Dear Premies, well, this is the last day of the program. Well, there'll be another day tomorrow, as Dimitri stated. But it's like, I have to go on to Munich. There's a program happening there. And it's just so beautiful. There's not really, for me, very much to say after today, after the darshan, and after the program last night. It's just that maybe last night there was a little bit of theory, there was a lot of thought going on. But I think today people realized something. People understood something that was a little more practical.
And it's just so beautiful, because really these programs were supposed to be one day long. But because so many premies were attending, I said, "No, we are going to have darshan one day and we are going to have satsang one day."
And then it came to the point where it was like, "Which one first?" And I said we should have satsang first. And as a matter of fact, Marolyn recommended we should have satsang first, because premies come from all these different concepts, premies come from all these different places in their minds, and they're confused. And they come, and they don't know what's going on and then all of a sudden they are there at that darshan stage, that place to do pranam, and maybe they can't really express their feelings. Maybe they really can't express what they end up feeling the next day, after the satsang is over.
So maybe it's a good idea to have satsang first so that they can really understand what is the meaning of doing pranam, what is the meaning of us all coming here together.
So this is an experience and I hope you have enjoyed this experience. I hope you've liked this program. It was nothing ultra-fantastic. But it was very fantastic in its own way, very beautiful in its own way. Because you can never have a compromise. You can never say, "Well, this was good here; this was good here." It's all the same. Because what it all comes down to is that we still come together to a place, to a point, where we can experience the Knowledge, we can experience satsang, we can experience service, we can experience meditation. And that is the most important thing in our lives.
Because this is what we have understood, that we can go out on our head trips, we can jump off the boat, and land in this swelly, choppy, rough ocean water, and it's very easy to do. But our purpose is to stay on the boat, to continue this journey, this beautiful endless journey on and on and on, wherever this captain takes us, wherever Guru Maharaj Ji takes us. And to enjoy it, to enjoy it to the best of our capacity. It's not like, "Enjoy it however much you can, however good that is." No. It's to enjoy it however much we can open ourselves up to it. Because it's endless - the enjoyment on this trip, the enjoyment on this boat, the enjoyment on this journey - it's completely fantastic.
And we have to really understand one thing. That there is Grace, that there is Guru Maharaj Ji, that there is Knowledge. And that we really have to have faith in that. We really have to have trust in that. We really have to have that Love that I was talking about yesterday, in those things, and just purely see, sincerely see, that everything in this whole world doesn't matter. Because of course there can be a lot of legitimate reasons why things should matter, why things should be considered the way they are considered. But when it all comes down to your life, - it's like, so much goes in to building a 747. So much goes in. And so much goes in for people to get together money, for people to get together this, for people to get together that, to be able to afford the ticket to be able to go aboard a 747. And it takes so much to learn how to fly a 747. And then it takes so much to become the captain, the co-pilot, and so on and so forth.
And then it takes so much - I mean, everything is pretty much like the big- shots, you know, the big directors, the big this and the big that, and everybody has to come together and use their thing. It's like whatever man's desire is, that's ultimate: "Yes, I have to have a - I have to have one car and one house and two kids and this and that." And these people who have all this, get into it. And it's like, to our concepts, that's so incredible. You ask the pilot, and they say, like, "Yeah, 747 is the grand," and you ask the passengers and they say, "747 is the grand."
And here we are, we can have all these concepts … and maybe people who were driving here from long distances didn't hear about this accident that happened between KLM and Pan-American. And the two airplanes hit on the ground - one was taking off, and one landed and was crossing by the runway - and they both hit each other. And it's like, there it is. The most incredible 747, two of them - one was completely full, was chartered, the Pan-American - and it was like, it all happened. There goes that concept. And to a lot of people: "No, no, no it was a bad mistake" - and it was a bad mistake. So many lives were taken, you know, and it's like, that's it. That's their reason, their reasoning, and that's enough.
But really, if you overlook this whole situation of what is going on in this world - all the development, all the new research, all the new ideas of man which he is trying to manifest for himself - where is that really getting him? And that is so beautiful, because we can realize that those things don't bring us anywhere. They can take us around in a circle. And it's so beautiful to be able to understand that you can maintain that balance that an acrobat maintains while he goes on that one little wire on one toe in front of so many people so high up and he maintains his balance. To a lot of people they are completely amazed, and they are going; "OOOOOh, he's gonna fall! This is gonna happen!" But to him it's a profession. To him it's a job. And once he does it for that night, it's finished, it's over. And of course he could make that one mistake and fall down and get killed.
So premies, we can get lost into all that: what is there and not supposed to be there. Or we can get lost into what is there and is supposed to be there. They are two things. When both of them are there, people get into their heads about what is truth and what is false - what is right and what is wrong. To me, it's not a matter of, if you fly you are going to die, and if you sit you're not going to die. It's
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a matter of what are you doing to be able to evaluate, to be able to understand what is going to happen to you if this happens?
If you are sitting on the ground, it is going to be hard for you to crash, see, because you are just sitting there. What are you going to crash into? But if you are flying, then it's a different story. So it is not a matter of what we try to think is right and wrong. It's where we are. And where do we have to be? That is the question. Because that question itself, the question of right or wrong, doesn't matter. It matters where we are. Because here is the society, and society says: "This is right." And society says: "This is wrong." The more you look at this whole system that man has created for himself, the more it seems worse and worse and worse and worse. But that whole question - if you take that whole question, and weigh it against this one question:
"Where are we? And where should we be at?" Then it's a lot. It's a lot of weight.
And we have to understand one thing. And that is the purpose, the meaning of this life. And like I was saying yesterday, for me, I have experienced a lot in this world. And maybe what I have experienced is worth nothing, and maybe what I have experienced is not enough. But I have understood one thing in this world: that devotion, the essence of devotion, that total surrender, that total getting into satsang, service, and meditation and having faith in Guru Maharaj Ji, and that really putting aside in their own categories the things that belong there, but taking your whole self, self as you are, not as individuals, not as categorized as 'John' or 'Steve' or 'Duke' or whatever names you have, but that self, that inner self, that who you really are, what you really are, taking that, and putting it at the lotus feet of Guru Maharaj Ji, is it.
And maybe this sounds crazy, or maybe this sounds a little bit too Indiany to some people. Or maybe it sounds a little bit too old for some people who say, "Oh we have come out of that a long time ago." But Truth still remains the same. That sun came up from east and sits in the west, has done it again, and again and again and again. And what is the fact, what is the Truth, is always same. We have to surrender ourselves. We have to surrender ourselves to the Perfect Master. We have to surrender ourselves to this Knowledge. We have to surrender ourselves and become one with that ultimate that is there, and have that devotion.
Because I know, I have seen a lot of people - and, it's like, I was watching this documentary about this duke. And in his life he grew up and then when he was young he became very popular. And fie became very famous, and he went from town to town, he went from country to country, and he was so popular as a matter of fact, so many people wanted to shake his hand, that it got swollen, and he had to, you know, shake hands with his left hand. And it was okay. That happened, and he became super-popular.
When he went to Canada, when he went to America, he took his own ship, and it was just grand, everything was just super-grand. And then in his life he fell in love with this girl from Philadelphia, and then he wanted to get married to her. And then all of the people in England said, "No, this can't happen, she's been divorced before. How can the king" - he became the king - "how can he get married to a widow?" you know, and this and this and this, "and she doesn't belong to the Royal Family."
And finally he said, "I'm going to sacrifice all this." You know, I'm pretty sure people who go by Buckingham Palace and see Buckingham Palace and see all the luxury, desire to have that in their lives. He had it, and he said, "Look, I don't want any of it; I'm going to marry that girl." So he got married to that girl. And then - and then he died (laughter). It sounds funny - I'm not trying to say because he got married to that girl he died. But that was it. His life went through an incredible amount of experience. And okay, you can look at it in a way where it was a great sacrifice for a lover. But in this world to me it's all part of the same ball game.
Maybe one is on this end and one is that end, but it's still happening in the same complex. And it's just like, that's what he did. Did he attain satisfaction? A lot of people say, a lot of saints, lot of people have come and said, "Kick aside everything you have, surrender everything." And people say, "If I do, then what's going to happen to me?" Well, this guy did. For what reason? Let's not bring that up. But he did. And did he achieve satisfaction? Did he achieve that peace in his life? No. And when he had all that, when he was the king, did he then achieve all the satisfaction in his life?
So here we are talking about two extremes. I'm pretty sure all of you can't become kings. But you see, you still have to give up one pleasure to gain the other one. You can't have both at the same time. And there is one pleasure that is incredible, that is super-fantastic. and that is this Knowledge. That is the experience of this Knowledge. How can we ever - I mean, it's just like, coming to this program I talked to Dimitri. And I said, "This is quite expensive here, a lotta bucks you know, premies getting charged for."
And he said, "Well, you know, we can forward any spare to England, 'cause they're really having a lot of problems with the program." And it's okay. But here you are, and there's going to he another program tomorrow, and you're going to be here and you're going to be listening to satsang, (cheering and applause) but try to add all that up. You try to add all that up; you put a fair price on it, and say, "Okay, this is how much it's worth." You can't do it. You just can't do it. Nobody has been able to do it. Brahmanand, in his song, says, "That experience that Guru Maharaj Ji has given me, if I take every cent, every money, every wealth there is in this whole universe, and multiply it millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of times, it still won't be a penny's worth to the experience he has given me."
But this is where we have to find a balance. We are in this world. We have to eat food, we have to have clothes, we have to go on, and we have to be able to, in this world, we have to be able to survive, so to say. And in that survival there can be maybe just a little bit more so we can all just come together, like for instance in this festival. A lot of premies were sponsored from Africa that couldn't possibly have got it together, and that was beautiful.
So this is that balance we have to find, where we can in our lives be doing what we are doing and better. But not that our hearts are into it, too. Not that we completely merge into it, too, and forget about satsang, service and meditation - that is where we have to find that correct balance, so we can go on living very satisfactorily in this world, go on and on and on, on a day to day basis perfectly okay, to be able to come to these satsang programs.
Because I tell you, I've been trying to think of this one committee maybe we could make, where everybody would just like pay a certain amount of money to this committee, and then this committee could arrange the program. We could cut down the price of registration. Maybe we could cut down everything, so that maximum premies could attend. Maybe we could do something ultra-fantastic, so
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that every premie in the whole world could come and attend every program. Not just one. Not just two. But every program. (cheering). But the thing is, that's not a dreamt dream; it can be real. It can become a reality. We in our lives have to get together and the way I think, which is the best way to get together, is to be like a lotus. Float on top. This is what I've learnt.
You know, it's like, premies give me all these gifts and it's so beautiful. And you open one present up and it's one thing. It's like you open one present up in Malibu and it's an Aston Martin. And you open another present up and it's just a piece of paper saying, "Guru Maharaj Ji, I love you" - it's just exactly the same, still exactly the same, and it still takes the same weight - not the same weight maybe if you measure it, but the same weight in that feeling, in that emotion, in that Love, in that understanding. And that's so beautiful.
So where we have to grow, is to be able to make ourselves able to just really be able to come together. And it's going to happen. It's going to start happening soon. This has always been people's dream, to have program after program after … I'll be back in Europe. (cheering) And it's going to be more beautiful every time. Because that's the way this has been going. Every time it gets more beautiful, more beautiful, more beautiful. And we can be just one person, in this whole beautiful … I mean, I'm pretty sure there's somebody here - Shri Maharaj Ji used to say, "The seed never demolishes, it's always there." So I'm pretty sure there is one person in this hall somewhere who can understand what other people are feeling, but who is completely preventing himself from feeling what other people are feeling. And it's just that that one person can be everybody, or that one person can be just one person, or that one person can be out of this hall somewhere else. Which way do we want it? I think that person should be out of this hall somewhere else, so that everybody is really opening themselves up to that Love, to that devotion.
Because, when I received Knowledge, it was okay, this is my dream come true. This is what I've always wanted. This is what I've always asked for. This is what l've always needed. And here I have it.
And it's like, see, before I received Knowledge everything was like one of those Chinese puzzles. What is Knowledge, what could it be? This is the way you meditate; what is all that? It was like everything had no significance. And when I received Knowledge everything could just go wherever it belonged because then the puzzle had to be completed. And it was completed. And when I looked at the puzzle, to my surprise, the biggest, more important hunk of that portion, of that puzzle, was not Knowledge, was not satsang, was not service, was not meditation. It was Guru Maharaj Ji. Because for me, when I slotted that puzzle in, it all came together.
And before that, it just didn't exist. Before that, it was so simple to me. Yes, this is the way you do meditation, you know. And I had sat down in corners of my school, and done that and experienced something. Same thing probably I experienced when I go to sleep. But when Guru Maharaj Ji manifests, everything manifests. And before everything else could manifest, all this still wouldn't have any significance.
It's just like one of my favorite things was to rub my eyes. And there was a big article that Life magazine did about this doctor who rubbed his eyes and saw light and said, "Wow, what is this?" To him, he didn't understand it, and it had no meaning to him. But when Guru Maharaj Ji comes, it all just comes together. And then what does Guru Maharaj Ji say? Then Guru Maharaj Ji says do satsang, service, and meditation. Realize what satsang, service and meditation is. Because it's a little game.
You know, you throw the ball to the seal and the seal will throw the ball back to you. And that's the game; just a little beautiful, perfect little game, where if you can have that devotion towards Guru Maharaj Ji, if you can have that dedication towards Guru Maharaj Ji, then Guru Maharaj Ji can link you, Guru Maharaj Ji can take you where you want to go.
Because I know that a lot of people, when they don't hear satsang, when they don't hear that they need to do satsang, service, and meditation, they actually forget, and they don't do satsang, service, and meditation. And when they don't do satsang, service, and meditation, the whole thing goes down the drain.
And a lot of people wonder: what is service? Okay, last time I gave this example: to some people it's a piece of cloth that you carry, and you take it out when you see the national coordinator walking by, or your community
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coordinator walking by. And you start cleaning. And then when he's passed, you put it back in your pocket. That's your service. There is a darshan stage being built, and a few chairs around. Somebody comes by so you just start to straighten out a flower. He passes by and you sit down and relax again.
To some people, this is service. That's not service. And I have said this very, very clearly, and I am repeating myself the third time, and this is very clear: service is not a job; it's not a work. Service is an experience which you experience via meditation, via satsang, service, and meditation, via Knowledge, to Guru Maharaj Ji.
When you take that experience, it's not hammering a nail down on a board. That's not service. It's when you do that through that experience, when you do that, completely surrendered, for Guru Maharaj Ji, for that Lord, for that Master, by having experienced it through Knowledge. That's what is service. Otherwise you can go around hammering as many nails in this world as you want. That won't be it. Doing whatever you want to do, that won't be it.
But when you focus that act that you're doing in your life, by having realized Guru Maharaj Ji, by having realized that perfectness in your life, through Knowledge, obviously, when you do that action, that is service. It's an experience, and what it does to you is incredible. And people who have done service know.
And because it's an experience, I can't say, "This is it." I can't put my finger on it. But people who have done it, know it. And it's just like meditation. And it's just like satsang. Many people say, "What is satsang?" "Is this satsang; is that satsang?" A lot of people have complaints about satsang. A lot of people get up and start yapping. You know, it's like you have a built-in filtering system inside you. Use it. Make it useful. When somebody actually does get up and start yapping and does not talk about satsang, service, and meditation, does not talk about Guru Maharaj Ji, does not talk about that experience, but starts actually yapping away about something that's ridiculous, that's when you use that direct hose that goes from this ear to this ear. That's what it was made for. But when it is all happening, when that satsang is all happening, you've really got to take that hose from this ear and plug it in completely inside of you so that you can experience what is really happening, what is really going on.
This is the endless trip, premies. This is never going to stop. This will go on forever. You want to just take a short hop and get off the boat? Remember one thing: it's not easy to do it. And then that's it. If you are convinced that this is not the right boat, then don't jump in the water. You might as well stay dry as long as you can, right? But more you stay dry, more you find out, "Wait a minute, this is the right boat."
Your mind will tell you everything. Your mind will tell you this is all a bunch of fake, this is all a crazy trip. and you can listen to it - it's your mind. You created it; it's your little monster. You can play with it and you can stop it. You can listen to that, you can go on with it, and momentarily you will find little zaps of happiness. I mean, when I'm saying zaps of happiness, it'll be just like a slap on your face, and you'll feel happy about it and then it'll all go away. Or you can just really get out of it and feel this life and you don't have to get into your reasons about it. You can reason it out when you get there, and that's the only time you can reason it, once you get there, once you get to that place where you can reason it perfectly. So get there, you know.
And I think there is just so much Love happening, there is just so much flow of this understanding happening, so let's just not blow it by some idiosity of this crazy mind. Let it go, you know. Just let it really all flow and really let's all experience the power of Love, because there is a power of Love. And that power of Love, you know, it's just - can't you feel it, you know? And we can feel it. And if you don't feel it, you can feel it, you can become a part of it, by opening up to it.
So that's it. Knowledge is not going to come and knock at your door. You have to go and look for it. It's your effort. You make that little effort and everything is going to fit together so well. And if you don't make that little effort then nothing is going to happen. It's not going to come together at all. So you know, I hope -- I used to say, I remember, that I hope I … that it'll be a long time before I see you again, and so on and so forth. But this time I'd like to say I hope it's not a very long time before I see you again. (cheering) Because we need each other, you know.
It's like, that's the battle; that's the step. And premies need Guru Maharaj Ji as much as Guru Maharaj Ji needs premies. And there has to be that balance. There has to be constantly that thing. And in maintaining that balance there is an experience that we can all be a part of, so it's all up to you. Do it whichever way you want. I just want to provide you the option. Of course there is a three-foot wave all around the boat. You can leap overboard anytime you want!
So premies, do it. Thank you very much. Blessings to you.
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