Easter Puja,  Ashram of Pichini, Rome (Italy), April 19th, 1987

Happy Easter to all of you!

It’s a great day to come to Rome to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. Now we have to do the Resurrection of Christianity, which is just moving in the opposite direction of Christ’s Resurrection.

As you know that Christ was just Chaitanya, but He came in the body of Chaitanya. The whole body was made of Chaitanya, and He resurrected Himself to show to the world that you can resurrect yourself also, if you can fill your body with Chaitanya.

There is always a struggle between the matter and the Spirit. In human life what we see that matter is all the time trying to take over the Spirit. And that is how we fail in our Resurrection. We fail in our Resurrection because we give way to matter. We have come from matter – easy go back to matter. But all the Christian nations have taken to the material development – identification with the matter, not the sublimation of the matter.

Why we have gone wrong is because matter has become so important to us.

We are so much identified with the matter, with our body, with all that is material for us. People are so much worried about the material things. What I find that the whole culture has become materialistic and they’re absolutely ashamed about it, but still they continue, the way it is so shameful and so degrading. It degrades human beings.

As I have come in the West I see this trend very clearly. For example, in a household whatever they purchase is for sale, all the time. So whatever they will purchase, they will see to it that it should be of a certain standard. Like, it should be, if it has to be a diamond, it has to be a perfect diamond, because it has to be sold again. If they purchase the house, they are afraid that we should not spoil it or we should not make it beautiful, we should not try to do something that will lower the price of the house because we like the particular type of decoration. Everything is for sale. They never enjoy any matter, you see. The enjoyment is not there. Whatever they buy, they think that “can we sell it back?” Say, even about – I’ve seen even precious stones. Like in India, everybody can afford to have precious stones, because the rich will buy the most expensive ones, then the poor people can buy ordinary ones, like silver everybody can have, because some can have silver which is hundred percent, some can have little mixed up, some can have with some other material.

But if you go to any country in the West, it has to have the “hallmark”, you see. The hallmark has to be there, otherwise they’ll never purchase it unless and until there is a hallmark, because the hallmark means it can be resold.

Now, supposing in India you buy some… everything without hallmarks … there’s no hallmark, but, when you want to sell it also anytime, I mean, if you have to sell it, then you go in the market and they know what is the intrinsic value of that particular silver and that’s how they pay you. But we don’t have hallmarks.

Now in gold, same thing they do is to have 9 carat gold – with a hallmark. What is 9 carat gold? Is not gold at all, but they’ll have a hallmark for that, and that will be very expensive because you see they don’t have much gold so they put a hallmark and make it expensive. The whole economy is that stupidly built towards materialism. That matter is not for enjoyment but for selling off. So they do not enjoy anything whatsoever in their lives.

Nowadays I don’t know if plastic can be resold or not, but I have seen people who are even particular about the plastic, about stainless steel, about anything that they have. May not be resold but now the, psychologically they are built in such a manner that they want to even preserve, if there’s a plastic thing, even there’s a thread, anything, a pin, they would like to preserve it, you see? Nothing like throwing out anything.

All these things will lead us into unhappiness, frustration and stupidity. So now they form an anti-culture. What is an anti-culture is nothing but is another form of materialism, which is ugliness. Like you paint your hair you become something anti-culture. If you wear holey pants then you are anti-culture. If you wear dirty clothes, then you are anti-culture. But also these are sellable. There are markets and markets where you can get all dirty clothes, “stone washed” clothes. All these fashions are coming from the two sides or two faces of materialistic attitude of human beings, and they’re unashamed sometimes the way they ask for a few things. Supposing you know somebody has forgotten a spoon with someone; so they’ll telephone three times, “have you got my spoon with you? Have you got my spoon?” Unashamed, there’s no culture about it.

While – I don’t know – might have been better before – that what I know about India, that even now, in a good family it is always said that “if somebody’s pen is with you be careful and return it back, but even if your gold is with someone, don’t ask, it’s not done, it’s not cultured, it’s not sophistication.” But the whole sophistication has become materialistic, it’s maddening, and that maddens the Western mind. For example, if you have to serve, say wines and things, you have to have different type of cups, different types of plates, different type of spoons. You’ve got spoons for avocado, you’ve got spoons for different things – I mean, you go on like mad, and if that is not with you, then they’ll laugh at you. If they’ll come in your house – “O God! They served us avocado with ice-cream spoons!” That’s the greatest sin one can commit. So the whole idea of sin becomes so materialistic and nonsensical. So the Resurrection cannot take place when the matter is so dead and gone.

Then this matter enters into the brain. When it enters into the brain it rots there. Then you start discussing about, say, banking or about how to economize this. I mean the mantra is in London, as I say, must be everywhere “Save Pounds”.

As soon as you go to the airport, there is big mantra written “Save Pounds by hiring a taxi at Heathrow”.

Just imagine – they are not even aware of what they are doing. All the time save pounds, save money, save this, save … for what?

Because they are so frustrated, the whole material stuff is so frustrating that they have to save money to get over that frustration, and the frustration is counterbalanced by drugs or by drinking wines and all kinds of nonsensical things, and also rotten cheese or some sort of a thing that is absolutely a dead matter, useless thing which makes you dead and sleepy.

So that you run away from reality, because you are so frustrated that you want to have something that will counteract it. Then with that also, when they find, it’s not done, still they are extremely annoyed. So what to do next? If you are that unhappy you have to find out something else.

As I tell a story about children who were naughty and the mother was going out so she told that “See, you are naughty children, so I’ll lock you up in the kitchen” because anywhere else they can break something, spoil something and she cannot sell them again, perhaps. So, she puts them in the kitchen thinking, “What can they ruin there?” So when she came back, they said, “We ate all your tea leaves!”

Like that, when they get so frustrated, then don’t know what to do, so they put nails into their ears, pins into their cheeks, something into their nose. They don’t know what to do with themselves, you see – so they’ll pull out their moustaches or they’ll paint their hair, or do all kinds of funny nonsensical things, absolutely frustrated people!

But the worst part which cannot be understood is that so confident about it! They don’t do it with any diffidence, it’s complete confidence.

Their attention is all over to see “Now, how we should be?”, now if they see a tree which has leaves which have become absolutely sort of crumpled down because of malnourishment, so they want to be like that. They want to become people who have malnourishment. So they look like miserable people, their cheeks are inside, noses outside – sort of thing goes on – and if you see them, they look like sickly people. That’s the sign of finding out some way of expression of their frustration.

But Christ paved the way – the other way round. He said, “Put Chaitanya into your matter”, so you’ll enjoy that Chaitanya.

Put Chaitanya, the vibrations, into the matter. This is His message. He didn’t get resurrected only like His Spirit going out, but the whole His body resurrected Himself. So He’s talking about the Resurrection of the body, of the matter, within us.

In Sahaja Yoga also when we come in, Kundalini rises, She gives you realization you do feel the Chaitanya in your hands, you feel it all around, your faces shine like beautiful lotuses, your skin improves, you look blooming, everything is fine, but still there are material attachments, which may be very subtle, could be very gross.

The gross could be like “This is my carpet, this is my car, this is my ornament” – something like that.

But if it comes to the style of Christ, you have to get identified with the matter which is vibrated, which is vibrating, which has got vibrating value – not material value but vibrating value, spiritual value, divine value. Could be anything – could be flowers, could be water, could be a sari, could be a seat, could be anything that becomes valuable, so attention starts shifting from gross to vibrations.

But, even now if you have the lurking attention into material things, then it’s difficult for you to rise fast. Everything that you use, is it helpful for your vibrations or not?

Everything that you do, is it good for your vibrations or not? Or is it the same old fashion you are carrying, like the mad people I saw yesterday – they had come for holiday and they didn’t know how to enjoy, they were trying everything, you see. They must have paid lots of money to their tourism, poor things, they must have paid lots of money in the hotels, they must have paid lots of money in the restaurant, but I felt they were not enjoying at all, none of them were enjoying – they were miserable and they didn’t know what to do, and at the end of it I was thinking, that they might just go and break their heads with frustration.

So matter can never give you joy.

Only the matter that is vibrated, that has vibrations, can give you joy. A human being can never give you joy. May be your wife, may be your children, may be your father, mother or anyone, unless and until that person is, has got vibrations, because joy is the blessings of God. And unless and until you have connected with God, whatever you may try, whatever you may acquire, you can never have that joy.

You may have that artificial confidence, because a person who is frustrated has to say – show outside that – “Oh no, I’m not frustrated. I am very happy.” It’s like to be tense and say, “I’m very relaxed” – it’s like that.

So, they may just, for keeping up the images, might say that “We are very confident”, but they’re very diffident people. They are weak. So it could be your children, it could be anyone, any human being.

Maybe you might think too much of that person, you may be very much identified with that person, you may think that this is the greatest thing, greatest person you have ever met, it cannot give you joy. But an ordinary person, a labourer, maybe a beggar, maybe somebody, a Sadhu, sitting alone in the forest, will be such a joy-giving personality.

He may speak, may not speak, will be such a precious, valuable thing for you, than a person who is rich, well placed, highly adored. That’s where Christianity has failed, coveting with the Kings.

Now this Mr. Pope here, my husband went and saw him and the Pope was very nice to him because he is, comes from a, he’s a big man in the material world. He won’t see Me! Or I may not see him!

So the whole value system, the whole value system has to change, and that value system is that you care for nothing else but for your Spirit. Nothing matters but the Spirit. The Spirit gives you the comfort of a palace. It gives you the bliss of all the protection. It gives you the joy of all the relationships of the world. Then why should you care for something which is no good? You can see it so clearly.

If you have your vision clear, you can see it so much around you, that these people look so unhappy, so miserable, running after this, running after that.

Now first they were hippies, then they became punks, now they’re becoming well-dressed gentlemen. Everything is from this to that, to that to this, leading them nowhere whatsoever.

So clearly you see that you are away from them. You are in a different realm and you see them.

So don’t go near them. Try to show that beauty in you so that they come to you and see for yourself, see for themselves, that you are resurrected people, you are resurrected. Spirit is always there in your heart, always there, watching you, seeing you, but now because the matter that surrounds the Spirit is being resurrected, is being vibrated, your eyes shine, your skin shines, your face shines, you look so beautiful – that is what is Resurrection.

In Sahaja Yoga, there’s no place for stupid seriousness. What are you serious about? “Oh, I have to sell my diamond and you know they said there’s a little black in it.” So what? Wear it. All this seriousness comes from the dead matter in your head, and you know on the dead grows the fungus, and also you know that this fungus gives you all kinds of diseases.

So keep away from all that is dead.

Only the Chaitanya makes the matter vibrate, and unless and until you are connected with God, you cannot vibrate anything.

Those great Saints, prophets, incarnations who came on this earth tried to tell this to all of us, that “get connected with God”.

Everybody said the same thing. Of course I have done the job Myself. (some children laugh) That’s good they’re appreciating it. And you have to just think about it that this connection should not be loose, it should not be disturbed, it should not be doubting.

Fix it up properly. Then you will never lose it for anything whatsoever like “My wife is like this, my husband is like this, my brother is like this”. These are the signs of very weak personalities. If you are a strong personality, with those vibrations if you are strong, then you make the other person also stronger and bring the other person into Sahaja Yoga and give him the nectar of life.

So today is the message that we have to resurrect our matter, within and without.

So you are raising your Kundalini upward, is all right. Also you have to spread it – horizontally – to your hands, to your feet, to your body, to your face, to your thought, to everything. What is a mantra is nothing but a thought which is vibrated. Any thought that is vibrated is a mantra, but the vibrations can only be carried by a particular type of, or we can say a particular coefficience is needed.

In dress, in thinking, in anything that is worldly, there is a kind of a coefficience that works out the vibrations. If that coefficience is not there, you cannot catch the vibrations and you cannot also give vibrations.

So there are only two divergences, one is the left, another is the right; there are not too many: very easy to get rid of them. There are only two turns in Italy, one is right or left. So in the same way within us if you don’t go to the left and you don’t go to the right, you keep in the center, you are vibrated, you can vibrate everything, but to keep in the center, not to go to any extremes.

Even in Sahaja Yoga there are people like mad – they meditate for twelve hours – what is there to meditate for twelve hours?

I mean you are already in meditation. Or else they will make a picnic out of Sahaja Yoga. One extreme to that. What is needed is to think that, “I am the Spirit, and I am connected with God. How much am I connected? How much I am sucking in? How much I am getting to it?” That’s all. You don’t have to do too much about it. Those days are gone when people used to break their heads, stand on their heads or go to Himalayas.

But peculiarities in temperament is not a sign of a good Sahaja Yogi. All the peculiarities come from the matter. So a peculiar person in Sahaja Yoga, maybe he might be bhootish or he might be egoistical. One of the two things in a peculiar person.

There are no peculiarities in a Sahaja Yogi. There are individualities, but not peculiarities. Means everybody will have the nose that he had, it won’t change, he’ll have the eyes which he had, but there will be a light in the eye.

In the same way we can see about our clothes – we start wearing sober clothes, but not pale clothes or dirty clothes: we wear colourful things because we are colourful. At Sahasrara there are seven colours.

Today I wore this colour, because this is the colour of Spring in India, because all the flowers are yellow and there is also mustard which is yellow and this is called as a colour of the Spring in Indian culture.

You see there’s a day on this that they wear this particular colour to celebrate the Spring, because we’re very sort of connected with the nature.

So today we have received a very nice message from New York as if they have dreamt that I’m going to wear a colour of the Spring, so I wish somebody could read it out to you what they have said, and you will be surprised how it tallies, how it tallies with what I’m wearing today – and as soon as I wore this sari the thing became hot and I knew this would be.

That is the moment it became hot and I’m sorry for that, because you are finding it rather too much.

So, today is a day to celebrate the Spring and as you know I was born in Spring and that Christ was resurrected in Spring.

So the Spring starts after the Resurrection of Christ. In the same way we are now in the Spring mood, to enjoy, to be happy, to be just blissful. But not to be frivolous, not to be vulgar, not to be childish.

That’s the way a Sahaja yogi should be and I’m very happy that at this spontaneous arrangement of Mine to come to Rome, so many of you have come. It shows how much you love Me and I can’t express really what I feel about the whole thing, except for tears coming to My eyes. For whatever Christ has sacrificed His life, which was a terrible thing to happen, that He sacrificed His life, He suffered so much, but the outcome of that is you – all of you here – who are resurrected today and your Agnyas are cleared, and everything is so very fine.

May God bless you.