A call from inside
The falling of the Iron Curtain paved the way for Maharaji's first address in Eastern Europe on July 12, 1990, in a Warsaw hotel. For those who attended, it was a historic event. More than once he talked of the transience of great civilisations - ancient Greece and Egypt were his examples.
Instead of pursuing immortality and fulfillment through external means, he advised the audience that they could quench their inner longing by listening to "that call from inside" to know themselves.
Extracts from this memorable address follow:
"It's very interesting that I finally made it to Poland. This evening we have a chance to hear a little bit about what this message is all about
"The message is very simple, because it doesn't deal with anything except a feeling. And the premise for everything that is being said is based upon just this: have we ever felt a longing in our lives? Have we ever felt this thing, called the heart, in ourselves. If you have ever felt that feeling, then you can understand everything that I have to say. It doesn't matter when you felt that feeling, or how many times you felt it, or if you only felt it once in your life.
Simple feeling
"We are such creatures of just thought and not of feeling. So it has to start from a simple feeling that says: 'l must understand what my thirst is' It begins with that. It doesn't end with that, it begins with that. That becomes the very first step. And then, you begin to feel.
"If you can feel that thirst, and if you can imagine what it would be like to have fulfillment in this life, then it all makes sense. All of a sudden, the possibility becomes real. And it is that possibility that we can all pursue in our lives. I am not here to offer anybody a religion, or a doctrine, or a dogma, but just to offer the understanding of that possibility in this life.
"The possibility does exist. And to reach out and to grab that moment in our lives, that's what it's all about. To take that challenge and say: 'Yes. I want that feeling in my life'."
6 Connect 1998