Just Our Effort Away

Just Our Effort Away

Satsang given by Guru Maharaj Ji at the "Shower of Grace" Festival in Malibu, California on June 10, 1978.

Dear premies, it's really wonderful for me to know that there is satsang happening. Because really, as Marolyn was saying, that for a long, long time … Actually, the first time we got this residence, over on the pool there used to be plastic pool covers. And we would think: Would it hold the weight of the premies without throwing everybody into the pool? And how could we ever hold a satsang here? And then slowly and slowly, you know, so many things have changed. And here is a wonderful occasion for all the premies to come together and have satsang.

And I know the satsang is being piped through just about everywhere. There is a very long list; it's a very huge list. But the most important thing is that as individually we all hear satsang, as those words of satsang flow from any vehicle's mouth, any person's mouth, and enter us - into our very thick stupid brain - an experience manifests. A very incredible, very beautiful experience manifests. Because, look, the power of satsang … I mean, there is Knowledge, and the power of Knowledge itself can never be compared. It's unmeasurable. But then, just looking at the power of satsang, it's so strong, it's so incredible, it's so beautiful that it brings us all together. It brings us …

Look at Bible, for instance. And in that, so many people would come from so many different places to be able to hear the Lord. And everybody, from every caste, creed, all walks of life, lame or sick, or whoever they were, would all come together, would all assemble to hear satsang. The magnificent,

Guru Maharaj Ji isn't just a teacher who says, 'Look, I'm here. Here is what I have to say. Take it or leave it, and that's the end of it.' But Guru Maharaj Ji says: No, it is not your option to take it or leave it. You need it! You want it! And that is why you run around in so many circles every day. Because this is what you are really looking for.

magical power of satsang. And when we hear that, when that really manifests within us …

You know, the thing is that I don't know, but maybe there are people who can hear this echo. I don't think you can hear it. But, just for instance, a lot of times, say, we send out tapes to be duplicated; the cassettes for the premies. And they have this great machine. They take the big reel-to-reel tape, they put it on, and they have this machine - they can just knock off five or six, ten, fifteen cassettes at the same time. And they take their headsets, turn on the satsang - to them, they couldn't care what it was - cue it right so everything is all set, make sure all the level is all right, then rewind it back again, start it, turn on their machine, and there is goes: It's starting to make cassettes.

But there is so much more incredible - there is an experience that we all experience when we come together to have satsang. What is that experience? I mean, what is it that brings us together?

Right now we all sit, and I know that all the premies here are sitting, and all of us sitting here are premies, and maybe we don't have any personal differences. But maybe some of us do, you know. Maybe the guy behind you didn't let you use his tissue, or didn't move properly. Or the person in front of you is a little too tall for you to see through. Or something like that. But when satsang starts happening and we really listen to it …

Because this is what I was trying to say - is that not anybody speaking is a satsang. Or even when I speak, you know - and usually the whole concept is that there is this huge hall, and at the end of one hall there is this huge stage, and on this huge stage sits a little chair, and on this chair comes a little guy, and he sits down, and when he starts speaking it's satsang. And yet, you know, that's not satsang. Satsang is not just in a picture, just an impression. But it is an impression which has to be carved upon our hearts. We have to accept that impression; only then does it manifest as satsang for us. That's all.

Otherwise … Like there is a saying in Hindi that if you took the most magnificent sweets and put it in front of a donkey -and I mean, there's a lot of concepts there involved, I guess. Maybe a donkey will eat it; you don't know. But the whole idea is that if you put it in front of a donkey, he won't eat it. He likes his hay - much, much better. Dried hay. And if you take the most beautiful, beautiful music and play it in front of a deaf person, it's all the same to him. And if you were to take pearls and diamonds and emeralds, and sprinkle them before a bird, it doesn't make any difference, you know.

And it's the same thing - that it doesn't matter what one is saying, but how we are hearing it, how we are accepting it, and how we are actually getting an experience from it. And so, again, it's just very wonderful to be able to come together to share that experience.

Because just recently I picked up a Newsweek magazine. And I looked at the front page; it's a pretty funny front page. I flipped through a few pages. And all I could say was: It's not getting any better. Because it really isn't getting any better, you know. And in this world, where things are not getting any better, we have to try to hack it. And it doesn't matter, you know, in one way. It's just like there is this whole crazy world, there is us, and - ciao! - just make it through the other end. If you do make it through, if you do cross the river: "Yay!" and "Hip, hip, hurray!" and everything else. If you don't, that's that.

You know, in Olympics, you watch the Olympics, and there are all these people, and they go back sometimes and they try to show their lives, just when they were training. And there are people who really, really try hard. They really, really try hard, doing the whole thing. And maybe sometimes they have even tried harder than the winner itself, you know. And it depends; it really depends. If somebody's got six-foot strides when he is running, what is the fellow going to do who's only got one-and-a-half- oot strides when he is running?

And yet, that doesn't matter. It's the effort - I mean, it's an extreme effort. Those people run and run and run and run every morning. Those people who are into swimming, they swim and they swim and they swim. And I mean, it's like so much effort is put … And to those judges, they could care less about it. As a matter of fact, if somebody was found talking to them, trying to influence the judges - to just tell them how much effort this person has put into this running, into this swimming, that he should really deserve a prize -they will probably throw the judge out, replace him, and get rid of that person and make sure he doesn't talk to anybody else after that.

So this whole world is blind. It's just like for Navi's birthday, I think Raja Ji got Wadi some presents; Wadi and Hansi. And it happened to be this puzzle wheel from Romper Room. There's four sets of round cards on each corner. And you twist them

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But it is your own understanding, it is your own love, our own dedication that's going to bring you your own satisfaction and your own liberation and your own home. It's going to take you to your own destiny.

and one picture appears; and you twist the other and the other quarter of the picture appears; you turn the other one, the other quarter appears; and you turn the other one, the other quarter appears. And finally, it's supposed to be a picture. And you know, the kids try to - are supposed to do this!

I can't understand that. It's very hard for me to understand, for a very simple reason. Isn't it hard enough for that kid in this world when he comes out? It's hard for him to put together who is his father, who is his mother, what's a mother, what's a father, what do they do, what don't they do, what's food, what's not food, what's good, what's not good, what's bad … And more things than you can possibly imagine, he goes through. Because you grow up, 18 years old, 20 years old, and you forget about it. You forget about your childhood. But you look at, like, Premlata; you look at, like, Hansi -and to them, it's a puzzle.

You know, Hansi was eating cauliflower for his lunch. And he doesn't like cauliflower, but the way it was fixed he really liked it. So he was eating away at it, and Marolyn just mentioned it - she said, "Dennis, you really fixed this nice, because he usually doesn't like cauliflower." And he just looked at Marolyn, and it was like, it was going to take a little while for it to make sense, and as soon as it made sense, he took his whole mouthful of cauliflower and shoved it right out! (Laughter)

Now, in a world like this, when a Perfect Master comes, nobody understands him. Nobody understands the perfectness; nobody understands that Master. Now, if he leaves, the day he splits (snaps his fingers), perfect! It's beautiful! Because the whole stage is set.

You know, it's like this. It happens time after time after time after time after time. There was Christ, right? And who believed him? People thought, "He is a crazy carpenter." People thought he was just a cuckoo. And you know, we don't know that situation; we don't know what it was like at that time. But probably there were plenty of kooks running around. But to those people who really understood Christ, for people who really wanted to know him, to them it became a beautiful experience, and it grew and it grew and it grew and it grew.

And even at the time when he was there, there must have been a question in the devotees' heads. There must have been plenty of questions in the devotees's heads. "Why did he do that? Why did he do that?" I mean, the ones we see …

I mean, the Bible is so thick. And it's obvious that that's not all he did in his life - what is described in Bible. There were plenty more things he did. There were things that maybe nobody saw; maybe he performed little miracles sitting in his but that nobody saw. And yet, what we saw, what people saw, they wrote down.

And Christ left. At that time there was always a margin of question, because the mind was there. There was a probability. There was a possibility. And you know why? Because the mind was there. The mind was not facing an unreal thing. Mind was not facing a thing that was developed by concepts. But mind was facing an actual Christ; mind was facing an actual reality. Because any doubt, any question that those people could ever have come up with - there was a solution that he had for them. And yet, as soon as he left …

It was like, he built up this stage to tell the whole world about it, about that Knowledge, about that perfectness, about that thing. Then, as soon as he left, it's just like people "swamped" over that stage, and just took the microphone and started talking. And one guy said, "Well, I want time on that microphone, too." They said, "No, you can't have any." So he got his own microphone and put it on the stage. Somebody else came…

And that's why there are so many fragmented … You look at Muslims, you look at Hindus, you look at Christians -everybody has got a fragmented … The same thing, same thing basically, but just a tiny little bit of difference, and they say it their own way. But the power of Knowledge, the power of reality is so incredible that it makes every difference relinquish, makes every difference disappear, and only the Truth shines out within our hearts.

And that's where the belief comes in. To a lot of people, a lot of those intellectuals sitting out there, to them it's a completely idiotic fantasy that people would have belief in Knowledge, that people would come together and respect Knowledge. Knowledge of what? Four things that are … I mean, it's like to them this is completely absurd. And yet, their whole intellectual, their whole knowledge is about as absurd as they think that this is absurd! Because they don't see the reason for belief. They don't see the experience -why the belief comes. And that is the most important thing.

We see the reason. I see the reason why I should practice Knowledge. I see the reason why I should have belief in Guru Maharaj Ji. And of course, if there is a third person standing there, he would not understand why, possibly, I should respect another person. But it's much more beyond that. And in this world, believe me, because of us, because of human beings, because of these tiny little creatures running around everywhere, there is more confusion than every one individual can actually hack. It's like a puzzle.

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Prem Rawat aka Maharaji I went shopping with Wadi the other day. And she really likes Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. So there was this puzzle box. And I said, "Wadi, there's a puzzle … " And there was a picture of Luke Skywalker on it. And she said, "I want that; I want that." So I said, "Okay." I got her that.

We come back home; she's eating the lunch. I said, "Wadi, there's Luke Skywalker." And before that, I opened it. (And it said, "puzzle," and I thought, "Well, it's a kid's puzzle; it's got to be simple; it's got to be easy. Just put it together, big pieces; it can't be too difficult for an adult.") It's 500 pieces of puzzle in a little box! (Laughter) And every one of them shaped in a very, very tiny piece. And an adult couldn't possibly put it together, unless that's what you dedicated your life to. (Laughter) And I just folded the box right back up and I went to her and said, "Wadi, you want to put it together?" And she said, "Yeah." So I opened the box for her and said, "Here it is." And to her, you know, it was like it didn't make a difference, so long as it just fits together. Or, somebody puts it together, peels the picture of Luke Skywalker off the front and just pastes it on top and says, "Here's your puzzle. It's finished!"

But, again, it's just a beautiful thing. And I know, we've been listening to all the initiators' satsang. Everybody who gets up there says, "Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful." But it is a beautiful thing. And the reason why it is so beautiful, the reason why it is so incredible, is because Guru Maharaj Ji is here, is because we are here and Guru Maharaj Ji is here.

You know, it's very, very hard to imagine this, it's very hard sometimes to believe this, but only our experience shows us that. Only our experience tells us that the deeper we are, the deeper that experience gets. And the shallower we are, the shallower that experience is.

I was just remembering something that came from an old proverb: that the karma of a yogi gets slashed away the more he does the yoga. And the karma of a bhogi - and bhogi is opposite to yogi - the karma of a bhogi becomes worse and worse and worse and worse, as he gets into the materialistic things. But whatsoever happens to the karma of a devotee? And it's an incredible answer. It disappears! A yogi can start his yog, do this and do that, but for every ounce of karma, to slash it away, he has to do so much. Then maybe chunks and chunks will fall off, and then maybe he dies and everything is not gone yet. And when we really become devotees …

Because how do we become devotees? A lot of people put it this way: "Well, there's Guru Maharaj Ji, and then there's me, and the connection between me and Guru Maharaj Ji, when that is formed, I become a devotee." Yes, that's true; that's the the way it works. And Shri Maharaj Ji used to explain it. But there is a little bit of difference in my explanation of the same thing - but what I'm trying to say is that Guru Maharaj Ji is always there. You can't say, "Well, and then there's Guru Maharaj Ji." No. Guru Maharaj Ji is always there. And then there is you - well, you are there, in that time period given. So then, what bridge has to be "gapped" so that you can in fact become a devotee?

You know, you can't say, "Well, first of all Guru Maharaj Ji has to be there." That's a given fact. Guru Maharaj Ji's always there. The day Guru Maharaj Ji would disappear, just about - not just about - this whole thing would disappear, whatever it is.

Our concepts of this planet are very, very small. People get completely turned over by the idea of outer planets, of people being out there, you know. And the other day we were talking about it. They have these movies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or first kind, or whatever kind. And they have this incredible spaceship. And then they have this series called Project: UFO. Incredible. People's concepts.

And then there is this whole faction of people who just say, "Well, this is completely ridiculous." The other ones say, "Well, could be!" And then the other ones say, "Well, it is. For sure it is! There is an outer world out there, and that's the way it is. We just don't know about it."

To me, personally, I don't deny, and I don't say yes, and I don't say that we should be in that category at all. It's perfectly natural if it is. But the thing is, if we know that there is somebody on moon that looks like us, what good does that do to us? If we know that someday the Martians are going to come and invade this Earth, what good does that do to us? I mean, think about it. It's a very interesting subject. There are all these fantasies going on.

And in this little world, we just live in this little globe, this little thing. And it's just getting smaller every day. They have these Concordes, and maybe after these Concordes they are going to come out with Super-Concordes, and …

Yesterday I and Marolyn went out. It's really crazy out there! And I just had to say at one point, "There are just too many

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Prem Rawat aka Maharajicars, there's just way, way, way too many people and too many cars. And they have to get rid of these streets, or get rid of the cars." But then I calculated - I said, "Jeffrey, wouldn't it be nice if this thing flew?" - the motor home. And Jeffrey started pretending that the thing was going to fly. And I said, "Yeah, Jeffrey, let's do Mach 5.5." And then I estimated on the computer that it was only going to take about an hour from Los Angeles to London.

And maybe some day that's exactly what's going to happen. It's not unfeasible. It's like when they moved that big iceberg all the way to Middle East, it was an incredible thing. And I just started thinking, you know, some day if the business between New York and England gets too loud, really a lot of people need to go back and forth, they are just going to saw off England or saw off New York, and just patch them together. Just like they did with the iceberg!

But, anyway, all these things are there; all these possibilities are there. But in this planet … And the whole interesting thing is that when we even for a second think about something else being on the moon that we don't know of, it fascinates us. "Oh," you know - what is the expression? That it is just completely outrageous. And yet, that power that sustains that Martian on the moon, that sustains us on this Earth, that sustains Mr. Atlas who is supposed to keep the Earth on top of his shoulders, everything is by Guru

Maharaj Ji. Because within Guru Maharaj Ji is that Knowledge. Guru Maharaj Ji is that Knowledge. And when we plug into Guru Maharaj Ji, the experience of that Knowledge that we all want to know starts flowing from him, starts manifesting from him.

That's the most incredible thing, that Guru Maharaj Ji is here. Guru Maharaj Ji is always here. And it is just our effort away, our effort away to realize that perfectness. It is our effort away to merge one with that experience that zillions and zillions and zillions of creatures that have born and died (and I mean, including insects and donkeys, and elephants and lions and tigers, according to the karmic revolution - that they become tigers because they did something wrong, they become elephants because they did something wrong), all of them come and go to realize that Perfect Master. Including human beings!

And this is what I was talking about: That a devotee's karma, his action completely gets absorbed by Guru Maharaj Ji. His action, when we merge …

See, when we merge with Guru Maharaj Ji is when we become a devotee. Because there are first, to start with, no two identities.

Let me explain, because this does sound a little different. There are no two identities to begin with. But there is an illusionary, an imaginary line that we have created, this completely imaginary wall that we have created. And we are on one side of this wall, and Guru Maharaj Ji or that Knowledge or that perfectness is on the other side of the wall. And we have to merge. We want to merge, you know.

And the whole thing is that sometimes the fox tries to jump, and they jump and they jump and they jump, but they can hardly ever reach the grapes. And so they say, "The grapes are sour." "This Knowledge doesn't work for me. Guru Maharaj

Who is going to take our mind away from us? We have to try. We have to put that little effort in.

Ji's not true. There is nothing like Knowledge." "The grapes are sour." Does that make the grapes sour? Just because you couldn't jump high enough? And the whole thing is, so much effort is put in, and has to be put in. And all it is is just an imaginary line. And once it's moved, it's very clear; it's very, very clear.

Because look at it. This morning, when I got up, I looked out the window and it was foggy. So I opened the window on this side of my room and I couldn't see those hills; opened the window on that side and I couldn't see the gate. I said, "Boy, it's really foggy today." (But it's been like that the past three or four days. And it's not going to hurt anything. It doesn't drizzle; it doesn't rain. Just gets things a little wet.) And I said, "Yeah, it would have been nice to have a clear sky. Then I can be there and premies can be there, and it would be nice."

And then Arthur got up, and he said, "Well, it sure would be nice." And that's what his imagination was. He was bound into the concept of "It should be always clear when Guru Maharaj Ji gives satsang." I don't know how it ever came about him, but it seemed like, "Oh, well, my point is to listen to satsang, so that's what I'll do, clear or not clear."

But I mean, you know what fog is? It's nothing. It moves out of the ocean just because of the air temperature difference -it's fog. "As thin as fog." And yet, as mighty a thing as that sun could not come through it. And that is a very strong sun; a very, very strong sun. And yet, a very thin layer of fog eliminated that. It doesn't matter; its radiance, its incredible radiance was stopped.

Exactly the same way, and even stronger, is our mind. The radiance of the omnipotent, omniscient, "omni-incredible" Knowledge, Glory … Not for it! Oh, no, no. Not for it. For the sun there is a tiny little piece where it couldn't go. But probably people were frying in New Mexico, you know. Hot. Or probably in Arizona, where the next Guru Puja is going to be.

But you just look at this whole thing. And it's such an incredible example for us if we can accept it, if we can take it, if we can digest it - that let's get off our imaginary line. Who is going to take our mind away from us? We have to try. We have to put that little effort in.

Of course, Guru Maharaj Ji is supposed to take - this is what everybody forgets, you know. Everybody says, "Well, Guru Maharaj Ji is going to do it." Yes, Guru Maharaj Ji says so; Guru Maharaj Ji says, "I'm going to take 1,000 steps," and everybody gets hung up on that: "Guru Maharaj Ji is going to take 1,000 steps." But nobody ever remembers that Guru Maharaj Ji has also said, "Take one step towards me and I'll take 1,000 towards you." And so everybody just sits there and says, "Why isn't he moving?" (Laughter) And this is exactly what happens in our lives sometimes.

But, you look at it. 1 mean, look at it now. There's a lot of things happening. There are people dying right now; there are people being born. There's just about every kind of a thing happening out in this world. And yet, right now, sitting here, I cannot think of one negative thing. I cannot think of one thing that really concerns me. And all I can feel and all I can let go to right now is the beautiful experience of satsang, and beautiful experience to know that so many premies are hearing this satsang all over the world.

Well, it's Australia, it's England - I mean, it's an incredible network. If you look at it on a piece of paper, it's really an incredible network. Because Denmark receives the signal, and Denmark then takes it to Germany, Rome, Israel - I mean, it's being broadcasted everywhere. And then there are these little places, like Nicaragua, where they can't get the thing. So Mexico is getting the feed there, and then immediately as soon as the satsang finishes, they are going to fly the cassette out to Nicaragua. The same thing is happening in Honolulu. I mean, everywhere around in this world.

And it changes the whole atmosphere. It changes every negativity. It changes the polarity of this Earth as it exists right now! (Applause) But only when satsang is there. Because I don't know how many of you feel the same way I do, but if any one of you feels that way, and all of a sudden somebody really started blasting you with negative things, maybe some of it would rub off on you, you know. Or maybe you go back home and you find that you've been fired, or something like that. (I know that's probably got a few hearts going here! Or wherever the satsang is being broadcasted to.) But, satsang, the most powerful tool, can make all that vanish, can make all that go away.

It's like the whole idea of having this program was not because I wanted a men's shower (laughter) or anything like that. But it was: What kind of an opportunity can we have to come together and give satsang? Because just a couple of days before that I was talking to Michael and Bill in my office, and I was saying: We should have a complete setup here. We should have the microphone ready to go, tape recorder ready to roll, everything ready to go; just within 15 minutes of my saying that "I want to give satsang right now," all the communities that can prepare for it should get prepared for it. And then, whenever I want to give satsang it'd be just a matter of going on, flipping a switch, and that's it; making a little phone call.

And then, it was just like, well, the whole idea is - that is the whole idea! To be able to have that satsang, to be able to share that satsang. Because the only thing is, that is something that we all can enjoy. We can all enjoy it. Darshan - you come through individually and you enjoy individually. Knowledge -you enjoy individually only. But satsang - if we can come together as brothers and sisters from every place, sit together and enjoy it, that … Some word. And actually there are not even words. The experience of Knowledge; satsang …

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Marolyn Rawat nee Johnson aka Durga Ji You know, you just look at it, and it's just so incredible -every place in the world. There are so many initiators right now. And there's a whole drawerful of the applications sitting in my office. (That's not all of them; that's just the ones that I wanted to look at.) And I know so many premies have signed in to be initiators. And maybe some day, by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, they will get the opportunity.

But the most important thing is, you look at it, and so many new premies are receiving Knowledge. So many old premies are coming back. And like this Hans Jayanti that we have already started to plan for is a really incredible thing. Because not only do we want it a five-day Hans Jayanti; we want a seven-day Hans Jayanti! Not only are we looking at only 15,000 premies which were there last year in Rome; we are looking at 20,000 premies! So I mean, it's just growing, and it's incredibly growing. And 20,000 is a round figure; it's a good round figure, rounded off. Twenty-one, twenty-two thousand premies, by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, could come together from everywhere, and just merge into that beautiful Glory of Guru Maharaj Ji himself, of that Knowledge "himself."

So that's where it is. And how many times in a day do we get to the point where we see things like that? Maybe it doesn't even occur to us. And that's how fouled up we can get by our stupid imaginary line, you know.

And we have to surrender. It's like we can say to ourselves, "Yes, of course, I don't have to surrender." But then, have you looked at your odds? There are no odds! It's literally impossible. You have to surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji. That's almost the foundation.

You know, there's two parts to the foundation. One is laying down the foundation - that's what everybody says. But there is a part that comes before laying down the foundation, and that's digging the trench. No trench - where are you going to put the rocks and the pebbles and the cement to lay the foundation? And that's surrender - to lay that road down. To completely let yourself go.

Because who are you? As individuals, association of name, who are we? And it's a really baffling subject maybe. "Oh, well, we are this; we are that." I mean, there are so many people who go out there and say, "Well, I'm honest." And it's really something. And so many people go out there and say, "Well, I'm smart." And so many people go out there and they say, "Well, I'm good." And yet, good, bad, ugly, handsome, smart, dumb - that's not us. This thing that's very smart lies six feet underground when we are gone.

We, that talks, that experiences - that's what we want to understand. That's what we want to become one with. That's what we have to focus into. That's what we have to merge with. And it doesn't matter how handsome a person is - what ends up happening to him? He crumples; he deterioriates just like that "yucky old bug" does - as people would say.

And I mean, it's the same thing. If we are very, very smart or very, very dumb, it just couldn't matter less. Because it's physical; it's a shadow. And when you walk when the moon is really full, it's really bright and you walk, you see a shadow like, oh, maybe even longer than this tennis court. Does that mean you are that long? Does that really mean you are 15, 20, 30, 40 feet long, as long as your shadow is? Of course not. As that shadow is an illusion, and you do not accept that shadow to be anything else but an illusion, same way this whole maya, this whole structure is an illusion. It comes and it goes. It's a complete ridiculous illusion.

And I'll give you an example. You know, I've been in this house for quite a while now, in Malibu. I didn't know about Malibu when we got this house. I didn't know, I had never heard the word "Malibu." And we were in Sunset, and we looked at some places that possibly would be nice. Well, we saw a couple of pieces of property here, a couple of pieces of property there, and that was it. And then one day we saw a brochure for this house. And it was like, "There it is." You know, we came there. The first thing the woman said was, "If you want peace and quiet, this is the place." Well, she wasn't exactly right.

But then this whole Malibu thing started happening. "Malibu, Malibu, Malibu, Malibu." All about Malibu. What is Malibu? "Oh, Malibu is a famous place. An incredible place." And I know that those people who live down at the beach are very, very proud of Malibu. Malibu: Top place to surf, beautiful beaches. Mucky water! And I mean, all this. "Malibu, Malibu, Malibu."

And I bet when they were sleeping, or sitting in their living room watching TV, and all of a sudden a wave came right through the big window and almost brought the television into their laps, I bet they thought a few things. "Malibu? Let's get out of here!" Or something like that.

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Two Sundays ago Marolyn was on the beach and I was coming up with the motor home. And the traffic was jammed from way back there, for about four or five miles back there, all the way to Point Dume. And it was packed! It was just like bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper. And these people had come up in the morning - you could see them, you know. Everything looked like ants out there. They were enjoying and laughing and giggling. And as soon as it came to that rush hour, they didn't want anything more but to get out of there, get out of Malibu, and to get back home.

As this is all an illusion … Because in the morning, "Malibu, here we come," you know. And at the rush hour, oh, no thought says anything like that at all. It's like, "Let's get out of here! This is ridiculous!" And as that illusion changes from day to day to day to day, hour to hour, just little things, this illusion is too big, this illusion is too vast to notice little changes.

But Guru Maharaj Ji does! Guru Maharaj Ji sees those little changes. And he says: Well, wait a minute. I don't see any difference between this and … Have you ever seen those rocks - you put them into a glass of water, and you have this solution, this special solution, and you open it up and you dump it in the glass, and after a little while these rocks grow? These are chemical rocks, it is a chemical solution; something funny happens and they become elongated. And we say, "Well, that's an illusion." And we see those little changes.

Prem Rawat aka MaharajiAnd Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Well, if you think that's an illusion, why don't you see your own life? Why don't you see your own world that you think so much about, and see how much of an illusion that really is?" And people say, "Oh yeah, but I live in here! How can I think that I'm cutting the same branch that I'm sitting on?" Well, they find out soon enough, when they hear the big thump and everything starts to hurt. They find out: "Wait a minute! I was sitting on the branch that I was cutting away!"

So premies, that change, if it is even a change … It's like going back home, coming back to where we really belong, getting up all that illusion, getting out of all that un-understanding, and to come to a beautiful point.

Because, look, this is a tennis court. All these walls just got re-painted. And there was this fence out there, and we had some stuff put on it, this green material. The Santa Anas came; it all blew down, broke the fence. So finally, we put up the walls and put up the fence properly. And you see this tennis court. Raja Ji is the only one who really enjoys this tennis court. I use it for the little model cars. And Hansi uses it for echo, and running around here. But, that's it. And then we are using it now for the most beautiful purpose that it ever could be used for. And I don't think one of those people who were laying down this tennis court could ever think that there would be such a beautiful, beautiful thing happening.

And maybe none of this is going to get through your fat heads. But maybe, if one person can understand what I'm trying to say and it changes his life, and he can really experience what I'm trying to say - oh, then this tennis court would have accomplished its purpose beyond anybody's imagination,

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beyond anybody's wonder, beyond anybody's thought.

And so premies, that's just the way it is. There is us. There is a great river with rocks, thorns, sharks, and rough, and wildly blowing. Guru Maharaj Ji says, "I have a rope. And I have a little trolley. Sit in it; you won't even touch the water. And I'll take you across." You say, "No, I want a little adventure in my life. I've got this boat, this rubber raft. And I've done this before; I can do this again." Done what before? "Oh, once I was walking through the New York sewer and I saw a three-foot rat, and I was able to get away from there fine. And this is no different than the New York sewer. I can get away with this."

And they just don't know. The only reason Guru Maharaj Ji has put up that cable, has put up that trolley there, is that he knows that even touching the water is so dangerous. And the thing is that we get up there … I mean, that's the way it is. We are there, we are on top of the water; we're not going to touch the water. And we get up on the side and we say, "Whoa! I'm going to fall down." Well, what makes you think you're going to fall down?

You get up on top of the New York Empire State Building; you look down. And that's awfully high. What makes you think you're going to fall down? You get scared. Why? What makes you think you're really going to go off?

Or, there's that big Security Pacific building in downtown L.A. - it's really, really high. And the helicopter sits on top. This is like a little area, you know, and there is the helicopter. And you get into the helicopter, it takes off, and all of a sudden it just flies off and there is a sharp, dead, 40 or 50 stories down. And all of a sudden everybody grabs on, thinking that that is what's going to happen, that "We are going to fall down." And it's a completely stupid thing, because why do you think you're going to fall down? Just relax! What if that pilot started doing the same exact thing -"whoa!" - and just started grabbing the controls, all wrong ones?

But that's not the way it is. It's completely different. We're not going to fall down. And the only thing is just - you know, sometimes even Guru Maharaj Ji has to say it very, very strongly. But he says it: Shut up and sit down! You're not going to fall anyway. You're not going to go anywhere. Don't rock this trolley. Otherwise, this is really going to do whatever you don't want it to do.

I know that there's a lot of teachers who go wild, who go completely nuts because they try to teach these kids. Not all of them, but some of them completely go nuts, because they try to teach these kids, and they just can't get the message through these kids. They try and try and try and try and try and try. And those are really concerned teachers. Because a lot of teachers just say, "Listen! I'm gonna get up in the morning, come to the classroom, and say whatever I have to say. You take the notes, you do whatever you want to do; if you have any question, ask me. And that's it. Come your test papers, I'm going to take one look at them and that's that. You pass or you fail."

Take it or leave it, and that's the end of it." But Guru Maharaj Ji says: No, it is not your option to take it or leave it. You need it! You want it! And that is why you run around in so many circles every day. Because this is what you are really looking for. And Guru Maharaj Ji says: Look, there is no and, if, or but about it. In your life, you're going to be confused for the rest of your life if you don't take it.

And Guru Maharaj Ji not only just keeps on saying, and gives us the final finale, and says, "Well, at the end of the year we'll see your test papers, kid, and see how good you've done this year." But Guru Maharaj Ji says: No, the experience is with us now; the experience is here with us now. Take what I have said into your heart and you will experience it. You will experience that beauty. And it is for your sake.

And there be no tests! There be no tests! There will never be any test. I mean, you know, the "test." What is the test that you have, in fact, graduated from the school of Knowledge? But it is your own understanding, it is your own love, your own dedication that's going to bring you your own satisfaction and your own liberation and your own home. It's going to take you to your own destiny. It's going to take you to your own destination where you really want to be, where you really want to belong.

And that's what Guru Maharaj Ji says. Guru Maharaj Ji could be like that: "Here it is, take it or leave it." And then, man, if that's the way it was, all I can say is then the hopes for this world - as slim as they are - they would even be slimmer. But that - if you call it persuasion or if you call it love, or understanding, an incredible compassion of Guru Maharaj Ji - that he comes to us and be brings us that message…

It is not a message that he yanks out of his pocket. It is not a message that he reads from cue cards. It is a message that he brings from that one place that we all came from, and where we all belong. It is the message that so many, so many ears have ached to hear. It is the message that probably ears were made for, that he brings us. And how can we just sort of pass it through our ears, or something like that?

So premies, our effort can take us there. Our effort can put us there where we belong. Our effort can do it. And we can do it. Guru Maharaj Ji is there to help us. Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't say, "Okay, you can come to this residence so far you walk around through the gully." Because Guru Maharaj Ji knows that that would be very, very hard to do. Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't say, "Okay, kid, you can receive salvation so far you can walk on air." Because that's literally impossible. Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't say that "You can have my Knowledge if you can breathe water." Guru Maharaj Ji says: You can have the Knowledge so far as you are open to it. And it is an offer; it is a bargain.

If ever we walked into a shop where there was everything, everything, and the guy said, "Okay, take whatever you want; it's yours," it would just depend on what kind of background we come from, but our suspicious brains would go to work immediately. "What's the idea? What's the matter? What's the 'clinch?" And then it's very, very simple. With Guru Maharaj Ji there are no 'clinches'.

But Guru Maharaj Ji isn't like that. Guru Maharaj Ji isn't just a teacher who says, "Look, I'm here. Here is what I have to say.

It's not like he just says, "Okay, meditate for the rest of your

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That's the most incredible thing, that Guru Maharaj Ji is here. Guru Maharaj Ji is always here. And it is just our effort away, our effort away to realize that perfectness.

life, and when you die, half an hour later, if you see the door to heaven, you know everything was okay. And 45 minutes later if you don't see the door to heaven, you know you're on your way to hell." It's not like that.

But Guru Maharaj Ji says: Okay, here's a practical experience that can manifest in your life.

And yet, we … As Tulsidas said, that "Who can be lower, who can be more stupid, who can be more of an idiot than me?" And he goes on explaining that "I leave what's so incredible, I leave what's so beautiful, and I take and I accept what's completely garbage. Like a pig I roll around in mud, in dirt." And Guru Maharaj Ji sees that. I mean, really, look at it. Aren't we all rolling around in dirt, in mud?

You can have the most expensive car on the Earth possibly available, and smear it with mud inside, and who would want to sit? The first thing you would do is scrape the mud off. And yet, that is the way it is with everything in this world. Everything has got a 'clinch'; everything's stuck in mud. And every time we stick our foot into that thing, we get stuck in mud. And it's just almost like getting the habit of a pig. "It tastes better when the apple is covered with dirt and mud and goop." That's it.

The adventures people seek on this Earth are outrageous. When I was in Florida (I think it was the last night), I turned on the television and there was CBS Sports. And they had the movies of these guys (and I mentioned that in the satsang) going off this cliff, and they wanted to hang glide. And it's completely outrageous, because they really get into it, and they really do want to hang glide as if that is the purpose of their life. As if that is what they were born for. As if that is what they have two hands for, to glide. I mean, I know that to some people it's just a very simple, nice thing to do. And yet, to other people it's everything; it's their whole life.

They go out and jump from airplanes; simulate this or simulate that. I mean, just wild things. Completely wild things.

Stock cars. They go out there, and just bump up everybody on the track. Go carts. These guys get into it. And they have these huge, huge engines. Just one-shot, one-deal engines.

And when they have the drag racing on television, it's like really incredible. You know, there is nothing going on, and people are just there and they are just talking about "Oh, how this car is so nice," and they're trying to explain some of the rules and how drag racing works, and how this happens and how that happens. And then they really have the whole climax build-up - just everything. It's like, "Man, this is heaven, and

the Lord himself is going to appear from the back tire of one of these drag racers," or something. They get an incredible build-up going. And then there you are watching it: "Wow, man, this is incredible! They are going to be cruising down at a 120 miles an hour or something like that … " And - boop, boop - it's finished! And their whole lives are into it.

I mean, okay, if that's your story - drag racing - well, then that's your story. That's your story. That's your physical story. If that's the kind of kick you get out of it physically, then that's your story. But what about you yourself? That pleasure that you really, really need within inside of you can only be gotten through Knowledge, can only be gotten through that beautiful, beautiful manifestation, when Guru Maharaj Ji implants that seed within inside of us, individually, and says, "Okay, now here is the seed, and this is what you should do to keep it growing." And that just grows and grows and grows - and grows and grows. That seed of Knowledge. The seed of that perfection. The seed of that beauty, that Guru Maharaj Ji implants within each of us through Knowledge.

And that's what we want. I mean, it doesn't matter how many delusions we are going to end up with; it doesn't matter how much craziness we are going to end up with. But if we keep that open …

It's like we are sort of a car that has a badly aligned wheel. And so every time you are driving on the road and you let go a little bit of the steering wheel, the car tends to go off the road. And the worse the alignment, the worse the car is going to go off the road. And that's the way it is. And that's what people want to do; that's what people get into. And the alignment is worse and worse and worse and worse and

worse and worse. Oh - that's the way we always go, to what's bad. We always tend to go to what we really are not supposed to be here for.

And Guru Maharaj Ji says: Wait a minute. Look! First of all, get to the closest garage. But until you come to the closest garage, keep this car straight. And then come to me. Have faith in me. Keep this car straight, and come to me. And I will give you - will re-align your wheel. And so then you can go wherever you want to go.

Okay, the example fits in one way, and the other way it doesn't really fit. I mean, of course, if you align a car once, it's not going to stay aligned for the rest of its life. It's going to get out of alignment. But with Guru Maharaj Ji it's not like that.

So here is an incredible experience, premies, that can really

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manifest for us. We have to try to have it manifest for us. And I know we can do it. It's not an impossible thing. We really, really can do it. So many have done it, you know. And here we are - our purpose of being here.

And so, for premies who are on the phone hookups on the other end, I'm possibly seriously thinking about continuing this program tomorrow. And again, it's been a beautiful, beautiful occasion to give satsang. And Guru Puja is not that far away. And then, I mean, occasion after occasion after occasion. We all come, we hear satsang, get blissed out; then after that one, that's all we want to do again - to get blissed out again. Maybe at the next festival. And that will happen. After that festival, I mean, there are so many other festivals in the way. Hans Jayanti, and then after Hans Jayanti, then there's - bam! - Holi again. And after that, again another one, and another one, and another one, and another one. So I mean, there is really no end to that.

But there always seems to be an end; there always seems to be a definite something that makes us stop having that experience flow through our lives constantly. And that's what we have to alter; that's what we have to change, so that that experience can always flow through, can always manifest for us. And it can, premies. And that's the most powerful - I mean, that's the power of Guru Maharaj Ji, that he can really make that experience happen for us, whoever we are and whatever we do. We just have to stay in his agya. We have to just do …

I mean, what is his basic agya? What does he tell us to do? "Do satsang, service, meditation." Service is a beautiful experience. Satsang is a beautiful experience. Meditation is a beautiful experience.

I mean, last night when they were still constructing this stage, and they were still putting that carpet down, I came down here. I started to look around, and they were trying to get this place ready. They worked all night through to get it ready. And it was beautiful; it was beautiful for them. And I know, it's like that at every program. There are these premies hammering away, nailing away, doing this, doing that, right till the point where I am in the backstage: "Is it ready? Is it ready? Is it ready?" And, "No. Just 15 more minutes, 20 more minutes," something like that. So finally it gets ready, and then those premies get a chance to sit down and to just listen to satsang. And such a beautiful service comes together; such a beautiful experience of service manifests for them.

Because, in fact, maybe five, ten, fifteen premies worked on this stage. And right now they can't think about nails, unless they got one stuck up their foot. (Laughter) But they can't think about nails. They can't think about those things. All they can think about is "Guru Maharaj Ji is there, and he's giving satsang." What they are receiving is satsang. And yet, such a deep experience is building up within inside, such a deep experience really manifests within inside, just knowing that service that they have done.

So premies, it's just as I have said, our effort away. As soon as we make that effort, well, it will be there. It will be there -what we want - on a platter, and as much of it as you want.

So I hope this program continues tomorrow. We'll see, seriously … I guess it will be. (Applause and cheers) And again it's your option, something that we have to do. And I just feel that this house, this home, has really been blessed to be able to have satsang here. Because I know, it's usually an occasion of a party or something like that. I guess there's more cakes cut out than, in fact, there is enough satsang shared. And when premies come in with that attitude, you know - they've got bow ties, and tuxedos, and that's really making them feel uncomfortable. And people are chitchatting. And it's more like it becomes a social occasion.

And of course, that's not a pretty sight for me to see. Because when I see two premies come together - they shouldn't talk about anything else except satsang. I mean, there is nothing else to talk about. If you want to hear gibberish, well, cut off your ears and then you can hear. Because ears are not made for gibberish. If they were made for gibberish, then how come satsang sounds so good?

And then, it's just us - and we can really make it happen in our lives. I just feel, you know, maybe someday we will fill up this gully and have a beautiful hall sitting right on top of it. We were talking about that. I was just kidding Marolyn and I said, "Well, we're going to - you know, this charter is coming in from Europe, and there's charters coming in there from Mexico and Australia. And there's going to be more premies than we can think of."

"So where are they going to come?"

And I said, "Well, we can set up a trampoline from here to that road over there, over the gully."

And then someone suggested that we have a great, big hook underneath, so when the program is over, you just pull the trampoline down and let go and everybody just sort of takes off! Of course, that's something he'd like to do someday; we can do it to him! (Laughter) But the main thing is that whenever premies come together …

And just as satsang was coming on, I and Marolyn were on the balcony there, and we were just saying, "Man, it can be just beautiful. Here could be the official stage, and satsang. And you could have premies over there, and 1,000 premies can fit here, and 1,000 premies can fit in that yard; 1,000 premies can fit in the front yard - fit 3,000 premies. And you figure a few odds and ends here or there - about 1,000 somewhere else! About 4,000 premies can be here and there, accommodated somewhere. And we could have a phone feed, just an audio hookup; and knowing Guru Maharaj Ji is there, I think it would be plenty enough for some of the premies. And it could be a beautiful experience. But nevertheless, maybe it will be like that someday, that we will be able to do that.

So premies, I hope all the premies that have heard satsang tonight - evening, morning, whatever it is in your country -will be able to hear it again. And for the premies who are still stuck in their rat holes, maybe they can come out and sniff a little bit of the beauty that really exists in satsang, and truly, truly enjoy it. So that's all I can hope for. It's just, to make sure of that, that that really happens, it's really up to us again. To come together. And I think it's a beautiful experience.

Thank you very much.

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