscene things."
So the reverend says. "Don't bother. I have got two parrots, too. They're male parrots. And why don't we just put them together? Because my parrots only pray, all the time."
And so they brought that parrot up to those parrots. And those parrots took one look at the female and went, "Wow! Our prayers have been answered!"
I think it's a stupid joke, myself. And people go around saying phrases like. "For God's sake." They don't even know who God is. What's for His sake? And there's the kind of thing that's fed into little kids. "God's watching you all the time, so watch it. Don't do anything funny." I mean, the kid is a kid. If he is determined that he's going to do something funny, he's going to go ahead and do it. It doesn't matter who's watching him. All he's going to do is before he does it, look around to make sure he's not being watched.
Okay, these things are funny, and these things are not the nicest to say, and so on and so forth. But the point is, we have to get out of the realm of jokes and get out of the realm of stupid things. I mean, obviously what I said was stupid enough to make you laugh!
A saint once said that we just take all the credit. And when it's all wrong, God did it. And it's true! What has God done for those people? I know a lot of farmers, before they sow their seeds, say "God, we pray to you to make everything grow real nice." And that's it. And then they go to work. And if the crop comes out really fantastic, "Oh yeah, look what a fantastic job we did!" If it comes out on God's side, which is the wrong side, if it all gets demolished: "Act of God." It's called an "Act of God," as a matter of fact.
You can go to insure your house; you can insure it for everything except for an act of God, which includes namely if your house gets demolished by thunder, flood. earthquake, tidal wave, or just simply disappears! I mean, isn't it so? And it's true that God has created us. Whether he makes our house disappear, makes us dis-
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appear - its irrelevant. It's completely. totally irrelevant.
What is relevant? The "greatest question." This is the question that goes before anything else.
Another concept is that God created us. A TV character said in his show, And when God created this body, he threw away the mold." And a lot of times people say that. So if you were to look at it, it must be really weird the way God creates people. Somehow, he takes the skin and folds it up so that as you stretch you just keep popping. And I don't know how he does it. but there we are.
And then there is the whole idea that this Earth was just super-hot and then it all cooled down. And then there were dinosaurs and monsters or whatever. And then the Earth really got cold and they all died (and that's our gasoline today) … Maybe that's why God did it. He knew we were going to need gasoline. But he also did it in a very limited number. So there must be something going wrong, because we're running out of gasoline. And God did all this, and then he created man.
I've always tried to understand their theory. They show the dinosaurs crawling off and then the heat comes and they all die and there's no water and - I still don't understand their theory about how man dropped down here. Basically, that is the theory: "The man dropped down here." Just. "Boom!" There was man. Adam and Eve.
Well, I'm trying to relate to the mystery that was before God even made anything, before there was anything. There was no darkness and there was no light. There were no stars, no universe, no moons. no planets, nothing. No space. When you come to this point it gets very flabbergasting. You just sort of hit a dead- end. No darkness. No light. No space. No stars. Nothing! No existence.
Only one existence: Itself. The most supreme existence in existence. The only thing.
That is a real dead end. isn't it? You can't crawl towards that one because it's just very, very hard to imagine a painting like that. It's just very hard to do. "Nothing." Even "nothing" didn't exist at that time. There was nothing. I mean, there was simply nothing.
Even "nothing" was nothing.
What was existent then and what was the format? At that time before there was even time. Before God even thought about a face - your face, my face, anybody's face. In our concept of the long-bearded man, of the
Light, of the voice. Voice of a man. Before there was any necessity for the voice, because at that time there were no human beings. So who are you going to talk to? No walls. No space. No stars. No planets. Nothing. Who are you going to talk to? I don't see any reason why God would have had a voice at that time.
I'm talking about before. Because if heaven exists. I'm talking about even before heaven and hell and anything. Before karma.
I know it's a real "dead-ender." You just can't go much beyond it. Especially if you try to use your logic and try to use your intellect. Because we live in such a finite world, for us to relate to one thing that is perfect or infinite is literally impossible.
It's like there's some premies sitting over there and all they can understand is sign language. And it doesn't matter what I say. it has to be converted into sign language for them to understand it. When we have big festivals we have translation booths. And it doesn't matter what I say. it has to be translated into that particular language before they can understand it.
In this world we have squares, grids, ideas, concepts, theories. This is where the concepts come in. They boggle it all up. And that is the problem.
What prevented those people from recognizing Jesus Christ as the Lord? Their concepts. I mean, the all-powerful, all-merciful, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient isn't going to dwindle with our little itsy-bitsy little concept that comes from nowhere. The concept was. "Look, he just cannot be the Savior. This is impossible."
Jesus' father, when he found out that Mary was pregnant. got very upset. (This is the version in a film I saw before Christmas.) And he went to the rabbi, and he said "I and Mary had promised to always stay faithful to each other." He was very upset
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There might be 8,500 people in this hall, and yet the ratio is
one-to-one. One premie to one Guru Maharaj Ji. …
The whole world disappears when we merge in that river of
satsang, of service, of meditation."
about it. Mary wasn't. She understood. She had had the vision. He hadn't. So what was his natural reaction? You just look at it. There was his concept.
And then finally what did have to happen? The angel had to come and do what? Give him a typewriter? Give him sympathy card? No. The angel gave him the fact which removed his concepts, and therefore he could see clearly, and got completely blissed out. But what was putting him into complete agony, antagonizing him. making him very unhappy. was just the mere fact that he had a concept. "How could this happen? Mary is supposed to be faithful to me. What went wrong? This is not supposed to happen." And he got very upset about it.
That's what happens to us. "God did that? You mean God really did that to you? Oh God, how could You?! How cruel of You!"
There are little kids who believe in God and say prayers every night. Something dumb happens: "I hate You. God. I hate You. I hate You I hate You."
People think talking to a plant is kind of crazy. They go. "Huh, look at that guy. He's talking to his plants. Come on. man! You can't talk to your plant." You know, that's what people's attitude is. (I'm not saying you can or I'm not saying you can't.) But the whole thing is that all the people who talk to God have never seen God. They talk to God all the time. He never replies to them.
He doesn't go, "Oh yeah, I know that one. Yeah, she was really crazy to jump over the cliff."
You go. "Oh God, all-merciful. I hate You. You let her jump over the cliff."
God doesn't go. "Oh yeah, I know about that one. She was just real naughty, that's all. I tried to help her."
But in which concept, in which form, are we accepting God? We are taking God in our square just to be a guy, a man, 30 to 40 to 50 to 80 years old, wearing white robes. (I don't know what kind of watch he wears.) "God." Everything is perfect here. What he sits on is a little chair. And we lock on.
Look, it's beautiful. I mean, people have these concepts and people have these ideas. But the problem is, we ock on so tight. just like those people did when Christ came, so that they could not recognize him. They were locked onto something completely different.
"How could this be our Savior?" "How" was the question. "How could this be our Savior?"
Nobody could answer how he could be a Savior. They went and did their own business.
And so, premies, we have to open ourselves. I think it's completely stupid to think that God's going to do whatever you think you want Him to do. But that Almighty is going to do whatever He wants to do. That Power is going to manifest Itself in any form It wishes to, any time It wishes to, anywhere It wishes to. Who's going to tell It, "You can't do that"? Who?
And yet there is a fact related to that, and the devotees dictate that. The devotees in fact dictate. Because they are the receivers who want to tune into the frequency. Manifestation of a Savior is going to happen to save the ones that have to be saved. That omnipotent Power will manifest Itself, establish devotion, for devotees, period. It cannot for Itself, because there has to be a two-way transaction. The devotees have been the single most strong, powerful thing.
In India, for instance, there are more temples of Hanuman than there are of Ram. And at the temples of Hanuman you do not see Ram. But at temples of Ram, you always see Hanuman. And why is that? Why did such a strong tie exist between such a Thing and a mere human being, mere finite thing? It's the same thing.
You know, there is this old man who goes every day to dig for gold on this piece of land he has. Now the story goes that he is poor and has a donkey. Humble. Very, very poor. And he has no place to live. But if he struck gold, wouldn't that all change? If he struck gold in his mine. you wouldn't call him poor. As a matter of fact, the donkey would vanish. I don't know what the most expensive car is: it would be there. He would not be deprived of a housing facility.
And in the same way, a devotee, a person, is poor, is crazy, is weird, is ruthless. He's an egomaniac. But through his effort he transforms from just merely being a human being into a devotee. He becomes rich in heart. He strikes devotion. The one single most incredible thing: Devotion. And at the end of the rope of devotion is the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Maker, the Manufacturer of all the gold, the oil, the riches of this world.
And that is why we sing every night, as a devotee, to that Power, "You are my mother." Not because I was born from You. No. You are my mother. O Lord. You didn't have a placenta and You didn't have a womb where You held me for nine months and, pop. I came one night. But You are my mother because You gave me a birth - not of this body, but of the real me - who I really am. You brought me forth, because I was lost. I was not there. And You are my father. You are my mother because you brought me into that. And You are mothering me. You are giving me that love of mother, taking care of me at every moment.
You are my father, because You provide for me. You father me. You love me. You give me attention - not of this body.
You are my brother. You are my brother because You give me that constant shoulder of love. You are my friend, because I can talk to You, I can be with You, I can play with You. You are everything. You are my sister. You are riches. You are wisdom. You are my all, my Lord to me.
It's very simply said. Now somebody has got to be real stupid, somebody's got to be about as stupid as you can get to take that prayer and translate it into a physical form.
You've got to be as stupid as to take gold from the mine and because you want to make some money on it, you make it into ashes so you can sell it to a fertilizing company so they can use it in their manure for fertilizer. You just don't do that with gold. You don't take gold and turn it into ash so the fertilizing company can use it, burn it all up. No.
There's a very specific meaning to what we sing. And it is a translation. You didn't write it. I didn't write it. A premie sitting here merely translated it from Hindi to English. It was written by Brahmanand. And it's a very, very
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accurate translation.
"Jai Gurudev Maharaj Ji, Your glory fills the world." Doesn't it? What is the sun? What is the moon? What is life? What is Light? "You bring the death of attachment." And it's just like, yes. You bring that death, the end of my attachment. Because what can a man get attached to in this world?
When a blind man's cane is made out of rubber, where is that poor soul going to go? Where? Where can he go? Nowhere. Because everything he touches, the cane just flexes.
There's nothing wrong with this Coliseum and there's nothing wrong with this little thing that goes around and around and around a few billion miles away - your moon and your sun and all that. But it's there and it'll go away.
If somebody came along to you and picked a leech out of your neck, what would you do to that person? If he brought something hot and put it on the leech and the leech crawled out, and he just picked it up and threw it away, what would you do? Would you go. "I'll just kill you for doing that"? Would you? Would you hate that guy? Would you punch that guy? Or rather say, "Thank you. Thank you very much."
The attachment to this world is like a leech, sucking us every day. It is quite clear what has been laid out for this world, for this maya. It is said that, "Live in it." Nobody's telling you to jump off a cliff. Live in it. Be alive. Enjoy this life. But be like a lotus. The lotus does not submerge itself in the water that it lives in. It just doesn't. It lives in that water, draws its food substances from that water and yet stays completely away from it, on the top, on the surface. It doesn't let the water become it's main attraction, but becomes rather the attraction for the water. And there is a difference in that.
A lotus does not let the water that it is in enhance its beauty. It enhances the beauty of the water it is in. Because usually the water that you find it in is murky and dirty. And that's the obvious difference.
Live in this world. Live. You have a life to live. That's beautiful. That's great. I call it a grace. That's how great I think that it is. I call it a grace. But don't become so dirty that the world has to enhance you Be in this world. Be in this world and enhance the world, the creation.
Man has been called the crown of creation. Though a whale is mammoth, oranges and apples were not made for whale. The most beautiful fruits. the most beautiful sunset, the warmth, the night, the stars. all the beauty put together - we can enjoy it. Yes.
A rat in the desert has to stay in his burrow all day long and come out at nighttime. And that is not to admire the sun and the moon and the stars. But that is in fact to find food. Owls have to say up all night long because that's when they're going to find their food. And to an owl, the beauty of a sunset merely means food. "Get ready. Here come the creatures."
But to us it has been presented in a fashion, in a unique. clever. perfect way. I mean, you just look at it. I don't know if it's true or not, but dogs are supposed to be colorblind. To them, the sun is just a round white ball going into greyish, greyish stuff. That's all. But to us. we have been given the opportunity to see that sun fade its colors, do everything.
And yet that beauty of sun, moon. stars, everything, is nothing. Absolutely nothing. Even a greater beauty exists that we have to see, far more beautiful than any sunset you've ever seen: That thing which is inside of you.
And this is what we have to come to. We have to strike the mine of devotion by becoming, first of all, devotees. And how do we become devotees? Not by chanting. "Devotee. Devotee. Devotee. Devotee." Not by simulating any devotion. There is nothing in this world that makes a person a devotee, causes devotion, except one thing: to have that ultimate faith, to have that ultimate understanding, to have that ultimate love for the one whom you are going to be a devotee of. Plug in completely. Be in synch with that ultimate thing. Devote yourself. Then that'll make you a devotee. Surrender. Let go. Let go of your stupid concepts.
And as I explained. I'm not talking about "Oh yeah, you should get up and go, and if you feel hungry, eat something," and stuff like that. Yes, that's a concept, but I'm not talking about getting rid of those concepts, but the concepts that in fact become a block in the path of realization, in the path of devotion.
I know that every night we sing Arti. Okay. Anybody can sing Arti. Tape recorder does. The speakers do. They sing it nice. ("Jai Gurudev Maharaj Ji.") Beautiful. Sounds really great. But do you really think those speakers are ever going to become devotees? Do you think that they are going to get liberation, salvation? In this world, if we were to start fighting - not a violent war, not a war with weapons or anything like that - but with just ideas that people had, it would be literally outrageous.
"What did he do that for?" "What did he do that for?" "What did he do that for?" "Why do you have to sing the Arti?" "Why do you have to do this?"
Look, it's very simple. A realization, your experience of Knowledge. is, by far, stronger than all the elements of this universe put together. This Knowledge is so strong that it defeats all the karmic laws of this universe. That's how strong the experience of Knowledge is. Be it a sin committed on the moon, Mars - anywhere. It defies the entire structure. It's made for that. It takes you above and beyond everything and shows you a realization of Knowledge. of Itself, of that Truth which nobody, nobody ever can deny.
If the whole world turns against you. if the whole universe - including the Martians, if there are any - turns against you. still your weight on the scale will be heavier. Because you have realized Knowledge. That's how powerful. that's how strong, that realization really is And it is that way.
It has been that way since time immemorial. It is that way on February 25th of 1979. It will be on the 26th, 27th, and 28th. And for time immemorial. Even when the Earth phases out. sun diminishes, everything goes to wherever it goes to, your experience of Knowledge cannot diminish. Because it is from where even, you might say. eternity starts. It is the source of all sources. It is It. It is the experience which is beyond death, beyond creation, beyond anything in this world. And this is why, when I say that it is such a beautiful grace that we have this Knowledge, this is what I mean! Now we have the Knowledge. Now is when we have to let go.
Look, this is what I understood. You know, what I speak today is my experience of this Knowledge. I have not read scriptures. A lot of people are very amazed to see me. They think, you know, that since I am an Indian "guru," I shouldn't shave my beard. (I don't have very much of it, anyway.) I shouldn't have hair cuts. Why do I wear a suit? And I'm always supposed to be sitting like this (hands folded in lap) with my legs crossed, too. Looking straight ahead. And once in a while standing on one leg. And for about a couple of months, not eating. On the contrary (pats his stomach). And never tell a joke: "The serious guru." Never wear these suits. I'm always supposed to be just in this little grass hut. All hand-painted, handmade, in this little room, sitting on top of my bed sheet like this, in saffron clothes. Always looking out. With incense burning on one side. And that's it. No cars. No watches. Nothing.
And the devotees come and they all sit down outside. And they're about as dumb as their guru: drop their
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lower lip, just look in. And they all come out and they all sit down and they listen to him, understand a little bit. The rest doesn't reach their ears. It was all beautiful. It was all great. You know, he spoke in Chinese and all you can understand is Greek. And when is all over, they all get up and they go away. Then you go back in your room and you sit down.
So I'm not like that. So what?
And the truth of the matter is that that has nothing to do with Knowledge! That has absolutely nothing to do with Knowledge. Knowledge is Knowledge. What has Knowledge got to do with not speaking? What's Knowledge got to do with whether your head is shaved or not? What's Knowledge got to do with it all? Nothing. Nothing whatsoever.
And I realize that Knowledge is beyond what my imagination, what my expectations, ever can be. And Knowledge is something, is an experience. that I want to impart to you And it has absolutely. again, nothing to do with who you are, what you are. If you come from northern Africa or southern Africa. If you come from the heart of the Africa. It has nothing to do with whether you are a Canadian or a Texan or an American or if you live in Florida or in California or if you're Siamese, or Chinese or live in Siberia. It has absolutely nothing to do with it This Knowledge doesn't just go up to you and say, "Hey! This guy speaks Russian. I'm splitting. That's it. No realization for you. kiddo. Give up Russian first." No.
That's us. We, in this world, do that. But not Knowledge. Because Knowledge is already existent there in everybody's heart. This is what's making you tick right now. There is something that is keeping it all alive. That life. itself, is that Knowledge - the realization, the point, the heart, the … everything!
This Knowledge is for every human being. And the differences go away. And you look at a person's face and you don't see his face but you look into his heart. You look in that person's eyes and you look in that person's love and you look at that person's real heart.
And this is why people cannot understand. Because what we want to think, what we want to find here, what we want to associate with, is Truth. And there are a lot of things in this world that we just simply don't do, or want to do, at least at this point. I know I'd love to fly a Concorde someday. But if somebody right now brought a Concorde backstage and said, "Fly it right now," I could care less about It.
Right now all I feel is my experience that just wants to explode. All I want to do right now is to tell you about that Knowledge. about that Love, about that understanding that I've had. I want to tell you what - not in words - my Guru Maharaj Ji revealed to me. No words. But a whole thesis, whole scripture, which has no words in it. Just an experience. Just an understanding. Just a love! Nothing else.
Nothing else has ever mattered to me; nothing else will ever matter to me. Because there is only one thing.
Maybe there's a lot of people out there ready to convince me. "Look, you're crazy." And I know there's a lot of people out there ready to convince you that you're crazy. And I know one thing for myself. Maybe I am crazy. But I'm not crazy where it counts. I'm perfectly sane where it counts. And those guys who think I'm crazy, might not be crazy in a worldly sense but they are crazy where it counts - absolutely bongos.
Because to be able to sit and to be able to just talk about something that you experience - and I experience Knowledge. and I experience that Love and I experience what that is - is beautiful. It is beautiful. And that s satsang. That's one thing that I know that I can share with all of you. We can all come together and we share this.
And people don't know. As far as people are concerned, some crazy thing is going to happen. "A convention." "Oh, you guys going to hold your convention again?" I don't know what people think we do in here. And this is the convention that has been held ever since man was created. Most authentic; most genuine. Devotees and Master came together. And the Master said something to the devotees. And this has been going on for ages and centuries. And that's why we come.
And then there is service. That's your effort. Not your prerogative. No. No, no. That's not your prerogative. Neither is meditation. Nor is satsang. It is not the matter of choosing one, leaving two. It's not your prerogative. It's your effort of service, of sincere service.
Listen. Remember one thing. It's not the service that you think counts in your heads. It doesn't. You can build me a house according to your concept. That does not by any means mean that that's what I wanted. Taking that little rag in your hand and cleaning where you think it counts and putting it back in your pocket is not service.
Service is an experience. Service is opening up. Service is another way of surrendering to Guru Maharaj Ji. It's not your ideas of service. (I just can't believe the ideas people have of service. God. I just can't believe. it It's too much!) People just pick what they want to do that day and call it a service. That is by no means - ever was, ever will be, or ever is - service.
And meditation: It's not your prerogative. But it is your pleasure. And
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"You have to have faith in me, I have to have faith in you. Faith is the
only transporter between you and me that can pass along that Love, that
understanding, that experience."
that is the way it has to be. Your pleasure to do meditation. Your pleasure to do service. Your pleasure to listen to satsang.
Look, I am not trying to just tell you these things because I think you might like them. But I assume one thing. You're sitting in this hall because you are in some way interested in this Knowledge. (If you think Charlton Heston's going to walk in here, forget it. He's not. If you're out to see Elvis Presley, forget it.) I just figure one thing: that you're interested in Knowledge.
And if you traveled as far as you've traveled - even if you only live across the street - then I feel that it is my duty to tell you about that which is going to fulfill what you desire, what you want: the experience of Knowledge. the devotion, the Love, the Peace, the Truth.
And that will happen when you sincerely listen to satsang. Listen. Grasp. And understand. And then implement what you hear, what you digest. Don't convert it into 50, 60, 120 or 240 volts of electricity. But as is.
And this is what we have to understand. That that Love is real. That understanding is real.
And where this whole suggestion even comes from of doing satsang. service, and meditation is purely from a place of Love. It's not because I hate you that I say. "Do satsang. service and meditation." If I really had that intention, then I would tell you. "Do not do satsang, service or meditation" - just like Mr. Mind tells you. "Enough of this. Look, son, you don't want to get holy all too fast. Slow down. Wait a minute, mister. Take it easy. You don't want to get liberated in one second, all at one time, do you? Take it easy.-
But this time is running out, all of our time. And we have to take that step. We have to make that a reality.
And one day I hope that this whole world will understand what I am saying, because it needs to. This whole entire world. Yes, I know it's kind of hard to imagine, billions and billions of people. But yes, I mean all of them. Understand the language of Love. Understand what I am trying to say. what really Peace is, what really salvation is, what really Love is. what the true understanding is.
And premies, I cannot see a better time than right now to really take that all-determined step. to really make that step reality for yourself. Because you can do it. I know you can do it. You have to have faith in me. I have to have faith in you. Faith is the only transporter between you and me that can pass along that Love, that understanding, that experience. Nothing else. If you don't have faith in me, then I certainly will not have faith in you. But when you have faith in me, I will have faith in you. And it is your effort to make sure that your end of the rope …
Look, the land is not going to float away. It is your little boat. And you have to make sure that your little rope is attached to your boat and to the land to keep you from drifting. That's your problem. A captain doesn't take his boat, put it on the dock, tie the cords up and then go. "I'm crossing my fingers. I hope the land doesn't float away." But he hopes the knots don't untie.
Because why was there a necessity to take that boat and dock it? The currents, those elements that are against it, will carry it away.
Our faith in our Guru Maharaj Ji has to be constant. Our faith in our Guru Maharaj Ji has to be real. Our faith in our Guru Maharaj Ji has to be there. There is no and, if, and but about it.
And pray! And just with all your heart, pray that Guru Maharaj Ji, by his mercy, will have faith in you. Because Guru Maharaj Ji has absolutely no necessity of having faith in you. Because remember, there is that prayer. "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, do not forget me. To you there are thousands. But to me, you are the only one. And if you forget me, then I've had it. Your Love and your Grace is what I depend on. I do not doubt your mercy. And I do not doubt your faith. But I doubt myself. And so give me the strength. Make my effort manifest. Give me the strength so that I may never forget you.-
How many times do we forget Guru Maharaj Ji How many times does everything else in this world become more important to us and Guru Maharaj Ji just sort of gets set aside? God, you're betting your real life on that. You just can't joke and fiddle around with it.
But when that faith becomes weak, when that faith becomes no good, when that Arti's meaning is nothing but a recital …
You know, last night when all the premies there were singing Arti in sign language, it was just so beautiful. I do not understand sign language, but I could understand them. Because what they were trying to say, and even just the way they designate "heart," was just so beautiful. And that language of Love is what we can all talk, we all can understand.
But, premies, we have to have that faith in Guru Maharaj Ji. We cannot just stand there and say, "Because everybody is singing Arti in this hall, chat along, kiddo." But mean it. Even if Arti changed tomorrow. You know. It is not the matter of just mere words, but it is meaning it in your heart. and not going. "You are my mother, and you are my father." But. "Yes, Guru Maharaj Ji! I love you because you have mothered me. And I love you because you guide me. I love you because you are my friend." And we have to stay conscious of what Brahmanand wrote. because it was Brahmanand's feelings that he put down into Arti: "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, take this heart, for in you it will mellow."
I mean, what does it all mean? It means Love. it means faith, it means trust.
If it were any other way, premies - I would wish that my Guru Maharaj Ji would give me the Grace to be the first one to tell you if it were any other way. But it isn't. It just isn't any other way. That truth, that faith in Guru Maharaj Ji, has to be there constantly.
I know for all of us is very difficult. Because our trust, that faith that's supposed to go towards Guru Maharaj Ji, goes into these relentless worldly things that do not by any means deserve that faith. Like Raja Ji was saying, we put our faith in a stupid bus. We put our faith in an airplane.
But in Guru Maharaj Ji, who is truly the Captain, who's going to truly take our true life and make it cross the ocean … Remember. Guru Maharaj Ji is merciful, but the mercy comes upon only those who haven't shut their door to mercy. If we, by our stupid concepts or ideas, shut that door to mercy, Guru Maharaj Ji will come, knock, but we won't hear. We will not be able to hear.
13
"All Guru Maharaj Ji is saying is, make that little effort, keep it sincere.
Make it sincere. Come when Guru Maharaj Ji calls you, that's all. Be that
student who is open. Have faith so Guru Maharaj Ji can give you
that Love which he wants to."
When Guru Maharaj Ji comes to lift us up right as that snake is ready to bite us and the buzzards are ready to swallow us, when he calls us to come back to his oasis and picks us up right at that moment, then we are the ones that are going to squirm out of his hand and fall right back to that snake again. Given a whole lifetime's chance and yet blow it just in a second. And it can happen. And it has happened. And premies, neither you nor I can ever afford to become another example for that. This life is way too precious for that. It is just too much to become food for a rattlesnake.
Guru Maharaj Ji gives us everything. Guru Maharaj Ji gives us Love. Guru Maharaj Ji gives us mercy. Guru Maharaj Ji gives us passion. Guru Maharaj Ji gives us Truth. Guru Maharaj Ji gives us that experience.
And really, premies, right now, if my Guru Maharaj Ji told me, "Okay, repay me," I'd die. Because how could I? I mean, what is there in this world that you can repay Guru Maharaj Ji with? And maybe there is no point to even ask that stupid question, "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, how can I repay you?" He's already said, "Look, all I want is your Love. All I want is your faith. And you can have all this."
Yeah, it all sounds easy. It all sounds easy. Because here you are sitting in nice chairs - I don't know if they are nice or not (this one is, anyway). listening to satsang over a P.A. system. Some of you have had a chance to do service. Tonight or tomorrow, you'll get into nice comfortable 727's, 707's, 747's, DC-10's, DC-9's, your bus, your car, your van, your motor home, and drive off to wherever you came from. Get back into your nice cozy little home. whatever it is.
But tell me sincerely - I know I've asked myself this question, and I know what the answer is. If really Guru Maharaj Ji were to be on the peak of Mt. Everest - and to me this isn't funny at all - in my sincere heart, because of my sincerity, because of my sincere desire to be with Guru Maharaj Ji, if he called me to the top of Mt. Everest, would I have the guts enough to crawl up there? Not fly up there. To walk up there. To crawl up there? No! I just wouldn't.
And so where am I? Is that my sacrifice? Is that my faith? If I cannot even fulfill a little accomplishment of this very finite world, then where am I left? What are my chances?
And so I see how much Guru Maharaj Ji has really made it easy for me. How simple he has made it for me. I mean, there is already one thing to repay him for, that is his mercy, that is his Grace. That is already one debt. And now one other debt: that he has made it simple. He has made it possible. He's made it available to me.
Because sincerely, premies, how many of you are here that would do it, without ever seeing Guru Maharaj Ji, ever seeing Guru Maharaj Ji?
How many of you would, if you were in New York City, walking along 33rd Avenue, and saw a poster, "Guru Maharaj Ji is on top of Mt. Everest. People wishing to see him, please go." At the bottom: "It's unconfirmed if he'll see you or not," would go?
And we've got it easy here. A hall, a nice warm place. Come in, sit down. "Guru Maharaj Ji should be coming pretty soon." God! It's not like that. It's just simply not like that. Is there any more thanks in this world than that which belongs directly to Guru Maharaj Ji from our hearts? I don't think so. I think all the thanks in the world would have to be depleted! You cannot thank Guru Maharaj Ji enough for what he has done.
Because, I mean, who is in this hall? I don't think I deserved any faith of Guru Maharaj Ji. I can speak personally for myself anyway. I don't think so. Who am I?
Who are you?
And yet that Guru Maharaj Ji has faith in you, and that is why he's given you that opportunity. And what do you do with that opportunity? Play, play, play. Everything is a football. Before you eat your apple, you throw it on the ground, bounce it, and then eat it.
It's not like that. Don't you understand that this world isn't there? It just doesn't sit like that for you, frozen for the rest of your life? "Cannot happen to me" doesn't exist, premies. Yes, it can happen to you. Any time. Any moment. And it has to be your determination. Guru Maharaj Ji's done whatever he can.
What else can we ask from Guru Maharaj Ji? Nothing. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that we deserve, or can ask, or know about. It's nice to put things into lines and statements, this and that, and concepts and ideas and "Oh, it's this way. 0 Guru Maharaj Ji thank you," and this and that. "I do my service." God, you don't do anything.
Kabir said that if you take all the earth and make it into paper, take the entire ocean and make it into ink, and take all the trees in this world and make them into pens, you cannot write the glory of Guru Maharaj Ji.
What has he said? Do you really think he computed how many pens all the trees in the world would make, or how many gallons of ocean water would be made into ink? He said it as a "top-of-the-line thing" that we can relate to. And what he means is that there is no way you can sing the glory of Guru Maharaj Ji.
And yet we always try to take Guru Maharaj Ji and try to wrap him in a neat little box. We take our service and we try to wrap our service in a neat little box. No! We can't do that. We can't afford to do that.
Look, if I am coming on a little bit too heavy, maybe it is to compensate for all the jokes. Because what I mean, I'm really saying it. I mean it! I don't want to drive you over the cliff, but I'm saying it because this is what you have to do.
You have to have that endless faith in Guru Maharaj Ji, in your self, in your heart, in you. Unchanging love, constant love, constant faith. Not the one that goes up and down depending on the weather, depending on the day, depending on what happens in this world. No. No, no, that can't happen. But a constant faith.
There is a song that, "0 Guru Maharaj Ji, I want to be with you even if I have to cross the biggest mountains, walk on fire, and even if I have to get away from death - I will - to just be with you. I will make the impossible possible to be with you. Whatever I have to do in this world."
I know that if that song were to be
15
"There is nothing in this world that makes a person a devotee, causes
devotion, except one thing: to have that ultimate faith, to have that
ultimate understanding, to have that ultimate love for the one whom you
are going to be a devotee of. Plug in completely. Be in synch with that
ultimate thing. Devote yourself."
translated, we could all sing it. Just like that song that I really like, "Maharaj Ji. please, please teach me devotion. If you want to wander or roam, go on, go on." But Guru Maharaj Ji, when he teaches us devotion, what do we do?
What do you think Guru Maharaj Ji is doing? Teaching you A-B-C-D? Yeah I know that when that song comes on everybody gets up. "Yeah, you know. Get into it. Maharaj Ji, please, please teach me devotion. Guru Maharaj Ji, show me the way. Show me the path. Make me understand."
What do you exactly think Guru Maharaj Ji is doing anyway? Teaching you how not to be a devotee? No, Guru Maharaj Ji is showing you the devotion. Guru Maharaj Ji is teaching you the devotion. You just have to become a student. Yes, you. I don't care how smart you are And I don't care how educated you are. That education as far as I am concerned isn't worth anything. That Love is the most important thing. That understanding, to learn from your heart what Guru Maharaj Ji is telling you, teaching you.
"O Guru Maharaj Ji, you are already the perfect teacher, just let me be the perfect student." The world is a place to roam. And what Guru Maharaj Ji gives you is a shelter. And we have to, in our heart, accept that shelter and come towards Guru Maharaj Ji and come on Guru Maharaj Ji's call. And do we?
How many of us would sincerely come on Guru Maharaj Ji's call, or even be able to identify Guru Maharaj Ji's call? How many of us … What kind of students are we, anyway? How many of us would really even know when Guru Maharaj Ji calls us? I don't know.
And you don't have to ever tell me. You don't have to ever, ever in your whole life tell me whether or not you understand me. But when the day comes, just come when you're called, and that's all. That's all that matters, that's all that counts. If you will be able to. It's completely up to you. Keep it in your heart. But when Guru Maharaj Ji calls, come running. That's it.
So premies, it is not a matter of just going out into our brains, into our heads, into your "idiocities." but it is a matter of true surrender from our hearts. This world will not give us what we want. And Guru Maharaj Ji will. And it is true. I know that.
This world will give us what we don't want: itself. And Guru Maharaj Ji gives us what we want, what we have wanted all our lives.
So premies, just that little thing is all Guru Maharaj Ji's asking. You don't have to climb Mt. Everest and you don't have to make the whole ocean into ink and Guru Maharaj Ji isn't saying. "Sit down and write the glories of Guru Maharaj Ji." All Guru Maharaj Ji is saying is, make that little effort. keep it sincere. Make it sincere. Come when Guru Maharaj Ji calls you. that's all. Be that student who is open. Have that faith so Guru Maharaj Ji can give you that Love which he wants to. Have that understanding so that that whole world can bloom.
Because the difference between this world and what Guru Maharaj Ji offers us is just completely incredible. And sometimes you catch a glimpse of it; a very, very, very practical glimpse of it. The difference in just completely getting lost in satsang, the difference in completely merging with satsang, and then the difference in just thinking about this world is just completely - I don't know, completely outrageous. You just lose yourself in satsang. It's that beauty: it's a perfect river. You just let go! You don't have to hang onto anything.
There might be 8,500 people in this hall, and yet the ratio is one-to-one. One premie to one Guru Maharaj Ji, and one premie to one Guru Maharaj Ji, and one premie to one Guru Maharaj Ji. The whole world disappears when we merge in that river of satsang, of service, of meditation.
That is the obvious difference between Guru Maharaj Ji's world and this world. This is not a lecture. This is an experience. This is not a discourse. This is the company of Truth. This is not a philosophy. It is Love. You know.
In this world's lectures and philosophies you have to sit there with your ears and eyes open, and in this river, you have to let go of yourself, just lose track of everything. Because it's just you and Guru Maharaj Ji, that's all. And this is the way it has manifested for me. And this is the way it can manifest for you. It's really true. It can. It will. When you give it the right go. When you give it the right effort.
There's so much to say. I know you could never say it. There's so much to say. There's so much to see, there's so much to experience, there's so much to love, there's so much there, that it's almost impossible to grasp it in one hand at one time.
And so, anyway, we've just been able to come together this year, see each other, have a program, to be able to come, to be able to listen to satsang once more. And as far as I'm concerned, it can go on and it will go on. It will go on more and more.
And so premies. I hope you've enjoyed this festival. I have. Today's the 25th and Holi starts on the fifth of April. Where? Maybe I should leave that for you to psyche out.
Alright. I won't joke around. I'll tell you. Alaska. Isn't that a wonderful place? Don't bother, we'll try to have hot water. It'll only last about a couple of minutes. After that it'll be all freezing. I mean, what difference does it make, right? We'll have the initiators lined up in the front to be the first ones to get hit by the icicles.
No, this is for real. We are having Holi in Miami Beach.
So premies, I'll see you later. Till then - keep doing satsang, service and meditation. Premies, thank you very much.
My blessings to all the premies.
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