Maharaji: Awakening Reflections 2001
This video is a compilation of small sections from about 6 of Rawat's speeches in 2001. They were specially chosen, there is a theme. They contain deep, paradoxical, spiritual 'wisdom' without any hint of Indian religion or NEW AGE spirituality. Hindu associations were out as they might alert new listeners to his former reign as Lord of the Universe and anything that might be considered competition for new true believers was scorned. Rawat was unique and only his Knowledge could lead to peace though this peace was not reflected in the lives of its practitioners. Knowledge did not make a person healthier, help them solve their problems or make them charismatic and Maharaji distrusted them so he would not allow them to even speak about Himself and the Knowledge. The 70's cult boom was bust and there was a host of new competiton for the attention of the unhappy. Talk of 'meditation' was everywhere and his followers were now 50ish and fattening, their hair was thinning and a sustained gaze from shining eyes and a brilliant smile were long gone.
He reiterates the standard bases of his post DLM doctrines, everything is a gift, you have been given life, you do not breathe, you are given the gift of breath, you have been given tools: thirst, love, hope, understanding, consciousness, passion, admiration, serenity. Who is the giver? It's understood. He throws in some extra meaningful words to ensure the listeners understand how profound he is being: 'perfection', 'eternal', 'manifest', 'incredible', 'amazing', 'unbelievable', 'magnificent', 'awakening'. Of course, with Rawat, there is also an inversion of commonsense reality. He teaches the greatest power human beings have is appreciation. His new standard for knowing you are "experiencing Knowledge" is appreciation of your life, no matter how bad or good you actually feel because you'll always have existence, that's a bitter comedown from the promise of constant bliss and happiness. The most important thing you can do is to take a breath, then let it be. Have no ideas and no judgement. Appreciate that in your total desolation there is something always there. Total desolation? Whoa. What sort of lives are his premies living? I go down to mild irritation and occasional concern that I might have forgotten something.
He repeats another basic concept that we have all forgotten, repressed, ignored or glossed over our basic need for peace, not any old manufactured peace, only the 'peace' he is selling. He asks, when will you open your arms and start accepting the most precious gift that is taking place? Unfortunately Maharaji's peace is a chimera, nobody feels blisfull just because they're alive and told they should. If any premie is 'awakened' he wouldn't have to tell them to do it. This video is devoid of his usual stories, reminiscences, recent thoughts, talk about flying or about the organisation's successful recruitment. What's left, at the heart of his doctrine, there is nothing but empty words.
The video begins with some scenes of "expressions" at Amaroo, the cult compound. A few people in the audience say they love him and the others think its wonderful. I've left them out.
Maharaji: Awakening Reflections 2001
And what is it about, it is about being fulfilled, it is about feeling that joy in your life.
It's all in the name of fun. Let it come. Let it dwell. Let it come forth. Let it manifest. Let this life manifest. Accept the invitation. Please, accept the invitation.
Are you as happy as you could be? Are you as content as you could be? You have fallen in love with sound. And why not silence? Why? You have fallen in love with war. Why not peace? You have fallen in love with doubt. Why not clarity? You have fallen in love with hate. Why not love? You have fallen in love with death. Why not life? You have fallen in love in knowing when the time is up. Why not when the time stands still for every human being?
What is your destination? What is your recognition? What is this life to you?
It is not like you have not been given tools. You have been given hope. You have been given love. You have been given consciousness. You have been given the ability to understand. You have been given this life. You have been given these tools. But how do you use them?
We, as human beings, have one of the most incredible powers. And you know, there are people who think if we had the power to be able to turn something into gold, that would be incredible. That's nothing. Some people think if we had the power to turn the ocean into milk, that would be incredible. That's nothing. Because the power that we have is to appreciate. That's an incredible power. It's amazing. It's unbelievable. It is, somehow, what makes the sun set. I mean, the sun sets. It sets, it does its thing. The sun doesn't care about anybody, I'm sure. It doesn't even know there are people that exist on this planet Earth. But to have something, someone, on this Earth, who can look at it and say, that's magnificent. The sky is blue, it's blue, it's blue, it's blue for whatever the reason is. But then to have somebody on the face of this Earth that can look at it and say, that's beautiful.
Appreciate. The power of appreciation. Because without that, what have we got? What have we got? Who are we? There's nobody on this planet Earth who lives long enough. It doesn't matter if you live for a hundred years, another ten would be great. If you live for twenty, another forty would be great. If you live for forty, another forty would be great.
Without appreciation, we would wake up, and we would go to sleep. And that's it. And then one day, we would go to sleep, and not wake up. And that would be the only difference. Just a flip. Because every day, we would wake up, go to sleep. Wake up, go to sleep. Wake up, go to sleep. And then one day, we go to sleep, and don't wake up. And that's it. It'd be nothing, it'd be nothing. Nothing. But, we have been given this gift. And it's this incredible gift, to be able to admire, to be able to appreciate. And now, in our lives, the ultimate question becomes, what is worth appreciating? What is it in this world that I can really look at, really appreciate, really appreciate, that works? Not just a fantasy, not just an idea, not just a philosophy, not just somebody trying to whisper in my ear, you know, this is how it should be, or this is how it could be. Not dreams, not fantasies, but really, something that I can appreciate. And not just appreciate it one day, or two days, or three days. What is it that I can appreciate to my very last breath?
What can you appreciate? That's not transient. It doesn't come and go. And there's one thing, that'll always be with you. You realize this. There's something that'll always be with you. Good, bad, right, wrong, doesn't matter. In that moment of total desolation, have you turned and felt something always there?
No judgement, no ideas, no stories, nothing. It's there, and it's simple, and it comes, and it goes, and it comes again, and it goes, and it comes again. And it dances, in and out of you. In and out of you. Beautiful saying. That the air was coming in and out of me all my life. I didn't know. And then all of a sudden I understood it was not air. It was life itself. That was how my manifestation of my existence was taking place. It was my serenity. It is my serenity. It is my home. It is my life. It is my longing. It is my fulfillment. All in one. All in one. And I bet you always thought longing is in one place and fulfillment of that longing is somewhere else. All lumped together in one thing. The thirst and the water. In the same ocean of life. Longing and fulfillment in the same being. Darkness and light in the same being. Good and bad in the same being. Just and the unjust in the same being. Confusion and clarity in the same being. I mean talk about ocean. Yes, this life, this existence is an ocean. And there is passion. And it has the power to make waves that can destroy the mightiest. And it has the power to calm down and become so gentle that it will caress and even support little, little pieces of dirt called sand. It can do that. It can take giant tankers of ego, of accomplishments and of all of those things and dunk them down like it didn't matter. Tear them apart. Water. This ocean. And then be so gentle that a leaf is floating on it for miles and miles and miles and is totally supported. This extremes that are within us. To discover everyday this beauty, this gentleness, this passion. Passion. To discover. To discover. Not take it for granted. To be surprised everyday. Every single day to be surprised. This is possible.
Of all the things that you do in your life and will do in your life, there will be one that is the most important. And if it is incredibly simple, as simple as to take a breath. Then let it be. To be in that joy, then let it be. To be content, then let it be. Don't make this life complicated, which it isn't. It is a very simple rhythm of existence, of coming, of going, of being here. And in this being here, there is everything. There is you. There is your understanding. Your capacity to be able to love. Your capacity to be able to understand. Your capacity to be able to appreciate.
You are going somewhere. You are going somewhere. But if it doesn't happen to be the place where your thoughts are, where your dreams are. You think you are headed in the wrong direction. Direction. The true direction. The true direction. What is that true direction? What is that real direction? Where that drop of water begins to mean something. Where that hope means something. Where understanding means something. Where clarity means something. Where love means something. Where contentment means something. Not just fulfilling of desires. Contentment means something. Where being alive means something. Where taking a breath means something.
Life is delicate. But there is an incredible beauty. And for those who have the heart to admire. This is one of your qualities. This is one of your qualities. Admiration. And you have never used it independently. It has always been attached to your dreams. Very hard for you to admire the simplicity of being alive. Being alive. Of being. Of existence. This is what you have. This is your greatest commodity. This is your greatest wealth. This is your greatest riches. The most irreplaceable has been handed to you. Has already been gifted to you. Only waiting for acceptance. Only waiting to be admired. Only waiting to be touched by the purest of the hands of the heart.
I talk about only one thing. I talk about that breath. I talk about, not about your ideas but about you. I talk not about who and what you should be. But your potential to understand that joy, that peace that dwells in your heart. Yes. I do the impossible. I peel the two things apart. Nobody in this world wants to peel the two things apart. Because everybody is like, no, no, this has to be glued. Your existence is what is happening in your life. And I am saying, no. What is happening in your life is transitory. It will change. However, one thing you will always have as long as you are alive is your existence. Good things will happen and bad things will happen. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. Good things will happen, bad things will happen. And yet you will still have this thing called existence. Things will go your way and sometimes things will not go your way. But you will still have this thing called the existence.
Existence is not a joke. Existence is not something that you can just say, well, it just happens to be happening to me so I don't know what to do. Yesterday, I was watching this documentary. It was about parks. And in that documentary, they were talking about how people used to come and sit down in these parks and watch the world go by. And it hit me. Have I got not something better to do in my life? Where the most precious thing is taking place, the most precious thing is taking shape. I am here, I exist, I have been given this gift. And when do I open my arms and start accepting it? When do I open myself? Me. As a human being, as an individual, as a person on this planet Earth. I don't know what that means. But I do know that it means something to be alive. It means something to be given this gift so that I can breathe, that I can exist. And I look for something profound. I look at a sunset and I go, wow, that's incredible. I look at a sunrise and I go, isn't that special? I look at shooting stars and I go, incredible. And what about my breath? As it comes in, do I also open up and say, unbelievable, unbelievable. Because you can explain why there is a shooting star. But how do you explain this breath that comes in and out of you? How do you explain?
It's true that in this world, you know, so much is going on. And so many people doing so many things. It's kind of hard to even imagine. And of course, one can start to get into it and say, why do all these people do all the things they do? Is that good? Is that bad? Is that right? Is that wrong? And that's an area that I don't want to get into. People do what they do. But I also know that regardless of who they are, regardless of where they are, it doesn't matter what country they live in, what language they speak. Fundamentally, there is something going on inside every human being that is exactly the same. There are people, and we judge people, in how they look, what color they are, if they're tall, if they're short, if they're fat, if they're skinny, male, female, if they're educated, or if they're not educated. It's such a grid. There is such a window that we have created through which we look, we can't shake that. We try to, once in a while, but we can't shake it. It's there. But to look beyond that window and see that something is happening for every single human being. That there is a breath that comes in each person. And that there is a thirst. A thirst. A want. A wish. To be fulfilled. I'm not putting this in very complicated terms. I'm putting it as simply as it is. I'm not trying to preach to you. I'm not here to tell you what is good, what is bad, what is right, what is wrong. Because there's already plenty of those. There's no shortage. Everybody wants to preach. Oh, this is right for you, this is good for you, this is what you should be doing, this is what you shouldn't be doing. And it changes. You can literally cross a ravine. You can cross a little river and it will change. What is good, what is right, what is wrong. But what about this thirst? What about this breath? What about this existence?
Man, human beings, they can move mountains. If they want to, they can move mountains. They can change the course of rivers. That's all human potential. But if you talk about human potential without referring to the thirst, then what good is the potential? This is actually a very beautiful reality. That each one of us has been given a wonderful thirst in our lives. And given this thirst, we have been given an opportunity to fulfill this thirst in this life. This is what living is all about.
Sometimes I really do see myself as a person who goes from town to town and brings people some news. Remind them about something that they forgot. And that's all I need to do. That's all I need to do. All I need to do is remind you. I don't have to tell you anything new. You don't need to know anything new. Your salvation lies in remembering. Your salvation. You don't have to create thirst. You just have to feel it. And the day you do, the day you feel thirst in your life, you will go running, looking for water. Which is everywhere. Which is everywhere because it is within you. You are not without that water. You know that. You see, you know that. But you have forgotten. You have forgotten.
Let me show you the place where there are answers within you. In the silence where there is no coming and there is no going and yet the most powerful is coming and the most powerful is going. You want to know what's going to happen to you tomorrow? Then hold still and feel this breath. And you will know there is no tomorrow. There is only this moment called now. You want to know what is eternal? Then this is what is eternal. Eternal.
There is an instrument being played. It's a unique instrument. It's a different instrument. It's not like a violin. It's not like a sitar. It's not like a guitar. But here it is. And it is played by the breath coming in and out of it. What kind of sound do you think it makes? Well, that's an interesting question. What kind of sound does it make? When this instrument is in that perfect tune, gratitude spills out. And it's a beautiful, sweet song that comes out of it. Its melody is unparalleled. Its rhythm, its timing is exquisite. Its harmony, divine.
This breath comes and touches me like a harp. It plucks that string. And this incredible resonance resonates through my whole being. For so long, the strings of this harp were taken out and put away. Oh, safekeeping. And somebody came along and said, you know, you're a wonderful harp. Let me string this for you. Let me tune this for you. And then you will play.
This is about your breath, not somebody else's breath. This is about your understanding. This is about your joy. This is about your appreciation. To actually set yourself up so that you can appreciate this existence. The possibility is that every day, with every breath, you can appreciate. That's the palette. That's the, if you would say, the extreme of it. A joy unparalleled. To witness this breath come in and have a means to be able to appreciate that. A gratitude that is 100% real. Because it comes from the deepest place within you. Nothing synthetic. Not a book that you have read that said, you should look at this, this way. No. Real. As real as drinking water. As real as witnessing a sunset. As real as your own breath is. This is the possibility. This is the human possibility.
I can look at a beautiful river. I can't take the river with me. I can't. But I can appreciate it. As one individual, I may not be able to change the course of the river. Nor may I be able to change the shape of the trees. Nor may I be able to make it a clear day. But I can appreciate. Whatever it is, I can appreciate. This is my potential.
You have been given a thirst. And you have been given a thrust. No, no. I'm not using the wrong word. Thrust. So that you will not become shy of evolving. So that you will continue to evolve. You will continue to understand. You will continue to grow. You will continue to appreciate. Appreciation is nothing to be taken lightly. Appreciation is what makes the difference between somebody who says, I can't paint to somebody who can paint so incredibly that you can look at it for hours and hours and hours. Why? Why do you think that is?
What is the difference between somebody who just picks up a guitar and goes, whang whang whang
and somebody who plays it and plays it so beautifully. What do you think it is? What do you think that made this person study this guitar for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours? What do you think it is? What do you think it is that takes that person and he sits there and he sketches that scene in front of him he sketches it and sketches it and sketches it and sketches it and throws it and sketches it and throws it and sketches it till it's perfect. What do you think perfection is? Take away appreciation from perfection and do you think you will have anything that is perfect? Appreciation. The gratitude of that heart that is filled with that beauty with that bliss because it has heard the instrument play where the breath came in to this tool and it vibrated. Without that appreciation, you will never be able to understand the perfection of this instrument. Without that appreciation, you will never be able to understand the perfection of what it is, what it means to awaken.
Awakening is not getting hit over the head by a rock. Awakening is when you release your re-recognize, re-recognize your fundamentals. Those smallest things that you thought were so trivial, you didn't care. Those little things you thought didn't matter, they did and they do and they will. And this breath, this breath that you never seem to care about, it matters. And this life that is thrown away every day in some kind of a fake knowledge that it'll be there tomorrow again matters, matters. And this existence and this power to know and this power to behold.
Ah, aren't the flowers lovely? And if the flowers could only speak, if the flowers could only speak, what would they say? I know what they would say. Human, you're the most incredible flower, most incredible flower. Human, you can speak, you can sing, you can dance, you can see, you can experience, you are, you are. You're gifted by the incredible blessing of this breath, of this life, of this existence. Don't waste it. Like a cycle I go through, so do you. I bloom, my leaves fall away. My hope, I can perpetuate my species and bribe, I offer nectar so the bees may come and land. My beauty you admire, but forget not to admire that which allows you to admire. Because without that, would a rose be pretty? No, it'd be nothing.
You, an incredible gift that has come upon this earth. Realize that you are an incredible gift that has come upon this earth. Appreciate it. Open that gift and appreciate it. This is what it's all about.