Such A Fine Line
Prem Rawat's (Guru Maharaj Ji) Speech Argentina, 7 January 1976
Dear Premies, we have all assembled here just to hear some satsang. Now. I understand there are premies here who have received Knowledge and who practice it, and there are also premies here who have received Knowledge but don't practice it. And then there are premies here who have not yet recerved Knowledge. Now you see, life is ahead of us, life is behind us, and life is right now. We do not lead our lives. Life is life, something multiplied by time - which has to constantly keep on going. It never stops: its a time factor multiplied by something. And sometimes that "something" ends, finishes, goes away, and then there is no more life.
Like Marolyn was just telling you, in New York there are graveyards that go for miles and miles and miles and miles. When you pass them, you see all these graves and though you were probably making fun of war and people and life, all of a sudden, when you come to these graveyards, it hits you. You stop for a second, and say. "Well, here I am, driving in a Cadillac, and is this what's gonna happen to me?" All of a sudden, the whole theory in your mind, the whole concept, starts changing. But if only lasts for about five seconds, because as soon as you pass the graveyard, it's all over, and you begin again to make fun of life.
But there is something very, very important in this life. We come into this world just so that we can realize this life, so that we can learn to lead it properly And Guru Maharaj Ji comes, but who is Guru Maharaj Ji? Guru Maharaj Ji is a person, because he comes in a body, and what he does is show us the way, the path to salvation. So that this life doesn't just end six feet under the ground or in the holy River Ganges or lit up by fire. He shows us that there is a definite meaning to this life, so that this precious life is not just wasted: that is why Guru Maharaj Ji comes.
In one sense, "Guru Maharaj Ji" is just a Hindi name that became very popular. But you can also calI him "Perfect Master," because he has perfected perfectness, he can teach us perfectness, and he can guide us along those lines. We call the person who teaches us a "master," and if he teaches us perfectness, we can call him "Perfect Master." And that's what he is. He comes into this world to help us find the meaning of this life.
Look at this world for a second. Say you live in Buenos Aires, or anywhere in Argentina. But there is also the rest of the world - I mean, you have to just imagine how many people there are in this world. And they are going aimlessly around in circles. What is man's daily cycle? He gets up in the morning, goes in the bathroom, brushes his teeth, washes his face, takes a shower, has his breakfast, jumps in the car, takes a newspaper, and goes to work. Then he comes back home, has his dinner, and goes to sleep. Is that the only reason for this life?
You know, there are not very many people who are here listening to this: it's not like the whole world is listening to this satsang. There is only a limited amount of people in this hall. But this cycle is exactly what's happening to those billions and billions and billions of people out there. This is what they're doing. Their lives have no meaning, they are just going around and around aimlessly.
So - on one hand - the importance of Knowledge fluctuates. Because you can take a person who is sleeping and put coal or black paint all over his face and not let him know. When he gets up, he is not going to notice. And if he doesn't notice, what difference does it make to him? It's fine for him. But if you put a mirror in front of
him, he goes, "Oh! What's happening? My whole face is black!" So what happened? Did the mirror put the paint on the person? Is that what happened? No. The paint was there before It's just that the mirrror showed him his face and then the awareness came to him.
So, in the same way, premies, let's really look at ourselves for a second and see .. I don't mean go to a mirror and look at ourselves, or just look down at our hands, but let's really realize where we are going, and what is happening to us. Do we have our destiny in sight? Do we have the goal of this human life together? Have we realized it or not? Where are we going? What's going to happen to us? These very subtle questions are the mirrors and can make a whole lot of difference - they can really click that idea into our heads, so that we realize. And then we realize that we really have to meditate, we really have to practice this Knowledge.
For premies who are not practicing this Knowledge, let me tell you. We receive Knowledge and then we are very blissed out. We say, "Oh, beautiful. Oh, Guru Maharaj Ji, thank you." Then we go home and sit down for meditation for five minutes, and our mind is just constantly going … it's like mind is having a heart attack. Mind is just freaking out and saying, "Knowledge! Knowledge! What am I gonna do? This is going to finish me. This is, this is … this is terrible. This Knowledge is no good!" We sit there and we are sweating and we don't know what's happening.
Before we received Knowledge, everything was fine, everything was O.K. We never got troubled with mind, we never even noticed it. Then somebody comes along and says, "Look, you should receive Knowledge." So, all of a sudden you say, "Yeah, I should receive Knowledge. That's right." Because we need peace. We really know that the peace that we are experiencing is not the real peace, so we really need Knowledge.
So we receive Knowledge. And as soon as we receive Knowledge and start doing meditation, we start to think, "What about my coffee? What about my bus? What about my car? What about my house? Uh … maybe, maybe the car is on fire. I mean, we never thought of that before in our whole life. The car was sitting on the street, we were living in this apartment for fifteen years, we never, never thought that our car was on fire, and now that we have received Knowledge and we are sitting in meditation, all of a sudden, out of the blue, the idea comes, "Oh! My car is on fire!" And if we have an automatic coffee perculator that automatically
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perks coffee and shuts off, and we have perked coffee and left it on for days and never bothered about it, then all of a sudden, when we sit down to do meditation, we think, "Oh! Oh, my coffee percolator! Its gonna burn out!" Why? You know? But that's what happens.
Maybe you don't have a coffee perculator in your house Maybe you have an iron or maybe you don't have an iron, you have something else. But the same thing happens You say, "Oh! Maybe I left my bathtub running," so you go up to your bathtub, but you haven't taken a bath for two weeks. You know? How could the bathtub be running? And then you turn around to your mind and you say, "Well, why did you do that? Why didn't you let me do meditation?" And mind says, "It's okay. We are just making sure everything is okay in the house."
So this is the trouble with us. I am not particularly blaming you. Look at Premlata, for example. She is really beautiful. She is cute. She is just in the stage where she is trying to learn things. She knows the meaning of "no,'' and "yes." she knows who her daddy is. who her mama is, she gets ideas. she goes up to electrical wires and starts pulling them, she goes to do things that she is not supposed to do. and she just does them Slowly and slowly, her mind is dominating her. I mean. she is just a little child, just a little baby. And really she doesn't know But slowly and slowly. her mind is starting to dominate her. Before you know it, she'll be 15, 20 years old, and hopefully, she'll have Knowledge by then. But, if she doesn't, she'll be totally out there. like anybody else. Just totally out there.
So believe me, this mind can really play tricks on us. And this is what we have to he careful about, this is what we have to really watch out for. Something within inside of us knows that. This is not a secret between you and me, but this is a fact. Something inside of us knows that this Knowledge is beautiful, that there is something to this Knowledge. This is not a hoax. This Knowledge is beautiful. And we have experienced it, even if for one second, we have experienced it. Maybe we then got carried away with our minds, maybe we got totally carried away. That's another thing altogether. But there is this Knowledge, and it is beautiful. You know? And we have to really see that we have to do meditation.
Let me tell you why we need to do meditation. In America, when I meet premies who are not meditating on Knowledge, I ask them, "Well, how come you quit doing meditation?" They say, "You know. Guru Maharaj Ji, it's not really that we just quit doing meditation. It's just, we quit doing meditation." They don't even know why. They have no reason for why they shouldn't do meditation, but it's just in their heads. They know that it is beautiful.
Sometimes they say, "You know, we are confused. What we can't understand is that if this Knowledge
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is perfect, is beautiful, if this Knowledge is what it is, then why do you need to do meditation?" Well. I am pretty sure that some of you premies here think that. And if you do, then let me tell you this. When you are very, very thirsty. I mean, it's really hot outside, and you are really thirsty, your mouth is dry, really dry, then take a glass of water and put it on the table, then sit on the chair right beside it, and just look at it.
That water has all the power to quench your thirst. I mean, that's what quenches the thirst - the water. And the water is right there, on the table. Then why do you need to drink it? The water is right there, you are right there, water has the power to quench your thirst - so why do you need to drink it?
That sounds very stupid, because you can say, "Come on, you have to drink water to quench your thirst." Well, same way with the Knowledge. Knowledge has always been there. It's not like we took Knowledge out of our pocket and said. 'Here. That'll be fifty cents.
Here is the receipt for the fifty cents, and now you have Knowledge." No, Knowledge is Knowledge. It was always with you. It was revealed to you. It was not given to you, it was revealed to you. Because you were not meditating, it did you no good. But when you do meditation, it does you all the good in the world.
So premies, I am doing this tour, and the reason for this tour is so that premies can benefit. Because I have already done tours in Europe, India, the United States, Canada, and Australia. But last year was the first program we did in South America. I've never come this far into South America before, but premies should not be deprived of their rights, and one of the rights that premies have is to receive darshan and satsang. Because I didn't come here, premies were being deprived of that right. This is why I come here, so that I can give you some satsang and so that you can have darshan, and you can have some clear guidance. But the only thing is, you will only have that so far as you are a premie.
If you are not a premie, then you are not a premie. What is a premie?
Premies, let's really look at ourselves for a second and see. Let's really realize where we are going, and what is happening to us. Do we have our destiny in sight? Where are we going?
Who is a premie? "Premie" is just a word. See, "prem" means love, and "premie" means lover. We are all lovers of this Knowledge - we love this Knowledge. We are all lovers of that beautiful power, that omnipotent power. And this is why we call ourselves "premies " And what really makes us premies is satsang, service and meditation. If we don't do one of those, it's finito, it's no good. So really, we have to realize in our hearts and we have to really look in our hearts, because it's all there, I mean, it's just all there.
Sometimes, when I come to give premies satsang, the microphone is in front of me, and I am giving satsang, and then all of a sudden there is nothing more to say. You have Knowledge, and I have told you to do meditation, well, do it! And satsang, and service. You have to do that. I mean, this is not a new thing that we are introducing. At the time of Jesus Christ, what do you think John did? He gave satsang, he did service, and he did meditation. From time immemorial, premies have had to do satsang, service and meditation. And if they don't do satsang, service and meditation, they will really be missing out on a major part of it.
We don't say, "Premies have to drink Coca-cola, they cannot drink Fanta. That's what makes you a premie, if you drink Coca-cola." No. It doesn't make you a premie. Or if you have a Coca-cola, that doesn't not make you a premie. There are three important parts, and this is what you have to really understand, this is what you have to really take within you.
What is there left to say, except, really realize. I'm not going to come and grab you by your neck and say, "You better do satsang, service and meditation." I am not going to do that. All I can do is tell you, all I can do is advise you. That is my job. I can always advise you, and I can give you examples. Then it is up to you how much you take into your heart, how much you really understand, how much you really believe, and how much you are really going to follow that advice.
The more you follow, the better it is for you. Because, what's my cut? Nothing. What do l get from it? Nothing. Nothing whatsoever, you know. Its not that I enjoy staying in hotels. No. I have got a beautiful, beautiful residence that premies from all over the world have paid for,
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the most beautiful residence in Malibu. It looks over the ocean, it's all by itself, it's really beautiful. I don't need anything. But it is my duty to come and advise premies, to remind premies, from time to time, that they have to do satsang, service and meditation. At least give it a try. If you can't do it. I guess you can't do it. Maybe you are too lazy to do it. But if you do it, you will find out that it is there. What I am speaking is not a lie. It's true. So, be careful of this mind, and see within your heart. because it's all there.
We come and we go, we come and we go. But never do we really sit down and look for ourselves and say, "We come and we go." We have this lifetime now, but we might not have the next one. Who knows? A lot of people come to me and say, "Guru Maharaj Ji, what about reincarnation?" My answer is, "Look I don't know, because I have never died and come back again. I don't know, I am living right now, and that's about all I know. And what the Scriptures say, I don't say, because I don't know. I haven't written them, and I am not going to guarantee what they say. I can guarantee Knowledge, but I cannot guarantee anything about reincarnation." So, why don't we just forget about reincarnation? Knowledge is not going to hurt you. We all need salvation, we all need this Knowledge anyway. Whether or not we are going to be reincarnated, we all need this Knowledge - in this lifetime, now. And so let's do that.
Why think of it like the Egyptians did? They said, "This king and queen are going to come back and they are going to need all this treasure in their next lifetime." Later, when people went and invaded their tombs, the treasure was all sitting there, so they just stole it. And I don't think those thieves were exactly the same kings and queens who died. They just saw the treasure there and so they took it.
So, we don't know what will happen to us when we die. But we do know one thing, we are alive, and we have this Knowledge. And premies who do not have this Knowledge, have the opportunity to receive it. That's what I always say. Now is now. When you are thirsty, you don't think about the water yesterday because that doesn't do you any good. Or you don't think about the water tomorrow, because that doesn't do you any good, either. You want water now, because you are thirsty now.
If a farmer who had a very, very beautiful crop last year and a very bad crop this year, starts saying, "Oh my beautiful crop from last year, oh my beautiful crop from last year, oh my beautiful crop from last year," it's not going to come back this year. No What is now is now. We are alive now, and this Knowledge is now. So, practice it now, its just really simple.
This world goes round and round and round and round. We spend most of our lifetime searching, searching, searching, searching for this Knowledge - in different, different, different, different ways - and we never find it. I think it would be very ridiculous to name all the ways that we search for peace, because there are so many things we try. Look at the extent man has gone to find peace. There was a time when people thought the world was as flat as a plate or a saucer. Then Columbus had this great urge, "No! The world is round." So he sailed and he found out. It's man's urge to search and find the truth.
You have to imagine how there was one man in ancient times who invented a wheel: That wheel is what makes this world run today, with cars, motorcycles, and so many things. He invented a wheel, and from then on it started. But then man came to a point where he had food, and he had everything, but he still was not happy, and he wanted happiness.
Today, we sit down and say, "Oh, why do I need this Knowledge? I have a beautiful wife. I have a beautiful family. I have a beautiful car. I have a beautiful house, and I have a very nice paying job. I'm happy." After the Hans Jayanti program, I went to this place to rest. A sister came up to me and said. "My husband thinks he is very happy." I said, "But look. If he has got a nice paying job, a nice family, and a nice house, and he thinks he is happy, just tell him one thing. There are many people who occupy all the nice paying jobs in the world. There must be thousands and thousands and thousands of nice paying jobs. And there must be somebody who has all those nice families, too. And there are so many Rolls Royces in this world, so they must also have beautiful cars. They have nice paying jobs, a beautiful family, and a beautiful car, too. Well, why are they so unhappy? Because that's not it. That's all looking into this physical world.
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That's like if we are thirsty and we go munch on crackers, or if we are hungry and we go drink water That's the difference."
Man has been constantly looking outside, constantly looking outside, constantly looking outside. He doesn't understand that if he would look inside, it is there. It's a very common thing. Sometimes you are wearing your watch and all of a sudden you become very sleepy. The next thing you know, you wake up and say, "Oh! Where is my watch?" You don't see it beside you on your table, so you go searching throughout the whole place. You say, "Where is my watch? Where is my watch? Where is my watch? Where is my watch?" You make everybody go haywire just searching for it. Then all of a sudden, you walk out to the street, while your whole family is still looking for your watch, and someone says. "What time is It?" So you go, "Oh! The watch is right here." That's where you needed to look, not out on the street. To find it you only had to look right there.
So premies, it's such a fine line between realization and not-realization. Look where man is. Somebody came out with a gun, so another guy came out with a bulletproof vest. Somebody came out with a sword, so some other guy came out with a shield. Somebody came out with an aircraft gun, and the other guy came out with an anti-aircraft gun. The world has been doing this for centuries. I mean, it's crazy. Do you know how many products there are in this world? How many things are manufactured in this world? And every one of them is different. Man's been doing this for ages and ages and ages and ages and ages and ages. But where is he now?
I mean, look, Man has got everything. But is this peace? Is this satisfaction? Nobody is happy. As a matter of fact, you look at people and they're really unhappy. They are just so tense, so uptight. They don't know what to do anymore. Sometimes you just hit the end of your rope: you just don't know what to do. And this is where man is now.
First some guy probably came out with just a one-string guitar. That was it. And now you don't need any guitars. All you need is a moog synthesizer and you make any sound you want. It's a one-man band, and he does the whole thing, he plays the drums, he plays the guitar, he plays the trumpet. He does everything. And it's just one man sitting with an organ, computing everything differently, and playing the whole gismo. But, is that happiness? Is he happy? Really, happiness is somewhere else. By Guru Maharaj Ji's grace, this is so beautiful, because there couldn't have been a better time ever for this Knowledge to be presented to us than now. Look at it, the world is just going nuts, the whole world is just going crazy. But then there is the fact that there is this Knowledge, and it is for us. It is for you and me, it's for everybody. We are really fortunate because we have had the opportunity to realize Knowledge, since Knowledge was revealed to us.
So, for premies who are really unclear on this Knowledge, I would very, very strongly advise that they have a Knowledge review. And premies and aspirants, who have not realized this Knowledge yet, I would very strongly suggest that you realize this Knowledge.
I'll give you one example, and it it'll explain why I say all this. Once upon a time there was this guy who had a sailboat and he used to go out to far distant places to carry spices and trade things. One day, he went to the king of a certain kingdom and the king said, "Do you have anything that you can trade? We would like to trade something with you." He said. "Yes king, I have some mangoes."
Maybe somebody already gave you this example, but when he said, "I have some mangoes," the king said, "What are mangoes?" And the guy said, "You know, they are yellow and sweet-sour." But the king said, "I don't understand what you mean. What are mangoes?" So the king's servants just sat and said, "A mango is like this, and a mango has a big seed inside of it, and it grows in a big tree. and And the king said, "I don't understand." Finally, the wisest of his servants took a mango, cut it up, gave it to the king, and the king tasted it. No words had been spoken, but he said, "Yes, now I understand what a mango is."
So premies, Knowledge really cannot be spoken about. You can sit and think about it, "Oh, what is it? Uh, let's see, uh, it could he a mantra. No, its not. Or, maybe it's, the mahatma sits there and punches you right in the face and you see the light." I mean, you can have just so many expectations about this Knowledge, but when you realize it, then you really find out what it is.
So, this is the time to get together, because this is really beautiful. And once we have realized Knowledge, it is our service to really get together and help our fellow human beings realize Knowledge, too. That's a natural reaction. Say you are driving a car, and all of a sudden your favorite program or your favorite song comes on the radio, so you turn it up loud. Why? Because you like it, and it's your natural reaction to reach up and turn it up loud. In the same way, if you like this Knowledge, then it should he your natural reaction to get together: you have a National Director here, you have the Mission here, and it's your service to get together. I tell you. Once you get into it, it's the most beautiful, most perfect service. It's just really beautiful. That's my service too. I go out and give satsang, and I like it. I love it, it's beautiful. So, you will also like it.
Just do meditation, satsang, and service, and get it together. Get it together. Thank you very much, and blessings to all the premies.
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