(excerpts from a lecture by Yogi Bhajan on June 28, 1994)
Technically speaking, you are not what you look at in the mirror. We are talking about "you." You look at yourself in the mirror: what you see is what you sell. You have never looked into your soul. That's what you are (your soul) but that's not what you are projecting. Look at your dresses. You want to be sexy. What is that? Is your sex on sale? And the feeling is, why doesn't somebody buy it? If somebody buys it, what objection would you have? Your whole mentality, sentimentality, and projection is, "How many men appreciate me?" And man's whole projection is, "How fast can I exploit her?" Be alert, don't flirt! You gave birth to Guru Nanak, you gave birth to Gautama Buddha, you gave birth to Mohammad, you gave birth to Jesus, you gave birth to Rama, you gave birth to Krishna. You gave birth to everybody. You are the mother. And you suffer at the hands of a man because you sell yourself openly in an open market. You sell your body and that's what you are. You are a flirt, therefore you are not alert. A woman who is a flirt is the worst enemy of herself. You flirt with your youth, you flirt with your adult age, you flirt with your old age. And if you grace yourself at every moment and do not be cheap, there's no question that God will honor you. And that is what a woman is. Whenever a woman is cheap she loses her grace. Once you lose your grace you're just a nothing. It is very funny when Manu (a Hindu sage) starts writing about a woman. He goes hundreds and hundreds of pages praising a woman: "You are the goddess. You are the self. You are the divine. You are the source of the Universe. You are the way of God. You are the tomorrow." He goes on and on and on and on, and in the end he says only one line, "But, oh woman, when your head falls in your heels, you are your worst enemy." And he stops. He never says one more line. If every woman makes every man born to respect, respect, respect, then there should be no cruelty, no disorder, no mental cruelty, no crime on this whole planet, the world would be just heaven. Woman is the ultimate incarnation! You can redeem yourself four ways. Man has to become a man of God. You can become a woman of God, you can give birth to a man of God, you can serve a man of God, and you can bless as a jananee to make somebody Divine. Without grace, every woman loses the grace of life and lives in strife. Don't lose your grace for temporary benefits. You must look beyond the mirror! You are the spirit, you are the soul, you are the self. You are the honor, you are the source of all sources. You are the redeemer of all redeemers. From you, this creation is born. May the long time sun shine upon you, all love surround you, and the pure light within you, guide your way on. Give us peace, peace of mind, strength of our soul, grace of our self. Give us the awareness, understanding. Give us the dignity, divinity and make us know the Infinity now, tomorrow and forever. Sat Nam.