Maharaji addresses a record audience of 275,000

Maharaji told the story of a poor farmer. The farmer wanted to go to town, make money to feed his family, and come back with some savings. As he was about to leave, his wife prepared four sweets for him and slipped a gold coin into each of them. "Do not eat these sweets unless it is an emergency, and you are very hungry," she told him. He promised her that he would do as she said.

As he traveled to the big city, he became hungry, but he remembered his promise and did not eat the sweets. He had fruit instead. A few months passed, and he had never touched the sweets. He was roaming the city looking for work. In spite of all his efforts, he was not able to make a living. Much time passed and he became even poorer and hungrier. He remembered the sweets, but thought, "These are only for an emergency," and he did not eat them. Before long, without ever having touched the sweets, he died of hunger.

The story of our life, Maharaji said, is like this man's. If he had looked into the sweets that had been given to him, he would have been rich. We have also been given something very beautiful within: Within our heart is peace, happiness, just like the gold coin in the sweets. We keep saying, "Not today, tomorrow" to happiness. And our precious time passes.

He said that now is the moment to enjoy the riches that have been given to us, and he gave the example of seeds in the desert. They wait a very long time for the rain, and when the rain comes, they do not say, "I am busy now. Maybe later. Come back." Whenever it rains, they accept the rain, and they grow. Maharaji said we should be like these seeds.


He went on to speak of the preciousness of this breath: Unless we understand this breath, we are like the farmer who never understood the wealth he was carrying. The real human being, Maharaji said, is not the one who carries lists of what he would like to acquire, but the one who is thankful for what he has been given, the one who is thankful for having been given everything in this life. He asked everyone not to have blind faith, but to understand their thirst, their hunger; practice this Knowledge; and experience for themselves that the gold coin of happiness we are looking for is within.

The faculty at the Peace Studies Department of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Nova Southeastern University in Florida invited Maharaji to address a distinguished audience of students, faculty, and guests. Maharaji was introduced by the head of doctoral programs to a standing room-only audience. See a slide show and hear an excerpt

Maharaji addressed a standing-room-only audience of faculty, students, and guests. The University was founded in the 19th century to "advance and impart knowledge across a comprehensive range of disciplines to benefit people by educating them in the accumulated knowledge of humankind." View a slide show and hear an excerpt of Maharaji speaking at the University of Colorado.

Maharaji had first come to Mumbai as a child, barely four years old, and addressed audiences there before his father came on stage. On this visit, the stadium, set in the middle of one of the noisiest, most bustling cities in the world, was filled with tens of thousands of people, patiently waiting under a scorching sun. When Maharaji walked on stage, he was welcomed by a standing ovation, soon followed by an extraordinary silence as everyone became all ears.

Maharaji explained that all people have needs. Some are basic needs such as thirst, hunger, or sleep that need to be satisfied. Numerous businesses have been created to satisfy these needs. In many ways it could be said that the world is need-driven. On the other hand, many needs, he said, have been created by society, and it is society that tells us we should fulfill them. Trying to fulfill these needs that are not our real needs often becomes stressful. We long for more money or for a better job, but these are not our fundamental needs. They are dictated by the society, and they will never be satisfied completely. He explained that the true need is the need that the heart believes to be true. Since we cannot fulfill all our needs, at least we need to fulfill the one main need we can fulfill, the one need that the heart knows to be true.

The true need, he said, is within the heart, and it is up to the heart to say what it is. It needs to be experienced for oneself. Unless peace is experienced in the heart, he continued, a person will remain unsatisfied. When the heart is at peace, on the other hand, the need to satisfy a long list of needs is replaced by an expression of gratitude for being alive.

He added that however deep the darkness may be, a lamp is always burning within us, and that within us are the answers that we are looking for. We search for questions because we think they will lead us to answers, but at some point we need to search for answers. If we find answers without the questions, he concluded, that would be very good.

“There is a basic need of every human being, and that is to be fulfilled. Regardless of who we are—whether we live in a poor village or a seventy-story building— we want to be happy. We want to be content. We want to be fulfilled. It doesn't matter what we call it—we have the same purpose.

We came from the same place and landed on the same dock—Earth. Then we got caught in the web of what we should be doing. The wind of this world scattered us—and we see our differences, not our similarities.

What is our heart saying? Once again, we need to hear and identify the call, the voice, the want, the need of our fundamental being. Not formulas or ideas. We need to feel. That's how we are made.

It comes down to very simple fundamentals. The voice of our heart is saying, "Be fulfilled." When the heart is full, there is enjoyment. When doubt is replaced by clarity, when questions have been traded for answers, when duality has been replaced by singularity, then there is the most content heart. Then there is joy. Then there is a human being on an incredible journey of life.

In the middle of adversity, the human being seeks peace. In the middle of questions, the human being seeks answers. In the middle of doubt, the human being seeks clarity. This is the nature of the human being. This is the need to fulfill.

The happiness that we are looking for is inside of us. Something needs to be felt within. Peace happens to be one of those things. Joy happens to be one of those things—not a joy that comes and goes, but a joy that permanently resides inside. Not a happiness that comes and goes, connected to the outer world, but a happiness that is always there. Even in the darkest moment, that joy resides within me. There is a solid feeling of peace when we go within and find that place.”

Maharaji 

Maharaji delivered the keynote address at "Peace Is Possible," the first conference on peace at this 13th century university near Madrid, Spain. Christopher Columbus consulted with the Salamanca faculty before embarking on his famed voyage. Maharaji spoke in the "Paraninfo," the great hall; he was introduced by the Vice-Rector, who hailed his message as "noble." The audience included public officials from the region, as well as faculty and guests. View a slide show and hear an excerpt from this memorable address.

2003 saw Maharaji traveling to four continents to bring his message to more people than ever before in a single ...   more »

Maharaji had barely arrived in India when he responded to an invitation to address a gathering of distinguished business and government leaders and members of the international media and diplomatic corps. After presenting his message, he entertained questions from many in the audience. The event was followed by a reception which lasted well into the evening. See photos and excerpts