Guru Maharaj Ji
Holi,
So dear premies, again we are being offered another opportunity, another chance to just sit down, to just come together and to experience that beautiful experience. To experience satsang.
What is satsang? Maybe to a lot of people, you get up, grab your microphone and start talking about something. But anybody who has experienced anything about satsang can tell you that that's not satsang. Satsang is really that experience that manifests when the Knowledge manifests. Satsang is that experience that manifests when really Guru Maharaj Ji manifests in our lives. It's not a lecture. It's not a speech. It's not an opinion. It's not even a philosophy. Because it's an experience.
And the whole thing can be compared to the sun. There are not two suns. When the sun comes up, that's the sun and that's it, period. There is no doubt about the sun. When the sun is up, no matter how many clouds there are, you can even see that brilliance through them. You can see that light shining everywhere. As far as you can see that light manifests, that sun, that warmth, comes alive, comes through.
Either you are having an experience of satsang or you're not. Either the sun is up or it's down. And when we really let go ...
Let go of what? What do we have to let go of? Okay, that's a very good question. Everybody might have asked, "Well, what do we let go of? What is surrender? What are we holding on to?"
Look around you. Sit down for a minute and just really look at yourself. How many things are you holding on to? I mean thousands and thousands, an indescribable number of things that you hold on to, that are dear to you, that you don't want to let go of. That experience of all those things that you like, that you love, if they all were to disappear, what would happen? Sad. Shocking. Displeased.
And we hold on to so many things in this life. Not one, not two, not three, not four, but thousands of things. This materialistic world is like velcro fasteners almost. You touch the pieces together and it just snaps together. Doesn't want to let go. And Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Okay. Look. Let go of all those things, because they are slowing you down. Forget about this world for a moment." Because how much attention we put into this world. I mean it's incredible. It's outrageous, all the attention that we put into this world. Newspapers, radios, television — you name it and it's given to this world.
And Guru Maharaj Ji very simply says, "Wait. Wait a minute. Stop all this for a second. Forget about everything. Just remember
"You can't just take Knowledge and. give it
fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes at nighttime. You can't just
make Guru Maharaj Ji a thing to go and see, like an exhibition or a rock
concert. But Guru Maharaj Ji has to manifest in your life twenty-four hours a
day."
me. Just remember that Grace. Just concentrate on that Knowledge. Just focus on that Knowledge. And then you shall have an experience."
And maybe to us that is a lot to ask. Maybe we have this feeling, "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, that's too much for me." Or, "Maybe Guru Maharaj Ji someday in my life, by your Grace . . ." You know, sort of like buttering it all up. "By your Grace, someday in my life, maybe I'll surrender to you."
Haven't you heard Guru Maharaj Ji very distinctly, very clearly putting it: "Surrender now. Let go now. This life is now." The number of things we take for granted is just completely outrageous.
Ravan is a very popular character in India. And this Ravan was extremely learned, extremely educated, intelligent, smart, knew just about everything. A very philosophical personality — an intellectual walking computer, literally. He studied all the scriptures; for ages he had meditated upon — I don't know what. A very strong person. As a matter of fact, in his kingdom he made a city out of gold. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's how it's described. The city was made out of gold.
And he was the one responsible for stealing Sita, Ram's wife, and taking her away. And finally this whole war happens. And in the war, Ravan gets it. So here is Ravan, dying. And Ram says to Lakshman, his brother, "Why don't you go to Ravan and learn something from him. Learn about politics. Learn how to rule a kingdom. Learn what he knows. Learn what good he knows."
And so Lakshman, who has a very aggressive nature, goes to Ravan. He says, "Hey Ravan, you got something to tell me? Lay it on me." And Ravan takes one look at him and he just doesn't say anything to Lakshman. Lakshman goes back to Ram and he says, "Ram, he is dying. He's got his last moments right in front of him. But he is like a rope."
A rope has all these twists in it. And even when you burn a rope those twists still stay there, all twisted up. They don't just turn into ashes. Even when they are turned into ashes, they're still there, all twisted up.
And he says, "This is his condition. He's ready to die, but he is not surrendering. He is not humble." So Ram says, "Were you humble?" And Lakshman says, "Well, I wasn't so humble."
So Ram tells him, "Look, that's not the way you ask. Be humble. Ask him and he'll tell you."
So anyway, the point isn't what happened or that he finally got Ravan to talk. The point is what Ravan says to Lakshman. And Ravan says, "Listen. I had a dream that I was going to make a ladder to heaven." Okay, in the Western world it's very hard to believe this. The closest thing to the Earth is the moon. It's inconceivable to put a ladder up from here to there. Why? A very simple thing. You can have a ladder but then you will have to stop because all this friction from the atmosphere would burn the ladder up.
But anyway, apart from all these ideas and dreams, Ravan says, "Look, I had an idea to build a ladder. I mean a great idea. You wouldn't have to go through all those rules and regulations to get to heaven. You just take a ladder up there any time you want."
And he says, "I thought that I better steal Sita first. Then I'd think about it."
Look at the idea. He has an idea, "I'm going to put a ladder from here to there." Maybe in some way, in even the most tiny speck in the entire universe, he has a thought, a suggestion, in his head, "I can put a ladder to heaven."
Maybe he had more technology available to him than we have to us. Maybe it was possible. But his idea to put a ladder up from here to there was a fantastic idea.
And then he says, "Then I thought, why not make the whole ocean sweet, instead of it being salty. What good is it salty?"
And he says, "No. Wait. I can do this tomorrow. I can wait for this. I would rather go steal Sita, have a nice time there." And he says, "All my life this is what I kept doing. All these incredible, fantastic ideas that I had. And today all that kingdom that I won, my city of my gold, my sons, my daughters, my wives, my children, my family, are nowhere in sight. All that I thought was everything. Today here I am lying down dying, and yet nobody is even coming to me to ask for a glass of water. And for all the people that are not even coming close to me, that are not even there now, I spent my whole life."
He says, "The lesson from all this is, Lakshman, never put off anything until tomorrow. You know, don't say, 'Okay, I'll do that tomorrow.' "
The point is, whatever is there, you have to see what you have to do, because if you never left anything for tomorrow, what would happen? First of all you would die. Because you wouldn't eat and you wouldn't sleep. You would be constantly doing what you have to do tomorrow. As a matter of fact you don't even know what you have to do tomorrow. If you knew what you have to do tomorrow, you would be called some realized soul. The guy who knows about the future. But you don't know what you have to do tomorrow.
And today, if I feel like I have to slap somebody, that's a deed. That's an action. Tell me if there is a saint in this whole world who would not tell me that I should put that off till tomorrow. I should wait about that. If somebody had bad intentions of killing somebody, do you think there was ever, or ever will be, any Perfect Master who wouldn't say, "Wait. Wait. Why don't you give it some time. Give it some thought before you actually execute."
It's not for these worldly things, which are attachments. How do we use that example in our lives? How do we use that "Never put off till tomorrow" in our lives?
It's like, "Oh yeah, man. I really like that girl. I want to get married to her." Then you go back home. Your girlfriend just told you, "Well look, why don't we wait a few more days. I'll think about it." And you get back home and you feel pretty anxious. You really want to get married to her, so you get into your home and there are these commandments, right? And you pick up the phone and say, "Listen. We can't take this chance. We have to get married right now. Guru Maharaj Ji says so. 'Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today.' And we sure can get married today. There's a plane leaving for Las Vegas in twenty minutes."
That's, to us, now. That is, "Oh yeah, oh yeah, that makes sense, Guru Maharaj Ji. Don't put off till tomorrow,' yeah. I mean, you know, what if I die tomorrow? Then I will never be married in my life."
But none of the Perfect Masters have come in this world — as a matter of fact they have said something else. They say one thing. And then they say another thing. But they say something in the middle that ties the context of that thing and that thing together. We forget about the thing they say which really ties things together. We forget about that. We take those things that a Perfect Master has ever said and use it and mingle it and form it and shape it into whatever we want to do.
Because it's so clear. Okay, this is true. You shouldn't put off till tomorrow what you can do today. But also Tulsidas has said, "Wherever you look, it's all maya. Whatever you can see, what you can touch, what you can feel, is all maya. It's all an illusion.” And in an illusion, if you put it off until tomorrow, day after tomorrow, day after the day after the day after the day after the day after tomorrow — what difference does it make?
But it's for that Knowledge, for that realization. It's for that surrender that has to happen now, that has to manifest now. Not tomorrow. Tomorrow. That's when you don't know whether tomorrow is really going to be there or not. I mean, who knows if tomorrow will be there or not? What is tomorrow? First of all, tomorrow never comes. You never see it coming and you never see today leaving. It just is there. You are there.
And yet for every day that you spend a minute, a second, or an hour in this world not realizing that Knowledge, not realizing, not making that Knowledge really everything in your life, everything, then that's how much waste you are. You are a wasted soul. You are a wasted body on this planet Earth. The ground that you occupy is being wasted, is being made useless.
But only when you really have that realization of Knowledge, only when you really accept that Grace of Guru Maharaj Ji, only when you make that option really happen in your life, when you really say, "Look, man, it is not a matter of tomorrow, it's now. And who am I kidding, who am I trying to kid?"
To me, in my life for instance, it was so simple in one way. Because I realized one thing. There is Guru Maharaj Ji, my Guru Maharaj Ji, and he has revealed Knowledge to me. He has given me Knowledge. He has given me something that I want. My ups and downs, or whatever you might call them, my quest for Knowledge, my thirst was nothing philosophical, nothing sophisticated — very, very simple, in fact. I realized that there is nothing in this world except Knowledge, except the experience of Knowledge, except the experience of Guru Maharaj Ji; and what I think is everything in this world is in fact nothing. It's the darkness. It's the emptiness. It's the absolute "zeroness."
And there is only one thing that is real.
There are aspirants sitting here. And to these aspirants, realization of Knowledge is everything. And that's true. You want to realize Knowledge. That is a main, important part. But when I had realized Knowledge, what was it to me? What was it to me?
Okay, there is Guru Maharaj Ji and there is me, and then I have Knowledge. Just like Mahatma Gurucharnanand Ji was saying, this guy asked Buddha, "What did you receive? What did you get?" And Buddha said, "Look, I got nothing. And I lost something." And it's such a deep meaning.
Because Guru Maharaj Ji doesn't come up and take Knowledge out of his pocket and say, "Here, chum. Here is your Knowledge." But the Knowledge is already within inside of us. It's there. It's there. It always was, always will be, as long as we are alive.
I see very simply that there I was. And I see that I had to do something to really be able to even understand a speck of Knowledge. And I had to do something to be able to really understand — not all the way, but maybe just a very, very tiny speck of what Guru Maharaj Ji is, or who Guru Maharaj Ji is. Or even the necessity. And I had to do a certain thing a certain way, to even just slightly surrender.
And my effort every day will make that happen more and more and more. And to me it's so simple. That is the way every single one sitting in this hall or not sitting in this hall — flying, sitting, dying, getting born, standing upside down, standing right side up, swimming, drowning, burning — everyone who is still breathing will have to go to understand Knowledge. That is the way they will have to go. And that way is surrender.
Everyone has to surrender. Because we, in our concepts, imagine "us" or "me" or "mine." You know, "This is mine. This is mine. I am. I am." Where are you? Who are you?
Sometimes people get knocked on the head or something like that. And then they can't remember anything. They can't remember their name. They're alive. They can understand. They can think. They can speak English. But they don't know who they are. What is their condition? I mean what place are they at? They have lost all that identity.
"This is our time. This is an opportunity for all
of us. Can I say that it has been given by Guru Maharaj Ji? Well, so has
everything been given by Guru Maharaj Ji. Not only this
opportunity but this life has also been given by Guru Maharaj Ji to
us."
And just look at them. They have lost all that identity and they're still alive. Look at them! They're still breathing. They can still talk. But they don't know who they are. They don't know their name. They don't know whether they're a millionaire or a beggar. They don't know if they're a king - they don't know if they're a prisoner. They don't know if they're a friend; they don't know if they're an enemy.
And yet . . . they're alive. Really. Because our identities that we form, our concepts that we form, have absolutely nothing to do with this life! These ideas, these concepts that we get hooked on, are completely superficial, are completely homemade. It's a complete fudge job.
There is this one premie who is an initiator now, right? He didn't like his middle name so he changed it so that his initials would be D.L.M. And if this guy changes his last name, he's still alive.
Who in this hall is named "Hey You?" But you're walking down the street, somebody taps your shoulder and goes, "Hey you, come here." And you turn around and you say, "What's up? Don't you dare call me 'hey you!' " Or something like that.
And Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Look. Okay. All these things you pile on. Your name can be changed. Your house can be changed. Your shape can be changed. But there is one thing that never can be changed. And until and unless you realize that one thing — your true name — you are lost in this world."
Being lost doesn't click in people's brains. "Lost?" I'm not lost, man. I know where the bullring is. I know the coffee shop across the street there. I know the ice cream store. I know which turnabout to take. I know which bus to take to my hotel. I know which airplane to take to my city. I ain't lost."
But there's the catch. You can go on believing that. But that's getting more lost and more lost and more lost and more lost and more lost.
And so premies, this is our time. This is an opportunity for all of us. Can I say that it has been given by Guru Maharaj Ji? Well, so has everything been given by Guru Maharaj Ji. Not only this opportunity but this life has also been given by Guru Maharaj Ji to us.
And now, we just look and the Grace and the mercy of Guru Maharaj Ji is so incredible. It's so beautiful. To me, every time this really clicks in my heart, "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, to you, we are so many, so many, so many, so many. You can point to one person today and not remember him tomorrow. That might be feasible. But to me, you are only one. I have no option; I have no choice. And I don't want the choice. I want your devotion. I want your Love. I want you. I want your Grace. Because in your Grace, in your kindness, in your blessing, is everything, is that kingdom, and the kingdom of heaven is that rule. The rule that you give me in my heart. You are the ultimate king. And in your world I want to live. Guide my desire. Make me a devotee. Let me become a devotee."
So many beautiful prayers have been said by so many beautiful different saints. "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, let me become a devotee. Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, make me your devotee. Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, I am nothing, and you have made me everything by your infinite Grace. Keep me at your feet." I mean so many, so many prayers have been said to Guru Maharaj Ji.
And there's that whole song about Guru Maharaj Ji. "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, you have done such a beautiful mercy upon this soul that you have broken all ties of my ego, of my desires. Day and night I was completely into this maya, into this world, and you have shown me that this is nothing but a dream. And you have broken my concept. You have awakened me."
Then, "I was completely into scriptures and going to all these holy places and this was it. I thought this was going to bring me liberation. But you have given me the secret of secrets. You have unveiled that there's nothing there. Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, how can I thank you?"
And what does Guru Maharaj Ji say? He says, "Come to me." What does Guru Maharaj Ji say? He says, "Look, don't look back." Guru Maharaj Ji says, "Don't get caught up in this illusion again and again and again." How stupid can you get? Is there any way left that Guru Maharaj Ji hasn't made it clear in this world? When Jesus came, didn't he implicitly make it clear what had to be done?
What is new? That surrender — to let go, to have that complete faith . . . It's so implicitly made clear. In Gita, it has been so implicitly made clear. In Ramayana it has been made so clear. In every scripture it's made so clear that you have to let go. It's not your option, you dum-dum. What do you think you are? Here you are riding in this illusion. You are sleepwalking. You are dreamwalking. You're walking. You're sleeping and you are walking and you think everything that you feel or you realize is really real.
There's that example of this one king. Raja Janak. And one night he is sleeping. And he has a dream.
And in this dream he dreams that all his kingdom has been taken away from him. He has been defeated. And he has to run to save his own life. And he is running. He finds himself hungry and tired and wet. So he goes and he knocks at this little hut. And he sees this old woman. He says, "Have you got something to eat?"
"No, I don't," she says, "I don't have anything to eat, but here is some dal. Here are some lentils and here is some rice. Maybe you can make yourself something."
Raja Janak says, "Okay, that's fine." He goes. He collects some wood that's wet and he tries to make a fire. His eyes are just watering and he's having a hard time trying to make fire. He puts on the pot and finally it's ready. His lentils and his rice are ready. And he takes it out and he puts it on a big banana leaf to let it cool down so he can eat it. And two bulls come fighting and completely take all his effort and mingle it into the ground, just mix it into the mud.
He experiences that and he starts crying. And he wakes up. Oh, but what a paradox to wake up to! He says, "What's going on?" He finds his golden bed there, his chandeliers, his guards. His kingdom is there. And yet he doesn't know. And what a paradox. He doesn't know if what he was dreaming was real, or in fact what he sees now in front of his eyes is reality. And what was a dream? Is his status that of a meek beggar who can't even get his food straightened out, or in fact is he that person who is a king?
"Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, let me become a devotee. Oh
Guru Maharaj Ji, make me your devotee. Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, I am nothing, and
you have made me everything by your infinite Grace. Keep me at your feet."
And premies, maybe that paradox is with us, too. And yet, just like a blind person we have believed, "Oh yes, of course what we see is not a dream. It's the reality." Why? Couldn't this be a dream? As well as you can imagine it, see it, and think that this is a reality; couldn't it just be a dream and one day you will wake up and you will find that you had a nightmare?
This life of this man who walks the streets every day . . . His one aim in his life — just like a pig, just like a monkey, just like an ant — is food. For him, his own world which he is born in is so far away from him that he has to stop what he is pursuing so that he can sit down for a weekend and enjoy it. It's called a vacation.
The sun was made for him, the moon, the beauty, the apple — that whole creation was made for him. And yet he has gone so far from it that just to be able to enjoy it he has to take a break from whatever he is doing. Wouldn't you describe this life that one man lives a nightmare, if it were to be a dream? I would. I would call it a nightmare.
Well, what is this world? Okay, it's all great and it's all incredible. What do you have? You have airplanes and 747's and the Concorde. You have Apollos. Listen. Let me tell you one thing. You might sit there in a 747 and say, "Man, incredible. What is this accomplishment of mankind today?"
When the Indians were coming to Orlando, they took one look at the 747 and they would go, "Man, the whole village is flying." It looked so huge to them. And then there is this one guy who sits on the left seat in the second story of the 747. Actually you might call it a second story or you might call it the third story. But in the cockpit. And this whole accomplishment of man is under his command, under his knowledge. And I tell you initially when all four engines are brought up, his heart starts to pound. His hands start to quiver. And for every mile an hour he goes, there's only one recurring thought, one reoccurring factor: if something happens, abort. This guy sitting right next to him calls it, "V-l, V-2." And after the V-2, his thought changes, his whole idea changes. And he knows that after the V-2, even if one engine goes, he's going to rotate, and that's it. And you rotate.
Would you call that an accomplishment? This poor guy's heart thumping, his hands shaking, everything dependent on a little speedometer that sits on the side. That's it. If that airplane's front nose were to lift up and one engine were to take a vacation, that pilot would be in bad shape. Because there it is. That's it. Not that he's going to crash. That depends on the length of the runway. He will keep on going, but he will be in bad shape.
It's all this pleasure. So unreasonable. What is this joy all about? What is this incredible thing all about? People go out, get a Super-8 camera. Why? So they can enjoy taking film. So they take their camera and they shoot this whole Super-8 millimeter movie. They just got a new camera; show it to everybody. Send the film. Get a projector to see the film on. Very happy about their new equipment. Here comes the film. Load it and it's all blank. "What did I do wrong? Oh God, I forgot my lens cover was on again."
What kind of world do we live in? A simple thing like that, a simple thing like that can do it to us. Our incredible joy, our incredible treasures can just go down the drain, just like that. This world is so subjected constantly to becoming a nightmare.
And there's only one thing in this world that can change it from being a nightmare. And that's Guru Maharaj Ji. And we know it. We know it time after time after time. Why do you think Jesus came in this world?
In America I was talking to this one priest. I asked him, "What do you think is the Holy Word?" You know, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ..." I said, "What do you think is the Holy Word?"
And he said, "The Bible."
I said, "Don't you think that's a kind of a stupid way of writing it? Why didn't he just write, 'In the beginning was the Bible, the Bible was with God, the Bible was God.' Why did he say, In the beginning was the Word' ? Was he trying to be mysterious? It's only a few pages back from where it says Bible. Does it start from John — you know, 'In the beginning was the Word' ? So what do you think it is? Jesus came; Jesus saved us. What is a confession then? If we are saved . . ."
The true sign of a devotee is really when that
devotion to Guru Maharaj Ji is connected. That true sign of that devotee is
when Guru Maharaj Ji is there in his life and that's the only thing his life
is: Guru Maharaj Ji.
It's like this. There is a huge airport. And it doesn't matter where you are but you have to come to the airport if you want to catch the airplane. And you see these people. They run down this whole thing and they go to the counter and they get a ticket. They're upset. They check in their luggage and get it all in there. The whole race isn't over yet. They still run and run. They have to go through the security check. Finally they get there. Then they have to get a boarding pass for the right seat that they want.
Then when it's all done, they put their brief cases down, stretch their legs and sit on the seat. Because they know the airplane isn't going to go anywhere. They are there; the airplane is there. When the guy calls, they can go in.
If we all have been saved, then what is the necessity to still keep running? Just sit down, relax. Do whatever you want to do in your life. You're saved, man. You have a one-way ticket. You're going there and it doesn't matter what you do, right?
No. That's not right. That wasn't right when Jesus came. Nobody told his disciples, "Listen, I'm very happy to tell you, my disciples, you can do anything you want to do in this world. You know why? Because I have saved you." Did he say that to them?
I am not an authority on the Bible, I have to admit. But I know what they are talking about. I can get the meaning; I can get the gist. And it's so simple.
And so premies, it was like that then. It's like that right now. What do you think? You think you have Knowledge so that you can just sit back and relax? That manifestation . . . Listen! You have to try twenty times more than anybody of any age, in any age. In this age of darkness, if nothing else, you have to try at least twenty times harder, man. And here we are, not even trying at all. That's not going to get us anywhere. It just simply isn't.
And what is Guru Maharaj Ji saying? How easy has Guru Maharaj Ji made it for us? Guru Maharaj Ji has made it so simple in this world that people of this world think, "How can . . ."
This is the problem. This is the question people ask me. These are the kind of people that when they ask this kind of question you feel like slapping them on the face, "What are you talking about, man?"
"If this is true Knowledge, how come it's so simple?" What are you talking about? You want it difficult? You want it hard? Would you really rather spend forty-five years of your life chopping wood in an ashram, without Knowledge or ever receiving darshan — one meal and twenty-four hour service?
And Guru Maharaj Ji's making it so simple by just simply saying, "Look. Surrender. Let go." All those philosophies have occupied pages and pages and pages. "Oh, you have to do this and you have to do that." It's very simple. It's been made very, very simple: just let go! If you can, let go. Let it happen. Surrender. Not to this world. Not to this maya. To Guru Maharaj Ji. Have that faith in Guru Maharaj Ji.
And all we have to do, premies, is to really, just for once in our understanding, realize, "Man, that's what Guru Maharaj Ji wants me to do. To surrender. To let go. Who am I? Who am I? Who is this crazy mind to sit there and object?"
But if Guru Maharaj Ji says to let go, if Guru Maharaj Ji says to make effort . . . you know, like in that song, "Your wish is my command." It's all there. It's all been simply laid out, premies. Guru Maharaj Ji is here. You are here. You have Knowledge.
And for the ones who don't have Knowledge, that's what you have to understand. By Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, to just let go of that ego and just even try to understand Knowledge. And really, someday, by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace, pray that you will receive Knowledge.
And for the ones that have understood Knowledge, it is not our option. It's not our choice. After all, you're not in front of a buffet table. This is your life. This is you. All you have to do is to just really let go to Guru Maharaj Ji. Who else? Guru Maharaj Ji is not saying, "Let go to that speaker. Let go to this microphone. Let go to this and let go to that." Guru Maharaj Ji is putting it ever so simply: let go to me.
And if we really have that faith, if we really call ourselves devotees, or even if we are devotees, then whatever our Guru Maharaj Ji says, we have to do.
Premies, this has just been really an incredible festival. This has just really been a beautiful festival. And we all came together. And we came together from England and some from France, Germany, and I don't know where all — Europe has a lot of countries in it. And we came here, to Spain, not because this is a beautiful joint. I could care less about Malaga, myself.
The residence we are staying in has a swimming pool. And in Miami when I played Holi I came back to the residence and there was a hose. So I just stood by the swimming pool and I hosed myself off. Here we didn't have a hose. All the time that I have been here I didn't go in that swimming pool, except after playing Holi. I jumped in to rinse off the color.
As far as I'm concerned, I don't care about Malaga. And I don't care about this bullring. I'm not impressed by it at all. It gets hot, sun comes out this way, and after it sets it gets really cold. All these things. Dusty. Bugs everywhere. I could not care less about Malaga, Marbella — whatever this place is and whatever that place is you have to come into first.
But what I care about, and the reason that brought us all together, is that Knowledge, is Guru Maharaj Ji. We have to remember that. And that's the way it's going to be when Hans Jayanti happens. Even though I don't know who's going to go there. Today I was discussing about Hans Jayanti and the world tour, all these things. And so, I don't know if it's going to happen exactly like that. Of course nobody ever knows if it's going to happen exactly like that.
But tentatively, as everything is set up, and that's providing everything goes right, we'll have Hans Jayanti in the same exact place, from November 3rd till the 11th, I believe. Which is about eight days of Hans Jayanti. Not that those are the final dates, but it'll be in the proximity. And hopefully the same place, if we can get it.
Okay, I thought that somebody would clap and somebody would whistle and somebody would go, "Ho, ho," and all that. And yet, to me, if you can't understand what I'm trying to tell you here, believe me Orlando is going to do no miracle. You have to understand now. That's what I have been trying to say. Now. You have to let go now. That surrender really has to manifest. That Knowledge really has to come into your life and take over.
You cannot take Knowledge — and yet so many of us do it. I am not talking to the person sitting right next to you, by the way. I'm talking to you. I'm not talking to this guy who is right next to you. You are saying, "Huh, he's talking to him." No. I'm talking to you. Every one of you. And what I'm trying to tell you is that you can't take Knowledge like a toothpick and stick it between your teeth while you are talking, walking, sleeping, or anything you are doing. Knowledge isn't like that. You can't just take Knowledge and give it fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes at nighttime. You can't just make Guru Maharaj Ji a thing to go and see, like an exhibition or a rock concert.
But Guru Maharaj Ji has to manifest in your life twenty-four hours a day. Knowledge has to come alive in your life twenty-four hours a day. Every day, every second, every year, every century this Knowledge has to be there. And for every one of you.
Look, I have realized it that way. There are no short cuts; there are no bypasses. Time constantly runs out and if you don't make that effort now, tell me — when are you going to make that effort? And how much of that effort is it? Is Guru Maharaj Ji really telling you to pick up this whole bullring? That would be simple; that would be easy. Is Guru Maharaj Ji really saying that you should pick up this world? Maybe even that would be easy. But Guru Maharaj Ji's saying a very simple thing. To this mind, to this ego, to this misunderstanding it may seem like everything. To this misunderstanding, to this mind it may seem like, "Oh, this is completely impossible."
“So premies, we just have to surrender now. Now is the time.”
Look, it has been done in the past, it can be done now. That's when you become a true devotee. Not when you crack a smile once in a while. That's not the true sign of a devotee. But the true sign of a devotee is really when that devotion to Guru Maharaj Ji is connected. That true sign of that devotee is when Guru Maharaj Ji is there in his life and that's the only thing his life is: Guru Maharaj Ji. That's when you become a devotee. When there is devotion. When that devotion is real and that devotion is there always. That's when you become a devotee. Not when you think you want to become a devotee do you become a devotee.
We've been saying, "Okay, it's so beautiful." Alright. It is beautiful that Guru Maharaj Ji is waiting there for you. There's one snag. A little snag. Guru Maharaj Ji, that Guru Maharaj Ji that is waiting there for you very patiently, might just decide to leave. Then what will you do? That Guru Maharaj Ji that is there might just decide he doesn't want you any more. Then what are you going to do? Tell me. Then where will you be? If Guru Maharaj Ji is waiting there, don't have him wait. Don't! Go now. Surrender now. Let go now.
I mean how long, really, do you think Guru Maharaj Ji is going to wait? He might not. Who are you to tell him, "Oh Guru Maharaj Ji, can you please wait a little bit longer?"
There are about seventy-five, seventy-six applicants who have applied to be initiators. I was going through these files. And one after another — and this is only from Europe — it's such a sad story. Because there are these premies, living in the ashram, having a beautiful experience. All of a sudden the mind comes in, kicks them out, even for three days.
You know what I look for in an application? The section that Hook for when I am looking at the application is where it says, "Have you ever left the ashram since first moving in?" I almost feel like closing it when it says yes. I mean why? How many times, for how many ages, for how many centuries, are you going to let that mind dominate you?
This obscene thing can't always keep on going. And Guru Maharaj Ji has given us everything to stop it. Stop it right now. He has given us Knowledge, he has given us opportunity, he has given us Grace to do satsang, service, and meditation. And we have to all get together and do service and meditation. Every one of us. Individually. Really just submerge in Guru Maharaj Ji's world. Really just let go to Guru Maharaj Ji.
Because who is in this world who wants us? Who is in this world who wants us for keeps? Maybe when we are little our father says, "Oh I love you. I want you." What is his ambition? He wants to teach you. "It's an investment," he says, "it's an investment. So that when I retire you shall be able to work and feed me and your mother." A concept. Who wants us for keeps?
Nobody in this world wants us, really. Nobody. Our father doesn't want us, our mother doesn't want us, our brothers don't want us, our uncles don't want us, our aunt doesn't want us, nobody wants us in this world. Except Guru Maharaj Ji. Guru Maharaj Ji's the only one who says, "Come. Come now and you can stay forever." Guru Maharaj Ji is the one who says, "You don't have to ever leave. You are home. You can stay at home as long as you want." And that's the kind of opportunity, that's the kind of Grace, that sometimes we kick right in the face.
So premies, we just have to surrender now. Now is the time.
This time I will be in Europe for quite a while. For approximately two and a half months, something like that. And you know, if you are ready, I am ready too. For a change, let's have some action in Europe. It's about time, wouldn't you say? And so let's do it. Let's get out of our seats. We have already worn holes in them. Let's get up, get out, tell this mind where it should be and put it there.
And premies, what a beautiful opportunity.
So this is the time. I mean I say we can do it. No problem. What's really needed: propagation, love, satsang, service, meditation, surrender, let go. No problem. I don't see any problem. I never have seen any problem. I think we can all do it. Every one. To me now is as good a time as it ever will be.
So, I hope you understand to some extent what I have said. And the Guru Puja will be happening in Europe too. It's not too far away.
So premies, thank you very much. And blessings to all the premies.
