Guru Puja, "Shraddha". Cabella Ligure (Italy), 23 July 2000.

Today we are here to know about guru principle. What does a guru do. Whatever you have, all the precious things within you, he discovers them for your knowledge. Actually it is all there - everything. All the knowledge, all the spirituality, all the joy, is there. (little laughter as a dog walks on stage) Right time! (more laughter). It’s all contained within you. Only thing the Guru does (is) makes you knowledgeable about your knowledge, about your own spirit.
Everyone has the Spirit within himself. Everyone has the spirituality within himself. There is nothing that you get from outside. But before getting this knowledge, you are dealing, or you are living in ignorance. In that ignorance you do not know what treasure you have got within yourself.
So the guru’s job is to make you know what you are. That is the first step. That it starts, that awakening within you by which you know that you are not this outside world, this is all an illusion. And you start getting enlightened within yourself. Some people get full light and some people get it gradually.

Essence of all the religions is that you should know yourself. Those people who are fighting in the name of religion, you have to go and ask them, you have to enquire from them, "Did your religion make you know yourself?” If all the religions have said one thing [it’s that], you have to do all these things just to know yourself.
But people get into rituals. They think that [by] doing all these rituals they are near God. They live in ignorance absolutely about themselves, and day in and day out they work out something, which is nothing to do with yourself’. Lots of acrobats, prayers, pujas, these things go on. Because it is all ignorance. People go on paying them money and they become very rich and their interest is only money. They want to take all your money, absolutely, and make a fool out of you. They pamper your ego. With pampering of that ego you just start drifting into the ocean of illusion and you are drowned into that illusion, thinking that you are very religious and you are just in connection with God, which you are not. To know God you should know your Self first. Without knowing that, you cannot know God. That’s essential, that you should know your Self.

But when you know yourself, you know partly. The experience is not sufficient. The knowledge has to come. And the guru gives the knowledge about your Self. Now you have to tally it. You should find out whatever your guru has told you. Is it true or not? Is it correct or not? Or is it just another illusion?

Now in this ascent people get into lots of problems. First and foremost is the ego problem, especially in the west. Ego stands up and you start thinking you are great, you are better than others, and there is something special about you. This ignorance is more dangerous than the worldly ignorance, I think, because in the worldly ignorance, you do feel the consequences of wrong things. But when you are half way, when your ignorance is that about yourself, when you are going to a higher realm, then one should always understand that you cannot have ego.

Then what starts is introspection. You start looking at yourself, what’s wrong with you. When you understand that you have ego, you start looking at yourself. Or when you find there is something missing or something wrong, then also, you start introspecting. This should be a very, very honest, very honest effort. Some people in Sahaja Yoga, at a very early stage start thinking they that they are very great and they don’t need any introspection. And they rise again into the clouds of ignorance without achieving Selfhood, or I can call it Self realisation.

So you have to introspect and see for yourself what have you been doing, what are you, how far you have come. How much – please don’t translate just now all right? You can do it later on. You must hear with full concentration. Even if you don’t understand it will work – now the style of such a person changes gradually. How? First of all a person who is extremely aggressive, hot-tempered, and full of ego, starts becoming very gentle and mild. Another type which is frightened and afraid and very cautious starts becoming fearless. At that stage you have no fears. You are sure that you are on the right path and you are moving on the right lines. You are not easily disturbed there. But still you have to rise higher and higher; where, when you meditate, you understand there is something wrong within yourself.
You have achieved your Self realisation; you have got the blessings of Self realisation. Your health is good, you have got all kinds of blessings which you cannot count. All that is there but...still you have to go further. And that is to understand all the knowledge about Sahaja Yoga. You have to understand through your mental capacity, first, to begin with, then you have to verify how far it is correct. How far you have understood it, how far you have worked on it, how far you know.

And when you start seeing yourself, you start entering into the realm of Bhakti. You become a mild person, become a sweet person, you don’t talk too much, you don’t harass anyone; you are a very pleasant person, very gentle, very understanding. This person has to verify how he is behaving towards others.
Now the attention starts moving from oneself to another and you start seeing how you behave. How you love. What is the quality of your compassion? When you love somebody without any expectations, just love, then you are absolutely dedicated to that person, absolutely; you just obey. You will do anything for that person. If there is this love which you call as surrender. This is just the love. Surrender is nothing but the love, and that love which is extremely joy-giving. this bhakti starts, this dedication starts, and you are cleansed by that bhakti. All the bad qualities you have, you can call them, all the deficiencies you have, all the problems you have, you understand and you get over it. Now if you see somebody with the same qualities, with the same troubles, you in the love of that person you try to tolerate. Such a person just tolerates. There is no aggression, and these people forgive. Realised Souls go on forgiving; their capacity to forgive is tremendous. They do not bear any malice against anyone. They don’t have any anger about anyone. They just go on tolerating and forgiving and forgiving. This forgiveness is just a music, I should say, of your bhakti.

The amount of forgiveness these masters could have can be seen from [the] life of Christ. They are tortured, crucified - most of the saints were tortured. People never liked them. And they were crucified, but as you know that they never resented, they never take a revenge, they never did anything which was not compassionate. They had compassion, and compassion for such people they felt that 'Oh God, please forgive them. What they are doing they don’t know’. Extremely compassionate. And they are that, that becomes their nature. When it becomes their nature they become people with complete peace. They are not disturbed. They are never disturbed with whatever is happening and they think it’s God’s will. Because nothing can disturb them, nothing can upset them. They just enjoy their devotion. Devotion to their guru, maybe. Devotion to God. In that devotion they may write beautiful poetry, they may go on dancing, they may go on singing, because the peace is within and they are enjoying themselves. When they are alone, they are never alone, they enjoy themselves. They know that - "We are one with the Divine” - and the blessing of the Divine they enjoy.

Another thing is they never take to artificiality. They are never worried, never upset, they are neither futuristic nor think of the past, but they are in the present. When they are in the present, they are absolutely silent. If there is any problem, or anything happens to them, they immediately go into thoughtless awareness. That is what their capacity is.
To become a guru you have to develop that personality; not to be bound by anything. Now I’ll tell you my own example. I never hurry, I’m never bothered about time. Once I was going to America - because if you are sure the Divine has plans for you, you are not bothered, the Divine is looking after you so why to bother – I was going to America and one child fell down. I was just about to get up and go and broke her arm. And when I saw the child I said "All right, I’ll put that child right". "But,” they said, "You are going to America!" I said, "I’ll go in any case! ". So I cured the child, it took about half an hour, and then I came out "All right, let’s go to the airport". They said "Mother you are very late" I said, "I’m never late. Let’s go!". We went there, to the airport, and the plane by which I was going was out of order, so there was another plane going to Washington not to New York, and I wanted to go to Washington only! So just imagine how things work out, and we call them 'Sahaja’. It has worked out 'Sahaja’. That means it’s a effortless. But first of all your personality should be such that your devotion is so great that Divine is compelled to look after you...compelled to look after you!
You have to understand that Divine force is around you, and this Divine force is absolute guarantee for your safety. For everything that you want to do. You can say that "Mother you are very powerful". You can become also very powerful! If you get completely dedicated to the Divine work, you will also have all the powers and the Divine will provide all the necessary work that you want to do, necessary time that you have to have. Everything is provided by the Divine.
But the compassion, when it extends from other people to God, or to Divine person, or to your guru, then it becomes very easy to live, very simple to live, no complications, everything is sorted out, and you are not bothered about anything. You just close your eyes and things work out. Everything works out as if that’s your will, but you don’t have to will it, don’t have to think about it, it just works out, but Divine looks after everything. It looks after your comfort, looks after your health, everything. And this Divine help, you do not seek, you do not ask for, but you are a personality for which the Divine is responsible.

You are a special responsibility of the Divine. And it knows what is good for you and what is not. It’s an example, I can give many where I, supposing, I thought somebody is coming to meet me, and people told me "Mother, he’s very negative", He will never come, he’ll never come. All positive things will happen, and if a negative things take place, then you will use your compassion. If it is negative you’ll use your compassion and you’ll solve the problem. You can solve the problems of your own, of your surroundings, of your community.

So now you have got your Self realisation. How far you have gone in that I don’t know. I have a complaint about women, so many ladies, that they don’t meditate. That they are not looking after themselves, they are not realised souls, and that’s why many men want to divorce them because they think these women are good for nothing. And some men also are like that. To solve this problem you have to have compassion, and you have to, somehow or other, with compassion, you should win over the partner of your life. After all men are much more busy than women are. But women indulge into so many other things. They have to look after their family, their children, their everything. And their mind is involved into all such mundane things that they have no time to meditate. Without meditation you cannot rise. You have to meditate. People think that: "Now we have got realisation, so it’s all right". No! Every day you must meditate because that’s the cleansing that takes place. With the cleansing you understand. You understand what is needed and what is not needed, you are cleansed out. That is done by Divine. But you must religiously meditate. Gradually you will find your meditation will become very deep. You will become very, very deep and your powers will start showing. When you are anywhere, negativity will run away. All sorts of problems can be solved. Whatever you want to do is available to you. Whatever is your desire to help others or give to someone, you just get it. Is my own experience I’m telling you.

You have to meditate at least 10 minutes every evening, and morning about 5 minutes. With complete devotion, with complete admiration. I have seen some people here, such bhakti, such devotion, which is shraddha - is higher than bhakti - that it becomes part and parcel of your being. It just envelops you completely. When you have that shraddha, it is very miraculous. It works so many miracles. It’s true some people were cured only thinking of me, is a fact. But that doesn’t mean that they had the shraddha of that level, but that means that they have to develop shraddha.
Now how to develop a shraddha, which is a natural light of the Spirit. Because people are trying very hard to develop shraddha, but shraddha cannot be developed by mental activity, by any activity, but meditation of silence. If you do the meditation .... I have always told you to do meditation. I immediately know a person who has been meditating and who has not been. They’ll come to my puja, all right; and they’ll talk about Sahaja Yoga, they’ll go out and do it for popularity. Many people are like that. They go out, and for popularity they work it out. But inside they have not yet traced their own Self.

So at this development stage you should be encouraged, and [should be] understood that you can reach that state very easily through meditation and introspection. With introspection you will develop a new quality of understanding that, you will find solutions to things. That is another quality a person who is a realised soul has. It can find solutions to all your problems. It can, he can suggest what is the way you can be helped. Then a kind of a brotherhood out of the shraddha develops. You may be giving big lectures on Sahaja Yoga, you may be doing all kinds of things, but unless and until you have shraddha, you cannot rise. And this shraddha is a kind of a love within you, I should say, which spreads like gentle fire which doesn’t burn, which doesn’t give heat, but cold, beautiful breeze-like feeling within, which makes you understand.

You will never talk ill about a sahaja yogi, never. I never listen to anybody who tells me something against sahaja yogi. Up to a point, when it is a collective complaint, then I am little bit bothered and I talk about it to the leader. But otherwise if one person comes and tells me this and this, I just tell that person "You introspect yourself , it’s not so”.
Finding faults with others is a common game all human beings play. They never see their own faults. What’s the use of finding faults of others? By finding faults with others you’re not going to be helped. Try to find faults within you, which you can cure, which you can help, which you can work it out. It's a responsibility you have, you must know, to yourself that you better find out your defects and get them corrected.

But some people are very proud of their fondness – they talk like this, "I like this, I like that". But what about the Spirit? You like this, you like that, then what about your Spirit? Does it like? Does it enjoy? They’ll go on saying "I like this, I don’t like this, I don’t like that!" It’s very common in the West. Now see, some ladies have made this beautiful carpets for me. They are so thick that when I walk on them I little bit lose balance, but the love with which they are made, makes me so joyous, so happy, that you can’t imagine what I feel about them.
This joy, this ocean of joy, is within you. And when it starts stirring up, it doesn’t torment you, it gives you beautiful – I don’t know how to use words to express that – it’s like a drizzle on your being, it’s like a grace on your being. The love of other people enthrals you. You don’t ask for it, but if you see a person who is very loving and kind, there is real friendship in that kind of relationship.

But talking ill about sahaja yogis, it’s very wrong. And then talking to everyone that "this is wrong with this person, he had done this, he had done that”, is very, very wrong and creating a collective feeling against the person – instead of helping that person. Always people are in trouble. Then collectively you must help that person. Not talk ill of that person. May be some mistakes, but if you start talking against that person and saying that 'This is wrong with him, that is wrong with him’, then you are not a sahaja yogi. You are a sahaja yogi as long as you can see your own defects through introspection.

Now many of you, I should say most of you, have got your realisation. You had the experience. But some of you don’t have the knowledge. That knowledge you should acquire, and verify whether that knowledge is really there or not. Like in America, in the N.I.H., which is an Institute for Health, they wanted to test a sahaja yogi, and there were doctors. And one doctor came forward and said "All right, tell me on your vibration what’s wrong with me". So the girl said, "Sir, something wrong with your heart" and he said, "It’s correct" because he has had a bypass only one month back and he was out of hospital. Absolutely correct, and this surprised them. That diagnosis, you see, kills the patient half way. So this is the very easy way to diagnose a person, just by feeling the vibration. And they have given us such a good attention, they want to develop Sahaja Yoga in their hospitals.

So you should also testify yourself, examine yourself and find out about yourself, what are you? Say husband and wife – now the wife meditates, she knows everything, she knows about her husband, what’s wrong with him and she doesn’t tell him. She tolerates, she doesn’t complain, she doesn’t ask for anything, she just tolerates. And this tolerance convinces the husband that she’s a higher personality than himself. He may be anything, but he then understands that this is what she has achieved, a great personality.

We have so many imperfections, especially morally, in the West, people are really, I tell you, like one snake has bitten them. The things that people do here never come into the minds of people who are not developed. So development has meant all kinds of abandonment, all kinds of vagabond temperament, and they think they are very free and they can go about and enjoy. This style is very common, but you just judge yourself. Are you one of these type? Or are you one of the people who are higher than you in their ascent. It’s a process, I must confess. It is not just [that] you get to that point. Sometimes even very new sahaja yogis are better than very old sahaja yogis, but because they had a very strong desire.

What are we seeking? We should understand why we were seeking – because we wanted to know ourselves. Somehow, we knew that we have to know ourselves, and we did not know. So we seek. We seek. We do all kinds of things, I mean all wrong things also in the name of seeking. But it is this seeking brings you to Sahaja Yoga. Then you have to get your Self realisation, which is very easy through Kundalini. Kundalini works out most of the things, most of the things. Like somebody told me that overnight she gave up drinking and smoking – overnight. I mean I don’t tell that, I never say that. But just overnight she gave up, and she said "I was very particular about my hair dress and I used to make my hair dress in a different manner, going to the hairdressers, spending so much time with the beautician, this, that". She said, "I gave it up". Also she said "I used to wear dresses which were not very moral, then I started respecting my body and I started wearing proper dress". All this knowledge comes to you, spontaneously it is within you, because it is all your own. Also if your guru tells you, you are guided. Guru’s job is to guide people.

So at this juncture, what is lacking? What is lacking in Sahaja Yoga? That I have to tell you. There are so many collective disasters we have - all kinds of. We had many earthquakes, we had many floods, rain, then the muds - mud came down like a river; and so many disasters in the world and sahaja yogis are saved from that. All the sahaja yogis are saved from that, no doubt, but after being saved, what is your understanding? What do you know? Why these disasters are coming? Because Sahaja Yoga is not very collective. It has to become very collective. It has to spread much more, all over. It has to go to many people, which we don’t do. We are at a standstill, or little bit we do it. But go all out! Look at Christ’s twelve disciples! Of course the people went into wrong things. But how they worked and how intensively they did it.
That intensity if you don’t have, and if you do not completely dedicate to the spreading of Sahaja Yoga, then collective problems cannot be solved. You are busy with your daily mundane things, and your other jobs and everything; it’s all right, in Sahaja Yoga no objection. But you should have your attention more on to this side of life that - 'What are we doing for the collective? Are we talking about it? Are we spreading Sahaja Yoga? Are we making people know about it?’ I was surprised, once I was coming by plane and a lady sat next to me and had very bad vibrations. I put myself into bandhan, and I asked her what is she doing for her spirituality, and she gave the name of 'Bahai’ people. "My God" I said. If these people spread out, they are so spread out, they are so many! So, what will happen? Disasters! They are such negative people, impossible that they can do any good to the world. And like that you see, anybody, false guru, how people are driven to them, how they take to them, and how they spread their message. I have seen people singing on the road, singing the praise of their guru, and also wearing funny dresses – we don’t want that kind of a thing.

But of course you have got the knowledge, of course you are realised souls. But what have you done for Sahaja Yoga is the point. You have to spread Sahaja Yoga...everywhere. For example, you wear a badge, then they will ask you "What is this supposed to be?” Then you have to tell them what is it, something. You start talking about Sahaja Yoga only! Talk nothing else but Sahaja Yoga. You have to go on talking about Sahaja Yoga, spreading Sahaja Yoga: unless and until you do it, it won’t become collective, and all the disasters, which are due to collective nonsense, you get it.

You are saved from so many things. Say even if there’s pollution, for a sahaja yogi it won’t matter. Even if there is a disaster of an earthquake the sahaja yogi will be saved. But why not save the whole world? Calamities after calamities are coming, and if you have compassion you must think of the people who can get into any calamity or into any trouble. Of course I can cure many people, no doubt. But I don’t know how to make Sahaja Yoga very collective.

Now you are so many people here, you all can start giving realisation to at least 100 people. Go everywhere. Talk about Sahaja Yoga. Sing the praise of the Divine, and you will save the whole world. It is not by saving some few people you can have the great Satya Yuga, but you have also to save this Mother Earth. You have to save the people who are in it.
I mean, the way these people are, I have seen so many of them on the television. They, shamelessly they are talking about something which they don’t know. And they have thousands and thousands of people behind them. Not that the people are stupid. Not that they want to go on a wrong path, but these people who are false, or who are wrong, know how to entice them, how to capture them, how to talk to them. But a sahaja yogi, you see, if he sees somebody with a negative vibrations will run away. He will escape such a society, will not go near them, and will say "Oh, very bad vibrations, we don’t want!”.

So you have to be courageous and get into these places, talk to people and make it collective. Otherwise you cannot save this world from the wrath of God. God is wrathful, no doubt. For you, he’ll save you, but what’s the use? We have to save this Mother Earth. And for that you have to be prepared, you have to work it out, and whenever you get a chance you must spread Sahaja Yoga.
Some people told me "Mother, if you come then it will be All right" Why? What’s so much? .... you can be also like me. You can talk about it to people. I started Sahaja Yoga with one person and, that time, it was complete darkness everywhere. No seekers, nothing, and horrible people, but it worked and it cleared. So one person can get so many sahaja yogis, why not you people do the same and talk about it.
Your behaviour, your style, everything will definitely impress them. One has to work it out in such a manner that you achieve our goal of collective consciousness. It is not only for sahaja yogis, it’s for everyone. So that all these calamities that are happening, horrible things that are happening, will stop. Completely stop, I assure you, it can be stopped. Because you are always saved. So all people who will be getting realisation will be saved. Why not talk openly about it telling people that if we do wrong, if we are immoral, if we are cheats, if we try to oppress others and we become so much a power of destruction then this collective disasters will be there and I think we’ll be responsible for that. Everything you take up, any subject you take up, you don’t have to start an organisation to fight it. But only your power of convincing people and bringing them to Sahaja Yoga will make such a difference.

I hope you will understand as a guru what you have to do. As a guru there are so many things and as your character, yesterday, as they showed how Lao Tse has written about the masters, how they were above all of it, above turmoil, above jealousies, above talking loose. They are so great, they are the masters and they will be the masters and you will be the gurus if you try to do that. This is what you have to achieve. I know some have achieved it, but most of you have to achieve, with compassion and love.

May God bless you all!

Yesterday we saw the beautiful drama of Shri Rama. It was done so beautifully that my heart was filled with admiration and I couldn’t say anything. It’s a very good work. And that’s what happens to you when you become the Spirit – you become creative.  You have to be creators. You create Sahaj Yogis, you create all kinds of beautiful things. And this [drama] was so much, so much, done in the name of Self. I am very happy they have made this drama. And I’ll organise, somehow, that it goes India and to America as well. It’s very well done so give them a hand. (Applause)

Also I very much admire the work put in by the Italian Sahaj Yogis and others who have been of help to him, to Mr. Guido, and also to others, that they have created such a tremendous effect in this horrible, big structure, that I used to think that, “How can it be a puja under such a structure!” But it has now become so beautiful and so nice that I really thank the Italians for that.  One thing about Italians is that they are very large hearted people. And I wish all of you [would] develop that large heartedness and work out everything to enjoy your large heartedness.

Thank you.

On a Guru puja, the Guru doesn’t give any presents to the disciple. Mother can give, but not the Guru and that’s why today, I’m sorry, I won’t be giving you any presents. But I have given a very good lecture for you! (Applause).

Thank you very much. From all the countries beautiful presents they have given me. It’s very surprising how beautifully people are creating things. And you, now, as self-realised people are creators. You have to create Sahaj Yogis first, and all other things.

So you are creators. You can do it. It’s nothing difficult for you. It’s very simple and you will learn the art very soon. And I’m sure it will work out very fast. So you all go ahead now for creating more Sahaj Yogis all over the world.

Thank you very much.