First Australian instructor conference

The first instructor conference to be held in Australia opened in Brisbane on 27th May.

Instructors from the Pacific region, from South America and southeast Asia, together with invited guests, enjoyed Maharaji's company for two days as he outlined the progress of the last twelve months.

Stressing that no changes were involved, but rather a reaffirmation of basic principles, Maharaji made it clear that he alone had the responsibility for imparting Knowledge. He encouraged instructors to a greater understanding of the requirements for preparing aspirants and foreshadowed a time when he would personally assess aspirants' readiness.

On the topic of the best use of his time, Maharaji said that he would prefer to tour a country when there was work for him to do, rather than do so simply because the time had come round again. He nominated certain 'target' countries, such as the USA, UK and Australia, where development had reached a level that required his ongoing attention, and said that he wouldn't necessarily extend his tours of those countries to geographically adjacent areas unless the groundwork had been done.

All the instructors and organisers were clearly inspired to greater efforts in order to have the benefit of Maharaji's presence in their countries.

Reflections from guests

Tony Helman interviews a few of the guests who attended the instructor conference in Brisbane.

Gerald Marceau:

'I felt a lot of appreciation at being able to be there. I feel really fortunate to be alive and to have a way of really enjoying this life. For me being able to spend time with Maharaji is another aspect of my enjoyment.

'One of the thing's that struck me was how accurate and precise Maharaji is with his communication. He obviously sees the direction in which he wants to go and he was conveying it to those people who are working with him in a clear and concise way. I felt respect for the intelligence and the authority that you could so obviously feel from him. I don't think there can be too many people around who carry that kind of authority.'

Tony: Did the conference help you to see where you can fit in in terms of participating in his work?

Gerald:

'I feel comfortable in what I am doing. I certainly don't want to obstruct him and I'm happy to be available in whichever way becomes available. Mostly what I got from the conference was that I want to see him again.'

Chris Danesi:

'One of the first things that impressed me was on the morning the conference began. When all the participants came in, Maharaji was already standing there waiting for us, ready to begin. Somehow to me that seemed to set the tone for the whole conference.

'I was impressed with the way in which he worked individually with all the different people who were there from many different countries and cultures. I saw that he actually does have a very specific and practical knowledge of what goes on in individual countries, and even in individual cities. This helped me feel more directly connected to his work in my own involvement in helping things to happen in Sydney.

7 was fascinated to see the way he conducted the conference. There was a lot of to and fro interaction responding to people very individually, and yet I could feel a very strong sense of direction and the definite way in which he covered the agenda that he needed to cover.'

Tony: Did you learn anything about being involved in working with him that will help you personally?

Chris:

'Yes, a lot. For one thing, I saw in the way he works with instructors that there is a need for people to use their own initiative and understanding and make their own effort to do things on a very practical level. I guess I saw that instructors don't have any magical answers as to how to do things, but that he wants them to use their common sense in working out how to bring commitment and quality into the work that they are doing.

'Maharaji offers help and some practical aids (like maybe sending a fulltime instructor) but I saw that he leaves a lot of room for the instructors to draw on their own resources. It helped make the whole thing of my own participation seem a lot more real and practical.'

Jonathon Puckeridge:

I guess I went along because / wanted to see Maharaji in action. I've seen Maharaji talking many times, but haven't had much opportunity to see him doing things.'

Tony: Were you surprised by what happened?

Jon:

'Yes, there were some things that I didn't quite expect. I was struck by how professional Maharaji was. The way he presented the conference was of a standard of excellence that would be very well received in any business or professional environment anywhere in the world.

'It might sound funny to say this, but the other thing which struck me was how sincere Maharaji is. I guess that's what you would expect, but it always comes as a big shock to me to see just how much commitment and dedication he has to what he is doing. / guess it's easy to forget that this is not just something Maharaji happens to be doing, but that he is one hundred percent involved in it.'

Tony: The conference was mainly for instructors. How much of what was covered did you feel was relevant to you?

Jon:

A lot. For one thing, it helped to clarify my own feelings about being an instructor. I also saw that it's not a question of particular people who happen to be instructors having some special abilities as teachers or some higher level of understanding. It seemed to me he was encouraging people to do what they do with a real commitment to quality and to operate in the way / saw him to operate, taking each situation from first principles trying to be as open, trusting and flexible as life demands.'

Tony: Do you see your own role in participating clearer?

Jon:

'Yes, seeing how much he puts into it helped me to become a lot clearer in my heart that I also want to do something with quality and commitment. Not that my involvement up to now has been a joke or anything, but I see that I can do what I do more seriously and professionally. If he puts in that much effort I guess I can do a bit more myself.'

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