This version of Prem Rawat's speech of April 19, 1977 has been heavily edited to improve his English. A transcript closer to the original, though still edited to remove blatant speech errors, is posted here and was published in the Golden Age.

Aladdin's Lamp

Guru Maharaj Ji in London, England, April 19, 1977.

Dear premies, it's been a long time since there has been a program in England, but it's been quite a long time since there was a tour held in Europe. And we have all come here, and it just really reminds me, looking at these flowers, that we are all just like a garland. And we have to really understand that there is a purpose for this garland.

And we have to also understand that there is something that holds us together. It's not that we are flowers that makes us garlands. It's not that we are human beings that makes us premies. It's not that we are alive that makes us really accomplish the purpose we are here for. But it's something else. When that comes in our lives, when that becomes true, then we become a garland.

Something happens. There's not a chemical change, and there's not a change of any sort that any individual, doesn't matter how intellectual he is, how learned he is, can ever in his life reason what is it. And what is the kind of change that happens in people's lives when they receive Knowledge, when they really understand the motive of their life, the purpose of their life?

It's just like, to me it's quite obvious that we come here, and we all lead a life, we just go on and on and on. And definitely you see outside of you, and there's so many things that are happening, new developments so far governments are concerned - and that's problems instead of development and, I mean, it just seems like this whole world …

First of all, we have to understand that everything that has a beginning has an end to it. And it just seems obvious that

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this world has to come to an end, as other decades, other centuries, have come to an end. This has to come to an end. Also, we have to understand one thing: that there are not very many human beings present in this world who are accepting the fact that this all has to come to an end. Nobody wants to understand that. Nobody wants to accept that. It's just like, "Let's just go on," you know?

Is there any purpose? Is there really any reason? Or is it just all for nothing? When it becomes obvious in our lives, and it is beginning to become obvious now - people don't learn. When everything is nice and cool and easy and calm, people just don't even care about it.

But now it's like, it's quite obvious that (I mean it's just like, this is what I've been saying in my programs), that God must have miscalculated how many dinosaurs to bury, or how many dinosaurs to make. Somehow in the process of evolution or whatever you have, there should be sufficient gas in this century for the people to use. And obviously He must have miscalculated, because we are running out of gas. And it seems to become a bigger and a bigger problem in our lives. And it's like, a lot of people suddenly are looking forward to a new kind of a revolution.

All of a sudden, people are starting to wonder if there is an - it's like, energy, you know. At one time when you talked about energy, it was the kind of issue that only young people talked about. To other people it was like, "What kind of energy? It's all the same." But now it's become a big issue: energy in the sense of gasoline or a power that burns, that can supply some kind of an energy for people to run on. Not for themselves, but for their automobiles or what have you.

And so people are looking into some kind of an energy which will also have an end. And they can maybe have that end. and then they'll look into another kind of energy. and that'll have an end. Because I'm pretty sure when somebody found gasoline, he went "Whippee, man! This is it! We're never going to run out of fuel in our whole lives. This whole earth is full of this stuff. And everything is great. Everything is fantastic!" But now it's quite obvious that people arc starting to look for something else.

Well, the point I'm trying to prove is: is it really these external energies that we should pursue to accomplish the purpose or this life? What we pursue so dedicatedly. what we pursue so staunchly in our lives. these different materialistic objects that man has completely dedicated and devoted himself to: is it really that that is the purpose. that is the meaning of this life? Or is it something greater? Or is it. in fact, something much more sincere, much more truthful which is supposed to be there?

There's a lot of different ways that things happen. And it's becoming so obvious, slowly and slowly - not, in fact, that this energy crisis is going to bring the whole world to realization. I'm not trying to say that. I doubt that. As a matter of fact, this might be another diversion for people. Because instead of trying to look within inside them - I'm not saying that the energy within inside of you is going to power your automobile. Most definitely not. But the energy inside of you powers you. And what is the most important thing? You. Your own realization. That your own energy be with you And that you realize what is the purpose of your being on this earth. And this is what we have to focus on.

Really, I'm not here to talk about the problems of this world. We are all here as premies who have come from different portions of Europe where I have already been, and then there are probably premies from America. And there's other programs that will keep on happening. And I'm not here to talk about the problems. I'm here to talk about the solution.

Because I believe the solution in itself is much stronger than the problem is. And problems always keep on coming and always keep on going. But the solution is always what a problem has to wait for before it can dissipate. And another of my theories is - maybe many people won't believe it - but I sincerely believe that this world was not made for problems; therefore there aren't any problems. It's just so many simple solutions. And the one solution that we have within inside of us is what we have to look at now.

And I just want to say that it is so beautiful to be able to come all together as premies, as the people who have opened themselves to realize, to understand something far greater. far more superior, something so fantastic, something so beautiful, that the Lord Himself comes time and time again on this earth to reveal.

I mean, there has to be something worthwhile (you have to look at it that way) for Lord to come again and again. I mean, Christ came; there had to be a reason. Krishna came; there had to be a reason. Mohammed came: there had to he a reason. Ram came; there had to he a reason. And of course, logically we try to look at every reason why and we can't understand one reason why God is there. We can't understand that yet.

I mean, people are still working on that. And there's different theories, different scriptures, and different things being written about it. You leave it up to people, you know, and they keep writing more and more about it: more scriptures, more scriptures, more scriptures. "Why is God there?" You know? And that's not the question.

"Why is God there?" is not a question, because we're not supposed to ask it. We're just supposed to merge in that most beautiful Being that is there. In fact, we already have realized that in some way or the other. Because you cannot just look around you and deny that some kind of a power, some kind of energy, exists.

I mean, of course you can take two rivets and a piece of metal and rivet them together, and they'll stand there. And they are there. They're maybe standing. But something can be taken away from that which will make it all crumple. And it's not the rivet.

And so premies, it's so beautiful, because I'm pretty sure that this hall has been used quite a bit. And this is the first time I've given some satsang here. It's so beautiful. Yes, of course, people can come here for hockey matches. People can come here for different sorts of meetings. People can come here for rock concerts or what have you. But it is so beautiful to come for one reason, and that is to have satsang. and to have darshan. It carries its own meaning. It carries its own value. And that value differs from person to person, of course.

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And the reason for that simply is where we are at, you know? When a person is standing on the ground, maybe it's not so dangerous for him. But when he's standing on a ledge a hundred stories high, it's a lot more dangerous. So it depends on where we are as to how much this really means to us.

And I can just really feel that premies have gone through a lot in the past few months, and they've come out of it. They've gone through a lot of head trips, gone through a lot of crazy mind trips. And slowly and slowly it's starting to come out. Because obviously we have realized one thing in our lives. At least I have realized one thing, and I realized that a long time ago.

But now it's - not to me, but to a lot of people - the same thing is becoming quite obvious. There is only one thing for premies after they receive Knowledge. And that's satsang, service and meditation. And that is their lifeblood; that's their life source; that's what they're here for.

And this is why everybody-is here. We have come together in this hall to enjoy that. To listen to Guru Maharaj Ji give satsang. To listen to the other satsang that happens. To come here, not for a reason, but.for a purpose. And not for 'why's' and 'if's' and 'but's' and 'and's.' No, none of that at all. But simply because we need to be here. Simply because we want to be here. Simply because we are here, and we are here to just enjoy that bliss, that harmony, that we all share. And we can share it, and we can enjoy it.

And so, I just want to talk about what is really important to us. I'm not here as an intellectual. I'm just here as your Guru Maharaj Ji. for those who have realized Knowledge their Guru Maharaj Ji. And not everybody else's Guru Maharaj Ji, either.

But there is a connection that has been made between us, and that connection is what we have to pursue. Not because I/ need that connection. Yes, I need that connection to a certain extent. And the only reason why I need that connection is because that is the only reason why I'm here in this world. But you need that connection for your own benefit. And that connection is that connection that we just talked about, that makes us into a garland: that thread; that satsang, service, meditation; that Love; that real faith in Guru Maharaj Ji.

And this is what I want to say: no matter what happens in this world - and a lot of things have happened in this world, and a lot of things will keep on happening in this world, but in this life, yes, you can have anything you want.

That fantasy, that dream, that imagination of Aladdin's Lamp, is not an impossibility. After all, somebody thought about it, didn't they? So when a person can think about something. I guess it's got some root somewhere. So therefore it is possible somehow, somewhere. And that Aladdin's Lamp - many people have experienced in their lives that it does exist. But you have to rub it. You have to really use it in that way for that genie to be able to come out and manifest whatever you have in this life.

But there is only one thing. This genie won't do everything for you. It'll only accomplish that purpose. It will do a lot more things in one sense. I mean, yes, if you really have that desire, as a human being, you can do whatever you want to do. You can become whatever you want to become. You want to become a millionaire - a lot of people are pursuing that in their lives and, you know, there are people who are millionaires, obviously. So they have become

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millionaires. But that's not the purpose of this genie.

That's not the purpose of that power that has been given to this man in this world. As individuals, the purpose of this is to really reunite with that Almighty, with that All-Graceful thing, and become one with It. and enjoy that power source. Enjoy the reason we are here. Enjoy the purpose of our life, what we are here for.

Enjoy the meaning of our life, not some kind of a meaning, not some kind of a purpose that somebody tells us to enjoy: "Listen, kid, your purpose in life is to just sit in this house and do this and this and this." That has happened. People have just said: "Look. Listen. You do this and this and this, and I'm going to keep on supplying you money." Or people say: "You get up there on that stage and you dance, boy. you hear? And you're gonna keep on living. And the day you stop that …..I mean. that even happens to people in their lives.

But that's really not the purpose. That's really not the goal. And why is it important to know the goal of this world? Why is it important to know the goal of this human life? So that we can fulfill it. So that we can accomplish it.

And premies, it is so wonderful to have that opportunity in this lifetime, now, via that Knowledge that has been revealed to us, through which we can fulfill, through which we can accomplish the goal of this life.

Like I was saying, this genie can do a lot of things. And I've seen a lot of things happen. I've seen a lot of people in a lot of different moods. I've seen what you would call the happiest in the saddest shape. And I have seen the saddest, of course, in the saddest shape. And none of those are happy. It's not the matter that if you become a king, you become happy. And it's not the matter that if you become a beggar, you become happy. It is the matter that you are happy, that you have a source of happiness, that you can tap into that happiness. That is what makes you happy.

And so there's this whole ball game of happiness that people try to pursue in their lives: "Oh yeah, this will make me happy, or that will make me happy." It just seems that that answer that man has been looking for for such a long time, lies within him! That answer, that quest for going on and on into this world, lies within him, not outside. And maybe we should be smart enough to stop for a second, to pause for a second, and really say: "Hey, wait a minute! This guy might be right." Because nobody has obviously tried that yet. And people who have, have had satisfaction. Because, you know, it's just very simple.

Let's take the Romans, for instance. It was like: "Yes. More power. Power and power and power." And everybody was pursuing power. For what? Do you think that there were people going out and slaying armies and armies and armies and armies, fighting, killing, making different kind of schemes against one person, another person - to he sad? No. They thought, "Once we got the power. we will be happy."

And has it varied? You know, it's just like the big Romans. It's just like, you lie down on a little chair that curled on both ends, and you have a big basket of grapes in front of you, and you pick one at any time, and there you are, you know, the people fanning you, and so on and so forth, and you have different luxuries, and …

Alright, so now we've got vibrating chairs. Instead of having cold grapes, now we've got Pepsi-Cola or Coca-Cola. Or - alright - now, instead of having somebody to fan us, we've got a good, cold air conditioner. Turn that on. So that one point that pivots between all people. all races, all different centuries, all different times, hasn't changed yet. That is still the same. That quest is still the same. It has just changed from a guy sitting there with a huge fan on the ceiling, to a little modern unit with a compressor and Freon, and a little fan behind it that blows cold air. And it was like, who has the fanciest chariot? And now this is the world of automobiles. And slowly that can go on from another thing to another thing to another part to another part. But that true happiness, that sincere happiness did they have it?

Alright, forget about them. They're out, you know? Whatever is left of them, we treasure because they're antique, not because they're very usable; because they're antiques. And so, that's that.

What about us? We have all these things. We have all the modern facilities in this world. Are we happy? And the reason why I'm taking you back, or trying to take you back, and trying to show you the different situations, is simply because of one reason. Because people who have received Knowledge should understand how' fortunate they are, in fact, to have that Knowledge, in fact. to have that happiness that man has pursued for such a long time. That pursuit has brought him from barely walking, to the use of a horse, to putting a saddle on it, to harnessing a horse to a chariot, to now, today, going to Mars. You can see how strongly man wants that happiness, what a quest there is for that happiness that man wants.

And you also know that man, for such a long time, has been traveling on the wrong path. And he can't get there. He just comes right back again. I'm pretty sure that it's just going to happen like they say happened with the city of Atlantis. (Now don't think that I'm trying to tell you, "Well, there was a city of Atlantis," because maybe a lot of people think there wasn't a city Atlantis. and I don't want to get into that kind of quarrel.) But let's look at that example.

Isn't it quite feasible that there was a city of Atlantis, and that it got so advanced, it got so modern, the people within it got divided? Let's just look at it as a nice old story. And for people who believe that there was a city of Atlantis, well, you can look at it as a little more of a fact. But just imagine a city of Atlantis that is completely modern - imagine huge towers, vacuum tubes, no noise, complete electronic systems like you see in cartoons. and just immaculate, incredible things.

No use of airplanes. You just go into those booths I used to talk about a long time ago. You take your credit card. You go to something like a telephone booth. You put your credit card in there. You dial the city and country you want to go to, present your little passport, and -bingo! Like Star Trek, you know? You get transferred from one place to another place. And maybe you can just see such an advanced thing.

And what happened to it? Well, obviously, some people believe that what happened to it was people got divided, and there were some amount of people who said, "Well, don't build this big laser." And so there was, you know, a big thing, and finally they used the laser. just blew themselves up and there were huge

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tidal waves, and they sunk the whole city!

So premies, that pursuit - we can get there! that is not an impossibility. But let us ask ourselves one simple question: What were people in the city of Atlantis trying to accomplish? What were they trying to do? I mean, what was happening? What was their goal? Was it in fact like somebody heard me talking about this incredible booth that you could take two little credit cards, one for your passport and one for your financial situation, and punch it? So that's what became the motive and the purpose in their life? And that's why they pursued on and on and on and on - to get this booth? And then they finally got this booth? And that was the ultimate purpose of their life?

No. Physical advances and physical achievements can only benefit humans so much. After that, they even start backfiring at him. It's like, that was such a tragedy, those two 747's. And they just, boom. collided right into each other. And you can imagine that simple moment - because people saw. People saw this airplane coming towards them, with its lights blinking and everything, through a thin screen of fog. And you can imagine this happening. And they were seeing it, and it's just like, they were expecting their last moments.

And we talk about this, you know? In satsang it is said that nobody really knows definitely when their last moment is, when is their time to go. And therefore, premies, we should really go on, you know, and really do satsang, service, and meditation. Well, I bet you if there was a premie sitting in that first class section, he was trying to do something. Because there he could see it. Quite obviously.

So we can enjoy these physical things I'm not saying, "Take this whole world, and whatever it's got, take two huge bars, put one on the South Pole and one on the North Pole and jiggle the world so everything that we have will fall off, and only humans can stay with their houses." But what I'm trying to say is, let us understand what is the most important purpose in our lives.

And by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, by the Grace, we have been able, and lucky enough, and fortunate enough (I mean, "lucky" is not the word but fortunate enough to be able to receive that blessing) to be able to receive that Knowledge. Because what is Knowledge? In our hearts we know what Knowledge is, in terms of that power. What is it? What is it that is sustaining us? And Guru Maharaj Ji has revealed it to us, so it is accessible.

Guru Maharaj Ji has taken that most incredible, infinite thing, and bridged a gap to us, so that we finite human beings can go back home. For the people who were supposed to remember the path to he able to come back home, Guru

Maharaj Ji is now showing us the path to come back home, to be able to go within and realize the most infinite beauty of this whole creation, so we can truly enjoy it by enjoying ourselves - who we are (not externally, but internally) inside of us. That power that makes everything stay the way it is, that power that I was talking about, which is not in the rivet, and yet it is in the rivet, is present. We talk about it being omnipresent, being omniscient, being omnipotent, everywhere.

There are different concepts. People follow God. So when Muslims call Him "Allah," does that mean that God doesn't exist, or a power similar to God doesn't exist, in their religion? Of course it exists. But they just call Him Allah. They don't call Him God.

And when they talk in English about it, when they want to refer to it, they don't know what Allah means, so they say, "God." Because they know what the meaning of "God" is. And same thing in Hindi. They call him "Bhagwan." "Ishwar." And just different names.

What is God? What is that omnipresent power? What is that omniscient power? Somebody says, "Oh, this is omniscient power." So you just feel like there's eyes everywhere, you know? But no. There is a power. And people have conceptualized it as God, as Allah. I mean, you can quite obviously see that it could have been vice

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versa, where Muslims would have called Him God and we could have, in English, called Him Allah. That would have been quite simple and easy. And now somebody can come along with a new name for a change; that won't affect it. Because we're talking about one universal power that rules us all, that governs us all. But the question is: What is it?

It's a nice old simple thing to say: "Take the best words you've got in the dictionary. Take the most powerful words you've got in the dictionary. Take the best imagination you have got, and say, This is God.' " And people do that! "This is God." "God is beautiful." "God is fantastic." "God is this …"

And I mean, this is like a little child. You ask him, "Well, what is God?"

"Well, God made my mommy. And God is the One Who made my daddy. And God made me too." I mean, to him, that is his ultimacy. That's ultimate to him. But is that God? No!

And somebody says, "Well, God is the thing that can destroy the whole world in one second." Is that God? Well, no. And you can just go on from parts to parts and go, "This is God, this is God, this is God, this is God, this is God."

But to me, God is an experience, and He can be experienced! And He's within inside all of us, because it's omnipresent. And God is very powerful. And we can feel that power, because it's omnipotent. And that realization, that intimacy can be there, because He's omniscient.

And so, it is all possible. It is not like people's little vault of religion, where they say: "Alright. Listen. I've got to get up at four o'clock in the morning and drive to my work which is three hours away, and rest about an hour, and then it'll be eight o'clock. And then my factory opens. And then I've got to work all day long there, and then have just a little time for lunch. And then I have to come back home, and all I can barely do is have my dinner, and I have to go to sleep! And then comes Saturday, the only time I can spend with my family, and it is my obligation to family. And come Sunday, man, I've got to rest. I'm only human.

"So, let me see. What can I do? Okay. So I'll make myself something that I can trust, and I'll call Him God." Or whatever have you. "And I trust Him, and I love Him. And I know He's there. And I'll follow Him implicitly. I'll do whatever He wants me to do, anytime He wants me to do it. Whatever He wants me to do, I'll do it."

And that's it. Close the vault, lock it up, and throw the keys. And just go on, into your daily routine, on and on, without ever wondering, "Well, yeah, I'm talking about an experience; a complete experience, which is possible, which is feasible in this lifetime. And yet, in my life, to something which I have dedicated a part of me so much, something which I have acknowledged as omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, and I have said that I'll do whatever He will tell me to do, and I have told Him that I surrender to Him, and that I believe in Him and I love Him - and this is only how far I've gone in realizing Him, in believing Him, and in really knowing Him?"

But that is that association that people lack, that "No, we have to go one step further."

And it's not that there has to be such a wall drawn between us and that infinite power that we can never, ever realize it. If that was the case, then again, we have to ask ourselves this question: Well, then, if that is the case, then why does a Perfect Master come here? What is the purpose of a Perfect - why did Jesus come here? What did He tell John? What did He show John that John, in his life, wrote about something which we now read and say, "Well, it was terrific. It was incredible."

You have to look at it two ways. If it happened in a way that after John met Jesus, he had time to write about it, then it is a different story than if you look at it that John always knew what he wrote about, and Jesus was irrelevant. But no. After that contact, something happened. And after that thing happened, John experienced something which he wrote about. Same thing has happened again and again and again. Well, what is it? Do we ever wonder? Do we ever reason?

It reminds me of the example I used to give where somebody says, "Which way to Buckingham Palace?" And you see a big sign on the highway: "Buckingham Palace." And you park your car right under that sign. And here comes the good old cop and he asks you, "What are you doing standing in the middle of the highway parked here?" "Well, I wanted to go to Buckingham Palace, and it says Buckingham Palace is right here. And so I am in Buckingham Palace. That's where I want to go! I just can't find it."

Obviously a lot of saints have come, a lot of Perfect Masters have come, and a lot of scriptures have been written. And they point, they direct you towards something. "Look. There is God. Realize Him in your lifetime." And you can do it. And it's possible.

We have gotten stuck. "Where's John?" "John's right there." (points) "Oh, Mr. John, how are you today?" (talking to his finger) And our finger becomes John! Maybe that is a fancy way of presenting it, and maybe that's a funny way of presenting it. And maybe by presenting it that way, it loses its sensitivity or loses its meaning. But it's a fact. Because in our lives, this is what we have to understand: What are we here for?

I mean, you can literally imagine it if you go to the countryside. You can imagine how it was: green grass and forests and beautiful trees giving fruits, and no buildings, no highways. Not a beautiful scenery with electric wires running in the back. But I mean you can imagine just simple old beauty, everywhere. That was given to us. And then, man got spaced out, got lost.

A Perfect Master came, "Pull him back again, pull him back again. Bring him to where he should be," to the purpose, the meaning of the life. And then, man gets spaced out again, and, "Bring him back again." He goes the other way. "Bring him back again." Always like a little tug of war. And what about in this century? And of course, it's up to people to really understand.

And so premies, it is so beautiful that we have been given this chance, that we have been provided this opportunity. Imagine it this way: you walk out of this hall tonight and you get home, go to bed. And all of a sudden you hear the knock on this door, and there's this little boy standing there. Since the story comes from the Orient, he is dressed in Oriental clothes. He's got this "neat-o" little lamp.

And he looks up to you, with tiny little bright eyes: "Do you want the lamp of Aladdin?"

I mean, of course, when people read about that story, Aladdin, it throws them for a little surprise, a little thinking. "Boy, how nice it would be, you know? I'd rub it and I'd get all the candies in the world." Or whatever, when you were a little kid, whatever your favorite thing was. "Oh, boy, wouldn't it be nice? I could have my own castle." Or, "I could have this," or "I could have that."

And if somebody all of a sudden did that to you - and I mean, of course, who knows? Maybe Aladdin was a true story. Maybe it was just like that book that was written about the Titanic. Somebody's imagination wrote the book before the whole incident actually occurred. And maybe that is true. Maybe you'll get a lamp of Aladdin. And if that ever happened, and especially if you were a little kid at that time, whenever you read that Aladdin story book and your dream was, "Somehow …", or just even saying your night prayers, you would say, "Well,

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you know, all I want is just that Aladdin's Lamp. That's it." And then, you know, it's just that dream come true.

But premies, this is a similar situation here. To me, in my life, when I used to hear about this Knowledge, when I used to hear satsang that Shri Maharaj Ji used to give, my ultimate dream was to - maybe at one point it was also Aladdin's Lamp, that'd be nice - but then more and more satsang started to happen, more and more satsang started to become a little more real to me. It was like, "Okay. Well, what is this Knowledge?" And I had my own imaginations and I had my own speculations. But I wanted this Knowledge. The reason I wanted this Knowledge is because I knew that without this Knowledge nothing existed.

Everything was like incredible food in front of you, having no salt in it And it's just like, having honey without any sweetness in it. Would you like to have some honey without any sweetness in it? It would he kind of weird, gooey stuff, having no sweetness in it. But, that is the way our life is, you know, it we don't accomplish the purpose. What is the purpose? And you know, you hear that satsang and you say, "Yeah, yeah, that's really true, and that's right."

But then you have that Aladdin's Lamp.

Here is a road for you to travel on, to bridge that gap. There is that opportunity that has been given to you to do that. To do that very thing. And now, for the people who have experienced this Knowledge, for the people who have realized that Knowledge, there is only one thing; and that is Love. And this is what we have to experience.

We have to just grow. We have to just let ourselves flow into it. It's like the example I've been giving on this tour. It's like a big boat. It's a huge boat. And Guru Maharaj Ji is the captain of this boat. And he's saying, "Come on this boat. I'll take you over this ocean. I'll take you over this rough water. You can never swim this. This is full of sharks. This is full of crazy things."

And there's a lot of people on the dock saying, "Nah. It's okay."

First of all there are a lot of people who say, "Look. Mind your own business. I don't want to go to the other side. I'm happy as I am." Because to a lot of people, whatever they have is their happiness: "This is happiness. How could it be any better? How possibly?

"Look. All I ever wanted was a car. All I ever wanted was a nice house. And all I ever wanted was a nice job. And all I ever wanted was a kid, and a nice wife. And that's what I have and I'm happy!"

Well, someday it's going to dawn on you that that's not it. And this is the opportunity that we have to really take now. We have to really look at it in a way that we see that true happiness is somewhere else and that we really don't want to stay on this side of the dock. We have to see that there is a lot more, even though we can have whatever we have, we can still have a lot more by having more of that experience, having more of that Love. And all we have to do is say, "Okay. 'Fake me. Take me across this ocean."

And I mean, this is not the first time I'm giving this example. I mean, yes, I gave it a little bit of a different connotation. I made it into a little bit different example (because I made it a boat and so on) but -- in the scriptures they've said, "Cross this incredible ocean. You have to cross this ocean." They talk about this ocean. And I mean, I'm pretty sure they don't mean Atlantic Ocean or Pacific Ocean. They don't mean that. But they mean this ocean. And they always say about this ocean, that you'll drown in

16    Divine Times, August 1977

this ocean. And there's always been that. And I'm just saying that that is the way it is.

And you're standing on the dockside. and there is a huge boat, a beautiful, huge boat ready to leave. And Guru Maharaj Ji is saying. "Well, okay. come aboard. Climb on this boat. I'll take you. And all you have to do is just stay away from the rails. Don't jump in the water. And enjoy yourself. Enjoy yourself. It's a beautiful boat. It's got many decks. It's got anything you want. Just enjoy yourself. Let yourself go. Surrender."

And a lot of people, you know. go out in the middle of the ocean and say., "Duh. This boat is gonna sink."

So they jump overboard! As if that does a lot. If the boat was to sink, you might as well stay two hours more with it.

But that's not the case. I his is an unsinkable boat. And this is not a fantasy. And the whole thing is: Don't take it as a boat. Don't imagine it as a boat. Imagine a rough sea. Imagine a rough ocean with about six foot swells and forty knot winds and little white tips all around you. :And I mean, maybe sharks are nice. I certainly don't want to encounter one. But you know that if they are a little hungry, they like to chew on things.

And it's just like mind. And you know, if you jump into that ocean, you're going to get it You're going to get it had.

And Guru Maharaj Ji says. "No. Just keep on. Hang on there. And I'll take you across." And there arc some people who say. "Okay. I believe you. I trust you. I can see. l can see that this boat is sturdy. I can see that you have good equipment. I can see you have good experience. I can see your engines are in good shape. I can hear the engines. I can see! I have realized Knowledge! I can see that this is the Knowledge. I have experienced this Knowledge. And that's the boat. That's Guru Maharaj Ji's boat." And they surrender to it.

And then there are, of course, these other people. You know, to them, it's all the same: "What difference does it make?"

And so premies, this ride, this journey, this everlasting journey. can be very, very beautiful. can be very immaculate. And I just have to say to you that - I mean, this is. of course. the first day of the program. We're going to have darshan tomorrow. We're going to have a program again. And its just so beautiful, what has been happening.

There's been a lot of different fhings imposed on premies. "Well, you have to do this this way. You have to do it that way." And one thing that has worked so far is to surrender.

A lot of people have said, "You swim like this, and you swim like that," and people have tried to give people lessons on how to swim. "In case you see a shark. you carry these lour boomerangs with little shotgun shells on them. You see a shark and you just touch the shark with it. and the shark will get killed." (Of course, they don't tell you that there's about three thousand sharks there, and you've only got about tour shotgun shells on either side of those things, and after that you're going to run out of them.) But they go on giving you all these different lessons!

Or a simple lesson: Stay on the boat. And that's a simple lesson. Stay on the boat. And the boat is good. And it'll take you across.

And so premies, in this world there are a lot of crazy things. And I'm not trying to say that we should try to just kick everything that's crazy.

There's this plant: the nettles. A lot of people must have seen it and experienced it. When you touch it, the leaves really get you, and whatever you touch after, once you've touched nettles, it just starts itching right there. It feels like a current.

But right next to those nettles grows a little plant. If you take that plant - every nettle plant I have seen has had this other plant right next to it - and if you ever get stung by a nettle, you look for this little plant right next to it. And you take that plant and you just rub it on your fingers, and it's completely like an antidote for it. lt's right there, and it's an antidote for it.

And so there's a lot of things in this world. Look for the antidote. That's what I said before. It's not the problems you

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want to look for. It's the solutions!

But the point is, all the problems are created from one problem. And therefore, if we can find the solution to that one problem - and of course, this problem doesn't exist, and this is also what we have to realize. It is our own immaculate imagination of, "Oh, we have to do this." "Oh, we have to do this." "I have to do that." And it's just more and more problems that man makes for himself: more and more and more and more.

And yet it's just one problem that really gets him, like a golf ball that gets hit by a golf club. It's that one problem that finally narrows down and gets that person, every one of them. If we can find a solution to that problem, then it will he like, instead of trying to just take the whole tree and pull out every leaf of the tree, and then pull out every flower and the fruit of the tree, and pull out every branch of the tree, if we just get rid of the roots, the whole tree, after a little while, will disappear. And it is just like that.

If you can get rid of that problem that is within inside - that's that mind -- if you can cross that ocean … and I mean, there's different ways to describe it, but I think you get the idea, about what I mean. And you have experienced a lot of it, probably. And its consequences are there, obviously.

And so, by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, most incredible Grace. And two Graces are already working on us. That third Grace, we have to crank our engines to get going.

And, you know. there's Guru Maharaj Ji there and it just - our idea is to surrender, and to let go, let flow.

I mean, what are we trying to grab onto? We grab onto this in our life, we grab onto that in our life, and all of a sudden a little storm comes and it all breaks, and we find ourselves flat on the ground on our noses. "Oh boy, there wasn't much, was there?" But, no. There is something much more hardy to surrender to. There's something much stronger to rely on.

So premies, enjoy yourself. This is a two-day function, and it's going to he really beautiful. Let yourself go. Let yourself flow in the river of Love, and everything is going to he just fantastic. And so we are here, and I hope you can enjoy what is happening here, and feel what is happening here. Because we are all premies, and there is only one purpose and there is only one reason why we have all come here. And that is to really get in tune. Maybe this is our tune-up job that we have to have occasionally.

And I tell you, you know, premies who have realized Knowledge, you can't be luckier. I think that's the end of luck. It stops right there. And after that, after you have received Knowledge, I mean, there's nothing more. And you get so many accessories with it. You get darshan. You get a lot of Grace. You get a lot of satsang. And you have an opportunity to do service and meditation.

I think that's about it. So, let yourself go.

Thank you very much.

18    Divine Times, August 1977