2. U S 79 - 18 Now, the basis of the question is this, what lies in store for us in the future? And if there is anything in the future, then can one go through, or must one go through all the unpleasantnesses? Or is it necessary to find the pleasantness in life, which people deem to be a necessity? Now, can this be done by a group cons ciousness, or can this be done by an enlightened person? Is that right, Jamie? JAMIE: Yes, that's correct. GURURAJ: Ah, thank you. [LAUGHTER] You see, Jamie is a computer expert, so he puts his question through a computer. Fine. Now, there are many things to be defined here. The question is a very composite question. Firstly, do we have to go through unpleasantnesses? Now, is there anything in life that is really unpleasant? Is there anything in life that is reall y unpleasant, or is it just the interpretation of your own particular conditioned mind that makes a thing seem unpleasant. Because we know what could be pleasant to one could be very unpleasant to another. A Mexican will enjoy himself with a hot chili sauce, and he will find it very pl easant. While to someone else he has troubles not only eating the chili sauce then, but also next morning. [LAUGHTER] So it is good, actually, because you are burning the karma from both ends. [MUCH LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE] Look, those of you, those of y ou that has never been on our courses before, I want you to remember that we believe in the three L's: Life, Love and Laughter. Hm? For everything else just is laughing all the time. And why must we make our lives so unpleasant to debar us from laughin g? So, unpleasantness is a fixture of a patterned mind. Man has gone through so many experiences in this lifetime, or, perhaps, if you do believe in previous lifetimes. So as was said in previous lectures on the last course, that man is nothing else but a bundle of all the experiences he has gained. And his gauge or rule of a situation is very dependent and totally dependent upon his experiences. Hm? Fine. So, in reality, what is the reality? That is the question. Is unpleasantness a reality? Or is pleasantness a reality? Now, pleasantness and unpleasantness are very relative terms. Like the chili sauce. But what we are after is not mundane, relative conceptions and perceptions of what is pleasurable and unpleasurable. For the nature of man bein g Divine, with Divinity being omnipresent, which permeates every cell of your body, including the twelve million cells in your brain, if tha t that is permeating everything in existence, then everything is pleasant. Everything is joyful. Everything is spar kling. Everything is laughing. So, now, whatever experience we have and we find it to be unpleasant, to repeat again, is nothing but an interpretation we put on a particular situation. Like a quote which I'm very fond of. It could be a good affirmation for someone: "Two

3. U S 79 - 18 men behind prison bars, one saw mud the other saw stars." Two people in the same circumstances, but one could find it so pleasant seeing the glory of God, while the other one just sees mud, because his mind is cluttered with mud and dir t. Two men were digging holes in the road, the side of the road. You're not allowed to dig holes in the road in this country. Because they really make you holy then. [CHUCKLES AND GROANS] Yah. They stick you away in a hole, yah. So alongside this road t wo men were digging, and when one was asked he said, "I'm digging a grave." When the other was asked he says, "I'm digging to build a foundation for a cathedral." Ah, what great joy there is in thinking in that way. Now, how to overcome our feelings of u npleasantness, that is the question. We have seen that all situations and circumstances, be whatever they are, are none else but the reflection of our own minds. And being reflections of our own minds and thoughts, we have to do something to change those thoughts, and change that which the thought reflects. Now, having a patterned, conditioned mind, the thoughts that would emanate from that patterning is, as we said, dependent upon experience. That, and experiences that we have had. Now, man has one a bility, a God given ability to go beyond experience. And when he goes beyond experience, then everything becomes joyful to him. Greater awareness develops, where he does just not see the dirt in the streets. He climbs high. His view of life assumes a p anoramic aspect. He climbs up the mountain of evolution, and when he looks down, the city seems so beautiful, and he ceases to see the dirt in the street. Now, this does not mean that there is no dirt in the street. It is there. So the secret of findin g pleasantness amidst all the unpleasantnesses of life is to be able to rise above it. And this is done through meditation and spiritual practices, whereby we dive to the deeper levels of our mind. The conscious mind is just a small percentage, the tip o f the iceberg, while the entirety of the mind is that which is below the water. And the tip of the iceberg is always narrow, but the breadth and the width lies under the water. Likewise, such is the case with the mind of man. So through meditation as we go deeper and deeper to the various layers of life and the various layers of mind, because the mind comprises the entire universe. And as we go deeper we expand. Because then we start experiencing the wider proportions of that iceberg. Good. And as we e xperience the wider proportions, our awareness expands simultaneously. For awareness is also an experience. Now, all this is still on the relative level, but by having a greater awareness, a greater understanding develops. And when one has greater unders tanding of a situation, then nothing seems so bad at all. Sitting in this room I could find fifty faults, but my mind is not led to those faults. My mind is led to you that how fortunate I am to be with you. You see. So the wider the scope the mind is given through meditation and spiritual practices, we become more appreciative of everything. And that everything would include a pauper's bowl of soup or a king's feast; for we realize that the atomic structure of that b owl of soup is none else, or none different than the atomic structure, or subatomic structure of that king's feast. And we enjoy both of them equally as much. So this leads us with the heightened awareness, and the opening of

4. U S 79 - 18 the heart, this leads us to t he sense of acceptance. Then we start accepting whatever there is. For within the scheme of things everything around us and in us is created by ourselves. All the pleasantnesses and unpleasantnesses are created by ourselves. So here with this idea, as we dive deeper within ourselves, we become more accepting of ourselves. And when we become more accepting of ourselves, then we become more accepting of the circumstances around us. When we become more accepting, the understanding, too, at the same time, grows. A person says a nasty word, perhaps. A year ago you would have felt so bad. It would have hurt you, and you would have mulled over it for days and days. But now you have developed that understanding that, wait a minute, this person has said thi s to me. You know, he could be right. Let me examine myself. Good. And as I examine myself, and if I find some truth in what he has said, it would be a privilege that I have been given to analyze myself. Now, if what the person has said is totally untr ue, then I develop another quality within myself. Because of the acceptance, I develop the quality of tolerance. You see how all these things lead from one to the other and interpenetrate each other? So here I become more tolerant. When I become more t olerant, then I say, "Oh, that person, that friend of mine, or that relative, Auntie Mary, Uncle John, you know, he might not just have been feeling well." Who knows if his wife might have served him up with burnt toast this morning? [LAUGHTER] Huh? Yea h. And, perhaps, things were not so pleasant with him. And, (phew) he's just in an awful mood. We think of that way because of tolerance. And when we have that tolerance, then that does not hurt us very much, because with that simultaneously we develop the sense of forgiveness that, "Okay, Uncle John, who's going to worry about this now? You have been wrong in saying that, so who's right all the time, in any case?" Fine. So forgiveness develops: acceptance, tolerance, forgiveness. And when you can t ruly forgive a person, then you can love a person. See how it all leads up? Then you can truly love a person, and you will love Uncle John for what he is, even if he said a nasty word to you which does not agree with you. So, either way, if we have the right attitude of mind, either way, we are gaining. We are not losing. Man never loses anything! For every experience, be it an adverse experience or otherwise, is always a lesson. For in every adversity there is an opportunity. And that opportunity ca n be found if you have developed within yourself sufficient awareness. And this comes by meditation and spiritual practices. So from here we start loving Uncle John, for whatever he has said.... Now, this is something very great. It is nice to love someo ne who is nice to you. But to love someone who has not been nice to you shows a great spiritual strength and fortitude. Do you see. Yeah. And therefore, the scriptures say, "Love thy enemies." Laugh on that one. [LAUGHTER] Do you see. Good. I like l eg pulling. [LAUGHTER] Right. So that is how the love grows and grows and grows until the stage is reached where pleasantness and unpleasantness becomes the same. For the opposites, too, are true.

6. U S 79 - 18 But group consciousness works in a different way. T here is individual consciousness that man has to work on, but group consciousness applies to the factor when people are gathered together with a purpose, one purpose, with one pointedness, then they emanate a force. And that force that is emanated and put together could be called group consciousness. The totality of the emanation in this room can help the other. When there is so much joyousness about in ninety nine people, then it will reflect upon one who is sad and alleviate to some measure the sadness , if the person is prepared to have an open mind. So group consciousness has been a theory of not too long ago. Less than a hundred years. When the psychologists started digging up the levels of the subconscious mind. They haven't dug deep enough. They have just barely touched the spade to the ground. But when you talk of group consciousness, and which is a wrong term altogether, the term should be "the oneness of the spirit." For the oneness of the spirit is but one. The ocean is one, where thousands o f waves playing on the ocean. And yet all that is just but one. That is the area man has to reach to find that unity in diversity. And when that area is reached then you find yourself at one ment with all of existence. You find yourself at one with the entire universe, and you can hold the universe in the palm of your hand. And when you reach that stage, that totally refined, realized, enlightened stage, then nothing is separate from you. Then you could use the words of Christ, "I and my Father are one ." And that oneness includes everything. That happens at the highest level. Now, when we talk of group consciousness this could be applied to a very lower level of the subconscious mind. We have walked into a home, and all of us might have had this exp erience, where we feel we want to leave immediately something in the atmosphere. You want to leave. And then everyone has had the experience that you meet a group of people and immediately you feel a oneness with the whole group. Why? Because the eman ations. And everything emanates: this glass emanates a force, this table emanates a force, this chair does, I do, you do, everything emanates a force all the time, like the flower emanating its fragrance, or the sun giving off its heat. Right. Now, when people of similar mind, or more or less of similar mind, then these emanations forms itself into a whole, a wholeness. Like water vapor coming from a river or from a stream or from a brook or from the ocean rises up as vapor and forms the cloud. So here i n group consciousness our emanations form a cloud in which we are bathed. And when it is for a good purpose, when it is for the purpose of self discovery, the mind is tuned to the higher level of ourselves, so we automatically and spontaneously spark off and emanate a higher vibratory rate of which we are all formed. And that cloud of bliss, of joy, of happiness, is there. And that is why we enjoy these courses so much, and feel uplifted so much. For has it not been said that where two people gather in m y name, I am there? You see how the great truth in all these sayings that apparently are so simple but contain such great depth that has not been understood by man. He tries to approach everything with that little ten percent conscious mind, but he never thinks of delving deeper. For the mind is incapable of understanding everything.

7. U S 79 - 18 How can the finite mind ever comprehend that which is infinite? But the mind can be used as an instrument. And the better thoughts we have, the more positive thoughts we have, we emanate a positivity. And in emanating that positivity, we bring about a certain atmosphere. We create a certain atmosphere. And from positivity only positivity can emanate and you feel happy. I have seen a woman, one of our meditators in one of our countries, who is in the general sense people would say she's so ugly. To me there's no prettiness and no ugliness. Everyone is beautiful. But in the general terminology they would regard her to be ugly. Fine. She is deformed. But be in her co mpany. Huh? She might be deformed, but be in her company and you will be transformed. For there's so much goodness within her, that even without her saying a word she emanates this power of love all the time, that you become entranced and bathed in the a tmosphere she creates around her. And nobody sees her deformity or her ugliness, they all see the beauty. So we are responsible for all of this, each and every one of us: what we create. We are responsible for everything we create with our minds. But i f that mind of ours, that little individual bubble in the universal mind, that individual bubble has its own little life span . And the greater amount of that which is required to make the bubble, the longer the bubble lasts. And it would determine its si ze. So how do we do that? That is the question. It is by infusing the subconscious and the conscious mind with that which is further, deeper within us. To infuse the subconscious and the conscious mind with the superconscious mind which is closest to D ivinity; for Divinity is neutral. So Divinity first reflects itself onto the superconscious. The superconscious conveys that light through the subconscious to the conscious mind. [END SIDE ONE] GURURAJ: Through meditation what we do is this, that we c lean up the dirt in the subconscious. We dissipate all the blockages, if you wish to call it that. We dissipate all the samskaras, and give that light a free flow to the conscious lev el of life. And then life becomes light. Ahhh. Then we live! Otherw ise, we just exist: get up in the morning, go to the toilet, have a shower, catch the bus, go to work, come home, eat, do whatever else, I don't know what they do when they go to bed...yah. And like that, on and on. Hm? Yah. That's where they sleep whe n they go to bed. Right. Sleep. Get up again. Routine in this whirlpool of mundane existence. Totally mundane. There are more thoughts in our mind about Uncle John and Auntie Mary and what dress I'm going to wear at the party, which is still to be he ld in three weeks time. And our mind is preoccupied with it now. That party might as well be canceled. Who knows? And you're worrying about it now. Or if you don't think of the future, then you clutter the mind with the past: this one did this, and th at one did that, and all these kinds of things. But never for the moment. Never living in the moment.

8. U S 79 - 18 I told on the last course that man comes from nowhere, and he goes to nowhere. Now, if you take careful note of the spelling, "no where" has the exact spelling as "now here." Huh? Yes. So we live in the now. We live in the present. Past is gone. Past is totally gone. What's this time? I can't see too well. AMRIT: [INAUDIBLE] fifty six, twenty five. [LAUGHTER] GURURAJ: Fifty six, twenty five. I'm very sorry, Amrit, you're wrong. It's twenty seven. Fifty five, twenty seven. AMRIT: Guruji, that can't possibly be, because it's now thirty seven. And you are absolutely untruthful. GURURAJ: No, I'm very sorry, Amrit. You're still making a mistake. It's thirty nine, now. [LAUGHTER] AMRIT: [INAUDIBLE] Guruji, because it's fifty six fifty, now. GURURAJ: Fifty six fifty one my watch says. And my watch does not tell a lie. [LAU GHTER] AMRIT: Neither does mine, and it's fifty seven. GURURAJ: You see? You see. What do you see? The past is the past. It's gone. As soon as he says fifty seven seconds, it's fifty eight already. [LAUGHTER] Huh? Right. Yes. And as soon as h e says fifty nine, it has changed to the next minute. And that's how life goes on: forgetting the present and remembering just the past. And man can, if he meditates regularly, know the full value of the present. I was telling some people the other day. ... People don't even know how to eat. They'll gobble up their food, and their minds are cluttered with all kinds of thoughts: the next business appointment or next this or next that. Yes. Oh, my girlfriends going to meet me at eight. Let me, you know ? He very conveniently makes an appointment after supper. Yah. Very clever. Yah. [LAUGHTER] So he's gobbling his food "I don't want to be late." For he might miss her. They can't even eat, their minds are so cluttered. Eating is an art. The fine st art in the world. It doesn't matter what is served up. But to become one with the food, ahhh. To become one with the food and enjoy that food to the maximum. Never mind

9. U S 79 - 18 what it is. That's living for the moment. Husband and wife are together and th ey say, they melt away in each other, ahhh.... [LAUGHTER] If they really did melt away, they'd make a pudding. [LAUGHTER] So they look into each other's eyes: "Oh, my love, how much I love you. You are so beautiful. Your eyes are so lovely. Your ha ir, as I put my fingers through them, feels like silk." FEMALE VOICE: Oh, my God. [MUCH LAUGHTER] GURURAJ: All lies! They're all bloody lies! Yeah. Because as soon as you start analyzing, as soon as you start becoming aware of the prettiness of y our beloved, or the silky hair of your beloved, or the color of your beloved's eyes, you have stopped loving. You have started analyzing. Then you have not melted away. For in that togetherness, you are not there anymore. Your body's dissolved. You're not there anymore. Only love is there. And that love is God. Only God is there. That is love. That is what man must aspire to if he cleanses his mind with caustic soda. [LAUGHTER] Yes. And his belly with purgatives. [LAUGHTER] You see. That is ho w life works, really. Now, the other part of the question. [LAUGHTER] How does the enlightened man contribute to this group consciousness or individual consciousness? The greatest teachings are done in total silence. And I do hope the day will come, and it will come, when all of you will sit here, and I here just in total silence. And the greatest words of wisdom will be spoken in that silence, directly in your minds and hearts. Nevertheless, we have ears, we've got to make use of it. We have a mouth, we've got to make use of it in this present state of evolution. So, what does the enlightened man do? He has traveled the path. And having traveled the path, he shows you the path. "Take this path, it's smooth. Look, I've been over it, I've been across it, I know. And if you are afraid, come hold my hand. I will take you home to your real home." That is what the enlightened man does. Even in the company of an enlightened man, something happens to you inside. In Sanskrit they call it darshan. Someth ing happens inside. It's not given to all to bring that happening to a conscious level, but in the company of an enlightened man you are touched deep within yourself. Your soul is stirred. Your soul is quickened. And you feel that force within you, if you have the awareness enough to feel that something is done. A seed has been planted. And the emanations of an enlightened man give this benefit. To be in the presence or the company of an enlightened man is the greatest thing one could wish for. You can't buy it with money. It's priceless. There's no price tag to it. Now, then with the imparting of the spiritual force or gurushakti, as we call it, also an understanding is given so that the techniques one practices the heart opens, the mind expands,

1. U S 79 - 18 IS UNPLEASANTNESS NECESSARY? GURURAJ: [???????] these questions immediately. VOICE: I wasn't ready for that. I thought you were going to [INAUDIBLE]. GURURAJ: Oh yes, I can. I'm so happy to be here [LAUGHTER], as you all know. And because there are quite a number of people from the previous course that ended this afternoon that are here as well. And we shall see as the course goes on how this beautiful spirit of love and oneness develops. Shall I carry on more, huh? [LAUGHTER] AMRIT: Jamie? [INAUDIBLE]. There he is. JAMIE: Beloved Gururaj, I've become aware of an increasing ability to manipulate the general content of the reality I create. I have withdrawn my agreement to constantly focus on or participate in much of the un pleasantness that goes on in this world. [CLEARS THROAT] GURURAJ: [INAUDIBLE] JAMIE: I'm sorry. [HE LAUGHS] Recently I have felt that there is no preordained need for us to experience any or all of the unpleasantness predicted for the remainder of th is century. Can any one of us change future reality to the extent that others will agree with us, or do we have to have group agreement for change? Or do we have to have the agreement of an enlightened being? GURURAJ: Um hm. Chapter one. Chapter two, please. [LAUGHTER] Have you got a second chapter, as well? JAMIE: That's on another sheet. GURURAJ: Ah, that's on another sheet...um hm. What was the question about? [LAUGHTER]

5. U S 79 - 18 I was giving an analogy the other day that take the color red and blue and green and yellow and all those colors of the spectrum. With our perception we see the differences in colors, but in reality, it's only one color. There's only one color , and that color is white reflected and refracted through a pri sm. And that gives us, to our eyes, different colors. So when we reach the acme of love, then all these divergent colors become one. All these separate colors, rather, become one in that pure light of love. And as we meditate more and more, gradually w e go beyond all the various stratas of the conscious mind, the various stratas of the subconscious mind, to the superconscious mind. And we live the life in the relative field in superconsciousness, which infuses itself, returns to the subconscious and th e conscious, and everything is perceived to be good. Everything is perceived to be good; for good and evil are assessments of man's mind. And these are necessary to bring about a certain stability in society. But when it comes to the area beyond the sup erconscious, there lies that storehouse of energy which is totally neutral. It knows of no good, and it knows of no bad. For it is like electricity, which can be used in a refrigerator or in a stove the electricity is the same. So man has the tools wit hin himself to use it the way he wants to use it. And that is why as we meditate we unpattern the patternings of the mind. We dissolve or dissipate, rather, or send away to it's original elements all those samskaras. And through that pure, clean pane of glass of the mind the real light shines through. And that becomes a practical reality. That becomes living in God, with God, living God. That is the living God. And that is to be found within ourselves and all those around us. Everyone living truly i s a living God. And then I won't kick up a row because my wife has forgotten to give me a clean hanky. Huh? Do you see. The greatest quarrels in this world, the greatest wars in this world, the greatest dissensions in this world, has been created by she er pettiness. It is not major catastrophes that create calamities. It is the small pettinesses that make or mar one's life, that makes one feel the pleasure of living or the unpleasantness of life. Then they say, "Oh, what is the use of this life?" And they lose all faith and they deny everything. They say, "Ah, there's no God. If there was one, then why must I suffer?" It's a totally irresponsible statement, because everything around us, everything that affects us, meaning our mind and body, for the spirit is never affected, that is created by ourselves, by our own karma. For every action has its reaction. Whatever you sow, that shall ye reap. These are great eternal truths. And they are not only in one religion, but they form the basis of every th eology in the world. So we come to these realizations and all the unpleasantnesses in life cease. Good. Now, does it require group consciousness to create this joy in life? No. Joy in life is created by yourself. Fifty people in a sea. Forty nine c an't swim. You can swim. Why can you swim? Because you have learned to swim. The others might not have learned it. So where is the group consciousness there? For every one is fighting for survival.

10. U S 79 - 18 and that little push is given the push of gurushakti or grace. And the enlightened man, being enlightened, is the beacon of light that sends its light forth unto the dark waters in the night. That be careful there are rocks here, or else you will ha ve shipwreck. Turn this way. Turn that way. He shows the way. For the way is the life. And that is the truth. Okay. Now, a lot of you have traveled from far distances and may be tired. Perhaps you want to have a nice rest. So tomorrow we start working . Okay. VOICE: [INAUDIBLE] GURURAJ: Hm? Yeah, okay. **** END ****