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Oṁ Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ, Sarve Santu Nirmayāḥ, Sarve Bhadrāṇi Paśyantu, Mā Kaścid Duḥkha Bhāgbhavet. Oṁ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Salutations to the Cosmic Light, the Lord of our hearts, omniscient and omnipresent. In His Divine Presence, a very beautiful good evening, dear brothers and sisters. The mantra I chanted, "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ," comes from the ancient texts of India, the Vedas and Upaniṣads. "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ" means "all should be happy." No one should suffer. This noble way of thinking, as the Upaniṣad said, is that all should be healthy, all should live in peace, and all may live in harmony. Slovenia is celebrating twenty years of Yoga in Daily Life, and this is the first program from where this event begins. It is a very significant day, and for this, I would like to welcome with great honor Mr. Janez Pezljar. He is a well-known personality in Slovenia, in ex-Yugoslavia, as well as in Europe and the European Union. As he told me, we had a few minutes together and exchanged our thoughts. You know, in English they say the first impression is forever the last impression. When you meet someone, if one is closed or one is open, that shows everything. It is no wonder that he holds such a high position in a very important organization, an NGO in this world. The whole world knows what the Red Cross is. About three decades ago, Gorbachev, the ex-president of the Soviet Union, established another organization called the Green Cross. When we see the Red Cross, why is it red? It is all very clear. Mr. Janez told us: the most precious liquid in this world is blood. It is not easy to produce this liquid—only for humans, by humans; for the animals, by the animals. One and a half months ago, I was flying from Melbourne to New Zealand. To save time, Dayālpuri was with me for three weeks traveling around Australia, but we couldn't find five minutes to speak peacefully about this program. So in the aeroplane, I was leaning on the chair to rest, and someone touched my shoulder with a laptop. It was Dayālpuri. He said, "I hope, Swāmījī, now we have time to discuss the program in Slovenia." At 13,000 feet above in the sky, traveling at 850 kilometers per hour, we talked about blood. Dayālpuri asked me, "From this tour, Swāmījī, if we make some kind of monetary profit, to which organization should we donate?" You know, every time we give to different organizations—blind society, cancer society, and so on. But money is nothing. One wise American Indian said, "The last tree will be chipped off, and the last fish will die. Oh man, then you will realize that you can't eat your dollars." You can give millions of dollars, but to a person who is dying without blood, the dollars will not help. That person needs blood. So I said, "Well, let me think it over." I looked out the window of the aeroplane and had some visions, which I will not tell you. I said to him straight, "We will donate blood." "We will donate blood?" he asked. To whom? I said to some hospitals, some health organizations, or the Red Cross. Is that true? Yes, he was there. Then I said, "How will we do it?" He said, "In Slovenia, it is strictly prohibited. You cannot give the blood." This is not completely true, but anyway... He said, "Yes, you can give blood, but there are strict rules, like screening." So probably true? This is true. And he said he was not sure if people would appreciate this because our hospitals have enough blood. I said it is never enough, and this must not be only for a Slovenian hospital; it can be used anywhere in the world. So we began to make research, and the result came. The result is today in front of you in the form of Mr. Janez. Still, we didn't give blood, but the result is already there. When we donate blood, you can't imagine how beautiful it will be. You don't know the person who will get it, and the person doesn't know from whom that blood is coming. But his heart, his soul, and his relatives will bless you for saving his life. That is something great. This is part of Yoga in Daily Life, and the movement is included in the organization Sri Swami Madhavānanda World Peace Council. This year, beginning of next year, sorry, there will be a human rights conference in Budapest, especially targeted towards the Roma society. You see, without water you can live some days; without food you can live some weeks or months; but without blood you can't live a day. This is one of the great things we can give. Knowledge is endless; every time you can learn new things. Just now we learned, we got wisdom from Mr. Janez: the most precious liquid in the world. That's great. Great to know. We knew, but we did not know—means we were not aware. Of course, there are some precautions. If someone has a certain disease, they will not be accepted to give blood, and you should be between certain ages. That will be informed to you. Now, it is not limited within the boundary of Slovenia. You can also, with this paper, donate blood in your own country or where you are living. For one year or one and a half years, there will be this action of donating blood throughout the whole world by Yoga in Daily Life, and then we will see how many liters of blood we donate. So you see, this is also part of Yoga in Daily Life. This is exactly what I spoke in the morning. Maybe yesterday, an accident happened in Novo Mesto with one cyclist. The ambulance came, and how they were running, the helpers, the people from the ambulance, to save the life of that person. Not that they are paid money and that's why they should run and help, but it was that mercy in their heart which forced them to run and help this person. That kind of action, or act, is more than prayer. So, helping hands have more value than folded hands. I thank you already in advance, in the name of all those who will receive this blood, that they can live again healthy and happy. And God bless you. This is also a spiritual act. I know I will get hundreds of questions about this because there are some people who are very against donating blood, and there are organizations that don't want to accept it and don't want to give it. We are living in a free, democratic country. In this modern world, everyone has the freedom to think and do, but I tell you only from the viewpoint of moral, ethic, and "love your neighbor." We say it in the Upaniṣads, and we say it in the Testament also. So if anyone asks you this question, or if you have in your mind this question about donating blood—is it good or not?—I would say it is good, but you should be declared as a healthy person. They will ask you questions, and then they will see if you are fit or not. So who am I to decide? I cannot. I can only inspire you with this word: please donate blood. This is the slogan we have from our Austria Hospital in India: "You too can save lives." That's it. Thank you very much, and thank you, Mr. Janez, for your kindness and your precious time to come here. Of course, you are most welcome to attend the whole program. If you are in a hurry, there are different things. And we will have a lot of blood, as it is to save life throughout the world under the umbrella of Yoga in Daily Life with the support or protection of the Red Cross. Thank you. There's one story I remember from long ago; it was a beautiful story, and I think this story suits today's atmosphere. Sometimes we don't know what to do; we are in a dilemma. One great yogī was sitting under a tree and meditating, praying to God. One bird came and sat on his knee. The yogī was surprised and very happy. A bird came by itself and sat on my knee. Normally, animals do not trust humans. The bird may sit on the head of a tiger or on the back of a tiger or a lion, but never, even by mistake, will a bird fly to a human and sit on the head. That must mean the human has a negative energy radiating. Someone said the most dangerous animal or creature on this planet is the human. But the human got many spiritual injections, philosophical injections, religious injections; therefore we are intoxicated in that. The yogī looked at that bird, and the bird was speaking to the yogī: "Oh man, I came to you. Please save my life." The yogī looked at this bird and said, "Of course, my dear, I will protect you. I will save your life." "Are you saying only, or will you do really?" "I will do really. You are safe now. No one can kill you. Enjoy. This lap belongs to you." And in the next minute, one big bird came and sat in front of the yogī, about eight meters away. A hawk, exhausted and tired, said to the yogī, "Please, sir, save my life. I am not capable of moving or walking or flying." The yogī said, "Yes, my dear, I will save your life, don't worry." The hawk said, "Sir, I'm hungry. With very hard work, I traced this bird because this bird is my food. My food is with you. Please give my food to me. This is only a question of some minutes; otherwise, I will die out of hunger." The small bird was very scared. Its heart was beating, raising up higher and higher, and it moved more toward the yogī's body. "Please save me, save my life." Now, if he protects this bird, the other one will die. And if he wants to protect the other one, then this little one has to die. And he had given the promise to both: "Yes, I will protect you." So he took this small bird in his hand and measured in his hand how heavy this bird was. He took a knife and cut his own flesh from his body, the muscle. He threw that muscle to the hawk. "Here is your food." The hawk ate and flew away. In the next minute, it is said, God appeared. He touched the hand on the upper arm of that yogī, and he was healed. There was no wound at all, and there was no small bird. God said, "This was a test for your life. How much are you ready to protect the life of others?" Sometimes in life we have certain conditions or situations where we don't know what to do. But use your Viveka (discrimination), and God will help you. So we should be ready to help all creatures, not only humans. Ready to create more and more vegetation, protect the forest, protect the rivers, protect the lakes, and protect the ocean. And we have to protect the mountains. There's all this modern technology which is creating these concrete buildings, skyscrapers, destroying the mountains for the cement and for the gravel—many things. So let us think in this way: to be a protector, not a destroyer. It is said in the Bhagavad Gītā, God Kṛṣṇa: every step will be counted. And Mahāprabhujī said, "If you are 10 meters far from me, then I am also 10 meters far from you." So it depends on you, how much you are capable of serving someone, of giving something. It must not be only blood. There are many things which we can give: cloth, furniture, money, food, a house. Many things we can give. And if you are not able to give anything, then at least give forgiveness. That is also very great. As Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing." Only a great one can do this. And to forgive also means to forget it. Otherwise, in your blood, your blood is boiling in the fire of revenge. This fire of revenge goes from generation to generation and destroys humanity and destroys countries, using the name of religion and using the name of politics. So, world peace through spirituality. And spirituality means not narrow thinking. For a doctor, it doesn't matter if one is a Hindu, Jew, Christian, or Muslim. The doctor should treat equally. Similarly, for world peace and spirituality, there should be no duality of culture, nation, and religion. This is what I find in Slovenia, especially all these young people; they are very much working towards this world peace. Now I want to introduce you to another great personality, Swami Premanandajī. Premanandajī is coming from Salzburg, Austria. He had been living many, many years with Gurujī, more than I lived with Gurujī. He served Gurujī for many years, and he has his little guru brother. His name is Swāmī Avatārapurī. And Avatārpuri tells me, for the last whole week, he wants to talk, he wants to talk. So, I don't know what he wants to speak. So now, first is, I think, Avatārpuri jī, no? First, Premanand jī will come. So thank you, Premanand jī. Welcome. Welcome, Swami Premanand. One chair, please. Bring one chair here, and the microphone here. Swami Premananda's Address Mike, you have it here. It really feels nice to be important, but I guess it's more important to be nice. A few days ago, one of my guru brothers and I were talking together in India, and we were counting the years since I came to India. I will not tell you now how many years, but he told me, "You must be a little bit crazy to stay so long in India." Well, I didn't care much about his comment. I was more concerned about the fact that maybe he's right. When I first came to India, it was in '82 or '83, with Swāmījī and a group of Swāmījī's disciples—you know, the cream, the first disciples. Now, many of them are either not anymore. But this first journey to India is very vivid in my mind. The real reason why I wanted to go with Swāmījī there was, as soon as I saw a picture of Gurujī, I felt I have to meet him. Not knowing exactly why, it was maybe some curiosity or something that pulled me there. Coming to India at that time, it was a different India than nowadays. Some things didn't change, like the buses. I remember the first trip from Delhi to Jaipur in the bus with Swāmījī, Gurujī, and a group of people. In every Indian bus, it is sometimes easier to stand than to sit. So I stood in the middle of the bus. Swāmījī turned to me and told me that my yogic name would be Premānanda. So I asked, "Did you understand? Do you understand what it means?" And I said, "Yes, somehow I understand." This "somehow understanding" is like, you say, it's almost like an apple. What does it mean, an apple? Well, my intellect was a little bit trained by my studying philosophy, and I was wondering what it means, Premānanda. Is that who I am? You know, there is a very famous German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. He put four questions. His whole philosophy you can pack in four questions: Where are we coming from? Where are we going? What can I know? And who am I? The first three questions, most of us know. We know. But the fourth one, of course, it's a very interesting one, and it has a big question mark behind it. Maybe it's the driving force of all of us to practice yoga. Well, the trip to Jaipur was very exciting. You know, with an Indian bus ticket, you get some things free, like natural air conditioning or a good massage. The whole journey, the whole trip took two months. There were many interesting experiences, a blessing to travel with Gurujī and Swāmījī. After this, I told myself, never again, India. But of course, someone cut out that "N" from the "never." So the next trip was already programmed, and it was a more private, a more near experience that I had, because there were only five or six of us traveling with Swāmījī and Gurujī in a small car in the middle of April, May, through Rājasthān. So, very interesting, you know, who knows a little bit about India, how hot it can be. After my studying, finishing studying, I went to India. And after about six months of traveling with Swāmījī, Swāmījī suggested I stay with Gurujī. At that time, I had no idea what it meant. You know, the surgeon will also not tell you exactly what he will do before the operation. He will say yes a little bit here and there, and so on. But at that time, it was not important, and I was innocent. So, the first time with Gurujī was really, really hard. And after that, it became harder. But you know, when you go through certain hardship, through certain tapasyā, something can come out. And once you are with Gurujī, there is no other choice; either you stay or you go. There are only these two things. There was nothing between, so I had to find some way to survive. And there was only one thing that I had to keep in my mind, and that was, first of all, Gurujī. So I was traveling with Gurujī around, visiting many bhaktas, and could observe very closely, in a close approximation, how Gurujī's life actually is. Of course, there was a curtain, and he didn't allow me to look behind it; otherwise, it would not be fun. What impressed me first of all was his simplicity. You know, when you live a simple life, there is something growing inside, but it is otherwise covered by your comfort. As it is said in India: simple life and high thinking. With Gurujī, everything was simple: his appearance, his surrounding, everything. Even nowadays, when you go to Nainital Ashram, you can see that there is nothing unnecessary around. Simplicity was in his way of addressing himself. Nothing artificial, nothing unnecessary in his dress, in his few possessions he had. Another thing that impressed me very much was his bhakti, his dedication, his complete surrender towards Mahāprabhujī. I was wondering how you can get there. Is it possible in one life? And I don't think so it's possible. Of course, it has to be possible in one life, in some one life. But I assume that to reach that spiritual height which Gurujī had, you need at least a few lives of selfless service, a few lives of good tapasyā and meditation. And of course, a proper teacher, a guru. Without that, it is not possible. And that is exactly what yoga makes: selfless service, karma yoga, that we all know; meditation, what Swāmījī teaches; and one guide, one guru, one teacher, who holds you to the mirror in front of you, and he shows you your ego. And who has the key? It's also in other traditions, like you have in Christianity, Petrus, you see, with the big key. It looks a little bit rusty nowadays because maybe it's not used so much. So, while with Gurujī, many things changed also in me. Actually, it was a very subtle process, and I myself could not observe it so clearly. But there were people there, after two or three months, seeing them again, they told me, "Look, something has changed in you." And it was not my effort, I tell you. I tried to do what I had to do as good as possible; the rest was everything with Gurujī. He knew exactly my mind. Not only one time, it happened that I was a little bit depressed, you know, feeling lonely in India. It's hot, it's hard. He walked a little bit to the side and was thinking. And suddenly my mind changed. I felt light, happy, content. So when I came back to Gurujī, he was just looking at me and said, "Better now?" And he knew exactly what was going on. He didn't need to look out of the window to see what you were doing or how you felt. So everything that came from him was prasād. Once Gurujī was sitting on his bed and eating his dāl and chapātī. As you know, most probably many of you, sometimes it happens that a small stone is left in the dhal. So Gurujī was biting the stone, put it on the plate, and said nothing. I was sitting beside. After some time, Gurujī took the stone and put it on my head—small, not big. I took it up, looked in my hand, and Gurujī asked, "Good?" I said, "No Gurujī, no good." Gurujī said, "Yes, very good. Everything that comes from me is prasāda." So we have to understand that even if it is sometimes painful, often painful, the Guru is showing you the ego; he is showing you where you are standing. If he would be nice all the time, okay, he will say okay, he will give a good donation or whatever it is. But if he is strict and precise, it's not so easy. Most of you know. And he exposes your ego. So with Gurujī it was very easy, but difficult. And with Swāmījī, it is difficult but easy. Many of my friends who were also in the seva of Gurujī, they all had different experiences, and for all of them it was a blessing. It was very difficult to stay with Gurujī in his seva because it was so strict. There was only the truth. And whenever some branches of your brain started to grow toward the Māyā, Gurujī came and cut it. So the survival rate was not very high to stay with Gurujī. People came, people went, but that also had its reason, because Gurujī didn't want to keep one person in his service for too long. Not only that he couldn't stay so long, but he didn't want to, most probably, because his love was so big and he wanted to give. So he didn't want to develop any bondage, any attachment. Everybody got something, according to his capacity. And whenever I speak with those who were in the seva of Gurujī, we talk about, and I feel, and we communicate that still everybody is nourished by this energy, by the memory, not only by the memory, but by the blessing that is still working. So it was and is a great blessing to have been in the service of Gurujī. You know, time has changed, and things are moving. The quality of the bus has also changed. The audience is different. Now I can see that there are many more young people. Well, Dublin went out of the bus. And I wonder, what's better, to be young or to be old? To be older means to have less time before. But it also means to have already made more mistakes. So I leave it to you to judge which is better. Nowadays when I travel, I travel on a comfortable bus. And that is due to Avatār Purījī. It's a new generation, and I tell you, it's really comfortable to travel in a good bus, in an air-conditioned bus. And I tell you, if you don't have the chance or the blessing or whatever it is to stay with an enlightened Master, just take your children with you. Children, as a teacher, they will show you how to put your finger in your nose without being ashamed or feeling guilty. And I'm sure you will pluck it up. So, thank you for listening. I hope if I said something wrong, please excuse me. If I said something right, also please excuse me. I would like to give the words to my Guru-brother, Avatār Purījī. He definitely has some very interesting things to tell you. One thing I wanted to tell you more. As you know, in the remembrance of Gurujī, there is a college in Jhāḍaṇ, Śrī Madhavānand College. We have a school there. And as India is changing, so is also the status and the requirement of its people. We have a project that is called Gyān Putra. It supports children from poor families, and especially girls, to attend the school. They get free education, free school dress, and free books. As everything changes in India, so also does the price for food and for education. And for those who support this Gyān Putra project, we would like very much to thank you and to consider this fact: things are changing, so also the thought we have to put inside. There is a huge inflation, and prices rose in the last two years by about 40 percent. So we would like to ask you, do not be angry with us if we request you to adjust this vacuum and your support for the Gyān Putra project. Thank you very much. Now, someone else is waiting for something. Sit up. Naki Jai! Swami Avatārapuri's Address Guru Brahmā, Guru Viṣṇu, Guru Devo Maheśvara, Guru Sākṣāt Parabrahma, Tasmai Śrī Gurave Namaḥ. Dhyānamūlaṁ Guru Mūrti, Pūjāmūlaṁ Guru Pādam, Mantramūlaṁ Guru Vākyaṁ, Mokṣamūlaṁ Guru Kṛpā. Oṁ Dīpyotī Paramama, Dīpaṁ Sarve Mānavaṁ, Dīpaṁ Nasaste Sanyama, Dīpaṁ Sarve Satyam. Today, Avatārpuri jī is going to tell us something about God Rāma. He knows many things, but I said to him, "Tell us something about God Rāma, no?" So, a long time ago, a long time ago. Long time ago, there was a king called Daśaratha. He was the king of Ayodhyā. He had four sons. And their names were Śrī Rām, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna. Many years ago, there lived a king who had four sons: Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata, and Śatrughna. The oldest brother was Śrī Rām. Shri Ram's mother was Kaushalyā and his stepmothers were Kaikeyī and Sumitrā. Kauśalyā and stepmother Kaikeyī and Sumitrā. They were living all together, happy. And wherever Ram went, they were chanting the svastivācana mantra, "svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ," okay? And then you can finish. Then tell quickly. To the forest for fourteen years. Sri Ram went to the forest. In the forest, he met Hanuman. They went to Sugrīva. Then Sugrīva became the friend of Śrī Rāma. Then Śrī Rāma killed the demon Bāli. Then Śrī Rām went to Śrī Laṅkā. Then Sītā was kidnapped by Rāvaṇa. Then there was a fight between Śrī Rāma and Rāvaṇa. Then Śrī Rāma killed Rāvaṇa. Then, with the Puṣpaka Vimāna, they came back to Ayodhyā, and they were welcoming with the mantra, "Oṁ Śastino Indra, Ratasāvaha, Śastināpūka, Viśvavedāha, Śastinastarakṣava, Ariṣṭanemi, Śastinobraspa, Tīrthadadu." Om Śānti, Śānti,... To cross the very big ocean, which is not easy. There are many waves of emotion. Sometimes, like a hurricane. Our boat is fluttering on the waves. Also, within that water, the ocean, there are numbers of different creatures which can be friendly but also can be very dangerous, like an enemy. The Creator has created 8.4 million different kinds of creatures, divided into three categories: Jalchar, Thalchar, and Nabchar—the creatures in the water, on the earth, and in the space. These 8.4 million different creatures, out of them one is the human. All this together makes one cycle, and that cycle is known as birth and death. Tibetan philosophy and Buddhism, what they speak about also is karma and dharma. There is Dharmarāja, and there is Yamarāja. The Dharmarāja is a king of justice, and Yamarāja is the king of the dead. Now, the Yama is the dead. And he is holding in his mouth a big circle, like a mālā. And this circle is moving clockwise. Everyone has to go through the mouth of death. For death, it doesn't matter how you will die—with suffering, pain, or a very easy death. Now, this individual soul, which is floating on the waves of time, through the endless universe, experiences happiness, pleasantness, or unhappiness and unpleasant things. So pain and pleasure, these are the two sources or two banks of the river. It is that water which is flowing between two banks, one of which is pain and one of which is pleasure. And so, this life is like this. Out of 8.4 million different creatures, the human got a very powerful tool, and that's called intellect. And this intellect can be educated. With education, the human develops human qualities. That human comes to know that I am the human. Think every day, "I am a human." Only this one thought will protect you from many negative things. Can I do this as a human? I am human. Second, what does it mean for me to be a human? Do you know the value of the human? Did you ever think what it means for you to be a human? And what makes me human? What makes me human? Education. Satsaṅg. Society. If you are with an alcoholic person, you will also become alcoholic. If you are with someone who is abusing drugs, you will also begin to abuse drugs. Or what they call nowadays, if you are with the terrorists, then you will also get education, and you will also become a terrorist. And if you are with a good person, you will become a good person. Education that develops the human intellect. The education should be free, not with narrow thinking. Full of tolerance, understanding, and helping. So now, which qualities are these that make me human? And how to develop these qualities. Finally, what is the mission of human life? Two months ago, nearly, in Melbourne, in Brisbane āśram, one man was singing bhajan in Hindi. He was from Australia, originally Indian. And in one bhajan, he had one sentence: "Who was that stupid one who taught us fighting?" Because human nature is not to fight. But as Swami Premanandjī said, simple life. When the human discovers position, power, and money, then the fight begins. Otherwise, before, it was not there in India. It is said, when the wise one meets the wise, then they are talking about wisdom. Agyānī se agyānī mile ke ghumake laṭ. When the donkey meets the donkey, then you know how they are kicking. So ignorance is that which lets us fight. And it is the wisdom which lets us unite and live happily together. And so the mission of human life is to get that knowledge, to get or achieve liberation, self-realization. So not only humans, every creature is struggling in their life. And our boat is in the middle of the ocean. And we can only pray that we will land on the mainland very safely. We believe there is a God, and we trust in his divine will. And we do believe there is a spiritual development. And we do believe also that we will be liberated. We believe and respect all holy saints, their words, and their books. And we do believe that nothing will go with us when we go from this world. What we said is, "Mine and thine," all will remain here. When you were born, you had a closed fist, but when you will die, you will have an open fist. So you can't take anything with you. With you will go your prayers and good deeds, what you do in this world. Śiva helping, serving. The highest realism, the highest principle, is service. Especially to them, those who need us, and in painful situations, be there. You know, how your friends and your parents took care of you when you were small. Now you are grown, and you are independent. But you know, one day your friends and parents will also be old, and they will need your help also. So, what you can do best in your life, if you cannot do more, is to be there when your parents need you. Or your friends or the neighbors, to be a help for the helpless. That is the best way to God. Otherwise, you are praying and making ceremonies and many things, and you criticize other religions or other cultures, or fighting with other people. There is no wisdom, there is no love of God. We should always be there for those who need us. And therefore it is said, "My Lord, I will be Thine." Devotees may come and devotees may go, but my Lord, I will be Thine. May I go far, farther than the sky, but still, my Lord, I will be Thine. Even if I die, look into my eyes. They will mutely say, "I will be Thine." And that's called love. And that love unites, and ignorance divides. So I wish you a very pleasant and very good night. God bless you with good health, happy days, and long life. Adio.