Diwali puja, London (UK), 14 November 1982.

Today we are here, all of us, to celebrate a four day festival called as Diwali. Diwali, it comes from the word ‘dipali’; ‘dipali’ in Sanskrit. The word ‘dipa’ means ‘the lights’, and ‘ali’ means the ‘line’, the ‘rows’. Now, there are many things that have happened during these four days and that’s how it is celebrated with such a great enthusiasm.

The first thing is the day of the Lakshmi’s birth. That is the thirteenth day of the moon, “dhanteras’ they call it. [Which] is the real day when Lakshmi was born out of the sea; that’s why She is called as Miriam or Maryam. The word ‘Marie’ or ‘Marine’, also comes from the word ‘sea’. So, She’s born out of the sea. She’s created out of the sea. And the wealth of the sea, so far, thank God, human beings have not yet exploited. But they may, one day, start doing that also. And a lot of wealth is still there, so when people start getting worried about exhausting the Mother Earth, you must know that sea is much more than the Earth is, so nothing is exhausted. Still there is such a lot in reserve for you, and one should not worry [apart, “Thank you”] as to the supply of wealth that can come from the sea.

Now, this Lakshmi is the goddess who stands on the lotus. She represents all the well-being, the wealth; the glory of wealth, the decoration of wealth is, which is, whichever is auspicious. Whatever is not auspicious is not wealth according to Sahaja Yoga, or according to any scripture. It is not wealth at all.

So, She is a lady who stands on a lotus: showing that a person, who has got wealth, has to be a person who doesn’t assert his pressures on people, who doesn’t push people around, who doesn’t pressurise. And then She’s a lady, She’s a mother.

So, wealth, is the first opening to our seeking. But when you start seeking the wealth, you realise that the superficial wealth that you are seeking is not sufficient, is not going to give you complete joy. So you start seeking the deeper wealth. As I said that, “On the Mother Earth you have exploited all that is possible”. Still there, deep down in the sea, a lot of wealth is still there.

So, then the seeking moves towards the deeper seeking. So the same Lakshmi becomes Mahalakshmi when you start expanding yourself to higher and deeper valuable things. Then this Lakshmi doesn’t lure you much. She’s just there for your glory, but not for your satisfaction. The wealth is there for distribution only. You enjoy the- there’s no word for ‘dhan’ [in English] I think?

Sahaja Yogi: Generosity.

Shri Mataji: Oh, generosity! But generosity is different. But what I’m saying [is] generous fondness. It’s a fondness that you should be generous. Sometimes it’s a very great happiness and joy that you feel — that is the greatest — when you are generous, when you give away. That’s a fondness, that’s a kind of a human expression of one’s own being: that you want to be generous.

And this generosity only can come when Mahalakshmi principle is born in you. But at Lakshmi principle also She stands like this; Her hand is like this one: as giving. And the other is like this.

So miserliness is not a sign of wealth. I mean, if you are miserly that means you are not wealthy. If you are really wealthy, why will you be miserly? This simple question is there. That means if you are really wealthy, you will just give away. If you cannot give away, then you are poor, you are a beggar. [If] you are still hankering after that, that means you are still a beggar, and you are hankering for it.

So [with] this left hand She is giving all the time, and with the right hand She protects people. She gives protection to people. The wealth must give protection to people, in the way [that] it must look after the well being of others, not your own self-indulgence: like having all the best things to yourself while others are starving.

That’s not a sign of a wealthy man. A wealthy man is a person who knows that, unless and until he shares his things with others, he is not going to be happy, ultimately. For the time being he may be. People live with imbalances, they live with wrong ideas. But ultimately they have to correct it. If they do not correct this, there are problems.

Then there’s upheaval, lots of changes come in. People start seeing that, “Oh, this doesn’t work out, that doesn’t work out.” The children run away from the houses, the family goes into problems. All sorts of things happen, and then they realise, “This is the reason: I have been very miserly. I have not been generous. I have not been using money for the sake of others.”

Now, after coming to Sahaja Yoga, you become a Divine person. Definitely you become Divine. You are now a Divine personality, you are not a human personality. So you have to give up all that is human within you, then only you will be fully Divine. But it’s very difficult. That’s [what] the problem is: that it is very difficult to really accept that you are Divine, and that you have to take to Divine policies and Divine attitudes, and Divine temperament.

Now, the Divine temperament is generous. It is not bothered, as to what happens next. It’s not bothered, because it is connected with the Source. If you give one you will get a hundred. It is sure about it.

And to a Divine person, worldly things have no meaning, if they cannot give pleasures to others. A person who is very self-indulgent, always bothered about himself, is not a Divine person at all. In no way he’s Divine. It’s very common. It’s human. Everybody does that. Everybody is self-preserving.

But after Sahaja Yoga, you do not start all this nonsense again; you give it up.

And who looks after you? Who looks after your self-preservation? Is God Almighty. You are now completely dedicated to Him, and He looks after you. You don’t have to worry as to how to look after yourself, how to do this, how to do that. It is His work. The more you go on worrying about yourself, the worse it will be. The moment you give it up, it is looked after.

Many Sahaja Yogis must have experienced this in their lifetime: that when they try to give it up, they get all the help from God; but whenever they try to assert, and worry about their well-being and things like that, then there is a problem. You don’t know from where the help comes in.

And we have had so many examples, so many so-called miracles, where people wanted to do something, and suddenly they got the money from somewhere they least expected. So for a Divine person, the attitude should be of giving and of protection: protect.

Now, we are very good at protecting our bhoots, and protecting others who are bhoots.

You see, the sympathies always go to bhoots, because they have a way of creating a sympathetic attitude in your heart. So you start looking after that person because that person looks so much miserable. You have to protect the saints. You have to protect the principle of God, the Divinity in others, and not the bhoots. You are not here to care for all the bhoots of the world.

So the idea of Lakshmi must be understood in a proper way. In Sahaja Yoga it’s a very different thing from all other people know about; like charity. Like, people say now, “We must be charitable, start a charitable organisation.” In that, you look after this kind of people, that kind of people. We are not bothered. That’s not [what] you are given Realisation for: to look after every sort of a person. You are here to look after all the saints and all born-realised children. And you are not to bother about people who do not matter to God and Divine. When they came to Realisation, if they get Realisation, if they become saints, all right. But you don’t worry about every Dick, Tom and Harry, on the street: “Oh Mother, he’s so miserable!” and this and that.

So the charity must be understood in a Divine light. And the Divine light will give you discretion, to understand whom to be charitable [to]. You have to be charitable to your brothers and sisters. You have to be kind to them. Now you will say: “What about worrying about, Mother, people who are starving? Who are this?” That’s not your headache! Why should you do their jobs? You are all good at doing others’ jobs. For example, you are driving in the car: “Oh, look at this! There should have been this properly done! That they should have done properly!” but that’s not your job!Why should you waste your energy in finding out what the others should have done? You should do what you have to do. And don’t waste your energy in these things.

You see, [in] all these charitable institutions, I have seen [that] those people who work there are very difficult for Realisation. This is the proof of the pudding. Because to whom to do the charity? If there is no other person, you do not do charity to anyone! I mean, sitting down here, I can do charities to people, so-called, which are not charities, they are part and parcel of my being. I just do it, because they are part and parcel of my being. I don’t have to go all out to sacrifice something to do charity, because that’s nothing but ego pampering and ego-oriented: “Oh, I have helped this man, and how dare he say such a thing!”

So this is one quality of the Divine, one should know, that It is generous. It is generous to a fault, to a fault. It is generous because It is generous. It is not bothered. It doesn’t reason out Itself: “Why should I be generous?” It is generous because It is; because it’s the whim, it’s a fondness. The fondness of generosity is such, as you have fondness, say, people have fondness to drink, for example let’s say. That’s not fondness, that’s a habit, I think. But you can say some fondness people have. What kind of a fondness you have, without forming a habit, I don’t know. Because you always have a habit and then you form the fondness. But supposing you just have a fondness. For example, you are fond of, say, good food, let us take it. Now, if you have fondness of good food, then you will just do it because you are fond of it. Now if somebody says, “Why are you fond of good food?” You said, “I am just fond – finished! Who are you to ask me such a question?”

If somebody is fond of generosity, he will be generous whether you like it or not. And it is sometimes, to a reasonable man, may look to be a bit too much.

The greatest generosity a human being can do is to forgive. I mean, it’s not generosity to others but to yourself. If you forgive others you are generous to yourself. First of all be generous to yourself, that is you forgive everybody else. If you forgive everybody else, then you are not tortured by them; you spare yourself from their tortures. This is a generosity towards yourself. Towards yourself, the greatest generosity is that you do not bear any malice or bitterness about anyone. But clear-cut ideas that, “He’s like this and he is like this.” Just a clear-cut idea, but no reaction out of it.

If somebody is a man, say, he’s bhootish: all right he’s a bhootish fellow, we know he’s a bhootish, keep yourself in bandhan, but don’t have a reaction out of that. Then you have really forgiven everyone. Forgiveness gives you a big kavacha; is a big bandhan, is a big protection, we can say, a shield, from all kinds of evil that other’s can put on you.

Just forgive them, and then you see what happens to them. You just try this trick: just forgive, and see what happens to others who try to torture you.

Of course, the Divine never wants to torture anyone; that is definite. It never wants to torture. It is extremely generous, It likes to forgive. It enjoys Its forgiveness, It really enjoys. Generosity is to be enjoyed in the same way forgiveness is to be enjoyed. It’s very enjoyable. When you forgive others it’s the most enjoyable thing, that you see the play, you become the witness.

So the Mahalakshmi tattwa, when it develops into you: first of all you have to forgive if somebody has borrowed money from you and has not returned — it doesn’t matter.

It’s difficult for people to forgive people who borrow money and don’t give. (laughter) And beyond that is also another problem I have seen (laughing) that: if you lend some money to somebody, then run away from that person. Because even to give is easier, but [to] take is even worse. A person who takes money from you, will never forgive you all your life, because you have lent money to him!

So, one has to understand that, when you become Divine, you just give. You just give. This is Mahalakshmi tattwa. Mahalakshmi tattwa is that you give.

Don’t worry about what is the result, how others react to it, what happens to it, what is the ultimate result, and what you achieve out of it, and how the person has taken. Just give! That is Mahalakshmi tattwa. But when I say give, also you must use discretion. That is the part we always forget.

Sahaja Yoga must teach you discretion, that is the Divine truth. Divine is the most discreet thing. Now, when I say, “Give,” I know people will just start running on the street, finding out somebody where you can give something! You don’t have to run about to find out somebody that you should give something to someone: there’s no need. It’s just flowing. It’s just flowing. Whenever the chance is, just try to give: material things, something kind words, sweetness, comfort. But never give one thing, which I sometimes do by mistake: never give advice! (laughter) That’s a very dangerous thing. You can give bandhan, you can beat the person at his back with shoes. But never give an advice in words. That is one of the principles of Sahaja Yoga, for the time being.

Because giving advice, you know what it means. You may have a boxed nose or something! It’s a very dangerous thing. So best is, on that part I would say, as far as advice is concerned: you have so many ways and methods of handling a situation. So better not speak about it, just handle it in complete silence.

Whatever you have to do about a person, just handle him without talking to that person. The more you try to convince the person, the worse he will get. Because they are not Divine. They haven’t reached that Divinity. They are a special type of people who cannot become Divine, and do not break your necks with them.

Also don’t give advice to other Sahaja yogis. Everybody at this stage thinks that they know all about Sahaja Yoga. It’s all right, good idea! Very good idea! But never try to tell them what they should do, what is good for them, unless and until they come and ask.

Now, this Mahalakshmi tattwa, when it grows into collectivity: what happens [is] that you learn that you have to just give, and you don’t worry about the receiving.

As Krishna has said, “Karmanye vadhikaraste phaleshou Ma kadachana” (meaning) “Our job is to do the karmas (the work) and we are not to worry about the phalas (fruits).” Just try to give whatever is possible to everyone: vibrations, Realisation. I know it is wasted so many times — you give Realisation and it is wasted. It’s like the seeds that are thrown on the rocks. Yes, I know, it is. So many times I have wasted thousands of them, but doesn’t matter, you give them. It is not [that] you are giving them for their sake, but for your sake. It is for your satisfaction you are doing it, for your fondness you are doing it. So just try to give Realisation to everyone, anyone who asks for it.

But, as Christ has rightly said that, “Don’t throw pearls before the swines.” I mean, I shouldn’t use this word today, on such an auspicious day, but doesn’t matter. So, this, He has said it.

Now, this kind of people, who are they? They are the people who don’t deserve it. So there is no need to give Realisation to every person you come across [or] talk to everyone. Gradually you will meet such people who will ask for Sahaja Yoga, for Realisation: you’ll give it to them. Gradually those pigs, or what you call them, whatever Christ has called them, they will evolve, I am sure, one day, and they’ll come to you.

So, let us try on the first level, where there are genuine seekers of a high level, and you will be amazed how they are sorted out.

You see, there isn’t much space in the Kingdom of God, to be very frank. And we should not worry if we don’t have many people over there. For us, it is a responsibility we must have all the population of this world going up there: is a wrong idea. That’s not needed at all. We should not crowd them there. Here only, we can’t sit all of us you see, we’ll have to have a bigger place. So we should not bother so much as to the quantity, that the quantity is not much.

Of course we should try our level best to pass the message; Because they should not say that, “We didn’t get the message.” To pass the message is all right. But we need not in any way force people or ask them to come to Sahaja Yoga or make them Sahaja Yogis. It’s a difficult thing. The more you will try, the worse they will be. They will be so troublesome that it’s going to be an impossible task.

So in your generosity you must have discretion: how far to go with people, how far to work it out. This is the Mahalakshmi tattwa which comes to you as a result of Shri Ganesha, who blesses you with wisdom as to how to be generous with others, where to give, what to give. The discretion starts working. You don’t have to think about it, it just works out. It will just work out.

Discretion in Sahaja Yoga doesn’t mean, at all, thinking or rationally coming to a conclusion, but it means that it just works out that way: in the sense that you feel it in your vibratory awareness. Once such a discretion is developed, you will be amazed that those who are not to enter into the Kingdom of God will just shun it, will not come close to you. And it’s better for us, less headache, you see. Because they think that we need them, while they don’t know [that] they need Realisation, not we. We have got our Realisation.

So this is about generosity, today, I wanted to tell you; about being generous to Sahaja Yogis.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that you go on giving presents to Sahaja Yogis and all that, because, as you know that, these material things have no value except they have symbolic value. And symbolically if you work for them, and if symbolically if you try to express yourself, it is going to work out much better than in a material way: that it should be so expensive, it should be so much. That’s not good. Symbolically you should work out material gifts and things among yourselves.

But the main thing one should understand [is] that collectivity will only grow when you do not, by any of your attitude or behaviour, suggest that others are lower than you or others are higher than you. For example, you see something straight, you see quite far away; I see much more than what you can see. It’s a fact. You know that.

But I don’t tell you. I just say, “I don’t know, maybe try this, try that.” I keep quiet. I just try to play about. I say, “All right. Let’s see.” I’ll consult you, I’ll consult him, everybody I’ll consult: “All right, try this.” Or I’ll do all these tricks, because I don’t want you to feel that, “Mother knows everything, so why should I know?” First of all you can say that. Or you may say that, “Mother knows so much, and I know nothing. I can never reach Her.”

So, what you have to do is to make another person see as much as you see. How will you do that? By being with him all the time, by being in such a relationship that the other doesn’t feel the oppression: oppression of that personality, as if that person [thinks], “Oh, he is so great, he is so great, he knows so many things, and he’s so evolved. What are we? We are nothing!”

If you develop such an attitude towards a person, then the other person can also develop another attitude, just the other way round. That he’ll oppose such a person, he’ll stand out, he’ll be angry all the time. At the slightest pretext, he’ll be off and he’ll feel hurt and he’ll be miserable. All these things can come up. So it is not going to help you, nor the other person.

But to tell another person, if you want to raise that person higher, the best thing is to make him your friend, your dearest person, and let him see as much as you can see, together. Then the vision is broader. It’s not that one person sees something more and others do not see, and the person who can see, thinks no end of himself.

You should behave in such a manner as if you don’t know anything, it’s better. You should see me, how I behave. I don’t tell you anything, I just say, “All right, go ahead. Whatever you think proper, do it.” Then you come round and you say, “Mother but it happened like this, and you had told us this way!” So I say, “I told you, all right, but I didn’t say, “All right, this is going to happen!’ ” But it happens. So it’s better that you should also develop that kind of an attitude that, all of us have to go together. There’s nobody who can just pull out oneself ahead. We all have to go together, even me. Even if I maybe anything, what does it matter? What does it matter if God is great? So what? He may be great in His own play. But what do we gain out of Him is the point that, His greatness should be seen through us. If we cannot move up to that point, what’s the use of His greatness? It’s better that He’s away. He’s too great for us.

So He has to come down. He has to come down to this level to make everybody feel that they are part and parcel of His own ignorance.

He may be the most knowledgeable person, so what? You have to take the cover of the ignorance upon yourself and go on slowly exposing yourself.

In the same way, if you can do it with other Sahaja Yogis. Then only you could be good leaders, and you have been really generous with a full discretion.

So today’s day is, as I told you, the thirteenth day is the Goddess. Dhanteras it is called as. That is the day of the Gruha Lakshmi; She came as Gruha Lakshmi. In the household, the lady is the one who is the symbol of that Lakshmi, to begin with. Because she’s the one who looks after your food, looks after your comfort, she protects you, she nourishes you, she gives you joy. And the women who cannot do that are not Gruhalakshmis. They are not the…’housewife’ is a very poor word for that. They are the Gruhalakshmis; means they are the goddesses of the family.

So, the other day we were in America. I told the girls, I said, “Let us wait. And what we can do: it’s all right, I am the Mother; you can give me food if you want. But I don’t mind, give the boys first, and then the girls should eat.”

And one of them got very angry with me. She said, “Mother what is this? They are dominating us!” If somebody eats before or later, what is the domination? I mean, in any case you are going to eat before or after! I don’t understand the portion of domination. But you are privileged! You are privileged that you can look after so many people! What is so wrong in it? You see the whole atmosphere is so funny that if the men eat first, then women should feel that we are put down. It’s absurd, because it’s a privilege: you are like a mother. You are the person who has to look after them, and you have to feed them. It’s a privilege that a Gruhalakshmi should do that: look after everybody, give them food to eat and treat them just like their protégés you can say, something like that. It’s such a privilege. It’s a sign of complete maturity.

Even little, little girls, you have seen, if they are brought up properly, otherwise they can be horrifying. But normally little girls are very generous, more generous than men are. And they always try to make you very happy. They have great sense. If somebody is sitting down they’ll come and give you food and look after you. I mean, I have seen my all three granddaughters, do that. Even once a washerwoman came in the house. They said, “You must sit on the sofa.” She said, “But no, I can’t. I can’t sit on the sofa.” “No, you must sit on the sofa!” they said. They opened the fan for her and they brought all the things that were in the kitchen for her to eat, now, and they brought some plate and this and that. And the elder one, I told her, “What do you want to be?” She said, “I can only be a nurse or an air hostess.” I said, “Why? Air hostess and nurse, why?” “Because these are the only two professions where one can give, isn’t it, food.” I mean it’s a privilege. Other professions you can’t do this great job, this noble job, of giving food. “So that’s why I want to be either the nurse or the air hostess.”

And they play, I have seen these girls play, “Now I’m the air hostess, now. You must eat this!” They bring food in small, little things. They make their own things, “Now I’m the air hostess,” and they’ll bring it.

Now, there may not be any food in it, maybe some stones they have put, or whatever it is. “You must eat! You must look after yourself! You are thinning down. You’d better.” Like that: so sweet. And then they’ll bring some pillows, “Now you must lie down.” Like the air hostesses they are working, you see, “Ah, are you feeling cold? Would you like to have a blanket or something?” I said, “What game is this?” “Now we are air hostesses!” (laughter)

It’s such a privilege, an innocent privilege.

And that’s what, if we develop, this nonsense of a right that, “We are higher, they are lower,” all this nonsense will go away. Who is higher and lower? Like some hairs are here and some are here; are they higher or lower? You can’t do without this or this! It is an absurd idea that has come into our heads that we are higher or lower.

So a gruhalakshmi is the one who has to be a noble woman, has to be an example in the family. Like, if a housewife herself is a drunkard, marries ten times, what will happen to her children? Just think of it, such a woman. A woman who has no sense of chastity, no sense of auspiciousness, no sense of protection for them, what can she talk? Who is she? What does it matter? I mean what comfort can anybody give to a housewife? She is the one who is the source of comfort; what comfort can you give her? To her the greatest comfort is that you eat your food properly, you sleep well, you keep well; that is the greatest comfort.

So this is what one has to know: that gruhalakshmi is the woman in the family, she is the gruhalakshmi. But the man should not be a wolf also. A gruhalakshmi cannot marry a wolf, you must understand. If the man is a wolf, then he doesn’t deserve to have a gruhalakshmi, but he can have a she-wolf as his wife; that’s a good idea. Then they can fight, quarrel, have all kinds of divorces, this thing. But it’s the responsibility of the gruhalakshmi, to begin with I must tell you. To keep the balance it is her duty. It is not the duty of the other people in the family. It is she who keeps. She doesn’t give up at any cost. Of course, if he’s a wolf: all right, he can go to the forest. She’s not bothered.

But the men must understand [that] the more you start respecting the housewife, the gruhalakshmi, in the family, the more there is respect, the more there will be settling of these women in their proper places, becoming proud of their houses and families and their own set up that they have put in. They’ll feel they’ll have a meaning, and the whole society will change.

But if the men run after dirty women and cheap and street women, then the same housewives can take to that. So that is very important, that they must be respected, because they are gruhalakshmis. That is one thing.

The second thing is, they are also rajalakshmis. Rajalakshmis are the goddesses who are looking after the country.

Like England has a Rajalakshmi too. Now, we say, we can say, the princess now (Princess Diana) is, she’s a rajalakshmi. She is a woman with dignity. She carries herself with that bashful sweetness and all that, she’s a rajalakshmi. Our Queen is very good too. But, we can say, other people in the same family are funny. They belong to Royal family [but] they haven’t got that strength of character to belong to that.

They have all the privileges, but they think they have all the rights, but no duties. And as that also the rajalakshmi can be very funny. Like in this country there has been curses on curses, because of seven queens were murdered in this country. I mean, I can’t think of any country where even one queen can be murdered by the king.

This country has a very funny curse of these seven women who were killed like this. I mean, what sort of women they must have been, and what sort of queens they must have been? I mean, there’s nothing of a rajalakshmi.

A  rajalakshmi is a dignified woman. She is the one who is the glory of the country. She has to be a glorious woman. She has to be a woman with all the attributes of a queen. And that is the Rajalakshmi: is the, is the queen, or the goddess, that is the queen; and She resides in every country. Every country has a Gruhalakshmi, and if that is insulted, then the people suffer. They will suffer in so many ways, like they will have money problems, they’ll have financial problems, they’ll have also have problems of society; all kinds. Because whatever the queen does, whatever the king does, it is done by others; but specially the queen. Most of the fashions in England have come because the queen started it.

So whatever she does, she’s so important and she has to have that idea in her that she’s the goddess. She has to represent that goddess which resides in every country. So that is the Rajalakshmi.

Now, in countries where there is no [monarch], in democratic countries, then all right, then the first lady of the country should behave. Not like the American lady (Jackie Kennedy) who married a tycoon somewhere, an old man, and is now a photographer! What is this? So cheap, it is so cheap! She doesn’t deserve to be there. There’s no dignity about her. She’s competing herself with cheap street women. She should know that she is the first lady.

In the countries where there is even, say, not democracy, and other sorts of governments are there, there is also a first lady. And why now these first ladies also have become competitors and they compete there with their husbands and try. Wherever they have tried such a trick: Even Bandaranaike tried these things; she failed. Anywhere they tried to outwit their husbands by this, they will failed, because God is not with them. They are there because they are first ladies, and they should take all pride within themselves. Even if they feel they are a little bit let down by people, not respected. But if she respects herself, nobody can be disrespectful to her. She should keep her respect and everybody will respect her. But just to punish people, if she has to behave like this, that means she has no value of her own.

So the first thing that one, Lakshmi, gives you [is] the value system. Your value system is corrected. You evaluate yourself properly. Like, you know the value of this and value of that and value of this. But the value system for a divine person is not based on the amount of money or amount of matter it has, but it depends on what vibrations it has. So the whole evaluation system changes when you get into Divine temperament, that you start seeing things. What is precious is what has the maximum vibrations. Whatever has vibrations is the precious thing for a realised-soul, and not what is not Divine. What is not Divine, we have nothing to do with.

But you will be amazed, whatever is Divine is all very precious, also, otherwise. Like the paintings, which are done with Divinity —means the realised-souls have done — are today very expensive. May not be in those days, but now, today. Actually all the truth comes up gradually, and people can see that clearly, that there is something special about these things.

So your value system changes as your Mahalakshmi essence starts growing and manifesting. You stand absolutely open, and you find that new things, new ideas, a new valuation of everything starts coming to you. Once this happens to you, know that you are growing. You must know how to judge whether you are growing or not. And that is how you will know that you are growing in the right direction, if your value system is improving.

Today’s day is the Lakshmi’s day. I bless you with all the Lakshmi’s powers. And specially the discretion to improve your value system: what is more valuable to you, what is the most valuable thing to you; you must try to revise that.

Then there is, after this day, when they worship the first day is, they say that, that is the day when Diwali was celebrated when Rama was made the king. He killed Ravana on Dashera. And [it was] on this day that Rama was crowned, and that’s why they celebrate it.

Now, Rama is the person — at that time He was crowned — He represents the Benevolent King. And the benevolence of a king is being crowned. So that’s why they celebrate Diwali.

But we have a special significance of Diwali, it’s a very special significance, I think: that the light, that we see here, you will see it always goes upward. The fire is the element that always goes upward. It’s always against the gravity, and it is against all that pulls you down. And the light of the Spirit is also like that, it always takes you upward.

And the person who is a realised-soul is called as an enlightened person, because he has the light. And the light has a capacity to give you a full idea, to see what is what, to relate to each other, to find out the distances, and the differences, and to discriminate. So the light represents discrimination. And when you are enlightened, the Spirit is enlightened: in the sense [that] Spirit is the light, but which starts expressing itself in the atmosphere, manifesting in the attention of yours.

Now, what we have done, in Sahaja Yoga, is nothing but this is Diwali. First one light was enlightened, then that light enlightened another light, and now we have so many lights. This is the Diwali that I have. I enjoy this Diwali [more] than anything else.

Now some lights are really sometimes flickering, I know that. Doesn’t matter. Some lights are afraid of the wind that might affect it, so I have to look after them.

In India you see this part is called as aanchal (आँचल) of the mother (pallu of the sari), where she keeps her child hidden. And this is where she looks after the candle also, the light that she has kindled. And very carefully she looks after it and tries to see again and again if it is burning or not. And when she is sure that it is burning nicely, then she puts it on a higher place where it burns; not for itself but for others. It enlightens others and enlightens the path of the people who are going in the darkness.

So, for us, Sahaja Yoga today, is a Mahayoga, because it is the Deepavali. It’s not only one deepa of your Mother burning, but it’s so many lights all over the world. You know they have taken their light and they are burning. Even small children are giving Realisation. It has spread to the villages now, and is spreading slowly as the Diwali. And every day we celebrate Diwali we have more and more lights. And I am sure these lights are going to grow.

Those people, who still have flickering lights, have problems, they always have problems, and they must know that their light is to be brought in properly, into proper shape. They must put all attention to put their lights in order. If your lights are ordered there cannot be a problem, there cannot be a problem.

So the correction is also a Divine quality in you, which should work inward, by which you correct yourself.

And the other day I was explaining how you don’t have to think. It’s very simple. It’s a machinery, which is a Divine machinery, which you have found out now, within yourself. Now at this time when you have got a machinery, you don’t have to think about it. Because the machinery that is Divine, is just like any other machinery. For example, you know the machinery of the car, you don’t have to think. You don’t think, “I have to put a brake,” you just put it. When you are a master driver, you just do it, you don’t think. Do you think? If you start thinking, you will kill so many people by that thinking!

So in the same way, if you have mastered this machinery: if you know which one to move, how to move, how to work it out, if you have mastered it you don’t think about it and it just works. And that is what it is and we have to understand that, after developing Mahalakshmi tattwa, which is the main tattwa, which is the evolutionary principle by which you have evolved. It’s the ultimate, the Sushumna, the central path, which is the most important.

If the Sushumna is not all right, then you cannot do anything, because there is the flow, there is the opening, which is important, which makes you wider, which makes you deeper, which makes you greater. That is the path of Sushumna which must be always kept open. You must try to keep it open: by balancing yourself, by this generous attitude, and by seeing everything through your discretion. Keep it open. Keep your Sushumna open. And that is the path of Mahalakshmi. If you keep your Sushumna open there will be no physical problems, no emotional problems, and of course no spiritual problems. That is how one has to understand today’s Mahalakshmi tattwa.

Now at this position when you reach, you see: this position is very important at Mahalakshmi’s principle, is that it gives you the witness state, no doubt. But as I have told you before, just after this first day’s puja of the Lakshmi, when Rama was crowned, next day they have the second day. And on this second day, you see the thirteenth day, as I told you, is the day when the Lakshmi was born.

Fourteenth day is a horrible thing, which I do not want to tell you much about, because that is the day the Goddess had to fight all the horrible rakshasas. So I don’t want to talk about it much because you know all that. That is the fourteenth day.

Then the fifteenth day is the day when the moon is absolutely missing from everything. It’s absolute darkness, where you put these lights to suggest that: there are lights now, let Lakshmi come within us. So there is no spot that should be left which is dark. So everywhere the Lakshmi resides, and give us the glory of Her blessings.

Then it is the night when you have the dark night, as you call it, amavasya. Then the first night after that, is the first moon that the, you say the new moon. [When] the new moon comes up, the first day, is the day when the New Year starts for Shalivahana. As you know, Shalivahanas are my ancestors, or whatever you call it, the same Dynasty. That is the day. That day, they take a shawl, shawl of the Mother, like this, and put this water carrier on top, to suggest the Aquarius time. The Aquarius time has started according to them. They put that on top of that, and put it, like a flag, on top of their houses to suggest now the Aquarius time is there.

With the Mother’s shawl they made the flag. And on top of the flag is the water carrier, is put upside down to suggest that the Aquarius time has started, that the time of Kundalini has started, and that this awakening has to take place. That’s the first day of the year they start.

Then after that, the second day is..so it is five days actually; but why I said four days celebration is because one day is a horrid day in between. But also there’s a celebration because, after killing all these rakshasas, there were Diwali. Many a times these things happened, and every time She killed all these rakshasas they celebrated it by putting lights all around.

So after that is the second day, is very important, which is here: is the brother and sister’s special day, where the sister invites the brother to her house for food. And if he’s a small boy she will give him a bath. Even if he is a big boy he sits with all his clothes on and she puts water on him and puts something, very fragrant things, on his body and gives him a bath nicely and gives him a protection. It’s a purity of relationship between a sister and a brother.

And then the brother gives her something as a present at that time. And he may give anything: it’s just symbolic. It’s the love and affection of a brother and sister [which] is expressed at that time. It’s very important. And then the sister, actually gives him a bandhan, with actual light, which we call as the aarti they do for the brother. And that’s how they try to give a big protection to their brother. So this is the day, they call it in Marathi ‘Bhau bij’ or ‘Bhaiya duj’: that is the dwitya, the second day of the moon. That is done in India. Now it has significance because it is very important that our relationship as a brother and a sister must be strengthened, must be purified, must be looked after.

In India, even if somebody calls you a sister or a brother, then he is a sister or a brother. It’s a very difficult situation. If somebody calls you a sister, then you have to accept that situation. And if you accept that situation, all your life you have to carry on that relationship of that nobility. Whether he may be your brother or not, doesn’t matter. She may your sister or not, does not matter. But once you have said she is your sister, then all that purity is there, all her chastity is to be protected, and she is to be looked after.

So, this is how it is. These are the five days they celebrate. In short I have told you, how we Sahaja Yogis should understand, these five days are days of real festival for us because we have overcome death now, we have overcome that degradation that would have followed after it. Now we are people who are victorious. So, this is to celebrate our victory over evil, our victory over our weaknesses, and our victory towards the goal of our achievement — that is full Self-realisation. And that’s how it’s a great day of celebration, and may God bless you all.

And in this jubilation I join you all, and I am very happy that we are so many today in this country, and a day will come when we, our righteousness and our greatness will definitely enhance the path of darkness with this light, and improve the conditions, to such an extent that people won’t believe that they were living in this wretched world, and today they are in such a beautiful world. They won’t believe. It will happen. As it has happened within yourself it will happen without. And that’s what is the day I am waiting for, when such things will happen. And all these things we are doing here, leading a very righteous and a good life now, with forgiveness for others and with all the generosity: it will became a universal truth for people. And when this will become a universal happening, and when people will universally accept Sahaja Yoga, then will be the real days of  Diwali’s celebration.

May God bless you all.

So I must say, for Christmas I won’t be here. I’ll be in India. It’s nice way, you know, because I’ll escape all your presents! (laughter) You gave me so many presents last time that it was too much for me. Of course if you say that, I gave you, because that’s of course is nothing great because, you see, if you give to one person, it is too much to carry. They say you have to have a shipload.

And if one person gives to so many, it’s not such a difficult thing, isn’t it. But if everybody gives to one person it’s too much. And if one person gives to many it’s very good because the load is lessened on everyone and also shared, of that one person.

So my giving was a better thing than your giving to me, because I was really thinking of taking a ship, to put all the nice presents you gave me.

So, do you have any questions?

So, now, just, this is your ring.

Kay, here’s the ring. Simon, come along!

So, you see, today’s puja is more sort of asking for the expansion, expansion of your Sushumna; more that. So as it is, when we are doing this puja, first of all you must develop a mood of forgiving others, and forgiving yourself also; just that mood, first of all, to improve your Sushumna further to grow, first of all.

So there’s a mantra for that, “Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu kshama rupena samsthitah.” All right? And, “Shanti ripen samstitah.”

All these mantras, if you say, all of you, if you say these mantras: one you can say and they can repeat you. And then that will definitely improve. These are all mantras for the Sushumna.

I think you people don’t have any machine, a grinding machine in the thing. So I had better pay for that machine. Because I would like to give some present to the ashram. And what do you call that machine for grinding something?

Yogi: A grinder, Shri Mataji.

Shri Mataji: Become something greater and higher. That’s the point is.

(End of recording)