You want grace?
Well, ask God, maybe he'll give it to you
And the theologian will tell you, "Yes, God, gives his grace freely. He gives it to all because he loves all. It's here, like the air. All you have to do is receive it."
Or a more orthodox, a Catholic Christian would say, "All you have to do is to be baptized, to take the holy sacrament of the altar, the bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ, and there is the grace right there
And it's given by these simple physical means so that it's very easily and readily available
Well, a lot of people got baptized
And it doesn't always take
People fall from grace
Why do they?
You see, we're just talking about the same old problem, but we've put it a step up
But it's the same problem
How can I improve myself?
Was the first problem
The second problem is
[Chorus]
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
How can I accept grace? They're both the same problem
Because you've got to make a move
Which will put yourself out of your own control
Into the control of a better
If you don't believe in the Christian kind of a God, you can believe in the Hindu kind of a God
Who is your inner self
You see, you've got a lower self, which you can call your ego
That's that little scoundrelous fellow, who's always out for me
But behind the ego, there is the Atman, the inner self
The inward light, as Quakers would call it, the real self, the spirit
Which is substantially identical with God
So, you've got to meditate in such a way that you identify with your higher self
How do you do that?
Well, you start by watching all your thoughts, very carefully, watching your feelings, watching your emotions, so that you begin to build up a sense of separation
Between the watcher and what is watched
[Chorus]
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
So that you are, as it were, no longer carried away by your own stream of conscious
You remain the witness, impassively, impartially
Suspending judgment, and watching it all go on
That seems to be something like progress
At least you're taking an objective view of what is going on
Of what is going on
You're beginning to be in a position to control it, but just wait a minute!
Who is this self behind the self, the watching self?
Can you watch that one?
It's interesting if you do, because you find out, of course, that this is, just as the problem of grace
It is nothing more than a transposition of the first problem
How am I to be unselfish by my own power?
It becomes how am I to get grace by my own power?
Well, ask God, maybe he'll give it to you
And the theologian will tell you, "Yes, God, gives his grace freely. He gives it to all because he loves all. It's here, like the air. All you have to do is receive it."
Or a more orthodox, a Catholic Christian would say, "All you have to do is to be baptized, to take the holy sacrament of the altar, the bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ, and there is the grace right there
And it's given by these simple physical means so that it's very easily and readily available
Well, a lot of people got baptized
And it doesn't always take
People fall from grace
Why do they?
You see, we're just talking about the same old problem, but we've put it a step up
But it's the same problem
How can I improve myself?
Was the first problem
The second problem is
[Chorus]
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
How can I accept grace? They're both the same problem
Because you've got to make a move
Which will put yourself out of your own control
Into the control of a better
If you don't believe in the Christian kind of a God, you can believe in the Hindu kind of a God
Who is your inner self
You see, you've got a lower self, which you can call your ego
That's that little scoundrelous fellow, who's always out for me
But behind the ego, there is the Atman, the inner self
The inward light, as Quakers would call it, the real self, the spirit
Which is substantially identical with God
So, you've got to meditate in such a way that you identify with your higher self
How do you do that?
Well, you start by watching all your thoughts, very carefully, watching your feelings, watching your emotions, so that you begin to build up a sense of separation
Between the watcher and what is watched
[Chorus]
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
You want grace? I want grace, we want grace, hey
So that you are, as it were, no longer carried away by your own stream of conscious
You remain the witness, impassively, impartially
Suspending judgment, and watching it all go on
That seems to be something like progress
At least you're taking an objective view of what is going on
Of what is going on
You're beginning to be in a position to control it, but just wait a minute!
Who is this self behind the self, the watching self?
Can you watch that one?
It's interesting if you do, because you find out, of course, that this is, just as the problem of grace
It is nothing more than a transposition of the first problem
How am I to be unselfish by my own power?
It becomes how am I to get grace by my own power?
[Chorus]
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
And if only I could be the right person
Is this man going to tell me something that will help me to change myself
So that I will be a more creative and cooperative member – of the human race?
I would like to improve
[Chorus]
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
So in so many people's minds, and from so many different angles, there is this urgent feeling that I must improve me
And this is critically important
Because it's obvious, at least, it's superficially obvious
That the way things are, we are going to hell fast
Now, in this question
Can I improve me, there is the obvious difficulty
That if I am in need of improvement, the person who's going to do the improving is the one who needs to be improved
There, immediately, we have a vicious circle
[Chorus]
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
[Chorus]
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
And if only I could be the right person
Is this man going to tell me something that will help me to change myself
So that I will be a more creative and cooperative member – of the human race?
I would like to improve
[Chorus]
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
So in so many people's minds, and from so many different angles, there is this urgent feeling that I must improve me
And this is critically important
Because it's obvious, at least, it's superficially obvious
That the way things are, we are going to hell fast
Now, in this question
Can I improve me, there is the obvious difficulty
That if I am in need of improvement, the person who's going to do the improving is the one who needs to be improved
There, immediately, we have a vicious circle
[Chorus]
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
[Chorus]
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
It's me that's wrong
It's me that's wrong
I would like to improve
I would like to improve
So, it all comes down to this basic question
That human beings have, for a long, long time been concerned about transforming their minds
Is there any way in which one's mind can be transformed
Or is it simply a process which is nothing more than a vicious circle?
I could ask
[Chorus]
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Would it be too presumptuous of me to say that you were looking for help?
That you hoped you would hear somebody who had something to say
That would be of help and relevance to you, as members of a world
Which is running into the most intense difficulty?
A world beset by a complex of problems, any one of which would be bad enough
But when you add together all, all the great political, social, and ecological problems with which we are faced, they are appalling
And one naturally says, "The reason why we are in such a mess is not simply that we have wrong systems for doing things, whether they be technological, political, or religious."
[Woman] Hallelujah!
But we have the wrong people
The systems may be all right, but they are in the wrong hands because we are all
In various ways, self-seeking, lacking in wisdom, lacking in courage, afraid of death, afraid of pain, unwilling, really, to cooperate with others, unwilling to be open to others
And we all think that's too bad
It's me that's wrong
[Chorus]
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
[Outro]
Yeah, boy!
Yeah, boy!
That human beings have, for a long, long time been concerned about transforming their minds
Is there any way in which one's mind can be transformed
Or is it simply a process which is nothing more than a vicious circle?
I could ask
[Chorus]
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Would it be too presumptuous of me to say that you were looking for help?
That you hoped you would hear somebody who had something to say
That would be of help and relevance to you, as members of a world
Which is running into the most intense difficulty?
A world beset by a complex of problems, any one of which would be bad enough
But when you add together all, all the great political, social, and ecological problems with which we are faced, they are appalling
And one naturally says, "The reason why we are in such a mess is not simply that we have wrong systems for doing things, whether they be technological, political, or religious."
[Woman] Hallelujah!
But we have the wrong people
The systems may be all right, but they are in the wrong hands because we are all
In various ways, self-seeking, lacking in wisdom, lacking in courage, afraid of death, afraid of pain, unwilling, really, to cooperate with others, unwilling to be open to others
And we all think that's too bad
It's me that's wrong
[Chorus]
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
Why have you come here? What were you looking for?
[Outro]
Yeah, boy!
Yeah, boy!
The title of these talks that I'm giving here is "Mind Over Mind."
And I'm going into
All the various problems
Which have to do with the control of the mind
And so, I might
Introduce what I'm going to say by saying it from different points of view
For example, if you're interested in communications
It will be the problem of feedback
Or if I may put it in theological terms
How does man follow the will of God
If the will of man is perverse?
The theologians say
You cannot do this without having divine grace
Or the power to follow the will of God
How, then, do you get grace?
Why is grace given to some
And not to others?
If I cannot follow the will of God by my own effort, because my will is selfish
How will my will, which is selfish, be transformed into an unselfish will?
If I cannot do it, because I am already the selfish will
Then grace must do it
Then grace must do it
If grace has not already done it, why not?
Because I didn't accept it?
But by definition, I have no power to accept it because my will was selfish
Must I then become a Calvinist
And say that only those people
Who are predestined to receive grace will be able to live the good life?
The good life
Then, we come back to the inadmissable position
That people who live evil lives do not get grace because they are not predestined to it
Out of the infinite wisdom of the Godhead
Then God himself must be held responsible for their evil deeds
And I'm going into
All the various problems
Which have to do with the control of the mind
And so, I might
Introduce what I'm going to say by saying it from different points of view
For example, if you're interested in communications
It will be the problem of feedback
Or if I may put it in theological terms
How does man follow the will of God
If the will of man is perverse?
The theologians say
You cannot do this without having divine grace
Or the power to follow the will of God
How, then, do you get grace?
Why is grace given to some
And not to others?
If I cannot follow the will of God by my own effort, because my will is selfish
How will my will, which is selfish, be transformed into an unselfish will?
If I cannot do it, because I am already the selfish will
Then grace must do it
Then grace must do it
If grace has not already done it, why not?
Because I didn't accept it?
But by definition, I have no power to accept it because my will was selfish
Must I then become a Calvinist
And say that only those people
Who are predestined to receive grace will be able to live the good life?
The good life
Then, we come back to the inadmissable position
That people who live evil lives do not get grace because they are not predestined to it
Out of the infinite wisdom of the Godhead
Then God himself must be held responsible for their evil deeds
I'm sorry, I don't want to be an emperor
That's not my business
I don't want to rule or conquer anyone
I should like to help everyone, if possible
Jew, Gentile, Black man, White
We all want to help one another
Human beings are like that
We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery
We don't want to hate and despise one another
In this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich
And can provide for everyone
The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way
Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate
Has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed
We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in
Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want
Our knowledge has made us cynical
Our cleverness, hard and unkind
We think too much and feel too little
More than machinery we need humanity
More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness
Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together
The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men
Cries out for universal brotherhood, for the unity of us all
Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people
To those who can hear me, I say, do not despair
The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress
The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people
And so long as men die
Liberty will never perish
Soldiers, don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think, or what to feel!
Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder
Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men with machine minds and machine hearts!
You are not machines!
You are not cattle!
You are men!
You have the love of humanity in your hearts
You don't hate, only the unloved hate
The unloved and the unnatural
Soldiers, don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty! In the 17th Chapter of St. Luke it is written, the Kingdom of God is within man
Not one man nor a group of men, but in all men, in you!
You, the people have the power
The power to create machines
The power to create happiness
You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure
Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power
Let us all unite!
Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security
By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power
But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise, they never will!
Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people!
Now let us fight to fulfill that promise!
Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance
Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness
Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!
That's not my business
I don't want to rule or conquer anyone
I should like to help everyone, if possible
Jew, Gentile, Black man, White
We all want to help one another
Human beings are like that
We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery
We don't want to hate and despise one another
In this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich
And can provide for everyone
The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way
Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate
Has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed
We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in
Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want
Our knowledge has made us cynical
Our cleverness, hard and unkind
We think too much and feel too little
More than machinery we need humanity
More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness
Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together
The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men
Cries out for universal brotherhood, for the unity of us all
Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people
To those who can hear me, I say, do not despair
The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress
The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people
And so long as men die
Liberty will never perish
Soldiers, don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think, or what to feel!
Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder
Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men with machine minds and machine hearts!
You are not machines!
You are not cattle!
You are men!
You have the love of humanity in your hearts
You don't hate, only the unloved hate
The unloved and the unnatural
Soldiers, don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty! In the 17th Chapter of St. Luke it is written, the Kingdom of God is within man
Not one man nor a group of men, but in all men, in you!
You, the people have the power
The power to create machines
The power to create happiness
You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure
Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power
Let us all unite!
Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security
By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power
But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise, they never will!
Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people!
Now let us fight to fulfill that promise!
Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance
Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness
Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!