Ljubljana is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. Its name has several possible meanings, although the closest Slovenian word to it is 'ljubljena,' which means beloved. Whatever the meaning of its name, Ljubljana is the cultural and business center of Slovenia, rich in history and surrounded by mountain streams and pristine lakes.

Maharaji has spoken at four events in Ljubljana since 2000, including in July of this year. This last time, anticipating that he might come again, we had been ready like sprinters at the starting block of a race, and we made it. Everyone involved gave his or her best to prepare a beautiful environment for the event to take place. It had the feeling of being effortless—that feeling that comes only after lots of effort has been made.

A member of event team, Jožef Omerzel, told me, “I felt like it took only half the effort to do the job compared to last year, even though we only had a quarter of the time to do it. Weeks before the event was confirmed, we had a feeling that Maharaji might come again and great hope that he would. Regardless of the fact that it was only a possibility, we had done most of the work by the time we got the confirmation.”

Maharaji opened his address by talking about human beings’ innate thirst for peace. “Even a long time ago,” he said, “when people wore their skin for clothes, you can imagine a man or a woman standing under the stars on a beautiful evening. And what do they ask? ‘Who am I? Why am I here?'

“Now, fast forward,” he continued. “Here we are. Cell phones. Airplanes. Television. Blu-Ray. High definition, low definition. More books than you can imagine. More religions and variations of religion than you can imagine. The Web, the information portal. And we still ask, 'Who am I? What am I? What am I doing here? What is the purpose of my life?'

“So, for me, I want you to experience the joy that resides within you. Not the one that comes from outside. Not the one that is created. The one that you were born with and will die with. The one joy that resides in you that is capable of bringing you peace.”

I spoke with several people from the audience after the event. Željka Andrijević expressed, “It’s very special to host Maharaji in your home town. Yet, when he entered the hall, I felt as though he was the host and I was his guest. The hall became his living room—so pleasant and just like being at home. It is precious and unique for me to be able to listen to him in person. I am very thankful that I can be a small part of what he is doing in this world.”

Sergej Vajgl has seen and heard Maharaji quite a few times before. His comment was simply, “Maharaji being in Ljubljana was a festive day in my town and in my heart. I felt so fulfilled. I just want to tell others about what he offers.”

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