“But I Already Know This!”

Home

Are you using a browser that doesn't support JavaScript? If your browser does not support JavaScript, you can upgrade to a newer browser, such as Mozilla Firefox (recommended), Microsoft Internet Explorer or Apple Safari. If you have disabled JavaScript, you must re-enable JavaScript and reload the page to better access this site.

“But I Already Know This!”

Written by Mitch Ditkoff

Friday, 29 October 2010 11:58

A few days ago, I emailed a friend of mine who saw Maharaji for the first time at the Woodstock event on August 25. Knowing she had thoroughly enjoyed the evening and had started to find out more by watching The Keys a few days later, I was curious to know if she had any questions.

She didn’t. But she did have an interesting observation about herself. As she watched The Keys, she explained, a recurring thought kept running through her mind.

“But I already know this.”

I’ve heard the same thing from many people over the years — especially friends of mine who are just starting to explore Maharaji’s offer.

This time, maybe because Maharaji had just come to my hometown, it gave me extra pause. Why, I wondered, was it so common for people to respond to Maharaji’s message with the potentially dismissive “But I already know that”?

Could it be they weren’t quite open? Or not sufficiently humble? Too full of concepts? Well, that describes all of us — Maharaji’s students, too. The real reason is simpler.

The real reason why so many people respond to Maharaji’s message with “I already know that” is because they do. Indeed, this is one of the recurring themes at the core of his message. If it seems familiar to you, that’s because it is.

This is where things really get interesting. Indeed, if there is a place where the “path” begins, this is it.

A good teacher does not invent anything new. He (or she) does not recycle old truths. A teacher turns theory into practice. Makes the potential kinetic. Activates the process where seeking comes to an end and finding begins.

For most of us, the essence of who we are has long been forgotten — like we’ve all gotten a bad case of amnesia. We know the time, but not the timeless. We know our phone number, but not our heart. We know where we want to be tomorrow, but not where we are today.

Big difference.

Bottom line, Maharaji’s waking people up to the most ancient thing within them — the essence of what makes life worth living. And not only that. He’s also providing the tools and inspiration to maintain steady contact with this glorious place of being. How cool is that?

The second reason why some people respond to Maharaji’s message with the “I already know this” mantra is because it’s very likely they’ve heard his message before. Maharaji’s not the only one talking this talk. What he’s saying has been preached, written about, sung, danced, sculpted, painted, whispered, dreamed, and yodeled since the beginning of time.

Strip away the jargon of any path and you’ll find his message at the core. What you are looking for is within you!

What, then, is the value of Maharaji and Knowledge, when his message is as old as the hills — and the time before hills? Simply this: He helps people make it real. He helps them apply it in daily life.

He has an extraordinary gift for helping people close the gap between theory and practice — helping them understand, in their bones, that this is it — that the promised land is beneath our very feet right now — if only we would keep our promise to ourselves.

He’s a wake-up call — not with a bugle, but a breath.

Illustration by Sara Shaffer.

82 Comments

Theo makes this comment

“But I Already Know This!”

Friday, 17 December 2010

Knowledge of the Heart is incomparable to any other knowledge.
Daniel makes this comment

“¡Pero esto yo ya lo sé!”

Thursday, 09 December 2010

Si algo asi,sentia cuando era niño,como una promesa que me hacia y era como prometerme,no,,era algo que me decia que mi vida era buena y sentia ese empujon hacia mi libertad era muy muy bonito. Nunca habia oido hablar de maharaji,cuando lo conoci a regañadientes,despues de la pataleta,que me entro, recibi su precioso regalo del conocimiento,un dia oi a Maharaji en un evento,que por cierto,que lo titularon""LA PROMESA""el sentimiento era Wuaooo que bueno,y eso os cuento.... Saludos
Cary makes this comment

“But I Already Know This!”

Saturday, 20 November 2010

Maharaji is right on!!! The kingdom of Heaven is spread out before us and we do not see it. Simplicity itself. Buddha said all problems are due to ignorance. This is it. Here. Now. People see it but just won't believe it. So seeing is not believing at all until we're awakened. Am I wrong?
Gregorio makes this comment

“But I Already Know This!”

Friday, 12 November 2010

How I like to read these kind of things that are not limited by the boundaries of time and concepts but are just personal, simple and deep experiences at the same time, and how poor is to be a slave of fashions and trends.
Rocio Gabriela U. makes this comment

“¡Pero esto yo ya lo sé!”

Friday, 12 November 2010

Me gusta mucho lo que has escrito,porque en cierta manera haces eco de mi sentir...eso ya lo se!..lo he escuchado antes!..pero en verdad lo se?...la respuesta sicera a esa pregunta cada quien la reponde,en la medida que se descubre uno mismo....
alber makes this comment

“¡Pero esto yo ya lo sé!”

Sunday, 07 November 2010

Pues , para mi siempre ha sido un sentimiento, aquel tambien tan "famoso", como de: "volver al Hogar", un sentimiento, en vez de una frase.
Patricia makes this comment

“¡Pero esto yo ya lo sé!”

Saturday, 06 November 2010

Todavía no pude llegar hasta Las Llaves, pero es un placer indescriptible cada vez que escucho al Mahariji y creo que es porque me devuelve esa paz que siempre fue mía y no sé en que momento la perdí.
allen castellano makes this comment

“But I Already Know This!”

Friday, 05 November 2010

It kinda reminds me of times when I heard people say they could have done Andy Warhol's painting of a Campbell's Soup can.But the fact of the matter is that it wasn't done and that's what makes it so rare to find someone like Mitch who says it anyway!
David Gittlin makes this comment

“But I Already Know This!”

Wednesday, 03 November 2010

Mitch: This is beautifully written, laced with your customary insight, compassion, and humor.
Audrey Philpot makes this comment

“But I Already Know This!”

Tuesday, 02 November 2010

Nice piece! A momentous start to this undertaking!