| The Greatest Sign: Welcome To Guests (This 
		An Open House Satsang), The Greatest Sign, Who Is The Founder Of The 
		Communities Of Light?, The Fourth Seal - Surrendering and Submission, 
		Who Are You?, Does The Maitreya In London Teach What You Teach, Or Speak 
		Through You?, From Where Did You Get Your Teaching?, What Is The Heart 
		Of Your Whole Greatest Sign?, What Is The Lesson Of The Sixth Seal?, Are 
		You The One Whom Gautama Spoke About?, Are You Giving Humanity More Than 
		Christ?, Can You Open The Hearts Of People To The Christ Love?     Open House Satsang (Discourse) With  MAITREYA At The Feast Of Tabernacles 09/27/91    R.D.: (Welcoming 
			the guests in French.) Sal-Om. Welcome to everyone. Welcome in the 
			energy and vibration of 
			Maitreya
  			and the Mission of Maitreya. It is a special moment because Maitreya is 
			here in Quebec, and he agreed to give a public Satsang on this 
			particular night. Actually, we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 
			It is a Sacred Feast. Its origin can be found in the Old 
			Testament.  Concerning the language, are there any who need 
			translation? Is English a problem for many people? Can you raise 
			your hand if you need translation? Well, almost all of you raised 
			your hands so there will be translation. Maitreya agreed to 
			it, even if it is unusual for a Satsang. We will try not to stop the 
			flow, or interfere with the words of Maitreya. Also, if you have any questions you are invited to 
			ask them at the end of the Satsang. They will be repeated, if 
			necessary, in French, and translated into English. It will be the 
			same for the answers. If you look over to the side, there are models of 
			the 
			Temple, and also of a Community of Light, as the Mission proposes them. In the front, 
		The Greatest Sign, 
			composed of seven signs, is hung. It is a mandala, or a yantra.  Also, as you noticed, admission was free. But 
			donations can be made by placing them in the box on the table near 
			the door as you leave. No photographs may be taken except for the people of 
			the 
			Mission. There are materials (literature) on the two tables 
			in the back of the room. At the end of Satsang you will be free to 
			have a look and ask for whatever you want. There is also a book for the people interested to 
			write their names and addresses for future contact or more 
			information. It was a Baha'i Faith group who just played and 
			sang. That was beautiful. We respect that teaching and the two 
			original Prophets. You can notice the fifth sign (the nine pointed 
			star) of The Greatest Sign is a part of the 
			Mission's
  			teaching. We hope everyone will empty their cups to receive 
			the new wine. It is necessary. Maitreyais coming in a very humble and simple 
			way. He doesn't judge anyone, and we hope that no one will judge him 
			(remember the teaching of the 
			Bible). Good evening to all.
 Maitreya: We have a Satsang every night at this 
			time, but there are more people here tonight, how come [laughing]? 
			Oh, I forgot, we have an open Satsang tonight. Well, great. Welcome! Of course, my name is Maitreya. That name, Maitreya, has been given to me by another organization. So a lot 
			of people were witnesses that this name was given to me, fulfilling 
			the prophecy that many will come and call themselves 
			Maitreya.
   Tonight we will go over my teaching a little bit. As 
			we go over it, we can see that this teaching unifies all the 
			religions of the world. Again, the Spirit of God has risen on earth 
			to guide us all to a unity that is only possible through God, or 
			through the Spirit.  Sometimes people ask me, "Where are you from?" I 
			answer, "I am from God. Where are you from?" They say, "If you are 
			from God, I am from God too." I say, "Well, we are from the same 
			place then, and we are one. There is no separation between us." The earth has been divided by categories and 
			concepts that we have created. The human likes to categorize 
			everything because if they can categorize something, they can relate 
			to it much easier. But in order to become a united world, a united 
			people of the planet earth, we have to go beyond these concepts.  The fastest way to do it is through the Spirit. If 
			we realize that all the great religions of the world have come from 
			one Source and one Spirit, then a lot of concepts are going to break 
			down, aren't they?  If the many people who are called Hindus, or 
			Christians, or Jews, or Moslems, or Baha'is, or Jains, or whatever 
			religions they are in, realized that all their truth has come from 
			the same Source, they would have to realize that they are all 
			children of the same Spirit, wouldn't they? There are some teachings that teach that all the 
			religions of the world are basically the same, therefore they come 
			from the same Spirit. But as we go through the explanation of The 
			Greatest Sign tonight, we will realize that not all of them are 
			the same, but each of them have a very outstanding message. If we 
			understand that each of them have a message, and when we put all of 
			these messages together we find a greater truth, not only would we 
			unify all the religions of the world, but we would reveal a greater 
			truth, a truth which is greater than the parts, and each religion is 
			in that greater truth.  So we are going to explain a little of our teaching 
			here, and then we will take questions. As you can see we have a 
			small sign here which we call The Greatest Sign. We have a 
			bigger one up behind me. Since I can't go back and point to that 
			one, I will point to the small one here, but you can see the 
			correspondent for the small one in the back.  I am sure, if you look at The Greatest Sign, 
			right away you will recognize a couple of the signs there, for 
			instance, the signs for the Hebrews ( ) 
			and Christians (  ) 
			which are very well known in the Western world. We say in our 
			teaching that the whole base of our teaching is to bring the Kingdom 
			Of Heaven On Earth. The Kingdom Of Heaven is based on the 
			Communities of Light. And the Communities of Light are 
			based on the Eternal Divine Path. Now you might ask, what is the Eternal Divine 
			Path? Well, if you look at the first sign ( ), 
			the sign at the very bottom of 
			The Greatest Sign, you will see an I-Ching there. Is everyone 
			familiar with the I-Ching? If you look at this I-Ching, it is in the horizontal 
			position. What do we do when we want to sleep? We lie down, don't 
			we? We become horizontal.  The I-Ching in the horizontal position symbolizes 
			unawakened spiritual forces in the human. If some people are 
			familiar with the mystical teachings, it relates to the kundalini. 
			If you aren't, that's OK, it is not that important.  The kundalini, or the spiritual forces, are usually 
			asleep and not awakened. When our spiritual forces are not awakened 
			we don't have any concept of the Spirit. We are really a rational 
			animal. We eat, sleep, make children, and die. That's exactly what 
			animals do also. They don't have any spiritual tendencies.  But when our spiritual forces awaken, then we feel, 
			"There is more than this physical body." We are not just here to 
			eat, sleep, make children, and live for our physical body and die. So that is when we start realizing, and we become 
			more meditative in a sense. If we have not started to meditate yet, 
			we become a more meditative person. Our spiritual forces start 
			awakening and we really become a mystic. We are searching, looking for mysteries, reading, 
			meditating, understanding, getting in touch with people who are 
			spiritually awakened, etc. So this horizontal I-Ching ( ), 
			which is the first sign in 
			The Greatest Sign, relates to all the Mystical Paths on 
			earth. That covers Hinduism, Buddhism, Mystical Christianity, 
			Cabalists, Sufis, and whoever is trying to have a personal 
			experience with God, with the Spirit. So whoever meditates, whoever tries to become in 
			touch with himself or herself, whoever has a mystical tendency, 
			teaches mysticism, or tries to have a personal experience with God, 
			falls into this first sign, the horizontal I-Ching. With the first 
			sign we cover all the Mystical Paths.  Now the next sign you can see is the sign of the 
			Hebrews ( ), 
			or Judaism. If you read the 
			Old Testament, the whole Old Testament is based on, 
			"God wants to find a people who will create the tribes of Israel and 
			create communities." So we teach that after you awaken your 
			spiritual forces, you direct your energies toward the creation of 
			the Communities of Light. This is the sign of the Communities of Light. In this sign for the Communities of Light, you can see that there is a triangle downward and a triangle 
			upward. The triangle downward is the Spirit of God coming to 
			humanity. The triangle upward is the hierarchy which will emerge 
			from the Communities of Light. So after meditation we have to direct our energies 
			toward creating a good environment that is conducive to everyone's 
			physical, mental and spiritual progress. 
			 With the first sign we include all the Mystical 
			Paths. With the second sign we include the Old Testament and 
			the religions related to the Old Testament. The third sign, of course, is the sign of 
			Christianity ( ), 
			Christ. What was the symbolic message that Christ brought to 
			humanity? He sacrificed all the way to the cross for his ideal. So 
			in a sense, in order to create such an environment and create the 
			Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth based on the Communities of Light, 
			not being self-centered, or sacrifice is necessary. In a community where everyone wants their own 
			interests and are not interested to share, that community is not a 
		Community of Light. Sharing is the essence of bringing the 
			Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth. By sharing with everyone in the 
			community, we can create an environment for everyone to have a place 
			to progress physically, mentally, and spiritually. So in the third 
			sign we cover Christianity. Now when we sacrifice, or we work hard to help 
			others, if the people progress a little bit we become very excited, 
			elated and say, "Oh, great, such a great work I am doing. I am 
			helping people." If they don't progress we feel let down and we 
			become depressed. So the next step in our teaching is surrender and 
			submission ( ). Surrendering means, when we do some work we say, "OK 
			this is the work I had to do. I did it but I surrender the result to 
			the Spirit." With this we are not attached to the result of our 
			actions. So we neither become too elated, we don't go too high, nor 
			do we become depressed, we don't go too low. We stay steady, and 
			that is where we want our minds to be, to have steady minds. As it 
			is said, "Be still and know that I am God." So that fourth seal, the 
			very name Islam comes from the word "tasleim" which means to be 
			submissive and surrendered.  But still we might direct our effort to a very small 
			part of the universe. That's why the next step is universalism ( ). 
			The Spirit is everything, the whole universe is the Spirit, is God. 
			In separating one part from the other, we are violating that very 
			unity based on God. That's why the fifth seal is the seal of 
			universalism, or Baha'i. In going through these five steps, meditating and 
			awakening your spiritual forces, directing your energy toward 
			creating the Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth or the Communities of 
			Light, sacrificing for them, being submitted and surrendered to 
			them, and being universal, you become a very dynamic spiritual 
			force.  Such people who meditate and awaken their spiritual 
			forces, who are trying to create a good environment for themselves 
			and others to progress physically, mentally, and spiritually, who 
			are ready to sacrifice for it and not be attached to the result of 
			their actions, and at the same time direct this energy to the whole 
			universe, become the people who are free of all the narrowness of 
			the mind, all the attachment to the results. They ( ) 
			are free to go on and create the environment that we all long to 
			see. So we tell humanity, "Look, we unified all the 
			Mystical Religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Baha'i into 
			one teaching." We are telling them, "You don't have to give up your 
			teaching, it is fine. You can keep whatever you have. But look, 
			there is more. You are a part of a greater truth."  The Moslems don't have to be fighting with the Jews. 
			The Hindus don't have to kill the Moslems. The Christians don't have 
			to be against those who don't have the same inspiration. But by 
			understanding that we are all a part of a greater truth, we can keep 
			everything we have, expand ourselves, and open ourselves to other 
			truths. 
			 Look at the signs right now that we have on earth. 
			What do we have? Do we really have a peaceful earth? Do we have a 
			good environment? Is the air on earth clean to breathe? Are our 
			oceans pure? Are our political systems in harmony? Are our 
			economical systems in prosperity? Is there peace on earth?  We look at it and say, "No, there is not." Something 
			has gone wrong on this earth. We need something to correct it, to 
			bring it back to the peace for which everyone longs but no one knows 
			how to achieve. Now we give an alternative which says, "This is the 
			way to do it."  God prophesied that He would send a unified teaching 
			to humanity. Here it is. He said He would send a way to bring his 
			Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth, and the 
			Communities of Light are the base of it.  So we can see the Spirit of God has again risen on 
			earth to guide us into a new era, the Golden Age that all the 
			Prophets and all religions have prophesied will come. That is what 
			we are to do.  I am ready for questions.     Question: Can you speak French?
 Maitreya: [in French] I don't understand French.     Question: I know the Kingdom of the earth. I am 
			Saint Peter. I work with the government to change it. This is 
			supposed to come in Quebec. Secondly, in the year seventeen I bought 
			over 350 acres. [R.D. asking what is the question] I received the 
			keys to the kingdom of the earth. I am Saint Peter, back on the 
			earth. So now I work with the government.
 Maitreya: There is a saying that God revealed 
			that, "You know them by their fruits." It is much easier to show 
			people that you are Saint Peter by your works. If you manifest that 
			you are Saint Peter, everyone is going to accept you as Saint Peter. 
		     Comment: I have revelation from the Lord Jesus, 
			may I send it to you please?
 Maitreya: Fine. Any other questions?     Question: Could you tell us please who is the 
			founder of the 
			Communities of Light and if you have any books on this?
 Maitreya: Yes, we have literature in the Mission. 
			     Question: Could you explain the essential 
			difference between your teachings and the Baha'i teachings? 
		
 Maitreya: Yes. The Baha'i teaching 
			basically says that all the teachings of the world are the same 
			because they basically say the same thing. We say that is true, but 
			also each of the great religions of the world have different 
			messages for humanity, as we explained. For instance, the Old Testament message is 
			the 
			Communities of Light. God has been looking for a people who 
			will accept Him as their God, or King, and they become a tribe, or a 
			community. They were based on the community.  The family structure is very strong in the Jewish 
			community. They survived so many disasters because of that. So the 
			whole thing is based on the communities and tribes.  You can see at the third seal of Christianity, 
			Christ sacrificed himself for his ideal. Then you go to Islam where 
			the very name Islam means to be submissive and surrendered to God. 
			The Baha'i teaching is very universal. It represents universalism. 
			It says everything basically is the same. So you can see that each religion also has a 
			different message. Although they might touch other messages in every 
			religion, but there are different messages in each of them. When you 
			put them together, you gain a greater truth, which is the Eternal 
			Divine Path, as we just explained: meditation, Communities of 
			Light, sacrifice, submission and surrendering, become a 
			universalist, and then a Paravipra, and that is the Eternal 
			Divine Path.  That is a Path. That is the fastest Path to progress 
			physically, mentally, and spiritually, because each seal frees you 
			from some of the pitfalls in the spiritual path.  Therefore you can see that though Baha'is are also 
			universalists, it says all the religions are the same. But we don't 
			say that. We say there is a difference between the messages.      Question: I want to know more about to be 
			surrendered to God on the fourth seal. You spoke about submission, 
			now I want to know about to be surrendered, to surrender. 
 Maitreya: When we do a work, or accomplish 
			something, usually we become very attached to the result of our 
			action. For instance, when we do something great, we like something 
			in return. That is the human way.  Humans like to see the result. So they do something 
			and they say, "Am I going to receive something out of it?" The mind 
			wants to receive something back. That is when we become attached to 
			the result. We want to have something in return. If the result is good, we feel, "Wow, what a great 
			person I am. I am doing all these great things myself." The ego 
			comes in, and we fall from Grace. The moment the ego comes in we 
			fall from Grace. Or, if the result is not good, we say, "What is 
			going on here? I am putting so much effort on this thing and it is 
			not giving any result." So we become depressed.  Again, a spiritual person shouldn't become depressed 
			because he is not attached to the result. He just does his work. He 
			lets God come through and says whatever he has to say, or does 
			whatever he has to do and says, "OK God, this is your work. I've 
			done my work. I'm here to just give this Message to everyone." It is 
			just as Christ said, "I am just a sower of the seed."  I am just putting the seeds right here. How many 
			Souls are there? How good are they? Whose Soul is going to take it 
			and make it grow to 70 and 100-fold? Whose seed is going to be 
			choked by the world and never produce anything? I know that I am not 
			the doer.  So if I surrender the result of my actions, if I 
			say, "I did this, I gave this Satsang, I put this seed in the Soul, 
			I am not attached to the result," I am free. I can go and do another 
			thing.  Even greater than surrendering is submission. 
			Submission means that you always remember that it is the Spirit 
			doing it through you. You don't do anything, it is the Spirit doing 
			it through you, so there is no "I" involved at all. If there is no 
			"I" involved, how can you get attached to something that you haven't 
			done? Of course, submission is a very hard thing to 
			remember all the time. So it is, "Be submissive all the time, but if 
			you forget and you start getting attached to the results of your 
			actions, surrender the result to God." Be surrendered!     Question: When we don't even know what to do, 
			how do you surrender to God, or submit to God?
 Comment: [from audience] Do not eat.
 Maitreya: Fast. That's a good thing to do. That 
			is a very good thing to do. Yes, that is a good suggestion, to fast 
			and pray. I can't argue with that. But there is another way to look at the Mission, 
			at what we are doing here. If you see that all the religions of the 
			world have been unified, if you see that all the prophecies are 
			fulfilled, if you see that all the signs on earth are pointing out 
			that something has to be done, if you also fast and meditate, you 
			will realize that this is the Will of God. If you accept that, then 
			you will follow to do His Will. 
			 Another way of looking at the coming of Maitreya 
			is that he shows the way. Of course, it might take some time for an 
			individual to realize and completely accept that, but if you realize 
			that is the fulfillment of the prophecies and this is really going 
			to work, and we know that God prophesied that He is going to bring 
			his Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth, and anytime He promised anything He 
			fulfilled it, then we know His Kingdom will come. Who do you want to be with? With the one who is 
			going to bring the Kingdom on earth and fulfill the prophecies, or 
			with someone who is not going to result in that fulfillment? I want 
			to be with the one who is going to make it.  If you find another teaching and another revelation 
			that is better than this one and is going to answer all, I'll follow 
			it too. I haven't found it yet. So if you see that the name Maitreya, the prophecies of the name 
		Maitreya the Christ, 
			the coming of his teachings and all these things that have been 
			given to humanity are here, this is the Will of God, isn't it? 
		 Well, as we said, actually since I started the 
			organization, we received many Maitreyas to our organization. I 
			always told them, "Fine, that is great. First, if you want to come 
			and join together, that's great, let's just join. If you don't want 
			to join, fine, then you go ahead and do your work, and I'll do my 
			work. Whoever is from God is going to manifest and eventually we all 
			are going to find which one is the truth, and which one is not. I am 
			not here to fight anyone." So that is how you know them.     Question: Is an initiate, a Prophet, a son of 
			God, or the Son of God the voice of the consciousness?
 Maitreya: What do you mean by consciousness?   Question: The real question is, who are you?
 Maitreya: Who are you?   Comment: I should be able to find an answer to 
			the question I asked.
 Maitreya: I don't [laughing]. I cannot. Well, 
			who am I? That is a good question. As in Christ's time, they asked, 
			"Are you the Christ?" He said, "If I say I am, you won't believe me, 
			and if I say I am not, I am lying." So be it the same here.     Question: You probably heard about the Maitreya 
			from London. Does he teach approximately the same thing as you?
 Maitreya: Well, we haven't found him yet. Where 
			is he? Has anyone seen him?      Comment: Does he speak through you?
 Maitreya: No, I speak for God directly. Maitreya doesn't speak for another Maitreya. 
		Maitreya speaks directly.  We have been promised that there is going to be a 
			Maitreya in London for the last ten years. Maybe Mr. Creme is mixing 
			up his direction a little and looking in the wrong places. Still, 
			let him find his Maitreya and let's see what he has to say. I would 
			like to hear what he has to say.  But if you have been promised once and the promise 
			was not fulfilled, you say, "OK, that might be OK." If you are 
			promised twice and it doesn't get fulfilled, you get a little 
			suspicious, don't you? But when you get promised four and five 
			times, and you still don't get any result, you had better ask 
			yourself what is going on here.  If you still believe after someone promises you four 
			or five times and he or she doesn't fulfill it, you'd better say, 
			"Well, there is something really not right there."      Question: From where did you get your teachings? 
			From where did you get the Mission?
 Maitreya: Well, you are asking for a story of 
			about two or three hours of explanation of how everything happened. 
			But in a very brief, I was guided, shown and confirmed again and 
			again that this is the teaching of unification and the fulfillment 
			of the prophecies, and it is the fulfillment of many, many prayers 
			to come to earth. It is from God.      Question: Could you talk more about the Hindu 
			tradition, the Taoist tradition, that seems to be at the heart of 
			your whole Sign? 
 Maitreya: The I-Ching you mean? The very center, 
			the I-Ching? We're not teaching Taoism alone. Taoism is a part of 
			the Mystical Paths, it is mysticism. So it is part of the first 
			sign. The center sign has absolutely a different meaning. 
			As you see, there is a red dot in the very center of the center sign. 
			The red dot (actually it is orange-red) is the sign of activity. It 
			is the sign of movement or energy. That symbolizes the beginning of 
			creation, the very center of The Greatest Sign.  As the beginning of the creation started, things 
			started evolving. As it evolved, the two other forces beside energy, 
			or movement, were released. The blue color symbolizes the crudifying 
			force. To crudify means to condense, to make things become smaller, 
			to manifest. The white color is the color of the sentient force. 
			That is the positive force in the universe. As it expands itself it 
			opens up to a lotus. So the lotus is the opening of the creation. 
			The lotustica is the power of destruction.  I've known a lot of people who know it as a 
			swastika. But it is a lotustica in our teaching.  If you want to build a new house, what do you do? 
			You first destroy the old house and then you build a new one over 
			it. You don't build a new house over the old foundation. If you do 
			that, it is going to fall apart after a couple of years. Destruction 
			and construction go hand in hand in the universe. And that is the 
			cycle of life. So the very center sign is the symbol of God 
			Himself. As you can see, the I-Ching in the first sign was in the 
			horizontal position. As you progress, when you reach the fourth sign 
			( ), 
			it becomes vertical. Vertical means awakened, your spiritual forces 
			are awakened now, after you went through the first three steps. When you know the Will of God and you are 
			surrendered to it, your spiritual forces are awakened. And when you 
			continue, when you reach the seventh sign ( ) 
			you and the Father, God, become in each others' image. Do you see 
			these two signs are in each others' image? It says also in the Scriptures that, "We are made in 
			His image." So we and God become the same. We become as God, 
			perfect.     Question: What was the lesson of the sixth sign?
 Maitreya: When you go toward these five steps, 
			you become a dynamic spiritual person, and the Kingdom Of Heaven 
			Within you will be established. You see there are three Kingdoms 
			[pointing], here is one, the second seal (). 
			Do you see the large one in the middle of The Greatest Sign? ), 
			two, the sixth seal (  ), 
			and the big one (  The large one is the Kingdom Of Heaven In Heaven. It 
			is already established. That's why God is in the center.  So that's the Kingdom Of Heaven In Heaven, the large 
			one. Then there is a Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth, which as we said 
			relates to the Old Testament, the Kingdom, and the Communities of Light, the communities that choose God as their 
			guidance. So there is also the Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth, which is 
			this second seal ( ). Also when you go through these five steps, the 
			Kingdom Of Heaven within you ( ) 
			will be established. You will have the justice of God. Some people believe, "The Kingdom of Heaven is only 
			within me." Some people say, "No, the Kingdom of God has to come to 
			earth, there is no such thing as the Kingdom Of Heaven Within." And 
			some people say, "No, we have to die and go to heaven in God's 
			Kingdom." We say all of you are right, and at the same time all of 
			you are wrong. There are three kingdoms. When these three kingdoms 
			become one, then the Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth, Within you, and in 
			Heaven will be established. It is going to be in absolutely the same 
			image as the Kingdom Of Heaven In Heaven. So in this aspect also we will unify these different 
			teachings that contradict one another.     Comment: I know you are Maitreya, and 
			even if you were not Maitreya, you are good. If you are good 
			only that counts.
 Maitreya: Thank you. That's a great realization. 
			You have to keep that, go to the rest of the world and tell 
			everyone.     Question: About Buddha, Gautama, with all the 
			Buddhas before, they always announced the next one who was supposed 
			to come, the next Buddha. Are you the one who Gautama spoke about? 
			Are you the one who has been prophesied by the Buddha?
 Maitreya: Didn't he say that his name was going 
			to be 
			Maitreya? He even said that he was going to bring the world 
			teaching, he was going to be the world teacher. What does it mean to 
			be a world teacher? It means a teaching that covers the whole world. 
			That's what it means and that is exactly what The Greatest Sign 
			does, doesn't it? So you come to your own conclusion. As we said before, if I say I am, you might not 
			believe it. It has to come from your heart. If it comes from your 
			heart then you know it.      Question: The Jews knew it was the law that if 
			someone smites you, you smite him back. Christ said something else, 
			that you have to forgive them if they smite you, or present your 
			other cheek. And you, what is your opinion about that? What is 
			really the thing you are giving to humanity more than this?
 Maitreya: Christ said, "If someone slaps you, 
			let them slap you on the other side." Is that what you are saying? 
			Yes. Prophet Muhammad said, "If someone slaps you, slap him back." 
		 Wow, then which one is true? Do we let them slap us, 
			or should we slap them back?  Our teaching is that if someone does something bad 
			to you individually, forgive them. But if they do something bad to 
			the society, do not forgive them. Because if someone is doing 
			something bad to society, they are affecting the whole community. 
			But if someone does something bad to me, I just forgive them and 
			continue my life. That is where, "Forgive so you will be forgiven" 
			comes from. Sounds good? No? Well, that is what we teach 
			[laughing]. Because, for instance, we teach that the people who are 
			in charge of society are very responsible for what they do to the 
			society. If they do something that is not good for society they 
			should be answering for what they do, because their actions affect 
			the whole of society and their followers.  If you are in the position of leadership you are 
			responsible for what happens. Such people can hurt the society. But 
			if one individual did something bad to another individual, if they 
			want to forgive each other, that's great.      Question: Do you have the possibility to 
			open the heart of the people?
 Maitreya: I hope so [laughing].      Question: To the Christ Love?
 Maitreya: Well, he said, "Love one another as I 
			love you." He didn't say love one another as you love each other 
			[laughing]. 
			 Why did he say that? Because the love of God is a 
			Compassionate Love. It is a corrective love. It is not just words, 
			"I love you," and then eat your breakfast, take your purse, and run 
			to work.     Comment: From inside.
 Maitreya: But that cannot come from anywhere 
			else but inside because God is within you. Not only is He within 
			you, He is without you too. God is everything.  If you find it within yourself, you found it without 
			yourself too. You see? So within and without become the same thing. 
			If you are one with God, then within and without is the same thing.     Question: Is it possible to open the heart? 
		
 Maitreya: That is your birthright. That is why 
			you have been born to be here, to become Divine. And the Eternal 
			Divine Path is the way to do it. It is talking about meditation 
			and practices that awaken your spiritual forces. How can you have the heart of God if your spiritual 
			forces have not been awakened? So that is the first step you do. The 
			second step is to direct that energy to a worthwhile cause, Communities of Light.     Question: How to awake this force?
 Maitreya: Someone can do it for you suddenly, 
			but it is not going to stay with you for a long time because you 
			didn't do it, you do not know how. Someone else opened it for you. 
			But if you want to reach a point where you have your heart open all 
			the time, it is a gradual work. And you have to do it because then 
			you know what the pitfalls are, where to turn, where not to turn, 
			and how to be. Eventually when you reach the point where you open 
			your own heart then you can keep it open.      Question: And what is this work? What is the 
			technique?
 Maitreya: Well, that's what we are talking about 
			here. Meditation, concentration, spiritual practices, the things 
			that are given in every Mystical Path. In every Mystical Path you go 
			to, they are going to give you some techniques.  Have you ever seen the whirling dervishes, the 
			dancing dervishes? They whirl and they dance, or a yogi who does 
			yoga, or a sufi who meditates, or a Cabalist who reads a lot of 
			literature and tries to concentrate on the meaning of them, on the 
			tree of life and all of that? There are many ways, but they are all 
			supposed to reach one place.      Comment: It takes too much time.
 Maitreya: Oh, you want instant coffee [all 
			laughing]. Yes, I know that. A lot of people in the 1960's tried to 
			open that center by using drugs. What happened to them? They got 
			somewhere they were not supposed to go, and some of them just 
			couldn't handle it. Our body is like an antenna and the more our body is 
			strong and prepared for the higher energies, the easier we can 
			handle those energies. Now just put 200v into a small wire and what 
			is going to happen? It is going to burn out. The spiritual path is a preparation. You have to 
			prepare yourself. Those who are looking for an instant realization 
			are not going to be able to handle it very well.     Question: If a spiritual master takes you by the 
			hand and helps you to get there won't it be faster like that?
 Maitreya: Oh yes, that is a very important part 
			of the spiritual path. You might be able to get there by yourself, 
			but also you might get lost by yourself too. You see?  There is a way that you have to walk to get there, 
			and there are a lot of branches that come from this Path that go to 
			places where you don't want to go. If attraction of the world is so 
			strong that 99% of humanity are lost in it, just imagine the 
			attraction of the spiritual world.  The spiritual world is much, much more wonderful. 
			And there are a lot of pitfalls along the way. You gain a little 
			power and you just go crazy. You say, "Oh, I can read this person's 
			mind. Oh, great, I have reached it." 
			 No, you have a long way to go yet. You see, that is 
			also Maya, that is also a pitfall. But the spiritual teacher turns 
			you around from that place and says, "No, no. You don't meditate to 
			learn powers."  I guess you forced me to tell a story about someone. 
			There was a yogi, and he wanted to learn meditation. He went to this 
			master and asked, "Give me something on which to meditate." He said, 
			"Fine, this is a mantra. Go and meditate on it, and come back ten 
			years from now. Don't come to me until you accomplish something 
			great."  This yogi went and meditated for eight years. He 
			returned to his teacher and said, "Come, come come." The teacher 
			said, "What? I told you don't come back for ten years." He said, 
			"You don't know what I have accomplished. I accomplished a great 
			thing."  The teacher said, "Great. You progressed faster than 
			I thought. Let's see what you have." So this yogi took his teacher 
			to the lake, and he started walking on the water. The master looked 
			at him for awhile, then called a boatman. He gave him ten cents and 
			said, "Get me to that yogi."  He got to that yogi walking on the water and he told 
			him, "What you have accomplished I can buy with ten cents. Go 
			meditate again." You see? Greater than meditation is to share God (Satsang) 
			with someone. Greater than prayer is to fulfill someone else's need. 
			Greater than fasting is to feed someone who is starving!  So the spiritual path is a path that we have to walk 
			very carefully, very sincerely, very strongly, and have guidance. 
		   Comments: When we are ready, I mean, when we 
			have received light, there are no more techniques, only the heart 
			remains. It is like the difference to make love and to give love.   Maitreya: Yes, some people say, "God is love." 
			That's true. But also God is everything else. That's why we say, God 
			just is. Put anything in front of It, It becomes that. God is whatever you want Him to be. So God is 
			everything. Also He is the Love that you talk about. What you say is true but there is more to it. God 
			just is. So God is Love. God is creation. God is me. God is you. God 
			is the floor. God is the ceiling. God is this pointer. God is 
			everything there is. That is the God we have to realize. 
		
 |