PAGE TWO
MILLENNIUM '73 EDITION
DIVINE TIMES

MILLENIUM '73

Imagine a country where the water supply was laced with amphetamines. Everybody would be a bit on edge, everybody would be at each others' throats. Competition would breed hatred would breed fear would breed murder would breed chaos. And then imagine if a source of pure water were found. Those people who drank from the pure source would be relaxed, cool, calm, connected. They would see that their pure source could bring an end to the tensions in society, that it could provide an empirical basis for peace.

Peace comes from peace of mind, and a society based on adrenalin cannot be a peaceful society. That's where meditation comes in.

Meditation actually changes the glandular balance of those who get into it. Guru Maharaj Ji's meditation, according to doctors who are familiar with its effects, actually stimulates the pineal gland, (the legendary "third eye" of the Tibetans) causing a relaxed, alert state of mind which allows the meditator increased problem-solving ability, increased energy, and greater satisfaction.

Guru Maharaj Ji really intends this world to get into shape. As a result, he doesn't just give us a meditation and leave us to fend for ourselves. He brings us an entire plan of action which clarifies all the details of life and leads to a world society based on brotherly and sisterly love. He provides us with a creative family unequaled in purity and practicality. And he gives us a three fold path - designed to eradicate selfishness as surely as the sun melts snow.

Human beings spend energy (the pocket money of life) in three ways - thought, word and deed. Therefore Guru Maharaj Ji gives us three ways to spend our energy on love and to receive love as our experience. He gives us meditation to purify our thoughts. He gives us the task of telling the world that peace is found, to purify our words. And he gives us the opportunity to serve others, to purify our actions.

The game is on. Maharaj Ji has provided us with the empirical basis for peace to come on earth. Meditation is preparing us for Utopia.

What will paradise be like? What will it be like to live on this planet in a peaceful and agreeable manner? What will the United Nations do next, once the nations become united?

The best known doctors will be those with no work to do, for all their patients will be in excellent health. People will work for sheer joy in serving others, and not for any profit motive. Passports will decorate the walls of museums.

Unless we experience unselfish love, speak unselfish love and actually behave unselfish love, this will continue to be a selfish universe. Without meditation, we will never tap the reservoirs within us. Unless we become a family of people at peace with ourselves, we will never know what it is to be human. And unless we can find some way to serve our brothers and sisters, our love will be unable to express itself.

The sky will not oppose peacefulness. The earth will not insist on war. The trees are unlikely to object if we start living like human beings. We don't have to persuade nature to be harmonious. We are the ones who have to change.


Shri Maharaj Ji Shri Maharaj Ji
A tribute to the father of Guru Maharaj Ji and founder of Divine Light Mission, whose birthday is celebrated by this Hans Jayanti festival

Shri Maharaj Ji, father of the present Guru Maharaj Ji, had a dream, and that dream was that Knowledge of God be given to all mankind so that Truth could unite humanity in peace. His lifelong efforts brought millions of Indian people to Knowledge and established such a firm basis that today Knowledge is spreading quickly to every corner of the earth. Celebrating the anniversary of his birthday, Millennium '73 is a manifestation of Shri Maharaj Ji's dream.

Wonderful visions

From childhood Shri Maharaj Ji tried to brighten the lives of others. As a small boy, he and his friends would sit quietly by the river. And unbeknown to them, he would fulfill their wishes with wonderful visions of great cities, adventure, or the glory of God.

Later as a young man Shri Maharaj Ji's compassion drew him to a reform movement dedicated to ending the suffering of India's masses. But as a true seeker, he could not rest content with this imperfect solution, which tried to eradicate only the symptoms, and not the source of man's sufferings.

Finally Shri Maharaj Ji's search brought him to the feet of the Perfect Master of the time, Shri Sarupanand Ji, who bestowed upon him Knowledge of God. Shri Maharaj Ji served his Master until, just before his death, Shri Sarupanand Ji declared him to be the next Satguru.

From then on, Shri Maharaj Ji's life was devoted to carrying out his Master's command: to spread Knowledge of God throughout India. Traveling from village to village, often alone and on foot, his radiance attracted flocks of peasants and shopkeepers.

Shri Maharaj Ji did not come to pull people away from their worldly duties but to show them that every act of life can be infused with perfect peace. One day a farmer dropped his plow and ran to prepare a comfortable seat for him under a tree. But Shri Maharaj Ji, not wanting to interrupt the man's work, instead walked alongside the farmer for the rest of the day, giving satsang as the field was plowed.

Shri Maharaj Ji's message gave joy to followers of all religions and to rich and poor alike. Once a Brahmin devotee became enraged when he learned that his low-caste sweeper had received Knowledge. But Shri Maharaj Ji told him, "It is not my fault. The blame must be placed on God. For God places divinity in the heart of every man."

As Shri Maharaj Ji's following swelled, huge festivals began to take place in India's cities. In 1960 he directed his devotees to organize Divine Light Mission, so that efficient means might be provided to reach even greater numbers of people.

Perfect peace

Even when his life's work was drawing to a close, Shri Maharaj Ji never grew tired. When he was not speaking about Truth in still another distant province, he would dance and sing with his loving disciples. Meanwhile his sons were growing older. The youngest, the present Guru Maharaj Ji, would soon be ready to carry on his father's mission. Early in the morning of July 19, 1966, Shri Maharaj Ji sat in silent meditation, and in perfect peace he left.

In honor of Shri Maharaj Ji's birthday, one Hans Jayanti festival was held in 1970 at India Gate, New Delhi. Over one million people gathered to hear the young Guru Maharaj Ji explode the Peace Bomb by announcing, "I declare I shall bring in the Golden Age of Peace to the whole world." Among this blissful throng - the largest mass of people ever gathered for a non-military purpose - was a mere handful of Western devotees. The festival gave them such inspiration that they hurried back to prepare their countries for Guru Maharaj Ji's first visit. Shri Maharaj Ji's dream was beginning to come true.

Glossary of Terms

Ashram: Shelter. To live in Guru Maharaj Ji's shelter. Hence, a place where disciples live together in service of their Perfect Master. For they have discovered that His service actually is perfect freedom.

Darshan: Coming into the presence of the Perfect Master or a member of His Holy Family.

Mahatma: In Hindi, MAHA means Great, and ATMA means Soul. A Mahatma is a great soul who is empowered by Guru Maharaj Ji to reveal the Knowledge. An Apostle.

Premie: Literally, a lover of God. One who has taken Guru Maharaj Ji's teachings into his heart. A disciple.

Satsang: Literally, satsang means the company of truth. Satsangs are spiritual discourses about the Knowledge and in praise of the Perfect Master. To tell someone about Knowledge is called "giving Satsang."

Satguru: True dispeller of darkness and revealer of light.

Guru Maharaj Ji's tour quickly bore fruit: a whole jumbo jet full of Westerners arrived for Hans Jayanti in 1971. And again they returned joyously to their homes to spread news of the Knowledge even further.

Guru Maharaj Ji returned triumphantly from his second World Peace Tour in 1972, bringing with him to Hans Jayanti in New Delhi no less than eight jumbo jetloads of followers from America, Europe, and many other parts of the world. Thousands and thousands of Indians wept with joy to witness the devotion of people from so many nations to their beloved Lord.

This year, as Millennium '73, the Hans Jayanti festival graces the West for the first time, in the Houston Astrodome. Thirty-five jumbo jets are arriving from every corner of the earth, bringing together devotees of many races, languages, religions, and nationalities to sing the praises of the Lord.

A dream come true

Just a few years ago, only Shri Maharaj Ji could have dreamed that from his years of patient effort such a brotherhood as the "World Assemblage to Save Humanity" would gather, to honor the day of his birth and to help-usher in God's reign of peace. Now, at the annual Festival held in his honor, this dream is being manifested before the entire world!