When I left the Himalayas, I thought I knew something. But when I came to the West, let me tell you that I learned a lot. I came to Detroit, and there I spoke, after the conference was over. So, when I wanted to cross the road, green light turned into red light. And I had to wait. So I always used to meditate wherever I went. I forgot to cross and again there appeared red light. It took me 15 minutes to cross the road. So there a policeman stops me, “Lord, which country do you come from?” I said, “Of course from Himalayas, India.” He said, “Nobody walks on the streets of Detroit. People are killed here.” I said, “Why are they going to kill me? I don’t have anything. I don’t possess anything.” “No, no, out of fun people kill here. You understand?” I said, “Out of fun?” After the congress was over I was invited at San Diego, and in the evening I go for walk. So I was staying with a guest, with a host of mine. He was a doctor. He said, “Don’t go out, people are dangerous here.” I said, “What will they do?” “They will beat you up.” I said, “If I deserve, they should.” Anyway I went out, I walked, I was walking, as I walk freely. Many people wonder and say, oh he’s very egotistical the way he walks. No, you should learn to walk straight. When you keep your head, neck, and trunk straight, when the spinal cord is straightened, you will enjoy your walk. Don’t put your weight on the locomotor. Then you walk, you walk like dancing. So I was taught to walk that way.
Suddenly two huge men came. “We are going to beat you up.” I said, “Ok.” So I threw my shawl on somebody and hit the other person. Whom I hit, he fell down. I said, “What have you to say?” “Are you a karate master?” I said, “I am a kung fu master.” They said, “Sir, what is your fee?” I said, “Only $40.” One ran away, other paid me $40. And then I said, “Look here, don’t come to this colony again. And don’t do this again, remember this.” “Can you teach us?” I said, “I don’t have time. I have to leave tomorrow.” I had to learn many things to prepare myself to come to the West. How to cross the road, how to drive the car.
But let me tell you, when you analyze life with currents and cross-currents you come to know that life is clearly divided into two aspects—life within, and life without. If you are trying to understand and analyze the world, you will fail for you have not understood your internal states. The problem of modern age is communication. Swami Rama Tirtha said two people fight because they don’t understand each other’s language. That’s why they fight. Language is a poor media of communication. Communication starts on thought level, on emotions. Before you came here, I knew you, you knew me. And we are knowing each other well. Even you have left, and I will be here, we will be knowing you, we will be knowing each other. Why this gap of communication? One nation, with one nation to another. First word, second word, third word, you talk of many words. Why this communication gap? Because we human beings are still primitive. We have not established a bridge between the two external and internal states. It’s important for us to know external world. External world offers the means but if those means are not applied carefully, external world creates a large wall between you and the reality.
Now, let us analyze. Is there anything in the external world that will help us knowing the truth, or reality, or center of consciousness within that is called master within, anything? Let any scientist come forward and say yes, we have got large telescope and we can see sun, moon, and stars, and we can see all the galaxies. You are able to see, and you will be able to see. But if you turn that towards yourself you will see nothing. Laws are different in the internal world. Educational system today is very superficial, based on imitation. A particular system that doesn’t offer much. Best part of education comes when you have come out with flying colors from colleges and universities, and then you try to learn and understand yourself. That is called self-education, how to educate yourself. And for that you need some qualities. You need to understand things as they are. If someone says bad, you have not to accept it. If someone says good, you should accept it in unattached way. This way you go on learning. Everyone is teacher for a student. If you are a student of life, you learn from everywhere. You don’t jabber much just listen to the people, and learn that method which is called filtering. The greatest of all filters is time. Do not forget, what you have to do today, do not postpone it for tomorrow. You have all the capacity. Don’t ever say that you cannot do it, you cannot be successful. Always say that I will do it, I have to do it, and I can do it. Never lose that courage. A human being has tremendous power if he knows how to dive deep into the inner recesses, how to fathom all the states of consciousness within. He can come out with beautiful things which will be helpful for others.
(c) 2018 Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust
