Maharaji: The Realm of Joy, 40th Anniversary Celebration, January 2006

Maharaji: The Realm of Joy, January 2006
40th Year Celebration of Prem Rawat Incarnating as the Satguru and Lord of the Universe

Wow. Hello. My name is Joan Apter and it's my privilege to be able to speak, um, at this wonderful occasion of my love and my appreciation for the single most important person in my life, Maharaji.

I met Maharaji in India in 1970. I had left America during the turbulent sixties, convinced that I would never return, and I had heard about Maharaji the first time in a restaurant in Afghanistan as I was heading overland, and I met the people who had met Maharaji from England who were on their way back to start the first center, and they told me about their 12 year old teacher who they had met in Dehradun, India. I filed it away and continued on my journey. And sometime later, I had been in India already 10 months. I met one of Maharaji's instructors and he told me, Joan, if you want practical experience of that, which is already within you, you better go to Dehradun. And at that time I said, okay, I'm going to go for it.

And I ended up on Maharaji's residence porch at his home in Dehradun, waiting for him to come back from school. My heart was beating just about as fast as it's beating now. And soon, you know, the car came in very quickly. Maharaji came out to the porch, sat down, and he looked at me and he said, what do you want? And I just started crying. And in the time that I cried, I expressed to him everything that I had been going through in the whole, I know, lifetime, especially in the last months. And he listened. I had the profound experience of his attention and his listening as I just expressed myself in tears. Maharaji was 12 years old and I had not a clue what that meant those days. And I still have no clue what that means today because I could feel his ability to really hear what my heart was saying. And when I was done, he said, okay, fine. You can go upstairs and take rest and we'll talk more tomorrow. And every day, I stayed there for one month and every day, I'd wait for Maharaji to come back with my pad full of questions for the day. I'd say, Maharaji, there is no such thing as truth. And he'd smile and he'd say, yes, there is. And it just went on until finally that crust of disappointment and pessimism that had been weighing me down just dissolved in that beauty of his love and his laughter.

And he kept saying to me about this experience that I should be asking for called the Gift of Knowledge and how I should be asking for it. And I didn't quite get it because I was so happy. I had Maharaji every day and I was enjoying life more than I had enjoyed it before. So I didn't ask. And then one day, he said to me, Joan, if you want a permanent connection with Maharaji, then you better ask for the Gift of Knowledge. And it began to make sense to me, but not enough that I actually did ask. And one day, he was on his school vacation and that's when he would go and do tours to big cities around India. And he invited me to come along to Delhi and Chandigarh. And it was in Delhi when I saw him in front of throngs of people sitting on a stage, speaking with his eyes, brilliant, his love, his power shining. I was overwhelmed. I got it. And I went to him after the event and I said, Maharaji, can I please learn the Techniques of Knowledge? And he said, no, you're not ready. So the next day we went to Chandigarh. And again, the same thing, watching Maharaji in that way. My heart was just bursting.

And I went to him, please, Maharaji, can I learn the techniques? He said, yes. And after that, things were amazing. He was preparing for a big event in Delhi, which was the Peace Bomb program in 1970. Was that 71? 1971. And he said that there was a van of Westerners coming from England for the first time who had received Knowledge there and wanted to meet Maharaji. And would I, you know, host them and take care of them when they arrived? So this first van arrived. We all went back to his center in Hardwar. And every day, Maharaji would come out and he would answer questions and he would just be delighted to experience and to feel the thirst and the longing for all of these people to learn more. He kept on saying at that time that we should be thinking about going back to our countries. But once again, I was not interested in hearing about this. I thought, you know, Maharaji, he's going to school. The chances of him coming back to the West were slim, marginal.

And so I didn't pay too much attention to it. But again, he kept saying, Joan, you should go back to the West and prepare for me to come. I'm coming. Finally, in April of 1971, I agreed. And I went back to America and started writing letters to all the people. I had lists of people who had received Knowledge in India and in London from America. And finally, someone from, Gary from L.A. called me and he said, we're sending you a ticket. We'll start the first center in L.A. So we went there and this was the end of April. Think of it. May, we were, you know, going downtown to get his visa. We were doing programs every day at the at the center. And then we heard that Maharaji was going to be arriving in April, I'm sorry, June, June 17th in London. I started calling him every day. Maharaji, please come to L.A. Please come to the States. We're thirsty. We want you. And finally, in July to the day, 17th, 1971, Maharaji arrived in L.A. And as I watched those first days evolve, it was amazing. We probably booked him maybe one event a day, sometimes two events a day.

It was out of control. There were people literally hanging from the ceilings. There was so much excitement. Everywhere Maharaji went. He went on radio. He went on TV. He gave his message. And for those of us, I know if some of you are seeing him for the first time today, but for those of us who've experienced Maharaji, his message, when you feel the love, when you feel the energy that Maharaji has when he speaks, to me, that's his message. And it hits such a place in me that it has the power to just bring that thirst up to the front and make me feel like, yes, I'm open.

I'm ready to learn, which for someone coming from Washington, D.C., is quite an achievement. So those days, Maharaji would just respond to invitations from California to Boulder, Colorado, to one guy called him from Morgantown, West Virginia, and said, Maharaji, I'm a conscientious objector. I can't get to you. Please let me do an event for you at the university here and come to me. And he did. He stayed in his home, his one-bedroom apartment, and did an event in Morgantown, West Virginia. And from there, you know, we prepared events in Washington, D.C., New York, Toronto, and so it went. So I've just been very, very privileged to see how Maharaji responds and how he does his work over the years. And people say to me, Joan, you know, you're so lucky you've seen Maharaji from those early days. And yes, it's true, but I feel like that same privilege in my life right now as I watch him do his work. I remember in L.A., actually it was in Carmel, that day when he called India. He was 13 years old. And he said, guess what, I'm not coming back to school. It's time for me to do my work. And he knew it. He knew the time. How many people do we know who have a life history? As our Maharaji. It's absolutely extraordinary to be a part and to be a witness and to participate in any way with what he's doing.

I live in Woodstock, New York, and I love the opportunities that I get to, you know, make Public Programs. We have cable TV, you know, broadcasts going. And to watch what happens when a human life touches Maharaji's message and to see that blossoming that can take place. It is such a miracle. We're also going to be inviting Maharaji to a big public event in Albany. What can we do? Please, Maharaji, come. Give us your message, because that's really the hope. The hope, you know, that I have, that I can be a part somehow of his work. So, you know, here it is, the anniversary of his 40th year of doing this work. And I just feel like I can't wait for the next 40 to watch, to see, to be a part. Some things change, and it looks like Maharaji, he looks the same, you know, and he doesn't change. His eyes so brilliantly when he's speaking, his poetry, his passion, his enthusiasm, his commitment, it never changes.And it's to me.

So I feel like Maharaji's coming out today and he's going to be speaking to me. And I'm here for that opportunity of bringing my empty bucket, because I remember that poem that says, Maharaji, for you, there are many, but for me, you're the only one. So, thank you, Maharaji. I'd like to introduce, I'd like to introduce now Mario Burbinsky, who has gone through the Keys and has received Knowledge very recently. Thank you very much.

Hi, buenas tardes. Es una emoción y un honor para mí estar en este momento aquí. Hi, good evening. I'm very excited and it's an honor for me to be here today. Mi nombre es Mario Burbinski, soy de Buenos Aires, Argentina, y vivo en Miami hace 15 años. My name is Mario Burbinski, I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I have lived in Miami for 15 years. En 1978, recibí el conocimiento el 18 de diciembre de 2005 a través de las Keys. En 1978, me preocupaba por organizar un viaje alrededor de Europa, de Medio Oriente, del mundo. Estudiar filosofía, teología, historia de las civilizaciones, pensando en la influencia del pasado que podía hacer los pensadores y me ayudarían a mí a encontrar un camino. En esos días, escuché sobre Maharají por primera vez en Argentina, por mi hermana y algunos amigos que estaban llevando por Sudamérica el conocimiento. Pero no le presté ninguna atención. Continué mi búsqueda, con religión o sin ellas, con maestros, sin ellos, buscando siempre una respuesta a preguntas ya formuladas, sin escuchar a mi propio corazón. Mi insatisfacción siempre estuvo presente. Como pueden ver, estaba bastante confundido. En el verano del 2004, un amigo, Eduardo, me dijo que todo camino que uno comienza, aunque tenga una o varias pausas, siempre va a llevar hasta donde uno quiere. Una vez trabajando juntos, me mostró un video de Maharají, y cuando le puse mucha atención, pude ver, y me dijo que estaba sorprendido con los ojos y con la mirada que yo tenía en ese momento. Mientras trabajaba, me mostró un video de Maharají, el cual vi con atención. Me vio mirando, y me dijo que estaba tocado por la expresión de mi corazón, brillando a través de mis ojos. Nunca sabemos acerca de los pasos y la vida que toma. En 1978, Eduardo recibió conocimiento en Buenos Aires, while at the same time, I was turning my back on Maharají. In July 2005, I started watching Maharají, and the Keys with the conviction of listening to Maharají with my heart and giving myself a chance of giving and receiving. I watched each one of them slowly, taking the necessary time to allow them to grow inside of me. When I received Knowledge, I made a commitment to give myself the time and the space needed for this rebirth in my life, showing me that I am never alone. Through this journey of life, where I have learned a few things, I've learned that life is more than words. I've learned that I have a lot to learn. También aprendí que un buen maestro no es solo el que muestra, sino que también sostiene el espejo para que uno se pueda ver reflejado en él. Yo sé que puedo lograr muchos cambios, muy significativos, y empecé por este proceso por mí mismo. Gracias, Maharají, por darme la oportunidad y permitirme darme cuenta que yo lo puedo hacer. Thank you very much.

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Maharaji: The Realm of Joy 40th Year Celebrations

So I should begin with wishing each one of you a Happy New Year. This is the first event of this year, and really I'm here to, once again, remind you of what is important. Because what is important it is important because it is important. And there are those things that we give importance to. And the reason why we have to give those things importance is because they're not important. It's true. It really is. Because they are not important, we have to give them importance.

You do not see people watering plants in tropical places. There's plenty of rain. It's not needed. You won't see somebody going and watering a forest, which is an evergreen forest. It's not needed. But in the desert, where there is a severe lack of water, people go and give water to the plants because without that water they won't grow and there is no water, so somebody has to bring the water. And in this business of going around and giving importance to things that are not important, believe me, it is easy to spend one whole lifetime, super easy, trying to analyze, go through the arguments, go through the reasonings, find the support.

Tremendous amount of support has to be found. So people hit the books and people hit everything that they can to come up with the importance so they can give it to those things that are not important so they can look important and therefore be important. Because you know, in your heart of hearts, you know they're not important. So what is important? What is important by its very nature? What is important by every reality test that there is? What is it that does not need this artificial support? Then it begins with the most beautiful blessing, most beautiful gift that you have been given, which is this gift of existence. This is where it begins from. It's not where it ends.

This is where it begins. And if this was an instrument, then placed in that right hand, coupled with the proper passion and governed by the proper Knowledge, indeed this instrument would produce the most beautiful, beautiful, not sound, melody. A melody. Enchanting. Something that would move from a very fundamental place, any human being that heard it. But a mistuned instrument in the hands of somebody who does not know how to play this is going to make a lot of noise that is going to sound like scratching. So why am I telling you this? Does this mean that you have some role to play in making this instrument sound incredible? Then the answer is yes, you do. You do. Not this instrument. For this instrument, which is me, I am responsible. And for the instrument that is you, you are responsible. And people will argue. And people have arguments. And arguments will always be arguments. That is the nature of arguments. They change. Questions remain questions.

It's a bit like the mile markers. And it's kind of funny because in India, a lot of cities have gone and reverted back to their original names. And it used to be that the mile marker said the name of the city that you were headed towards. And when they changed the name of the city, they also had to change the name on the mile markers. But the mile markers, they're exactly in the same place. They change. They change. All these mile markers, they change. What changes is the name. And perhaps the distance. And people fudge. You know, 5.8 becomes 6. And that's what happens. That in this life, we have mile markers. Who are you, and who are we, and what are you, and what have you accomplished, and what have you done, and what have you done today? And all your mile markers, they stay exactly in the same place. The only thing that changes on them is the name on the face. Somebody comes, erases it, and puts a different name. And now we have accomplished this.

For me, I was, last year I wrapped up the tour in India and I came back, I was tired. And then I started just thinking. And one of the things I realized is that when you have something, it's easy to make it nothing. Because it's exactly the opposite. All you do is rip it all apart and it becomes nothing. And when there is nothing, there's a point at which the nothing gets to. Because what I started to do was I decided, well, why not restore a car? So I got this old 1969 Chevy and started restoring it. And you know, the amazing thing was there it was, at least it ran. And then all of a sudden, it started getting ripped apart. And ripped apart. And ripped apart. And everything got ripped apart. Till it was nothing but a frame. Just a frame. No wheels and there was not a single bolt on that frame. Nothing. Got powder coated, came back. And I looked at all the parts. And I said, I did not take that many parts out. There's more parts here than go in this thing. But then the process began. Because you see, up till that point, all this was there. The hood, the fender, the dashboard, the carpets, the windshields. I mean, everything was there. And we begin the process of deconstruction and take it apart, take it apart, take it apart, take it apart. And how far do you go till there is nothing to take apart? Everything is apart. But then something happens. And when everything is apart, there's only one thing left to do. And you know what that is? You start putting it back together. Screw by screw, bolt by bolt, piece by piece, it begins to come together. And at first, it doesn't seem like anything. There's a frame with the rear end. This was a record project almost. Six weeks, a day before yesterday, before leaving, I started it. Actually ran. Didn't go anywhere, ran. Turned it off and had a tea party. That was it. And from that one, which is nothing, something begins. And slowly and slowly and slowly, because the whole body was off the frame, then finally we made it the body and the body had gotten painted. And slowly it took on the shape, it took on the form of what it could be. And it was beautiful. It was shiny. No more dents, no more corrosion holes, no more bent panels. It went from imperfection, quite a process, quite a process.

And I started thinking how much it is that we too begin to live in this existence which is full of dents, corrosion holes, everything else. And it's like, it's okay. And we console ourselves. Oh, it's all right. That's life. People say, that's life. School of a hard knocks.

And somebody sees a potential. Somebody sees a potential that is in this vision that this person sees. It's perfect. It's perfect. It's not dented. It's not broken. It's not warped. It's not corroded. It's perfect. And when this person comes to town and he says, I see something. And you know, it's not imperfect. It's perfect. There will be arguments. How can that? Look at this thing. This is not possible. Not possible. Depends.

What is the vision? What is the vision of your existence in your life? What do you see? What do you dream of? What do you dream of? In your dream, in your dream, do you dream of contentment? Do you dream of that passion? Do you dream of that peace? Do you dream of that fulfillment? Do you dream of that perfect melody? Do you dream of that beautiful joy? Do you dream of that beautiful happiness? Or do you dream of a two-story house and a cute little pudgy dog that gets along with the gray cat? That's it. What do you dream?

Dreams do come true. By the way, dreams do come true. Be careful what you ask for. Really, be careful what you ask for. I had a most incredibly profound experience of this. Wasn't me, it was somebody else that had asked for something, and it came true! And what they'd asked for wasn't, well, all that great. But it did come true. I was astonished. So, what do you dream of? Do you have that passion? Have you encouraged that passion in your life? When you know that it takes a tremendous amount of effort to give importance to those things that are not important, then you must also know that it is extremely important to nurture those things that you hold precious in your existence.

Nurture. So if you nurture joy, your fields will be filled with joy. People go, is that how it works? Yeah. Ask a farmer. Just how it works. Just how it works. And if you nurture that serenity in your life, then your fields will be filled with serenity. And if you do not nurture anything in your fields, your fields will be filled with weed. Thorns. And all those things you do not want. And then you will wonder where they came from. And you will look towards philosophy to try to explain to them. And there is some philosopher who will try to explain how those weeds came along to a farmer. It doesn't matter where they came from. The question is, where are they going? In the trash? Or are they staying there in the field? Trash is their place.

That's it. Out. We become so complicated when life is so simple. We begin to wonder. We begin to wonder where we should be experiencing the wonder full. Close, huh? Wonder and wonderful. Wondering. Wondering may not be wonderful. Wandering is definitely not wonderful. But wonderful is wonderful. And this existence is wonderful. And this breath is wonderful. And this life is wonderful. What are people becoming? I tell you. People are becoming really good at complaining about things.

And God knew this. So he made himself scarce. I'm everywhere. You see me. I hear everything you say, but you can't talk to me. Smart. You see? I hear everything you say, but you can't talk to me. You cannot complain. That's what we've become good at. Complain about everything. About God. Oh. To go to anyone. Oh my God, you know. Peace, peace, the world needs peace. Oh yes, the world needs peace. So, what else is new? How are you doing? What's up? Where are you going next? Oh yeah, the world needs peace. It doesn't mean anything anymore. Because the equation of each individual is out. We see things as a world. World economy.

Not personal economy. How rich are you? How poor are you? You can be very wealthy, and be very poor. And there are people like that. There are. There actually are people like that. In fact, I used to know one. Absolute extreme example. But, yes. A lot of money, but very poor. And then there are those who have no money. No zilch. Very rich. Also knew a person. I also knew a person who had no money, but he was very rich. So then, this life starts to become a beautiful dance. Because it is a beautiful dance. When you allow this to transpire, give it that freedom. Freedom! That it needs to be free. To express to you what this life wants to express. Then this heart can fill with gratitude. No pretense.

Do people pretend? Of course people pretend. People pretend like you wouldn't believe how people pretend. All you need to do, all you need to do, is just look in their direction. Observe them a little bit. And you will see how people pretend. People pretend to be happy! And how do they pretend? Look, look at me. I am good. I am happy. I am carefree.

What is happiness? I know. I've seen it. I've seen freedom like you have never seen. So, last year in December, I really wanted to go, an invitation had come from this prison in India, and I really wanted to go there. And so, you know, here I was, it was, I think it was around May, June, whatever. I was kidding around with people. I'm going to prison. I'm going to prison. I'm going to prison. And they would go, no, no. And then I heard nothing. I heard nothing. I heard nothing. And then it was about five or six days before I was due to leave India, I'm told, oh by the way, they're very excited and and they want to know are you going to come. I said absolutely, I've been looking forward to this. So, I go, and it was beautifully set up. All these prisoners, all these prisoners, and you go to this jail, this one in India, for minor crime. Major. Major. But you see, I was not going there as a judge. I'm not a judge. I'm not a lawyer. I was going there as a human being, to see some human beings. I'm not going there to judge them, and I wasn't going there to straighten out their lives. Because I know a lot of people who have a lot more crooked lives who are not in. And in fact, if that was the case, you know, I would have never gone to prison, because those guys are probably saints compared to some of the ones out floating around. But I was going there for human beings.

And I was in the office, and there's this man. There. Bright-eyed. He just kept looking at me, and smiling, and looking at me, and smiling, and kept looking at me, and smiling. Happy. And then he got a chance to come close to me, and he said, I have been watching your videos, and I'm so happy to see you. Then we went, and the prisoners in this prison, they had pulled together the event. They did everything. They put a stage. Oh my goodness. It was the same color. I'm not kidding. It was the same color. They're here. So, they built the stage. They built the whole place. You know, they built, it was all like tent. There was a few hundred of them. All different ages, and they did it. They did it. Nobody else was allowed to come and set up, and they set up the PA system. I mean, whatever they were asked to do, so that this event could happen. And then they came, and they sat down, and they listened. And some of them had received Knowledge, had received the techniques of Knowledge, and they wanted to see me privately in the back. In the backstage. I said, fine. Human beings, remember? So they were all, they came one at a time, and this one kid, who was very young, beautiful, bright, big eyes. He looks at me, and he says, I just want to wish you a happy birthday. So you think, right? You must have so many wishes you want to make. I can think of one right off the bat. And it's not about my birthday. It's to be out of this place. But he wishes of all those things that he could wish. He wishes me a happy birthday. Another one. Thank you.

Because they, see, because of the whole prison situation, it's easy for them to be able to watch the Keys, and then they can also receive Knowledge. Oh, by the way, it isn't just the prisoners who watch the videos. All the officials do, too. Because they got curious, what is this? Before they could allow the prisoners to watch this, they had to audit the stuff. So, amazingly enough, you know, when I walked into the prison, I was looking for all these gloomy faces. And the only gloomy faces I saw were the people who had actually accompanied me. Sorry. Because I've never seen a happier bunch of people. And so much respect, and so much love.

You see, that's what freedom is. Freedom is being able to express your heart. That's freedom. Freedom is being able to accept today. That's freedom. Freedom is being able to say thank you that you are alive. That is freedom. And freedom, the truest of all freedoms, no one, but no one, but no one, can take away from you. And I saw that. Nobody could take that freedom. Nobody could take away that smile. Nobody could take away what that person felt. No one. So what is your expression of your existence? What is it like for you? Can you smile? Like you have never smiled before. Not for someone else, but for yourself. Those big bright eyes and wish peace upon your existence. You go around wishing peace and goodwill on the existence of others. Have you wished that peace for yourself? You have been given a gift.

And if you do not accept it, it will move on. Whatever you think you are, and whoever you think you are, these little molecules that you are made of do not belong to you. They. They belong to this earth. And they'll go back. And perhaps somebody else will use them. Or like I have said many times, maybe you'll come back as an eggplant. I know. Probably more tasty. Maybe an apple. Who knows? Strawberry. It's the same mush of stuff that gets recycled and recycled and recycled and recycled.

This is it. Shine. If you want to shine for a lifetime, it begins with every day. Indeed, it begins with every hour. Indeed, it begins with every minute.

Consciousness. To be conscious. Conscious that you're alive. Conscious that you exist. Conscious. This is the most incredible dream that has come true. The most incredible wish anybody could ever wish has come true. And it shouldn't be tragedy that teaches you. Tragedy should not be your teacher. Tragedy is not a good thing to have around. You should learn from consciousness. Let consciousness be your teacher. Let the process be of awakening every day. With admiration and with a heart full. Because these are the possibilities. This is when you sound melodic. Not a scratch, but melodic. This is what is going on. Underneath the whole facade of this world, indeed, this is what is going on. The simplest of wish to be happy. And when it is fulfilled, it is.

They said to me, this includes the main man of the prison, down to the prisoners, please come again. Come again. Yes, I will come again. I'll be happy to come. My pleasure. My joy. It's not what I can give them. But how much I learned being there. It wasn't long. It was in the last few minutes of me in India, literally.

It was from the prison. I drove to the airport. From the airport, departed. Left the entire Indian subcontinent. In awe. In awe. Took off. And there was a little weather right around Bombay, Mumbai. I was just climbing, climbing, climbing, climbing, climbing at 45,000 feet. And the sun was just dancing in all these clouds. And these clouds were better than 48,000, 49,000 feet high. Just these beautiful openings. It was just amazing. And I'm just sitting there in the cockpit.

Wow. Wow. How wonderful is this realm of joy? How wonderful is this realm of peace? How wonderful is this realm of fulfillment? How truly blessed is that person who walks on this earth in the company of these? And this is something not new from me. This is something that has been said thousands of years. Thousands of years ago. How fortunate are those who walk in the company of peace. Of joy. Of fulfillment. Of truth. Coming, going, still keep happening on the face of this earth. Who are you? What are you? Millions, billions, trillions have come, trillions will go. There'll be new problems. There'll be new things. There'll be old things. There'll be memories. There'll be memoirs. There'll be history. There'll be lies. And people will want truth. And then there will be the ones who will try to define what truth is. And then there'll be the ones who will say, feel the truth in your life. Feel the truth. This is the realm of Knowledge. This is what Knowledge is. Feel.

Not theory. Not some security blanket. Now I have Knowledge. Thank you. Good. Ha. I made it. Because that's what happens to some people. Oh yeah, I need that security blanket. Now I'm officially certified that I'm happy. Because I have Knowledge.

Go pull that stunt off in prison. They get to decide when they go to sleep. They get to decide when they get up. They get to decide what they do that day. They. They get to decide what they eat. They. All these little things that you think it's what it is all about. Choice. Oh yes, we can go to any restaurant we want. They get to go to restaurants. There's an Indian festival that happens around that time. This time it was in November. It's called Diwali. It's like the Indian New Year. One of the things you do is give everybody sweets and fruits and this and that. Not so much fruits. Sweets. Presents. Because I'd been invited, I also wanted to give them something. I said, can we get them some food? They're like, well no, you can't bring your food. But give us the money and tell us what you want made and we'll make it. I said, okay, great, that's fine. They were going to get a nice dinner that night. This is just a small little part of the prison. This is the largest prison in Asia. This was just a small part of it. Thousands of people are in there. They have any choice. There's a few I know in that prison that have happiness. And that means more to them than all the freedom you think you have. That's it. One of them sent me a letter and that's what it said. Come again. Come again.

In your life, you have so much, if you have that peace. And maybe I'm saying to you, garner it. Work towards it. You're going to have to. It's not automatic. Nothing is automatic.You have to work for it.

I mean, my goodness, if you want to be drowned in water, you have to go to the water, or at least be in its proximity where it can come and get you. Sitting on top of some mountain in Denver and hoping for a shark attack is just not going to happen. You want a shark attack? You at least are going to have to make your way to California. Then it's very good chances. So all you have to do is just pretend you're a surfer. Take your surfboard out there and just pretend. They'll come. "Ah, a surfer." I wonder if they have a whole network. Surfer is accessible. Where, where, where? Over there. Who's hungry? OK, here we go. Check them out. Ah, he's too skinny. I just, I mean, I just wonder, you know, let's scare him. Let's bite his board. I mean, why would a shark want to bite a board? I mean, this thing has been at it for millions of years. This is a perfected machine. And the fact that it misses does not seem right to me. I mean, every, this thing is like loaded. This thing can produce 100% accuracy. It's been doing that for millions, I mean, millions of years. Then they just go bite the board. I think they just come together and go, hey, I'll scare him. So nothing is automatic. And if you want in your life, peace is possible. If you want in your life, that serenity is very possible. If you want the dance of Knowledge that's happening in your life, it is very, very possible. But you have to guard that.

And I say to people, take a little time out in your life for you, because everybody else is eating it up. And this doesn't make sense to people. Now American Express has a new credit card. And every time you make a purchase, they'll take 1% of it and put it in a savings account. Same principle. I've been doing it, I've been saying it closer for 40 years. They just started the plan this year. Same thing. For all that time you spend, save a little bit for yourself. And who knows? You'll be richer. Then you can imagine. People look for sincerity.

I say to those searching for sincerity in others, are you sincere about yourself? People look for enlightenment in others. Are you enlightened? Because think about it. Darkness looking for light is going to have a very hard time. you think so? Because as soon as it finds it, its existence would disappear. And it would no longer be darkness looking for light. It can't. The two, the two are so different. In your heart, you want that joy. In your mind, you want explanations.

People are driving fast. Officer pulls them over. What hits you? I mean, what goes through your mind? What goes through people's minds? What am I going to tell this guy? What am I? I mean, it's like automatic dishonesty. What can I tell this guy that'll get me off this problem? What can I tell this guy? One guy in Texas, I guess they get so many, they actually have a competition. And whoever tells the biggest fib gets an award. And the award basically is they waive off their ticket. his one guy, he's in the car, and he's speeding. He gets pulled over. And his fib is, I have a little bit of weight to lose. And so if I drive fast, it bothers me. Like, you know, I might get pulled over and get a ticket. And that worry makes me lose.

He got his ticket waived. So people look for the Enlightened One. How do they look for an Enlightened One? They have a template. They carry a template. And they'll say, see if this person fits the template. That's not how you find an Enlightened One, by a template. That's a fib. Denial. How not to find an Enlightened One? Get a template. Because if somebody fits that template, you can be rest assured, you just found an unenlightened person. Light is light. Light is light. And it burns in the heart of those who have the passion. Do you have the passion? Of course you do. Of course you do. You need to let it burn. Let be that joy in your life. This is what it's always about.

It's the start of a new year. What's going to happen this year? I hope wonderful things happen this year. Wonderful things. For you, for everyone. Not wondering, not more wondering. But truly wonderful things. And if some of you, it means one step closer to that reality, that's wonderful. One step closer to that joy, then that's wonderful. One step closer to that truth, then that's wonderful. Why just one step? Just one step? Why just one step? Because you're so close to it already. It's within you. How close can it get? If you get one step closer, bingo! You're there.

You're there. How beautiful is that news? That you can be content. How beautiful is the news? That you are alive. How beautiful is the news? That that reality dances within inside of you. How beautiful. And once again, I get to go around the world. Big, big, big tour in India is just about ready to begin. Thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of people are going to come. And something is going to happen that always happens. And I will tell them the good news. And I'm privileged to tell them the good news. Forty years? Not quite yet. A few more months to go, and there will truly be this one date where it is forty years. Exactly. That's what I've been doing.

Most important thing. let the dream stop. Biggest mistake people make. Stop dreaming. It's not about being old. It's about stopping to dream. That's the difference. When you were young, that's all you did was dream. Period. Period. When you were young, you dreamt and you dreamt and you dreamt and you dreamt and you dreamt and you dreamt. People get old and they stop dreaming. ever stop dreaming. Dreams are free. Possibilities. Possibilities. It's people who set the limitations, not the possibilities. Possibilities set no limitations whatsoever. Anything is possible. What does that mean to you? That truly, that joy is possible in your life. That love, that feeling, that understanding is possible. It is.

How beautiful for me that I was able to come here today and say this to you. I'm on my way. Say it again and again and again and again. For as long as I am around, 40 years doesn't really seem that long. It really doesn't seem that long. These are the things and this is what I was thinking about, you know. I had so many dreams. When I was young, we dreamt how it would be. They all came true. They did. They did. (applause) There'd be Knowledge all around the world. It did. (applause) There'd be people finding this gift of Knowledge and enjoying this gift of Knowledge. It did. It did. (poor applause) So many, so many, so many, so many dreams and yet I also know I can't stop dreaming. So the next dream. Much bigger? Of course, they have to be bigger. More spectacular? Of course, more spectacular. Why? Because the possibilities are endless.

They truly are. Slowly, slowly but surely, the Keys, people finishing up the Keys is starting to ramp up and people send me messages, email. Raji, I've finished the Keys. I feel ready. Can I have the gift of Knowledge? Simple. Very beautiful. And time is set. They receive the gift. It's different. India is going to be receiving their Keys soon. So many people around the world. People. People. And then there are people who do nothing but set limits. This is what they think the purpose in their life is to set limits. They dream. Absolutely none. None. They're incapable of dreams. Some disease, I know what. Incapable of dreaming. I think they have invented a little box that every time they start dreaming it shocks them awake. But yeah, there was a time. There was that feeling.

Yes. It should be different. When I was in India, you know, I would just go and I would do my events and so on and so forth. There was a lid. There was a lid on everything. It was like, oh, this is good. Everything is fine. Look, let's not change anything. Then something happened. And it just tore the lid. Just tore the lid off everything. And everything changed. And in fact, just shortly after that, I found myself. Joan Apter, of course, brought and gave you the introduction to the American part. Of course, before that, I was in England and doing all these events and also remembering all these people.

I remember when I first landed, I went into this room. It was a nice little house. I went into this room. There was people sitting in the living room. And I was sitting on the chair. And they were sitting in the living room. And I was looking at them. And they were looking at me. And we were just looking at each other for quite a while. Because it was like, "Oh, my God. This is not India, is it?" And no, it wasn't. It wasn't India at all. It was different. One thing, it was cold. It was cold. Even then, it was cold. But there has been a wonderful fulfillment of a wonderful dream. And it continues to unfold. The most important thing, a part of that dream, is that it also unfolds for each one of you who are here. That each one of you find that joy. And each one of you find that bliss. And each one of you find that happiness in your life. That's part, that is part of that dream, not away from it. It's not about the big signs or the billboards or this or that. It's about that. That's what I've been working on. And that's what I do.

That's what I do. So it was great to come here and be able to talk to you about this. And I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful time. And get ready. Because shortly here, after the Indian tours, I'll be coming back to the United States and doing some tours. Radically different. Radically, radically different. And now for something completely different kind of tour. And I haven't told anybody about this. I mean, I have a whole plan for the tour, but I haven't told anybody about this. Because I know who to tell. But yeah, it'll be something wonderful and something incredible. And so, yeah, it's going to require participation of all the people. All the people who have Knowledge. It includes Canada, eh? Really, really, we did this event for the Canadians. Because it was like heartbreakingly cold up there. But yeah, for Canada, for North America. And the events will be happening in South America. And Pacific and Europe, of course. Everywhere. But it'll be different.

It will not be the same cookie cutter approach. It cannot. We cannot. It cannot. Because no two events are the same. They aren't. So why put them in the same box? Events are not cookies. So why have cookie cutters? What are we doing with cookie cutters, anyways? We're not supposed to be making cookies. What are we doing with cookies? We've got a bunch of cookie cutters. Of course we make cookies. So the question is, what is this perverted thing of having cookie cutters when you make cookies? Anyways, maybe they're used for something else. But I can't imagine what.

Thank you very much for coming. And have a wonderful year. Thank you.