1. UK 77-3 Gururaj. Now that was really simple. When Sattish came, Sattish wrote to me from England and he says, ‘Guruji, I want to come and see you’. So I said ‘Yes, by all means, do come down’ and he wanted to stay at a hotel because we have our meditators there in Cape Town. And I said, ‘Why stay at hotels, when we have our meditators there and go and live at Marian's place, his brother and you know’. And of course they started exchanging notes and orchids and whatever and they fell in love. It’s beautiful. Good. Now I think, let us discuss this morning about the group practices we have. We can start off with chanting. Good. Mind you chanting is good for laryngitis. (Gururaj laughs) Good, now the purpose of the chant of course is to notice and feel the separation between the small ‘I’ and the big ‘I’. Good, now how many of you experienced after doing some chants that the chant went on by itself? Hands. Quite a number. Yes, so that is quite a good experience. Good, fine. When the chant goes on automatically then you extricate yourself very spontaneously, you don't try, - therefore I did not discuss this before - automatically you extricate yourself from the chant and you observe yourself doing the chant. And that is why it just happens spontaneously and automatically. Good. Now the sounds in the chant are the sounds of the entire manifestation, the sounds of the entire manifestation which means the entire universe. Now if your minds can be brought to a subtle level, where the sound of shakti or manifestation could be heard by you, this would be the sounds that would be most dominant at its finest level. Of course we use the chant in a grosser form but as we keep on chanting, you'd find, you will experience the chant at a more and more subtler level as you experience your mantra. Fine. Now, the chant is so scientifically worked out. Did you observe the undulating effect of it going as is if in waves? Yes, good, fine. Right, now the sounds themselves are so scientifically worked out that there are nine syllables to it. And of course nine, according to astrologers, I don't know about it, but they regard that to be an eternal number. For example, you can multiply a nine by any number and it still remains nine. Nine by two is eighteen. One and eight is nine. Nine threes, twenty-seven. Two and seven is nine. Nine fours, thirty-six. Three and six is nine. Nine fives, forty-five. Four and five is nine. Then we can go on and on. Fine. Meanwhile the chants are done in odd numbers. We can do it in three, five, seven, nine, eleven, eleven and two, how much thirteen? Thirteen, thirteen, fifteen, seventeen. Good. Now there is also another effect it produces that by tuning in to universal manifested vibrations, we automatically lift the vibrations of the atmosphere. And after chanting, you will always find uplifted. If you’ve been doing the chant well, you feel uplifted, there is a difference in the air. Any of you felt that? Good, fine, lovely, lovely. Good, then there is another advantage in the chant and that is this, that Aim Hrim Krim, when you say those words, fine, you'd find you find you are exhaling all the time. Now in breathing, in breathing, in Pranayama as we know it, the

2. UK 77-3 most important part is the exhalation. So by exhaling properly to a certain rhythm and to a certain beat, we inhale properly. So when breathing in and out the most important part is the exhalation rather than the inhalation. Now if we can empty our lungs completely in exhalation then automatically the gap would be filled with inhalation. So it tones up our physical system and it has it has its spiritual effect when we experience a chant at a finer and finer level. So when we do the chant, you will notice that we are exhaling all the time and by doing that a lot of the toxins are thrown off, thrown out of the body. Good. There is another use for chanting and it is this. Say in the waking state of life there is a thought that is bothering us all the time and repeating itself in the mind all the time, and everyone has this experience. Say a housewife is worrying about what to cook for supper, then her mind will just keep on dwelling on it and causing her perhaps unnecessary anxiety, depending on the person concerned. And it will just go on and on and on like a song in the mind. Now we know that the mind can contain only one thing at a time so even during the day time when there is a thought bothering us - I can only use the housewife in South Africa as an analogy, but it of course applies to everything - so when we find a thought bothering us all the time, if we can just under our breath, do the chant, you’ll find the attention will shift to the chant and the other thought that’s been nagging us will die down because the mind can only contain one thing at a time. And it is the nature of the mind always to go to something which is more beautiful. Good. And the chant, because of its sound value, its rhythm, the exhalation, with all these various factors put together, the mind would naturally and spontaneously become centred on the chant. And that is how the mind would be rid of the nagging thought. And with a bit of practice this becomes very, very successful. In chanting, we have found at other centres where people go into such a high state of vibration, that many have actually experienced out of body experiences where they find themselves completely out of their bodies. Their subtle bodies lift themselves out of the gross physical body and they actually stand aside and watch themselves chanting. And this has happened on many, many occasions at many centres, it all depends. Well, we normally start of with a low count such as five rounds or that but you can go on for a whole hour, if you wish to do it. So, it depends entirely upon you. It depends on the strength you have and how much you want to do it. Good, now we come to our meditation, the meditation that is done with a gong. That is a very old form of Tibetan meditation and it is still practised in many, many Tibetan monasteries. But in our system, we use and utilise various, var ious techniques. We don't mind where they originate from. Some techniques we have, originate from the Inca civilisation for example. The whole idea is to fit in the proper technique for the person concerned. It's like a doctor

3. UK 77-3 prescribing a medicine. Now there are hundreds of kinds of medicines but only the doctor know which medicine to give to who and for what purpose. And of course that is one of the main pillars of our Foundation, where each meditator is given his personalised techniques. But then there are some group techniques which people can do together. Now in the chanting too, would have maximum effect if, if it is done in a group or even if a husband and wife does it, or the various centres we have in England if people can get together, as we have in Cape Town, in Pretoria, in Johannesburg, in Durban, that’s where I come from, South Africa, where people get together on every Thursday night and they do this chanting. And after chanting they break for coffee and they listen to a tape perhaps and have some fun and laughs. And I think Sattish has attended some of the chanting sessions in Cape Town. Yes, and it's quite fun there. Good. Now with the gong meditation, a similar effect is produced. Now if you listen to that gong, the reverberation of the gong, it goes back to the primal sound of all existence like ‘Om’. You get that? Now this you would find in the peeling of church bells, you would find this in temples in the East, where this sound is produced. And it has a beautiful neutralising effect on the mind. Sometimes when the mantra and thought become very confused with each other, where the mantra is not receding away as it should, then the sound that comes from the outside, helps that mantra to reach its finer levels. An d in every mantra, you would find, whoever is on mantra meditation, you'd find that very sound of that gong contained in it very subtly. So that is how the gong sound and your mantra blend. Good. It also has the effect of separation of the small 'i' and the big 'I' as we have said about the chant. Good. Sometimes some people in meditation just have thoughts and thoughts and thoughts, good. And some people find it very difficult to very smoothly and easily, gently end the thought and come onto the mantra. And of course the gong helps the process so therefore we do it in a group. It is not necessary to do that at home. You do your ordinary mantra meditation and of course the gong meditation is always very effective in a group. Good. Now, how many people found the sound going faster in the first five minutes or so? The sound of the gong? Now there’s some hands going up. Lovely, lovely. How many people found it going slower in the first few minutes? Right. There are plenty of hands there. Good. And then in the centre part or the middle part, how many people found the timing of the gong was on a beat, a regular beat? Beautiful, beautiful. Good. Now in the last ten minutes, say about eight minutes, who found the gong going faster? Good. In the last five or eight minutes, who found it going slower? A lot of hands there. Well, for your information, ther e was no gong in the past eight minutes. (General laughter). Now that is a very beautiful experience, where the gong meditation had reached its climax and yet your mind experienced the reverberation of that sound, permeating your mind. So it is a very beautiful experience that. And that is

4. UK 77-3 how life has to be lived really, where in all activity, we are still conscious of the big 'I' that is within us. Isn't that the goal of life where we are acting and where we can really say, ‘I am not the doer, something else does’. And that only comes about, when in all activity, there is a faint awareness at the back of our minds, that there is something greater there all the time. You know these are various aspects of various forms of meditation. And of course really one could go on talking and talking and talking on this. Good. Now shall we start with the discourse? Any questions that you have, that we can carry on with? Questioner. Guruji, before I came to meditate, all effort in trying to improve and to love my neighbour as myself always failed. The difference between meditation and my experience of religion, is that meditation disposes the will towards positive action and love and at last I see the beginning of progress. My question is, to what extent is one’s rate of progress through meditation helped by previous or present concern say, with the teachings of Jesus or the study of philosophy? Gururaj. Beautiful, beautiful question, yes. You have said that meditation has helped you in these various aspects of life that you have mentioned, well that is exactly what it is meant to do. Now our meditational systems have a scientific basis and has nothing to do with any formal religion whatsoever. I always say if you are a Christian, become a better Christian. If you are a Buddhist, become a better Buddhist. If you are a Hindu, become a better Hindu. The purpose of meditation is to dive within ourselves, so that we could really experience ourselves in its truest value. And when we can experience ourself at its finest value, a greater harmony takes place within us, harmony between mind, body and spirit, good. And when these three aspects of man function harmoniously, functions as a totality then all areas of life must improve and it improves spontaneously. Now for this, there is no prerequisite of knowledge, good. I always say this that, if knowledge, knowledge, acquired knowledge, knowledge of the mind was a prerequisite to leading a better quality of life then every University Professor of Philosophy should be an enlightened man. But he’s not, perhaps they are more confused than many of us. So knowledge is not a prerequisite to experience that which is really us. As a matter of fact, knowledge sometimes becomes a stumbling block because the mind is confused with various kinds of thoughts. Now, for every question there is an answer. Good. And every answer that is given could produce half a dozen other questions. And like that it goes on and on because we are dwelling on the mind level and when we dwell on the mind level as I said at the Porchester Hall, the mind is limited and its conceptions too therefore must necessarily be limited because we are dealing in an area which

5. UK 77-3 is beyond all the concepts of the mind. The finite mind as would know could never comprehend or appreciate fully that which is infinite. So through meditation, we go beyond the mind to experience the infinite, good, and the infinite can not be fully comprehended through the mind. It is impossible. Therefore you find certain beliefs like Zen for example, that advocates the stage of no mind. And that’s exactly what is meant in many religions, the state of no mind, where you don't allow the mind to think, where you allow the heart to feel. And that, the heart is the core of one's personality. And when one operates on the level of the core of one's personality then we know that we have reached the depths. And the depth of the core of one's personality is nothing but Divinity. So Divinity can be experienced. A flower, the fragrance of a flower cannot really be described by the mind, never mind how much you try, you have to smell the flower yourself, good. So, so in that way, in that way, prior knowledge, prior acquired knowledge is not necessary and right from an illiterate person to a highly sophisticated mind, can do meditation and both can benefit by it because the mind is not necessary. Even our Bible would say, ‘Become innocent as a child’, good, and what does innocence imply? Innocence implies that we push aside the analytical mind, we push it aside. We do not weigh pros and cons, and by not weighing pros and cons, we go beyond all the opposites - heat and cold, and light and shade. We go beyond the opposites and it is only in that realm where we can find our true selves. So in order to find our true selves, we have to become as innocent as a child. Right, now if we observe a child, it is so simple and spontaneously innocent. And it is only when it starts growing up, with, and the growing up process is not only physical but also the mind grows. And as the mind grows, the simplicity of the child becomes more and more complex. And it, it is only the complexities that cause us all the problems. So what we are basically trying to do, is reach the simplicity of the child whereby, through which and which is the door to reach the kingdom of heaven. Good. The Bible says that. Buddhism says that, where you reach the state of no mind. Hinduism says that, that you go beyond the three Gunas which constitute the whole universe of which the mind is composed. Good, fine. So every Scripture supports the fact that to really experience Divinity one has to go beyond the realms of the thinking mind. Good. So therefore, so therefore, prior knowledge or prior study of various philosophies are not necessary but it then depends also on the temperament of the person. Now some person’s mind could be orientated more to intellectualising. Good. So being that and having those tendencies we must not stop him from intellectualising because a person can only start from where he is. Good. So, let the person study all various philosophies. Through that he will gain some mental understanding which could lead him on. He will start with the mind and go into the finer and finer levels of mind into greater analytical thought, and through that, he will one day come to the conclusion that after all this mind is not necessary. Yes, that is the natural procedure. And that, according to Vedic terminology, is called Jnana Yoga, good,

6. UK 77-3 where one analyses, analyses, analyses. And as I said before, for every question the mind asks, there is an answer but then that answer produces half a dozen other questions. And the process goes on until you say ‘Oh, forget the mind, now its taking me nowhere’. And when it takes you nowhere, you reach the stage of no mind. See how beautiful that works. And of course we have the devotional procedure, where our whole minds and souls, our whole being is involved in devotion and through that devotion we can too find the inner self. Ramakrishna, a great sage, a highly enlightened man that lived at the turn of the century, believed that in this age, in this time, quicker results can be gained by devotion. A nd devotion naturally implies the love aspect. So through love, one can also reach that Divinity that's within. And then you find people that just want to live a life, they are not interested in the hereafter. ‘Do good, be good’ would be their motto , Karma Yoga and through that also one reaches the same end. And of course what we are practising, we are practising Raja Yoga. Good, now Raja Yoga combines within itself all the aspects of Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga. Good. Therefore Raja means Royal, Raja Yoga, the Royal path, the Royal road. So in our system, we combine all the various aspects of consciously living good, being good, doing good. With the practice, we combine theory, where we try to analyse with the mind to a certain extent, because sometimes when the mind is pleased, when the mind is convinced of a certain fact, it naturally would want to know more about these things. Good. And in its search, in its seeking, it comes upon that area, that 'No Man’s Land,' where everything is. Good. Then of course we know that if knowledge is not backed up with love then knowledge could become a very dangerous instrument as we have seen with all these modern inventions where atomic power that was discovered, could be used so, so constructively and we would not be in the hands of other countries that supply oil. We could be using atomic energy, right, without being dependent on others. Many countries are dependent on others for fuel, for example in South Africa, it is highly rationed now and garages would close at Friday noon. And if you have forgotten to put in petrol, you are stuck with your car until Monday morning, because they have become dependent. Now those very same energies, could have been utilised and used. And perhaps they will do that in future, I hope, to use the inventions and discoveries more constructively. But then being very, very mind orientated and devoid of love, they used it in bomb form and where millions were killed. It is so the mind is a cunning animal. It’s a wonderful instrument and we've got to use mind to subdue the mind, or channel the mind, so that it could be used constructively and the only force, the only power that could make the mind work constructively would be the element of love. Good. Now when reasoning is mixed with love then everything is enhanced. Good. Reasoning becomes more clearer and there is a deeper value added to our reasoning ability, because it is motivated by love. And sometimes the love is so

7. UK 77-3 powerful that it goes, it denies reasoning. Sometimes, we know ourselves that logically, logically something is wrong, logically something is right but the heart says 'No' because the heart can cover a vaster area which the mind cannot see for the moment. For the moment the mind will say that we do this and we do that and we do that. The heart will deny it because the heart can see further. Thus, for the present moment, the mind could be operating logically but its range is far smaller than the heart. Therefore sometimes we say, women are far more motivated with the heart, they feel more than man. Man is more orientated with the mind. Therefore man has sight and woman have insight. Nevertheless this is, - hello Usha, - therefore this applies to all, everyone has intuition inbuilt in him and perhaps woman more so. And that is why I encourage the householder’s life, where one could be complementary to the other but nevertheless that is a different subject. Good. So, to go back to the question that pre-knowledge of philosophy is not a requisite for spiritual development but if there is some knowledge, some study, it could be usefully used to direct our energies in a more constructive way. And when through meditation, the inner core of our personalities are more and more unfolded then those energies can be used, properly used to its fullest value and to its vastest range. Okay. Good. Who’s next? Questioner. Guruji, because of our meditation practices, some of us are developing our intuition and maybe some latent psychic abilities. I would like to know how can we tell, when for instance in having the sense of your presence and receiving messages from you - this is a long question - whether there is actually contact with you on a psychic level, whether we are receiving the message clearly or if its contaminated by our own negativity or wishful thinking? How can you stabilise these experiences? How can we come to have a sense of trust in our own perceptions? And could you explain how all this works and how you can be in contact with many meditators at one time? Gururaj. Beautiful, beautiful. Well according to the dozens of letters I have got from you, Patricia you have had these experiences I know, I know and that is why the question is. Good. What are the mechanics of these perceptions? What are the mechanics of subtle communication? Now we must remember one thing, that if there are four thousand million people on this earth, there are not four thousand million minds. There is only one mind. Good. One universal mind and when we say an individual mind, what we mean by that is that we are compartmentalising the one universal mind into small little fractions. Good. This table here would contain millions of atoms, good. We look at this table as a whole, we don't look at the atoms individually. Yet the component of this table is made up of millions of atoms, molecules, whatever. Good. Likewise, likewise the mind is one mind and the extent of the mind is the extent of the entire universe. Good.

8. UK 77-3 One subtle difference between a very mundane analogy, a material analogy to a far subtler level, would be this that every individual mind penetrates every other mind. So if there are four thousand million people and we individualise every one into little individual minds, we must remember that the extent of each mind is as vast as the universe and all the minds penetrate each other. So in other words there are not four thousand million universes. No, there is only one universe but the structure on the subtler level is such that all those different minds exist as one. Good. They are separat e at the broadest base of the pyramid. They are separate at the broad base but when they reach the higher level, it becomes one at the one point. Good. Now if some people develop some psychic abilities, they can communicate with each other at a higher level. And the greater refinement we bring to our minds, the greater the perception would be. Good, for example, many meditators write to me that ‘I was troubled and I had a worry and I thought of you and I felt your presence so strongly’. Right. Well, that is on the feeling level. Some meditators write, many, many write that ‘We actually saw you with us’. Good. So that would mean that there has been a greater refinement on the sight level, eye level. Good. Like that, all our senses, all our five senses have their subtler or psychic counterparts. Good. Many of you have the experience of smelling perfume without any perfume being there. Fine. So what's happening there is that we are utilising the subtle sense of smell. Many people through their meditational practices have developed taste where a nectar, a sweetness is just in their mouths and they experience this. Right. The same thing on the auditory level where people hear angelic choirs singing, beautiful symphonies they hear, just from nowhere. They hear that with the psychic ear, their inner ear, the subtler ear. Now through meditational practice, as Patricia has said in so many of her letters, she felt strong presences. She would ask a question to herself in a meditative state and receive an answer. Now that answer is drawn from the universal mind. Good, at that moment of depth the little, so called individual mind gets attuned to the universal mind and there all answers are there. Good. Fine. Now, the guru is only representing that universal mind. The guru only represents that universal mind in its totality. Fine. So, when a person asks a question, reaching a certain subtlety of mind, and the answer is drawn from the universal mind and at that moment, directing the attention to the guru, what happens is this the mechanics are these, that the individual mind becomes aware of that which symbolises the universal mind. And the individual mind, at that moment draws, by its own power the symbol which is the Guru. You see how communication takes place, it is so simple. I get hundreds of letters our mail, my mail at the moment is between fifteen hundred and two thousand a month. Good, and every one is read, unfortunately I can't reply to any one. If I should reply to one, it would be unfair not to reply

9. UK 77-3 to the other. And with controlling and running an International organisation, it would be very difficult to reply everyone. Some of the letters contain very deep questions and some of them are just complaining about their mother- in -laws or things like that. But nevertheless, whichever that comes I read it, I read it, I read with very, very great care. And I don't only read the line but I read between the lines and not only between the lines but at that moment there is a communication taking place on far subtler level, because I am always in a state of meditation. Even while I’m talking to you now, but to me this too, is a meditation. Meditation is not only half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening, a person lives in meditation twenty-four hours of the day. That is the aim, that is the ideal. Good. Some have achieved it and others are on the way of achieving that, so in that meditative state when a letter is received and I read it, as I said the words, in-between the lines and even right to the psychic level, the motivations that the person himself or herself does not recognise in the letters, are felt by me. There could be so many circumstances leading a person to write a certain sentence. Now through that sentence, a whole book could be built up. If a pers on says, ‘I hate my mother- in -law’. Now immediately, immediately we would tune in, ‘Why? How? When? Wherefore?’ All these questions and the answers to them are flashed immediately, in a moment. Good, now when I read these letters, immediately I would, very spontaneously and without effort, send an answer, send an answer clarifying it or if not a direct answer, an understanding, whereby the person, without using the mind, just feels that I've got to change the course of my action. Good, and more often than not, they change the course of the action. It depends upon the quality of the person. Some people do not receive the communication because they build a wall. Now if there is a greater flow of love, a deeper flow of love, the more vivid would be the communication and the more clearer the broadcast which can be picked up. As we sit here, there are millions of, thousands perhaps as many radio transmitters, as there are sound waves in this very room. Now if we have a good radio here, we can pick up America, we can pick up England, whichever stations, Germany, France, Japan, we can pick them up right here and now. It depends upon our receiving set. Right. So, through meditational practices, when our receiving set becomes more and more refined, the better and better our reception would be. So at that moment one just intuitively feels that this is my answer. So here, here, what has happened is that, that our individual mind becomes connected to the universal mind, via the transmitter of the guru. And the transmitter requires a good receptor, which is the radio, you. Do see the mechanics, Patricia? And that is how it works. And all of us, all of us can do that, all of us can do that. If a person, if one person can reach a state of enlightenment then know it is within the range of each and every one to reach that state. And then finally, then finally

10. UK 77-3 when we become so refined and the internal guru is awakened then we do not need an outside symbol, an exterior symbol but we go into that silence within. And that silence itself replies and says, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ or otherwise. Okay. Patricia. Thank you. That's fine. Next. Questioner. Gururaj, you say that the path to joy should be joyful. I know that my lack of joy is due to thinking of things of yesterday or worrying about the future. Does the secret of joy come partly from living and being in the nothingness of the here and now? Gururaj. Beautiful. Questioner. (Cont’d). Joy occasionally comes in waves but what is the secret of living in joy? Is it love? Gururaj. Yes, yes, yes. Beautiful question. Now the path to joy should be joyous. The word there is ‘should’. You see the difference. The path to joy should be joyous. Right. The secret there is to understand ‘should’, should be joyous, but is it joyous? What can we do to make it joyous? Good, fine. Now we very commonly confuse little pleasures with joy. You have a nice meal, - I hope they are looking after you well here by the way. Good. Right. Now you have a nice meal and then you feel a bit happy, and you say ‘Ah, it was such a lovely meal’ and that kind of thing. Fine. Now these are momentary pleasures because in an hour or two or a few hours, you will start feeling hungry again. Good, and then when the next meal that comes, it's not so nice, you will feel sad. Right. Why? Because our mind is comparing that lunch was so beautiful and supper is so sad. You see, you see? So there, it is the attitude of mind again, right and we are so, so reliant upon the mechanism or the working of the mind. We rely entirely upon the mind and the mind as we have said over and over again, can only function in a very limited range. Now, do know this for sure that, when we are very sensitive to extreme pleasure, we will at the same time be very sensitive to extreme pain. It works both ways. Always. Always. The greater the pleasure you feel, you have the ability in you to feel greater pain because of the sensitivity. Good. Now when Sybil mentioned love, now that is beyond all pleasure and pain. Love is not a pleasure and neither is it a pain. It is something entirely different. I would still like to meet a person that could love with the mind. There is no such thing. You cannot love with the mind. You can only like with the mind. Your mind says, ‘This is nice’. Your mind says, ‘This is not nice’. And your mind will find many reasons and justify what it says. ‘This is nice because of such and such and such’. Yet another mind will not like another object. So it is a complete individual interpretation or acceptance or

11. UK 77-3 conception of what is pleasurable and what is painful. For example, if you should eat a very strong curry, it will burn and it won't be so nice to you. I could eat a very strong curry and really enjoy it. (General laughter) You see. So, so a lot depends upon the orientation of our minds. A lot depends upon the conditioning of our minds and that conditioning could be inherent, could go way back beyond this lifetime. And the mind can also be conditioned by external circumstances and by environment. And with all these factors put together, we find certain things painful and certain things pleasurable. Good, but when Sybil talked of love it is beyond that, it is beyond that. The mind cannot recognise love but the heart can feel love. And in its sweep, in its sweep, the heart can make the most illogical thing, logical and the most logical thing, illogical. Yes, that is the heart and therefore they say love is blind. Love is blind because blindness implies senses. To see is a sense and to be blind is the reverse of not being able to use the sense. So love transcends all the senses. Good. People say, as I heard once somebody saying, they say, ‘People fall in love’. They don't really fall in love, they are uplifted by love. You see the difference. So the love quality is the most important thing and the should can be made into ‘would’. ‘The path to joy should be joyous’, - we can change that sentence in saying, ‘The path to joy is joyous’ rather, it’s a better word. Is joyous, when the quality of love is added to it. When that intensity of love is brought about in our lives then the path to joy is joyous, because we are operating from heart level. Now we cannot deny the mind or the body, that is here and that must exist but because the light of love is so powerful, - when the sun shines in its full glory, the little lamps though they are burning, loses its intensity because the sun is so bright. But yet we do not deny the little lamps because they too are handy at night. Yes. Yes. So we do not deny the mind, we do not deny the body but if the same mind and body is infused with the power of love, when through meditational practices, the heart expands and more and more love filters through, more and more light filters through, then more and more God filters through. That's the secret that's so simple. Everything is He and He is everything. Good. Just us that blocking the way, we close the door. We, the mind and the body close the door and instead of we knocking, He’s forever knocking there for us. We don't realise that. Therefore it is always said that, ‘We approach one foot and he comes, he approaches with ten feet’. Yeah, therefore Divinity is always merciful, always loving, always compassionate. He says, ‘Take one step toward me and I take ten steps towards you’. Now the one step you take, that is your action and the ten steps He takes, is his Grace. So when Grace and action are combined then the path to joy is joyous. Okay. That's all. Fine. Yes. That's a good idea. Ah and this water is joyful too. Thank you. Questioner. To what extent is it possible for one being to directly influence the spiritual development of another?

12. UK 77-3 Gururaj. Beautiful. Beautiful. What is the extent of one being to directly influence the spiritual development of another? Fine. To stimulate the desire for spiritual development is the only thing another being can do, because man must necessarily evolve himself. No one can evolve you except yourself. What a teacher, a spiritual teacher does is, through theory and practice, he stimulates - appetiser, yes, so you can enjoy the meal. It creates an appetite. Is that wha t appetisers are for? I hear these things, I really don't know about them. Yes. That’s all that is done. So through our studies and through the conditionings of the mind, we would find one teacher’s teachings more in line, more in tune with our minds, fine, and others again would find another teacher’s teachings more in tune with their minds. So, I always say that if there are four thousand million people in this world, there must be four thousand million religions. Right. Now, every individual has to find his own path. Every individual finds his own path and he can rely on the established philosophies or religions to guide him. He can use them as a guide in order to formulate his own path because no two individuals are alike. Good. No w what happens is this, that once, once the stimulation has been created, once the desire for spiritual development has been created in the mind of one person then the stimulator has a little foothold. And the purpose of that little foothold is to stimulate more. Now who is most qualified to do this would be a person that has gone the entire path. Good. If we are going through a forest, an unknown territory, then the person who has gone through the forest before, would be best qualified to show you the way through the forest and out of the forest. Good, but you have to do the walking yourself. You have to walk yourself. He'll only show you the path. So, as you approach, as you approach on the path and you feel you could see that there is a greater and greater clearance ahead, naturally you would accept the guidance. So it is only in that way that spiritual teacher helps or influences the spiritual development of another being. Yet there is another factor involved and that factor is because the spiritual Master has known the whole forest, has known the whole path. When there comes a little hill to climb over, and the seeker flounders a bit, then the spiritual teacher, th e experienced one who knows he would lend a hand and help you over the hurdle. He lends the hand but then a lot depends on you to grasp that hand, to get over the hurdle. If you refuse to grasp the hand, then naturally you can't get over the hurdle. So this is a beautiful partnership, the partnership between teacher and pupil. The pupil must be willing to learn and the teacher, a good teacher is always willing to teach. That is how the two interact and it is a very personal relationship. And if that relationship is based upon love, compassion, feeling, then the path would always be to the right path. Fine. Now there are teachers and teachers and gurus and gurus. And perhaps ninety percent of them are bogus, frauds that are just out to fill their pockets and whatever motivations they have, we are not to judge. We never judge people. We

13. UK 77-3 have no right to do that. Perhaps their ways might be good enough for them for their own evolution but then sometimes it pains us to see the blind leading the blind. That could be our only objection, too many paths, too many movements and what have you in this world, where God is made into a blasphemy, where the name of religion is used or spirituality is used and so much wrong is brought about, which is not good. Fine. So, that is how, as we have discussed before, that is how a good teacher could influence guide and help the aspirant but the aspirant has to be willing to be helped. The aspirant has to open himself. If we keep the window closed, the fresh air is not going to come in. We have to open the window and the more we open the window, the more air will come in. The more we draw the blinds open, the more the sunlight will come in. And it is for our own warmth, for our own refreshment where we become more and more stimulated and where greater and greater joy is felt of the air and sun which is nothing but the teaching and the love. The sun gives us warmth and the air gives us life. Good. So what we want is love and life, warmth and life because love itself is warmth and the very breath we take, that is life. So open the windows, that’s all. Open the windows. Be willing to open the windows. Even sometimes people start on the spiritual path for many, many diverse reasons. Some people start on the spiritual path because there are marital problems. Some people start on the spiritual path because of physical problems. Some people start because of some kinds of addictions or emotional problems. It does not matter as long as a start is made. And as the person finds that the rough edges are smoothed off, as they find that, they immediately recognise and feel that there is something greater in this universe than just this little me. And then that is felt and that is what the teacher does really, that the essence of all spiritual teaching, it is just one that shifts your attention, make a hundred and eighty degree turn, in slow stages of course, in slow stages. Make that right-about turn. Today we attach so much importance to our minds and bodies and our motor cars, our houses and our antique furniture and what have we. Yeah, yeah. And the spiritual teacher only says ‘Fine, that’s nice, enjoy it’. Yes, yes. If y ou are earning five hundred pounds a month, there is nothing wrong in you getting a better job and earning seven hundred pounds a month. If you are earning one thousand pounds a month, there is nothing wrong in you finding a better job, an honest one of course, yeah, and earning two thousand a month. Enjoy it, enjoy it but take things at their real value. Our problems in life is because of misplaced values. That is the secret of suffering. Nobody asks the secret of suffering really, they only ask the secret of joy. Have you noticed, always? (Gururaj laughs) Yes, yes. That is the secret of suffering because of misplaced values. We misplace values, we put greater weight where less weight is required and therefore the scale does not balance well. The balanced life is a life where the scale is balanced, where we enjoy the worldly life and we enjoy the heavenly life here and now, here and now, because we know and all Scriptures will say this,

14. UK 77-3 ‘That Divinity is nearer to you than your self’. Now if a beautiful balance - and this is what we do in our meditational practices - we do not advocate any form of extreme asceticism or extreme forms of austerities and things like that. No. Balance, balance. Yah. Pain and pleasure can too be balanced within our limits. Then of course finally we go beyond them both and the one that stands the highest, has a larger view, has a panoramic view. That is the aim, that is the aim. Okay. Fine. Voice. .... (Inaudible) ....... of timelessness. But I suppose everyone is hungry now. It is one o'clock. It is one, yeh. Fine. So this evening at what time do we get together, at what time, Amri t? END