Between 1988 and 1993 Maitreya, the World Teacher, released a series of forecasts and analyses of the current state of the world, as well as fragments of His teachings. Through one of His close associates in the Asian community of London, these were released to Share International for publication and were sent to the world’s media as press releases. Phrased in the words of His associate, Maitreya’s spiritual teachings are arranged here by subject in the hope of facilitating the reader’s study and application in daily life.

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Maitreya's teachings
Conditioning and Second Nature

The "ins" and "outs" of conditioning - and the way to liberation and peace. (1221 words)

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(Benjamin Creme explains: ‘Second nature’ is our conditioning — the result of our evolutionary experience in matter.)

According to Maitreya’s teaching, everything that has materialized is called prakriti. It is your ‘second nature’. At present, your second nature controls mind, spirit and body. As awareness grows, its strength diminishes. As long as you are controlled by your second nature you cannot understand the art of existence. Maitreya is inspiring one and all to fulfil their destiny, to be free of this second nature through growing self-awareness. (Share International, September 1988)

In spiritual terms, the second nature is the supreme becoming, which is the second nature of the Supreme Being. (Mar 1990)

In the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were told not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This means ‘Do not follow prakritis. This Sanskrit word refers to material activity or matter in broad terms, but prakritis (in the plural) also means human activities which are the result of conditioning. Thus Adam and Eve were tempted by the snake, the symbol of prakritis, that is, conditioning — the opposite of freedom.
Once you ‘eat’ knowledge (a possessive act) rather than facing knowledge with awareness, whereby you understand that you must not ‘grab’, you are no longer free. (Nov 1988)

When you surrender the Self to mind, spirit and body everything is predestined. Anything you do through Self-awareness is not predestined, because it does not arise out of conditioning. (Apr 1989)

Conditioning is like an egg. Once incubated, the life within bursts through the shell. When conditioning cracks, there is a sense of relief. Conditioning can crack with awareness or without awareness.

When conditioning cracks without awareness the result is a shock. It has such power it can even destroy part of the memory. Tremendous energy is tied up there, like a volcano when intense heat causes it to erupt. The destiny of conditioning is that it will burst. No-one can remain conditioned for ever. This is why Maitreya says: “Be detached, then you will not be conditioned.” (Jan/Feb 1990)

Man’s ‘second nature’ (ie his conditioned nature) can evolve into awareness through honesty of mind, sincerity of spirit and detachment. But if the environment (the circumstances people find themselves in) fails, the second nature is like a blind man walking the streets. (Nov 1993)

There is a common and universal cry in the mind and spirit of people around the world. Conditioning is such that one tends to lose faith and trust in life. Mind has been conditioned by ideological warfare, by the failures of various gurus and leaders. (Dec 1990)

‘Isms’ are the life blood of the ‘second nature’ — the nature of illusion. It is only with intelligence that you can break out of it. That does not mean that you just escape from ‘ism’ in order to seek refuge in intelligence. It is more than that, for it is the destiny of everyone to journey into light. (Sep 1989)

It is the destiny of everyone to taste intelligence and freedom. (Sep 1989)

“Do not destroy all your own habits [traditions]. These must be preserved until people learn the meaning of freedom.” (Mar 1991)

Maitreya says that ‘ism’ is the mother of salvation and without it there is no salvation. “I need the thief and the saint to make My mission possible.” In the same way, He needs the people who used bullets in China as He needs those who fought for freedom, for ‘isms’ are inevitable processes of negatives and positives. It is only when you achieve detachment that a person or a nation becomes free of such opposites. (Sep 1989)

What is peace? Maitreya says: “In creation, peace means non-conditioning. What is war? War means conditioning.”

We can understand that when people try to impose ideologies, they ultimately undergo processes of self-defeat, because the Self is at war. Maitreya says: “The seeds of destruction lie in conditioning. The seeds of peace lie in non-conditioning.” Maitreya’s counsel is: “Be what you are, so that you are free from conditioning, so that you can approach whatever comes before you with an open mind, so that you do not fall into destructive processes.” (Sep 1990)

Personification

Whenever you think of ‘me’ or ‘mine’ you personify. The ego has the power to perform activities (karmas); it is still important. The Self is immune, in this sense: The Self does not have to perform any disciplines. The Self only witnesses.

Through honesty and sincerity the relationship between the Self and the ego grows. If detachment prevails, there is no personification. There is then no division. There is “Manyness in Oneness” and “Oneness in Manyness”. This is divine love. (Mar 1992)

If you allow any thought to personify in you, it is not you any longer. That thought possesses you. The law of inertia becomes effective. This is why one experiences attachment, tension, depression. (Sep 1988)

“The moment you personify teachings, you create demi-gods and dogmas which imprison.” Further, “If you personify the teaching, embodying it, you are creating something different.” (Sep 1988)

The statement of Jesus: “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me,” means that only through awareness can we reach the Almighty.

This truth is personified in Jesus in the Christian tradition. If you ‘de-personify’ this truth, it can be understood as the principle of awareness. (Dec 1990)

It is the personification of this state which creates confusion and chaos. Personification is self-destructive. Whatever is personified is not the real Self. (Dec 1991)

The Master within each person does not participate in any acts of creation.

This is the path to freedom and salvation. When the soul practises that detachment with honesty and sincerity it becomes aware that it is not to be personified. (Jan/Feb 1992)

  Those who experienced the truth of Light in the past classed themselves as prophets, saints and gurus. They personified it and lost the true meaning of the teaching of the Lord. Maitreya says: “The moment you personify the spiritual force in you, a process of destruction begins. You will experience corruptive forces around you.” This is not a prediction, rather a universal law. “The mind is not to be personified. The spirit is not to be personified.”

If you set a goal, achieve it, but cannot then dissolve it, your development is arrested. What you are able to personify, you should be able to dissolve. As an example, if you practise meditation and personify what occurs, you are automatically surrounded by (spiritual) powers which imprison you. This happens to yogis and saints.

The self becomes enveloped, imprisoned, in a powerful force. In the light of this teaching, all religions are suffering from contradictions now, due to personification. Thus the evolution of the spiritual force is arrested. When the flow is blocked, it spills over and surrounds mind, spirit and body. People who do not want to know anything other than the thought to which they are stuck cannot make further progress. (Sep 1988)

Likewise, “if you personify Me, run after Me, you will create nothing but confusion, chaos, destruction.” Even My signs create only momentary happiness. The happiest moment is when you see Me within your heart.” (Sep 1988)