1. UK 76-3 Gururaj. As John has told you, I've not come to lecture to you, lecturing means that I have to come to tell you something, but the whole idea this evening is to be able to communicate with you. And in communication there's a beautiful feeling of heart and soul and by communication only, could one's minds and souls flow in a wonderful, wonderful unity. Who would like to start me off with any question? It could be a question of any nature and it would be nice to discuss it. Okay. Questioner. Gururaj I have never been to India but I am wondering .......... (Inaudible) Gururaj. True. The quest of a person seeking spiritual knowledge is to find the spiritual knowledge and many people do maintain that it is by going to a certain place that such knowledge can be found. But if we do analyse this problem of going somewhere, we would find the answer that going anywhere is not necessary at all. The place that we have to go is within ourselves because all knowledge and all wisdom is within ourselves. Now the problem would remain how to tap the knowledge that is within ourselves man is born essentially Divine. The Divinity is there in him. It is his inherent right and it is just because of man's mind that he cannot fathom the depths that is within himself. Man's mind is such a cunning little animal that it stops the quest and yet it is through the mind that one could really find. Now we do know that the mind is finite and yet that which we are trying to find is infinite. So what can we do? How can we use the finite mind to find the infinite? And to go to America, or to India or to Spain or to Japan is not necessary when we here and now in Guildford. Sitting in Guildford, we can find that Divinity that is within us. Now the British Meditation Society proposes the method by which one can dive within oneself and that method as you would know, is through meditation. Meditation is a scientific method whereby we transcend the mind and experience that which is within. The Bible tells us very beautifully that 'The Kingdom of Heaven is within'. So going anywhere is not necessary. Where we go is just within ourselves. Now through the scientific method of meditation, we go beyond the limitations of the body and the limitations of the mind. Now that which is so infinite cannot fully be appreciated by the conscious mind. We do know that human beings use only ten percent of their minds, yet there is ninety percent of the mind which lies dormant. And how do we activate that portion of the mind which is dormant and yet in the activation of the dormant mind, yet we will still not be able to find the true self that is us. So what to do? The method would be through a scientific process to go beyond all the completeness of the mind and that which is left after traversing the full mind, the hundred percent mind, do we find the spiritual quality that is resident within us. Now the extent of the mind is the extent of the entire universe. So sitting here and now, we can traverse the whole universe, because if you study science you will know that the entire universe is contained within a

2. UK 76-3 single atom. Within a single atom, within the structure of a single atom lies the structure of the whole universe. Now this knowledge is not anything new. We, if we study the structure of the universe we will find that it is nothing but a set of vibrations. Now vibrations can exist on various levels. Vibrations can exist on a subtle level, as well as on a much grosser level. And when it exists on a grosser level, in a congealed, compacted level, it becomes perceptible to the five senses, seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting. Good, but that would be limited. Now the mind can experience the subtlest level of itself. If we should use an analogy of vapour, the same water vapour, which is very subtle, can become water, which is grosser and the same water can be solidified into ice, which is still more grosser. So all existence is nothing but vibrations and these vibrations exist in different forms from the subtlest level to the grosser form. If we take the human body, or this table, or this hall, these walls they are congealed compacted vi brations on a grosser level. So what we do is we start from the grosser level of things through scientific meditational processes and go to the subtle and more subtle and still the subtlest level of the mind and then we go beyond that which is known as the mind. So in this journey we cover the entire range of the whole universe. And this is the purpose of meditation. The purpose of meditation is to go within ourselves internally. By going to other places, other locations according to geography, we are achieving nothing. By going to India, you might want to go for a holiday and that's about all. Good. Now they do maintain that at certain places the vibrations are more conducive towards the spiritual quest. That might be so, but then the conduciveness of the atmosphere does not necessarily change the grossness that is within us. The grossness within us has to be tackled here and now and shifting this body or this mind to another geographical area will not help. It is true that by the association of the holy people, by association with that which is very good could help us, but this is still very, very elementary. It is elementary because the study of various Scriptures and various books are stil l on the mind level. They are still on the level of the mind. Therefore that which is still on the level of the mind is not the truth nor the reality that is within us. We have said before that the nature of the mind, although its extent is as large as the universe, is still not enough. So here through various Yogic practices which are years old. Do not think that this knowledge is Eastern. Do not think that it is Western, it is universal knowledge and geographical barriers are only made by man. We live on one planet as a planet and the inhabitants of a planet, we can still go further and say we are inhabitants of a solar system and further still we are inhabitants of a universe. Man has the ability to hold the universe i n the palm of his hand. He can experience every level to which the mind is capable of, but that is still not enough, he has to go beyond it.

3. UK 76-3 So we, to unfathom the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven that lies within, there are scientific principles and scientific methods following which and practising which we can unlock the doors that leads us to that Divinity. Now what is the purpose of being in touch with that Divinity? The purpose of drawing from that infinite reservoir is to be able to improve the quality of our lives, the physical and the psychological qualities of our lives. If we discuss philosophy for the sake of philosophy then it would just be nothing else but mental gymnastics. The aim of any search of, or into the beyond would be the process and the purpose would be how to interpret, how to translate that Divinity that is within us into daily practical life. Then only is philosophy worth something, otherwise as we said it remains mental gymnastics. And anything which is theory only remains a theory. It has to be practical. So that is the purpose of meditation whereby we go to the fount, the reservoir of these spiritual energies and we bring them through the level of the mind to the level of the body whereby our lives become more harmonious. The problems we have in daily living is due to one factor only, an imbalance. Every human being has three aspects the physical, the mental and the spiritual and it is the imbalance between these three aspects that causes all the miseries that we have. Now it is not, not necessary for man to suffer. If we proceed from a Divine source whose nature is joy then that which is created by joy, should be joyful too. But because of the imbalances created by man, created by our minds that we find our lives and the environment around us to be topsy-turvy. So through meditational practices, we harmonise these three aspects within ourselves and by creating this harmony within ourselves, we create a harmony around ourselves. The nature of a flower is to become beautiful. The flower becomes beautiful because it is the inherent right for the flower to grow beautiful. But it does something else also. As the flower is beautiful, as the flower grows beautiful, i t also enhances the beauty of the garden. So by creating through meditational practices a harmony within ourselves, we are also creating a harmony in our environment. Society at large cannot be made a better society if the individual unit is neglected. So we start with ourselves, bettering ourselves so that society at large could also be bettered. No w creating this harmony creates a stability in us and any action performed from a stable foundation will always be dynamic. That action will always be vital, filled with vitality and with this vitality, with this skill in action, with proper action which is helped by our meditations, do we find life becoming more smoother and smoother. Now if we go to India to find philosophical answers, we will find certain answers which could be quite plausible to us, but if that, if those techniques, they could be found in South America, they could be found in India, they could be found anywhere because the secret, the keys to open the doors within us are everywhere. So no country or no nation has the right to say we possess the secrets. Perhaps certain countries have rediscovered certain facets, certain harmonising secrets of life, but we know that even before Newton discovered the law of gravity, gravity was existing and if it was existing, it existed on a universal level. S o

4. UK 76-3 to come back to the question, we need to go nowhere, it will not really help us. But if we have a temperament and if we feel that by going somewhere it will help us, by all means nothing would stop you, nothing would stop you and a change of climate, a change of air might be quite healthy, might be quite healthy. So we start here and now within ourselves and by delving deeply within ourselves, through the methods taught by the British Meditation Society, within a very short period of time, within a few weeks we would find greater harmony within ourselves. And with that harmony, that harmony that is produced in ourselves has an active effect upon the vibrations within ourselves and the vibrations within the atmosphere and in our environment. So life becomes better. Life becomes smoother and more joyful. If our goal is to attain that joy, the path to joyfulness should also be joyous and that is our aim. The message we teach is not new. This knowledge has always been there. Two thousand years ago it was preached in a different form. It said 'Have faith, believe and thou shalt be saved'. That is very true. It was taught to a certain kind of people at a certain time. Today times have changed, people's minds have changed. We live in a technological age where the mind is drawn forth more to science and we can interpret the same old teachings of thousands of years ago on a scientific basis. And science has proven and substantiates the fact that the composition of the human being and the entire universe is just vibration. And through various techniques, we can manipulate those vibrations so that we can reach the finer and finer levels that is within ourselves and even go beyond the sum totality of those vibrations. So this is a message which is not new but presented in a way to suit modern times. Those thousands of years ago when people were told 'Have Faith', they would have faith. Today if you tell someone have faith in something, they do, their minds would not just readily accept it. They want a certain form of scientific method to be able to have that faith. Yet faith alone is not enough. First we start with belief, belief develops into faith and faith develops into knowingness where we know that which is within us. To use an analogy, if we sit in an air-conditioned room, we believe that fire is hot. Good. We leave the room and we go to the next room where there is a fire burning and as we go nearer the fire, we feel the heat then we have faith that the fire has heat. So from belief, we develop to faith and when we still go nearer to the fire when we get into the fire then we know that fire is hot. So the purpose of life is based on knowingness. Now the infinite - the mind cannot intellectually define or explain what the infinite is. But the infinite can be experienced experientially, knowingly. With a sense of knowingness we can know what the infinite is, we can live the absolute in the relative field of life. If you go to a theatre to see a play, you would find spotlights on either side of the hall. The spotlights they would shine on two sides of the stage, but as they draw closer and one is superimposed upon the other, how bright that light is. That means that man has the ability to infuse the absolute into relative life and thereby

5. UK 76-3 enjoy the maximum value of relativity. There are teachers that would say renounce the world, renounce this, renounce that, but that is not renunciation. It is not necessary to escape modern society to go and live in the caves of the Himalayas in India to find truth. Truth can be found here and now in practical living. And the method is so simple whereby we dive deep within ourselves to that reservoir of Divine infinite energy and bring it out gradually through these practices and experience the power of that energy and use it daily in our lives. It can be used in our work, work-a- day -life, in our family life, in our social life, in our environment. There are many beauties attached to this Divine energy if it is brought into daily living. The first thing it does is it opens our hearts. Opening the heart means opening the core of the human personality and by doing that, we become loving people. A young lady came to me not so long ago and says 'Nobody loves me'. I say 'Yes, what are you doing about it?' So we put her on a certain meditational technique which opened her heart and she became very loving. Now when a person becomes loving then automatically the person becomes loveable. It is a natural process. So through not only logic, not only things, scientific methods that convince the mind but also through spiritual practices which open the heart, we experience with the heart and appreciate with the mind all the beautiful things that are coming to us. By this process all the tensions that are there in the mind are eradicated. The tensions disappear and when a person can exist on that calm level, on that calm level, then only can he experience that silence that is within. Then only can he experience that silence and in that silence lies all the greatest glory. It is something indefinable by the mind but experienciable. It can be experienced on the heart level and then the mind comes along and appreciates and says 'Yes, there is something there'. So the quality of life improves, the quality of life improves and that is the duty of life is to make ourselves better and better people. We do not need to make ourselves better people for others, but we can make ourselves better people for ourselves so that this very life, this material life, this relative life too can be more and more joyous. So what we do, instead of going to India, we go within ourselves. Okay. Fine. Good. Questioner. Can you tell us briefly what the techniques that you talk about.........? (Inaudible) Gururaj. The technique of meditation, all techniques, all spiritual techniques are very, very simple techniques that can be practised by anyone. Now these techniques are based entirely upon a person's vibration. A true guru has the ability to go into meditation and by going into meditation on a person, he could feel the vibration of the person. And he would assess, evaluate the spiritual status of the person, the degree of imbalance between mind, body and spirit. And by evaluating the

6. UK 76-3 degree of imbalance between mind, body and spirit, he prescribes a specific technique whereby the imbalance is corrected. Now it is not a generalised technique, it is a specific technique, because through any form of generalisation, it will not help all. Now there might be other Societies and other teachers of certain kinds of techniques which might be doing things in a mass manner. But I personally believe that every human being is a unique being. Every human being is a unique person. Even identical twins are not alike. They are different in characteristics. So, therefore any technique that is to be given, is entirely personal, made for the person. If we write to a pharmaceutical firm and get a list of all their products, all the medicines they manufacture, fine, and any child can memorise the names of all those drugs, Penicillin, Oriamyson, Streptimyson, whichever but it is only the doctor that will know which medicine to give to who and for what purpose. Because the imbalances in a person's life is not necessarily the same. Take the example of a common headache. A common headache is a symptom, but that headache could be caused by so, so many different causes. That headache, the outward symptom would have as its cause, many factors. So therefore it would be the doctor only that would know what to prescribe to help that person. So likewise in the spiritual field, likewise in the field of general living, where there are certain imbalances and believe you me that ninety nine point nine, nine, nine, nine, nine percent of people are not balanced people. Complete balance only takes place when a person becomes self-realised. And self-realised people can be counted on our fingertips. So a real guru, the job of the guru is to assess, evaluate that which is needed by the person and accordingly a specific practice is given and there are thousands and thousands of practices. Questioner. .................. (Inaudible) Gururaj. If you could tell me what your trouble is and I could specify it to you now. Questioner(Cont’d). ................. (Inaudible) Gururaj. Well, we do not cater for curiosity mongers, only for earnest seekers. Okay So these things are done personally and if I tell you of a certain technique, it might seem attractive to some people and say 'Ah, this is very beautiful' and people might start practising it and it might create them harm. So these things are normally done privately, where, whereby a person is assessed on their vibration and the imbalance is pointed out specifically and say 'This, these are the problem areas and this is to be done for those problem areas'. And within a few weeks time, we have found with

7. UK 76-3 hundreds of meditators throughout the world - we have branches now in about fourteen different countries and -England itself has the Head Office plus about twenty sub-centres - and they are growing more and more every day and all this has happened within a period of six months. It has grown so fast because people have found benefit in it and their lives have become better and more smoother and more smoother and happier and that is what we want, happiness. Why do we want happiness? It is the quest of every human being consciously or unconsciously to find that happiness. They want to find it because there is a compulsion, a compelling force that urges them on to find that happiness. And that happiness, the compulsion is there because our essential nature is bliss. We emanate or we are manifested from bliss and we want to reach the state of bliss again. So therefore it is a very, very natural desire for a person to seek that happiness. Okay. Fine. Please do. Yes. Aide. I'd just like to add something to that question. My husband and I now have taught about six hundred people the techniques that Gururaj gives and so far we have never found anyone with an identical practice. Depending on the needs of the individual, they could have one to several practices and this could range from mantra meditations, audio meditations, visual meditations, pranayama exercises, all sort of things and it’s very difficult for us to give you anything specific. Yes, yes. So everybody is very individual. He would have to assess your needs individually and then certain things would be given to you that were appropriate to you. It might be just one practice, it might be six practices. We wouldn't know until he had taken a deep meditation, he goes into Samadhi on your picture and on the form that you fill in, for about half an hour and then after that he assess everything and gives you the practices. Gururaj. Good. Can we have some questions on a more philosophical level perhaps, if anyone would like that? Questioner. ................... (Inaudible) Gururaj. Where is that coming from? Oh sorry, I couldn't see you. Would you repeat that please? Questioner(Cont’d). ....... (Inaudible) Gururaj. Oh yes. Yes. There is only one form of life really speaking and this form of life has its separate gradations. Now scientists have even discovered the heartbeat in a cabbage where - yeah this is true - where it was even discovered that when you grow flowers, if you tend those flowers with love, that flower grows much more beautifully. You can communicate on that level even with a flower. So that flower has life. Everything existing in the universe is nothing but

8. UK 76-3 life. It is all life. But why are there differences in different forms of life? It is due to evolutionary procession. There are, in mineral, in a stone there is also life. It might seem inanimate to us but you leave it out for a few years and you would find changes in the stone and those changes are not only caused by the external conditions but also by that which is within itself. So there even in the stone which seems so inanimate to us, there is life. This table standing here, we think it is dead but studying it we will know that there are millions of molecules swirling around. There is motion - wherever there is motion there is life, it is propelled by a certain energy and that energy itself is life. So basically the force between the stone, between the plant, between the animal and man is still the same and that force is life, that force is the breath of life. The human being might be at a far more advanced stage. On this planet the human being might be called the most advanced in the various stages of life but there are other existences where there are forms of life which are even far beyond in capacity than the human being, than the human being there are still higher and higher forms of life. So it is a matter of gradation. Life is truth and that is known by its various degrees. Now the human life is so valuable, the human life that we possess has a unique value. The difference between animal life and human life is this that the human has thinking ability. The human can think and it is only because of his power to think, that differentiates him from the animal. But what do we do with our thinking power? We have been given the intellect which can evaluate various things. We can evaluate from that which is cold to that which is hot, we can discriminate. We can discriminate between black and while and we can discriminate between all the various laws that constitute the law of the opposites. Fine. But the human intellect can also be an instrument to unfathom the deeper levels within himself and yet the same intellect can with its power of discrimination decide wrongly. Now why does the intellect, why can the intellect be taken into devious paths? It is because we have with the intellect something called freewill. What is freewill and what is the relationship of freewill with Divine will for example? Divine will is a pattern, is a pattern which says that water flows down a hill and not up a hill. The sun rises in the east and not in the west. And like that in the Divine will, in the machinery of the Divine will, the human intellect functions and th e human intellect functions with an ability to have freewill. If we have to go to Birmingham from here, the intellect can decide, weigh the pros and cons which will tell him which is the best road to take, which is the shortest route, which road has the least amount of traffic and the road which will take him there the soonest. Right. Now exercising that, exercising that intellect would be because of freewill. Yet the intellect being cunning as it is can use the ability of freewill into things and in ways which will prove to be a retrogression instead of a progression. It could be evolutionary and it could also be used to devolve a person rather than evolve a person.

9. UK 76-3 So there lies the choice of man, the freewill. Now what meditation does is this that having developed the ability to go deeper and deeper into the various subtler and subtler levels of the mind, our awareness increases. We expand our awareness and in the expansion of awareness, we have a greater perspective. Our perspective, our vision, our conception, our perception widens and in the widening of the perception, when we have a general, a more wider view, we develop the ability to be able to decide and evaluate with our intellect so that the freewill could lead us to that which is evolutionary and not which is retrogressive. That is the purpose. So within all the realms of existence there is only one life and there are gradations to that life. Man, the highest on this planet has been given thinking power that uplifts him from the animal. And yet in man himself, the plant life exists. In man, the mineral life exists. In man, the animal life exists. And in man, also exists that Divinity which can take him, make him a God-man whereby he could live more in tune with his higher nature than his lower nature. And this is the main purpose of meditation. The wonderful benefits we receive in meditation, by having greater harmony, whereby through meditation one's blood pressure is regulated, one's heart condition is regulated, where various psychosomatic diseases are eradicated, where organic diseases are helped towards a remedy, a remedy, make him feel better. It could act as a cure but these are side benefits. The main benefit and main purpose is to become one with the source, to return to that source from which we have come. So we have progressed from all these various gradations of the one life and because of the intellect because of the ability in man, we want to become one again with that one life. Okay. I can't see you there. Fine. Good. Thank you very much. Anyone else? Questioner. ......... (Inaudible) Gururaj. To return to the source from where man has come? You want me to expand on that? Fine. Is there any - it’s a very generalised question - is there anything specific you'd like to know about or shall I answer it generally? Questioner(Cont’d). ........... (Inaudible) Gururaj. Good. Fine. What is the purpose of creation? The basis of that question would be what is the purpose of creation and if the purpose of creation was to separate us from the one source then what purpose would it serve to go back to that source again. Fine. Now, creation - who creates, who creates? A poet creates a poem. He creates a poem to find an expression. A poet creates a poem to find perfection. A musician composes a piece of music to express himself and to find perfection within himself creating that symphony. An artist paints a picture for the purpose of

10. UK 76-3 expression so through the picture he can express himself and thereby find perfection. Now if we regard the Creator to b e perfect, how can perfection want to perfect itself? What need is there for the Creator to express itself? Expression naturally implies some form of imperfection. So what I believe is this, that we are not a creation but rather a manifestation. It is the nature, it is the nature of fire to give heat. The fire does not create heat but it is the nature, the inherent nature of fire to create heat. In other words, the heat is just a manifestation of the fire. And if it is a manifestation, would the manifestation be a superimposition upon that which is Divine? There are certain schools of thought that regard all this that we see around us to be illusory. There are certain schools of thought that think that this whole world, this whole creation is illusory because that which is perfect did not need to recreate itself. That is one school of thought, but that argument can only be valid from the point of the absolute and when one reaches absoluteness then the relative becomes a dream. The relative becomes non-existent. But we that are in the relative must accept the principle of the Manifestor and the manifestation. We are the manifestation of the Manifestor and because of the infinity, because of the affinity between the Manifestor and the manifest there exists, there exists a magnetic force which compels us, which draws us because of the inherent nature of the manifest and the Manifestor, the nature of both is the same. So therefore we say that Divinity is within us and if that spark has been individuated or separated, in truth there is no separation but for the sake of the conversation this evening, if the spark ha s been separated from the fire, the spark naturally because of the magnetic pull would want to be one again with the fire. And the purpose would be the magnetic force as well as the search for happiness. That is the purpose. And the search for happiness is the real compulsion for man to become one with his maker. Okay. Fine. Aide. Somebody at the back. Yes. Questioner. ....... (Inaudible) Aide. Could you perhaps stand up at the back? Gururaj. I can't hear you. I'm so sorry. Questioner(Cont’d). The mind not being .... (Inaudible) the self ... (Inaudible) .... what happens to it when we die?

11. UK 76-3 Gururaj. Now the self does not die. The mind might die or transform itself. When we talk of self with a big S, capital S, we are talking about the infinite quality, that infinite something that is within man. That which is within man cannot die. It is immortal and even this body cannot die. This body when it is separated, the grosser body when it is separated from its subtler body then even the grosser body disintegrates, disintegrates and becomes one with its original elements. So in this universe nothing is ever destroyed. There is no destruction but only a transformation in name and form, just as vapour exists in ice, vapour is also existent in the water. The constituent of the vapour and the water and the ice is still H20. The principle forever remains the same. H20 the mixture of hydrogen and oxygen forever remains the same, it is there, it is eternal but it only assumes because of various combinations that have become self-perpetuating, we see it in different names and forms. Now even the mind is not destroyed. Every thought we think is indestructible. Every word said by you or by me in this hall is also indestructible. It is floating around, flowing around and floating around in the universe, in the form of a vibration. We hear the common saying that there is nothing new. When a poet writes a poem, he is not creating a new thought. He is only tuning in to an existing thought that might have been thought thousands of years ago. The transmitting station is forever broadcasting. It is us with our little radios that have to tune in, to tune in to the right meter and that we call inspiration. So even thought, even the minutest matter is not destroyed at all. But what finds destruction is the ego. The ego which is an assumed ego, the ego has no reality because it is forever changing. The ego is like a cinema where the unchanging realities, the screen and the ego plays upon it like the moving picture. And yet the screen behind forever remains unchanging and white and yet superimposed upon the screen are the various pictures we see. So you will ask what creates this ego. What creates this ego that hides the reality from us? Now the human mind has four sections. The first section would be the carrier of impressions. Now those impressions might go back into various lifetimes if you believe in them or let us just take the impressions of this lifetime. So that section of the mind is the carrier of impressions or the memory box. From there we have the intellect that weighs the pros and cons of the impressions that the carrier of impressions bring to it. Fine. The intellect then in turn sends the thought further forward to the judge to make a decision on the pros and cons that has been produced by the intellect. But in between comes the ego. And the ego weighs, ego accepts according to its own development, according to its own colouring, the ego accepts what the intellect has brought forward and presents the evidence to the eternal judge that sits behind that mind, that rules that mind. And that is how when we are sitting engrossed reading a book, the doorbell would ring but we would not hear the doorbell because the mind is engrossed, the carrier of impressions are not in tune. When the carrier of the impression and the organ of hearing is not in tune, it cannot take that forward further to the realm of the intellect for weighing.

12. UK 76-3 So all these things, all these four factors, the carrier of impressions, the intellect and the ego, the presenter to the judge, the presenter to the essence that stands behind the mind, has to be present for any perception to take place. For any perception to take place, all these factors of the mind have to be present and awake and in tune. So what distorts information is really the ego which has been conditioned. These conditionings, these conditionings have been taking place because of our method and way of life, method and way of life, our education, our environment, our upbringing, plus various past impressions that could go back, very, very far back. These are the constituents of the ego. So through meditational practices what happens is this that the ego is clarified. It is subdued and in subduing it, the intellect has a chance of presenting present impressions, present living style directly to the judge and thereby get the proper answer for better living, for good living, for happier living. Thank you very much. So, so to get back to your question, the, the self never dies. Nothing is destructible. It is forever there. The only thing that disappears is the ego because the ego in the first place was an illusion. And it is by coming to grips with ourselves through meditational practices that we wipe away the value of the ego which in reality is valueless and then we appreciate the true self. Then we appreciate the Divinity that resides in us. Then we appreciate the true nature of immortality. And that is how we become one with our maker. And that is what Christ meant when He said in the Bible that ‘I and My father are one'. Okay. Fine. Questioner. Gururaj .....(Inaudible)...... very unconditionally man has freewill ........ (Inaudible) Gururaj. Fortune telling is that what you mean? Questioner(Cont’d). If you want to call it that. Gururaj. I personally - I couldn’t hear the question. The young man wants to know about astrology. Good. Fine. Now I personally do not believe in the power of astrology. I do not believe in astrology as astrology is practised today. We know many people that just buy the newspaper to see what the horoscope says for the day. Yes. Why do they do that? It is because of an inner sense of insecurity. Fine. Astrology as it is practised today has done more harm than good. I live in Capetown, South Africa. A thousand miles away from Capetown is a city called Johannesburg. I’m sure you know you’ve heard of all those cities. One young man phones me and he says “Gururaj, I’ve got a terrible problem. I want to fly down to discuss this matter with you. Can you give me an appointment?” Of course we fixed an appointment and he flew

13. UK 76-3 down. He brings his horoscope along with him done by a well-known astrologer. And in the horoscope it said “You must not get married because your marriage won’t last for about the year, it won’t and you’d become very, very unhappy”. When the man brought that horoscope to me I went into meditation and after that, fifteen, twenty minutes time, I told him “Can you tear that horoscope up in a hundred pieces?” He says he can. I say, “Can you tear it up into a thousand pieces?” He says he can. I say “Please do that and there is the dustbin”. Yeah. I said, ‘Do not believe in this. It is not true. You get married to the girl you have met and the girl you have fallen in love with. Get married right away’. He got married about five years ago now and he is very, very happy. That’s as far as astrology goes. Astrology can do a lot of harm. Astrology can say certain things in a horoscope which can make things happen for people. The astrology says that on the fifteenth of December you are going to have an accident. Now your mind is going to start working on that accident with your own thought power. Thought is a thing, thought is very, very powerful. Through thought you can make things happen and by your mind continually dwelling on that accident of fifteenth of December, you are going to create with your thought forces conditions that will let you have the accident. Right. Your mind will create the accident and not the forecast in astrology. Now astrology can work. There are certain ancient laws that astrology uses, but they are not mechanical laws. They are not laws like the making of an engine, a motor car engine where the books or the tutors will tell you, place a c ertain part here and a certain part there and these various parts must be combined to make that engine work. Astrology does not work that way. There are certain factors, certain ancient laws that can be taken into account but the forecast must be done by a highly realised person. Now what does the highly realised person do? He uses only twenty, twenty five percent of those ancient laws and seventy five percent is his intuition. In other words, what he would tell you is base d more on his intuition, on his deeper self which is to a certain extent omniscient and he can see that this will be the case. But the newspaper astrologers or astrologers that use this as a profession to make money are not those intuitive highly realised persons. Because once a person is highly realised, if he has to advise somebody, he will advise somebody because of his love. He overflows with love and he can't help helping. It would be only for that person that he would advise someone. So you can go out tomorrow, buy a dozen books on the laws of astrology and start off as an astrologer but that is not going to help anyone. It could cause more harm than good. It is like a knife. If a knife is given to a Teddy Boy he ca n kill someone with it. And the same sharp knife is given to a qualified skilled surgeon, he can perform an operation and

14. UK 76-3 save someone's life. Okay. So do not pin very much faith on astrology. Pin faith on the Divinity that is within you. Your question now? Questioner. Do you think it is possible that through meditational practices for anyone in this lifetime to reach Samadhi no matter what their karma is? Gururaj. Oh yes. Oh yes. Now when we are born - the question was heard, was it by everyone? The question was that never mind what a person's spiritual status is, can that person through proper meditational practices reach the stage of Samadhi or self realisation or to experience the oneness with Divinity. Now for that I would say yes, that any person in this very lifetime can reach that stage. Now when we are born, we are born within, within and with a certain pattern. Now say a child is born with a hundred IQ, a hundred. Another child could be born with the IQ of a hundred and fifty. So the child with the IQ of a hundred and fifty has a greater mental capacity to reach a certain level, but the child with the IQ of a hundred can be tutored and trained with proper supervision to achieve the same results as the boy of the hundred and fifty IQ could receive. So when we are born, when we are born, we are born with a certain pattern which is set for us because of our past samskaric and karmic values. The pattern is set but that does not mean that those patterns are limiting. Those patterns can be transcended. Those patterns can be gone beyond. A river flows in this direction and it is possible to change the course of the river by altering the banks whereby the course of the river could be changed. Likewise in human life it depends upon our sincerity, upon our honesty, upon our perseverance in our practices and greater and greater unfoldment can come. And when a person starts unfolding within, it snowballs very fast. In the beginning the progress is slow but as greater and greater unfoldment comes to him, his progress becomes faster and faster. Like a snowball coming down, it is small but as it rolls it gathers more and more onto itself and the bigger the snowball gets, the more it still unfolds within itself. So likewise it is within the reach of every man to reach self- enlightenment in this lifetime. Definitely so. Yes. Okay. Fine. Questioner. You said this evening that .....(Inaudible). certain people ...... (Inaudible) .... Gururaj. Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, yes. Yes. Yes, sure, sure. Have I got my diplomas? (Gururaj laughs). Very beautiful, very beautiful. A Spiritual Master does not go through the Universities learning the three R's. When you go to University, they tell you about a thing but they don't tell you what a thing is. That's what you get at University. A Spiritual Master goes through the university of life and his continual quest is to find what a thing is. Now his finding of what a thing is not limited to his intellect. He goes beyond the realms of the intellect and he is in touch with the reality that is within himself.

15. UK 76-3 And finding the union between his small 'i', and his Big 'I' in annihilating the ego that stands in the way and living, actually living and interpreting in his daily life that reality that is within him. That is the qualification of the true Spiritual Master. Questioner. ...... (Inaudible)... Gururaj. Now, now let me finish, if you don't mind. Okay. I'll give you a chance to ask me more. Now the qualification of the Spiritual Master is his degree of self-realisation. Now how is that to be known? A Spiritual Master is a person that has only one quality, only one quality is his capacity to love. He loves entirely, selflessly. There is no selfishness because to him he has not remained himself anymore. I always say that a Spiritual Master is not the little flesh and blood that you would see that composes his body. I made a joke the other day that, that composition of flesh and blood, its chemical value is only one shilling and fourpence. It’s worth nothing, perhaps with inflation its two shillings and eight pence. Right. So the qualification of the Spiritual Master is his expansion of heart and how he can portray that heart. Buddha, the Spiritual Master was known by his quality of great compassion. He could embrace the entire world in the folds of his arm. Christ was known as a Spiritual Master because of his intense love, whereby he gave his life for that love. Like that you'd find in the lives of true Spiritual Masters that they are dedicated to the cause of doing some good, trying to uplift his brethren. He is the one that really practises the Commandment, 'Love thy neighbour as thyself'. Now how can one love his neighbour as himself? It is only true in its fullest sense when he can identify himself with his neighbour. Then he can truly love his neighbour. Fine. A true Spiritual Master feels the joy that wells up within your heart and cries your tears for you because his nature is love. He is bliss. He is Ananda. Those are the qualifications of a true Spiritual Master. A true Spiritual Master is not one that has half a dozen diplomas in his office hung on the wall. And the proof of the true Spiritual Master is not only in his teachings but in how he can transform your life. The proof of the pudding lies in the eating. That is how a true Spiritual Master is known. And a true Spiritual Master, if he claims to be one must be tested in every way. No blind faith is involved. Do not accept the word of the man. It is not necessary. Prove it to yourself. It is a quality that cannot be analysed by the mind. Take sugar, take sugar for example, you can break up the sugar in the laboratory and say what are the chemical components of that sugar, what constitutes, what makes those grains of sugar, how it can be reproduced, how it can be refined, how it can be synthesised. You can explain all that but you cannot explain sweetness. You got to taste sugar yourself to know sweetness. In like manner when it comes to the relationship between a guru and a chela, it is the experience that counts, what can the guru do for the chela.

16. UK 76-3 Now we have Spiritual Masters and Spiritual Masters and most of them are so-called Spiritual Masters. The chela comes along, a practice is given and it is said, right this will cost you fifty pounds. Those are also Spiritual Masters. They call themselves Spiritual Masters. In our organisation, which is practically world-wide and developing more, no fees are charged for any teaching. What we want is only the sincerity of the person. That is the repayment. What we want is the happiness developing in the person. That is the reward I want to see, happiness. If my life is filled with joy and bliss then to keep it to myself would be selfish and a Spiritual Master is never selfish. His life is a sharing. If I have experienced bliss, if I have been in contact with that which is Divine, it is my duty to share that Divinity with others and make others happy too, as many as possible depending on the sincerity of the person, depending on the sincerity of the seeker. For is it not said in the Bible 'Seek and thou shalt find, knock and the door shall be opened'? So a Spiritual Master is not be approached with a sense of curiosity or questioning his credentials, is to take his teachings, is to take his teachings perhaps in the beginning experimentally. Questioner ........... (Inaudible) Gururaj. No, no, is to take his teaching experimentally on the basis of the little understanding, of the little logic that can be applied to it and not blind faith. Little logic that, Questioner ................ (Inaudible) Gururaj. Pardon. They do, they do, they do, they do. I to find my guru, I to find my guru went from guru to guru to guru until I was satisfied, but I had sincerity, I had proper yearning. I did not go round to various gurus for the sake of knowing what that guru is worth. I wanted to know what I'm worth and can that guru supply me the answer or not. And in that search I found what I wanted to find. So the quality is sincerity and not diplomas on the wall. Questioner. ............. (Inaudible) Gururaj. Not necessarily. You don't ask for devotion, that becomes idle worship. Devotion is a spontaneous development. You are devoted to your boyfriend, you are devoted to your husband. Why? It was not something that

17. UK 76-3 your boyfriend or husband asked you. That devotion developed spontaneously because something happened that was within him and within you and the flame sparkled. That is devotion Questioner. ......... (Inaudible) Gururaj. No. No. No. And then a Spiritual Master when he sees that a chela is not worthy, he is under no obligation to teach that chela at all, under no obligation, although he would like to help. He will refer the person, come back, develop a bit more, come back a little later, then you might be ready. Yes, yes. Okay. Aide. I think this had better be the last question. Because Gururaj will be working until two o’clock in the morning tonight, as usual. Gururaj. I don't mind carrying on until any time. I love talking. It’s the communication. It’s nice. Questioner. .............. mind expanding drugs .... (Inaudible). Gururaj. I have not taken mind-expanding drugs and I wouldn't know. Have you taken some? Questioner. Yes. Gururaj. Give us your experience, I would be interested to hear. Tell us something about it. If you wish to, I mean, entirely Questioner. .................... (Inaudible)...... On one experience after about an hour, I felt a great explosion within m e ...................... It's like the words came from somewhere else, the joy of love ........... (Inaudible) Gururaj. True. Yes. Questioner. I wasn’t a solid person anymore. Gururaj. Everything? Yes. And after that experience sort of dimmed down, evaporated, how did you feel?

18. UK 76-3 Questioner. It didn’t evaporate for quite a long time. Gururaj. Yes, but when it eventually did? Questioner(Cont’d). I can still recall the experience. I was sitting by a stream or something like that ...... (Inaudible) .............. (Inaudible)...... Gururaj. I see but did you feel that after having that experience by the drug, did you feel yourself uplifted in any way? Questioner. Yeah. Gururaj. Momentarily or does that upliftment and bliss still exist now experientially? Questioner(Cont’d). Not now. Gururaj. No that is the difference between, that is the difference between having artificially induced experiences by drugs and naturally brought about experiences by meditation because Questioner. Always, always feel that................. (Inaudible) Gururaj. Yes by meditational practices, when you have, go through experiences of bliss, when you go through the experiences of that great joy, you will always find it to be uplifting and forever lingering. It will leave an indelible mar k upon you. It would be evolutionary. The other experience might have been hallucinatory. Do you see? Because the experience of drug taking, a drug is a chemical and because of that chemical, it has only been working on mind level. It altered the certain chemistry of the mind of the brain, it has altered the chemistry of the brain - every time your head this way, I've got to turn it that way. Right. Yeah. So that drug that was taken, that chemical, it has disturbed a certain chemical reactions in the brain and thereby caused these certain experiences. And according to our studies of drug- takers, it has always, after the high, it has always left them with a very low feeling. And this has been experimented in laboratory tests under proper psychiatric supervision. Fine.

19. UK 76-3 But the experiences when it comes to meditation, you are going beyond mental chemistry. You are in touch with something which is Divine and by drawing from that reservoir so that it permeates every cell of your physical body, every cell of your psychological makeup, it leaves an everlasting impression of great joy. And once you experience that, you would always want to live in that, all the time. And that is how you would progress in the path until one day you would reach the stage of self-realisation as someone has asked earlier. Yes. That is the difference, because self realisation is a complete integration of mind, body and spirit and that integration cannot be artificially induced by using drugs. It would b e same as having instant coffee or instant pudding. There is no such thing when it comes to self-realisation. It is an effort. It is a conscious effort in daily living and of course one does meditation that helps us in every sphere of conscious effort and effortless meditation. One helps the other. It’s a circle, it’s a circle and it adds great and great joy to life. Okay. Fine. Questioner. .............. (Inaudible) Gururaj. Fasting. Oh yes, fasting? Oh yes, yeah, now fasting does not alter the state of consciousness but by fasting what happens is this that we can get rid of accumulated toxins in our physical systems. And by, you could ask any person that's immersed in theology, that by fasting, by fasting, by getting rid of various toxins in the body, the mind can become calmer. The body can become quieter and produce the necessary physical and mental conditions to enter deeper states of meditation. But fasting on its own does not alter the states of consciousness, but it makes the physical and mental systems more conducive towards deeper diving in meditation. That's what happens. Okay. Fine. Good. Aide. Well I'm sure we'd all like to go on all night, I certainly would, but as I said I'm afraid Gururaj has got some other appointments tonight. Gururaj said one thing tonight, he said "Do not accept the word of the man, prove it for yourself". And those of you that would like to prove it for yourself please contact or see afterwards Malcolm Harrison. And I would certainly like to thank Kate and Malcolm for organising the meeting so well tonight. And all that remains is to say thank you very much indeed to Gururaj for coming so far to be with us tonight and I'm sure we're all looking forward to him coming again, although I don't know when, I'm afraid. So, thank you very much for coming and thank you, Gururaj. Good night. Gururaj. Thank you. END