Looking for a new Centre¹⁴

Manuel, Juan, Ivan and a few others have collected $40.00, which is not bad. We need perhaps forty thousand dollars! I deeply appreciate their sincere concern for us, but unfortunately we need the impossible amount of forty thousand dollars or more.

[Terrible banging and drilling noise from the upstairs apartment which was being renovated.]

Such a noise, unbearable noise. This is absolutely the interference of the hostile forces. Positively. Now the thing is that if we want to ignore them, yes, we can ignore them. We can remain in our own light, poise and peace. But again in the world, Mother Earth is kind to us. There are many places where we don't have this kind of noise. So why not try to have that kind of place? When we were in Manhattan, we used to have this kind of unbearable noise, this very destructive noise, but then we moved to Queens, a quiet borough of New York. Where we are now staying, it is practically a street in the suburbs. And if you come down four blocks, it is again right in the city. But our present Centre is really peaceful and calm and quiet. We can do our meditation; we can have our meetings in almost pin-drop silence.

This place on Miramar Avenue has played its part. Now every real disciple and those who have recently become disciples I am sure will want to sail in the same Boat and will not misunderstand me: the feeling now is that we need a spiritual place where we can avoid unnecessary tension. We are on a most beautiful island. Let us therefore have also a beautiful place to hold our meetings without such outside commotion. You will be surprised to learn that upstairs young boys come, not unconsciously but consciously, acting as instruments of the hostile forces. In spite of knowing that so many people are trying to meditate sincerely and devotedly, they deliberately make a noise. On other nights, when the group is not here, when you people are not here, they do not make any noise. Then they are very good. But when you are here, they have to go down the stairs thumping and crashing, whistling and all that. This is what they are doing. It is the unmistakable hostile forces. Sudha has spoken to the mother of the boys, but it is useless. She herself becomes hostile to us. On the days we hold our meditations and not on other days, her sons are behaving like hooligans and worse.

So please I am asking every disciple and friends to look for another Centre for us.