Now the conditionings of the outside in the West are of a psychological nature. Indians have other conditionings which are also quite surprising, or we should say the Western people, they must wash their hand ten times, even if their skin comes out, they’ll go on washing like mad. They must have a bathroom attached to them all the time. They must have their baths. If they don’t have bath they are not comfortable. They have other conditionings also. All kinds of stupid conditionings they have, but the conditionings that we have in the West are more psychological and that’s why you cannot find out what’s wrong with you.

The physical conditionings are not so dangerous. You can get over them or you can manage. But when you have conditioning of your psychology you cannot understand what’s wrong with you.

Now, if you see if you introspect around, what you will find is a very subtle thing. Firstly, that because of the wars maybe, I don’t know why, but everybody is afraid of everyone. Specially I think, Freud. Because of Freud, even the mother is afraid of the child, and all these things to Indians are absolutely they can’t understand this. But you people know that very well. They won’t touch anybody. They won’t hug anyone. First of all when they used to play football, they used to hug. But now I see they don’t hug they just touch hands like this. After some time I think they may just do like that or something. So frightened that nobody, even the children I’ve seen, are frightened of hugging their parents.

So, the expression of love is not there, and when there is no expression there is no love inside. And that’s how it goes on drying you up and drying you up and drying up.

There was a little girl in Sahaja Yoga and I had some present for that child. She was quite young, must have been about ten years of age. So I gave it to one Sahaja yogi, Western Sahaja yogi, that you go and give it to her and say that I have given. “No, Mother. I won’t give.” I said, “Why?” “She’ll misunderstand me.” I said, “What will she misunderstand?” It has gone so much into the heads of people. And this has created really the psychological insecurity within you.

From very childhood this insecurity has been working, and that’s why you are frightened of each other. Even of your parents, of your brothers, your sisters. Psychologically you are suffering. And when first I came to England they used to say it is the insecurity. I said, “What insecurity? The whole world is afraid of the Western world.” And what are they suffering from insecurity? They have made everybody insecure all over the world. And why, what are they insecure? They are insecured within themselves, in their own society, in their own family, in their own groups. They are so much frightened of each other.

So the first thing: you should be fearless. You are a Sahaja Yogi. You are no more immoral; cannot be immoral. If all the time if you start thinking that you are immoral, and if you do something it is immoral, and that you have to go and do some confession somewhere, then what is going to happen to you? What sort of a personality you will have? We have to change this by changing ourselves.

So among Sahaja yogis there should be no insecurities but maryadas. You must know how to respect each others’ privacy.

The second thing that if you find with the Western mind, which is a very common thing, that they are bombarded by criticism. There are so many critics that now there are no more artists left. Only critics are criticizing critics. All artists are finished. They are all the time criticized. Somebody will come in—there’s an education on criticism—they may not know how to play any instrument, they may not know how to sing, but they can criticize all right.

So all the time in your mind, is a way that you always feel that somebody will criticize if you do this. All the time the fear is there that somebody will criticize. So, “Should I say or not?” As Sahaja yogis, you shouldn’t worry about these stupid people because they are blind. And if they want to criticize you, let them criticize. What does it matter? Makes no difference. But this you have to build up within yourself.

Now the third is even worse, which I don’t know if you have noticed or not. I don’t know how it has gone into the heads of the Western minds, that you must always see to the other side of the bank, even if you are standing on this side, to be fair. And never to say something that you are sure of. Like you ask anyone, “How are you?” He’ll say. Always. Nobody will say, “I am perfectly all right. Nothing wrong with me.” “What’s wrong?” “Perfectly all right, thank you very much.” But it is never. They are not sure of themselves, all the time, is shaking.

And this shaking inside gives you a personality which can never progress. Progress comes when you put your step forward. You put your foot firmly on that point and then put the second step forward, like as you climb on a mountain. But, in the first place only if you are still thinking that it’s half way through, then how can you go further? You’ll only move on two steps, this or that or this or that. This is another very big psychological deterrent I should call it, or detrimental thing for your progress.

Now the third thing you have learned which is also, third or fourth maybe, that you must argue out yourself. Like you have a problem. You’ll come and tell Me, “Mother, this problem I have got.” This is very common with everyone, “I have this problem.” I’ll say, “All right, this is the solution.” Then you’ll come out, “No, no, no. But in this, this will happen.” Then you tell another solution, “No, no, no, no, no Mother, this can’t be this way.” All right, you tell third solution, “No, Mother, in this, this can happen.” Tell fourth, “This can happen.” You are standing against yourself all the time. Then I have to say, “This is your problem, not Mine, and I am giving you the solutions and if you want to solve your problem, better take a positive attitude.”

The brain is this way. In our Hindi language it’s called “ulti khopdi.” You are all the time arguing against yourself. So how can you progress? This is another great problem of the Western mind that it doesn’t try to face any problem as your own, but go on arguing with yourself like a lawyer. You see, there are two lawyers: one yourself, another lawyer, go on arguing. So is a double personality in the body/ being; is not a single personality. As I said, it is very, very psychological that people have to take to this kind of a turn suddenly, without understanding how dangerous it is. With enlightenment of your brain, this should disappear.