Conclusiones

Sister Mridani

Good afternoon! It’s wonderful to see you all. Guruji has given us a vast storehouse of knowledge and wisdom in his lessons, poems, recordings, and writings. We have an unbelievable richness of words from the Guru through which we can look to for help and guidance. An hour for this class is a very short time. Each one of us has questions, and on some days there are many questions. Ultimately we have to go within to find the answers to our

questions – that is what will give us true understanding.

We are all fighting the battle of Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra, trying to align ourselves with the virtues of the soul’s discriminative intelligence to win the victory on the inner field of the subtle cerebrospinal centers where the interiorization of God-communion takes place, defeating the opposition of mental restlessness and sense attractions. This inner war is the subject of the great allegory of the Bhagavad Gita – it’s a textbook for living - and it gives us supreme instruction and direction of how to interact with this material creation on the levels of body, mind, and soul, so that we can win the battle. (This paragraph is paraphrased from the Gita to approximate what Sister said) Not all of Guruji’s writings are translated into all languages, but know this:

whatever writings you have available to you, the Guru will always be with you to give you all the knowledge and understanding you need. We need to learn to go inside to realize intuitively the answers to our questions. God does talk to us, as long as we are willing to listen. Guruji’s teachings are both repetitious and multifaceted in order to catch each one of us, because we all look at things differently. He said he would come again and again to help us and to teach us.

Today we will touch on just a few questions, but you can find the answers to all your questions by attuning your consciousness to the Guru’s teachings with your intuition.

D. I am wondering about finding God without the benefit of a meditation group. My contact with other SRF members is infrequent; the nearest meditation group is three hours away and so I am only rarely able to attend. I thought I could do it alone, but now I am wondering - is this bad karma? Can I really find God without a meditation group?

E. You have to have the very best of karma to be here today and to have come to this path. You wouldn’t even want to come otherwise. This is Raja Yoga, the highest of all yogas. You have been led to an avatar, and an avatar can make us what he is. For some karmic reason, you are not near other devotees. Train the mind to think this way: “An avatar came for me.” Remind yourself often: “I have prayer, affirmation, meditation techniques, and a Guru ready to help me. God has given me everything I need. He has given me the power to know Him.”

We are all karma yogis. We all have lots of debts to pay, and we have to

pay them. But the blessing is that it’s easier and quicker for us because we follow a spiritual path, and we have the tools that we need to

mitigate our bad karma and make our good karma better. What if you don’t have Kriya? Master said that Hong-Sau is the baby Kriya. The end results are the same if it is deeply and sincerely practiced.

Guruji does stress the power of group meditation. Keep your

consciousness attuned to the thought that there is no time, no space, no distance between us. You are never alone, never without a group. We have a worldwide family, and those who are in group meditations, when you sit to meditate, include one another in your meditations, and

especially those who might be alone. Pray for them, and include all in your meditations, especially those who don’t have a group.

Master said, “In seemingly empty space, there is one Link, one Life eternal, one wave of life flowing through everything.” This is the great creative vibration of Aum that flows through and connects everything and everybody in the universe - this is the connection between us.

There is no distance, no space between us and our Guru.

Master gave us some practical measures, and in the first Chapter of the Autobiography he gives us an important technique. Lahiri Mahasaya had entered mahasamadhi shortly after Guruji had been born, but his picture always graced the family altar, and as a child Guruji often had his daily meditations before his picture. In the Autobiography, he wrote:

His picture had a surpassing influence over my life. As I grew, the thought of the master grew with me. In meditation I would often see his photographic image emerge from its small frame and, taking a living form, sit before me. When I attempted to touch the feet of his luminous body, it would change and again become the picture. As childhood slipped into boyhood, I found Lahiri

Mahasaya transformed in my mind from a little image, cribbed in a frame, to a living, enlightening presence. I frequently prayed to him in moments of trial or confusion, finding within me his

solacing direction. At first I grieved because he was no longer physically living. As I began to discover his secret omnipresence, I lamented no more. He had often written to those of his disciples who were over-anxious to see him: "Why come to view my bones and flesh, when I am ever within range of your kutastha (spiritual sight)?"

When you sit in meditation, look at the Guru’s picture, or one of the param-gurus, and focus

on it. Master says in the Gita: “Sincere spiritual effort (regardless of inner struggle) sends

forth positive spiritual vibrations. Deeply meditating disciples should concentrate on their

guru, or meditate with him if possible. Those who are spiritually advanced do in fact

meditate with him, whether or not they are in his physical presence.

During meditation the

spiritual vibration of a great master silently works on lesser yogis who may be meditating

with him or who are in tune with him, regardless of distance. It is sufficient for a disciple to

think strongly of his guru before meditation. He will then find his meditation on God to be

reinforced by the Lord’s power flowing through the direct tangible channel of the guru.”

One time while Meera Ma was living in Encinitas, and was visiting Master at Mt. Washington for the weekend, Master asked her to make an

unexpected and immediate trip to the East Coast. Meera Ma asked if she could go back home to Encinitas to get some clothing for the trip, but Master told her, “No, go to the airport now and make plans to leave in the morning.” Air flight was a little easier back then!

(Laughter)

Meera Ma agreed to Master’s request, but she couldn’t get her mind off her lack of clothing, as she had only a few items of clothing with her, just enough for the weekend. She decided to go back to Master’s room to ask him about it. When she went to Guruji, was another devotee, a wealthy woman, who was at that moment talking to Master and offering to pay for some of clothes for the trip.

Meera Ma’s assignment was to go to the East Coast with another disciple and pick up an automobile and drive it back to California. In addition, Master told her, “Take a vacation on your way back. Your body needs rest. Don’t rush back; take your time. Be sure to enjoy all the sights - see Niagara Falls, take a boat ride on Lake Erie, see the Black Forest, and the Bad Lands, and don’t miss Yellowstone Park.” Guruji planned out a nice trip for her.

They visited all of those places Master mentioned, and it was wonderful in that everywhere they went all obstacles were removed – hotel

accommodations at Yellowstone became available where there were none before, and when there were no available tickets for their boat ride on Lake Erie, a ticket cancellation was made right before them which enabled them to go at the last minute.

But one thing wasn’t wonderful: Meera Ma was in a hurry to get home.

During the entire trip, in her consciousness was an unspoken desire to get back home to Master. By the time they arrived in Salt Lake City, the urge had become so strong that they decided to undertake a rather dangerous marathon journey across the hot desert. They drove non-stop in 120 degree heat with no air-conditioning, driving on bad roads 740 miles back to L.A. to get home to see the Guru.

Finally at 10 pm they arrived back at Mt. Washington, and rushed up to Master’s rooms thinking, “He’ll be so glad to see us!” But Master was not pleased at all. “You!! What are you doing here?” he said. “I told you to take your time! How can you enjoy anything when you rush through life?” Then he sent for a postcard that Meera Ma had written while they were on the trip, and he read it aloud, reading also between the lines:

“We’re on a boat crossing Lake Erie.”

… I’M HOMESICK!

“We’re having a wonderful time.”

… I’M HOMESICK!

Then he scolded them roundly, “You call yourself a disciple, yet you say

‘I’m homesick’? You wanted to get home to where my body is, but who do you think opened your way across Lake Erie? Who do you think got you the hotel room at Yellowstone? Who watched over you and helped you cross the hot desert?”

Meera Ma hung her head. “Well, sir, it was you.”

Then Master said, “How dare you pinpoint me to this body in this little room at Mt. Washington! Don’t ever come to me in this consciousness again!”

We are always in the presence of the Guru and the Great Ones. We just have to make the effort to attune to them. Master said, “God has sent you to me and I will never fail you.

All I ask of you is this: never try to deceive me, for you cannot. Always be sincere with me because I am right inside your heart, and I feel your every thought.”

Please understand that in order for Guruji to be inside our hearts, we have to invite him in. Our job is to keep company with him, to open the door of our heart and invite him to come in. Guruji said, “I never enter the lives of those who do not wish it. But to those who have given me this right I am always present. My consciousness is attuned to them, and I am aware of the slightest tremor of their consciousness.” He can be nowhere but with you at all times. Our part is to cultivate the will to think of God and Guru, and to affirm and visualize their presence within us. Remember, what Master said: “He who follows a God-sent Guru walks in the path of the everlasting light of God.”

F. At times when I’ve struggled with some trauma or mental distress I thought the spiritual thing to do was to take a retreat to spend time in long meditations and pound on the door of heaven to get an answer.

But it never works, and so now I am wondering if it is right to do this.

G. I’ve been asked this many times. The answer is no – it’s not the right thing to do, because meditation and retreats are meant to be silent, singular activities in order to focus our mind on God and attune more

closely with Him. When you are experiencing some great loss – death of a loved one, suicide, divorce, etc – our immediate need is to focus on the situation – not to remove ourselves from it. I am not saying that you should not meditate. Of course you should meditate, but it’s better at those times to meditate for shorter periods. Calm the body and mind, and don’t be alone - be with those who can help you, with whom you can talk. Then when you are able to focus your mind more deeply, after the grief has receded - then increase your period of meditations and take your retreat. Talk to God, pray to God. Explain to God and Guru how you are feeling. Ask for deeper understanding so that you might continue to grow spiritually. Don’t ask for circumstances to change, because they probably can’t be changed. Ask for deeper understanding. Ask God to change you. Ask for His help. Guruji said this is our divine birthright.

H. Master talks about the power of our thoughts in overcoming bad habits, and how we can and must change - but my bad habits seem more powerful than my thoughts. I want freedom from my flaws. Where do I begin?

I. Just after Man’s Eternal Quest had been published, there was a time when I found myself

in a mood. Somehow I knew there was an answer to my question in Man’s Eternal Quest, but I was not willing to listen. Then there came a very strong thought: “Open the book.”

My mind said, “No.”

(Laughter)

The thought came stronger: “Open the book.” Again, my mind said,

“No.”

(Laughter)

This went on for a while until finally I opened the book and there was the answer to just what I needed to hear. Nevertheless, I was still in a mood.

The next day I had to go to the market to buy some items. I paid for them and started to walk out the door, and I happened to look down at the grocery bag. I burst into laughter – because on the bag was

written: “Change for the better.”

(Laughter)

Master said, “Be active and use your will power and reason, all the time thinking that just behind your life is God's life, just behind your will is God's will. To find out what the Lord's will is, use your reason; don't just sit by and wait for things to come your way. Use your will, but ask God to guide you, and believe in His guidance.”

When you do this, all around you, you will find conscious guidance from God and Guru. Do your duty. Do your best in the role that has assigned to you in life - that is all that matters.

Master said that each man is stamped with the vibratory signature of his own state of consciousness. He says in Scientific Healing Affirmations,

“Man’s word is Spirit in man.” All words arise from vibrations of thought, and all thoughts are from patterns formed through all your incarnations.

These are habitual patterns of habit that we have cemented into our consciousness throughout incarnations. Master said, “Every thought which enters our mind, very word we utter, puts into operation one of the three gunas.”

The three gunas are:

1. rajasic – worldly, selfish interest

2. tamasic – cause misery and focus on body consciousness 3. sattvic – good qualities of the soul, leads us to thoughts of God Each day we are subject to the entire range of the gunas in our thoughts, our speech, and our actions - and it’s good to keep this in mind to remind us to turn our minds to more positive thoughts. Try to be as sattvic as possible, and strive to avoid tamasic influences. We

express some of all three of the gunas in some mixture – we cannot always express just the sattvic, but we can strive for it.

This is what is going on in our consciousness, so be aware of this.

Gyanamata said, “Each man is his own absolute lawgiver, the dispenser of glory or gloom to himself; the decreer of his life, his reward, his punishment.” It is through the operation of the three gunas that we change, by gradually shifting our thoughts to more and more a sattvic direction, and thus change the conditions of our lives to a more positive outcome.

On the physical level, each cell is a blueprint of who we are. Master said there are 27 trillion cells in body, and each one is like an intelligent being. Each cell is imprinted with our consciousness. We have to educate the dormant consciousness in each of those cells. We slough off thousands of cells each day. New thoughts create new grooves, and so through willpower we can imprint every new cell that is created with a new thought. When we cultivate new thought patterns, each new cell is formed with a new blueprint. That’s what changes us and how we interact with the world. Master said that when a thought is made dynamic by will force, it can create or rearrange the atoms into the desired pattern according to the mental blueprint you have created.

Look around this room. We are all looking at the mental blueprints of each other. We have thousands of thoughts coursing through our brain every day. Our physical characteristics are a reflection of our thoughts from past incarnations. Some people have curly hair; some have

straight hair. Some are fat; some are thin. Some have dark shades of skin; some are light. All of this is a result of the various thoughts in our brains from the past which are reflecting the predominate focus in our lives.

The miracle of the mind is that by using dynamic will, continually bringing one thought back to a single point, we can gradually change the grooves of the brain in the subconscious mind. You never know how close you are to changing a thought pattern forever. So when you see a habitual thought pattern you don’t like coming, stop and change your thought at that very moment. Master said, “Just one thought may redeem you.”

J. I’ve been on the path for 25 years but I’m still not attaining what I had hoped for – the spiritual states that Master talks about. Krishna says in the Gita: “Out of a thousand that seek me, one knows me.” I feel

overwhelmed when I see all that is written in the Gita and in The Second Coming, thinking that I need to do all that. What am I doing wrong?

K. Master says that those who last to the end of the path and go all the way, the door will open and they will be the first to find Him. You

cannot buy God. You cannot bargain with Him. It is by the grace of God the work of the Guru for our souls that we will know God. We only have

cannot buy God. You cannot bargain with Him. It is by the grace of God the work of the Guru for our souls that we will know God. We only have