Introduction: Sal-Om everyone. Welcome to the third session with Maitreya for this Feast of Tabernacles. Glad to see everyone here. This is the last session for this Feast.

So before we get started let us all take a second to close our eyes, become more meditative and still, put our egos and preconceptions aside, and be open and be prepared to receive the answers Maitreya gives to our questions [silence]. Sal-Om.

We have the great honor and blessing of having Maitreya himself, God Is With Him (GIWH), in the room. Other names and titles given to him include the Christ, the Kalki Avatar, the Mehdi, He Whom God Shall Make Manifest, the Blue Kachina, the Seventh Angel, and others. He is the representative of God, the Formless, Invisible, Nameless, and Eternal, FINE, on earth, come to reveal the Mystery of God, unify the religions of the world and humanity, and bring the Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth, as has been prophesied. The Father and Him are One, and He knows the Mother.

He will be available for the next hour and a half, from 2 to 3:30 PM, Mountain Standard Time (MST), to answer questions on all aspects of His Teachings.

As with the other sessions, we asked people to send in their questions beforehand and those questions would be answered before other questions, and we received quite a few questions, so we will be taking no questions from the room in this session. There are more than enough questions pre-sent in for the full time for Maitreya to answer.

However, I think everyone should keep in mind that this is a public forum, and whatever you do say or type is in public domain. We do record these sessions, and may broadcast them later or use them as we see fit.

The microphone is now released to Maitreya; please give him your respect and undivided attention as he answers these questions. All thanks to God and to His Prophet. Sal-Om.

Maitreya: Sal-Om everyone. Welcome to this session. Let us start in the name of the Most High, the Compassionate, the Merciful, who has sent all the Prophets and the Truth, and expects humans to read them, to understand them, and follow them. Thanks God.

And we have a lot of questions from Ben. His name here in this room is panpsych, I guess. So we can read it here ourselves and if there is an explanation is needed I will probably ask panpsych, whatever that means. Do you want to take the mic and say what your name exactly is? And if you want to read it or you want someone else to read your questions? Go ahead.

OK then, we go to the next step. Yes, great. OK. So go ahead and read the first question. We have 21 of them. So it is going to be a session probably with answering them. We are not going to probably ask anyone to answer. I am going to just go ahead and discuss them for the next hour and a half.

Go ahead, Ma, you can read the first question.

Question 1: Has Maitreya given any prophecies about how we will be able to recognize His second and third incarnations? Will it be a similar situation to what happened with Bab and Baha'u'llah, or will Maitreya need to die before his second incarnation can be born?

Maitreya: Apparently the reference to the Baha'i way of passing the scepter or the teaching to other person is referring to the way of Baha'is believe that anytime a leader passes away, the Spirit moves from him to the next leader in their organization. That is why the idea of a Guardian was to have that Spirit continue in the organization forever. And of course there is no Guardian anymore. And as Abdul'Baha himself clearly said, that organization without Guardian is no longer valid.

But in this case of course we have made it clear that it is the reincarnation of this soul that will come back to claim the position of Maitreya for three reincarnations at least, to continue this Revelation to its ultimate fruition, which is the Kingdom of God on earth for the next thousand years.

God does not choose the Prophets just by going from one Prophet to others, although He can do that. But He Prophesies of the coming of that Prophet. And God promised David that he will be king forever. If we do not believe in reincarnation, how can he be king forever, because he died in one lifetime? But that is truth if he comes in each incarnation and takes that position that God promised him.

Therefore the way it is done in the Mission is that I have to leave my body and return a new incarnation. And there is an essay and writing which is called Passing the Scepter, it is in the Supplements in THOTH, and it explains how it is done.

It is very much similar to the way they find the leaders of the Tibetan, Dali Lama for example. It is a group of the people that know me very well and they will be looking for my next incarnation, and since they know me well they can recognize me in the next incarnation and by some testing will find me probably and know exactly that is me, that I have returned.

Meanwhile we will have a body of twelve people who will conduct and continue the Mission. But their most important task is to find me and reestablish the Mission with one focus, one leader, and continuation of unification of this organization by being focused on the one center instead of many.

If you have been in lecture that Noor gave, we see that every other religion to this point, after the founder left, there have been an upheaval and great separation between the people, and those religions became branched out to many religions. None of the founder of any other religions to this point has given such a specific instruction of how not to let this happen to this Mission.

Therefore God is indeed protective of this Mission and hopefully this will not happen to us.

I hope that answered your question. If it did we can go to the second question. I am going pretty fast. I am not going to go very deep because the people calculated and we have around probably 4 minutes for each question to be answered. We have only 1 hour - it is 90 minutes the whole time. And therefore we are going to go pretty fast through all of them, hopefully.

Go ahead Ma.

Question 2: What is the Mission's teaching on divination methods such as the Chinese I-Ching (Book of Changes), tarot, runes, etc.? Are divination manuals valid ways to know God's Will / receive His Guidance? The Bible seems conflicted on this. In Leviticus 19:26, God commands: "Do not practice divination or sorcery." But in Genesis 30:27, Laban says to Jacob, "I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you." Does God give guidance to individuals through divination?

Maitreya: Actually if you search for the 'divination' in King James Version, Genesis 30:27 does not come up as such. It says, "By experience the Lord has blessed me for thy sake." So it uses 'experience' instead of 'divination.' So that shows that God indeed is not supporting divination and in that verse, Genesis 30:27, it does not use 'divination' but 'experience.'

So God is constant in His Opposition of using any other method but trusting on God. And by following His Laws and His Will and being satisfied with whatever He gives you, you are better off than trying to manipulate the nature in order to satisfy the lower nature.

Therefore the answer is, He never supported anywhere in the Bible that you can use any other way but seeking His Blessing and Grace, or receiving whatever God sees fit for your life.

If in another translation they use the 'experience' as 'divination,' that is incorrect translation. That is why we recommend using King James, not any other translation. It seems the more they translate the Bible, the more they use words that originally were not used - although the King James itself might have been tampered with some, but sounds like they really put extra effort to make it more or closer to the original teaching. So that is why we recommend always use the King James Version.

The answer is, God still is opposed to that method.

OK, if you have any question or you have a follow-up, go ahead. We always can discuss that.

Panpsych [text]: So divination is not part of the mystical paths?

Maitreya: No it is not. Mystical Path is to know thyself to know God. It has nothing to do with the incantation, divination, or any other method that you put God out and you try to think by doing those things you can manipulate the nature to gain whatever you need. Just like tarot, or runes, or whatever you have listed in that question, they are all manipulating nature. Not progressing, not becoming Godly, not listening to God, but trying to gain things with force. God is against it. And the Mystical Path is also against it.

Do you have a mic? You can take the mic and speak with me. That is much easier because I am not reading the writing on the room much.

So the answer to your question is, no, it is not Mystical Path. Mystical Path is different completely. And we do not condone that kind of rituals.

Actually that was one of the reasons God destroyed man 12,000 years ago and closed the third eye, because they also were able to manipulate the Spirit and reached a point they could have extracted the life force and continue live for hundreds of years. And that is not the reason for this creation. The reason for this creation is to become Divine, to become One with God, return home. All those things are a part of Maya.

OK, do you have any follow-up? If no, we go next question.

Question 3: What is the reason for God's prohibition against Mystical Paths in the Bible?

Maitreya: Who said God is against Mystical Paths? I do not understand that question at all because that is not a part of our teaching whatsoever. Actually, if you remember in the teaching, we refer that when God choose Saul, He told him that he will meet a group of Prophets that they sing and dance and chant with the pipe and music. And they were the mystical people.

Or, many Prophets of God spend time alone by themselves in order to receive the Revelation, including me. So I do not understand why you concluded that God is against the Mystical Path.

Can you explain how you came to this conclusion?

Panpsych [text]: OK, I thought divination was part of the Mystical Path since Taoist and Buddhist use the I-Ching.

Maitreya: Ah, OK. All right.

Can you take the mic, Pan? [Panpsych typed that he did not have a mic] OK, I wish you had told me that because it is very hard for me to answer your questions and read what you write in the room. OK. Well, we go that way. That is OK.

Alright, well, no it is not. Divination is not a part of the Mystical Paths and God is not against the Mystical Paths whatsoever. In fact the Mystical Paths is a part of the Seven Seals. How can He be against something that He already said, "I will reveal to humanity?" Therefore the answer is, He is not against the Mystical Paths.

Go ahead, let us go to the next question.

Question 4: There is very little mention of Taoism in the Mission although the Yin-Yang symbol in The Greatest Sign is Taoist in origin. Were Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu avatars or prophets?

Maitreya: I personally was introduced to the Mystical Paths through Ananda Marga. And Ananda Marga is teaching about the consciousness and the three gunas and explains how they are the consciousness and creative forces. And therefore it made sense to me and it give me the experience to realize them in a deeper level and see them and eventually recognize them as the truth. I was not introduced through Taoism or other disciplines that you mentioned.

In general I found out many things that have come from China are a philosophy more than a religion. They might have some truth in them. They are not completely void of the truth. But the Mystical Paths and the Scriptures that Hindus and Hinduism have come from seems to be a part of original teaching that spread all over the earth and became the very base of the mystical experience of all cultures and religions.

And therefore, it seems the Hinduism and the teachings about the consciousness and three gunas have a greater truth than any other philosophy or teachings from any other Mystical Path. And since I was introduced to it that way and it made sense to me and became the part of Revelation, I have to say that is more truth than any other philosophy.

But I am not completely throwing out the Taoism or other philosophy. They might have some truth in them. The best way is study them, compare them, meditate on them, and eventually to come to the conclusion which one is the best or have any truth in them or not. That needs a scientific way of looking at them and maybe even eventually conclude if there is - they have some truth or not.

So we in the Mission emphasize on the Hindus' understanding of the consciousness and three gunas, and the way it is explained in that religion. OK.

I will try to read your writing then.

Panpsych [text]: Taoists teach meditation.

Maitreya: Well, a lot of people teach meditation. So you can probably bring Taoism as a part of the Mystical Paths as Sufism is, as Cabbala is, as other teachings that we call Mystical Paths are, which is to know thyself.

Maybe Taoism does help a person to know themselves. If it does, then it is included in Mystical Paths. But the rest of them can be a philosophy and teaching, and also have some truth in them.

Then you say:

Panpsych [text]: Taoists also teach divination.

Maitreya: OK, now you are saying something that God said, "Do not do it." So it might have some truth but there are parts that they are not the truth. And divination is almost used in many, many religions and the people....

Panpsych [text]: Buddhists also use divination.

Maitreya: We are talking about the truth of the religion or the followers. That is two different things. Yes, there might be some Jewish people that they follow divination and therefore God said, "Do not do it," but still they are doing it. There might be some Moslems doing it. There might be some other people doing it. But that does not mean that is correct.

Panpsych [text]: Can it be used in a Godly way? i.e. by praying to God first for guidance?

Maitreya: Well, is there any place in the Bible says you can make it Godly by praying to God and saying, "Oh maybe this time...?" Is it - but that is what you say right now. Does it sounds like rationalizing a command of God so you can feel good about something He said, "Do not do it?" So, I do not think so. He said, "Do not do it," so do not do it.

OK, go ahead with the next question.

Question 5: Do the 8 signs of the Taoist ba-gua represent 8 existing primal forces in the universe? (i.e. Mountain, Lake, Fire, Water, Wind/Wood, Thunder, Earth, Heaven.) Do these eight forces have anything to do with the 8 petals of the Lotustica in the Seal of Pure Consciousness?

Maitreya: Again, those things are in Taoism and there seems to be some understanding from some people that they followed that path and therefore they concluded those things.

We also can look at the Chinese medicine. They believe in yin and yang and they believe in many ways that affect your health. Are you having too much water in your body, or too much heat, or too much other things? And they teach you, you have to have a balance between all of them and you have to work to bring the healthy body by following those things.

So how much truth are in those teachings? Again it has to be studied, it has to be followed, it has to be looked into to see how much of them are the truth and how much of them are not.

So Taoism again seems to me is a philosophy, it is not really a Revelation from God. And therefore those philosophies have to be proven have truth in them.

Hinduism, the consciousness and three gunas already has been proven to be true and makes sense. And therefore we accept them and leave those, the rest of the teachings in other philosophies, to be proven to be correct. Therefore again that is not a part of our teaching but we teach the First Seal.

If again you have some follow-up, go ahead.

Panpsych [text]: Ok I thought that God's prohibition against divination was temporary.

Maitreya: You say you thought God's prohibition for divination was temporary. Why?

Panpsych [text]: Because we had misused our spiritual powers, so He was trying to keep our 3rd eyes closed.

Maitreya: Yes, the reason He closed our third eye, because we misused it. We used them to extract life force, or use it for our selfish purpose. And divination is a very selfish way to try to manipulate the nature for our selfish desires.

The whole idea is, not having a desire but desire to return home. Why do you use the divination? You use to gain something.

Panpsych [text]: Because He was keeping it closed for 12 thousand years.

Maitreya: Yes, He had it closed for 12,000 years so the history will become a lesson for humanity, and when this Revelation comes, human understands that they should not use divination and tarot and the things that are selfish ways as they did 12,000 years ago. And He is not going to open the third eye until human learns these things and realizes that 12,000 years of the history is a lesson for humanity not to misuse their powers.

I thought you know about our teaching more than this. Seems like you really do not know about the teaching much. That is why I thought your questions is - as you said, you have searched the website and these questions, you did not find them in the website.

If you read our teaching, it clearly says the last 12,000 years has been a lesson for humanity to learn not to misuse their power, not to be selfish, listen to God 100%, put their lives based on God's Will, come together, help each other. Therefore, their physiological and safety needs is been taken care of, they do not have to worry about those things. They can meditate and progress in Spirit and become One with God.

That is the only Path is recommended by God, a selfless Path, a Godly Path, a humble Path that will listen to God. Not a selfish Path. So that is the base of our teachings.

Do you want to answer the rest of your questions too, or, you have had enough?

All right then, let us go to the next one. We started it, let us finish it.

Question 6: Does the Mission of Maitreya believe that Hindu/Vedic mystical philosophy (with its 7 Chakras, 3 Gunas, etc.) has more truth than other Mystical Paths such as Taoism (with its 3 Dantiens, 8 forces, 64 Hexagrams, etc.)?

Maitreya: Hinduism, as we explained, has a greater truth and we have experienced it. We believe that, yes, it does.

Go ahead, let us go to the next question.

Question 7: Was there ever a time in the history of the universe when the goal of life was to individuate and create separate egos that felt separation from God? Was this ever God's Will at the beginning? Did God ever send prophets to teach unit consciousnesses to individuate and separate themselves from their God-awareness in order to become more focused in the physical world?

Maitreya: Can anyone answer that? That is a simple one. [Someone typed answer] Yes, the answer is a very resounding NO, because the whole....

If you remember, the Bible starts with the notion that there was a darkness and God moved to see what is that darkness. He had never felt that darkness in His Body, and He decided that is not good, just like a sickness or something in the Body of God. And He sent His Spirit into that darkness and the Spirit went through the Eternal Divine Path and eventually reached the Light.

Therefore God was not very happy such a thing has happened in the Body. The separation was something God did not like at all and did not want to see it happen. And therefore from the very beginning it was an anomaly that the individual be separated from the rest, be egoistical, be disconnected, and still is.

And that is what we are trying to convey to humanity and let them know that individuality is not the goal, but collectivity under the umbrella of the Eternal Divine Path is the goal. And that is how you overcome the separation from God and others, by foregoing your own individuality into the collectivity. And collectivity is greater and has more power than each individual separated themselves. And humanity is still fighting that, and that is why they have a problem. They still having separation between them.

OK, he says:

Panpsych [text]: But God likes to see us 'Play the Play.'

Maitreya: Who said it is a play?

Panpsych [text]: Even when we reach Pure Consciousness you have said that God does not want us to merge back into Him, but to remain in Pure Consciousness as separate beings.

Maitreya: First of all I do not teach it is a play. Actually we say it is a very serious business. The reason the whole thing is created was because there was darkness, and the whole creation is created so return that darkness back to God.

Being a play is a Hindu misinterpretation of their base or original teachings. And it never meant for the creation to be looked at as being a play. And it is not.

Panpsych [text]: The creation is done for "sport" it has been said.

Maitreya: Why does God send us all religions and Prophets to guide humanity? Why does He want to write the Bible and the Scriptures to guide humans back to Godhead? He would have let it just, everyone plays the play according to what they want to play, and the way they want to play, or you - or make it a sport. It is not even a sport. It is very serious business, and we are here to grow and go back to God.

So it is not a sport. It is not a play. But it is something that humans should recognize and realize. And they eventually will because this is the last Revelation. And again you have to read our teaching more deeply, Ben.

It is the teaching that is different than Hinduism. Also we include Hinduism, that does not mean that we accept everything is in Hinduism. If we had we would become a Hindu. We do accept Judaism, but we do not accept everything in Judaism. If we had we would have become a Jew. Same thing for Christianity, or Islam. We accept a lot of things in Islam, but we do not accept everything. Otherwise I would have stayed a Moslem.

Panpsych [text]: Why have you said that it is against God's Will for us to merge back into Him?

Maitreya: I did not say - it is not against God's Will. Actually that makes it very serious that God wants us to help each other and come back and help other people to understand that we have to realize this teaching, not to look at it as a game, not to look at it as a sport, a serious business. We are here to help each other, to accelerate, to create the Communities of Light, and accelerate the progress of everyone to go back to....

But when we reach to God by ourself, God is not going to let us stay there. He spues us out of His Mouth because He wants us to come back and help other people.

Panpsych [text]: You have said that reaching Pure Consciousness and being with God is distict from merging with God.

Maitreya: Distict?

Panpsych [text]: Different thing distinct

Maitreya: No, I did not say that. I said, when you reach Pure Consciousness selfishly, God is going to send you out, send you back. That is different than, "He does not want you to go back." No, He wants you to go back but you cannot go back until everyone has gone back. That is what we teach.

It seems a lot of misunderstanding there, Ben, in understanding the teaching. The teaching is completely different. The teaching is to make human to realize it is a serious business, everyone is responsible to recognize their life and creation is a gift and is a very rare gift, for each of you, or everyone, to be here and help each other to create the Communities of Light, overcome our selfishness and self-centeredness, and create the Communities of Light that we can live together and help each other and accelerate the progress of everyone to reach Pure Consciousness.

And if you even reach to Pure Consciousness, God is not going to let you stay. He is going to say, "No, go back. Go back to help other people." If you cannot help other people then you have to look at yourself pretty strongly, and follow the Eternal Divine Path.

OK, let us go for the next question.

Question 8: Will sannyasins have full voting rights to select leaders in the KOHOE, or only married people? Will sannyasins be allowed to become political leaders (like married people can)?

Maitreya: Well basically, sannyasin... is a decision they can make to participate in the process of selection or not. But in general it is preferable for them to concentrate on God and greater things and not get involved too much with the politics and things that are not affecting them.

But if there is a situation that it affects them, of course they should have representation in those areas. But in general they should concentrate more on higher things and helping the community and become an advisor and be people that are Godly, than involve themself to the worldly things too much. But if there is something that affects them, yes, they can participate.

OK, let us go to next.

Question 9: Are sannyasins allowed to get married later in life if they find a partner?

Maitreya: Absolutely. If they want to become married people, that is fine. If there are married people they want to become sannyasin, that is fine. It is just something that has to be very flexible for everyone to see where they are at.

But if you decide to be sannyasin, it is again preferable that you do not waver and change your mind too much. The whole idea is that sannyasins have more time and energy and they are dedicate their lives to God and married with God, and therefore they should not really look into marriage. But of course if they cannot work it out without being married and eventually they decide they are not made for sannyasin life, of course they always can back off and say, "Well, I am not really made for this, and I am going to go and get married."

The whole idea is that we give enough opportunity or create enough opportunity for every person that they eventually see why they have been created and why they are here, and then choose the path wisely themselves, with the help of the Elders, and therefore they can have a happy life and know that what they have chosen is from God for them and therefore they can follow it. But if they realize, no, they made a mistake, they always can change their minds.

But the Communities of Light should be based on the ability of each individual to create keen understanding to choose what God created them for. That is why we believe the ability to have a physical body, improving your physical body, your mental ability, your wisdom, and eventually decide wisely. Therefore you never back up. But always there is a possibility you might change your mind.

OK, next question.

Question 10: Why did God command that we not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material (Leviticus 19:19)?

Maitreya: Well, probably there was some reason in that time that He sent that command to the Children of Israel. As we will see in other question you have, there was some reasons in that time that He commanded these commandments. And probably there was a ritual there in that time that the pagans were using that as a magical thing to do.

For example, there are a tradition that if you put or sew forty pieces of cloth together and you had a wish, it is going to come true. God said, "Do not do it." So it could be that sewing those two materials together had a magical belief.

Panpsych [text]: A wish what is going to come through?

Maitreya: Yes, "A wish that is going to come true," exactly. So that is why God said, "Do not do that, trust on Me. Do not trust in these traditional...." God is not very happy or interested in traditions and opinions and ideas, but He is interested in His Will to be done.

OK. So that is why He said, "Do not do it." Next.

Question 11: Why did God command that we "not cook a young goat in its mother's milk" (Exodus 23:19)?

Maitreya: That is again the same thing. Actually this one has been explained, and we found the explanation for it:

Noor M [text]: http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/
Bible.show/sVerseID/2164/eVerseID/2164

Maitreya: The pagans used to believe if they do that, and to spread what they cooked this way to the trees and their land, that will help them to have a better crop next year. So every time after the harvest, that is what they did. They cooked a young goat, or they called it kid, into mother's milk and they spread what they created all over their....

Panpsych [text]: Oh so it was a selfish use of spiritual powers.

Maitreya: Exactly, that was a selfish way. Again not listening to God, not praying to God, not thanking God for their crops, but doing it that way and believing that they are going to get better crops. That is why God said you should not do that.

Actually if you read other parts of the Bible, it clearly says that it is OK to cook - I mean not to cook but to eat meat and milk together. There is no problem with that. Many places in the Bible they....

Panpsych [text]: So it has nothing to do with Jews eating meat and milk

Maitreya: Exactly, it has nothing to do - everyone can eat meat and milk together. The whole idea was, do not cook the kid in mother's milk and believing by spreading all over the place you can have a better crop next year.

Yes, exactly. That is why God said, "Do not do it. Trust on Me. Do not trust on milk and goat cooked into milk."

OK, next.

Question 12: Why does the God of the Bible and the Koran sometimes refer to Himself as "We" and "Us" if there is only ONE GOD? (For example, in Genesis 1:26 God says, "Let US make man in OUR image.")

Maitreya: It is something called the "royal we." If you have seen, the kings refer to themselves as "we" also, but there is only one king. When they say, "We decided that thing is going to happen," they do not mean there is more than one king. There is one king, but "we," as a royal we, decided. So that is why God also refers to Himself as We, "Let us."

Therefore it is a royal we. And also in that case, "Let us make man in our image," it kind of a decision that He will make but at the same time is referring to, everyone knows that decision is made such a thing to happen, "Let us." "Let us go to the lake," but really you made the decision to go to the lake and you are informing everyone else, "Yes, we are going to go to the lake." "Let us," "We are going to create the man in our image."

Noor M [text]: Maybe has something to do with the translation also?

Maitreya: How does that have anything to do with the translation, Noor? Go ahead.

Noor M: I was just thinking that the King James Bible was compiled together in a time when there were a lot of monarchs. So maybe the royal we was very well known as a very respectful term, so when they were creating the Bible they translated it in that way to emphasize that. Or maybe in the original Hebrew language, or whatever the original language it was, maybe the best way to explain the word that it was, was to talk about - was to say it in that way.

I do not know. I just - I always wonder about the translations for these little things like this.

Maitreya: Could be. Could be that might have some truth in it and when they translated they probably changed a lot of things in it. So not everything is completely is 100% truth in the Bible too. Bible has been translated more than 27 times. When I started the Mission there was 27, but since then they have a couple of even more translations that they try to bring some of their agenda into it.

So yes, that could be it, but also, yes, kings that used that as something to help them out as well. We - God calls Himself "We," so king calls himself "we." That makes sense.

OK, any follow-up? If not, let us go to the next.

Question 13: Is it O.K. with God for us to work with mantras such as "Om Namah Shivaya," "Om Aim Saraswatyai Namah" and "Om Sri Maha Lakshmyai Namah" so long as we realize that God is one?

Maitreya: Do you know what do they mean?

Panpsych [text]: Yes.

Maitreya: OK, well I am wondering why you asked that question. What, do they have the meaning of, "There is more than one God?"

Well after the coming this Mission and the mantra, Haree Om Shrii Hung, Om Nam Kevalam, which is the greatest in meaning and vibration, using any mantra is just, is bringing the energy to the lower level.

So one of the things that I realized very early in my understanding of Hinduism was, there is so much, or so many gurus and people are between you and God. And therefore, the mantra from Baba Nam Kevalam was changed to Om Nam Kevalam so the concentration is on the highest level, not on the Guru, not on the Messiah, not on the Revealer or Prophet, not on Shiva, or Krishna, none of them but the Highest, which is the Formless, Invisible, Nameless, and Eternal.

Even if you accept that our mantra is the primary, still using any other mantra will bring your energy down. So the best way is not to use any other mantra whatsoever but use the highest and understand the meaning of the highest.

So no, they are not recommended to be used, but everyone who follows the Mission have to recognize and realize the Formless and Invisible and Nameless is the Highest. Even my presence and this Revelation and all my names and all the things that have been given that God made it clear this is the Revelation from God and the highest, is to glorify God and go to Him. Not even get attached to me and make an obstacle of me to go to God.

So it is good to respect me, understand that God choose this vessel for this purpose and have the highest adoration for what God did, but at the same time go beyond that.

Panpsych [text]: Are other mantras that do not specifically mention the name of a guru permissible? Such as "Om I bow to the all-pervading essence"

Maitreya: Why go to something that is not come from the highest level of God's Chosen? Why do we need anything else?

All right, next.

Question 14: Why have all the prophets in The Greatest Sign been men (i.e. Noah, Buddha, Abram, Esa, Muhammad, Bab, Baha'u'llah, Baba, Maitreya)? Why no female prophets?

Panpsych [text]: I have found the Mission mantra to be quite powerful indeed.

Maitreya: Well, I am glad you find the Mission mantra most powerful. Actually it is the most powerful mantra of the last 12,000 years.

So, as we said, there is a dharma for men and women and each of them are created for a purpose. It is the division of labor and the best way nature to utilize for humanity to progress. Therefore each of them have to understand the purpose and reason God created them. And also it is, apparently God chooses His Prophets from men.

And in the final analysis we are all going to go to Pure Consciousness and we will be equal and there is not such a thing as Prophet or not Prophet, or the man, or the woman, or the child, and this and that. These are just the human concepts that stop them from following God and His Will. And if He chooses men as the Prophets, He is God, He can do that. And therefore we should accept that as His Will and therefore follow what He has chosen to do.

So we can see that is the way God does it. God created women for a different purpose. He created men for a different purpose. And if we are following God's Will we should accept our situation and position according to God.

I hope that makes sense. Go ahead, let us go to next.

Question 15: Why has God always been traditionally referred to as a "Him" in the Bible?

Maitreya: OK. You mean why He is not called Her?

Panpsych [text]: Or a gender-neutral term

Maitreya: I see. OK, well, God is both. God is everything. He is male and female. And He has been actually God the Nameless, the God Invisible. He has been, at least recently in a new way or New Age of thinking, He has been called Her or She. We have called Him/Her/It many times. And in the Bible probably He has not ever been called She, or Her, but it is been refer Him to "It."

Because most of the languages, when they talk about a general idea, they always used to use male as the person they are referring to do a general ideas. They never included female. So that is probably why in the Bible followed the same idea.

And eventually when the new way came they start using Her and She also. And this is a new way of thinking. Before that never anyone objected to anything like that. That is what it is.

OK, I am glad you like that. OK, let us go to the next.

Question 16: Can you please explain the following passages from the Koran, and I will post those in just a minute, and read them now:

"Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other ... . Good women are obedient. ... As for those whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart AND BEAT THEM" (emphasis added) (Koran: Women, 4:34) (does God condone domestic violence by men as a solution to marital problems?).

"If any of your women commit a lewd act ... confine them to their houses till death overtakes them or till God finds another way for them" (Koran: Women, 4:14-16).

"If you wish to replace one wife with another, do not take from her the dowry..." (does God condone a double-standard here?) (Women 4:20).

And now I will post those verses.

Maitreya: OK, "Men have authority over women." We find that most of the verses in Koran, it is not using "authority" but it is using "in charge," "guardian over." So it is not really authority, but being in charge, being guardian, protection kind of a way of referring to it.

And that is not an Islamic idea alone. Actually if you go to Hinduism, in Hinduism it is taught women are under control, are under the charge of the father. He is supposed to take care of them, protect them, and bring them up according to Hindus' philosophy and ways. After they are married, the man is in charge or protects them and guards them. And when the man become old and he leaves to continue his spiritual journey - that is the way of Hindus' philosophies, when the couple becomes old they are recommended to depart from each other and the man goes to a spiritual path again - and now the son is in charge of the mother.

So it is not a Koranic understanding. The whole idea of women being guarded and protected, it is a cultural thing that until recently, probably 100 years ago, it was even practiced in the West.

Panpsych [text]: In that culture they were guardians over women, of course. Does, this have anything to do with the belief in Native American cultures that the sky is Father and Earth is Mother? I.e. Father is unmanifested and women represent the manifested world?

Maitreya: Could be. Even in American Indian culture there was a set up of the woman in that culture also were protected by their men. It is something you can find in every culture that something like that is always been presented.

And when a society becomes prosperous and there is a lot of wealth and the woman now can have wealth, usually it becomes loosened up. And since they have their own financial freedom and independence they do not follow that advice. And it is very interesting that if you study the history you can see this phenomenon happens when a society becomes prosperous.

And the whole thing, the freedom and the ability to women to separate themselves from the authority of the men, and the ability to do whatever they want, is come at the same time with the sexual looseness more in the society, and ability to show their body more and more, and coming of the gays and lesbians and all those things, and eventually the destruction of that society.

So it seems to have a financial base. That is what the Koran even says, they have authority over the women because the man has the finances and helping them out by money that they have. Maybe that is why God make human poor, because when they are poor seems to be that apply more often.

So isn't it better that we follow God's Way even when we are prosperous, than we follow His Way when we do not have money and we are not prosperous? That is why the Mission recommends women and men all understand God's Way. That seems to be the cultural thing that has been all through history.

That does not mean the woman cannot work. Or that does not mean they should be beaten. I am not - I have no doubt men have misused this verse and have done bad things toward a lot of woman. That is not acceptable either.

But at the same time it seems protecting women is a part of many cultures. And when there is no protection there, something happens to the culture and men lose control and women are not happy. They want to be attractive. And they make by showing more body, when the beauty of women is more than their body. And therefore they become confused, men become confused, and the whole society falls apart.

So it seems God's Way is they have to create an environment that the women are protected, they are taken care of, they are loved and cherished, and made realize that they are great mothers and that is their beauty and strength. And therefore that is why God says that protection should be there.

We will see. Those societies that went away from that, and it happened to every great empire, when they become prosperous that is one of the things happens, then other things come after that. Now can we be prosperous and at the same time listen to God? Isn't that better than not?

So that seems to me that is what it says in that verse about the dowry. It says, if you decided to marry another woman or put your woman away, if you have given some money - it is not dowry actually, that is another thing is not in Koran. It is not dowry. It says if you have already given some money to her, you cannot take it back. You cannot say, OK, you were with this woman and you gave some money to her, and then you decided to marry another woman, you cannot take that money back. It is hers.

Actually I think that was not double standard, I think that was great. That is telling him, if you give something to her you cannot take it back. It is hers. I thought that is good. I do not know why you took it as that is bad. So that is, we can see that, yes, it is a good thing that if you gave something to your previous wives....

Of course, we personally and the whole Mission believes in great communication between couples and they become great friends and the ability to work with each other very closely and be one. It should not be dominating, anyone dominating anyone else.

But in general, yes it is a good idea that the society set up a way that the women are protected and they are provided and they are taken care of. That is what God says that is the way it should be.

Panpsych [text]: I was referring to the fact that men can upgrade their sexual partners to new ones, but women can't. Women get confined to their rooms.

Maitreya: Where did you refer that?

Well, the only thing we teach is that in order to create more children....

Panpsych [text]: "Send them to their rooms till death overtakes them"

Maitreya: Yes, well, that is about the lewdness. But do you know what lewdness means? Means to show their body, their....

Panpsych [text]: Sleeping around?

Maitreya: OK, well I thought that meant only to showing your private parts. But probably what you say is correct too.

So it actually says, "Chastise them." And if they did not listen, then make more and more their punishment severe. And if nothing helped, of course, as you said, do that.

But of course the best way, if there is a woman that does that, of course, the man should just let her go. Just probably it just is not worth it. And that will create a bad environment, bad energy. It is not good for the woman. It is not good for the man. It is not good for the children.

And, yes, and it says not beat up actually. We looked at the many verses in Koran. It does not say beat up. Only one of them said beat up slightly, very, very, not very hard. But it mostly said scourge or chastise.

And if, as you say, it is true she sleeps around, then He said, do not sleep in the same bed with her. And kind of ignore her and....

Panpsych [text]: OK I was reading Penguin classics.

Noor M [text]: Here are our accepted translations/books:
http://www.maitreya.org/Supplemental/divines/Books-recommended/Bookd_Recommended.htm

Maitreya: I see, OK, I thought maybe you are reading some translation. That is one of the things you have to be very careful. There is a kind of a backlash right now toward Moslems, and the translations are a little harsher than it should be. So I would probably go more to the translations done with the people in the Middle East or somewhere.

Because people used to come to this room and tell me that Mohammad married a... he was a pedophile because he married a girl, she was eleven. And then after a while she became nine. And after a while became seven. I even saw, heard someone said five years old. And none of them of course was truth.

So you have to be very careful what you read in those translations. But in the translations we found, there was none of them really was beaten up, but mostly was chastised or scourged.

And of course if some loose woman you married with, I recommend that, just get away from her. Just let her go. But if the woman is not loose and is completely dedicated to her husband and children and she is great woman, do not let her go. Just hang into her. She is the one that makes you feel beautiful and Godly, and your children will be Godly, and your family will be blessed.

So if you do not find such a woman and the woman you have is loose, I recommend just get away and find another one that is good, and Godly.

OK, if there is no other question let us go to next.

Question 17: Can you please describe in scientific or meteorological terms what exactly happened when God "rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah" (Genesis 19:24)?

Maitreya: OK, can you tell me who told you that it was "burning sulfur?" The Bible says "brimstone and fire." How did you get that?

Panpsych [text]: NIV [New International Version]

Maitreya: OK, yes. Again we look at the King James Version, old, not even New King James. And they say "brimstone and fire."

So it could have been, it is a little far-fetched, but it could have been kind of similar to atomic bomb that the radiation destroys people, or it completely, if you are close to the central ground zero, your body will become kind of ash, it burns to ash. Of course the Bible says "salt."

Whatever it was, that is what God said He was going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah and that is what He did. So in a sense, what it exactly was.... That is why I was wondering why are you saying "burning sulfur" because I had never heard that before. Just a second.

Panpsych [text]: They had that technology back then?

Maitreya: Yes, well, it is not the technology. I am not saying exactly it was the atomic bomb. But there is some theory that some kind of technology was available. Actually some people say there is a part of Saudi Arabia that it looks like some atomic bomb has been used in that area, it is so devastated and the remaining looks like such a thing happened to them.

Of course they are all speculations. That is why one of the things I hope Mission one day will have some departments that study these things in a deeper level and hopefully find out exactly what happened.

Of course God also uses what is available in the nature and what He has created it. So it is possible to realize what exactly happened.

Just like the parting of the Red Sea. It really was not Red Sea. There was no Suez Canal there. It was the Reed Sea that it was a marsh between Egypt and the other side of the Suez Canal. And the water was not that deep. And a strong wind easily could have pushed the water away and opened the way for the Children of Israel to go through. It is a miracle, I am not saying it was not a miracle. But it is explainable.

So what happened in that time in Sodom and Gomorrah, it is something that destroyed the cities, made those who looked at it and did not listen to God's Commandments to become like salt or sand or whatever happened to them. And what it was is something we can only speculate what it was. But we cannot know exactly what it was unless we have some way to go and study them and come up with the truth of it.

OK, I hope that answered your question. It is not really, there is no answer for it because really we can only speculate, not give the answer. But there was something that God used to destroy those people. And He might even use it again, who knows?

Go ahead, next.

Question 18: Why does the God of the Old Testament seem to NOT have a universal perspective? For example, God says in Exodus 23:22-27, "I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you ... the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites ... I will wipe them out. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. ... I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter."

Maitreya: It is not that He is not universal, but He is having a creation that created to choose the Elects and those who progress and want to return to God. Those are His Chosen Ones. And it goes very well with our teaching.

We are universal. We like everyone to tomorrow come and say, "Yes, you are right. Let us forget about our separation and egos and destruction that we are bringing on earth, and wars and injustice and all the things we do to each other, and let us create a just earth and unity and bring God to, among ourselves." Then we include everyone.

But we do not. If they are not Elects, if they do not want to listen to God and follow His Commandments and return to God, they are different than the Elects. They are fallen. Also we are universal, we know they are a part of the universe, but they have lessons to learn, they have the destruction to go through. They have to hear the Call and not answer and be punished or destroyed for going against God's Way. Therefore they are not ready and they separate themselves from the rest and therefore they do not become a part of the universal point of the view.

That is why God commanded those things happen to those people. Not that He hates them but maybe they will receive a lesson in this lifetime and prepare them maybe, hopefully, in the next lifetimes to progress.

Panpsych [text]: So He incarnated all the ones who had progressed into the Hebrew population

Maitreya: In that time. In that time Hebrews were the Chosen people. When the Christ come.... Yes. Chosen people are not a race. Chosen people, according to our teaching, are those who follow the Eternal Divine Path.

Therefore it is not the Jews that are Chosen anymore, it is not the Christians, it is not the Hindus, or Buddhists, or Moslems. It is those who follow and join this Mission and realize that God has sent all of the religions.

But each time a Prophet comes, those who follow him are the Chosen Ones. So it changes in different incarnations. And therefore they have to realize Chosen Ones is not a race, it is not a specific group or people, Chosen Ones are those who follow God's Way.

So, yes, it is now. That is what we are looking, or we are Calling. We are Calling the Elects. Elects are now are different than then.

Therefore it is not, not being universal, but God is saying, "You are Chosen. They are not. They are not listening to Me. I am going to do this to them." Not as a hate or not being a part of the universe but as a lesson for them to learn for the future.

I hope that answered your question. Go ahead, next.

Question 19: Did God really command the Jews to go kill men, women and children of other groups and steal their land and valuables from them (for example see Joshua chapter 6)?

Maitreya: Well, He might have, but at the same time remember the Bible has been changed. Some of the things that they put in there came from the carnal people or the carnal minds that wanted to make Jewish people superior to other races and Hebrews superior to other races, and so they added those things to the Bible. It might not have come from God. That is why Mission did not put commentary on every verse in the Koran. And we have to take some of those verses with a grain of salt.

But at the same time, know God can do whatever He wants. And maybe it was necessary at that time.

And even we believe eventually there is going to be the great destruction that 1/3 or 2/3 of humanity might be wiped out. It is a pretty scary thought, but that is what the Revelation and the prediction is.

So it is possible, but at the same time it is not important. The important thing is where we are at and where we are going.

Noor M [text]: Maybe those that were killed, killed children in another life and had karma.

Maitreya: And yes, they might have great karmas, that is true.

OK, next.

Question 20: When the children of Israel found a man gathering firewood on the Sabbath, Moses decided to stone him to death at God's command (Numbers 15:32-36). Did Moses do the right thing? Did the punishment fit the crime, and is this proper justice?

Panpsych [text]: Would killing a 3 month old infant help that baby to progress in the future?

Maitreya: OK well you are asking, "Would the killing of a 3 month infant, that baby...." Some kids are born and they die a couple of minutes after. They might have some karma for that period.

Maybe it was time for them to come and pay for the karma they have created previous lifetime. Or maybe not! Or maybe they were killed innocent and those who killed them innocently, if it was not the Will of God, they are going to pay for it.

So it is not black and white. It is a very rainbow color.

The next question that Ma just read, it is the same thing. You have to take that with a grain of salt, and it might be a part of the Bible someone added to it. But it is possible. It is possible that in that time Moses wanted to put an example for the other people to realize that he is serious. And he had the ability to do that so he did that to make other people follow it.

Or maybe a priest later on, at the time of - time that people are becoming more and more away from the Sabbath and they are not keeping Holy, maybe he added that to the Bible to make them conform to the Commandments of God in a greater degree by putting fear in their hearts.

So again there is some possibility it is from God and there is some possibility it is not. But the most important is where we are at now, what is the Revelation now, and let us concentrate on that.

Next.

Question 21: This is the last question: If God can raise a prophet in every village, then why didn't He do that instead of telling Muslims and Jews to go kill lots of people around them to spread God's message? Couldn't God have prevented a great deal of unnecessary suffering by simply sending lots of messengers instead of lots of warriors?

Maitreya: I like that question. That is a very clever question.

But God already said He was going to send Seven Revelation with the Seven Prophets, and also send minor prophets, some people say there are 144,000 of them. So sending Prophets, seems He can do it but not necessary He will do it.

And He prophesied the Prophet come and He sent them to them and He created ability for them to spread the Message. But those who do not listen to the Prophet, they have to go.

It is time for humanity to listen to Christ. If they do not, that is what happens to you. It is time for humanity to listen to Muhammad, Prophet Muhammad. If they do not, that is what happens to them. It is time for people to listen to this Revelation. If they do not, God said there is going to be tribulation and destruction. So it is going to happen to them.

That is what God's Way is. He prophesies. He sends the Messiah, He sends one person as the Messenger of God. And either the people listen to him, or they do not. It is their choice.

But also have God already said what is His Choice. That is the way He is going to do.

So it is up to you. You want to listen to God, or you have your own idea how should it be done. God said that is the Way He is going to do it. Therefore, that is His Way.

I hope that answered your question. And all the answers are given.

I wish all of you a good year and fantastic understanding of the Mission and unity with God. And I am hoping most of you take these words in heart and study them, and come and join the Communities of Light and create them. And let us bring God's Word to the heart of man and let them realize that is His Way. His Way is our way and our way is His. And your way should be also His Way.

Sal-Om everyone. Have a good year. See you guys all next year. Sal-Om!

Q&A Sessions 2010