So today we have gathered here to worship Buddha. Lord Buddha, as you know, was Gautama, the one who was born in a royal family. And then, He became an ascetic, because He was very much hurt to see three types of problems from which human beings suffer. And He came to conclusion, all these three types of problems are because we have desires. So He said that, "If you become desire-less, then there will be no problem for you." So He studied Vedas, He studied Upanishads, He studies all kinds of things. He went to many saints and many people. He could not get His Realization. Actually He was an Incarnation. An incarnation also has to reach a point of Realization in a different way, like the whole potential has to open out. But the incarnation has tremendous potential, and that expresses itself once the door is opened outward.
Buddha realized the greatest problem of a human being, is his ego. In his ego he goes to the extremes, from one end to another. And so He worked throughout on the Pingala Nadi for us, and stationed Himself on our ego, to control it. If you see on the Agnya Chakra, if in the center is Christ, you have on the left Buddha, and on the right is Mahavira. All of them are called as Lords, because they're rulers of these three areas.
Now this area of Agnya is the area of Tapas, is of penance. Because they have done penance for us, we don't have to do any penance. Means they have done for us everything that is possible. That's how the Sahaja Yogis don't have to do any penance, they're in a beautiful place having a nice vibrations. They don't have to go in the jungles, run away from the society and hide themselves in a place where there could be scorpions, could be snakes, could be tigers, could be any danger to life.
So the penance part is over and also Buddha in His lifetime - when He was alive, all the time He said, "There is no need to have any austerities. There's no need to have any austerities at all." If you read Buddha, His early teachings, then you'll be surprised that He said that, "There should be no austerities." He Himself went through austerities. But that was the time, Samay-achara was the time, where they needed people who would go all out to do the propagation of His ideas, so most of them took to a kind of a life but He never believed in any austerities. Moreover, He was not a vegetarian. He died because once He went to a village and He was hungry and He asked one of the hunters, we call them as Kiratas, that, "I would like to eat now and I have to go for My work." They said that, "This morning I have killed a wild boar but it must take some time otherwise it's very hot blood." He said, "Doesn't matter." Very significant, right side to take the red meat of a wild boar without getting it cooled down. He ate it and He died with that.
Everything that they do has a meaning. As we find meaning in the life of Christ, we find in the meaning of Buddha also. That is the reason why the Buddhists became vegetarians. Because Buddha died eating that hot meat they became vegetarians. But that doesn't mean that everybody has to become vegetarian. Those who have ego, it's better they are vegetarians. Right side people are better with the vegetarian food more, and the left side more with the protein. That we know very well.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi May 21, 1989 Shri Buddha Puja Barcelona, Spain