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Sanskrit chants: Reṣu jyotsnā dhākā sevade Guru parutaḥ raṇa nahiṁ sandeśoḥ valolāḥ Sattā guru sahāya Bāko sandeśoḥ valolāḥ sattā guru sahāya God bless you. How are you, everybody? Good? Everything is under control. Oṁ Bhagavānkī, Deveśvara Mahādevakī, Satguru Svāmī Mādhāvanājī Bhagavānkī, Sat Tīsanā Tandarṁakī. Good evening, and blessings to all the spiritual seekers. Today is another beautiful day. It’s the fifth day of moonlight. With this waxing of the moon, our energy and consciousness are recharging with that beautiful vibration, purification, and clarity. This month of Kārtika is very beautiful. Life, life after life, life before life, and life itself—it is all life. But that life has meaning when it possesses certain qualities, clarities, purities, and visions. You heard from Dr. Shanti the day before yesterday about the path. You heard from Swāmī Yogeś Purījī about the meaning of the relationship between master and disciple, the dharma between them. Everything becomes smooth if we have clarity. Everything becomes complicated, discomforting, and hard if we lack clarity. There are two situations in human life. First, if you ignore everything, then the so-called past karmas or destinies torment you. This means you do not realize because you do not care; you think, "I don’t care." It is your own decision, but whether you care or not, you must purify those dormant karmas, those seeds lying in the level of unconsciousness. The self, which is the witness of all, must go through this. But after a certain level, it becomes hard. You are postponing things, but they are not cleared, and they will manifest in different lives. This is one situation. Second, you awaken those dormant destinies, all the seeds lying under the ground—meaning in the unconscious, the level of unconsciousness. You awaken them, and your entire life becomes very turbulent. Life sometimes becomes very hard to master. Then you feel disappointed, depressed, or anxious. Why does this happen? Especially when one begins to do good things—you practice, pray, meditate, perform good seva, engage in positive actions, remember God, chant mantras, and simply lead a spiritual life out of love or devotion. The question is: why do those turbulences rise from the unconscious and subconscious to the conscious level, making the journey difficult? We either give up or begin to suffer. For this situation, the mother of Arjuna, Kuntī, asked for blessings from Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa for all spiritual seekers. It does not matter which path you follow, which belief you hold—nirguṇa or saguṇa God, or even if you do not believe. This question and answer apply to every spiritual seeker. Nowadays, spirituality has also become a challenge, whether leading a family life or a life alone. In my opinion, the education system around the world has gone in the wrong direction. The first mistake we humans make is putting small children in kindergarten or nursery school. As parents, we love them, and every parent wishes for their children to learn, study, and achieve material things or so-called diplomas and degrees. Every guru, every master wishes for their disciple to achieve the highest level of consciousness, gain love and respect from seekers and bhaktas, and attain self-realization. No parent prays to God for their children to suffer. No guru prays for their disciples to suffer. But this system creates a distance between you and small children. This is very clear to see. The last few generations have repeated the same pattern, meaning the youngest generation has lost love and respect for their parents. Day by day, more old-age homes are developing. There is a story of a man working in a government office who had no time and brought his parents to an old-age home. The father and mother were very sad. They said, "My son, do not do this to us. Why are you doing this?" He replied, "My dear parents, I am doing nothing new to you. I am doing the same thing you did to me." What do you mean? When we were very small, you either gave us into the hands of a babysitter or pushed us into nursery school. We were longing, "When will we see our parents again? When will we be with them?" We came home, you came home, but you went to parties and pushed us into the lap of babysitters. This kind of education has brought human society into imbalance. But still, love is love. Many do love their parents. But to take care of them does not come to mind because you were the one in kindergarten. You do not understand, but it is said: Mātṛ Devo Bhava. These thoughts are gone. They remain only in some books, in the Upaniṣads. And where are the Upaniṣads? Somewhere in a library, covered in dust. The Granthas, scriptures, and literature written by philosophers or great saints in India—if you want to study them, you would need five lifetimes. One person has given. If you only read the title and open the library door, you will see it is called Jñāna Sāgara, the ocean of wisdom. No modern degree or higher education can give you that knowledge which lies under the dust. It is a pity, a great pity for humankind. Very few people turn towards those treasures, which are the real richness of human intellect, consciousness, development, and achievement. Through this, humans can lead a peaceful life on this planet. But we have lost it. Those who have spiritual thirst, spiritual hunger—the spiritual seekers—have no approach to that knowledge because it is in an old language. It may be ancient Greek, Parsi, Sanskrit, or old Chinese. We have no time to learn, and we lack the strength. Yet, nothing is impossible; where there is a will, there is a way. The path, the way—what we understand as the way again leads us to individualities and individual feelings. Gurujī once said a beautiful poem: Pantha kī khinchata, pantha pantha kī māyā, Ek dham aise haiṁ jahāṁ panthī pāvse nāye. Pantha, pantha—my way, your way, their way, our way, my culture, their culture, my religion, their religion, their country, my country—my, my, my. These are the many different ways; pantha means the path you follow. Pantha, pantha kī khin̄jatā—everyone is supporting and trying to pull others to their way of belief and practice. Pantha, pantha kī khīñjatā, or pantha, pantha kī māyā—there is fighting among them, and that is the problem in the whole world. But for you, what you are fighting inside is the difference. Therefore, ek dham aisi hai—there is one place you may call self-realization, brahma jñāna, oneness with Brahman, or that final mokṣa. That is called dham, meaning a holy, eternal place. But it is said that no panthī can approach it. Panthī means the traveler on a particular road cannot come there because there is no such way that can lead you. There is only one way: love. That love encompasses the entire planet and all creatures. But we are not even able to love other humans. Humans fight against humans. In the last centuries, we fought over culture and religion; now we fight over economy and companies. Nevertheless, we must find that love. Sometimes that love is so hard that you have to pay for it. After all the struggling in this life on this planet, consider Kṛṣṇa. Do not think Kṛṣṇa always had a beautiful life, eating butter and playing with the bhaktas. It was a big struggle. When God comes here, it is a big struggle for Him, and therefore He takes time to come. He always tries to postpone if possible. Finally, after the Mahābhārata battlefield, when those negative powers were cleared from this planet, still you cannot clear everything 100%. Even Śiva Himself, if He manifests or comes to this planet, cannot clear it all. This is like cancer. It does not matter if you have an operation or many different kinds of chemotherapies; something always remains in the body. There is a story played as a film—we do not suggest children see it. It is played late when children are asleep, called Dracula, Vampire. I have been to that city a few times, and there are many underground tunnels. In the evening at sunset, they guide tourist sightseeing underground. The guide dresses exactly like a vampire, like Dracula. At the end of these films, what they call a happy ending for the Draculas, not for others. Before going, they bite someone and leave drops of their blood in the victim’s blood. Then, at the end of the next day, the one infected develops those two teeth. It means the next play will continue with this one. Similarly, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said, "Whenever dharma suffers and adharma takes over, this negative, I manifest, O Arjuna, through my yoga māyā." After all those years, Kṛṣṇa tried hard to bring peace. Though He was capable, somewhere some vṛttis remain in someone, and negative vṛttis grow quickly like weeds in your garden. Remember, three days ago in Khattu Nagar ashram, there were many seeds of grass like little thorns, burat. When this plant grows just one or two centimeters, the thorns begin to grow with it. So it is vṛtti. That is why Maharṣi Patañjali said, "Yogaḥ citta vṛtti nirodhaḥ." O my disciples, through your practice of yoga—it does not matter which kind: yāna, bhakti yoga, rāja yoga, karma yoga, kriyā yoga, mantra yoga, nāda yoga, sahaja yoga, haṭha yoga—constantly check your vṛttis. When a country’s president goes to another country, before entering a room, many security people check with metal detectors and explosive detectors. They do not even trust the machines; they bring dogs to check everything. Even after checking, when they return from lunch, they check again. Maybe someone placed an explosive under the bed. This means every aspirant, every practitioner, should several times a day check your storeroom, your sleeping room, your cidākāśa. If there are negative thoughts, a vṛtti is there. Infection. The infection virus spreads quickly. Viruses are tiny; we cannot see them with our eyes. Such a virus can pull down a mighty elephant or tiger. That is why the Master always reminds us: think positive, meditate, check your vṛttis, check your heart, check your intellect, and then check your words and feelings. That is very important. After that, Kṛṣṇa decided, "Now the time has come; I will retire." He made His journey to Dvārakā in western India. It is believed that from the ocean arose a beautiful palace-like city for Kṛṣṇa: Dvārakā Nagarī. In Italy, there is a city called Venice, built according to the ideas of Dvārakā. I have been to Venice several times but not to Dvārakā, though I can imagine. Kṛṣṇa went to the mother of Arjuna, Kuntī. Kuntī loved all the Pāṇḍavas as well as the Kauravas equally. But you know, there are negative vṛttis everywhere. We check thoroughly, but they come again. One who has diabetes or kidney problems now has a machine, thanks to God: a dialysis machine. After certain hours or days, you must purify the blood again because negative energy can poison everything. Similarly, yoga teachers, practitioners, or organizers who do not practice every day—meaning they do not daily analyze their vṛttis—experience all kinds of suffering: crying, depression, anger, doubts. Mere sapno kī duniya ṭūṭa gayī—the world of my dreams is broken. No, it is your negative thought that has come to you as blackmail, kuśaṅga. Kuśaṅga of thoughts can come even when you are looking at a tree. You never know what is there. And satsaṅg can also come while looking at a tree. Again, you are the one who creates difficulties for yourself. Therefore, we ourselves are the biggest obstacles, the heaviest, biggest rock on our path. You are always crying inwardly, or sad, and so on. In German, they say one thing. Klar? Śānti jī? You can cry and be sad the whole day, but you are not forced to do this. Filter all your negative vṛttis: yogaḥ citta vṛtti nirodhaḥ. This will not happen to you if you follow what Patañjali said to his disciples: Atha yoga anuśāsanam. That anuśāsanam is with yourself, not just with your body, but especially with your subtle body, the astral body. That subtle body is also your knowledge. Your knowledge is subtle, not visible. When you die, someone can preserve your body, but your knowledge no one can preserve—unless you have talked to a disciple or written it down, transferring your abilities and knowledge to someone. Otherwise, it is a pity; one dies and the knowledge is gone. But such knowledge must be given to a worthy vessel. Patra ko dāna denā chāhiye. Patra means the pot—a good pot capable of preserving that knowledge. Otherwise, as we say in Rajasthani, you are pouring wisdom from above, but the pot below is holey. Everything drips out. What would Gurudev say? Therefore, first seal the weak point of your doubts, or you lose your confidence. Many have lost it. There is a joke with a little poem in Rajasthani. It is said a farmer had good karma and was brought to heaven, Svargaloka. At the door of Svargaloka, they said, "Dear farmer, you have such good karma, so now you can enter heaven." He asked, "What is the specialty of heaven?" The specialty? All beautiful things you can imagine, all good things. You will always be ever young. You will always get such food that you will never be hungry. No pain, no suffering—ānanda. Oh, my God! You are always happy, no sorrows; everything is very good. You have all. The farmer said, "Yes, you told me everything: good dress, good eating, this. But is there also my tobacco pipe?" They said, "No, a tobacco pipe is not in heaven." He replied, "What is mine is not there; then it is not heaven. Thank you. I go back to my farmhouse, where I have time for my tobacco pipe." So, coming near the door, karmic and self-conflict becomes a heavy rock, broken into pieces. Mere jīvana kā svapna ṭūṭa gayā. Mere mālā ṭūṭ gaī—my beads or pearls just disappeared. So it is you who can bring yourself to that point. How does Kṛṣṇa come to Kuntī? Kṛṣṇa said, "Kuntī"—she was also His aunt—"now I have finished all my duties, and I am going back to Dvārakā, to my place." Because Kṛṣṇa, as Viṣṇu, resides in the ocean of nectar. But before going, Kuntī asked, "Anything if you have a wish?" Kuntī said, "Yes, Kṛṣṇa. First, it is a pity that you are going, but I understand. If you really want to give me something, then I have one wish." The joyful time to the non-believers, atheists, and troubles to the devotees. Kṛṣṇa was thinking. He said, "Kuntī, you are nervous." No, you put the right thing somewhere else, and other things are in other places. She said, "No, Kṛṣṇa, what I ask, I know what I am asking." Then He said again, "Think over what that is." Again she said, "Troubles to the spiritual seekers, devotees, or bhaktas, and joyful time for those who do not believe, do not meditate, and just eat, drive, and sleep." So Kṛṣṇa again said, "My blessings will be as long as this planet exists. Kuntī, do you know what that means?" She said, "Yes, I know very well. Then explain to me, please." Though He knows—God knows—still He asks. And she said, "Kṛṣṇa, you know why you asked me." He said, "No, Aunty, explain to me. I want to hear from your mouth. I want to hear that I am not the guilty one." Then she said in a beautiful poem: O Kṛṣṇa, throw a very big rock on those happinesses where humans will forget the name of God or your name. So, when you go in the evening to clubs and parties with music, drinking, and dancing, are you repeating the mantra "Dīp Nirañjan sab dukha bhajan dikhā" and "Rigik Dīp Nirañjan sab dukha bhajan dikhā"? Do you do this? Gurudev, the true happiness is found only at the feet of God. True happiness is found only in the deep eyes of God. When you are at a party, in a disco, are you thinking of God? How? Yes, how is your company? How was business? What have you done? Always chat—small chat or big chat. But where is God? Afterward. Many people do not dare to carry their mālā. They put it under their dress or leave it at home because they are going dancing with half-open clothing. If someone sees the mālā, they will say, "Oh." Humans are afraid nowadays to think of God. Humans are not afraid to do bad things, blame others, and destroy good things. That is a Kali Yuga quality. Forget it. We do not remember God because you think, "What joy! I have money, I have this, I have that. What more do I need?" They say God is for crazy people. God is just like a social life, that is all. And not for all, because I believe this, and when another religious person comes, then, oh God. Yesterday, you were dancing, happy, drinking, and laughing. In the morning, you went to the doctor, and the doctor’s diagnosis: "My dear lady, the diagnosis about your pain in the chest is positive." She said, "Oh, positive! My life is positive." But in the medical field, a positive diagnosis is not good; negative is better. One man always said, "All are negative, all are negative." The doctor told him one day, "Yes, your diagnosis is positive." He said, "Oh, he came into the office. You see, nothing is negative. Today I have positive." The doctor said, "What? The diagnosis is negative." But when told, "Dear lady, unfortunately, you have breast cancer and both have to be removed as soon as possible," now you do not think about yesterday’s party. You begin to think of God and prayer. Prayer: Jesus, thy mercy. Holy Maria, thy mercy. Mahāprabhujī, thy mercy. Dīp Nirañjan, Śabduk Bhajan. Moe, boje, moe, boje, boje, boje, Mahāprabhujī, Praśim, Praśim. It is a good mantra, no? Boje, boje, moe, Mahāprabhujī, Praśim, Praśim, Svāhā. This is a mantra. That is it. Then we remember God. Therefore, Kuntī said that bhaktas and people should have a little turbulence in life so they will constantly keep to their path. But then another saint said: everybody remembers God when troubles are there, but no one repeats and remembers God when they are too happy, very happy. Sukhme sumiran kare to dukha kāye kā hoye. If even in the highest time of your life you remember God more, then troubles will not come. Solid. Therefore, Gurudev said, "Mahāvāhali Gurujī, even the mighty Himalaya may shake or break, but the bhaktas’ faith will never shake." That time is ready to receive that knowledge, that wisdom. Therefore, it is that knowledge which you have that you must find your successor. But sometimes successors turn everything upside down. No, to preserve. You know, in Europe, in the middle of Vienna at Kärntnering, if you want to change your old windows to a different architecture, they will not give you permission. In Prague, with beautiful houses, if you want to change, they will not give permission. Even in many castles, they do not allow you to install a toilet or bathroom inside. That is called preserving ancient heritage. If you want to now make a viewing tower and veranda on the Taj Mahal to sit and drink coffee, neither the Indian government nor World Heritage will allow you. Similarly, who are you to change it? It is not good. Your knowledge should remain pure knowledge. That is what we call: in quality, there is no compromise. There is one professor of Āyurveda, Sadeshmukh, from Tilak University in Pune, Maharashtra. He said, "Swāmījī, no compromise in medicine in Āyurveda. No compromise." But many people compromise, and that is why they say medicine does not function. Almost every Āyurvedic medicine has strict rules and principles; that is called praise. Praise be to God. When you take Āyurvedic medicine, 90% of the time you are not allowed to eat curd, yogurt, tomatoes, mango, green mango, sour things, mango pickle, or chutneys. When you are taking the sapta pras, you are not allowed to take any oil, tomatoes, mangoes, etc. Then it functions. But you know, in European countries, we are taking sapta pras as a cheese on bread, pastes. Ah, pāvidal. My God. Svachhkī pāvidal. Every day. And not only this. Take one spoon in the mouth. Because the sapta prasāda is so good, and again the same spoon is in. All bacteria are inside, my God. Sapta pras is not to be consumed throughout the whole year—maximum one month. Then see the power of the sapta prāṇas. But unfortunately, this is not written. In German, they say: for death, it does not matter how one dies. The important thing is that one dies. Similarly, for a businessman, commercial things do not matter; it does not matter for them how it will affect. The main thing is that we buy their production. They need consumers, the manufacturers. But now in the world, consumers have become conscious, releasing things again, and that is why appreciation and thankfulness to Mother Earth. Śānti, Śānti...