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Part 1: The Spiritual Significance of Dīvālī and Mahāsamādhi Our gathering here is like a stream of both joy and sadness. These are the two ends. The mahāsamādhi at the end is not an event of sadness. Indeed, for the one who departs, it is a time of victory. Mahāsamādhi, the final and highest samādhi, means that nothing anymore disturbs, like this physical body. It is the ultimate oneness—our aim. When we open our heart, we can understand that both these ends are joyful events. Swamiji does everything so that we can experience even these two poles; this is to inspire us and show us how we too can achieve this end. Now, the Diwali day was actually yesterday. Today is the day of Lakṣmī Pūjā, and also the official beginning of the new year according to the Indian calendar. Though I recently read that originally there was not one Indian calendar but about thirty. Can you imagine having thirty different new years within twelve months? So the Indians found it a little confusing, and I think in 1957 they united it into one calendar. No, still there are different systems, astrological systems, for exactly how to calculate which day falls when. So there are actually two names: Diwali and Deepāvalī. Diwali is more used in North India, and Deepāvalī is more used in South India. I also read that it can happen that these days are one day different. But fortunately, it doesn’t matter so much because in India they usually celebrate all big festivals for several days. So therefore, we can also celebrate Diwali today. And Sadhvi Parvati has something prepared to give us a little more background information about Diwali. Can you just sit here? If you want, just change places. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān, Kī Jai, Śrī Devpurījī, Mahādeva, Kī Jai, Śrī Mādhava, Kṛṣṇa, Gurudeva, Kī Jai, Viśvaguru, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Paramahaṁsa, Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Gurudeva, Kī Jai, satsaṅgatāṁ, dharma, Kī Jai, Kārī Oṁ. I would like to tell you something about Diwali. As you have heard, you can also name it Deepāvalī. Deep means light or flame; it is also a name of Mahāprabhujī. Deepāvalī means the chain of lights. Deepāvalī is the most popular Indian festival, and all these festivals have a deep or great meaning, regardless of the culture. They are held in memory of some special occasion, and they remind us that we should not forget this occasion—we should learn from it. The festivals also bring people together, bringing joy and happiness, and they develop spirituality. So it is good to honor the festival and celebrate it. Diwali is a very ancient holiday. In the Purāṇas, you can read that one thousand years before Christ, it was already well known and very well practiced as a festival. So, if you can imagine, Dīvālī has been celebrated for so many thousands of years. It is the festival of harmony, peace, and joy—also in society, in the community, in the family, or inside us, within us. In some scriptures, you can read about Dīvālī as a festival when people find joy on the earth and in their communities. So it means they are happy. Diwali is celebrated for three or five days. It is in autumn, usually falling in October or November, and is always celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm. Some scriptures recommend keeping a fast on Diwali and eating only after sunset at night. On Diwali, you should get up early in the morning before sunrise, during Brahmamuhūrta, which we should always do anyway, because it is very beneficial for spiritual development, for our discipline, for our health, and also for our efficiency. So Diwali reminds us also about this. Diwali is the festival of Goddess Lakṣmī, who brings harmony and prosperity, family well-being, and happiness. Lakṣmī likes to come where it is clean, neat, and harmonious. So before Dīvālī, all the houses are very carefully cleaned. And also, people do the inner cleaning. Every evening of Diwali, oil lamps or ghee lamps are lit, and every corner should be lit so that Lakṣmī would find the way and bring her gifts. And also, the Lord Rāma would find his way back from his exile. The first day of Diwali is at the new moon. So it is the new moon night, the dark night. Thus the lamps bring light into those dark nights. Diwali is also a celebration of the return of Lord Rāma from his fourteen years of exile, the victory of Lord Kṛṣṇa over the demon Narakāsura, and the return of the Pāṇḍavas from exile. So it is actually the celebration of the victory of good over evil. The lit lamps also welcome the souls of the ancestors, who come to visit on those Diwali nights. Diwali is the festival that unites. Love, understanding, and joy rule everywhere. Family members get new dresses, and employers also give new dresses to their employees. We could start this tradition maybe here. Diwali is also the first day of the new year. It is interesting that in the Jewish tradition, at the end of the old year, people forgive each other and become new friends again; it is the day of reconciliation. And the same idea is there in Dīvālī. There is a deep spiritual dimension in Dīvālī. Darkness is the symbol of ignorance, and light is the symbol of knowledge. So when we light the light on Diwali, it symbolizes the destruction of all bad qualities and bad energies through the light of knowledge, thanks. The light which we ignite, or light, is the light of our soul. It is our inner light. So it is said that the real Dīvālī we can experience when we dive within ourselves into our inner light. Swami Sivananda says: all the outer, external lights of the world cannot compare to a single ray of our inner light, the light of our inner soul. For us, Diwali is a very important festival because it is the birth of the incarnation of Bhagavān, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ, Mahāprabhujī. And it is said that the lamps which were prepared to celebrate Dīvālī were lit by themselves, and in this way they were welcoming the incarnation of divine light on this earth. And so that was the general information for Dīvālī. Now, what about each day? India is a big country, so it is natural that in different regions there are different ways or attitudes to celebrate Diwali. This is one of the versions. So, the first day of Dīvālī, which was actually yesterday, is the darkest moon, the new moon, the dark moon—the new moon, not the new moon, but the dark moon. When there is no moon in the sky, the night is dark; it is the day of the deepest darkness. But this first day of Diwali is considered very auspicious, and on this day Mahāprabhujī was born. On this day, people also worship Yamarāja, the god of death. Yama means the ruler, the controller, the master. According to their deeds, Yama sends the souls of the departed into higher or lower worlds. People also pray for protection against premature death. Later, there is also the celebration of the defeat of the demon Narakāsura, whom Kṛṣṇa defeated. Narakāsura was a demonic king. He gained great strength through his ascetic practices, conquered the three worlds, and committed many evil deeds. He stole the earrings from Mother Aditi, the Divine Mother Aditi; he stole her earrings, which was a big offense against this principle of the mother. So God lost His patience and asked Śrī Kṛṣṇa to kill him. Kṛṣṇa did so, and Dīvālī also celebrates this event—again, the victory of the good over the bad. The second day, which falls today, is when the Goddess Lakṣmī is worshipped. It is said that the Goddess Lakṣmī emerged from the milk ocean when it was churned. People worship Lakṣmī to gain prosperity and harmony in the family, and so on. This day, the Lakṣmī Pūjā is held, and it consists of the pūjā to five deities. It starts with Gaṇeśa—it always starts with Gaṇeśa, because Gaṇeśa is the remover of obstacles. Then Lakṣmī is worshipped in three forms: as Mahā Lakṣmī, the goddess of prosperity; Mahā Sarasvatī, the goddess of wisdom and learning; and Mahā Kālī, the goddess who removes negative energy. And then Kubera, the god of wealth, is worshipped. Then Lakṣmī and Alakṣmī—the "A" means the negative. Alakṣmī means bad luck. This Alakṣmī is the older sister of Lakṣmī; she was also born from the milk ocean, but she was born before. So, to prevent Alakṣmī from entering the house, around midnight, the ladies start to make a big noise. Of course, everyone likes to help with this. So this prevention, this protection against Alakṣmī, goes through all of Dīvālī. It is also the day when Lord Rāma returned from his exile—against the same symbol: the victory of light over darkness, the victory of good over evil. Lord Rāma is the symbol of all the virtues. He was the example in everything, and He is also the example of perfect forgiveness. When He was coming back from exile, one of His mothers, Kaikeyī, who was the cause of all this and had actually sent Him into exile, causing Him to suffer a lot, was very afraid of meeting Him again. She didn’t know how Rāma would react, what Rāma would say, or how it would go. But when Rāma came back, the first person He went to was Kaikeyī. He asked her if she could cook Him his favorite meal, the one she used to cook for him when he was a little boy. So He dissolved everything; He completely forgot every hardship which came in between. On this day, Dhanvantari is also worshipped. He is the incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. And again, there is a relation to the milk ocean churning. He was the last one to emerge, and he brought the amṛt, the nectar. It is said that he was reborn again in Kāśī and started Āyurveda. Just for your information, Dhanvantari is also used as a title. This title can be given to those who are able to prescribe three hundred different kinds of medicine. It means he, or she, knows how and when to use three hundred different kinds of medicine. Then there is the Bhishak title, and this goes to those who are able to prescribe two hundred different medicines. Vaidya, as you may know, is the title for those who can work with one hundred different medicines. In Diwali, the sun is at the sign of Libra, and this Libra sign represents balance, so it is believed that the accounting books are balanced at this time, and thus the accounting books are closed. Business partners invite their customers, offer them sweets, and pray for success and prosperity in the coming year. So that’s all for today. And what comes tomorrow? The third day is when Viṣṇu, in the form of the dwarf Vāmana, won all three worlds back from the demon. King Bali was a good and just ruler, but he was supposed to rule only in the underworld. However, he also conquered, or ruled, the other worlds too, and in this way he damaged or disbalanced the cosmic order. So God Viṣṇu incarnated as the dwarf Vāmana, succeeded, and Bali was sent back to the underworld. But because he was, after all, just, he was sent there only, and he was given many gifts. So, after all, he had to give up all the other worlds, but he was given much more. It is said that any gift given on this day has multiplied results. So it is coming tomorrow. And the people, especially the kings, worshipped the statue of Bali on this day. Then there is a Govardhana pūjā. Govardhana is the mountain which Śrī Kṛṣṇa raised, or held on his finger, to protect the villagers from the rain sent by God Indra. So you make a model of this mountain, either out of cow dung or from rice. And next to this mountain, the cows are not milked. On this day, the cows are worshipped as the incarnation of Lakṣmī. It is sort of thanksgiving to all these domestic animals. Then there is another custom called Mārga Pālī. Mārga means the road, the way, and Pāna means to keep, to protect. In the afternoon, you make a rope out of the sacred kuśa grass, and you fix it over the road, one side on a tree and the other side to some pole. All the people from the village or community must go there and pass under the rope, and no matter their social position, they must bow down and go under. The rope is fixed quite low, so everyone must bow down. It is a way of expressing humbleness, a humble request for security in the community and safety during traveling. Then the king and his family, along with the villagers, pull the ropes. I don’t know if they do it nowadays, but it used to be done for thousands of years. It is good when the citizens, the villagers, win, because it is considered auspicious for the country and for the king himself as well. It shows that the citizens, the villagers, have the power. It symbolically demonstrates that the entire organization of state affairs can work only when the people are active and take an active part in it. And of course, this applies to every community. On the fourth day, this is the day dedicated to brothers and sisters. This tradition comes from ancient Vedic times when the god Yama came to visit his sister Yamunā—the Yamunā river. She invited him to her house, and they gave each other presents. Yama and Yamunā are twins; they are the children of the Sun God, Vivasvant. And their brother is Manu, the forefather of humanity. So on this day, sisters invite their brothers to their houses. They prepare a good meal, and they exchange presents. The brothers come, bring presents, honor their sisters, and pay their respects to them. The sisters welcome their brothers with love and mark the Tilak, so that they live happily and safely. So that is about Diwali. And I have a few quotations from Swamiji that are somehow connected to Diwali, for our reflection. What Swamiji says about giving gifts: Because presents are given during Dīvālī, like we do during Christmas, Swamiji says, "We actually don’t know how to become happy. We give presents to get happiness through them, but it is artificial happiness. Try to be really happy." Mahāprabhujī would say, "Don’t learn how to receive the presents; learn how to give them. To receive and to give is the childish rule. But real giving means giving the light." And as for giving in general: "Give, give, always give. Give everything that you have. Give the last drop of your blood. Give when it is needed. What you give will be given back to you a hundredfold. You should ask yourself, what is it you cannot give? And the thing you cannot give, give it today. Give others the love, the freedom, the protection. Water, food, nourishment. Mějte porozumění. And forgive." During Diwali, we should forgive everything that we were not able to forgive before. Because when we are not able to forgive, we are the ones who suffer the most. So Swamījī says, "You are not able to remove the guilt or the pain from your subconscious. So just try to live with it. It means you are not still able to forgive. So you feel pain, but nothing is forever. Also this day will pass. The only reality which doesn’t change is truth, God, love. God and love. What is changing is not real. We should not suffer and cry about the things which are not real. Seek what is beyond reality. Your presence in this world should be like the presence of the sun. Whenever you appear, the light of wisdom and love should come with you. With you, the light of understanding, the light of purity, and the art of forgiving. To be able to forgive is one of the greatest things you can achieve." And regarding Diwali as a celebration of light, Swāmījī says we have been singing, "Dark and restless, it is hard to find a way." Do not allow your heart to sink into sadness. Be aware that it is always better to light at least one candle instead of standing in darkness. And about happiness, as Diwali is the celebration of happiness and joy: "You cannot buy happiness at the market. You can only develop it within." And the new year? "Do not look at whether someone is better than you. Don’t mind that somebody is better than you. But keep trying so that you are better today than you were yesterday." On the third day, there was the worship of the cows, and there is an interesting point on which most foreigners ask the Hindus. Part 2: The Sacred Cow, Dīvālī, and the Festival of Lights: Deeper Symbolism in Indian Spirituality Why are cows actually worshipped in India? Why are they seen as holy? There is, of course, a very practical aspect: if you eat the cows, you cannot get the milk from them, and many other useful products come from cows. But a much deeper wisdom lies behind this. In Sanskrit, the word for cow is go. For example, we have in Jardin a go-śālā—a sanctuary for cows. The word go in Sanskrit has three meanings, all deeply connected. The first is the cow. The second is the earth. The third is the mother, and this connection is key. We speak about Mother Earth. She gives us birth, so she is the principle of the mother. And the cow gives milk to the calf; only a cow that has a calf gives milk naturally. When we drink the milk of a cow, we accept her as our mother—just as normally we would only drink the milk from our own mother. So worshipping the cow actually means worshipping the principle of the mother, the divine mother. This fits very nicely together with the worship of Goddess Lakṣmī in her three aspects, as Pārvatī explained the day before. And not long before this, there is the autumn celebration of Navarātri, the nine-day festival of the Divine Mother. It is quite obvious that there is a certain similarity between the Dīvālī celebration in India and the Christmas celebration in Christianity. The inner attitude is very similar. In Christianity, you have the lights: during Advent, every Sunday you burn one more light; the Christmas tree is decorated with lights. It is similar in that aspect. Also, giving presents—it is a real family festival. And shortly afterwards is the start of the new year. But most importantly, there is the symbol of the dark moon. You see, Mahāprabhujī incarnated in the darkest night. Just to clarify what I said before: that night when there is no moon is called Amāvasyā in India. In Western languages, we often use the phrase “new moon” for that, but that is actually wrong, because the new moon properly begins when the moon is new—two days later. On Amāvasyā and the following day, the moon is not visible. Then, only on the third day, a small crescent appears. This is called the Śiva moon, and that would be proper to call the new moon. It is seen as very auspicious when one sees it—usually a constellation where on one side the sun sets and on the other the moon rises. Holī Gurujī and Swamījī, whenever someone mentioned the Śiva moon, would immediately go out to see it. This, too, is a symbol. The dark moon is also seen in India as inauspicious; the energy is blocked, so it is not good to do any kind of work on that day. Traditionally, therefore, it is the only free day, the only holiday for Indian workers once a month. And of course, the dark moon also means no orientation, ignorance. That is our state: we are living in this dark moon. In that moment, God incarnates. That is the day when Mahāprabhujī came, to bring us the light. Therefore, Swamījī says this is actually the day of enlightenment. Now let us look at Christmas. The beginning of winter and the shortest day fall on the 21st of December. Shortly afterwards comes Christmas. I read many years ago that nobody really knows exactly when Jesus was born—surely not on the 21st of December. It was a decision of an early council to choose this day as the day of the Incarnation of Jesus. They very consciously chose the same symbol: in the darkest month, shortly after the darkest day, to place the Incarnation of God. They consciously chose the same principle—the same symbolism of the longest, darkest nights as the promise of coming light. All these symbols are there to inspire us. It depends very much on us how seriously we take all this. Often in yoga there are very simple techniques, immensely powerful, yet because they are so simple, nobody respects them. And because the inner respect is missing, they actually do not work. Then the masters have to turn them into secret techniques, creating many conditions until finally we are allowed to receive and practise the simple teachings. I read a book recently about the life of Milarepa’s master—his name was Marpa. Milarepa lived in Tibet and had to obtain the teachings of Buddhism from India in those days. That was a long, arduous, and life‑threatening journey. He met his master, learned something, and travelled back. Years later he travelled again, received more teaching, and travelled back. When he was already old, he resolved to set out once more because his master had said he should come again. Then he received a simple technique—but only he received it, because he was the chosen successor. When he realised how simple the technique was, he asked his master, “Why didn’t you give me this simple technique earlier? Why did I have to travel so many years up and down?” And he had to pay his guru in gold at that time, because he could not carry other things—only what he could carry on his body. To obtain that gold, he had to work hard. Yet his guru did not need the gold. He performed a miracle: suddenly everything, the whole ground, turned into gold, just to make clear to his disciple that it was not for him—he did not need it. That was the answer: because otherwise you would not appreciate it. We have so much, we receive so much, and we do not know what we have. We do not really fully appreciate what we get. What does Dīvālī mean for us? I said it is comparable to Christmas for Christians. Just think what role Christmas plays in Christianity. They prepare for weeks, thinking of the first Advent, the second Advent, slowly entering the atmosphere. It is the main festival of the year, known to everyone. It plays an important role in every society. Even in India, which is not a Christian country, the 25th of December is an official holiday. But how is Dīvālī for us? Often we somehow forget about it. Are we aware that Dīvālī will soon be here, in a few weeks? The great festival—the day when God incarnates. And it is not just the day when God incarnates; it is again a symbol. Not just a day in the life of God, but a symbol. It is said to be the festival of lights, so light is also a symbol. Darkness and light. Tamasomā jyotirgamaya—lead us from the darkness to the light. What does darkness practically mean? I shall never forget a small event in India when I understood what darkness and light mean. There was a time when we had big spiders in the ashram. They crawled on the ground quite quickly and, of course, were highly poisonous. One evening during satsaṅg, the light was on and we were singing bhajans. Someone spotted such a spider in the middle of the hall. Everybody jumped up and looked; at that moment there was no danger because everyone saw it. Someone slowly took a broom to guide it out; it was already halfway, everyone observing. Then the light went off. There was no laughter—there was screaming, because everyone knew that within five seconds the spider could be anywhere, right at my leg. In that moment I understood what darkness means. It is not just the absence of light; it means you have no orientation, no direction. You are confused, you are scared, and you do not know where the danger is. It is a mental state. This is Tamasoma, the darkness in which we live. All these emotions we experience in this world—this is Tamas. Then the light came back, fortunately after a short time. Now everyone saw again: aha, it’s there, okay. What is the difference? The spider was still there, but you could see it; it was no danger in that moment. With wise ways, you can deal with the problem and remove it. So this is when light comes on our path—guidance. That also means inwardly you can relax. So Swamījī says Dīvālī is actually the day of enlightenment. Let us see this in the context of the Rāmāyaṇa. It is the day when, after fourteen years in exile, Lord Rāma returned and was enthroned. That is the symbol. Traditionally, one speaks about seven higher chakras and seven lower chakras. Swamījī never mentions the seven lower chakras because we never, never work with these. He only says that the lower parts of our body—the feet and legs—are the lower levels of consciousness, and we should not concentrate there, because that would activate animal energies that reside in the lower chakras. Symbolically, we can understand these as fourteen levels of consciousness through which we must slowly develop. At the end, then, is the day of Dīvālī. Then it makes a lot of sense: it is the festival of light, the festival of enlightenment. What incarnation means is that God, who has no form, comes in a physical form into this physical world. And what does enlightenment mean? The divine comes in us. As we always say in our bhajans, “I offer you my heart as a temple. Please come into the temple of my heart, that I can see you, that I can feel you, that you guide me from inside.” This is also the real meaning of the word darśan, which we have in so many bhajans. And then, of course, it is clear why it is also a festival of joy. It is a festival of final enlightenment. We have one bhajan about Dīvālī, directly from Holī Gurujī: Aj Diwali. Do you have it in the bhajan book? I thought this is definitely a bhajan about which we should speak today. Āj Dīvālī, Paramasukadāyī Viśvadīp Harī Āyat Jagamahī. "Āj" means today. It is the day of the highest gift. Viśvadīp, the light of the world—of course, Mahāprabhujī’s name also. Hari, the Lord, came into the world. In all four directions, everywhere, there is wonderful light. Bhalla Bhalla Jyoti Timra Bilai. It is the light of the fortunate turn, the good resolution. This refers to the life of Lord Rāma: after a long, long time, he finally came back and was enthroned as a king. And similarly with Mahāprabhujī’s incarnation: after long, long prayers, finally they were heard and God incarnated. The light came, and timor avilai—the darkness was dissolved. All people, men and women, sing full of bliss about this good fortune. That means they sing because they are so happy. Ghar Ghar Bhante Harikī Bhadāī Bhadāī—that means a celebration. So in every house, every family joins in the celebration of the Lord. But not only humans are celebrating: ṛṣis, munis, yogīs, devas, gandharvas. The ṛṣis are saints. Munis come from mauna—those who keep silence. Yogīs you understand; devas are the gods from Devaloka, those who are not liberated but dwell in heaven. And the gandharvas are astral beings connected with fragrance, perhaps something like angels. Jaya Jaya Kāra Puṣpa Parāśaya—they all were praising and throwing flowers as if showering them down. Do you remember to what this refers? The story from Līlā Amṛt: in the night when Mahāprabhujī incarnated, miracles happened. First, the dīpakas from the Dīvālī celebration, which had burnt out, started burning again by themselves. And white flowers came down, so that in the morning when the villagers awoke, the streets were full of flowers. They fell from heaven. This is what Holī Gurujī refers to here. All the gods are celebrating too. Hari and Hara, that is Viṣṇu and Śiva, and Brahmā—they all together are celebrating. And also saints like Nārada and Śāradā sing the glory of Mahāprabhujī. Dhanya Nagar, Kul Dhanya, Ho Bhumi. Glory to the place, to the family, and to the whole country where the saint incarnates. Sarguṇa Brahmā āyā—God came in saguṇa, meaning in a form, incarnated. Siddhi Par Ghusai—here we have again the word go, “cow.” So Ghusāī means actually Gosvāmī, literally “the lord of the cows.” We know that great saints like Mahāprabhujī and Kṛṣṇa looked after cows. But here it also refers to the fact that he incarnated in the family of the Goswāmīs. Manamohan Prabhuparamamoha. When God incarnates, there is such beauty that it attracts everyone. Manamohan means attracting, charming the heart. We know the word man only as “mind,” but often it also means the heart. It is the same as we know about Kṛṣṇa: he plays the flute so beautifully that everyone is completely gone in mind, attracted. The beauty of God, when He incarnates, is so great that everyone is completely charmed. Therefore it is said, He is the Parama Manohar, the highest, one who may truly be said to steal the heart. He steals every heart; no one can resist. In Līlā Amṛt we have many stories of people who came to Mahāprabhujī even with really negative thoughts; as soon as they saw him, their hearts melted, they were completely transformed. This is the power of the Divine. Just to see, to be in the presence, can be transforming. All those who had the darśana of the Lord, of Mahāprabhujī, were overjoyed. And we must understand what we are speaking about: a baby in this moment. Mahāprabhujī, when he was just born, Siddhipā Dayālu Balak Anupam—here comes the word balak, child. Mahāprabhujī, mercy for Mahāprabhujī, he was really an extraordinary child. He had such a sweet smile, captivating each heart. Adbhuta Śobhā, this strange beauty. Vāṇīnā Jaya—this is indescribable; Deva, Ṛṣi, Muni, Jaya Jaya Gāī. Therefore all the devas, ṛṣis, munis, all the saints, were singing the glory of this newborn child. Śrī Mādhavānanda Kāhī Ānanda Apare—Holī Gurujī says, “The bliss was beyond measure.” Bhala Bhala Esi Diwali Ai! Bhala Bhala means, “What an excellent, excellent Dīvālī.” So it is exactly like in Christianity, where they are so happy and have all these celebrations with Christmas, with the Jesus child, a newborn baby. This bhajan simply expresses that boundless joy. Let us sing it, because it is a bhajan we cannot sing every day, especially on the occasion of Dīvālī. The melody is easy; you all know it, from another bhajan which is very similar. Actually, the whole meaning of that other bhajan is very, very similar to this one, though it is not specifically said to be for this occasion; it speaks more generally that “today is the day of my greatest joy,” describing, in fact, the day of liberation. Could you feel the happiness? That is the power of these bhajans. The energy is truly full in them, but of course only when you sing them. So bhajan singing is really also yoga; it truly awakens our energy. A week ago I was in Zlín. In the afternoon satsaṅg, the last bhajan we sang was “Sunosakī, Satyagurukharā Āyā.” “Kali Kali Hare Śabatahe”—every cell of my body is thrilling with joy. We had a really good atmosphere; everyone was clapping their hands, and it was truly joyful. Afterwards, I was driving home alone in the car, and I could hardly hold this joy.