Guru Puja, Cabella Ligure (Italy), 04 July 1993.

Today we are going to have Guru Puja.

I am supposed to be your guru but I feel sometimes that the idea of a guru is very different from mine. Normally, a guru is a very, very strict person and has no patience of any kind.

Even, say [in] music: there are gurus who teach music in India; so all the disciplines have to be absolutely followed. I know about this great musician, Ravi Shankar. We had been to Maihar where he came and my father was very much respected by his guru, Allauddin Khan saheb. So he asked him, “Why don’t you play something?” So he didn’t tell him anything [at] that time. Then he showed a big bump here. He said, “Sir, do you see this?” He said, “What?” “My own tanpura he broke on my head, because I was a little bit out of tune.”

Otherwise, he was a very nice man, I must say; I knew Allauddin Khan saheb. But when it came to teaching…

It’s a tradition I think, that you have to put all kinds of disciplines on the students but still the students stick on to the guru. They look after all the time. They are bothered with the guru. If the guru, he wants this thing, they’ll run, if he wants this, they’ll do.

A guru goes on taking different types of tests of the disciple. Like Shivaji’s guru asked him that, “I would like drink the milk of a tigress.” So he said, “Alright. If my guru has said it, it is his lookout.” So he went to the forest and he saw a tigress sitting there. She had already finished giving milk to her cubs, so he bowed before the tigress and he said, “See, my guru wants your milk. Will you please give some milk for my guru.” And the tigress understood it. She stood up and he took out the milk of the tigress for the guru.

So, in this, one can see in the obedience of the guru, one achieves even the impossible things. Another time his guru said that he has got a big boil on his leg and that it is alright and anybody who will suck it has to be my disciple and my disciple, when he sucks it, I will be alright. Now, everybody was so averse to a thing like that. Shivaji maharaj said, “Of course I will suck it.” He bent down and he started sucking it from the bandage that was there, and it was a mango!

So there are two, three types of tests [that] are all the time taken, of the disciple.

Firstly, how much they obey you. But, as you all have got Realisation, and you are your own gurus, I don’t put that condition on you. I leave it to your freedom. I tell you earnestly, in all the way possible, what I think [is] good for you, but I don’t compel, like these gurus used to do. I mean, they used to beat! They used to hang them on a well. They were so very strict with their disciples. And I have had an experience of this. They never used to smile. No question of laughing! And would never show any kind of weakness of kindness for the disciples. This is about the spiritual gurus I am telling you. But those who wanted their ascent, wanted their Realisation, would go on passing through all kinds of tortures that they put on them.

Some of the gurus, who didn’t like some disciples, they would tell them, “Alright, you now stand on your one leg all the time.” So they’re standing on one leg like a crane. Another one, they would say that, “You stand on your head!” The way they used to treat their disciples was rather difficult for me. I can’t do it. All the time the compassion becomes the tears in my eyes; I find it impossible. I may just say it in a way, sometimes also, say it in a way that looks like little scolding. But to be a Mother and to be a guru is the most difficult thing.

I do not know what comes first. But, of course, every mother wants her child to be good and the Holy Mother wants Her child to be a holy person. The first thing is the holiness. Now for that, how can you compel someone? Only thing that makes you understand is this – that if you don’t become holy, how will you get your ascent? We have to be holy. What discipline one can put for making a person holy? What can you force? What can you get angry for? Only method I use, normally, is to forgive. Maybe the forgiveness is the highest quality, I think, for teaching people. When they know that they have done wrong and they confess it then you have to forgive.

Like, in the life of Buddha, there was a man who was abusing him without understanding, and when he finished with his abuses and Buddha had left, people told him, “Do you know whom you were abusing? It was Lord Buddha!” He got a fright of his life. He said, “Where is he gone?” “He’s gone to another village.” So he went to another village and he said, “Sir, I am sorry [for] what I said. Please forgive me. It’s all wrong and I should not have done it. You can punish me the way you like.” Lord Buddha said, “When did you do that?” He said, “Yesterday.” He said, “I don’t know yesterday. I know only today.” Even when you tell these things, how great one feels, isn’t it?

So your greatness, your nobility, will definitely influence people. It’s not by fighting, by quarrelling, by saying harsh things [that] it is going to work out.

Also the gurus used to control the children very much, the disciples very much. Absolutely control. You have to get up at four o’clock, sit down for meditation. If you have not got up, they would beat! I can’t understand [this]. Sahaja Yoga is very different from all other gurus because we believe in the power of love. Power of love teaches you how to be forgiving. It makes you noble. It makes you very balanced.

So the gurus who were there for bhavasagara, to establish dharma in the human beings: first thing they had to [do was to] balance themselves, against all practical things, as they call it. They think it is not practical. But they said, “No! For us, this is higher, nobler and important.” So they would balance people because they had this power of love within themselves. All these Adi Gurus and their incarnations, if you see them, they always had balance and always praised the love of God.

When we talk about Realisation one has to know, first of all, that we have to have patience with ourselves. I know some people don’t feel so good, some people still have sicknesses, some people don’t even feel vibrations sometimes.

Have patience with yourself! When you become your own guru, first thing, as the guru has patience with his or her disciple, you must have patience with yourself. In that patience, you will learn that you can tolerate so many things without any trouble. There is, say, one person who goes on grudging, “Oh, this is not good. That is not good,” because they have no patience with themselves. If you have patience with yourself, everything you’ll accept.

Wherever you are, you are with yourself, because you are Realised-souls. So you won’t frustrate, you will not get angry and also you’ll not go on grumbling and grudging, because you are enjoying yourself. Even if there’s a mattress, alright. If there isn’t, you can sleep on the grass. If [there’s] no grass, you can sleep on the stone. And also you need not sleep, like last night. Makes no difference whatsoever.

The first thing I find with people [is] they have no patience with themselves. Firstly, maybe, because they are conditioned. Say, if you have a Left Vishuddhi, [if] by any chance you have been a Catholic or TM or something – then all the time you start pitying yourself, thinking no end of your miseries and troubles and always try to condemn yourself. You are a Realised-soul and you have no business to condemn yourself – no business. Like a person who is getting drowned, has been saved, has come to the shore, now is doing nicely, he’s got his second life, and there he’s still trying to express his agony, as if he’s getting drowned. So you have to awaken yourself: “No, no! No more I am there. I’m finished. It’s gone now. I am different. That was somebody else. I am not the same person.” This is how you have to tell yourself, very clearly, that, “I am not going to condemn myself.”

It was your right to get Self-realisation. You got it. And then you cannot enjoy it because you have these conditionings. Especially in the West to be miserable, it is very fashionable. There are miseries of people who have no miseries! So, for such people who have imaginary miseries of the past, which do not exist in reality, they cannot have the joy of reality. They cannot.

So, for a Sahaja Yogi, it’s important that he should have joy within his heart. It’s like an ocean. It’s like an ocean which is there, all the time, to give you such thrills. Even little drops of this ocean, when they trickle down in your being, it is so soothing. The experience can be only experienced. But it’s all waiting within yourself. And such a person also makes others joyous. He cannot see another person unhappy, in trouble. He himself is full of joy and spreads joy all around.

You can get joy from small, small things, because you have the ocean and a little thing that drops into the ocean creates such beautiful ripples; they touch the shores, not only of your own being, but of others. Very, very small things make you so very happy, and that all the time you are just like a surfing, as they call it these days, on this beautiful lake or a beautiful ocean of love.

Love is joy-giving. It’s not carnal love, it is Divine love. So, as Sahaja Yogis and as gurus, we have to love ourselves and understand our own value. I think Sahaja Yogis have not yet understood their value. How many people in this world can give Realisation? How many know about Kundalini? How many have seen people being resurrected all the time? You are made so powerful that even looking at people, you can give Realisation.

In ordinary love, in carnal love, people have fear. They are afraid that their beloved might depart or might get sick, might happen this and they might be all the time under fear; resist enjoying. But, for you, you are with your Self and you are always protected. If your attention is bad, for a second even, immediately you know you are going wrong. You protect yourself from yourself!

As soon as you get some physical problem, you can feel it. You know how to cure yourself. But again, one has to have balance. If you are off the balance, then you don’t even feel vibrations, you don’t even feel what’s wrong with you, you don’t know which direction you are moving, whether you are getting destroyed. And this balance has to be established by all the Sahaja Yogis.

These imbalances come to us because we still think about our past or maybe about our future. We worry about these things. What is there to worry when all the angels and all the ganas are working for you? You just have to order, that’s all!

But it’s like sometimes a person is made a king and is put on a throne, but before that he was a beggar, so anybody who comes to bow before him, he says, “Alright. Give me one pound.” You have to know that you are all Realised-souls and that you have all the powers within you. Only thing which is very important is the balance.

In Sahaja Yoga also people get into imbalances. How? Like I have seen people who are, say, afraid of these worldly laws. They don’t know there is such a powerful energy all around you. Nothing can stop you. Nothing can arrest you. Nothing can find faults. But when you start doubting, like yesterday’s doubting, when you say, “But…” “But…” When you start thinking about the man-made laws, then the God’s laws fail you. Otherwise, nobody can punish you, nobody can arrest you, nobody can do anything to you. You are absolutely protected.

So the main difference between the old style of guru and the modern style of guru is this, that the old gurus used to say, “You must suffer.” Alright, you have to be arrested is very good. If they give you poison, take the poison. If they want to slap you, take slaps. Whatever they want to do, you should accept because is your suffering. Not in Sahaja Yoga, because your Mother is sitting here. How dare anybody touch you! No one can harm you. You have to believe me when I say that. No one can harm you, but you must have that faith within yourself. Nobody had Adi Shakti as the guru! Adi Shakti, the one who has all the powers of the world. So who can harm you? Who can torture you? Who can trouble you? Except for yourself, if you want to torture yourself [then] nobody can help you.

So the greatest difference between this disciple of other gurus and yourself is – you don’t have to suffer. You are not to suffer. And even if there’s somebody who has some negativity, in that person: some Sahaja Yogis still carry on poor things they cannot help it they have been to wrong gurus or something. So they’ll meet with an accident, maybe they might face something terrible. But suddenly they’ll find they’ll get out of it. [It] may be the negativity of somebody else, some relations, some brothers, sisters or maybe of the nation. But you’ll get out of it.

It is a very remarkable thing in Sahaja Yoga that there are people who are catching: “Mother, my heart is catching. My this is catching. That is catching.” But once they want to give Realisation, it just moves, the Kundalini moves.

Whatever you may be, whatever may be your problems, but you raise your hand and Kundalini moves. I mean, any instrument which is spoiled – say, supposing this fan is spoiled – it won’t work. But not Sahaja Yogis, they work out. Of course, if they don’t practice Sahaja Yoga or if they don’t give Realisations to others, then, of course, it can be a junk then. Supposing you don’t use your car, may be very good and you don’t use it, it becomes a junk.

So you have to give. You have to give Realisation, all of you, whether it’s women or men, whatever country you may belong [to]. You have to give Realisation. You have to allow this energy to go and work, otherwise it will suffocate. I have seen many Sahaja Yogis who have not done anything like that, they are very nicely [saying], “Mother, we worship you at home.” They suffer from, also, arthritis or other kinds of things, spondylitis’ sometimes they’ll have, or they may have cellulitis. All kinds of things they can have!

So you have to use your energy for giving Realisations to others. It’s alright, in protocol, if you don’t understand, you are forgiven. Anything you might do out of innocence or ignorance is forgiven. But knowingly, if you want to do something, then I don’t know the repercussions, because the area where you are is safe, but if you want to get out of that area, then [on] all sides there are horrible negative forces working and you are captured into that. That’s not the mistake of Sahaja Yoga.

To find faults with Sahaja Yogis or with Sahaja Yoga is another mistake we commit sometimes. Say there are ten disciples with a guru – very good excellent guru – if they complain about any one of them, immediately the guru will say, “You get out!” They have no business to complain about each other. On the contrary, if this hand is paining, then this hand doesn’t complain to the brain, but tries to soothe it.

So, Sahaja Yogis are gurus who belong to the collective. They move in a group, as described by Gyaneshwara. That you move now like the enlightened forest, which gives whatever people like, want to have – kalpatarus. And he says, “You move like oceans and talk about God.” It’s not one single man standing and saying something. We saw yesterday in [the] drama how a single man had to suffer. But you are in a group, and all of you move in a group, together, with one understanding. Such a powerful group it is. They bring ambrosia to the people, according to Gyaneshwara.

But this power of collectivity that one feels is the first judgement of a person. Those who cannot be collective are not yet Sahaja Yogis. Some people think that they have served me, they have looked after me, they do my puja or something, so that they have a right to scold others, to get angry with others, shout at them, tell them work, do all kinds of things. It’s not so. You are a Sahaja Yogi when you are absolutely collective, otherwise you are not a Sahaja Yogi when you are not collective. It’s so simple that ego, the conditionings of ego, or conditionings of the past may keep you away from others and there is no connection to the Divine any more left. Those who are not collective people have no relationship with the Divine.

You have understood now what is collectivity is. Most surprising thing is, for me, that, by giving Realisations to you, I find it very easy to talk about subtlest of subtle things to you. All these things I don’t think any guru could have talked – not possible. It would not go into their heads. Very subtle it is. You have become subtle and the subtleties have their own beauty: in expression, in talking, in behaving with others, in understanding. It’s so sweet and so beautiful. The collective feeling is something like a little particle of clay thinks it is a mountain; like a drop becoming the ocean. But if there’s one drop who says, “No, no, no! I can’t be collective. I stay on the shore.” Alright, the sunshine will evaporate [it]. “But, Mother, I worship you, I do this. I do that!” With all that, if you do not develop collectivity, better not worship me.

For that, how a guru should act with the collective? In Sahaja Yoga nobody should feel that you are some hierarchy or a higher personality. If you start feeling like that, then at that point, you must know that there is some possession on you. What is the highest in the body? Nothing! Everything is just the same. It’s the way it is there. It has to be used for its own purposes.

And the cruelties sometimes people indulge into is unimaginable. How can this kind of satisfaction be there if you are Sahaja Yogis? I don’t know, they say so, that gurus used to beat and they used to do all kinds of things. I mean, they must be bhoots. I don’t know. And very angry gurus. You cannot afford to be angry. You cannot afford. Anger means imbalance.

You get attached to, say, your family, you start talking like that – you are no more. Attachment to anything shows you have no balance. Those who have balance have to be detached. Otherwise you get attached to somebody, “This is my daughter. This is my son. This is this,” then you don’t see the truth. So any kind of attachment, if you feel, then know that you are not in balance.

Also I have seen people get into a kind of a pride that, “We are Sahaja Yogis.” We have become Sahaja Yogis to save the whole world. It’s like I see so many government servants who think no end of themselves. They are servants of the people. They may be called ‘officers’, but officers to serve. In the same way, we are in this world to serve God. And the purpose of your service is to save the world, save the people. But if you have pride, false pride, how can you do that? The way you’ll talk, the way you’ll behave, nobody will come near.

You cannot be jealous of another person – cannot be – because jealousy means that you are trying to harm yourself, really. I don’t know what is jealousy so much. I see people getting jealous, but I don’t know what it is really, jealousy. It’s a funny stuff, isn’t it? It must be coming from animal kingdom maybe, I don’t know. Because what is there to be jealous? I mean, you are Realised-souls, how can you be jealous of anyone? Say, supposing, you are a diamond and another one is a diamond, very good. Both put together will become even more brilliant.

Now, supposing somebody is no good and you are very good, then there is nothing to feel jealous of the man who is no good; or also somebody who is good, to feel jealous. What is your gain? If you think that gentleman is good or that lady’s good, better try to follow what she is doing: how is she good, how she has got this goodness. It’s better to study.

I really enjoy the most when Sahaja Yogis start expressing their feelings about other Sahaja Yogis. “Mother, he’s like that. Mother, he’s like that.” So, they see the goodness of others. They see the greatness of others, the nobility of others. And when you start seeing that, you start becoming.

If you feel jealous – I mean, I don’t know what sort of a thing it is, as I told you – but you are condemning yourself permanently. Today you are jealous of somebody because he has got black hair. You are jealous of somebody because he has got a grey hair. You’re jealous of somebody because he has got a long nose, jealous of somebody because he has got a short nose.

(Somebody starts talking very loudly and disturbing the talk)

Shri Mataji: What is happening? What happened? Ha?

‘Yogi’: Mother….

Shri Mataji: Are you a Sahaja Yogi?

‘Yogi’: Yes

Shri Mataji: You are a Sahaja Yogi? Then you know the protocol. Let me speak. Alright? You can ask me later on.

This is not the way. This is not a parliament here. I know. I know that I don’t force any discipline, but this should be self-discipline. You should be self-disciplined. I am speaking just now. Listen to me. Maybe I might answer you in my speech.

So the relationship among yourselves cannot have anything to do with jealousy, cannot. Because it kills your joy. Now, as I told you, that, you get rid of your fear, you get rid of your jealousies, you get rid of your pride, false one, and also you get rid of your impatience. You must have patience.

This is another style of guru who has patience, tremendous patience. Nothing to get angry, nothing to get upset. And gradually, you will see, without telling people, they’ll discipline themselves. It is you [who] have to discipline yourself.

In the system of Sahaja Yoga, we never had so many disciples. Imagine till Shri Gyaneshwara, there was only one disciple. And some of them never had any disciple, like William Blake*, I don’t think had any disciple. Perhaps, they must have thought that nobody can come up to this level or understand. So many of them had no disciple. Sai Nath had no disciple. They came on this Earth…Or maybe they might be thinking, “Useless people! What’s the use of having disciples?”

But, for you, it’s so great that we are so many of us together now, so many. We understand each other. We know each other. We know all about Kundalini and we are so aware about everything. We know what’s happening in this world. We are not just sitting in a cave in Himalayas and just we are taking the name of God – no! We are in the world. We are not running away from the world. We are in this world. We are facing, every day, every problem that is there. But we are in reality and they are in ignorance. That’s why we know, we know the solution, we know the problem and we can solve it.

Now, you have to just experiment with your powers, of course with humility. That I have to warn some people. You see, they just sit on the horse, immediately I say that. First of all, you must know that you are a store of knowledge, complete store of knowledge, about everything, except for banks, I would say. That’s a problem for me!

So you should have projection towards that source of knowledge. For example, everything can be interpreted in the Sahaj language – everything. You see this pandal is standing there because supported by this. Just like Sahaja Yoga – we are supported by our dharma. Very simple thing like that. Everywhere you’ll find the comparison of Sahaja Yoga with everything else that you see. This is very important. That will give a double joy.

The other day I was coming back and in the airport it was, I was perspiring, perspiring absolutely. And the Sahaja Yogi who was with me, he said, “Mother, You are sucking all the heat of this place, the negativity.” It was a fact. But only a Sahaja Yogi can see. Everybody was sitting nicely. I was the one fanning myself! Everybody was so comfortable, feeling the cool from me and I was fanning myself!

One day it happened, I was going to a shop and all the Australian Sahaja Yogis were following me, in a Chinese shop. I don’t know what these Chinese do. Climbing up I was feeling so hot and exhausted. I was just trying to soothe myself. And they were saying, “Mother, such cool coming from you!” I said, “Very nice! I am the one consuming all the heat and giving you all the cool.” But that is what my job is, to take all the heat from everyone and transform it into something cooling and soothing. When people shout, scream, this, that, be peaceful, listen to them and then you can pour water on them completely and the whole heat can go away. So this absorption is very important, not to be afraid of absorption. But, for that, I would say one should take care. And the care, as you know, is a very simple thing, is kavacha, is this bandhan that you have to take.

For all this, whatever I have said, there’s one guru mantra, to remember that we are Sahaja Yogis. Just remember this. We are Sahaja Yogis. And once you know you are Sahaja Yogis, this projection will start. What happened to William Blake? If you see, he started projecting his imagination and he reached the point of knowledge.

So anything that you see, anything you do or others are doing, try to relate it with Sahaja Yoga and project, then you will also reach the Ocean of Love. Once you have that, then what? Who can disturb you? Who can trouble you? Who can make anything that is difficult for you? Because you are sitting in the ocean, the fellow is sitting outside somewhere – how can it come into the ocean, to trouble you?

So this is what is to remember that you are a Sahaja Yogi. Take a bandhan morning and evening. It’s so simple. Even to say on the mic it seems stupid to me. But I have to say because people forget. You forget that you are realised souls. Use your vibratory awareness for at least protecting yourself! Because there is negativity sitting next door. So be very careful about this, to remember that, “I am a Sahaja Yogi.”

Once you say that, you will know how you have to behave, what is the protocol, you will know what is the discipline you have to follow, you will know how to love others, everything. This is the essence.

How many have been Sahaja Yogis before? Poor things, all these gurus suffered so much. You are not to suffer, not to go into any kind of a misery anymore, no more. But don’t forget you are Sahaja Yogis, that’s why. That will give you complete confidence in yourself and you will be absolutely secured.

Try to establish the state that you are Sahaja Yogis.

Thus, you become gurus of yourself and of others.

May God bless you all.

*(about William Blake)