Navaratri puja. Cabella Ligure (Italy), 17 October 1999.

Tonight we have gathered here to do the Puja to the Devi, that is Mahakali –we can call Her, or Durga. So many types of forms She has taken, to kill the negative forces that are trying to trouble or to obstruct, or even to grow the people who were gentle and good.
Her forms are of different types - that we know about, that She destroyed so many rakshasas, She destroyed so many evildoers. Also we do not know that, in the World Wars that we had, She was there to protect the right type of people. And that’s how they all survived the ill-blood plan, ill-gotten plan of very cruel and evil people.

The evil people have a capacity to hate and to express their hate in every way that is possible. They are really born evil and there are also who ‘become’ evil. When they are born evil, you can make them out: that their whole style is so aggressive and so vindictive about things. But hatred has no limit, no limits at all. Because, if they hate, if they hate someone, then - just to justify that hatred – they’ll say all kinds of things. Just to justify. But sometimes they don’t even want to justify. They just feel that they ‘hate’ and it’s a fundamental right they have got to hate.
But these forces join together sometimes to form a joint personality of evil, which tries to torture the human beings and trouble them. They might take any name. They might call them by anything, but they are absolutely hundred per cent evil and for such persons there’s no pity or compassion from the God Almighty. These are to be destroyed. And that is the job of the Goddess –to destroy them—who is a Mother, full of compassion and love.

It’s a very contradictory work the Goddess has to do - to kill these people- because, in the larger interest, it is important that all such evil people should be destroyed, completely. But they do not. They... like they go to jail for some time. Like that, they go to hell for some time, suffer and, again, they come back much more strong and then again try to trouble good saintly people. It’s a common style they are all over the world.
They can come in the form of a very good man, of a very gentle man or of a man who “knows a lot about God” or they can also say that they can “give you Realisation”. All kinds of lies they are capable of, because they have that power –evil—, power of doing evil. So they take to all kinds of falsehood and they proclaim that: “We are this and we are that” and “We can give you this or that.”
Actually, they have come on this Earth to ruin people. We’ve had many of these false people and many stupid people followed them. They never talked against each other. Christ has said that: “The devil won’t talk against its own house.” As if they are in ‘one’ house. And in ‘one’ house they live and they cannot talk, they cannot talk of something that may disturb their collectivity or their fraternity. The fraternity is so great that, wherever they are, they ‘know’ that they are together. Just imagine: all the evil people should join together and behave in this manner is very surprising. That way, they are very collective.
Supposing one has taken a particular part of the land, then he dominates there. Another takes up in another way. Third one takes. There’s no competition as such. Ultimate effort is, somehow or other, to destroy all the creation of God, all the good people of the world, who will ultimately get their Self-Realisation and who will have the Knowledge about Reality.

This kind of atmosphere is the worst during Kali Yuga and there are so many stupid, stupid people, who may be simple, who may be good-natured, but they get drawn by the evil doing of these people, while the good people also sometimes follow suite. They also try to follow them. It’s very surprising. Why should good people not understand what is good and what is bad? But, that discrimination, many good people also lack and that’s why they take to wrong things. And then they go on justifying all the time: whatever they are doing is the right thing, is the best thing, they have the proof of it.
Now, as you know, there has been many of them in Kali Yuga and so many of them have now disappeared from this Earth and now they cannot trouble us. But there are still some more, who are exposed. People have exposed them so much that nobody can expose anybody without any proof. But they have such courage and they are so full of confidence that they can do what they like, and anybody tries to expose them, they will definitely ruin that person.

A few things they are doing... First of all, they put wrong ideas into your head. They say: “We are very great people, we are this, we are that. God has sent us.” All sorts of things they will talk. But there is no proof about it. And human beings never ask for the proof, as to: “How do you say? What is the proof?”
So the solution is the Sahaja Yoga. In Sahaja Yoga, you have the experience. You have the proof. Then you grow into it. Immediately you cannot be a great Sahaja Yogi, that’s a fact. You have to mature. It takes some time for some people. It takes some more time for other people. It doesn’t matter. But you do mature.
In the meanwhile, if you try to go to these wrong people, then there is no possibility, there’s no way of again bringing you up. Especially those people who rise high in Sahaja Yoga, I think. If they fall, they fall so low. Then even an ordinary Sahaja Yogi could say: “Mother, look at him! Where has he gone?”
So, with all these things happening, what is our job is to worship Mahakali within us. Because, what does She do? Perhaps we are not very aware of.
First and foremost thing She does is to protect us. Wherever you may be, whatever you may be doing, in whatever peril you may be, howsoever dangerously you may be placed in life, She protects you. First thing, She protects you.
All the people who write to Me, how they were protected, how they were cured, how they were helped. It’s this thing: that they should know that all this has happened because of Mahakali power within you. ‘She exists within you.’ When you are worshipping Mahakali, you are worshipping the Mahakali ‘within you’.
With due respect, you must know that this Mahakali is a very sensitive personality. She is very sensitive. If you try to do any wrong to anyone, She’ll guide you. She’ll tell you by many ways that: “This is wrong what you are doing. Why are you doing wrong to some person?” But if you do not repent and come back onto the normal position, She gives you up. Once Mahakali gives you up, you are now exposed and become prone to all kinds of evil things. I would say...
[A baby starts crying: “What’s the matter with the baby?”]
So, when you worship Her, what do you want? You want Her to protect you. In your discrimination, in your mistake, you might do something wrong. May do something that is not good for you, could be very dangerous for you. But She is the person who guides how to avoid all the dangers. Now, She protects your life, She protects your body, She protects all organs of your body, She is the One who gives you all the security of life.
In Her realm, you feel completely secure. You are never afraid of anything. Because you have left Her realm, you have come out of it, that is why - that is the reason you are afraid. But if you are under Her beautiful guidance and Her blessings, you will never feel afraid to do anything. You will never do anything wrong also. As soon as you’ll try to do wrong, She will hold your hand. She is really the guiding person. She is the One who actually gives us our existence. Without Her, we cannot exist, because She is the One who is the Power of Shri Shiva.
She gives us so many things. For example, She gives us the relaxation, the sleep. She gives you the Truth. She tells you what is the Truth and what is not. Sometimes people so much in their ego always try to believe that: “What I think is the truth.” Then She is the One who points it out by creating a ‘Maya’, a kind of a confusion, that you start thinking: “What is this?” So She is called also the One who gives us ‘Bhranti,’ means illusions. She puts you to illusions also. She tells you - puts you to - illusions and She then ultimately takes you out of the illusions.

She is the One who relaxes you, because She takes over all your responsibilities. She takes over all your problems. She is the One who solves all the problems. It is we who forget to leave all the problems to Her. If you just leave problems to Her, all your problems are solved. Not only that, but you really feel blessed. It’s not only physical - also it is mental - that She makes your mind absolutely free of worries.
‘She’ doesn’t worry and She doesn’t want ‘you’ to worry. If you worry, then She tries to show that, by your worry, you are denying Her. You are not accepting Her. Worrying is something very common and people take great pride in saying: “Oh, I was worried.” How can you be worried when your Mother is “Sakshat Mahakali”?
She can kill all the demons. She can finish all of them. She knows how to manage things. And when you are like a child before Her, how can you worry about anything? So your worries are finished. She worries about you, you shouldn’t worry about yourself. That’s the point of it.
Her security is so great, She is so secure Herself, that She gives you all the security that you need. You can hold on to Her feet. You can hold on to Her image or to anything. You can even pray to Her. Many people are being cured only by praying to Her. Because She cures you. She can cure your diseases - which are very complicated diseases - She can cure.
Now what She likes? Mahakali likes the light. She is worshipped in the night, because then we can put on the light. She likes enlightened persons. Also She likes the light. She likes the Sun. She likes something that will be completely enlightened and brightened.

You must have heard about people who are called... I don’t know what... but especially in the West they use them. They have big teeth and they... [somebody from the audience shouts: “vampires”] Ha! And they are the people, they -just imagine- they cannot exist before the Sun. As soon as there is a sunrise, they just want to go off and sleep. Yes, they cannot see the Sun, because, the light, they can’t bear. Now, what has happened here, that Maha... Mahakali has departed from them. And when Mahakali has departed, then they are afraid. And such people are attacked by these people who know they are afraid.
The Sun itself is very important to work out this Mahakali thing. But, as it is, in the West especially, we are very hard-working and very much Sun-oriented and we worship the Sun. All this we do: worship the Sun and also go right-sided very much. Then it is She who gives us the balance. She is the One who gives us the balance, by relaxing us completely and protecting us.
Sometimes we are competitive and we are really worried and we want to do something which we cannot do. Then we get upset and we don’t know what to do. Then it is She who brings sleep to us. So, when we sleep, She looks after us, She soothes us and She takes away our problems. So many things She is doing. ‘But what are we doing for Her?’ That we should see.
Main thing is that we are ourselves worshipping Her. She likes it that Her children should worship Her, that, on that level, She can be One with them. She can give them Her compassion, love and protection from all the evil.
But - it has to be understood - those who are not yet settled, those who are not yet belonging to that land of security of Mahakali, can be attacked. And they... once they leave that area, they can be very badly injured, killed, whatever way can happen. So, we are living - in this Kali Yuga - in very dangerous times. Whence anything can happen.

So we have to be very careful. We have to watch our mind, to see how it works. What does it teach you? What does it tell you? Try to understand: what is the plan of this evil person, that you are playing into his hands? How can you play into his hands and how can you do whatever wrong he wants you to do?
Secondly, against Her is the ego. The biggest problem is the ego today. Ego will show: “No, no, I can do this.” Ego says: “I will work it out.” Ego says: “It will be done.” But the human beings - see - yield to ego. It’s of a great satisfaction to them that their ego is so strong and they don’t want to listen to the Mahakali forces.
[A baby shouts out. Shri Mataji laughs and tells Her granddaughter (Sonu) in Hindi: “Take the boy (Anant) outside.”] He wants Me, you see. Children are like that. They can’t leave you for even... You have to be like children. Really, that’s the very best way, is to be innocent like children.
She loves innocent people. She is Innocence Herself. She loves innocent people and She looks after you much more because you are innocent. You are not cunning. You are not very much... trying to play your ego on others. If you are innocent, She’ll help you. She definitely will help you. But this ego has to be brought under control, because he is the worst enemy She has. She doesn’t like your ego. She wants you to be ego-less, to be innocent.

As you know that it is, first She came and She created Shri Ganesha. That’s why we worship Shri Ganesha. We have to be innocent. Means: we are not planning to do something bad - or good - or anything, but we are without any intentions. We are just... It’s a timeless activity. You just don’t bother about what you are going to do, what you are not going to do, what you should do. Nothing of the kind! You are just existing in your complete innocence and enjoying yourself and making others enjoy. If there’s one child in the house, he can make hundred people dance. It’s like that. Because these children have the power of innocence and that is what She respects.
We sometimes feel that: “How people are cheats.” How they cheat us! How they make all kinds of, - I should say – aggressiveness! Sometimes, how they try to also tell lies! All kinds of things they will do and they expect so much from you also. But all this is happening... is happening. You shouldn’t bother about these things.

You should keep to your innocence and, you’ll be surprised, you’ll be completely protected. How? Because Mahakali will stand around you. She will look after you, if you are innocent. Innocent person doesn’t get angry. What is there to get angry? Innocence has its own –I should say—strength, power. It’s extremely powerful. Even a cruel man, if he sees a child, he becomes a little bit aware of it: “There’s a child.” The whole world is aware that children should not be any way tortured or troubled. Why? Because children are so innocent. So the quality of innocence is going to really help you very much, because She appreciates your quality of innocence.

Then another thing She loves in you is your compassion. Compassion for each other. Love for each other. Also caring for others. That is something She loves. If you are a Sahaja Yogi, if you are a Realised Soul, She is always with you. But She says: “What are you doing with your compassion? How many people you are giving Realisation? How many people you are curing? How many people you are helping?” She is quite aware of whatever you are doing.

I should say, it’s such a tremendous power of Mahakali - that She knows everything about you. Everything! She knows your mind. She knows your heart. She knows about your health. ‘Everything’ She knows. Actually, She is the Mother, in every way, who cares for the little child. In that way, She knows that this child doesn’t do anything. He’s very innocent. So, like, when you are very small, your mother looks after you. In the same way, this Mahakali looks after you. Then the Mahasaraswati power comes in and She educates you. She gives you other ideas of knowledge... this, that. But, looking after the child in you, looking after your innocence and your compassion, is all done by this Mahakali power.

So, She is extremely sensitive about Her children. Nobody dare touch Her children! For Her, everybody is like a child. Those who are Realised Souls especially, She thinks are children and in no way they should be hurt. Nothing should happen to them. She is always following them.
One can say: “If She is a ‘person’, how does She follow them?” Because She is ‘omnipresent’. She is present everywhere. Everywhere in your life She is there. Especially with Sahaja Yogis, She follows them up and down. Everywhere, whatever you are doing. You are in an accident - She is there to save you. She is like an angel behind you and nothing can happen to you, if you really worship Her from your full heart. Not for any gain, not for any achievement, but for Her blessings. Her blessings are very great and they really have enriched human beings. They have enriched this Earth. They have enriched everything - because of the blessings of Mahakali.

Of course, then, there comes the Mahalakshmi. Her thing is that, in Mahalakshmi principle, you become sort of detached. You start finding that: “What is this world after all?” and a kind of a feeling of detachment comes into you and you start thinking that there must be something better, there must be truth beyond. Especially people who have been tortured by bad people always think like that. That: “There must be someone who will raise us from this.” Here comes the Mahalakshmi principle in you - which is the principle of the Goddess - of ‘Ascent’. She puts the ideas in your head that: “What is next? What do we have to do? After all, is this the end of our life? What is the purpose of this life? Why have we come on this Earth? What is so special that we should live on this Earth?” All such fundamental questions start rising and then he just takes to the seeking.

In that also, you have to understand the Mahalakshmi principle is very, very, very different from what people understand. They think -if they are seeking, it should be intelligible, it should be ‘through their minds’ or could be rational, all this, or scientific. That’s how they move, seeking the truth. It’s not possible. Mahalakshmi’s principle is like this: that you should have earnest desire to know the Truth and Truth and Truth - and nothing else.
When you think like that, then you will not take to other things. So many people took to drugs, thinking that, by doing that, they will achieve their Self-Realisation. It’s a wrong idea. How can you get away from your awareness? Can achieve that? Awareness is the most important thing. If you can go into the realm of awareness, then you have to understand that the basic awareness is not to be lost.
If your basic awareness is lost, through drinking or through drugs or all these things that people do - They think that they are seeking, that’s why they are doing. So sometimes, they take excuse of ‘seeking’ to do wrong things. It’s like a revenge on your Self, I think, that you want to revenge yourself by thinking that you are now ‘seeking’. It’s not the real seeking. In a real seeking, a person has to just meditate and should find out what is the right way. But, that too, not by reading some books or listening to some false gurus.
Actually, Kundalini awakening is the only way one can know the Reality. There’s no other way out. But nobody tells them that it is Kundalini awakening. They’ll tell you: “We’ll go to this place, then to that place, then more to that place. Then this has to be done.” And, ultimately, where do you come? Where you started. It’s just like that: moving from places to places, moving from false to another false, to another false, to falsehood. Ultimately so many seekers have been lost. So many have been lost, because they thought that certain type of is very precious, seeking is very ‘precious’, because you can pay lots of money to the guru. I mean, you can ‘purchase’ the guru. And so: “All the rich people can become enlightened.” That means that.
But I don’t think that the percentage of good people are only rich. The people who are good are good. Whether they are rich or not is not the point. But such people try to gather round a person, because, I think, there’s a subtle ego of their money, that: “We can afford to buy this, buy that.”

Once I was in America and there was one lady who came to see Me and she didn’t know that I was... a spiritual person. So she said: “Now there’s a very good guru who has come to America.” I said: “Really? What does he do?” She said: “There’s a sale on.” I said: “Really?” “You can pay him half the amount: he can give you his blessings. Alright?”
Then next week, she said: “Now the sale has come to one fourth. If you pay the one fourth amount, then he will give you the ‘full’ knowledge.” I said: “How can it be reciprocal? It’s not proportionate!” I said: “You were giving half, he was giving you half and when you are giving one-fourth, he is giving you full.” “That’s the thing”, she said, “he’s very magnanimous, you see. That’s the point.” I said: “For all such people who think they can purchase Truth, they cannot achieve it.”

You cannot purchase it. You cannot pay for your Kundalini awakening. No! Nor you should take any payment for that. Self-Realisation is absolutely the Divine Grace. And you cannot take money for that. You cannot sell it. It’s not so ‘cheap’ to be sold. If you understand that, then the Mahalakshmi power works.
And Mahalakshmi power is really meant for people who are really genuine seekers, who are really seeking genuinely. It acts and works so well that they achieve a kind of a very, very spontaneous Realisation.
This spontaneous Realisation, you all have got it. You don’t have to go to Himalayas. You don’t have to do anything like that. All those things are over. You have done it. In your previous lives, you must have done it. Now you don’t have to do anything. You can get it, you are getting it just sitting down here. Wherever you are in the whole world, you can get it and it is spreading very fast.

Now, it’s also the duty of Sahaja Yogis to spread Sahaja Yoga. Now, this one is to be understood: that Mahalakshmi and Mahakali both go hand in hand. When, you see, Mahakali blesses you and She is with you and you are in Her realm, the Mahalakshmi comes forward and She definitely helps you to achieve your Realisation and also to improve your problems, to help you. I mean - the financial side of it, you can call it, or in any way - other problems also She solves. The greatest problem She solves that your greatest desire - to achieve Self-Realisation - is granted.

So, there is no competition between Them. All these three powers work together and, whatever is needed, they work it out. But it is the Mahakali who guides where what help has to go and that’s why the power of Mahakali is very much respected. As it is, She has killed so many devils and so many rakshasas and there are still more - some of them are existing - but I am sure they will be all finished. There will be none of these horrible ones ever existing.

But still we have to be very careful and alert and try to find out what’s wrong with these people. What are they doing and what they trying to propagate? You must mature in such a manner that you should know everything of all these evil doers. You must find out what these false people are doing. See, it’s really easy, because you are enlightened. And with your enlightened attention, you can definitely find out what’s wrong with what organisation, with each evil man, evildoer.

It will be... the best way is to meditate. Not to be aggressive in any way. But just to meditate and ask Mahakali: “Destroy! Destroy him, for he is destroying the world. You please destroy him!” That’s Her job and She’d love to do it, but somebody has to tell Her and ask Her. It’s very good, because there are so many, that unless and until you point it out, She may not be able to put Her attention to that - possibly.
So it’s best is always ask Her to help you. On individual basis. On a national basis. Maybe on a collective basis or maybe on a global basis. That’s what: She exists everywhere. She is globally available. Anywhere: you may be having any colour, any race, any nation - anything - but She exists within you all the time.
And to worship Her and to awaken Her, is only ‘your’ due, that ‘you’ have to do. If She is awakened within you, you’ll be a humble person. You will see what mistakes you have been committing and you’ll feel bad about it. You will not feel ‘guilty’, but you will feel ‘bad’, that: “I will never do such a thing. I have done very great wrong.” And then you will try to correct it.

All this works out very well when you are pure in your heart. Your heart should be pure. If your heart is not pure, if you are doing Sahaja Yoga to have some competition with others or with some sort of material achievements, it will not work out. You have to do it in a way that is an innocent act, that you are worshipping your Mother like a little child worships and loves his mother. It’s a very simple relationship, which all of us have felt: how we should love our Mother and how we should be under Her guidance and under Her protection. That is something very simple you have known in your childhood and that childhood has to come back in you if you really worship the Mother.

May God bless you!