Shri Mahalakshmi Puja, Jaysingpur (India), 21 December 1991.
I am in a dilemma what language I should speak to you all. First I’ll speak in English, then in Hindi, then in Marathi. (Laughter)
We all have come here to Kolhapur to worship the Mahalakshmi.
And you all know about the importance of Mahalakshmi. That Sushumna Nadi is the channel for Mahalakshmi. But this principle of Mahalakshmi is only possible to manifest in us when our principle of Lakshmi is satisfied. When we see poverty in India we really get very upset about it, and think: “When will it be all right, when all these people will also get the blessings of the Divine?”
[Hindi aside]
So the principle of the Divine works through Mahalakshmi. It’s a vicious circle that you have to get to a point where your Lakshmi principle is satisfied and then only you start seeking, and that seeking comes from the Mahalakshmi principle within us.
So Sahaja Yoga grows in the middle path, in the middle section of the society. Very rich will seldom come to Sahaja Yoga, and if they come only, they’ll just take few advantages of it, and they won’t understand the depth of it. In the same way the poor cannot come. So these are like the two shores of one river that is flowing in between, and if we start expanding it, then we will definitely shower the blessings of the Divine on all both the shores, and I’m sure lots of people who look today to be poor, and who appear to be rich, will definitely become Sahaja Yogis. It’s such a vicious circle – that unless and until you become a Sahaja Yogi, your financial situations cannot be improved very much. But you cannot become Sahaja Yogi unless and until you have got your principle of Lakshmi satisfied.
But how do we get our Lakshmi principle satisfied? – That we should see.
That when we have little more money than required, then we start thinking: “What shall I do with this money?” Then some people think: “All right, I’ll have one more car, I’ll have one more house, I’ll have one more this, more that.” But sagacity sets in. A kind of a satisfaction sets in: “Now, what more?” In addition to that we have taxations, thanks to the government, and all kinds of problems. So people think: “Now, I’ve had enough of it, now no more, finished with it.” So the hankering goes away. Hankering for money goes away. In Sahaja Yoga you are so blessed that you start getting whatever you like, and at a point you reach and you think: “Oh wah, too much, now no more – I’ve all.”
This is also another way, even before your Lakshmi principle is satisfied, that if you get your Self Realization you can short-circuit the whole thing. If that is short-circuited, then also you can enter into Mahalakshmi principle. But in case where your situation is such that now you have become overly rich, and if that richness has gone into your head and you think no end of yourself, then there are still some chances of you getting into Sahaja Yoga. For example, if a very rich man is there, if he gets sick, if he gets cancer, or his children start misbehaving, or he suddenly gets a bad reputation somewhere, some sort of a shock from his right side can push him to the center.
Now the left-sided people are, who are suffering too much because they are poor, because they are lethargic, because they don’t know how to get to their jobs, they have no ambitions, nor do they compete. In a way they’re in a better situation than the rich, because they don’t have to worry so much about income tax, as if they have solved their problems by having no income, no car. If you have no car then you have, you don’t have problems of car. If you have no – I’ve done that way; I’ve, I never drive, so somebody has to drive Me. I can go by bus, I can go by rickshaw, anything. But if you drive, then you have to drive all the rest of the people!
If you have got, say, a house, you have a problem. Everything that you possess, so-called, you have a problem. And till you develop a complete detached feeling about it, the problems are there. So then what happens to you, that when you start, all these problems creeping up. In India specially I’ve seen, people become generous, very miserly people also become generous because they become so fed up with their so-called wealth that they start distributing it and giving it away.
So the principle of Lakshmi is to give away, to be generous. That principle starts working. Then the second principle of Lakshmi also works with them when they have very nice beautiful houses and things, then they want people to come to their house, stay there, see; look after, I mean, look after them and give them food and, I mean, they enjoy all this giving parties, or maybe money, anything. So this generosity starts. But that generosity also is not very satisfying. They think that: “Still this generosity is getting into my head, I’m still feeling as if I have done some great job, you see, by being generous.” Then this generosity, when it doesn’t satisfy them, then they start thinking of getting to the truth of life.
There’s a story about Shivaji, very interesting story. He was once building a very huge big fort. And people were working and he was just looking at them, and he thought: “See now, what a nice thing I am doing. I have given so much work to so many poor people.” And he was feeling quite happy about it. And he was looking at them. Suddenly his guru, Ramdas Swami came there, and they were breaking one boulder. They said: “Slowly, slowly break it. Do not hit it hard.” They were breaking slowly, ultimately they came to a stone which was just like one coconut. So Ramdas Swami took that coconut in his hand and broke it, and there was water in it and there was a frog sitting inside. Then Shivaji Maharaj realized that when God creates you, He also provides you with things. You need not be proud that you are doing so much for others. So in this generosity in the social work and so-called doing for the poor, also, you develop a kind of a very funny ego and think no end of yourself. And to pamper it also, people can give you a peace prize, can give you a Nobel prize, this prize, that prize. Then of course there’s a very hard nut they create out of your brains. That is how even this generosity can be very dangerous, which creates this kind of a feeling that we are something great, and we are doing this great work, and we are just looking after so many people.
So then we come to another kind of people who are really very miserly. They can never change. I think it’s a disease, with people who are miserly. They are extremely miserly, and sometimes I see the whole nation is of a miserly nature. They talk of money, and there’s no decency about it. Many countries, who are supposed to be very rich, we’re surprised that the people of that country are not only miserly but indecent, and can’t understand how they could be like that: there’s no culture about it. Like somebody came with us and we went to a hotel for a dinner. And after the dinner lots of things were left over, so they got up and said: “Pack it for us.” We Indians, I mean, we started looking here and there: “What is this?” “Oh, we paid for it.” Doesn’t matter, you can’t just say – do that in this country. So there’s no shame, there’s no decency, there’s no decorum about it. This is the greatest curse of being rich. People become absolutely shameless, indecent, arrogant and above all, absolutely irreligious.
So one has to fear now, those things which are so illusory and look like something being very, very great to achieve, how they can make a human being so horrible, so indecent. Because the rich have no manners at all of any kind, they have no maryadas of any kind, and they don’t care for what others are going to say, or what they have to be. So such rich countries have gone from left to right, right to left, like a yo-yo, and are still doing the same. And also the kind of a ego that comes into a rich man is really very stupid, extremely stupid, and people would laugh at them, the way they behave. You must have heard about the king who made chappals out of pearls, and there are people who are trying to show off their wealth in the most hideous manner. To them, to show off their wealth is the only criteria, but whether it is decent or whether it is decorous, or then, is it some sort of a very cultured behavior, they’re not bothered. They are the people who are killers of culture, and that’s how we find the people or the countries which are rich, absolutely kill all the culture, all the behavior, heart of human beings. And the second thing they get into is complete immorality, complete immorality: they have no morals of any kind. To them a girl of twenty years is the same as a fiancé, whether they are 80 years of age. They have no sense of proportion; extremely immoral, live a very immoral and an absolutely low-graded life which even an animal would not do. So they get even not only human, sub-human, but sub-animal also. So all the decency that comes from your culture, or all the norms that are described about the culture, just disappear. Ha, they may have a decency as to what glass should be used for which wine. Or could be what sort of a dress should be worn for a particular thing, but even that is gone now. Anything is possible: “What’s wrong?”
This arrogance of a very incorrigible ego is even thickened when there are five, six more like them, because a competition starts. One says one thing so another says even a higher thing than that, and the third one starts to compete and says something more than that; and there’s a going on, and on, and on, and on between these people, all kinds of horrible expressions of their ugly wealth. The whole society becomes so ugly. It so happened, unfortunately, that I had to be with such people also. But thank God I have My own people, now you are here, My own style, My own type. All of you are here, so close to Me, so much, and what an atmosphere you have created. Even people in Kolhapur and here are all saying: “We have never seen such beautiful people, so well behaved, so balanced. They never fight. They never say bad words, and they never hit each other.” Because whatever we had known of foreigners was this, that they would come, enter into any house -during the time of British – and get whatever they wanted. And later on – these were soldiers – and later on came the hippies. Then came Hari Ramas, one after the another, one better than the other. All these horrible experiences, and then you people coming like great blessings. They are so impressed by you. They are more impressed by you than by Me, I can tell you this much! (Laughter)
I knew that this would happen when they will see lots of Sahaja Yogis together, the way they live, the way they enjoy each other, the way they have a nice time, and the way they are detached about things. Definitely they’ll be very much impressed, and that’s what is happening today.
Translation from Hindi:
All of you have come from far away, from Delhi, and it is only love which has pulled and brought you to this place. I cannot find words to tell you how much joy it has given Me that you are all here. Of course we have been meeting often in Delhi, and I have been watching how you have progressed and grown. It is very amazing that all this has been achieved in a city like Delhi, which I always called as “Billi” (cat). I never used to call it Delhi, because, when I lived there earlier, when I got married and came to Delhi, people never talked about anything other than politics.
But in the early years, many great people emerged there. And although they also spoke politics, their concern always was, that how can we improve the condition of our people here. My father was a member of the Constituent Assembly, so all of them pondered how the Constitution of India should be framed. They discussed serious and deep topics. It was of course, politics, but between the politics of those days, and the politics of today, there is a great difference.
But then, later, no one knows how, and from where these kind of people arrived, like bed bugs, sucking the blood of the entire nation. And the way they started forming government was full of impropriety and dishonest dealings. And I began to wonder if we would ever be able to establish Sahaja Yoga in Delhi. Impossible! I used to feel, impossible! Because the only interest of the people here, was the “chair” (seat of authority).
After that, when Mr. Shastri came, I began to have hopes. But he also lived for a very short time. After that, darkness began to loom. All kinds of confusion and disorder started. One could not make an assessment. I Myself began to think that it is going to be very difficult for Sahaja Yoga to come to Delhi.
The first time I went to Delhi for a Puja, they brought puja samagri (ingredients) for Me in little little plastic containers. They might have been lying in their kitchens with kumkum in it. And when you looked closely you could see that first there must have been turmeric in it, and they emptied it and filled kumkum instead. I just shrank, and My Body became so small due to embarrassment and fear, that “what are these people doing! They are not able to realize what they are doing, and what the consequences might be”. I kept putting bandhan, that there should not be any bad consequences.
Limping along, slowly, slowly, somehow Sahaja Yoga arrived there. There used to be a lot of shouting and arguing, fist fights, dishonesty and cheating in money matters. After doing all these things, today we can see a clean and pure Sahaja Yoga in Delhi. You cannot imagine how great and important this happening is. You do not know the greatness and significance of this happening.
Because Maharashtra had a lot of saints and sadhus, who did a lot of spiritual work, people have spiritual awareness. What is Sahaja Yoga, everyone knows. The Nath Panthis have also done a lot of spiritual work. In a place like this, Sahaja Yoga should have been flourishing.
But you people did not know who Mahalakshmi was. No one in Delhi knew what is Mahalakshmi. They did not even know who was Dattatreya. I had a statue of Dattatreya, and people used to look at it and ask who is this with three faces. I thought, this is too much. They did not know what a guru is, or who was Dattatreya. This was the limit. Who was Nanak Sahib. I really felt this was the limit of non knowledge. They did not know anyone, and no one knew them.
Their only interest was, that when you visited them they would ask, would you like to drink water in a glass tumbler or a silver tumbler. I wondered what kind of etiquette this was. Also they would ask, will you eat uncooked or cooked food. I used to think that if we eat, it should be cooked food. What did they mean by uncooked food. So then they would ask, you must be eating cooked food. Then they would ask, will you drink water in a glass or silver container.
I could not understand anything. All their religious protocols were within these boundaries. That what is raw, and what is cooked; what is this, and what is that.
Then they observed Kadva Chauth (a fast undertaken by ladies); or Sakat Maharaj, a name that they had given for Shri Ganesha. The stories about Sakat Maharaj were so strange and funny, that I wondered who had told them all these tales about Sakat Maharaj. They would invite us to come and listen to stories of Sakat Maharaj. “We are hosting a recital of stories of Sakat Maharaj, so you should come to our house”. This seemed to be a very strange thing, and no one knows from where it originated. It was too strange.
In these circumstances where could one talk about Sahaja Yoga. They did not know who Mahalakshmi was; who Mahasaraswati was, nor did they know who was Mahakali. They would say, “Yes, we have heard about Kali, but who is this Mahakali. Nobody had any knowledge of anything. They neither knew about Muslim religion, nor did they know anything about Hindu religion; nor about Christian religion.
They did not know anything. Excepting politics, no one knew anything else. Which minister is occupying which seat; whose head is wearing the cap, whose cap has been removed from his head. Which Ram came, and which Ram left. That is all. They were only interested in this knowledge.
Even the ladies! And among the women the topic of discussion was – where do you stay. If you tell them your address, they would immediately gauge your husband’s position in the government. “Oh! Is your husband only a clerk?” I would say “No, not a clerk. He is in government service”. Their response “No, he must be only a clerk, that is why you live in that particular locality”. “We were given these quarters, so we are staying there”.
They could remember when your husband got his last promotion; where he figures on the VIP list, and so on. All this the women know very well. I thought – what is the need for women to occupy themselves with this kind of knowledge.
Then there is the business class. Theirs is a different occupation. At that time the war in Korea had started. “ Where is this Korea”, they would ask. “ War is going on there, maybe we can send some rice and pulses there”. So I said – “Maybe we can”. Then they would say – “Yes, it will be good for our business”. They did not even know where Korea is, but they are already planning to sell their rice and pulses there. I always used to wonder, will it ever enter their little brains that there is something beyond these petty topics.
Then further down, those who had Government jobs, used to get puffed up, and float in the air. Their feet never touched the ground. I used to sit very quiet and observe. I knew there was nothing I could talk with them about.
Then another subject of interest, was about Beauty Parlours. They asked if I went to these parlours. I said I was ignorant about these places. I preferred to keep quiet and watch, and they thought I was either dumb, or ill informed. Some thought I did not understand Hindi, and others thought I had no knowledge of English whatsoever. I thought, “Very good!”. I could sit peacefully and observe them. There was no end to gossip and leg pulling, and tripping people. If someone was progressing, how to topple him; how to trip him.
In such a place like Delhi, many years passed. I lived there. But I was not able to make any lasting friendship with anyone. Meaning I could not talk about Sahaja Yoga with anyone. I was not able to tell them that such a thing exists in the world today. Or that there is such a thing as Param Chaitanya.
If at all there was a learned person, then you would find people like, a famous writer, who is no more. People considered him to be a very big philosopher. So I went to meet him. Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri was also there with him. When he started expounding, even Mr.Shastri got embarrassed and said, “Come, come, let’s go home”. He said, “This man is so discourteous and depraved. He is describing pubs, and is claiming to be a philosopher”. So I thought, this is the state of affairs here. If this is their level, and this is how they function, in what circumstances are they living, and in what era. How can one talk to them about Sahaja Yoga.
But still I thought, let us start it anyway. But today I am acknowledging your favour, that you have accepted it. Because in this Maharashtra, where so many holy people worked hard, this Maharashtra where people had all the knowledge; you have accepted it much more than they have. And it is spreading all over so fast, and also those who came, settled down very nicely.
In Marathi there is a word “Ardhvat” which I cannot translate into Hindi. Such people are not there. You are wonderful people. I am amazed that so much bhakti, so much love, so much depth, must have already been in existence from the days of the Pandavas. That has blossomed and borne fruit now. It is impossible to believe. Those who have seen the other Delhi could not have imagined the present Delhi. We cannot imagine that this kind of transformation can happen.
So you people, without knowng Mahalakshmi, you have accepted Mahalakshmi padh (path). And you have established yourself fully into it. You do not know anything about this Mahalakshmi. What tattwa it is, or what it is called. You do not even know what Sushumna Nadi was.
A very great professor of Hindi, who has a D.Lit. Degree, he asked, “Is there anything called Sushumna”. I asked him “Why?” He said, “Some writers have written that there is a Nadi called Sushumna; and Kabir has also written. But this must be a kind of imaginary thing”. I said, “Why do you think it was imaginary”. He said, “No. What is the need to include all this useless talk of Nadis and things in poetry. These things should not be brought into poetry, and such things do not exist.” I said, “When you do not have the knowledge of such things, you should not make comments like this. You should try to find out.” He said, “What is the use even if we find out. Of what use is this knowledge”.
This caused me a lot of distress. How to make this man understand that these are things which are for our benevolence. It is the most superior knowledge, and we have to acquire it.
But whatever it is, in My opinion, whatever the situation, politics has become very polluted and ugly. And out of aversion, people have come into the Maha Tattwa. The most important fact is that even in politics, man has to develop an aversion and take to spiritual life. They come into the Maha Tattwa, and that is why there is spiritual awakening. When they see what type of corruption is happening in politics, which people think is their birthright, or it is their property and possession; then a person begins to feel abhorrence, that what is this going on. There is nothing noble or special in them. We are thousand times better than them. These people have come to liberate and improve Bharat, should first of all uplift and improve themselves. And that is why Mahalakshmi Tattwa got awakened in that place.
I Myself am amazed at this Ghaziabad. My husband was Collector in Meerut. I don’t know how many times we went to Ghaziabad. I used to think, what kind of place is this, Ghaziabad or Abad. Such horrible people that no one could find anything special in them. People of ordinary temperament, who were always jostling and fighting with each other, who spoke very rough language of Jats; and that deep down inside, there would be so much dharma in them, we had no idea. I did not know. And when I did discover, I was amazed that what beautiful people these are. Outwardly they are rough and rustic, and crude, but from inside how beautiful and special they are. This was the situation in Haryana; and now I hear that this is also the situation in Lucknow.
As far as Lucknow is concerned, I had no hopes whatsoever, because in Lucknow, just by their sweet-talking they can tie you up. But that they would go into their depths, I had no idea whatsoever. Whatever I did not envisage, whatever I did not know, that is happening with such a force, it is like a great miracle for Me. That what is this. It is the blessings of Param Chaitanya that this awareness has come in to you, and you have become spiritually conscious. Now you have all become saints and you have become the Spirit. And you are becoming the Atma. This is such a stupendous happening, which you may not realize. But I can understand. Because I have seen the previous situation, and now I am seeing this.
It is as if you visit a place afflicted with drought and deprivation, and then, when you visit it again, there is such a transformation. Everything is green, lush and bountiful, and there is joy all around. People are happy and laughing. Then you will wonder, is this the same Delhi into which I have come, or is this some other Delhi.
I am not praising you just like that. I am expressing the deep feelings of My heart. But be cautious. Many times it happens that negativities might hit us. And that is why we all should be most careful.
Translation from Marathi :
What to say about Marathi language, there is no language like Marathi, as it is a very expressive language. If I had not known Marathi, it would have been difficult to explain Sahaja Yoga. There are so many blessings of this language upon us. Maharashtra has many saints, the number which no other state or country in the world can match. Though so many saints were born, they did so much work, but we troubled them so much and killed them, we never valued or respected them.
In Maharashtra there are Ashtavinayak (8 Ganesha’s), then we have three goddesses i.e. Shri Mahalakhsmi, Shri MahaSaraswati and Shri MahaKali, I don’t have to tell you, though all of this is there. Still we remember Jejuri Cha Khandoba (one of the incarnation of Lord Shiva), then we remember Renuka Devi. Everybody knows everything in Maharashtra, which place is holy and which is not. We are aware of everything because Maharashtra state is like a temple. You go anywhere in Maharashtra, there will be a holy place. I had been to one such place called Beed. We can clearly see the impression of Kartikeya (son of Shri Mahadev and Devi Parvati). Then there is Neera river. There is place called Narsingpur where they have Narasimha idol (one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu –Narasimha), which is made of sand and there is water dripping from somewhere, which nobody knows. It is still the same as it was found; there is not a single scratch, despite of the dripping water.
There are lots of miracles in Maharashtra still I can’t figure out Maharashtra’s prowess. There are few over smart and over knowledgeable people who have been telling that there is no God and people have started to trust them. Anyone comes and says anything, we just believe it. There are few mad and fraud people who are roaming as gurus. Because of these two wheels, Maharashtra is grounded. The specialty of Maharashtra is that we should keep all our attention on spirituality; else there is no meaning to our life.
Unless and until we achieve God there is no meaning. There is so much work done by Nathpanthi’s (they were a group of religious people who emerged in the medieval period and believed that the path to salvation lay in the Realization of the formless one and through meditation of the same) who have told or explained about Realization to people in different ways. Many saints have done so much work and told people the same things, which I am telling you now. They have even used bad words, which I can’t say. I am surprised that in Maharashtra state where I have put in so much hard work, still there is disagreement between brothers and they still fight among each other. All this should get over, as this is not allowed in Sahaja Yoga. If this does not get over, then what all I am saying about Maharashtra to the whole world, will be wrong. There are so much vibrations in this state, as soon as you land here you feel absolutely different.
All these disagreements and fights are affecting the people of this place. Every house has now started drinking liquor. You will find liquor in every village. Go to the next village you will find people drinking. Something needs to be done. How this got spoilt in 20 years? We have to improve this. How? The only way out is Sahaja Yoga, by spreading Sahaja Yoga. Most important – people of Maharashtra should be aware, alert and start working on spreading Sahaja Yoga. Go to nearby villages, meet the people, young people, talk to them, and explain to them about spirituality, about Sahaja Yoga.
You can see Sakshat Mahalakshmi is sitting in this Kolhapur, still people are doing so many wrong things. Are they not scared of Mahalakshmi? They go to the temple, bow down their head, offer flowers, go home, hit their wife, give bad words and behave the way as they want, no responsibility at all. We have gone wrong somewhere and have forgotten that we are staying in Maharashtra, there is no self-respect left and whatever is left, is so wrong. It is all dumbness.
All think they are Shivaji Maharaja. If you have any one quality of Shivaji Maharaja that will be equal to the speck of dust from the feet of Shivaji Maharaja. Maharashtra Sahaja Yogis have to work tenfold as we are lagging behind. Many Maharashtrian Sahaja Yogis have told Me about – ‘this miracle happened, that miracle happened’. Agreed, lots of miracles have been witnessed, but now you should take this to the next level and lot of people have to participate in Sahaja Yoga. You have to visit nearby villages, speak about Sahaja Yoga and spread it to other villages. I told one fellow to speak about [Sahaja Yoga] and spread Sahaja Yoga in other villages. He asked Me if I can pay him 8000/-rupees, per month. I told him that our Prime Minister too, does not get Rupees 8,000/- per month.
All people of Maharashtra (Sahaja Yogis & Yoginis) who have got Lakshmi tatva have to rise to a higher level as we all have become saints. We have to bring back the glory and light to this state of Maharashtra and have to work hard for this. You will not get that peace and satisfaction unless and until you spread Sahaja yoga in Maharashtra. In Hyderabad we had some 7000 people, who had come for a public programme, listened to the lecture. In Hyderabad only one or two saints were born. We should do a public programme here, meet and speak to people about Sahaja Yoga, give Realization. I have given you all the powers in your hands, then this Maharashtra will also raise to a higher level.
You all have the good qualities, your Ganapati’s are good and you people have read a lot. People who don’t know the ‘Ga’ of Ganapati I have explained to them everything and you people, day and night who pray to Ganapati, but you don’t have any qualities of Ganapati. Ganapati, fought with the whole world, for His Mother, if you believe in Ganapati, then do something, if not do something for Me. Really something needs to be done for Maharashtra. Once we leave from here we will go to Ganapatipule.
We should decide, four or five people should come together, go to nearby villages and speak about Sahaja Yoga. Once you bring them to Sahaja Yoga, I will ensure that they will leave their drinking habits, habit of eating tobacco. We should not have this attitude that I am cured; I am happy, I don’t have worry about others and keep Sahaja Yoga to yourself. We should drop this attitude and work hard to spread Sahaja Yoga.
I have worked so hard in Maharashtra for so many years. After working so hard, it should not happen like what happened to our saints. You should spread Sahaja Yoga and only then Sahaja Yoga will progress. After going so deep into Sahaja Yoga, it will be useless, if you don’t spread it. So you will be also like other saints. If you want to spread Sahaja Yoga, it should be easiest thing for you.
You have everything; we are only spreading the work of the saints. We are completing the work of our saints. You should not have any troubles. People of Delhi, understood what I have told them. These foreigners understood. It was most difficult to explain it to them. Then what you think people of Maharashtra won’t understand? No this won’t happen. We should move ahead and start spreading Sahaja Yoga; it should not be only for you. Think of some scheme and let Me know, which all big and small villages you will visit, what you will do. Unless and until this happens, Maharashtra will not progress. God Bless and now we shall pray to Mahakali.
May God Bless You.