Hidden Light: November 1975

In a humble attempt to become one with our Lord, by doing service to Him, we present to you Hidden Light.

Watch Out For That Mind!

I would like to discuss with you a little problem that we sometimes experience. There is this think inside of our bodies that usually takes the form of a little voice inside of our head while at other times it's a feeling, and a strong one, that makes us feel funny. This voice and feeling, commonly referred to as the 'mind' in premie jargon, hates service, satsang and meditation because these things are its antidote.

It's this mind that thinks up all the excuses why we shouldn't meditate for an hour tonight or how "I'm too tired to go to satsang" or how "postering service is okay for younger premies, but now I have had Knowledge for three years and I'm more sophisticated and…" it goes on and on.

Above all, the mind doesn't want us to do service for Guru Maharaj Ji. It will come up with every possible excuse. "I can't give 10% of my income because, you know, Maharaj Ji says to be practical, or I'm too tired to go door to door and besides it sounds like a big mission trip anyway. If I stay home today and meditate, this is the best propagation."

These thoughts are there and they're noisy and most of us could very easily do without them. But, they really become a problem when we start believing that maybe these thoughts are true and we start following them. Because then the mind can really start to drag us around anywhere that it wants us to go. Usually this is away from Guru Maharaj Ji.

Actually, though, how can a thought be true? Every concept and every idea is bound and limited. As long as we are coming from a limited perspective then our decisions and ideas are coming from a place where all the aspects aren't known and are therefore false by their very finite nature.

We also identify the mind with just that little voice. However, the mind is actually everything that is finite, even those feelings. "I don't feel good at Satsang. This service doesn't feel right, maybe it isn't for me. I have this feeling in my heart that this brother is in his mind." What is it that makes us feel funny? Is it that infinite white Light? Is it that pure vibration? If truth is the consciousness of bliss then where do all these feelings come from? The mind is very subtle and tries every means to keep us from practicing Knowledge. If we follow all these funny feelings including, "I don't feel like meditating tonight", we'll just scatter our energy all over the place.

The feelings themselves don't cause the real trouble, it is when we start believing them to be true. There are times when we feel so strongly about something that we'll even find ourselves arguing about that feeling. Sometimes, we'll even feel like maybe we know something about Knowledge.

So, this is the thing that we call mind. We can define it as all of our limitations or those things that keep us from the infinite. We can never overcome this mind by following it. If we can't follow our feelings and thoughts, then there is only one thing we can do and that's be a follower of Guru Maharaj Ji by following His Agya and cooperating with His Mission which is His link to all premies. Watch out for that mind, it won't want you to do these things.

Maharaj Ji is constantly reminding us that through the act of giving we are emptying ourselves; preparing ourselves for Him to come and fill us up. Now more than ever we are being confronted with service. Opportunities for giving are constantly being dropped in our laps; we have two choices to make; we can either stand up and drop our opportunities on the floor or we can gladly accept and receive.

The Performers of the Living Arts are pleased to announce More Than Plenty Opportunities:

Spoon River Anthology - A dramatic presentation of the epitaphs of members of a small town as they return from death to reveal their lives. This will be directed by Wil R??????n and should be available for performing and touring by the beginning of Feburary.

Theatre of the Soul - A short modern Russian play about the separation of a man into the intellectual and emotional self and the conflict of concepts that results. This will be directed by Ron D???? and should be ready for performance and touring by the end of December. We'll need lots of help with costuming and set construction.

Mime, Music and Poetry Collage - A completely original piece of theatre created especially for the mission and propagation. There will be training in mime offered with rehearsals. No special talents or abilities required, just desire. This will be directed by Michael L???? and should be ready for performance by the first of February. Final auditions are November 16 at 6:30 (place to be announced in the bulletin.) A Short One-Act about the difficulty of communication with people while paying service to the mind. This will be created from improvisation and should be ready for performance by the beginning of Feburary. (Stay tuned for announcements about meetings.)

More Goodies - Don't forget the Dance Class on Monday nights at Eldebrooke Methodist Church from 6:00 to 7:15. Monday, November 17th we are beginning work on our first dance for Guru Maharaj Ji. Please come and remember to bring a dollar for the PLA fund.

Something may be in the making for the Day of Thanks Celebration at St. Elizabeth's. Suggestions are welcome. Now is the chance for all you "closet stars" to get your tap shoes out and pitch in.

So lovely ones…open up and receive; we have such a big gift

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Maharaj Ji said He was going to use this time of my imprisonment to mold me into a better servant and player in His game. I feel deeply - so deeply inside me - that it's very, very true. Time has stopped, but His love still supports me. Distance separates me from you all, but His love still caresses me. Truly, His love and power are everywhere. Truly, Maharaj Ji is in complete and absolute control of my life.

Lately, I've enjoyed every moment of my life, I'm finally beginning to experience a state of life that is beyond time and space. My tendencies to control my own life run very deep. (After all, I didn't do so bad with my 28 years; I didn't come to Maharaj Ji out of desperation!) But there is only one will, one life, one love, one reality. We can surrender to that flow completely and become one with it or stand. in our own will --- and die slowly.

It's hard to trust completely. For example, I've learned that I fear the possibility of physical injury. Sometimes I want to sleep with one eye open - sometimes I want to meditate with one eye open…but it doesn't work like that. To travel into Divine Light, to he carried on the Divine Vibration, I must concentrate. To concentrate I must close both eyes and give my physical safety to my Creator. I found myself hesitating in this, wanting to care for my own environment and safety.

And prison is no different from the world. How long have I tried to manipulate my environment, tried to manipulate people's opinions of me - even tried to impress the physical form of our Maharaj Ji. How silly I've been! Surely to have missed the peace that comes with total surrender…unimaginable peace, so far beyond concepts and languages that I can hardly speak to you of the places of joy that I'm experiencing.

Maharaj Ji puts endless opportunities in front of us, no matter where we are, to surrender! ("Only drowning men could see Him, so He said all men shall he sailors then, until the sea shall save them…") Time and again He throws the line of His Grace to us in the water. Sometimes we are still swimming too strongly to notice; sometimes we take the line for awhile 'til we are strong enough to swim off again by ourselves. Nobody can make us believe in the joy of the peace that follows the act of surrendering. We must taste that peace for ourselves. Like a salesman with tasty samples Maharaj Ji beckons us down the yellow brick road.

How often have we tried to live an idea. of what this Knowledge is all about? How often have we, subtly perhaps, tried to live like so-and-so…or wished we were devoted like so-and-so, etc? When we look at it we laugh. In fact, Mahatma Jagdeo and I laughed a good deal together today when we visited and shared satsang. We laughed with each other at the foolish ways in which we tried to be some mortal idea of strong or free or devoted. Do we forget so easily that Maharaj Ji sees us naked in the morning, sees us in the kitchen, in our offices behind our closed doors? Do we forgot to trust our judge who is also our savior and guide? Our mind tricks us into forgetting that our Maharaj Ji is truly omnipresent, not rhetorically omnipresent.

What a joy to remember! How immature to forget! Please Maharaj Ji, take us gently -- or take us kicking and. screaming, but take us! Don't let us let go--

--and Maharaj Ji, please hurry.

mind's most ingenious method

This is the period which I bet every premie has experienced while they are doing meditation, and really trying to realize this Knowledge. First, they are really confused, then slowly the confusion dies, and they really start realizing this Knowledge. Everything becomes wonderful. Everything becomes beautiful. The Knowledge comes out and starts shining. There is no confusion. You get into service, and it's really blissful, it's really beautiful.

That is the period when the mind is sitting back in its headquarters, designing its most ingenious way to get you. Meanwhile, you are sitting down here saying, "Beautiful. Just gorgeous. Now I don't have to be confused anymore." Premies write me these letters, "Guru Maharaj Ji, thank you. I just received Knowledge, and you have taken away my mind."

But it's sitting back in its headquarters. It's designing this beautiful, beautiful method, getting all its bazookas ready, getting everything ready - tanks, and machine guns, and airplanes - just getting ready to attack you, waiting for the right time.

This is the way it gets you. It's really funny. I have given this example to many premies, and every time I do, I laugh, because it's really, really funny. It's something that I have experienced a lot with premies I have been in touch with, and with premies who write to me. All of a sudden, these premies start thinking, "Wait a minute." And this is the way the mind is getting you. Now it has designed its most ingenious thing.

It says, "Jai Satchitanand, Premie Ji!" This is his first approach. And you say, "Jai Satchitanand. Come in. Come on in, and sit down. What's up?" You just invited him over.

Then he says, "Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it all just gorgeous? Isn't this Knowledge perfect? Isn't Guru Maharaj Ji beautiful? Isn't that satsang those mahatmas give really strong? Isn't this Knowledge the solution, the answer, to all our confusions?"

You sit down, and you are really feeling great because you are giving satsang to yourself. But really it's mind repeating whatever you have heard before. So you say, "Yes. This is true." And, I mean, it is true.

Slowly, it says, "Well, look at yourself. You have been meditating for a long time now." And you say, "Yeah: That's true. I have been meditating for a pretty long time." "Yeah. You have been meditating really regularly. Now, if you don't meditate for two more days, it's not. going to hurt you. Because your mind isn't even there."

And you say, "Yeah, man. I have been doing service awfully hard. I need a break," and you quit doing meditation for two days. That just means that it has come up behind you, and it's got you in its target range. That's what it means,

Then slowly, slowly, it starts firing. It's EsIt you. And you never realize that really the mind has done it to you, because it does it so subtle, so beautiful, It sat down for a long time planning this most ingenious method to do it. Then all of a sudden you just get all spaced out, you don't know what this Knowledge is all about, you don't want to do service anymore, you're extremely confused, you are at the verge of like…

I have noticed these premies; they come and they say, "Guru Maharaj Ji, thank you very much for letting us realize this Knowledge." Same premie will write to me after a month and say, "Guru Maharaj Ji, thank you, thank you, thank you for taking my mind away." Then later, they'll write another letter, "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, it's just so beautiful. I have been doing service and I have been trying hard, and it's just beautiful." Then that's the end of the letters, and that's the end of the person. Because the mind just conquers them; the mind just gets hold of them.

So premies, one thing you should really watch out about is the mind, the crazy, crazy mind. Because that is the enemy.

As most everyone knows we are in the process of looking for a community center. Since this is partially a "financial operation" we are taking this opportunity to discuss with you all our $$ situation. It seems as if this is a good time to communicate how our finances fit in with propagation.

If we are going to keep the Washington community constantly growing and expanding its channels of propagation, it has become very obvious to all the need for a community center as the ashram has become far too small to fit us.

In order to support this next step, more green energy will have to be poured into our community fund. In the present accounting system of Divine Light Mission there are four divisions and each division is independent of the other three. These divisions are:

1) The Ashram which includes all income and expenses of the Ashram and the residents.

2) The Community which includes all dontations to the community fund, all fundraising events revenue, all publications and merchandise cost and sales and all expenses for the office and propagation in the DC community.

3) Special Events which includes all revenue and expenses from retreats, festivals and larger events.

4) Donations which includes all 10% pledges and other non-pledging donations that are dedicated to Guru Maharaj Ji; thus this division has no expenses.

The "community" is the only division we can take funds out of for local propagation. The Donations division is solely for Guru Maharaj Ji's use and His discretion and since Maharaj Ji is Top Priority this division has to be supported first, and only after being an active member of Divine Light Mission and donating to Maharaj Ji directly can one give to the Community Fund. The only exception to this is our fundraising events which all premies can attend and which support local propagation, and 10% of the profits of publications sales.

So now that we know how the Community Fund fits in with the rest of the revenue and expenses of Divine Light Mission we see that it is necessary to directly boost the Community Fund in order to support the Community Center. As soon as we get a Community Center our expenses will rise from approximately $2200 per month to $3000 per month.

At present our community fund is supporting approximately the following expenses:

So, the next question is how are we going to support this increase in expenditures, Obviously, the answer lies in Grace and Cooperation. Since we all know where Grace is all we need to understand is how we can all cooperate together.

Even if our daily expenses stay approximately the same a community center would increase expenses at least $800. Right now, regular donations to the community fund support approximately $1300 of our expenses and the rest are supported by our fund-raising events except for a very small portion supported by the publications sales.

We still have a community fund pledge form for AMP premies. Only $450 of the $1300 are actually pledge donations to the Community Fund and it would really help to plan our propagational strategies if we knew how much to expect each month. Please fill out a Community Fund pledge form if at all possible if you are an Active Member. And if you are not an AMP member just support the fund-raising events which bk.ing our family together and raise funds besides.

"My mission in this world is to establish peace, but I need cooperation from all. We are all very, very fortunate to have received Knowledge and now it is our duty to spread it throughout the world. The way in which to do this is through Divine Light Mission because Divine Light Mission has been created for the purpose of spreading Knowledge…So now we must all join together and help the Mission to establish peace on this earth, and not only the earth, maybe the universe."

-Guru Maharaj Ji

Maharaj Ji was telling some premies that people spend their whole lives meditating, doing service, going to satsang, and never realizing this Knowledge. People live in ashrams, doing full-time service, dedicating their lives for that purpose–but they never realize this Knowledge. They're confused, they have problems, they still have questions, when the realization of this Knowledge is a subject that takes half a day. I don't know about you, but when I heard that, it set me back a little bit because I have been meditating for over three years. So that brings up another question. Where are we at? What have we understood about this Path? What is it that we are really going for??

What we really have to came to understand is what we desire in our hearts. To have that desire for the Supreme thing.

-Gary Girard

COMMUNITY GROWTH

The Ashram Moving?

Yes, our landlord has informed us that he wishes to sell the house,so…we have until January 1st to find a new place. We're looking for something big enough to hold a community center and maybe offices too. If you see any places that look like possibilities and are available, let us know at DUO, and keep in touch for more information.

Milk and Honey

Have you heard about the new band? Strictly blissful: Just back from Hans Jayanti, the all premie band playing at DLM gigs, clubs and WWA programs has formed to do service to our Guru Maharaj Ji. {{Band members}} are the members playing lots of originals and old tunes made new.

The Country Cupboard

Jim and Sue Forward will be opening a storefront in Kensington right after Thanksgiving. They will be doing business with both premies and the public, selling dry goods like teas, spices, beans, flours, nuts and other goodies. Look for the shop at 3750 Howard Ave. Store #1 right near the intersection of University Blvd. and Conneticut Ave.

Meditation: The Great Awakening

A movie is in the process of being created by David ??????, more commonly known as David ????? from the ashram. Some of you might have gotten requests from David recently regarding material to be used in the film. Production and finances are being provided by a private film-maker from Rockville. Hopefully it will be finished by February to be shown to high schools around the area.

Premlata Juice!

Watch out Bethesda! Farouk and Sally ?????? have leased a storefront in the new Bethesda Mall on Old Georgetown Road. It's gonna be a vegetarian carry-out. Breakfast orders will include yogurts, granola, fresh fruits and juices, and during the day you'll be able to pick up a variety of delicious sandwiches, juices•.and dishes from around the world. See you there on my lunch break!