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Victory to Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, victory to Śrī Mādhavānandajī Gurudeva, victory to Paramahaṃsa Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī Gurudeva. Hail to Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Satguru, Īśa Rāma, Īśa Dayālu, Īśa Rāma, Īśa. Today is the last evening of the seminar and also the last day of Dīvālī. The power of that seminar and the power of Dīvālī was so great that a Dīvālī tree has appeared here for us. We got it from the store, and it is a typical Indian tree for celebrating Dīvālī. So we could join in and sing Jota se Jota, ignite my heart—to awaken a little our inner light so that it would ignite. If someone wanted to remind that the little tree should be here, that was some kind of saṅkalpa, and the saṅkalpa was so strong that the tree truly is here now. What about the Rāmāyaṇa? I am going to talk about something related to the Rāmāyaṇa, but it will not be directly about the Rāmāyaṇa itself. It is more about the authors of the Rāmāyaṇa. Perhaps you remember, years ago—I don’t think it was in 2001, I’m not sure exactly—Svāmījī held a seminar here and was telling the Rāmāyaṇa, maybe it was two years ago. It was something extraordinary. Then at the end, there was that fine rain of blessing. That was about those authors. And now it concerns the author of the Rāmāyaṇa. The author of the Rāmāyaṇa is Maharṣi Vālmīki. When Rāma was leaving for exile, he visited the saints and stayed in various āśramas. When he was leaving, the ministers still tried to somehow reverse his decision, to resolve the situation in some other way. Rāma said that he had an excellent opportunity to visit the saints and to be in satsaṅga. One of the first saints whom Rāma visited was precisely Maharṣi Vālmīki. Maharṣi Vālmīki also later provided refuge to Sītā when she had to leave Ayodhyā, and he became the guru of the sons of Śrī Sītā and Rāma, whose names were Lava and Kuśa. He taught them the entire Rāmāyaṇa which he composed. When they learned it, they intuitively felt that these were their parents, their relatives, but they found out about it only later. They sang the Rāmāyaṇa in royal courts, at various gatherings, and also at the court of King Rāma, with Maharṣi Vālmīki present. His name was Ratnākara. He was born into a family of bandits. His destiny was changed by the ṛṣi Nārada, who once visited him and asked him what he intended to do with the bad karmas he was creating. Ratnākara thought that those bad karmas would happen to his relatives, children, and wife, for whom he was actually doing everything. The ṛṣi Nārada gave him permission to ask his family. As Ratnākara discovered, they had no interest whatsoever in sharing his bad karma. They told him that those were his karmas alone. Ratnākara was very shocked and simply asked Nārada what to do. Nārada then told him to practice austerity, tapa, and to repeat the name Rāma. Ratnākara, because he had those thieving habits, was no longer able to say the name Rāma correctly; he would reverse it and say "Māra." "Māra" is the root of the verb to kill, to aim, to die. But his determination was so strong and his intention was pure that even when he recited the mantra in a completely different way, after several years he still achieved the goal of his austerity and attained self-realization. The name Vālmīki comes from the word valmīka, which means anthill. While he was practicing austerities, ants built an anthill on him. When he emerged from the austerities, he emerged from the anthill, and then he began to live the life of a saint. Once, Maharṣi Vālmīki again met the divine sage Nārada. Maharṣi Vālmīki asked if there is anyone in the world who is truly virtuous, who is the embodiment of all virtues, who strictly follows dharma, and who could be a guide for everyone. When Nārada replied that it was King Rāma, he told him the story of Śrī Rāma. Then Nārada left. Maharṣi Vālmīki went to the river. He saw a pair of little birds. At the same time, he saw that behind a bush, a hunter was lurking, and he killed the little male bird. The little female began to wail. That scene had such a deep impact on Maharṣi Vālmīki; it touched him deeply that the bird was pierced. A curse came forth from his mouth in the form of a śloka. A śloka is a verse that has 32 syllables in two sets of 16, or sometimes described as two lines of 8 syllables each. From the word śloka comes a word meaning verse. In this śloka, that grief was expressed. He then returned to the āśrama, and the god Brahmā appeared to him and told him to write the story of Rāma in this śloka meter. So in this verse form, the Rāmāyaṇa is actually written. Maharṣi Vālmīki immersed himself in meditation, and in that meditation, he saw the entire life of Rāma, even what Nārada had not told him. So he wrote the Rāmāyaṇa. The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki is highly esteemed. It possesses high poetic qualities and has been a model for literature for thousands of years. The Rāmāyaṇa has seven books and contains 24,000 verses, which makes it the second greatest epic in the world. The greatest is the Mahābhārata. What has been translated, for example into Czech or other languages, is actually just a small fragment. I believe the Rāmāyaṇa has not been fully translated into any Western language. We do not know exactly when Maharṣi Vālmīki lived or when the Rāmāyaṇa was written. Some sources say it was in the third and second centuries BCE, but they usually say it actually cannot be determined. In the book Dating the Era of Lord Rama by Pushkar Bhatnagar, he tried to determine the date based on the stellar constellations mentioned in the Rāmāyaṇa. Maharṣi Vālmīki precisely describes the constellation present when Rāma was born, when he was to be crowned, when he went into exile, and when he returned. He used modern computers for these calculations and found that these constellations were represented about 5,140 years before Christ, which is quite a long time ago. Maharṣi Vālmīki composed the Rāmāyaṇa in Sanskrit, the language of scholars, which is not understandable to ordinary people. That is why the Rāmāyaṇa was later translated into national languages. The most well-known and significant translation is that of Tulsīdāsajī, the Rāmacaritamānasa. I think it is precisely according to this book that Svāmījī tells us the Rāmāyaṇa. Tulsīdāsa lived in the 16th century, a turbulent time of invasions marked by cruelty and violence. Tulsīdāsa is considered an incarnation of Vālmīki in the Kali Yuga. According to legend, Tulsīdāsa was born mute, repeating the name of Rāma, so he was given the name Rāmbholā, because bolnā means to speak, so it actually means "one who says Rāma." The name Rāma means the one who gives light, who bestows joy, happiness, and peace. Tulsīdāsa did not have an easy childhood. His mother passed away shortly after his birth. In his horoscope, there were some unfavorable constellations, mainly concerning his father, so the father became afraid and chose to renounce him. A servant took care of him, but when he was well, she passed away too. So he found himself homeless, but was taken in by the sādhu Naraharyadāsa. Tulsīdāsa was given the task of taking care of the sacred Tulsī plant, and from this he received the name Tulsīdāsa, meaning servant of Tulsī. Naraharyadāsa also took care of his education. Tulsīdāsa studied in Ayodhyā, the city where Śrī Rāma was born, and then for another 16 years in Kāśī. He studied Sanskrit, the Vedas, auxiliary disciplines of the Vedas, and the six Indian philosophies, so he was very educated. After finishing his studies, he got married to Ratnāvalī, with whom he fell deeply in love. Once, Ratnāvalī wanted to visit her parents. He could not endure even a moment without her and immediately had to go to her. There was a storm, so it was not possible to cross the river by boat, but he resolved it by swimming across. He reached his father-in-law’s house by climbing a rope. When his wife, Ratnāvalī, saw the state he was in, she told him that if only the love he has for her, he would sometimes think of God, then he would already be realized. These words deeply moved Tulsīdāsa, so he renounced the world and became a sādhu. He established many pilgrimage sites. He lived in Kāśī, in Prayāga (Allahabad, where the Kumbhamelā takes place), Ayodhyā, and other places, and also at the shore of Mānasarovara near Mount Kailāśa. Later, he received from Lord Śiva the inspiration to translate the Rāmāyaṇa into the local dialect, Avadhī. Tulsīdāsa’s Rāmāyaṇa is also composed musically, and he is considered the author of the Hanumān Chālīsā, a celebration of Hanumān. Tulsīdāsa spent his entire life spreading the story of Rāma and speaking about the power of his name. He also established something like a gymnasium for youth so they would be strong both morally and physically, and he built many temples dedicated to Hanumān. The Rāmacaritamānasa is a teaching of pure knowledge for people at any level of spiritual development. Tulsīdāsa mentions in his works that he met Hanumān and Śrī Rāma. According to the Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumān is actually still alive here on earth with us. When Śrī Rāma was departing this world, everyone wanted to go with him, Hanumān of course as well. But Lord Rāma told him to stay and take care of bhakti until the end of Kali Yuga. So, how did he meet them? When Tulsīdāsa was staying in Kāśī, every morning he would go outside the city to wash himself, carrying a vessel for water. When he walked back, he would give the rest of that water to a tree. Once the spirit of that tree appeared to him, thanked him, and said it would like to grant him a wish. Tulsīdāsa said he would like to see Lord Rāma. The spirit said that unfortunately it was not within his capacity, but he advised him that he knew where Hanumān was, and Hanumān could fulfill it for him. He said that Hanumān comes to listen while he explains the Rāmāyaṇa. At the very beginning, the first to come is always a leper man. He will sit somewhere at the back and be the last to leave, and this is Hanumān. Truly, that very evening, an old sick man came first and left last. Tulsīdāsa followed him. After some time, he fell at his feet and begged him to reveal himself in his true form. That man pretended to do nothing at all, but after some time, he appeared as Hanumān and blessed him. Tulsīdāsa then asked him so that he might see Lord Rāma. Hanumān sent him to Chitrakūṭa, saying that he would meet Rāma there. Tulsīdāsa went there and lived there for some time. Once, when he was performing parikrama (circumambulating the mountain), he saw two princes on horseback, one dark and one light. They attracted and enchanted him, but after a while his attention was interrupted and he began to focus on something else. Later, Hanumān asked if he had seen Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa on horses. Tulsīdāsa deeply regretted not recognizing them. He recalls this incident in one of his songs, saying that his vision transformed into his own enemy, as he was not able to recognize Rāma. But Hanumān comforted him and assured him that he would meet Rāma the next morning. On the second morning, Rāma appeared again to Tulsīdāsa, this time as a child. Tulsīdāsa was making sandalwood paste when a child came and asked him for a tilaka as well. Again, he did not recognize him. Fortunately, Hanumān was there and somehow hinted that it was indeed Śrī Rāma. So Tulsīdāsa had a complete vision. It was such a joy that he remembered he had to give Rāma a tilaka, so Rāma made the tilaka himself and also made one for Tulsīdāsa. Tulsīdāsa also wrote a book called Rāma Aṣṭottara Praśna, which is based on the Rāmāyaṇa and is essentially a kind of prophecy or oracle. Tulsīdāsa dedicated this book to his friend Gaṅgārāma. Once Gaṅgārāma came home completely unhappy. He worked, I believe, as a minister for the king. It happened that the king’s son went hunting and did not return. The king told Gaṅgārāma to inform him the next day whether his son was alive or not, and if he told the truth, he would lose his head. It was not a simple situation. But Tulsīdāsa comforted him and told him not to fear, that Śrī Rāma would answer him. He invited him to worship Śrī Rāma together. Tulsīdāsa stayed awake the whole night composing this oracle. The next morning, he gave instructions to Gaṅgārāma, and Gaṅgārāma received the answer, and clarity was achieved. Then Tulsīdāsa began to use this oracle for various people who needed help. Because in that story of Rāma, he saw the law of karma, and he actually transformed it into the oracle. The system spread throughout all of India and is still used today. I would say a little about how to use it, because it’s not that we are supposed to predict anything. One should have a very subtle approach, with acceptance, humility, reverence, and simplicity. If we want to use it as an oracle, we will definitely consider whether we really need to use it, if that answer cannot come from somewhere else, or if we ourselves are not able to find it. If we find that we still need guidance, we will find a suitable day. The evening before that day, we will respectfully request and open that book. Auspicious days are determined according to the planets. Each day is ruled by a different planet, which imparts energy to that day. In this, Indian and European astrology actually coincide completely. According to Indian astrology, the week is governed by lunar energy. Monday is the day of the moon (Somavāra; Soma is the moon, vāra is day). In English, it is Monday. Tuesday is ruled by Mars (Maṅgalavāra; Maṅgala is Mars). It is also the day of Hanumān. In most languages derived from Latin, Tuesday is also the day of Mars (e.g., Mardi). Wednesday is Budhavāra. Budha is Mercury. It is the day of Gaṇeśa. In many European languages, Wednesday is also the day of Mercury (e.g., Mercredi). Thursday is Bṛhaspativāra. Bṛhaspati is the guru of the gods, he is Jupiter. In some languages, Thursday comes from Thor (e.g., Thursday). Friday is Śukravāra. Śukra is Venus. It is the day of the Divine Mother. In Romance languages, Friday is also the day of Venus (e.g., Vendredi). Saturday is Śanivāra. Śani is Saturn. The word Saturday comes from Sabbath. Sunday is the day of the sun. So, if that oracular method is used, the best day is Thursday, as Jupiter represents the greatest benefit and embodies the guru, meaning external and internal guidance. If we choose Thursday, we invoke that book on Wednesday. We must also select the day according to the phase of the moon. We choose a day when the moon is clearly waxing, and we should not turn to the book five days before the new moon. After selecting the day, we place the book on the altar or in a sacred place. We celebrate God and the Guru, and then we can address the oracle: "Tomorrow morning, I will ask you for the answer to an important question." We say what it concerns and the name of the questioner if it is for someone else, and we kindly ask for a favorable response. In the morning, we take a bath or perform the morning cleansing. After the morning sādhanā, we again honor the book with flowers and incense. Then, with devotion and surrender, we meditate on Lord Rāma or on our own form of God. It is recommended to chant "Oṃ Rām" seven times, and if we ask about spiritual matters, then 108 times. Then we reflect again on whether our question is truly important and if we have the courage to accept the answer, even if we do not like it. There is a guide on how to select chapters and verses using a seed and an index. The emphasis is on not misusing this oracle. It should be used when one truly needs it, and we should ask no more than two or three questions per week. It is about understanding your destiny, surrendering to the divine will and the higher plan. The oracle responds in a way that is beneficial for our spiritual development. Just a little more about the Rāmāyaṇa. I think you have probably seen clips from that Indian Rāmāyaṇa series. This series is so popular in India that when it was broadcast on television, shops were closed, trains did not run, and officials did not work because everyone was watching. The actors, especially those in the main roles, for some time before and during filming, were not allowed to eat meat, smoke, or drink alcohol. The Rāmāyaṇa is the most popular story throughout South Asia. For example, in Thailand, when kings ascend the throne, they receive the title Rāma. In many Indian languages, the name Rāma is still used today to refer to God. In ancient Persian literature, the name Rāma is a name of the divine. It is the foundation of literature, plays, and more. It is not just a spiritual story; it is a cultural foundation. We would like to sing something. I will show here, this is in Czech, unfortunately, but certainly there are also Rāmāyaṇas in English. Here is the Sanskrit text of the Rāmāyaṇa, written exactly in the meter, in the stanza, as composed by Vālmīki. Here is the Rāma oracle in English. And here it is in Czech. This is in the Czech language, and this was the subtitle; it is said that food... maybe even food. Subtitles created by JohnyX.