I have received a great many letters recently from students and members of this site who wish to know about Gurus, about evil and righteousness, about Grace, and since the recent terrorist attack in New York and Washington, about the rights and wrongs of political maneuverings in the world arena.

In all the above questions I try and first of all take a person to a Cosmic overview with some historical background, and then to a personalized Yogic outlook that when studying Yoga , one should adopt - especially when one is not affected in a critical way by any of it.

The panic that rises up, the sides that are taken and how easily one goes off center when tragedy strikes has shown the world how easily we can be sidetracked away from our original goal of being the prodigal son. You have to remember that it is our original goal in Yoga to return to our Source, our birthright, by uniting with the Atman or SELF.

Yoga has no other purpose than that - to unite with God - or the eternal SELF. The other purposes attributed to Yoga are twentieth century hype, such as studying Yoga to relieve stress, to attain better health of mind and body, to lower blood pressure and also to retain flexibility into older age.

The above benefits are well and good, but too many get lost in the achievement of that end and lose site of the real goal of Yoga. In the end it doesn't really matter to a Yogi whether he is healthy or not. It does not stop him in his love desire. A real Yogi has long since learned that there's no sure cure for anything pertaining to this Mayic dream. Illness strikes everyone sooner or later and so does illness's ultimate end , death.

To waste one's time seeking health or benefits thereof and lose site of the goal during it, is such a waste of the short years you have on this earth dream plane, to have a full awakening.

When your mind is solidly fixed on the pole star you will travel North, but should you waver by sudden light shows from comets or some other heavenly displays and try and follow them, by going off your course, you will only have to retrace your steps in the direction of the pole star. How many times this happens to you during the course of your lifetime in your retracing of steps back to your source is virtually uncountable, it is so often.

Yet when some form of destruction happens, that does not really affect you physically in anyway, sides are taken, passions rise, and sometimes friends are lost. All the time the event really has nothing to do with you - except that you have bought in to the news events, the fear, the revenge, the hate, and or the compassion of the moment.

On the other hand it has everything to do with you as we are all one, so what affects one affects us all, no matter the distance or even should the people be unknown, yet that, at the moment is not to be considered. Why?

Because if everyone really knew that, we would not hurt anyone at all, as we would know we are only hurting ourselves in them, thus this attack could not have been carried out by the terrorists. Likewise whatever destruction we have in our minds for others would not be carried out either. That is not the case though as we blindly go on doing harm in one way or another to others.

When this happens the mind has now become trapped into a behavioral pattern which has been thrusted upon it by outside influence and continued conditioning. In all these turmoils, balance has been lost, pole star direction has been diverted and the Will to delve deep within to unite with Self is abandoned.

I do not say that many don't dive deep within to pray for others, or to gather up some resources which will benefit the needy, but even in this, the light of SELF discovery, that LIGHT which illuminates the world, is being relinquished in its cosmic reality to that of personal interest.

It is only when you are illuminated that the love magnet within you exterminates all things NOT love. The more people that achieve this love magnet the more the world raises in consciousness in preparation for the third rising Tetra Yuga. That is why it is more important to gain Moksha than it is to take sides.

During this Dwapara Yuga, man will remain as he is, a self interested species that dates back to the time of the cave man. Not many people have the vision of a Yogi and for them, to pray and give material aid is a wonder in this Yuga period, but for the earnest Yogi, interested in Real Yoga, do not lose sight of the pole star. Even for a minute if possible. In all activities mundane and activities Yoga, remembrance of who you are should be paramount.

Now I am not talking to Yogis in it for the health or the serenity, but I am speaking to the Yogi that has this vision of regaining his birthright - satchitananda. Many of you know who you are already. The parable of the prodigal son is a wonderful one as it shows the real and crazy desire that exists in the consciousness of man to return to and unite with his true SELF. That return journey is accomplished by fulfilling ones life's Dharma, or being, or his fulfilling his life's lessons, Artha the receiving of the wealth of the universe, even to the mundane earning of ones living. It means more than that though - it means the Abundance of life, the cornucopia of Grace flowing over us. That is the real wealth. Karma, the enjoyment of life. The Sheer unadulterated love and enjoyment of our life according to our Dharma, and finally when all those aims are fulfilled one reaches his last aim, Moksha, or liberation from the illusion of Maya and the final residing in Satchitananda.

That is why I teach to be yourself - enjoy life and love and sex, give gratitude for the daily and bounteous Grace which is bestowed on you. It is not by renouncing life that one attains liberation, but by embracing it fully.

I think for those of you that have not read my newsletters, you can get a better idea of many subjects of a Gnana Yogic content by double clicking the following link: www.real-yoga.com/newsletters/

So now to the kernel of this letter. Gurus are necessary for some and not others. Try and remember that the guru within you is the identical one in the "other", and if the other is a wise sage, what he says can be said to be coming out of the mouth of your own inner self, but which you accept from an external personage.

Once you realize that the inner Guru is the same as the outer, then the outer and external one becomes unnecessary. There is no Guru worth his salt will say he is your guru but he will tell you that there is only one - that within you.

The fact you make him your guru is your doing. Just try and remember that what he says, must make sense to you. If it doesn't then he may as well be any old fool speaking through his ego. After all not everyone who tells you certain things is speaking from his inner being. Most people speak from their ego platform, with an agenda, and usually out of self interest.

Many feel that initiation should only be done by an appointed or qualified member of a certain sect or religion or order, as they feel that the direct lineage of that order goes back directly to God. As if God could be constrained by such a limitation.

There have been many Yogis who have been outside an order and give initiation to their students, and there is one I know of, Ramana Maharshi who gives silent initiation . Some people have asked me when I give the Kriya technique, do they need to be initiated in to it? The mere fact of my giving it is the initiation.

In the Cosmic scheme of things I have stated before, that everything is in order and everything is in balance. Galaxies are formed , live out their lives of millions of years with individual bodies being destroyed and born of the gasses within that galaxy, until the galaxy itself is transformed into a huge black hole sucking all energies around it, in to itself.

In the void and vacuum like space, containing all these infinite amounts of galaxies there is no light itself, yet the bodies within it have reflected light from the zillions of Suns. Light and darkness are dependent upon these suns and the rotation of the home base which perceives it - in this case, Earths.

There is no good and evil in the Universe. There is no up and down. Everything of alternate attribute resides in the mind of man. We as individuals are the center of the universe and from our particular perspective we determine what we conceive to be right and wrong.

We conceive what the Taliban suicidal bombers did was wrong. They on the other hand conceive of it to be right. So right in fact that they are willing to die for it. Now what happens is, we begin to moralize, as to why it is always wrong to kill innocents, no matter what the cause. They on the other hand moralize that no matter what means to create the effect they want is always the right thing to do - even if they have to die for it.

The great scriptures have three divinities, but in the Hindu scriptures they are actually named as the creator, the sustainer and the destroyer. In all those thousands of years ago, they sages knew that in the Cosmic realm, worlds are created, they are sustained for some millions of years and then they are destroyed . Yet when we see the same kind of trilogy happening before our eyes, we moralize.

For instance you have been driving home on a roadway that has been your route for many years, when your town council decides to put in a large 4 lane highway. In order to do that, the old road has to be torn up. In the interim of that chaos you curse the fact that the detour you now take takes so long to get home Without thinking of the creation yet to come, the immediate rubble of the old road consumes you. Finally when the new road is constructed, you breath easy again.

We humans hate the idea of the destructive aspect of life - yet out of every tearing down there is either a building up or a complete collapse. How many heart attack patients, suffered such a destructive blow, only to find that it created the seeds for a new way of living which would eradicate that from occurring again. We have to be ready for change, as change is the only constant in life.

That is why, as hard as it is sometimes, when viewing world events, to take a Yogic philosophical view and get down to the real business of Real Yoga. And not be carried away with the illusionary occurrences of death.

In Yoga we know there is no death - we are ever existent, every conscious and ever blissful. All we have to do is wake up to that . It is the waking up part that seems to be difficult for some. You already are perfect, even as the Universe is perfect, with all its and your faults, both are perfection.

At the loss of a loved one it is hard to realize they are not dead, only the vehicle that carried them is changing back to organic matter again to be mixed in with the earth. Death only hurts those that are left behind. We came from nowhere, we are going nowhere, we are always here. (Ramana)

Try as hard as you can to not be affected by world events. It is not sitting on the fence because you will be doing something greater than anyone else and that is trying to unite . When you do, the full effulgence of the light within you will eradicate the darkness and ignorance in the world better than any moralizing will ever do - even better than education.

Silent teaching is the very best way - Ramana is the best example of that.