Prem Rawat (Maharaji) 1980

THE KNOWLEDGE WITHIN


Guru Maharaj Ji's Satsang / Redrocks, Colorado / August 6, 1972

There is this Knowledge that I am telling. the whole world today about. It is Knowledge that is within inside of us; it is not something I am going to give you from my pocket.

It's all within us, but it's a matter of realization. See, there is a guitar. The strings are there and if you touch them, they are going to play, they are going to make a sound. But if you don't touch them, they will make no sound at all.

This Knowledge is the same way. God, for whom we are looking outside, is within inside us. But until and unless we realize it, until we practically see it, it's not going to benefit us. We may know that there is water under the earth, but if I am traveling in a desert and I am feeling thirsty and I can't find any water, simply by knowing that water exists, my thirst is not going to go away. I need the water, practically.

We all believe, all believe that God exists, but we don't know whether He does or not. That's why, if you have one hundred people, then ninety-nine percent of the people do believe in God; but still, if so high a percentage believes in God, why is there so much corruption They simply believe it, but don't know it. We may understand that the master is in the school, but we don't know whether he is in our class or not, so we are shouting. We understand this thing. that God exists, but we don't know it. How does It exist

Now you see, there was a time before scriptures were created that people understood this Knowledge, people realized this Knowledge. Only after the realization of this Knowledge did they write the scriptures.

So this method, this way, this practical realization, is not in the scriptures. It is beyond the scriptures, because God is beyond our intellect. The scriptures can be understood by this intellect, but not God. So we can see that scriptures can be understood; somebody can make us understand with his intellect, and we can understand it with our intellect. But God is beyond all theories. To understand Him we don't need our intellect, because intellect was the thing that was made after we were born, but God existed before we were born. To understand Him, to realize Him, there is a very original way, a very practical way.

I am not here to criticize the scriptures. No. I have a

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great respect for scriptures, because suppose I walk into a place -- actually I've gone there to see something -- and someone hands me a booklet, an instruction booklet. if I don't read that booklet, how am I going to understand where I should sit? What should I do?

I get my car. I have to drive the car, not read about the car. And with the car there is an instruction booklet -- an owner's manual. if I don't read the owner's manual, I can't drive the car very well, because in the owner's manual there may be many things that I am unaware of. Maybe I have a new car and there are many devices in it that are not in ordinary cars. So to understand it more, I need the instruction booklet.

But if I just read the instruction booklet and forget about driving the car, then that's not going to do me any good. So I read the instruction booklet, I read the theory, but still I need the practical car. To understand this Knowledge, to understand Who God is, first of all we can take guidance from scriptures. Scriptures tell us God is within inside us and that God is made of three natures -- G for Generator. 0 for Operator, D for Destroyer -- He generates us. He operates us. He destroys us. God is made of three natures. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. And scriptures can tell us so many things. But how to realize it? They don't tell us.

That's why we take a whole bag full of books -- physics books, chemistry books, English language books, math books -- we fill our bag with them and we go to school. We don't just read them, but a master teaches us that practical thing. There are so many practical examples to give, but a man has to understand What God is, Who God is.

We say God is our Father, but do we believe it? Do we understand it? No. We simply verbalize it. We say, "Okay, God is our Father." We have just said it, ready to convince ourselves or convince other people.

But listen! Who are we? We are not our mouth; we are not our tongue. We are inside ourselves. Who we are is our soul. And until our understanding is perfected, we are not perfected.

There is a whole bulky car standing which costs thousands of dollars, but one battery -- take off the battery and nothing can work in it. Nothing at all. Such a bulky car and nothing will work. So whoever we are -- maybe we are presidents, maybe we are prime ministers -- it doesn't matter how much intellect we have, but if we have not perfected our souls, we are not going to succeed in this lifetime.

Jesus came in this world, and He is in it. He is here. And we have to understand in which form He is. He came. This Word was made flesh. And what was the Word? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." So Jesus was God and He exists because God cannot be destroyed.

"And the Word was made flesh." But we have to more practically understand it. Because what is it? It's Light. It's the Light that is. It's that energy, that perfect energy.

Because we can reach so many things, but there is only one perfect example, and it's called energy -- energy cannot be created and cannot be destroyed. And there is only one thing that cannot be created and cannot be destroyed: only this Knowledge, this Word, only this God. And God is energy, and we have to realize this energy.

So how to realize it? Where should we go?

Many people come to me and say, "We go in the world; we want to receive this Knowledge. How are we going to receive it? Everywhere we go, we see and we hear that everyone says, 'We are going to give you Knowledge; we are going to give you Knowledge.'"

And I say, well, when you want to buy a car, every company says, "We produce the best cars." Every company says, "Buy our cars." Every company says, "Oh, we produce excellent cars." They give advertisements. The prices simply seem to be equal. And these are good cars. But one is the best. Only one car is best. There can be many cars that are good; one car is best.

So there can be many knowledges that can help us to a limit, but to help us and make us reach into the infinite stage of perfectness, we need one Knowledge -- we need this Knowledge -- that's one.

See, God created so many things for us. God created trees and then He put beautiful chlorophyll in them. Then He created the blue sky. Beautiful! He created so many beautiful things and Colorado is one of the very beautiful examples of what God has created. So many beautiful things. We simply make use of these things, but we don't understand Who has created this and why. What was the need? What was the use of this creation?

A man says, "A car is standing. Let me drive it." And he goes and sits in the car, and maybe the car has a bomb in it which destroys the car and destroys him also. But a man who is thoughtful, first he will say, "Why is this car standing there? Why? What's the use?"

In Belfast, all this bombing is going on. When I was in London, I used to hear all those stories on television. And what was it? A car goes and stands and there is a bomb in the car. The car blows up. It blows up the shops with it, too. Now, that man who hasn't any brain in him, who doesn't have any understanding, he will just say, "Oh, I have a free car for myself. Let me sit and drive it." But a man who has understanding in him says, "Why is the car there?"

Today the same thing is going on with all human beings. They have created so many things. And God has created so many things. People are taking use of those things. People are trying to utilize those things. But people don't understand one thing: why did God put this there? Why? What was the use? That was a simple thing, to put it there. God is not going to sit and enjoy it. God is not going to come and eat His apple or come and eat His grapes. No. He has created it for us

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and before He could come. He wove it.

Why? Why has He given it? There is a reason behind it and we have been involved in so much materialism today that we have almost been blindfolded by materialism. Now He says, "Go wherever you want to go." We have this freedom to go where we want to go. But unfortunately we are blind-folded. We want to go, of course. But where to go?

We have this life today that we can secure ourselves, can save ourselves, and so many rights have given to us by governments. How to utilize them? How to really understand these laws? The government says, "Okay, do these things. You are allowed to do these things." But how?

So that's the main thing. God has given to us, but why has He given it? We must understand it. We have been blindfolded, because what is the cycle of man today? He goes to sleep at night, late at night. He gets up in the morning, takes his breakfast, and wears his tie and coat, and rushes out to the car, and goes to his office. Then he goes to lunch and takes his lunch or whatever, and then he comes back and he drives home. Maybe he takes something or he sits and watches television and drinks and that's all. Then, at nighttime, he goes to a club and he drinks and makes himself merry in the club. Then he walks out of the club and again he starts watching television. Then it gets late. And he gets up again in the morning. This is the cycle of man.

Now actually, if we notice it carefully, it is not a cycle of man. It is the cycle of a robot. Man has become a robot. Some people have to take pills to sleep and that's not being human. Why should you take pills to sleep when God has automatically given you a power to sleep? Then they take one pill to get themselves energized and they feel some energy and they start working. God has given you energy. Why should you need pills? Man has become an electrical robot, a robot that you have to feed electricity to do this, electricity to do that. He is not a man.

Where has man gone? Man has not disappeared. But simply man doesn't understand what he's all about. Man is sitting here and he doesn't know what is beyond all these theories and what is beyond this little type of hill. He doesn't know. He can't see. And if he wants to, he must get to that height, to see it -- simply.

And that is what I want to do today. I don't want to change your religion. It's your own. I have nothing to do with it. Maybe you were following your religion when I was not even born. I have nothing to do with it. You follow a religion.

What I have come to do is take you where you can see what's beyond this form. And it's not that I want to tell you what the moon is and what the stars are and what's the sun, where you have not been. (You have been to the moon, but you have not been to the sun.)

It's not simply that I want to take you to the sun so that you might see the sun. No. Not for that purpose, but for understanding this Knowledge that is within inside us, to understand this beautiful Knowledge that exists within all human beings.

See, how did I come to realize it? How did I come to see it? I did not read scriptures when I realized this Knowledge. I was only studying at third class and that's all. I was not reading scriptures did I come to realize it? I was not going to a school where I used to be taught scriptures. No I used to go to a school and that's all. Six hours of just studying. Studying what? Math and physics and chemistry and so many other things. Not this Knowledge. Only fifteen minutes of something to say to God -- only fifteen minutes -- of which five minutes were prayers that we used to do outside. Then we came in the class and ten minutes used to be devoted to our moral studies. That's all. That's not scriptures.

And then what is the thing that interested me? Because I heard my Guru say -- see, at the time when I received Knowledge, it was a time for me to play and be happy. It was a time for me to go out and play so many games. it was time for me to go out with my friends and play with them, play with toys, and be.

But one thing that was important was that I heard my Guru talking about this Knowledge. Now he used to say one thing, and this is really a fantastic thing that I loved. He used to say, "You can possess a kingdom that stretches from where the sun rises to where the sun sets, but if you don't know this Knowledge it's not of any use."

And for me, such a kingdom would have included many thousands and thousands of toys. But then what was the thing that still interested me? That without Knowledge, that stuff is of no use. And then that's the thing that really made me interested in this Knowledge. And I realized it. And now I am here speaking about this Knowledge to people, because I have understood how fantastic it is.

Many people say, "If this Knowledge is so fantastic then why don't you stay at home and just meditate on it?" And I say, "Now listen. If there were a radio and beautiful music is coming on that you love, what will you do? Shut off the volume? No. You will increase the volume so that you won't miss a single word and so that other people can also listen to what's going on on the radio."

And I said, "It's that simple. I received this Knowledge. I like it. And I want other people to understand it. It's beautiful."

Maybe you can think this Knowledge is Eastern, this comes from the East. No. This Knowledge does not come from the East. The sun also comes from the east and you don't say, "Oh, this sun comes from the east. I am not going to let this sun glow on me because this comes from the east." No. The sun is not Eastern; the sun is not Western. Nobody is Eastern; nobody is

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Prem Rawat (Maharaji) with child 1980 Western.

See there was this time when sailors used to travel, used to sail, and they had a lot of difficulty finding their way around. So what they did is they made "north, south, east, west." They made the compass. They made it and they made it to travel, not to cause duality. And here it is that east, west, south and north have created so much duality in people -- "You are Eastern; you are Western; you are Southern; you are Northern" -- even within one country.

So the reason I am here is to make you understand from within inside of you. This Knowledge has to flow within inside of you. I have been preaching this Knowledge over almost the whole world. This Knowledge has been talked about and many people are getting interested. Why? Simply because it is within inside us. We want to know that thing.

We are all looking for something. Maybe we don't call this Knowledge as "knowledge," maybe we call it peace. Maybe we call it something else. But we are looking for this thing. And we want to know it; we want to understand it. But we don't have the appropriate method. We don't have the appropriate way that we can understand it, that we can realize it.

So whom do we need? A man who can show us. We want perfectness. A man who teaches us math, we call a math master. A man who teaches us physics, we call him physics master. A man who teaches us perfectness, we call him Perfect Master. He is going to teach us perfectness.

What is perfectness? He is going to tell us; he is going to teach us. And that's not the thing that can be spoken by mouth. No. Because first of all the Old Testament was made. Then the New Testament was made. Now, new books are being made about those Testaments and keys are being made to scriptures, to make them understandable. The Vedas were made. Then you need a key to understand them. The Ramayana was made and you need a key to understand it. First it was made in Sanskrit, then it was made in Hindi.

Now if one thing can satisfy us, why do we have so many things Because you can just infinitely speak of it. but you won't be able to get that Knowledge. No. Because you can sit here and shout the whole day and whole night through and maybe throughout your lives, "Food, food, food," but you are not going to get food. Why? Why not? Because food is something other than speaking.

This Knowledge is something beyond any alphabet because it existed in the beginning. We must understand this very carefully. "in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God." Now, "In the beginning was the Word." "In the beginning" means when there was no alphabet -- no A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Nothing was created then. Nothing was there. But this Word existed. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God."

And what is this Word? This Word itself is God. That's what John says. We must understand this Word. Common lips can't speak it. It's beyond that. Because what we can speak -- personally I can speak Hindi, some Sanskrit and some English. That's all I can speak. But this Knowledge is not in English, nor in French. nor in Hindi, nor in Sanskrit. No language. Not at all. So even if I learned French, even if I learned Dutch, even if I learned so many other languages, still this Knowledge does not exist in them.

But I have understood this Knowledge. I have realized this Knowledge. How? Because I went to my Guru who was talking about this Knowledge at the time and I asked him. And the law is, "Ask and it shall be given, knock and it shall be opened unto you." And he just opened the door. He just opened the lock.

It is like this. Let's say some group presents a theatrical show about Lord Buddha and has prepared a stage, a curtain, and seats for you to sit on. You are sitting here. Actors are standing behind the curtain.

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Now the curtain has been put there by the theatre.

The seats may have been put there by the theatre. Those actors are behind the curtain and those people who are sitting in the chairs are the guests. But those guests can't see the actors and the actors can't see the guests. Why? Because there is a curtain in between. And if you move the curtain, the guests will be able to see the stage actors and the stage actors will be able to see the guests. That s all. That's all it is.

God has created this body. God has created the Word. God Himself is within inside us. Why can't we see God? Because there's a curtain. A curtain of delusion. As soon as it will be operated on, as soon as it will be cut, we will be able to see God. It is within inside us. So that's why I have come here.

So now, you must understand this Knowledge. That's all I have to request. Because my duty is to tell you. If you come to me my duty is to tell you about this Knowledge. And it is your duty to understand it. I am not going to give you anything that's new, that's unique. No. it's a very old thing. It's a very ancient thing. As a matter of fact it existed before the world was even created. It's such an old thing. So understand it. Realize it. What it is is within inside of us -- vibrating essence, pure energy.

The mike is a vibration. Flowers are a vibration. Everything is a vibration but this vibration vibrates more in plants than in rocks. More in insects than in plants. More in animals than in insects. More in human beings than in animals. And it perfectly vibrates in a Perfect Master because he teaches us perfectness.

So before one thing can overflow, it must be filled … I have a glass and I want the glass to overflow. How should it overflow? I must fill it to the brim, and then still keep on filling it and it will start overflowing. Right? It's the same way when we must understand Knowledge from a Perfect Master. First of all, perfectness must overflow from him. The vibration must overflow from him. He must have mastered this Knowledge.

And so, now, in spite of so many gurus, I don't say, "Okay, just come to me." I don't say, "I am the only path." I don't say, "I am the only way." Why? Because it might create some confusion in people's minds. "Why does he say that?"

It's like Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati were both traveling and some people came by and said, "These people are really crazy. They own this ox and they don't sit on it."

So Shiva said, "Come on, let's sit on it." So they both sat on it. Then, some other people came by and said, They are really crazy. If one could have been sitting on it, it would have been better. Why both? They don't have any mercy on it."

So Shiva said, "Okay, you sit on it. I'm going to get off." And they both started. Parvati was sitting on the ox. Shiva was walking.

And then some other people came and said, "Look! Just see this! How this woman is devoted to her husband. Husband is walking."

So Shiva said "You better come down. I'm going to sit." So Shiva sat on the ox and Parvati started walking. And then other people came by and said. "Look. He's crazy. He has no love towards his wife. He is sitting on it and his wife is not.

And so Shiva Ji smiled and said, let s walk our own way. We are not going to watch the whole world because it is a long exercise. Get off; get on. Get off; get on. Walk; don't sit. All that. So let's walk our own way." And they started on their own way and that was beautiful.

So, I am speaking about this Knowledge. I am telling you in my own words, in my own way. Some people say, "Why don't you claim yourself to be the only way?" If I do people will say, "Why do you claim that you are the only way?" See? So I want to speak about it in my own way and that's the thing.

So I'm here to give you this Knowledge. If you want to understand this Knowledge, you are most welcome. It is within inside you. I am not going to give you anything from my pocket. As a matter of fact, if I would have brought something strange from the East, the customs people would have checked it and it would be in the newspapers. But nothing was out from the customs people.

So I really didn't bring this Knowledge, because it was within me. Right? So this Knowledge is within you also. It is within all -- everything. It is omnipresent because it is God. The Word is within everyone because God is omnipresent. So it is within you too, because you are human beings. You can understand it also, if you want to.

Then you can come. Understand it. Realize it. Its beautiful. Because millions and millions of people have tried it, and they like it. Because it's beautiful.

Let's say one thousand years ago, when people felt thirsty, they used to drink water. Right? One thousand years later, in 1972, there are many kinds of soft drinks. But still, when people feel thirsty, they drink water. One thousand years from now, if someone should feel thirsty, there might be thousands and thousands of drinks. Still, someone who is thirsty is going to drink water. In spite of so many drinks, water is essential. Water is still essential.

So there may be many scriptures, but this Knowledge is essential, still essential. And it doesn't matter if one is Christian, he can realize this Knowledge and still be a Christian. If one is Hindu, he can realize this Knowledge and still be a Hindu. Anyone, no matter who he is, can realize this Knowledge and be as it is.

So, if you want to realize it, you will be given the information. Ask, if you have any questions. And then if you are ready to take the Knowledge, if your heart is guileless, if your heart is open, then by all means you can receive the Knowledge.

Thank you very much.

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