"I don't know you. I don't know your name. But I do love you because you are a human being. That is sufficient for me to open up my heart and bring forth to you all that I know." -- Maharaji

When people ask me who Maharaji is, I usually describe him as a "teacher." Which makes me, I guess, his student -- though he has no school, no curriculum, and no exams.

What he does have is an extraordinary knack for accelerating a person's education. About what? About life. What it is. Where it comes from. And how to get the most out of it.

A clue about Maharaji's approach comes from the word itself. "Education" comes from the Latin word "educare" -- meaning "to bring out." That's what a good teacher does -- brings out, from the student, the desire to learn -- the thirst to know.

What Maharaji brings out of a human being is innate wisdom -- direct contact with the inner experience of knowing -- or what some people refer to as 'knowledge of the self."

Here's the paradox: Even though Maharaji teaches and has a lot to say, he'll be the first to admit that what his message is about goes far beyond words -- words, amazingly, that have already been translated into more than 70 languages and considered daily by thousands of aspiring learners worldwide who pay no tuition -- only attention.

Because what he teaches is free.

Which makes perfect sense when you stop to consider that what he's teaching is all about the fine art of becoming free.

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"In each one of us lies the source of joy. Of fulfillment. That's reality. That's the true reality."

"Heaven? Where is that heaven? Drop the glasses of arrogance and you will see that heaven is not away from you. Heaven is in you."

"Get with it! Be alive! Live! There is something inside each one of us that says, ARISE!"

"Choose! Make that choice. Those of you who want peace inside, you have to make that choice. What do you choose?"

"We have mastered the art of provoking what is bad in people. We have not mastered the art of provoking what is good in people."

"Dignity. Peace. Prosperity. Without dignity it is hard to be in peace. Without peace, it is hard to prosper."

Excerpted from Innerlink
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"You want to know the truth? The truth resides inside of you. Where else would it be?"

"You are here. It's on! It's happening. The beautiful music you hear -- the orchestra is not just warming up."

"In my downs, I want to remember the up. And in my ups, I want to remember the up, up!"

"Everything that is necessary for you to truly enjoy yourself is here. Make the connection."

"You want to know about karma? Pinch yourself. Do you feel pain? Karma. If the person sitting next to you screams, you pinched the wrong person."

"When you don't know, even answers are questions. And when you know, even questions become answers. How cool is that?"

"I have the tickets to the best show in town. And you want them. If you want those tickets, I have them."

"Don't try to make every day the same. But see the same beauty in every day."

"Whatever you decide to do, be at peace. Experience dignity in your life. Experience peace in your life."

After great performers come to the end of a great performance, it is not uncommon for grateful audiences to give them a standing ovation. They clap, they cheer, they focus all their attention on the one who has just opened the door to magnificence. Think Pavarotti. Think Martin Luther King. Think anyone you've ever stood your ground for and loved.

What I find amazing is this is how Maharaji's presentations begin.

Before he utters a single word, audiences are on their feet, applauding. And when he's done? Pin drop silence.

Somehow, through his own unique alchemy of humor, wisdom, and delight, he finds a way to bring everyone in the room to a place of perfect stillness... back to the very beginning -- where there is nothing left to do, but be.

What remains... is a feeling.

Maybe that is why it's so quiet in the audience after Maharaji speaks.

Sitting in the afterglow of this man's communication of truth is a complete and total joy. Oh yes, I know I must move from my seat eventually. Oh yes, I know I will soon be walking and talking and asking someone to pass me the grated parmesan in that great little Italian restaurant just five minutes down the road, but now... here in this moment after he speaks... here in this alpha and omega point of creation... nothing else matters.

I close my eyes and let go deeper to the realm that opens in me simply by listening to him. Then I open my eyes once again.

I see people sitting. I see people starting to stand. Some move toward the stage, wanting to linger just a little bit longer in this extraordinary state of arrival. Others walk in silence toward the exits, eyes down, not wanting anyone or anything to distract them from the deepest of feelings welling up within them far beyond time.

What to call this is a mystery. It has no name -- only the enjoyment of the experience...

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If you knew how much you already had, you wouldn't waste a second wanting anything more. The entire universe is yours and still you are longing for something else. The world is a milkweed pod. The more you try to grab it, the further it floats away. Stop for a second. Extend your hand. Receive your inheritance. All the legal work's been done a thousand years ago. Throw a party! Invite your friends and a hundred people you don't know. Feed them. Give them something good to drink. Dance until you cannot stand.

The sun is setting. There is precious little light to write my song of praise to you -- only the glow from the dashboard of a 1983 Toyota taking me deeper into the sudden mountains of Mexico.

Victor, the driver, sees what I'm doing and turns on the overhead light, but I prefer the glow of the dashboard.

It's softer on the eyes and my heart rejoices in the romance of needing to write in order to see.

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Growing up in New York, there were three things I found utterly amazing: the accents of people from other places, baseball, and snow days.

If you're from California, Mexico, or Hawaii, you probably know what the first two are all about. But the third? Allow me to explain.

A snow day, for those of you who have never experienced winter, is an unexpected day off from school granted by a benevolent universe. You go to bed at night, dreading your history test the next day, and wake up with three feet of snow outside your window -- your mother telling you (having just heard it on the radio) that school is closed.

It's a snow day!

You jump for joy! Yahoo! Hallelujah!

Gone is the need to rush through breakfast. Gone is the need to catch the bus. Gone is the need to perform.

All bets are off. Your time is your own. You are free!

You look out the window and everything is white. The jagged edges of the world have been softened, curved, and relaxed. Everything is still, as if the God you've heard so much about in Sunday school has just hit the pause button.

You have time to slow down, time to admire, time to do nothing at all -- and feel really good about it. After all, this isn't a sick day, it's a snow day -- a complete and utter gift... an unexpected bit of grace... an inheritance you didn't realize was on its way.

For me, the experience of Maharaji's Knowledge is a bit like that.

And the ultimate beauty of the whole thing? You don't have to wait for an "Act of God," while you sleep, to enjoy its benefits. It's with you every second of the day, every breath.

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When you walk into the room,
all the poets
feel a sudden urge to praise,
all the dancers want to move,
singers ache
to raise their voices high
for all those times
they foolishly chose silence instead.

This impulse to express,
this surging forward into form,
is absolutely involuntary, tidal,
primal, pure.

The poet's fingers twitch,
the singer clears her throat,
the dancer moves inside her shoes,
already receiving roses
from the grateful choreographer of her heart.

Here is the great mystery:
My thirst is quenched
as much by my longing
to have it quenched
as it is by the waters that come.
Tell me, oh digger of the well,
which do I drink first?

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