"Guru Puja is just a dream of a devotee. Really it is a dream. Because how can you come up to Guru Maharaj Ji and say, 'Thank you'? How can you ever thank Him with just saying thank you or any word you want to use? You cannot. But still, you come up and it's a prayer you pray. It's like this is a Guru Puja festival when you worship your Guru Maharaj Ji, where you understand. It's one more occasion where premies can be close to Guru Maharaj Ji."
Guru Maharaj Ji
Caracas, Venezuela
Guru Puja '75
(This booklet is also available in Spanish and French.)
"Enjoy what is here. Enjoy these programs. And I know that there's never going to be an end to these programs. These are going to just go on, they're going to become bigger, and bigger, and bigger. And more premies and more people receiving Knowledge every day. And it's just, our realization has to come out. And mind has to go out one way and the realization has to go the other way. So this time it has to be a clean split. And the deal has to be made: 'Mind, I'm giving you the vacation of your lifetime.' And let's go into what we're experiencing."
Guru Maharaj Ji
Montreal, Canada
April 29, 1977
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Registration for Guru Puja '77 is $20. Registration passes may be purchased in the Grand Gallerie of the Fontainebleau, which is our headquarters hotel for Guru Puja '77, from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. On Friday, passes will also be available at the Algiers Hotel and the Konover Hotel lobbies from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. After that, registration passes can be purchased at the Convention Center where the program is being held.
Note: Those who plan to do service at the program will need to show a registration pass before entering.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
All major programs will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Preceding and following the main program, satsang will be held in at least four languages in different rooms at the Hotel Fontainebleau.
PRE-PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Wednesday, July 27 Noon to 9:30 p.m. Continuous with breaks
English : Grand Ballroom
German : Fleur de Lis
French : Fontaine
Spanish : La Ronde
Italian : Champagne
Thursday, July 28 Noon to 9:30 p.m. Continuous with breaks
Same as Wednesday, above.
Friday, July 29 Noon to 2:30 p.m.
Same as Wednesday, above.
MAIN PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Subject to Guru Maharaj Ji's approval.
Friday, July 29
5:00 p.m. Doors open
5:00 p.m. Dinner, until 7:00 p.m.
5:30 p.m. GURU PUJA '77 Program begins
Saturday, July 30
9:30 a.m. Doors open
10:00 a.m. Brunch served until 12:00
10:30 a.m. Program for Darshan (continuous to midnite)
5:00 p.m. Dinner served until 7:00
Sunday, July 31
10:30 a.m. Doors open
11:00 a.m. Brunch served until, 12:30
11:30 a.m. Program begins
POST-PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Sunday, July 31: 8:00 p.m. - if necessary Hotel Fontainebleau
English : Grand Ballroom
German : Fleur de Lis
French : Fontaine
Spanish : La Ronde
Italian : Champagne
Monday, August 1: Noon to 9:30 p.m. Continuous with breaks
Same as Sunday, above.
Tuesday, August 2: Noon to 9:30 p.m. Hotel Fontainebleau
Same as Sunday, above.
Wednesday, August 3: Noon to 9:30 p.m. Hotel Fontainebleau
English : Fontaine
French : Fleur de Lis
Spanish : La Ronde
Thursday, August 4: Noon to 9:30 p.m.
English : La Ronde
French : Fleur de Lis
Spanish : Lafayette & Voltaire Rooms (Versailles Gallery) 4th Floor, Towers Building
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: If necessary, English satsang is tentatively scheduled in the La Ronde Room.
BUTTONS
GURU PUJA '77 buttons will be on sale at the Divine Sales in the Fontainebleu Hotel. The buttons are based on a design made by Guru Maharaj Ji for the registration passes. They are 25G each.
TRANSPORTATION
Free bus transportation will be provided to and from the Convention Center. Buses will stop in front of the major hotels we are using. The bus schedule is as follows:
Friday : 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Sunday : 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Buses return to hotels promptly after the programs. No transportation will be provided to the Fontainebleau for post-program satsangs. Please check into the Fontainebleau on Sunday, July 31, if you are staying in another hotel and plan to remain in Miami Beach after Sunday. (Further information about this is provided below)
City buses cost 30 per ride and operate about every 20 minutes. Take bus S or L. They operate from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. After those hours these buses run much less frequently.
CONFERENCE WITH GURU MAHARAJ JI
Since Guru Maharaj Ji is holding a four-day conference following the festival, initiators, international and community coordinators, and members of Maharaj Ji's Malibu and Denver staff are staying over. We need your support to meet the need 'or meeting rooms and complimantary sleeping rooms for initiators and ashram residents. All premies are asked to please cooperate if they are staying Sunday, July 31, Monday, August 1 and the remainder of the week.
If you do plan on staying, one night or more, please make new reservations at the Fontainebleau or the Eden Roc upon your arrival in Miami for every additional evening you plan to stay. The new rates for these hotels starting Sunday, July 31 will be $20 single, $22 double, $24 triple or quad. Those of you staying over for just Sunday night might call the Eden Roc first. If these hotels are full on Sunday night, please make your new reservations starting Monday, as 2100 premies are leaving the Fontainebleau Monday morning. These two hotels will be equipped for quick check-in on Sunday morning from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. We would also like to ask the premies who are checking out of these hotels on Sunday to please do so before 9 a.m. If everyone cooperates, there will be ample time to catch the buses to the Convention Center that start running at 10 a.m.
As of this printing, these two hotels are trying to work out bus transportation from the Algiers, Konover and Montmartre so that you can change hotels more easily. Another good reason for staying at the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc is that starting Sunday night, all satsangs will be at the Fontainebleau.
HOTELS
Please try to cooperate in following these hotel guidelines:
-Payment in full should be made upon arrival for your entire stay.
-To make check-out more efficient, hotels will not be accepting requests for room service over the weekend. In that way, you can check out quickly because no further payment on your room would be necessary.
-Phone calls made from a hotel room cost 40¢ each. It is cheaper to use a lobby pay phone for 10¢. Also, by not making out-ofhotel calls (dialing 9), checking out is greatly simplified, as noted above. No room charges, no checkout line. Just drop off your key. If you do use the phone in your hotel room for outside calls, be sure to pay for it. After Holi, 300 hotel phone bills were not paid. This did not leave DLM a good reputation.
-Please do not remove towels from hotel rooms.
-Please refrain from using hotel toilets to dispose of diapers or sanitary napkins, as they will damage hotel plumbing.
-Please do not do formal meditation in public areas. Meditation rooms will be provided in several hotels and will be open for your use 24 hours each day. Check with the DLM Information Desk in your hotel.
-We recommend a $1 tip per hotel room as you leave.
PARENT'S ASSISTANCE
A program of parent's assistance has been developed for the Guru Puja '77 program. Childcare, in the sense of leaving children with strangers, will not be offered. Parents may enlist other parents to form "teams" to watch children, so that each parent will have the opportunity to enjoy as much of the program as possible.
The program of parent's assistance that will be offered at the Convention Certer and Fontainebleau when satsang is held there, means, in most cases, that parents will remain with their child in parent assistance areas. This system has been adopted because previous systems used were not adequate or satisfactory. (If personnel are available, children may be signed into a parent's assistance area for one to two hour periods without parents.)
Further information on parent's assistance will be available at DLM Information Booths located in the lobbies of the hotels.
During "Pre-Program" and "Post-Program" satsang, the parent's assistance room at the Fontainebleau will be the French Room. On Tuesday, August 2, parent's assistance will be moved to the Circus Room at the Fontainebleau.
A shuttle bus for parents and children will operate between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. continuously to and from the Convention Center on Saturday. It will stop at our major hotels. Priority will be given to parents and children, but if room is available, others may use it.
RIDE AND MESSAGE BOARD
Ride and message boards will be located in the large lobby in front of the steps to the Grand Gallerie of the Fontainebleau Hotel. Starting Friday evening, these boards will be located at the Convention Center.
ROOMMATE SERVICE
A roommate referral service will be provided for those seeking roommates. This service will be located at a table in the lobby of the Fontainebleau Hotel, near the Ride and Message Boards.
MEDITATION ROOMS
Several 24-hour meditation rooms will be open. Altars will be placed in each. At the Fontainebleau, use the Towers Building elevators to the 4th floor. Through Sunday, the meditation rooms are the Voltaire, Lafayette, and Pasteur Rooms in the Versailles Gallerie. Location of the meditation rooms at the Fontainebleau following the program will be announced. Check at Information Desks for meditation rooms in other hotels.
DIVINE SALES
Divine Sales will be located in the Grand Gallerie lobby outside the Grand Ballroom at the Fontainebleau Hotel.
Hours of operation:
Wednesday, July 27: 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 2:8 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Friday, July 29: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, July 31: After evening satsang
Monday, August 1: 9 a.m. to noon or as necessary.
NO SALES of any kind will be permitted in the lobby of the Convention Center, as we did during Holi, due to a change in Convention Center policy. Please do not break this policy, as it will damage our contract agreement with the Convention Center.
Premies will be allowed to sell at the Divine Sales area for a ten percent donated commission to DLM. However, no photos may be sold, as Guru Maharaj Ji wishes to approve those photos that are made available for sale.
-A calendar for the remainder of 1977 with photos and quotes, made at the request of Guru Maharaj Ji, will be on sale for $3.50. This calendar will replace the month-by-month installment calendar in the DIVINE TIMES.
-Eight new photos selected by Guru Maharaj Ji will be on sale: 5 x 7 for $1 8 x 10 for $2 11 x 14 for $4
-Cassettes of Guru Maharaj Ji's satsangs in Munich and Rome will be on sale along with the July issue of DIVINE TIMES (Montreal program issue).
INFORMATION OFFICE
In addition to information tables that are established in the lobbies of all the hotels, DLM's main information office is located in the Fontainebleau Hotel. You may call 538-8811 and ask for the DLM office, if you wish to contact this office. Please be patient as our five phone lines may be overloaded.
SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
A service assignment desk will be located near the Information Desk in the Grand Gallerie of the Fontainebleau Hotel. As of this printing, the following service meetings could be announced:
First Aid
Thursday, July 28 - 3 p.m. Conference Room G, Lower Lobby, Fontainebleau
Friday, July 29 - 3 p.m. Convention Center Room 100-D
Information Services
Wednesday, July 27 - 6:30 p.m. Grand Gallerie, Fontainebl.
Thursday, July 28 - 10 a.m. Grand Gallerie, Fontainebl.
Parent's Assistance
Thursday, July 28 - 2 p.m. Convention Center, 2d Floor
Friday, July 29 - 2 p.m. Convention Center, Room 202
Ushers (Bi-lingual premies needed for this service)
Thursday, July 28 - from noon to 4 p.m. Convention Center, Room 100C
Friday, July 29 - 6:30 p.m. Convention Center, Room 100C
Food Service
Thursday, July 28 - 6:30 p.m. Convention Center, Room 100C
FOOD AT THE CONVENTION CENTER
See the Main Program Schedule for the schedule of meals. Meal passes may be purchased at any registration desk, listed under "Program Information" in this booklet.
The cost for meal passes is $1.50 each for two brunches and $2.50 each for three dinners.
A snack bar will sell snacks such as fruit and yogurt in the Convention Center during programs. A sandwich truck will sell vegetarian sandwiches in an area outside the Center.
Please do not eat in the Convention Center seating area.
VEGETARIAN MEALS AT HOTELS
Coffee shops at the major hotels will offer vegetarian menus and remain open until 1 a.m. during our stay here. They will also offer "bottomless cups" of coffee and herb teas for 50 to 60. (This means you can refill your cup as much as you wish for that price, including extra tea bags.)
TRANSLATION
During the main programs at the Convention Center only, a system has been established to translate the program into several languages, provided there are enough premies who need to have the program translated into a particular language. A section for translation will be reserved at the Convention Center. Equipment used for translation is very expensive, so please take extremely good care of it. A one dollar rental fee per day will be charged for each headset.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE
Travelers checks will be cashed by the cashier's office at any of our major hotels.
International money exchange is offered at the Barnett Bank at 420 Lincoln Road (tel. 538-7831), nine blocks south of the Convention Center. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. The Barnett Bank rate is $1.00 per transaction.
The Pan American Bank at 2397 Collins Ave. near the Algiers Hotel (tel. 538-5421) charges 13G on the dollar for exchange.
The Jefferson Bank at 301 41st Street (tel. 532-6451) will only exchange Canadian money.
There is a currency exchange at the airport.
FIRST AID AND ASSIGNED SEATING
The First Aid area at the Fontainebleau, while satsang is held there, will be in the Everglades Room on the lower lobby of the Towers Building. Also, a First Aid area will be established at the Convention Center. Persons with hearing and seeing disabilities can be given assigned seats if approval is given for this by a physician at the Center.
LOST AND FOUND
A Lost and Found room will be established at a room in the Convention Center. The DLM office will serve as Lost and Found during our entire stay at the Fountainebleau.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Individual announcements will only be made in extreme emergencies during the main program. Flight information can be announced following Guru Maharaj Ji's departure from the Sunday program if that is necessary.
DARSHAN
At Guru Maharaj Ji's request, aspirants are asked not to go through the Darshan line.
All shoes should be left under your seat during Darshan. Do not carry any purses or clothing in the line. You should carry your offering to Guru Maharaj Ji only. Because of this, it is a good idea to leave any valuables you may have in a safety deposit box at your hotel.
If you have never previously received Holy Breath, please place your right hand to your right ear as you approach Guru Maharaj Ji. (Holy Breath is given by the Perfect Master when He formally accepts you as His devotee and you should not ask for it a second time.) To respect Guru Maharaj Ji's wishes, no one should go through the Darshan line twice.
BAGGAGE ROOM
On Sunday, you may bring luggage to the Convention Center for storage if necessary. A storage area will be announced.
CAUTION :: HEALTH HINTS
The sub-tropical climate in Miami Beach may be new for some premies. Sub-tropical sun, even in small doses, may cause severe burns, particularly for people with fair skin. We recommend premies wear hats outside and loose-fitting, long-sleeve light-colored garments to minimize exposure to the heat and sun.
Two kinds of lotions are normally sold: suntan lotion and sun-screening lotion. Sun-screening lotion will keep out burning and tanning rays while tanning lotions will not screen out ultra-violet rays. The risk of sun burn is, as a result, only partially reduced by the use of suntan lotions.
Heat exhaustion is a second potential hazard and is caused by dehydration or excessive water loss. To prevent this, drink water frequently. Small children should be kept well hydrated with water and juices. Miami faucet water is heavily flouridated; you may wish to purchase spring water.
Physicians recommend eating lightly on very hot days, concentrating upon fruits or salads with green vegetables.
If perspiration is excessive, salt replacement is necessary to prevent muscle cramps and excessive fatigue. Salt pills will be available at the
First Aid clinic within the Convention Center but most people's need for salt should be met by the routine addition of table salt to food.
LOCAL HOSPITALS
Miami Heart is closest to most hotels and is located at 4701 N. Meridian Avenue near Alton Road and 48th St. The hospital closest to the Convention Center is at 630 Alton Road.
GROCERY AND CUT-RATE STORES
On 41st Street there are several cut-rate stores that sell groceries and drug store supplies.
