Spring 1987

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WHAT A BEAUTIFUL GIFT TO BE GIVEN!

Excerpts from Maharaji's presentation at the North American Convention, Miami Beach, July 5, 1986

There is something called "life," the thing that moves us. And as conscious beings, as people who can choose, it places certain demands on us. Actually, it forces us to choose. Of course, how we view it depends entirely upon our own experiences. Still, I know one thing - if we don't respond to it, something disastrous usually happens.

Life itself is much stronger than our little ideas. It reminds me of an experience I had a long time ago when I was playing with my kids on the beach. We were building something at low tide, something with walls. We were really into it and after a while it developed into something with a lot of character. Slowly, of course, the tide kept coming in. Every second that passed the tide was increasing, but I wasn't aware of it. And then a big wave came and threatened our creation. At that moment it was decision time. We couldn't move what we were building because it was made of sand. So we decided to build a bigger wall around it. But then another wave came and took that wall. Now it was decision time again. We couldn't stop the ocean. It was going to come anyway. We could have kept making walls, of course, but still we wouldn't have been able to keep up with the ocean.

Remembering that example clarified something for me today.

Whether I like it or not, I'm travelling along a road. And on this journey I carry a book in which I note every thing that is "right." Every page of this book is divided into two columns. On one side I write "good." On the other side I write "bad." And in the back of the book I note the things that I can't decide are either good or bad. I've come to believe in this book. The book is me, even though there are a lot of things in it I don't like - especially the pages in the back that say, "Can't decide … good or bad."

Do I dare put my book of "goods and bads" aside for a day and take life just as it is? Something's making me exist. Something's inspiring me to take a step every day. Do I take that step whether I like it or not, whether I'm ready for it or not? Am I going to make a conscious choice? Am I going to be able to enjoy it? Or is life just something that put me on rollerskates and pushed from behind? Am I going to spend the rest of my life trying not to fall down - all the time knowing that the out-come of my totally uncontrolled flight is that I'm going to smash into something?

How do I get out of this scenario? What tools do I have? How do I come to a place where I can start to admire what I have, rather than be on my backside all the time?

First of all, one has to begin from a fundamental acceptance. Anyone can reject. But we need to stand at a threshold and decide to accept - accept something without definitions.

We are such defining machines, it's incredible. We define everything. We have a definition for the power, a definition for life, a definition for every single element of our life. Do we trust? No. Trust has gone out the window. This is the problem. Life has a mind of its own, you have a mind of your own, and the two are constantly clashing.

But life is not meant to be that way. Look at it. By an infinite amount of mercy, compassion, or whatever reason, here we are. We've been given the most fantastic and beautiful of tools. And we've been given ourselves. We really don't have anyone else but ourselves on this journey. But we don't know ourselves. We are the only person we travel with on this journey, and yet we have no idea who that is. So we have nobody.

Sometimes I think about Gus, our turtle at home. I don't know what the most exciting thing is in Gus' life. He looks up. He looks around. Then he goes back to eating. Every day Gus lives, he eats his lettuce, drinks his water, and doesn't go very far. He can't. It takes him forever to get from one place to another. I don't know if Gus is planning the Great Escape or what.

Perhaps it's hard to contemplate, but could there be a similarity between Gus and us? We also look up. We also turn our head. We also return to our food or whatever our trip is. If I was to make a conscious choice, I wouldn't want to be like Gus. And yet, have we not unconsciously chosen to be like Gus? When the challenges of life call upon us, will we respond? Will we go? Or will we have a trillion questions first?

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IN VIEW

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Of course, you can actually make a choice not to choose. But sooner or later confusion gets created when something calls you. One side of you is saying, "No, no, I'm comfortable." And the other is saying, "Come, life is calling."

Life is calling every one of us to move. it reminds me of that beautiful saying, "You cannot change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust the sails." I don't know if the power of life can be changed according to my whims or ideas, but I can try to adjust my sails. I can try to be taken every step of the way - not by being caught up in a lot of definitions, but by trusting. Trusting me for a change. I can trust that my life is not a mistake. Think about that. I have not been put here by mistake. It's deliberate. It's precision at its peak. It's absolute, not a fluke of nature or random choice.

Imagine our turmoil as it is. Some people are feeling joyful. Some people are feeling sad. Some people are feeling petrified. And while all this is going on, that power is looking down and saying, "There is my most incredible creation." I know you are thinking, "How could that power say that?" After all, aren't we the ultimate chaos makers? Can we still be considered a perfect creation? Yes, we can. That power, which has given us so many chances, has so much mercy, compassion, and delight for every being.

I know there are people who talk about how bad things are. Sometimes I wonder whose side they're on. The more they talk about the chaos, the worse it seems. And yet, that's not the case. I know we sometimes do things that are very naughty or slightly strange. But I also know in my heart, that the power I speak of has compassion for us. I have absolutely no doubt the power could end it all any time it wanted to. And yet, here we are, having an opportunity to be able to witness and understand the beauty in all of us. That power is not going to change our goods and bads. It's not going to change our book. But it will give us something better to look at than our goods and bads. it'll give us something like ourselves to look at. That's where that power has put the trust. The power, the beauty, has put the trust in you. So you can glorify it. So you can love it. So you can sing the praises in your own little way.

I'm proud of that power. Maybe I don't need to give it a human metaphor, but there is a power. And I thank that power for making me alive. And I stand totally humbled in front of that power, that

power is within me. It's allowing me to sing, to hear, to enjoy, to laugh, to cry. Everything.

Knowledge allows me to go and dig the gold of my life so I can be rich within myself. What a beautiful gift to be given! That's why you're here - to enjoy it. Maybe there are things in the past that have been hard, but the evolution has taken place. It's been demanding, but it's also been kind. It's been difficult, but it's also been gentle. It's been an unfolding. Every petal is blooming, flowering, opening up in its own sweet time. And you are becoming more beautiful with every opening petal.

Trust in that evolution. Trust in that power that moves us. Let us not sit here and try in our finite imaginations to figure out how much better it will get. If you think this is good, you ain't seen nothing yet. It gets a lot better. All you have to be is sensitive to the call of life itself.

So thank you very much for coming this evening and listening to what I have to say. I hope it has helped you in some way. Good night and have a wonderful evening.