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Part 1: The Path of Guru Bhakti and Guru Seva Śrī Dīpna Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Śrī Śrī Deveśvara Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Śrī Śrī Alakhpurīṣa Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Hindu Dharma Samrāj, Satguru Svāmījī Madhavānanda Purī Jī Mahārāj Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Paramātmā, Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Purī Jī, Gurujī, Devakī Jaya. Oṁ Namo Prabhuśrī Dīpanārāyaṇam Haṁsabhādasahārī Caraṇaparāyaṇam. Oṁ Namo Prabhuśrī Dīpanārāyaṇam Haṁsabhādasahādataśaraṇaparāyaṇam. Oṁ Namo Prabhuśrī Dīpanārāyaṇam Haṁsavādasahārī Caraṇaparāyaṇam... Oṁ Namo Prabhuśrī Dīpanārāyaṇam Haṁsavādāsahari Caraṇaparāyaṇam. Oṁ Namo Prabhuśrī Dīpanārāyaṇam Haṁsavādāsadatāśaraṇaparāyaṇam. Singing the glory of Mahāprabhujī’s name, the constant repetition of Mahāprabhujī’s glory. Śrī Śrī... Swamiji created such a protective shelter above the whole ashram, this Abhā Maṇḍal, and within that we can feel very well ourselves, spiritually balanced and fulfilled. We can feel the presence of Swamiji and the presence of Holy Gurujī. Holy Gurujī is our Dādā Gurujī. It means our Grand Gurujī. In other words, if Swāmījī is the father of our spiritual knowledge and progress, then Gurujī is the grandfather. And he is a great, great example for all of us. Because most of us, most of the spiritually oriented practitioners of yoga in our lives, we are walking the same path as Gurujī was walking. And that’s the path of Guru Bhakti and Guru Seva. Of course, Gurujī is for us a bit of an unreachable example. His complete dedication to Mahāprabhujī, his absolute devotion, about that we can only dream. But why not dream? Why not have high ideals? It is said, the higher the ideals, the higher we can reach. Some two weeks ago, when Swāmījī was having these satsaṅgs about achieving the aim of human life, he was saying that we should renounce our ambitions, because ambitions are blocking us on the way, on the spiritual path. But ideals are helping us. Ideals are the values which we keep as an example. I remember in this context what we were learning in the history classes of elementary school. We were learning about Jan Amos Comenius. There was one reformer of the education system in the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe. And he was saying something like, the higher you think about the people with whom you deal, and you treat them accordingly with respect, that much better the people really become. And in the same way, we can keep the ideal of Guru Bhakti and Guru Sevā in the form of Holī Gurujī. From the book of Līlā Amṛt and from Swamiji’s satsaṅgs, we know that Holī Gurujī, after he met his Divine Master, spent all his life, till the end of his life, repeating the mantra of Mahāprabhujī’s Divine Name. He was doing Mahāprabhujī’s seva, and He was always, constantly in Mahāprabhujī’s satsaṅg. Because Mahāprabhujī was deep in his heart. So even if Holī Gurujī would be somewhere far away, still, inwardly, he was with Mahāprabhujī. He was in his satsaṅg, in the company of the Sat, of the embodiment of the truth, the supreme truth, which Mahāprabhujī was. When we listen to Swamījī’s satsaṅgs, in which Swamījī speaks about Holī Gurujī, he is remembering the times when he was doing sevā to Holī Gurujī, or he is quoting Holī Gurujī’s wisdom, or singing his bhajans, we can always observe with which reverence and respect and devotion Swamijī speaks about his master. And even Swamījī is expressing this towards Holy Gurujī. Indirectly, he is giving an example to us: what should be the attitude of the disciple towards the Master? That complete surrender—that is how Swamījī was approaching Gurujī, like it is in his, in Swamījī’s bhajan, "Śrī Mādhavānanda Prabhu Ānandadījo..." Śrī Mādhavānanda Prabhu Ānanda Dhī Dho... It says, "O Divine Holy Gurujī, please accept the service, the seva of your sevaks, of your bhaktas, and give us your blessing, give us ānanda." That is how Swāmījī expressed his relation to the Master. Holy Gurujī is the author of a vast amount of spiritual literature and poetry. Usually we know just the Līlā Amṛt, not just, but usually we know mainly Līlā Amṛt and many, many Gurujī’s bhajans. But actually, Gurujī wrote much more. A lot of that is still in Hindi, Marwari, or Gujarati. And hopefully, one day, other Gurujī’s writings will also be translated into English or other languages, so that they can reveal the spiritual pearls to the rest of the world. Here in India, Swamiji got published, made one such a small booklet. It is called Nitya Pārṭ, this booklet of Holī Gurujī’s writings. Nitya means continuous, ever, always. And Pārtha means reading or study. So Nitya Pārtha means actually everyday spiritual practice, everyday spiritual reading. In the beginning, there is some description of the masters of our Guru Paramparā, of their lives. Then there is our morning āratī, evening āratī, kapālabhāti, Sadguru Carisa, and some Gurujī’s bhajans. On several pages, there is the essence of Guru Gītā and other pearls. In the introduction chapter to the Nityapā, Gurujī is writing the first step on the way to achieve the purpose of human life. Surrender yourself to the Satguru Dev with a pure heart. Isn’t it beautiful? And then there is one very interesting article which is called Guru Seva. And in that article, Swamiji, Gurujī is describing what the benefits of Guru Seva are and how to do it properly, and he is giving many practical instructions. I was, some time ago, with the help of one Indian friend—one Indian bhakta—translating it, so I would like to try to read you a few sentences, those which I... it is all inspiring, but just a few selected. Satguru Seva is the birthplace of supreme knowledge and wisdom. Through Satguru Seva, you can find the solution for every problem. Satguru Dev is such a benefactor who takes care of everyone who comes into his shelter, as a mother does. He is doing all possible ways to take care of his child, his disciple. It means whoever is able to serve the Guru is a fortunate one. Satguru Deva is the true way to peace. There is no other way to peace. In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is saying to Uddhava, "He Uddhava, in the saṁsāra, in the world, the Guru is my own form, my true form." Knowing this, the Guru should never be disrespected. And then come these practical instructions. When a disciple approaches the guru, he should remain standing, and after receiving the instruction and permission from the Gurudev, then he should sit down and stay with humbleness, but without fear. If the guru stands up, the disciple should also stand up. And if the guru walks somewhere, the disciple should walk behind him. In Gurudev’s presence, we should stop our restlessness and all unnecessary activities of mind, intellect, senses, speech, and actions. The disciple should wake up before the Guru wakes, and he should go to sleep after the Guru goes. When sleeping, the disciple should sleep on a lower bed than the Guru does, and he should sit on a lower āsana than the Guru is sitting. And in the Guru’s presence, the disciple should not sit with straight legs or with the legs crossed over each other. In the presence of the Guru, we should not express our ego, and we should not answer to the Guru in a sharp manner. Without asking the Guru for his permission, we should not do anything on our own, and any task which is given by him, we should not leave uncompleted. On the lips of the Guru is the prasāda of Brahma Tattva. Sattva. Therefore, we should just concentrate ourselves on that, and we should forget our own fame, knowledge, social status, and achievements. Disciples should never imitate the way the Guru is walking, how he is talking, or doing his work. In the presence of the Guru, we should not worship some other person, nor should we give a speech. The disciple should not take any financial loans from the guru. He should not sell him things or buy things from him, and we should never disobey his orders. Day and night, we should stay like sevaks, ready to fulfill his orders. Either it is for our benefit or not. Once we have heard the Guru Vākyas, we should follow them. Whoever is not doing, whoever is disobeying the Guru Vākyas, he will go to hell. And after that, he will be born as a dog or a wild pig. Whoever argues with his guru will be born as a donkey. And whoever criticizes the guru will be born as a dog. And whoever plays tricks with his guru or uses the guru’s property or money for his own enjoyment will be born as a worm. And that’s why we should also avoid the company of persons who are criticizing the Guru, who are behaving towards him in an improper way, and who are in any case not respecting him. The Guru’s belongings we should always greet and put them in their proper place and never use for our own purpose, for our own work. We should never think that the Guru’s intellect is the same as ours, and we should not measure him as an ordinary human, because if this is our approach, then there will be no benefit from our Guru Pūjā and practice of the Guru Mantra. Among all valuable things, the Guru is the most valuable. The aspiring disciple should fulfill all these instructions, follow them, and then Gurudev will surely bestow his blessings. And on the boat of satsaṅg, he will bring the disciple over the ocean of saṃsāra. There is not a single doubt about that. Isn’t it inspiring? Of course, somebody may comment that this is written, let’s say, for Indian conditions. And sometimes it’s not easy or possible to follow all these instructions in Western culture. Because the environment in which we are there may not understand the spiritual context. Mahāprabhujī Karatā He Kevalam. Mahāprabhujī Karatā. You see very clearly what are the intentions behind each and every one of our actions, and our motivation is counted more than the external action. Gurujī will always stay a big inspiration for thousands of bhaktas all over India and thousands and thousands of yoga practitioners all over the world, the practitioners of yoga in daily life. Satsaṅg with Gurujī. Lucky are those who could meet Gurujī, who had the chance to come to India to meet him here, or to be with Gurujī when he was traveling to Europe and America. He was several times. There. I could hear some stories of those who were in Gurujī’s sevā, and they are quite miraculous. Usually, they describe that Gurujī, wherever he was traveling or residing, was living in a very simple, natural manner with a high level of spiritual discipline. But what was happening around Gurujī, to his sevaks, was often divine and supernatural. Like the weather would not be as per the weather forecast, but as per the needs of Gurujī’s teachings to the disciple. Or the animals, they would not act as per their natural instinct, but as per Gurujī’s wish. And in the elections, political elections, a candidate would win who was not at all the favorite one. Śrī Śrī... There is a big level of authenticity, so now it would be proper that some of the old disciples who have these miraculous stories would come and share, or, like a few days ago on Guru Pūrṇimā, we heard the stories of Colonel Sāhab. And Hari Singh Jī and others, they were divine, or our Swāmīs like Swāmī Premanānjī, Jasrājī, Yogeshpurjī, Phulpurjī, Gyāneshwarjī, they all were serving Gurujī for several months or years, they could tell the divine stories. I could be in India only a little less than the last two years of Holy Gurujī’s physical presence, but still, it was time long enough to recognize that whatever Gurujī was doing was always meant for the benefit of the disciples. Even the situation may externally look different. And so, if you allow, I would like to share a few stories from my spiritual treasure, which Gurujī gave me. When I came in the winter time of 2001-2002, and then in the following months, Gurujī was traveling among the āśramas: two weeks in Jādan, three weeks in Kāṭhū, four weeks in Jaipur, then Nepal, and again Jādan, and so on. So we were lucky to have his darśan many times. Or sometimes we went to other ashrams, and there we could see Holī Gurujī. In May, I had my birthday sometimes in May, and the evening before my birthday, Swami Jasrajpurījī came and he said, "Gurujī said, tomorrow morning you should come at 5 o’clock to Bhaktisāgar, and you will go with Gurujī to Jodhpur. This is your birthday present." I was very happy, and the next day I came here, and Gurujī was already sitting on his āsana. It was that time there, where the other altar is. And I greeted Gurujī, and he said, "Happy birthday." And he gave me an orange kurta and some prasāda, and I was feeling so happy. I was very happy seeing Gurujī, and this feeling of happiness was then continuously going on for three or four days while I was with Gurujī. It was actually this kurta which Gurujī gave me. I was thinking at that time, well Gurujī, I will never use an orange kurta, but at least I have a good memory for Gurujī. So, since that time, I keep it in a box, and on some special occasions, like Gurujī’s Mass, Samādhi, or birthday, I wear it. And then we went to Jodhpur, and there Gurujī actually went for some medical checkups because his health condition was not good at all. When we arrived and he came out of the car, he nearly fainted. We had to carry him to the house where he was. This was one house. Gurujī was in the house of the Jodhpur bhaktas, and Gurujī was going to the hospital every day for medical check-ups. He would come back very exhausted and in great pain. He could not rest, so he was just rolling on the bed here and there. And it was actually quite painful to look at him, but for Gurujī it was not a problem, because that was just the suffering of his physical body, not of Gurujī. So he ordered his sevak to call all Jodhpur disciples, that Gurujī is in the city and they can come for darśan and satsaṅg. And so the sevak took his phone book and called each and every one, and they started to come. And from very morning till the very night, the stream of people was coming. And the family which was hosting Gurujī, they were taking care of them. And there were whole families coming, or students alone, or ex-army servicemen and government officers. A very, very wide spectrum of people are Gurujī’s bhaktas. And everyone comes with something else. Somebody just wants to have the darśan of the beloved one. And somebody came to share his problem, or to ask for some advice, or to listen to some Guru Vākyas. And Gurujī was telling everybody something else. He was not repeating anything at any time. But what was the same was that every person was leaving much happier, much more joyful, much more in a bath of bhakti than when they came. And that was the Gurujī’s Kṛpā, His mercy, His divinity. And I was just feeling pity that I could not properly understand Hindi, because I was just at the very beginning of some learning, so I could not get it, I could not understand that Amṛt. And even Gurujī has there His sevak and driver, still He was merciful enough to give me small tasks, like open the window, close the window, start the fan, switch off the fan, make pūjā for prayer, sing some bhajan. Actually, then I realized that Gurujī did not need me to do this at all. But it was just his kṛpā that he was giving to everyone who was present. When I was singing bhajans, it was terrible, very terrible. But Gurujī was not at all concerned. He just wanted to hear the divine name, which is in the bhajans, Purījī, Purījī... And then all these three days were going in my mind. I was remembering each and every moment, and I was again and again feeling pity that I cannot understand Hindi and Marwari, that I somehow could not get this treasure of Gurujī’s satsaṅg. And then, at that moment, I remembered one video satsaṅg which we had recently seen in the ashram before that time, where Swamiji was saying, "With the blessing of the Gurudev, every work and every task can become possible, can become fruitful." And I was thinking, oh, such a pity. I could ask Gurujī for his blessing for my study of Hindi, and I missed this chance. Because before, I already greeted Gurujī and I left for Dakar. So I’m thinking, no, now I cannot go back to Gurujī. That’s not good. No, I cannot go, I cannot go, I cannot go. And suddenly I see myself, I’m going to Guruji, without having decided. This was not my conscious decision, but I was going to Gurujī. And again, I reverently greeted him and asked in simple Hindi, "Gurujī, your satsaṅg is so beautiful. Mahāprabhujī’s bhajans are so nice, and Swāmījī’s Guruvākyas are so powerful, but I don’t understand Hindi. Please give me your blessing that my effort in learning Hindi will become successful." And Gurujī just smiled with his divine smile, and he lifted up his hand and he said, "Aiśrī Vahat," in his beautiful voice. I cannot do it properly as he was doing. Part 2: A Divine Name and the Guru's Aura I was very happy, and soon after that, I realized it worked. In the āśram, when Swāmījī gave satsaṅg, he often spoke in quite difficult Hindi. I would not be able to repeat any of his sentences, but I understood the meaning—about 95% of it. I then realized this was Gurujī’s blessing. Of course, I had to study, and I am still learning today. I know the success of this learning comes from Gurujī. When I open a book, I have a large picture of Gurujī there. I first greet Gurujī and say, "Gurujī, with your blessing, I am learning Hindi to improve my seva to Swāmījī. Thank you, Gurujī." Shortly after the Jodhpur trip, I left for Europe to earn more money to stay in India. When I returned in autumn, I think in October, I went to see Gurujī the very next day after arriving in Jādan. I asked Gurujī's sevak if it was already time for Purījī and if I could have Gurujī’s darśan. He said, "Yeah, yeah, you can come." So I went to Gurujī, greeted him, and he expressed in simple Hindi that he was happy to see the sādhaka coming back for āśram sevā. He told me to remind him of my name. I told him my foreign name, and Gurujī somehow did not understand. He repeated it in a very confused way and laughed heartily. He said, "Tell me once again." I repeated it, and Gurujī again said it in such an upside-down way and laughed again. Then he said, "You should get a divine name." I was surprised. "Okay, Praṇām Gurujī." I left, and this was on my mind: you should get a divine name. Inwardly, I was somehow against having a Yoga name, thinking it just increases one’s ego to be called by some divine quality. I thought that, but then I put it somewhere in the corner of my mind. After a few days, Swāmījī arrived at the āśram and began preparations for the welcoming function for the Croatian president, Stjepan Mesić. It was to be held where the children now have the cricket field. I happened to be there, and Swāmījī was calling me, "Hey boy, come here, get that stone. Bring it there, put it there, yeah, yeah, good." And then, "Hey boy, this is not good. Take the stone and bring it there." This repeated several times. Śrī Śrī... Swāmījī kindly fulfilled my wish. The very next morning, I went to Gurujī to tell him this great news. I thought Gurujī would be happy; I had done it for him. Again, I asked the sevak for permission to see Gurujī. He said, "Well, Gurujī just had breakfast. Okay, you can go." Gurujī was sitting on the veranda of his room, reading a newspaper. I came, greeted Gurujī, and started to narrate the story to him. When I finished telling him that I had a new name, that he had wanted me to get a new name, and that Swāmījī had given me one, Gurujī put down the newspaper and looked at me. He said, "You are going to Jaipur." I was perplexed. Gurujī answered something completely different from what I was telling him. So once again, I tried to explain, "No, no, Gurujī, Swāmījī gave me a new name." I was perplexed. Gurujī answered something completely different from what I was telling. So once again, I tried to explain, "No, no, Gurujī, Swāmījī gave me a new name." I was perplexed. Gurujī answered something completely different from what I was telling. So once again, I tried to explain, "No, no, Gurujī, I came to tell you that I have a new name." And Gurujī again put the newspaper down and said, "Jaipur, Jaipur." I was completely perplexed. What was going on? The third time, I tried in Hindi to explain what was happening. Gurujī just said, over the corner, when you are going to Jaipur. I was then... okay. So I made a praṇām to Gurujī. I was thinking, how is it possible Gurujī knows? I had just arrived in Jādan a few days ago to do seva. How could he expect me to go to Jaipur? Never mind. A few days passed, and the other disciples, the fellows in the āśram, started to call me by the new name. I was feeling, oh, it’s quite good. Then Swāmījī started to call me by this name. I felt such inner satisfaction to be recognized by him, to suddenly have a name and a place in his consciousness. Of course, it is not Niṣkāma Karma; it is not unselfish when we demand some appreciation from the Guru. But it takes several years, decades, or even lives to achieve the stage of Niṣkāma Karma Yoga. I then realized that for Gurujī, my name was not at all important, but he did it for me, to remove my inner complex and to make me happy. That was another experience with Gurujī. There was one particular thing: whenever I met Gurujī, I could very strongly feel his aura. It was such a strong experience because I was approaching Gurujī always with a completely innocent mind. I understood him as our grandfather, so without any complexes or concepts. Just at a distance of several meters, when I saw Gurujī and was coming to him, at about 15 to 20 meters, I just got inside that aura which was around Gurujī. Then the mind, which in the first years in the ashram was running and jumping like a wild monkey who has just eaten 500 grams of chocolate—the moment I approached Gurujī, it became completely still. It was empty, peaceful. And in the heart, something sweet opened, some bliss, ānanda. That always happened with Gurujī. Somehow I learned that this was my perception of Gurujī. Then in 2003, there was the famous Guru Pūrṇimā with Gurujī and Swāmījī. Swāmījī also spoke about that a few days ago, and it was great. After the Guru Pūrṇimā, Gurujī left for Jaipur. So he only stayed somehow in our hearts and minds, and we remembered him very much. In Jaipur, his health got complicated, and it was decided that Gurujī should go for a knee operation in Delhi. In Delhi, after the operation, there came some complications, and more complications, and more complications. Perhaps you... we knew all that history. We were listening to this news every day at the meetings of karma yogīs, and it was tearing our hearts apart because it is so painful to hear about the suffering of someone we love. Then Gurujī was transferred to Jodhpur, so at least he was physically closer to us. One day, on Diwali, Swāmījī said that whoever wanted could go to have Gurujī’s darśan in Jodhpur. We were very happy. A few of us just jumped into a car and soon arrived in Jodhpur. We met another two bhaktas who had come straight from Europe to Jodhpur to pay their respects to Gurujī. We got some malās and went into the hospital. We did not know where Gurujī’s room was. Someone from the hospital staff went with us. We went into the elevator to an upper floor. When we entered the lift, I could see on the faces of many of us that we were actually a little bit fearful or insecure, somehow waiting for the moment we would see Gurujī’s physical form, who had been suffering so much for a few months, which was making us uneasy. The moment the door of the lift opened, I suddenly felt the heat in the heart of that sweet bhāva, of Gurujī’s presence. I immediately recognized him because for several months I had not had Gurujī’s darśan. So I started inwardly, like a fountain of joy, to call, "Gurujī, Gurujī, you are here, Gurujī, praṇām." I still didn’t know where Gurujī was, but I could feel his presence. As we went through the corridor and approached the room, it grew stronger and stronger. It was going all out of the body. Then we entered the room, and for a moment, we just got frightened because Gurujī, with so many pipes and cables and monitors, looked really like after great suffering, and at that moment, he was unconscious. So it was not at all easy to look from the external view, for the eyes. But again I realized that the radiation of Gurujī was so strong. The room was completely full of that. It was so vivid. I realized, actually no, this is not Gurujī that is here in front of us. Gurujī is all this around us. Gurujī’s Tattva... Purījī, Purījī... For Gurujī’s function, the first anniversary of Holy Gurujī’s Mahāsamādhi, Swāmījī got a big portrait of Gurujī made. I think it was much bigger than the portrait which, in later years, you could see on the samādhi. The first portrait, because at that time the samādhi was still not built—it was open; on the top, it was open to the sky. The portrait would be, I think, three, three and a half meters wide and more than four meters high. It was on a thick steel structure of angles and was very heavy. I think it was on Diwali, or the next day, we went to fix it on Gurujī’s samādhi. Because it was very heavy, we could not lift it. We were six people. Then Swāmī Yogeśpurījī said, "Okay, we will do it with the crane." Two of us—Pūrṇānand, you know, Jadān Pūrṇānand, originally from Slovenia, and me—we went into the crane, not a bucket, but there is like a cage, a crane cage with some fence around. We kept on top of that Gurujī’s portrait, and Yogājī was lifting it up slowly, slowly... As we were holding it, the picture was getting erected with us. When it was standing, we had to hold very, very strongly because it was heavy. Then the other four people who were down started to support. They lifted it to the level of the shoulders, and then Yogājī started slowly to move the crane. The crane was somewhere diagonally behind us. He started to move it as we were approaching the stairs to Gurujī’s samādhi. When we reached the stairs, the crane was suddenly at the end of how close it could reach. If it continued to turn, it would, on the outer trajectory of the circle, go back. We had a few meters more to reach. So we had to push to actually make the rope of the crane like this to get it in the proper place. It was very heavy; we were hardly holding it, and the people from below were supporting us. At that moment, the wind began to blow against us. It started to turn us, to move us. Those people who were down were not able to keep it because it was so heavy and so big. That area started to twist in the wind, and with that, our crane cage. At one moment, as we were holding, we got like this: our hands got just twisted over the head, and still somehow, like this, holding the picture. It was twisting more and more. I realized that in the next moment, if it twisted more, then my elbow ligaments would crack, would break, or I would... Purījī, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Purījī, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Purījī, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ... Like a... yes, Gurujī, Gurujī, help, Gurujī, please help. I started to call strongly. In that moment, the wind stopped, in that very moment. And the next moment, the wind started to blow from the backside, out of the sun, from the backside. With the support of that wind from the backside, we could do what otherwise would have been perhaps quite impossible. Mahāprabhujī kī karāṇā, Mahāprabhujī kī karāṇā, he kevalam. For the whole life, that is what one will always remember because it is the type of happiness which is eternal, which is unspoilable, and which everyone of us who is honestly following the path of yoga in daily life... Not everyone can achieve that, but everyone can be gifted because this comes through the Guru Kṛpā. Very unlucky are those who left the path, who decided that after a few years of practice and struggle, they did not get, or they think they did not get, because there was nothing so obvious, and they left the path. It’s a great pity, and I feel sorry for all Guru brothers and sisters who left their practice of the mantra and their sādhanā and went back to the world to search for happiness. Yes, you can be happy in the world, of course. If you are honest, if you do the proper dharma, you can achieve happiness in the world. But this happiness is limited. It is limited by time. If not within this life, then at the end of this life, it will surely finish. You know, there are two types of happiness: one is Preya, and one is Śreya. Preya is the happiness which comes through the senses. This is the happiness which we can easily get in life. That’s why, actually, people are striving for that because in life it is much more easily obtainable. Sometimes we are just tired and exhausted, and simply to be happy, we need an ice cream. If it is not in the fridge, then we just need to go to the shop. We get our ice cream, and we are happy. Sometimes the happiness is that we want to finish school studies or build a harmonious family. It takes years to achieve this happiness, and you can get it. But at the end of life, when the account is done, then only what is on your spiritual account, that closing balance will be brought forward. That will become the opening balance of your next account. Whatever happiness you enjoyed in life, as in Preya or as worldly happiness, that will become zero. I can say my own example. I was in the Himalayas last year, in autumn, and it was so great because it was my first time there. It was out of the season, so there was nobody. At the height of some four to four and a half thousand meters above sea level, I did not meet a single person all day. The nature was so divine, the sky was so blue, a blue I have never seen. The mountains were so majestic, and the glaciers, and just eagles. The only companions were the eagles. I was feeling such an upliftment... I was thinking, oh, these Himalayas, this is something else than the mountains in Europe, than the Alps, Tatras, Carpathians, Pyrenees, all these places I went. I was thinking, in this Himalaya there is something spiritual, and I was feeling, ah, this is great, this I will carry with myself. But now after one year, I see that this was also just Preya; this was not Śreya. Because after this year, I can just recall the beautiful pictures, but I see them as pictures, as two dimensions or three dimensions, but that inspiration is missing. But when I remember Gurujī, or there is any such experience with Swāmījī, then this is something that nobody will ever remove from the memory, from the heart. Śrī Śrī... We were sitting here just the next day after Diwali in the morning, and Gurujī was about to go somewhere and was in front of this altar. We were about twenty karma yogīs from the ashram, and Gurujī wanted us to sing the bhajan "Ājā Deva Āle Paramasukha." This, this, so it was. On Diwali, we were looking at each other. He was in front of me, Gyaneshwar. So I was expecting Swāmī Gyaneshwar Purījī from Jaipur. I was expecting that he would start somehow. He was the leader. So I looked at him, but he was not at all in condition to sing because his eyes were full of tears, and he was weeping hiddenly. He could not bear to look at the Gurujī who was in pain. In the last years of Gurujī’s life, he was all the time in not good condition. Mahāprabhujī’s Paramparā, Mahāprabhujī’s Paramparā... Mahāprabhujī’s kṛpā, for His blessings, and this is a request to Gurujī that He stay with us, He is guiding us, He gives us His blessings, and He stay with Swāmījī and He gives to Swāmījī His support and His presence all the time, as it is in Gurujī’s bhajan. Śrī Mādhavānanda Prabhu Ānandādijo Ammā Sambhā Sevaka Sevalijo Śrī Mādhavānanda Prabhu Ānandādijo Śrī Mādhavānanda Prabhu Ānanda Dijo Śrī Dīpānambaghvana Kī Jaya Śrī Siddheśvara Mahādeva Kī Jaya Alakhpurīsamadeva Kī Jai, Hindu Dharm Samrāṭ Satguru Svāmī Śimanavananda Purījī Mahārāj Kī Jai, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramaṁ Svāmī Śimaiśvarānanda Purījī Gurudeva Kī Jai, Svāmī Puṇyānanda Bhāratījī Mahārāj Kī Jai.