Lisbon, Portugal, May 14, 1976
And the further we have been away from Knowledge, the more it takes, the more effort it takes. And we really have been far away from Knowledge. It is something that is keeping us alive right now. I mean, of course there are lots of excuses. You can say, "Yes, of course my breath is keeping me alive." And definitely your breath is keeping you alive. And yes, your heart is beating, and that is what is keeping you alive. Yes, in fact when your blood is circulating, that is what is keeping you alive. Okay, that is true. Because if your blood stops circulating, you will die. If your heart stops pounding, you'll die. And if you stop breathing, you'll die. But then the thing is, what makes the breathing go breathing?
Élan Vital, Fall 1978, Volume II, Issue 3

Shower of Grace Festival, Malibu California, June 10 1978
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 … 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.
Golden Age August 1978 Number 47

Denver, Colorado, 25 February, 1979
It just isn't any other way. That truth, that faith in Guru Maharaj Ji, has to be there constantly. I know for all of us is very difficult. Because our trust, that faith that's supposed to go towards Guru Maharaj Ji, goes into these relentless worldly things that do not by any means deserve that faith. Like Raja Ji was saying, we put our faith in a stupid bus. We put our faith in an airplane. But in Guru Maharaj Ji, who is truly the Captain, who's going to truly take our true life and make it cross the ocean … Remember. Guru Maharaj Ji is merciful, but the mercy comes upon only those who haven't shut their door to mercy. If we, by our stupid concepts or ideas, shut that door to mercy, Guru Maharaj Ji will come, knock, but we won't hear. We will not be able to hear.
Our faith in our Guru Maharaj Ji has to be real. Our faith in our Guru Maharaj Ji has to be there. There is no and, if, and but about it. And pray! And just with all your heart, pray that Guru Maharaj Ji, by his mercy, will have faith in you. Because Guru Maharaj Ji has absolutely no necessity of having faith in you. Because remember, there is that prayer. "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, do not forget me. To you there are thousands. But to me, you are the only one. And if you forget me, then I've had it. Your Love and your Grace is what I depend on. I do not doubt your mercy. And I do not doubt your faith. But I doubt myself. And so give me the strength. Make my effort manifest. Give me the strength so that I may never forget you."
Divine Times, Holi Issue, 1979 Volume 8, Number 2

Holi Festival, Miami Beach, Florida, Friday 6th April, 1979.
So how beautiful it is to have that opportunity now in our lives to really open up to that incredible miracle. The most incredible miracle that can only be performed by a genuine Magician, not every "hocus-pocus" sayer in this world. The Magician has to be genuine, and automatically his magic will be. And this Magician does not promise to do a hundred magic tricks, but to do simply one, which is the root of all. This Teacher doesn't say, "Look, I'll teach you math, algebra, geography, geometry." He says, "I'll just teach you one thing that is the root of everything in this world. And where does our effort come in, in really understanding that Magician? It is not just a part where the Magician is going to come, he's going to do his number, and that's it; you will be the audience. No. There is no audience. You are a part of that miracle. Every one, every soul existing as of right now on this entire Earth, is a part of that miracle.
Élan Vital, Summer 1979, Volume III, Issue 2

Guru Puja, Miami Beach Florida, Saturday, 21st July 1979
Kabir says that you can take this whole ocean and turn it into ink and you can take all the wood and turn it into pens and you can take all the land and turn it into paper and you still cannot write the glory of Guru Maharaj Ji. Why not? Because what Guru Maharaj Ji is, is opposite of what you think he is. Guru Maharaj Ji cannot be … this is the problem. This is the problem you have every day. Your mind can't figure out what Guru Maharaj Ji is. Your mind can't. You can - by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, by Guru Maharaj Ji's blessings - you can figure out when you make that effort. When you merge with Guru Maharaj Ji that's the day you'll figure it out - for one second - and then you'll be merged. And yet your mind can't figure it out.
Golden Age magazine, October 1979, Number 55

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 10, 1979, Evening
Even our arti, the way we sing, "You are my brother, you are my father, you are my … you are my everything." And we have to make that a reality. Guru Maharaj Ji really has to become everything to us: our friend, our life. We have to somehow disappear. And that is the only way we can disappear: by our devotion, to be completely locked in Guru Maharaj Ji's love; by our devotion, to completely merge in Guru Maharaj Ji. And so then comes the part of, "How do you have devotion?" Again, devotion is the miracle which is beyond all miracles. Devotion is that thing that so many saints and so many people have constantly thirsted and thirsted and thirsted for.
And all Guru Maharaj Ji is asking of us is to make that little effort happen. That's a little effort. It's that little faith, it's that tie of devotion to Guru Maharaj Ji -- not into this world. And for an instant experience: now. For that experience that our heart yearns and yearns and yearns for.
Can it really be that hard to surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji? Can it really be that hard to have faith in Guru Maharaj Ji? Can it really be that hard to love Guru Maharaj Ji? Can it really be as hard as we make it sometimes for ourselves to have devotion for Guru Maharaj Ji? I mean, aren't we humans? And isn't it all for us, to have faith?
Affinity, February 1980

Millenium 2000 festival
By putting all the other things aside and focus on the one way, you don't need to run anywhere else, the human being starts to run in that one direction where his Creator truly resides, where his Creator truly resides, where his true bliss is there. He doesn't know what's in front of him, what's behind him, what's above him, what's below him, that person goes to that place, he's in that place where everything is still, everything is beautiful and there's nothing else besides that bliss, besides that peace and the Master (Hindi: Guru Maharaj Ji) has opened that door, opened that path for the person to go to that place. What a beautiful thing, what is the difference? Truly, for that person who has this Knowledge (Hindi: premie) when he realizes that every step is so precious and he makes the effort to try and understand this, the world doesn't even try to understand this but people who have this knowledge can try to make this effort, even a little bit of effort every single day that they want to fulfil their lives. Therefore the Saints and Masters have said "Blessed are those, blessed are those whose focus is in that direction of where there is that truth, consciousness and bliss where there is that Supreme Bliss, where is that, where there is that peace but also walk in the remembrance of that.
Élan Vital '4 Days in November' video, 2000

The Ability to Be Happy, Words Of Peace video
I ask you, think about this "Does your ability to feel contentment actually ever vary?" Don't get it confused with "Do you feel contentment every day?" No, I know that. You don't, but the ability to feel the contentment, does it actually vary? And the answer to it is no. The ability, the ability to feel that joy in your life does not vary. So let's just stop for a second and go "Hmmm." The ability does not vary but the joy that I feel does vary. I would be a hypocrite to sit here and say to you "Oh yes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, I am in complete bliss." I'm not going to tell you that, because that's not true. Things happen. I am not going to be a hypocrite and tell you that it is all the time and I'm not going to be a hypocrite and tell you the the ability to feel that peace varies because it does not. So what does that mean? It means that I can actually make an effort and feel that joy far more than I ever imagined I could. Just simple, keep it simple, none of this 24 hours' stuff, none of this hypocrisy, just simple that I want to feel a gratitude when I wake up, that I'm alive. That is blessing, this breath is coming in and out of me and in the simple things of life, simple things of life I can find my joy within me.
Downloaded April 1 2012 from The Young Peoples' Initiative website video