Navaratri Puja, “Innocence and Virginity”. Temple of All Faiths, Hampstead, London (England), 17 October 1982.

It’s a great thing today that we are celebrating the Virgin’s worship in England. As you know, according to Sahaja Yoga, England is the heart where resides the Spirit of Shiva. And that Virgin should be respected and revered and worshipped in England is a great honour, I think, for all the Sahaja Yogis.
Now one has to think why such an importance is paid to a Virgin. Why a Virgin is respected to that extent. What are the powers of a Virgin?
That She can bear a child of that magnitude that was Christ, that She could create Shri Ganesha out of Her own body, that She could protect innocent, dynamic force of Her children who are egoless, who have not known what is ego. So this great power and force resides in a person who has lots of “guru punyas” [guru virtues] who has done lots of good things in previous lives, who has always understood that Virginity is a power higher than any other power and would save the Virginity and Chastity with all her effort and care. As you know that within our body She is placed as Kundalini, means She is the Virgin. She is untouched, the desire to become Spirit is without any blemish “nirmal”. There is no blemish, its waiting is pure. There is no other desire but to be one with the Divine. All other desires are finished.

It’s a very difficult subject for Me to talk about in the Western country. It’s embarrassing. I do not want any one of you, whether men or women, to develop any guilt in your mind. Because that is one thing is the greatest blemish as you know, at a later stage this guilt works in the opposite direction. It is of no help. But when we understand that we have these problems, we have to be humble about it. Not guilty but humble.
If you are not humble about it, and aggressive about demanding what have you got out of Sahaja Yoga and complaining about it all the time, while not seeing what are your own punyas, what do you deserve? Your Kundalini, despite every blemish, has been raised. You know that. You are blessed. So instead of complaining or being aggressive, you must know that it is a great ‘favour’ to you. The greatest favour; that you are forgiven completely, that this great blessing has been bestowed upon you. And to come up to it you have to work hard. Not to feel guilty about it but to be humble, to be thankful. That despite what we have done.-played with ourselves completely- still we are today sitting as God’s Devas. The “Somarasa” [Drink of gods] which is the “charna amruta” [Lotus feet ambrosia] is the water that washes the Mother, only you are allowed to drink it, only the Devas. You are sitting in that category, and how can you be demanding?

You have to humble yourself. By seeing your past, whatever mistakes we have committed, I am with you in this, not to feel guilty. It’s very embarrassing as I said to you, but please try to face yourself. We have to face ourselves as we are.
The advantage of the Indians is that the Kundalini exists there. So whatever Indians may do, they are always aware it is wrong. For them virtue is virtue, whether they are not virtuous. Righteousness is righteousness, whether they are not. They know, all the time they are aware of it that they are doing wrong. They do not say: “What’s wrong?” Nor do they propound things which are obviously wrong and against the virginity, against the sublimity, against the divinity. Satanic things, they never proclaim that this is God. They are hypocritical, alright; but they are aware all the time that these things are wrong. The whole society is like that. Because Kundalini stays there.

When we lose our innocence and our virginity, first thing happens to us is that we become ego-oriented, and we start thinking “What’s wrong?” Your Shakti is your Kundalini and She is Virginity. She is your power. She is your strength. Your innocence is your strength, the day you lost it that is the day we have committed the original sin. So for us it is important that we have to be very humble about it, and that we have to achieve something. What? Not the kingdoms and some sort of a luxurious life, but a seat in this holy land of Shiva.

Shiva is forgiveness, He forgives everyone, even the Rakshasas [satanic people of the right side] can be forgiven, but can they be given Realisation? Even the Pishachas [satanic people of the left side] can be forgiven, but can they be given Realisation? Forgiven is a different point. One aspect is forgiveness, so that they can remain for a longer period, they may live longer, because of Shiva’s forgiveness. So what? But what a wretched life! And the people who are not innocent can never be joy-giving. They are themselves miserable creatures and make everyone miserable.
The arrogance is not a child-like quality. We have to be like children. And even when you were not, you were given Realisation alright. But now you are sitting with the Deva, even higher than them.

So what is our decoration? It is humility. It is simplicity. Not cleverness, arrogance, putting others down, showing-off, but a complete surrender, surrendering all your egoistical qualities.
Let the virginity be reborn within you. From today you all have to take a vow, it’s the New Year’s day for us- that we all will surrender our horrible tempers, dominating natures, asserting behaviours, ego-oriented harshness, domination. I don’t know what use it has. Unless and until you surrender that, the Lord of virginity, Shri Ganesha, will not be able to crown your Agnya Chakra. Whatever we have done so far should just give us this: if our past could give us the idea as to how humble we have to be with each other, with all the Sahaja Yogis, how kind we have to be, how loving, how universal.

Virgin cannot accept ideas which are not universal, she cannot! That’s a sign of a Virgin because she is universal by nature. All fanaticism, all racialism, caste system, all these things which artificially separates man from man, woman from woman, nation from nation, will all finish off, as soon as you become innocent. But you can’t become by brain-washing, you cannot. By Kundalini awakening, of course, you can. But to maintain it, your progress should be inward and not outward to seek your roots. She is the “moola”. She is the roots of your being. She manifests all your roots. So your attention should be towards your roots and not towards your shoots, you have been that. Face yourself, and develop your roots now. All the Western society is without the roots, you can see that. We have lost our roots; let’s face it as Western people, as I am also with you today. We have to find our roots.

You see, in a tree which does not have roots, it dries out, it doesn’t give any shade, afterwards it becomes a dry horrible dying tree. When it dies, it falls upon someone. It grows thorns, all dried things grow thorns. It’s like a desert, where only thorns can grow. When the whole society becomes so stupid as to hate each other, materialistic, then roses are not going to grow there, lotuses are not going to grow there, while you are the lotuses of this country. You are born in the mud all right, but now come back to yourself. You were beautiful. You are like lotuses, fell into this mud, became the mud, out of which you came out because of your true nature. Then you have become now lotuses, but there is no fragrance. Lotus without a fragrance, one can’t understand. Lotus has to have a fragrance. The fragrance that will overcome the filth of this mud.

You have to grow much more than Indians can grow. On the contrary the arrogance of people, I am amazed. They start complaining about this, complaining about that, complaining about another thing. What do they think of themselves? Who are you?

Because the roots are not developed. Once you’ll develop your roots, immediately the humility will start coming into your temperament. There is artificial humility, not from the heart. It will only come when you become virgins, you become innocent.

Innocence only doesn’t mean morality, doesn’t mean only that. Many people think that if you are a moral person-No. It also means a non-materialistic attitude.

For people, carpet is more important than their own children. Morning till evening they will be saying harsh things just to save few nonsensical things which are going to be left here permanently. Materialism is the hit, it’s the one that hits you, your Innocence. If materialism means to make things to give others happiness, to present others, as a cup that carries the nectar, iIf materialism is that cup which gives the nectar of love, then it’s all right. But you don’t eat the cup, do you? To Me materialism sounds like people eating the cup, and not the nectar! Is cup more important or the nectar? Supposing there is a golden cup and a poison is placed inside that, will you take it because it is in golden cup? If you take it, of course, I will have more value for gold. Will anybody knowingly take a poison in a golden cup because it is in gold? No common sense! There is no common sense at all! That material things cannot give you happiness is the basic factor of economics.

In my own lifetime, I have seen that anything material gives you greatest happiness when you can give it to someone. I have seen that way, always. I enjoy the giving more than taking. I mean you try, sometimes, to give away something, and see how happy you feel. Of course, it should not be done because you want to get rid of it! [Laughter]

Actually, it is done for that only, perhaps. Because whatever you possess is a headache in anyway- even the subtlest form. Any possession is like getting possessed. It’s slavery. It hinders your freedom to grow. But it goes hand in hand. You know, people ask Me: “How it is these people who are so affluent are so miserly? Why are they so miserly?” People can’t understand, you know. For one ‘p’ if it is dearer, the whole England would be ablaze, you see. All the time what you hear is nothing – that so much percentage of rise in this thing and that, and they are going for a strike for this. I can’t understand, now do you keep account of all that?

If somebody asks me what is the price of this sugar here and there, I wouldn’t know, but I would just know that it is cheaper than the other place. Because I am innocent. I get things absolutely cheapest always, I have seen that I always get things cheapest. Because I am so innocent. My Innocence takes Me to places where it is the cheapest and I get the maximum joy because I can give it. I know how to give it.

That’s how I would say, because of the real force of your Spirit which is virginity, you have lost the sense of joy also. You are joy killers, morning till evening you are killing each other’s joy- to say harsh things, you see, from this tongue.

I was folding My hands before you because I knew it would little bit upset you, so I was just keeping it there, that your mind should not be disturbed so much. In My palms, you see, very carefully I was catching your heart to keep it there so that you should not feel hurt. Because it was not harsh, but it was truth which was harsh. But still, in my palms, I was holding it, carefully, so that you should not feel hurt about it.

So to hurt anyone, just open your tongue and hurt anyone, one doesn’t understand how many ripples of hatred you are creating within yourself. Twenty-four hours are not sufficient for Me to love people. Now, I will be sixty years of age, I don’t think I have done justification to these sixty years because I have not been able to love people as much as I wanted to. The flow is so great that My body suffers with that flow and sometimes I curse Myself that: “Why should I carry such load of love within myself?” And little excitement with the puja also. You know what happens to Me, I shudder. Sometimes, you are calling Me for puja, now what will happen? Then somebody can ask a question, sometimes: “Mother, did we not suck your vibrations?” It is obvious, but I don’t want to say that. Because if I say that, your Vishuddhi will be caught up; again you will suck less. It’s a very delicate work I have to do. You are already wounded people because you have wounded yourself. Nobody has done this harm to you, you people have nicely wounded yourself, very nicely. Every way possible you have tried to hurt yourself. Now because of the hurt, the guilt is built-in and you are hurting others. It is as simple as that. So don’t hurt yourself, there is no need to hurt yourself. But remember that we have no business to be harsh to anyone. We have to be sweet people. We have to be kind people.

There are also psychologists who have come forward to give you explanation for your harshness, that: “Your will-power should be strong. If you don’t talk like that others will take advantage.” Who can take advantage of the Western people? It is absurd, absolutely absurd! The ones who have done injustice all over the world should say such a thing, it’s absurd. I cannot understand how can they give an explanation like that!

But now the time has come. You are the people who are going to change the mind of God with your good behaviour. The wrathful God, you are going to please Him. You are going to represent that area which sucks in the compassion of God. Ask for His compassion! Do you deserve it? If you don’t deserve it, who is going to deserve in this Western world – you tell Me- today? You are the ones chosen for this, specially prepared for this, to create an area so that the Deity of compassion should be awakened, for the rest of them.

The arrogance, you have seen in the spread of Sahaja Yoga, what happened: we had a programme where we had, say, a thousand people. For the next follow up there are only three. It’s typical. I have spent most of My precious time in this country, and in the West. Despite that, the arrogance sometimes baffles Me. Arrogance among each other, even towards Me sometimes they are so arrogant, I cannot think of anyone being that arrogant to Me, as the way they are. The way they talk to Me, the way they behave towards Me, I just can’t understand how can they be like that.

It can be anyway anywhere, anytime, especially women. I was amazed, I went to Belgium, and I found that Belgium housewives were even worse than British housewives. Ah! Terrific, terrific women! Ah! Just horrible! Absolutely. You just don’t know how to deal with them, it’s terrific! They control the whole household into their hands, I don’t know how. Only, I don’t know how they do it. So ego-oriented, I am amazed! But if you go to America, American women are baba, They are Amazonic! Horrible! You just can’t understand, there’s no love, no affection, nothing. Showing off, all the time talking about their material things, absolutely dry sticks, I tell you. And they want Realisation, and they want to be great and this and that. I don’t know. What are they?

Today it is especially the day of virginity. I have really great hopes from the women of this country, especially. Here the men don’t talk at all, you see the pattern was worst in Belgium, no man would talk a word! They cannot talk, just poor things are just shut. They don’t talk, strangled, completely strangled by women, believe Me. Horrible! What is going to happen to that country, you see? Where men cannot talk and women talk. It’s horrifying, let’s face it up. What have they achieved, the women there? At least, in India, our Prime Minister is a woman. What are they? Good for nothing, useless, just washing utensils in the house and showing off. I just don’t understand. What sacrifices they can go up to? The woman is known by the amount of sacrifices she makes. It’s a challenge, I tell you, for all of you woman who are Realised souls to see to it, that you humble down yourself. Your quality cannot improve unless and until you humble down. On everything you assert. For what? It’s impossible to worship Virgin when we are so arrogant and so strangling type.

The Virgin is a simple woman. She is extremely simple. She does not understand what are your plans and what is so important, everything. Her importance is her virginity, that she knows, and she will not allow anybody to touch it. That’s her property, that’s her wealth, that’s her greatness. And she’s humble because she is not afraid of anyone. She is not aggressive. But she doesn’t allow anybody to aggress; nobody dares aggress a real Virgin.

A new page has been turned now, in Sahaja Yoga. I must warn you all about it. Don’t take liberties too much with Sahaja Yoga. You are not obliging anyone else but yourself, be careful. Take up my warnings always seriously. You ‘all’ have to come up very well now. It is not only doing my puja is going to help you, I can tell you this much. Now you better worship your Self. You have to worship all your Gods within you. Cleanse them.

First is the God and the Goddess of humility, of innocence, of simplicity.

Worship that. Unless and until you can worship that, you cannot go further, you will not be protected. Again I say that a new page has been turned. Don’t take liberties with Sahaja Yoga. it has bestowed all the blessings upon you. You have seen the light of the day. But be prepared for the night. Nobody should try to take liberties. Try to improve yourself.

No more complaints. If you can’t live in an Ashram like that, you better get out of it. It’s not for your convenience. Nobody is in need of you. Take it from Me. Nobody is in need of you, you have to be in need of your Self. If you are seekers, if you want to find your roots, everything is available for you. But you have to be humble to go down to the roots, not with arrogance.

We must understand why we are not progressing. Actually arrogance comes to people who lack self-confidence. Self-confidence is shattered to people whose Self is not manifesting. Let your Self manifest. When the Self is not manifesting, you get all kinds of problems, and then you complain. Actually, the problem resides within you.

It is God who has to complain. Think of it. The One who has created this universe, the One who has created you all with such love and affection, the One who has given you everything under the sun, also the One who has given you Realisation, given you light, everything that is possible and you are complaining against Him? You should not. Complain about ‘yourself that: “I am not alright, I should be alright.” Complain about yourself, face yourself.

Like children when they face the mirror, they say: “This is somebody else? How we believe?” They never identify themselves with their own images that they see. They are identified with the image that they ‘are’. They don’t create artificial images or don’t dwell with the images which are making them feel ego-oriented. They live with reality as it is. We are made like that.

You see a camera, if it takes some photograph under a light which is not, maybe, some other colour, the photograph could be different. Supposing I am wearing a red thing and supposing you put a light that is blue, this might start looking green. But human eyes will see always the same thing. It won’t see something unreal. Camera can do all that. Camera can remove somebody’s head and put somebody’s head there. All these tricks are possible with camera but not with human eyes. Whatever you see is the thing that is. Of course, you are drunk, then it’s different. I mean I am saying of normal conditions, you see.- In normal conditions, you see what exactly exists. But if you are ego-oriented, you would never see yourself what exists. You will see some sort of a bloated, you see, you will think yourself to be the King of God’s heavens, you see. We can see, if we want to, it is imagination. If you put here imagination like that, you can see yourself as anything ! – Which is false, is absolute false.

You are your Self and you must see yourself as your Self, as your Spirit. And Spirit is the universal being, is the innocence, is the Virgin within you. Respect it, respect that part of yours which is the Virgin – still exists, because if it was not there, I could never have given you Realisation. Despite every attack it existed there, be sure on that point. If it had not existed, you could not have got your Realization.

So many of them, they are very proud: “Oh! I don’t feel anything, Mother, you know, it’s nothing.” Then there is to be more to be ashamed. [Shri Mataji laugh]

Or at least you feel that you are missing something, isn’t it? At least, you should feel that you are missing, if something is not alright and you should be alright. At least think like that: “I should be alright, I am not alright.” On the contrary: “No, no, I didn’t feel. Oh! What? I didn’t feel I should feel?”

So the wisdom. Wisdom is the part that is innocence, complete wisdom. You find this among the villagers or very simple people. They are not cunning in any way. You try to befool them, and you will be amazed, at the end of it you’ll find: “I’m such a big baffled fat fool myself.” Try that with some rustic people, who are very simple, matter-of-fact, who live with mother soil. You will find that all those so-called intellectuals, if they try to befool a simple man like that, after half-an-hour this educated and very M.A.-Ph. D. style will find that he is the ‘biggest fool ever born.’

There is a saying in Sanskrit, it is very common:” Vidya vinaye na shobhata” That is, “Vidya,” even the knowledge, is decorated- shobhate, means gets decorations or

Shri Mataji, aside: What is shoba?

Sahaja Yogi: Glory, beauty.

Shri Mataji: Beautify.

Sahaja Yogi: Yes.

Shri Mataji: I’s beautified only through humility.

If there is an educated man he has to be a humble person. If he is not a humble person, then he is not educated at all in any way.

I don’t know if I have told you a story about one saint who was meditating and was blind. And a king came there and asked him: “Did you see some people around?” He said: “Yes. Yes King, my King. Sit down. I saw your servant coming, and then your minister came in, and then the Prime minister came in, and then now you have come.” He said: “You are blind, how did you know? Through your meditation?” He said: “No. Common sense”. He said: “What is the common-sense?” He said, the first, the servant came in.

He said, “What, you are bogus fellow sitting down here, wasting your time?” He gave me two-three abuses, used bad language, and said: “Have you seen any person here?” So I said : “No.”

Then the minister came in. He didn’t abuse me, but he just asked me. Then the Prime minister came. He said: “Sir” to me.-Must have been from England! And might have said also Thank you perhaps [Shri Mataji laugh].

And then came the king. And he said that: “You were extremely humble. You first touched my feet, you sat down on the mother earth, waited for me, to ask you: “what do you want?” And in a very humble way, you said: ‘If you have heard of people around you’. Because I am blind, so you didn’t say something that would hurt me, in such a humble way, if I could tell you. But at least hundred and eight names of the Guru you took before you asked me this. So I know you are the learned, you are the humblest, and so you must be the king.” Otherwise in those days we at least never had kings or Prime ministers who were box-office actors. [Laughter]

Even the public was so innocent that they would not accept such a nonsense, you see. So this was the difference. From this story, we have to derive that the more we are learned into Vidya, into the technique of Sahaja Yoga, we have to be humble. That is our decoration, that is our certificate, that is the path into the entrance of every human being, that is the way we are going to be very close to the other seekers. To be humble, to find out ways and methods of being humble. This is the key of Nirmala Vidya: “How to be humble ?” By humility, you will not ever say: “This is my bathroom, or this is my fruit, or this is my food, or this is my table, and this is my glass”.

Innocence gives you strength to enjoy everything that is there.

I mean for Me, sometimes I have to eat with bhoots, and sometimes I have to eat bhoots. Not only eat with them, but also eat them- it’s the worst part.

[Laughter]

So, you also should not mind if there are people with bhoots. If they are arrogant, try to give them bandhans, try to control them through all these methods. But if you think by arguing with them you will be able to manage them, it’s an impossibility. So try Nirmala Vidya, and that is humility, which is the myelin sheath of vibrations. Like every nerve has a myelin sheath covering it, in the same way is the humility, is the myelin sheath. If you are humble you will win the battle, if you are not, we’ll be lost. Then the whole thing will become a joke for you, absolute joke. If you are humble you can see the stupid, the bhoots and all the arrogant as clowns of this drama.

Try to be humble with your Self, and with Me. With Me is very important. You must understand that it is one of the conditions that Christ has put on ‘you’, so be ‘careful’. Dealing with Me, I don’t want you to be in any way rude to me, because I can’t help it there. Till you are humble with Me, everything is in my charge. But as soon as you are rude to Me, somebody else-and so many of them, thousands of them take charge, and then don’t blame Me for that. Because you are My proteges here, under My protection.

Supposing you try to make holes in your roof, and then say that the rain is coming in, what can you do about it? I mean you have already made holes in your roof. The roof that was to protect you, you’ve made holes, now the rain has to come in. Then if you want that the roof still should protect you from the rain, then I must say you lack intelligence. That’s what it is.

So this is the- another warning. It’s very embarrassing, but again today is the day of embarrassment as it is. Because the Virgin is in  embarrassed condition always, she is a bashful personality. She has to be bashful. She is embarrassed to say things which she does not want to say, of course, that’s a very sweet thing, even there she is bashful, to say harsh things is a horrible stuff.

So let us worship our virginity within ourselves. Let us rise up to that point to mount that diamond of brilliance of our virginity, in the setting of our humility. You can be angry with others, not with Sahaja Yogis, not with Me. Even with others, when it is absolutely required. But if you fight among yourselves, and tell people about Sahaja Yoga, nobody is going to believe you.

And that is why today is the day when the Virgin Gauri sat down to worship Shiva. She made a Shiva Lingua and was sitting and putting Her “sindur” on that: “That you look after this, which is the mark of my union with you. I leave it to you, to look after.”- to Shiva. “You look after this. I surrender to you for this.”

That’s how the Gauri, your Kundalini, surrenders to the Spirit: “Now, You look after this connection. I forget everything else. I leave it into your hands. Lift me up. You raise me up. I forget all that was me before. Everything I have dropped out. No other desire. But just lift me higher and higher. Make me yourself. The rest of it is not important. All other manifestations of these desires are over. Now, I am absolutely surrendered to you my Spirit. Lift me higher and higher. Higher and higher, away from all the things that were not the Spirit. Make me complete Spirit, full Spirit.”

Forget all that was there. That elevation, that ascent becomes a fast, quick trip, a ‘very’ fast ascent. Just you can do it if you try at this moment and every moment to give up all that was not the Spirit. Anything that goes against the Spirit must be given up. And that is what is the pure desire, that’s what it is the Kundalini, is the Virgin. Is to be absolutely one with the Spirit. All the rest has ‘no’ meaning, has no value.

This ascent- whatever may be your position, to whomsoever you may be married, wherever you are working, whatever is your situation, whatever may be your country, you ‘are’ the Spirit. And if you are raised aloft, you will dwell in the beautiful kingdom of God, where all ugliness drops out. Like when the lotus opens out, all the mud drops out, completely. In the same way, let my children become the fragrant, beautiful offerings of Sadashiva.

May God bless you.

All right, so. [Hindi]

Kartikeya is sitting there.

Sahaja Yogi: That’s Shri Vishnu’s names.

Shri Mataji: I think you all should take copies of this and should know what are we doing here. You see, if you don’t understand it, it’s not proper. Of course, Sanskrit language is closer, it gives better mantras, but even if you say it in English, I’ve known, because now I understand English also. But if you can understand what he is saying, then it would be much better.

Sahaja Yogi: We have printed this.

Shri Mataji: Oh! Good! May God bless you.

Ah, that’s good. Now try to follow this.

[Hindi]

“Vishnu nama” [Vishnu’s names]. Vishnu nama, it is for what? Vishnu nama, why do we say it? You know that? We say Vishnu nama because He is the One who gives you the seeking. He is the One who gives you evolution. He is the One who gives you your dharma. He is the One who gives sustenance to all the matter, the quality to everyone. All the Ten Commandments come from him. That’s the aspect of God we should worship first because that is so important for us. For human beings, that is the greatest thing, is to look after their sustenance, to give balance to themselves, the religion.

So the first part of it is very important to see it, that you take his twenty-one names because these twenty-one names are giving you the description about Him. And every name is one of his powers. And very symbolic you see, symbol only is the one which creates the ripple of vibrations. So the symbols are there, it’s very symbolic. One should not question it because it has been now found out and sorted out and everyone knows that this is how it works.

All right, let us have it now.

[Sahaja Yogis say mantras]

Shri Mataji: Aim, Rim, Klim.

Aim is the Virgin, Aim is the Mahakali.

[Puja goes on.]

[Not on audio track]

Question: Is truth beyond sense-perception?

Shri Mataji: It is Absolutely. Because if what we perceive through our senses-whatever we perceive through our senses-is the truth, then we don’t have to seek anymore! Whatever we perceive though our senses is what is very apparent, gross-not the subtle. What is ‘behind’ the gross, we cannot perceive. For example, we cannot say how to make an atom. We cannot say how an amoeba is made into a human being. We cannot make one monkey into an human being- Can we?-through our perception of the senses. Through our perception of the senses, we cannot do the subtle thing that is behind the gross. So we cannot perceive through the senses. But once you have perceived it you can feel it, through your senses. This is the second point.