Why I Am Traveling 27 Hours to See Maharaji in Amaroo
On September 7th, I will travel 27 hours to Amaroo (Australia) to spend five days with Maharaji (and 3,500 other people) at an outdoor festival of love.
That's a long way -- and a pricey plane ticket -- not to mention a total of 11 days away from my wife and kids and not making a living during that time.
When I tell some of my friends, they look at me as if I've gone off the deep end. "Why?" they ask. "Haven't you seen him enough in the past 40 years? Don't you already know what he's going to say?"
Their questions all make sense. Logically speaking, that is. But my experience of seeing Maharaji (aka Prem Rawat) -- especially seeing him in Amaroo for five days -- is not a logical thing. It's a love thing. And love is not always logical.
For me, seeing Maharaji is like a birth. Something wakes up inside me. Something matures. Something takes its first breath and is amazed at what it sees and feels.
Can I experience this anywhere? Yes, I can. That's the whole point of what Maharaji teaches -- that each one of us can experience what we were born for anywhere. No, it doesn't take a trip to Australia to experience it.
But... somehow... some way -- at least for me -- spending five days, unplugged, with Maharaji, helps me get way more deeply in touch with that feeling.
Anyway... as I gear up to make the trek to Amaroo, I've been thinking about the reasons WHY I'm going. Here are 50 of them...
WHY I AM TRAVELING 27 HOURS TO SEE MAHARAJI IN AMAROO
1. Because I want to.
2. Because I can.
3. Seeing Maharaji always refreshes, renews, and delights me.
4. The chance to immerse in the experience is a total treat. Usually, when I see Maharaji, it is only for 90-minutes at a public event. At Amaroo, it's at least twice a day and for five days in a row. Plus, the rest of the time, at the event, is an off-the-grid festival of love.
5. It's a ton of fun. Make that two tons.
6. The chance to see Maharaji, casually, riding around the grounds on his golf cart is a very cool thing.
7. Sometimes, a single word or phrase from Maharaji goes in so deep it becomes a kind of radioactive isotope of awareness -- teaching and nurturing me for years.
8. Joy. Big joy. Huge joy. Gigundo joy.
9. Amaroo is a very beautiful, welcoming place.
10. I like getting more in sync with Maharaji's emerging vision for bringing his message of peace to the world.
11. Waking up with the birds.
12. Seeing a kangaroo or two.
13. Fabulous unexpected connections with people I've never met before.
14. Practicing Knowledge in my tent and knowing that I will be seeing Maharaji at an event later that morning.
15. The food tent. Yes, the food tent -- a great place to schmooze with dear, old friends -- some of whom I haven't seen in many years.
16. Reconnecting with my muse. Tapping into the realm from where real poetry comes.
17. The journey there. Every step is an arrival.
18. Realizing, once again, that I have everything I need.
19. Feeling as if every cell in my body is having a party.
20. Getting in touch with the feeling that originally drew me to Maharaji in the first place -- all the way back to 1971.
21. Going to bed when the sun goes down. Waking up when the sun comes up.
22. Experiencing heaven on earth.
23. Seeing people from every walk of life from more than 30 countries all living in a beautiful bubble of grace.
24. Hot showers in the morning.
25. Many sweet opportunities to serve.
26. Deep, uncontrollable laughter.
27. Calling my wife and kids late at night from the pay phone (pay phone!) and feeling their gladness that I have a chance to be with my Master for five days in a row.
28. Ultimate simplicity.
29. Just walking around.
30. Getting totally soaked with feeling.
31. The Australian accent.
32. Being rebooted.
33. Daya's Fine Dining
34. Feeling like every day is the cherry on top of the Sundae on top of the world.
35. Realizing that if I was on my death bed and looking back at my life, the moments I'm having at Amaroo would be some of the most exquisite.
36. Love, love, love.
37. Getting a fresh perspective on what life is all about.
38. Listening to Maharaji speak beneath the beautiful Australian sky.
39. Extraordinary amounts of gratitude.
40. Getting down to basics.
41. The best vacation I've ever had in my life
42. Getting out of my head and into my heart.
43. Everywhere I am is the right place.
44. Learning something every day.
45. Seeing how peace on earth is not only possible, but happening.
46. Did I mention love?
47. I get to look in a beautiful mirror and see myself clearly.
48. Not having to DO anything to feel totally whole and complete.
49. Feeling. Deep, deep feeling.
50. Maharaji's words of wisdom.
If you have learned the techniques of Knowledge, as taught by Maharaji, and want to go to Amaroo, here's your next step.
www.amaroo.org
If you have your OWN "reasons" for why you want to go to Amaroo, feel free to post them here.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at July 6, 2012 08:30 AM
Comments
Don't forget the hairdresser on site; Aspirare which is a store, along with all the other vendor stores, the beer shop, the wine shop, the laundry facilities, the tents, motor homes you can rent. The birds singing, the folliage, the view of Ivory's Rock. The Reception Line...the absence of mind afterwards.
The joy. The Peace. The total stillness. The perfection.
Posted by: Louiseamm ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ideachampions.com/heart/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 6, 2012 01:19 PM
Toying with the Tool ... The great Sufi poet, Rumi, once said, "Halfheartedness does not reach into Majesty!" What is the greatest tool I have discovered in my life? I can't make up my mind. I want to say my daily practice because the benefits I derive from it have made it the organizing principle of my life but I can't because I know that without the giver of the practice to continue to encourage and inspire me and to set an example of how much one person can discover and contribute I would forget the possibility available to me and get distracted and drift toward mediocrity never knowing "The Majesty." It may not matter which is greater, giver or gift, certainly both are great and I'm going to Amaroo this year to wholeheartedly indulge in both. I want to know what it would be like to stop toying with the tool and for a week give it my all. I'm no Sam Harris, who speaks about meditation retreats involving 18 hours of meditation each day but I have promised myself to practice 6 hours every day and see what happens. If you don't see me there it's because I'm in my tent keeping my promise.
Posted by: djnola at July 6, 2012 02:56 PM
please djnola sit in the shade of a tree during the day. The heat in a tent can make you quite ill. So if I see a person under a cloth under a tree, and pass by again a few hours later and they haven't moved, I know it would have to be you . <3
Posted by: heather_w at July 8, 2012 02:15 PM
Why do I go to Amaroo? The incredible chance to be my teacher every day, to walk around where everything has been implemented or designed by him. To be able to sit and listen to him for hours at a time. And then to see him drive by, and wave at just me, and to stop and talk to people from his car. And to be there when he just wants to come and walk amongst us and we can speak impromptu with him. To be with so many people who are all there for the same purpose.. pure love.
Posted by: heather_w at July 8, 2012 02:20 PM
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