Forgive yourself
Fremont Hindu Temple, CA, USA, November 25, 1993.

Similarly, everyday we are busy with our daily work and we busy with our worldly knowledge and we think we know that much, this much, and then we forgot that we are the great ones. We know more than that. We know above all these things, including these things. Now, the greatest power, the great wisdom, is so big like that, for example, so great, so pervasive, and then we use that great wisdom just to understand a little bit of the worldly knowledge, for example, the medical knowledge or the lawyer knowledge or anything, and then we cling to that. The whole wisdom we use just to pay attention to this corner of the knowledge. Therefore we forgot the whole. Do you understand what I mean? That's it. And we thought that we are very great already, we are this doctor and that Ph.D.. I don't mean to talk about you. I said "we", meaning including myself. Sorry!

So now we think we know that much. We are beautiful. We have this and this certificate and that. In fact, we lost the whole 99.9999 percent of our great wisdom just to pay for that much worldly knowledge. In the end we have nothing because this is ephemeral; this knowledge will change. We know many medical definitions or many medicines have been proved outdated and then replaced by another. Or scientific facts have always been changed, removed and replaced by another idea, and then it would be replaced again and again, as mankind progress into a higher consciousness. Therefore, it doesn't matter how much knowledge we gain from this world or from the brain power of research, we will never have the whole thing, just one little point in the Universe. Just like the water in the cup is proud that he is so big and he doesn't know that he is the whole ocean, you know? When he is connected with the whole ocean, he became the ocean. I guess you understood what I say.

Q. Master, why Krishnamurti said, "Gurus and religion are crutch?" So he refused to be their crutch for his students.

M. Why didn't you ask him? I am not responsible for anybody else's teaching. Everyone has his own independent thinking and philosophy, provided he keeps it for himself. Probably what he meant is that if you are too attached to religious dogma or to any teacher at all, then you will be handicapped. In that sense he is correct. The teacher or the master is not the one on which you lean, but from which you gain experience and wisdom and then you walk yourself, Okay? Most of the time if a teacher is worth his salt he should teach the student this way. Do you know what I mean?

But never mind! Even then, if a student of any master should feel that he is not yet able to develop himself, then he can pray to the master, in the initial stage of his spiritual practice. Later when he grows up, he just automatically drops the master. It's just like a person; not everybody can walk straight. I need an umbrella to walk; my legs are weak sometimes. But when my legs are okay, I don't need it. Yeah? Somebody, sometimes they are naturally born handicapped or accidentally handicapped, and then they need the crutch. It's okay with him. Can you just kick him out? And say, "You don't need the crutch. It will make you dependent!" Understand? (Yes.)

So we cannot just say like this, black and white; to say that the master, the guru or the religion are no good absolutely for people. It's good to someone. Right? If you don't need it, it's fine. If you need it, stay a while until you don't. So I don't preach anything extreme. In my opinion, religions are also very good for many people. At least they learn the virtuous way of life. They fear God. They fear the law of cause and retribution, and many people became good. I tell you the truth. But, as long as we know that this is not the ultimate. Do you know what I mean? Yes, not the ultimate, just like, for example, the master, in the physical body is not the ultimate, you know? The ultimate is inside the master, and inside you! Through the master you will find the ultimate. That's fine! If you have not found it yet, you can rely on the master, to help and carry you for a while, and then you can walk. It's fine. But there is no such thing as extreme as to throw everything altogether. Is it not so?

Q. Master, how long have human beings been on this earth?

M. Wow! I have to count with my fingers. (Laughter.) Do you know how long? What for do we know how long? It's enough to work everyday! It's been a long, long, long time. Some have reincarnated. Some have been liberated. Some come back again and again. So if you want to count this, it's difficult. You can say, eons has past.

Q. Does one have to give up all other teachings, gurus, etc. when initiated by Master Ching Hai? If one doesn't become initiated, can one still pray to Master Ching Hai and receive Her blessing?

M. You don't have to give up your teachings and your teacher; I told you already; nor religion, you don't have to give up religion neither. For example, I am initiated; I still talk about Bhagavad Gita. I still talk about the Bible, the Buddhism and all the things, all the masters, even past masters. So I didn't give up anything! I just enrich myself with more wisdom, more knowledge from different masters, past, present and maybe future. The future masters, you can meet in the higher sphere because they have not yet descended on Earth, but while in meditation, you can see the future masters as well and learn from them. So you lose nothing; you only gain. Okay? If you are not initiated and you pray to the so-called Master Ching Hai, I don't know if She helps you or not? You have to ask Her at that time. (Master laughs) Maybe She does; may be She doesn't. It depends on how sincere you are and your karma.

Q. Master, when I meditate, I cannot keep my mind concentrate at here. It runs all over the place and it talks about all kinds of different subjects. How do I concentrate and meditate better?

M. Is that the initiated or not? (MC: Are you an initiate?) Because I would answer differently. Who asked that question? (Somebody answers: Yes.) That's why we have to go to group meditation. Because the concentrated power will help us, and we have to take time; some people can concentrate right away; some people take a longer time. I have mentioned previously in the lecture. Also forgive yourself. The situation in this world is not conducive to our tranquil meditation and calm thinking, but try again and again. In this world, we have an advantage, that because this world is so difficult for us to practice, God's blessing is with us many folds. So we walk one step and the Master Power will walk a hundred steps to help us.

If we are in Heaven and practice, it's not that lucrative. Therefore in Heaven if you want to practice, it takes a longer time. For example, here we practice one day it is equal to one hundred days in Heaven. That's why many devas, heavenly beings, they like to be incarnated into human bodies, in order to practice faster. It's because here we have all kinds of rubbing force, like karma and situation and disaster and war and suffering and happiness, all these mixing. It's a kind of a high degree fire to forge us. These fires will forge us into a strong, useful tool for ourselves and for the world.

While we are practicing here, we have also the opportunity to help our fellow beings and, therefore, we gain more merit as well. For example, you meditate alone at your home, so you have only one personal merit. But, if you, through your effort or through your eloquence, you offer your place, for example, for a hundred persons to meditate, then you have a hundred more merit to add up to your personal merit. So you have a hundred times more quicker, you understand what I mean? Or you get another hundred persons to come in to get initiation, these merits are also yours. Because after all we are one, the more we connected with more people, the more expand we become and the greater we become, in terms of merit. Mathematical wise speaking, it is like that.

So it is better than in Heaven. In Heaven everybody is having a good time and so they take it easy. They don't have the motivation behind them to push them to concentrate. That is why I say when you are in deep sorrow or when you are despair you pray better, and sometimes you meditate even better. At that time you remember the master more; you say, "Oh, Master, please, please, please ..." (Laughter.) And then you get better experience that day, bigger light, stronger sound or feel more elated, more near to God. So it is good to practice in this world even though it is difficult.

I am happy that many of our fellow initiates practice very diligently. Some come to the center just to look around but later... Well, they don't look around that long because everybody closes their eyes. So they feel embarrassed after sometime and they also close their eyes, and then they see something inside, instead of looking at pretty girls outside. So there is a very good advantage of having a temple or having a center, where people come together and do the same thing, concentrate and one-pointedness thinking of God; that helps very much. So you take your time. You can look around for a while, and then when you are fed up with it, you close your eyes and meditate with all the people. Okay?

The mind is always having trouble to be controlled; that's why we have to practice everyday. Otherwise, I would tell you, "Get initiation and you are the Buddha." No more work! Right? It is because our habit is long term. It has been many thousands of years of time, maybe more! So to take one lifetime to clear all these is hard work, but it's worth it. Or you want to stay here a thousand more years to continue to do that? Well, it's fun! So that is why I tell you to have to meditate longer time, two and half hours or three hours, because the first twenty minutes is struggling. Just go on, go on with it and after about twenty minutes, it begins to settle down. After half an hour, you begin to enjoy, and forty minutes, you are gone. (Laughter)