TIME TO REALISEMahatma Padarthanand Ji, Melbourne, April 20, 1975.
Just try to be here in this present moment and see very clearly, and more than seeing, feel very, very clearly in our heart, just being here and now, what Guru Maharaj Ji is doing for us, here and now. Forget about past, forget about future, present is the most important time. So just ask ourselves, being here in this moment, what Guru Maharaj Ji is doing for us. Really, how can we thank him? How can we express his glory, his greatness? That he is making us sit together on the same carpet, all of us.
We have been born in different countries, in different states, in different places. We have been brought up in different backgrounds, different religions, different sects. We have so many external differences. But this is the place that all of us are just one, together. How can we thank him enough, for this gift, for this service which he is doing for us?
Internally, all of us are feeling warm inside. Our inner warmth is spreading all around. Because all of us have that heater on inside, that heater is spreading that warmth all around, we can't help it. No any confusion, no any problem, no any question. So beautiful to be in this state. Really, we always want to be in this state but mind takes us away from there.
We are on the path of devotion and no-one is saying that path of devotion is easy. Path of devotion is always a little bit tricky, see. Always tricky, externally, but internally, blissful. Since we have received Knowledge, so much criticism, so much opposition all around ourselves. So many ups and downs within ourselves, personally; mind goes left and right, left and right, up and down, freak out, freak in, blissed out, these all. But after these all, still we are sure that yes, we have been getting something inside. And it's so beautiful that really we can't describe it with these gross, gross words.
We have to understand that all of us are travellers on this path of devotion. We have to understand our duty, to increase our inner strength, to walk along. Not to look left and right, so much confusion. We have to look always on target. And that target is commandment of Master. That target is the Lotus Feet of Master. And when we have that target in front of us, we are going to hit that goal. But if there is no proper concentration, we can't hit that target.
We need stability. We need sincerity, so that we can make it. Since we have received this Knowledge, we have been trying to do something: satsang, service and meditation. But after doing for some months, or for some years, we are realising now that this is not path of emotion, this not path of enthusiasm, this is not path of excitement, this is path of devotion. This is path of stability.
Since childhood we have been brought up to be more and more emotional and so after coming here on this path of devotion, still we have that old conditioning. That's a little bit difficult for us, but slowly and gradually we are understanding that this emotion is not good for us. We have to be in middle. Not to be blissed out, and again there is no question of being freaked out. Always try to be blissed in, and then you will always be freaked in, not freaked out. We have to understand this point.
Some brothers and sisters come to me and say, "Mahatma Ji, I'm a little bit confused and I know that answer is satsang, service and meditation, but still I'm confused. Why?" It's so clear that we understand these three words, satang, service and meditation, but as far as practical is concerned, we fail to do it properly. We have been trying our best but sometimes we don't know how to do it. Sometimes we go up and up and up, so excited, and sometimes after that down and down and down. We have no balance. We have no real understanding of how to make it. We have to understand, how we do it practically.
SATSANG
As far as satsang is concerned, we have satsang here every single night. Now there is a question for us: how to make these satsangs blissful, beneficial and practical?
First thing: those brothers and sisters who have jobs at night, you can't come. And that's not practical for you. You should look after your job, you should not give up your job, because, mind it we have to be practical, not enthusiastic. We need clothes, we need food and we need house, and for that we have to work. So when we work at night, how can we come in satsang? We can't. But, we can in daytime, when we have time, and we can talk to premies, we can hear satsang and we can do some service.
Main thing which we need is sincerity, Mind has so many excuses. When we have so many excuses, really we are cheating ourselves. We are deceiving ourselves. We have to be honest with ourselves. We can have so many explanations that I don't come to satsang because of this and this and this, but just ask yourself what you are getting
from satsang and what you are not getting. And when we are sincere and honest with ourselves, it is no problem that we have a job at night. Those nights which we can come will be so uplifting because we are coming with sincerity and humility.
Some brothers and sisters think that, oh I am unable to go to satsang every single night, but if I go after seven days or fifteen days, premies will look at me and say, wow, he has come after fifteen days, that's crazy. They should be happy to see him. Any way he is back, so beautiful. He is sincere himself, why should he be shy or depressed? If you are honest with yourself, you will be able to give satsang to those who are trying to point at you.
Those brothers and sisters who are free at night, every time, try to be here because this is secure place for us. If we are not in satsang, where could we be? Somewhere wandering, somewhere chattering, somewhere smoking charas and chillum with our friends, what can we do more? What can we do better than this? Nothing at all.
You can think, oh I can meditate in my house. But just ask yourself sincerely, are you able to mediate? You can't. And if you can, I will think you are the luckiest and most sincere person in the world, that in place of satsang you are able to make meditation there. So those brothers and sisters who can, please try to come in time, sit together in half an hour's group meditation. And when we meditate here, it's too easy for us to meditate. Even for that half an hour we can meditate beautiful1y, easily. And we have so many problems in meditation because we are not sincere and sometimes we are sincere but we are not regular. We want to do meditaton but it's difficult there. Someone is playing radio very hard, someone is watching TV in next room, someone is doing something else. So come together and in your strength you will feel so much strength to meditate there. And when we meditate half an hour, all brothers, and sisters, just there mind is so calm and quiet and still. All conditioning of whole day is just out of the door, completely. And if we don't meditate, we come late and we sit here and there, we can't appreciate satsang. We can hear through these ears but we can't keep it in mind because mind has so much conditioning from outside and those are so gross, so powerful, we are unable to receive the essence from the satsang.
This satsang is not only talking. Sometimes when we make fun, we laugh, because that's good for mind, good for sense organs to hear that fun and we laugh. We enjoy it a little bit. But if this is not clear satsang, then this mind feels dizzy. So it is our duty to make this satsang beautiful and brothers and sisters who have received Knowledge, try to be here in time and meditate for half an hour.
And second point, if anyone comes here on this chair and says, "Actually, nothing to say", and after that just vomit confusion, confusion, rubbish. Talking from there and there and there, which has nothing to do with this Knowledge, with Guru Maharaj Ji, nothing at all. Is it satsang? It is so hard for new brothers and sisters who have not received Knowledge yet: they give their precious time here to understand something more about Guru Maharaj Ji, about this Knowledge, because this is the main subject of satsang. If we always talk so many nonsense things, that makes awful satsang. Is our purpose to come here and waste our time and vomit confusion around us? No.
If you are able to give beautiful explanation about this Knowledge, experience, benefit of this Knowledge, to sing glory of Guru Maharaj Ji, then try to come here.
Main thing, first of all, we have to be practical example ourselves. So those brothers and sisters who don't meditate sincerely, or who don't have enough courage to explain something properly, please don't try to come here on this chair. Better to sit there, listen more and more and more, meditate more and more. And those who are sure they can help brothers and sisters, then come here and tell something. This is so beautiful service, to remove doubt, to remove question, to remove confusion. We are here to give satsang to inspire ourselves to meditate more and more, to do service more and more for each other, to help each other, to love each other, to serve each other, not to give confusion. Those brothers and sisters who have received Knowledge, really we are making this Knowledge hard for other brothers and sisters.
So many brothers and sisters just pop up and ask me for Knowledge and I see very clearly what we have done for them. We have been giving conditioning to them.
That wrong conditioning comes from premies, "You can meditate on this Knowledge when you are smoking dope; that will be push, lift." We are giving this bad conditioning because we are not tryirig to be practical example.
When I came in 1973 in Adelaide, I gave Knowledge to more than 100 brothers and sisters, without Knowledge enquiry, without questions and answers, nothing. Because I was so positive, having conditioning of India that anyone who comes for Knowledge is so beautiful, ready, pure. I gave Knowledge on and on and on but after some time I learnt that "Oh actually I am not serving them properly" and then I gave them time for question/ answer, pre-Knowledge satsang and this and that.
So some brothers and sisters have received Knowledge after attending satsang for a few days and they are multiplying this idea that "Why do you have to do satsang, why do you have to do service? I have received this Knowledge, still I am smoking. I am doing this crazy trip, still I have Knowledge. You've got chance to get this Knowledge quick".
By the amazing Grace of Gur Maharaj Ji, you have received Knowledge but now you have to be more disciplined to be practical example for other brothers and sisters. Otherwise, we are the obstacle in propagation because we are not trying to be shining examples, we are not letting this Light spread out. We are putting clouds in front of our brothers and sisters. They are sincere seekers but we are giving bad reputation to Guru Maharaj Ji, bad name to this meditation. So please don't try to put our confusion on others. Just listen to satsang, do service and meditate and be free from your own confusion first, and then try to help others.
We have shown so much enthusiasm to society and society is not ready to see enthusiasm and emotion and "blissed out". What we have shown to society till now, more and more enthusiasm, more and more hammering to our parents and friends, "You must receive Knowledge, Guru Maharaj Ji is the Lord", what have we done? Have you realised that Guru Maharaj Ji is the Lord? If we have realised, why this confusion? So this is time to realise, not to say. Knowledge is going to give this realisation of who Guru Maharaj Ji is, not this world.
In 1973, when Guru Maharaj Ji was coming, in enthusiasm we had a big poster, "The Second Coming", and that freaked out all people in Australia. Really, we have to explain to them what Knowledge is, and when they will meditate on this Knowledge, then they will understand a little bit who Guru Maharaj Ji is.
So my dear brothers and sisters, just slow down, be stable and remove these emotions and meditate more and more. And then we shall be able to explain about this Knowledge, and Knowledge is going to bring peace, not enthusiastic statements. Everyone wants to see something practical. So time has come for us to be on ground, and be practical, practical example. When we are practical example, automatically people will come and ask "What have you got? Why are you so peaceful?"
PREPARING FOR KNOWLEDGE
We have to make it very clear-cut that this is not path of rose, this is path of pain, path of devotion. And this is meditation, for that we have to be disciplined. This is also my humble request to those brothers and sisters waiting for Knowledge: you can think that Mahatma Ji is very closed, thirty or forty brothers and sisters came to ask for Knowledge and he gave Knowledge to only eleven. So those eleven have not given me a thousand dollars and those who have been asked to wait are not my enemies. By the Grace of Guru Maharaj Ji, I am trying to be your servant but because all these problems are there due to bad conditioning from premies and also those brothers and sisters waiting for Knowledge think they should sit and count number of satsangs, and do a little service; this is good but this is not all.
In preparation, you just don't wait for that time and tell me you have been in satsang for five months, for ten months or for one year. No, that's not preparation; that's just wasting of time. You think you are preparing yourself but really you are wasting your time. We do not have to count numbers, we have to count our sincerity, our humility. So those brothers and sisters who have not received Knowledge, prepare yourself, just don't wait. Heart is not ploughed properly, how am I going to sow the seed?
In this waiting time, increase your sincerity, increase your humility and try to make your life in proper routine. Have physical discipline and mental discipline, these things are required in preparation. If you have no humility, it's very, very hard to walk on this path. Without humility, no human. Lord Jesus asked very clearly, if you want to enter into kingdom of heaven, be innocent like little child. Always try to be humble and sincere. That's your preparation.
Lord Krishna said in Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, article 34, that "Attain this Knowledge by all means. If you prostrate at the feet of the wise, and render them all types of service, then you have right to question them with guileless heart again and again. Then that seer will unfold Knowledge to you. This is duty of a real seeker"
So just ask yourself where you are, how you are ready.
And when you understand this Knowledge is something, Guru Maharaj Ji is doing something good, automatically we can feel love for him. Some brothers and sisters say, we have not seen Guru Maharaj Ji, how can we feel love for him? But you are seeing Mahatma, his little child. Do you feel love? Just ask yourself sincerely,in your heart. Be honest. We have so much love for pop star and film star, we have so much love for girlfriend and boyfriend. Have you that minimum love for Mahatma? If you do not have minimum that love, how can you say you are ready for this Knowledge?
You can say that Mahatma Ji is not always here, but there are so many children of Guru Maharaj Ji who are always here. Some good children: they are dedicating their lives, they are working hard to keep themselves together and to help other brothers and sisters to help you. When they are doing this good, you can feel love for them. And if we are not feeling love for those brothers and sisters who are trying to help us, trying to serve us, how can we say we are ready for this Knowledge? We can't.
Proof of love is to serve. If we are not serving, we can't say that we love. We can say, but that's not true. If you really have love towards Guru Maharaj Ji, you can manifest that love towards his servant Mahatma that's your servant. You can manifest that love towards your brothers and sisters. This is very practical fact. You can serve them, you can help them in this noble purpose, to help society by spreading this Knowledge. This is main purpose of Guru Maharaj Ji: to give this Knowledge to people. And we are instruments, we are trying our best. I'm not saying I'm perfect, love me and serve me, and those brothers and sisters who have been trying hard, they are perfect; no. We are just born, we have been learning, we are learning from you and we are going to learn in our whole life. Whole life is process of learning. Guru Maharaj Ji is that perfect teacher who has been teach
-ing, who is teaching, who is going to teach us in our whole life. So my dear brothers and sisters, that's the way of preparation.
SERVICE
And those brothers and sisters who have received Knowledge, we have much, much more responsibility. To help those brothers and sisters in every way, from all sides. We have gone through so many ups and downs; is it necessary for them to go through this process? We have so many different experiences; we can help them. They will be better than us.
We can tell them clearly how to prepare how to be ready, how to be disciplined physically and mentally. Then it will be easy for them. This is our duty. Our own sincerity is going to help us, our own humility is going to make our lives beautiful, shining, loving.
So many brothers and sisters are confused about service. What's service? Most important service to Guru Maharaj Ji is to spread his Knowledge. This is the most important service. This is our duty to try our best to be practical example because that is the most effective medium to propagate this Knowledge. If we are not practical, it's very hard to tell other people because they always see our actions; they can't relate to words.
And Guru Maharaj Ji has given proclamation that 1975 is year of propagation. Main service of this year is propagation. When I was away, most premies all over Australia were putting their energy into making the community stronger. When I have come back, I have seen practically how it's getting better. So beautiful feeling of family all around Australia. Premies are so together, so beautiful, stronger, more stable. But when we are together, Guru Maharaj Ji is asking in 1975 to propagate.
So we need help, we need cooperation. If you can't arrange satsang program, what will I do, who will come to listen to me? Without your co-operation, I can't do anything. We have to understand our responsibility; that when we have received Knowledge, how have we received it? Someone has told us.
One time, Swami Vivekananda was sitting in meditation and he was praying to Ramakrishna that "Please Lord, my Master, please help me to get samadhi and this and that". He was just praying inside and Ramakrishna came and became angry. He said, "Oh crazy, selfish person" Vivekananda was completely blown out; he prostrated and asked, "Oh Master, how am I selfish? What's wrong with me?" Then Ramakrishna explained that "You are so selfish, Vivekananda, that you are sitting and you are pleading with me to get enlightenment in your meditation. You are thinking and thinking for yourself, and what will happen to others? You are not thinking for others." And then Vivekananda went to that meeting in Chicago, world-wide religious meeting, and gave powerful lecture there. People were following him and he was crying that, "I came to sing glory of Guru Maharaj Ji, but now people are singing my glory. That's Grace of Master."
But we don't understand. Sometimes we become so selfish, so closed, that we try to meditate and meditate and meditate. We try to make it by ourselves, forgetting satsang and service. Guru Maharaj Ji is asking us to meditate; we have to meditate, that is our foundation but same time we have to understand our responsibility to other brothers and sisters. How so many people are suffering, how many people are lost without this Knowledge.
This is the most important service which we have to understand. If we are not going to explain, those of us who are clear about this Knowledge, who is going to explain to them? How are they going to come to this Knowledge? See how we are selfish.
In this propagation, we need so many types of propagation, physical, mental, financial, all types of help. We have to understand more and more our responsibility and we have to co-operate. We can't expect same service from everyone. There are different types of premies: someone is doing physical service, someone is doing mental service, someone is doing financial service, all types of service which we have to do. We have to co-operate and then we can do something for our brothers and sisters. If we understand that this Knowledge is doing something for us, why are we not trying to explain to other brothers and sisters?
Whatever we can do, we should try to do. If we are unable to do 100%, how can we do it? If we can do 10%, we should do that. If we put drop after drop of water in a bucket, what will happen? That bucket will be filled after sometime. Similarly, if we shall help a little bit, that's going to give so much strength to help propagation. We have to understand the importance of this service. Wherever we are and whatever is our job, we should try to realise our responsibility towards this propagation.
MEDITATION
It has been asked to meditate morning, evening, whenever you have time; there is no hard and fast rule. But just ask ourselves, are we able to make it practically? Again we have some problem because we have no sincerity, no routine, no discipline.
So, as I was asking, start satsang earlier, come together and meditate for half an hour. That is so uplifting for all of us. Try to finish satsang at 9 o'clock. There is no need for four or five people to give confusing satsang; one or two persons is enough, two or three beautiful, soft songs, not more and more beating drum, rock and roll. Soft song which is going to touch their heart, this is some request for musicians. Some people get annoyed at it, "What's this? Rock and roll party?" This is real soul music, not worldly soul music.
And when you will finish 9 o'clock, don't hang around here and there chattering. Try to go back to your home, otherwise you hang around here, wasting time. Then you go back, sit around with friends chattering, have a cup of tea and coffee and midnight snack. These all trips are going on and on and on. You're wasting time. Then you think, ah, I have to meditate one hour. And having this idea, we sit there but what are we doing? We are dozing or meditating on when the time will be over.
When there is no proper routine or discipline in any DUO house or premie house, when you are free … Maybe in ashrams they have to sit for one hour, dozing, they meditate or not but they have to sit. But in other houses, what do we do? Two minutes or five minutes light, ten minutes music and fifteen minutes Holy Name. All finished, all techniques completed. Five minutes, ten minutes and fifteen minutes and perfect yogi, eh? And we are expecting samadhi in five minutes and ten minutes. See practically. Really we are cheating ourselves, we are deceiving ourselves. Be honest with ourselves, be sincere with ourselves.
So after satsang, go back, wash your faces, if you want to drink something, drink, but not trip after trip, snacks and cake. After that sit sincerely, sincerely, sincerely because no-one is there to check you, no Mahatma to check if you are sitting straight or not. You have to be sincere yourselves. In place of dozing for one hour, sit half an hour but sincerely, and meditate.Meditate. Sit for meditation, not to sleep.
See so much lift, you will go up and up and up. Give that half an hour here and when you go back, meditate half an hour. Early to bed and early to rise. All of you are laughing because you know this, but ask yourselves honestly how many of us are able to make it. We know this statement, and we laugh because all of us are knower but how many of us are doer? Because we are not doing it, how are we going to become healthy, wealthy and wise? We are dizzy and confused in place of wise.
When you get up early, clean your body properly, take shower, if you can do some exercise, do it. Then in place of one hour, sit for half an hour. Some minds are surprised: What is Mahatma Ji doing? He is cutting meditation. My dear brothers and sisters, I'm trying to make you meditate more and more. You can think, wow, Mahatma Ji is changing all the schedule. But really I'm trying to be practical with you. Just ask yourself, are you meditating one hour? Or are you sleeping? Sleep ing! You're not meditating. So take shower, do exercise and then sit in meditation. Beautiful meditation, take breakfast and then go to your job. When you come back from your job, if you have time, take shower and then meditate and then have dinner and come back here and meditate. Be practical and honest with ourselves, then, we are going to get something from meditation.
If you are able to meditate one hour or two hours, that's beautiful; I don't mean to say meditate maximum half an hour. We should understand this. And for those brothers and sisters who have not received Knowledge, try to follow this routine. Make your own routine by yourself for yourself. Discipline yourself; sleep early, get up early, take shower, do exercise. And in place of meditation you can read any scripture. That's beautiful concentration, that's your satsang. Hear satsang or Guru Maharaj Ji from tape or from magazine. That's going to really prepare you.
First we have to follow rule and regulation, physical and mental discipline, Have proper routine and then, when you will receive Knowledge, it will so easy for you to meditate, better than these people.
So my dear brothers and sisters, first thing with meditation, we need our personal sincerity. If we are not sincere enough, no-one is going to wake us every morning. We have to be sincere with ourselves so that we can sit properly and we can try to meditate.
Secondly, make this meditation regular. When we stop for a few days, it's very, very hard to start again. As much as you are able to do, do regularly. Otherwise you will come in Knowledge review and you will expect light of thousand suns. I will help you and you will say, "Isn't it beautiful experience to attend Knovledge review?", and then you will go back, again tripping, no regular practice. By attending Knowledge session or by attending Knowledge review, we are not perfect. Practice makes man perfect. We have to practise regularly and then we shall see up and up and up beautiful experience, always something better and better and better.
We have to be very, very disciplined now physically and mentally. We have followed so many trips but really we are trying to get into meditation. Discipline our selves and then we shall see how this meditation is so beautifu1, so natural, so beneficial.
It's very easy to say satsang, service and meditation. So easy. But we have to make it practical. Then we are going to make together ourselves and then we are going to help others. So understand these points which are going to help ourselves first and then we shall be able to do something good for others.
Thank you again and again for your attention and time.