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Part 1: The Witness of the Banyan Tree Guru Brahmā, Guru Viṣṇu, Guru Devo Maheśvara, Guru Sākṣāt Paraṁ Brahma, Tasmai Śrī Guruve Namaḥ. Dhyāna Mūlam Guru Mūrtiyam, Pūjā Mūlam Guru Padam, Mantra Mūlam Guru Vākyam, Mokṣa Mūlam Guru Kṛpā. Deep Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Satguru Svāmī Madhavānjī Gurudeva. Devadideva Deveśvara Mahādeva, Sanātana Dharma, salutations to the cosmic light, our adoration to the holy lineage. Good evening, dear brothers and sisters, and also good evening or good morning, according to the different parts of the world and the times. This blessing is coming to you from our ashram, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda Āśram, Washington, Alexandria, USA. This ashram is a beautiful ashram, and bhaktas are enjoying their sādhanā, practicing yoga and daily life, and practicing guru bhakti. Today is a very auspicious day, a beautiful day, because today is the day of the holy incarnation of our holy Gurujī, His Holiness, Hindu Dharm Samrāṭ Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandjī, who incarnated on September 11, 1923, in Nepal village, Pali district, Rajasthan, India. Also, today is unfortunately the day which reminds us of the acts of humans against humans: the 9/11, or 11/9, what happened in New York. Well, our deep and humble prayer to the Almighty is to give good thoughts to humans. It is said, Lord, bless us with the wisdom that we will never do anything against any creatures, not only humans, but any creatures. Śraddhā buddhi, good thoughts, good intellect. From time to time, holy souls or divine consciousness manifest on our planet, and according to the law of incarnation, there are two kinds of incarnations: Nitya and Nimit. Nimit incarnations, which we call till now, were the 23rd and 24th in the Kali Avatāra, have to come. The Nimit Avatāra comes time to time when things, in different places, get very complicated and unacceptable. And Nityāvatāra is the holy saint, great Tulsīdās. The great Tulsidājī speaks in the Rāmāyaṇa, the holy book. The saints are holy, which is moving on a mobile, holy place where the saint is staying. There is no difference between nitya and nimitta avatāra. The only difference is that we do not understand. Humans understand too late. When it’s gone, when it has happened, then it’s too late. And then we blame ourselves. Why didn’t I do this? Why didn’t I do that? I think I could have done differently. Why didn’t I take benefit through my devotion? How stupid I was that I had doubts; I couldn’t understand. We weep, we cry, and we blame ourselves. Therefore, the luckiest are they who realize the Master, or Nimit Avatāra, during their lifetime. When we see them and feel them, we are very happy. But still, we can’t steam those minutes of our life or the moments of our life. We take it too easy. You know what it means when someone is with us and when someone is gone? Can you imagine if Holy Guru were with us today, how different it would be? But that time we didn’t understand, and now we said, "Why didn’t I go to see him?" and so on. In Khattu Ashram, where Mahāprabhujī mostly lived, it is called Śrī Deveśwar Mahādev Śiv Bāgh. In the hills of this Khattu, our village, in the village, there was one room, and Mahāprabhujī was mostly living there because, for the people, it was easier to come to satsaṅg from the village. Also, there was an ashram. It’s still the ashram where Mahāprabhujī’s physical body is there, what we call the samādhi place. But mostly Mahāprabhujī used to live here in Śivbāgh. Thanks to our international and Indian bhaktas, we have reconstructed that ashram nicely and more comfortably for all devotees who come there. That was done within one year, very quickly. Holy Gurujī, our beloved Gurudev, was not feeling well. So after one and a half years, he came to Khatu Ashram, Śiv Bāgh, where Mahāprabhujī used to stay, and the beautiful banyan tree. When we came there, Gurujī couldn’t recognize if this really was that place. It was beautiful, very, very nice, and he was very happy. The tears were coming from his eyes. Gurujī said, "He gave me so much blessing." He was saying, "Mahesh, I have no words. How can I bless you? This is the place of my prāṇa ādhāra, the source of my prāṇa, the source of my life." And I was sitting near Gurujī, and Gurujī said to me, "Mahesh, these people don’t know who Mahāprabhujī was. Only this banyan tree is the witness. This tree knows who Mahāprabhujī was, and this tree knows how fortunate I was that I was mostly in the service of our divine Lord." Yes, Gurujī said, "Mahesh, it was not so easy." We were sitting together and speaking. It was written in the Līlā Amṛt, but something that Gurujī really wrote from his heart, the Western-minded people who translate from Hindi to English and then English to different languages, many things they took out. I think we shall again rewrite or make it, put it again, or originally, the first feeling of Holy Gurujī, how he wrote the Līlā Amṛt. Guruji said, "This was here only one small room where one bed can come, that’s all. And a small side room as a kitchen or something, some blankets, and some sādhus or bhaktas come. Otherwise, all was a desert, sand, and no houses, nothing. Only this banyan tree. And my duty, morning, 3:30, get up. And sit near Mahāprabhujī and sing bhajans. One hour till 4:30. Then arrange, if it is winter, then the fire, because it is very cold, arrange a little warm water for Mahāprabhujī and wash his dress and for bathing. Guru Mahāprabhujī was sitting, and Mahāprabhujī was washing him because there was no bathroom, you know, just sitting in the open air on the stone. And he said, 'You can’t imagine how divine it was when I was touching Mahāprabhujī, washing.' For I couldn’t feel my body, I was thinking that I am in a different universe. Yes, then Mahāprabhujī took his fresh dress, the new one, and made the pūjā, the prayer to Mahāprabhujī. And then Mahāprabhujī sent me to bring some wood from the forest for the fuel to make a fire. So one hour I was running a far distance to collect the camel’s dung. There were many camels and some wood, and like this. Come back, then go for a bhikṣā. Bring food and alms, because your spiritual sādhanā can only be successful when you put off your ego. Going begging for food, the monks have the training to go and get the bhikṣā. Without getting bhikṣā, your sādhanā cannot be successful. So about six kilometers, seven kilometers, or eight kilometers, different villages, different houses, not going to the same house every day, I came back and whatever I got, I gave it to Mahāprabhujī. And Mahāprabhujī took it and put it near his bed and told me, 'Go and clean the yard under the banyan tree. Take one broom and sweep everything there.'" Holy Gurujī said, "Mahesh, my back was hurting so much, sometimes I thought my back would break in two parts." Cleaning about 10,000 square meters of space, brooming by hand, cleaning, but my inner self was so happy and joyful like this all the time. And when bhaktas come, to welcome them, this, that, sing for them bhajan and so on. Evening also, sitting near. Mahāprabhujī had a massage to his holy lotus feet, and Gurujī said, "When I was touching his feet, it was like electricity, energy was flowing, and I could see that Mahāprabhujī is just like a light, an astral body." Again, Gurujī’s tears flow. I’m telling you because today is Gurujī’s birthday. He said, "I did not think that in my life a day would come when I would see that Mahāprabhujī is not here physically." And at that time, I couldn’t think what that was for me. Whatever I was thinking and feeling, it was too little for a mistake. Gurū Śiva. And sometimes when Mahāprabhujī went to some other village, then it was a hard time, a very hard time. Like the energy, the prāṇa is gone out of the body. But I had to take care of the ashram. Many different kinds of people come with different thinking, different feelings, but you have to be very calm. You have to always welcome them with the heart. Guest is God. It doesn’t matter if it’s an everyday visitor who comes, and it doesn’t matter how tired you are. Don’t show your tiredness. Don’t demonstrate your anger or your mood. Surrender everything. Then you will feel the support. Often Gurujī said, "I was tired." And sitting under the tree and letting people do something, I saw Mahāprabhujī in that small room. He said, "Go and work." Though Mahāprabhujī was not there, he could see Mahāprabhujī. So this is a lesson for us in our life. We don’t know what it means or what it was. Last year, you had a beautiful visit from Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Swāmī Niranjanānandajī. Unfortunately, he passed away. Can you imagine that personality who just walked in? A mighty voice, strong and very nice, and it was full of love, smiling, no? Okay, Bhaktās, how are you doing? It is wonderful, wonderful. And the voice was like this. Suddenly, we don’t know what the presence of Gurudeva in our life means, or the presence of a holy saint. Whenever I come to our Khattu Ashram and see the banyan tree, I remember Gurujī’s words. He said, full of tears, "Mahesh, my witness is this tree. Nobody else is here, and so that is a holy tree." For us, that tree is so holy. And then, the next day again, Gurujī said, you know, this banyan tree is like my guru brother. Can you imagine, these holy eyes of Mahāprabhujī were looking at this tree. How blessed are these trees that the Lord was gazing just on that. Sometimes Mahāprabhujī was sitting under that tree and giving satsaṅgs. Many bhajans which he has wrought are under that tree. And the deep Vidyā Gītā which Mahāprabhujī dictated is under that beautiful tree. So that is a place where Mahāprabhujī stayed. That’s a place where Gurujī had his sādhanā, tapasyā. Not that he’s doing āsanas and prāṇāyāma and sitting one hour, and then one hour āsanas, and one hour meditation, and then looking, 'If someone made tea for me or breakfast?' No, no. My sādhanā was work. Any time, midnight, Mahāprabhujī said, 'Why is the dog barking? Go and look.' And I was so tired. One day, we and Holy Gurujī were sitting in the car, driving through the Czech Republic. That time was Czechoslovakia. And we decided to go to another city in the evening, already after the lecture. I said, "Guruji, well, we go there and then we will relax. We don’t have to go early in the morning." So Gurujī said, as you like. We were sitting, both of us were sitting in the back of the car. And Gurujī said, you know, Mahesh, many times I was thinking, will I sleep in my life enough? Sometimes I was so tired and just went to sleep, and Mahāprabhujī said, "Can you read me that letter, what was written?" Midnight, two o’clock. But I didn’t dare to say to him, "What do you want now? I can read it tomorrow morning." That Gurujī said, that was a divine play. And that’s why this book Gurujī wrote about Mahāprabhujī is called Līlā Amṛt. The nectar of the divine play and Gurudev’s divine play, very rare bhaktas can understand. People like us will immediately have doubts, anger, no, and this. But when the day comes and we are separated physically, then we will say, "Oh God, we could have done." The holy family, the divine family of holy Gurujīs in Nepal village, and his parents were really very spiritual and very great. Father was a very, very wise man and the best astrologer in that part of the area. What he said, God said, that’s all, according to his astrological knowledge. And mother was, Gurujī said, she was a statue, an embodiment of mercy, full of compassion, and very simple living. Not that you’re making some ceremonies and this and that, very simple. Be simple, that’s it. Try to be simple. All that you have—money, clothes, job, house, your age, your beauty—that is nothing. It will go away, like when you hold water in your hands, it drips away. Go to the Sahara and take a handful of sand; you can’t keep that sand in your hand, it will run out. And so is this life. Our young age, our youth, our beauty, our property, our everything slowly, slowly will go out of your hands. And then water is there, again you are nothing. Always the divine soul, such as the spiritual soul, the divine soul. Therefore, Mahāprabhujī’s bhajan, there is also Lalanānjī and Brahmanānjī said, "My adoration to that mother and father, the parents who gave birth to such a divine being." In Līlā Amṛt, Gurudev is speaking, our holy Gurūjī is saying very, very nicely, one dedication which you all know, a praise to our Lord Mahāprabhujī, and which page is the very beginning where there are so many things inside. Anyhow, the praise to the parents of the Lord Mahāprabhujī, deep and adoration, the praise to that Holy Land, the house where he was born, praise to the brothers and sisters, everything—guru bhakti is the best. Bhakti is the guru. Bhakti guru bhakti means, already, the devotion to God, God bhakti, and that is rare. People have in their heart who understood had express way to the self-realization, but surrender ego. Look how much ego you have, so, for example, here. In this ashram, I come only very rarely, but with how great devotion you are keeping this ashram very clean, nice, beautiful, holy altar, Guru Devas, and this, you know, it’s not that this ashram is a clean and holy altar, no, it’s not like that. As I say, it is like that house, your inner self. So this altar, this place, this cleanness, this harmony, peace, understanding is within you. You reflect the inner peace for the outer peace, the inner love for the outer love. Inner understanding for the outer understanding. Always, I used to say, you should be very, very thankful to the person who reminds you or tells you something which your action or the thought is not so good. There is one story Holy Gurujī used to tell often in his satsaṅg. Well, after all, God Krishna, when he came to this time, he was known and everyone realized as divine, as Krishna. One day, Krishna’s master, Ṛṣi Sandīpa, in his ashram, Gurudev was sitting and was thinking, Krishna is now great, he’s a universal, he’s a lord, but still I would like to know if Krishna has an ego. Gurudev is bigger than any divine incarnation of God. That’s why it is said, "Guru Brahmā, Guru Viṣṇu, Gurudev Maheśvara." Even Brahma, Śiva, and Viṣṇu, they all adore and adore Gurudev. Brahma, Viṣṇu, Śiva, they cannot also come through without Gurudev’s blessing. The highest principle in the universe, the highest, is Guru Tattva. If one can understand, but this is Kali Yuga. Many people don’t understand, and that’s why they are suffering. You see how the world looks like now? We see everything, the result. So Ṛṣi Sandeep decided to go and visit Kṛṣṇa with many disciples. So they went to Krishna’s palace where he was living. When Krishna heard that Gurudeva is coming, Krishna was running barefoot, without shoes. He had no time to put shoes on, you know. I went and made the praṇām and said, "Gurudev, why did you take this trouble to come here? I could have come any time, just you send me the places." Gurudev, Sandeep, Ṛṣi said, "Kṛṣṇa, I heard that you are a very good cook." Look how Gurudev is playing. I heard that you can cook very well. So I decided to come to eat, but you have to cook alone. Do not take the help of anybody. And all these bhaktas will eat with me, devotees. Krishna said, "My Lord, what can be the biggest happiness or a great privilege for me in this life than to serve you?" I will do. So Krishna was cooking, making delicious food. And they serve, and all other bhaktas, the brahmachārīs, the sādhakas of the gurukul, they were sitting and all got food, so all were waiting till Gurudev would eat first. Rishi Sandeep took this food in his mouth and he spit it again. He said, "Krishna, this is not eatable at all. Taste this. What did you cook? I heard you are a great cook. Take it away. You are a great cook. We will not eat." Krishna said, "I am sorry, Lord, Gurudev. I will do my best. I will cook again." So again, Krishna went to his kitchen, and he was cooking. With great love, he brought the plate and served this. Again, the same thing. He took it in his mouth and spit it out. It’s nothing. There is no taste. It’s something like mud. When Gurujī was telling in Rajasthani language, it was beautiful. And cook another. Who can give the order to the Lord? Again, Krishna went to cook. Brought again his self-latent. Gurudev took the first bite. Oh Krishna, it’s so tasteful, so delicious. It seems the love of the entire universe, you put it in this. It’s very tasteful. I didn’t want to go back to the kitchen. Eight, Ṛṣi Sandeep said, "Now I must go back to my hut, Gurukul, which was far away, outside the village. I am tired, so organize one coach, the horse coach." Part 2: The Essence of Gurubhakti But horses should not pull. You and Rukmiṇī, your wife, Kṛṣṇa’s wife, Rukmiṇī, you and Rukmiṇī should pull my coach and hurry up, because I have no time. He said, "Yes, Gurudev." Now, can you imagine Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī pulling that coach like a horse is pulling, and Ṛṣi Sandīpani sitting inside without shoes? Another again, order. So beautiful, gentle foot of Kṛṣṇa, like a lotus, and Rukmiṇī walking on the stones, pulling this, and came to the āśram. Gurudev, can you bless us and forgive my mistakes? That I couldn’t cook, I don’t know who told you that I can cook very good. Ṛṣi Sandīpani said, "Kṛṣṇa, your first meal." Which you cooked second and third, it was so delicious, so delicious. Every meal was—you can’t compare, like one diamond to another ruby, something sparkling lights. But also, that you pulled my coach, chariot. I only wanted to know how much ego you have, Kṛṣṇa. There was no mistake. Only that was a test for you. Kṛṣṇa said with folded hands, Gurudev, you can’t imagine how happy I am. At least someone in this universe finds my mistake and dares to tell me that I made a mistake. Please keep on correcting me lifelong, Gurudev. Your blessings should be there. That’s called a sevā. That’s called humbleness. That’s called gurubhakti. And that’s called the wise person. Only the wise one, the great one, can do the sevā. Others cannot do it. Sevā is such a rich food, everyone cannot digest it. And so, I’m telling this because of what Hari Gurujī experienced. Today is Hari Gurujī’s birthday. He incarnated on this day. And when Mahāprabhujī left this world, Hari Gurujī said he didn’t want to live anymore. But again, the voice came and said, "No, Mādhavānanda, still I give you duty, you have to make duty." And so, constantly, Gurujī’s mālā is in his hand, and he is meditating. And great personality, when he appeared, he came to any house, it was like a divine flame is coming, light is coming. Madhure bhavar, madhur bhavar, and very sweet behavior, sweet appearance, sweet smile, and at the same time very strict, very disciplined. Who can do this? That one who has that divine light, divine consciousness is awoken. In Jodhpur, Rajasthan, where Holy Gurujī often used to go, is to our sister sitting here, Śobhājī. Can Śobhājī receive, come? Any time he would come, and so this is the Śobhā. And her daughter is here, the Anurādhī. So Gurujī loved them very, very much. This is Śobhājī. That home. One day Gurujī told me, "This morning I had a meditation vision." I said, "What?" "This was today. I saw in the morning that Śobhā was my mother. She came back," Gurujī said. Any bhaktas, Indian or European, who go to Jodhpur, they go to Śobhājī’s house and Rājendrajī, her husband, and it doesn’t matter if you are one or ten or fifty, Śobhājī will run into the kitchen and prepare for everyone. Everyone ate their meal with their own hands, and very quickly. Many of you have been there, no? In Jodhpur. Who was there? Umapurī was there, Rāmabandhan, many of these, yes. So I’m very happy that especially today on Gurujī’s birthday, the śobhā is also here in our Washington. You know, we said there is a saying: the flower will die, but the fragrance will remain. And so, this body will go away, but our good work, good thoughts, the love, the memory will remain very fresh. Gurujī, from his childhood, had only one interest: to become one with God, to have that God consciousness. And it is only through the holy incarnation that they have these feelings, and their feelings mean to teach us. Many, many places Gurujī went. He saw many different sādhus, many. But when he saw Mahāprabhujī, because Gurujī was a bhakta of Kṛṣṇa in his childhood. And one day, in the morning, Gurujī said he was in brahma-muhūrta, half-sleeping and half-meditating. And he dreamed, the voice came, and he saw Kṛṣṇa. And told the time and day, "I will come to you." And so it was exactly that which came in Gurujī’s meditation. When Gurujī first time saw Mahāprabhujī in Jodhpur, there was a satsaṅg and three, four months cāturmās at the king of Jodhpur’s invitation. When Gurujī saw Mahāprabhujī, immediately Mahāprabhujī was so divine, a light. Gurujī saw the whole Kṛṣṇa in him and touched the holy feet of Mahāprabhujī, and Mahāprabhujī said to him, "Remember what I told you, that today, this time, I will meet you." And that was very clear to Holī Gurujī. There I belong. Mahāprabhujī’s sevā, Holī Gurujī did nearly 20 years, many, many years. And after some years, Gurujī was traveling, and there were not so many roads and cars and transportation at that time. Carrying Mahāprabhujī’s bhajan book, 20 kilos, 30 kilos, and giving them to those who sing the bhajan or those who understand this, distributing the books for free. Sometimes when Gurujī came after a two-month tour to Mahāprabhujī, Mahāprabhujī said, welcome, but now immediately you must go there. Not sitting even half, five minutes with him, go there. And Gurujī said, "For me, to hear this voice that Mahāprabhujī gave me a duty, that was the greatest love for me, the greatest happiness, and the blessing that I could follow the Guru Vākya and do with my whole being." When Mahāprabhujī was sitting somewhere or walking, sometimes holding the hand, walking with Gurujī, or Gurujī was always standing on that side where the wind was blowing from the direction through Mahāprabhujī’s body, and he felt that energy was from Gurujī. Mahāprabhujī’s body was coming to the Gurujī’s. Always, this is a bhakta. Wherever he was, even now, he always turned his face towards Khatu, in meditation. Like a sunflower always turns towards the sun. That’s a bhakta. The look of the bhakta is constantly on Gurudev, because you never know in which minute or second you will see some difference. These eyes are only worthy if we have the divine vision of Gurudev in meditation or without meditation. Gurujī traveled throughout the whole of India and spread the message of Mahāprabhujī very, very much. And then it happened. One day, in the afternoon, around five o’clock, in my village where I was born, an open jeep came, you know, this old jeep with an open roof. And there was a driver, who was the Mahārāja of some village, and two more persons, and Gurujī was sitting beside the driver. And you can’t imagine, the whole village was running when they heard the Gurujī arrived. After becoming a sanyāsī, Gurujī came for the first time to my village. And that was because my father, my physical father, my blood relative, he passed away. And so Gurujī came to bless my mother and express his condolences. I was a very young child, and I saw my holy Gurujī coming. I still haven’t told anybody. This I am telling today, that I won’t write in my, perhaps in biography, if I will have time. I am traveling so much, so there is no time to write. Gurujī, a mighty figure, light like a flame, is coming, and I say to myself, "Hey, boy, this is what you want. Like that, I would like to be." That went into my heart like lightning. And so, till today, it’s very vivid, very alive, very beautiful, very divine in my heart. Love to my Gurudev. And Gurujī, with him, was also not so easy, like with Mahāprabhujī was also, in some way, not so easy, as Gurujī said. But with love, that’s it. Heart, but love. You give someone a slap on the cheek, but with love, say, "I love you," that’s right. And so, the most beautiful time, the constellation of my life, was on that day. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the date; otherwise, I would have written it. When I first saw the Gurujī, it was unbelievable. That’s called how a bhakta, how a devotee, how a disciple recognizes his or her Gurudeva, the heart. It unites the heart to heart. It becomes one. Then you are one. Let it go. Let it come. It creates what we call abhamandam. It creates the light, and it’s like a ball or a balloon, an aura. And you are one in that aura. Each look, each touch, each feel is indescribable. Such a holy person comes into this world. There were millions of such great holy saints throughout the world. But in India especially, because they were more recognized. Many, many great souls, not only male, but also female. In Jodhpur, there was a very great lady. It’s called Ajñeśvarī, Māta Ajñeśvarī of Dutta. Very great. Siddha, you know, and she lived in the forest. And her gods were the wolves or the tigers. No one could come near to her. And there’s an ashram in Jodhpur. Great. Everyone, all have a great devotion, a great, great devotion to go to that ashram. And when you go, you feel it, like you go to Khatūṅ. So, the tireless work of Holī Gurujī, what he did for 80 years in his life. Unfortunately, he went away with his physical body. But he’s with us. And especially, I can tell you, he’s more with us today here because of the Śobhājī. Gurujī loved her husband, her father-in-law, her mother-in-law, her father, my parents, her children, and a room was prepared for Gurujī. Anytime he just comes and walks into that room, that’s what it is, Gurujī’s room, and relaxes. So many bhaktas are there, not only that, but whenever he went to Jodhpur, where Gurujī can be, in Rājendrajī’s house, and for everyone eating, they will not say, "Oh God, do you want to eat?" No. An Indian will not ask, "Do you want to eat?" An Indian will tell you, "You should eat." Do you want to eat? That is a question. It means you will only offer if I say yes. That is not the behavior of a host towards a guest. Host should say, "Please eat." And when one is eating, then you come and say, "Can I give you more?" No. The Indian mentality, they will be very upset, and they will say, "No, thank you." But you said, "Please take more." And when you give, don’t say, "How much should I give you?" How much should I give you? Never, and never say to this Indian, "Just give." So don’t tell, "Do you want to eat?" Tell, "Please eat." Or, what would you like to eat? What can I make? What kind of vegetables, and this and that? Please take more, and don’t say, "How much should I give you?" This is a mentality, the traditions, and so on. So, there are many beautiful things, many beautiful minutes. From my very young age, like our Mohan, I lived with Mahāprabhujī. And sometime in the night, when I woke up, I could see the Gurujī’s whole blanket was illuminating. Full of the prāṇa, the light, and I was frightened, oh God, what happens? Little child, so Gurujī was great. He is great. He is very divine. And we are fortunate ones that our divine spiritual light, our holy lineage from Alakpurījī, Himālaya, for thousands of years, thousands and thousands of years, is coming now to our ashram, Washington, D.C., USA, in Manipakta. So on this special divine day, holy day of the incarnation of our beloved Gurudev, I bless you all, and I wish you good health and divine spiritual development, divine consciousness. So be happy if someone tells you you made a mistake. Don’t do like this. Who knows if Mahāprabhujī sent these thoughts to my mind to tell you, "Why have you done this? It’s not good. Don’t do like this." To test your ego, you know, when someone tells you, then you should melt it completely, say, "Oh, sorry, thank you." Thank you that you remind me. Like Kṛṣṇa said to Gurudev, "Thank you, Gurudev, that you made me aware of my mistakes or my weakness." If such feelings are there, then the organization, then the ashrams, then the bhakti, then the sevā, then the traditions, all go beautifully, harmoniously, and successfully. Otherwise, well, that’s how I do. If you don’t like it, I’m sorry. It’s not a question of liking and disliking. You know, tirelessly, I’m also traveling. And sometimes people say, "Swāmījī, please stay one week." And I say, "No, one week, stay here." What a dream, you know. And then when I decide to stay one week, the next day I’m thinking, it’s the best of my lifetime. In this one week, I could visit three places and give the prasāda of Gurujī’s name, Mahāprabhujī’s love and blessing in three places. And if I stay one week here, how selfish I am. And that doesn’t let me rest. When Hanumanjī got an arrow in his foot while flying back from the Himalayas, bringing the Sanjīvanī herb for Lakṣmaṇa, who was lying unconscious in Sri Lanka. The question is this: If God, Rāma was a God, why couldn’t he help his brother? He could have helped, but he wanted to show what a bhakta can do. And when Hanumanjī was taking the mountain and coming back, flying over Ayodhyā, the birthplace of the Lord Rāma, the people thought that the enemy is going to Rāma’s enemy. Because, can you imagine a big hill? It could be either how many aeroplanes, like Jambu, now the biggest one, aeroplane. Did you see that biggest one? He didn’t say, "I think we must fly altogether." We should wait two or three years until it gets used to it. So the brother of Rāma, Bharata, who was in Ayodhyā, shot an arrow at Hanumānjī, and it struck Hanumānjī’s foot. Hanumānjī came down for a rest, and while coming down to the ground, he said, "Śrī Rām, Śrī Rām, Jaya Rām, Śrī Rām." And they said, "Oh God, we made a mistake." He is the devotee of the Lord, our Rāma. Bharat came and said, "Brother Hanuman, I am so sorry. Excuse me, please." And have a rest; we shall bring some remedy for you. Hanumanjī said, "Rām kāj kī binmoy kahā viśrām." Oh, dear brother Bharat, without fulfilling the duty to my Lord, how can I rest? The day will come I will have ever rest, ever rest. You know, there is a bhaktas’ place, ever rest means ever rest, mokṣa. Bhaktas there go, like Dhruva, bhakta Dhruva, and so, bringing. The divine message of Gurudev is for the well-being of humanity, the protection of all creatures, and the environment. It is to bring love, understanding, respect, and tolerance, and to create peace within and outside in the world. And so this is how, a little bit about Guru Bhakti. How the Bhaktas went through, this is what I am telling you. So reality is very different from what you read in the books. Very rare books write exactly how it was. When you read the autobiography of a yogī, where also Paramahaṃsa Yogānanda describes the life with his master, and this, you know, how was it? And many others, many, many, also Swāmī Śivānandajī of Ṛṣikeśa, he describes, and how was the life? Very hard. So, in simple terms, it is hard but divine, sweet, and loving. Develop in your consciousness such a devotion that you will never say no, why, or how. Why, how, and out. This goal should go out forever. It’s my great privilege in any way, through any things, I can make my Gurudev, my Lord, happy, and I can be useful for them. Otherwise, what is the sense of this life? Therefore, I used to say in mantra initiation to bhaktas, "Lord, make me the instrument of your love and light, that I may serve your holy creation." We have very little time, very little time to serve the holy creation. We don’t know when suddenly our breath will stop. Hari Om, and go home, a different home. Will we come again? Will we see again? No one ever knows. Patta tutā dāl se le gayī pavan udāī. Ab bichāre kab mileṅge, dūr paḍeṅge jā. The leaf falls down from the tree, and the wind has blown it away to a far distance. This separation will come together again. Destiny took us from one hill to another hill. The tree remained there, and the leaf was blown away. And so is our life; we never know when it will be blown away. Our ego, arrogance, pride, and anger, these are our biggest obstacles. These are the rocks, such big rocks; sometimes we can’t remove that rock. There are many stories about the negative energy devils, you know. They take someone close into the cave, and as a door, they put a big rock, and then they go away so that you cannot move the rock and you can’t come out. They don’t need a combination lock and this and that. Such a rock, no one can walk through, but they have such a strength. They come and open the door. They move the rock, that is called mighty power, so the rock of our ego, rock of our proudness, rock of our doubts. They are such heavy rocks. They don’t let us come out. It doesn’t let us come out. And sometimes you meet some person in your life, I call that a big rock falling on you; you will go down in the water. You can’t come up. That means kuśaṅga. One person can tell you such a stupid thing, and that is a rock for you to go down again to the naraka, not to the divine, having light, the spiritual light. Therefore, Mahāprabhujī said in the beautiful bhajan, "Guru Deva Darśan Dhan Ho, Guru Deva Darśan Dhan Ho."