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Hari Om, dear friends. It is always difficult to speak when Swāmījī is physically here with us. We all know that Swāmījī is always somewhere close to us, listening to what we say. However, we have a wonderful opportunity, a great honor and fortune, to have Swāmījī physically here with us, guiding us and correcting our mistakes. We are very happy to have this beautiful chance. Many times, people teach yoga and give lectures without the background of their guru paramparā. This makes it easy for them to slip from the path. What does slipping from the path mean? It is beautiful when people listen to you, and it is easy in that situation to think of your own greatness. Yet the greatest example we can see is in Swāmījī himself. Despite being such a great personality, he always says he is only the postman. At every hour and at every crossroads on our path, we can say, "Nāhaṁ kartā." Many yoga teachers are present here, and we all know one of the most important points in teaching yoga in daily life is "Nāhaṁ kartā, Prabhu dīpa kartā." Every hour, every action, every time we stand before practitioners, every time we teach yoga, we must be aware that it is not we who are doing this. Even if you are not a yoga teacher, it is equally important to demonstrate this with your own example. It matters what you do and how you do it, and to do it with that naham kartā prabhu dīpa kartā feeling. Remember, when you have children, they are never to blame. The only one to blame is the parent. If children do not behave properly, we cannot say the children are guilty; the parents are the ones who taught them. In the same way, if our surroundings do not have a positive opinion about yoga, it is not their mistake—it is ours, because we are the ones creating their vision of yoga. A joke illustrates how we sometimes behave. A person got an audience with the Pope after converting to Christianity. The Pope usually receives people only briefly, but this person stayed a long time. After half an hour, the cardinals went to see what was happening and heard the Pope saying, "I am also a Christian." What does this mean? The person who changed his faith was so forceful that he tried to convince those already deeply within it. This happens and becomes fanaticism. The less knowledge we have, the more we behave as if we know everything. Understanding what Swāmījī said today—that one foundation, the sacramental dharma, regardless of what others call it—is our goal. We should understand what sacramental dharma truly means. This leads to tolerance and understanding for other people, and then we do not behave like that. If we behave correctly, parents often ask how children can start doing jalāneti. Only by you doing it every day yourself. The child will see you doing it, become interested, and ask to do it themselves. They will then start practicing yoga. If we practice yoga, we need not ask how our children, family, or surroundings will start. Automatically, they will change. Swāmījī asked today how many years Vishnupuri would be. I remember when we both became vegetarians, a little before we met Swāmījī for the first time. People where he worked laughed at his vegetarianism because he was bulky, liked to drink, and ate much. But when he became vegetarian and practiced daily, all his friends became sicker, and he became healthier. After a few years, little by little, when alone with him, they would ask about his diet and practice. That is the answer. How can we change our surroundings? We cannot. We can only change ourselves. When I started quite young, people asked after some time, "You are still doing that, your things?" It was funny, but now, after nearly 30 years, they ask, "How are you still alive? You are still walking." It is important that what we want to give or tell others about yoga, we can only do through our own example. I remember a lady with lung cancer who smoked heavily. After her operation, the doctor advised her to stop smoking, but in front of him was an ashtray full of cigarettes. For her, it was funny to hear this from such a person. Similarly, when we speak about ahiṃsā but are far from it, or speak about cleanliness or yoga but do not show it by example, people can only think, "Look at yourself first." If you speak about vegetarianism, non-violence, and ahiṃsā, the first question they will ask is, "What kind of shoes do you have?" If you have leather shoes, what can you tell them? With this, you lose authority and the strength of your speech; everything you said goes into the wind. Also, if we speak about something we have not experienced ourselves, there is no power in it, and we cannot speak about it. Thank God we have Swāmījī. When someone asks a question you cannot answer—and there are many, as Swāmījī said today, you must know your own limitations—you can tell them, "Look, you have webcasting and seminars. There you can hear many good things and ask questions." We do not realize in what kind of miracle and wonderland we are living. We all read in Līlā Amṛt and think, "Look how it was like that then, but this is not happening to me." But we are actually living in Līlā Amṛt. Just think how many things have happened in your life. Perhaps we would not even be here physically, not to mention other things. An example: half a year ago, a disciple from the Zagreb Ashram came to the Ashram. She was happy because a miracle happened to her, and she had the greatness to recognize it. Nothing appeared before her—no personality, powder, or dust. Her nephew, not a yoga practitioner, once saw Swāmījī’s picture at her house. Later, walking in the city, he saw a large picture of Swāmījī standing by a wall as if to be thrown away. He cleaned it and gave it to her as a gift. She said Swāmījī appeared in her house. What is the probability that someone would pass by, see that picture, take it, and bring it to their teacher, a yoga instructor? Very little. But we sometimes do not see such things. We are already spoiled. We have Swāmījī here physically; we can come to him and ask questions. But we must appreciate that, value it, and have a feeling for it. Then we will know we are living in Līlā Amṛt. Just being here with Swāmījī is enough. Maybe 200 people remain now, as others have left due to the work week ahead. Two hundred people are here with the living master, Swāmījī. You do not know how many people would be so happy and give everything just to be like you here. Think of our friends from the Sai group. They take lottery numbers to be in a queue, hoping to see Sāī Bābā. I admire them. If Swāmījī does not see or notice us, what are we doing? We fall into depression. How would we endure in other circumstances? I also admire our friends from Hare Kṛṣṇa. We go to the peace tree for prayer, and many people come. Think if you had to go and sell books, and everyone shuts the door, thinking, "Oh, who is that?" Or our summer yoga classes in parks—some teachers were embarrassed to teach in the city center. Imagine walking and singing bhajans and kīrtans in the middle of town. We can say we are spoiled, too much spoiled. You think of this when you open the fridge and say, "Oh, there is nothing to eat," but the fridge is full. Anandi and I joke that, thank God, we no longer have a problem; we know what we will wear in the morning. All sannyāsīs know we do not have to think about matching colors. When you go to a shop, you just look for the orange color. If you see different symbols on clothes, you know they are unusable. Swāmījī spoke today about garments. You cannot imagine what a release it is not to have problems with clothes. I am still Balkanian deep in my soul, so I did not have that problem before, but I understand. One piece of cloth may cost 20 or 30 euros. Think how much others spend on garments. Also, the Falahārī diet. You cannot imagine how much this releases you. You know you cannot eat anything outside, and you have little vṛttis in your head, even with haircuts. I watched an opera show dedicated to the hair of Afro-American women. I was surprised how much money they spend to straighten their hair—around 30–40 thousand US dollars per year. A comedian made a movie about it, laughing and saying, "How many white ladies spend on their haircut?" At one point, you see everyone has the same hair color. Most do not even know their natural color, as they start dyeing it at 12 or 13. When we speak about sustainable development, as Swāmījī did today, are these things needed? Of course, we must look nice. But when you read books on prāṇāyāma, it says that with prāṇāyāma you become more beautiful. I often say this in yoga classes to encourage practice, then explain why. It is said that until age 25, you are beautiful because of nature. After that, whether you are beautiful or ugly depends on what is inside you. You can see some people become more beautiful and others more ugly with age. This shows your inner world and feelings. If you constantly have negative thoughts and feelings, your facial expression is not madhurī mudrā. All internal organs are squeezed, and slowly we look like witches in old pictures. Many things can lie, but eyes cannot. When we speak about beauty and look in the mirror, if your eyes look sad inside, but we act as if it is beautiful... Therefore, always remember Gurujī. However he was dressed, whichever cap or glasses he had, you would see that beauty in him. When he sang bhajans—I was not with Gurujī much—you would notice that beauty in his movement and the happiness radiating to everyone. You may not know Hindi, but you can see it. Then we come and speak about beauty and yoga. You understand. The only thing we can do is change ourselves. Unfortunately, in our collective unconscious, we have a problem: we think spirituality should be hurting, and we must suffer. In one of my yoga classes, a lady said she should put on a stone shoe to feel the pain of the world's hunger. Thank God she was intelligent enough to leave that system. Always some suffering. Also, the longer we are in yoga, the more we think we should suffer. But have you ever seen Gurujī suffering? In all videos and photos, there is happiness. We should free ourselves from thinking we must suffer and look like simple, small people. We are not that kind of people. Ātmā is the same as Paramātmā, and we should not say we are small nobodies. But here is another trap: we start to think we are great. Remember the story Swāmījī told about a crow sitting on top of a temple. We must always be aware of "Nāhaṁ kartā, Prabhu dīpa kartā." Our path is on the edge of a razor blade. On one side, we can fall by thinking how great we are. On the other, we can suffer by thinking we are nobody, poor, and bad. Therefore, we must be aware of who we are, but always think we are not the great one. Rāvaṇa is an example; he thought he was greater than God. He achieved many things, but one wrong thought led him astray. Similarly, if we constantly think we are not good, bad, or like nothing, we slowly become like that. Try to appreciate that we actually live in Līlā Amṛt, that we live such a life, that we have Swāmījī’s presence for nine days, and over the summer for five weeks in such closeness. No matter if we are like a metal spoon into which taste cannot enter, still something will enter. In summer, we had him for five weeks. No matter what metal the spoon is made of, something will be left on it. Yet any problem? As a Christian, a cow, Kusang has made Odessa’s Lisa. The only problem is that we have such strong cleaning agents in our houses that all the honey goes away when we return home. That is the only problem. Maybe one more interesting thing: when we started organizing bigger seminars, Swāmījī said we should all be together under one roof. Why not find cheaper accommodation outside? It is not all about money. When we are together, we are in a kind of aura of that energy. It would not be nice to go outside in Umag shopping during the program. Why not? We could help Croatia's economy by spending money. But the moment you go outside in your car, you see how vṛttis start working in your head. Whenever you are with Swāmījī in that area, you have one kind of thinking. When you go a little away, to your house, answer phones, see other things, you start thinking differently. Things change. That is why we call it a retreat. What do you think when you hear "retreat"? Before, when you heard "guru," you might have thought of a skinny fellow with a long beard. When we hear "retreat," we think of a remote place with nobody else but us, with special conditions and diet. But it is not a retreat from such things; it is a retreat from our worldly ambitions. When we are here with Swāmījī, we have one idea, one thought, and one feeling, and that is what slowly changes us. Maybe the most important thing is not what we hear in lectures or note down, but to be conscious, present, and concentrated on what is happening. This is what will change us. If we know a lot of theory, it is nothing. I remember when I started yoga, I went to many lectures in different places like libraries. Intelligent people spoke interesting things, and clever people asked clever questions. I admired them; I was 15 or 16. After a few years, I was giving lectures in the same places. I saw the same people asking the same questions. What happened in those 10–15 years? Except for mental exercise, nothing. They looked the same, unhappy as before. They ran from any guru because that is where change would happen. Our ego always gives us the chance to go into spirituality, because there our ego becomes bigger—spiritual ego is also big. But when we have our guru and he cuts off a little of our ego's branches, we say, "I need to go on another path." It all goes in the same direction. You know the story of the person who spent 40 years going from one guru to another, only to be disappointed. He returned to the first one and said, "It’s all just selling nothing. All your preaching is so you can live comfortably." That guru agreed and said, "Yes, you are right. But in seven days, I will teach you everything." Every day, he had him dig a well in a different place. On the seventh day, the man said, "If I had dug in one place, I would have reached water. Now the garden is full of holes." That was the problem. If you stay in one place, you reach your aim. That is the danger when we say everything is the same, but I stay on one path. We should know it is all the same, but we should stay in one place—not by leading wars that only one way is right, but by giving everyone a chance to have their own way, while this is my way. You know the problem with Swāmījī? When we close our eyes and visualize Swāmījī, which picture comes? When visualizing Devpurījī, we have only one picture. We all have such an experience. That is why we should make one film with Swāmījī. Think if you have five or six mantras. Which mantra to repeat? You start with the first and finish with the fifth. In a moment when you need help, what is the first thing you will call? Not now, when we are aware—of course, we would say Mahāprabhujī. But in real danger, what will be first? When we have many things, the problem is not that we should be members of one party, because one party will be angry with another. We become confused, and that is where we lose. That is why you should have one path and one master for your life. Swāmījī often says a self-realized person is like a tree. If birds come, they are welcome; the tree is neither happy nor sad. If they go, only the birds benefit. If, at one moment, they do not know which tree to land on, they will tire, come down to the ground, and a cat will eat them. That is why it is important to have one path, one idea, one thought; then we will reach our aim. I hope Swāmījī has drunk his tea, and he will continue with satsaṅg. I would not like to take more of the precious time we have with Swāmījī. Say, "Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān, Aki, Jai." Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān, Aki, Jai. Blessings to all of you. Blessings of Mahāprabhujī, Devapurījī, Gurujī. Today is a very blessed, divine evening. This morning, I told you something about what Sunday means. Many people think, "Why is Sunday a holiday?" It is not that you must go to the temple; it is a day for family. But what is Sunday? It is the day of the sun, coming from the Vedic Dharma, the Vedic religion of believing in the sun god. Sunday means believing and praying to the sun god. But God is a question for humans. It is human intellect that has created God. Where human intellect creates something, it is never equal—always conflict, always fighting. The God born from the human mind and intellect will always be a problem, because what I think, you do not, and what you think, others do not. Vivek Purī spoke many things: yoga for beauty, how to be beautiful. But beauty is also a creation of the human mind. Did you ever hear rabbits sitting together talking about beauty? Are pigs and cows talking about beauty? No creature thinks like that. They are happy and content as they are—that is most beautiful. What the human mind has created is complicated, and the problem is we are never happy. Every day we try different things. Beauty is a creation of our mind, from human selfishness and greed to satisfy, and that can never be. Sooner or later, we will be disappointed. There was a cosmetic shop named "Ever Beautiful." It was expensive, so people thought it was good. Some names in the same factory manufacture things but put the tag of some company. Someone told me the best surgical instruments are made in Pakistan, but Germans want to put their stamp on them. Due to Germany's name, they are expensive. Locally, the same instrument is cheap. We think expensive must be exclusive. Sometimes it is very exclusive. It is said the cheaper one cries always; the expensive one cries only once, but that once is forever. The cheaper one cries from time to time. The shop, "Ever Beautiful," promised everlasting beauty. There was one lady—sorry, ladies. If there were no women in the world, the modern economy would collapse. Thanks to ladies, the economy is up. That is why everywhere—magazines, newspapers, posters, television—they advertise mostly with women because they are beautiful. Men do not mind; they let women go first. But the problem is they are beautiful yet still not satisfied. They go for more expensive therapies. One lady used to go to that expensive cosmetic shop and ask, "Which is the best perfume? Give me the best shampoo, no matter the cost." Every day she bought something new. She wanted to be beautiful—why not? She had a good-hearted, rich husband. Lucky woman, but how long? She could make him bankrupt. One day, she went to the shop and said, "Today I am going to a party. I want the most beautiful hair. Is there an exclusive shampoo?" A new salesman with no experience said, "Yes, there is one very exclusive shampoo for your hair. One and a half hours before the party, you should wash your hair." He did not know about shampoos and gave her a very expensive bottle. If it were cheaper, she would not buy it. She took it home and, an hour before, washed her hair. It was hair removal shampoo—"long-lasting." She was very happy until she realized. It took time to grow hair. She could not go to the party because the market was closed, so she could not buy a wig. Only one option: a turban. So, beauty or not is in our mind. God is created from the human mind, and that God will always bring fighting and conflict—my God, your God, their God, our God. God is not what we define. God is that which has only love, understanding, and the everlasting beauty of nature. If you ask someone, "Do you believe in God?" They say yes. "Which God?" "The living God." "Which living God?" "The one living now." "Where?" "Everywhere—in you, in me, in ants, elephants, everyone." O God, beautiful. In the mountains, forest, meadows, desert, ocean, lakes, rivers, rain, flowers, fruits, corn, juice, birds, animals, humans, earth, sky, moon, sun, stars—O God, beautiful. That is the living God. The day humans realize this one God, the universal God, that Brahman, there will be no fighting; otherwise, we will always have a problem. It is said the man-made world is perfect only for a time, but the God-made world is ever perfect. We live more in the man-made world, which is not everlasting. That is why humans suffer. Humans always want change. When they have nothing to change, they change nature. They manipulated fruits, grains, seeds—all seeds are manipulated. Farmers once had their own seeds; now they must buy them. Animals are manipulated, and humans long ago were manipulated. Man-made world, thoughts, God, religion—all are subject to conflict. We should not let ourselves be manipulated but believe there is God. And if God is here, not somewhere else—all other planets are dry. What will God do there? No flowers, water, or people. Boring. Why sit on the moon? Not even a glass of beer there. Poor God. So God is on our planet, living with us, and we with Him. That is the beauty. Beautiful or ugly—it is our thoughts. Other creatures do not think that way. What God created is beautiful itself. Only we are so selfish and changeable, always looking at different things. That is why you do not get Self-Realization now. If you got it today, tomorrow you would say, "I do not want this," and search for something else. Then what? God knows what to do; He does not give Self-Realization quickly. God put the honey of Self-Realization on your elbows. If you want, you can taste your honey here. Imagine honey on your elbows—please, lick your honey. Try lifelong, no realization. At the end, it will be, "That’s it." Therefore, we change and fight. You sit praying to God and say after prayer you will go to a restaurant and eat chicken. Where is your prayer? Do you think God will bless you? You wait, and for you a chicken is killed? Forget it. God listens and hears more to animals' suffering than to humans' prayers. 99.5% of human prayers are selfish. We always pray, "Forgive me, forgive me." Again we make a mistake, and "forgive me." God thinks, "This is a disc. Let it run in the chorāsī circle, rebirth and death." "Forgive me." God says, "Go." You make a mistake again, come back: "Forgive me." He says, "Go." So go and come in, go and come in. How many mistakes do humans make per day? See the life of a rabbit, deer, crow, cow. Observe the whole day. How many mistakes does a deer make? Now see a human. How many mistakes does a human make, and then put God in the middle? Which side will God be on? That is why humans suffer, are unhealthy, fight, and dream of peace. Humans are not even content with themselves. Of course, we must maintain social life, respect our culture, country, and society, and be with fellow humans. It does not mean if everyone falls into a hole, you also fall. God gave you free thinking, intellect, mind, and freedom. Think what you want, decide what you want to do, but you will get the fruits back. Do good, get good; do bad, get bad. Therefore, it is said: be nice to your neighbor. In Āyurveda and Vedānta, we say first happiness is a healthy body. Second happiness is wealth at home—wealth you can give to a hungry one. Third happiness, tṛtīya sukha, is an obedient husband or wife—mutual understanding. Another happiness is obedient children, then good neighbors, your own milk animal (cow, buffalo, or goat), and your own field or garden for vegetables and fruits. All humans, be happy and make your heart a temple of God. He is within you. That is it. No one can tell you to believe this or that, because He is already here. Life is mysterious. Happiness or unhappiness depends on your thinking. And you know how we think? There was a football match between Croatians and Turks. All Croatians thought of Croatia. When they lost one, they said, "Oh God, this is Turkish." See how selfish we are in thinking. We should admire the players, how hard they work, and observe neutrally, but sometimes we cannot. We are very selfish. When Croatia wins, Croatians are happy; when Turkey wins, unhappy. This is thinking. Our life depends on thinking. If you think negatively of others, like or dislike—I like that person, am nice to them; I do not like that person, neglect them—where is your spirituality? Where is balance and equality? Humans should be very correct. Not this bura—the wind here in Croatia, bura? In Hindi, bura means bad, so this bura is also bad? A German said, "I went to see the bad people, Burā Milā Koī? I did not find anyone. Jab Dil Khojā Apnā, when I searched my heart, Musī Buran Koī, nobody is better than me." So good or bad is in our thinking and heart. Mine, yours, theirs—these divisions are the problem. Humans have intellect but do not use it better, and that is what we should learn. It is a lifelong process. Our brain is lost so much we cannot accept others. We may say, "Yes, interesting, very good, nice," but we are Croatian. Again, "but" comes quickly. Nobody will say you are Japanese; you need not say, "We are Croatian." But for how long? Fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, one hundred maximum, one hundred ten years. Then what happens to your Croatia? We will take our passport to heaven? They will ask for ID. "I forgot it at home." "Your religion?" "I am Christian." "Where is the certificate?" "I did not get that." "Go back and bring it." Everything remains here. How many years will you be Croatian? How many years Indian? You are a citizen of the entire planet, then a member of the entire universe. Your home is temporary—this planet. Forever, the entire universe is yours. No one can stop you anywhere. All is yours. Enjoy. Imagine every morning getting up and saying, "I am very rich. All banks are mine, all companies mine, all people my employees." I am rich. Let us go to sleep again. Happy, do not cry. I am happy. I am poor? How can you say you are poor? God gave you two legs, two hands, eyes, nose, a beautiful body, health. What is poor? Nothing is poor. Rich and poor are thinking. There are life situations created by humans, or situations according to seasons—hurricane, flood, earthquake, fire. These are different. But generally, situations are created by humans, and that is why humans suffer. So just be happy. I am bliss, I am supreme bliss—that is reality. Do not dream of Self-Realization or levitation. If you want to levitate, work hard, earn money, sit in an airplane, and come to me to be an aviator. That is easier. Self-Realization will come the last minute of life, and that realization removes duality—my God, their God, our God. "I do not believe in this God"—these are your phobias and fear. Only one God, with no name or form, only universal. You can say Father, Holy Father. Did you see Holy Father? It has no form. Īśvara is everywhere. But from time to time, divine energy incarnates in someone. We need a guide, a master. The whole Gospel, Bible, is nothing but dialogue between master and disciple—that is Guru Vākya. Anyhow, tomorrow will be a different day. Today was most beautiful, and tomorrow will be divine because today was Sunday, but tomorrow is Monday. I will show you tomorrow is Monday. Tomorrow will not be Sunday, and the Monday vibe is most beautiful, then Tuesday. I do not know why Germans say "Dienstag"—the same day: "Dienst," service, service to the master, "Služenje učitelju."