Front Line

Since the day of our arrival we had been warmly welcomed and greatly helped by the Surya hotel owner and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Abhay Singh - a spiritual vegetarian family, who, having realized our purpose for visiting Varanasi, not only freely offered their hotel staff, facilities and its beautiful flower garden to assist our seminar, but also voluntarily supported us in the propagation of Master's teachings to the guests of their hotel and of other famous ones. "We are very happy and honored that you have come from such a long way to share with us the spiritual teachings of your Master," said Mr. A. Singh.

Everyday, before our program, we would go to different places around the city center to distribute leaflets, sample booklets and Master's posters with the advertisement of our program. They were posted on many eye-catching billboards alongside the main roads, attracting many Truth-seekers, especially those who came from foreign countries for the purpose of learning yoga meditation and other spiritual practices. Thus, our seminar became quite an international gathering.

Our program started after sunset in the flower garden. Sitting around coffee tables under the mango trees, our guests could enjoy the cool evening breeze and an indulgent view of afterglow while they watched Master's videotapes and discussed spiritual issues.

After a brief introduction of our program, the audience was shown a tape of Master's life-sketch, which basically gave them a clear picture of Her life and teachings, and Her endeavors in relieving the sufferings of people around the world. The next presentation was some of Master's worldwide lectures, delivered at the United Nations and in Europe. It was a delightful surprise to our European audience, especially the German and French; it was so heart-warming to witness a Master from the Himalayas lecturing in their motherland and in their mother tongue! Two college students from France and Switzerland who had heard about Master in Europe three years ago said, "We are very impressed by Her unique way and style in approaching the public to deliver Her spiritual message. Her message is very scientific for the modern people." While Master's tape was playing, other hotel guests who did not participate in our program could also listen to Her lecture and share Her blessing which filled every corners of the flower garden.

During the seminar, the most common questions related to Master's teachings were: "How to distinguish the right Master to follow?", "How to prove that the Quan Yin Method can bring 'immediate enlightenment' to its practitioners?", "Why is a pure vegetarian diet necessary to obtain complete enlightenment?" These questions were clearly answered with Master's teachings. Many inquirers were delighted to have their doubts about these aspects of spiritual practice resolved by Master's words of wisdom. Some of them confessed that though they have tried many different types of yoga and meditation methods for years, they still easily got stuck somewhere. When they reached certain stages or encountered some inner obstacles, their meditation teachers could not even help them break through their barriers. Consequently, they became frustrated about their practice and even returned to their regular non-spiritual lives. Thus, Master's teachings seemed to appeal to them because they are easy and logical, simple but profound. "I found my trip to India more worthwhile after this 3-day program, coming to know about your Master's teachings," said a young yoga practitioner from Germany.

During and after the 3-day seminar, many of the audience came to us for more detailed information about initiation. Some of them eagerly registered to learn the Convenient Method. Even other hotel guests who did not participate in our program also came to ask for some information about Master's teachings.

At the end of the 3-day program, a middle-aged businessman from Denmark came to us for more information about Master's and Her teachings. He expressed, "Though I did not participate in your program, I overheard some of your Master's lectures and went through some basic information about Her teachings. It is quite impressive. I will contact your branch center after I am back in Denmark."

Another person was a hotel restaurant manager. Because he was busy in the evenings, he could only drop in on our program off and on. However, on the last day, he came to request a necklace with Master's photo to have Her blessing. He said, "Every time I listened to your Master's speech or passed by Her poster, I felt some special attraction. So today I have come to find out more about your Master." He also sincerely applied for the Convenient Method. Also, the hotel owner and his family who ardently sponsored our program applied for the Convenient Method and expect to be future fellow practitioners.

In addition, we were invited by the professors and students of Banaras Hindu University (B.H.U.) to give another seminar. B.H.U. is the largest residential university in Asia, covering an area of two thousand acres. Students from all over India come here to receive their education in Indian art, culture, music and the study of Sanskrit.

Our seminar was held at their University Vishwanath Temple, well known as the white temple of Shiva. Here, we sat on the grass underneath the bodhi trees, sharing Master's teachings with this elite group of Indian intellectuals. After a brief introduction and the question and answer session, the professors and students presented their different opinions on Master's teachings.

Dr. Mysafir Pandey, an Indian languages professor, said, "I am glad to know that your Master had obtained complete enlightenment in the Himalayas and now She has brought light, in return, to our Indian people." Dr. Sanjay Mehrotra, a professional yoga teacher, who had been traveling around to different countries teaching yoga meditation and exercises for many years, expressed, "It is obvious that Supreme Master Ching Hai has absorbed the essence of the knowledge of yoga and brought it out in simple, plain words. Through Her self-realization Her teachings are popular and easy for the common people to comprehend."

Students from different departments also expressed their own opinions. Those from the Zoology Department discussed at length the chapter "Why Must People Be Vegetarian?" and concluded, "Yes, we agree with Her ecological and environmental viewpoints about vegetarianism. By promoting vegetarianism, the world's hunger problem could be more easily solved." Some students majoring in politics praised that Master's teachings not only encompass global thinking but also the universal, "If all the political leaders would follow Her universal thinking, then there would be less chance of any political conflict." Some philosophy students highly appreciate Master's teachings because Her philosophy is very much in accordance with Hinduism. Also, the students majoring in Library and Information Science were happy to know that they could get more information about Master's teachings through the internet computer system.

At the end of the seminar, many of the professors and students expressed that if a branch center could be set up in Varanasi, they would introduce more interested people to Master's spiritual teachings. Furthermore, they sincerely hoped that in the future, they could have the great honor to invite Master to share Her teachings and blessings with people in this holy city.