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Part 1: The Grace of the Guru Hari Om. Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, welcome to all who are arriving now, and of course, to all who are already here for this evening's satsaṅg. All who are joining via the webcast are also most welcome. As you can see, many, many people have come this evening for the satsaṅg and to have darśana of Swāmījī. Darśana is a special thing for every student, for every disciple, and it is a truly special moment in the life of every disciple. I often think of a story I once heard, which has stayed in my mind because it made me realize how happy and lucky we all are. I heard a story about a disciple of Sāī Bābā who passed away. His last wish was to be buried in the kurta-pyjāma in which he had had darśana of Sāī Bābā in his life. Can you imagine this bhakti, this love? I don't know about you, but I personally do not have many clothes that have not been near Swāmījī. I think we all have all our clothes with us, both with Swāmījī. Perhaps you have some clothes for going to a disco or somewhere else. But can you imagine how happy we are? I think we do not hold this in mind all the time. So, realize that. Realize how happy we are. How happy I am to sit near the Guru, to speak to you. This is truly something. To gather together—I think there are now more than a thousand people, or around a thousand, in this hall—this is something which is really rare. We have the opportunity to see Swāmījī many times a year. We can talk to him, we can have his darśana, he gives us his blessings. This is really something which is not a small thing; it is something you should cherish. This is truly important for us. So, if you are waiting for Swāmījī to speak and see this long introduction, or are listening to me—which may not be so interesting—please be kind to all the people who are still arriving. It is very important for them to also have darśana with Swāmījī. Today, I have the opportunity to speak to you about something. I was thinking, what should I speak about? Somehow, it is good to speak only about what you have realized. Unfortunately, in my case, I have not realized so many things in yoga. I do not possess so much knowledge, but there is one thing I know, one thing I realize. When I speak about knowing something, it is not just having read it in a book. To know it, we say, is to know it from the stomach, when you have truly realized something. I have been working in Swāmījī's organization for some years, and one thing I have truly realized is this: in the kingdom of Gurudeva, everything is possible. Truly, everything is possible in the kingdom of Gurudeva. Why? Because this kingdom, this world, is his world. And with, of course, with his Guru's Kṛpā, everything is possible. But you know, it can be done only if you are open, and this is not so easy. I know in my own case that this is not so easy. Many times, I receive Swāmījī's "bamboos" (nudges), and nothing comes. Sometimes, with his help, I can open a little bit. In the organization, you can find things which, in the normal world, would not be possible. For example, it would not be possible to organize a seminar in three days. About two years ago, in three or four days, we organized a seminar in Paśman. Many, many times, with the knowledge we have about this "real" world, we judge things: something is not possible, something is possible. And this is only within our vision. This is our human life, like this vision, like a horse which has blinders. This is self-blackmail. This self-blackmailing makes us closed to His Kṛpā. Many, many times we are blackmailing ourselves. This may sound strange to you, but this is the worst blackmail you can experience. Self-blackmail is the hardest to get rid of. I don't know about your countries, but I know in Croatia we often say, "We are small people, we cannot do this or that." This is first-class blackmail. There is nobody who is small. You and I, we are all ātmā. We are all big. We are all, as Swāmījī said today in that beautiful, beautiful bhajan: every boy is Rāma and every girl is Devī. So, have this in mind. Do not blackmail yourself. In this way, you become a bamboo, or as I often say, you become like Teflon—those pots made of a material to which nothing sticks; everything you put in just slips out. This blackmailing does this to us. But if you just give the opportunity to Swāmījī to work, for his Guru Kṛpā to work, then everything, everything is possible. I know that in many, many cases—you know, that I am a sannyāsī is also only his Guru Kṛpā, and it is only possible in his realm. So, you know, when you realize that, then you lose fear. And fear is also the greatest obstacle on our path. Without fear, you can do anything. Not you—you can be an instrument for Him to do anything. And in that case, your Guru Seva is what is truly Guru Seva. Everything I was speaking about—his world, everything, Kṛpā—whatever we are doing is not possible without the Guru. There is one picture I can share with you. When you are sick, when something happens to your hand, doctors say that the worst finger to lose is the thumb. Because the thumb is the most important finger for making any movement, for doing everything. Somehow, today I got a picture for myself of what yoga is. You know, there are four parts of yoga: Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jñāna Yoga, and Rāja Yoga. These are the four parts of yoga, and they are all very important. But you know, without the Guru, who is the thumb, you cannot achieve anything. Try to take a glass without a thumb. Try to write without a thumb. You cannot do anything. So, without the Guru, nothing is possible. And with the Guru, everything is possible. Therefore, the worst thing we do in Western countries is blackmail ourselves, thinking that we are not capable, that we cannot do something. This is not true. Maybe it is difficult. Maybe it will not happen tomorrow. But it can be done with Guru Kṛpā. This is what I wanted to tell you this evening. And of course, when you receive darśana, it is very important what you will do with what you receive. Many times, Swāmījī has said that it does not depend on him what you get when you come to him. It depends on which pot you bring to him. It may be a glass, maybe a bigger pot, maybe a pot with many holes inside. Maybe you forget the pot and try to take something just in your hands. He is like Mother Gaṅgā, Holy Gaṅgā. Her water flows continuously, and it depends only on you what you will take. And then, when you get it, even if you get a really big pot, what will you do with it? If you just come home and put it somewhere, thinking, "This is only for me, I will take a little every day," that is also not good. It will spoil because you are not sharing it; you have to give forward what you receive. When you get light, what will you do with it? Will you go to your room and keep it only for yourself, while the whole village remains in darkness? That is not good. Light cannot be diminished. If you have one candle and you use it to light ten other candles, your light will not become smaller. You are not giving your light away and being left with a smaller light, no. Your light will only become greater, because in the room there will be ten candles, not just one. Recently, I was reading a question: a disciple of Swami Satchidānanda asked him how to get rid of bad qualities. I think that is a question I have within myself many, many times, and I believe we all have this. We all know, we somehow realize, that we have something which is not so good. Maybe we are jealous, maybe we are lazy, or something else. But how to get rid of it? It is not so easy. Swami Satchidānanda answered his disciple: "The best thing... you will never see people go into a dark room with a stick and beat the darkness to make it go away." In the same way, we cannot get rid of our bad qualities just by being angry with ourselves or trying to say, "Go away, my laziness." That will not happen. The best way to get rid of darkness is to bring in light, of course. And this light we can get only at the Guru’s feet. This light cannot be given anywhere else in the world. So, when you take this light, when you come to Swāmījī and bow before him and receive this light, do not take it only for yourself. When you return to your town, to your family, this light can illuminate many, many rooms, not only your own. This is what I wanted to share this evening. I hope it was short enough, and now Swāmījī will take over. I think you are all here for that. I will not be like the crow who sits on the roof of the temple and thinks everyone is listening to it. I know you are waiting for Swāmījī’s satsaṅg. Thank you for listening. Satguru rakho lāj hamārī. Hari Om. Good evening. Nice to see you again. Yes, after a long time—we met last year. You have to wait a whole year to see me again. And again, I am leaving in 10 days. I will return in the middle of June. So you have a lot of holidays, a lot of free time. And students, those who are studying, have little other interest. You have to build your future life within 25 years. Finished after that? Forget it. All the qualities you learn now will accompany you your whole life. Gurujī used to say it is easy to get rid of the enemy. Śrī Śrī... Happy future. Secondly, we all who are above 25 have learned enough, have many experiences, and we shall utilize them in the best way until 50 years. Then it is already afternoon, and so you come to the other āśrama. Brahmacharya āśrama: study, learning. Gṛhastha āśrama: the household life. Vānaprastha āśrama: retired and preparing to go to the āśramas. And Sannyāsa āśrama. These are the four āśramas. If a human follows them, they will be happy. The dharma of the body is to be born, to grow, and to die. I have a question here. "Dear Swāmījī, recently leukemia-related cancer was diagnosed in the 21-year-old son of my friend. This terrible sickness is spreading rapidly among young people nowadays. What can you suggest to prevent and to fight against this cancer? What kind of exercises would you recommend if they had never practiced yoga before?" Yes, all this is created out of the mind of the human, out of the greed of the human, out of ego, jealousy, pride, and ignorance. In the last few decades, we have been fighting against food manipulation. But unfortunately, there are some people; they are not in the majority in terms of numbers, but with the power of politics and money and so on, day by day, they manipulate the fruits, the vegetables, the vegetation, the animals, and we get very unnatural things in our food. Second, all these gases from cars, machines, and factories—that is also one of the causes. Third, a lot of traffic in the air is also a very big cause of the imbalance of the environment. This is not enough for young people. This pollution is not enough for them. So the young people, whenever they find the time, they go to clubs, discos. A person with a normal brain would not go to inhale all that is inside there. And no wonder that such a disease is developing. And you are not only sitting there; you are dancing, you are moving. So, additionally, you invite extra pollution into the air in your lungs, and a lack of oxygen, and so on. So, cancer is that disease which we pray to God no one should get. But what to do? It is... you never know where you can catch it. It is like a virus too, like AIDS; you also don't know. And many ways of getting it are not only through being with someone, but also through touching things. Mahāprabhujī says, "Kevalam Mahāprabhujī karatā hai." Yes, but how long? I always remember one sentence I said some time ago, and I am always laughing at my own stupidity. Long ago in Slovakia, in a popular city, I gave a lecture at a nursing school. I was talking: "Practice yoga, I will always be young. You see that I am young, and I will always be young." And now, whenever I go and brush my teeth and look in the mirror, I say, "Maheshwarananda, what did you say on that day?" So this is a thing which we cannot stop; we cannot prevent it so much. But we can try as much as we can. Therefore, I would request the parents that you should tell your children from a small age. Śrī Śrī... Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā... Śrī Śrī... Yes, it is not so hard—easier than dancing in closed rooms with a lot of music that Śivakā are crazy for. So, look, if you can do morning and evening at least Kaṭhopaniṣad, or running, walking, more physical exercises. Once a day, when we work, our body should begin to sweat. Part 2: The Burden of Memory and the Path of the Soul Negative thinking and memories make the soul so unhappy, stuck inside, unable to breathe. You must open the windows to let in good air again. Consider those who gamble in rooms with green or red light—I have not been inside, but I see it on television. You will be surprised how Swāmījī knows this. In that light, there is a kind of reflector because there is so much smoke inside. Then you come home, and the next day you cannot get up until 11 or 12 noon. Especially young people go on Friday and Saturday, and parents are so unhappy. Parents would like to go walking in the forest, but the children are still not awakened. They are totally in a coma. Yes, that is called a mental disease, psychic cancer. What should we do? The soul in the body should feel happy. Sometimes you say, "I don’t feel pleasant or happy under my skin." Why? Because there are many negative experiences or thoughts. Every negative thought you keep in your memory is a burden for your soul and cannot free you. You know this story; I told it once and can tell it again. There was a master who had many disciples. He told them, "Go for some years, then come again." Some years later, many did not come back; they found something in between. It is a very big task, whether you are loyal to your Gurudeva or not. Many things come between, many māyās come, temptations come, negative thoughts, negative talks. This is not easy, my dear. You are a small fish who begins to swim. Now you have to come through the ocean. But you know, there are many big fish smiling. Suddenly they see you, and you think they are friends. You come close and—click. Oh God, you try to come out, but you cannot anymore. So it is in the face of temptation, in the face of negative society and negative talk. Two brothers, guru brothers, were traveling. At that time, there were no cars. You either rode on horseback, an ox cart, or camels. They were sitting under a beautiful mango tree on the bank of a river on a warm day, for mangoes are ripe in the hot season. Both brothers were enjoying the mangoes, eating them. A young lady came and said, "Hello, dear brothers, how are you?" They said, "Very good, sister, come, have some fruits." She said, "Well, thank you very much, but I came to ask you for one help." She said she could not swim, and her father had sent her to another village to bring something. "Can you help me cross the river?" "No problem, eat some fruits. We are also going in that direction." After 40 minutes, they decided to go. One brother was very strong, like Maṅgal Purī from Croatia. The second was also strong, like Vasiṣṭha from Ljubljana. Vasiṣṭha told the lady, "You hold my shoulders, and I will swim, and you swim with me." He is very strong; he swam. The girl felt like she was on a boat and relaxed. They crossed the river, and Vasiṣṭha told her, "Sister, all the best. Here you are." She asked, "What can I do to please you? Anything?" Vasiṣṭha said nothing. The other one, Maṅgalpurī, also said nothing. She said, "Anytime you ask, this is my address." Maṅgalpurī said, "No, we don’t need an address. If you want to do something to please us, then we have one suggestion: learn swimming. So next time, you will not depend on anyone, and you can swim. Bye-bye." She went to the village, and both brothers went in the other direction. Years passed—23 years passed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. They said, "We move now towards Gurudev." After two yugas—twelve years is a mini yuga. If you have twelve years of mantra dīkṣā, then you can celebrate one yuga. If you have twenty-four, two yugas. They were going towards Gurujī, somewhere where he would be. "Twenty-four years we didn’t see Gurujī. Twenty-four years. No telephone, there was no telephone. No message. We don’t know if Gurujī is alive. Will he recognize us? In 24 years, we already have white hair. Twenty-four years, the second generation begins. Will he remember our name? Will he ask us, 'My son, come, how are you?' Or he has some other good disciples, and they think, 'Look, your disciple never came back.' And we will be like strangers there. You know how humans think. No, no... Gurujī will love us. He will be so happy." And as they began to talk about how Gurujī would be happy, their tears came. The love of the master and disciple is indescribable. Whenever I came from Europe to India, just as I saw Gurujī, he had tears in his eyes. And when I went, and came back to Europe, he also had tears in his eyes. He told me that when the dear one goes, it hurts the heart. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā He Kevalam... Mahāprabhujī Karatā He Kevalam... See what’s called the Adriatic Coast, and Maṅgalpurī and Vasiṣṭha sitting on the rock, looking at the moon and the sea on the other side. The āśram would be twenty kilometers away. Tomorrow, during Brahmamuhūrta, we will walk, and we cannot arrive by eight o’clock; we will arrive by nine o’clock to Gurujī. They couldn’t sleep. There are few people who can’t sleep: the ill person who has a lot of pain, whole night in the hospital, he or she can’t sleep, waiting for when the doctor will come. Second, the yogī. "Will thou come? Will thou come?" Waiting all the time. Third, that one who is longing to see the beloved one. That will also come, thou God. At one o’clock in the night, they are still talking, brother, about how they will be nice. They are so happy. Then suddenly, they remember what Gurujī gave as instructions, what we should do and what we should not do. And Maṅgalpurī said to Vasiṣṭha, "My brother Vasiṣṭha, you know Gurujī will ask if we follow all the rules?" He said, "Of course, Gurujī will ask. And we will answer correctly?" He said, "Yes." "Gurujī told us, 'Do not touch the woman.' And Vasiṣṭha, you didn’t touch her, but you carried her on your back. What will you answer, Vasiṣṭha?" He said, "Yes, I will tell, because he asked to help her cross the river. But what will you answer, Maṅgalpurī?" He said, "What? My hands are clean." Who said? Maṅgalpurī. "Vasiṣṭha, don’t put anything on me, always. You push on me." He said, "No." He said, "What?" Vasiṣṭha said, "My dear brother, I carried that girl on my back as my sister, and I dropped her on the bank of the river as soon as we stepped out of the water. But I surprise my dear brother Maṅgalpurī, 'What will you answer the Gurujī?'" He said, "What?" "You are still carrying her in your memory." He said, "Yes." So there is an event, and that memory is forever, that you cannot forget. You know, in the civil war in Yugoslavia, we had a lot of radios and televisions, news, and often people said, "We will forget. Forgive, but we will not forget. We will forgive them, but we will not." So, a yogī is that one who can forget, who can clean the consciousness, citta-vṛtti-nirodha. If the burden is still in you, you are carrying it; that means your soul is suffering. You cannot go up; it is pulling you down and down. You are looking in the water, and it is sinking your boat down and down and down, because of the burden of your soul, which you created, and constantly you are taking more and more burden. Purījī, Purījī... I have to open the windows, and now cold air is going in my mouth. The result will be very hard, so I have to react. Please close the windows. So it was a good question: if we have a burden, it is a heaviness on our soul. We are in the water, which is flowing like a river, and sometimes an island comes between, and we are separated. But again, it flows together. If not, then in the ocean we will come together. So, it is said that the river where you stand, you make it deep in and out. You cannot make that deep again in the same water because that water is gone. You are standing, new water is coming. So these are the waves of life in which we are moving. We come together, we experience good and bad, but we are still here. Therefore, itnā tū karnā Gurujī, sañjalā dī cāy, itnā tū karnā dayālo. Now, some of our brothers and sisters have passed their examinations and are going to receive the Yoga and Daily Life teacher’s diploma. I will call the names, and you will all come forward. After that will be prayer, and this prayer is especially today we dedicate to our recently passed away sister, Dunia Mikulo. And also, not long ago, the mother of our dear Urmila from Zagreb also passed away. Our prayers for her mother, too. We know that sooner or later, one day, we have to go also. Perhaps for those who went, it is easier, and for those who are here, it is difficult. At the same time, one of our very close disciples in Kannada, she was from Slovakia, and we have known her since 1974. I told you the story about that some time ago. When her son was born, the doctor said, "The kidneys are not functioning, and unfortunately the child will not survive. They can take it home for some days if they want." And they asked me, and I said, "Well, I can’t do anything, only Mahāprabhujī." And I told her one technique: put her hands on the body of the child where the kidneys are, and repeat the mantra, "Om Prabhudeep Niranjan Sabduk Banjan." And I must tell you, that child is today a very beautiful young man, living in Vancouver. His name is Kiran. Similarly, he also had a problem with his sister. Her name is Ekta, and she is also happily living in Toronto, Mississauga. Mr. and Mrs. Polak, very devoted, very, very, and bhaktas. And whenever I go to North America, I go to Canada, Toronto especially because of them. You know, love to the disciples and love of the disciples. Often someone says, "Swāmījī, there is only one family, and you go there from such a tiny program." I said, "Yes. I am not going for the crowd. For me, if it’s one person or thousands, it’s equal." Elena, her yoga name was Indrapurī, and she was working in the kitchen. They had, like many of you in the kitchen, a picture of Gurudev, Mahāprabhujī. Without any suffering, she just passed away; she died standing and slowly sank to the floor. We are sad, definitely we are sad, because we remain behind; we feel more intensive love. But for her, that death was like a samādhi, a self-realized samādhi. I wish for such an easy death. I wish you also such an easy passing. But every one of us has different karma, different destiny. And death is cruel enough, for death doesn’t care how you die. I think there is one book in the German language: "If the throat is equal, we do stir it." And don’t think that I am old and this is young, and we old will go first. No. It is not old or young. When the time comes, it is a chick. That’s all. So, I wish you, a person like me, who has taken so many burdens from bhaktas—if I don’t work out your karmas, then I have to suffer until convalescence, the last days. So when I will not be able to die quickly, then you must know that this is our burden, which Swāmījī took upon himself. Now he must finish, and then he can go. Therefore, I always pray to Mahāprabhujī, "Nāhaṁ kartā." To accept a disciple is very easy. To say that I have a disciple is very easy. But what you promise, and you take that karma over you, that is the heaviness of the master, the burden of the master. You can feel it. So, anyhow, we also pray for her. And very recently, at the same time, very shortly after, Anubhavī’s mother also died. So many friends and relatives passed away in these last two months. Our prayers to them and our dear sister Dunia. Well, Maṅgalmānī also from Jadan came immediately and says he would like to... Nārāyaṇī and Sarita and many friends were the last breath of something beautiful. You know, we can’t go with, but at least, as long as you are in a physical body, it is important to know that there is someone who loves you and is beside you. It’s very important. You remember last year I told you one small sentence, a story about a mother, the last instruction she gave to her son. She said, "My son, when you were born, your mother was with you, and when your mother dies, you should be with her. Husband, don’t let your husband die alone somewhere, okay, but of course, wife too, and friends." You know, everyone makes mistakes. Can you not only forgive but forget? Love you cannot challenge, and love you cannot measure in kilograms. Love is not that physical. Love is that which flows: understanding, kindness, you understand. So, we will now have prayer, and we will concentrate and pray to Mahāprabhujī to lead us all to the eternal light and eternal peace. With this, dear brothers and sisters, our program today, webcasting, is closing, and tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock, we will have a one-hour webcast. Thank you, all the best, and God bless you. Deep Nayan Bhagavān Kī Dev Purīṣa Mahādeva Kī Dharma Samrāṭ Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Satya Sanātana Dharma