Becoming An Initiator

The following quotes from Maharaji were sent to us by an ex-Instructor. They come from a booklet of Maharaji's lectures that he gave during the Initiator's Development Program (IDP). This was a series of training sessions for initiators and prospective initiators. Initiators were premies who were authorized to "give Knowledge" (reveal Maharaji's meditation techniques).

When Maharaji first came to the West, almost all this initiators were Indian followers, and were usually called mahatmas. In the mid-seventies, Maharaji started ordaining Western initiators. Premies chosen to be initiators by Maharaji were envied, and considered to be extremely lucky. As the following quotes reveal, however, the life of an initiator was not a bed of roses!

During the mid-1980's, Maharaji discontinued the initiator program and announced that only he could impart the four techniques of meditation. Many of the initiators became instructors, and were given responsibility for preparing people to receive Knowledge from Maharaji. In the words of our ex-instructor "This is really what M expects from his initiators/instructors. This has never been written down since the late 70s, but this is still the substance of what he tells them every time he has a meeting with them."

One final historical note: for people who may not be familiar with the concept of "satsang". "Satsang" is an Indian word which can be loosely translated as "truth speaking". Premies all over the world used to hold satsang meetings every night where they spoke about Maharaji and the Knowledge. However, premies are now are forbidden to give satsang, or speak extensively about Maharaji. Instead they hold meetings where they watch videos of Maharaji speaking.

Click on the underlined links to go direct to any section.

  • Surrender - Maharaji compares the importance of meditation to the importance of surrendering to him. This is an interesting look at Maharaji's ideas about what "practicing Knowledge" entails.
  • Sacrifice - Maharaji sets out the complete sacrifice and surrender required from Initiators. If you ever thought you might want to be an initiator, you won't after you read this!
  • Danger -Maharaji warns of the danger of becoming an Initiator if one has not surrendered to him completely. So that's what happened to all those guys!
  • Havoc - Maharaji explains what happens to people who receive Knowledge from an Initiator who is 'in his mind'. Fascinating reading for those of us who received knowledge from an initiator!

The importance of meditation versus the importance of surrender to Maharaji

You really cannot surrender to Knowledge. Knowledge is within inside of you, and therefore...it'll affect you if you just start to surrender to Knowledge. It'll affect you in many different ways, whereas maybe that day your experience isn't what it's supposed to be. And for a lot of people, for two, three years, four years, five years they've been doing meditation, and their Knowledge experience isn't exact, isn't correct. But you directly need to really surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji, because that is a practical essence which you can physically, spiritually, consciously surrender to. And by surrendering, then you have made that assurance happen, and then you can proceed in Knowledge. - Guru Maharaj Ji, IDP Satsang, Malibu, January 10, 1977

And everybody has to understand: initiators, or premies, or people who are working in the office or this or that. Everybody has to understand what the focus is. And the thing is, okay, you can have a very conceptual talk about what the focus really should be. You can have a big discussion about it. And you can even go into satsang, service, and meditation. But above and beyond all those things, you have to understand that Guru Maharaj Ji really is the focus. Because without Guru Maharaj Ji, first of all, the satsang doesn't manifest. And the service doesn't manifest. And leave it to meditation, when you can't do service and satsang, then automatically meditation is not going to manifest. It's as simple as that. - Guru Maharaj Ji, Initiator Conference, Malibu, April 22, 1978

The complete sacrifice and surrender required from Initiators

Would you like to become an initiator? You really have to look at it: not your desire, not your will, not that somebody told you to become one. It's just a very flat, very basic question. Are you really at the point of surrender to be able to become an initiator? And that's the question that you can answer.

And another thing you have to understand is just that it's not a matter of your options. You can't say that "okay, I can surrender now, and I'll take it back tomorrow." Because this is not a society you are surrendering to; this is not a contract that you are signing. This is really from your heart, of your true heart, to the true person. It's not like just some Joe Blow that you do this to, you know: "okay, I'll say I will come, and then if I can't, I will just tell him so." IT'S REALLY SERIOUS
. - Guru Maharaj Ji, lDP Satsang, Rome, November 22, 1977


But the fact is, it is not just going out and giving techniques; it's holding your whole life together, twenty-four hours a day, so that when that moment of morning or evening or afternoon arises when you have to impart Knowledge, you're in synch. Because it's like, giving Knowledge is a very simply-seen service. But it's not; it's very sophisticated. It's a very integrated service where a lot of sacrifice has to be there.
- Guru Maharaj Ji, Frankfurt Conference, November 29, 1976


An initiator has to cut out all his connections, because he is dedicating his life. In every sense of the word dedicating his life, not just imaginatorily. ...You have to be completely on your own. No more inputs. No more feed coming into you from anywhere else except from Guru Maharaj Ji.
- Guru Maharaj Ji, IDP Satsang, Malibu, January 17, 1978


You know, a person has to be totally a part of Guru Maharaj Ji's world. You have to start looking at it in terms of two worlds. There are two worlds: there's this world and then there is Guru Maharaj Ji's world, which [are] exclusive. It's a world where there is not much materialism happening, or none whatsoever; it's just a lot of Knowledge. It's just a lot of love. And a lot of premies are in that world.

They're not out there, they're in there in this Guru Maharaj Ji's world. But an initiator has to be pretty much in the core of it. He just can't be anywhere in the whole atmosphere of the other world. He has to be right in the center, dead center, and he has to be really, really clear.
- Guru Maharaj Ji, Frankfurt Conference, November 29, 1976


And there is a specific role of an initiator. And really, in one way you can say, "Well, of course, he travels, he gives Knowledge to people, he gives Knowledge reviews, and he gives satsang." But that's action. The role of an initiator, specifically, really is to surrender, to be a channel of Guru Maharaj Ji. That's the role. Otherwise, traveling, and giving satsang, and all this other people can do. I mean, there are so many other premies that give very beautiful satsang. So it's not a matter of giving satsang. And then it's not a matter of traveling, because there are so many people traveling in this world all the time. But the most important thing is that we become, in a way, more and more part of that surrendered thing, of that surrendered being, to Guru Maharaj Ji. - Guru Maharaj Ji, IDP Satsang, Rome, November 22, 1977

Initiator is a special service. It is a service like any other, but you have to understand it is a special service, because when you look at it, it is a little different. As an initiator, you are totally surrendering yourself in a way where you're used like a tool, period. - Guru Maharaj Ji, IDP Satsang, Malibu, January 10, 1977

The danger of becoming an Initiator if one has not surrendered to Maharaji

But the thing is that the service of initiator is demanded on the highest standard of Knowledge realizations, so the person is not confused. Because if you are confused, then it's better to walk away from it all. Because I'll tell you one thing from my practical experience. Every person that I have seen who was a full initiator, and then got confused, just got completely disastrous. From that point on, they were just leading a disastrous life. Because mind then begins to actually manifest. A simple example of this is that the higher you are, the harder you fall. If you are just a little glass and yet fall from a short distance, what is done? Maybe you can pick it and put some glue on it and put it together. But the higher you go, the worse it's going to be. And that means, when you shatter, it's going to be impossible to put you back together. - Guru Maharaj Ji, IDP Satsang, Malibu, January 10, 1977

What do you have to ask yourself? What do you have to answer yourself? That what Guru Maharaj Ji will be giving us is an incredible amount of Grace, is an incredible amount of energy, it's an incredible amount of thing, that he'll be giving us for us to be able to go and do this work, do his work. "Now am I in fact capable of withstanding such an amount of Grace, such an amount of energy, or not?" And then, if you break that down further, it goes, "Well, is mind into me too much?"

It's like if you're wearing metal right on your wrist, and somebody comes and touches you with an electric wire or a heat or something, wherever that metal goes, wherever that metal touches your body, it's going to electrocute you. And that's where the intensity is going to be.....But if it's all over your body, then it's not the matter of feeling the sensation in one place, you'll be feeling it all over! And then at that point it might be dangerous for you; you might actually get killed! You might get electrocuted right here and everywhere. And this is what you have to understand: "Am I to the point where this metal, this mind, that conducts this electricity, this craziness, am I free of that, or is it in fact all over me? So when this energy actually comes, there will be such an opposition happening, there will be such an incredible amount of throw, there will be such an incredible amount of fight happening between mind and that Grace, that not only my little finger will get hurt, but my whole body will almost explode?"

And that has even happened to a lot of people. It's just like when that Grace came through, they weren't prepared for it. When that energy came through, they weren't prepared for it. When actually everything started to happen, they weren't prepared for it. And it was just that simple, that they were so dipped in mind, that it wasn't just one place, it wasn't just one thing, it's just they completely got shattered.
- Guru Maharaj Ji, IDP Satsang, Malibu, July 14, 1977

I mean, these initiators; this is not an easy service to do, believe me. I think they will agree with that too. Because, they have to really, really surrender. If one moment of their life they are not surrendered, they'll bounce like a bad check. - Guru Maharaj Ji, Hans Jayanti, Rome, November 12, 1977

Initiators are like a very sensitive thing. They are at the safest spot and they are at the most unsafest spot. They make one mistake, and boom, out they go.
- Guru Maharaj Ji, Initiator Conference, Denver, July l2, 1975

What happens to people who receive Knowledge from an Initiator who is 'in his mind'

... if you are sitting in a Knowledge session and your mind kicks in, that's a havoc. That's very dangerous. Because you know what you might be doing? You might be taking your mind, amplifying it about 300,000 times, and giving it to this poor guy who is just completely like dedicated to Guru Maharaj Ji, and who just wants to receive that most incredible gift of his life. Ready to receive the most incredible Grace. Ready to receive the most incredible I mean, ready to fulfill the purpose of his life. And you might blow it.

You might get straightened out the next day. Your mind Mister Mind can just, you know, take a vacation for one day. But never for that guy. once he is confused, he is confused.
- Guru Maharaj Ji, IDP Satsang, Malibu, February 3, 1978


Service for an initiator is the experience that they get when they give Knowledge. Why? Because Guru Maharaj Ji has given them a specific agya. Guru Maharaj Ji has given them a specific Grace. Without Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace,it's very simple to give Knowledge; it's very simple to do this or do that. But there is going to be no fruit of that action. That Knowledge that you are going to give to somebody is going to be more confusing to that being than it is going to help him even once single cent's worth. Because without Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, it doesn't work. I'm telling you, it doesn't work. Because it is not supposed to work, and it just doesn't work. - Guru Maharaj Ji, Hans Jayanti, Rome, November 12, 1977

There is this tape recorder. And in this tape recorder, in all the functions that it has, it has one function, one thing which is a head. And that head is an initiator. And the function of the head is that what comes in through the microphone directly goes onto the tape. And on the end of the microphone is Guru Maharaj Ji. And so what Guru Maharaj Ji is saying, you take it. And the tape is the public, people, the premies, the people who want Knowledge,who are blank in their lives, or what they have on them in their lives is truly meaningless. And by becoming a part of that whole schematic, then when Guru Maharaj Ji speaks, the purpose goes in, goes through the whole procedure, but it comes out into the head [initiator] and goes into the tape [the person hearing the initiator].

But if simultaneously when Guru Maharaj Ji was speaking, you had your stereo turned on, which was also putting out input into the tape recorder, then what are you going to get? You're going to get a mixed sound. Where is this mixed sound going to really go? This mixed sound is going to go onto the tape [the person hearing the initiator]. And therefore, not saving the clarity that the thing that Guru Maharaj Ji is trying to put out; it's going to be mixed with something else. And therefore it defeats the purpose of the microphone; it defeats the purpose of the tape recorder. And when that happens, you just take the whole thing and throw it out the window. - Guru Maharaj Ji, IDP Satsang, Malibu, January 17, 1978

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