Specifically these extracts relate to the discourses (satsangs) given by Prem Rawat (then known as Guru Maharaj Ji) and his various family members.

Further extracts from this book can be found on ex-premie.org.

Guru Maharaj Ji's Satsangs
Little Drops of Mercy
The Perfect One Is Here
Central Hall Satsang
The Philosophy of Consciousness
Colorado Satsang
Piñata Satsang

Satsangs of Guru Maharaji Ji's Family
This Immortal Energy (Bal Bhagwan Ji)
To See God (Bal Bhagwan Ji)
The Goal of Human Life (Hans Ji)
The Lovers (Mata Ji)
A Little More Effort (Mata Ji)
No Light Without Master (Mata Ji)

Satsangs of Guru Maharaj Ji

Little Drops of Mercy

The following discourse was given by Guru Maharaj Ji on the 5th of August, 1971, by the Pacific Ocean.

The nature of sea is very calm. Very calm. But when the sea shore comes in front of the sea, it is hidden away back.

And you can see the great waves on seashore. That ocean is filled with mercy. Kindness is there. And truth is always there. It is so calm that when a drop mixes with that . . . such satisfaction of mind, such peace, you can't even think of that. So fantastic.

And that ocean is endless. Endless. This ocean we can see in maps, but that ocean is endless. And what is this? When a wave rises and falls on human beings who are trying to bathe, mercy comes over them. Mercy comes. They feel the mercy of God, they feel the kindness of God.

When a man actually tries to read this nature, he'll find. The beautiful fruits, beautiful birds, kind green nature, nature, and beautiful sunset, beautiful sunrise and birds chirping, the blue heaven, with calm and quiet nature, and the whole thing, the whole atmosphere, so kind, so nice, nobody can experience that. But when a man just tries to enter ...

Feel a leaf, so smooth, so soft, so kind. It is nature. Smell a eucalyptus tree. So nice. Smell a rose and try to enjoy the beauty of rose. So nice. These are the little drops of His mercy that He has filled with sweetness. Flowers filled with scent. So many. Jasmine, rose, and every one having a different, different, different. So many colors. Without a brush, without a tube, but beautiful colors. And changing colors. This is nature.

And, in a little seed, many apples and a huge tree. Hidden in a little seed. That is its nature. That is little drops of His mercy. And His little drops of mercy, we can't even imagine them. So how can we imagine that ocean where it is always mercy? But there are the little drops.

When we are eating an apple, we feel something very nice. Leave it, O.K. But when there is always mercy, and no end of mercy . . . and I, what am I? Many big, big saints even can't write His glory,, the glory of that ocean.

This ocean, big huge wave will come and overturn that ship. But in that ocean, if a ship is overturned, it will be made O.K. That is His kindness. A saint has said that He has done a very wonderful thing. I can't be a judge over it, I'm just writing my idea. But over a little idea, He wrote the whole story. And over the story He made it true. And what a man could imagine to be a fairy tale, to be a magical thing, He brought it to be the natural thing.

So this is His mercy. Many many books, big fat books are not able to describe His mercy or that ocean where the soul has to plunge. How can I describe that?

Have you seen beautiful birds? How beautiful they look. Have you seen that blue sky, blue heaven? How beautiful it looks. These are only little drops of that ocean.

Impressions.

But even then it looks so beautiful.
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The Perfect One is Here

The following discourse was given by Guru Maharaj Ji on the 29th of April, 1972, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Every satsang is a discussion on one subject, and that is the true Knowledge which brings peace of mind. Many great saints got fantastic experiences from this wonderful Knowledge and just wanted to spread it to all people. In every age a great saint like Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Mohammed, and Christ has taken birth on earth for this purpose, to give this Knowledge to other people, because, in their time, the truth had declined, spiritual understanding had been lost. As far as spiritual matters go, they were ages of darkness.

Now in the same way, an age of darkness is again here and the perfect one has come on earth again to plant the seed of truth. His presence is most necessary because of the strength of the opposite forces which are working in the world, attracting man with his weak and fickle mind. Against truth there is always untruth. Against love there is hatred. Against peace there is war, and so on. There are also so many subtle forces working in a man's mind to make him search for satisfaction in places where it has never existed.

People today are so sophisticated they have become foolish. They cannot believe that the perfect one is here. Even if they have some religious feeling, some inner understanding of the truth, they cannot conceive of the living master. In other subjects they will not be satisfied with something that is dead, with something that is past. If in India we abandon the government of Indira Gandhi and start trying to follow Mahatma Gandhi's ideas, the result will be failure. If you read the scriptures properly you will see that they all talk about a living master. No scripture exists which does not talk about true Knowledge, or divine experience, being imparted to a disciple by a living master.

We read the scriptures without understanding what they are saying. Indian people read the Bhagavad Gita, and where Lord Krishna, the living master of his time, said clearly, "Don't recognize me by my external appearance for this is perishable. My true form has no beginning and no end. And you, Arjuna, cannot meditate with these external eyes. For how can you see the imperishable with that which must die? How can you behold the infinite through the finite? But I can open up your divine eye with which you can see my divine form."

So how are we going to recognize God as He comes on the earth? Are you going to ask to see His identity card or passport? See, if it says, "Name ... God. Occupation . . . Generator, Operator, Destroyer." That is foolish! Or are you going to recognize Him only if He fits in with your mental picture of Him, what you have picked up from the scriptures and other impressions, what you imagine Jesus or Krishna looked like? But even two Christians will have different impressions of what Jesus looked like. So what will be recognized by one will not be recognized by the other. But the test of the Perfect Master will be that which is undeniable to everybody and that is the experience of himself which he can give, and that is the true Knowledge.

All over the world people follow the same daily routine. They go to work in the morning and come home in the evening. That's O.K. You have to work to support yourself. But many people use their daily routine as an excuse for not realizing anything about spiritual truth. We don't work twenty-four hours every day. We can always spare a few hours for devotion, but people spend their spare time on worldly pleasures and when troubled they complain to God.

Believe it or not, the fact is that God is supreme and pure; people are lying on a bed of ignorance and dreams and doubts. They expect God Himself to come, they pray for it, they ask for it, they announce about it, but when He comes they fail to recognize Him. And not recognizing Him in His physical form, they cannot recognize Him within themselves. People have forgotten their Creator. What is the Name of your Father? Does anybody here know what He looks like? There's going to come a time when you are going to be asked, "Who is your Father?" What reply are you going to give? Nil? Born without a Father?

Every master has said that people should know the holy Name. They advise everybody to become wise and to recognize how precious their life is. And that's what I am trying to make this world understand. Know how precious life is. Know how precious life is, and then know how precious is that which gives us life. Know that divine language which men did not create but which the soul always speaks. Every soul speaks the same language. Know that language of love which swells within the human temple.

It is said in the Vedas, the Indian scriptures, that when the dark age comes the only thing that can save man is constant meditation on the holy Name. So we are so lucky to know that holy Word and to have got it at a discount. I am prepared to reveal this Knowledge at any time so it is up to you to take this golden opportunity. If you don't seem to make progress with this Knowledge do not blame Guru Maharaj Ji. You have it in your power to conquer the egos and doubts in the mind. These are the thorns, but the Knowledge is the rose.

I don't mind the difficulties that are being put against me. Whenever he comes to the world the Perfect Master has to tolerate many difficulties. I have come to spread this Knowledge and that is what I am going to do. Understand this and believe it. Are you hesitating to receive this Knowledge? Why? It is very simple Knowledge. It will give you complete peace mind. It will give you infinite bliss. Do not complain later on that you were never told about this Knowledge. Again and again, I do nothing but to tell you all to take this Knowledge.

Thank you very much.
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Central Hall Satsang

The following discourse was given by Guru Maharaj Ji on the 2nd of November, 1971, at the Central Hall, Westminster, England.

Dear brothers and sisters.

Today I am going to tell you a story about a great saint. He was walking along and he saw that a scorpion was getting drowned in a lake, and he was so kind that he tried to save him from that water. He took the scorpion in his hand, the scorpion took a bite. When the saint felt this pain he let the scorpion fall. But again he goes into the water and saves the scorpion. And again it bites and the saint lets him fall. And again he picks that scorpion up and again he is bitten.

There was a farmer who was observing this process for a long time, and he said, "Saint, why are you doing this? This scorpion is your enemy. He is trying to bite you, and every time he bites you, you let him go and then you go and pick him up again." The saint said, "Dear farmer, he is teaching me a lesson. It is his duty to bite. It is my duty to save him. He's teaching me a lesson that even when I am saving him he is not leaving his duty. Due to whatever you call it, due to love or affection, he's not forgetting his duty. He is always ready to do his duty, even when I am saving him. He is teaching me a lesson, and so how can I leave my duty? My duty is to protect him."

Today I can clearly see the pain of this world. This whole world is drowned in pain. And why? There is a very clear reason and practically everybody knows it. See, India cannot walk straight and the western countries cannot walk straight. Why? Because India has got a long, long spiritual foot but a very short materialistic foot. Western countries have got a very long materialistic foot but a very short spiritual foot. And when these two feet are equal, then there will be the Kingdom of Heaven. just imagine, America was able to send so many Apollos to the moon, but did she gain peace? Was America satisfied? If she is satisfied why is she fighting with Vietnam? She is not satisfied. Why? A rich man came to Christ and asked him, "Sir, can I know God?" and Jesus Christ told him that it is easy for a camel to pass through a needle but it is impossible for a rich man to know God. Why? Why is that? Can we say God is not a good judge? No. He is a perfect judge. Then why is that? Because as soon as a man gets proud he is completely immersed in pride. When he gets rich he is completely immersed in wealth. And he has no longer got time to think about his Father. About his Perfect Father.

We all have come into this world and we have got this beautiful body. And we are so lucky to be present in this world. We are the fortunate ones to be in this world now. But then the question arises, why are we so unsatisfied? What is the thing that is troubling us so much from inside? What is this mosquito who is biting our mind at every moment, every second? This is our ego, our ignorance of the holy Word of God.

But this Knowledge is so beautiful that if I am a Christian I can take this Knowledge and still be a Christian. If I am a Hindu I can take this Knowledge and still be a Hindu. If I am a Muslim I can take this Knowledge and still be a Muslim. If I am a Sikh I can still be a Sikh and take this Knowledge also. The Knowledge is like mercury. If you put mercury into dirty water and take it out, the mercury is still shiny. It won't get dirty. Put it in sand. It won't get dirty, it will shine. This Knowledge is like that. Wherever you take it, into any religion, into any way of life, wherever it goes it makes a man pure. You have to be pure in heart, pure in deed, and pure in thoughts. But remember friends, it is very easy to say this, it is very, very easy to say this-be pure in heart, be pure in deeds, be pure in thoughts. But how to be pure? Who is really pure in this world? What is the really pure thing in this world? The holy Word of God is really pure. So know it. We have to know that holy Word of God which is absolutely pure. And when we know this holy Word of God we will also be absolutely pure.

We have to be like a lotus flower. This lotus flower is found in India and in so many other countries also. This flower grows in water, dirty water, but it never touches this water. It is always away from this water. And if the water level rises the level of the lotus flower also rises. We all have to be like a lotus. Maybe this materialistic world is rising but we have to be even higher than this materialistic world. We haven't to touch this materialistic world, because as soon as we start touching it, the vibrations of imperfection start touching us, and make us imperfect.

I have brought something very beautiful, extremely beautiful. I cannot describe it as being from a place, because I haven't got the idea of duality, like east, west, south or north. India is not out of the world, England is not out of the world. They are in the world. I have not brought this thing from a part of this world, yet this thing is so fantastic, this thing is so beautiful, that it makes you realize the aim of your human life: your original aim, why you came into this world.

You must have seen my posters and these posters say "Know the aim of the human life." Now what is `lie aim of human life? Is it to eat, drink and be merry? Is it? No. Then what is the real aim of human life? Why does the human come here? Even if you believe in the theory of evolution, you will reach the point where man exists. But why does man exist? Only because he has got a certain aim. He has got a certain thing to do. He has got an aim in his life which he has to fulfil. And once he fulfills this aim he is a perfect man. Perfect. So what is this aim? This aim is to realize the holy Word of God.

If you take the Bible it is written, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." If you take Guru Granth Sahib you will see it is written that there is a Word, and due to that Word, sky, earth, sun, moon, everything exists, and this Word is in ourselves. And then you can take the Koran and in the Koran it is called "Pak Nam," meaning holy Name. What is this holy Name? If you take Gita, this is written: "A Word which cannot be described, which cannot be spoken by mouth." Just because this mouth is imperfect. This mouth is not capable, this mouth is not perfect enough to pronounce that Name. So this Word cannot be spoken. Otherwise I would have been glad to speak this Word in front of everybody, on television, on radios, in movies, you know, and just in everything. But it cannot be spoken. So we all know that this Word is important. And due to this Word everything exists. Christ, Ram and just every saint describes the Word. So how to realize this Word then? Because this is the original thing. This Word is the original thing.

Now you can see that this was said in the Bible about the Word, in the Ramayana, in Gita, and in the Koran; and you can imagine about it, about how original and how ancient this Word is. You can just read the records and you can find out how ancient, how old, is this Word which is being talked of by all the saints, the galaxy of saints, and loved by them. But how to realize this Word? Today you can press a button and the elevator will come. The door will open. You stand in it. Press the button, the door will close, you go up, the door opens, you go out. You sit in a car, you push a brake, you put it in gear, you press the accelerator, your car goes. Today, you take cameras, push a button, and your film is taken. But this Knowledge is not like this. You do not put in a coin, press the button and Knowledge comes out.

So how to receive this Knowledge? This Knowledge is not available in subway stations or in bus stations as many cigarettes, biscuits and other types of things are available in boxes where you put in a coin, press a button, and the article comes out. And this Knowledge is not in books. It is described in books but it is not in books. Then where to find it? Should we say that this Knowledge has disappeared now? No. Gita says this Knowledge cannot disappear. As soon as this Knowledge disappears, the world won't exist. Then, how to find this Word? We have to find this Word by a teacher, by a guide. A guide who is perfect, and who can teach this perfect Knowledge to us. A perfect guide can guide us. You need a burning lamp to light other unlit lamps. So, in the same way, you need an enlightened Perfect Master to make you enlightened and perfect also. If the master himself is not perfect, how can he make you perfect? You need a Perfect Master.

Now, where to find the master? Where to find the master? You know, you can't find him in theatres. Where will you find him then? Where is he, this hidden man? Where is he? You have to find him out. And how to find him out? There is a very easy test. You have to test before you find him out, and the test is very simple. You have to take his Knowledge and test it. If this Knowledge gives you peace, well and good, go ahead. If not, immediately leave it and go out, don't follow it any more. If this Knowledge that he gives, if the Knowledge that he imparts is perfect, and it gives you perfect peace, well and good, go ahead. If not, leave it and try to find another way. People may think that I want to change their religion from Christian to Hindu but they will be surprised to know that I myself am not a Hindu. I am not a Hindu. I am not a Christian. I am not 'a Sikh. Then who am I? I believe in one reality and that is pure religion. Religion as a word started from the word realization and the realization of God is the pure and the perfect religion. There is a glorious sun, not the sun that you see in the sky, but a sun which is brighter, within ourselves. It is much brighter, much, much, much brighter than the sun you see in the sky. When the sun comes out it only dispels darkness, but when this sun comes out it dispels darkness and impurities as well. Both things. It is much brighter than the sun which shines outside, and it is completely within us. this thief again searched. He searched under his pillow, under his sheet, under his clothes, but he couldn't find a single penny. Again he thought, no, no, he is making a fool of me.

Finally they came to their home and the man who possessed the money took out his purse, took out five pounds, and said, "Well, these are for you. You may have them." And the thief said, "No thank you, sir, I don't want a single pound. But can you answer my one question?" The man said, "Yes." "Sir, I am a thief," he said, "Now you are quite secure in your home and I am not going to steal from you any more. I am a thief and I was after your five hundred pounds and now I know that you have got five hundred pounds because you have shown me, but can you tell me where did you keep this five hundred pounds when you used to go to dinner?" The man said, "I used to keep this five hundred pounds under your pillow!" Before he used to go for his dinner he, used to take this amount of money and put it under the thief's pillow. But the thief kept searching under the other's pillow. And he couldn't get a single pound. So, that's the same condition with the world outside today. The world is searching for God outside. The world thinks, people think, God is a man. People think God has got ears, nose, teeth, and he rises daily in the morning, brushes his teeth and washes his mouth. And he is an old man and he has a beard. All these things, people think.

But no, God is energy. God is perfect and pure energy. As scientists say, energy cannot be created and cannot be destroyed. See how they say "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God" now try to understand here-"And the Word was God." Isn't it a fantastic sentence! In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Now this is that Word. It is that perfect and pure energy which has no creation and no destruction. And this Word, this is God. And He is under our pillow. And if we search for Him outside, can we get Him? God is inside.

Today people want love. I can truly and sincerely tell you this Knowledge is overbrimmed with love. I can't explain how much love it contains. There is so much love that if you take the water of all the seas, the love will still be more. If we take every human man's weight, add it, then we add the love of this love, this Knowledge will still be much bigger than any man's weight. And this Knowledge is love. This is it. This is the love. A thief cannot take it from you, this love is so much. Nobody can cut this love. You can experience it whenever you like. This holy Word of God, you can meditate upon this holy Word of God while you are sleeping also. You can sleep, you can eat, you can talk, but still your meditation will be going along.

You know, I have seen many people in India talk about the Gita and they talk about this Knowledge. They say, "This Knowledge is such a thing which goes on regularly. It cannot break." And then they take a garland and start counting it. Or they take their rosary and start counting. Then there is the businessman counting his rosary and a telephone call comes. He takes the telephone receiver, and the speed of his rosary slows down, because his mind has been diverted into the receiver. And then he asks, "Yes, what is the matter?" And his secretary tells him, "Sir, we have gained seventy thousand pounds!" And he is so overjoyed that he throws his rosary to one side and throws the receiver to one side and starts jumping. Now where did his devotion go? Where was his meditation? His meditation was broken. Is that meditation? No. That can be rosary meditation, I agree, or it can help you in some physical way, something like that. But is it the perfect or pure meditation?

I can do yoga, and I believe yoga can Help me to a limit, but is yoga the perfect and pure thing? Suppose that today I've got my legs, my hands, my body is perfect and I am doing yoga. And tomorrow I have an accident and my hand is broken, my leg is broken, then how will I be able to keep my leg on my neck? just imagine. And how will I be able to move my hand back? How will I do that? And you know the perfect meditation should be continuous. It shouldn't have a break in-between. How will I be able to do that? So realize such a Word, brothers, that it may regularly go, never stop. This should be non-stop meditation always going on in you.

Realize who you are, realize the aim of your human life. Today the guitar is played, we love it. Today, rock-and-roll music is played, you love it. Today, you know, jazz music is played, you love it. Classical music is played, you love it. But there is a music going on inside of us also. God plays that music, and it is such far-out music, so symmetrical and so beautiful that after one note, man's mind is concentrated upon it. No question arises that a mind should trickle a millionth part of a millimeter this side or a millionth part of a millimeter that side. A man cannot move from this meditation, so perfect is this meditation.

Take a rope by which you would tie an elephant. Now, suppose you try to tie a little ant by that big thick rope. So suppose you try to tie this little ant by this huge rope, can you do it? You can't. There would be such a gap left that thousands and thousands could pass at one time, and if you try to tie the elephant by the string which you use to tie an ant, can you do it? The elephant will move and the string will break. So how must you do it? Can you do it? You need the little string for the ant and the huge rope for the elephant. And if you use them symmetrically they can solve your purpose.

So, brothers and sisters, you need something to tie your mind down because it is so small. You know it is the smallest thing in the world, and it flows very quickly, it has got more speed than electricity, more speed than anything. You know a jumbo jet, a 747, has got a five hundred and eighty miles per hour speed. Now suppose this jet is standing before me. Suppose I am going to fly to India in it and it will take much time. But even though I am still standing before the jet, my mind has already reached Palam Airport, India. The jet hasn't even started yet. I haven't even boarded it, my luggage has not been taken into the plane. My tickets have not been checked in. But still my mind has gone to India. It has already landed at Palam Airport, and now my mind is trying to find a taxi to take me back to my home. This is mind. So how are you going to control it? Take a tank of water. Not a drop is leaking from it. Give a man an oxygen cylinder and put him in this tank. Weld it on all sides so that air is neither going in nor coming out, and neither is water going in or coming out. Now, from this tank water is not leaking, but man's mind is. It's still leaking. He is either thinking of the Eiffel Tower, or he's thinking of Disneyland in Los Angeles, or you know ... the water is not coming from the tank, not a drop, but his mind is still leaking.

So how to control the mind? Buy a rope thick as an elephant's rope, can you tie this small mind with it? No. You need Knowledge to control your mind, to tie your mind up. You know this mind is so small, so tiny, so invisible, and thus you need this Knowledge. And I am here, and I am ready to offer you this Knowledge without taking a single pence. Special discount! Absolute discount! You know not a single penny is being charged. And this Knowledge is so far out, so fantastic, so .... how should I explain it? Even scriptures weren't able to explain this Knowledge. Because this Knowledge is beyond our minds. Away from our brains. The brain can work out how to drive Apollo, or how to drive a car, but it cannot work out how to explain this Knowledge. So this brain is very limited. The brain, the mind . . . very, very limited. Very limited. And this Knowledge is unlimited, so you cannot, you just cannot make a contract between these two things, the limited and the unlimited. So just realize: here is this Knowledge, and it is free for you. No charge at all. And it's so peaceful that when you know it, when you realize this Knowledge, you'll say, "Oh this is fantastic!"

There was a king, and somebody came into his court and said, "King, I want to sow a mango seed in this country," and the king said, "What is this mango?" And the man said, "I have brought a whole box full of mangoes," but still the king said, "What is a mango?" So he said, "The mango is a little, or big, yellow thing, juicy, and it is like ..."-he made a picture- " . . it is like this, and this and this." But the king said, "I can't understand." And then the man gave some literature to the king, and the king read it and said, "Well, I still can't understand. What is a mango?" Then the secretary came and tried to explain, "Sir, I have also eaten a mango," he said, `the mango is sweet, and it has got color like this, and it tastes something like that, or something like that, and you have to leave the skin and you have to eat the flesh part of it, and it's very good to eat." But king said, "I can't understand what it is." The next secretary tried to explain, then the third secretary, then the fourth, then the fifth, then the sixth, but the king couldn't understand. The seventh one was clever. He went away, took a mango, washed it, cut it up, offered it to the king and said, "Sir, this is the mango." The king ate it and said, "Yes, now I have understood what a mango is, now I have realized it myself, so I have understood."

I'm describing the Knowledge. Knowledge is something like this and something like this, it is far out, it is this and it is that. But you can't understand until you personally receive it. So receive it and then you will see how good it is for yourself, how beneficial it is. Only then will you understand what is the real juice of this mango. Today, many scientists are trying to discover so many things, but are scientists happy? Are the scientists really happy? No. Why? Because they can't, they can't get that Knowledge. They can't get this Knowledge by scientific means. They are unhappy.

Today, suppose, Mahatma ji comes to me and begs me for food and I give him some. He'll go away, but tomorrow he again feels hungry, so he comes to me and begs for food. Again I give him some, and he goes away again because he has a full stomach, but the next day he will feel hungry again. And if I give him food again, again he will feel hungry later. But if I teach him a technique, he won't come back to me again. Today, if people see a beggar they will take out a penny from their pocket and give it to this beggar. But he will still beg. If today he is satisfied, tomorrow he will beg. And if for three days lie is satisfied, the fourth day he will beg. So if you really want to help him teach him a technique, teach him a technique so that he is completely satisfied throughout his life. He needs to beg no more. That is really helping him. The mind is the same. It starts thinking and you say well, that is better than this, and that is even better, and then your mind says yes, and your mind is satisfied. But after a few seconds this process starts functioning again, because you know the mind is so subtle, it is so, you know, flickery. It flickers, flickers, flickers. And you say well, this is God and God is very holy and very high, and your mind says, "Yes, why not," and is satisfied for two seconds, and then again starts flickering. Flicker, flicker, flicker. And then after a few seconds you say again, well, God is very high, very holy, and he can kill the mind also, and mind say, "Yes, why not?" And the mind is satisfied for two seconds more, then it starts flickering again. It is like that man to whom you are giving two pence daily; is he being helped? No, not at all.

How to help him then? And how to help your mind? Completely satisfy your mind so that it rises no more. Because mind is the creation of man and not of God. Always remember this. The mind is a creation of man. Memory is a creation of God. Memory is a tape recorder which He has given us; it is a gift of God. Memory, but not mind. Not mind. Mind has been created because two things are hitting each other. Your soul tries to hit and come out, you know. Not come out really, but just to give off this spiritual spark. Your soul wants to give out this light, this peace inside which the soul has got. But outside it is very carefully covered with sins, egos, prides and so many things. So as soon as it tries to come out it hits against these coverings and something is produced. A holy thing hits against an unholy thing and another thing comes out, and that is ignorance. A complete vacuum. And that is your mind. This is it. For if you can once remove all your coverings of sins, egos, pride, doubts, remove them away from you completely, you will be satisfied. This Knowledge will, spark out of you.

If you take a stone and throw it up in the sky, it'll come back again. Why? Maybe because it is due to the center of gravity, but really it is because this stone is a piece of this earth. See, rivers flow from all over, then go into the sea. They merge into the sea and then it is completely finished. Nothing more to do. This river is part of the ocean. Until it again meets and merges with this ocean it is not satisfied. But when it mixes with the ocean it is completely satisfied. You bum a lamp and the fire goes upwards. You burn a fire and the fire goes upwards. Why? Because it is a part of the sun. Until it goes and meets its sun, fire is not satisfied. In the same way, soul is part of God, and wants to go and meet with God. It wants to have a perfect communication with God. But you are stopping it. Why? It is not because your body is stopping it, it is not your body, it is the ignorance of your mind. People are so unhappy today they go and commit suicide, because they think that their body is stopping their soul having that perfect communication. It is not true. Your body is not stopping your soul going there. It is your ignorance that is stopping it.

So just try to understand what I want to say. People may think that I am an Indian so they shouldn't receive the Knowledge. You know, you are not receiving me. If you are receiving me then yes, you can have a duality in your heart of black and white. But you're not receiving me, so no question arises of black and white. You are receiving my Knowledge. Knowledge hasn't any color. So receive my Knowledge, not me. And this Knowledge is so holy, so perfect; one spark coming out of this Knowledge is so perfect, so, so perfect, that whatever it hits against, it makes it perfect. Wherever one spark of this Knowledge shines up, there is absolute perfection. And I have got that Knowledge here.

I took this Knowledge from London to America. I passed through the customs, the customs people opened my suitcase, checked my clothes, you know, and all my luggage, everything, but I was laughing, you know. These customs people were very suspicious because I was laughing. I was laughing because they were checking my luggage but still I was smuggling. And what I was smuggling was this Knowledge. They were not checking me, they were not checking my Knowledge. They were checking inside my luggage, and thus I smuggled that Knowledge, and I distributed it amongst many people, many, many people. And everybody became satisfied. I have satisfaction. I have love. I have devotion to give to people, to scatter to people.

You may be surprised why this Knowledge is free of charge. Just try to understand, a man can live without gold but he cannot live without food. And food is much cheaper than gold. He can live without I food for a day or so, but he cannot live without water, which is even cheaper than food. He can live without water for hour or so, but he cannot live without air which is absolutely free. So just understand this. Air has been recommended for you, air is fuel for you. You require it and it is absolutely free. This Knowledge is also recommended for you. This Knowledge is for you and because you must understand it, because you must know this Knowledge, you must practice this Knowledge, it has been made absolutely free for you.

So don't think that it is a less valuable thing than your stereo or anything like that. This is still most valuable. Once you receive this Knowledge your heart leaps and is so much filled with devotion and love. Not love towards this materialistic world, but love towards God, who is your real father, who you've forgotten and whom you must realize. So don't look at my body and think that I'm a small boy and what can I tell you. There may be a small boy who can drive a car and there may be an old man who can't drive a car. So he has got a skill more than that old man. So don't say this. Our bodies are short, you know, some of less age, some of more age, but not our memory, not our skill. Our skill hasn't got any age. So just try to understand what I want to explain to you about that holy Word of God, about that Knowledge.

We have to be sincere, we have to be pure in heart, and how to be pure? You know purity is not such a thing where you go into a restaurant and say, "Please give me a cup of pure tea," and take the tea, drink it, and you are pure. Purity is not like a soap that you buy from the market, saying, "Please give me a cake of purity soap," and you take this purity soap and rub it on your body and you become pure. This purity is not like that. Purity is obtained through this Knowledge. Through this far-out thing, through this very high thing. Today, because we haven't got feet to keep us in balance, we are staggering. People think that we are drunk, but we aren't drunk. So what should we do about it? We should take Knowledge. And you won't stagger any more. You will be in perfection. Then you will be guided by God. Perfect guidance will be given to you. So just realize the perfect aim of your life, why you have come into this world.

You know, I can tell you, take my hair and put many types of cream into my hair, many types of oil, many types of scent, but does that bring purity or peace into my mind, into my hair even? No! Why, why? Because that is not it. It will do something else, but it will not do that.

I won't refuse to give you this Knowledge. I am always ready to give you this Knowledge. I am always happy to give you this Knowledge. I don't lose. I gain. I am a servant of God and I have completely devoted myself to God. How was I able to do this? Not by going to a place, putting my hand there, and saying, "Oh God, I am taking the oath that I am your servant," and so on and so on. And then come out and go to a restaurant and ... you know. I never did that. So how to become an instrument of God? Just experiment. Realize what is the thing which is stopping you from being an instrument of God. I experimented and I was able to realize that it was my mind. I said "O.K." I took this Knowledge and meditated till all this mind came out. And when it came out I felt that I was a completely different man. And to realize this Knowledge even I had to go to a Guru. Guru is a Hindi word and you may be surprised know that "gu" means darkness and "ru" means light. That is called Guru. And in English if you translate this it will come out as teacher, a guide. A guide can bring us away from the darkness of this materialistic world into the bright light of the holy light.

Now may God bless you all and may He shower His divinity upon you all, to give all humanity an intelligent mind to develop and to be able to erase illusion, delusion and pollution from this world. Thank you very much.

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The Philosophy of Consciousness

The following discourse was given by Guru Maharaj Ji on the 3rd of September, 1972, at the Fulham Old Town Hall.

There are certain powers in the world. Now man has got one power, and of course you know how he is utilizing it, and the other power God has got. Now by God I mean capital `G' and I also mean small `g'. Two types of God: gods-small `g', and God-capital `G'. Now power is such a thing that cannot be created and cannot be destroyed. Everything we see, everything we feel, everything we touch must be created. We can't see air, but we can feel air so air has got creation, air is made. And you can make air artificially by chemicals. But the problem is, what is that thing, that energy that was not created? This is the question. This is the thing that scientists are trying to discover. Scientists know that energy can never be created and can never be destroyed, because they believe in practical things, and only in those things to which they can give definitions and names. So they define energy as never being created and never being destroyed. Energy is present, energy is always there. And one energy belongs to man, and one energy belongs to God. God utilizes His energy, sometimes He even utilizes it to destroy. But the difference is that we men constantly use our energy to destroy, and He doesn't.

So you see, there are two powers. One is the power that He activates for the good of the world, and one is the power we have created out of what He has given us. Out of those things that He has created, we have created a power which will destroy us, which will destroy the human race. So what is the difference between these powers? The difference is a very small one, but it is very important.

Now suppose the sun comes up, we wouldn't be able to see it because there are curtains between us and the outside. We are not able to see any stars because of those curtains, but the stars are still present. Now suppose there are no curtains; suppose it's an open-air satsang and we are sitting outside in a field and it's a cloudy day. We still wouldn't be able to see the sun or the stars. Or let's take the example of today. Some parts of London were sunny today and the other parts of London weren't sunny. Some people weren't able to see the sun, but that doesn't mean the sun is finished, it doesn't mean the sun is dead, it doesn't mean that the sun doesn't exist any more. No, the sun still exists, but to see the sun we have to go beyond the clouds; then we can see the sun. And the same thing is going on in the human race today. There are so many religions. Religion has become like a football for us. One man picks up a religion today, and tomorrow he throws it away. The next day he picks up another religion and throws it away again. Then He picks up a fourth religion and throws it away the next day.

This is what a man is doing today. But what is the real religion? Real religion is the realization of God through this Knowledge. This is the one point that I want to make everyone understand. These days it is my main point. People come to me and they talk about `your' Knowledge, and I say, "It is not my Knowledge. It's God's Knowledge and it's your Knowledge, because it's in you, it's inside you. It's present within every soul, and it has to be understood." Why has it to be understood? Why have the lamps to be lighted? Because if the lamps aren't lit, we won't be able to see anything at all. Even though things are present here, we wouldn't be able to see them if the lamps weren't lit. If the wind didn't blow, then the clouds wouldn't disappear. And if the clouds didn't blow away, we wouldn't be able to see the sun, and the benefit of the sun would never come to us. Maybe we are farmers with crops on our farm which have to be dried up, or if there is any other reason why we need the direct rays of the sun, we won't be able to get any other benefit because those rays are not reaching us. And to get the other benefits of the sun, besides just light, we have to get the direct rays of the sun. So at this time, the farmer requests God to let the sun shine on his crops. The sun comes up, but the clouds come up with it, and the farmer doesn't like that. Why? The sun has come up every day, but the clouds come as well, and he doesn't want clouds.

So this is the difference. Some men have only got indirect experience of God, and we have got direct experience of God. We can see God without anything between.

To see God directly, there are appropriate techniques we can use. Now I am not criticising the indirect ways of experiencing God, I'm just telling you a direct way, because man is really losing himself in these other things. It's as if he's trying to connect the wiring in a car and you know how complicated that is, he just freaks out because he can't do it. Man today is like a small boy, a small kid who just knows that two wires run into a bulb and they make it light. He just knows that, nothing more. But then he takes a tape recorder, or even takes a computer, and starts disconnecting all the wires, and then tries to connect them again. Of course he doesn't know how to fix it. He doesn't know where the wires go, because the only thing he knows about electronics is that two wires are sticking into the bulb, and they make it light up. So in the same way, we are ourselves getting confused because there are so many questions coming before us which we can't answer, so that we just don't know what it's all about. Our own brains are filled with so many prophecies and ideas that we have just been jumbled up.

What was the reason for Christ being crucified? One reason, of course, was that the Roman people did not like the ideas he was teaching. But what was the real reason? Why, even though there were so many spiritual people at that time, did only twelve people really follow him? What was the reason for this? The real reason was because people were so bound in prophecies and ideas. Jesus would stand there and some people would say, "Well, according to this prophecy we must believe in him" And others said, "No, he is not that, he cannot be. He is not Christ. He is not the Lord. He is not God." And others said, "No, here it is written that God is going to come like this, so we believe in him." But others said, "No, it can't be, it simply can't be." What happens is, it all becomes just a melting pot. Prophecies are in it, intellectual ideas come into it, and it becomes a melting pot, it becomes a pudding. It becomes a mixture of milk and custard powder, and then it becomes heated, because they are arguing, and it becomes so thick that it is impossible to pour it down through the small hole of their understanding, because understanding is very sensitive. A man's understanding is very, very sensitive. I have been studying algebra and to understand algebra, if you miss one line, if you miss one word of what the master is saying you won't understand it, you won't understand what he is doing. So you just have to pay your full attention and see how he solves all the problems. And I have seen that sometimes he explains once and many boys understand, but other times he explains for two or three days the same thing and they still don't understand. So our understanding is very sensitive, very, very sensitive and this pudding in the melting pot is impossible to pour out through a very small hole because it is so thick.

And that's why we need something practical. We have to see a practical light, we have to realize a practical thing. We have to get beyond this mind and practically experience what is there. This adventure is beyond our thoughts. So this is why we can think of God, and still do not experience Him, because God Himself is not God. The word God is not God. It might sound like God, it might pronounce like God, but God is something else beyond G and 0 and D. Because we ourselves created G and 0 and D, but we never created God; God created us. We created Rolls Royces and Mercedes, we created Toyotas and all these cars, but we didn't create God. So what is G-O-D? G-O-D is an adjective, it's not a noun. So still we have to find out what the noun actually is, because until and unless we know the noun, we can't define the man. If we go into a school and say, "Where is the master? Where is the teacher?" People will say, "Which teacher do you mean, which teacher do you want? There are so many teachers in this school." If you come into Divine Light Mission and you say, "Where is Mahatma Ji?" They'll say, "Which Mahatma Ji do you mean? There is Mahatma Guru Charnanand Ji, there is Mahatma Rajeshwaranand ji, there is Mahatma Adharanand Ji, there are so many mahatmas. Which mahatma do you need?" And he just says, "Oh, Mahatma Ji." Nobody understands him. If you go into a shop and say, "Where is the man?" "Which man?" they'll say, "Which man do you mean?" They won't understand you. You've got to have a noun. You need a noun. If you say Mr. Ashokanand Ji, then I'll say, "OK, there he is." Or I'll say, "He is not there." So you have to find out what is the noun. What and who is God? OK? What is His name? Find that out so you can define Him, so that you can understand Him, so that you can know who He is. You can really dig it, you know, who He is. But how to understand it, how to realize it. Not through chemicals, not through biological experiments, not through geology. What are the methods? What is the technique?

One doctor came to me, he was from India. He was the director of the Indian Medical Institute. He came to me and said, "Maharaj Ji, I don't believe in God any more." And I said, "Why not?" And he said, "Because I haven't seen Him, and I operate daily and see so many X-rays of a man's chest, and I don't see God. Because if God is present, He is in our heart. And if anything is in our heart, even if a small pin is in our heart, it will shine out through an X-ray. So if God is in our ribs, if God is in our stomachs, if God is in our brains, we would see Him, the same as we would see a small pin if it was there. But I never see God there. I can only see darkness, and of course I can see those curliewurlie things, and they are ribs, they are not God. So who is God? That's why I don't believe." And I said, "Doctor, can you see water anywhere in this room?" And he said, "No, I can't see any water." And I said, "So go and tell people in the schools, go and tell everyone that water doesn't exist because you can't see water in this room." Could he do that? It was impossible for him to do that. He agreed; he said, "Well, water isn't in this room particularly." And I said, "Why not? Dig a hole right here and water will come out. If you start boring a hole in this room water will come out, because water is beneath the earth and after you've bored down a few feet you'll find water."

So you have to dig to find the water. And in the same way, you have to dig inside to find God, to understand God, to see God. And how to dig? You can't take a spade, you can't take your scissors. Because we're talking about the internal self, and only the internal self can look at the internal self. Externally somebody else can see us, but internally, no. Internally we must look on ourselves, because that's our own consciousness. We know what is in our heart, but other people don't know what is in our heart, because our consciousness lies within us, and their consciousness lies within themselves. So to look within, to be able to look inside, we have to look in ourselves first. We have to see what really is within ourselves, and so that we can see inside, we need an inside eye, and the inside eye is the third eye, and this is the Knowledge. This is the true, true Light. The Light that man has been searching for years and centuries. That's the Knowledge, and people who've understood this Knowledge, they practice it, because practicing is the main thing.

This is the thing that people keep asking me, they say, "How have you experienced it at such a small age?" And I say, "It's quite easy. There is a city, right? It's four miles, right? Four miles long and four miles wide. Or let's say it's four square miles in area, all the way round. And one man is twenty-five years old and maybe I am only four years old. And if we are both taken to the top of the hill, really to the top, I mean to a really high altitude, I will also be able to see that city that is four miles in area. And the guy who is twenty-five years old will also be able to see the whole city. Our age does not matter." This is a very simple explanation. When we reach that high altitude we can see it, no matter who we are, no matter how old we are. We have to see it, no matter who we are, no matter how old we are. We have to see it because we have reached an altitude, and we have got the elevation of the whole set-up, of the whole thing. So no matter who we are, we can really have it. The question is of reaching the altitude. If we aren't at that altitude we won't be able to see it no matter how old we are.

So learn how to reach that altitude. It's in our own hands, because we have to take our ship and go up. We have to take our airplane and go up, and when we reach that certain altitude, we'll be able to see the whole thing, we'll be able to see the whole set-up, exactly how it is. And this ship is within us, it's inside us. It has been built in within us, it's factory built. It's not optional, it's standard. With every man it's standard, it's within every man. It just has to be fueled. And what is this fueling? This fueling is the Knowledge. And when we are fueled we are ready to go, we are ready to take off. We've just got to switch on our engine. And who can guide us? That man is called a guru, that man is called a Perfect Master, because he teaches you perfection, he guides you into perfection. The man who teaches you math, you call him a math master. The man who teaches you physics, you call him a physics master, and the man who teaches you perfection, you call him a Perfect Master.

So go and understand what this is that I am talking about. It is not a religion I'm talking about, it is not a philosophy that's so hard to understand. No, it's the same thing that all the saints have given. It's the universal philosophy. It's the philosophy of consciousness. How to understand, how to feel that consciousness within us. It's not a thing that I have to pump into you. No, it's already within yourself. I have just to tell you because you have forgotten. Man has forgotten that something is existing within him that is making him alive right now.

We can't drive blindfolded for too long. We have to open our eyes and see where we are going, otherwise we're going to crash somewhere. A pilot who is driving his airplane in daytime doesn't need any meters because he can see whether his plane is unbalanced or not, or whether it is going in the right direction. But if he is blindfolded, how does he know what's going on until he crashes on the ground or falls off his seat? You have to understand these things and how important they are for you. It's important that you practically see them and test them. So this is for you, it's for your benefit. It's not for me. I've got my benefit. I meditate. I'm as happy as I can be. I'm extremely happy. Now you have to be happy too. And for your happiness you have to do the same thing I did, and that is to do meditation, and I can make other people realize this happiness also because I have mastered the subject. And how did I master it? It was when I practiced it more and more and more and more that I mastered it. So you practice it more and more and you will reach a very good level, a very far-out level.

And it's for the good, it's for the benefit of people. You see there have always been these times when there's been a downfall of the human race. It's very clear that in the history of civilization there is a time when it goes up, and there's a time when it goes down, and now we can see it's going down. Civilization is going down, understand? I read an article and it explained all these things, and it was a very beautiful explanation. It said when human man first came he was wearing skins, right? He used to wear skins, simply skins because he had nothing else to wear. And then what he used to eat was meat. Nothing else because that's all he used to get. And what happened? Man got quite civilized. And now something has happened again today, and we're back to the beginning again.

How did this happen? Man has been creating pollution and man has been destroying nature. Man has not been preserving nature. You can't call him a sustainer of nature. Man has always been a destroyer of nature. But there were times when the killing, when the destruction, was not as much as it is now. Now it is much more than it used to be. There are many police around now. Military police are there, and police are there, and armies are there, and they are all fighting. All these things are going on and man has come to a downfall. Even man's language is all mixed up. He hardly speaks appropriate language as they used to speak in the olden days in England, in Britain. I know this because I have seen it in movies and on television, and the language that they used in those days, it was very good English. But now it's getting more and more slang, it's getting lower and lower, but in those days it was high.

So everything is going down and down and down and down. And it's going to go down more, because there's one time for going up and there's one time for going down. And now we're back to the beginning. But there is one thing that we can do. We can make it go up again. It has been going down like this, and now we can make it go up like this. We can make it go up again. Maybe we can put it up there and not let it come back. Maybe we can lock it up there. But how can we do this?

Again I come to the same point. We have to realize the realization. So if you want to understand this Knowledge, you meditate. And if you have not taken this Knowledge, then try to take it because this is something that's actually inside you now. There are so many fruits here on the stage, so many oranges, pineapples, apples and bananas, and which of them is sour and which of them is sweet? Can you tell me? It's very hard, isn't it? Because you haven't tasted them? Look at these oranges. Actually oranges are supposed to be quite sweet, but sometimes they turn out to be very sour. Apples too, sometimes they turn out to be very sour. So it is pretty difficult for us to say if they are sweet or sour until we taste them. And it's the same with this Knowledge. This Knowledge is lying down here, inside; you just can't imagine it. You have to practically realize it, and then you will know. When you practically realize it, then you will know what it is.

Why has God made you so able? It is because there is a particular purpose that you have to fulfill. You aren't just lying around. You're not just here to lie around. You have got a particular purpose to fulfill. That's why you are here.

So man is man, and I don't know what he is trying to do because he is all puzzled up. You see how man is?

If this Knowledge was being preached, let's say forty years ago, people would have understood it much better. But today people don't want to change. Do you understand? It's as if they don't want to change gears, and that's why they made an automatic car. They don't want to open their windows, so they've made an automatic window. They don't want to go round locking all the four doors of the car, so they make an automatic lock. You just press it and all the locks go down and you press it again and all the locks go up. And now they don't want to go all the way back with their keys to open the trunk, so they press a button and the trunk opens. They don't want to open the side window, so they have ventilators. So that's what man is doing these days. He has become so lazy that it's just incredible.

So how idle man is going to become, I don't know. Because still he is automating everything. He doesn't even want to work. Peoples' philosophy nowadays is, "Why should you work? You should get money, but you shouldn't work." That is the theory nowadays. And everyone is believing in this theory. "Why should we work? Why shouldn't we just get money?" And so people are developing all kinds of things, and I just don't know what's going to happen. There's going to come a time when everything will be so freaky that it will just ... just incredible. It's getting very incredible these days and it's going to get more incredible, I guess.

But to control this is in our own hands, and we have to control it. So understand this, then broadcast this to people. You understand it first, really understand it, and then broadcast it.

So this is all I wanted to say. If you have received this Knowledge then go ahead and meditate and understand it more clearly. If you haven't received this Knowledge, come on, receive it and understand it. Because this is something that you ought to have. I am only a messenger and what I can do is simply bring two cords together and connect them. That's all I can do. I am just a switch. I am a switch in-between. I can switch on the line. I . can connect the lines and switch them on. I just say, "OK, come on, look back." That's all. That's all I'll tell you. It's as if you people are Ali Baba and the forty thieves. Have you read this story? Ali Baba goes out and he says, well, he has to say, "Open Sesame!" But he forgets it, lie forgets the word, and he says all types of things, and I just come out and shout at him, "Hey, it's Sesame!" And you just say, "Open Sesame!" And it opens up. And you get your gates open and you can just get out of there before you're killed.

We are progressing at a very high speed and I am very pleased about that. The Knowledge is spreading quite fast. And I guess we will be able to just make it, just make it before . . . before . . . you know, just before! OK, thank you very much.

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Colorado Satsang
 

The following discourse was given by Guru Maharaj Ji on the 17th of September, 1971, at Boulder, Colorado.

Today people are trying to find peace in books and peace in nature. But nature itself is a part of peace, and so is your soul. Your soul is also natural, it is not artificial. Your body is also natural, it is not artificial. Ha! Maybe your way of living is artificial, but your body is not artificial. It is real, it is natural, like a tree. And you have to realize what is the mystery of that nature that is working within your body. Because God made that nature, He made so much nature, so much.

So realize that constant thing. Today we buy a certain thing-we love it. Tomorrow it is destroyed-where has our love gone? Where does our love go? We know that our love should be always constant.

But it isn't. That's why there are so many opposites, that's why so many people are confused. They go into their churches and marry, and tomorrow they divorce each other. Because the love that we do externally is not constant. External things are not constant. But always when the true master has come, he has guided the people and shown them the true light and told them to follow this true light. Then only can you reach the true destination that you ought to reach.

I went to Aspen and I saw huge mountains. I was seeing the snow falling the whole day. From where does this snow come? Is there any refrigerator in God's heaven that is putting out snow? What is that thing that is making it snow? What is that nature? What is that thing that is making you alive? Is there any cell in your pocket, that is putting current into you and you are moving? This is the mystery of nature, that there is hidden light in everything, and you have to realize what is that hidden light, what is that hidden thing, what is that hidden current in you that is constant and can never die. These are the teachings of all the saints on record. That thing that is making things alive is the most constant thing in the world because it is the power of God, and this is making everything alive.

This is the body, this is a frame. One day something will go out of it and the whole body will become like a plank of wood. You can lift the body now by just holding the legs, but what is that thing that went into this form, and made it alive, and then went out of this form? That secret you should know.

People ask why did God create evil. If God did create evil, He also created the way to get rid of it. He created a pistol for it with four bullets and we have to shoot, and shoot, and shoot and shoot, and when we have shot all four bullets, we really have killed our ego, we really have killed it. Our pistol is meditation, and the bullets are the four noble truths which kill the devil in us. Buddha said that knowing the four noble truths, you will know something eternal. So what is that eternal thing? Know that. This is your aim in coming into the world. We haven't come into this world to eat, drink and be merry. Remember, the plant that you are loving today, to which you have given so much water, will finish one day. Why? Because the plant is not constant. In nature you see so many things coming up and so many things dying, like man. Nature is not constant. So what is the constant basis of all life, knowing which we are made constant?

Some people think that God is a human being, but He is not. God hasn't got ears like us, nose like us, eyes like us, mouth like us, teeth, tongue, lungs, chest, bones. He isn't like that. These eyes only see in a limited way, but God's eyes can see everything. His eyes are different from these.

Same way, His Word is a different word, a third eye. This is the mystery. Jesus Christ said, "People will be able to look into the Kingdom of Heaven with one eye." He never meant, "Take a stick and put out one eye and become a blind person or become half blind with only one eye." He never said that. So how to make one eye out of two eyes? The only way is to take a stick and put out one eye? Is that the way? Jesus said get one eye but he did not take a stick and put out eyes. There is some other way that is an internal way, it is the source of all nature and it is all the bliss that you can experience, all the bliss that you can experience. This is the cause of snow falling on this earth, this is the cause of everything you can see, feel, touch and think about. People try to think about God with their limited minds. I've told you so many times, you cannot think about God with your limited mind. God is unlimited and your mind is limited. It can only think about limited things. But when we enter nature, when we enter the heaven of God, then we realize what is the heaven of God.

I'll tell you a story. Once there was a queen. She went to take a bath, took off her necklace and hung it on a hook. A crow came and flew off with it. When he saw that it was not edible, that it was only a necklace, he let it drop down. The necklace fell from the sky and dropped onto a tree. Under that tree the river was flowing in which all the dirt of the city was flowing. Very dirty. When the queen came out of her bath she saw the necklace was missing. She cried, "A thief has taken my necklace." Was that crow a real thief? She never knew, but still she said, "A thief has taken my necklace and until I get it back I won't take food." So nobody could find the necklace and the king ordered that whoever would find that necklace and bring it to him, he would give half his kingdom. Some travelers were going by, and they stopped under that tree to take some shelter and looked into that dirty river. "Oh there is the necklace," they cried, "Now let us jump in the water and take out the necklace."

So they all jumped in the river and swam deep, but they could get nothing. They came out and again saw the necklace was there. So they again jumped in but again they got nothing. Again they came out and again they jumped in. When they came out they still saw it. When they jumped in the necklace disappeared and when they came out the necklace was there. And so they thought, "That thief is very clever. Whenever we come out he shows us the necklace but when we jump in he takes it and hides it. He is very clever." After some time a huge crowd gathered, and later the king was passing and said, "What is the matter, why are so many people there by that river?" The people said, "There is the necklace, king." The king said, "Yes, that is the necklace, I should go and jump in and take it." But his Prime Minister said, "O.K., king. I am going to jump in and get this necklace for you." Then the king thought, "If the Prime Minister gets the necklace for me, then half the kingdom will be his, so why should I lose my kingdom? These clothes are very fine, but they are not as expensive as half the kingdom." See, the king was very cunning. "I will jump in the water," he said. So he jumped into the river with all his clothes on, into that dirty river. He searched all around but he couldn't get that necklace. He came out and said, "Well, the necklace is there and as soon as I jump in it disappears. Why should this be?"

Just then a guru, a man who knew this Knowledge, was passing by, and he said, "This is neither a fasting day nor a holy day. What is the matter? Why are so many people gathered around here?" And they said, "Sir, this is the matter. The necklace is there and we want to take it out." He said, "Can't you find it in the water?" They said, "No." He said, "O.K. Wait." Then he climbed the tree, took the necklace down and gave it to the king. Because in that river there was not the real necklace. The necklace was up there all the time but they could only see the reflection.

Moths fly around bulbs and lamps and think, "This is the light." So they fly in there and what happens? There is fire inside, they burn and die. They fly in and they die. They thought something was there but nothing is there. So many people have come into this world and so many people have died, but what have they gained? Life, then death. They think there is a mystery of life that they must search for, but where to search? They think the mystery of life is in materialism, but it is not there. Materialism is the reflection. You can see the sun, the moon, so many beautiful things-they are the reflections of this mystery-and they think, "Oh yes, here it is." And they jump into that mystery, but they find nothing. There are some people, even in India, who don't want houses or possessions or anything materialistic. They just want to live with nothing. T hey just stay in caves and say, "We don't want to be near materialistic things." But can they find real truth there? Can they find real peace there? No, because they are only touching nature, they are not touching the mystery of nature.

What is materialism? To have a beautiful car, to have so many things around you, this is materialism. Sometimes the car breaks down, then you pay money for it to be repaired. It is a fine. Sometimes a television breaks down and you pay money for it to be repaired. It is also a fine. Really it is a fine. You are being fined. So why do you have things for which you will be fined? We must put ourselves on the middle path in this world, not too low, not too high. Should the temperature of your body be 0 degrees centigrade or should it be 140 degrees centigrade? No, it should be 98.6, it should be normal. There are three levels. One is the most materialistic and one is the most natural, but neither materialistic living nor natural living can help you. The level that will help you is the middle one. And when you know this Knowledge you know the secret of being in the middle.

Today, people remember the name of Rama and say, "Ram, Ram, Ram." But what was his name before he was born? Was it baby? So why don't we say, "Baby, Baby, Baby?" What was the name Rama's father meditated upon? What was that secret? What was the mystery of the light? We have to know that mystery, because that is the main source, that is the spark plug. The white part of the spark plug is not beautiful. There are two things only which are useful in the spark plug. That little pin there and that little pin there. The spark goes between them, so they are the most useful, not the plug. The car is so expensive, but without this spark it is useless. Same way, this body is so big, but the thing that is making it go is so small, so very small. You cannot look at it through microscopes, not even through atomic microscopes. A microscope will not help you know that mystery. For that you need a third eye, you need to make both eves into one eye. When you have that one eye you see what is the mystery of mysteries. And you will say, "Yes, it is really far out." But you cannot see so you do not know.

There are two toads. I think you understand the meaning of toad, they go, "Trrr, trrr, trrr," in the night, you know? And these two toads met. One toad belonged to the sea and one toad belonged to the well. And the sea toad said, "I am very far away from my ocean, so you had better give me shelter." He said, "O.K., come into my well," and he took him into his well. When they were there they both started talking. The toad who lived in the well said, "How big is the ocean?" And the other one said, "Huge big, big, big, huge." So the toad who lived in the well made a circle and said, "This big?" And the other said, "No, huge, much bigger." So he drew a bigger circle. He said, "Bigger than this?" "Yes, bigger than this." Ultimately, he reached the boundary of the well. He said, "Bigger than this?" The sea toad said, "Yes, bigger than this." He said, "It is impossible. Nothing can be bigger than my well. This is the biggest thing." The other said, "Brother, be patient, wait a little."

In the morning they both rose and the sea toad took the other one to the sea and all he could see was water, water, water and not an end to it. Maybe you think these are just bare words which you listen to with your ears. But there is something beyond them, there is something beyond that which you think is limited, it's like the toad.

There were two ants, and one ant loved salt and the other loved sugar. When they met, the salt ant said, "My salt is the sweetest thing, the most beautiful thing." And the other said, "No, my sugar is sweeter." They said, "O.K., we are both tired today, we will rest and in the morning we will meet." And the salt ant said, "I will come and taste your sugar in the morning."

Morning came, they both rose up, and the salt ant said, "Probably there won't be any salt near that sweet thing, so I had better take some along." So she took some salt in her mouth and went to where the other ant lived. "Yes, I have come," she said, "where is the sugar?" "Here it is, taste as much as you like." The salt ant tasted some and then she said, "Well, this is just like my salt, your sugar is just like my salt." She took another bite, "Yes, it's just like my salt." Because she had a piece of salt in her mouth, she could not taste the sugar.

The same thing is with us. In our minds there are egos, confusions, and so many things, so when we go to something we say, "Oh, this is just like our confusions." Because we are really confused, we get more confused. But once our confusion is removed we really will face the sweetness. And then the ant said, "Open your mouth," and the salt ant opened her mouth and, yes, there was a piece of salt there. The sugar ant said, "Take this out. Wash out your mouth and then come." So she did, and then she came and tasted the sugar and then said, "Oh, yes, this is beautiful. This is sweet."

Same thing with humans. People come to me, saying, "Oh, this is confusing." But when I say, "O.K., what are your questions, what are your doubts?" they tell me those questions. I give them the answers, and what happens? The salt, the confusion, comes out of their mouths. "O.K.," I say, "Now go and wash out your mouths, go and listen to satsang," and then I say, "O.K., now come and take the Knowledge," and I give the Knowledge to them and they are really satisfied.

You won't be able to understand my Knowledge by these bare words, because the Knowledge is a matter of practical experience and I think God will bless you to know this Knowledge. If you can't get this Knowledge outside, come to me and I will give it to you. I have got this Knowledge. I have given it to many people and they are all satisfied. So if you want it, come to me and I'll give you this Knowledge, because this Knowledge is a bank account I have got. It is not money that is in my bank account, it is the most precious jewel, it is a diamond which I am giving to everyone.

There was a farmer in the desert and he saw this piece of glass shining so he picked it up. He said, "Oh this is not precious," and he threw it away and went on his way. And after some time a jeweler came and he took it, and he said, "Oh it is a diamond, how lucky I am." So he put it in his pocket. So they both came, they both picked up that diamond, but one was clever enough to know its value and the other was ignorant and left it. This is confusion. This Knowledge is supreme, just supreme, and you cannot take it with your mind, which is what you are wanting to do. I am very sorry, but you cannot have it like that. You cannot think this Knowledge in your mind. You cannot imagine this Knowledge. So if you have any doubts and confusions, ask me and I will remove them and I'll ask you to go and wash your mouth, and that means "listen to satsang." When you are ready I'll come and turn your battery on. When a car is ready, still one more thing is needed, and that single thing is the ignition. I can switch on your ignition. At this time you haven't even got an engine, you have only got a body, a chassis. But ultimately, satsang, by removing doubts, does many things and it will place an engine there, a big, huge, powerful engine. Everything will be fixed. You will become eager, but you have no battery and no ignition switch. You cannot turn yourself on. But when you are given this Knowledge you become ignited, and then to go forward you do your service and your meditation, and then you will go onto that highway that is the fastest highway in the world. It never goes crooked, it goes straight to God, straight to God, and it is a very short highway. Your car has got no steering wheel because there is just one direction, straight. It has got no tires because it flies, it flies straight to one point and that is God. Only then do you become a real part of God, only then are you a real human being. Up till now you are only human, not yet beings, but then you become beings, human beings. And then you become perfect, you become part of God and part of the Son of God.

So now I am here again, speaking to you, giving you my satsang. Some of you will be like a strainer, and all the precious water will drain out, and only the tea leaves will remain. But other people will be like combine harvesters. They will take out the hay and keep the grains inside them. So let's see who is like which. If you are like a tea strainer, the water will leak out and you will not be able to use the leaves again. But if you are sincere you will be like a combine harvester and you will really be part of God. So let's see which you are.

So now you know why you have come to this world. Look at your watches and you will see how fast the second hand is running; so fast, extremely fast, and your precious moments are being wasted. You know the proverb, time and tides wait for no one. Time and tides wait for no one. And time won't wait for you. It's passing by like anything and there is no certainty in your life. Suppose you are going out and your car slips on some ice and it crashes into a bridge or something and you die. So there is no certainty about your life and there is a heart-attack disease that is very popular. You are sitting there and you don't know when you will die and suddenly you die.

So know why you have come into this world. Take this full opportunity that you have got, that God has given you, take full opportunity of it, otherwise ...

Dogs bark but the elephant carries on. When an elephant passes in India, all the dogs come round and bark, bark, bark. The elephant never even sees them. The elephant isn't aware of what is happening around him. If you don't realize why you have come into this world, if you don't use every single moment, then you are like an elephant, having nothing to do with Knowledge and having nothing to do with time. Everything is saying, "Know, know, know, know me," but you aren't interested. Realize why you have come into this world, why God placed you in this human frame, why God made you so handsome, why God graced you with that most intelligent brain. Why did he do that? Know. Only know.

And when you know it, meditate upon it, start walking on that way, start climbing up that ladder, and if you do not know the way, if you do not have that ladder, come to me and I will give you the Knowledge. You are always welcome. My Knowledge does not have any religion, it does not have any way of life. If you want to cut your hair, cut your hair, my Knowledge won't affect that. If you are growing your hair, grow your hair, my Knowledge won't affect that. My Knowledge is like a river. Let a lame man come, it is the same water, let a rich man come, it is the same water, let a beggar come, it is the same water, let a king come, it is the same water, let an enemy come, it is the same water, let a friend come, it is the same water. The same water is flowing for everybody. External things do not affect this Knowledge because it is internal. So know why you are following the crooked paths of this world, and turn away from them to the straight path of this Knowledge. In the mountains in India there is a leaf, and if you touch it will give you an electric shock. Your fingers will feel tingling as if thousands of spiders are there; but nearby you will find a plant, a small plant, and if you take the leaf of that plant, you can rub it on your fingers and you will be cured. So where God has created evil he has created good also. But people who look at evil cannot look at good, they don't know where goodness is. The toads who live in the well don't know what the sea is and the toads who live in the sea don't need to know what a well is. So live in that ocean, live in that ocean of mercy, know where that ocean is and make your life a golden life, a precious life, a good life, a marvelous life. And I've got a way, I've got a technique ...

People who have received Knowledge, my blessings are always with them and they should carry on and build an ashram here where many people can come and receive Knowledge. You are not building the ashram for my benefit, you are building the ashram for your benefit. You will reap what you have sown, everybody knows that. If you sow mangoes, you won't reap berries. You will reap mangoes. If you build an ashram, many people will come and take Knowledge and they will bless your soul. It will be a wonderful thing. I will come where there is love and unity for I love and I love unity. I want this whole Universe to unite in the Name of God so that very soon the Kingdom of Heaven may come on this earth, so that very many people can take advantage of it. I am working for that, I am working very fast and I need your constant cooperation. What I want is to bring forth the Kingdom of Heaven quickly. And I can bring it forth by this grace.

Remember, Jesus prophesied that there will be famine and thunders before the Kingdom of Heaven comes; but remember at the same time that God is very merciful. He is complete mercy. And probably, if He has mercy on you, the world won't explode, and I am working for that. I am increasing this Knowledge like anything to stop the bombs from destroying the whole world and I need your cooperation. If you don't cooperate with me, O.K., then let the bombs explode. They won't wait for me, but if you want real peace, cooperate with me and really, I will bring it along, very fast, because God is merciful, all merciful. He is complete bliss and if you pray to Him, maybe He will protect us from the thunder, the famine and the bombs and change those bombs into flowers.

You don't think this can happen, but this can happen. Meera was a princess who devoted everything she had to spreading this Knowledge, and her husband and father both thought this is evil. So they took a basket and put a snake in it and gave Meera this basket. They said, "Meera, these are flowers, this is a garland for your Lord." So Meera took the basket to her Lord and placed her hand inside and what came out was a garland.

With this Knowledge, thieves and robbers are converted into peaceful men, so no one would think that once they were thieves and robbers. So I need your cooperation. God is cooperating with me from that side but you must cooperate with me from this side. You'll have to spread this Knowledge like lightning and you know what is the speed of lightning. Even faster than that. That's why you are devotees, that's why you were made disciples. Why are your names written as disciples of Guru Maharaj ji? To do something, and that is to spread this Knowledge. You don't kill the egos, you bring them to me and I will kill them. So cooperate with me, give people satsang and do what else you can. I have devoted my whole life. If I have done it you can also do it very easily, very easily. There are no problems. If I have devoted my whole life to this purpose, and I have, then so can you. Sow it now and then reap what you have sown. Sow apples and you will reap apples, sow thorns and you will reap thorns. That's all.

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Piñata Satsang
 

On Guru Maharaj Ji's fourteenth birthday, the western premies held a fancy dress fantasy party for him. A Mexican tradition was copied, where a huge colored paper fly (called a Pinata is filled with sweets, suspended and moved around, wile the birthday child, blindfolded, chases it, then beats it with a stick until the sweets fall out. Guru Maharaj ji gave the following discourse on the 10th of December, 1971, at the Prem Nagar Ashram, India.

This fly was broken; in the same way, the mind has to be broken. First of all, man has to close his carnal outer doors so that he may concentrate his heart on his devotion. Devotion is the stick, and with his devotion and meditation he has to kill this crazy damn fly. In the same way, mind, too, is strong; it is very big. To a man it seems very pretty, but of course it is a fly.

In the same way, our minds in this age of darkness are very strong. The will of this world is so strong. Really it is something that you cannot bear. When the holy man leaves, you are lost. And then these evil powers start acting upon you, and this illusion, which is itself darkness, comes and puts a black sheet over you. Now, where to go? Where to go? Where is the path?

You light the torch, O.K. You light the torch, the torch is O.K. But you have got something tied on your eyes, you cannot see where the light of the torch is going. You are standing on the path, O.K. But you cannot see the path because your eyes have been tightly tied up. Where to go now?

In the same way, when Satguru comes, by his satsang this illusion is broken, and man is only attached to one thing. Now his destination is one, and that is to meet with the sea.

The rivers flow from all sides to merge with their source, and that is the sea. Sea was their source. And from the sea they were taken up by the sun into the clouds, and they eventually went to the mountains, then showered the rain, and now they are so great, so fast, they are running to meet and embrace their source. Nothing in the world can stop them. They topple over their edges, they go into the houses, with one purpose only-just to meet with the "whole" who was their source, who is their source and who will be their source; who exists, who was existing and who will exist; who never dies, who has never died, and will never die; who is forever, was forever, and who will be forever; who was complete, is complete and will be complete. He is perfect, He was perfect and He will be perfect. Nothing in the world can touch His personality and break it into pieces. Anything you take from the world-illusion, this darkness-is too thin for Him.

His personality is great. His rays are so strong, they cross bones, they cross skin, and they shine out. His light, which is His personality, is so powerful that it crosses the whole world, but it can't be broken. His divine divinity is so strong; His divinity is so strong that I've got no words to describe it. A devotee is sitting in America, Guru is sitting in India, but both have a very powerful connection.

So remember. We have to find that God, that person who is perfect; He is ours and we are His, and we have to find Him. To whom do we belong? We have to find Him, and get together and be one with Him, because if we are two we have got duality. Wherever there is duality there is darkness. Wherever there is darkness there is frustration. Wherever there is frustration there is ego. Man is completely surrounded by it and he is put into prison by the chains of his mind.

So remember: we are part of Him who Has manifested Himself as a Guru and who has come into this earth, and now we have to be one with Him. We have to completely merge and make our souls one with Him because He is perfect, and once we merge with Him we will also be perfect.

Nothing is in the world, whether it is our mind, or the darkness of illusion, that can stop it. We will be like the river Ganges. It flows, flows, and has no regard for its importance. The Ganges doesn't stop because cows are drinking its water.

Have you seen when men take the horses and put two leather strips before their eyes? On the side, they cannot see. They can just see their road, which is their destination. It is their path on which they have to run, run and run, till their master stops them. They are not allowed to see anywhere else. In the same way, we have to be tied into the one cord of love. Because, you see, there are flowers in the garden, there is string to tie the flowers, there is everything, but there is no garland. But once the flowers come and are united on a string, they form a garland.

There is an autobiography of a flower written by Kalidasa, and this flower says, "0 Lord, ever since you made me I have had one wish. That is that you should please unite me with all my friends into one string of love and put me around your neck so that I may be most fortunate to feel your divine personality." This is the autobiography of that flower.

So remember, we have to be united in one string of love. Mind is so strong, but don't be frustrated by it because if the Lord is true and the Knowledge is true, then nothing is there. There is only a black shadow, cast by the moon, which itself is taking light from the sun-and only for six hours. After a little while it will go off and there'll be no darkness.

So remember, that we all have to unite in ore cord. Not two or three or four or five. And all the human beings that have been created and are living in this world, or on any other planet, have to be united in one cord, only one cord. This cord is of love, and that perfect love is only given by the Perfect Master of the time. No one else is able to give that love to you.

You think that your wife, your husband, your children will give you love? No. It is the love of selfishness. Baby loves mother because mother gives milk, not because they have a connection. No. Just because of selfish love. In the same way, you love everything because of selfishness. But we love guru without any selfishness. It is pure and perfect love, it is that love which cannot be disturbed by mind at all.

So be perfect, be in love, do meditation, run smoothly, have a good life, enjoy yourself, be one with Him who has created you, who had created you and who will create you. Because this is what you have to find in the world. There are many paths. Many, many paths. One is blue, one is red, one is green, all seem beautiful. But there is one path which we can hardly look at because it is so bright. People who are people, people who are really humans, walk on it. And people who are not humans walk on the green, red and yellow paths. But the man who walks on that bright, shining path always becomes brightness. And God touches him and he touches the Lotus Feet of Satgurudev.

Whenever the Lord comes, He is hungry for love. Nothing He wants. He has created diamonds, He has created the whole of nature. Nothing is a surprise to the Lord because He has created it. But the only thing that can be a surprise for Him is your love. Love that is sincere, that is from your heart, it comes right from the depths of your heart. It shows light, affection, devotion and real love. It is perfect. Perfect, and so it will last forever.

So that love God requires. Nothing else. God created love, no doubt. But He distributed it. And no love is left. And God is only hungry for one thing now. He wants to collect love, love, love, and love. That's the only thing He wants. But those people are only able to give love who are determined to shed their forehead on His Lotus Feet. Nobody else. People who have become proud go to that imperfection from where they never return. But the one who is determined to shed his forehead on the Lotus Feet goes to that perfection from where he never returns.

So brothers, unite into one love, be one, be perfect, be accurate. Accurate for the love, attentive for the satsang, active for the service, and this will make you perfect. Because perfection is what imperfection wants. Imperfect are you, and you need your Lord because He is perfect. Perfection never looks for imperfection, but imperfection looks for perfection every time.

So one devotee, he prays to the Lord and says, "Lord don't forget me. For you, we are many, but for me, you are only one. If I get lost, you have others who can give you that much love. But in my life, if you get lost, you are the only one who can give me love. So Lord, please attach me so firmly that the sun may break, fire may break in pieces and the sky may be disturbed, the earth may be moved from its orbit, but this cord of love may not be moved and may be strong forever and ever and ever. Even if the sun breaks, no matter. But this cord of love should be forever."

All the saints of India, Jesus Christ and Mohammed also, have emphasized love because love is the greatest cord in the world. It can unite you and communicate you with the Lord. And the Lord is perfect, perfect for all. To him who goes to Him and asks Him for His love, He never hesitates to give it. Maybe he is the lowest person in the world, maybe he is the highest person in the world. Because the Lord is the embodiment of love and you must realize Him. Not only realize Him, but be one with Him because He can create you as many times as you like.

So be careful about the golden opportunity He has given you. And don't be confused by the hypnotic shadows of the mind which are making you frustrated. Once you get frustrated, you will not be able to return again. Don't be frustrated. Don't look anywhere, just look at the destination which you have to reach. Don't look anywhere.

Don't be confused. Confusion is for those who don't know this Knowledge. But once a man has known this Knowledge, he has nothing to be confused about. Because this mind came, it can also go away, but only if the destination is there. The horse is hungry, the grass is on all sides, but he can only look at his destination. Maybe there is green grass filled with clover, but horse does not look at that, he looks only at his destination and runs there. He's hungry, but it doesn't matter.

So today, in the frustrated darkness of the world, only the Perfect Lord is the bright, shining sun. And if you have known Him, far out. Nothing can be more than that. It is the endless limit if you have known the Lord of the time. So what I have told you just now, I think it is important. Maybe it is not for you, but it is very important for me. And only through this principle, only by following this basic outline of how to be one, can you be one. For this solid thread of love has been carried over from centuries and centuries and ages and ages.

And my guru also taught me first of all this thread of love. And then I was able to realize the importance of guru, this embodiment of love. He is white, but if you wear blue glasses you won't be able to see Him. In this world, everywhere there is darkness. You can only get white glasses by knowing that white, bright, shining Light. So if you go to Him, ask. Ask and it shall be given, knock and it shall be opened unto you. So if you have asked for Knowledge, very good. Otherwise, if you know the Knowledge, go ahead and meditate. This is the only thing which increases your love. And love increases you and makes you one with whom you have to be. It is so beautiful, it is so fantastic to be one with one who is perfect, because you are your own no more, no more are there weights on your hands, no more are there weights on your shoulders, there is no burden to carry, no weight on your hands to carry, you are free.

When you have been united to the Lord, you are the most free person. Water cannot be in one place, it does not rest. It runs, runs, runs, and runs to be one with Him, one with the sea. Maybe the sea is salty, it does not matter. The water has to go and be united. So meditation is the only medium through which you increase your love, and love will spring forth, will make you one, and finally everything will be organized.

So I hope you will pay close attention to whatever I have been saying. It holds value for all devotees. Because, first of all, of any line of spiritualism, that spiritualism which opens Knowledge of God is the only thing. But if you don't know the topic of love, then it is like owning a car which is perfect, but without an engine. I want to find out if you know, if you are really eager to go towards the destination. But without love, you are a car without tires. So can you go?

So realize it and be one with it because this is the aim of human life which has to be completed. It has to be completed. This is it. This is the aim of human life. It should be there. It must be there. There can be no excuse for this. Because ultimately, if you don't get there, you'll find yourself living in great darkness, ignorance and suffering. But once you have realized it, then everything is good for you.

Thank you very much.

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Satsangs of Guru Maharaji Ji's Family