FULFILL YOUR DESTINY
Guru Maharaj Ji's Satsang at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, September 18, 1977
Dear premies. it's very wonderful to have this satsang program. I guess it's always wonderful to have satsang programs. After Hans Jayanti, I believe this is the only program I've had in Los Angeles. That's quite considerable. And it's really something to be able to experience, to be able to understand, to be able to acknowledge within our own hearts what the experience of Knowledge is, and what it does.
It's like, there's so many concepts. There's so many concepts about what Knowledge does to you, you know. It's like, to a lot of people it's, "Oh, maybe I'll be able to lift glasses without touching them." Or, "I'll be able to travel inner space." Or, "I'll be able to do this," or "I'll be able to do that." I mean, just different concepts that people have. "I'll reach to that utmost kundalini-this and kundalini-that." I mean, I don't know that whole shazam. But what Knowledge does is a lot more practical than what people really think it should do. And what Knowledge does is something that we need, something that we want.
And yet we really don't know that; yet we can't put our fingers on it; yet we really can't define it. Because what we it's like this: What we can perceive, what we want in this lifetime - if we can think about it and we can talk about it, then it's not really what we want, or what we are looking for. Because the thing that we are in fact looking for is a lot more than that, is a lot higher than that; it's a lot more than what we can conceive. It's way beyond there, you know. It's at that point that we cannot just say, "Okay, well this is what I want. And that is my ultimate goal."
I mean, people talk about liberation. What does liberation do? What kind of a bell does it ring when we talk about liberation? And it's like, it's really something to just stop for a second and think about it, you know. To a lot of people it's "liberation." Well, okay. So? What is liberation? People can imagine it. To some people liberation is: You just get cut off from those bonds; you just get away from that cycle of coming here into this Earth and going through the suffering, and - that's all okay; that wouldn't be bad, to have liberation. But - that's it! It's like, get liberated from all the suffering. And to go to what? End up with what?
28 Divine Times
"We really have to realize, 'I surrender. I want to surrender myself.
My effort - and here it is. …
It's like, yeah, it's all fine to spend two or three thousand dollars, but before you go ahead and spend two or three thousand dollars, what are you getting in trade with it? What are you buying? I mean, maybe it's something that is not worth two or three thousand dollars. Maybe you're just spending that at that time completely. But, maybe it's not. And this is what you have to determine; this is what you have to realize; this is what you have to understand. Because without understanding that, we just go on, you know; then it's like a baseless point, it's just like an aimless point.
We might end up - it's like, you spend two or three thousand dollars. You might succeed, you know, you might be able to buy an item that's worth it: or you might spend two, three thousand dollars and you might just get something that's completely a lemon!
So, in our lives, this is what we have to really understand, this is what we have to - this is what we have to look at.
So, the basic thing that it all boils down to is that here we are in this lifetime, wanting something that is beautiful, that is incredible, that is fantastic. Now, "beautiful, incredible, fantastic" - that's all fine. Those are all expressions. Those are all incredible expressions. And you can almost say, "Yeah, okay. This is what I want: something incredible, something fantastic." But the problem is: What is incredible? What is fantastic? And this is what we have to understand.
Okay, to a lot of people it's like, there you are in your motor boat, and you're stuck. Your engines quit on you or something happens and you're stuck. And you've been waiting there for forty-five minutes, you don't have any radio contact to contact somebody with, or - you don't have anything, and there you are helpless. You look around; you don't have paddles, and you don't have anything.
And then, all of a sudden, here comes this Coast Guard boat putt-putting along. And it's just like, it's an immense amount of relief. You can just say, "Wow. Fantastic, man. Just what I needed; the help that I needed." Or something like that. That you're stuck out there, and somebody comes and helps you: That's incredible, this is fantastic. And it just there's so many things.
But what is the true fantasy that we are all trying to pursue in our lives? What is that truly most incredible, most fantastic thing that we really want in our lives? Is it perceivable? Is it actually possible for us to say: "Okay, it is X plus 2 plus Y in brackets, square root of that formula multiplied by another formula." Bam, bam, bam, just like that, right down the line. And say, "This is what I want." Or is it something of experience? And this is what I'm trying to say, I guess, for this last thirty seconds, or whatever I've been talking about.
What we want is an experience, a practical experience. And this is what this Knowledge has done. This is what Knowledge has brought forth, you know? That experience that we are all sharing now. And I mean, it's just like, we have talked about that before, and every time these programs have been happening, just the way these programs have been happening, it's really incredible, it's really fantastic. But it's the other way that I'm talking about. It's the fantasy that we really look forward to.
It's not like, "Wow, man, what's that program going to be like?" But we know what it's going to be like; we know what's going to happen. It's not like, "Wow, that would be really incredible, or that would be really fantastic." You know, we know there's going to be satsang. There's going to be that Love. There's going to be darshan. There's going to be that Grace, that feeling of all the premies coming together and sharing that experience of Knowledge. And it's bam, bam, bam, down the line like that.
And of course, that experience that we have when we meditate, when this Knowledge actually starts to manifest - and this, what we experience in coming to these satsang programs, is a part of that Knowledge really manifesting. Because if it wasn't, then it would be very cut and dry. It would be like - just like a theater. You walk into a theater where you don't know what's going on; you just show up there because that's the way the traffic is being led, you know. And you just happen to be caught in the middle of traffic, and there's all these policemen standing in there saying, "Well, from 5:00 to 5:45 we're going to direct all this traffic to this one lane, and that's it. Because we presume that everybody is going to go to this one place." And there you end up at this theater, all mad and all - you don't want to be there, but you're there. And it's like, sometimes even that happens.
And a lot of people -- and I know, like in Guru Puja it was so amazing, because you could see all these premies, and
you could experience something from all these premies, but you could see these other
people who did not have Knowledge, and they were sitting there for the sake of it! They were in front rows, of course;
and they were sitting there, and every so many seconds, I guess every fifteen seconds, they had to change their position
because they were going bored stiff. And yet, you could see these premies, in all this huge auditorium, not even budging.
Nothing happening. They're just perfectly still, just listening to satsang and experiencing what satsang is all about.
And so what I am trying to say is that this is a part of Knowledge. This is what that Knowledge elevates us to. This is what that Knowledge brings us to: to be able to experience that, because it exists. Because it exists! But then there's other people who do not have this Knowledge. And because they don't have this Knowledge, to them, they cannot open the door to this experience.
And so, premies, this is just a part of it. And it's even way beyond the sole experience of Knowledge. Not just its side benefits or its side effects that we have, that just when we meet another person … you know, I remember a long time ago there was an article in Denver. And it said, "If you meet a nice, well- dressed young man on the street, and he happens to be smiling, he's a premie of Guru Maharaj Ji, he's a member of Divine Light Mission." Because it was like that kind of an association, you know. Well, all the premies at that time were just getting all their hairs cut, well-dressed suits, and whatever was in vogue at that time. But that was the thing:
September/October, 1977 29
"Whoever's doing that, and has a nice, big fat smile …" I mean, that's one of the manifestations of Knowledge.
So it's like, what is Knowledge manifesting for us? And this is just one thing. And it goes step by step, inch by inch. Whatever we do in our lives, it's completely changed because of Knowledge. And yet, it hasn't changed; it has enhanced what needs to be enhanced, and it has taken away what needs to be taken away from our daily, day-to-day lives. Because there's a lot of things that we don't need.
One thing is like, I know there's a lot of people who just meet each other on the street, or like you go and you talk to businessman or you talk to somebody. They'll shake hands with you, you know. And they'll try to be nice with you, throw on a few extra lines that they don't need to. And yet you can feel that they don't mean that. And you really, really sincerely feel that they don't mean that. And all you can do is say, "Yeah, okay, nice." And this and that. You know? And it's like, it's so - it's so absurd.
That's one of the reasons why I don't like to go shopping. First of all, it's - downtown Los Angeles, or wherever, is too far away from the residence anyway. And the other thing is, when you go out there, the experiences that there are are not wonderful.
You know, it's really something, because to people, life is different. Life is not life! Life is, "Live it up! Do this this way; do that that way. That's life, kid. Enjoy it." You know?
It's like, when I went to New York City it was such a thing, because there it was, you know. And I just got up that morning, and there was this tape recorder and the record players and the record, and I just started to make some tapes. And all of a sudden Michael Dettmers came in, and I said, "Wow, it's going to be really beautiful, because maybe I'll go to the satsang tonight in Denver and then we can pipe it up to New York. And all the premies can hear it."
And then slowly and slowly as the day went on: Bam. Raja Ji calls from New York and says, "Maharaj Ji there's a lot of premies and they have done a lot of preparations and everything …"
Well, I won't talk about their preparations or stuff like that. But let's just say that there were a lot of premies and they - I guess it was sort of this kind of thing where, "Yeah, Maharaj Ji, it'll be beautiful for you to come."
That was my conclusion. All the premies said - well, at least all the people who were organizing the program said, "Oh, Maharaj Ji, it'll be really beautiful for you to come. It'll be fantastic. Why don't you come?" But it was sort of that kind of trip, you know, where it's like: Always express your feelings. You know, if you want to make somebody feel nice or something like that, always express your feelings. And then it's completely up to them. But I guess to that extent, that I was going to
30 Divine Times
Here, Guru Maharaj Ji. Help me! And here is my effort that I've already made.
I need that Grace. I want that Grace. And here is my effort. …
hop on an airplane and show up, was a little bit of a surprise to all the premies.
And you wouldn't believe just the way everything was happening, you know. I mean it's like, that in itself, you can write a book about. And it was an incredible experience, because there were all these people, you know, and we're trying to get a plane together, and get everything together, to be in New York. And we get in New York at five o'clock in the morning, and there's nothing there! Except this white station wagon, and it had the name of the aviation on it, and that's about it. And for one second it felt like we were out in the middle of the boonies, and nothing is happening out there.
And then finally we saw some cars, and everything started to progress from there, and we got put into this hotel. Well, nobody had lived in this suite for about two years, and it was something else. And there were these two sisters, and they were working really hard, trying to clean up the whole place, trying to make it as spic and span as possible. You know, trying to spray perfume so that it wouldn't smell so bad. And when we got in there, man, that's all it smelled of, was perfume.
And it was so outrageous, because it was just like this antique suite. And then, as you walked in, there was a little library. And I walked two or three times past this library, and I said, "Wow, this is really a nice suite; it's got a library and all this. You don't really see that in suites." And then I closely looked at it. There weren't any books there; it was just fake, it was just painted-on books. They looked like they were books, but they weren't books!
And then you hear this buzz going in the background of this library, this huge buzz. So we walked out there and - I guess a couple of days before we arrived there, there had been a big fire. And there were huge electrical cables all over the place, and an ax just lying around there, and a black-smoked place … and I mean - it was like that.
But when I arrived there, five o'clock in the morning - you can imagine. This limousine driver was very bored of us, from driving us, because nobody was talking to this poor man. And I guess, you know, whenever you hop on limousine that's all you do is you talk about New York. And we weren't talking to him; nobody was talking. Everybody was tired.
And so finally, when we were coming into this area of New York, it was outrageous - and this is coming back to the part of what people really think life is: "Live it up. That's the only way to go." You could see these people, five o'clock in the morning, all over the place. And they're just driving around, doing this, doing that, hopping, somebody's jogging, somebody's walking around drunk with his girlfriend, somebody's doing this, somebody's doing - five o'clock in the morning, all this is going on!
Well, definitely, one of the things of yoga, you know, is to wake up early in the morning to exercise. But that's a little ridiculous to get up five o'clock in the morning completely drunk and just walking around and saying, "This is it. This is life. Live it up!"
But this is what people's concept is, because they do not know from which point, from which source this life really
originates. What is the essence of this life? And this is what we have to all find out: What is the essence of this life? Why
are we here? Why is everything here? Why is everything so beautiful that is around us?
Because day by day - I mean, you see so much destruction going on in this world, so much violence increasing and increasing and increasing and increasing. And people are just not understanding what is the Truth, what is the essence. Why are we all here for? Why has that Creator made everything, put us here?
Is it just that uncharismatic - and I said "uncharismatic" - experience of some egg lying around somewhere, and all of a sudden this lizard comes out of it, and up goes the dinosaurs, and they go down, and up comes the bird, and - that uncharismatic everything; that logical, perfectly logical explanation of how everything evolved? And here we are - ta-da: Man! You know? And this is it. This is the end of the line.
Who knows? I'm pretty sure that maybe the gorillas thought they were so advanced. I'm pretty sure they did. They thought; "Man, look at us! We're strong, we're powerful." And maybe, in this whole evolution, we are again to the same exact point: We're just gorillas, compared to maybe what we are going to be in the next fifty or a hundred years. But it doesn't look like it, you know.
But why are we all here? Why is this whole creation all here? I mean, man always has his perfectly logical explanations. And to me, my explanation for all those explanations that man has, is because he does not understand. Because if man - if the human race today really understood what the purpose of this life is, if this whole human race really understood the essence of this life …
I mean, it's very clearly - like it's stated in Gita: This is the Raj Vidya. This is the Knowledge of all the knowledges. I mean it's like, that, to me, makes sense. You know, you can say, "Okay, well, you first go to kindergarten; from kindergarten you go to nursery, nursery you go to first grade, first grade to second grade, second grade to third grade; then from school you go to high school, from high school you go to college," and you go on endlessly in your lives. But to me, all that doesn't make sense.
We record, we store, so much information. You know, it's like, back in my school, in St. Joseph's Academy, we used to have forty-five minutes, a period, of woodwork. And this is where this guy taught us woodwork; it's a woodshop. We went there, and he would teach us how to do this - you know, chop wood, and how to use a planer, a saw and all this. And every time some kid would forget something, you know, to bring their compasses with them or a pencil or something, he would get extremely mad.
So one day I forgot something, and he got very mad. So I just finally told him, I said, "Look. Do you really think that when I grow up, I'm going to chop wood?
September/October, 1977 31
Do you really think that I come to such a high-class school, have such a decent education, so that I will grow up and I
will chop wood? I'll sit there, you know, with all these degrees in my workshop, and there I am with a planer, planing off
wood or sawing off wood?"
And of course, that was like a match to gasoline or dynamite!
But it's like, this is people's logical explanation. And the thing is, you know, this is what everybody thinks this whole world is all about.
But to me, what makes sense is when this one person realizes Knowledge in his life, instead of saying, "This knowledge and that knowledge," it's just flat: "This is the Raj Vidya. This is the ultimate Knowledge. This is the Knowledge of all the knowledges." Because it is! Because all the knowledges that we are taught today, we have to live by them. They don't live by us; we have to live by them.
It's that difference of when we go to a village, and we are a city person. We understand this and we understand that, and how an airplane works, and how airports work, and how a radio works and a tower does … and I mean, all this, all this of our imagination, our "knowledge," so-called.
And we go to this village. And there they don't know what a radio is, what a walkie-talkie is. They don't know anything about it. They don't know how an airplane flies. You're a city man; every time you look from your apartment, all you see is sky covered with airplanes, and if you live right next to the airport, you know, you are always mad at them. And here this person - he's alive; and he's alive and he's well, and he's living on. There's no problem with his life. But yet, the only thing is, his life is not dependent on the exterior knowledge. His life is very simple.
And I'm not saying that everybody should just leave cities and go back and live in villages. But what I'm trying to say - while, on the other hand, people who are very educated, their life is solely dependent on what they have learned, period. They can't go beyond that. I mean it's like, if that thing doesn't make sense, it doesn't exist, it's not going to work, it's not possible. And they're not going to cross the second boundary of it, either; they're just going to stay in that balance of what they know. And yet here are these villagers, they do just about everything, and yet their imagination may not be way up there. But they live.
So what I'm trying to say is that today every experience that man has gathered, we live by that. We live on it. We support ourselves by that. And yet, that's not the way life should be. Because first comes life, and then comes all the worldly knowledge. Because remember, there was once this one person who did not know about the wheel. And yet, from his slow experience of finding out the way things work, he invented the wheel. And it's like, that's the way, slowly and slowly and slowly and slowly, things have evolved.
So what we have to go - what we have to do now, is that after living for so many years, after living for so many, so many, so many, so many years as a robot, as a completely programmed robot, well, we have to give up that robotism (or however you would put it), walking, you know, just like what everybody tells you to do, but to go inside, and to really gather, to really explore that experience, that very beautiful experience of Knowledge that is within inside of us.
And besides that, the joy, the fulfillment. Because a lot of premies write a lot of letters to me, and they say: "Guru Maharaj Ji, you and your Knowledge - Knowledge has completely fulfilled my life." Why? Maybe five, ten years ago, they never thought that, their lives were empty. Maybe they were just little kids, twelve, thirteen, fourteen years old, fifteen years old. Never thought of that stuff. "My life isn't empty. No. My life is full," you know. And that is the way it is out there now.
Today is Sunday, of course, and a lot of things are closed. But on Monday, that's the way it's going to be. There's going to be a lot of people. And these lot of people are going to be doing a lot of things. And then these lot of people, after they have finished doing a lot of things, they're going to go back to their homes to relax, not to do anything. And yet, they'll be still doing a lot, thinking that they are fulfilling their lives. But premies, that is the ignorance.
And that is why a Perfect Master comes into this world, to tell people that, "What do you think?" and, "By which
32 Divine Times
Here is my effort. This is the effort that I have made, truly and sincerely.
And even that, Guru Maharaj Ji, is by Your Grace. …
means you think that your life is going to be fulfilled, that is not possible. There is only one thing that is going to bring that fulfillment into a human being's life. That's just that Knowledge, that Grace, that experience, our effort to try to …"
I mean, it's like a lot of people - you talk to a lot of people and you talk about meditation. And I mean, you can see that, and it's a lot of times on TV, they portray - now McMillan's wife is into some meditation. I mean, this is how the movie goes on. And so they portray "meditation," a role of meditation; and there she is, you know, with legs crossed, and she's sitting like this; and that's meditation. And to a lot of people they do that, and that's meditation.
Premies! I mean, if that's meditation, we are using the wrong word around here. Because that's not meditation. I mean, that's just like an exterior image of what maybe it looks like, from outside. But what we do inside - what happens when we actually go there? What happens when that - all that glory, when all that beauty starts to completely unfold and we start to merge into that oneness of that incredible, incredible Knowledge?
That, to me, is that Knowledge. That, to me, is that experience. That, to me, is that meditation, by which I mean meditation. Not just "meditation," just sitting cross-legged and have your, you know, hands like this and so on and so forth, have your eyes closed or open or whatever. Not a posture. But that real experience.
And by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, this can all come to us. And it is all possible. And I mean, this is what this whole thing is all about, you know. And it's just so beautiful.
Because, I mean of course, everybody - and yesterday, at the residence, it was so incredible. There were a lot of premies and we had a big party - it was Hansi's birthday. And everybody came and everybody sang "Happy Birthday" to him, and he was all excited and all happy about it, and it was just wonderful. And everybody came here yesterday for Hansi's birthday. You know? And - well, today is Sunday, and today is not Hansi's birthday, but yet we all have come together here for satsang.
And you can just understand how sensitive this whole issue becomes. Just little things: Hansi's birthday, Raja Ji's birthday, you know. This birthday, that birthday, this occasion, that occasion; that brings us together. And that joy, that fulfillment that is brought, without having to wear those hats saying "Happy Birthday," the cone hats. Without having to have an incredibly huge cake and cut it. Without having to have those little, little trumpet-type-of-things and blowing on them. Without having those little things that roll up and then shoot back and forth. Without having the streamers in the hall. Without having all that, and yet still having fulfillment of more than a party, that possibly anybody could have having a party, and doesn't matter what kind of party they were having.
And that is the Grace. That is the Grace of Knowledge; that's the Grace of Guru Maharaj Ji that brings us all together, that puts us all together where we really belong. Because without that Grace, the manifestation of all that beauty that we all share here would not be possible. And it's so simple. It just wouldn't be possible. And so that Grace, it's such beautiful river. And I mean, it just flows so beautifully; it's so incredible, that Grace. And when we have received Knowledge, and we put in our own effort, it's like opening our doors to that river that is flowing.
It's like, you can imagine, you know, this huge river that flows by. And all these farmers that have land on both sides of the river don't want to have to do anything with that river; they're mad at this river. Or they don't know about this river. And there are all these access doors that they can open up and get as much water as they want from this river into their land, and nourish their land, and fulfill that one requirement to have beautiful, beautiful crops. And they just don't want anything to do with this river. All they want is to put a well there and to put a motor in there, and have these motors spray all these things, and then have a biplane or an airplane come spray chemicals and water. All this stuff.
It's like, all these other fulfillments that man looks towards, you know? And then, all of a sudden that experience really
materializes for us, when we receive Knowledge, to open up that gate, to let that beautiful river of Grace flow through,
flow through us all. And to nourish us of what we really need.
Because I mean, really, we have to have that commitment. And I mean, we really have to realize, "Oh, Maharaj Ji You know" "I surrender. I want to surrender myself. My effort - and here it is." Not like, "Oh yeah, Maharaj Ji, I'd like to surrender. It's really nice to surrender. I heard your satsang about surrender; and I'd like to surrender, but it's too hard." No! It's not like that.
You have to lay all your cards across the table. You can't, you can't pull bluffs; you can't pull different tricks that are up your sleeve. You have to lay all your cards on that table and say, "Here, Guru Maharaj Ji. Help me! And here is my effort that I've already made. I need that Grace. I want that Grace. And here is my effort."
I mean, it's not like, "Oh yeah, Maharaj Ji, help me and I'll make my effort. I'll do something."
But no: "Here is my effort. This is the effort that I have made, truly and sincerely. And even that, Guru Maharaj Ji, is by Your Grace. And I just want to keep on making that effort more and more and more and more in my life, so that I may fulfill the destiny that You have chosen for it."
Not "my" destiny: "Yeah, man, this is what I want to become." But "the destiny, oh, Guru Maharaj Ji, that You have chosen for me. May that be fulfilled by my effort and Your Grace that You have showered upon me through Knowledge, through Yourself, through Your mercy. And guide me."
And then let that experience come through you, let surrender follow, let surrender - let that surrender happen. And not stand there, trying to have your own imagination, trying to have your own concepts completely get stuck in the way. But let them all go.
And I really know that man will only make that sacrifice if he sees that there is
September/October, 1977 33
something worth making that sacrifice for. If he thinks that there is nothing there, he's not going to do it. If he thinks that
there is something there, that there is a possibility, then he will make effort.
And so premies, if you really want to make that effort, you have to really understand that there is a lot there. And that it's not like - it's not Knowledge that wobbles. It's not like, "Oh, my experience …" You know, this is what a lot of people say: "Oh, my experience of Knowledge lately hasn't been so good." But Knowledge is not like that. And the experience is not like that. Knowledge does not vary. And an experience does not vary. It's just how much you're involved with that experience that actually varies, you know?
It's like, if you're in a motor home, or if you're in a car, and you're going somewhere, and you have a head-on collision, everybody's going to have an experience. But that experience is going to vary. Why? Because people who are sitting in the front are going to get hit by different things, and get probably hit a lot stronger, and probably hit differently, than people who are sitting in the back. So it's not like that experience is varying. No. The experience is experience. But relative to what is taking plaee, where you are, is what is going to make - or seem to make, that experience vary.
But Knowledge is always there. Knowledge is always constant. It's always flowing. It's just how much we bring ourselves parallel to that Knowledge. How much ice come closer to that Knowledge. How much we stabilize ourselves towards that Knowledge is really going to make that experience more and more and more strong in our lives.
So premies, it's like a huge - it's almost like an evolution, within inside of an evolution, within inside of an evolution. Because Knowledge itself is an evolution; the changes that it takes us through. Those - you know, and I mean, it's like, you talk about "changes" and a lot of people get paranoid: "Changes!" But these are the changes. These are not really so much even changes; this is just putting us baek where we belong with a perspective of where we really need to be.
You know, it's just like, if a kid is studying in this class, and he's writing everything backwards, he's doing everything backwards, sort of, when he wants to put "two plus two equals four," he is going "two minus two equals four!" And putting "4" in the front, then he's putting the minus sign, then he's putting "2," and then he's putting equals and then he's putting another "2."
And he has got this whole thing mixed up. And the teacher comes along and shows him how to really do it, shows him the right way; you really can't call that a change.
I mean, the kid can't just go and say. "Oh, everything got changed completely around!" No. You don't call that that; you call it, "And I was corrected. My mistakes were corrected."
And that's the way it is. That's the way it has to go. That all that we are doing and to us, you know, it's all fantastic. And yet, when Guru Maharaj Ji puts us into that other place … And really, what determines between, "Is that the right place or is that the wrong place" is that the more we have surrendered ourselves, then more he will take us. And we surrender to him more and more. And it's like a chain: More you do it, better it gets. More you surrender, more you surrender, the more he can take you to where you really belong. But less you surrender …
You know, you have to imagine, you have to always compensate for the fact that you are travelling at about 550 miles an hour. So you are travelling, you know. And yet, your fate is going to be very fatal, because you have not let go. You have not surrendered. I mean, it would be ideal if you would be travelling that fast and had yourself completely surrendered. It would be fantastic; it would be beautiful. But the thing is - it's really nice to travel that fast, but if you have not surrendered yourself, then it's very, very. very fatal. Because - well, you might end up at the wrong place at the wrong time. very, very soon.
But it's very fantastic when we have surrendered ourselves, and let that boat, let that ship carry us. You know, it's like the conflict between hanging onto the boat from one end and still having your whole body in water, and the boat is already going, and trying to make that decision: "Should I get on this boat?" Or once you get on the boat, you go baek and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, till you make yourself sick and start looking for a barf bag, make your journey as miserable as you can. Or you can just sit and relax, you know?
It's like, when people start to get that little sickness - you know, queasiness in their stomach - they look outside and they see the waves going up and down and the whole boat going up and down - it's like, that's not the end of it. They really start thinking about it. If they quit thinking about it, maybe it would help! But, no. More that queasiness grows in
34 Divine Times
And I just want to keep on making that effort more and more and more and more
in my life, so that I may fulfill the destiny that you have chosen for me. …
their stomach, more they start thinking about it: up and down, up and down. "Oh, boy. I'm going to throw up." And all they need to do is see that barf bag and it all comes out.
So premies, it really - we have to understand that we can make this journey the most beautiful journey we've ever had in our lives. Surrender. Get on the boat. Relax. If you're starting to feel sick, go down and - sit down and meditate. Anything. There's about a hundred ways to - over a hundred ways to entertain yourself. Thousands and millions and trillions of ways to entertain yourself on this boat.
But if you stand on the deck purposely, with a barf bag in one hand and thinking about. "I'm going up and down, and up and down, and up and down." then - and you know, trying to stick your fingers in your mouth, it's like, trying to make your own self sick.
And of course, you know, you say this example and everybody says, "That was pretty ridiculous." But that's - believe me, a lot of people do that! A lot of people want to get sick faster, so that this misery would be over with. A lot of people want to find out if they're really sick, or they're going to get sick. And I mean, it's just like, it's just a vast variety of our mind that takes us from one place to the other place and throws us all around like we were just nothing, you know?
So premies, the whole - and the most important thing is - and I mean, the example I gave you, you know, a lot of people laughed about it. But the point is, it's true. A lot of people do that. So don't be miserable on this ride. Enjoy it. Surrender. Just let it all flow through you. Because it can and it will; and it is. You know, it's not convincing yourself, but it's really experiencing.
So, I just - you know, it was like so beautiful to be able to come here, to be able to give this satsang and to see all the premies. And I mean, it's really incredible. And it's going to be again very incredible starting from the eighth of November, when we are going to have Hans Jayanti. And I guess I talked about it in New York - the East coast program. It's the eighth, ninth, tenth; and those are the regular dates. And then it goes down - because after that, I believe it was stopping on Thursday. And I said, "One more day and it'll be Saturday, so why not just carry it on until Saturday?" So it's a five-day Hans Jayanti, and it's going to be really beautiful.
And all the premies would be able to come, and hopefully - I mean, we are having a lot of problems. And the Hans Jayanti is going to be in Rome, in Italy. And we're trying to make arrangements.
I think it's just so beautiful because you know, in Europe, premies have been really thriving for a big program, because
you always know, you know it for yourself, premies who have attended big programs and the communities that have had
big programs, what an incredible boost it is to those premies all around. And so the premies in Europe really need this
boost, and I think it's going to be completely incredible. It's a five-day Hans Jayanti. It's going to be one of the longest
festivals that there is.
I mean, you can imagine - usually on a Hans Jayanti, or a three-day festival, we have first day satsang; usually second day we have darshan, and the third day we have satsang again, and that's the "good-bye" satsang.
Here we're going to have the first day, satsang; the second day, satsang; and we'll have darshan; and then you'll still have two more days of satsang to go. The good-bye is going to come a long ways down.
And of course, before you know, it's always like that. I'll be saying, "Goodbye," and - like in Guru Puja, just the way it worked out. I said, "Oh yeah, it's all nice. And very soon we'll be saying good-bye." Let's not bother about goodbyes; it's so beautiful that this program is coming up.
And I guess all the community directors from all around the world are just making preparations, you know, making things as cheap as possible - not quality-wise, just in trying to get there, you know. And I guess Bill here will be trying to work out a lot of things for the premies in North America, just to bring everything - all the prices down, so more and more premies can go there. And it'll be just very beautiful to have a beautiful five-day Hans Jayanti, and just everybody will be able to come there and have a lot of satsang, instead of …
You know, it's like all these people come to town, and they can all go everywhere they want, right? Because everybody speaks English. But when you are in Rome, you don't speak Italian. So you'll be stuck! So all you'll be able to do is have a lot of satsang. It's a good strategy. And there's no point in trying to learn Italian.
So, just come if you can, and just enjoy that time. Because all that time is going to be - is not a lot of this and that, but just a lot of satsang, and a lot of opportunity maybe for … because it is such a big program and there's going to be a lot of people. There'll be a lot of service opportunities, and a lot of satsang, and a lot of service, and a lot-alot of meditation. And I think this is about all we need, you know?
And then it's just like, just stay on the boat, you know; it'll take us across.
Thank you very much, and if I don't get to see you again in near future - see, I told you, "Maybe we'll have a program between Guru Puja and Hans Jayanti." And this worked out really beautiful because all the East coast premies got to see me, and they got to have satsang, and then all the West coast premies got to see me and have satsang. So I guess that about covers all the premies.
So we did have a program. Kept up the promise. We did have a program between Guru Puja and Hans Jayanti. But this time that I came baek - you know, New York was really too much. Coming back and going there was just really a lot, and all I got stuck with was a cold! And besides a lot of bliss to be able to go there.
And it was really something, … because the premies were just completely blown
September/October, 1977 35
May that be fulfilled by my effort and Your Grace that You have showered upon me
through Knowledge, through Yourself, through Your mercy. And guide me.' "
out. Because they were just having this quiet little retreat. I guess there are a few premies here from the East coast -
and (premies yelling and clapping) - quite a few premies from East coast!
By the way, this is the way I heard the story - I don't know if it's right or wrong, but I heard that all these premies were - you know, of course I was there so I could see it was just really nice and beautiful. All green parks and everybody was in their t-shirts and little cut-up jeans, and having a nice time. Having lot of satsang, the stage - and I do remember one premie from - that's just sitting right over there, you know, he had little turban on, he was climbing up trying to work with the speakers and everything. You know, they had everything happening. And all of a sudden these two helicopters start coming at them, you know? And it was like a big surprise.
And I guess the premies there had to pay quite a bit to have that big surprise, because Bill Patterson kept the poor premies up till about six o'clock: "Oh, Maharaj Ji's going to come."
Because see, that's the way everything was arranged. I was going to come into Newark airport. There was going to be couple of helicopters waiting there, and then we were going to go to this airport, and right to the site. Well, it just never worked out. It was too foggy. And so, you know, I guess he was really hoping that I would show up. And it was just too much, you know, because … So we didn't show, and all the premies were up there till six o'clock in the morning. I guess it was beautiful.
So maybe we can do the same thing in Rome! We can announce that I'm not coming, and then I'll show up!
But the most important thing is just we have a lot of satsang, and make that opportunity for ourselves, and just enjoy
that time that we have, because it's so precious.
And I know that there is no need to say, "Okay …" or try to make it sound like, "Oh, well, it was nice seeing you here." Of course it was nice seeing you here, but trying to make it sound like, "Oh, it's going to be a long time before I see you." Because it's not. Very, very small - you'll have enough time to find out what the weather is like in Rome, to get Bill Patterson's letter, to get everything - all your bags packed, and before you know, it will be time to see Guru Maharaj Ji again in Italy.
And that's not going to be the end of it; it's just going to go on and on and on, by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, it's just - the way I said, you know, it's been happening so incredibly, and no way, by no means this is the end of it or anything. It's just going to go on, and it's so beautiful.
So thank you very much, and I'll see you in Italy. And I'm not going to try to make a promise that I'll see you between here and Italy either. So, I'll just see you there, and maybe if everything happens right, if the Grace flows a little too hard, maybe we will see each other again before then.
Thank you very much.
36 Divine Times