Guest: We studied a teaching which is said to be a teaching from the Maitreya, for twenty years. Then we also have done other research. We spent three months in Bodhgaya, India studying a Maitreya text, showing the middle from the extremes.

Maitreya: This is very much connected to the Buddhist Maitreya and their concepts.

Guest: Yes.

Maitreya: What do you expect of Maitreya?

Guest: I don't expect anything. There have been signs within my life that have showed that I have this connection to that concept. This meeting with you arose unexpectedly through a series of circumstances which I didn't create. So I thought I would like to see what kind of connection there is.

My reason for coming out here is not to find out whether you are the Maitreya or not the Maitreya. Having been around enough Tibetan Tulkus the concept of reincarnation is a very complex one. To think that you can intellectualize and definitely pin something down becomes very obvious that that's not possible. But it is possible to discern if there are connections to things, or if there are not connections to things.

If there is no connection then it's almost more interesting to me, because I want to know why that arose within my own personality or my own mind space.

Maitreya: What kind of things happened in your life that you felt you have a connection with Maitreya?

Guest: Probably the earliest is doing a meditation on an image of Maitreya, and having a ball of light come from the ceiling to reside on my shrine. That was probably the first positive connection that I was aware of.

Maitreya: Was it an human image or just light?

Guest: The image I was meditating on, or the light?

Maitreya: The light that came to you.

Guest: The light was as a little ball of light that came down from the ceiling. It actually rested on the flower that was an offering on my shrine.

Maitreya: So you didn't see any image of Maitreya? I was just wondering if he looked like me [all laughing].

Guest: No. I saw no image.

Maitreya: You just saw the Essence.

Guest: An affirmation.

Maitreya: You have received some of our literature. Did you read any of it?

Guest: Yes, I went through it. I can't say that I studied it extensively. I did read through it.

One of the questions that arose out of reading through it, and then looking at your book THOTH I stumbled across some more clues from the back of it but it's still a question, that one religion the more people in the world belong to than any other one, at least statistically, is not mentioned in these pamphlets.

Maitreya: Buddhists?

Guest: Yes.

Maitreya: Buddhists, Hindus, Cabalists, Sufis, Africans, Jamaicans, and those kinds of religions or philosophies are all a part of the Mystical Paths. Buddhism, just like Hinduism, can't really be called a religion. It's a philosophy. It is something that works on you to connect you to the higher consciousness, that connects you to the Universal Mind. No matter how you explain it, still there is a process you want to go through to become connected to the higher levels.

These kinds of religions, or philosophies, or explanations, all fall into the first sign [pointing to The Greatest Sign]. This first sign, or the very center here [pointing to the I-Ching in the horizontal position], covers all of the Mystical Paths.

Buddha was a kind of a mystic himself. He had an experience. When he was enlightened, he became Buddha. That mystical experience, of course, is different with every person.

Your experience is different than Ma's experience. Keyosha's experience is different than Sarah's experience. These experiences are very personal.

Since Buddha became Buddha, how many people have had that same kind of experience as he had?

Guest: Thousands.

Maitreya: The exact experience as he had, is very rare.

Guest: Oh, well, there is no way I can say. I don't know. I'm not enlightened, so I couldn't possibly tell you what someone else's enlightened experience is, because I'm not enlightened.

Maitreya: Well, I mean people who have had different experiences, who explain God in different levels and from different angles. To duplicate the same experience is very rare, that you have had exactly the same experience that she did. Her experience is different than your experience, and hers and hers.

The whole universe is just like a globe, and the center is God. The center is consciousness. The center is enlightenment. The center is Nirvana. The center is Pure Consciousness, whatever you want to call It.

Every enlightened person sitting in a different place on this globe are all looking at the same thing (the center) from a different angle. And because they are looking from a different angle, they see it a little differently. But they are looking at the same thing. It is just like a word in one language might not be said the same way, but the person who said it means the same thing.

That's why Buddhism is not categorized in any one special religion because it also goes under the category of the Mystical Paths. I know the Buddhist explanation is a little different than the Hindu explanation of the same mystical experience, but they still fall under that category.

Guest: Oh, I would agree with you that Buddhism is not a religion. But I'd like to understand what you would consider the difference between a religion and a philosophy.

Maitreya: According to our teaching, seven steps have been revealed to humanity in the last 12,000 years, most of them in the last 6,000 years. Each of these steps have one truth of a greater truth.

It is just like the Mystical Paths -- any philosophy or teaching that teaches that you have to go through a personal journey to experience God, or experience the Spirit, or experience Nirvana, or experience higher consciousness (or whatever you want to call it), that is the beginning of your journey. That is the individual endeavor to come to higher consciousness, to higher understanding.

Then we go to the Old Testament. There has been the revelation of the Old Testament to the Hebrew people, and the whole story of the Old Testament. I don't know if you are familiar with that book. You should be. You were born in the West, at least you should have heard something about it. The Old Testament explains that formation of the community is important in your spiritual progress and in the well-being of humanity, the earth, environment, and all things that we are connected to.

Even in Buddhism, Buddha taught Sangha and Dharma. Sangha means community. Dharma means innate nature. So in a community where every person follows his innate nature (dharma), they create the Communities of Light.

Every Prophet or religious person, or person who has had an experience, always talks about the community. There isn't a Prophet who didn't talk about the community. Even Buddha taught two essential things, Sangha and Dharma. Sangha means community.

But in the Old Testament it clearly shows that God is looking for a people for Himself. He is looking for a people who choose to be His people. That is where it completely shows the Spirit wants to create Communities of Light.

The next step is Christianity which talks about sacrifice, not to be self-centered. Of course, these things are also talked about in other religions too. But the emphasis is given in this step (Christianity). Each step (Seal) is talking about a particular aspect of spiritual progress. Not being self-centered is a very important aspect in the spiritual path.

If you are self-centered and selfish, what are your doing in the spiritual path? You should be out there just like everyone else, trying to get whatever you can, and having a miserable life. You have a little house and live in it, you drink, party, watch television, go to work, and are miserable for the rest of your life. At the time of death you don't know what you came here for and where you are going. That is the path of the flesh.

If you want the path of the Spirit, then you don't become self-centered. You sacrifice the ego - ego go. The ego has to go. The ego is not going to stay with you.

That is what the many Mystical Paths teach you, that your ego has to go. You have to become open to the Spirit, to God, and become a universalist. You don't stay narrow-minded in your progress. All those things are related to sacrificing your ego.

But with sacrificing the ego, you still might become attached to the result of your actions. So the next step is submission. Submission means to be surrendered and submitted to the Will of God. You do your work, that is another part of the teaching of the Far East, you do the work but you are not attached to the result of the work. The result is not yours. The only thing you do is, as a channel, you do the work. There is no attachment to the result. That is submission. That is Islam.

The next step is universalism. Maybe you are attached to your race, language, nationality, or even earth. You are still narrow in your consciousness. You have to become a universalist. You say, "The whole universe belongs to God and I am a part of it. That is where I belong." With this, you expand your consciousness to see the whole universe, and create a universal feeling. That is Baha'i.

If you meditate, understand the Mystical Paths, for instance Buddhism, that is just the beginning of the path, according to this teaching. The Mystical Paths are very vast. There are a lot of aspects in them, but still that is an individual journey. That is the beginning of the meditation or understanding.

Now you go toward bringing that energy to the community and start creating Communities of Light. It is very easy to go up to the top of the mountain, sit there, meditate and say, "Wow, I'm such a great yogi. I'm such a great realized person."

It is just like that yogi who was meditating at the top of the mountain for ten years. He was saying, "Wow, what a wonderful yogi I am. I have no fear, no attachments, no desires, no anger, no nothing. I can just sit here and be content with myself."

Well, one day he had to go to town. He had no choice. Something came up that he had to go and take care of it. So this big yogi came down from the mountain and walked in the streets, going to the place where he wanted to go. Suddenly, someone came and pushed him aside. He got so angry. He just started yelling at that person. He said, "What do you think you are doing? You are pushing me, this great yogi!"

Suddenly he realized, "Oh look, what is this anger in me? Still it is there?" He realized he hadn't gotten there yet. As long as he was at the top of the mountain and no one was pushing him around, he was OK, he was a great yogi. But the moment he came to the society, he realized, "No, not yet." He had a long way to go.

That's why Communities of Light are such wonderful places. They actually accelerate your progress. It's easy to have a house, to have your wife and children, your television, your car, your dog, and you say, "Wow, I'm wonderful." But what if you bring a couple of those couples together and they say, "Hey, let's make it together instead."

It's even easier if you don't have a wife or husband. You say, "Well, I'm wonderful. I don't have to deal with these little things in life." It's very easy to do that. But the moment you get yourself to that situation where you have to deal with them, it accelerates your progress. You will see yourself in even a greater degree.

That is really the path of Tantra, the path of going through the situations, putting yourself in situations, realizing what is affecting you, and then overcoming them. That accelerates your progress even faster than avoiding that and saying, "No, I'm great, I don't need all these things."

See in community, not only do you do individual meditation, not only do you individually try to progress, which the first step is the Mystical Paths, but you stay in the community, you stay in the society. You stay in the Communities of Light.

Communities of Light are not the regular society out there. In the Communities of Light you try to follow the Eternal Divine Path. In meditating, trying to follow the Eternal Divine Path, and being in the community, that accelerates your spiritual progress a hundred, and thousand-fold. That is because in the Communities of Light, you have no choice but to face yourself.

What is spiritual progress? It's to face yourself. Doesn't it say, "Know thyself to know God?" That is the essence of our journey, isn't it, to know ourselves? And how do we know ourselves better than in a community that reflects ourselves back to us all the time? We have no choice but to look at ourselves squarely.

That is scary for a lot of people. They don't want to look at themselves squarely. They want to avoid it as much as possible, to put anything they don't like about themselves on the back burner.

Whatever we like we put on the front burner and say, "I'm such a wonderful person." But the things we put on the back burner are more important to get rid of.

It is just like, you might have a little pimple. It doesn't look too bad, it's just a little pimple. But it might be a sign of a disease, a very grave disease. If you just ignore the pimple, you might never know what you have. If you go to the doctor, or if you know about the pimple and realize what that pimple is, then you say, "I have to do something about it."

That's exactly like those dark parts of us, or those creatures, or the ego, or whatever we want to call them, they are there. It is easy to ignore them at the top of the mountain and escape the society. But in the Communities of Light, you don't escape.

See, there are many people who have been meditating by themselves for many lifetimes during the last 12,000 years. Now they are called back. The path of yoga, or the path of self-realization by meditating, is the beginning. The eventual goal is to reach a point where they can put you anywhere, and still you stay calm and centered. You can go to the bar and not be affected. You can go to work and not be affected. That is even greater than escaping the world, going to the top of the mountain and saying, "I'm wonderful."

So we see, that's how the Communities of Light accelerate our progress. How can we create the Communities of Light? By not being self-centered, by not being egoistical. That is the symbol of Christianity.

How do you get The Grace? The Grace is always there. You don't have to look for It. You don't go to the mountains to look for Grace. Grace is always there and It is everywhere. The only thing we are doing is we have our ego as an umbrella on top of our heads, and we've not receiving It.

How do you receive It? You get the world away. How do you get the world away? You take off your ego, your selfishness. That is the essence of Christianity. That is the message of Christ. Christ came and went all the way to the cross. Why? That was the symbol of sacrificing the ego to receive The Grace. That's why Christianity is related so much to Grace. It is not by your work, it is not by your knowledge, it is by not being self-centered, that you receive The Grace.

Even after that, your ego is still not completely crucified until you realize that you have to surrender and submit the result of your work. You do a lot of good things. The people start progressing and you say, "Hey, I'm wonderful, I'm doing all these things and I'm affecting so many people."

Then see, the moment you say, "I do such a wonderful job," what is coming in? Ego is coming in, isn't it? You become egoistical. You become self-centered and you fall. The Grace is gone. Suddenly you do a lot of good things and nothing happens. You become very unhappy and say, "What is it? I put all this effort and it's not happening." Again, egoistical, self-centered, and you become unhappy, depressed, etc.

But with surrendering, "I do this work. That's fine. I put my effort. I give the Message out and everything. The result belongs to the Spirit. It belongs to God." More important than that is, "I'm submissive. I'm just a channel for God. I'm just going to do my best and I don't care what happens. The result belongs to God." So that is submission and surrendering.

Still, if you don't expand yourself and become a universalist, you might create a narrow mind and direct your effort only to a special place, a small place, your culture, your country, even your earth, not to the whole universe. You don't understand how, "My actions affect the whole universe," and how "I am responsible for the whole universe." With that, you expand your mind.

By your going through this Path, you become a Paravipra. You have the Kingdom within, the Spirit will rise within you, and you will reach to be in the image of the Spirit of God.

Not only is the Eternal Divine Path a Path, not only does it explain the different religions, but it also unifies them. It unifies Buddhism, Hinduism, Cabalism, Sufism, all under one teaching, Mystical Paths. See, all of them are teaching the Mystical Paths. The only difference is, they are going in different doors. They are looking at the same thing from different angles but they are all going to the same place.

The Sufi wants to go the same place. The Buddhist wants to go to the same place. The Hindu wants to go to the same place. The explanation might be a little different but they all want to go to the same place. One calls it Pure Consciousness. Another calls it Nirvana. Another calls it Krishna, or whatever they want to call it. But the Essence of it is the same place, to reach that state of connection with God.

One calls it God. Another calls it Jehovah. But the Essence is the same. It also, of course, brings the Hebrews, Christians, Moslems, and Baha'is all together, unifies all religions together, and unifies everyone under one teaching.

That is what has been prophesied to come. That's what Maitreya was supposed to bring to humanity, to unify all the religions of the world together and bring the unifying force to humanity. And that's what is here.

Guest: Another thing that I was curious about that in a lot of the legends of Maitreya and a lot of the stories, Shamballa plays an integral part. I saw nothing mentioned in the literature that I got.

Maitreya: Those are symbolic things that have been given to humanity, and a lot of people have taken them as something that is tangible. Of course, apparently there are two groups which work for these revelations. One is related to the Masters. They are talking about Kut Humi and Master M, and all those Masters with whom I am sure you are familiar. Aren't you?

Guest: I think I've heard some of this mentioned.

Maitreya: They also talk about Shamballa, and that Maitreya is in Shamballa. He is in a glorified body, and things like that. That is one teaching that is very prevalent to the people who are related to the Masters, etc.

Then there is a prophecy in the Scriptures, like the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Koran, and the great religions of the world. They are talking about the coming of a Messiah. They call him Messiah, not Maitreya. Christ was the Messiah, for example. He was one of the very well known Messiahs who has been affecting humanity for 2,000 years.

Before he came, it was prophesied that that was how he was going to come. "He is going to bring the new teaching. He is going to bring the new wine." Of course, when he came, very few people accepted him. They eventually crucified him (even that was prophesied). But they couldn't stop his teaching. His teaching was prophesied to come. That was from God. That was from Spirit.

Now we have the same situation here, that is, the one who is prophesied by the Scriptures, "He comes, unifies the religions of the world, explains the Scriptures," etc.

Even in the Bible it says, "Until the seventh angel comes, God is going to be a mystery." We can see that each of the seven seals [pointing to The Greatest Sign] has an angel. This is the seventh seal [pointing the The Greatest Sign] put together, so this is the seventh angel. That is how The Greatest Sign explains all religions and unifies them all together.

This fulfills the prophecy. Jews and Christians are waiting for their Messiah to come from the East. Buddhists and Hindus are looking for the Messiah to come from the West. Where I was born is east of Jerusalem and west of Tibet and India. That's another fulfillment of the prophecies.

"Many will come in his name and will call themselves," Christ or Maitreya. Actually I didn't call myself Christ. There was a gentlemen in England by the name of Creme who took an ad in many newspapers in the capitals of the world. He said that Maitreya is the Christ. He called Maitreya Christ. I'm sure you've heard of him.

I didn't even give the name Maitreya to myself. I was given the name. So I didn't call myself the name Maitreya. That again fulfills another prophecy.

There are two ways of looking at this thing. There are the prophecies. God said this is the way it's going to come. These prophecies are going to be fulfilled, and then you will know that this is him. Or, we can say the New Agers, or the people who are connected to the Masters, who say Maitreya is in Shamballa and whatever you just referred to, and when he comes, he comes from Shamballa, and then you know him.

Either these two are one, or they are two separate things. If they are one, then Shamballa and the coming of Maitreya and all those things have a symbolic meaning, and we have to understand what is that symbolic meaning about Shamballa. Or they are two different things.

If they are two different things, then we have to discern which one is the truth, which one is from the Spirit and which one is not from the Spirit. Are they two opposite forces, or are they united?

If they are united, then if the prophecies are fulfilled, they should be the same. If they are not united, we can't have two Messiahs, because the Messiah is the nucleus.

It's just like the atom. The atom has only one nucleus. If it had two nuclei it would no longer be one atom. It would become two atoms. They could not be unified. They could not sustain the energy. They could not become the building blocks of the universe.

So there should be only one Messiah, as a nucleus, as the power who brings the teaching and power from higher levels to humanity. And this has always happened this way.

We have to discern and understand what is the relationship between the two. Either we all eventually have to become unified, and the people who are after the Masters and Shamballa have to realize and bring their teachings to understand the symbolic meaning of what they understand to these teachings as the unifying force of the universe and become one, or we are two different people and eventually the one who has the truth will win.

It will come out as the one.

Guest: So, are you saying that these are two different things, or are you saying they are the same thing?

Maitreya: The time will show. If Mr. Creme came and realized this is it, if the people who believe in the Masters realized that their beliefs are true in symbolic way(s) and the Mission is what they are waiting for, then we are one. Otherwise we are separated.

See, there are so many people channeling these Masters. This channel says something different from another channel. Kut Humi through this channel says something that this Kut Humi in this channel says is different. Have you read these channelings for the Masters? I'm sure you have, haven't you?

Guest: Oh, I've seen people say that they do that. But just because someone says that they do something, that is no indication that I believe that they do that, or I need to believe that they do that. But that doesn't necessarily mean that there is or there isn't a Kut Humi. That's a separate issue altogether.

Maitreya: I didn't say there wasn't.

Guest: Well, that was my question. I really am not trying to put toward you what someone else says you're supposed to be. I was asking about your opinion of Shamballa and the Masters.

Maitreya: If Shamballa exists, it should have a dimension. Is that right? It should be a tangible place.

Guest: Not necessarily.

Maitreya: How do you understand Shamballa?

Guest: One aspect of the Shamballa legend could be that it is a realm.

Maitreya: A state of consciousness.

Guest: A state of consciousness, and that all sorts of beings, such as Christ, have ascended to these states of consciousness. And that it is possible by using the images, like of Christ and the path that he has created for people, that you too can follow in his footsteps. Christ would be a Master. The people who are affiliated with that type of energy, or have an affinity for that type of energy, can proceed through that type of path. Then Shamballa would be the place in which this type of consciousness would reside.

That wouldn't necessarily be a tangible place, a location in a mountain valley, or something of that nature.

Maitreya: So, it is a state of consciousness, according to what you understand, or you say that is just one explanation?

Guest: That's one. There are people who say it's a place, and they claim to have been to that place. I haven't been to that place. But that is another explanation for it. Personally, I feel more comfortable with the explanation that it is a state of consciousness.

Maitreya: If it is a state of consciousness, then I can say I can go along with that. It's a state of consciousness. So, Shamballa is a state of consciousness and whoever reaches that state of consciousness is in Shamballa.

Is it the highest state, or is there anything higher than that?

Guest: Is that a question you are asking me?

Maitreya: Yes, according to what you explained.

Guest: I wouldn't say it's the highest. According to the legends which you read, it's the place in which the great beings reside to help this solar system.

Maitreya: How do they reside there? Do they have bodies?

Guest: No. I mean how can you have a body and reside in consciousness? This is according to the legend.

Maitreya: I'm just trying to find out exactly what you understand, because I've heard Shamballa explained so many different ways. Someone says it's somewhere in Tibet, that it exists, that it's really a physical place. You could go there. Some people say it's in the north pole. That's where it resides.

Now you say it's a state of consciousness.

Guest: That's what some people say.

Maitreya: Now I'm asking, is there any body for this consciousness? No? There are no bodies. This is just consciousness.

How do they help this solar system?

Guest: Well, much like it says in the sutras when they talk about the Sravaka Buddhas and Pratekya Buddhas and how they reach a certain self-absorption, or self-realization. They remain in this state until a ray of light from the Buddha's eyes awakens them and they realize that this is not the end, that there is more, and that they are onto the Mahayana path and they can help other people and that they realize that their evolution is directly connected to other people's aspiring.

Well, this could be a very similar analogy that once your mind has satisfied its karma, then it's open to the potential of the affect of another mind to open you up and to realize that there is more, to go on. Something of this nature.

Maitreya: In that essence, I can't disagree with you. Actually that's fine. That sounds good because that is true. The more you realize, the more you realize there is more to realize. Eventually also you reach a point where you see your spiritual progress is connected to the rest of the universe. It's not something that you can just go by yourself and say, "Well, I don't care about the rest, I'm going to go." You won't. You are just going to be turned around and told, "No, you can't come in."

In that state, of course, there are many levels. You are going to be helped, and be taken higher and higher.

Eventually you become as what we call, a Paravipra, as a person who wants to help humanity, who wants to help the earth, who wants to help the solar system, who wants to help the whole universe.

That whole thing is based on the Communities of Light, Communities of Light based on the Eternal Divine Path. The Eternal Divine Path unifies all the religions of the world.

So, we are looking for the people who don't want to get to the higher consciousness by forgetting the universe, by escaping the universe. That's exactly what the teaching is here also, that we are here to help, that our progress is connected to other people's progress.

In that sense, then Shamballa does exist. You don't have to call it Shamballa but that explanation is the same as what we call higher consciousness. You can call it Pure Consciousness, or whatever you want. In that sense, yes, that Shamballa exists.

What do you want to know about it?

Guest: I'm just feeling out questions and getting a taste for what is the truth about Shamballa.

Maitreya: But that's probably not for you because you believe it's a state of consciousness. But if you believe in Shamballa as a physical place, as something that's in the north pole, or in Tibet, then I have to tell you that whatever is manifested, is not the highest. Even in the ethereal level, if you do astral projection when you go to the ethereal level, and you meet those wonderful Masters in the ethereal level, and they have bodies, they have eyes, or they have hair, and they are sitting there. That is not the highest because they still have bodies, they still have something tangible, something manifested.

Consciousness is not something manifested. Consciousness is much higher than even the ethereal level. That's why I was asking you what you think about Shamballa.

Guest: Alright. Now I understand. A lot of times there is so much waltzing because the definitions of words are so imprecise and inaccurate that it often takes a lot of words to get a sense or feeling for what is really being said.

In any sort of sense of evolution, there are always people who are on one end of the spectrum and others who are on the other end of the spectrum. A lot of people have the idea that unity, everyone somehow gets to the same place. That somehow seems not a very sufficient explanation because no matter what kind of society you have you always need someone to pick up the garbage. There are always going to be garbage collectors and there are always going to be presidents or whatever.

How do you envision this unity in diversity?

Maitreya: Well, most of the humans who are now on earth have been progressing for the last 12,000 years. This is the time now that a lot of Souls are ready to take the next step. That's why we have so much population. And that is why this teaching came.

It's not calling on everyone. But it's calling those called to go to a higher level of consciousness, to see God, or to see Spirit as something that has been behind all the religions. They have come from the same Spirit and that is how they become unified.

Of course, according to the gifts of the Spirit, each person has different abilities. But those abilities we consider as mundane don't have to be looked down upon. Even a garbage collector can be a realized person. You can be a president and not be a realized person.

What we are trying to do is to spread this word. We're not saying that everyone is going to be a leader. Not everyone is going to become a Paravipra. Everyone has the right to live but not to lead. Probably that answers you. Not everyone is going to be president.

We are going to have the garbage collectors. We are going to have the presidents. But hopefully with these teachings, the meditation, and with the realization of the people, more and more the people will realize that the goal of their lives is to be(come) Divine.

That is the goal of the life. The goal of the life is not to become a president. The goal of the life is not to be a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher, a garbage collector, a policeman, or anything like that. That is not the goal.

The goal of my life is to become Divine. Now if I am a president and I am Divine, then I am a Divine President. If I am a doctor and I am Divine also, then I am a Divine Doctor. If I am a garbage collector and at the same time I am Divine, I am a Divine Garbage Collector.

That is why the mantra we give out is Haree Om Shrii Hung, Om Nam Kevalam. It means, The Goal Of The Life Is To Be(come) Divine. That is the goal of the life. Om Nam Kevalam, That Divinity (God) Is Everything.

So after awhile I can see everything is Divine around me. That realization that everything is Divine and I am Divine in that Divine, brings a higher level of understanding to humanity. And eventually this separatism and separation that we have created is going to be dissolved more and more.

Of course, the more people come to higher consciousness, the more they realize that this earth needs help, that we can't go on with what we are doing right now, because we might just blow ourselves up.

The unity doesn't mean that everyone is going to be there. Unity doesn't mean everyone is going to be similar, or are going to be the same. That's not the unity we're talking about. We're talking about the unity of all religions, the unity of the system that we are in and bringing to the higher level of understanding of how we are united. We are united because we have all come from the same Source, from the Spirit, from God.

How do we do our part, our dance (the way you explain it doesn't matter)? It is by what ability do I have? As I said, Sangha and Dharma, community and innate nature. Not everyone is going to sweep the floors. But if there is no one else to do it, I might take the broom myself and sweep the floor because it has to be done.

Then we go to the concept of Paravipra. If you study the teachings, it will become more clear to you. A Paravipra is a person who is a Shudra (who can work like a worker), who is a warrior kind of person, (Ksattriyan), who is not afraid, who is courageous. He is also an intellectual (Vipra). He can intellectually understand the universe. He also can be a businessman (Vaeshyan). He can be shrewd like a businessman, and can deal with money and things like that of the world. At the same time, he is Divine. He is incorruptible.

If all these qualities are in one person, then he is a Paravipra. He is a leader. That doesn't mean that he sits up there and he never touches the broom. No. If no one is there to clean the floor, he might do it himself, or herself.

So we can see, if we can create all these five qualities, then we go beyond any limitations. We can become the leaders who can guide others, at the same time be with them, and progress spiritually and help them to a higher consciousness. Of course, not everyone is going to be a Paravipra.

Not everyone is even going to be in the Communities of Light. There are some people who are just not made for community. They are not community people and they are going to be out of community.

So unity does not mean similarity. Unity does not mean that everyone is going to be at the same place. But according to our teaching, because of the Communities of Light and the progress of the people who have been meditating for the last 12,000 years, we're going to have more teachers, and also we're creating more teachers to teach humanity how it's going to be. Eventually we will create an environment where we don't have so much crime, destruction, wars, and all those things.

In this environment then more people can meditate, more people can progress, and more people can go to higher consciousness.

Guest: One of the things that I'm intrigued by is intolerance, and particularly some of the Christian intolerance. I am trying within an individual's own mind space, in particular mine, because of this experience of which I am talking about, to find tolerance for the intolerance. How do you propose that we're going to deal with this type of phenomena within? This is a very human thing, that, "Whatever I'm doing is the correct way," and that leaves no room for anyone else.

Maitreya: That is why The Greatest Sign says, "You are correct, but you are a part of a greater correct [all laughing]."

Guest: Right, but I'm talking about how is this going to come about for those who are correct and don't feel a part of the greater correct?

Maitreya: That also shows that the individual path is going to be much harder than the collective path of the Communities of Light. As these communities are going to increase, as our numbers are going to increase and more and more people are going to join us, it will be harder and harder for the people out there to be intolerant toward us.

The number is the hand of God. Hopefully we won't become intolerant toward other people. See, that is our hope.

We don't want to be trampled over by other people. By creating more and more Communities of Light and tolerance among ourselves and among our neighbors, we're hoping that our teaching doesn't eventually become intolerant, like the Christians, the Moslems, the Jews, and the Hindus have. Probably the Buddhists are less intolerant to others because their teaching is more vast. But Christians, Moslems, and Jews are not very tolerant people. Because the Jews say, "We are the chosen people," so no one else is good. "I am the only good one." Christians say, "We have the only way and anyone who has any other way is no good." The third one, the Moslems say, "We have the last word." So there is no tolerance for anyone else.

That's why I said, you as an individual person out there trying to progress, it is not going to work. That's another sign that God has given to us that as individuals, it is not going to work, because they are going to be intolerant toward you. You are going to be trampled over and they will do whatever they can to you to change you to their way of thinking. If they can't get you by Grace, if they can't get you by their teaching, they will get you by threat. At least they try. But if you are a community, a collective person, if you are together and you are nice and beautiful and everyone sees the beauty in your community, people will want to be in that community.

Here in this neighborhood, the neighbors are affected by our presence. Also we are tolerant toward them and nice so they have no choice but to be nice toward us.

That is how it's going to affect the whole universe eventually, by creating this kind of environment where there is tolerance, there is love, there is understanding, and there is progress in each individual. When each individual progresses, what happens? The whole community progresses. Of course, we are tolerant.

If you are tolerant toward one person and he understands you are a good person, maybe he or she will become tolerant toward you. But how many out there are not tolerant?

There is, of course, the critical point in the universe, in every event in the universe. When you reach that critical number, we will affect the whole thing suddenly.

Have you ever seen plastic under water? If you put a bubble under it, one bubble, two bubbles, ten bubbles are not going to bring the plastic to the surface. But there is a point that if you put one more bubble, the thing is going to come up.

So that is how it's going to happen. Eventually, when we reach that critical number who see this revelation, understand the unity of humanity, realize the teaching, love it and join us, the number will increase. At one point in the future we will reach that critical number. When we have that number, the whole earth is going to be exploded.

Guest: I'm at the end of my questions.

Maitreya: And I'm at the end of mine [all laughing]. Sal-Om!