The Final Step

Guru Maharaj Ji's Satsang at the Shower of Grace, Malibu, California, June 11, 1978

"Here is the time to completely let go. To surrender. To take that last step. To take that final step, and be one with Guru Maharaj Ji."

So premies, you've been listening to a lot of satsang -- everywhere. And as I was saying yesterday, really when we let ourselves be open, when we let ourselves go to that experience of satsang, only then does it become satsang for us. And it's such an incredible Grace; it's like you're always in satsang.

It is said that one Grace is that we are here, we are alive, we are existent in this world. It only hits us, you know, when something dramatic happens in our lives. When something very dramatic takes place in front of us, it really hits us, and we say, "Oops!" or "Wow!" or "That's incredible!" Then we open up our eyes.

I remember one time I was driving (that was the time when it was really, really raining in Los Angeles), and I was just driving along the PCH -- Pacific Coast Highway -- and it was very dark. Actually, I was coming from town towards home. We were just talking and listening to music. It was like, at no point was I thinking, "What happens if some car comes from behind me and goes: Bam? Or some guy … " (Because on Pacific Coast Highway it's really a talent to drive; it seems like so many untalented people are driving there. You have to weave your way out of it.) And there was no consideration whatsoever like that.

But then all of a sudden, this traffic slowed down -- and that was right after sunset -- and traffic was backed up, and it was just like a really big scene happening. And then all of a sudden all these flares. And it was raining; ambulances were rushing; the police car was there. There was a car wrecked up. And there was a guy lying on the street, and they just had a yellow canopy over him, or something like that.

And I just passed by. But it just occurred to me then that "Man, that's completely incredible! This poor guy was probably driving along -- all he wanted to do was get home if his home was this way, or go somewhere where he wanted to go. He never thought that this would happen to him and -- Barn! -- he probably didn't even know what was going to happen."

And then there is that other story of this guy who was hang-gliding. He took off from these mountains. Now he probably thought, "Wow, man, it's going to be really incredible soaring over Pacific Coast Highway. Incredible! I'll see all this sight. Fantastic!" He didn't think that he was going to get "caboosed" that day. He didn't think that was going to be his end. He didn't think that after this flight he was never going to fly again, and it didn't matter how much he wanted to fly. And he landed in some electrical wires, and it was a pretty bad scene, I guess. I didn't see that.

But premies, that's when the Grace hits us, that we are here, that we are alive. Like Joan Apter was saying, that Knowledge, that Guru Maharaj Ji, has made her realize how precious this life really is. Because so many people out there, so many people out there, just don't. It's not even a consideration. It's just not even a possibility to them.

One time I was in Encinada, and they had this big sand hill, sand dune. And there were these guys, and they were racing their choppers up and down. It was a very, very steep hill, and they had these special rigged-up machines with really big, fat, sand tires all blown up, and great big V-8's. And they were just -- it wasn't even a quarter of a mile, just a few yards. They would just go up it, and that was an incredible thing to make it up this thing.

And I had this Blazer, and I just sort of drove right next to the place. And they all just completely freaked out, because they had these special machines, and they were having a hard enough time doing it, making it up this hill. They thought that I was going to try to do it on this Blazer that wasn't really equipped for any of this stuff; it completely blew them out.

But in this world, this is what we think about. I mean, I didn't do it and I didn't want to do it. I just wanted to -- you know, just watch them! (laughter) But

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p30 (61K) this is what it is. This is what we associate with; this is what we live with. And when do we in our lives actually sit down and say, "Wow! Creator! How fantastic. How incredible. Who has made everything. Who has put everything in this world, us included. And giving us this Grace to be here, to be present … "

So, just like I was saying, that first Grace is that we are here. Because we can go (snaps his fingers), just like that. Poof! -- it's all gone!

Look at Pearl Harbor! These guys got up -- you know, daily routine. They're going, "Oh, no, can't I have one more cup of coffee?" They get up on the deck. All these guys are getting ready to put up these flags. And everybody is just like, "Aw, no, not again," or something like that. And -- Bam! -- here come these airplanes. And bdd-bdd-bdd-bdd-bdd, before they know it they're going, they're leaving.

I mean, what kind of experience is it when we go, when we leave the physical body? Okay, there can be 1,000 different explanations; there can be 1,000 different experiences. And yet, our own is going to be as individual as we are. You know, somebody can say, "Yeah, I bet you five bucks that you're going to feel like 1,000 mosquitos were biting you, or 1,000 scorpions were biting you." What are you going to do? Die, and then come back, and say, "Give me my five bucks; you were wrong"? No, it's all gone. It's too late. It's finished. It's done.

So, first of all we have to realize that Grace in our lives, because if we are blinded to that Grace, if we are blinded to that fact, then it prevents us -- it stops us from taking the next step.

If I -- and this happens a lot of times -- I come out the front door of the house, and I am standing on the front step. I just come out to see what's happening. And then I say, "Oh well, should I go down towards the pool area, or should I go down towards the garage area?" And till that decision is made which way I want to go, I am just standing there. The fact is, if I would not be able to decide where I want to go, then I would just stay there. And if, as a matter of fact, I decide that none of those are the places that I want to go, then I would just turn around and go back in the house. So it's very important for me to know which way I want to go, so I can take that step that way.

I guess that's a very clear example, so far as I'm concerned, because I think that's the problem with the people out there. They don't know how precious this life is. They don't know why this life was even given to them. To them, it is the Marina Del Rey apartment; go, do your number, do your thing, do your trip; come back. And that's it. But if they

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Prem Rawat aka Guru Maharaj Ji knew that there was this life, a much more precious gift, a much more valuable, much more important thing than this whole Earth put together …

And this is true! Our life, our individual lives, are more precious than this whole Earth put together. You know why? Because the whole Earth was put together for this life. Trees were made. Streams were made. Ocean was made. Sky was made. It revolves. Gravity was made. We were made. And this whole thing was put together for each one of us. That is why it is more precious than this whole Earth combined. And yet, little do we know, standing behind the imaginary line, standing under the fog, little do we know the glory of the sun, the glory of the universe, the glory, the beauty that really prevails.

And so when are we going to become enlightened to that fact, that "Jeez, there's a lot more out there than me just sitting in my rat hole and saying, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, everything is hunky-dory; everything is fantastic' "? When is that change going to manifest in our lives? Because that is one step. That is one of the series of steps that we have to take.

And it's like this: Guru Maharaj Ji, or that Master, is 3,000 miles away, and he says, "Take one step towards me, and I'll take 1,000 steps towards you." When you take one step towards "me" and he takes 1,000 steps towards you, he's still 2,000 miles off. You have to take one more step; then he'll take 1,000 more steps; then he'll be only 1,000 miles off. And you take one more step, and then he'll be with you; he'll be right there.

The first thing is to just really see that "In my life, I really need that: that perfectness. I really need that Master. I really need that incredible experience. And not that I really need it even, but it's like it's made for it. And if I don't have that experience, if I don't have that realization, then it is basically -- not even basically -- but fundamentally a misuse of this human life."

So as soon as we take that first step to realize, "Okay, there is much more to my life; there is much more to this than I think there is," then the Lord comes 1,000 miles towards us. But he's still 2,000 miles away.

One more step has to be taken, and that is to really realize him, to really accept that Knowledge. Because Guru Maharaj Ji is Knowledge. From him flows Knowledge. From him flows that source that we are looking for. He is the source. When we accept that, when we realize that in our life, that's the second step. And then the Lord is only 1,000 miles away. Then Guru Maharaj Ji is only 1,000 miles away.

One more step for us to go. And that's complete surrender. When we surrender completely, then our cycle of three steps is completed, and he has traveled 3,000 miles to be right there with us. And then all the chakras of karma die. Gone! Finished!

Because to me -- in a lot of satsangs it's very obvious -- they say there's 8400 million things that you can become. You can become an ant. You can become a pig. You can become a donkey. You can become an elephant. You can become a crow. You can become all these different things.

And then so you look at it and say: Okay, the way this whole system is set up is there's two tubes. There's two long

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Prem Rawat aka Guru Maharaj Ji things. And in one tube there's the 8400 million things that you can become, right? And in one tube, it is obvious there is something called salvation, liberation, where you get out of those chakras, where you get out of that in-and-out, where you get out of all those states of being, and you become one being, in which state of being there is no being! You merge. You become one. Because to start with there is no identity, and when you end there is no identity. And so you complete the cycle of being born again and again and again.

Now, this is how it is. Not that I say it is, or not that that's the way someday it's going to be written up in heaven. But this is the way they explain to you that it is.

Okay! Let's take that for granted, that that's what it is; you know, even a hypothetical situation (laughter).

So then, what does it boil down to? What it boils down to is that there is a person, there is a thing, there is an ultimate being who has created two roads. And then simultaneously, parallel to that, it's also said that we are the puppet of this thing. We are the puppet of the Lord. So then take that little picture and put it together with your puzzle, and you come up with: There is our Lord, we are his puppets, and he has two holes; he's got two tubes to go in.

So then what it boils down to is this: Now, we are puppets, like a little rat or a little mouse, and he puts us there and he watches us. And one is like -- if you've ever seen a habit trail where they have these little wheels for the hamsters -- hamster trails. And he just watches this idiot hamster go through this wheel after wheel after wheel after wheel after wheel, thinking he has traveled 1,000 miles, and thinking to himself that by now he must have gone out of the cage. He takes a left turn and a right turn; right back into the cage again!

So one is a complete proof, in which we always seem to take the course of action we always seem to take, which proves to that Lord … I mean, this is very simple. If that was the situation in a test lab, that would be completely obvious, and you would laugh at the rat and say, "Ha, ha, ha! That's an idiot!" So it's quite obvious that there is one proof that we are complete idiots, if we do end up taking that track where we don't even have one wheel, or two wheels, or three wheels, but 8400 million wheels to go through, forever and ever and ever!

And on one side, a complete salvation, a complete merge, a complete -- complete complete! No more ifs, ands and buts.

So what are we going to take? Which one are we going to choose?

How many people in their lives really look at it this way? You know, it's quite obvious. Here is a satsang going on. Here people are hearing it through the speakers, and can see me. Then there is England, then there is Denmark, then there is Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland; you know, every place just about; South Africa, wherever. And they can just listen to my words. They can understand what I am trying to say. (If they can't understand what I am trying to say, maybe tomorrow somebody will be kind enough to translate what I am trying to say.) But nevertheless, it becomes quite obvious, and when we look at it there's no ands, ifs and buts about it. Because there is -- it looks like -- a trap; and then there is a salvation. There is a place where there is no beginning, and then there is a place where there's ends, ends, ends, ends, ends, and you never seem to begin.

And Guru Maharaj Ji says: Come! Come to me. Take those three steps, and I'll take my 3,000, and let's complete the cycle. Let's go beyond, become one, and go beyond all these chakras, go beyond all these imaginations, go beyond all these concepts, and merge with what reality really is, merge with what Truth really is, merge with what we are supposed to merge with.

And yet, so many scriptures have been

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written. So many people believe in these chakras of 8400 million things that can happen to you, and for such a long time. And maybe some people don't. And I'll come to that later maybe, and try to tell you that there is no difference if you believe in that or you don't believe in that. It doesn't change the fact that you have to become one with that reality, if you want to become one with that reality!

It's just not, "Okay, I believe that the mountain is higher than me, but I still think I am bigger than the mountain." That's not the way the story is. You have to look, and you have to see, and you see the perspective: "Wait a minute! I can't see over that mountain. My size, compared to what I see of that mountain … That mountain, in its physical format, is a lot bigger than I am." And it doesn't change facts. Fact is fact.

If I believe -- like Raja Ji was saying yesterday -- if I say that it is night right now (and some places it is night right now), that doesn't change anything. Where it is night, it is night. Where it is day, it's day. And we have to realize. We have to get out of all these different concepts that we always get locked into.

Because, what do we do? And this is like what I was trying to come to, is that, okay, now we are hearing all this satsang. It's very obvious:. I see a few people smiling here and there, and they really believe in what am trying to say. And they say, "Okay, Maharaj Ji, fantastic! Great!" But it's almost like as soon as they walk out that door, or that door, they're going to just leave that here. You know, all that is for here; all that understanding that they accumulate from satsang is for right in this tennis court, or an auditorium that's rented. And when they leave that auditorium, when they leave that, they can leave the understanding right with it. Finished! So when they come out on the other end …

Shri Maharaj Ji used to give an example. It's a much more accurate example. He used to say that some people are like rock. Now, you can go down to the bottom of the ocean -- well, you don't even have to go to the bottom of the ocean -- you can go there and take an expert with you, and find a rock that's been there for 100,000 years. Now, none of us live for 100,000 years in the same body. But there is this rock, and that's been there for 100,000 years. And you pick up that rock that's been underwater for 100,000 years and put it out in the sun for about two hours, and it will dry! None of those 100,000 hours, 100,000 days, 100,000 years of being underwater affect that rock. Just two hours, and it's dry like it never had anything to do with water.

And that's how some of us are. Because we let this incredible concept maker … You know, everybody says we've got to get rid of the concept. The problem is, are you ever going to … Okay, it's great; you get rid of your concept. What about the concept maker?

You go here and say, "Oh, my concept was blown." Then you turn around, put a coin in it, press the button, and here comes another one! So when are we going to get rid of the concept maker? That's why we never seem to get rid of our concepts. Because it seems to be an

Prem Rawat aka Guru Maharaj Ji

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infinite thing, almost, that every day there is a new concept. And every day, if you hear satsang, a concept gets broken. And that's the problem. You have to nail down the problem. You cannot go around in your life and just clip this and clip that, and clip this and clip … You have to get rid of it from the root.

You know, sometimes when the weed grows in the front lawn, if they just come along with a lawn mower and chop it down, then what's going to happen? It'll chop down just like the other grass is. But in time it will show its colors, and there will be a difference between that and the real grass. So you can keep it mowing, you can keep it mowing, but that doesn't make a difference. You have to get rid of that from the root.

So how do we get rid of our concepts? How do we get rid of our mind from our roots? Because it has been implanted for however many years we have lived in this -- you know, give or take two, three or four years, or so on and so forth. But for how long have we really lived in this world? And for that period this constant concept maker has been following us, been tagging us along. It doesn't need any service, doesn't need any oil, doesn't need any gas. It just needs us! And then it just goes on and on and on.

So then first of all is the commitment, the understanding that that's what you want to do in your life. Again, you have to understand: "That's what I really want. Because my concepts don't do this whole world any good. Any good." I mean, there are so many concepts, and they don't do anybody any good.

There is a story in the Ramayana -- well, the whole Ramayana is a story. But the end part of the story is that when Ravan was dying -- he had been shot, the whole thing -- and when he was dying, Ram said to Lakshman, "You should go to Ravan and you should learn something from him. Because he is so intelligent. He is so smart. He has ruled so incredibly. He's even made a gold city. And he knows the tactics of ruling. He is very, very smart. So go learn something from him."

And of course, the story goes, Lakshman goes over to Ravan and says, "Hey, Ravan, while you're at it, tell me something about this. While you're kicking the bucket at the last minute here, just let me know some of this intelligence you have stored in your head." Ravan doesn't speak anything.

And Lakshman goes back and says to Ram, "The rope has burned, but the twists are still there." You know, when you burn a rope, the rope can entirely turn into ashes but you will still see the knots, the twists, because it burns exactly the same way.

So Ram says, "Well, how did you approach him?"

And he says, "Well, I just told him, 'And while you're at it, kicking your bucket, you want to let me know something while you're going away?' "

Ram said, "No, that's not the way you find things out. You have to go there with your open heart and be receptive to what he is saying."

Well, anyway, Lakshman finally went there and he got Ravan to talk. And Ravan said, "Listen, I had a dream that I would put up a ladder from Earth to heaven." (When I heard this, it was outrageous! To me, when I heard this, it was like, "Man, that would be a long climb!") And then he said, "Well, I'll make all this ocean sweet." (And I had never seen an ocean in my life at that time, so that was out of the question to just try to comprehend. And so that was it.) And he said, "Well, I'm going to make the ocean sweet. I had an idea that I was going to make the ocean sweet, change all this salt water to sweet water; then everybody could drink it. And I was going to make a staircase from here to heaven."


"In this lifetime,
we have the
opportunity to
realize, to be
with, Guru
Maharaj Ji. …
To be not infinite,
and yet to be with
the infinite. …


And he said, "Well, of course, I gave up that idea. I said, 'Oh, I can do that tomorrow!' And so, now look at me. I have been able to do none of those things that I ever wanted to do. All I am stuck here with is an arrow in my bellybutton"-- because that's the way he died, obviously. They had a great problem trying to kill him. You know, he had a lot of heads, and they would shoot down one head and he would grow another one. They would shoot him here, and they'd shoot him there, and he wouldn't die. So finally, somehow they came to know that in his bellybutton he had this incredible power, so if they shot the bellybutton, he would die. Anyway, they got him (laughter). And there he was lying dead.

But the whole thing is -- the reason I am giving you this example is that, okay, there was Ravan, and he had ideas of putting up this ladder, and then doing this and doing that. But look at it this way. It doesn't sound like an impossible thing to try to put up a space shuttle between here to heaven, if they could locate heaven. And it doesn't sound too impossible -- I mean, they can do so many things (of course, they can send a man to moon; they still can't make a medicine for a cold), but it doesn't seem too impossible for them to start making this ocean into fresh water. And yet, those things, if Ravan would have ever been able to accomplish those things … Those are pretty big things now. They make a big deal about just going to moon and going to Mars. (I guess it is a big deal.) But look at it this way. If he would have done those things …

Now, first of all, there is a controversy as to even if heaven exists. To some people, it's like they don't know. And if he would have been able to locate heaven and put a staircase up, that would have been an incredible thing. And yet, does anybody think that by being able to put a staircase between Earth and heaven, there would have been peace on Earth? You would think that there would be, because there would be a direct link. And you know, come this time, they would get rid of the staircase and put up an escalator. And then do you really think there would have been peace on this Earth?

Okay, of course this is an outrageous story to some intellectuals. It's like, "Come off it! It's just a story." Okay, but imagine if it would have come true, if it is a story. You might as well go two more steps if it is a story, and say that he put a ladder up from Earth to heaven. Would there have been peace? Would there have been satisfaction? And if he would have been able to turn all the salt water into

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Prem Rawat aka Guru Maharaj Ji

fresh water, do you think there would have been peace on this Earth?

Because, look, they've been to the moon; there still isn't peace on this Earth. They've been to Mars; there's still not peace on this Earth. And so many accomplishments that are made every day still don't seem to bring any kind of a peace to this Earth. So then, what is going to bring peace to this Earth? That's the most important thing. This is what we have to ask ourselves. And yet, not that we have the answer directly ourselves, but there is a person …

Look, there was Krishna and he was standing in the middle of a battlefield, okay? (This is an outrage to some people. And if I put it the way I'm going to put it, it is going to sound like an outrage. But, here it is.) Here is Krishna, the Lord, the God, okay? And he has been there, and he has done miracles after miracles, charismas after charismas, incredible things. As a little child, he fought off this monster. He's done this, he's done that; incredible things. Okay, very good!

But it comes time for the Mahabharat, for the great war, and there's thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of people standing on one side, all ready to go. Now, on the other side, after a little space, there's thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of people standing. And on this side there happens to be a chariot in the middle, just like on the other side, right? And on this one chariot, on this side, happens to be standing, as a chariot driver, Krishna; and behind him, Arjun, who is going to fight.

Now they're going to start this conversation. And it's a big conversation! Have you ever seen Gita? It takes up plenty of time to read it, and I think it took plenty of time to speak it, too. And here they are; they're both arguing. Arjun says, "No, I'm not gonna do it." Krishna says, "No, you better do it!"

Anyway, it all becomes more and more elaborate, and becomes more elaborate. Krishna is explaining to Arjun that he himself is the maker of this entire universe; that without his will, even a leaf doesn't shake. Without his will, nothing happens in this world. And therefore, he says, "Go ahead! It's okay. I'm telling you. Go ahead; kill them all!" And yet, this still goes on. And he says, "It's me. I am everything. I am in everything. I am the ultimate. What you see by your eyes is what I'm not. But I will reveal myself to you." And there it is, you know. Krishna reveals himself.

So you figure, if this is the way the story goes, then first of all, why not,

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… To be here as individuals, and yet to be able to be next to the person who is everything; in which everything is, and he is in everything. Guru Maharaj Ji. The Lord. All-powerful. while he was at it … Because there is a point where they depict a picture of Krishna. And in the picture he's got all these heads, and they just sort of fade on each side, there are so many. He's got so many hands, and gada (scepter), and shankh (conch), and sudarshan-chakra (battle plate with hole in the center) and everything, and full-fledged, full power. While he was at it, all he had to do was take one more step ahead, and it would have been the end of the rest of them. Just one more step is all he would have to take. Because he was huge, gigantic. Or then there is a mouth -- the fire is coming out of it. Just blow a little harder on all of those people, and they would have all gone.

And yet, in the midst of a battlefield … And this is where we all live in, you know. This is a battlefield, just like it was in Mahabharat. In the midst of the battlefield, all this explanation is going on for one person, for Arjun. And only one person can truly understand and recognize; and actually receives the Lord as Lord, actually experiences that tranquility in his heart, actually experiences all the bliss and Peace in his heart.

So premies, the same exact way, it is not our great ideas that are going to bring peace to this Earth. Not our concepts, nor our minds, not our imaginations, not our Cadillacs. We go around running, you know, and everything, everything that we do in this world, is just like a step up, step up, step up, step … And this whole world is just trying to become better and better and better and better. And yet, it's all going worse and worse and worse and worse. You see "Face The Nation," and there is this guy, there is the press, and they're talking. The guy is saying, "No, it's really not that way, but it's this way. We are not going to have to do this; we will do this, and it will be better."

It's like this. That saint says that you can try to give water to every leaf, but the plant will die. And by giving water to the root alone, that plant can survive. The same way, premies, we can go around doing this one thing here, and one thing here, and one thing here, and one other thing there …

Right now, the whole world is faced with the dilemma of oil: "What's going to happen with oil?" There are so many people concerned with oil. And it's incredible, because oil is just a passing phase; it's just a passing thing. Krishna didn't use oil! He didn't drive his chariot up before he went to the war, and say, "Fill ',er up!" It comes and goes.

Right now there are so many people in this world, and they have nothing else to think, they are concerned with nothing else, except that oil, day and night, day and night, day and night. They've got five phones -- or if they're really into it, they've only got one phone and fifteen secretaries out there who are just receiving all the calls, and then keep right on top of the price, and if something perks up, they go at it. And I mean, day and night, it's that big thing. That's where every moment of this precious life is going: for a thing that's not even going to last for that long of a time. And yet, so many people are already talking about the nuclear engine, or this engine, or that engine. The problem is that this keeps on happening. This keeps on going. And it never brings us satisfaction.

The whole war can happen. The whole war can be at the verge of starting. And yet, in the whole Mahabharat, only one person receives that satisfaction that he really wants.

It is ourselves, individually, that we

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Prem Rawat aka Guru Maharaj Ji have to let go and take those three initial steps, and be there; be with Guru Maharaj Ji.

Because, look, this world -- you stay with it, and you're going to go nowhere. Because this whole world is made within a parallel of you. You're supposed to live parallel to this Earth. You live; world will live. Seasons will come. Things will bear fruits. And this whole Earth is made for every individual to survive as he can. It's an automatic thing. We are not supposed to come here …

If that was the reason, then you know what would happen? Every apple tree would have a little crank at the bottom of it, and then when you want an apple, for two days you crank and crank and crank this crank, and slowly an apple would start appearing. No! Plentiful! Plentiful for whatever we want. Everything. And this was completely made automatic for us just to be here and experience the glory of that Lord.

Because every automation that we want, supposedly the gods have it. Isn't that the way it is in the stories? The gods go like this, and -- Poof! -- the guy has this. All this automation! And still, in Ramayana it says that all the gods long to have this body, to be able to experience that Lord, that Guru Maharaj Ji.

Look, it's beyond liberation. It's beyond all those things. Beyond all our concepts. In this lifetime, we have the opportunity to realize, to be with, Guru Maharaj Ji. Be it not Guru Maharaj Ji -- you know, maybe they didn't call him Guru Maharaj Ji -- maybe they called him Lord. Anything. To be with that power. To be with that thing. To be not infinite, and yet to be with the infinite. To be here as individuals, and yet to be able to be next to the person who is everything; in which everything is, and he is in everything. Guru Maharaj Ji. The Lord. All-powerful.

We are here. And only by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace can we realize that, and see how divine this whole plan really is. It's beyond question; it's beyond doubt. Because I almost feel like saying: Look, if you've got your questions, keep them in your pocket. Here is an experience, an experience that will answer any question there is. An experience that takes you beyond questions, takes you beyond mind. It takes you beyond everything. The experience of all experiences. And that is the opportunity that we have right now, that we can realize. And yet, as I said yesterday, our own effort away. Just a little bit of effort away. Only three steps away.

And again, how long is it going to take us until we get this through our fat heads? That here we are now. We're not going to live forever. Incredible things happen. And yet, here is the time to completely let go. To surrender. To take that last step. To take that final step, and be one with Guru Maharaj Ji. But first we have to take that step. We have to understand who Guru Maharaj Ji is, what Guru Maharaj Ji is.

I mean, you can't understand who Guru Maharaj Ji is, or what Guru Maharaj Ji is, in one way. But if you are open … I know that book that was written, Who Is Guru Maharaj Ji? And if you took Ramayana, Gita, Koran, every scripture in the world, and piled them up, it would probably be higher than this wall. And yet, how can you make a little book called Who is Guru Maharaj Ji? and say, "Okay, this balances it out"? You can't do that. And it isn't that way.

You can never say, "Okay … " You can never take Guru Maharaj Ji as an item, like this microphone, and say, "Oh, what is that? Who is that?" But Guru Maharaj Ji is a projector. And you know something? You don't look into a projector. If you do, you won't see a film.

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Prem Rawat aka Guru Maharaj Ji No, you let that projector bounce that image; you let that Guru Maharaj Ji come within inside of you. You let that Guru Maharaj Ji shine upon you. And then you will understand what Guru Maharaj Ji is without any words, because then the words will cease; then the words will stop. And that's the way it is. But you have to let that experience in.

It's like sugar, you know, and the story of those two ants. The one ant says, "Well, I know … " Or there is a really old story. I don't think you have heard this for a long time.

There were two frogs. One frog lived in this big, big lake, and the other frog lived in this well. And so they both met each other, and the frog from the pond had never seen a well. So he just said, "Okay, well, I'm quite far away from my home. Can I stay over, overnight at your home?"

He said, "Sure!"

So the frog from the lake ended up being at the frog's house who was living in the well. And they both started talking and started saying, "Well, how big is your lake? How big is your big pond?"

And he said, "Oh, it's huge. It's big."

So the frog who lived in the well drew a little circle and said, "Is that how big it is?"

And he said, "No, it's bigger than that."

And so he drew another circle and said, "Is it that big?"

He said, "No, it's bigger than that."

The frog from the well started saying, "Whoa! This is almost getting as big as my well is, and how can his pond, his lake possibly be bigger than my well?" So finally it came to the point where the frog from the well drew a circle as big as the well and he said, "Is it that big?"

And he said, "No, it's bigger than that."

And he said, "Well, I gotta see this!"

So we can keep on trying to say, "Is it this much? Is Guru Maharaj Ji's perfection this much? Is Guru Maharaj Ji this much?" And Guru Maharaj Ji keeps on saying, "No." Till we come to a point, everyone … And I mean, maybe it's funny, but to me it's not. Really! Because it's serious stuff, that we keep on saying this and Guru Maharaj Ji keeps saying, "No." And then every one of us starts doubting that. "Well, wait a minute. How can Guru Maharaj Ji's glory be more than that? But that's as much glory as I have! That's more than what I know! That's impossible. That's beyond my concept." And we all go through this.

We have our own goddesses and gods and little things that we place everywhere in the huge structure of our puzzle. And we know their power. We know if we go to this goddess, we can get this done. And if we go to this goddess, we can get that done. And here comes Guru Maharaj Ji, and Guru Maharaj Ji is like -- wow! -- everything put together. And he's even more. And we say, "Whoa! Wait a minute. This is not true."

But then, to the surprise of that frog which dwelled in the well, when they both entered that lake, he was very amazed, he was very surprised. Because every day, when that frog went down into his well, there was a limit, there was a round limit, and that was it. And to him, that was big enough. But in this pond he could not see a limit.

So premies, of course it is an endless saga. And I was just asking the premies in the kitchen if they knew how long it is to Guru Puja. Some said "33;" some said "32;" some said "34." I think they finally unanimously decided it was 32 days. And it's very incredible -- 34 or 32, give or take a day or so here and there. It's beautiful, because then here we are in this place where we'll be able to all come together and just be able to enjoy.

Enjoy what? Not enjoy ourself: Because the whole idea is -- remember what the last step is. Do you know what the last step is? To surrender. To let go.

Because so far you are going to have a little thing sticking up there saying, "Oh, this is so that when I can go to programs I can enjoy myself," you will go out in world, you will come back from the program, and it's going to want to enjoy something else. It's that mind. It's that ego. You have to get rid of it all, and surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji. And to be able to come together, and really not enjoy ourselves, but to enjoy Guru Maharaj Ji. To take in the satsang, to take in that pleasure of being together, and still being one with Guru Maharaj Ji.

So the whole thing is, let's get rid of that concept maker. Because that concept maker doesn't do us any good. It hasn't done anybody any good; how can it do us good? And by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, it's very, very possible. Because that is the beauty of Guru Maharaj Ji. Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't only say, "Here, here, here, here, here, here." Guru Maharaj Ji is not like that monkey trainer …

You know, they have these monkey trainers or bird trainers or something like that, and every time the monkey does a trick, they slip him a thing that he likes; whatever he likes. Or a bird, they slip him a little seed or a cracker. Or like in the aquarium in the San Diego Sea World, they have these huge fishes; and there is this tiny creature all the way to this big whale. It's a great big pond. The trainer blows a whistle, and -- Bmmp! -- goes

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You have to get rid of it all, and surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji.
Prem Rawat aka Guru Maharaj Ji

this big killer whale, and he slips him a little piece of fish, and that's that.

Guru Maharaj Ji isn't like that. Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't say, "Okay, you do this little thing for me, and I'll give you a little bit of nice experience." No. Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Go; go within yourself." Because that power is everywhere, and there is no need to search anywhere if we search within inside of ourselves. Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Listen, I can take you to the …

It's like, if that guy could really talk to that fish, and he said, "I can tell you a place in this pond where you can eat fish, as much fish as you want," then the fish would be blissed out. Or if that person told that little bird, "I know of a place where you can have as much seed as you want," he'd be blissed out. It's like telling a very hungry man who doesn't have a job or doesn't have anything, "Well, I can tell you a place where you can go and you can have as much food as you want."

It's telling a blind person that "I can tell you of a place where you can see what you have never seen before, for as long, as long, as long as you want." To tell a deaf person that " can give you a piece of Music which is within inside of you, which you can hear for as long, as long, as long as you want." That's Guru Maharaj Ji. Guru Maharaj Ji gives you that ultimate Knowledge which is within inside of you, that experience that we all need to know. And without that devotion, we cannot …

Because, see, the thing is, we have to have that devotion. If we don't have that devotion, we are not devotees. And if we are not devotees, then he is not our Guru Maharaj Ji.

It's not like just saying, "Okay, I take you for granted, Guru Maharaj Ji, so that'll be it. Here I am, and let's get at it!" No! If that constant balance of our devotion varies, goes away, then that Guru Maharaj Ji -- for us, not in reality -- will also sway.

Because you know, go shopping. And to these guys I am "the Guru," period. Or some of them don't even know it. Some of them don't even recognize. And to them, what difference does it make? No difference. And when that devotion, that understanding starts happening more and more and more, then that much more of a Guru Maharaj Ji does Guru Maharaj Ji become.

But premies, the whole thing is that that Guru Maharaj Ji can't be that big, that big, that big, or five feet. All of it! So our devotion has to be 100%. Every bit.

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It would be like taking an oscilloscope, and taking a synthesizer, and taking a really precise, accurate graphic equalizer, and then monitoring my sound on an oscilloscope, and watching it go up and down, and up and down, and up and down, and up and down. And then take the graphic equalizer and chop off the top and bottom of those tones. All you will he able to hear is a word going, and all of a sudden go, "Ah…" It will stop, and then it will come back again. You wouldn't be able to understand, you wouldn't be able to comprehend what I am trying to say. Because what I am trying to say -- you have to be able to listen properly. if these speakers kept going on and off, on and off, on and off, on and off (like was happening with the band yesterday), then the whole music doesn't stay that way.

So it has to be 100%. And Guru Maharaj Ji has to manifest in our lives 100%. And never can we forget one simple thing. We are not painting Guru Maharaj Ji's picture. We are not making Guru Maharaj Ji happen. Guru Maharaj Ji is always there. The more of that fog we lift, the more that glory comes in. And if it is 100% clear, if it's 100% gone … If that imaginary line that we were talking about yesterday even exists to the tiniest bit, even exists as a microscopic thing, it's still there. And it's going to hurt us.

So we have to be completely open to Guru Maharaj Ji. Our devotion to Guru Maharaj Ji has to be completely 100%. And we can do it! Because it is from Guru Maharaj Ji that we become devotees. And from us that that door opens, by which we make that devotion of ours happen 100%.

You know, it's a fail-safe deal. You can't go wrong. Because he gives us the devotion to give it back to him. And it's a whole fail-safe deal. You can't say, "Well, what if this happens?" There is no "if, if, if." It's just, if your concentration, if your devotion is 100%, then Guru Maharaj Ji is going to manifest 100%. And you cannot have one percent, or a half percent, or a quarter percent of your ego and mind, or concepts, or anything like that. It has to be a clear sheet.

What if you are eating, for instance? You have a plate, right? On one side of the plate you've got some tomatoes; on the other side you've got some lettuce; on the one side you have some onions; in the middle you've got some rice. Your plate is right in front of you. You take your fork, and you get ready to cat, and you see a bug about this big -- oh, about an inch and a half long. Now, if you're like Joan Apter, you wouldn't want to remove the bug. She's very afraid, very scared of the bugs. So you ask somebody to get rid of the bug for you, right?

So they remove the head and they remove the middle, but they leave one leg there. Is that satisfactory? Or they remove everything, and leave a little, bitty eye there. Is that satisfactory? No!

I mean, of course, it's gruesome. But look, that's the way it is. Because this mind is a great, big bug. And we say, "Okay, let's get rid of it." So we try to get rid of it, and we leave a little leg behind, and then we go puking everywhere. And then who do we have to blame?

So premies, it's very, very obvious what we have to do. And it can be done. It's not like an impossibility. I mean, all Guru Maharaj Ji is saying is, "Take three steps." And that's, of course, a way to put it, I guess. "Take three steps." I mean, it's really one step. And Guru Maharaj Ji really does take those 3,000 steps, or those 1,000 steps. And it's all possible. Just that one little effort that we have to make. That little satsang, that little service, that little meditation, and get out of our concepts, and get out of this, and get out of that. And be, and flow in that river, because that's the most beautiful thing. Because once we start flowing with


"We are not painting Guru Maharaj Ji's picture. We are not making Guru Maharaj Ji happen. Guru Maharaj Ji is always there. The more of that fog we lift, the more that glory comes in."


it, we know that that's what we really want in our lives. And yet, when are we going to know that?

So premies, all those Graces that we could possibly imagine to exist in this world are here, and are now. We are alive now. Guru Maharaj Ji is here now. And everything can manifest now. It's just our effort that we have to put in, and it's not that hard. It really is a very, very simple step. If anything is a portrait of simplicity, it is that step. There can never be a step more simple. You know why? Because it was the most important step! That's why it was made ever so simple. If it was not so important, then it would be made sophisticated. But it was the simplest step, because we all need it.

Some of us are smart. Some of us are not so smart. Some of us are really dumb. And that step has to be taken by dumb, so-so smart, and super-smart; every one of us. Because to that Creator, it doesn't matter how smart we are; we are still dumb until we realize him. And then it doesn't matter how dumb we are; we become the smartest, because we have fulfilled the purpose of our life. These intellectuals, these concepts, these knowings don't do us any good. But that Knowledge does. That Guru Maharaj Ji does.

But anyway, I hope I will see you in Guru Puja. And the premies who are -- this is because it's going out on the phone feeds -- the premies who are listening on the other end in Europe, I'm seriously considering a possibility to go to Europe for a second Guru Puja, and maybe there you will be able to see me. Because the facilities that are in Tucson, Arizona, are very, very small, and really it is not so advisable for all the premies to come. As a matter of fact, it's not advisable at all for the premies to try to come from Europe, or from too many other places, because I think it's going to be small as it is for all the North American premies. And so therefore, it will be beautiful if I will be able to come, and then all the European premies will be able to celebrate the Guru Puja there.

Because it really -- look. dates don't matter at all. It's got nothing to do with dates. What have dates got to do between the devotee and Guru Maharaj Ji, and celebrating and worshipping him? Nothing. Nothing whatsoever. So that will be a beautiful experience. And it's just that if we stay in that tune, just get out of our little idiosyncracies, and get out of our concepts, it can be a beautiful experience for all of us.

Thank you very much, and blessings to all the premies.

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