SALUTATIONS AT THE LOTUS FEET OF SATGURUDEV

November 24

Guru Maharaj Ji

November 24, 1971
Prem Nagar Ashram, Hardwar

We would all like to discuss something about the Word of God which we all have shared and eventually we all have known. Remember the process you went through before taking the knowledge: you had to listen first of all to satsang, arid then you had to ask humbly, devotedly, frankly, and then the knowledge was given to you. But you must understand that the first and foremost step that brought you toward this supreme knowledge or this supreme con- sciousness and bliss was this satsang. Kabir Das says that you go to sacred places and you get one type of fruit, one type of good. If you go to saints you get four types of good fruit, and if you go to Guru you get all the types of good fruit there. He is the wholesale market dealer. When you go there, whatever you want - that is, in terms of spiritual knowledge, in terms of consciousness, in terms of that satisfaction of mind - he gives you. He gives you this, he imparts this knowledge to you and when you receive this knowledge, you meditate upon this knowledge and eventually you are elevated.

You must remember when the plane cruises up high, as it gains altitude, the speed grows more and more because the pressure of the wind is less there when it is high, but more when it is down. Then the plane starts gaining speed and goes faster than it should. That is, when I was coming to India on this 707 we were going at 600 m.p.h., so our gaining speed was 600 m.p.h., so eventually the speed was 580 m.p.h., but we were going 600 m.p.h. because we were elevated so high. If you want to go, if you want to have excess satisfaction of mind, how can you have that? Everybody requires an immediate satisfaction of his mind. Everybody requires that his mind should be arrested immediately. How can this be done? What is the means? Who can arrest it? Mind is such a thing that cannot be seen by eyes, cannot be touched by hand; then by which method, by which means are you going to conquer or arrest your mind?

For this purpose you go to the policeman, to the constable and this is Guru Maharaj, and you tell him, "There is a thief which has been acting behind me and which has stolen so much of my time and I would like for this thief to be arrested, otherwise he will absolutely waste my whole time." Satguru will take your statement -and he knows the statement of mind, what that is. So immediately, if your statement is true, he will give you first of all a type of medicine, that is satsang. He will talk to you, he will question you, he will make you clear about arresting the mind. He will try to make you sure that, yes, you really want your mind to be conquered. And then eventually, when everything is cleared, the statement is cleared, he will take action.

He will say, "Well, I can help you if you take this gun and this gun will save you anytime you like. This gun is enough for you." And he gives you this gun. You take this gun and there are four bullets in this gun. I am talking in terms of bullets because today there is this world of bullets. But good for what? Lord Buddha used this term as "four noble truths." And he told people, he requested people, to try to realize this truth. People say,"I'm understanding this point now, that without Guru you cannot receive knowledge."

And what is the importance of Guru? Buddha Bhagwan was sitting under the tree, he was sitting, sitting, sitting, but he couldn't realize. He couldn't realize. There was a girl named Sujata who had this knowledge, she went to Buddha Bhagwan and said "0 great person, 0 great saint, why are you sitting under this tree in such bad health? Your stomach is almost touching your back and you are sitting here. What is the matter?" Buddha Bhagwan said, "I would like to have glimpse of that Holy Knowledge." And thus, Sujata revealed that knowledge. If this knowledge were available without a Guru, then Buddha Bhagwan himself would have kept quiet and would have continued sitting. As soon as he took knowledge, as soon as he was enlightened by Sujata he started making his disciples and he started telling them, giving his aigya (command) to them to go and spread this Holy Word of God.

So, today also, the time has changed, right? The circumstance has changed, right? But the law hasn't changed. Circumstance has changed, the time has changed, progress has changed, but Nature hasn't changed. The law hasn't changed till now. Still we see that there are green flowers, and still we see that they are doing the same work that they were supposed to do, and still we see that goodness prevails in this world, some way or another. So time has changed, circumstance has changed, something or other has changed, but the law of God hasn't changed until now, because God Himself hasn't changed.

If God would have been changed completely, certainly the law would have changed. He would have changed. There is district superintendant of police for this town and he is transferred to some other place and another superintendant of police comes. He won't govern the city the same way. The ways of his government will be completely different. The same government -rules and regulations and constitutions -are in Britain, the States, Germany and everywhere. But realize that the way of governing the Indian government is different than that of the States. The way of governing the German government is completely different than the way of governing in Britain, right? So the same way, the name is government, but the ways are different.

A political man is rather politically minded; at any second he will tell a lie. A man who is spiritually minded every second will tell the truth. So automatically there will be a change in government. In the same way, God hasn't changed; God is still there, in the same form, in the same way. He is constant, He is perfect. God could have changed. God could have changed if He were imperfect, if He were imperfect. But He is perfect. No more creations ever are required in that thing, in God. No more creations at all. Everything is most perfect. In this He does not change. He is constant.

However, the sea changes its direction sometimes. In Bombay we have observed that sometimes the sea comes right up in the road and it is flooded. Sometimes it goes way back. So the ocean changes its way. Sometimes the river starts cutting the other way, another direction, and changes the way. Sometimes human beings change the way. But God is perfect. God's way is perfect. He needn't change any way.

And so, even now it is damn easy to realize God. It is very, very, very easy to realize God. Even now. So, we have to use a process. We have to use a technique. We have to use somebody. Like the knowledge a master is going to teach in school; he is not going to say anything out of his head but everything is clearly written in our books. You know that,everybody, right? Everything that he is going to teach is from the book. Then why do you

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require a master? Why do you require a teacher? Everything is in books. Read it and that's done. Why do you require teacher for it?

The roll of the film is there in your hand, in your pocket. The camera is there, your eyes are there, the scene is there, why do you need your camera loaded up? Now why don't you take the photo? Why do you think you need this roll of film to be loaded in the camera and then to be taken? Why? Your tape recorder is there. Batteries are in it, the man is speaking and your tape is in your pocket. Why do you need your tape recorder loaded up? Everything is perfect, isn't it? The reel is there, the tape recorder is there, the batteries are there, the man who has to speak is there; everything is perfect. Why dowe need it? Bricks are there, sacks of cement are there and, you know, all the tools to build the house are there, and people who have to reside in the house are there, and there is furniture, there are cushions; everything is there. Then why do you require that a house should be built? The current is coming, the bulb is there, the electricity is there ; everything is okay. Then why do you need the switch to be on? Why do you need that? You are there, the car is standing there, the place where you want to go is there; everything is there. Why do you feel that you should be in the car and the car should move and take you there?

There are three things. Suppose this is my God (microphone). I am the devotee and this handkerchief is my devotion. Right? Suppose. First I will take my hand- kerchief (waving it in the air). This is my God (microphone) this is my devotion (handkerchief) and I am the devotee. My devotion lies here, (waving the handkerchief in the air), my God lies here, and I lie here. Will the process of satisfaction of mind take place? Not at all. It can't. So, what we do is, by the help of Guru: this is my God (microphone), this is my devotion (handkerchief, connecting him to the microphone), and I am the devotee, and I take this God, attach it to my heart, and then the process of satisfaction of mind is completed.

Your roll of film is there. Your camera is there. The scene is there, but you cannot take the film, you cannot take the photo till you have loaded up, because the impression has to be placed on that film.

("Mr. Girard Roche has a collect call from America.")

So let us take this example. Mr. Girard is here, the call is there, America is there. Why does he need to go from here to there and talk? Because the connection has to be in one way. The connection cannot be separated and still operate. So, if you are devotees and your God is there, and your devotion is there - connect it. If you feel any difficulty, if you are sure that you are a perfect devotee, you're sure that there is devotion, it is also perfect, and you are also aware of the God/that is also perfect, and still you are not having that process of satisfaction, that means the connection is not perfect. Once the connection will be perfect, everything will be okay. So this is that stage to connect the three people, to connect the three things - God and the devotee through the lead of devotion. Let's say God and the devotee are connected by the lead of devotion through knowledge. This is the work of Guru. He takes God, he takes devotees, attaches them both, connects them through the lead of this devotion; by that I mean knowledge. So this is the work that Sat guru does. That is why there is a great need for Satguru. I have a Nikon camera and for the cost of a Nikon camera I can buy thousands of rolls of film, right? There is a long zoom lens, and that Nikon camera itself is very expensive, and for the cost of these two things or so many lenses, and two cameras, I can buy how many rolls of film? A thousand, at least! I cannot take a photo without the film. I have such expensive equipment, but I cannot take the photo without the film. I have an expensive car. Petrol is much, much less expensive than the car itself, but without the petrol, the car cannot move. Do you understand? This is a very, very simple thing: what the importance of Guru is.

Suppose there is gold in this area, in this internal area or this hall; somewhere the gold is hidden. I want to take that gold out of that hidden place. By mistake, I lose the map. I will be searching, searching, searching and then suddenly someone will come to me and say, "Well, what is the matter? What are you searching for?" And I say, "There is some gold in this hall and I want to find it." He says, "Very well. Gold is in the corner." And you go and seek it out. All the process of days, days, days and so many months - years - has been completed in a matter of seconds or minutes or hours.

By whose help? Satguru's help. Suppose, you know, there are many people here who are about forty years old. They took knowledge recently - probably a month ago. A couple of months ago they took knowledge. They must understand that they were forty years old, but they couldn't realize God. And how many hours are there in forty years? Can somebody calculate? When they met Satguru, in matter of only a couple of hours they got that God whom they never got for forty years. It was completed, it was done, it was finished; it was perfect in a couple of hours only.

So that is why there is a great, great need for Satguru to be in this world spreading the Holy Word of God. There it is written; Satguru is the bestower of Divine Light and practical knowledge of Holy Name. He bestows it, He gives it openheartedly. Here you may see His kindness, here you may realize His kindness, how kind He is towards the human being. Man, who has been performing sins throughout his life - since he was created - he had been performing sin and he was guilty of himself. Right? And for every sin he was doing, so many miles he was being separated from God. How kind Satguru is that in a matter of hours He removed all the sin and brought us to God. Just He revealed to us what God is.

So that is why all the saints have proclaimed that Guru is the highest authority. And He is. You know, I'm quite frank to say this here that God is shy of Himself. God is shy of Himself and doesn't show Himself and say, "Hey, here I AM! Here I AM, see!" But He utilizes the help of the Guru. Suppose there is a highest authority - well, let's say Queen Elizabeth. One time Queen Elizabeth goes to jail and is locked in. Now Queen Elizabeth possesses a million times more authority, more power than the jailer, right? But, without the help of the jailer, she cannot come out now. Locked, completely locked up, the queen cannot come out. So that is it. That is what I want to tell you. That this is the simple fact.

Have you seen that fuse in a car? How small is it? A small thing, right? And you take out that fuse and observe that little, little, very thin wire in it. There is a very, very thin wire in that fuse, right? And you take out that wire, the whole big huge elephant car won't go. That wire is missed. So, though it is small, it contains the highest power. There are so many electrical cords running from the dam to this electric house, and from the electric house there are so many cords running to this house, this ashram, and there are so many cords running from the main power to a bulb, right? A couple of wires are running from all the way down to a bulb. There is a very, very thin coiled wire in the bulb and if it goes off, all the wires are still giving off the current, but the bulb won't shine. So many

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wires, more than a mill ion are running al I the way along, but a small wire, a thin, small coiled wire in the bulb has gone out. Because of that the bulb cannot shine out. So that wire - thin, small, coiled up - contains the highest power. You understand?

So you must understand these things. Why Guru has been claimed to be the highest authority. And I think it is crystal clear to everyone why. I have just given you couple of clear examples of why He is necessary in our life. Now, if this necessary man, if this necessary authority, so necessary, so authorized, has given us something, what should we do about it? Properly utilize it. So how to utilize it now? He has told you everything. He has unfolded the mystery of the whole packed world which you were trying to find out, but you couldn't.

So remember that Guru Maharaj has given us such a high thing, such a far-out thing and if we are not realizing it, if we are not utilizing it in the proper way, I don't think now there is any greater sin than that. This is the greatest sin to us - not to utilize the knowledge in a proper way. If you want to be perfect to the single millimeter of our time, of our life, we would have to, you know, meditate upon this knowledge, upon this Word that Guru Maharaj Ji has given us, for you must know that you have received this knowledge. But when you further elevate yourself - I really see people that have been elevated, and they really :know what the importance of this knowledge is, because they have been meditating upon this knowledge.

You know, I was reading these two sentences. One has been said by Shankar, Bhagwan Shiv, sitting, and the other has been said by Lord Ram, standing. Lord Ram says to all the citizens of Ayodhya that "I'm saying with folded hands to you that, please, without the meditation of Shankar you cannot realize me." And Shankar says, "Without the revelation of Lord Shri Hari, that is Ram Himself, you cannot realize me." Lord Ram says, "Without the knowledge of Shiv, without the meditation of Shiv, you cannot realize me." And Shiv says, "Without the knowledge, without the meditation of Shri Hari, you cannot realize me."

Now, what is the matter? We never did meditation throughout the life. Now we say, "What is the knowledge?" At the time a man dies, all of his functioning things become very low, become very dull. He can't move, he can't write, he can't recognize, he can't move his tongue, he feels, you know, too much pain. And at that time that is what we call the test moment. At that test moment how are you going to meditate on that knowledge and stand first in the whole year, in the whole class? Impossible. Im possible.

The Lord has explained how to realize. He says if you have been after money throughout your life, at the last moment you will remember money. All of your life you have been collecting. Now you will try to remember where your money is because you are leaving it. If somebody has been, "O, my children, my lovely children," at the last moment he will say, "Where are my children?" A man who has been meditating upon this knowledge,at the last moment, he will try to remember this knowledge, without any pain, absolutely perfect and with a calm impression he will leave the body and directly be one - achieve liberation, without any doubt.

Now try to remove this distinction that this is Ramayana and this is Gita and this is Bible. If you are going to distinguish between these your whole life will be wasted only in distinguishing, and you won't be able to realize what it means: the truth. But if you are going to try to utilize it right in meditation, you will be able to know it. In science there is a chapter. The chapter is Archimede's Principle: If a body is immersed in water, wholly or partly, it loses its weight. And you read it and the master says, describe it in your own words. And you sit for the whole period scratching your head and then you see there are five minutes left and because you have been reading the book so many times, you write the same definition. But if he takes you to the lab and performs this experiment before you, you can write it in your own words. Correct?

The Ramayana describes the Word, the Name. Then if you want to describe it in your own way, you cannot, because you haven't realized that, you have not. Suppose I tell an architect to make a type of building. You can make your own types of buildings, right? But if I offer you a map sheet and say, "Make this type of building," - any argument? Not at all. You have a clear, a crystal clear figure before you. And you will straight away take the pencil and draw it. So, the thing is that God is omnipresent and people can't realize that God is only this thing because they haven't seen Him. They haven't realized Him and so they are making pictures like Shiva, Ram, Krishna, Shankaracharya, Mira, Chaitanya, Guru Nanak, Mohammed and every type. There was no camera at the time of Lord Rama or Lord Shiva,and if there was some painting that was drawn, you know, it cannot have existed until now. The white ants must have eaten it all. This is only their imagination towards the Lord.

So realize that Word, that Name. You have to teach this to people. You have to also give them satsang, you have to also tell them that if there is anybody amongst you who hasn't realized the knowledge, that Supreme Motion, he must know it because this is the most supreme thing. That's why I have taken it as Supreme Motion. This motion completely changes our life from bad to good, from darkness to light, from lies to truth. This is the complete, true motion. And this motion - this is not a motion picture - but this is motion; this slow change, or this rapid change, is the most important change in our lives.

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A Mercedes is beautiful. It looks pretty handsome, right? You take out one headlight, what will happen? Will it look like the same pretty thing? There is a beautiful boy and you take that screwdriver and plunge it into his eye. Still he will look beautiful? Will he? Why? He's beautiful. You have not broken his beauty; you have only broken his eye. But/ remember, the beauty has been composed out of eyes even. And that's why if the eyes are out, the beauty goes out. I agree that your body is perfect. I agree that probably your thoughts are perfect, but there is a slight thing that your eyes are now like this. You know, one is going up and one is going down. That is what is stopping your beauty from shining out. There is jealousy probably in everybody's head. There is a desire to receive, receive, receive and not to give out. That is what is stopping it. And how to make this idea perfect? Through this spiritual knowledge. Take this spiritual knowledge and everything is crystal clear. You should all receive the knowledge.

Then, what is there? This is a cup of various forms. So you must realize why we have come in here, into life, and know that aim, project it in your life in a truthful way, in a really beautiful way, so that you can go ahead because your life is important. Time and tide wait for none. Tide comes and goes. Whether he is President Giri or Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, it does not wait for anyone. Goes, comes, goes, comes. And time which is passed will not return. If you have your watches and they have second hands on them, just observe how fast it goes on. In my watch it goes swiftly on. Everybody's watch is ticking, tick, tick, tick. But you have to make your watch smooth - never to tick in its life. All goes smoothly. This is how you have to convert your life, not only by words, but by deeds also. Not by deeds, but by words also. So this is what I wanted to tell you. Just a straight line. If you want to follow it, very good. If you don't want to follow it, O.K.. Very good, it doesn't make any difference to me. Because what my work is, I am doing. If anybody does anything to me, it does not affect me. If you take two projectors and in one projector you place Laurel and Hardy, and in the other you place Charlie Chaplin and project both at one point, the Laurel and Hardy movie won't say, "What is Charlie Chaplin doing? I will stop." And the Charlie Chaplin movie won't say, "This is Laurel and Hardy and I will stop." No, they both will go on. Because they have to do their work. They have to project it. Their work is projection. My work is giving this knowledge, truth, satisfaction of mind. Your work is to receive it, satisfaction of mind. The radio station can relay to you, but you can't relay to the radio station. It is only a one-way system. A saint has said that, "The road of this love is very narrow. Two people can't cross at a time. When I was there the Lord was not there in His physical form, and now God is there with His physical form, but I am not there."

Why? Mind has become so subtle that it won't try to respond to what a man is saying in his physical form. So now, because the Lord was not here with His physical form everybody was saying, "O Lord, come with your physical form, O Lord come with your physical form." And now, because the Lord has come, they say, "We don't need you anymore." You know, devotees are always thinking that the Lord is like a door. When the Lord is not there they say, "O Lord, please come. You are formless, we want you in form." And when God comes in form, they say, "No God, we want you to be in a formless position." So this is the play, the joke that devotees are playing with God.. Remember he has said one thing in this world and that is, "Oh God, You are formless, and you won't change form." That is why God is here. And then he says, "Without Guru, we cannot receive this knowledge." So the sweet Guru comes in physical form and through His physical form they can realize this knowledge.

You have a physical form. You need a physical body to realize it. Now, if you have a formless God then you require formless Guru to give you this knowledge. Because you have a form, you require a form of Guru to give you a form of devotee. You require that. For that you take the help of Guru; not only Guru - Satguru. "Sat" means truth and "Gu" means darkness and "Ru" means to light a thing for us. I think that now you have understood, probably not wholly, then part of what I wanted to explain to you. Have you? I think so.

Let's proceed further about it and let's go to the scriptures. Now in the Essene Gospel it is clearly written that you need practical knowledge. Scriptures are dead. They cannot give you the practical knowledge. You need alive for alive. A doctor needs a moving devotee, a patient who is alive. He cannot give medicine to a dead person. A king needs the people alive, not dead; and people need the king alive, not dead.

In this picture the water is flowing out of Shiv Ji's head. Right? I can see that this photo has been here for more than couple of years. This hall has never flooded. If you take a stream like this, you know, and put it in this hall, this hall will be flooded completely in twenty-four hours only. Right?

There is ice all around, right? How are you feeling? You are feeling cold, not due to that ice there. There are a couple of snakes there in the picture. Who is feeling afraid of those snakes? If the snakes come alive, everybody will jump out of this hall. There are the snakes, they seem to be alive, but nobody is affected. Is anybody affected? In that photo we can see that Chaitanya Mahaprobhu is singing something. Now let us be quiet and listen to what he is singing. Nothing. So we can't listen to anything that he is singing. So, here Krishna is playing his flute. Can you hear the flute? No. That means these are pictures. But pictures won't solve your problem. You need life in a live man. You need living thing for life.

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Dead needs dead, but alive needs alive.

You know, everybody in the States loved Kennedy, President Kennedy, more than Nixon, right? He was a little bit better than Nixon. Then when President Kennedy died, what was the need for Nixon to come there? Why did you appoint Nixon? You could make a beautiful statue - the States are more-or-less rich - you know, you could make a huge statue of President Kennedy. He could govern. Why do you need Nixon? You need something living, not dead, so that's why.

We need a present Guru for the present time. Past is a remembrance, but future is a caution. Present is now. If, suppose, I was going and, for an experiment, I fell. Now, there has been a remembrance that I slipped, and there is a caution for the future that I should never step on that banana peel. The present is now, what I am doing. What I have done is past. Now, what I will be doing is future. But the important thing is what I am doing now.

That is not only me, but that is you also. What it is that you are doing now, realize it. It is a very far-out thing to observe when you go to sleep at night - such deep sleep that your mouth is open and you start snoring. If you take your shoes off you won't even feel that in that deep sleep stage. From where is your breath coming? Who is making your breath alive there? Just observe it. You weren't breathing at night, were you? You never thought to take a breath at night. You never said, "Well, I am going to sleep, but yet I will be taking a breath." You just went to sleep. And still your breath was going on. The Word was helping this breath to go further ahead. If we realize that Word, it will be quite clear before us what is making us alive every moment. And what is making leaves alive. What is making birds alive. What is making animals alive. What is making the whole world alive.

You know, what I am speaking is being taped. Now you can open a Bible, you can see there whatever facts I have just described. You know, more than half of the facts will coincide with the Bible. Take the Ramayana; you will see that more than half the facts go very well. They will really mix, combine with the Ramayana. Take the Gita, they will combine.

In the same way, whatever I say is out of past remembrance. What has to be done is a caution and what you are doing is that memory. Now do it cautiously, be cautious of that most cautious thing. Have you understood this? I will explain it once more. Be cautious of what you are doing now because you are taking this, digging this out of the caution that is the future. Your memory is necessary for now, because more than half of your actions you are taking from your remembrance of the past. Action is performed. Future says action should be there, right? Future says action should be there. Now the idea comes-perform the action. Past - this is how to perform the action. I have learned how to walk, right? And I learned it when I was quite small, right? I knew how to walk in my past. Future says I must walk. There will be a time when present will coincide with these two things. I will use my past memory, that is to walk. I will use my future, now that is to go. And now the present will tell me, O.K., go. Understood? The three things are there.

Remember, this life is important. Don't waste it. This is the secret of life. This is the first spoken secret of life - that life is secret, don't waste it. And the second-or, let us say, that this is the second spoken thing - but the first unspoken secret of the life is the Holy Word of God. And if you read the Aquarian Gospel, on page 131, continue farther ahead and you will read clearly that you cannot speak the Word by your carnal lips. It is written in the Gita also.

So, now I have told you this. People who are clever-beckon them and they will come - but, those who are crazy you will have to say to them, "First take your left foot up and then the right and then keep your nose in the direction towards me and then left, right, left, right, left, right…" Then they will come to you. If someone is clever, just beckon him and he will come. God has given you breath, equal breath to everyone, but the important thing is how much he utilizes. Now utilize it in the proper way so that you may go smoothly like an LTD or Citroen goes. Understood? Go smoothly. Don't take any shock. If any shock comes, absorb it slowly but yet go ahead. If there is a very smooth car, you know what it will do? Suppose there is a ditch and the car has to jump it. It won't take the shock then and there, but when it has passed the ditch it will slowly absorb the shock.

In the same way, go like that. Time comes, pass it. Remember, utilize it in a proper way. Don't make a fuss out of it. And what I am speaking is universal. For India it is in Hindi language. For Christians it is in Christian languages. For Muslims it is in a Muslim language. For whoever, it is a universal basic thing. So, I think now everybody has understood it.

I hope you will go like that. People who haven't realized this knowledge must realize this knowledge and make this life a precious life as it is. If they have realized this knowledge, again … meditate upon this to make it more precious.

Thank you very much.

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