Q: Once you become Self-Realized how do you maintain it?
Shri Mataji: I used to think that once you get Self-Realization you are Self Realized you see. But it’s not so, I must face the facts as it is.
Once you get your Realization, of course you do feel all the time the cool breeze and all that. But there are problems on your centers, on your chakras, which you can feel on your fingertips. You can see yourself, I said self-knowledge, so you can see yourself what problems you have, you can feel the problems on yourself. Immediately you say “All right, this is the problem.” And that problem you want to correct yourself because you see yourself. I’m surprised sometimes people come and tell me, “Mother, my Agnya (sixth centre) is very bad, please, please correct it.” That means “Mother, I’ve very egoistical.”
Normally nobody would say I’m egoistical will they? Nobody. But once they get self-realization they see the problem, they love themselves, they see themselves in that love, they say that why not I get myself corrected. Then of course it has to be worked out a little bit, like even if the seed sprouts, it has to grow. It doesn’t take much time.
Within one month’s time, most of the people become masters. They can give realization, they can tell them, anybody. You need not be very well educated, nothing, I’ve seen in the villages, people work it out so fast. So I can’t say exactly how much time it will take but I’ve seen people becoming masters within one month’s time. And you don’t have to pay throughout. It’s very important to understand.