Your faith is more important. Some people see the (inner Heavenly) Light and the Sound, but they also take it for granted. And some who don’t see but believe are also blessed. God says so. Don’t worry about it. You try. You try to believe. OK? Even just a little bit, work with that and then continue, and then you will see it. Even if you don’t see the (inner Heavenly) Light, I tell you, many changes take place subtly. Like you change your personality, you change your way of dealing with people. You’re more loving. You’re more stable. You’re more tolerant. You’re more intelligent. You’re more eloquent. […]
OK, next. Yeah. Give… (Master.) Give the microphone to him. (I’m going to translate.) (My English is…) Never mind. You try! (I am a disciple of Peru.) Oh! Peru. You’re from Peru. (Yes. I am speaking in Spanish.) Good. You speak English fine. (My English is more or less...) Never mind. What is your question? (The first is thank You for Your Love, for [being] the guide in my life.) You’re excellent. (Disciples in my country… invitación [invitation] ...) Yeah, invitation. (…invitation to [have a] retreat in South America.) I know. (Perhaps in Peru, in Chile, or Brazil, or Mexico, to retreat.) Maybe. (It [would be] an honor organiz[ing] this retreat. Master, I love You.) I understand. God’s Will. God’s Will. Don’t ask me for another retreat when I’m in one retreat. Because the answer is no. You have to know the time to ask. I’m already swimming in this one. Don’t give me another future. OK. Your English is good. How many people in Peru now? Lima. (Initiated? Sixty brothers.) It’s OK. Maybe in December, the American people will make some kind of retreat. (Oh, OK.) Then all the South American people can go there, if they want to. (Thank You, Master.) You’re welcome. Yeah. Next one. You see how good you speak English? Don’t rely on people. (Yes.) You speak English better than my Español (Spanish).
(Master, I have a question about meditation practice for new initiates and for old initiates. Sometimes the Westerners have a lot of trouble seeing the [inner Heavenly] Light. And can You just tell us in general why people might have trouble in seeing the [inner Heavenly] Light?) Yes, I can. There are various reasons. First, maybe the Western people, their intellectual capacity is greater than the Eastern people, because they are more exposed to a lot of books and science and discoveries, and they’re somehow more highly intellectual than the Eastern people. Eastern people, in nature, they already have faith in the Super Power, in the invisible capability of deities or mankind. The Western people, because they’re more scientific, more intellectual, or maybe more intelligent, and so they find it hard to believe in something that is scientifically unproven, difficult to prove. So because of the lacking of faith, it’s very difficult for you to concentrate. You analyze too much with the mind, instead of sinking deep and plunging yourself in with total abandonment. That’s why it’s difficult to enter samadhi. And once you find it difficult to enter samadhi, of course it’s difficult to see the (inner Heavenly) Light, because the Light is right there where you should go. You just stand at the door and wonder, “What is inside? Why should I go in? I know this house is like every other house. Just don’t convince me there’s something inside.” You know what I mean? “Hey! I don’t see what’s inside. Why should I go in?” Just arguing, standing there and working with the mind more than with the soul, that’s why.
But that doesn’t mean it’s hopeless; there are many people who see (inner Heavenly) Light and Sound, too. But it doesn’t matter. Your faith is more important. Some people see the (inner Heavenly) Light and the Sound, but they also take it for granted. And some who don’t see but believe are also blessed. God says so. Don’t worry about it. You try. You try to believe. OK? Even just a little bit, work with that and then continue, and then you will see it.
Even if you don’t see the (inner Heavenly) Light, I tell you, many changes take place subtly. Like you change your personality, you change your way of dealing with people. You’re more loving. You’re more stable. You’re more tolerant. You’re more intelligent. You’re more eloquent. These are important, because you digest it and make the outcome. It’s obvious. You see? “By your fruits shall you be known.” It’s not necessary to always see the (inner Heavenly) Light. Because sometimes you work, you see the (inner Heavenly) Light, but you don’t think it’s the Light, also. Some people sit there and then they see the (inner Heavenly) Light, and they feel nothing. Or they see like an empty space. There are many kinds of experiences. Or shadows, or sometimes very dark Light, until it becomes bright. Don’t worry about it. I think you’re doing fine. And you hear something? (Sorry, Master?) You hear also? (Oh! Yes. Yes.) Fine, fine. OK.
(Master, we also have a lot of new initiates, they don’t see this wonderful [inner Heavenly] Light and Sounds.) They, what? They…? (A lot of new initiates as well, when they don’t have the big experience, they also lack faith. I’m just wondering if there’s something we can tell them to...) (When they don’t have an experience, they lack faith.) Oh! Yeah. Well, that’s why they don’t have experiences because they lack faith. But also, sometimes if you expect too much, you’re overanxious, then you also hinder yourself. Most of the problems are like that – cannot abandon and enjoy it. “OK, there’s no (inner Heavenly) Light, but I will try to work on it, and (let) come what might,” and then that attitude will help you better. OK? You have to believe, and then things will come. Not the things come, and then you believe. That’s also lucky. A lot of people, they don’t know whether they believe or not believe, they just have it, the experience. Because they’re already pure enough. They believe without knowing. And here you ask for proof in order to believe.
But I still give you some proof already. At least you hear something, and you change your life for the better. But I cannot force your mind to be as pure as I want or as you want. This is your work. So if you don’t have experiences, blame yourselves because plenty other people have. And I don’t tell you things that are not true. But each individual is different, and most Westerners are very difficult to attain this. You see – how many enlightened Westerners? How many? Look, there is one in America who teaches you, very famous now, what’s his name? He’s an Indian doctor. (Deepak Chopra.) Deepak Chopra, he’s an Indian. Sorry. And all of you Westerners – those in their fifties – followed whom? Yogananda. Who is He? Another Indian. And you are sitting with whom now? [Supreme Master] Ching Hai, an Aulacese (Vietnamese)-da. Excuse me, but the thing is like that. What can I do?
Microphone, lady. Yeah. (Master, [inner Heavenly] Sound meditation. When I do it, I just hear my blood rushing through here. I hear nothing and I just wonder, does it take quite a while to acquire it?) No, no. It doesn’t. You probably should try to move the channel. OK? (OK.) Yeah, until you hear the better way. OK? (OK, yes.) And before that, you recite the Five (Holy) Names for 20 minutes. (OK.) Silently. (OK.) It’s OK. Perhaps you’re analyzing too much. Don’t worry. Just forget everything, just do the things. (OK.) And if you don’t hear clearly, sometimes maybe you sit uncomfortably, and you feel hurt or something, and your attention is elsewhere – also a problem. (OK.) Make sure you sit comfortably. Whatever’s comfortable to you. You have to be comfortable, relaxed. Doesn’t matter. (OK, thank You.) But after a while, sometimes you take the (inner Heavenly) Sound for granted, and you don’t concentrate anymore. That’s the problem. (It’s only been ten days, so…) Yeah. Or maybe something’s wrong. Maybe you don’t do it correctly. Squeeze it in. Turn around. See which channel you like better. Sometimes there is static. You know? Interference. Yeah.
(You need to do [at least] half an hour of the [inner Heavenly] Light meditation before the [inner Heavenly] Sound meditation. But sometimes when you’re doing the [inner Heavenly] Light meditation, and you’ve done half an hour, but then something happens, the phone rings or someone comes, you get interrupted. How long a gap can you have before you need to do another half hour of [inner Heavenly] Light meditation before you start [inner Heavenly] Sound meditation?) Just do what you can. This is just an advice. But it’s nothing so rigid like black and white. Alright? If you don’t have much time, then just sit there and concentrate here and recite the Five (Holy) Names for maybe five minutes, and then do the Quan Yin again. Or ten minutes, whatever you like. Doesn’t matter. It’s just a guideline, but you don’t have to stick to it as if it’s life-and-death. You are sleepy? African?
Alright. Next one. Next one. Yeah. Behind there. Are you OK in there? Boiling? Tell me if you’re hungry and we’ll disappear. (No.) OK. OK. Yeah. Please. Yes, ma’am. (Master, it’s the first time that I came to retreat. I am a baby.) No, nobody is. Just ask the question. (I don’t have a question.) You don’t? (No. I don’t have.) OK. Good, good. (Only that in my country, Chile, all the people send me to tell You how much they love You.) Thank you. (To give You a “thank You,” You know why.) I don’t. (And we hope the things in the country get better.) Yeah. (Because we need it.) Every country needs it. (Yes. I know.) We just sent some more money for the other problem in Chile about… (I know. I know, Master.) …before I left America. (I know, Master.) I sent some more. (That’s what I’m referring to.) Yeah. (There has been a really good use of it.) Yeah. (And very quick this time.) OK. Good.
Mexico also has problems right now. And we are sending people over there, and… (And everybody in the Center sends You love, the best, and…) Thank you, I know. (…there are chances that the next February, as the brother said, can be done [to hold] a retreat. We understand You, and if You can come and…) I don’t know. (…we’ll be OK. And if You cannot come…) I don’t know. (…we will have You there anyway.) No sabe (don’t know). (But we will do a retreat.) Later. We’ll talk about that some other time. (Yes. Thank You.) Yeah. I can never make enough retreats because they all say, “Oh, it’s too far from here, too far from there. Why don’t we go here, go there…?” Anywhere.
Here. (Master, I would like to know about karma and free will.) What’s that? (Karma and free will.) Ah, free will! (Yes.) OK. OK. Sorry. (I followed another path of [inner Heavenly] Sound and Light and they say, “Not even the leaf falls from the tree without Hiers command.”) Yeah. (Now, I found at times, I would sometimes use karma as a justification.) Yes. (But if I’m negligent, and I don’t put petrol in my car, and I run out of petrol...) Then it’s karma. (Is it karma?) Definitely is. (Even that is karma. There’s no free will? No free will?) No. I wouldn’t think so. Karma means the consequence (Yes.) of the action. So if you don’t put petrol in your car, I’m sure the karma is that the car will stop. (OK. I’m not explaining it...)
(I think she’s confused between predestination and karma.) (No, no, no.) No, no. (Justification of…) She’s not. She’s not. (If I kill that fly because it was in my way, I’m justifying that it’s karma; it’s in my way, it’s unhealthy, it must die. So I’m using it as justification.) No. (An excuse for...) No. No. You shouldn’t do that. (Everything is karma. Everything.) No. You shouldn’t do that. Karma is a way to explain to the people that you should do things in a right way. You should know the consequence of your doing. (Yes, yes.) It’s not to make an excuse to do things and explain afterward. (Thank You. That’s what I...) Yeah. (Yes. Thank You.) That’s it. (Thank You.)
And I wouldn’t advise you to forget the petrol and blame it on God’s Will and free will. The car will stop. But maybe it’s your karma that you forget the petrol. (No, but it was an example to You.) Yeah, I know that. I know that. (So I could understand.) Yeah, I know that. (Thank You.) God’s Will is like this: Whatever you do, you do it in Hiers Name. Whatever you do, you do it because you have to do it. And the outcome depends. And then you surrender the outcome. You surrender even the action to God’s Will, because you can’t help it, you have to do it. Like you have to go to work, earn money. You have to breathe to live. (Yes.) OK, fine. But free will is that, you can also reject it. (Yes.) But then the consequence will be the same.
