God Is Good, Becoming A Community Of Light, Why To Do Good Is God, To Do Bad Is Not God?, Why Use Past Tense, "They Were All In The Path Of Becoming Pure Consciousness?", Will The Kingdom Of Heaven Come In Our Lifetime?, How Do We Get Past Labels: Christian, Jew, etc?

 
Satsang (Discourse) With

Maitreya

At The Feast Of Tabernacles 10/04/90

Maitreya: We have decided to become a community for this week and create a Community of Light here, so we can know what the community is. What does Communities of Light mean? One meaning is to share our problems with each other.

If you have a problem, you can just bring it up and say, "Well I just don't feel I can handle this situation. How can you help me?"

We had one of the sisters who had a problem with her child. It was very hard for her to take care of him and do the morning program, and she shared with us. We discussed, how can we solve the problem? We eventually solved the problem.

That is the whole idea. You have this problem, this real problem. How can we solve it? Of course, your problem is your problem, but community tries to help us out.

As we said, 99% of your problems are not really problems. 99% of your problems are related to the ego. But if you are community stuff and you want to be in the community, then you bring your real problem to the community and say, "I have this problem, how can it be solved?" Then people in the community will give you their suggestions. "Maybe you can do this. Maybe you can do that." After some brain storming and discussions eventually, probably with some compromise, a solution will be found.

That's the only way the community can know that you have a problem. If you don't say anything about it, everyone has to meditate all the time to see what the others' problems are, to solve them. That is a waste of meditation. You have to bring it out in the open and say, "We are a community. We are going to be here for a week, it's a long time. We all have to work together to make it work, to create a true Spirit of community among ourselves."

But one week out of a year is not too much to give to the Lord and be with Him. Of course, you also have to try to adjust yourself a little bit to this situation too. But if there is a real problem, then you should bring it up and everyone will try to solve it.

You cannot complain, however, until you have the solution for the problem. If you don't have the solution for the problem, at least try to solve it first, don't complain. If you do not even try to solve it, what is the complaining really going to accomplish? Nothing. It's just going to create an uneasy situation for everyone, and you can be labeled as a whiner. You are not community stuff. You did not want to be in the community in the first place.

Then we can do nothing about it. All kinds of problems, the smallest problem, is going to become very big for you. It will become even exaggerated for you, and you will say, "Well, it's not going to work for me," and it's not going to work.

But if you are a part of the community, then really it's our problem. You can bring it up and we can come together and all solve the problem, but it should be a real problem, not related to anything else. As I said, there might be only 1% of the real problems on earth, and that 1% will be resolved very easily with cooperation.

The rest is really joy, praising the Lord, dancing, chanting, reading Scriptures, finding out about His Work and His Ways, and being happy. The more we know about His Ways, the happier we will become. The more we want to follow our own way, the unhappier we will become. It's a very simple way, a simple thing.

His Word is already in the Scriptures. He's given it in the Upanishads. It's given in the Old Testament. It's given in the New Testament. It's given in the Koran. It's given in the writings of Baha'u'llah. It's given in the writings of many Gurus and teachers all through the earth. Also it's given in THOTH. So with reading those Scriptures and finding out what His Words are, then we can follow them and come to the Joy.

He created this universe, so He knows better than anyone else how you can be happy in it. If you follow His Word, if you have a problem, it would solve all your problems because really knowing Him is knowing Self and knowing Self is knowing Him. When you know Him or Self, how can you have any other problems? Other problems are really created by yourself.

So if you have a true problem in the community, bring it up. Don't keep it inside where it will bubble, bubble, bubble, and suddenly burst out as anger, resentment, etc, because that's one safety valve so it doesn't explode. It just explodes if you don't let it out. You have to let your steam out once in awhile. If you bring it up and let the problem be solved nothing will be left inside to burst out.

 

Question: If I do something good I can say, God did it through me. But if I do something not so good, if I do something egoistical for example, I can't say God did it through me. Can you explain this?
 

Maitreya: Yes. Actually if you look at the name "God" and the word "good," the only difference is one "o." God is "G-o-d," good is "g-o-o-d." So God is good. Whatever is good is God. Whatever is not good is not God. It is that simple.

If we let God come through us, because God is good, He always does good. Anything we do in the Spirit is going to come out good, no matter how bad it looks sometimes to others. If we really do it in the Spirit, if we really go to the Spirit and it comes from the Spirit, it's eventually going to come out good.

Maybe you will be opposed, just like Christ. He came from the Spirit. He even was crucified, but because the Spirit was behind him and he came from the Spirit, eventually his actions became fruitful.

All the prophecies about him came true because they told that he would gather all the people together. His teaching would become one of the great religions of the world. When he was crucified there was only a handful of people who really knew him and were with him, or listened to him, or wanted his teachings. But because he came from the Spirit, his work was good.

It's the same thing. If we come from the Spirit, no matter what the situation is, we are going to succeed because the Spirit succeeds. Of course, sometimes the Spirit's work looks slow to us. If one day of God is one thousand years, so what is one hour? A couple of hundred years?

So His Work is slow to our eyes. We think we have to do everything in this lifetime. If something is not going to be done in this lifetime we think, "Probably we shouldn't even touch it."

But, there's a story that a king was riding one day with his company. They came across this old man, who was around 100 years old. He was so old that he couldn't walk very good. However, he was trying to plant a tree, a very tiny tree. It would probably be fifteen to twenty years before the tree even looked like a tree.

The king was very amazed at such an old man putting this tree in the ground. He said, "What are you doing, old man? You're not going to be alive when this tree is grown up and fruitful." He said, "It doesn't matter. Other people planted and we ate, we plant so other people will eat."

You see? So the more important thing is how my life is going to benefit others and the future. If I don't see it, it's alright. It is not important that I be concerned if my work is going to be fruitful in this lifetime or not. The most important thing is, I am going to plant it, I am going to water it, I am going to trim it, I'm going to prune it. I'm going to take care of it. When I am gone, that's fine. That tree might grow and give good fruit, and feed many people after me, or give shade to some tired travelers who come, lay down under it, and become comfortable.

That's why we don't have to worry about how slow or how fast things are going to happen. If we come from the Spirit and it's God, it's good. When it's good, it's going to give good fruit.

So God is good and He always gives us good things to do. When it comes from the Spirit it is going to be good. If it is not good, it is not God.

It is just like that murderer in New York who said, "God told me to kill those people." That is ego. That is a twisted kind of logic. God doesn't tell us to kill people. He actually said in the Scriptures, "Thou shalt not murder." How can a God who said, "Thou shalt not murder," come to us and say, "Murder?"

So we can twist God's Logic, or God's Way, to our own way, to fit our rationalized mind. We rationalize things for ourselves. "That's the way I'm doing it because that's the way I feel good about it. If it feels good, do it." However, if it feels good but it is against the Word of God, don't do it. Actually Maya feels very good in the beginning. It feels good, it feels very, very great. It looks good, and it makes you probably knowledgeable (knowing of the good and evil).

It is just like when the devil was talking to the woman. He said to her, "Eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It's going to make you feel good." But what happened at the end? She was thrown out of heaven. She was thrown out of the Spirit.

She actually became ethereal, because that reference to woman is referring to the lower nature. So what happened was that she was thrown out of the Spirit. She said, "I know better than God what is good for me." The moment you say that, you create your own laws, you create your own way of thinking. Then you're not doing it in the Spirit, you are doing it from the rationalized mind. You rationalize your actions.

That's why it's so important to read the Scriptures, to know His Way, to meditate, and to understand His Way, what Way He wants us to do things. If we realize that, then our life becomes happy. If we don't, we might look happy, we might act happy, we might pretend to be happy, but inside there is an emptiness, there is something for which we long.

We long for the Spirit. We long for that peace of mind. We long for the Goal (be One with Him) and Happiness that is our birthright.

When we realize that, we want to follow God's Way, and as we follow God's Way, that Joy, Happiness, and Peace are going to come to us.

Actually one person said, "I didn't understand the Ten Commandments until I followed them. After I followed them I realized how strong my Spirit became, how strong my Self became, how strong my personality became, how in control I became in my life because temptation wasn't able to take me where he wants, or Maya couldn't take me where it wants to take me. But I took myself where I wanted to go and to be. Where did God want me to be? I wanted to be in the Spirit. Why? Because it's Good." And if it is good it's going to give you good fruit.

When you are in the Spirit and you are doing in the Spirit, you don't worry about anything. Don't let your mind come and drag you down, "Oh, no, I shouldn't have done that. No, this shouldn't be. Maybe I'm wrong, etc." Meditate. When you reach that calm state of mind, in the calm state of mind that quiet voice of God tells you something which is good -- if it's not good, it's not God, remember? -- if it is good, do it. It's going to give you fruit.

That quiet Voice of God is so quiet that you can't even hear it. You think you heard it, but at the same time you don't know if you heard it or not. But it is, at the same time, very powerful and strong, and you have no doubt that it is Him. That is the voice of God and He is guiding you toward what action is to be taken to take you to the next step.

That's what meditation is all about. Meditation is to know what is the Will of God. You know, someone asked me, "What am I supposed to do in my life? I don't know my talents." Go meditate and hear that voice within you clearly tell you what is the goal of your life and why you are here.

Of course, reaching that quiet voice sometimes is difficult. We're living in a world that is noisy. It is full of pulls, attractions, and a lot of things that call us toward them. So our minds are not calm enough to hear that voice.

That's why God sends the Scriptures, to guide you to that quiet mind. It is just like a very hard path with a lot of turns, holes, and different creatures who might snatch you up along the way. But some people eventually make it. Some of these people who have walked this path, who may have fallen a couple of times, who have been snatched by the creatures and the thorns tore up their bodies, eventually made it to the end of the road.

After they make it, they come back and tell us, "If you reach this turn, don't turn right, go left. If you reach this place, don't just step on it, jump over it, etc." So they give you a map.

That's the Scriptures. They are a map for going to God, if you read them and understand them!

If we look at the seven main religions of the world, represented in The Greatest Sign, and we read all those Scriptures and become familiar with them, we will see a thread, the same thread within all of them. The same repetition of this map to get to the Spirit is in all of them. There is a thread between the lines which is very similar in all of them. There are also differences which are explained in The Greatest Sign. These are what that map, that drawing is: how to go to God.

If anything is not according to that map, it is Maya. It is our rationalized mind. It is not good. It is not from the Spirit.

That's why Christ said, "Have a discerning mind." Discern the situation. I don't mind you asking me thousands of questions about my Mission, why am I doing this, about my motives, about my meditation, and trying to find faults in me, but right faults.

I don't want you to find faults in me if they are not really there, or you see them through a filthy ego, or you try to find one because you feel this Mission is so hard to do and it is such a hard path to follow, so you find faults that are not really there. You are creating excuses not to be here, or not to do the Will of God.

That is your problem really. But if you're discerning with the real discerning mind, asking questions to know what is the Spirit behind this Mission, and eventually see the Spirit and accept it, that is wonderful. That is much better than just coming and walking into the Mission and saying, "I love you." What do you mean?

How can you love me? You don't know what my teaching is. You have to have that discerning mind. It's alright to have that. Actually you have to have that discerning mind in every step in your life, in any teaching.

If someone came and said, "You are god," is it in Scripture, "You are god?" Yes, it is in Scripture. Even Christ said, "Thou are gods." But at the same time the Scripture says, "You are in My image." You can put two and two together. It says, "You are god." God is everything, so you are a part of Him. God said, "You are in My image." And then He said, "You are my sons and daughters." What are sons and daughters? Sons and daughters are in the image of the Father and Mother, Logic and Grace. So we are in the image of God, we have the same potential and qualities that God has.

Later on He says, "When you overcome, you will become my sons." Therefore, before you overcome you are not His sons, and you're not His daughters. So it means, when you are pure enough and you reach a point that you can manifest His Qualities, then yes, you are god. But before that you are just egos.

Again, some people say, "Oh, you are god," and a lot of people just take it and say, "Oh, yes, I'm god, I don't need anyone. I can do anything I want to, I am god myself. I don't have to listen to anyone, or read Scriptures, His Words." See that is exactly the same lie that was given to Eve. "You're god. You can make your own decisions. Don't listen to God. You're OK, just eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." And she said, "Oh yeah, sure, I can do it. I eat of the tree and I'm knowledgeable, and I know good and evil and so I'm god."

But she wasn't pure enough yet to eat of the tree. That's why God said, "Take the tree of life away from her," because if you are not pure enough you can't have the tree of life, the Eternal Life.

With all this we can see that going to the Spirit is the only way we can manifest anything in our lives, or anything that is good. With that real understanding of the Spirit, our work starts prospering, our Spirit is going to rise, and our life becomes more comfortable and easier with fewer real problems. We will see where we have gone wrong, what are our attachments, our desires, our unhappiness, because we have desires which are not according to God's Will. Period.

Ego wants to be the doer. Ego wants to say, "I am in control." God says, "Oh yeah? I'll show you who is in control." Actually God doesn't say that. We make a lot of mistakes because of our ego, because it's not from the Spirit. Ego is attached, is desirous, is all those things that we talked about which are not good (God). What is ego? Ego is really like an umbrella we have over our head. It cuts off The Grace.

We have an umbrella over our head and we don't want to let The Grace come in. Grace is always there. It is showering us all the time. There is no moment that Grace is not there. It's always there. The only thing is, take the umbrella away. As simple as it is, just take it away. Say, "I don't want this umbrella." Let God come through.

That's why we say, to be submissive to God is the highest realization. Why? When we are submissive we let the Spirit come through.

I'm not giving this Satsang, the Spirit of God is coming through. I'm just enjoying it. I'm just sitting here and saying, "That's great, He talks beautifully. Where did this knowledge come from?" I don't write these things down before I come here and just read them to you, because the Spirit of God is wonderful. He does beautiful things. He's knowledgeable. He knows about everything in the universe.

Become an observer of everything you do in your everyday life, and let the Spirit come through. Then the whole day becomes meditation. You meditate constantly. You don't stop. You don't have to close your eyes to meditate.

Of course, closing your eyes is necessary in the beginning, because energy is going out of your eyes. Energy is going out of you. You are seeing and desiring and becoming attached. That's why they say, "The external world is like quicksand." When you fall into it, the more you try to get out, the more you go in.

The moment your eyes find something and you desire it, the moment you go and fulfill this desire, there's another desire which will come up and bind you. Then another is going to come, and another is going to come, etc. Suddenly you see you are completely wrapped up in the world.

Then you say, "Yes, this is the reality. I have to run, wake up in the morning and go, go, 8:00 to 5:00. Then I have to come home, buy a couple of beers or something, or have a party, or go to watch television. Or, I have to have friends. I have to know all the people who are famous in show business, or in the world, and I have to meet their friends. I have to have this, or that. I have to have a bigger house. I have to have more cars. I have to have an airplane. I have to have a yacht, etc, etc."

After awhile you say, "Wow." It doesn't matter how big your yacht is, there is someone with a bigger yacht. "Oh, no, my yacht is not as big as that one" [all laughing]. When is it going to end?

The reason we do that is because we are longing for infinity. We long to be connected to the Universal Mind. We want to be connected to God. Then we direct this infinite longing to the finite world. That's why we are never going to be satisfied with the finite world. No matter how much we fulfill any desire, there are more desires that are going to replace that desire. More desires are going to come after that. It's just going to go on forever. Can we quench that infinite longing with the finite world? No, we cannot.

So again the conclusion is that you have to know the Spirit. The map to knowing the Spirit has been given in the Scriptures. The Scriptures show us how to go to the Spirit. And the Spirit is Good. Anything that is Good, is God. Anything that is not good, is not God. Simple, huh?

 

Question: In the "Bath Ideation," after bathing we say, "They were all in the path of becoming Pure Consciousness." Why don't we say it for the present time, they are in the path of becoming Pure Consciousness?
 

Maitreya: We're talking about the Ancestors of humanity. So they "were" in the path of becoming Pure Consciousness. We are One with them in the Spirit because the Spirit is everywhere and everything. We are One with them.

Now, we try to become Pure Consciousness and become One with them. So that is why we use the word in the past tense.

 

Question: But even our Ancestors are not yet in Pure Consciousness?
 

Maitreya: How do we know? Maybe they are.

If you read the Bible you can see that Enoch did not die, "God took him." "God took him" means he reached Pure Consciousness. He didn't die.

When you reach Pure Consciousness you no longer die. You just become like a drop which falls into the ocean. Your Soul no longer needs a body.

What happens to a drop when it falls into the ocean? It becomes the ocean, doesn't it? Can you pick it back up and say, "That was the drop I just dropped?" No, you can't. It just stays in the ocean.

That's when Pure Consciousness happens. When you reach the seventh state of consciousness, you just drop into the ocean of God, into the mind of God. You no longer exist in the sense of a separate ego.

That is what it means, "God took Enoch." Of course, if God Wills, He sends the same consciousness back, and that consciousness picks up his own personality and comes back as an Avatar, as a God-Man. These are the people who come to us as spiritual teachers, the people who connect us to God, the people who already know the way.

Of course, they come as regular people born from a mother. They grow up, and eventually they realize their mission and start giving their knowledge to everyone else. Those who were also chosen to hear his word, see the way, and reach there, will be attracted to that teacher, etc.

So there are many, many unit consciousnesses who have reached Pure Consciousness. They are called the "sons of God." We can see even in the Bible, in chapter six of Genesis it talks about, the sons of God came to earth, knew the daughters of men and created a new generation. Or, in The Revelation it says, "Whoever overcomes will become my son."

What does Son mean? Son means in my image, my likeness. Who is my son? My son is in my image, my likeness.

We can see that being a son of God is being in the image of God. It means to have His Spirit within us. So, many of our Ancestors have reached Pure Consciousness. We can also reach Pure Consciousness and become one with them. So they were in the path of becoming Pure Consciousness.

 

Question: When will the Kingdom of Heaven come to earth? Will it be in our lifetime?
 

Maitreya: The future belongs to the Father. Whoever thinks they know the future, they don't. You can see many people try to predict events in the future which do not happen the same time they said.

Of course, God wanted some people to predict, like Prophets. Prophets were given permission to prophecy, to say, "This is going to happen in the future," and it happens. That's one of the ways you know a real Prophet, he prophecies and is right, versus those who predict the future and it doesn't happen.

Clare Prophet many times predicted that the world was going to finish, and the world is still here. So we conclude that she is not a Prophet, because she said it was going to happen and it didn't happen. But Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Daniel, all those Prophets predicted the future and said, "These things are going to happen," and they did.

Remember in the New Testament, even the son of God doesn't know when the time is going to be. Only the Father knows when that time is.

The other prophecies are being fulfilled. We can see that every prophecy that has been said is going to happen, happened. We can read Daniel. It talks about the image with the gold head, silver hands, brass, and the feet of clay and iron. We can see each of them are related to one kingdom that was to come.

Nebuchadnezzar was the head, the gold. Then came the silver, which was the Persian Empire. Then came the Chaldean Empire which was the brass. The Roman Empire is the next, which was divided into two legs (symbols of being divided into two Romes). Anyway, you can go and read THOTH, and learn how it was fulfilled.

The Roman Empire was the iron, the intellectuals. They created the Senate and all those things, and intellectually influenced the whole of Europe. We still follow their time of day, dating of the year, etc, even the religion, the religion they made for the West. The West was completely influenced by the intellect of the Roman Empire which was the iron. Eventually we will see, the ten toes of iron and clay in that statue, are the ten kingdoms which are going to rise in Europe. It is coming very soon.

So we'll see. He said these things were going to happen and they happened. Then we will see in Ezekiel it talks about the division of the earth to Russia, China, India, Persia, Arabia, and all those places. They're going to become one, and they're going to become one powerful force. Another prophecy is that some other countries are going to come together and become one. We see it is happening. We will see the rise of Europe as the super power.

So we can see that Ezekiel's prophecies are coming true, right in front of our eyes. Those are the prophecies that are happening and are going to be fulfilled.

Also, God said His Kingdom will come. That is our strength. His Kingdom will come. It means, no matter what happens, at the end of all of these things, His Kingdom is coming.

That is what you have to ask yourselves, and receive the answer. The point isn't when is it going to come, but it will come. That is important. That is the point we have to hang onto, not when it's going to come. Is it going to come in my lifetime, in ten lifetimes, in a thousand years, a hundred years? Who cares? We have to hang onto every Word of God.

It is just as Christ said. The devil came to him and said, "If you are the son of God, make this stone into bread." He didn't ask how it can be done. He said, "No, we don't live by bread alone." The devil said, "If you are the son of God, drop yourself down from this high place and He's going to save you." Esa said, "I'm not going to tempt God."

It is just like they come to me, "If you are the Messiah, heal me." Isn't it tempting me? Why don't you listen to the Message? Isn't that better if you listen to the Message and accept it, then to ask for healing and other things?

The devil took Esa to the very top of the mountain and said, "I'm going to give you all this kingdom, if you kneel and worship me." He said, "No, we have to listen to every Word of God."

So the Word of God is that His Kingdom will come. Now the question is, how is it going to come? We can believe that suddenly someone comes on earth from the sky, from the clouds, with a white robe which is very shiny, and he has a big halo on his head, and he says, "Kingdom here," and the kingdom is there. Some people believe that.

They even picture a lot of people going up to the clouds. Supposedly they're going to be taken up, to stay with him for seven years in the clouds until the tribulation is over, and then they come down. Some people believe that it is the space brothers who the Bible is talking about. They're going to come and lift us up by spaceships.

Actually there was a book written by one lady, Tuella, Project: World Evacuation. There was such a stir, especially among New Agers. People were going to the mountains trying to have the first seat [all laughing]. Who's going to be lifted? Who's not going to be lifted? Well, the time came, and passed. No one was lifted up. Some people were even promised to be lifted up, and they are still waiting.

There are a lot of theories of how it's going to happen. But look at the history. That is another way that we can logically look at things. Look at the history. Does history support this theory?

Was there ever any Messiah who came that way? Even Christ himself didn't come from the sky. He had a mother called Mary. Mary had a child. He grew up. He realized who he was. He proclaimed who he was, started teaching everyone, and fulfilled everything better than what anyone thought he was going to do.

So we can see that we have to understand the symbolic meaning in the Bible. When it says, "You are going to be caught up in the clouds," what does that mean? Cloud means confusion. And we have been in confusion for the last seven years. Then He said, "There is going to be tribulation." Those who are with him are not going to be hurt, they are going to be safe. Where is the safe place? The Communities of Light.

So this makes sense. That was one of the things that impressed me about our teaching, it just makes sense. It's not some imaginative thing. As I said, "The Mission is down to earth." Its feet are very down to earth. And it makes sense. If the people and the groups, come together, help each other, support one another, base their life on God, understand His Ways, follow the Eternal Divine Path, The Greatest Sign, and our teachings, they can create the Communities of Light, they will be beyond any tribulation, and they will be saved.

That is where you will be able to withstand any shocks. That is why, as I mentioned many times, the Jewish Communities withstood tribulations for thousands of years, because they were very shock-absorbing. The family was so strong that no matter what happened to them, they had shock absorbers. Family unity is the shock absorber to the community. No matter what happens to the community, if the family is strong, it is going to withstand.

It is just like a large building with the earthquake prevention system. No matter what earthquakes come, this building is going to adjust itself to the situation. That's exactly what the strength of the family is. Why do I put so much emphasis on the family? Well, it's so important to have families in the Communities of Light.

I have to announce that we are going to have a real marriage tomorrow night. I don't know if you all know it or not. That is wonderful. It makes me very happy that we're going to have the first real marriage ceremony tomorrow night, and that's wonderful.

Also, we are going to have a renewal of vows. I heard today that you really met thirty-eight years ago tomorrow. Isn't that wonderful? Do I choose the dates right [all laughing]? No, I didn't do it, He did it. His Signs that He is with us are all over, aren't they?

So that's wonderful to have these married couples who base their lives on the Eternal Divine Path in the Communities of Light. We're going to have powerful, strong communities. No matter what comes we will survive. We're not going to be afraid at all.

Of course, singles have their place too. If we have many, many well-rounded married people in the communities and also many wonderful young people to join us, if they will be married, or if they become teachers in the communities and preach this Word all over the earth, that's all we're here for. We're here to create the Communities of Light and preach the Word.

In the communities, we will support one another. As I said, if there is any real problem, we can solve it. It's not very hard. The more people who are in the Communities of Light, the less problems there are going to be. After awhile we're going to have communities where there are no problems.

The only problem we have are children [laughing], who really are not a problem, they are a lot of Joy. But they take a lot of time. They really do. Children take a lot of time and energy. But with a little organizing, and also concern in the community, these things can easily be taken care of.

We have Isaac in the community. I don't think he is too much a burden on anyone because everyone helps out. Everyone takes him a little bit. If someone is close to getting burned out, someone else takes over. It's very easy because we are concerned with what's happening in the community. And no one is going to burn out. So he receives constant attention without one person paying the price for it.

In the community it's very easy to take care of children. Just imagine there are six couples (there are twelve people) as the base of the community. Three or four people can stay home during the day to take care of the children and household, eight others can go to the outside world, work, and bring resources in. So really it's not just one couple who has to go to work and put their children in a day care center, or give them to someone they don't know, or all these things we hear about, the child abuse and problems that are created.

Who is that person doing the child care? You're just giving your child to someone you don't know. But in the communities you know one another. It doesn't matter how you look at it, the communities make sense, especially the Communities of Light. They make sense.

So if it makes sense, the timing is not that crucial. We can see that, as I said, God is working for us. God is preparing the earth for this. Individuals are probably not prepared as well as the collective events that are happening. We are preparing individuals. Collectively, God is taking care of it. He's fulfilling the prophecies. He's bringing humanity to the brink of realizing, "You have just one earth, one planet, one spaceship."

We artificially divided it into different places called countries. If you look at the earth from space, there is no border between the United States and Canada. There is no border between Iraq and Kuwait, or Iraq and Iran, or whatever, Russia and Europe. Nothing! There's nothing there, there are no boundaries. If God wanted them to have boundaries He would have put boundaries. He would have put big letters, "THIS IS CANADA. THIS IS THE UNITED STATES." He didn't do that, he just opened the whole earth, "This is the earth. Take care of it for Me. Clean it, be fruitful, and be My Children."

We are His Children. There is no doubt about that. When we become the Communities of Light, and the more we become the Light, we become the Children of Light. We become the new Children of Israel, the new Children of Light. And the Children of Light are His Children.

You are His Children. So you have to accept that you are His Children. If you are His Children, we are One. But if you are a Christian, and I am a Jew, or a Moslem, then we are not One. The only way we can become One is to become His Children, the Children of Light, the Children of Israel. If you are, then all the barriers are broken.

 

Question: How do you get past the labels, like Christian, Jew and Moslem to become One?
 

Maitreya: That's why when someone asks, "Where are you from?" say "I'm from God." If they say, "What is your religion?" say, "Knowing God, knowing Self, the Eternal Divine Path. I'm not called by any special word or anything, I'm just a Child of God."

As I said, if we become the Children of Light, if we accept ourselves as the Children of Light, then we don't belong to any religion. Each of the religions are necessary to bring one part of the Eternal Divine Path. So far it was OK to keep these religions separated so we could bring them to this point. But now it's no longer necessary for them to be separated. They are history, now is the time to unify them.

So these labels eventually are going to dissolve. There is no longer going to be any Christian, or Jew, or Moslem, or Hindu, or Buddhist, and this, and that. They are going to be dissolved into the Reality....

See, there are a lot of religions, and there is only one Reality. If we all accept there is one Reality, and that Reality has sent all these religions, we are beyond labels. The moment we accept that each of them is a part of a greater truth, we no longer belong to that part, because the whole is greater than the parts. So we go beyond any labels.

That's how you overcome. You understand the teaching. You understand that you are the Child of God. Go beyond labels.

And work on yourself. The only person you can work on is yourself. You can bring no one to the Mission. God brings them to the Mission, not you. You do your work. You do your best. Give the Message, then let them alone. If they want to come, fine. They're going to come with their heart, and they're going to belong here, feel comfortable, and accept whatever the Mission says as something that they can follow.

But if we drag them here, they don't want to be here in the first place, so they find all kinds of excuses not to be here. So just leave them alone. Give them the Message of the Mission and leave them alone. Give them to God.

Even if you have a great desire for someone to really join the Mission, even if they don't want to come to the Mission, just leave them to the Father and say, "OK, I did my best. I didn't really want this to happen. Really it seems it's not working. Father, OK you know better than me. I'll leave it to you. I'm just going to be Relaxed, Work on myself, Help the Mission, Love the Mission, Love the teaching, and Love the things I have to do for the Mission. That's the most important thing."

It doesn't matter if it is our wife, if it is our husband, if it is our children, still we have our personal connection to God. The only thing we can do for them is to give them the Message, and pray for them that they might also see the Truth, the Light.

But our primary work is on ourselves. Our primary work is our spiritual progress. That's the only place we can be selfish. That's the only place, to go to God. Then you can be as selfish as you want to be, not as nasty, but as selfish as you want to be [laughter].