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The problem arises when the connection is lost. It does not matter if all the equipment is present and everything is ready; if the connection is not there, nothing functions. The better the connection, the better the picture. It is the same with our Guru. When we have that connection, everything runs. Even when we are doing our sādhanā and all other practices, if that connection is absent, something is lost. So, we struggled somehow and managed to find the connection for today. The other day, when we did not have a webcast, I asked Avatār Purī what the satsaṅg should be about, just before we went to the Bhakti Sādhanā. Avatār Purī said, "Maths." I think he was thinking of something else, perhaps not hearing my question well. But he said, "I thought he said maths. We have to... what’s that about?" Maybe there is something in that. In the days prior, I had been sitting with him a lot, doing algebra and equations. That was fresh in his mind, and it had been quite difficult—something new for him. In some way, it became a beautiful picture for me of how it is for us. In this particular type of algebra, as many remember from school, you start with a very small question, just a few letters here and there. Slowly, over the next few lines, it expands. When you are not used to such questions, it does not look like you are approaching a solution; it looks like you are getting into a bigger mess. Suddenly, from a small question, the next line fills the whole page. As the question progresses further, the answer we arrive at is a simple solution, like X equals 2. It reminded me very much of how one goes on a spiritual path. In the beginning, you start with a question within you: What is this all about? What is life about? Then it expands as you start to practice. You meet your Guru, and he begins to expose you to your inner self. Suddenly, that which seemed like a simple question keeps getting bigger for some time, and then eventually you come to the answer. The hard part for Avatār Purī in those questions was not that he lacked the skill; he knew how to do the mathematics. It was having the confidence to let something get bigger before it gets smaller again. It was about getting over that first step, letting it expand, seeing what is there, and then going with what he knew, slowly and simply, until reaching the solution. For me, that one word from Avatār Purī—"maths"—was so beautiful, a great way of expressing it. That day we did not have the satsaṅg, so I had more time to think about maths, satsaṅg, and other things. I was thinking about it today in a different way. In ancient times, at the beginning of the Vedas, there was the essence of knowledge, the basics of Ātmā Dhyāna. In the Upaniṣads, you find the real essence of all spirituality. From that, it spreads like that same equation. There are so many different ways of practicing that spirituality. It explains different religions, and within those religions, different ways of practicing—like within Hinduism, you have bhakti, jñāna, yoga, and so many different ways of doing that same thing. All those different practices and expressions of that essence look so different that they seem unrelated. But again, at the end, all those different practices, religions, and ways of expressing God come back to the same essence. They come back to the same small answer, like in the equation. In this case, that essence is about love, compassion, brotherhood, and being together. In the Īśā Upaniṣad, the first line says that everything we can see, everything we can experience, everything that is around, is all made up of the one essence, the one energy. In the Īśā Upaniṣad, the Sanskrit quote is: all that we see, that we hear, that moves away from us, all that arises from unity. It is not that she is happy and I am sad, but we are happy and sad. In that śloka, Mahātmā Gāndhī also commented that if the world could understand that one śloka from the Īśopaniṣad, all problems would be solved. He said, "Of all the things written in all of the scriptures, I just wish that everybody could understand this one śloka." Because the essence of all love, all understanding, and all compassion is within that one. That came from the Upaniṣads, right from the roots of spiritual knowledge. Like that equation, it has slowly expanded into all different expressions. Now we have so many different ways of practicing, so many beautiful expressions of that type of soul. That is why we have so many interesting spiritual paths for expressing this truth. There is one sentence composed of a few words: "The world needs to humanize, not homogenize." We do not need to homogenize; we do not all need to become the same and have the same thoughts and ideas. There is no need for a dominance of one type of thinking, one type of practice, or one type of religion. It would be much better for everybody to find within themselves the humanity, to find their expression of what is in that Īśā Upaniṣad. The Upaniṣad goes on in the second line to say that if you cannot manage to understand that first point, then try to live for a hundred years and do as much selfless service as you can. Do as many good things as you can without the karma attaching to you. Purify, so that perhaps in the next life you will understand the first love. Even more interesting, the Upaniṣad starts at that high assistance of knowledge. Then, as you go to the end of the last four ślokas, they are a prayer that basically says, "God, can you please show me your face?" So, it gets more and more practical, and we come back to prayer and our relationship with God. It says, "Please remove the disc which is covering your light, that I may see your golden light, that I may be part of that." It feels like that mathematical equation is expanding, but then at the end, you come back to the essence. For me, when I was in Europe some months ago, there were many beautiful experiences on that trip. The more we can spend our time in that, the more it becomes our life. It becomes part of us; it becomes fixed and strong. I heard a very interesting comment from one Buddhist master. They were talking about the next avatar, or within the Buddhist tradition, the next bodhisattva. He said it does not necessarily mean that the next incarnation will be a physical person; it can also be that the Bodhisattva is the sun, that the whole community can produce that energy. It is beautiful to think about how much, when we come together, we can make a change in everybody’s life who is there in that sun. We may not all realize how much we have to offer. There is one beautiful story. A well-dressed man came to a house in a village and asked, "Can I have lunch here?" The house was quite poor, and the lady said, "I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything to cook. I would love to cook for you." She really had nothing—no vegetables, no wheat. The man said, "It’s okay. Do you have a pot and some water?" She said yes. He said, "Good, because I have a magic stone, and from that I can produce a soup with just a pot of water. It will be the best soup you have ever tasted." She was extremely interested. She brought the pot, put water in, and put it on the stove. The man put the stone inside and let the water boil. After a little while, he tasted it with a spoon and said, "It could really do with some salt." The lady said, "Yes, salt I have." She went to the cupboard, where there was nothing else but some salt, and put it in the boiling water. He let the soup cook a little more, tasted it again, and said it was excellent, nearly ready, but it would be really good if it had some carrots inside. She said she did not have any but would ask the neighbor. She went to the neighbor and said, "This guy is making a special soup with a magic stone. It would be even better with some carrots." The neighbor found some carrots and brought them over. The man tasted it again and said, "Hmm, that’s good. Maybe I should add a piece of potato." Other people from the village came to see what was happening. He tasted it again and said if some peas were inside, it would be even better. Slowly, one thing came and then another. The pot boiled, and the soup cooked. In the beginning, the lady wondered why he put only water and a stone. But by this time, the whole village had come, and she understood part of the process. Eventually, they all sat down to eat the incredible soup, to which everyone had contributed something. The man ate his bowl of soup, took his stone, put it back in his pocket, and left. All were praising him for the fantastic soup and the wonderful stone. Of course, he said, "Don’t worry about the stone. Any stone will work. Just everybody put them together." That is the beauty of being together, of maintaining that spiritual community—of all giving our own little bit of that light which Swāmījī has given to us and making a bright light. What I felt from Europe, what was so special for me, was just to be in that satsaṅg, to be with Swāmījī in the satsaṅg, in the prayer, in the programs, and to be together at any opportunity. The specialty of his stay in Europe was satsaṅg—to be there in that experience, with those people, and to feel Swāmījī through them, to feel his love, his presence, his kindness. So many people illuminate Swāmījī with light. It is the most incredible treasure, and I feel the urge all the time to remind everybody of just how special that is. I had the experience here from Jādon that when you are living in Jādon and go back to Australia or Europe, people say, "Oh, Jādon, it’s so fantastic there, so special." When you are living within that, it is easy to lose your awareness of it, to not be quite as aware of how special it is. In the middle of something like this, you can easily lose the awareness that it is very precious. That is why it is very important to remind ourselves how unusual and precious it is. You may have been to a hundred Kriya Anusthāns, you may have been to a thousand satsaṅgs—do not lose sight of how special they are, just what a treasure it is, how incredible it is. So, like in a mathematical equation, we started off with one small statement, and we come to the same one at the end.