Happy New Year!

Guru Maharaj Ji's satsang by telephone from the Malibu Residence, California, 31st December, 1978.

Dear premies, so it's New Year's Eve, and certainly the most beautiful way to celebrate the New Year's Eve is to be in satsang.

A lot of people make New Year's resolutions. All the fat people want to get thin, and the thin people want to get fat: This and that. Somebody has a dream and he wants to fulfill it. People make resolutions and the whole idea is that in this coming year they will try to fulfill them. And it's just custom.

Yet, what kind of a resolution can a devotee pass? What kind of a determination can a devotee make? What does he do?

And it's like, he really shouldn't make any resolutions. A devotee really shouldn't make any determinations.

And yet, that's not true. There is a very beautiful resolution that we can all make. There is a very beautiful determination that we can all commit ourselves to.

And the resolution really can be from our hearts. It's not like something that we have to talk about out loud. But for a devotee, what can be a greater opportunity, what can be a greater resolution than to just pray to Guru Maharaj Ji to give him that opportunity to surrender, than to pray to Guru Maharaj Ji to become One, to just let go of all those crazy ideas, to let go of all those crazy notions that this mind wants to bring forth and to make that resolution in our hearts that, "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, let me really make effort; let me really make that determination so that I can surrender to you"?

Because it is quite obvious that in this world the craziness grows every day. Every day something becomes more and more crazy. After Hans Jayanti in Orlando I didn't even get the chance to read anything; no Newsweek or Time or anything like that. Finally, just ust a few days ago, I picked up Newsweek and I started fumbling through the pages. And all of a sudden I just really felt depressed.

And yet I understood that Knowledge is the answer, Knowledge is the solution.

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But what I felt was so incredible. Because, my God! Before Hans Jayanti I had read Newsweek and the world was bad enough! The craziness of this world was bad enough. And now that I pick up this magazine a few months later, it's even worse!

What is going to happen to this world? All the concepts that have been laid out for us to eat, all the imaginations, all these ideas, all these cruelties that the world puts out in front of a person: "Okay, here it is. Eat it! You have no option. Here it is. This is it. This is your life. This is your world. This is it. This is you!"

And as Marolyn was saying in her satsang, that mind gives us all these choices. Yet the truth of the matter is that mind doesn't really give us any choice. Mind gives us no choice. We have to do exactly, to the letter, what mind tells us to do.

In this world people have all these fancy ideas of what a guru does or what this is or what spirituality is. "Who needs spirituality? Everything is perfect! Life is the way it is", and so on and so forth. And yet we really think, "Yes, man, I really believe in this because I have so much option. I can do whatever I want to do in this world."

If you were to tell a person that, "Look man, you really don't have any option in this life. You do whatever your mind tells you to do", he'd say, "Come on, man. Forget it. That's not true." And it's bad and it's terrible that there is this mind, and this mind gives us no options.

Yet it's so beautiful, so incredibly beautiful that somehow, by some way, by some means, by some incredible thing, Guru Maharaj Ji walks into our fife and gives us an option, gives us that option that we all need.

Okay … Because mind is throwing this life out the window and we have no option. We really don't have any option. A couple of nights ago I turned on the television. There was nothing good on, and I just kept changing the channels. And all of a sudden there was this movie and I started watching it.

After a little while Marolyn said, "Oh, is this the movie that Rich Neel gave an example from?" And I said, "I don't know what you're talking about." Then I just started watching, and the little portion that I watched of it was really true.

Because there was this guy, and he died. All of a sudden he wakes up, and he finds that there is this man standing in front of him dressed all in white. And there are all these luxuries there and he doesn't believe what's going on. He can have whatever he wants to have.

And this guy comes from a background that's not so great, I guess you could say. He wants gambling and he wants girls and he wants all these things of this world, and he gets them. It's more like the name of the game is, "You name it and you'll get it!" And after a little while the guy starts to get really bored; gets really tired of winning all the time.

So he goes up to this person and says, "Look. Why do I have to win every time? Why do I have to have all that I want? I just want to get out of here. I want to leave."

And he said, "Because everything I want, I get, I must be in heaven. And man, I'm so sick and tired of this heaven, because every time I win. There is no gamble in my life. There is nothing that inspires me to desire any more, to get more entangled in it any more.

"I mean, before gambling was great to me because I used to lose sometimes, and I would gamble again to win what I lost! But here I win every time! I'm getting sick and tired of this! So I'm walking out. I'm going to hell." And all of a sudden he tried to open the door: the door wouldn't open.

The other guy started laughing. And he said, "You are in hell. This is the hell. And you are trapped in it."

And to me, it was, "Wow!" I just thought for one second that the guy who made this movie didn't even know what he just produced. The guy who put this movie together didn't know. Of course if he knew, he would have had Knowledge. (I don't know if he was a premie or not,) But nevertheless, man, that's really true.

Because in this world we get up: a new day, a new start, a new fresh moment.

And mind comes in. We go to sleep and mind comes in. We are sleeping and the mind comes in. I mean, 24 hours a day, no rescue from that mind: Everything. The mind says, "Look, I like that car."

And it's just like … they had this little thing on the news. They were doing a report about Christmas shopping, and they were talking about these expensive toys for adult kids. And there were these expensive toys. There was a hundred thousand dollar this and a thirty-five, forty thousand dollar helicopter, and a boat, and this and that. These were adult toys.

And the guy was really being negative about it. He was saying, "Well, you know, I wish I had all these. But these are very much out of my pocket."

Okay. Great. But that desire is always there. And the desire even wants more and more and more. Mind never gives us that break.

And this is the thing. Guru Maharaj Ji comes in our life. He doesn't give us a gambling table. He doesn't give us a billiard board. He doesn't give us a dart thing. He doesn't give us "Monopoly." He doesn't give us automobiles. He doesn't give us helicopters and airplanes and houses. He doesn't give us red carpets. He doesn't give us all that. And yet he gives us only one thing.

Guru Maharaj Ji has the potential. I believe in that because I've seen it; I know Guru Maharaj Ji has the potential to give us anything that we want. And yet Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't give that. Guru Maharaj Ji gives us just one single thing, and that's us.

What has this world given us? Just imagine what this world has given us. This world has given us itself, and what is it? What is that? What is that? Craziness, misery, suffering. Look at it.

In India just a few days ago after the emergency, the whole thing happened. They elected a new prime minister. Now some people want the old prime minister back. And people got killed because of that. And look what's happening in Iran. People are out there and they want the Shah out. And there is this whole thing happening.

I mean, this is what you read in the news. I don't know if that's the facts or

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not, but this is what you read in the news. Is that the world?

If you were to make a world for yourself, what would you make? If you had two cents worth of brains in your head above your shoulders screwed on right, what would you create: a monster? Would you create misery? Would you create suffering? Would you create craziness? Or would you create a really simple, a very beautiful, a very ignorant world (and I don't mean "ignorant" in terms of intellect, but in terms of simple, humble "ignorant") where there would be beauty, where the rivers and the streams would be clean and fresh?

The last time I was in England it was a big thing. They finally got a fish to survive in the Thames water in England. That's just great. And I'm pretty sure that the Creator didn't create it that way.

There were times - I mean, you can just imagine, even California now. Just imagine: blue waters, beautiful temperatures and no pollution, and just beautiful, beautiful coast. And now you look at it, and either there's a Santa Ana blowing - then it's clear, okay - or otherwise there is this haze. There's so much pollution all over the place!

Since I came to the United States I've noticed an apparent change. The places where I used to go shopping are now packed! You can't even walk. When I first came to the United States, to Los Angeles, where I landed, it was a different story. The airports weren't like this. And now it's complete chaos. I mean, the man who developed the airplane didn't go up there to develop an airplane so that someday it could crash.

And so, premies, we have to really look at this world. Is this what we want? And what is this a production of? This is a sole mighty production of what a mind can do! This is a sole production of mind!

And what does Guru Maharaj Ji produce? That beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Knowledge. What does Guru Maharaj Ji bring us? Guru Maharaj Ji brings us that understanding. What does Guru Maharaj Ji bring us? Well, Guru Maharaj Ji brings himself to us. And here we are.

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Yes, there is mind. It's like you can imagine, on one hand there is mind, and then there's you! And there was a time in your life where there was nothing else. It was just you and mind. And you had to do in your life what the mind told you to do. Look at all these trips that have happened.

There was a time, I guess in '57 (I didn't see it; I wasn't even born till the end of '57) when they say people were starting to do these things: the big hot slicks.

And it was an era that was being generated. And there was not a question about it. "Well, what do I want a car for? Why do I want to put a dragon on a car for? Why do I want the car to make noises? Why do I want the car to go even faster? Why do I want this? Is that really what I want in my whole life?"

But there was no question. Not a single question ever. Just a very simple straight story: "Yes, this is it!" And people went ahead and did it.

And then there was the whole other thing that started, and people … I mean, you look at it: one after another, one after another. The evolution - the great, incredible, "mystic" evolutions …

People call Knowledge "mystic." Well, I think the mystic thing is the mind: Because you don't ever know where the mind is going to take you. You never know when the road …

It's just like driving on a road in fog. You don't know when you're going to ram against somebody, or when somebody is going to ram against you, or when you're going to run off the road, or when you're going to fall into a ditch. You just don't have any idea.

And Guru Maharaj Ji brings us that Light. Guru Maharaj Ji takes that fog away. Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Look! Look! Look at it clearly. I can give you that understanding. I can give you that eye through which you can see, through which you can realize the purpose why you should be here."

Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't take life, Guru Maharaj Ji gives life. Guru Maharaj Ji gives a meaning to life. Guru Maharaj Ji gives a purpose to life. Instead of running around like a wild stray dog - maybe that's a little bit too much, but that's what we are like, a wild stray dog, just running wild everywhere. And Guru Maharaj Ji comes and puts his collar around us and says, "Look. This is going to protect you."

And it does protect us. Because when that dog catcher comes along and wants to grab us, and he sees that collar, he sees that there is a protection and he lets us go. That is the Grace of Guru Maharaj Ji. That is the beauty and the simplicity of what Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace really is.

And if we know that in our hearts, then what other kind of resolution could we conceivably pass, except to pray in our hearts … and not just pray like: close your eyes, cross your fingers and "Hum-a-ding-ding, hum-a-ding-ding. How are you, Lord? Thanks for this all. I hope you're feeling fine. And give me some bread tomorrow too, will ya? "

Instead of, "Hum-a-ding-ding, hum-ading-ding," to say, "You have created me. You have created this bread. You're letting me eat this bread. Okay,

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I eat this bread to stay alive. But give me a reason, give me a purpose. Show me the path, why I even should eat this bread you have given me."

And that's exactly what Guru Maharaj Ji does. Yet we go off in our mind, we go off in our trips, we go off in our concepts. And so premies, it's so clear that our resolution has to be very simple. And it can also be as simple as, "Guru Maharaj Ji, please help! Help me." Or it can go a little bit further. Same thing. It doesn't matter how you put it; same exact thing. "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, give me the strength so I can surrender to you."

What is the meaning of surrendering to Guru Maharaj Ji? Why do we want to surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji? How do we surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji?

Do you one day get an opportunity where Guru Maharaj Ji is standing there? And Guru Maharaj Ji is literally gigantic: Huge, a hundred feet tall. And Guru Maharaj Ji has a pocket. He has left pocket and he's got a right pocket. And some day if we keep trying and trying and trying, we will see a letter. And this letter will tell us where the ladder is that reaches Guru Maharaj Ji's pockets, will give us the instructions how to get to Guru Maharaj Ji's pocket.

That's outrageous. That's not the way it works. Some day we will be able to crawl in Guru Maharaj Ji's pocket and that's it, that's surrender?

But surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji is, "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, show me. Let me believe in you. Let me trust in you. Let me be with you so I can see. Give me your insight, so that I can see what you can see. Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, help me." That's what it basically all boils down to: "Guru Maharaj Ji, help me."

And I know that because of our ego - we have been taught: "Kid, never beg in your life." I know there are people who have this concept: "Never beg in your life. Never be a beggar." And sometimes you get a letter like that, or somebody tells me that there's a premie who has an idea that he just doesn't want to beg.

Man, you don't have to get on hands and knees and cry out loud and beg like that. But we all are beggars, because we take. We don't pay for it. How can you ever pay for it? We all

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take. We take what we are given. And we are beggars. We beg for that gift and that gift is given.

We need to beg for that most ultimate, ultimate, ultimate thing. And the giver of that ultimate thing is Guru Maharaj Ji. To give us even that little strength to try; give us that little energy, give us that little focus to help us surrender to him so we can see, we can see more clearly. And even that energy, even that strength that Guru Maharaj Ji has to give us will only come when we put our efforts first; a real and sincere effort.

And premies, all I want to say is, "Happy New Year." At least in New York it's four hours - the new year - East Coast. And premies in California, well, you still have three hours to go:

A little less than that. And premies who are in Denver have two hours to go. And premies who are a little bit away from Denver have …

Okay, here is our new year coming. What are we going to do? (I'm not talking about panic. "Here, it's New Year's, what are we going to do? But it's a very simple thing.

Are we really and sincerely going to make that effort? Are we really and sincerely going to advance one more step in our lives for a change? Are we, in fact, really going to tighten our belts and make this propagation happen in this world? Are we in fact really going to let Guru Maharaj Ji come into our lives, and let him control the rein and provide us that sight that we all need? Or is it going to be one more miserable, miserable, miserable year of our mind controlling us?

Look, the option is yours completely. What do you want to do? And this is the way it works. Yell "help" in your heart, and you will get help. Extend your arm, and your arm will be held. You will be pulled out, if in fact that really comes from the bottom of the heart. Not like, "Ha ha ha, here Guru Maharaj Ji, I'm going to give you a try. This is your test."

Something like, somebody was walking along the road … this is what I thought when I used to think about genies. "Man, if ever I saw a genie or I ever got hold of a genie", (this is when I was very small) "I would first make sure that it's a real genie, who's in fact going to do whatever I want it to."

And sincerely from my heart, sincerely from my heart, if I try and extend that hand to Guru Maharaj Ji: "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, please hold my hand." physically hold my hand) "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, hold my hand, pull me out. I need you!" …

You know, a lot of people go, "Guru Maharaj Ji! Pull my hand." Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Why? Why should I pull your hand?" Or a lot of people go, "Ha ha ha, Guru Maharaj Ji, this is your final test. If you yank me out this time, if you pull me out this time, in 1980 I bet you I'll give you my life."

And Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Oh yeah, sure." Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Look, if you can't do it now, you can never do it. And if you can do it in '80's, you can do it now. You can do it now."

It's a very simple situation. That Grace is there. We just have to make that effort a little bit more. We just have to make that effort more sincere. We have to make that effort more clear.

It's like water. Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace is like water. And if you dig that trench right, that Grace is going to come pouring in. But if you dig the trench uphill, well then how is Grace going to come? It's like trying to make a river with the water flowing up the mountain, instead of down the mountain. Well, how is it going to work? To dig that river, you have to give it that little slope so it can flow, and that's your effort.

That's the surrender. That's your little give. And the more that give is, the more that water flows through. The more we surrender, the more that Grace comes through us.

And listen. You have to understand. You just can't go, "I'm really going to give this one a test." And you stick your foot in the alligator's mouth and say, "Okay, Guru Maharaj Ji, yank me out."

And Guru Maharaj Ji goes, "You got your foot stuck in the alligator's mouth."

And you say, "But isn't that the way the story goes? If my foot gets stuck in an alligator's mouth, you'll come and rescue me?"

And Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Of course not! Grace has nothing to do with alligators."

Grace is Grace. And when you sincerely want it, it'll come. Not when you desire Grace, not when you figure out; "Okay man, this is about time now. Come on Grace: Here. Haul it in and do it. Slap job."

So premies, I mean, it was so wonderful to have had that program, the Hans Jayanti program. And then to feel, "Man, we all need that more." And it's something to look forward to. Today I was working on the tour, the world tour, and all the programs for the whole of the year, trying to just set them up. And it's completely incredible. By Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace it's really possible.

And we were just talking. Hopefully there's going to be a program in January. Then there is hopefully a program in February. And then March - that's Holi. Then programs in Europe, and then more programs. And then, right after that comes Guru Puja. And then from Guru Puja, the world tours start.

You look at it and it's fantastic. It's incredible. It's only that, how much of that satsang are we really going to take in our hearts? And then, as I said in Orlando, we can talk about it for thousands and thousands of years. It's just what you're really going to accept in your heart.

It's just when your determination is really going to be true, only then - only then - is it in fact going to manifest for you. It's not the matter of desiring something that's going to make it happen.

And so, premies, it's such a simple story. It's such a simple thing. All we have to do is let go. Let go of those concepts. Let go of those things. Let go of that crazy, crazy mind that has never brought us that Peace, that joy, that happiness; but again and again has brought us misery, misery, misery.

And so now is really the time, premies. Just to gather up in that joy, to gather up in that Love, to gather up in that harmony, to gather up in Guru Maharaj Ji's shelter, to gather up in Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace and just do it! Do it now! Do it for ourselves.

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Just move right into Guru Maharaj Ji's arms, move right into Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace and stay there forever. I can not think of anything else that we need to make a resolution for.

If you are fat, then slowly, some day, you're going to get skinny. You know how? Well, there's a theory: "What gets created has to be destroyed." So, some day, we all have to leave our bodies. When we leave our bodies, then this thick, fat body is going to be somewhere six feet under the grave. And believe me, after a little while, it's going to get skinnier and skinnier and skinnier. It'll get so skinny that you won't even be able to see it. All there'll be are your bones left. And if that's your resolution, well, believe me, that's accomplishable. That'll eventually happen to you.

But there is something that we have to do before. Something that we have to accomplish in this lifetime.

I know in this world there are people saying, "Man! Get skinny, get thin, look good! You'll feel good!" I know there are a lot of skinny people who are miserable. Super miserable. And I know of a lot of fat people who are super miserable too. Because misery doesn't come in flesh and sizes.

That joy, that happiness is only in Guru Maharaj Ji's shelter, only is in Guru Maharaj Ji's Love. And in Guru Maharaj Ji, when Guru Maharaj Ji protects us, that's when joy is going to come. When we let go to Guru Maharaj Ji, that's when we are going to feel light. When Guru Maharaj Ji picks us up, that's when we are going to feel this whole burden just go away; just - just - just go away!

But now is the time to really make that determination. And how can you make that determination? We have to make that determination by just saying, "Guru Maharaj Ji, here I am. Give me that faith in you. Give me that love in you. Give me that strength that I need so that I can surrender to you."

And truly, if that is really coming from the heart, there is absolutely no reason in this world why that can't be done. That can be done.

And so premies, it's so beautiful to be able to have this opportunity on this

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New Year's Eve. I can't think of a better way to celebrate New Year's Eve. I cannot imagine a more beautiful way than to be in satsang when we move right along into the next year. And then when we get to the next year, we really make that determination, we really pass that resolution. We really believe in that resolution. And really, by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace again, only, make that possible for us.

And so now is the time. Because Guru Maharaj Ji is there. It's not like Guru Maharaj Ji is a concept. Guru Maharaj Ji's not a concept! Guru Maharaj Ji is there! Guru Maharaj Ji is there in every single bit of it. He's there. Guru Maharaj Ji's there!

They have these gods. A lot of people who really believe in idols and stuff, take these idols, take their god, and some people have really nice boxes made for their god. And they lay him down. And it's velvet and it's all that stuff. Some people just wrap him up in toilet - in towels. And there's your god! Portable god! Port-a-god! You take your god wherever you want to take him, stick him on a table, pray to him. That's your god. "God is everywhere." Or be just in a concept.

But Guru Maharaj Ji is not a concept. Guru Maharaj Ji is Guru Maharaj Ji, and Guru Maharaj Ji is real!

You just don't wrap Guru Maharaj Ji up in a towel or make a little box for him. But Guru Maharaj Ji is there! We don't have to take Guru Maharaj Ji and compress him and put him in blocks and this and that, and make him so that he can fit to our standards. That's not the point.

We have to fit to Guru Maharaj Ji's standard.

We don't want to put Guru Maharaj Ji in our hand, we want Guru Maharaj Ji to put us in his hand. We don't want to put Guru Maharaj Ji in our pocket, we want Guru Maharaj Ji to accept us. Because it's like that one devotee said: "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, to you there are thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of devotees. And to me there's only one. There's only you."

So premies, I really wouldn't be saying this if I didn't know that it can really happen in everyone's life. Everyone's life. And all it takes is that little bit of effort. And Guru Maharaj Ji's saying, "Come on, man! Come on! Step over the line. Come on! Give yourself that freedom that we all really want. Give yourself that freedom, give yourself that joy, give yourself that happiness, give yourself that pleasure, give yourself that true Peace that you want so bad."

Guru Maharaj Ji says basically: "Give yourself a break. Give yourself a break from that crazy mind." Because what has that crazy mind done for you? What has that crazy mind brought you? Where has that crazy mind brought you?"

You know, people have gone to the moon. That's great. And what? What happened when people went to the moon? And people have gone in these Skylabs. And there's all these concepts. Concepts like "2001." Concepts like "Star Wars."

A guy dreamt up this movie, "2001". When he did it, it was a long way away. This is end of '78, next year is '79; end of '79, it's '80. And believe me, what that means is that 2001 isn't that far away! And is that what's going to be happening? We're going to be floating all over the place up in space?

And it doesn't matter if we are floating up in space. And it doesn't matter if we have to resort to going to the centre of the Earth. All this can be done. This can be possible. This can be attained. And yet what about Knowledge? What about the true meaning?

People have taken science and said, "Well, science has the ratified … science has the actual meaning of everything. You do not need spirituality. You do not need anything. Science is science."

Not that all scientists say that. But there are some scientists who believe science is the answer. "This is it!

Science is the practical, most innovative, most proper way of looking at anything." Not Knowledge. Knowledge is not science!

Science derived from Knowledge. Science, you might say, is just smaller. Smaller than the speck that can be monitored on the most expensive electron microscope. Science is a speck that can hardly be seen on the electron microscope. But Knowledge encompasses everything.

Knowledge is the Science of sciences. Knowledge is everything. And by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, we have received that Knowledge. And there are so many thousands and thousands of brothers and sisters who also need that Knowledge, who also need that understanding, who also need that Love, who also need that affection, who also need that Truth. And it is by our effort, by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, that we can share that satsang, that we can share that beauty with all those brothers and sisters.

So now is the time, premies. Again, now is the time to really make that determination, to really make that commitment. Because Guru Maharaj Ji is here! Look! Guru Maharaj Ji's here. I could understand why you weren't making that effort in this world. "Oh yeah, I really feel very dedicated. I really feel really good. But the thing is, you see, who can I surrender to? Guru Maharaj Ji isn't here!"

That's not the way it goes. Guru Maharaj Ji is here. You are here. And you can have that dedication, and you can have that feeling, and that really can manifest.

So it's all here, premies. And now is the time to really move on, to really, really make that effort in our hearts. Because it's possible.

And so, I guess there is a lot to say. And yet I know that if we can only open our hearts to that Guru Maharaj Ji, if we can just open our hearts to that Knowledge, if we can open our hearts to that Grace, it can happen. It can be really possible for us.

So I hope I'll see you all very, very soon. It sounds very far away if you put it "next year," but it doesn't sound so bad if you put it "next month." And so maybe I'll see you next month, some of you. And I hope you all do satsang, service, and meditation.

I hope that if you are going to make the resolution - any resolution - please make that resolution.

And blessings to all the premies.

Thank you.

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