1. US 77- 17 [SOMEONE SAYS, "MEDITATION PRACTICE," THEN THERE IS A VERY LONG PAUSE BEFORE SATSANG BEGINS] GURURAJ: ...that has done more good than religion, and there has been nothing in the world that has done more harm than religion. Good. We do know that man without religion, and using religion in its broadest context, would mean a way of life. And the way of life that is to be directed should be directed to one's betterment. And betterment, especially so, in the spiritual field where one can become a more integrated being. That is the purpose of religion. Now, man, having developed a thinking mind, a rational mind, he knows to a certain extent, he can discriminate between his joys and sorrows, he can discriminate between what he lacks and what he should have. Religion can fulfill this need. Religion develops in him faith, love. And religion shows him a path to Divinity. Religion shows him a path to Divinity. Tha t is the main purpose of religion, and that is the main purpose of religious teachers. That is the good which religion can do and has done. Where the harm has come about, according to Vivekananda that religion has done a lot of harm, is when a person tries to follow a dogmatic religion. Now, any form of dogmatism, as you would know, makes one close up his mind. While the purpose of life, to find Divinity, is to have an openness of mind. Because once the mind is closed up in dogmatism, then we fail to see what is around us. It would be like a horse with blinkers, and could only see the one channel, or that which lies directly in its path. Now, because of dogmatism, dogmatism could very easily be led to fanaticism. And we know history how during the time of crusaders, in the name of religion, rivers of blood flowed. That was a misuse of religion. So anything in life, for that matter, can be used usefully, and it can be misused and abused. So to use an analogy, if we take a sharp blade in the hands of a teddy boy, he will do harm kill someone, perhaps. But the same sharp blade in the hands of a surgeon will perform an operation and save someone's life. So religion essentially was not there to create harm. Religion started to organize society into a family spirit, where people could be one pointed towards achieving that which is really within themselves. Religion started in the beginning where the search was outward. And in the outward search, if we study the history of religion, we will find that in this outward search various types of gods were created. You had the wind god, the river god, the fire god, the tree god and the search was outward. Yet in that outwardness of the primitive man's beliefs, even the primitive man acknowledged that there was something greater than himself. And that was the start of religion, when he started recognizing that there is something greater than myself. Good. And when, as man progressed, he found that the outward search was not enough, and then he started searching inwardly. He started searching inwardly, because the recognition or the cognition that took place

2. US 77- 17 within himself acknowledging a higher power made him feel that, "If this cognition has started within me, then that higher power is within me." And that is how his search started in an inward direction. Now, when the search started in an inward direction, various forms of meditations were developed by ancient seers, ancient yogis, and perhaps modern seers and modern yogis, too. They tried to bring about or rediscover a systematic path whereby the mind and the body could be stilled, and one could dive deep within oneself. So by diving deep within oneself and reaching the real source of man, and being able to draw upon that infinite energy that is within, he can allow it to permeate his mind and his body. Now when that divine energy starts permeating the mind, then his religious beliefs can be enhanced, because with the permeation of this energy the closeness of the mind does not remain there much longer. A openness of mind is created. So the purpose of meditation, as far as the mind is concerned, takes us away from narrow dogmatism and leads us to a far greater openness of mind where we can start realizing that if there are four thousand million people in this world, let there be four thousand million religions. We have talked about this a day or two ago. And man has to find his salvation by himself and for himself. No one can evolve you. And anyone that tells you or claims to evolve you, please believe this, that this is not possible. Every man has to evolve himself through whichever path that is most conducive to him. Hm. Good. Therefore in our meditational systems, in our foundation, we never impose our teachings upon anyone. If the seeker comes seeking, we try and give the teachings. The teachers teach to the best of their ability, and the requirement of the true teacher is to impart the teaching with true sincerity and love. With sincerity and with love. Good. Now, this definitely has an effect upon the initiate in creating an openness of mind. But it is not only the openness of mind that works, but at the same time, simultaneously the heart also opens. Because the love that can be generated, and that is generated by the true spiritual teacher, must have an effect upon the heart. And when the heart, the core of the human personality , unfolds, then the initiate too will find greater and greater love pouring out of him or her. So it is...it is something very personal, and more than that it is mutual. The seed that you plant could be a good seed, but if the field is not well tilled th e seed cannot grow as it should grow. So the duty of the guru can only be fulfilled if the chela is ready, if the field is tilled, and the field is receptive to the seed that is being planted. So it is a two way thing. There is no superiority and neither inferiority. The true guru regards the chela as himself and non different. Non different in any respect. The chela is doing his dharma by allowing the seed to grow, and the guru is doing his dharma by planting the seed. So in this two way, two way communication...in this two way communication, what we know as religion, flourishes. Where the essence of religion is really known.

3. US 77- 17 Now, all of you have seen our emblem. And on the emblem all the religions are portrayed. There is one spiral emblem which symbolizes all other religions that could not be accommodated on the emblem. [LAUGHTER] Yes. Yes. So we in our foundation acknowledge every religion. And everyone is taught that do not condemn. Do not break down anyone's faith. By breaking down anyone's faith you are doing that person an immense amount of harm. And the harm you do that person will naturally rebound upon you, because you are going against all the principles of what religion should be. If a person has faith in Mohammed, encourage it. If a person has faith in Christ, encourage it. If a person has faith in Krishna or Buddha, encourage it. Because after all, that Mohammed or the Christ or the Buddha or the Krishna are none other but the same. We are not here dealing with the human form or the human personality which is composed of name and form. We are dealing here with the consciousness that those forms bring to the world. And the realized teacher embraces within himself the entirety of universal consciousness. And because he embraces within the small frame of his being the entirety of universal consciousness, therefore he can only express it in one way and that way is to love. Because if he embraces the entire universe within himself, and if he experiences himself as being the universe, the universe being in him and him being in the universe, then there is no sense of separation between the teacher and the chela. A oneness develops. But as I said, that for the oneness to develop the seed has to be right, and the ground has to be plowed so that it could bear fruit. And the fruit is the engendering of greater love. Now, when we say "greater love," that is a contradiction of terms because love itself is complete, it cannot be lesser or greater. But when we use these words, and language could never convey the finer meanings of things, but when we use these words what we really mean is how much of it can filter through us. How much is our carburetor clean so that the petrol can flow through smoothly. And if the petrol flows through smoothly without the dirt in the carburetor, then the car runs smoothly. You have a smooth ride through life. You have a smooth ride through life to reach the destination. So the path to joy too can become joyous. That is the end and aim of all religion. That is the end and aim of all philosophy. That is the end and aim of life's goal. Now, consciously or unconsciously every man or woman is striving for this. Consciously or unconsciously everyone is striving for this happiness. People follow religions for the purpose of achieving this goal. People study the thoughts of various sages to try and develop an understanding. Good. Now, intellectualizing something and understanding something and realizing something is entirely different. You can understand, you can rationalize and intellectualize with the mind, fine. But to realize it is to become it. You can analyze sugar, as I said the other day, but to taste it then only can you experience the sweetness, and experiencing it is realizing it, knowing it, and not just having some idea of it with the mind, but really feeling it in every cell of your body. And when you experience that force in every cell of your body, you cannot but help living it.

4. US 77- 17 So what the true guru does is very gently, with love and compassion, tries to guide. Tries to guide a person towards his religious ideal, be whatever it may. The only criterion is that he must realize the real nature of himself, and the real nature of man is Divine. So from the gross level of the body to the still subtler level of the mind, one is led beyond that all to the Divine level within oneself, which is one's real self. Now, religion, all religions, have taught certain forms of meditation. And the forms of meditation that has been taught by many religions are valid. They are valid. They are not to be condemned or thrown asunder. They are not. In modern circumstances, as time progresses, the same teachings are brought forward again and again and again. And the teachings of love are nothing new. It has always existed as a eternal quality, but only given forth by teachers according to the times they live in. It was good in the time of Christ when he said, "Believe, have faith." And the people of those times, the places he used to travel to, and the people he used to preach to, took his word and they had faith and they believed. Today if you tell someone to believe and have faith, he is not very prone to do that. Today you have to tell a person, "Experience, and then you will know." So therefore methods are devised through various meditational systems whereby people can experience the selfsame Divinity. One was done through faith and belief, which we call bhakti yoga. And most of you have read of that, where there is a total devotion, a total bhakti, a total self surrender in the words of the teacher. Good. Then other methods are that you do not need to accept the philosophies of the teacher. You do not need to believe that there is a power higher than yourself. You do not need to study any philosophy. You can just live a good life. One injunction only: Do unto others that you would expect to be done unto yourself. Now, that constitutes karma yoga, where you are not worried about all these fancy theories. Your mind does not want to rationalize. You do not want to go into atomic and subatomic structures of things. Good. You just want to live a simple, good life. That's all. You harm no one. You don't allow anyone to hurt you, because there is something generated within you that protects you from hurt. Someone slaps you on one cheek, you turn the other. So you say, "So how long is that sting going to last?" Huh? He has slapped me. Perhaps his hand has been hurt more than my cheek. Yes. Yes. Yes. And you don't analyze. You just accept and live a good life. You are honest. You are sincere. You are truthful. And you don't want to know what is in the hereafter. That is karma yoga. And then you have the analytical mind that wants to know the whys and wherefores of everything. The jnana yogi. He goes from philosopher to philosopher. He goes from theory to theory. And he asks questions. But one thing happens in the asking of those questions, that for every answer received another dozen questions crop up. [LAUGHTER] Hm, yes. And when you answer those dozen questions to yourself, two dozen questions crop up until you reach the stage where you say, "Not this. Not this. Not this. Not this." So through this process of negation, through this process of negation, all

5. US 77- 17 theories are thrown aside. And by throwing aside all the theories you are at the same time thrown to your center. And when you have reached the core of yourself, the center of yourself, then instantly illumination dawns. And then you say, "Oh, is this what it is? I've been wasting all these years rationalizing and theorizing." That is jnana yoga. Now, in the modern world...in the modern world what we need is a combination of all these things. Combination of love and belief. Combination of right thinking and right living. Combination of certain theories that could be, for the moment, pleasing to the mind. And that could lead us in our quest, in our search, to greater and greater realizations. Huh? Now, all this, with the practice of certain techniques that could bring about a certain amount of stability within us and the more personalized the techniques are the greater its benefit could be if practiced with sincerity and regularity. Now, all these things are to be combined in the world of today. And because man's mind has evolved to this stage, he needs that. He needs love. He needs faith. He needs devotion. He needs rationalizing. He needs analyzing. He needs right thinking. He needs right living. All these things are necessary. And the true seeker is doing all these things within certain degrees, according to the best of his ability. And according to the best of his capacity. And by doing that he is fulfillin g what religion tells him to fulfill. Now, I have never ever met an atheist. An atheist is a person who does not believe in religion or God. I have never ever met an atheist, but I have met a theist. I have never met an atheist, but I have met, always, a theist. Everyone, everyone, has some form of belief. Now, the constituent of belief and faith is trust. Now, you will know that everything that happens in this world is based on trust. You can examine this from every angle you like. The biggest business deals are done over the luncheon table. The contracts are only signed a week or two later when the typists are finished typing them. It's done on trust. I've been through all this. I talk of experience. Hm? Good. My father, right, I've been told he's my father, and I believe what I've been told. [LAUGHTER] How can I be sure that he's my father? Like that. Like that in every way. We believe that at twelve o'clock we are going for lunch. How do you know that you are going to have lunch at twelve? You might just trip across the threshold here and you'd be having lunch elsewhere. [LAUGHTER] Huh, huh, hm, hm? The whole home foundation between husband and wife is based upon trust. And people's minds are so wily, so wily, that they can be unfaithful to each other, and so, so easily. They are too clever. Yes. But it is all based upon trust. You trust your wife, and therefore you believe in her. You trust you husband, therefore you believe in him. So like this we can go on and on and on, and examine every facet of life. And every facet of life is based, to a great measure, upon trust. You go to a doctor, he gives you a bottle of medicine, and you have trust. You believe the medicine will cure you. It could be poison, how do you know? You see? So where is there an atheist? As long as a person has a bit of trust in him, he is not an atheist. And the very beliefs on the mundane level can be

6. US 77- 17 turned, just a slight turn, can be turned to a belief in something which is higher than himself. And that is the purpose of religion. And all religions, like Ramakrishna has said, that all religions are like rivers coming from different directions, which ultimately become one in the same ocean. Good. So religion has nothing to do with systems of meditation. Systems of meditation are a help to make one realize one's religion better, to become a better Christian by facing yourself within, to become a better Buddhist, to become a better Hindu. And that is how religion and meditation join hands. For it is a different aspect of the same thing, the same Divinity that we want to realize within ourselves. Okay. Fine. Next. VOICE: You got any questions? VOICE: I've got a question. VOICE: Yes, over here. VOICE: Guruji, my cousin told me of a woman who knows...who was diagnosed as having terminal cancer, and she healed herself by constantly repeating the phrase, "Divine health and energy are flowing through me now." And I've noticed it's useful to use this phrase when my mind becomes cloudy with thoughts. I'd like to have your opinion of this practice, and also to compare it to the use of our aim hrim krim chant. GURURAJ: Uh, huh. Good. Beautiful. Beautiful. Now, now, when we do our chawnt...chant, sorry. [LAUGHTER] I'm learning Americanese very quickly. Is that right, Bud? [LAUGHTER] BUD: Yes. [LAUGHTER] GURURAJ: When we do our chant, as I explained to you yesterday, that the chant is based upon certain basic sounds, and in the...[SOUND OF GLASS] (Thank you, very much.) And in the finest relative...finest sphere of relativity, or at the subtlest relative, those that have the ear could hear those sounds of the finest relative. Fine. Now, by using the chant we

7. US 77- 17 are lifting certain vibrations within ourselves and around ourselves, so that through chanting, as you have experienced in these past few days, you experience a uplifted feeling. Hm. It requires practice. And with practice you will experience this uplifted feeling more and more and more. Good. Another purpose that could be achieved by the chant is if your mind is in turmoil, and you have thoughts just whirling around in your mind all the time, and it is getting you depressed. If it is getting you depressed, you use this chant, even if you are alone while you're driving just sing merrily away. [LAUGHTER] Good. And you will find something happening. You would be uplifting your vibrations, and the vibrations around you, so that you will definitely feel better. Now here we are working on sound value. Not only sound value, but as I explained to you, this has been scientifically worked out as a pranayama process, where when you do the chant you are exhaling to a certain beat, a total exhalation. And the most important thing in breathing, which creates this rhythm within ourselves, is the exhalation and not the inhalation. The inhalation comes automatically, it comes automatically. Just try and keep your breath out, and just see how long you can do it without inhaling. Huh? Right. We know that. Fine. So here we are working on sound value only. While in the affirmation that you spoke about, there is great validity in that too. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. In all these various systems there is a certain truth in it. Therefore, never ever condemn any system. It could be good for someone, as it was good for your cousin. Hm? It could be good, a certain system, could be good for someone, another system could be good for another person. So therefore we have no right to condemn. The Bible says, "Judge ye not, that ye be judged." Fine. Now, in the affirmation, this has been used by someone called Emile Coue have I got the pronunciation right? VOICE: Coue? GURURAJ: Coue? Hm? Yah. Now, he, I believe, worked on this principle only: by affirmation. Where the man when he gets up in the morning and before retiring at night, says to himself, repeats to himself over and over again that, "I am getting better and better day by day." I am getting better and better day by day. And this has worked for many people. I believe these clinics are in many countries scattered around here, there, and everywhere and it has worked. Now, th e principle it works upon is suggestion. And this has been proven by various forms of hypnotism, for example, where the mind can accept suggestion. Now, most of human minds are very susceptible. And because of its susceptibility many people have taken advantage of it for their own gains, or for their own aggrandizement, perhaps. But when a man affirms to himself a positive statement, he is suggesting to his mind something that could be uplifting to him. And it definitely

8. US 77- 17 works. We all have heard the saying that, "mind over matter." Now, this is how, this is how we gain control of the mind so that it could help. And it could control, it could heal our organic self, the physical body, yes. I have given this practic e personally to many people based upon certain affirmations, and they have felt so much better. I have known of people that had suffered from migraine for eighteen, twenty years, and just by a certain form of affirmation.... Now the affirmation does not work on everyone. Someone needs an affirmation, someone needs a different kind of practice for the same type of migraine. But in many cases where affirmations were required we have found definite proof, and we've got thousands of letters in the files, people expressing their gratitude for what is taught to them, and these affirmations can be very helpful, can be very helpful. Now, I don't know if I gave you an example here, or was it at the last course, about how to make a person sick? [LAUGHTER] I’m going to tell you this story even if it's being a repetition, because we have some people of the last course that are here on this course too, and then we have a lot of new people. So let me tell you the story which proves the point. [SOUNDS OF DRINKING] Ah, that was nice. Prana. Now, if we want to play a trick on someone, we want to play a trick on someone, I do not recommend it, but I...[LAUGHTER] but I just want to tell you how suggestive the mind is. How susceptible it is. Four people, four friends get together and they say, "Let's play a trick on John today." Right. So they plan it. In the morning Tom meets John, and he says, "Oh, John, but you look terrible. What have you been doing? Did you have a night out? Didn't you sleep?" Fine. Couple of hours later Tony meets John, and he says something similar. He says, "Oh, John, what's happening to you? You look terrible. You absolutely look terrible. You must have yourself seen to, you know. Take a few hours off from your work." Right. Couple of hours later... [END SIDE ONE] "...look so sunken and your nose is so red and you even sound hoarse." Things like that. And then the fourth friend, Joe, meets John. And Joe tells him, "Look, you look absolutely terrible. Right. Now jump into my car and I'm taking you home to bed [laughter]. You go to bed." And believe you me, poor John is going to feel sick. You see how susceptible the human mind is. Now this is, of course, using the power of suggestion or affirmation (same thing) in a negative way. Now this same power can be used in a positive way. It is the same energy, there is no difference. It is only how we use this energy. If a friend of yours does not look too well, please, please, please, when yo u see him or her say a nice word. Lift up, lift up his spirits. There is always something in the person that is nice. I've never met any person yet that hasn't got something nice. I, personally, see everything nice. But on the average there is always

9. US 77- 17 something nice. She might be having a beautiful frock on, or he might be having a nice shirt on or something liven his spirits. You can see on his face he's not feeling too bright, he's feeling depressed. Liven his spirits. You'll help him out of that mood, because mostly people live in moods. Mostly people live in moods. And meditation is one of the ways that would take you out of moods and make you face yourself directly and squarely, make you look at yourself in the mirror and say, "Ah, these are my weaknesses, now what am I going to do about it?" Good. So to come back to affirmation, to come back to affirmation it is a definite force. And the human mind is such that we can influence it. And by influencing the human mind, we can allow the energies generated by the mind to overflow into our physical bodies and bring about the healings, as in the case of your cousin. Oh, yes. So it is very valid. Very valid. Good. Next. How much time have we? It's ten to twelve. VOICE: We have about ten, twelve minutes. GURURAJ: Yah. What time do you have to go for lunch? Do you have to go for lunch at twelve? I see. If you like we can walk around and chat around outside. The sun is shining. It's up to you. Or would you like to listen to questions and answers? Whatever you wish. VOICE: Would you like some time to just wander around with Gururaj out there? VOICES: Yes. **** END ****