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Part 1: The Living Wisdom of Self-Inquiry and Present-Moment Awareness Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Oṃ Sahanā vavatu, Sahanau bhunaktu, Sahavīryaṃ karavāvahai, Tejasvi nāvadhītam astu, Mā vidviṣāvahai. Oṃ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Oṃ Pūrṇam adaḥ, Pūrṇam idaṃ, Pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate, Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya, Pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate. Oṃ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jai, Śrī Śrī Alakh Purī Jī, Siddha Pīṭh Paramparā Kī Jai, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Paramahaṁsa, Mahāśvarānandajī, Gurujī Deva Kī Jai. Hari Om. Dear brothers and sisters around the whole world, I am happy to meet you this evening. Today is a special day. It is the day of the Guru and also Ekādaśī, which is also a very special spiritual day. Swamiji is at a function outside today, so he gave us the task to bring some words to you, which will help you in your spirituality. My name is Sādhvī Śāntī. I think many of you know me, and I have been with Swāmījī for 34 years now. There are some people who are immediately in contact with the Master, who can immediately see the sun which is shining. I mean the sun of wisdom, which is shining out of a real Master through his words, his deeds, his techniques. He shows that he is a master. And I am, and I was, so glad to meet the right master, and his name is Swami Maheshwarananda. I’m happy that he is in my life with me in this life and will be forever in all lives with me. You know, I am now maybe dressed in orange, and that means I have a certain determination. Those who are dressed in orange, their main purpose is to speak about God. This is the main purpose. So it’s an honor for me to go on this path and try to speak to others about God, and also maybe to give my experience of this, my spiritual life with Swamijī. And you know, I was not the one who immediately recognized Swamiji. I know that some people in our large yoga group, immediately when they see Swāmījī, feel a connection toward him. And they recognize this, but in my case it was not like this. A long, long time ago, I could not understand the words of wisdom which he was speaking. And it took me a very long time to understand this. But then I understood that through him, there is another force speaking. Not he is a person, not he is a doer, but God is the doer, and he is an instrument, to tell me, and that’s why I met him. In these long years, Swāmījī gave so many lectures. When we started in Austria with yoga and daily life, he gave in every class afterwards, he spoke about jñāna and about rāja yoga and many yoga things, many words of Hindi and Sanskrit, which were very difficult for us to understand. But he always spoke and spoke, and gave and gave. And after many, many years of practicing, he wrote a book. In this book, he gave all the secrets that a master can give to the disciple. A real master is never hiding anything. He will always give you. And this book, it is about the hidden powers in humans, the chakra book. And in this book is all wisdom; all knowledge of Swamiji is inside. So it doesn’t matter if you are practicing Yoga in Daily Life or not; try to have this book and read it through and through. You know, we have one meditation technique which is called self-inquiry meditation, and I don’t know how many of you practice this meditation technique. It goes on for about two years, and step by step you are going inside yourself, and you are analyzing yourself, self-inquiry. You ask yourself, "What is the development in my chakra, in the lower chakra, in the next chakra, in the Anāhata chakra, in Viśuddhi, and so on?" And you purify yourself when you are making this technique of self-inquiry. It’s a wonderful, a wonderful technique, and I can suggest to you, only in your yoga classes, try to find a teacher, try to find one who can lead you slowly and carefully through this technique. I was thinking that Swāmījī never will give this technique in a book, because also I am maybe a little narrow-minded. And I was thinking he would keep this very secret. But I was very astonished when I opened the yoga book, and I also opened the Yoga in Daily Life book, the Sikh Yoga in Daily Life book. The whole technique is described inside. So, all of us, we are very fortunate that we have such precious diamonds in our hands. You know, the time before, when our master lineage, Mahāprabhujī, Śrī Devpurījī, Alakhpurījī, they didn’t have this advantage that we have now. We have everything. We have a master who is teaching. We have books which we can read. We have videos which are teaching. We have CDs to hear. We have everything. And still, we are maybe a little less serious than our previous serious people. Because nowadays, we are so much in so many different ways, our mind is going. When I was a child, I was born in the countryside, and there were just potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and peas. I think that was all. There was not really rice. We had bread and milk. That was it. But it was wonderful, it was perfect. There was no supermarket, there was no television, there was no radio, there was no click-click, click-click,... drink-drink, this all was not, I think there was no telephone even, I cannot remember. So this all was not. We had much more time to be in nature, much more time to be together with others. Now it is the opposite. We are mostly only on machines in our jobs. And we are not much in society. And if we are in societies, we are mostly in families. Chanting is one of the most important things which you can do. And in the satsaṅg yesterday, Swāmījī said that bhakti yoga is this way of yoga which will lead you to liberation in this Kali Yuga. And that’s why all forms of bhakti yoga are very important for us to practice. And one of the easiest is the singing and the satsaṅg. So, we will in this period of time also sing some bhajans. I just want to come back on this book. It is not a normal book. It is a book full of wisdom. And you don’t need another book, I think, to practice, because everything is inside, all exercises, all explanations, so many things are inside. So I will try some chakras to make some practice also with you, all together. I wanted to tell you also that on the spiritual path we have many experiences. Of course, in this way and in the other way. As we have when we are going into the high mountains, we need guidance. We need someone who will help us to cross the rivers, to go over the stones, and to avoid difficult things. And this is the guide. And it is important that you have confidence in your guide. So, if you choose a guide, don’t stop; just continue to go with him, and he will lead you to your aim. On the way, he will show you all techniques: how to remove the stones, how to overcome the waterfalls, and how you are going over the ice, the glaciers, the stones, everything. And it is important to know the aim, where you are going. It’s important to know on which mountain you want to go. Mount Everest, or you want to go on the small hill of the Vienna Woods or Ljubljana Woods? Not an idea. So it’s important to know, because then you have to make more or less effort. So, it’s important for us to focus on the same, and then slowly, step by step, to go toward it. Swamiji, in his system, Yoga in Daily Life, is really very, very careful in his guidance, and every yoga teacher from us, and we are thousands of yoga teachers around the world, we are very much trained in guiding very, very slowly, the people on the spiritual path. For instance, if in the sport—again, I come to the sport—if you in one day want to run 10 kilometers and the months before you didn’t do anything, you will not achieve it. So you have to train slowly, slowly, slowly. You have to prepare yourself, and in the same way, it is in spirituality. It’s not that we are making jogging, but in a way, we are making jogging. Because there are, in front of us, I don’t know how we call this, you know, we are jumping over the hurdles. So, we are in front of us, we have hurdles, and it’s a training. First, God gives us small hurdles. When you jump over the first hurdles, then he’s, you know, our trainer on the side. You know, I was a swimmer, training in swimming. Until now, I remember, the trainer was going beside me, and I was nearly just dying. But he said, "Go on, go on, go on." And I was saying, "I cannot, I die." I don’t get air, I cannot move anymore, but he said, "Go on, go on." And in the same way, this is a master. He is standing on the side. First hurdle, let’s say you cannot go to India. You wanted to go, but you cannot go, so okay. First hurdle, second, then after some time, you overcome this. You understand there must be some reason behind it, and then the next hurdle. You know the hurdles, I don’t have to explain to you what a hurdle is. So the hurdles, as you progress more, as you are more trained, the higher the hurdles are. So don’t be astonished if hurdles are coming on your way. But what happens when you are jumping over the hurdles? What happens? You become more trained, isn’t it? You become stronger. And that’s what He wants. He wants you to become stronger with each and every hurdle that He gives you. So, actually, we have to be very thankful for our training partners, you know. It doesn’t matter what it is. It can be family members, friends, wherever. Wherever we have difficulties, it’s a training. God is standing on the side. Manage, you manage or not. And then I can tell you, there is a very, very positive aspect to this. You know, he gives you only the hurdles over which you can jump. That’s important to know because sometimes the struggling is so strong, or the suffering, that you think you will never overcome this. But it’s not right. You always have the force and the strength to overcome this. This is a rule. This is a spiritual law which is always and always right. And this is a very good message which I can give to you. Because also in my life I was thinking, "Never, never, ever will I overcome this." But I overcame. So life is actually beautiful. Hurdles are beautiful. You agree? Thank you. And also in the chakras, we develop our wisdom, our jñāna. In the lower chakras, they are in the mūlādhāra, unconscious things which we do not have so much control over. In the svādhiṣṭhāna chakra, all our emotions, karma, krodha, mada, lobha are our daily bread, or not bread, or fast food. Daily hurdles, and in the next steps, purification takes place. One of the most important chakras to develop the divine chakras is the Anāhata Chakra, the chakra of the heart. So, at the same time, we are overcoming the lower chakras and proceeding to the higher chakras; our jñāna, our knowledge—but not the knowledge of the books—our understanding grows, and that is our biggest help. So in the Ājñā Chakra, there are only two lotuses with two petals, thank you, petals. And this is a petal of the jñāna. And with this eye, or the third eye, you are able to understand everything. And when you reach this level, then there is the end of the karmas and also the end of the suffering. So, to achieve the Ājñā Chakra is one of the levels, the first, the biggest mountain to achieve. The other ones will come with God’s blessing. One of the very important exercises in daily life is Svādhyāya. You know, many of you, what does Svādhyāya mean? That means studying. But in this way, I don’t mean studying the books, which is very important. Every day, to increase our knowledge, it is good and very important to read the holy book. Can be one sentence, three sentences, a sentence, ten sentences. And this is a nourishment for the whole day. Not only our body needs nourishment, but also our mind and our soul need nourishment. And this is the best in the morning. Our sādhanā, this is the purification of all our phenomena on all levels, visible or invisible. All are practicing what we have: āsanas, prāṇāyāma, meditation. This is purifying us and making us clear, removing darkness. So this Svādhyāya, what I mean, is to study your life. We are taking so much time for so many things in daily life. We are taking care of this, of that. And nowadays, so many activities are there, more than in ancient times. But once a day, for five to ten minutes, we should take time just for ourselves to think things over. It can be when you come home, or sometime in the afternoon when your day is already past a little bit, or in the evening before sleeping, but not in sleeping because then you are not very conscious. So, just think over what happens on this day. The big question which is written in all books is: Who am I? From where do I come? Where will I go? This, you can make an expose, you know, beautiful. You can copy it from Google, Facebook, or some book or library. This is not a big thing, but to realize this, it’s a long way. And first of all, we have to realize how I am. That is the main thing. And to realize this, it’s not enough just to say, "Oh, today I was great." I made a perfect cooking. I was singing a great bhajan. This will not progress anything. But I have to look where I have been angry today. Why have I been angry? With whom have I been angry? How have I been angry? And then I should remember, Swāmījī always teaches, and all masters teach, "Ahiṃsā paramo dharma." So the love actually is the first principle. The first principle is love. And Mahāprabhujī, his golden teacher, says, "Only love is the door to liberation." So, how am I doing to myself also? How am I treating myself? I am telling myself all the time, oh, you are stupid, you are really stupid, Śāntī. Or you are, I don’t know, what could I be? I am a terrible person, I am lazy, very lazy. So, you understand me. And just the thing which is the most disagreeable on this day, you should try to analyze. And if there is another person involved, forgive the others, but forgive also yourself for being angry, and do not judge the other one. See, the other one is also just a divine soul like you, and it is also not in his hand how he was acting or reacting. So you have to understand, it is not the mistake of the others. What have I to do with this, how he was reacting, or how it was going on with him? Always, you have to look inside of yourself. And when inside we become purer, more kind, and more loving, then also our outside feel will change. So, that’s why I request, if you can, take five to ten minutes daily, and it’s also really very, very good if you can write it down, like a spiritual diary, your notes about you, about what happens, what lecture, what did you learn out of it, and also don’t judge yourself. If you have been angry, say, "Okay, in this moment I could not, but maybe tomorrow I can be better." So, like this, I have been training myself for many years. And I can tell you, if you are doing like this, then slowly, slowly, you are progressing. I don’t say that I’m an angel now, but slowly, slowly I become a little less lazy, a little less angry, a little less careless, and so on. But first of all, we have to see where our point is, no? We are all like gardeners, and in the garden you can learn a lot; in nature you can learn a lot. See, if you have a field where there is grass and stone and herbs which you don’t need, what do you have to do? You have to pull out everything, and only when the field is completely clear, when you put out the wrong grass, the stones, the roots, everything, when everything is clear, then you can spread the seeds. And what is the seed? These are the seeds of love, of kindness, of tolerance, of humbleness, and then they will grow. But if you put these seeds in the middle of everything, nothing will happen. They will die. They will die. Because the other ones are stronger. So, that’s why yoga is the principle that never sleeps. This is one of my favorite quotes of yoga: we have each and every moment to be aware, just awareness. And you can see this also in nature, you know, if you go, nature is always changing, always changing. And if you look at birds or animals, they are completely aware of every moment, and they are living in the present moment. And also, this is a very important thing: to live in the present moment, to act in the present moment, and to think in the present moment. There is such a nice little story of one Chinese, I don’t know if a sādhu there, Chinese wise man, Chin Chin Chang, and he was a very wise and famous man. And Dara was, you know, a professor, and he wanted to know many things. He knew this wise man, and he came to him, and he was a very nervous person, this professor. And he went to this Chinese wise man and told him, "Please, can you tell me, how can I be like you, so peaceful and so satisfied?" When I came near to you, I immediately felt how peace was coming to me. Can you tell me your secret? Please, tell me your secret, so I can follow this secret. And the wise man said, "Yes, you know, it is like this: when I sit, I sit. When I stand, I stand. When I eat, I eat. That’s all." And the professor said, "What is this? This is stupid." He told me, "When I sit, I sit. When I stand, I stand. And when I go, I go." He said, "And he said, ‘This cannot be your secret. This is not a secret. What are you telling me here?’" He was very unhappy. And then, you know, the wise man said, the difference between you and me is, when you are sitting, you are already thinking about standing. And when you are standing, you are already thinking about eating. And when you are eating, you are already thinking about sitting. And that is a problem. So, make one thing at the same time, in the present moment, and that’s it. And that is the Viṣṇu principle. That is the principle to get ātmā jñāna in the present moment. Part 2: Fearlessness and the Path of Surrender And when you follow this, you will be free from your past and your future. Everything is there. So, and now I’ll sing the first bhajan, "Chikana." And one very, very beautiful bhajan is "Teri Satta Gurū Rākā Lāj." You know, there is so much fear in this world, so much fear and anxiety. Who doesn’t have fear and anxiety in this world? Everybody, nearly everybody. Is somebody without fear? One out of a thousand, and so fear is a very common thing. We have fear of death, we have fear of losing money, we have fear of illness. There are so many, many, many kinds of fear: losing a partner, losing friends, losing family, and so on and so on and so on. I think every one of you has had periods of fear in your life. And, you know, there is one very, very beautiful sentence. It is said, "Why do you have fear when I am here?" You understand me? This "I am" means God. So, He asks you, "Why do you have fear when I am here?" Don’t you know that I am here? You know, He is speaking, but Kṛṣṇa’s flute is so soft; you have to be very careful to hear it. But He is always saying this: you have to reduce the sound of the world, the sound of your work, everything. And then you can hear this voice telling you, "Why do you have fear when I am here?" And in this bhajan, Mahāprabhujī, Holī Gurujī, the master of Swāmījī, says, the Satya Gurū is protecting you. The Satta Guru also gets the power from Śiva. So God, Śiva, is protecting you, so that’s why you don’t need to worry. Don’t worry, because if you have fear and you are worrying, it takes such a lot of energy from you that you cannot grow. If you see a tree that wants to grow, and then on two sides or on four sides you have some ropes holding it to the floor, this tree will never grow. And these ropes are our negative qualities, but very much our fear and our complexes. So we have to cut these ropes, and then the tree can grow toward the sun. And it’s beautiful to grow. So Holy Gurujī says, "Live bravely and fearlessly, never be afraid." And if you are afraid, then please read the first line again. Yes, the Satta Guru is protecting you, don’t worry. He whom the Lord is protecting, nothing can harm. But don’t misunderstand this. That does not mean that nothing will happen to you. But it means that even if something has happened to me, or to you, let’s say, even if I break my leg and then I read this, I say, "Holy Gurujī, what is this?" You say, "He whom the Lord is protecting, nothing can harm." What is this? What are you writing here? And then, Holy Gurujī will say, "My dear, you must understand, you broke the leg, but maybe you have lost your life." If the Satguru, if God would not have protected you. So, always think, it could be much, much worse. What can happen to you? So, even if something very difficult can happen, you will always be surrounded by the radiance of light and protection. It means you will be strong enough to overcome these things. So whom the Lord is protecting, nothing can harm. And he who surrenders to the Lord always lives happily. This is also one thing which is so really wonderful. And it all belongs, I think many things I say today belong to the Anāhata cakra, and to surrender is devotion. If we have something really very, very difficult and we are not able to solve it, then we just give it over. You hand it over to the Lord, and then you have faith and you pray that He will take care of you. He who repeats the name of the Sat Guru easily crosses the ocean of the world. Well, "easily" is maybe very poetical. But it is said, and Swāmījī also said yesterday, that in Kali Yuga, kevala nāma kā ādar, in Kali Yuga, only when you repeat the name of the Lord can you cross the ocean of saṁsāra. So to repeat the name of God, the mantra in any form, is a secure way to reach your goal. So whenever difficulties are there, wherever problems are there, repeat again and again the name of the Lord, whatever this Lord is for you—Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Jesus, Buddha. Or if you have a Guru Mantra, then repeat the Guru Mantra. But try to repeat the name of the Lord. And whoever repeats the name of the Satguru will attain final liberation and unite with the Lord. Finally. Finally, it doesn’t mean that if you are now making 1,008 mantras and mālās per day, you get liberation immediately. It can be this life or another life, but for sure, one time it will be. And he will not come anymore in this world, nor will he assume birth. This is the immortal message. Understand that this is the truth, says Holy Gurujī. Ever repeat the name of the merciful Śrī Dīp of the Lord, and Holy Gurujī is full of divine joy, going on the path of the truth. Siddhip Narambaghvana Kī Jai. Sorry, something is wrong. Okay, no problem. No, don’t worry. It played by itself. It was nice. So, I wanted, actually, from every chakra to make you an exercise. But the masters told me different. So, I want especially to speak about the Anāhata Cakra; I told you already. And, you know, we have really hundreds and thousands of āsanas in yoga and daily life. And one of our main āsanas is Kāṭhūpraṇām. And in this book, Swamiji is mentioned as Āsana, actually only Kāṭhūpraṇām. So, maybe for those who do not know what is Kāṭhūpraṇām, I want that one person should just make one round of Kāṭhūpraṇām for all those who don’t know what Kāṭhūpraṇām is. Can I request one very brave person, one fearless person? Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā... It will activate all chakras of your whole phenomenon. It will increase the flow of energy. It will reduce all negativities, and all prāṇas are flowing in a perfect way through this exercise. It is a combination of many very, very powerful āsanas, and it is already given in the first level of Yoga in Daily Life. So, try to make this exercise every day. If you make five rounds, it’s absolutely perfect. And one other very important chakra is also the Maṇipūra Chakra. And you know that again I come to the fear and the anxiousness, and also a little less of self-confidence. And if we are activating the Maṇipūra Cakra, which is the element of fire, we can burn all our negative qualities inside. So, I love very much all meditations which are in combination with the Maṇipūra Chakra, and one of them is that you are sitting, you imagine a fireplace, and you are sitting beside the fireplace, only in imagination please, and then you imagine what you want to put inside. Let’s say, in your daily ritual of psycho-hygiene, when you are making the svādhyāya—how was my life going on—and you find that today it was quite a tough thing, so many reactions and emotions from your side which brought you out of the balance, and okay, then you can make a short meditation, and you just imagine a fire in front of you, but don’t make the fire. And just imagine the fire, and then you mentally throw this negativity—what was your emotion today—you throw it inside. And you imagine that you have some wood beside you, and you put one fear inside, or you have been hurt, you put it inside. And you see several of your emotions, negative emotions which are pulling you down, and you put them inside and you observe them. You see how the fire is going down until nothing remains, just the ashes, white. And white is the nothingness that is gone; it is over. So that’s a very good meditation, short, very short, you can make it just in five minutes. And one perfect and very short exercise for all chakras is the thing which I will tell you now. You want to hear? Really. It’s short, sweet, and powerful. And you know it all. But you don’t know that you know it. That is a thing. Swamiji says so many times that at the beginning of creation, what was there at the beginning of creation? Dear friends. Yes, Surya and Surya, so many sun systems, and so on, and then? Yes, very good. Om means Om is the sound of the creation. It contains everything: the past, the present, and the future. It contains the creator, the creation, everything. Brahmā, Śiva, Viṣṇu, it is God Himself in the form of the sound. And that’s why, by chanting Om, you get—without knowing anything about Om—you can make this with a person who has not an idea about yoga, has not an idea. She will immediately feel this very, very divine sound. It is an Urklang. It’s a Big Ben. I don’t know Big Ben. No, it is ancient, the ancient from the beginning of creation. It is the sound of the creation and the Creator Himself. And because it is the sound of the creator, it is in each and every atom: Om. Like the Ātmā is in each and every living entity, Om is in each and every atom. That means if you are going inside of the Aum, you are immediately connected with the creator Himself. And that’s why Oṃ singing is so powerful, and Oṃ singing is used at the beginning and at the end of all mantras. So, just for a few minutes, sometime, close your eyes, try to sit very straight, breathe deep in and out, and try just to relax. Leave all things behind you, all your wishes, your thinking. Just relax. Feel your body and relax your body. Just relax. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale and relax. Just relax. Bring now your awareness to your eyeball center, and again breathe in and out. Feel now your navel. Deep inhale and chant Aum together with me, and feel how the vibration of Aum is going through all your phenomena, to all your chakras, to the higher chakras, and just going out into the whole. Universe, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, exhale, exhale,... Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. Feel the resonance of Aum inside of you. Feel the deep peace and happiness inside of you. Inhale and exhale two times, and then fold your hands and rub them together. Put them on your face, bow down, and come up again and open your eyes, Āryum. So, as you saw, this practice, this Oṃ chanting took us only a few minutes, and each and everyone who was practicing with us now feels what the difference is, not only inside but also in our environment. So that’s why, how we are also, our environment is in fact infected or affected. "Affected" means, as more peaceful, as more gentle we are, as easier is our life, and also the life of others. So, for instance, this you can really, very good. Make time during the day, in the middle of your day, when you have time, like at lunchtime or something. Take a break and go to sleep. Go somewhere where you are alone, and just for a few minutes, chant OM. Or, also after your work, you can make one mālā with OM. Anytime, you can be really creative in this, but try it. Or, you walk by singing OM. You will be astonished at the effects you will have. And I want now, on this end, to tell you something about the Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna practice which Swāmījī is giving us in seminars, special seminars in Strilky and also in other places. This is a technique you have to practice already, yoga and daily life, for several years. You should have a mantra and practice the mantra, I think, for at least two years. And then he gives a very specific technique, which starts from morning, six o’clock, until afternoon, five o’clock. Approximately eight hours of practicing, in between there is a lecture, and in the evening there is satsaṅg. So when I was first time in a Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna, I had already many years of yoga practice behind me, but I had never had the opportunity to go to a Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna. So after many years, I finally had the chance to go to a seminar. And you know, when you have so many years of practice, of course you have your own experiences. And my highest experience was always near holy persons. And I was blessed that I could have such experiences. Śrī Śrī... I was talking about mantras, and in the next week, I was following the program myself. You know, it is a very serious program, and it’s like a purification and an elevation for the whole year. It is like the nourishment, the nectar, spiritual nectar, which will nourish you for the whole year. This, everybody knows, whoever practices. And if you make it, you should really take the time for one year. You should prepare yourself also in two or three years to be able to go to this Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna. And as I told you, I have already done much practice. I have seen many things. I saw many masters with Swamiji. I had certain experiences also, but this Kriyā Anuṣṭhān, that was maybe eight years ago, something like this, I will never forget, because I understood that the technique, what is given there, when you really follow the techniques which are given, you can reach samādhi. It is just the truth, what I tell you. Gurujī says always at the end of his bhajans, "I am telling you the truth." So I can tell you, if you follow the practice of Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna, you have the possibility to get samādhi, liberation. I said you have the possibility. I didn’t say you get it. It’s up to the divine blessing. But one time in this Kriyā Anuṣṭhān, I was not prepared. Really, how can you be prepared, you know? God can enter in every moment to you. Every moment, we have just to be ready for it. And it happened that I had such a complete, high experience that I was completely united with the light. And it was a wonderful, wonderful experience. And I know it was not this part of the Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna which led me there, but it was the summary of the days and the summaries of all exercises which I was following. So, of course, until now, this did not remain forever with me. But some things you never forget. And that’s why I say this practicing and this technique, they are just given by God. Really, you can’t believe this of me. It is not because I am a disciple of Swāmījī that I tell you this. It’s just between the two of us that I tell you this. That is really something you will never, never, ever find anywhere else. And that is the security we also have. You know, we have the security that there is a Guru Paramparā. And this master lineage is connected directly to Lord Śiva. And He is the one who protects us. He is the one who guides us through the form of a master, yes. But He is protecting us, and He is leading us. And He gives us opportunity. If we search, we will find, definitively. And then there is nothing else than light, and that is beautiful. And then you change, you change, and you can give, and give light and love to others. And another, just smaller experience than this one, you know, that I am, since Holy Guru’s departure eight years ago, going to the Himalayas. For the past three years, due to my work here in the hospital, in the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda Austria Hospital, I am no longer able to join the seminars in Europe, especially the Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna. And so, with the permission of Swamiji, I made it in a certain place in Badrinath. I made it, and it was quite tough because I made it mostly in nature, and you know, concentration is not so easy for eight or nine hours. I was completely unhappy with myself, actually, because I was... I was not satisfied with it; it took everything so long, because, you know, there is no teacher in front of you telling you, "Now it’s home, and now it’s finished, and now you have to do this, and now you have to do this," so you have to lead yourself, and so it took me not, let’s say, eight hours, but it took me ten hours, minimum. So, I was not happy, not very, because I was also not so concentrated, so I was actually not really satisfied with my practicing, but I practiced anyhow. And at the end of this week, when I left the place, it was very interesting. Actually, I made, you have to make this without any expectation; this is also very important. Very important. You should never have any expectation. Just go and just do. And so I made this without expectation. And when I left the place, I suddenly realized that the mantra was just running inside of me. You know, the mantra japa. It was running, just running, just running. And this, I kept it for quite a long time after that. And this is a mantra japa, which is without any force, it’s just running. And it was a beautiful thing. Wherever I go, it was just running, like background music, you know, like this. It was a wonderful experience. So, in the moment, this background music is not so active because I’m too active in the hospital. Dealing with doctors and with people, and Ayurveda and physiotherapy, and so on and so on, means I am much involved in the worldly things. But this was the effect and is the effect of the Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna. So for one it will be this, for one is the other. And also, I realized one thing: when you make such intensive practices, yes, the effect is coming later on. It’s not immediate. It’s not immediate. Don’t expect this, but changes are taking place. And I want to finish my talk by telling you, you know, there is one beautiful thing. If you make one step towards God, like, for instance, a kind of severe practice, He will come a thousand steps towards you, and you will get a gift. You will get a gift. Which kind of gift? It is His decision. But you get a beautiful gift, and that is something wonderful. So the spiritual path is something wonderful, and I hope I could give you a little practice, a little inspiration, and we will take another hundred years to go through this book. But it was a pleasure for me to speak, and thank you very much for listening. I wish you all the best on your spiritual path. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Kī Jai, Oṁ Śānti, Śānti,... Śrī Alakhpurījī, Śrī Dīp Paramparā, Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvarānanda, Maheśvarānanda, Śvarānandī Gurudeva Kī Jaya. Oṁ