7. U S 82 - 52 [PRASEELA: Introduces herself as area teacher] [Tape off and back on] GURURAJ: It should be actually for about half an hour, really, but we did it short. Now would anyone lik e to describe any experience they had, you're most welcome. Don't be shy. Talk. A guru is a father, friend, a brother, a sister, a lover, everything. SOMEONE: I saw white spot in the center of your hand and that lasted for a while and then later [Inaud ible] GURURAJ: Who saw, or how many of you saw a beam of light through my hand? Good. Who felt, or how many of you felt a deep calmness and peace within you? Nearly everyone. What is that? What is that calm and that peace you felt? It is your calm an d your peace that you felt which I awakened in you. You see? So, if you go into a proper system of meditation, how much more effective won't it be? Then beloved, where is the suffering? Life becomes an offering not suffering an offering to that whi ch is divine. And where is that divinity? "Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven within all else shall be added unto thee." And I'm not quoting a Christian scripture only, bu t this is said in every religion. It said in Buddhism, it is said in Taoism, in Hinduism, it is said in every form of belief system. But rise above concepts. Go beyond the trappings and the rituals, and when you go beyond all that, you reach the light within. That is where you have to reach. All these represent different religions . I'm sure you know them all. And this eternal circle represents that which is not on the board. Because people have their own modes of life, their own philosophies. If there are four thousand million people on earth, let there be four thousand million ways of life. For who can find who? You must find you, you see? They are mounted on these five chords. Now in musical notation as you would know, the five chords are there five lines, rather, and that represents harmony. Let there be harmony among st all the religions of the world for one purpose: to find the light within. You see. We are totally non sectarian because as soon as you become sectarian you become biased; as soon as you become biased you become a cultist; and when you become a cultis t you are narrowed down in a groove. What am I doing to you? Do you know? In India in the backwood villages they have these untarred roads graveled roads and the ox carts are going through it all the time forming these grooves. And then the drive r of the ox cart can go to sleep because the wheels will be carrying on. But what I do, I put a stone in that groove so once the wheel knocks it, the driver wakes up. Why do I do it? Because I love you. I love you. And even further than that I could te ll you this: I do not need to love you. I am love. Take as much as you need. Good.

8. U S 82 - 52 We'll start with questions. Talk of anything: how to make curry and rice, how to make Chopaties, any question, anything, and we'll talk about it. (Yes, children, quiet there now!) QUESTIONER: [Inaudible] GURURAJ: Could you explain her Americanese into English? SOMEONE ELSE: Her husband is going through a mid life crisis. How would you explain this is it rebellion or.... QUESTIONER: [Inaudible] GURURAJ: There is no mid life and neither is there a crisis. QUESTIONER: [Inaudible] I know it's something that is terrible. [Laughter] GURURAJ: There is neither mid life and neither is there a crisis, but there is one thing is the interpretation of what is happening. Now, if whatever is happening can be interpreted in its true value recognizing the fact that I am in mid life or I am in a crisis the very recognition of that fact will lead you to the acceptance of the mid life and the crisis. And if you learn to accept that, then automatically and very spontaneously you will surrender to it. When a body comes into being you must accept the fact that it must reach age, decay, and death. Is that not a known fact, birth, age, decay and death? Isn't this the principle which spurred Buddha on to find enlightenment? Weren't there these four factors present as it is present in everyone's life? So, you know the "Serenity Prayer," hm? How does it go? VOICES: [Inaudible] GURURAJ: And the coura ge to change the things I can. VOICES: The wisdom to know the difference.

9. U S 82 - 52 GURURAJ: So, it would be very easy for the man in your life to develop the strength to have the wisdom of the things which he can change or cannot change and that can be done thr ough drawing from within, through a systematic method of meditation and infusing, to repeat again and again, infusing that light into the confusion of the dark. But you know the saying, "God only helps those that help themselves." I'm not a magician. I don't wave a magic wand. But I could show you the way; I could show you the life; that's the truth. God bless you. If you could send a photograph of your husband to me, I will pray and meditate on him and it will help. I promise you. QUESTIONER: Guruji , I have two questions about... GURURAJ: Two? Start with one. QUESTIONER: Gururaj... GURURAJ: Yes, my love. QUESTIONER: I would like you to explain [???????] or interpretation of the temptation [?????] that if we can avoid duality in living we can really progress much faster. GURURAJ: Do you want to know the life of Jesus, or do you want to know about the Christ? QUESTIONER: The Christ the Christ in Jesus? I want to know your explanation of the temptations at that time the three temptations. GURURAJ: What were they? Tell me. QUESTIONER: Well, when He was asked to throw Himself down from the cliff, th at was one. And when He was asked to kneel down and adore Satan, also when he was told to change the stones into bread. GURURAJ: And did he?

10. U S 82 - 52 QUESTIONER: No, he didn't. GURURAJ: There's your answer. There lies the strength of Christhood, not of Jesu s the man. There lies the strength of that consciousness which we could call Krishna Consciousness or Christ Consciousness or any XYZ Consciousness. Do I not teach the same? "Lead Thou me not to temptation." What is temptation? What is temptation? No one is ever tempted by any outside force. Back to square one: you. You are the cause of that which is called temptation. How about adding on a prefix "atemptation"? And you negate the temptation by adding on the "a". For what is temptation in real ity? Temptation is nothing but a need that dwells in your subconscious mind that wants to find its expression. That is temptation. So why not negate temptation by atemptation. And how can you do that is by becoming integrated. Ninety nine point nine n ine nine percent of the world's population lives in fragmentation, and it is the very fragmentation of people that would make them feel suffering, that would lead them to temptation. So what do we need is integration; how the mind, body and spirit could function in a togetherness. "Lead me not unto temptation." Let's change that round a bit. "Lead me to temptation" to a temptation to become one with my Father. So, what is happening here in your mind? You're using the same energy and the same intens ity, but diverting it instead of being tempted to steal or kill or to do this or that. But a temptation to become one with God. Ah! Why not be tempted in that way when it requires the same amount of energy? To realize that this life is lived within the law of opposites: you are tempted to find a little momentary pleasure, but remember that momentary pleasure is going to breed in its wake pain, the other side of the coin. But if I am tempted to find that reality that is within me, it has no opposite. T hen I become one with myself. It means from fragmentation to integration. What more beautiful temptation can there be than that? So attempt to reach. Be alive. Be awake and stop not `til the goal is reached. That's quoting Vivekananda. For where are you reaching? What are you aiming at? You are there already, but the re cognition of your there ness is required, and it is so simple, so simple. Re cognition of what you are and have already cognized. So lead Thou me on to temptation, I don't care a da mn. But let me be tempted or make an attempt, to find myself. For there lies the peace and the joy and the glory of all existence. You see? That means we go beyond the little patternings of our minds because it is the mind that leads one to temptation. Right. Okay. Fine. That's the only tool you've got is your mind. But use it constructively and not destructively. And then the question of temptation disappears. "Oh Lord, give me this day our daily bread." So this other chap asked his friend, "Why don't you ask it for a whole week?" So he replies, "This is the best way. I can get it fresh every day." [Laughter] Let's see if we can't find another one.

1. U S 82 - 52 PARK FOREST PUBLIC TALK #1: FREEDOM HALL GURURAJ: I do not know anything o f suffering. Would you not want to think that suffering is a creation of your mind, and if it is a creation of your mind, what is in that mind that makes you think that you suffer? What is in your mind that makes you think you suffered? You are a produc t, a manifestation of the Manifestor whose very nature is joy. Joy. You have lost the joy of life. You are ruled by three elements within you: tamas, rajas and sattva. Bring them to the highest point of relativity and join it with the Absolute. And by doing that, life does not become suffering. It becomes an offering. What do we offer ourselves to? Is there any object to which we offer ourselves to? There is not. Because there again your suffering will come in because you are trying to offer to an object. Where is the object? Show me in tangible terms. Show me! What is the object to which you offer your suffering? There is only thing existent in this universe. You know what that is? You. The rest of the universe is but a projection of your own mind, your own thoughts, your own thinking which is filled with patternings and patternings upon patternings upon patternings until you are so confused that you have forgotten the meaning of infusion. You have forgotten the meaning of infusion and lan ded up in the area of confusion and that is why you think that you suffer. Now, you think that you suffer. You think that you are in pain. You think your beloved is not your beloved any more. You think there's a pain in your head. You think there's a p ain in your toe. But what if I can take that thought away? Where is suffering then? Where is the pain? Now how do we do that? It's nice to be metaphysical and philosophical, but how does that buy your bread for you? And the beans? Life has to be liv ed and lived in total practicality. Now do you think that you are living practically by thinking thoughts which are not your real nature? I said a moment ago your real nature is joy. And this very thought of suffering is a super imposition upon the joy t hat you really are. How do we get rid of the super imposition? How do we get rid of this dirt and where does the dirt come from? I'll tell you in a moment. (I'll have a sip of water) You suffer because you do not know joy. What you know is pleasure which only succeeds in titillating your senses: hearing, seeing, smelling, touching, feeling. And if you experience pleasure then you definitely would have to experience pain because pain and pleasure are the two sides of the same coin. Why? Why not rise rise above the law of opposites, of that pain and that pleasure and rise into that area which is joy? What is joy? You are joy by nature. You are born in joy, you will die in joy, a nd you preserve yourself in joy. So what is the problem? What is the problem? What is the problem? Your thought patterns, that is the problem. You keep on thinking, "I'm weak, weak, weak, weak, weak," and you become weaker and weaker and weaker. But let us turn our attention the other way and say to ourselves, "I am the product of Divinity and I am divine and Divinity is nothing else but joy.

2. U S 82 - 52 So, what does this factor boil down to? What? Redirecting your attention to what you really are. And what y ou really are is joy, to repeat it over and over and over again. I shall never get tired of repeating it over and over again. You are joy incarnate. He exists because you exist, and you exist because He exists. Now, let us think of that unification th at unity that is inherent within the diversity of your mind. For where is the diversity? It is only in your mind. For you are a tot al being, you are the totality of this universe. I talk of hope and never of despair. Despair requires impairment, an d where does the parity lie? Where is the despairment or impairment that makes you think you suffer? Where is it? Show it to me. Can you show it to me? No, you can't, because it is intangible. It is non reality. The reality is joy, only joy. Th at joy knows of nothing else but love. That joy knows of nothing else but sympathy, kindness, compassion, and the oneness of what life really is. So where are you now? Sitting in this Lincoln Center. What's it called? VOICE: Freedom Hall. GURURAJ: Fre edom Hall. Ah! Freedom Hall. Aaah, Freedom Hall. Why do you come to Freedom Hall if you are so bound? Why do you come to Freedom Hall? I tell you why. Because you want to be free. You want to be free from this bondage, this bondage of pain that you think you are suffering. There is a very favorite saying of mine which I've repeated about a million times: "Two men behind prison bars; one saw mud, the other saw stars." Both placed in the same circumstances. Both are there within those bars of this prison. And yet one could see glory; the other sees gloom. Why? Because of your mental conditioning. Because of the patterns upon patterns upon patterns that no one has created but you, yourselves. And when things go wrong, who do you blame? You blam e your husband, you blame your wife, you blame your children, you blame your boss, then you blame your guru, and when you go past that, then you blame your God. And yet, not realizing that Divinity is but a neutral energy that you could plug into the refr igerator for coldness, and the same electricity to be plugged into the heater to produce heat. The energy remains the same. So, who are you going to blame now? Blame me for stirring up these thoughts in your minds which are non functioning. You think y our mind is functioning. You think that you think, but you are not thinking. Let's add another dimension to thought. What dimension can we add to thought? Can anyone tell me? What other dimension can we add to thought that will make the thought a joyou s thought instead of a painful thought? There is only one dimension that could be added on in your present form of existence. I come from somewhere else I'm talking about you, you, you, you, and all of you. What dimension can be added on to improve t he quality of thought? To bring rest into restlessness? To bring a calmness to that which is not calm? To bring joyousness into that which you do not find joyful?

3. U S 82 - 52 Only one way. Only one way. Consciousness. Call it Krishna Consciousness, call it Buddh a Consciousness; call it Christ Consciousness. These are all labels. The consciousness of knowing that you are divine. But that, too, is a thought. Where do we go from there? Where do we go from there thinking that I am divine? Ah! One step more: l ead thou me on kindly light, one step at a time. Beyond consciousness thinking there lies a region of knowing. Knowing goes beyond thought, for thought is on the surface of the mind. Knowing is there inside: deep within, within the core of your persona lity which for lack of a better word we call the heart. There lies the knowingness. To quote the Upanishads, there's a very famous passage: "What is there by knowing which everything else is known?" But then again, you damn idiots, you are the knowingn ess. You are it all! Nothing can be added and nothing can be subtracted from your sum totality, for you are total. A change of direction a slight little change a slight little change of direction from going away from the left hemisphere of your brai n the analytical, the rationalizing hemisphere of the brain and allowing the totality of the synaptic flow from the left to the right hemisphere, the intuitional level, and that is connected to that which is divine. There's a hot line from the cons cious level of your mind through the subconscious level which is nothing but a group or collection of impressions samskaras. So from the conscious level of the mind, the hot line runs right through to what I call the superconscious level. And there li es the peace and the silence. And it is so easily achieved. My God! Why must people be so damn blind! You have eyes to see and ears to hear and fingers to dial the number on the hot line directly to that superconscious level. You see now why you go th rough suffering? No man or woman on earth is born to suffer. That suffering is the greatest misconception, and it makes me wonder why you were ever conceived. Take away the "mis." This reminds me of your famous river in America: it was actually "Miss Sippi" until she got married and called herself "Mississippi." Relax. Relax. I normally intersperse which I take your brain to a certain height of its thinking le vel, it requires a bit of relaxation to absorb. I've got a bunch of jokes here, by the way. See if I can find one. Oh yes, this girl, she was an optician and it only took two glasses to make a spectacle of herself. [Laughter] In this large city, say Chicago, there was this church, and being a very popular church they had to have three sermons per day: half past eight, half past nine and half past ten. So grandpa took the grandson to visit this beautiful cathedral, and at the entrance of the cathedral there was a huge plaque. So the little lad asked, "What is this, Grandpa?" And grandpa said, "These are the people who died in service." So the lad asked, "Which service half past eight, half past nine, or half past ten?" [Laughter] This guy wanted to get married and there was nothing settled. So his friend asks him, "Hey, I heard you're goi ng to get married. What's happening?" So he says, "She won't marry me when I'm drunk and I can't marry her when I'm sober." [Laughter]

4. U S 82 - 52 So beyond the point of consciousness you proceed to the area of awareness. When you say, "I am conscious," how much ar e you using of your mind or your brain? You know, there are twelve billion cells contained in this three pound weight this organ called the brain twelve billion cells, and you are using only one millionth, one millionth of the twe lve billion. So ho w conscious are you? How conscious are you of that which is apparent and that which is real? You have to move from the area of consciousness to the area of awareness. For consciousness involves thought and thinking. Consciousness involves thought and th inking. And do we really think? Where does your thought come from? What is thought? Isn't thought but a replay of the same old movie in memory form over and over and over again? So where are you? Here in Freedom Hall? No. You're in Bondage Hall, da mmit. So to reach the area of freedom, you have to go beyond the thinking level of your mind and enter the area of awareness, and yet in that awareness you become the observer of the tricks the mind is playing. For the mind is involved only in the law o f opposites: pain and pleasure, pain and pleasure, and every action of yours is directed to find pleasure which is not possible. You will find pleasure momentarily, but when the next moment arrives, you will find the opposite, which is pain. Isn't that the area you are dwelling in? Is that not the area which is causing the bondage within you the bondage of pain and pleasure? Hold my hands. Come, come my beloveds, to a different area of life a different area which is beyond pain and pleasure, but in the land of joy and bliss. You see how simple? It is we that make things complex. And here's another favorite saying of mine which I've repeated a million times throughout my tours around the world: "It is so simple to be happy, but so difficult to be simple." For if you cannot develop the simplicity that is there inherent within you, you could never enjoy the joy of life. Now, you will ask, "What is joy?" Is joy an area in which you feel elated all the time? No. No. No. No! If you can feel el ated all the time, then a time will come when you will feel deflated. Back to square one, the law of opposites. No elation, no deflation, but just being. Being here and now, in the hall of freedom and not in bondage. For you by nature are free, free, fre e, f r e e. You are freedom itself. Now, what is the way to realize that freedom that you really are, to realize that divinity that you really are? How are you going to escape the cunningness of the mind that gives you these pleasures and pains? What d o you do? What do you do? What do you do? You do spiritual practices. By doing spiritual practices which are individually prescribed for you according to your needs, according to your evolutionary status, according to your emotional and physical condit ioning. Why experiment with a whole shelf of different medicines? It could be harmful trying this pill and that pill and that pill and that pill. But if you have a qualified physician who is offering himself to you without any charge whatsoever, why no t use those services? Why not? Because he knows; that is his profession. He has gone through years and years of study, lifetimes and lifetimes upon lifetimes of study, knowing what to prescribe for you. And he works out your spiritual practices which in a short while bring you to that state of calmness, of tranquility, of love. Love,

5. U S 82 - 52 ah! For are you not love. If you are joy by nature, then you are love by nature, too. We are not trying to express the inexpressible, for everything is expressible. You are totally possible and not impossible. Put the stroke the apostrophe between the `I' and the `m' and say `I'm possible', not impossible. So you that are joy, my children, why suffer? Give it to me. I can shake it off like that. Give it to me and let your little minds not play tricks with you ruling you, controlling you when you should be controlling it. [Coughs and blows nose] (You know, all this traveling around, sleeping in one bed tonight and another bed tomorrow and a third bed the th ird day and eating foods that you are not used to eating, although so beautifully prepared with so much love, but you're not used to them, and the body gets a bit run down.) But let your minds not be run down. Man minus mind makes God. Man minus mind ma kes God. God plus mind makes man. So what is the center point of our suffering is the mind. Now, the mind cannot be annihilated for everything in this universe is indestructible. The mind cannot be controlled. If the monkeys are jumping on a tree, it's no use shaking the tree, they'll jump more. Leave it alone. Leave the mind alone. Let it do whatever it wants to do. But, the other dimension which I mentioned earlier is to infuse the mind, the conscious level of the mind, with that which is deeper wi thin yourself: the Kingdom of Heaven within yourself. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven within, and all else shall be added unto thee." But we want all else first, you see. Those are the tricks the min d is playing and ignoring entirely that deep div ing within ourselves through specified and specific spiritual practices. So that hot line that we have at our disposal can be used and the superconscious level of ourselves can be reached. Simple. How simple! Your suffering is my suffering. It has been throughout the ages and perhaps it will forever be. Who cares? I don't! I do not care of my sufferings, I care of your sufferings. Through all the bodies that I have lived I've always cared of your sufferings, but you're deaf and blind. Why? Can anyo ne give me one good reason why? So now what do we do? Okay. Firstly your sufferings is because of the patternings which are superimposed upon the joy that you really are. What is the super imposition? Your thought patterns: thought patterns that have left impressions upon the mind that have to be worked out. But I tell you this, although the saying is true that whatever you sow you shall reap, but there is a direct lin e, hot line. And by reaching the deeper level of yourself your superconscious se lf you can bring forth with you that energy that is sublime, divine, and joyful, and let it be infused in the subconscious and the conscious mind. And that is my gift to you: to show you how to do it. I always say, if the room is dark, is it going t o help you analyzing the darkness? Switch on the bloomin' light. Isn't that simple enough. But you have to stretch your hand to switch on the light. Is that so difficult? Just reaching out to the switch and banishing the darkness instead of analyzing t he darkness and making your mind suffer in turbulence and turmoil. [END SIDE ONE] Instead of making your mind suffer in turbulence

6. U S 82 - 52 and turmoil when happiness and joy is your true nature. I talk to you of what you really are and not what you think you are . There lies the difference. You think you are unhappy. Think it. Okay. Carry on. Think you're unhappy, but also know that within every problem the solution is inbuilt because a problem can never exist without its solution. It's there intertwined. ( So, is it about an hour?) So if any problem or any suffering exists in the mind, you cannot control it; you cannot destroy it; you cannot escape from it. It is there. But you can infuse it with the higher self that is within yourself. The superconsciou s level of the mind can be infused the tea is bitter what do you do? You put in sugar. And the bitterness of the tea disappears. And that sugar is there within you all the time. So what does a guru do? What does he do? Is to make you realize ho w sweet you are all the time! You have to walk with your own feet. I can only shine the light on the path but not on you. But if the path is lightened up, you will not stumble nor fall. You've got to go it alone , and if any guru promises you that he will lead you to salvation, he will lead you to self realization or God realization, he is talking bullshit. Do I make myself clear? [Laughter] You know that Polish musician, Paderewski you might have heard his name Paderewski was sitting down on e day to tea with a polo player and they were having a chat. So Paderewski says that, "You're a dear soul playing polo, and I'm a poor Pole playing solo." You've got to go it alone, dammit! You see the point? You've got to go it alone. My life is dedica ted to help you, if needed, to stand on your own two feet. I can tell you about sugar, but you have to taste it to know the sweetness. So come then, my beloveds, the path is so beautiful. The path is so joyous. Have you got some lipstick or something a darkish.... [Says something in foreign language]. I think that should be all right. I do not only talk in words, but I, through the grace of my Father, make you experience. Now do not strain your necks or stretch your necks move your chairs so yo u can see. VOICE: Can we stand up, Guruji? GURURAJ: Will you be more relaxed that way? I shall go into meditation. Do not concentrate on the red spot, but just simply focus your attention on the red spot. I am putting forth the energy of Divinity through this frail body of mine to you. [Long pause] [Sings Sanskrit prayer] The Lord's peac e is your peace. Realize that peace and be forever at ease. [Long pause] Suffer not, my loved ones. You're going contrary to your own nature for your own nature is peace, joy, love. Good! So we're having a break for how many minutes? Ten, fifteen minu tes, fine. And after that we'll have rapid fire question answer session.

11. U S 82 - 52 This guy was so honest he tells this girlfriend of his that, "You know my beloved, you're not th e first girl I've kissed." So she says, "You've still got so much more to learn." Next question? QUESTIONER: That's kind of like my question [Laughter]. I was [Inaudible] external life becomes very orderly and more peaceful and things where I'm not sick or things like that, but it seems as though there's a plateau is reached. And how do you get off that plateau, how do you go on? GURURAJ: Right. You see, what's happening nowadays, especially in America and many places, one bottle of medicine to c ure all diseases. And that's impossible. Right. A true spiritual master must initiate you personally. He does the prescription and his teachers do the dispensing. In other words, the teachers are taught how to teach, but the prescription is not done b y them because what happens in our system of meditation is that you fill out a little form with a name, address, phone number, etc., and a little passport size of photograph is attached to it. Then I go into meditation using your picture as a focal point, and going deep into the meditation beyond the conscious level, beyond the subconscious to the superconscious level, I reach you. You can be thousands of miles away and I make contact with you. And in that contact I evaluate your evolutionary status, you r emotional state, your physical state, and summing it all up together, I write out the prescription. Now, the level that is reached is the level of your vibration which is analyzed, diagnosed. Now , the old saying, "First was the Word and the Word was wi th God and the Word is God [END FIRST TAPE. CONTINUES ON PARK FOREST #2]. ****END****