2. U S 81 - 6 personal conditionings and patternings, and how true are those patternings. Man may go through false experiences in life. Then the analysis, too, could become fals e. In other words it means that his decision there could be biased. Now, shall I take the left or the right is based upon insecurity. And as we talked about in this week, all insecurities are based upon fear. Where does this kind of fear come from? It comes from lack of confidence. So here we have three factors: fear, insecurity, and lack of confidence. Now, there is another aspect. If a person has studied the map well before embarking on a journey, if a person knows his subject well, then the decisi ons would come automatically. Although there is a certain element of bias in it. But then there are situations where no past experience could help one to choose. You meet a person that gives you a business proposition. You do not know the person too we ll, so there in choosing you have to decide that will this business proposition be dependent upon him for its success, or will it be dependent upon you for success. You see. Choice is a thing which every person in his daily living worries about, and you can rest assured that the more you worry about the choice so much more wrong the choice can be. There is a difference between contemplation and worrying about that. Contemplation comes from a cool headness which will give you a calculated risk. So in al l things of life, be it marriage, be it business and everything, you are there to take a risk but a calculated risk. Now, why think only in the terms of the success that choice might bring? Why not think of it as an adventure? Why only worry of it to be successful or unsuccessful? Though man desires success, and why does choices become difficult? It is because all choices are based on mundane things, on mundane things, wanting to have maximum returns. Sometimes with work and sometimes without work, lik e putting ten dollars on a horse you choose a horse wanting to gain five hundred dollars. How valid is that trying to get something for nothing? Any choice you make the left road or the right road can become successful i f proper effort is put i nto it. You can turn back if you find the path to be thorny and go the other way, but adventure is in man's spirit. Life itself is an adventure. The path to Divinity is an adventure. It is a discovery, and therein lies the j oy the joy of discovery, to discover oneself. And in any venture one takes upon oneself, what do you really discover? Not three pounds, shillings and pence or dollars and cents that are made. No. The purpose should be that through the path how much will I discover myself, and in mundane things how much potential have I? That should be the first thought and not the thought of what is to be chosen. In marriage, boy meets girl, they seem to fall in love with each other, and then they choose to marry. Fine. It does not work out. Whose fault is it? And because of the not because of the imperfect choice, but because of our personal imperfections that it does not work out. Because we have not gained a certain amount of integration that everything can fail without integration t he wisest choice, the surest path can also fail. So here spiritual practices and meditation becomes so important that with proper integration within oneself you could never make a wrong choice. So then choice becomes

3. U S 81 - 6 choiceless and you spontaneously do t he right things at the right time. Here in the West we have one divorce in every three marriages. In the East although they don't have the romance period, boy sees girl, girl sees boy looks all right and the parents arrange the marriage. And this is still happening even in modern India today, and yet the divorce rate is one in ten thousand. Why? Because they have been taught, they are brought up in a certain culture, where acceptance becomes the major factor. With acceptance, with acceptance the re is a surrender not a fatalistic surrender, but a surrender in the form of acceptance that my wife is such or my husband is such, but I accept that. And by that acceptance, one develops a beautiful kind of humility. And that humility is the greatest force on earth that could draw the required grace to you. So that choice which might have seemed wrong becomes right. That choice that was seemingly wrong becomes the right choice. That choice finds the right voice. That inner voice. So true decisio ns, true choices, are not necessarily from the mind. They come from within. So we have the ability. Meditators have the know how to tap the inner resources, and by tapping the inner resources through spiritual practices, all you do would be right and co nducive to their evolution. Now, this does not mean that it is going to have immediate results, but it has its long term benefits which are far more beneficial than the immediate temporary benefits. One thing is to be remembered, that the laws of nature a re forever supporting you to the right path. It never leads you astray unless you close your eyes and ears to the laws of nature. So by gaining this inner stability through practice of meditation and other spiritual practices, one draws from that divine energy within that Kingdom of Heaven within and all we do in life is just right, for no man does anything really wrong. In its essence nothing is wrong. It might be conflicting but not wron g. The path might become a bit more difficult, but the for ce of nature, once the surrender is there, will always take you on the right path. Then you don't look for omens and superstitions and any kind of "isms" that by following this "ism" this would be right, or by following that "ism" that would be right. It reminds me of a guru, Nasradin. He was standing up saying, "Down with monotheism, down with polytheism, down with Mormonism, down with Hinduism, down with Buddhism, down with all the isms. So one old lady sitting at the back shouted out, "How about throw ing in the rheumatism?" [Laughter] What I'm trying to say, that get away from preconceived ideas. We spoke during this course on the value of concepts. How valid is any concept? No concept has a firm foundation, for all concepts and precepts are creatio ns of man's mind. Rather reach the area where you do not need to choose any more. The choice is made for you by that force inside, that intuitive ability that is forever there and which has all its benefits given to you a God given gift. But now, how many can do that? Every one can with a bit of effort, with a bit of choosing to make the effort. You see? So, to dwell in the realms where one has not to choose but to become so natural that everything just flows. And if you realize the beauty of the f low of that infinite essence, then you will know joy. And then I ask you, who are you to choose? Who are you to choose?

4. U S 81 - 6 Who is anybody to choose? What choice have you? Your choice is but a delusion, an illusion created by the projection of your own sa mskaras, experiences. It is but a projection. So what can an illusion project? An illusion can only project another illusion, and so it goes on in a vicious circle. But then you will say, I chose to start a certain kind of business and I am successful in it. So I made a right choice. I am sorry, you did not make that choice. No. That choice was made for you by your inner self and not by the little conscious mind little conscious thinking mind. In any case, the conscious thinking mind does nothin g, it only thinks that it thinks. You see. So, everything is guided by the laws of karma. That is what I am trying to tell you. All your choices is not going to help you. You have set a pattern today for tomorrow and tomorrow's doings will set a patter n for the following day. So, in karma when thinking or supposed thinking is flowing with the laws of nature, and actions are done with the laws of nature and not against the laws of nature, then all so called choices become right choices. You reach there without even trying. It's a natural process. Nature does not try. The flower does not try to grow. It does not try. The rains, the wa ter does not try to rain. The wind does not try to blow. It just happens. So, the law of karma here is activ ated. Now, if one's karma is such that one has to pay a heavy price for it, you would have to pay the heavy price. But by certain actions, if the price that has to be paid can be paid on the easy payment plan. And that makes a lot of difference. That makes a lot of difference. Good. Now what do we mean by the easy payment plan? So that it means that we are not in such great turbulence or turmoil. Instead of having to pay $5,000 on demand, you pay off $5 a month. Long term and you don't feel those $5 at all. But even the pattern that karma has set for you can also be changed. Karma releases an energy in a certain direction, and man can change that direction. He cannot take away from the energy, but he can change the direction of the energy. I've told this before somewhere in some talk that if you have killed ten people it does not mean that you will be killed ten times. Try and save eleven lives and you have one in the credit. The others will be rubbed off. The mind is filled so many times with negative thoughts. This also I think I've talked about. So try this: ten minutes you're thinking negative thoughts, consciously, for ten seconds a negative thought the next eleven seconds a positive thought. Another ten seconds a negative thought another eleven seconds, a positive thought. And sometimes [a way?] becomes very hard or difficult. Neutralize both by doing gurushakti or one of the other spiritual practices brings a neutrality, but by the end of the day you will have a credit balance so that the pattern of the energy, the flow, the direction is automatically changed, and you build up credit and the bank manager is always happy to see you. You see? And that bank manager up there is not like these bank managers. You talked of busines s so I'll talk in your terms. These bank managers always like to give overdrafts to those that don't need it. To those that don't need it. Because he gets so much security. He'll tell you, if you need money please let me know how much do you need becaus e he knows that you've got

5. U S 81 - 6 collateral. But they don't give it to the needy. They don't give it to the needy that has no collateral. Ah, but the law o f grace gives you an unlimited overdraft without collateral. You are the collateral, you are the surety , you are the security. That is how life works when it comes to choices. When it comes to choices this is how it functions. But one has to start preparing for the choiceless choice here and now. And, in any case, if something goes wrong, what have you l ost? Businesses goes bang, what have you really lost? What have you come with? What have you come with? Nothing. You came in your birthday suit and you'll go in your birthday suit and that you'll have to leave behind. So, let us reach that stage by m editation and spiritual practices that will carry us through. And then with this total surrender we develop faith which is such a great force. Believe that you will succeed and you will succeed. You will succeed. But now in that belief, too, are you suf ficiently strong enough to be self reliant? And this strength comes through meditational practices where you become self reliant, where your own thought forces will become tangible. They will materialize any time and every time. But say you don't have t hat self reliance, then what do you do? Then you say, "Thy will be done." Good or bad, come what may, sun or rain, okay. That is the attitude. For there is no such thing as success or failure in life. It is illusory and just apparent and at its best, very, very transient. Do you think that people that have become millionaires or successful in business or in other things, they are really successful? No. True success in life, true achievement in life it comes from within. What we have found within our selves this discovery, this adventure into the land of the unknown, there lies the beauty. There lies the joy. As we always say, that true joy does not lie in attainment, but in attaining. Not in attainment but in attaining. So, why are we born in th is world? To strive on. To learn all the lessons that life has to offer. For life is the school, and if you had no lessons to learn you'd have never taken on this body. But, seeing that the theme of this week has been attitude, what attitude do we have in this striving of ours? What attitude do we have, that is important. Striving could be joy, and yet striving could also become misery if you allow it to be misery. What is the difference between a king's feast and a dry piece of bread? None if you ha ve proper understanding. They both fill the stomach, and do you know how far taste goes? Just as far as here just as far as the tongue and the throat. Further down, all is the same. Taste disappears. So for that temporary little taste, just from th e tongue to the throat, you make your life a misery. Just that little portion there. Yes. So you want to live in a big mansion twenty rooms dining rooms and living rooms and drawing rooms and all kinds of rooms. Why? Why? You need comfort. Why n ot, if you can? But if you can't, accept it's fine nothing wrong with it. You only sleep in one bed at a time, one meal at a time, or drive one car at a time, or lot of other things, one at a time. You see? So, where does choice come in? Choice i s a fallacy. When I say, "I choose" yes, there is some surface truth there. I choose not to do this. And I believe you have organizations here that start

6. U S 81 - 6 you off with that by saying, "I choose." Yes. So you proceed from one kind of mental condit ioning to another kind of mental conditioning. And the other kind of mental conditioning might not have long term benefits. So how valuable is that choice? Because it is mental conditioning and does not reach the depth that is within you, the Kingdom of Heaven within. So, in our teachings we tap that source first, and tapping that source, bringing that energy from the superconscious level of the mind through the subconscious and then to the conscious and empowered with that force, whatever you do is done and it is right. To the outside world it might seem wrong. Even conflicts might arise in your mind that it is wrong, but in its essence, is it wrong? No, it is not wrong. It is what you need for your own evolution. And because of these choices people have to make and they fight against the choice or what they have chosen, you develop the greatest sickness on earth, and that illness is the feeling of guilt. That is the greatest illness and not the American obesity created by hamburgers and ice cream! Yeah. Feeling of guilt. Be guilty of nothing. For even if you think you're choosing you are really not choosing. And if you have chosen with mind, remember it is good for you. All that happens in earth or heaven or in the universe is for the good alwa ys. We do say Divinity is omnipresent. Then how can there be anything wrong? It is all good. You have your way, I have my way, but we're all on the path. Some are nearer, some are nearer to Los Angeles, and some are a little further away, a little los t. But you reach there. You have to reach there. For consciously or unconsciously, everyone strives for happiness. Everyone strives for it. Some by outer means, some by straighter path within. And drawing that from within and bringing it out makes li fe more and more peaceful, more worth living. I hope I'm not talking too much. You know, Nasradin [END SIDE ONE] was talking on the immortality of the soul. He says the soul is immortal. He looked unto the mountains and said, "These mountains will be destroyed, but I shall be. These trees will burn up, but I shall be. The oceans will dry up being a very eloquent fellow he could go on and on th e oceans will dry up, but not I." He can't dry up, he'll just carry on. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And the n of course, we've got another meeting tonight, haven't we? And then of course, you have these people that talk of the wrath instead of giving people hope and joy and telling them that you are responsible for everything, including the so called choices you make. Divinity is not responsible for it. All y our joys an d sorrows were created by yourself. You have sown and you will reap. Be of good cheer, of joy, for there is life and life bubbles with joy in everything we see around us. And then you get these prophets of doom that talk of wrath. They say the world wi ll end. People will be crying, people will be weeping, there will be wailing and there will be gnashing of teeth. So one woman from the back says, "I've no teeth." So the preacher says, "Don't you worry, that also will be provided." You see? So, be of good cheer. Don't worry if you've made a wrong choice. After all, after all, it's trial and error that we are going through. There is these polarities that we have to contend with. There has to be. Otherwise this

1. U S 81 - 6 CHOICES GURURAJ: I hope you're enjoying the talks. Nasradin was invited to talk at an insane asylum. So he went on talking and there was one person there one of the inmates that was sitting with rapt attention just watching his face. And after t he talk was over he saw this man Nasradin saw this man going to the superintendent and speaking to the su perintendent, and this made Nasradin very curious. So afterwards Nasradin goes to the superintendent and asked him what did that man say about my talk? The superintendent tried to avoid the question, but of course Nasradin was very persistent. So the sup erintendent told him that that man said, "That do you mean to say that man is out and I'm in?" [Laughter] Good. What shall we talk about tonight? DOUG: Jaimie, I'd like you to read your question [Inaudible] GURURAJ: Did you process that question through the computer? JAMIE: Yes I did. [Laughter] Beloved Gururaj, when we are presented with alternate courses of action and the best one to choose is not immediately apparent, how much attention should we pay to omens? For example, I decided to call a casual business associate of mine to propose a joint venture only to discover that the telephone company had temporarily disconnected the phone. By the time his phone service was restored the next day, I had dec ided to drop the whole matter. GURURAJ: So, the disconnection of the telephone disconnected you from the business venture. You regarded that to be an omen. Many people do have beliefs in omens and omens are superstitions. They are creations of your mi nd. You would find that if a cat sneezes in some countries they would say rain will come. And in China if a cat sneezes they say it's bad luck. So, omens are never to be relied upon. They make no sense whatsoever. And as far as choices are concerned, omens are never to be taken into account. But man is put into a dilemma when faced with two propositions what shall I decide upon? He comes to a fork in the road. Shall I take the left, or shall I take the right? Now, what woul d be the major factor there that he could rely upon in making the right choice? So, what does man do. He sets his mind to work. He analyzes the pros and cons of which direction to take. But now, how valid is his analysis? That is the question. Because when man thinks, any thought that thought will definitely be guided by his own personal experiences, his own

7. U S 81 - 6 universe can never function. And if some mistake is made, how long will that mistake last or the effects of that mistake last? How long? This entire span of three score years and ten is just but a flicker, not even a flicker of an eyelid in the scheme of this eternal life you possess which is your right. You are it and not apart from it. You are it. You are eternity. You are Divine. And having that understanding and that attitude of mind, come what may. Look at this beautiful house we live in. Is your roof better than this wonderful c anopy of the sky? Is it better? Is your bed better than this Mother Earth that fills you with these energies in so many different forms with water and food and the vibrations life giving, all these minerals contained therein. So, the birds toil no t. So why, why worry about choices. Do the best you can, honestly and sincerely. That's the best you can do. That's the best anyone can do in his present circumstances, and the present circumstances have been determined by yourself and no one else, so therefore we are responsible for those circumstances all the time. And if we are in a certain situation, the best one can do is to accept it. Cheerfully, joyfully. Thy will is done not "Thy will be done" in the future. No, Thy will is being done now. Whatever is is is. It is there. So, that's the way to joy. That's the way to stop worrying. That's the way to get out of mental turmoils and conflicts and... because all is He, that divine force, beautiful, lovely. Everything is beautiful. There is nothing ugly. Can you show me any ugly flower? Can you show me any ugly tree or any ugly mountain? No, everything is beautiful, so why aren't you, too, beautiful? You are. You are. There is no ugliness at all. How can there be any ugliness in the ma nifestation of Divinity? If the Divine is beautiful as this flower's fragrance is beautiful, too, then who can say that I am not the manifestation of the divine or the creation of the divine? All is joy. All is beauty. I am He. The Father and the son a re one. Yes. That's about an hour. Namaste. ****END****