Shri Ganesha Puja During 3 Day Seminar for new People, Seminar Day 2, Santa Cruz, California (USA). 2 October 1983.

[Part 1]

When you are all meditative and inside I also find it difficult to be outside.

So today you have arranged to have this puja here. Just before that you have to prepare yourself physically and mentally. Physically you must give yourself a bandhan and a bandhan is nothing but, that you give yourself a protection to your aura. How you do it is very simple which I will tell you just now how to do it and then you sit down for your puja. Then mentally you have to put yourself right. First of all, you should not feel guilty at all. If you are guilty, you cannot do my puja. So you should be absolutely above that. There should be no tension in your mind. You are not guilty; you are in the present. See like flowers, you are looking. How can flowers be guilty? First get out of that guilt business. You should not feel guilty or tensed up. Everything that is done is the best. You shouldn’t worry about it. It’s not your responsibility even to arrange it. Just think that everything is done sahaj. Gradually when you’ll move in Sahaja Yoga, you’ll be surprised to see how things are arranged just beautifully. When these people just were finding out a place there was no place for less than $250 each. They said this is rather too much for everybody’s pocket. And then suddenly, spontaneously they found this place. When they said $50 nobody could believe. They thought that we’ll just get some porridge in the morning and the rest of it will be fasting. So many were rather worried. Some thought it was a scout camping ground or whatever it is and quite worried when it started raining. But this is all God’s grace to get such a place, such a comfortable place for you. You come here and everything is arranged by God’s grace. So first we have to remember that it is all arranged through God´s grace.

If something is not arranged just forget it, just leave it, just don’t worry. That is the best way you have to live. Then what happens is that you become one with the present and you can overcome all your problems of tension. Tension mounts up when we want to do which we are not supposed to do, which we are not successful [Unclear /with]. Is also a mental barrier between ourselves and our mind that we want to do a particular thing in a particular way. If you can give up that, then you will be surprised that you become absolutely one with the Divine and you start working it out in a very beautiful manner.

Now see the root of a little seed. It just sprouts, it goes this way. If it finds there is an obstruction, there is some sort of a stone or something, it goes round it. Then it finds other obstruction, it goes away from it. It doesn’t fight that just says, “All right, let me find my own way.” Then he uses the same stone for holding the tree. So clever, he goes around the little stone and uses that for its own purpose.

This is how a Sahaja Yogi should behave. Not to take responsibility and put others into tension: “This must be done.” “This is not here.” “That is not there.” It’s not necessary. It’s your love that is important.

For which you must have heard the story of an old woman who was living in a forest. Her name was Shabari and she heard that Shri Ram was going to come in the forest. She was so much elated, so much happy. Such an innocent woman, she didn’t know what to do. So when Rama came she gave him Him, we have some kind of a berry, we call as ‘ber’, she gave them to Him to eat and she told in very great innocence that every one of them I have tested to see that they are not sour. And she gave them to Him and He ate them so lovingly.

So His brother was a hot-tempered fellow. He got very angry. He said, “What is this? This lady has no sense. She is giving all these things which are eaten by her, first of all.” Which we call as ‘uttishtha’ – means somebody has eaten it, then you are not supposed to eat it, even your brother, has eaten something, you cannot eat that. It’s regarded as something not good, not auspicious. “And this lady, an old lady with her few teeth that are left, she has just pierced every ‘ber’ and has given to my brother.” Very furious.

So Rama’s wife, Sita, was just smiling at the whole thing situation and then Rama gave that ber to His wife and She ate it. She looked at Her brother-in-law She said, see brother-in-law “These are the best bers I have ever eaten. I’ve never had such a taste before. But I’m not going to give you anything.” See, the best way to challenge the ego is not to say that you are not going to have it.

He said, “Why?”

She said, “No, I won’t give you. You won’t have them, I will not. I will eat all of them.”

Then he said, “No, how can you eat all of that?” He snatched some of them and he ate he also felt the same thing.

Because they are given out of love. Whatever is done out of love is thousand-fold better than that is done out of tension and problem. I should never like to cause any tension in your mind of any kind.

So for small, small things you should not worry. You must give up your tensions absolutely and understand that you are the children of God. You are to be looked after. You are to be given everything that is available in His realm. So you should not get into tension at all, firstly, not to feel guilty, thirdly to feel that we had to go to this guru, that guru? All right, forget it. Forget it. Whatever has happened has happened. Forget it. Don’t worry on that point also because that will tag you down all the time saying, “Why did you go to that guru? Why did you pay money to this fellow?” Why did you do this? So just tell your mind, “I am not bothered. I am not bothered. Whatever has happened, has happened that person is finished.

Now, whatever my egg has done, now I am a bird. I have nothing to do.” Be in the present, that is very important. Be in the present, have no guilt, have no worries of the past because if you worry of the past, you can never enjoy the present. You are here to enjoy and not to worry about the past. Whatever has happened, has happened, just forget it.

I hope you understand this very well and to forget whatever has happened and forgive. There are Sahaja Yogis with you. Enjoy life. Always try to see the good points of other Sahaja Yogis and not the bad points. Normally we try to find out what’s wrong with another person, especially when we know about chakras. We just understand that this person has got these very bad chakras. Then the only thing what to do is to give yourself a bandhan, which I will tell you, and deal with the person. But when you know that person has this sickness or this kind of a chakra caught up, no use arguing, no use telling them. Let them come up, they’ll come right. Tell them that this is what it is. At the most you can tell your children, you can tell your wife, someone. But somebody who is not that closely connected, you cannot put Sahaja Yoga into their heads. You cannot force Sahaja Yoga into them. Sahaja Yoga cannot be forced into anyone whatsoever. It has to be accepted asked for it. It has its own protocol. It cannot be just poured into your mouth, that you’d better have it, is a wrong thing.

There are some people who still have lots of doubts, I know that, who are sitting here who have doubts. These should go away. Because then they feel guilty, “I have doubts.” Please get rid of those doubts if possible because I do not want that you should feel later on that, “Oh, Mother, we doubted you.” Just now better get rid of the doubts. One thing one should understand that Mataji has nothing to gain from us. We cannot give Her anything. We cannot give Her anything. Only we have to take from Her. If you understand that then you’ll have no doubts because that is one of the fears people have that I’m going to start having something from you. So once you understand that she has nothing to take away from us, she has to give us something. Supposing I say there is a diamond available here free for you, will you doubt me? You’ll say, “All right, let’s see if it’s a diamond or a first. That’s how your attitude should be. So those who have doubts should know that those who have doubts will go very slow and they may be thrown out. So please  do not have any doubts. A doubting mind is the most troubling thing. It will never allow you to enjoy your spirit. There is no need to doubt about it. This is, open, everything is so open, there is no secret about it. You understand that and try to imbibe the quality of a good Sahaja Yogi, of a Sahaja Yogi who is steady. By doubting, the steadiness will go away and if a tree is not steady how will it imbed itself? So it’s important that you should give up all doubts. And you are so quickly into it. Seldom we do such a thing, too much of a thing, I mean never done like that before. It’s an experiment. We want to see now how it works out. It’s really an experiment. We have never done like this before. It’s a very dangerous thing. I’ve seen it that people who get into puja then they might get little stomach pain or something, or something will happen to you by which you will be cleared out, little bit. Not much but then you’ll feel much better out of that.

So it is a thing that has to happen. It’s just like an operation which takes place. So first we used to do is the cleansing of the people, of the chakras, this, that. When they are cleansed and have reached a certain position then only they were allowed to do my puja.

But I found that when I first came to America, I did not talk about puja at all. I talked about abstract things. I didn’t want to say about these things. We did not do any puja, we did not establish Shri Ganesha, nothing of the kind, and as a result of that people who came to me got lost. I didn’t tell them how to keep their health all right or about anything. It was such a short time and the whole thing was a bad response from people that I thought it better to leave it now.

But now time has come for all of you to have it in a big way because you are all seekers, and we cannot delay it anymore. So come to me without any doubt. If you have doubts, it’s better that you go away. It’d be a better idea for me and for you also. When your doubts are removed then you come for the puja. Don’t sit here with your doubts, otherwise I will have a headache. Apart from that you will have a headache.

So sit in a very cheerful mood, in a receptive mood and see for yourself what happens to you.

May God bless you.

[Part 2]

Shri Mataji: Did you tell them what we are going to do?

First we are going to do Shri Ganesha’s Puja. Now Shri Ganesha’s Puja is done by washing my feet. Everybody is not going to wash. I wish everybody could do because with that your hands open out very much better. Everybody who came in San Francisco washed my feet, felt it well. But we have to have some selection of people who we think are all right. They are going to do the washing. But the rest of them, I’ve told them, this water which is vibrated you should put it on your head to baptise yourself. But nobody should touch that water. When that water is washed out, when you have taken the thing, just with a spoon you can put it on the head and then with your hand you can rub it. But I think the best thing is would be to put it on the head little bit or put it on your hand first, clean it and then when you put it on the head you can rub it. Because your hands will show all the vibrations, if anything is spoiled or even if there is any defect. Best is first to wash your hands, then put it on the head so that it is cleaned out. We are taking as a precautions because it’s a very fast thing we are doing and we are taking a precaution. we have to be fast now. So we have started this thing and we may lose some of you, I know that, but doesn’t matter. Some can be lost but many can be brought up. So it’s a big operation which, I hope carefully done, may work out wonders. So be careful. Now don’t start thinking that I may be one of them who will be lost. There are people who are thinking like that. It should not … whatever I say should not … also create a doubt in your mind about yourself. That’s the main point. 

If you have doubts about yourself you’ll have problems you see. So don’t have doubts about yourself that’s very important because if you have doubts then nothing can be worked out. So the first thing is Ganesha. Ganesha is the innocence within you which is very important to be awakened in America. It’s very important. So the first thing we are going to do is the Shri Ganesha’s puja. Innocence. And Ganesha incarnated on Earth as Christ which can be proved also. Through Kundalini awakening we can prove it. So once that happens to you that when your innocence is awakened you’ll be happy to know that most of your diseases that come from the spoiling of this chakra specially. So many diseases that are like that, all these bad diseases are checked. Ganesha is the greatest power you see because he is innocent and the innocence, if it is awakened within you, you’ll become a very powerful person and most of the diseases are sort of cured which are connected with this chakra. So today is not the time to tell you about what the diseases are and how they are checked and all that. All the combinations and permutations of this chakra because other chakras which give you horrible diseases, incurable diseases can be checked and then how to completely cure them for that you have to know the combination of these. When you know the combinations of these then you can check them also completely to get it cured. But at least they do not advance any more. Wherever they are they get completely under check and gradually they go down. But to expedite it you have to understand the complete combination of centres. The chakras, their combinations, then what mantras to be said, how to operate it and everything if you learn it takes hardly any time. Luckily they have offered us another time in this place in the end of October. What is it?

Danny: The 21st of October here. The people who run the camp like us and they’ve offered the camp. Actually the camp has closed. They’re closing it completely. But they’ve offered us the place if we wish another seminar for a weekend and 21st would be an opening day. If anyone is really interested, let me know before we leave here today so I can tell the owners of the camp that would be okay.

Shri Mataji: That would be a good idea. That would be additional help to  you and there will be people who will tell you about this because they are all here ‘till one month at least so we can work it out that way. And then Santa Cruz Program we have cancelled for the time being because the response in Santa Cruz itself has been very, very poor. People come for a month or so and then they disappear. This is a very shifty people. They take again back to drugs. They have no will power left in them. Those people who are settled in Santa Cruz, there are very few people who have that will power. They have become like old people who have no will power in them left to stand up to the truth. And that’s how they have shown no results of improvement. This is the only place where we’ve had to recede back. We have to recede like the root has to recede at certain places. Then later on when San Francisco develops into a good centre, people also from Santa Cruz can go there because they like to travel. If you make them travel, make them suffer a little, they like it. If you tell them it’s all here just now sitting down you’ll get it they’ll say, “Oh, that’s too much.” That’s the nature of American people you see, they want to travel, have some adventure something. And they want to do like that. So it’s all right. Let them travel to San Francisco and suffer a little and then get there, settle down whatever it is. San Francisco is going to be a very powerful centre and people from Santa Cruz can go there and work it out and I think if they can go there then they might develop that earnestness to develop it and to settle down. So the responsibility is very great on all of you who have come. You all represent here the foundation of Sahaja Yoga in America. You are the ones who’d be held responsible for the emancipation of this coast specially that so many, I think at least 60% of the seekers are born in this part of the country and are there still 60% of the seekers are here. Some of them are lost because they have gone in a very wrong way, headlong. But you can save them. You can first of all establish people who are perfectly all right, then there are some who are a little bit spoiled, then there are some people who can be brought in. But those people who are absolutely gone cases you should not worry just now about them. You build up all such people together and then it will be greater force for you to pull out all such people who have no will power. Because you can give them the will to come out of the problem. We have to save all of them. Try to save all of them. So, it is better that you do it in such a way that you first build up your strength and then you try to pull them out and we can do it. I’m very happy to see so many people here. I’ve great hopes now from America and I’m sure we can save this great country by which we save the whole humanity. This is such a great news for all the Sahaja Yogis all over the world. They are so anxious. People have come from India, have come from Australia, have come from Europe. They have come from all over the world.

From England and every place they are here just to pull out some Americans out so then they start doing their job. Next time we have to export Americans. May God bless you. One thing one should avoid during puja or otherwise also is shallowness. We should not judge puja on a shallow basis because it works out on a very subtler way. So shallowness must be avoided in Sahaja Yoga. Shallowness or all the time saying that we are new to this. There is nothing new because everything is within you which can be activated. There’s nothing new. It’s all within you. As any Indian is, you are. There’s no difference whatsoever. Only thing they have a little advantage that they can understand me faster than you can because they have had the education. But as far as the mechanism is concerned you are just the same. So don’t have the idea that you are a new nation or all these things have no meaning at all. You are ancient people. You are seekers of antiquity. So just don’t worry about these things that we are a new nation. You were given this nation because you did such good in your last life.

May God bless you.