Maharaji: Oxnard Surprise Visit, December 9 2006

Oxnard Surprise Visit, December 9 2006

Hi. My name is Steve McPeters, and I'm here in front of the Oxnard Community centre. On December 9th, while attending a participation meeting here, something very extraordinary happened. So here's a little background information. Two weeks prior to this event, Prentiss (S. Uchida) had a participation meeting in Marina Del Rey about 60 miles down the coast. There is about 200 people who came to that meeting, and it just got rave reviews. Now, however some people were not able to be there and so they requested that Prentiss do a similar event in this area. So we started looking for a venue, and we found one here in Oxnard, which is a agricultural community in Ventura County, best known for its annual Strawberry Festival. Now, around 4:30 in the afternoon, after we had been seeing one DVD, we just finished watching the second DVD. Prentiss was about to make an announcement to take a break, something far more amazing happened. There was some movement in the hall uh and the door opened and a roar just erupted from the 79 people that were there. Seemingly out of nowhere [i.e. the door] Maharaji walked in. He motioned for the microphone to be put on stage, and he walked up. The word surprise does not really adequately describe the moment. Luckily, Nobu, who is here doing AV for the event, had his mini video camera with him. Now the tape's a little rough in the beginning, but the moment was definitely captured. You can now see for yourself.

(much laughter which I will not record) (We love you Maharaji. We love you) ?? Tomorrow. I thought I'd save you from some boring videos. A human being can only take so much of them. What's uh Prentiss me an email. He said, you know, "How about a surprise event on the 9th?" So I thought I'd surprised him too. Any case, it's wonderful to see that there are people who are interested in propagation in in making sure that this happens. So many things transpire. You know in a person's life And we look, we search, we try to find some reality, reality in the middle of so much that is fake. So much that comes and goes so much that seems to exist but when you go to touch it, it's not there. It's like a bubble. We try to find in that mishmash of things something that fundamentally can touch us, fundamentally can be an anchor, for us fundamentally can be there for us. It's like trying to find an island in the middle of a big ocean and so many people say you know when they go in the desert they see all these mirages (Maharajis) and then they want to chase these mirages (Maharajis), they want to pursue these mirages (Maharajis). Then when they get there there's nothing there and there was nothing there to begin with. But somebody thinks somebody sees something and that's the way it is. But then there is a reality, A reality that is much more fundamental, much more innate to every single human being and the fact that you exist, that has to be the source, that has to be the absolute source of your inspiration in life. Now for how many people that is the inspiration? It's not. Is everything else that happens in their life is the inspiration. Their dreams are their inspiration. Their ideals are their inspiration.

But they're coming and going of this breath is the inspiration and that's what it should be. Your existence that you exist because one day it won't be some. And people are always shocked when it happens. And I always tell people so what "You didn't know?" Yes, you know, but you refuse to accept it. You understand, but you ignore it. You deny it because it's easier to deny. Because "My God, what? What would reality be like? Reality could be horrible. And what reality is horrible. Then what would you do?"

But reality is not horrible The truth that you exist is the most sweetest, simplest thing there is. That you are alive, that is the most sweetest, simplest thing there is. And to understand that. And that's the, that's the core of that message. That's the core of the message. That you have another possibility, that you have another avenue that is available to you that is real. You as a human being. You have a possibility. Just uh day before yesterday I was talking to this person from New Zealand and we were having an interview. It was for a magazine. And you know New Zealanders I guess they pride themselves on a nation that really believes in peace and they really want to have peace and they have a lot of initiatives for peace.

You know and I was trying to tell them what but but but but what is peace? What is peace? In this world so many people go around going, "I love my car" and I say "What? How can you love your car?" How can you love your car? You can like your car, you can't love it and people think peace is calmness. Calmness is not peace. In fact one of the things that happens when people in sailboats cross the equator. They reach this dead zone and there's no wind and there's no waves. And there used to be in the sailboats in the old days people would almost go crazy. It was calm Dead Calm. Sitting and baking in the sun day after day, no waves, no wind, nothing, no movement of the sail boat. And people go crazy. Now people think calmness is peace. Calmness is calmness. Peace is peace. And unless you have felt it in your life, you will never understand what peace is and that, that's what Knowledge is about. That's what the message is about. That's what people need to understand in this life. And if there can be even just a little glimpse in their life, of this message, that there is more, and that more is very beautiful, that you can actually look forward to it. You can act, you know, you can actually look forward to it.

Birthdays are one of those things. What do you look at? Because in the celebration itself, the message is that 40, 50, 60 whatever years are finished. It's about mortality. That's the celebration. That's how many candles you blow out. That's each one of those candles represents a year of your life and what you're saying is it's over. But what is it? Is it about mortality or is it about looking forward, that there is more but you will never understand it in terms of birthdays if you don't understand it in terms of every single day and you will not understand it in terms of every single day if you indeed don't understand every single moment because that's how it is. A moment just went by. You didn't get a candle to blow out and it means exactly more than all the years because they all came at this moment and what about the next moment? Will you prepare yourself for the next moment? Will you be alive for the next moment? Will you accept that next moment? Will you?

Have you ever seen people trying to kill a fly? It's really funny. Especially if the fly is young and is darting around and it's a cold day but not too cold and people miss, miss again and then it becomes a personal thing. (laughter) Ego kicks in and it's like "I'm going to nail this fly." It's like it really becomes and then before you know it was just where is it? What happened? But then they really become ready and they become quiet and they're looking at that fly and they're not making big movements and they've got their fly swatter in their hand and they're they're preparing. At first they realised the reason why they didn't kill the fly is they weren't prepared and because now it is personal, age, ego, eyesight, all those things are involved. This has to happen now. They pay attention and they wait. They don't go chasing the fly. They wait for that fly to come within their range and then they are ready and not a moment too - it it is precise at that point, not too soon, not too late and it's just "I've gotcha" BOOM! and if they miss it at that point then they then they really give up, you know, it's like "OK fine" but the reason I'm telling you this is because life is like that.

You have missed so many moments. You just came into life and it, you know, being kid and all that it was just boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom miss miss mess miss mess miss missed. And when does it get personal? When does it get personal? When do you go "Okay, I gotta do this. I gotta" because when you do, when you do go into that mode of "I've got to do this" everything changes. Now, you prepare, it's important and some people they try to prepare and they go "Bang Bang Bang" and it doesn't happen and they go "Nah, its not happening thing." For some people, really prepare and they nail that fly. They capture that moment. And its so beautiful when that can happen. So I know it's kind of a very strange analogy to give about the moment but and as human as we are this is how we react to things, you know, it doesn't it, doesn't really get to us till it gets personal. Then it's like "Yeah I gotta be ready for this." So look at being conscious in this life, let it, let it become personal, let it be personal. Because if that's what it takes to prepare, then let it be so and, you know, most of what I have been doing has been just trying to rest and take care of certain things that were piled up on the table and uh the other day I was talking to somebody and I was saying "It's like going backwards in a time tunnel."

And then when I started to explain to him what I meant by that is that, this started, you know, maybe a year and a half, two years ago, things would happen. You know, few nights he would only sleep for an hour and then wake up an hour and wake up an hour and wake up and then that stopped. And so, you know, and then it would change to something else, he'd sleep for maybe 4 hours and then wake up and when you come back from a tour, you know, a lot of times it's like "Well where we're going next?" and you cannot explain to your body that you know "You're not going anywhere, it's okay, you can you can just be here" but it's like going back in time and living those every single one of those days again backwards and so he goes "Oh I'm so glad you said that, I thought I was the only one" ha ha ha and I said "No this is what's going on and it will take a long time before it it finally phases out but there is a lot of exciting things still going to be happening and uh one of the things that is going to be happening is the training for the uh Service Area Managers.

You know, if you look at it, we're doing very well with the uh Satsang portion of things around the world that's being disseminated and all that's happening and Knowledge part, we're doing pretty good. Could always be improved but we're doing pretty good. Be there's Keys, there's Auto Knowledge sessions. People are receiving Knowledge. I mean, every single day with Knowledge Sessions happening in India. But the middle element, the three Pillars of Knowledge, you know, Satsang, Service and Meditation, a practise of Knowledge, Service is missing, is weak, as weak as a, it possibly can be. So the next year, the focus is really to bring that up in par with everything else and as I have been working on it.

I have realised that unless people participate, they will never have a link. They will receive Knowledge. They will listen to the message, and they'll enjoy it, and they'll receive Knowledge and then it's like, "Okay," you know, GONE, but it's, it's, it's the practise and participation that really allows people to link. And when you look at all the people who do a lot of participation That's why. They had, they were provided with that link, and then that's what's brought them and they're still around. So uh we're starting a training because we're going to do it right. And to me, it's just as valuable as giving somebody the gift of knowledge, because it's part of it. And so this is what we're going to be doing and uh preparing the trainings and I'm looking forward to that.

And of course, schedules have not been made yet, but I have a lot of invitations and uh enough to keep me busy for a while. And what has to be done is the main theme behind every event, has to be somehow to narrow the uh chasm ('chasm' as in 'chad'), narrow that bridge. And so, you know, it's going to require a lot of strategic planning throughout all the United States. But we will do that. Use all the tools that we have, and we will do that. So I hope that it's all a wonderful, wonderful year. And I wish everybody a happy New Year, because I don't know if I'll get to see you between now and the New Year's, but have a great, great, you know, holidays and great, uh exciting new year. And so take care of yourselves and I'm glad that you came here today. See, it does pay off. (applause) does pay off to participate. So thank you very much. (applause)

"The best afternoon of our lives"