Shri Ganesha Puja. Berlin (Germany), 21 July 1993.

Today we are going to worship Shri Ganesha. 

As you know, in the whole of Europe, America, England, they have lost faith in Shri Ganesh. Nor do they care for His powers and for His blessings. As a result, all His blessings are not on these countries.

The first blessing of Shri Ganesha, which I think is the highest, is the wisdom: that we learn what is good for us and what is bad for us, what is constructive and what is destructive, what should we do to achieve our Self-Realization. Those people who have got wisdom are very lucky people.

But wisdom comes from no source but your own understanding of life. When a person starts thinking, “Why am I doing such and such thing? What is the effect of my doing? What is the result of my behaviour? Is it good for me or bad for me?” then wisdom comes in. 

Even if some people know that this is bad for them, still they do not have power to control themselves. Still they do lots of bad things which they should not do. The reason is, the power of wisdom is not there. A person who is wise does not only know what is right and wrong, but also he knows very well his own power not to do something wrong. He just does not do it. 

Wisdom is a complete power within ourselves by which we try nothing: it just spontaneously works through us and we do things which are proper and right. In this wisdom, many people have risen very high in life. 

For example, we’ll take the example of Kabir. Kabir was born to a weaver, they say. They don’t think he was born to him but he was found by a weaver, whatever it is. And he belonged to a Muslim family. But he realized that the Muslims as they are practising their Islam is not going to give him what he wants. He has to seek his Self, he has to know himself. So what did he do, is to go on the bank of River Ganges in Benares, and he stayed there waiting for a great realized soul called as Ramanand, Swami Ramanand. When this Swami Ramanand came back after his bath, immediately he caught hold of his feet. After bath, if somebody catches the feet of any Brahmin, he would shout at him. But he was a saint, he was not a Brahmin. He said, “My son what do you want?” He said, “Sir, give me initiation. I want Self-Realization.” And Swami Ramanand immediately agreed. All the other people said, “Sir, he is a Muslim. He is an orphan brought up in a Muslim family, how can you give realization? He’ll not accept any of the principles which look like [they’re] coming from Hindu religion.” Ramanand looked at Kabir. He could see a great seeker there. He said, “You don’t know him, I know him.” And he took him with him and Kabira became a great saint after that. He’s accepted by Hindus and Muslims. Because he had that power of wisdom, he went to a man who was not belonging to his religion, who may have not accepted him, who might have just thrown him in the river also, possibly. But he knew also through his wisdom that this man is the one who will love me, because I am a seeker of truth. 

So this power of truth works not only that you know what is right and wrong, again I say, but that you just don’t do something that is wrong. Now one may say, “Mother, what is the source again, of this wisdom?” The source is Shri Ganesha. The source is Shri Ganesha, which is the giver of wisdom. 

Once Shri Ganesha is insulted and He disappears behind the clouds of ignorance, then people start doing things which are unwise. This happens with many things. Supposing these days, in the democratic countries, they are not supposed to say anything about the morality, about how people should behave, what should be their relationships. They don’t try to look after the society because they think looking after the society is not our job, it’s a private affair, it’s a private thing. As a result, people take freedom into their hands and start insulting Shri Ganesh. 

When Shri Ganesha is insulted, complete blockage takes place in a human being, I think. He becomes an idiot. He becomes a stupid fellow; he doesn’t understand how to go on further with wisdom. Without wisdom, whatever steps one takes is destructive. 

So this is the first quality of Shri Ganesh: that He gives us, bestows upon us wisdom. So we have to respect Shri Ganesha within us. This is very important, especially for all these democratic countries which are now going to the dogs. Their families are destroyed because their lifestyle is so horrible, their children are ruined. In every way, they are in a big jeopardy.

This wisdom can be easily brought back if we awaken their Kundalini. If the Kundalini is awakened, this Ganesha can be awakened. Because without His help, Kundalini cannot be awakened. And if Shri Ganesha knows that Kundalini is to be awakened, He forgives everything, forgets everything, and comes to assist you to support the Kundalini’s ascent. At every chakra, He’s there to support you. Till you get realization, He’s there to help you. 

In all these countries, the missing point is their wisdom. And that’s why you find so much of destruction, so much of nonsense going on, and you can’t understand why people are so stupid.

The other power that Ganesha has is He generates innocence within us. We respect our innocence, we respect our chastity, we respect a lifestyle which is decent and decorous. 

In every scripture it’s written that we should dress up in a way that we are decent and decorous and that our body should not in any way express an indecent feeling or indecent behaviour on our part. This is the reason why, in Sahaj Yoga, we have to be particular about how we dress up. 

I think Sahaj Yogis have realized that our dress should be decent, should be dignified, and that we should in no way try to show our vulgarity. Because if innocence is the most important thing a human being should have, if that is the complete decoration of a human being, then one should look after one’s own chastity and one’s own morality.

In some countries, of course, they think that chastity is only meant for women and not for men, but it’s not true. That’s what the Islamic people believe; it’s very wrong. It is meant for both of them. Like, a person who is trying to force the other side: like the men trying to force the women to be chaste and themselves are not chaste, the women will not be chaste. They may look, appear; they may try to be, out of fear. But if they get a chance, they will take to a life which is wrong. Because they see the other party, the men, trying to dominate them, then they think, “What’s wrong? If they can do it, why not we do it?” 

So the whole society has to take to a very decent life and to a very, very decorous, dignified lifestyle. It’s not only in dress but even in day-to-day life it is important. Otherwise, a kind of an insecurity starts working among men and women and too much complications, too much complicated life starts.

The third quality which I am saying, today, is that a person who is innocent should not fear, because God looks after innocent people. They’re always protected. If anybody tries to harm the innocent, God protects them. And that’s how you have seen many children who fall from high stories, they are saved and so many things happen. 

But also we see many children are being killed by people who are extremely aggressive. Of course, that is very, very cruel and wrong to do, to kill the innocent children, but when these children are killed—actually nobody is killed as you know very well—the whole world gets shaken up. [If] anything happens to children, the whole world gets shaken up. And then the whole world starts protecting the innocent. 

If some people, men are killed or something happens to them, nobody is so much bothered, but [if] even one child is in difficulty, all the people combine together to save that child. It’s so important. It’s not the child, but the innocence of the child that generates that feeling that we have to save that innocent little thing which is having a problem.

That’s why in the whole history you find – wherever there have been descriptions of children being killed or where innocence has been attacked – the whole society, historically also, has revolted against it. And this revolt comes from Shri Ganesha’s power: that He can definitely create a feeling of detest for people who try to be unkind to children. If you see in the newspaper also, they will show how the children are suffering, what is the problem of the children, what they suffer. It’s a very, very touching thing to hurt the children.

In Sahaj Yoga, we have now children who are born realized, and we understand their innocence. We try to keep them out of bounds from all these horrible things that are happening today in the world. And we are trying to look after them so that they grow up into children who are not only born realized but will save others from the dilemma of getting themselves ruined and by not respecting their innocence. This respect of innocence, once it’s developed through such happenings, through their own children, through their own relationships, then the whole nation can be saved.

Another way is to worship Shri Ganesha, which comes from the Mother Earth – the principle of innocence. The Mother Earth is so innocent. Whether you are good or bad, She gives you fruits, She gives you trees, She looks after you. Whether you are telling lies or you are deceiving people, still She does it—of course, up to a point. And after that, she may bring forth some sort of a calamity like an earthquake or something like that.

Now, the earthquake mostly is suspected always in the Los Angeles area, very much, and practically every year there is a shakeup there. The reason is, the media of cinema is in Los Angeles, and they are generating all these funny ideas about insulting the Shri Ganesha within us. This is the reason why, all the time, there is a complete danger for these people who are living in that area, who support that. Also, America seems to be quite in danger as far as the nature is concerned. The reason is, from America all these ideas ooze out and people accept them blindfolded. 

I don’t know why they accept these ideas. These ideas have come to us – we can say Freud has brought it. Now, Freud could not prosper in Germany. He was here, he was in Austria, he could not prosper here, people didn’t listen to him. But when he went to America, he got all the support. And with that support, he prospered. He got that support because he opposed completely the idea of leading a chaste life and he said, “This all absurd, this is all nonsensical and one should not listen to all these things.” And he started the whole theory on very, very demeaning principles, and people accepted them. Then the same Germans, same Austrians, same Europeans accepted Freud blindfolded, because somehow, when it comes from America, it becomes collective. Because, as you know, America is the country of Shri Krishna, who is for the people, who is for collective. And that’s how whatever comes from America becomes collective. And if it is poison, it spreads very fast and it really paralyzes the whole world.

So, now, we have to be wise to see what is destroying us and what is destroying our inner being. For Sahaj Yogis, it is very important, because if there is a cloth or a sari which is blown off by the wind, even if you can hold it on one corner you can hold it, and after some time the whole thing can subside. And this is what has to happen actually to the world, when Sahaj Yogis will hold the sari, we can call, or this universe with their wisdom and firm faith in Sahaj Yoga. Otherwise, they can be blown off also. If they are not rightly placed, if they are not grounded, if they are not fixed to their own enlightened faith of Sahaj Yoga, they can be blown off with this wind, which is there to torture the whole world, to destroy the whole world. 

So the responsibility of Sahaj Yogis is very important, that their Ganesh principle should be all right. If it is not all right, then the whole of Sahaj Yoga movement can collapse.

For ladies and for men, I have to make a humble request, that they should try to put their Shri Ganesh in a very respectable position in their lifestyle. That should be the highest, the most important. And also every day to be remembered that we are very much blessed by Shri Ganesh to get our Self-Realization.

There are so many qualities of Shri Ganesha which I have described. One of them is that He is a child and He’s very humble. He is very playful, He’s very interesting, and He’s extremely humble. And despite His weight, He is very lightweight because He can sit on a small little mouse. He doesn’t try to show off. He doesn’t have His vahanas as great as Vishnu’s or anything. His vahana is very simple, the simplest, or we can say the smallest creature which can really crawl, is a mouse. And He uses this mouse. With this mouse, He expresses His own power that He doesn’t need any other vehicle. His vehicle is His simplicity. He moves, He penetrates, and He affects the lives of people through very, very simple, sweet methods.

In Sahaj Yoga, we have to realize how do we impress others. For example, nobody will be impressed in Sahaj Yoga if you have a very great car or anything or if you have a very wealthy expression of your life. Nobody feels impressed; I have seen that. What impresses people is the simple expression of your love through certain gestures, through certain presents, through certain behaviours. And I have seen people who are very sweet, who just express themselves in such an innocent, simple, childlike manner that goes into the heart of the people. And when they describe to Me, sometimes, the Sahaj Yogis, other Sahaj Yogis, it is very surprising how they express their appreciation of other Sahaj Yogis: it’s very, very sweet and extremely loving, delicate. 

All that is like a child: how a child plays around and how he amuses you, how the child tries to do things for you. Like, I know My grandchildren, they would be sitting outside when I was having My bath. They were all born realized. So when I came out, what I find: they are sitting there with the powder to be put on My feet, with the scent to be put on My hands; all such things, they would be there. And I never told them, nobody told them, but they would be sitting there. 

If I am lying down, then they would come and cover Me up. And all the time trying to see how they can look after Me, like as if they are My parents or they are bigger than Me, and also to guide Me in a way. For example, if I am walking, then if there’s a stone or something then they would put their hands: “Nana, you don’t come, there’s a stone here. You be careful. Go that way.” As if I have no eyes to see, they are the ones who are My eyes, who are telling what to do all that. So sweet. I have seen in their childhood how careful they were and they knew what I like, what I don’t like. So sweet and so assuring, that they were all the time trying just to understand Me.

That is what the other quality of Shri Ganesha is: that He always tries to please His Mother. He doesn’t want to do anything that will make Her unhappy. He doesn’t say “no” to Her. Some Sahaj Yogis have a bad habit. If I tell them, they say, “No. Not that.” You see, it’s not to be done. The respect of the Mother, one has to learn from Shri Ganesha. 

In that, I find people are a little over-smart. If I say something, immediately they’ll correct Me: “No, not that.” This smartness is not very helpful, I think, because if I say something, if I may say also that today just now it is morning time – supposing I say – now, you will immediately go, “No, no, no. It’s not morning time, can’t you see? This is evening time.” So, what have you achieved? I know it is evening time. But why did I say “it is morning time”? Just to see. You don’t achieve anything by that. By saying, “No, not that. This was not so. This is so,” this is smartness. But with this smartness, you outsmart yourself. So what did you achieve [by] it? You see, what you have to see: what did you achieve by doing these comments or saying like this or talking like this? What did you achieve? Nothing. But you are tested all the time. And in that testing, you find out what’s wrong with you.

It’s very important for people who are more close to Me to understand that if I say something, do not take it very literally, because I am Mahamaya also. If I say something, it may be just to test you. Then you go and say, “No, not this, not that.” It’s the mind which is just absorbing, even the testing. It’s taking the testing. Then only you will know that you are being tested and that your testing is just to see how far, deeply, you understand Me.

But there are also some other people who misinterpret Me. I have seen it is very wrong to do that, but it comes because they are not wise enough. They misinterpret. They want to say, “This Mother said, that Mother said; this is not good, that is not good.” They try to show off themselves by saying that, “We have understood Mother very well.” It’s not easy to understand Me. I must tell you very frankly. You cannot understand Me very well. Only thing: try to understand yourself. I am like a mirror for you. So when you look into the mirror, what do you say? You cannot understand the mirror, but you can understand yourself. 

So whenever you look into the mirror, you try to understand yourself. You don’t look into the mirror to understand the mirror. Once you try to understand the mirror, the mirror will be broken and finished. And your image will be also finished. So this is a very simple thing, but quite subtle.

And that’s what is the quality of Shri Ganesha: that He knows what His Mother will like; each and every thing. And He does everything that is good for Him because by that He’s pleasing His Mother. His complete dedication is to the Mother. It’s not to any other thing, not to any other deities. He fought with all of them. He is not bothered about who others are. He goes to all of them through the understanding of the Mother and respects them through the understanding of the Mother.

But some people I have seen still cannot do that. They still stick on to some sort of a deity they have been worshipping, some sort of an ideology they have been having. Then they are not fully in connection with Me. And that is what [it] is, that He is just in connection with His Mother. To Him, She is everything: She’s the source of knowledge, She is the source of joy, She is the source of truth. He doesn’t have to look to anybody else.

Now, it looks very egotistical to say these things in modern times—a woman saying like that, that you all behave in that manner. But you can understand that if you have to gain anything, if you have to achieve any knowledge within, if you have to ascend higher, then you have to learn from Shri Ganesha: what He does and what is His relationship with this Mother, which is purifying, nourishing, and result-oriented, that the result is that you ascend gradually.

As I was telling yesterday to some people, that I have not said everything from the very beginning, all the subtle things. Gradually, you have grown, and accordingly, I have talked to you. If you were like Shri Ganesh, all of you, from the beginning, I would have told you everything. But Shri Ganesha doesn’t require even to know anything; He already knows. He’s a very matured person. Or we can say, the most mature Deity is Shri Ganesh.

Now, what you have done is that with wisdom you have grown, and gradually I have told you of many things. But I didn’t talk of many things, like the Genesis, like the beginning of our life, how we came. I have said it in a way, in a very, very gross way, but all in subtleties I have not said much. Because I don’t want you to get to any discussion or to any point which cannot be verified by your vibrations. 

Whatever you can verify by your vibrations becomes your knowledge. That is what gradually is told to you. You should not interfere. Or you should not indulge into those books and things which talk of the origin of the Earth and the origin of this and that. You should not get into these things because your mind will be diverted, you will take to knowledge which may not be knowledge, and then you will start thinking: “Oh, I don’t know this part. I don’t know that part.” 

What you have to know is very simple; is: what are you? You are the Spirit and the light of the Spirit will tell you everything gradually, as much as you can bear it. It will not tell you something that you cannot bear.

It’s a very good analogy when we say that you are the light. But the light which you are carrying is very different from this ordinary light. This [ordinary] light doesn’t understand and it doesn’t think. Now the light which you are carrying is a light which understands, thinks, and it gives you that much of light whatever you can bear. It won’t flash. If it will flash, you’ll be shocked. It won’t dim down. It will be absolutely in relation to what you can understand.

Sometimes the deities emit too much of vibrations in pujas, I have seen it. But if you cannot bear it, they don’t enter into you. They trouble Me, but they won’t enter into you. So, one must understand that what is important is not what you know about this and know about that and know about that; it’s not so important. What is important is what stage you have reached, at what maturity you are in Sahaj Yoga.

Now, there are so many qualities of Shri Ganesha, as I told you, which I think there’s no time today to talk about it. But gradually I have been talking about all His qualities. And all of them can be expressed and manifested in your being if you are really respecting Him, absolutely. That’s the only way one can manifest His qualities.

May God Bless you.