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Part 1: Festivals, Culture, and the Five Debts: A Spiritual Discourse Bhole Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Devpurī Samādevā Kī Jaya, Śrī Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Purījī, Satgurudeva Kī Jaya. Om Bholē Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jai. Om Bholē Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jai, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvar Paramahaṃsvāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Satya Gurudeva Kī Jai. And all spiritual seekers in different parts of the world, blessings are coming to you from holy Bhārat, Jāṛdhān, India. Indeed, it was a beautiful time of Deepavali, the festival of lights. And then, after, we had the anniversary of our beloved Satguru Dev, Holy Gurujī, Swāmī Madhavānandjī. All kinds of festivals have different meanings. First of all, to maintain social relations, humans are also like birds, flying or working, going in different directions. There are rare times when the whole society comes together. Secondly, each festival reminds us of the particular background of why or for what this festival is celebrated. Then, every festival should be connected with spirituality, and it is with spirituality. Culture is there where the humans are. Culture is the acknowledgment of the person. Culture changes; sometimes, it is called traditions. Tradition means generation to generation, remembered or celebrated. So tradition is that which is constantly kept—the culture. Culture is a different kind of spirituality which connects with the religious background, and in that religious background, culture says there should be no differences. No holy book will preach negative instructions to humans. Every holy book, religion, and holy saint preaches, works, and acts in the world for the sake of protection, love, understanding, and spiritual development. Every culture has similarity because the roots of all culture are in one, and the rest are the branches. One seed of the apple sprouts and begins to grow as a tree, but branches will grow in every direction: east, west, north, south, above. But the fruits, the quality of the fruits of that one tree, is the same. So the branches of spirituality or religion are rooted in one Sanātana. Sanātana Dharma, the eternal principle, the cosmic law, which does not apply only to a particular religion, but to all. A law of the country does not apply only to a particular person or group of people, but to the whole country. Therefore, every cultural festival around the world is for social relations, forgiveness, and understanding, to make people happy and unite them in oneness for the benefit of all humankind. The oldest spiritual, religious, and cultural traditions began there, where the first humans were. The modern scientist, before six years, I heard declared that the first human was somewhere in the territory now what we call Tibet. And that is what we always said: Svayambhū Darśiva, who first manifested himself on Mount Kailāsa in the Himalayas. Yes, it is because most of the earth was under the water or under the ice. The branches of this tree of the world have slowly, slowly covered the whole globe, and its fruits, or whatever it is, all sources or the resources of our earth are covered. All the creatures, whether they are in the water, on the earth, or in the air, are nourished from the resources which come from our mother earth. All creatures know how to utilize. They know when it is enough. But only one, and that is a human, does not know how to utilize. We begin to collect. We are collecting because we do not trust ourselves. Now, 80% or more than 80% of humans on this planet have fear of existence. Other creatures do not. Humans think we are the ones who supply everything to others. This is our ignorance. The wise person says, a small corn of rice or sugar, or something very tiny for the ant, and 100 kilos or 40-50 kilos for the elephant every day. Only that one Paramatmā, one God, or one Father, whatever you call it, that one is feeding all. Humans do not have trust in this. There is enough to eat, enough to drink, and Mother Earth has enough space for everyone to sleep. But human culture became selfish to collect. The festivals remind us to share with others, to give to them, but many festivals become commercial nowadays because humans become too greedy. In these cultures, it is the humans who discover that what we call the soul, whether it is the soul of animals, any creature’s soul, or the human soul, is traveling on this physical planet as well as in the astral world. It is humans who discover how to help souls come to the light. And here in Vedic culture, the ancient scriptures say that every human owes something to five persons, very, very much. And that is two: father and mother, Mātṛ ṛṇa and Pitṛ ṛṇa. After that comes Deva ṛṇa, Ācārya ṛṇa, and Ṛṣi ṛṇa. These are five. You have to pay the credit back. Whatever you got, you got from these five people. Mother, she carried you in her body, father. He cared about you. Deva: the Devas are of two kinds: the elements—water, fire, air, earth, and space. The Devas also mean that every house has its own protector. Some have Hanumānjī, some have Gaṇeśjī, some have Bheru, and so on. And in Christianity also, you have certain holy persons as your family protectors. Devas means good qualities. The fire, light, yes, the light in our eyes, this is the fire, God. Air in our ears, which brings and transfers the sound. So all elements connected with the prāṇa and more, means rivers, lakes, oceans, fields, vegetation. We got shelter on this planet, and our duty is to keep this planet as beautiful as it is. Acharyas are those who educated us, who gave us the knowledge for our existence, for our survival. Don’t say, “Well, it’s my right to learn, and it’s their duty to teach me.” Of course, you have a right to learn, and they have the dharma to teach you, but still, this relation between student and teacher, or professor, or whatever you call it, is very important. Knowledge which you get, no matter what kind of knowledge, you should be thankful for that. When it’s raining on the mountain, water flows down where the valley is. Water doesn’t flow from down to up, but from up to down. So that valley is the disciple, the student, and the mountain is the master. What knowledge comes from the master, what you call your ācārya? It only comes when you accept. When you accept, then your pot is down. When someone is explaining a teaching, then his or her mind is uplifted. You have a tea cup, and someone will come with the tea kettle. From this tea pot, he will say, “Would you like to have tea?” He said, “Yes, give me tea, please.” How will you? The tea will come here. Clear? So you have to hold the pot down, and who gives has to hold it up. That is an example. So whenever you learn something, you have to be humble, kind, and ready to receive. Paṅkabandh Karadho Sadām Bhai Naman Jahā Jal Bharīyā. There is one bhajan, “Sadām Bhai Naman Jahā Jal Bharīyā.” O my brother sādhus, where is the deep place? There is water staying, the lake. And that lake, if it is connected very deeply only with the sand, the stones will not stay there. It should be sealed, and that sealing means with your concentration, your quality. That’s very important. And then come the ṛṣis, the hermits. The ṛṣis who were living in the forest were doing tapasyā to have children. They did a lot of prayers. They were working hard in the forest, growing their vegetables and staying there. The ṛṣis were teaching; they were leading a gurukul for their children and for others to come to. There are two names: Ṛṣikul or Gurukul. Now, what you call the hostel system, the school system, it doesn’t matter in which part of the world it is, the system, the tradition, the culture is created by ṛṣis. Whether you believe it or not, the branch is from there; the original is from there. And even the ashram or monastery, or whatever you call it, it is the system, the traditions created by ṛṣis. They lived around the world. Not only the Himalayas were occupied by ṛṣis, but very long mountains with thousands of kilometers, what you call the Hindu Kush mountains, when you fly, begin from Turkey and come all the way to Afghanistan, this part, and till Dubai. It passes through the Hindu Kush mountains, you know very well. What means the Hindu Kush? Kūśāsana. So that is where the ṛṣis were living, and long ago, about 35 years, one person who worked in this all kind of old tradition way, and what, and they declared or they found from where the name is coming. So you call the Alps mountains, the Alps. And research says it’s called the small Himalaya. Alp means small. And so when we have breakfast, always we say Alpāhāra. Who is eating is called varied diet, controlled diet, little diet is called Alpa Āhāra, Alpa. And the name of the Rāsyā comes from Ṛṣis. Tashkand was part of that India, and that is where the ṛṣis were. There are many, many stories about Tashkand. So it means not that I am talking about Indian territory or something. But the world was united in oneness. Now, it is also in earth, in oneness, but we humans have made the lines in our brain, in our thought. This is my land, this is my country, and these borders exist here, not on the planet. So, ṛṣis, those ṛṣis were capable of meditating and doing research work. Even what we call astrology, how many years did they experiment to see from which planet, on which planet, what kind of effect it has. The life of the sun, and how, from when and till where, everything is written very clearly in the Vedas. So the ṛṣis are the founders of spirituality and culture, and afterwards, when division begins, we are the founders of religion. The difference between spirituality and religion is that spirituality is unity, oneness, and religions are divided, different. Now, other creatures, we don’t know if they have this kind of feeling and this knowledge to know the difference about this Mātṛ ṛṇa, Pitṛ ṛṇa, Deva ṛṇa, Ācārya ṛṇa, and Ṛṣi ṛṇa. Finally, when the human life is coming, then you are standing at one door that you may call mokṣa, or you call brahmajñāna, meaning becoming one with Brahman, or you call it forever free from this cycle of birth and death. But humans were made aware about ṛṣis, their teachings, they follow the steps or the track, the line of the souls, where it is going and what is happening. So, they gave the place names. Our planet is called Mṛtyuloka, the mortal world, Mṛtyuloka. Whoever comes into this world will die, and whoever dies will come back. What is created will be destroyed, and what is destroyed will be created. Who came will go, what is made will be destroyed, what exists will again disappear. Purījī, Purījī... It is bound or limited by time, and we cannot go beyond time in this world. Therefore, time means our changes, even in our age. It doesn’t matter how much you practice yoga, sports, or any kind of therapy to become young. Pharyung Rung Skhur Thus is Nūr Ainā’s sign. You will never become young again. Yes, it means you become healthy for a while, but the clock, the clock of God, is constantly moving. Bhagavān ke ghar der ho saktī hai, andher nahīṁ. In God’s house, it takes time, maybe, but there is no darkness. So everything is measured with time. We call for everyone God has given the births, the breath. How many breaths will you have? When you have used all your breath, credit what God gives you is finished. Modern science, you can say, comparison. We have a rechargeable battery, and it is written how many hours this battery will last. And so is this breath battery, how many there are and how much you will use. If you use the battery continuously, it will last for five hours. But if you use it only half an hour today and tomorrow, and so on, it will last long. But the period of usage is the same. Therefore, yoga says, have a healthy body and control or save your breath. Like a person who is very careful living, saving money, not spending here and there. So, the yogī saves the breath through prāṇāyāma. The oxygen, the breath, is our life. And our breath has got five different kinds of prāṇas and five upa-prāṇas. These five prāṇas, upa-prāṇas—the fine energy prāṇa—this is a quality in our breath which keeps the entire process, cells and so on in the body healthy. Then, someone says that our life is like this table, and on this table is one string, or lying this mālā, okay, here, here, from this part, and now I am pulling slowly, slowly, so, it’s now coming slowly, slowly,... and it came and is gone. Part 2: The String of Life, Ancestors, and the Guidance of Culture So imagine your life is a string lying on a table, and you are slowly pulling it, and it is coming closer. It means moving away and away, from the middle of the table, then a quarter of the table, and then gone. “Deena Bandhu Deena Nātha, Merī Dorī Tere Hātha.” O Lord of the meek, O Lord of mercy, O Protector, the string of my life is in your hands. Please be so kind and someday pull this string a little bit nearer to you. It means that I come to Thee, my shelter, closer to Thee. It depends on how you use this string to pull and in which direction you are pulling — that is very important. Similarly, they spoke of prāṇa. It is very hard to say what connection there is between prāṇa and the soul. Prāṇa is the soul, the soul is prāṇa, or prāṇa is the soul. The soul is continuing, and the prāṇa which is given to us is temporary. But prāṇī also means — you call it in this language, in the Slavic language — prāṇī means all living creatures. It comes from Sanskrit. And prāṇī means those creatures who have life in them, prāṇa. And when it dies, you will say: “Prāṇa chod diyā, prāṇa chalā gayā, prāṇa nikal gayā” — gave up the prāṇa, the prāṇa has gone out, or the prāṇa is gone, died. Similarly, in this way, the one who departs, the soul from this Mṛti Loka, comes to the Pitṛ Loka. Pitṛ Loka means the world of the ancestors. All souls who have passed away are now somewhere waiting. The souls of the animals will automatically lead them further — in which direction, only God knows. And the souls of the humans will also be waiting, and lead them in which direction, God knows. The direction is the destiny. Therefore, more destiny applies to humans because God said, “I gave you the intellect, viveka.” Therefore, God said, “I told you, in this hand is nectar and in this hand is poison. Now what?” You want to drink; that is your decision. That is all. Therefore, for humans it is very important that when a human dies, there are certain ceremonies, and then we call it pitṛ pūjā. So, it is very — thousands and thousands of years of the ṛṣis, who — that the follower, meaning your blood relative, if there is one, should perform a particular pūjā, so that this soul from the astral world will gain further access. So it is said, when you have children, the door is open to Pitṛ Loka, and when you get grandchildren, then the door is open to the other lokas. And when you have a great-grandchild, then you have the golden staircase to the Brahmaloka. Now, you don’t have children — what about them? So it must not be only children; you have friends. So your friends can do the pūjā for you. Now, this tradition, what I want to tell — it is, now it was in October, the Pitṛ time. And in India, you also have it differently with the moon calendars. The same thing is repeated in Christianity also, what you call the day of holy souls, the day of all souls. And everyone goes to the graveyard, the cemetery, and brings flowers to their ancestors’ graves. Now, here we are touching, cross, accident. We come together. If you don’t believe that the soul is gone and is not here anymore, then to whom are you giving the flowers there? There is nothing. If we say, “Holy Gurujī is gone to Brahmaloka,” for whom are we celebrating the anniversary? Him or some other great saints? So their light, their relation, their connection to us is very vivid. Now, people do not believe this, and that is why people are suffering more and more. Never in human history have people been so unhappy as now. Never in human history have people suffered so much, been so ill, or fought so much — this and that, all of it. Life for humans has become very critical and stressful, among many other things. And that human, because if you are not doing this, then it turns back. That soul begins to disturb on this planet because it needs freedom to go somewhere. And it is believed that though it is your family member, when it becomes a pitṛ, meaning the spirit comes back again. And that spirit can damage your business, that spirit can damage your health, that can create a dispute between family members, husband, wife, children, and many other things. It happens. Now, not only here but in the whole world. So the ancient culture — not the new-age culture — the ancient culture goes to the American Indians. What do they do? They pray to the ancestors. When we were in Los Angeles, I think nearly two years ago, there was something called the World Peace Bell. And there are seven World Peace Bells, I think seven of seven, and one of them is in Los Angeles. These peace bells were made at a time when in Japan the atom bomb was, how do you call it, exploded or used. How much? Hiroshima? Then, from all over the world, people sent some coins there. And there were so many coins from the whole world. And these coins were melted together and made into a big, big bell, a peace bell. And handed over to the United Nations. Only on a particular day will this peace bell be rung. It is very heavy, with great force, that peace bell. So, the old culture — at that time when I was there, I was invited, and only some politicians or some world personalities, the dignitaries, they come and ring the bell. I was invited there to ring. And there were old men, American Indians, with the hat, with the feather of the eagle, nice trousers, but the backside was open. Yes? And everything. And when his term came to pray, we were — every religious person or cultural person was asked to pray according to their language. And he prayed, “Ancestors, bless me,” his ancestors, and you will not imagine what happened. A beautiful big leaf from the tree just fell on him. Maybe coincidentally, or maybe not. But why didn’t it fall before when I was doing it? And when there was another American doing it, and there was one from Korea, he was doing it. But when he said, “My ancestors, bless me, Mother Nature,” the leaf fell. So, they believe in ancestors, pitṛ. Then I went to Africa, and in Africa they also invoke ancestors. Sun God, Vāyu, Fire — that is called a natural religion, Sanātana Dharma. Then I went to New Zealand, to the Māori, and they also called to the ancestors. Then I went to Australia to the Aboriginals, and they also prayed to the ancestors. When we have lost this culture, we are lost. It means humans have lost their direction and don’t know where to go. The roots are rotten, and the trunk is dry and rotten. The branches are dry and falling apart of the human originalities. It was used, the dynasty, and now many don’t know what is your dynasty. What we call the spiritual lineage. Where is your lineage? Who was your fifth grandfather, and where? Now, it came as such a hurricane storm. So seeds from Australia fell into Africa, and African seeds fell into America, and American seeds fell into China. Hari Om Tat Sat. Don’t know. So one has to keep and follow that, then you will have peace in the family. Do the ceremony — it doesn’t matter where, but in the place where you believe. I do not say that you must do it in the Hindu tradition or anywhere, but you have to do it very systematically for your ancestors. And that it belongs to the culture. That culture will lead us. When you don’t follow, then you don’t know, but you have mental disturbances. When you talk, you are angry, you are trembling, what we call a mentally ill person. And that becomes destructive, and when there is peace, harmony, and love, there is unity. So culture unites, it doesn’t divide. But certain energies, prāṇas, where the spirits are then working against you because they are angry. “My child, I did everything for you, and you have forgotten me now.” That’s it. So, my dear, the human understands this. And humans should follow and do. If someone says these are fanatic people, what is the fanatic? Because you are honestly doing something, honestly you are practicing something, and they call you ill. That’s not acceptable. Now, highway, one-way highway. So one person was driving in the wrong direction, and the radio announced, “Careful, there is a ghost driving opposite direction on highway number so-and-so.” And who was driving? The co-driver, his wife, was sitting beside him, and who was driving on the wrong direction? He. He was so angry, and he said to his wife, “What a stupid radio! People, what is one ghost? There are so many coming on the wrong side,” because he saw the others. The scriptures are wrong. He himself was going in the wrong direction. Therefore, it is easy to blame someone. So, develop human love, human respect, and human science to follow human culture. And there is, including yoga, sport, meditations, prayers, helpings — many, many ways. Many good things are there. There are thousands of good things we can do in the world, but these thousand good things can be blackened by one negative thing. So negative is one, and good things are a thousand. So don’t worry, keep on; you should just go on working. Work on your spirituality, work on your social works, helping, and meditate and pray for all who are still on the planet, our Earth, Mother Earth, and for those who are gone; we pray for them too. That they clear our highway, our road, so we don’t drive in the wrong direction. Kuśaṅga will lead you to the blind street or traffic circle. That’s it. So this is for today. Practice, practice. So what you are doing and practicing, or myself, not only for my — the thoughts of the Hindus, Sanātana Dharma: “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ.” When you say “Sarve Bhavantu,” then we don’t have an enemy. And if we have an enemy, then we call, “Śatru Buddhi Vināśāya.” The negative thoughts of enemies, which create enemies, these thoughts should be purified and destroyed — not that life. So, great things are there. And we have the great things. Why? We are suffering. So, therefore we work. Mātṛ Ṛṇa, Pitṛ Ṛṇa, Deva Ṛṇa. In Ācārya Ṛṇa and Ṛṣi Ṛṇa, then humans will have liberation. Then the great saints and ṛṣis found a different way too, and that’s what we call initiations. Either you become a Swami in different traditions, or you become a priest in different traditions, and there are ceremonies; then you are freed from them all. All, you are freed from them all, but you are bound for all. Now you were only for one family, but now you are connected with what we call “Vasudeva Kuṭumbakam.” Now you have the burden or the heaviness of all creatures, not only humans. And therefore, it is a “Sarovara Taruvara Santa Jana, Cauthā Barase Megha, Paramārtha Ke Kāraṇe, Cāroṁ Dharī Hai Deha.” The lake, the tree, the rain, and saints — they pour, incarnated or manifesting on this planet for others. A tree stands for all others, a lake carries water for all, rain rains for all, and a saint preaches for all. And that’s called, then it becomes the duty of others to look after and take care of the saints, because they are more than anybody. Their blessing can free you from that spirit which comes into your body, the spirit which comes into your house. And sometimes, when disturbing, then you keep in your house some light. In every tradition, religions may — I don’t know, some may not be doing it — but when someone dies, you put a candle. A candle is kept beside the dead body all night. You go to the church or the temple, and you put the light, candle. Here we are. Where is the difference? If you light a candle in the church, or you light a candle in the āśrama or the temple, what is the difference then? The difference is that we created duality, not God. So in your house, make some nice protection from glass, ball, or something, and keep the light in the house. And pray in your own feelings, and give something — seeds for the birds to eat. That will help you; suddenly your health will be better. You will not be anxious; anxiety will disappear. So, my dear, the science, the jñāna, the culture, the spirituality, the religions are all blessings of the ṛṣis for the well-being of this planet, all creatures, and especially to give the strength to the humans to guide all. Today is enough. Tomorrow you can write questions. If I am not here, then someone will speak to you. I wish you all the best and pray to Mahāprabhujī that Mahāprabhujī gives you blessings, light, and wisdom. And may these blessings go to your ancestors too. Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. Devīśvara Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jaya. Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Paramahaṃsa Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Guru Deva, Kī Jaya.