Prodigal Son

A Satsang (Discourse) given by Maitreya on "The parable of the prodigal son, what does it mean?; What do I say to someone who asks me, "May I see or speak with Maitreya?; False dogma."

 
04/30/1990 Satsang (Discourse) by

Maitreya
 

Question: What can I say to someone if they ask me, "OK I want to go see or speak with Maitreya."

Maitreya: Well, I leave that to your discretion to see if they are ready for it or not.

If they are just coming here to see how I walk, talk, sleep, and eat, if they are coming to judge me, tell them, No, you're not ready yet to go. But if they are coming here to receive the Message and understand the unity of the religions, the unification of every aspect of human life to one, the fulfillment of the prophecies, and believe, then great.

If you give the Message to someone and they see the Truth of the Message, and they see that the Message is beautiful and believe, that's even better. They don't have to come here. "Blessed are those who have not seen, and believe."

What good does it do for those who come here, who see and judge me because I walk, talk, sit, sleep, play with my son, go driving, and go to the mountains? "He's just a regular person. He doesn't do anything. He's just like me and you. What is he talking about that he has the Message of God for humanity?"

But if they see the Message and say, "Yes. It can't be from a human, it is from God," then they realize the Spirit behind me, not how I look, or where am I from, or what is my name. This is the judgmental mind that is trying to probe so it can find fault in everything, instead of receiving the truth.

It has happened to every Prophet. Just like Prophet Muhammad, the people started saying, "He eats, he drinks water, he walks, he talks, what is this? What kind of Prophet is this?" And the verses came, "There has never been a Prophet who didn't eat, sleep, walk, and talk." Always the Prophets come in this way. They come and they talk, they walk, and they sleep, apparently like every other human.

Look at every Great Prophet. Moses, Abraham, Muhammad, Christ, all were born from a woman. They were raised in the society. They were apparently regular people. Suddenly they realized their mission and then the message became the most important thing in their lives.

Those who realize the Message, love the Message, and say, "Now I want to go and help this Mission, help these people to create the Communities of Light, I want to go and help them to manifest their ideal on earth," are welcome. So they come here, they want to be put to work right away, and they can manifest great things. But if they want to come here and look at me, tell them, No, don't come.

So I leave that to your discretion. If you call us to say, "Someone is coming to visit you," we will know you are sending someone who is ready, a person who has already seen the Message, loves it, and wants to come here, help us, and help to bring about the Mission.

We had hundreds of people in 1972 come to us when we first reached out, when we put the call out. People came from Europe, from Sweden, etc, and they would end up at the Mission. They didn't know why they were here.

But they were mostly the people from whom I had to learn. I was really in the process of picking up bits and pieces of information which would enhance the teaching. I didn't know anything at all about New Agers, their philosophy, etc. Before I started the Mission I had very little contact with real society in the U.S., and the world in general. I just came from another country, and I was in the university here when I first entered into meditation, yoga, and similar things. So I was completely isolated from the external world.

When I received the Message and we tried to start the Mission, suddenly this flood of people started coming and talking about these different philosophies. They were so convincing that they really have the truth, that they started even making me believe in some of their philosophies for awhile. They were so wonderful. They were talking about these beings and all those wonderful things, astral projection, this being from the Himalayas, these spaceship brothers, etc.

After awhile, however, it got so confusing, I said, What are these people talking about? One person would come and channel this person, and another one would come and channel the same being but what he channeled was completely different from the previous one. And they never said anything. They talked a lot, but if you put all the channeling together at the end, they really wouldn't give you anything to hang onto.

It was just confusing. They say a lot of words like, "We are all gods and you already know everything," etc. Subliminally they are saying, "You are God yourself, you do not need God." I always felt a contrary spirit from what I received in the Bible and in my teaching with what they were preaching.

But I eventually learned, they have some truth but they are caught in the ethereal level. They're not practical. They don't have any focus. They don't have any center. They couldn't unify. That's why they are not unified, and they never can be unified without an external center.

Have you ever seen anything in the universe manifest without a center? In every atom there is a center. In any organ in our body there is a center. In humans there is a center, our Soul. Without a center nothing manifests. New Agers don't have any center. They center within themselves which might result in self-centeredness. A person might collapse on himself and become like a day star which becomes a black hole. Even light cannot escape a black hole.

So to answer your question, as I said, I'd rather people believe without seeing... Just like one woman in Florida, we loved her so much because she was such a wonderful lady. She never saw me. She just heard my voice on the tape, and she was in love with the Mission. And that was it. Actually she kept her companion on the right track for a long time, probably until she died. And still, when I think about her I feel a lot of love in my heart for her. The flame is there. She never saw me, but she believed.

 

Question: For someone who is taken by intellectual domination, what advice do you give? Is there any solution for this one?

Maitreya: Yes, sing Haree Om Shrii Hung a lot, and dance to Haree Om Shrii Hung. It's very hard for intellectuals [all laughing] to dance and chant Haree Om. It is just very hard for them to dance and chant.

Just go to a university professor and say, sing Haree Om Shrii Hung [all laughing]. He will think you are crazy.

   

Comment: But he looks so happy.

Maitreya: Yes, that is a hard question because intellectuals become so dry. Just as the Bible says, When you start thinking about the universe, and start finding these truths with your intellect, it's so sweet in the beginning. You read books about evolution. Such a wonderful creation, everything has been created by chance. It just goes on, and on. But the more you dive into intellectual endeavors, the more questions are created. You never have all the answers. You answer one question and ten other questions pop up. You answer nine of them and two hundred more questions are raised. It's just like a tree, it branches out in all directions, and you become completely confused. "What is it? How can it be? How can I reach the bottom of my intellectual thirst? How can I understand these questions?"

But when God touches you once, there are no questions left. They are all answered. God created all things the way they are. Your thirst is quenched.

So we can look at it another way. There is a thirst for limitlessness. We can't quench our thirst with our limited intellect, or limited things. So what do we do?

"I work hard for this desire to buy this house. If I buy this house, that's it, I'm going to be the happiest person in the universe." You buy the house. Five months later you feel, "I'm unhappy again." It didn't work. "If I buy an expensive car, such as a Ferrari, that one in that showroom, I'm going to be happy. Let's work hard for it." You even step over everyone's head to get the money you need for the Ferrari. You buy the car, a year later it starts breaking down. You have to spend a lot of money to fix it, etc. Again you are unhappy.

It goes on. You buy two cars, three cars. You buy an airplane. You buy an estate. You can buy anything, just like that billionaire. He's a billionaire, yet a couple of weeks ago he had problems with his wife, and he looked very unhappy. He has to build expensive casinos, etc. Why? Why is he doing those things? Go and ask him, "Are you happy?" If he was happy he wouldn't cheat on his wife, and create all that scandal and unhappiness for himself.

See, you can look at him, If he's not happy are you ever going to be happy being a billionaire? What he's looking for is to quench that thirst for limitlessness. He has to do something with his money, some greater thing. If other casinos are worth half a billion dollars, he has to build one worth one billion dollars. It's bigger. But still the thirst is not quenched. The moment you are touched by God, who is limitless, your thirst is quenched.

What is it about this house? Thirty years from now it's going to start to decay. Probably the termites will eat it up and there will be nothing left [all laughing]. So why should I be attached to it? Of course, it's good to have a nice warm house to have a good Satsang.

We feel so good now. We are comfortable, we have new chairs to sit on. It's good. But we could get by without chairs. We didn't need the chairs.

That's why when you are touched by God, these things become temporary. They are just things you are borrowing for your work. These are facilitators for your work. They are not something to become attached to.

We're not against having a good house. We're not against having a beautiful wife, or a handsome husband, and wonderful children, or cars, or airplanes, or an estate, etc, as long as you give ten percent to the Mission [all laughing]. No, on a serious note, we shouldn't be attached to them. Why should we be attached to them?

This body is going to go one day. When we are young, fifteen or sixteen years old, we think we're invincible, we're never going to be destroyed, become sick, etc. But when we are forty, or forty-five we say, Everything is starting to go, the eyes, the strength, the legs, the feet, the memory, etc. As we become old we start realizing that the body is going. It's less and less efficient. It is temporary.

So what is there to be attached about? What is left for you if even your body is not yours? If this house and all these treasures are not yours, what is left for you? It's your Soul. See? And what is your Soul? It's a part of God.

Actually if the intellect is directed toward realizing God, it can become a good instrument. It becomes illuminated intellect, or intelligence (wisdom). It never can understand God because God is beyond intellect. God is a relationship.

For instance, love, when someone loves another person, they can never explain what love is. But most of the people experience love. For example, everyone remembers their first crush, the first crush they had on their teacher, classmate, etc. Most men and women usually had a crush on one of their first teachers or classmates. Do you remember? What was that? You were so happy. You wanted to serve the teacher, and bring him/her flowers and all those beautiful things.

What is that feeling? Intellectually you cannot explain what love is. That's when the intellect stops. You cannot explain a relationship. An intellect can't go beyond the belief that, "I can explain everything in the universe." If a scientist reaches a point that, "There are things that are unexplainable, I cannot explain this," he is no longer a scientist. Just like now in physics, they are trying to explain the quarks and all those smaller particles in the atom. Well so far, until around thirty years ago, they thought the atom was a block from which all the universe was created. Now they have an accelerator with which they can even break the atoms into smaller parts. They are reaching a point where they can even break those into smaller parts. They are at a point where they can't explain it any longer.

But if an intellect realizes there are things that are not explainable, then it gives up. When intellect gives up then the Love of God is going to come in. Grace is going to come in. Grace is going to come and touch you. When The Grace touches you, you are hooked. It doesn't matter how far you fall, you are hooked.

Just like, we have this sister in Canada. She's been touched by Grace, and she doesn't have any choice. God got her. And when God touches us, still we are not there. We are not in Pure Consciousness. We are not completely His. We are going to fall a lot.

It is just like little children who are newly born. We love little children. The children tell us, Do this for us, and we just run and do it for them.

It's the same thing. Those people who are called, and are touched by the Holy Spirit, are like little children for a long time. They fall. We pick them up and we clean them. They cry. They yell. They kick.

But what do you do with little children? They are so innocent and nice. You play with them, and you love them.

But if the disciple, who is a person who has been touched, wants to stay a child, or a teenager for the rest of his life, then it becomes a little annoying, doesn't it? It's like a little child who wants to stay a little child forever. If the little child stays a little child for sixteen years, you become tired, don't you? "That's enough son/daughter, grow up."

So it is to go beyond intellect, to be touched by the Spirit. Then intellect becomes intelligence, becomes Wisdom. Wisdom is different. Wisdom is understanding, is love of understanding. Intellect wants to explain. Wisdom doesn't need explanation. Wisdom just knows. That's different.

   

Question: I would like you to speak about the parable of the prodigal son, because this parable is a little similar to my life. Would you speak about this parable?

Maitreya: It's just like what Christ said, When you have one hundred sheep and one of the sheep goes away, what are you going to do? You leave the ninety-nine, and you go after the one who went away. You have ninety-nine there. You can be happy with ninety-nine. There's only one that went away. But no, you leave ninety-nine and go after the one who went away.

It's the same thing. This father had two sons and he loved both of them very much. But one of them stayed with him, and the other one went away. So where is your heart now? If you had two sons and one of them stayed with you all the time and one went away, who would your heart be more towards? The son who is not with you, of course. You think about him. You imagine, Oh he's going to return. He's going to come back to me one day. Is he going to come back to me, or he's not going to come back?, etc.

The other son is beside you, he's always there. You see him. You eat with him. You talk with him. You even fight with him sometimes. You argue with him. So the relationship is very close. You don't have to worry about him. But the son who has gone away, that's the son you become more attached to.

So when the son comes back, the Father kills the best calf for him, and the other son becomes very upset. He says, I was here all the time, you never did something like that for me. The difference was that he was with the father. He wasn't concerned about him.

It's the same thing for God also. Those people who come and join Him, are with Him all the time and praise Him all the time, He loves. It's not that He doesn't love them. But for a person who has gone astray, has gone away, and then returns, He rejoices. He loves that person, not that He loves one more than the other, but He rejoices that he has returned home. He has come back.

Just like a disciple here, I loved him and he left us. But he came back last year. I rejoiced that he came back, because it blessed my heart that my son came back. He came home, he was here with us.

So it is like you rejoice more for the return of a son, not that you love that son more than your other son(s), but because he is safe at home.

Also, what specific question do you have about this? Do you have any specific question?

   

Question: The aspect of the son who went away, spent all the money, went to the parties, and had many experiences. It's about his own life, about the aspect of the prodigal son himself. It seems he is like a lot of people.

Maitreya: That's right. The son who spent the money, gambled and everything, didn't think his father was going to accept him. He thought, "I'm such a terrible son. I spent all my Father's money, I gambled away all the money he gave me. I have been such a bad son."

He was so ashamed. He just wanted to go and ask his father, "Can I come and work as a regular worker with you?" But what happened? He was surprised that not only did his father accept him, but he killed a very fattened calf for him, made a feast and invited everyone. He said, My son has returned.

It's just like Father. We fall into Maya, do a lot of things that are not according to His Laws, and we feel terrible. We think, that we are not worthy of God. Father is not going to accept us. "I have done such terrible things. I yelled at Him. I fought with Him. I didn't listen to Him. I said bad things to Him. He's not going to accept me. I'm such a terrible son."

But the moment we return God says, Come back my son. Come, all the angels come, let's rejoice. My son has returned. Let's welcome him back home.

So the prodigal son is the same as all of us. When the person falls into sin and hits the bottom, he says, "God doesn't love me. God doesn't want me, I am terrible. I'm really not worthy of God." You will be surprised how He Loves you already, because God's Love is different.

It's just like a father's love. You have children. How do you love your children? Do you love your children more, or do your children love you more? That's right, the father loves the child more than the child loves the father.

If your son makes some mistakes and comes back to you, won't you accept him? You say, "Sure, well you made a mistake. I still love you." Your love is not a human love, it's the father's love. Father's love is Godly love.

That again is the wonderful thing about couples, marriage, and the family. See, the child needs both energies, the father and the mother, especially if the parents are Godly, or at least they go toward God. They create Godly love for the children.

So if you can forgive your child, your son, and still love him, imagine how much God can forgive and love you. His Love is beyond our understanding. The father understands the love of the father for the son. It's very hard for the son to understand the love of the father toward him. That is exactly the same thing.

Still, you didn't create the son, you were just an instrument. God created us. We are His creation. So He loves us probably a billion times more than you love your son.

So that is why everyone can return to God, everyone. There is no one who is not worthy. Everyone is worthy to God because actually, as I said, the person who reaches the bottom is returning home. The person who has always praised God from the beginning of his life to the end of his life, who never did anything wrong and is always with God, has always been with God. He is just like that son who stayed with his father. So He loves him, but He doesn't worry about him. He doesn't rejoice if he comes home. He trusts him that he will. He knows that he's OK. But the son who never did anything for him, went away and came back, is a lost soul which is saved. Just use your own human experience about it and you'll see the difference. If you have two sons and one of them goes away and comes back, wouldn't you rejoice?

Well, again tonight is a night of a last supper and finishing being together for the last two months with one of you, and the last six months for the other. It's always a little sad to see a member of the family leave and go away. It's kind of like missing one of your members, or like part of your body is no longer there. You wake up the next day, My finger is no longer there. It's not working anymore. It is like our son's going away.

So it can be said that in sad moments also we rejoice. We had a nice feast tonight, our last supper together, which was wonderful. You are both going back to Canada tomorrow and so in a human sense we're going to miss you. But in a Godly sense, of course, we never are separate from one another.

One of you has been here for the last six months. We enjoyed his company, his jokes, his fun, sometimes overdone [all laugh], and his work. Overall, he just brought a lot of joy to the community and a lot of good realizations and deep understandings in many, many levels that we all enjoyed. Of course, he helped the Mission on many levels from the mundane, to drawing, music, chanting, dancing, cooking, and being with us. We enjoyed him very much.

We know that it is summer and Canada is very nice and warm [all laughing]. It's time to go there and enjoy the weather so we can't keep him here any longer. But it's going to get cold again next year. We may pray that there is more snow there and it gets cold fast so we can get him back here [all laughing]. But we are together all the time. It doesn't matter where we are, Canada or here, in India, or Europe, or wherever we are.

Actually we are hoping we will have thousands of people roaming around the Mission, getting things done to expand ourselves, and have Missionaries all over. One Missionary comes, one Missionary goes. Fifty come, a hundred go. And one day we can just have a stream of wonderful white-wearing Missionaries all over the earth with good teachings, solid teachings, not on one level, but on all levels that all can understand.

We are on all levels. Our teaching covers all levels. Maybe that's the hard part of our teaching. It's not just, "Love one another as I love you." That is a part of us, "Love one another as I love you." But at the same time create the Communities of Light, create the Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth, create unity.

We have a lot to be done, a lot to get done, a lot of truth to be spread and expanded all over the earth, or even universe. So we need as many hands, eyes, noses, and ears as we can have. But it is God's work and we trust in Him. As we trust in Him it's going to manifest more and more.

We're not the doer actually. None of these things can be done by human work. The Spirit should be behind it, and it manifests itself on many levels.

And so in a sense we are sad that you are leaving us. But in another sense we feel that the next time you come you are going to stay longer because you're going to be less attached out there. God purifies pretty good. You will say, "I want to go home. I don't want to stay in this rat race out here and be with those energies."

Of course, we also had our other brother who came and stayed with us for the last two months and helped to build some rooms here. Every one of us is a God-sent person. He didn't know anything about the Mission. He wasn't really too much indoctrinated, or aware of what he was getting himself into. But he bravely came and manifested great things. We have expanded the Mission to more rooms, and without him being here it would not have been possible to be done. Of course, we thank R.D. too, who helped him to manifest.

But also we recognize that M.'s energy was very important for the Mission and, as I said, You know them by their fruits. His effort has already given fruits. He didn't come like that fig tree full of leaves with no fruit. A lot of people have come who were full of leaves with no fruit, like the people who came here and saw the flame in the middle of the room but were not willing to stay, learn and manifest.

What are you going to manifest, many words, little manifestation? Those are the trees that wither away, just like that fig tree which had many leaves and no fruit, withered away. Christ went to this fig tree and said, Do you have any fruit? He looked, it didn't have any fruit but many leaves. He said, Go hither, and the tree just withered away. It was no more.

As it's said, "Talk does not cook the rice." You put the rice in the pan. You put all the food around it, and talk to it, "Please cook." It won't do it. You have to make an effort. You have to work a whole day, show forth an effort to prepare the food, to cut it, to take the skins off, to put it together. You put this first, put that second, put everything together. And then you come out with what? Wonderful dishes, delightful dishes that everyone says, "That was delicious, that was good." Why? Because you put forth effort. You put work into it. You didn't just talk to it to cook.

So this is the same thing. M. just came, and he didn't talk too much, but he manifested great things. We recognize that and we thank you for coming and helping the Mission. But, of course, we also know it is God doing it through you. So we thank you but we don't let you have a big ego [all laughing].

So I hope you both have a good trip. My love is with both of you, and I am with you all the time. If there is anything you want to request from me now, go ahead and request anything your heart desires.

   

Comment: The only thing I have in my heart is, I Love you. Just this thing, I Love you a lot.

Maitreya: I Love you too. I know you Love me.