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Shankaracharya, the greatest exponent of Sanatana Dharma and Advaita philosophy, teaches non-dualism. In contrast to Dvaita, which posits a duality between God and the individual, Advaita asserts there is no separate individual self; there is only the One. An analogy illustrates this: there are various pieces of jewelry—earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings—but their essential reality is the gold from which they are all made. Similarly, there are countless living beings in diverse forms, but the reality within them all is one: the Ātman. Until one realizes this Ātman, one has realized nothing and must endure suffering. To realize your Self is Ātmajñāna. While there are many types of knowledge (jñāna), the highest is Self-realization. Shankaracharya wrote verses on this, called Aparokṣānubhūti—the direct experience of that which is invisible and transcends all attributes and qualities. It is the knowledge of Self-realization. For those wishing to follow his spiritual path and meditation practices, one must first connect with the Master in mind, for the Master is the source of knowledge, liberation, and joy. Just as Nāhaṁ kartā, Prabhudeepaḥ kartā, Mahāprabhudeepaḥ kartā—indeed, He alone is the doer. Strength and blessings flow from Him. Every undertaking should begin with a ceremony, a spiritual thought. It is unfortunate that in modern society, this way of thinking is gradually being lost. All these pūjās, ceremonies, mantras, prayers, and various customs have been lost. Humanity has lost this knowledge. Knowledge can be lost very quickly. For example, one sleeps, has a dream, and upon waking knows what was dreamt. Yet, sitting at the breakfast table, one may say, "I dreamed something," and find it has completely vanished. The knowledge has flown away like a bird. For those who do not follow discipline and Guru Vākya, everything is suddenly lost. One stands there with nothing and will eternally regret it. Therefore, it is very important to return to śravaṇa, manana, and abhyāsa—these three are crucial. What happens now? We have traveled paths, wandering about. Instead of manana (reflection), the mind thinks differently and directs itself outward. Instead of abhyāsa (practice), one wastes time in various activities. Thus, this wonderful knowledge was lost. Without a Master, nothing progresses further. Shankaracharya chants the mantra: Śrī Hariṁ Paramānandaṁ Upadeṣṭāram Īśvaraṁ. Śrī means prosperity, spiritual energy, power; Śrī is the Divine Mother, the feminine principle, energy. Whoever lacks Śrī has lost everything. Therefore, it is always written: Śrī, and then the name. When writing someone's name and address, one first writes "Śrī." It is important to always mention it. Śrī Hariṁ: Hari is God Himself, the Almighty from whom everything comes. Paramānandaṁ: He is the supreme bliss (Ānanda). Paramānanda is the highest, divine bliss. Upadeṣṭāram: He is the one who gives upadeśa (spiritual instruction). Upadeśa means to come closer and learn wisdom. From this, the Upanishads came into being: Upa means closer, and śad means the disciple. The disciple sits closer to the Master and listens to his upadeśa on how to come closer to the divine Self, to realization. Īśvaraṁ: That is Īśvara, God, the supreme Master. Our Guru is the supreme God, Parameśvara, Paramānanda, Hari. Vyāpakaṁ Sarvalokānām: Vyāpaka means all-pervading. He is everywhere. Where is He? Nowhere. He is everywhere. In all worlds (lokas), on every plane, there is no heavenly plane where God is not present. He is present; He is the Knower, everywhere. He is the cause of everything. I bow before Him, again and again; my adoration to Him. A student or practitioner, before beginning meditation or any activity—physical or mental—in this world, should mentally incline themselves to offer devotion and recognize their surrender. Then they attain victory automatically. You are the one who can bring forth this power and direct it. One must be ready to receive. Thus, through the mantra, your heart becomes pure. Through mantras, devotion is awakened in your heart. When devotion is present, the heart is ready to receive an energy, a power—the divine power. The Self-God then comes there, in the form of energy. The pure heart becomes pure, and power flows into it. This is called divine love. Love is God, and God's love means, through devotion, to receive beautiful feelings—that is the presence of God. Devotion means you should surrender where there is ego, selfishness, or doubt. If you hold yourself back a little, there is no surrender. Surrender is complete. If you keep a little in reserve for safety, so that if nothing succeeds you have an escape route, then no love will come, and grace will not come. On the path, it is important to first have this mantra, this thought. One enters into an endless divine consciousness. One should prepare oneself, mentally and physically. Who can surrender where there is ego? Pride. Ego can arise from various sources: from your knowledge, your studies, your position, your profession, and so on. It is so important to always have devotion in the heart. Shankaracharya explains why he speaks and enumerates points about Self-realization. Aparokṣānubhūtiḥ Prāpyate Mokṣasiddhaye: This Aparokṣānubhūti of Shankaracharya is for attaining a siddhi (extraordinary ability). Which siddhi does he wish for his followers, disciples, and devotees? Mokṣa-siddhi. There are many types of siddhis, but the highest is to realize Mokṣa (liberation). Not that one goes to heaven—heaven is not the place of Mokṣa. After celestial karma is finished, you come back again. It is not about having children, a spouse, money, a house, or a city. That is nothing. You don't need any mantra for that. What do you need for that? Work. Do not be lazy. Be active, creative. But Mokṣa? The root of Mokṣa is Guru's grace (kṛpā). And you can receive kṛpā only when you understand the Guru's word (Guru-Vākya) and perform service to the Guru (Guru-Sevā). So, śravaṇa, manana, and abhyāsa make it easier for you to follow Guru-Vākya and Sevā. Through this, you can attain your Mokṣa. But for that, we still have plenty of time. That alone is not enough. One should act in accordance with life, and not just for one or two years. It is a lifelong task. Only sattva is truly loved, not rajas or tamas, again and again. Thus says the Satpuruṣa in the treasure-song of the holy, the treasure-song of the wise. You should reflect and repeat abhyāsa. Here he is speaking about Jñāna-Yoga, the essence of Jñāna-Yoga. There is Haṭha-Yoga, Karma-Yoga, Bhakti-Yoga, Rāja-Yoga, Laya-Yoga, Japa-Yoga, Kriyā-Yoga—many types of Yoga. But the highest, ultimate stage is Jñāna-Yoga. Why Jñāna-Yoga? Because it leads us to jñāna (knowledge). And what knowledge? Self-realization, Prāṇa-jñāna. To reach the breath-garden, we need, as Śaṅkarācārya said in his writings, a small place of discernment: Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, a treasure. When one reads this book, it becomes very clear and evident. But he says, the very first, highest happiness is to be born as a human. To be born human is not in your hands. It lies in your actions, your karmas, your destiny. To be born is a grace, a great blessing that God was gracious and gave us this human life. There is nothing in this teaching that says you are born because of your sins. No, it is not because of sin. It is a grace that you are born. It is your fortune, your destiny, your karma. Being born as a human, and a second time into a spiritual family, is also a blessing. Many are born, but the parents have no idea about God, Self-realization, or spirituality. He writes from the perspective of the four varṇas: Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, and Śūdra. This is not a distribution or separation of people, but a division within the body. In this body, the four varṇas are divided: The Brāhmaṇa is the best part—your intellect, your knowledge. The Kṣatriya is your power that possesses you. The Vaiśya is in your body, channeling energy through the ten prāṇas (the pañcaprāṇa and pañcopaprāṇa). The Śūdras are the division of your body that is constantly ready to lead you back and forth and do everything—head, arms, torso, and legs. This is a division of the body. Also, to be born into the best family means to have the best spiritual education. Fourth, that you yourself have a feeling within you that you want to be spiritual. You have inherited that from your past life. It is not easy for every person to have such devotion and feeling. It may be that there are two siblings, but each has a different path. There is a bhajan: Karmakī rekhā nyārī. The line of karma is different. A mother gives birth to four children: one becomes a king, another a beggar, the third a hunter, and the fourth a saint. Why is it that children born from the same womb, with the same father, seek other paths or go in different directions? This is your inner Self, which has brought along the karmas. The fifth blessing is that you then encounter a realized Master. One searches through many lives. It is not easy to encounter, and even if you do, you may not understand, because you have not yet opened the third eye within you—this knowledge, these feelings. You have no power of decision. The difference between a diamond and a piece of glass is no difference for us who know no difference. But the scholar who has studied and practiced can say, "Yes, this is a diamond and this is glass." And so, when a bhakta is born, they can decide and meet the Master and say, "Yes, this is the Master to whom I belong." When the sun rises, even a blind person feels the warmth on their skin; the sun is there. Then one does not ask whether the sun has risen or not. One does not ask, "Are you my true Master or not?" Ask yourself, your inner self. Thus, a person, when born, through various experiences and educations, comes to a point in life asking, "What is the meaning of my life?" Then the first thing is to say that, according to your Dharma, you should lead your life. This morning we spoke about Dharma. Shankaracharya writes about four Dharmas: the dharma of the student, the duty of the student, Brahmacarya Āśrama Dharma. According to your dharma, you should carry out your task and continue your spiritual practices. So, Dharma—fulfilling your duty—is also a tapasyā. What is a tapasvī? It is also a form of intense perseverance. What is understood by tapasyā? Tapa means heat. And what does heat mean? It is nothing pleasant, right? Have you had any experiences? Have you put your fingers into fire? How long can one keep their fingers in the fire? Who can cook chapati on an open fire? They have experiences with fire, right? Or papadum, without tongs, or a fireplace fire, picking up fallen embers with your hands without gloves. This is also a discipline to follow. And what you have resolved, Satpuruṣa in Satsaṅg. Satpuruṣa means people who always do positive things in the world. Very few follow the Satya-Path. Satya-Path? Movement. Where is this bhajan? Tolli Guruji has written a bhajan. It is important that one walks in life on the path of truth. Sometimes the truth is painful, but the pain lasts only for a short, brief time. Then there is joy. Then the quality is beautiful. The more, they say, gold is heated, the purer and better quality it becomes. Thus, the sādhaka, when he carries out his tapasyā, maintains his discipline, meditates and prays every day, then passes through the fire. Maintaining a certain discipline in life and living according to your path is also a tapasyā. But here, people—I said yesterday—in Austria, everyone is fearful; they have so much fear. They don't even dare to say at the office that they meditate or are vegetarian. You are afraid, you have fear from all sides. I have never seen so much fear anywhere in the world as in Austria. I am sorry to say this, but it is the truth. One is even afraid of illness, right? So much fear. How can I imagine that you will rise one day if you live in such fear? First of all is Abhaya Dhana. Abhaya means without fear. Abhaya Pada means one who has reached the stage where there is no more fear, no more anxiety. Who here has no fear, except the fear of death? One should not possess anything there either. But that is tapasyā, the true tapasyā. How deeply can you trust your truth? How fully can you live according to your truth? This is it. And if you do not understand this and cannot do anything, then you can think a little and understand what human rights mean. As human beings, you have your rights to lead your life according to your dharma, your path. Certainly, one should not engage in crime, drugs, and so forth. One should not engage in negative activities. But for the spiritual, for the mental, for realization? From feeling, the heart now beats like a frightened hare, heavy. The Satsaṅg of the Satpuruṣa. So try to go where the Satpuruṣa, the spiritual, enlightened beings, speak and hold Satsaṅg. This is very important. Why? Because there you receive intuition. What is intuition? Intuitions. There you get a feeling in which a longing seizes you: "I want to realize that." Satsaṅg, Satsaṅg, Satsaṅg—an ignorant person, a fool, can also become a holy sage through Satsaṅg. Durlabhaṁ Satsaṅgaṁ—even for the gods, it is not easy to enter into a Satsaṅg. So fortunate are those, blessed are those, who have the opportunity to enter into Satsaṅg, to come to Satsaṅg, where the Satpuruṣa, the spiritual person, divine grace, divine wisdom—this nectar flows there, and one receives this nectar. Thus, one comes into life. Through these Satpuruṣas and Satsaṅgs, you come to know Jñāna-Yoga, which has four sādhanas (paths). The first today is Vairāgya. There is Rāga. Rāga has two meanings: one, attachment or clinging; two, a melody, a sound. So, Rāga and Vairāgya are two. One is either in Rāga, Dveṣa, Kāma, Krodha, Moha, Lobha, or one is in Vairāgya—an ability, a power to renounce. But one cannot afford to make things easier. There are different types of vairāgī. A vairāgī is called a saṁsāra vairāgī. A vairāgī at a cemetery, when one goes to a funeral and witnesses the entire process, contemplates what meaning life truly has. Sooner or later, we will all die. Everyone is calm, reflective, and says, "Nothing," and nothing happens to us. Then one returns from the cemetery, and in some countries, one goes to the inn. At the inn, the first glass of beer arrives, and you say "cheers," and everything is forgotten. This Vairāgya is only a small part; then one re-enters the world again. Vairāgya is a quality that has an appetite for the divine, for the pure. The upper chakras in the body, the Ājñā chakra, the heart chakra, they open up. Dispassion arises through disappointment, through pain, through suffering. What suffering? That which is often repeated. It comes again and again—always the same. And you make the same mistakes again, and then the same difficulty arises again. In our lives, we have often repeated things. That makes no sense. It is as if someone has an illness, an eczema. It itches and itches. You can scratch and scratch, and the more you scratch, the more intense it becomes. This is a restless quest in every life. When one is born, to contemplate, one comes to the thoughts: What is the meaning of my life? Why was I born? Then comes the same thing which Shankaracharya will later say again: Who am I? Why have I come? From where have I come? What is the purpose of my coming here? And where will I go? Who am I? Why? Why do I always suffer these things? Why am I attached? Why am I dependent? Only a few days, a few years, driven about by your body, these various impulses within the body. Then these impulses grow old again, like old trees, branches, and will fall away once more. You are the tree that stands again and again in the same place, through every weathering—rain, snow, sun, storm, dark or bright, night or day. You are the one who always remains in this cold atmosphere. Everything else passes away. When such a state arises, one knows that nothing is eternal. There is only one eternal thing, and that is the Truth, God. And that is what I want to realize. Many do not understand this. You need not have any worries. I do not think that everyone will be realized today. Maybe we are engaging in competition. Whoever attains Self-realization first will be the one who has realized Vairāgya. Among all that arises in you as desires, you should renounce, reject, and cast them off as distastefully as the droppings of a crow. If a crow does something on your balcony, what do you do? Immediately cleanse, purify. Take yourself gently like a spoonful and taste how it feels. Why? Why is it so? Because that is how it is. It must be that it is impure. As much as there is detachment, all of that is in the world; that is impure. Nothing is pure. Know now that all forms of your pleasure—that you should not accept anything, you should not be attached, you should not be passionate about such things. So passion does not necessarily mean anything. A relationship with your partner, no. But there are still plenty of other things. From there, we are to have the first experiences of detachment. Not that today you say to your wife, "Done, go ahead, you can go to the Schneeberg." And where are you going? You are going to the Cappuccino Mountain. Is it cappuccino or cappuccino? Cappuccino mountain. Cappuccino. And what does this "Cappu" mean? Yes, I mean, that is the cappuccino. No, that still means nothing. Or you shouldn't go home and say, "No, man, you can go white-water rafting." No, that's not it either. It is very important to create harmony among your fellow human beings. You can have good qualities, yet still lead your family and live with them. But renounce greed. One should not be greedy, should not chase after things. Renounce, renounce, renounce, and enjoy. If you want to enjoy life, then learn to renounce. Let go and rejoice. Be happy. The more things you accumulate, the more difficulties and responsibilities you have. We all who have money and possessions are merely slaves to our possessions. We are only the guardians, constantly watchful, always carrying concerns. The less you have, the fewer worries you have. The more you have, the more worries you have. So, it is difficult—easier said than done, more difficult said: Vairāgya. For you can say that your vairāgya is nowhere to be found. When you have reached this stage, you no longer know what you are seeking. But everything you know and everything you have is not something for your joy. And now you are seeking something that can bring you joy. Everywhere you go, there is disappointment. One day you are happy, another day you are sad. One day you feel well, and the next day you do not feel so well. So I was in Tyrol and I asked them, "Aren't you happy and don't you feel well? Pack your things and go to Tyrol." So the Tyroleans were happy. And thus the search begins now. The search begins. Now your reason means you have awakened, become active. And now your Viveka has begun to develop a little. Twilight; the sun is rising. After the dark winter nights—long, long, dark winter nights—when you go into the mountains and the sky is completely clear, then the twilight begins. How beautiful is that? The light is hope. And so Viveka comes. And Viveka says, what is realized in you as Viveka says: Brahma Satyaṁ Jagan Mithyā. Brahman, the highest Self, is the truth, and the world is unreal, untruth. He says nothing about what you should do. No, no, no. He is only showing it to you. You stand there completely sharp at the knife's edge. There you are. And this is the Viveka. The Viveka is very sharp. He says, here is your painful life, where you have tormented yourself over many lifetimes. Once you were born like a hare, once like a crow, once like a rooster, once like a little mouse, another time like a snake, then suddenly like an ant, then again like a hare, then again like a cow, then once like a buffalo, and once like everything. And suddenly a human, and then suddenly a horse again, and then suddenly a magpie again. As a horse, you have received many blows. As a hare, they have often killed you. All your relationships, all of them. Other nonsense has given you the truth, God. Everything that is visible, everything you can touch, taste, see—all of this is transient. Your life is transient, your body is transient, your thoughts are transient. You are not that. And Satya is that—a pure bliss. Thus, Brahma Satyaṁ Jagan Mithyā. Now, my friend, what would you like to have? Do you want to fall back into this torment again? Or do you wish to enter into this blissful, highest blissful, divine consciousness? The decision is within you. He does not say that you should decide and take that. No. The Master is like a vendor. He shows you various goods. The decision lies with you according to your abilities, how far you allow your money to go. Earlier you said, now it is Vairāgya. If you have pure vairāgya, then you would say, "No, I do not even want to look at this side." You hold your nose because it stinks. You turn in the direction of Brahmajñāna, Ātmajñāna, Self-realization.