1. UK 79- 34 Gururaj: You know, its not really love that makes the world go round. Love is that which makes the ride interesting. (Laughter) Questioner: Guruji, is the process of evolution progressive, leading towards a definite ultimate goal, and is that goal, once attained, a final and permanent state? Gururaj: Beautiful question. Now firstly we'll have to examine if there really is evolution, and if there is evolution what is that which evolves? Now, from the spiritual level there is no evolution at all, because the spirit itself is totally unfolded. You could use other words for it such as 'God', 'Divinity', and that does not require to evolve. It is fully evolved. It IS. So from that level of existence, from that aspect of man, no evolution is needed, but what requires evolving is the mind. The body is a vehicle of the mind and the mind is the trouble maker that forms the barrier between pure consciousness or divinity and the body itself. So what the process would be is to clarify the mind and it is the mind that requires purity. The mind requires to achieve that purity and the very achievement of that purity is what we term as evolution. Now, is evolution progressive? Yes it is. There are certain theologies in this world that will tell you if you misbehave yourself in this life in the next life you'll be born as a cat or a dog or a mouse or a whatever. Now, according to all natural laws this would be totally impossible because every experience gained in life, good or bad, carries with it a certain lesson. It creates a certain impression in the mind which we could term a Samskara. An impression that forms a pattern in the framework of the mind influences our conduct in life, which influences our behaviour, and other modes of thought. So when all these influences are put together in a bundle then that bundle is called the mind. So when theology says you have come into this world with a burden it means you have come into this world with a burden - a sack full of samskaras and impressions - which has modulated and formed and put you into the environment in which you are now in. So naturally this is an evolving process and through this evolving process or rather unfolding process many factors come into play. You've heard me talk about the Big Bang where all these primal atoms shot forth and the evolution that is taking place in this cycle of the universe is still a carry over from the big bang.. That means the propulsion given at that time is still

2. UK 79- 34 propelling those very atoms to continue forth on it's path and in the continuance of this path this very primal atom has the innate ability - this very cell has the ability to duplicate itself and replicate itself. But as it goes on - because it was not only one atom that has been set forth, there have been millions of atoms that have been set forth - and as it goes on it intermingles and mixes with various other kinds of atoms and thereby formulates different kinds of existences. Now, all this is in accordance with the laws of nature. The mineral kingdom is entirely ruled by the laws of nature. Now the very propelling force is what can be termed the life force because the life force is none else but energy; energy at a very, very, subtle level. So once this energy has been released it cannot stand still, for the very nature of energy is motion. And, wherever there is motion there has to be evolution. Good. So, the mineral kingdom with it's life force inbuilt life-force like a stone has life in it, it is not an inanimate object, it also has lif e. From there the next stage would be plant - and we know what life there is in plants - and with the various tests done - when they have wired them up they have found that when one plant was hurt the other plant was registered, in various electronic machines, to scream. Many of you gardeners know that how loving, if you treat your flowers lovingly, how beautifully they grow. So, what is happening there? The very subtle energy that is in that plant becomes one with that subtle energy that is within you. So you, when you think of any object, and in this case we are talking of the plant, it applies to human beings as well. When you think of a certain object in those loving terms with real feeling, depth of feeling, not superficial, with real depth, then the object to which this love is shown always responds, always responds. So here the plant responds to the love that is given to it. Now this too is within the framework of nature and is propelled by natural laws. Then of course the animal kingdom, there the same principle applies. The trouble only starts when man evolves to the thinking stage - then the mind comes in between. So, from the primal atom right up to the animal stage everything has proceeded according to the laws of nature. So it has been evolving, evolving, evolving, all the time. But when the stage of man is reached there could be some devolution instead of evolution. Now this could only happen in a certain category. For example if you would say that if the mineral kingdom is of three inches, the plant kingdom is of three inches, the animal kingdom is of three inches and the kingdom of man is of three inches.

3. UK 79- 34 Now after reaching inch twelve in the stage of man, and if man's conduct and behaviour, his thought and action, thought word and deed, are not in compliance with the laws of nature, he can regress to inch number nine. So, between inch number nine and inch number twelve he can move up and down through many births. So, that is the devolution that occurs but he cannot go lower than inch number nine. Once he has entered the human kingdom, he will remain in that kingdom. Now, when this moving up and down from nine to twelve takes place all the time that is where great suffering begins. Suffering begins, a lot of conflicts are created within the mind because at inch twelve you have had some good experiences and then you, due to circumstances which are mostly influenced by your own thinking and behavioural pattern, you go down to inch eleven and ten and there another set of experiences are gained. So this is the higher and lower self in man. When the theologies talk of God and Satan, this is what it actually is. Good experiences coming through in a good way and bad experiences coming through in an adverse way. So therefore we say that the conflict is between good and evil, but in reality, at the basis of it all there is no such thing as good and there is no such thing as evil because everything is still controlled and empowered by the pure, eternal, immortal, infinite spirit. But , this good and bad is existent also on the relative plane, as waves on the surface of the ocean, while deep down there is that great calmness in the sea. But these waves would play and man can do nothing at all to destroy these waves, because they too form part and parcel of the ocean. So what is the way out? That remains the question. Now if we with effort try and conduct our lives in such a manner which would be conducive to nature and in flow with nature, then life becomes smoother and there are less obstacles. One might come with a very large burden but the very factor of effortfully changing our lifestyles, we lessen the burden. That is what Gurus teach - how to lessen the burden and create a greater integration within oneself, so that one's life is lived in harmony, not only within oneself but also with the environment. and that is evolution. Evolution - the purpose of evolution, is to take man to his real self so that man could recognise and experience who he really is. This programme starts by asking the question 'Who Am I?' That will forever remain the eternal question. But now, who asks the question? The mind asks the question 'who am I, because of the variety of the experiences gained. All those experiences and thoughts and analysis are contained within the mind in a eternal memory box, for not even a single thought is ever destroyed. Nothing in the universe is destructible.

4. UK 79- 34 So, the one sector of the mind which has had good experiences, pleasant experiences, goodly godly experiences, wants to question 'who am I' and to whom does it question? It questions itself. But then as the mind, that right hemisphere of the brain, starts functioning and asking who am I, the experiences of the left hemisphere, with all its analysis and verbalisatio n of experiences, goes ahead with its words and symbols and tries to answer the question who am I and it results in total failure. So, within the evolutionary path this is an inevitable question in wanting to know who I am. That question can never be answered by the mind because the mind is patterned, the mind is conditioned. I have always said that God plus mind makes man; man minus mind makes God. So here our problem lies - mind only. There was a lecture advertised in some hall where the psychiatrist was going to speak on schizophrenics and mental disorders. So this fellow thinks to himself 'I've half a mind to go and listen to the lecture'. (Laughter). So now, where does the answer lie in this panorama of life, in this merrigoround of life, where is the answer? Because the mind is ever whirling and whirling and whirling, like the merrigoround and as it whirls more and more we get dizzier and dizzier. So the natural consequence or the natural solution would be to get off the merrigoround, and that means going beyond the mind. Now our spiritual practices and meditational practices are designed for man to go beyond the limitations of the mind to the vast range of really experiencing who he is. And, when he experiences that kingdom of heaven within he is filled with so much light and love, so much kindness and compassion, that the mind ceases to ask the question 'who am I'. What this means in reality is this - that the question who am I becomes redundant. It becomes a questionless question. The question ceases. Once the experience is there, then there is no need to question. Once you have tasted honey, you do not need to question the sweetness of honey. You do not need to ask 'what is honey?' because you have tasted honey. Now, all this happens within the framework of evolution. All the theologies of the world have always preached certain ethical and moral standards and the purpose of these teachings, like the ten commandments for example, is that we do not devolve, we do not regress within the framework of the human kingdom, but always there should be a progression that would take us from the grosser levels of mundane existence to higher and subtler levels of spiritual existence. Then of course many of the teachings that are given in all theologies have been so misinterpreted. Many of the teachings in Hinduism or Buddhism or Christianity or Islam, perhaps - they are not what they were really meant to be. When

5. UK 79- 34 churches and temples started to be organised then a certain form of commercialism entered in and 'my church is better than your church' and 'my temple is better than your temple', that idea started taking place within the mind of man because he wanted to stabilise certain beliefs. He wanted to stabilise a church and within the fanaticism that went with it, the zeal that went with it, made all theologies dogmatic. The real way to find divinity through the process of evolution is to go beyond all dogma, and yet not ignoring the dogma understanding dogma as it should be understood. In our organisation what we try and find is the truth which is the basis of all these teachings, and even now these teachings are so, so watered down.... I will tell you a story........ There was this Sufi priest - Nasradin was his name. Someone knocked on the door and he opened the door. And he (the visitor) said "Nasradin, I have brought you a gift, a duck". So Nasradin said thank you, and he took the duck and he made a soup of the duck and he had a goodly portion of it. A little while later there was a knock on the door and he asks "what do you want?" and this person says "I am the friend of the person who brought you the duck". So Nasradin invites him in and gives him some soup. A little while later, another knock on the door. And, this person says "I am the friend of the friend of the person who gave you the duck". Another knock (and so on) and he says "I am the friend of the friend of the friend of the friend who gave you the duck". And every time Nasradin had to give them some soup but the soup was getting less and less and less. But now to please the guests, as the housewives will tell you, he had to add on some water, at least a little bowlful. So then when another knock came and he says "yes what do you want" this person says " I am the friend of the friend of the friend of the friend of the friend of the friend who gave you the duck". Nasradin says come in but there was no real soup left, so he mixed it with water and as this man sat down and started eating this soup he started complaining. He said "this is water, this is not soup". So he (Nasradin) said "this is the soup of the soup of the soup of the soup............"(laughter). But this has happened. This has happened with the teachings of the great Masters, where there teachings have been watered down to suit man's needs. Man does not want to adopt himself, or adapt himself to truth but he wants to mould the truth according to his needs. That can never be evolutionary. Progressive evolution does just not come about on its own without some effort on our part. I've said this over and over and over again, that meditation and spiritual practices, a bit of self help, brings the third quality automatically - the quality of Grace. Hm? And that is what makes the world go round. Another name for Grace is Love.

6. UK 79- 34 Grace is intangible, so is Love intangible but Love can be expressible, and in its very expression, this Grace flows. That is evolution, that is how a person evolves. Now, what is the end, what is the aim of evolution. The aim of evolution is to fin d oneself again. We are all prodigal sons, all of us. We left home but when we reach back home, the Father will kill the fattest calf, to welcome us home. And that is why all the fortunes that were given to the prodigal son was lost, so we have lost all the fortunes that have been bestowed upon us. We have blocked ourselves from Grace that is forever there. I always say why complain when there is no fresh air. Why sit there complaining from morning 'till night when there's no fresh air in this hall. Fresh air is not going to be there. You have to do something - just open the window, and the fresh air is forever there. So, Grace is for ever there, and that, obtaining the Grace to reach the Father's home, to find the kingdom of heaven within, to reach the stage where every man can say 'I and my Father are one', that is to reach that level of consciousness. That is the aim of life and that is what, consciously or unconsciously, man strives for. Today in our very materialistic world we try and find that happiness. We are all looking for it, happiness. But, in this materialistic world, the search has been external - external in acquiring material possessions. Remember always that it is not belongings that are important. What is important is belonging, not in belongings. Right, so we have this materialistic urge that the more we accumulate, the more happier we will become and we know by experience that this does not work. The little Volkswagen can take you from point A to B and the rolls Royce can also take you from point A to B. It's not that you must deny yourself the rolls Royce - why not? We are householders, we are not ascetics living in some Himalayan caves. So, according to certain theologies there are four principles involved in the living of life that will make life conducive to progressive evolution, and - these are Sanskrit words which I will translate for you - the first is Dharma, which means developing a sense of duty and righteousness. After Dharma comes Arta. Arta is acquisitions, economics, to acquire things which are necessary for oneself - make life more smoother. And, a person can have a hundred million pounds and enjoy the hundred million pounds yet not be attached to it. Like this miser, he went to this priest and he says 'oh priest. I wish I could take all my Gold with me'. So the priest replies, he says 'it won't work, by the time you take it with you it will melt'. (Laughter). Yes, 'there where you are going the heat is so intense, it will melt (further laughter). So acquiring Arta, or being economically established, it has to have the basis of Dharma, righteousness, and if righteousness and truthfulness and duty to oneself and other men,

7. UK 79- 34 underlie - if that principle of Dharma underlies the acquisition of Arta or wealth - then that wealth is justified. Because if that righteous principle is there we would always use those acquisitions in a goodly, godly way. The third principle is Kama - not Karma, Kama. Kama means fulfilment of desires. Now, as householders, as I've said, we have desires. We want to see our children grow up into good citizens of our country. We want to see good things happening we have all kinds of desires. There is desire for procreation, which is nothing wrong as a householder, and various other kinds of desires. But behind this too, the first principle must underlie it, the principle of dharma. So dharma comes first and that is attained - that level of thinking is attained - by meditational and spiritual practices and effortful living towards betterment. And when one has that principle then Arta, wealth, is OK; fulfilment of desires is fine and when a person lives these three levels then the fourth level comes automatically - MOKSHA - which means liberation. So you live a liberated life. You have started with righteousness and being involved as a householder you enjoy that which wealth brings, which desires bring, and that leads you on to liberation and leading a liberated life means what the bible says, to be in the world but not of the world. You are liberated from the attachments of the world and yet enjoying it all. You see, that is the householders path in evolutionary progression. Who wants self realisation? Who wants God realisation? He is forever there, forever there. Who wants enlightenment? But what we need now and today is how to make our lives run smoother, how to bring that harmony within ourselves and how to be harmonious to the environment. And when we have this feeling of liberation within ourselves, and yet being involved in everything, then we find peace that passeth all understanding. For understanding comes from the mind; peace comes from the heart. And the heart is so powerful that it overrides all the ripples of the mind and stills the pond. And when the pond of the mind is stilled then the light within shines through in its fullest glory. That is what life is all about. That is what life SHOULD be all about. And that is our birthright. We are born with this mechanism within us. We don't need any great help. We need to be shown the way. Masters come and they show the way. Let (them ease) the way. And the way is life itself. That is the truth. So you see evolution occurs naturally. Evolution occurs progressively if we don't stand in its way and what stands in its way is the cunningness of the mind. You see. So if all these impressions that are imbedded in what is known as the mind and if these impressions cannot be destroyed, what do we do?

8. UK 79- 34 We go beyond them. We go beyond the mind filled with all these various conflicts - do and don't do, thou shall and thou shalt not - those are the conflicts that are in the mind. So instead of resolving those conflicts and analysing these conflicts, we go beyond those conflicts, we rise above the conflicts and rising above the conflicts and drawing from within ourselves that force, that energy, then the conflicts resolve themselves. And, how does it resolve itself? By not destruction or annihilation of the ego, and ego is another name for the mind, but an expansion of the ego. The ego can be so expanded like, as I always say, a piece of rubber. It could be so stretched that from its opaqueness it can become transparent and through that transparent ego the fullness of life itself shines through, and that is the purpose of life. It's like a dirty window when cleaned, a dirty pane of glass when cleaned, and the light shines so fully through it that you do not notice the glass any more, although the glass is still there; but, the glass is clean and that is what is meant by purity of mind. That is what is meant. So, all those samskaras are still there but being stretched so much that they don't have a chance to enter into conflicts, because the light is shining through. So what we are actually doing is putting the strength of that light in between the conflicting factors that govern the mind. Now these conflicting factors would reoccur and reoccur all the time if that light is not allowed to separate the conflicting elements. And that is why we meditate. It is to bring out the light, and enter and permeate the mind. Now this does not mean being light headed. And, this is a matter of experience, although the mind (is working) out of the twelve million cells in this brain you are using only one millionth of it. So, the mind is also a very useful instrument if, if we allow it to be an instrument. So as this light permeates the mind the mind, the mind becomes subdued and when the mind becomes subdued then we become the Masters of the mind. The real I within oneself masters the mind instead of the mind mastering us. Instead of we being the slaves of the mind the mind has now become a slave of us, because when this light shines through the mind can only be a slave. That is what is meant by mastering the mind. That is what is meant by controlling the mind. Now there are many yogic systems and all kinds of systems that teaches you severe practices of controlling the mind.. That does not help, it does not work, because who is controlling the mind? The mind is trying to control itself which is an impossibility. The mind cannot control itself. The mind can only be subdued if the third factor, the spiritual factor in life, is poured into the mind. Then only can the mind be subdued and controlled.

9. UK 79- 34 Now, the spiritual self of man does not control the mind. So here when the mind consciously tries to control itself what happens is this; that it creates greater confusion within itself. Instead of there being fusion there is confusion. So when the mind tries to control itself it makes itself conducive to all kinds of inhibitions and repressions and they must manifest themselves in some way or the other, either on the mind level or on the physical level and that is why over 90% of the beds in hospital have a psychosomatic origin. So the mind translates itself into organic equivalents. Now therefore we do not try to control the mind by the mind but we draw forth on that deep force within ourselves and when we draw forth from that light and infuse the mind with it, in it, then the mind automatically controls itself without effort. Do you see how it works? One person - I don't know if I told you this story before - one person went to a Guru and this young man wanted some spiritual practices. He wanted to become enlightened. But this was just idle curiosity and not a real seeking, a yearning, to find that which is. So he went there, and the Guru told him 'come again' because he saw that this man was not ready for the things that he requires. He wanted not only to have enlightenment but he also wanted to develop certain occult powers, and the Guru saw that I could teach him how to develop those occult powers but they would be misused, they will be used selfishly; and in any case the development of these powers could never be evolutionary progressive. So the Guru says 'look, come and see me again' with the hope that this young man would not come. But, a few days later he came and a few days later still he came again, and again, and again, and again and the Guru got fed up. So he says 'OK, I'll show you how to do it', and he gave him the practices. So, but he told him one thing 'here is a word of warning, and it is this; that whenever you sit down to do these practices, do not think of a monkey'. Ya! What can you do with monkeys, Huh? If monkeys ask you for practices, then you give them a monkey! Right, So every time this young man sat down to do his practices, the first thought that would crop up would be 'monkey'. (Laughter) So he couldn't do his practices. So, when we try and consciously control the mind the mind starts controlling us, because that very repetition, the thought of the monkey cropping up at every practice, will go deeper and deeper in his mind and create a deeper and deeper impression.

10. UK 79- 34 So that is not the way we do things. We rely on that which is within us and through our practices we draw that out and allow the light to shine in the dark crevices of the mind and lighten it up. For that lamp is forever burning bright, that lamp is forever there shining in all its full glory and love and grace. So, in our systems of teaching, which has to do with the evolutionary path and the attainment of the goal, these are the necessary things. This is the direct path, which is suitable to most temperaments because it includes Bhakti yoga - devotion, Gnana yoga - of wisdom, understanding to a certain extent, Karma yoga - right living, right thinking; and when all these are put together it becomes Raja yoga - Royal yoga. You have teachers teaching. There is another yoga been invented recently, over the past twelve or fifteen years - its called business yoga (laughter). We don't indulge in that. Yes, we find the Royal path, Royal yoga, the Royal union of the heart and mind where as this light penetrates into the dark crevices of the mind, it lightens up and in lightening up the awareness expands where before we could only have a narrow vision. And not only a narrow vision but a division in the vision. But now as we practice our vision is broadened. That is called expansion of awareness. What is called altered states of consciousness, that they talk so much about, it is none else but developing a vaster understanding. That is an altered state. Today we could only see so much and with some practice we see so much. So the consciousness has altered, our vision has altered, our understanding has altered. Do you see? So, that is the way, those are the mechanics of the path of evolution. These are the things that happen. And every experience we gain in life is valuable. But we always strive to have good experiences in life, and if we want that we can have it for the asking. Knock and the door shall be opened, seek and thou shall find. No greater truth has ever been spoken. So if we want our lives to be smooth on this evolutionary path then we make some effort. We meditate, we do our spiritual practices, we make some effort, and that beautiful boat of Grace takes you across the stormy sea of life and you don't even feel the ups and downs, because Grace is carrying you across - to that shore where all exists. And then you will find, when you reach there, that how far have I travelled really, Hm? I've gone from NOWHERE to NOW HERE. Careful, listen to the spelling. 'Nowhere' is spelt the same as 'now here'. You just separate the two words a little. You see. Right. So, that nowhere that we know nothing about - we supposedly know nothing about - is now here. So THIS is the moment that is to lived. There is no other moment. There is no other moment. Past is gone You are not sure of the future. Now. Like Blake said - eternity in an hour. No, no, no, no eternity in a moment. Yes, and THIS is the moment.

11. UK 79- 34 So if every moment is well lived, then the next moment takes care of itself. It has to, because you are pushed on the evolutionary path, you can't help it. You just can't help it. You are carried with the force of Grace. What more do you want. It's so simple, really. It's so simple. So when we reach that infinite shore, the relative side of life will say it is reaching somewhere but the absoluteness in us will say 'I have always been here, I come from nowhere and I go nowhere, I am always here'. And, this hereness and nowness is understood by this cunning mind again only in the terms of name and form. So that is John and Jack and Jill and Jane, Martha and Mary. Are you really John, Jack, Jane, Martha, Mary - really? Really - Are you? No, no - just name and form, which the mind has individualised - little waves bobbing up and down in the ocean. But when we look at the ocean we say 'Ah, look at all those waves', but we don't give it names. We don't call one wave Mary and the other one Martha. We don't. They are waves. Now this is the very attitude to be developed, that we are all just waves - upon the eternal sea of life. Now if the wave is not separated from the ocean then how can a wave be separated from another wave? It is all so interconnected, interrelated, inter-penetrating, so much so, that the entire universe is nothing but one atom. And, the mind is so vast that it could embrace the entire universe within itself. For everything that has happened in this universe is in your mind - is in your mind. And when one realises this one becomes one with the universe. Now on the trip to America I was invited to meet some Gurus and we had a few days to spare, before and after the courses. So I went to visit some Ashrams. We had some wonderful receptions and I was asked to speak. And, I remember this Ashram in Connecticut, they asked me to speak, and they are a path that follows essentially the path of devotion - Bhakti. So I told them - the ashramites living in the ashram - that yours is a path of devotion and if you cannot become one with your Guru, how are you going to become one with the universe of which you know nothing. At least the Guru is tangible. Yet the mind contains the entire universe, just waiting for it to be realised, and realisation means to take the abstract and make it concrete. How do you make it concrete, - by LOVE. So the husband that loves his wife so much, or the wife the husband could find the entire universe in the wife or the husband, for it is now, at the moment, concrete. We are not speaking of Hedonism, where pleasure is the highest good. No but beyond that lies the entire range of all existence - and ALL EXISTENCE IS IN YOU, because you are divine by nature. The eternal spirit is there in you, in its fullness.

12. UK 79- 34 When we have some fresh air coming into this room, we can't say it is part of the fresh air. It IS fresh air. So, we bring down that which is abstract into its tangible, real form because being in the relative we must appreciate and enjoy the relative - with one difference; that in the relative we infuse the absolute. That is why the Gita says "be established in self, and then act". And that is how every man can become a law unto himself - if he is first established in self. And that is the end and aim of evolution - to understand that I came from nowhere and I am going nowhere but I am now here. Do you see? I think we will call it a day. Most of you have travelled long distances. You must be tired. Have a good rest. Tomorrow we start working. Namaste. So nice to be here. I see a lot of new faces so glad to meet you all. And a lot of old faces - huh - that's the wrong expression. There's never an old face. Everyone is eternally young. END