Inauguration speech for the opening of the new Music Academy (transcr. only English part). Vaitarna (India), 1 January 2003.

I’m sorry I spoke in Hindi language, because to talk about My father in any other language is very difficult, though he was a master of English language and he used to read a lot. He had a big library of his own where I also learned English, because my medium of instruction was Marathi. I’d never studied Hindi or English. But because of his library, because I was very fond of reading, I picked up English, whatever it is, and also Hindi. Now they all say I speak very good English and very good Hindi, I am surprised, because to Me they were foreign languages.

And when I did my matriculation also, I had a very small book of English, and for inter-science also I had a very small book. And in the medical college of course there was no question of any language, but because I used to read a lot. So I would suggest to all of you to read, read more. But don’t read nonsensical books, very good famous books you must read. That’s how I developed my language, and I had to do so well.

By reading that, I could know also so much about the human failings. I didn’t know human beings have those failings, I didn’t know. I was absolutely beyond them. After reading everything, I came to know that there are human beings, mostly, who have some failings. Maybe because of ego or maybe because of some bad training, because of mother, maybe father, whatever it is, the family. And that’s how I understood human beings, as they are. Gradually, when I came to Sahaja Yoga, I met many like that, not one - all over, whether in India or outside I saw. But most of them, 99%, improved. One per cent are still there, hanging in there.

The greatest problem of human beings is ego. If there is ego, you can’t do anything about it, because it thinks, “I’ve done something great that I have this ego”. And they cannot appreciate other people, leave alone loving anybody else. ‘Ego’ means you love yourself, think no end of yourself. So, India is full of it. Abroad also I’ve seen it’s quite a lot, but at least they know there is ego and they can face it. But this country, I don’t know what sort of things they do that they develop this ego, and they think they’re quite right.
Every country has its own problems, but we have something very great with us is our music. Not musicians, but music. So the musicians should take to Sahaja Yoga. They should meditate. And if a musician is money-oriented, then you cannot help him. Either he should be music-oriented, and not money-oriented. When they are money-oriented, they never value themselves, I think. Because if you have music, the talent of music, why should you care for money? And whatever money you give them, they’ll be never satisfied. I have seen very great musicians who were never, never money-oriented, who didn’t care for power. But we have even now many musicians who I would not say are the last word in music. Those who are, are very humble. They’ll always tell you, “We have to still learn a lot. We have to understand a lot.”

So I was very much touched, and I was very much enamoured, by the statue of Babamama and of my father being there. Not because they were my brother, or father, but they were very, very great people, and their greatness has touched me. Baba’s quality was that he was a loving man, extremely loving, and very forgiving person. Extremely unassuming and very loving. He never cared for publicity, or he never cared for what position he was occupying. His humble nature was natural, very natural, very sweet. And he has been with me since his very childhood, so I noticed him, he never had any malice against anyone. He never wanted to surpass anyone. Always wanted to be at a zero point. And if anybody troubled him, he used to make him go somewhere with his own tricks, he was very clever. And he had found out that ‘I am no good for these crooks,’ so he used to handle them very cleverly, and he used to see that they go arout. He knew who were the show-offs, and he used to tell me about them: “These people are very big show-offs, and they will try to dominate others, they don’t know anything.” But the best part of his heart is his poetry. He wrote beautiful poetry.

Was horrible to begin with! I used to write his essays in the school. So his teachers used to say: “Can you write such good essays? And when it comes to exams, then why do you get a big zero?” So he didn’t tell her that I’m writing the essays. But then, suddenly, he developed an attitude for languages: for Marathi, for Hindi, for Urdu, also for English, very surprising. He was very good at mathematics, because my mother was a mathematician, but suddenly become equipped in languages. And I used to give him my poetry to correct, so good he was. And he knew Urdu words, Hindi words, English, and Marathi also. So he used to tell me: “The Marathi’s very good. If you want to find somebody’s faults, Marathi’s the best, and the way you can tell them.” And lots of words he told me, and so interesting, in Marathi. I said: “Baba, when did you study Marathi?” He said: “I’ve just come to know.”

So his knowledge was all innate, and everybody loved him because of temperament, he never tried to show off. Never. Very simple man, very simple habits, and always he tried to imbibe in the people that they should lead such and such life. Without telling them, I don’t know how he managed it.

So with his love and attention, now we have so many musicians, so many people here. I am thankful to him and thankful to my father, for whatever they have done for Sahaja Yoga.

May God bless you all!

H.H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi