Shri Ganesha Puja, Moscow (Russia), 11 September 1994.

Today we are going to worship Shri Ganesha.Shri Ganesha resides in Mooladhara, on the chakra, Mooladhara chakra. And not on mooladhar.In the mooladhar is placed the Kundalini. She is the mother of Shri Ganesh, we call her Gauri. Yesterday you saw the picture, the drama, how Shri Ganesha got his head of an elephant. All these things have happened in another world. There are many worlds of which we know of this world, is a question of our awareness. Now we are at a human awareness, and we have risen to a higher awareness which is called as the fourth dimension. Without Shri Ganesha it is not possible. As you know he is the symbol of innocence within us. This innocence never gets destroyed because it is eternal. But it may happen that it will get covered with some clouds by our mistakes that we commit. But once you get your realization, your innocence is re-established, it manifests. And you become innocent, your attention becomes innocent. It is impossible to follow your religion, either Christ or Mohammed-Sahib or Jews, if you do not have enlightenment.This is one thing they did not realize, because they were of a very high level people. They did not know what is the condition of human beings.

As in the Bible is written that if your right eye commits sins - means goes against Shri Ganesha- you take it away. Or if your right hand does anything wrong against Shri Ganesha , then cut it out. Just imagine, if Christians were really practising Christianity, they all would have been without hands, without eyes. Because it is said that if you make any mistakes you better cut out, yourself. Christ said that you should do it, and also for men he was very strict, not for women so much. So Mohammed-Saheb thought , that why not say about women also? Why not restrict them, why only men? So he made strict rules for women also. In this case he said that you should hurt the woman or hit the woman or should try to restrict the woman, that is on the husband. But to do so, the husband himself has to be an innocent person. If he himself committed such mistakes, then what right he has got to become strict with his wife or with his sister? And the worst thing was, were the Jews, when Moses brought the Ten Commandments, he found that the Jews were having a decadent society as they have now.

Nowadays we have this decadent society in America, in.. everywhere. There are no morals, and nobody talks of morality. I feel that Sahaj is the only way where human beings can become innocent. Because Jews were given what you call the Sheriat (sp?). Where it was , if you are a thief , cut your hands, cut your nose, cut this portion, cut that portion... it’s very serious. I saw that it is impossible to follow them because they are too pure, too important.

If you are Christians, you can’t have two eyes, you can’t have your hands. And if you are Muslims, your wives and your daughters and your sisters are always in danger. And if you are a Jew then all kinds of punishments are written for them. On the contrary , only the saints have been punished. All the good people are punished. Because there are so many people who are extremely aggressive and sinful. And they also do not know that there is wrong with them , something very much against the dharma, against the religion.

With Sahaj only , you get the light of the spirit. Shri Ganesha is the spirit within us. And he incarnated on this earth as our lord Jesus Christ. But all kinds of things have been done against such great people. And they made separate religions. None of these books have separated themselves from each other. For example, Mohammed-Saheb has described about Moses, Abraham, Christ, Mother of Christ. So he never established another religion, he was talking about all the religions woven together in one. But we have now people who do not believe that all the religions are born out of one tree of spirituality. They are not only fighting with others, but among themselves. In the name of God they are killing so many people.

Innocence is the source of love. Like small children , when you see them sweetly dancing,you feel such tremendous love for them. When you see a little baby, very sweet baby smiling at you, you feel tremendous love for that child. If you do not respect your innocence, you can never be a loving person. And without love you cannot know truth. Only thing is that we feel rather sometimes awkward, sometimes frightened, to love the innocent people. The innocent are most harmless people. I do not like parents to beat their children at all. They are in innocence do something, so you must be really kind to them, and understand them. Nowadays, in Russia also, there are many children who are born realized. Because you all are now enlightened, and there are so many great saints who want to be born. But you have to be innocent yourself. The countries where the children are not respected, children don’t want to be born there. There is a minus growth in those countries. But in a country like India, where there is so much love for children, they want to take birth in India though there is poverty. Children don’t understand money and material things. They understand love.

If you don’t have love in your heart, Shri Ganesha cannot shine within you. Now the difference between a mother and a mother who is very angry with her children is this: the mother who loves her child, enjoys everything she has to do for her child, while the mother who doesn’t love the child feels that she is doing too much, she can’t do it, it’s too much. If you ask her what’s the matter , she will say I have to wash this, I have to clean this, I have to look after this child, all kinds of stories. But a mother who is enlightened will love doing all that, and enjoy it. She will have respect for her children, and she will make them respectable. There is no need to be harsh with your children. Children are very sensitive and intelligent. Maybe among thousands you might find one child who is not so good. But later on , they pick up things from elders, especially from parents, and from the atmosphere, and they start becoming troublesome.

That doesn’t mean that you should not control and restrict your children, and train them. Best way is to be yourself innocent and dharmic. Ganesha is the basis of morality. Moral behavior, when it is lost in a society, that society becomes destroyed. Whatever maybe the economic advantages they have, or they have financial advantages, or political advantages, but, they get destroyed from within. For example, take the case of America, which is supposed to be an affluent country. Which is doubtful to me that they are affluent, because they are indebted. But what is happening there? Small children of twelve years are killing and selling drugs. In some other countries in the west, so many children are killed by the parents. Every country which is affluent has some sort of a specialty of immorality. They are absolutely violent people, arrogant and egoistical. Innocence, first of all, absolutely dissolves the ego. And when you talk to children they make such sweet comments, such intelligent comments, that you are amazed how they are saying all these things. They are extremely affectionate, and extremely kind.

I’ll tell you a story of some friends went to see the grave of president of America, Kennedy. So the child was looking at it, you see, and everybody was very solemn. Then the child turned to his father and mother and said "Mommy, why should you put this president under the earth, all the worms will eat him up.. Why this punishment?" There are so many things which you can see from these children when they talk, how they describe about other people. One day we had gone to the airport, and one child was doing like that, like that. So I said, "What are you doing?" He said , "I am trying to tie up these people, they are all off their heads." Like yesterday’s Swadishthana chakra, they were. So children see also the game, and the whole drama is absurd. They are very innocent and so its the easiest thing to give them good manners. In the case of Shri Ganesha, you have heard about the story that they had given – the parents, the father specially- said that the one who will go around the mother earth, I’ll give him some present. And Shri Ganesha thought that look at this Kartikkeya, he can go faster because he’s going on this peacock, which is a bird, which can fly, what about me? I’m just going on a little rat. But as he is the source of all wisdom , in his wise wisdom he thought, "My mother is greater than this mother earth . " So he went three times around his mother, and he got the present.

A person who is innocent is extremely humble. He doesn’t try to show off . He doesn’t know how to show off. For example, Shri Ganesha has a little rat as his conveyance. But if you see people who are show offs, they try to buy cars beyond their means, with big loans, just to show off that they are rich. This is a disease of people who are not innocent. And people take advantage of this very much in the world. Like in the west, you see, they have designers. And they put their stamp as designers. And one has to pay a lot for that. So if it is on the coat written the designer’s name, they always try to show like that, while going on the road. But nowadays, they are putting the sign here, of the designer. Is a very much in the west, not so much in Russia, but it will come. And the enrepreneurs take full advantage of it.

That way I must say Indians are very very wise. Not all, but most of them. And because they believe in Shri Ganesha, they would not waste their money for showing off. So thus the entrepreneurs take full advantage of the people who try to show off.Innocent person is not bothered about his own body. About any fashions or about any additions to his body, like people wear things just to show off. I’m just telling you because all this nonsense is coming to your country. I hope you people will understand that the greatest quality of beauty of personality is innocence. When the innocence is lost, people play into the hands of these designers who make funny clothes. They make clothes for women which expose their bodies. And the more it exposes, the more it is expensive. And despite all the cold, they try to wear clothes which are very scanty. And you can’t even look at them. But they think no end of themselves. And all our films in the west are so horrible now that you just don’t want to see. If they make some films out of children which are innocent, I tell you they can earn a lot of money.The foundation of dharma is Shri Ganesh. If you see children, they don’t know how to tell lies, very difficult. And they say things sometimes which might be embarassing. Like one mother was saying in the presence of the child to her husband that the man who is coming in the evening, he eats like a hog. So this boy heard it and when that gentleman came and started eating , he was looking at him. And then he says, "Mother, he doesn’t eat like a hog, why did you say that he eats like a hog? You should not tell lies." And the mother was so embarassed. So they minimize also, innocent person by his innocence minimizes the judgement of others and criticism of others. Because they don’t see things which normally a person who is immoral can see. Or who is not innocent can see. I remember my own granddaughter once she saw a lady in a swimming dress. It was a picture. So she said "Hey, you go and dress up properly, otherwise my grandma will be angry with you.

So when you see all these small little children talking, the way they behave, the way they are innocent, you really enjoy because innocence is the source of love. And it is the source of joy. Because if you do not have love , you cannot enjoy anything. And you start criticising and judging and wasting your energy on nonsensical things. Like the other day I was listening to some good music, and the gentleman was singing with his hands, a little bit more of action. But he had closed his eyes and music was wonderful. I really got lost into it. But there were some ladies who said what clothes he was wearing, how he was putting his hands, all these superficial things they were saying, not the essence. But innocence takes to the essence. And the essence is love. Thus we have to understand that the quality of Ganesha we must all imbibe within ourselves. His quality of innocence which is already there within us has to be manifested. Like I was with one sahaja yogi in his house, and we had a meeting there of about 25 people. And the meeting was over, I thought that he had said that I’ll have my dinner there. So I just waited for all of them to go away. This gentleman was in the kitchen when they all went away. He came back and he said, "Mother what have you done?Why have they gone? I have cooked for all of them." And tears came into his eyes. I was so much overwhelmed by his generosity, by his kindness. And when the generosity is done innocently, you are not even aware of what you are doing. You just enjoy your generosity, and you don’t bother as to see what is the reaction of another person.

We have in our shastras description of such people. Like Shri Rama, he went into the forest and there was a very old lady of, what you call, a tribal area. Very old, only she had two teeth left. Her name was Shabari. And she came before Shri Ram and offered him some plums, you can say, pears. And she very innocently told him, "See, all these I have tested with my teeth and those who are sour I have thrown away because you don’t like sour ones. But they are all sweet." Normally in India people don’t eat anything which has been touched by another mouth. So Shri Ram says "Oh , I see, you have done this work, so please may I have all these?" But his brother Lakshmana was angry, what is this lady she has no manners? So when she started putting this pear into the mouth of Shri Rama , he was getting even worse. So she said "See how carefully I have done this testing and you are enjoying , otherwise you would not have enjoyed them."And here Lakshmana was getting angry, very angry. So Shri Rama says, "Oh, what wonderful fruits, I have never eaten such fruits in my lifetime." So his wife Sita she said "Why don’t you give me some?" He said "No, no these are for me, I can’t give you." So Sitaji said that "After all, I am your wife, and you have to share everything with me." So he said, "All right, as a matter of right, I am giving you." So he gave those pears, those fruits to her.So Sita said, "What ? This is just like ambrosia, such beautiful fruits I have never eaten!" So she tells her brother in law, "See, what fruits, these are heavenly fruits!" So he got tempted. So Lakshmana said, "Give me some to taste also." So Sitaji said "No no no, I am not going to share, after all, I have got it with great difficulty from your brother, I am not going to share." So Shri Rama said, "all right, give him some." So this innocent old lady says, "No, I have some more, I can give him. You can have your share, I have some more, I can give him." And she gave it to Lakshmana. He started eating and he really enjoyed, so much he enjoyed, he said "My god, I have never eaten such beautiful fruits." Even Shri Krishna, whenever he used to go to the capital of Hastinapur, he would not live with the kings there, with Duryodana, but with Vidura, who was the son of a maidservant. Because Vidura was an enlightened man, and he used to respect Vidura much more than anybody else.

But sometimes a mistake we commit that we get too much attached to innocent children. Give them too much importance. Innocence is like a river flowing, but if you try to stagnate it then the children get spoiled. They must be respected, but one should not try to make them look like something very exceptional. They are all just the same, they have certain various facets, but I have seen, children are just the same. Firstly, they never get bored. If you are innocent you will never be bored, you see beauty all the time, and even if you are alone you enjoy yourself. It is only the grownups get bored. Now supposing you are in the airport and its late, and the plane is late. All the others, all the older people will be very upset. But children will start playing with something that is in the airport – anything, a railing is there, or a steps are there, they will go up and down, enjoy themselves. They don’t want to make a sort of a life miserable by just bringing everything to some meticulous definition. I have seen in the airport many a times people just feeling very bored and terrible and while the children are running up and down and playing and enjoying and making friends with other children whom they have never met. Only by innocence you can transcend your limited ideas.

I have seen parents who are extremely racist. Their children take to other people in no time. An innocent person is like that. He just can carry on with any type of person without even thinking what sort of a color he has, what sort of face he has, or what sort of hair he has done. These things do not matter. These are superficial. But children do not bother about superficial things. They just want to see the heart of the person. If the person is loving, whatever may be the race, religion, anything, children will jump. I’ve already told you that innocence dissolves the ego. Innocent person cannot be aggressive. And if the aggression is there that is also very loving aggression. Like a child would come and say that " Why don’t you give my clothes to this boy?" And if you say, "Oh God, I paid so much money and you want to give it to this boy?" So he’ll say "Alright, next time again you buy for me, but let me give this to this boy" innocently. Innocent children do not have sense of possession. Also they do not hesitate to share their things if they are innocent. But if they are brought up in a way that they show that "This is yours and this should be kept as yours" all the time put into his head that this is yours, then they start becoming possessive of their things.

The best thing to enjoy is to live with children. And to be like them. And to enjoy them. This is how our innocence gets nourishment. In Sahaja Yoga I have seen, people become really very innocent. Shri Ganesha who is on the backside of your head also, who is MahaGanesha here, starts acting on the eyes. The lust and greed from the eyes just drop out, because you become innocent in your attention. So you don’t have to take out your eyes as Christ has said. Nor you have to cut your hands. Because you really become moral. I don’t know how many of you know that all of you have become saints. As Ganesha was created, you are also created as innocent saints. Try to respect your innocence. That will make you feel young and happy.Is a , in India, in Maharastra, we have eight swayambu Ganeshas. And I have seen the people of Maharastra are quite innocent. Somehow, its a very ancient country, and in that area specially Shri Ganesha is worshipped, so people have become very innocent.They have a Ganesha being established during certain time, now is the time, for ten days. Made out of clay and later on is put in the water, sea or river. But as this Coca cola culture has also come to India, in the presence of Shri Ganesha they were singing horrible vulgar song and drinking in his presence. These were all public Ganeshas, you see. So I warned them in two lectures, that don’t do this, because if Shri Ganesha gets angry, y u will get earthquakes. They would not believe me.So third year these people in a village, quite a big place, went to the Ganesha resurgion, means where they put it Ganesha in the water, and they came back. And they were all drunk and they were dancing in the night. And suddenly this great earthquake came in, and all of them were buried. Except for Sahaja Yogis, and the Sahaja Yoga Center which was there was not at all hit by the earthquake. And there was a big gap round the Center, so the people ran toward the Center that they can be saved. But they all fell in that big gap and died.

So on the other side, the innocence is very powerful. Anybody who tries to molest or to try to destroy somebody’s innocence is ultimately very badly punished by Shri Ganesha. Those people who do not worship Ganesha in their heart can become right- sided or can become left-sided. If they become right-sided they get all kinds of diseases, which are more physical. And if they become left sided then they get diseases which are psycho-somatic. Which are incurable. We have had some horrible people in our country who preached that through mooladhara chakra , through sex, you can raise the kundalini. And they became tantrikas. People who were tantrikas did all kinds of horrible things in the temples they put erotics, insult to Shri Ganesha. They are all now being destroyed.

So one should never try to challenge a person who is innocent, who has the blessings of Shri Ganesha. Only through enlightenment one can awaken Shri Ganesha within yourself.

May God Bless You All.