A lot of people say they love me, but when I want them to do something, they don't do it. Not even for me, like even work for Supreme Master TV or something. “I would have... but, however, perhaps, maybe, blah, blah, blah...” I feel really sorry for these people. I don't really need them, just give them a chance, really, a chance to advance quickly, because I thought that's what they want.
OK. I’ll tell you a story. There was a Master, it's a true story in India somewhere, a long time ago. There was a Master, one day, He wanted to take all of His so-called intimate disciples, the close disciples, out to town. And because the night before, everybody was having a festival or something, and in the happiness of “Ching Hai Day,” everybody professed that, “Master, I love You, I'll follow You forever, I'll die for You, blah, blah, blah...” So the next day, He took the whole “love You, Master” (disciples) and went to a brothel. And He went up there, and the chief prostitute saw Him, knew that He's a holy man, she kneeled down and said, “Oh, Master, it's my honor that You come to my place. Please tell me what can I do for You and Your holy disciples.” I don't think they (the disciples) are very holy. Maybe they're not. And then the Master said, “Oh, I just need to spend one night here in your place.” She said, “Oh, that will be done, Master. Anything else?” “And also, you bring me a plate of vegetables, but cover it, don't let people see what's in there. I want to eat, but cover. Vegetarian food but cover it. And bring me a bottle with syrup, the syrup with color that looks like wine. So a wine bottle, but with syrup in it. And then a plate of vegetables, all kinds. Vegetarian dish, cover it.”
The moment they entered, the whole town already talked: “Oh! Isn't that Maharaji so and so? And look at what He's doing with His Maharaj disciples in this kind of Maharaj place.” They all talked, talked, talked a lot, and all the disciples already felt very, very dishonored. And they were just standing there; standing, talking, didn't know what to do. And the Master went upstairs to the chief of the prostitutes' place, and she was just standing by, and He said, “Now, kindly lend me your bed for tonight, and you go sleep downstairs somewhere else.” She said, “Yes, Master. No problem!” She left. And then He ate his vegetables, he drank his orange juice, and then He went to bed to sleep. The next morning when He woke up, He came down – all disciples had left except one. And He said, “Where’s everybody else?” The “love You to death, Master” disciples… “Where is everybody else?” The only one and only leftover disciple said, “They all left the moment You entered the prostitute's room, Master. They all left already.” He said, “But why?” He said, “Well, the whole town talks about them, about You and about them. Like You have a bottle of wine, and You cover the meat plate, otherwise, why should You cover it?” Because if it's vegetarian, why He has to cover it so secretly. “And You have a bottle of wine even, and You go to the room of the prostitute. So they think something's wrong with You. They think You must have fallen, and so they've all left You already, Master. I'm so sorry. Anything I can do for You? I'm the only one.” So the Master said, “Then why are you not with them? Why are you still here?” So he said, “Master, I would have left with them, but I wouldn't know where to go.” He said, “Why is that?” He said, “Everywhere I go, You would be there anyway.” That means he sees the Master everywhere, so what's the use of running away from Him? So, then He chose this one to be His successor, of course. Afterward. But I think He tested them too hard, no? If it were me, I wouldn't even go there. I would build one and make it into an ashram. Yeah, make it into an ashram after the bad ones are all gone. And turn them all into disciples, no? Anyway...
And there's another testing story that I think I've told you already, about the Master who wants to test His gun. (No.) No? OK, in case I did, you pretend you do not know it, and laugh about it. One day… Actually, one of the Sikh Gurus, I think it’s Guru Gobind Singh, but I’m not sure anymore. This Guru, He loved swords, He loved guns and all that stuff, men’s toys. At that time, they had to fight a lot with Muslims, because they also having had different God’s problem. The Muslims profess that their God is better than his God, and the Sikh thinks his God is better than the Muslim’s, or vice-versa, who knows what. So, they are harassing each other. Not really, the Muslims were in power, the government. So, they gave them a lot of hard times, so He needed guns and horse-people, and fighting men. At that time, it was a bloody time for the Sikh disciples and the Masters. They killed the whole family later on, terrible.
But one day, some of His disciples bought Him a new gun. At that time, I think they'd just invented guns. And it's a good gun, with no backfire. So, He said He wanted to test it. So, He said to one of His attendants, the so-called most loyal, and always professed, “Master, You are the best, I'll follow You forever, blah, blah, blah...” So He said, “OK....” Ah, I forgot his name. Just say 'Laila.' Whatever. “I want to test my new gun, but I need a target. Could you please stand there, and I'll see if it's really as good as they have advertised, if it's really worth the money that my disciple has spent.” So Laila said, “Oh, Master, I would die for You, but I have children, and my wife would kill me if I... ...if I died right now, she would kill me.” Can you believe it? “If I die, she would kill me.” And then, the Master said, “OK, never mind, I understand. You go into my horse stall, and ask my servicemen, any of them to come here, so I can use him as a target to test.”
So Laila went to the horse-people stable and conveyed the Guru's message. Oh! They all... Five, six of them all, running, running, came to the Master. One was still combing his hair, the other one was still tying the turban, the other was still tying the shoes. “We are here, Master! I am here! I am here!” And the Master said again that He wanted to have a target to test His gun. So all of them competed with each other to be the target. They all told the Guru that, “Oh, this guy is very good for the horses. He must be alive to take care of the horse-people.” And the other one said, “No, no, that guy is better. He specializes in horse nutrition. Without him, the horse-people will die. I am better to die! I'm better to be the target.” So one after another, they competed with each other to die. So finally, the Master said, “OK, I'll pick one of you.” They pushed back and forth, so He said, “OK, this one, go!” And then He immediately went out and stood there, smiling. So the Guru just shot one time, right at him, but above his head, and then he didn't die anyway. So He said, “Oh, I was just testing you guys. Why would I want to kill you?” And Laila, the most faithful attendant, was very ashamed, and he said, “Oh, if only I’d known the Guru only wanted to test my faith, I would have stood there!” Can you believe it? Shameless! These are the stories from the old time, but it's still very modern.
A lot of people say they love me, but when I want them to do something, they don't do it. Not even for me, like even work for Supreme Master TV or something. “I would have... but, however, perhaps, maybe, blah, blah, blah...” I feel really sorry for these people. I don't really need them, just give them a chance, really, a chance to advance quickly, because I thought that's what they want. Everybody is all saying, “Master, how can I advance quickly? How can I be a good disciple? What can I do for You apart from meditation? Please let me know!” And when they know it, they have all kinds of excuses, because maybe outside is more attractive, or earn more money, or the girlfriend doesn't want him to go, or the husband is so loving, I don't know what. This is the problem of this world. When we are here, I told you already, it's very difficult for you to get away from it scot-free. It's not easy, not easy at all. I don't blame you at all. Just don't tell me all these big stories about how you'd die for me and all that. I don't need anybody to die for me. I need you to live! So that you can meditate more, so that your level will be higher when you really die. Don't ask to die too early. Heaven is full of those people who die early, and useless.
I want to tell you something about... You want (me) to read a poem? I'm not a very good reciter. Maybe somebody would? Anybody who knows how to recite poetry in English? I don’t think you can recite much in English, right? You can maybe recite in Aulacese (Vietnamese) but not in English, right? You can just read it, right? (Yes, it’s just reading. It’s not like Aulacese [Vietnamese].) No, huh? OK. I am trying... How about we put Aulacese (Vietnamese) accent into it, like... It'd be funny, huh?
“You that worry...” I don't think it goes. (Yes!) Yeah? (Yes.) This is a poem of Rumi. “Remember Egypt” is the title. Remember Egypt? No? You don't remember the Egypt story? The slaves, Moses. (Oh, yes.) OK. “You that worry with travel plans, read again the place in the Qur'an where Moses is taking the Jewish nation out of slavery. You so frantic to have more money, recall...” You know, if you worry about money so much, just try to remember this, that's what He means. Recall what? “…what they have abandoned to wander in the wilderness. You who feel hurt, remember the pavilions and houses left behind. You that lead the community through difficulties, read about the abundant fountains they walked away from to have freedom.” Because it’s a poem, so they cut it in some unusual places. Normally, you would say, “about the abundant fountains they walked away from to have freedom.” But they cut it to make it more rhythmical, I think. “You who dress in clothes that appear to have elegant meaning, you with so much charm, remember how your face will decay to dirt. You with lots of property, ‘They left their gardens and the quietly running streams.’” He means the Jewish slaves at that time. They had to leave everything to run away from Egypt, following Moses to freedom. So they left everything behind.
