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Interview with Shri Munirajji

June 8, 2007

Interview with Shri Munirajji

German meeting with Shri Muniraji in Chilianaula, India
This interview was translated from German by Gaby Hock of
the English Samaj.
September 29, 2006

Q: As a German, do I have a special task? Is there a
particular duty for me in Germany, or in India?

Shri Muniraji: Everybody has his duty, no matter where he's
been born.

Q: I do Pancha Karma parallel with Navaratri. Do they work
together or can their be problems in combining the two? My
experience has been that after 8 days both compliment each
other everything that comes up during the Pancha Karma
Therapy can then be dissolved in the fire.

M: Everyone can do what they enjoy.

Q: I really enjoy reciting part of the aarti in the German
language, such as the Father aarti. Is that o.k.?

M: There is nothing wrong with it.

Q: Babaji said that we should go out into the world and
spread what he has said. However, it is my experience that
it is very difficult, to talk with people. Many think they
know everything already and cannot listen. What shall I do?

M: People believe and follow their paths in different ways.
Communicate the path the way you do it. If people cannot
accept it, then let them go their own way. Babaji had no
interest in people changing their religion or to create a
new religion, only that a human being is humane. The
highest religion is humanity. When someone is born the
first thing is that that they are born as a human being,
without already having a religion.

Q: I have heard, that everything that one thinks and says
has effects on many different levels. Could you explain
this?

M: The mind, our desires are very quick. However, we need
a strength, a potential, so that we can we put it into
something. For example if we want to eat something sweet,
we first have to get up, go to the cupboard and get the
sweet. So we need the ability to manifest something. Not
everyone has that ability. There are endless levels. The
stream of thoughts has no end. The mind can travel
everywhere, but what really matters is what it can
manifest, rather than just running here and there with the
mind.

Q: Babaji has said there will be much destruction. I feel
there is a lot of fear amongst people around me about this
destruction. How can we instill trust?

M: I already knew you were going to ask this. You should
only make sure that YOU are without fear. What will come,
none will be able to stop. But because of this you should
not change your direction. Stay in touch with what is going
on for you.

Q: How do you see the political situation in Iran?

M: Political situations are ever changing. New things
always happen.

Q: I have been given the information that in 2012 the great
transformation should already have taken place. Many people
around me are already preparing for this and stock up
provisions for survival. Is it wrong that I do not prepare
myself for this by stocking up goods?

M: This is another rumor. One person says something and
another one spins it on. One should not engage with this.

Q: What is the meaning of Mundan (head shaving). I cannot
get into this, because I do not really understand it. What
are it's spiritual benefits?

M: Along with some other rituals, mundan is particularly
beneficial for your mental and emotional health. These
rituals have been part of religion since time immemorial.
Of all 16 Sanskars (important situations for the spiritual
search) mundan is the first ritual and therefore should be
carried out before anything else. But everyone has to know
this for them selves. Everyone who has the feeling that it
will be beneficial for them, should do it. Mundan serves
also as a protection against physical illness (such as
viruses).

Q: Mundan is often carried out on children at the age of 1
and a half to 2 years. How come?

M: The main benefit of mundan for children is for their
health.

Q: What makes a yogi a yogi and a sadhu a sadhu?

M: To become a sadhu, it takes a lot. In this yuga there
are no real sadhus. Those who appear as Sadhus, only appear
as such. To be a sadhu means to renounce everything. In
this yuga none is really able to do this and it is not what
is being asked. The materialistic attraction in this yuga
is very strong, like a magnet. People who want to go this
path, cannot succeed or carry it to the end. Anyway, it
does not make any sense in this age. There are 8.4 million
types of yoga. It is Karma yoga that is appropriate for
this age.

Q: What is Karma Yoga?

M: Whatever you do is Karma Yoga. You should not sit
around, you should always be engaged in activity. That is
Karma Yoga.

Q: When I write my diary, is that also Karma Yoga?

M: That is also part of it, because with that, you can
inspire other people. Whoever does something is a Karma
Yogi.

Q: I cannot understand what it means to do nothing, when
everything is Karma Yoga?

Q: When you do something bad, that is not Karma Yoga. You
should always be busy. It is important to have a goal in
life and to focus your activities accordingly. That is
Karma Yoga.

Q: The Germans have always done a lot. Have they not
exaggerated? Isn't stillness also a part of it?

M: When a person has set their goal and focuses their
entire energy towards that goal, then it transforms into a
spiritual exercise. When they follow that goal with
wholeheartedness then they will harvest sweet fruits. The
other possibility is: to pursue your goal wholeheartedly
only in the beginning, but later only with
half-heartedness, with half the energy. Then everything
will dissipate and end in a dead-end street. When you set
yourself a goal and pursue it with full determination, then
everything is possible. When you complete your intention,
you will reap its fruits. Then he is a yogi. It is the same
when we build a house. When the house is complete, we can
move in and start living in it. Then we can eat the fruits.
The scientist does research. When he has discovered
something, it will benefit humanity. The same rule applies
for the yogi. A yogi does not walk the path for himself,
but for the whole of humanity. When you want to make use of
a field you first have to irrigate it and sew the seeds,
then comes the time for the harvest. At harvest time,
however, you will reap much more than what you need for
your family. It is enough for many more, and they all can
benefit.

Q: What are the wisest steps?

M: Everybody should work. Do you only want to travel
around? If you want to achieve something, you must do Karma
Yoga. You have to give everything. Nothing comes from
nothing. If someone sits around, nothing will happen.
Appropriate measures must be taken in order to put things
into action.

Q: Surely it is not good to sing aarati and bhajans all day
long or to pray 24 hours a day. Where is the limit? Where
does one stop?

M: Everyone should give as much time as they can manage.
Everyone has to decide for themselves how much time they
can spare on top of their daily duties and activities.
Someone who has to battle with hunger and feed their family
cannot sit and meditate. They need to provide for their
family so they can eat.

If someone offers God a flower with a pure heart, that is
wonderful spiritual worship. The most important thing is
the feeling with which you do something, not the length.
Our hearts need to be pure.

Q: I have read in a book that Babaji wants us to do japa 24
hours a day. The usual kind of praying is too boring. I
have another way of communicating with God. I prefer the
direct way.

M: I have not heard that someone prays 24 hours a day. All
we should do is be conscious that nothing belongs to us and
that nothing we do comes from us. Nothing belongs to us. In
the end it is only God who is active and present in
everything, and we should act out of that awareness.

Q: Is there a mantra to ground us?

M: There are endless mantras, but without action they are
of no use. It also requires a particular sanskar
(initiation) and a particular culture, to make a mantra
effective. It makes no sense to receive a mantra with our
mind. There is no use if we run here and there with our
mind. To step into action is the only way. That way it
bears fruit.

Q: Some people think it is important to protect oneself
from negative energies. This is what is being said in light
work. Do we really have to be afraid of negative energies?

M: When you purify your own mind, you will be protected.
When we are jealous and think negatively about others or
act negatively then we get scared that it will backfire on
us. Those who purify their own mind do not need to be
frightened. The same is with a thief: the moment he sees a
policeman he thinks: let's hope I won't be found out. An
innocent person has nothing to worry about. When you have
the feeling your actions have been good actions then there
is no room for fear. Your conscience knows whether you have
done good. Sometimes you do something but you know what you
do is not good, but you do it anyway. This power comes from
past actions, karma, and can not be avoided. Look at a
school class. All children have the same teacher and the
same conditions, but everyone turns out differently. One
turns into a minister, the next into a doctor and another
into a road sweeper. It is karmic. If we think and act in
the right way now, we plant the best seeds into the ground
for the future. It is in our power.

Q: Is jhara (healing with peacock feathers) good for me?

M: This is up to whether you believe in it or not. If you
do, it will help.

Someone else asks Muniraji for his blessings for all
present.

M: At the moment there is too little life, too little
activity in the German ashram.