Well, So Can You!

Guru Maharaj Ji responds to questions from premies on September 11, 1976 in Denver, Colorado.

Maharaj Ji, could you describe the goal of practicing Knowledge, and the amount of effort it takes to reach that goal?

Well, that's a very basic question. I don't think I should even answer it, but I'll go ahead and answer it anyway. Why did you receive it? If you can find out the reason why you received Knowledge, what it was that drove you into that little room to receive it, as soon as you can find out that reason, you will know what is the purpose of practicing Knowledge. Knowledge is a process containing satsang, service and meditation. See, if you ask yourself the question, "Well, how long am I going to sit there and do this Knowledge, do this satsang, service and meditation?" then you're really goofing. Because you're not trying to shoot for a goal, you're not trying to make it that one morning you go into the bathroom, and all of a sudden you will find blue fingernails, and that's it! Or all of a sudden the sky will start swirling and it'll become all blue and purple and green and white and red and all these things, and then that's it. No. The experience of Knowledge is always there. The purpose? Why practice this so much? Because it's beautiful!

'Why' really doesn't go anywhere, because 'why' is a question that doesn't have an answer behind it. See, my strategy is, my theory is, that a question isn't made until there is an answer to it. First there has to be an answer, and then there is a question. How can you pronounce a word that's not even there? You can't, because it doesn't exist. The word has to be there before it can actually be pronounced. In the same way, there are these questions that come up in us, but first look for the answer. If the answer wouldn't have been there, there would have been no question. Except for the question of 'why.' 'Why doesn't have any answer behind it. It's just a blind question that sort of roams about in the air, and once in a while it hits you. It's just like a virus, and it gets you once in a

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while. But it's really beautiful, because the Knowledge, the experience, is right there, and we can just practice it, and keep on going in it. And that's the reason.

It's not like drinking a glass of water that you drink three gulps of, and then you know you will be satisfied. No. It's just beautiful. You can keep on going and going and going. Don't wait for your fingernails to turn blue, because they're not going to. Not until you're going to die. Maybe. Just understand. This Knowledge is there to feel, to experience, so experience it. Don't think about, "What is my goal?" The goal is to experience what life is, so experience it. And Knowledge is this thing that we want to experience. That is the only reason why it is so beautiful - so beautiful, not just beautiful. That is the reason why it is so beautiful, because it's there to experience, it's there to just flow with, to just glide with. And that's what we have to do. That is our goal. And that's what we have to understand - to experience it more and more and more, and to try to get more and more one with it so that every time we sit down under that blanket to do meditation, we don't have to sit there for about 45 minutes, struggling with our minds, and then fifteen minutes later the bell goes ding-dong, and that's it. We want to get to a place where we can always be with it. We want to be so good at it, that we can do it wherever we are, in whatever position we are, because it's always there. That's the goal. It's never going to hit you, it just grows within you. That's your goal - to grow. So grow. And that's what it is to grow in this Knowledge, to grow in satsang, service and meditation. Next.

Maharaj Ji, what should I do when I don't feel inspired or motivated to practice the disciplines of this Knowledge?

It's the same as with the last question. Look back. Find out why you ended up in that little Knowledge room. As soon as you can find out - "Wait a minute, because I wanted to experience this Truth, I wanted to experience the Knowledge" - then motivate yourself. Try. If you want it, you are going to try it; if you don't want it, you're not going to try it. That's how simple it is. "What do I do?" It's just so simple with Knowledge. It's always there. You don't have to go around wandering off this way and that way, it's all there - just experience it! And if you are not motivated, then please get so, because it's such a beautiful experience you are missing out on. I couldn't answer that more simply, because that's really the way it is.

Sometimes the reason we are not motivated to do satsang, service and meditation is because of our mind. Mind troubles us. Mind tells us, "Don't do it." See, mind is really tricky. I've told that to people. Maybe I've told that too many times. Now, by mind, I don't mean brain, I mean mind. There's something, some empty vacuum, some something, somewhere, that hits us, that affects us, and we've felt it, and we know it's there. That's what I mean by mind, and that's just probably the closest English word I can get to it. You can call it something else, but there is something there, and this mind is really tricky, it'll trick you. It'll trick you any way. It'll trick you in things that you would never imagine it would. Like I said, one day it'll come up behind your back and say, "Jai Satchitanand, premie ji," and you will turn around and say, "Hi! How are you? Sit down, be my guest." That's all it wants, just for you to ask it to be your guest. It'll trick you in any way possible.

I was explaining to a lot of premies how this process is a tube. Now listen to me carefully, because this is a really sophisticated explanation of it. There is a tube, and you have to travel up the tube to this point. The tube is like a cylinder which cuts off at the very top, and then there's another small tube further on. So there's one large tube which is hollow and is cut off at the top, and then there's one small tube higher up which has a top on it. We start from one end of the large tube, and it's completely open. The air, the everything all around the tube is mind, this crazy thing. So before we enter the tube, we are like that, we're just completely ga-ga. Why am I saying that? I'm not just throwing it in as a joke. Look what man has done without Knowledge; look what man has done. You know, I thought maybe man would be contented by just going to the moon. That didn't do it. Now it's Mars, then it'll be something else, then it'll be something else, and it'll keep on going. It's an endless search. I know it now; I know it! It's an endless search. But this endless search begins

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right from here. If you want to ride the roller coaster, go to where you can sit. Enjoy it. Go in the place where it slows down for a second, and that's within inside of you, where we can grasp the beauty of it.

And so, I know the search that man is on today is really inside of him, but he just goes on and on, and on and on, in this endless search, and he never gets anywhere. So anyway, he enters this journey on this tube, and he's all mind, mind, mind. But he begins the journey and it starts to get smooth, it starts to get beautiful, because there are no holes. There is no way this thing, this ego, this frustration, this blindness, this darkness, this confusion can penetrate that tube. So we go on, and it's beautiful. And that's the purity you feel after you have realized Knowledge. You feel so high and so great, and so dandy. You know? Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, and that's that purity, because that's exactly where you are at. Everything is nice. You have just experienced Knowledge, there is Guru Maharaj Ji, there's so much to plug into, there's so much to understand, there's so much to realize, and it's all dandy.

Then you move on up a little bit, and there are a few cracks, a few slits in the tube. You go there, and it hits you, hits you again, hits you again. Sometimes there's such a tremendous force coming through, that it nails you on one side of the tube and you're stuck. You're really stuck. You can't go back, and you can't go forward. You're stuck. Every morning you get up, and you think about things. You just sit down and think, "What is this world for?" "Who am I?" "What's Knowledge?" "Why have I got to practice this?" "Why is this confusion here?" "What's happening?" No trying, you're nailed. You're nailed shut. You can't move. But the thing is, the reason why you were given that compensation of that smooth flowing through the tube was so that you would get enough momentum to be able to go through that. And that is nothing but the truth. But we say, "Oh man, it's so beautiful, it's so fine," we just sit down and relax, throw our legs up in the air, and that doesn't give us enough momentum. We take it too easy. What is it all about? We take it too easy. But then it starts getting to us, see? We're nailed.

But that's nothing. I feel there are a lot of premies who've already been through that, and there are a lot of premies going through that now. That's nothing. Don't be bothered by that so much. Something will get you out. It's really not something, it's really Guru Maharaj Ji, because that is the reason for Guru Maharaj Ji to be in this world physically - to be able to jerk you out of there. And it's something that he will do, but he wouldn't want to do, because he wants you to go through the tube all by yourself. That's the whole beauty of it, and that is the explanation for when, a lot of times, it's said that Guru Maharaj Ji has the potential of making the other person realize exactly what he has realized. He wants you to go through the tube the same way. So, you go there, you're stuck, but that's alright, something will get you out - satsang, service, a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. Maybe it'll get you out, and then maybe it won't. You might be really, really stuck.

Okay, then anyway, you proceed further on, something gets you out, you start going, and you have a longer period of beauty, of relaxation, of all this, than you had when you first started. And you know what's going to happen? For a little while, you're going to be working and working and working, "I'm going to do meditation, I'm going to do service, I'm going to go to satsang," and all of a sudden, it all sort of goes "pooh" again. You'll be all relaxed and all dandy, and you'll say, "I don't care. I'd rather go watch the movie." "I'd rather read this book." Instead of sitting there and using that time for meditation, "No. I'd rather go watch the movie." "No. I'd rather read this book." To a lot of people, it's just a joke. It isn't a joke. Believe me, it isn't. I know. It isn't a joke. And so we have to get as much momentum as we can. Then we can go up again, and there are a few more slits, but if we have enough momentum, because there's plenty of time to build it, we'll go through that, we'll make it through that beautifully.

Then on the very top, see, that's where the trickiest part is. There are no holes, it's just a big cut. There's nothing there, there's no tube! The tube ends right here, and the other one begins a little ways further along. And that is where the person can just wander right off. All that energy, all that dedication that he has put out for years and years and years in satsang, service and meditation can just go "Puff" (snaps his fingers) right down the drain. That's why I'm saying this is an ultra-sensitive system. But it's beautiful, because it's simple. And all I'm trying to say is, I don't want to see you stuck, I don't want to see you spaced out. I know

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that once somewhere, sometime, maybe by mistake, or maybe by sincerity, you have put that true effort into satsang, service and meditation. So even for one moment I don't want to see it go down the drain for anything in the world. That is the reason why I am here, and that is the reason why I'm trying to tell you guys to build up a momentum, build up a momentum, build up a momentum, keep on going, keep on trucking.

Do you think I go around driving trucks all day long so I say, "Keep on truckin' "? No! That's the fact, we have to keep on truckin', otherwise you're going to get stuck! This is sand. This is tricky stuff! Once you're stuck, the more you try to get out, the more you get stuck. I'm not kidding. But it's all simple. Just do it, just do it beautifully. Build a pace, build a beautiful, beautiful momentum that doesn't go up and down. I don't want to see you go up and down. I don't want to see you nailed, I don't want you to get spaced out. Build a momentum. Build a momentum in your life like you do for everything else in the world. Just build a beautiful momentum, and you'll glide right through, and there'll be no problems. It's simple. Just glide. Enjoy the beauty of gliding with this Knowledge. You have the most ultimate airplane, now enjoy it. Believe me, it's beautiful. You can sit there all your lives paranoid about it, asking questions, asking questions, asking questions, asking questions, and the questions will never have an end to them.

I don't know, but there might be a few premies here, I know Bob is one of them, and there must be a few other premies here, or you must have heard about it at least, and Guru Charnanand Ji is here, he knows about it, how there used to be a teepee in Boulder. That's where it all sort of started from, see? You must have heard about it. This was the schedule. Every morning I would sit down, and all these people would come and ask questions, and ask questions, and ask questions, and ask questions. At first, it was okay because, well, they just wanted to get interested and they had a few doubts about it. But then these people received Knowledge, and they started asking more questions, and more questions, and more questions. Well then I had to say, "Halt. Wait. STOP! Freeze. Whatever it takes! You come to me," this is exactly what I said, "and expect an answer. Why? Because I have realized the Knowledge. Well, so can you! Do it! You can realize Knowledge. You can answer every question for yourself. I do, and it's beautiful, see? The only reason why I'm sitting here and trying to answer all these questions is because I have realized the beauty of Knowledge, and I want you to realize the beauty of Knowledge."

And you know, if we don't try, our chances are nothing. No, this is no game. This is no movie. This is no Night Watch Theater. This is the Truth. We have to really, sincerely try, because it's all there. And why so hard? Because once you do, it's all worth it. Every cent of it, every ounce of it, every inch of it. It's all worth it. I know. I've put a lot of effort in. I know it's worth it! And people who have put enough effort in, they know it's worth it. You can find out it's worth it, too. I shouldn't even say it's worth it, it's way over that. So just glide, just try to relax.

You know, there are so many questions, and these questions can just go on endlessly. To me, if you take the same amount of time that you sit down and invent all these questions, weigh that much time on one side, and then sit down for a second and thaw, just thaw all these crazy things out of you, and weigh that on the other hand, that's going to be much, much heavier, just to sit there and thaw it out. Just face it! Face it that, yes, it was your mind that dragged you out of that whole system, and that you don't want to do it again, and that you, in fact, want to create enough momentum to be able to go through it. Face it! There's no harm in it. Face it to yourself. You don't have to come screaming out loud. Face it to yourself. It's beautiful. Just thaw it out. Don't sit there and design questions; there's no point.

This is all a family. We are all here for one reason. Let us not forget that. Let us not forget our primary, fundamental reason. Whoever we are, we are not all from Canada, we are not all from America, we are all different, we all have different backgrounds; as individuals we are all different. Coming together in this place, we share one thing in common.

Except for that, everything is different. And the only thing that we share in common between us is this life. It supports us all the same way. Otherwise, we are completely individuals. And so realize it. Because if one person does meditation, believe me, that tube only handles one person at a time. Don't count on anybody helping you out. It just doesn't work that way, see? It just doesn't. It's just you, it's your individual experience that's going to pull you through. You came individually into this world -- maybe you were even twins, that doesn't make any difference - you came individually into this world, and you're going to leave this world individually. It's all individual experience. So experience it, because it's beautiful.

We come together, sometimes we see a physical love, and we say, "Oh, yeah, we can get together and both spiritually experience this." Well, according to my evaluation, my experience, I'd be a little seared if you did. I'd be a little bothered, because I don't think you'll be experiencing that Knowledge together, you'll be experiencing something else. This is a very, very individual experience. I mean, that's the way it is. Just don't question it. That's the way it is; it's an individual experience. And as I said again and again, it's beautiful that it's individual. What if you have a partner, your friend. Say the system was that you could both share it, and all of a sudden, tomorrow, your partner went berserk? Then what'll happen? Then you're left out, you know. But, no, this is an individual experience, so experience it. Next.

Maharaj Ji, what is your responsibility to a premie after he's been initiated?

Well, I explained to you about that tube example. What my responsibility pretty much boils down to is that if you ever get stuck, I'm there to pull you out of it. That's what I used to explain a long time ago, if you guys were around or if you have read that or heard that satsang. You see, Guru Maharaj Ji really plays an important part in every individual's life. Of course there are a lot of people who go out and say, "Well, Guru Maharaj Ji is just another ordinary person." Or, "Guru Maharaj Ji is the Perfect Master." Or, "Guru Maharaj Ji is the Lord of the Universe." Well, let us not speak for everybody, because we're not everybody, anyway. As I said, we're all individuals. What is the importance of Guru Maharaj Ji, is also as individual as the experience of Knowledge, because Guru Maharaj Ji

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reveals the Knowledge, and the more you can understand and experience the Knowledge, the more important he becomes. When you realize that this is really beautiful, that this is really important, and it is really important for me never to get stuck and to keep on truckin', in those situations … You see, the more adventurous you are, the more doctor you need. You need somebody to take care of you, for certain, because it sometimes boils down to that. But that is an individual experience. If you haven't experienced Knowledge, then there is no importance to Guru Maharaj Ji either, because what is Guru Maharaj Ji? I look like an ordinary person. Maybe I am an ordinary person. But I have something to offer to the world, and I would like to offer it. I've offered it to you guys, the premies, that's what makes you premies. If you don't want to experience it, then you don't experience my value either.

It's like a dealer. If you want to buy a car, the more you want to buy a car, the more the dealer gets important. The less you want to buy a car, the less he gets important. If you don't want to buy a car, you don't care about a dealer, do you? That's how simple it is. I'm a dealer. I've got something. I'll maintain your car for you, I'll take care of it. I'll keep all the nuts and bolts tightened up, I'll keep it all in tip-top condition, do your thousand mile checkups, twelve thousand mile checkups, whatever they are. But if you don't own a car, you don't need a dealer. If you own one car, you need him a little bit; if you own two, you need him more. This is just how the experience of Knowledge is. The more it is, the more there's a necessity for Maharaj Ji. The less there is, the less there is a necessity for Maharaj Ji. But we have to experience that. Nobody should come up and tell us. We should experience it ourselves, because nobody has got the right to do that. They have a right to talk about Knowledge, because that's what they have experienced, you know? And it's okay to also talk about Guru Maharaj Ji, but don't come up and start giving, in the false pretense of satsang, some chitchat. If you haven't really experienced the Knowledge with your heart, what are you talking about? If you haven't experienced Knowledge, how can you give satsang? You just sit there, you're making believe it's satsang, and all it is is a lot of chitchat. This is why I'm saying, get on your feet! Experienceit yourself, because that's the whole beauty of it! We have relied already too much upon too many people. And look where it has brought us - into more and more confusion. Because that other person gets confused, we go with him. You know? So let us individually experience this Knowledge, because it's beautiful. Next.

Maharaj Ji, will there ever come a time when my mind will no longer be a problem?

No and yes. Yes and no. If you keep working at it, yes, if you don't work at it, no. That's the answer to it. If you sincerely like it and if you want it, then don't try, just let it go, and it'll pour in tons and tons and tons. If you don't want it, then you've really got to try, you've really got to put that effort into it, because remember, mind is more powerful spiritually than you are right now. You have to get more powerful spiritually than the mind to be able to fight it. That's the name of the game. As soon as you can, pick a fight with it. That's okay. Right now, it wants to pick a fight with you all the time. Don't pick a fight with it. DON'T. Because you are too weak, it'll break you down. Don't invite it in any way, because it'll break you down just like that (snaps his fingers). As soon as you become strong, then it's a formal battle, and then it's okay. But right now, first you have to become strong, because, to Knowledge, you're still babies, and that's the way it is. There's a lot of growth to happen, in every person's life, and we have to all grow, so let us make that experience of growth beautiful, not treacherous. And who makes it treacherous? And who makes it beautiful? Us. So if you're feelin' all sad and sorry, it's up to you, it's your fault. If you're feelin' all nice and happy, great; that's you too. You get the credit both ways. Next.

Maharaj Ji, what is agya, and how much does common sense play in following it?

Well, actually, as I said, the whole word 'ashram' just came with a few other words, and I guess 'agya' was one of the words, too. Agya actually means order, or decision, or direction. Actually, that's what, I guess, it really, really means direction. And we need to follow the direction of our spiritual master, because we do not know too many ways in this spiritual path. We need to follow the direction, because when we are nailed shut to that tube, and he says, "Throw your arm out," you have to. Otherwise, it's not going to work out. As far as common sense is concerned, really this is pretty much how it goes, that Guru Maharaj Ji can guide you to things that are spiritually most benefitting for you. Maybe sometimes it's a physical direction for a spiritual purpose, and sometimes it's spiritual direction only.

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My direction that I want to give you is to just really try to open up, just try to glide. Don't tense up. You know, the first time I flew an airplane (it was in Colorado), I took the turn, and I went like this (He turns the airplane in one direction, and his body in the opposite direction). I thought I was going to fall off, see? The guy told me, "Don't bother. You're never going to fall off." I said, "Oh. I won't fall off?" So next time the airplane turned, I turned with it and it was beautiful. I wasn't trying to sit there and fight it, I was gliding. And that's what we have to do.

Whatever direction I give you, whatever it may be, it'll be for your spiritual growth. Your physical growth, that's completely, completely, completely up to you, and there's not much advice I can give you there. But as far as your spiritual growth is concerned, I can advise you a lot on it. Sometimes maybe I'll even physically advise you about things, but that will be for your spiritual growth. I guess that's another reason our Guru Maharaj Ji sometimes comes in handy. So, that's it. Next.

Maharaj Ji, how should we feel about the life-style you live?

As I said, it's only a spiritual connection. Don't feel anything about it, because see, this is purely mind. Sometimes mind says, "Wait a minute. Guru Maharaj Ji's married; maybe I should be married too." That's got nothing to do with it. What I am, I am. What I have to offer is something else. Accept what I have to offer, not what I am, or who I am. Because if you want to become the way I am, or who I am, you'll have to die and get born in India again, to get this kind of pigment. And then, of course, we're shorter, have black hairs, and the works, see? Whatever I am, I am. You just try to follow what I'm trying to say, and that's all you've got to be concerned about. However I live, whatever I do, it's up to me. You're premies. That connection wasn't there before, that connection isn't there now. The only connection there is, is of love. The only connection there is, is that I'm your master and your teacher, and you're my student, and I would like to teach you something. Not my life-style, but something more important. So learn that, accept that. And that's that. Next.

Maharaj Ji, do premies ever disappoint you?

Well now, let's see. That's a nice question, actually, and I've got two answers for it. No, because I love them, there's a lot of love, and where there is a lot of love, there is no disappointment. On the other hand, yes, because I tell them so much, and they hear it sometimes through this ear and take it out this next one. That's where I get disappointed. Because here you are. You have sincerely dedicated your lives. You have sincerely come to me. But you won't hear me, and that's disappointing. Understand what I'm trying to say. I'm not there to harm you. I'm not there to hurt you. I'm there to give you what you want, to give you that love, to give you that understanding, to give you that experience of Knowledge, to give you that direction, so that everything can turn out beautiful for you. So open up to me, because if you don't, I will be disappointed. Anybody would be, I guess. So open up, because there's a lot to open up. But I'll specify this time. Maybe you have heard a lot of this terminology, "open up," but this time I'll tell you, don't open from outside in, open from inside out. When you say "open up," that doesn't mean you start going and talking to everybody, so you have opened up. "Yes, I had an upset stomach this morning, and I had a headache," and you start to give him the whole rap. No. Open up to Truth! Open up to what there is, that beauty. Because you know what we have done? We have opened up to the wrong thing. And that's weird, because when we do, this is what we experience: a lot of hate, a lot of frustration, a lot of emptiness, a lot of darkness, a lot of influence from something that we don't want to be influenced from. But open up to that love. It's there. You have experienced it. Just open up to it, because it's beautiful. That's all I really want to say, because it's all there. It's too simple.

You know, it really is too simple. "That's what I was telling the premies in Malibu. It's too simple. You don't even have to bother about your engines. It doesn't have one. It's just gliding. There's wind there, there's you there, there's the wings there, there's everything there. Just glide. Just let go. Be easy. Let it flow through you; it's going to. That's what drove you. Understand that. That's what drove you first of all, because it wanted to come out, it wanted to flow. You opened it once, and it flew out of you. It's beautiful. And now you're trying to stop it again. Don't. It's going to be miserable. Just let it flow, just glide. It's too simple, see? Maybe that's the problem. Maybe you have to go back a little bit and say, "Wait a minute, wait a minute. Hang on, just a sec. Those complex switches aren't the switches, it's this little job over here!" And that's what it is. It's all simple. It's all beautiful. Just flow with it, let it flow from your side. And it's beautiful.

We sit there, and we think about things, we tense up about things, we wonder about things. What is there to wonder about in this world? We are here, we get into this, we get into that, we get into this, we get into that. "My world, my this, my that." Remember, this is not all going to go with you. So now, here you are. And you know it's really true.

I was watching this cartoon on the television, and what it was all about was a carousel ride. It was "The Eight Carousel Rides of a Life." It's really beautiful, because the first one was this way, the second one was this way, but at the last, it was that you have to sit there and accept death, because one time it's going to come. It's going to be there. But you don't have to, see? Because there's something. Sitting there and trying to expect death, sitting there, trying to experience death, why do that? Sit there and enjoy the experience of Knowledge. You can at that very crucial time, if you've got enough of an experience behind you. It's easier to get confused. Very easy. So don't do that. If any time you want to get confused, it wouldn't take you anything. I'm pretty sure you're probably masters at it by now. But, what you're not masters at is to let it all flow, to just let it all happen, to just let it all experience. I guess that's about it. That's all I can say, and that's all there is to say. Thank you.

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