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Oṁ Pūle Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Śrī Śrī Devpurījī Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Dharma Samrāṭ Paramahaṁsa Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda Purī Jī Mahārāja Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṁsa Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Purī Jī Satguru Deva Kī Jaya. Hari Om to everybody around the world, all of our Guru brothers and sisters. On Christmas, on behalf of all of us here in Jadan, firstly, I’d just like to say to everybody, Merry Christmas. I guess for everybody, this Christmas time holds different memories of their childhood, their youth, or their family. It very much depends on where you were brought up and in what climate. Many will think of Christmas as a time of being very cold and snowy. On the contrary, I’ll remember Christmas as a time when you get up early in the morning and go for a surf, because it’s the middle of summer in Australia. So in our family, the tradition was actually first to go about six o’clock to the beach, have a swim, and then come back for Christmas. I would guess it’s a little bit different in Europe. It’s about sharing time together, spending time together with joy and enjoying good food, perhaps sharing presents. And especially, it’s a time for children—for a lot of joy and laughter. For many, it is also a very, very important time spiritually, because it represents the birth of Lord Jesus, His incarnation on the earth, and what He offered to everybody: His message and forgiveness. This Christmas time is here so that we can remember all this and offer it to others. I remember one hymn we used to sing when I was at school. I can only remember one little bit, but it went like: “If we can generate that energy from within ourselves, then it also affects those who are around us.” As much as we can talk, or make laws, or make rules, or give education about peace and understanding, it essentially just has to come on a personal level. It is our dharma, our purpose here, having this human birth, to try and embody those messages which the great saints have given to us, that guidance which they have given. We must try and have those qualities come up from within us and share them with everybody who’s around, as Gandhījī said. Swamījī often refers to that in his peace conferences: “Be the change that you want to see.” We all want that those around us, and ourselves, should be happy and peaceful. But that transformation has to start from us. For so many people around the world, Jesus’s message guides their life or is a very important aspect of their lives. They direct their bhakti, their devotion towards Him and His teaching. And all these people direct their love, their bhakti, towards Jesus. There are so many ways to devote that bhakti, to give that devotion. In our paramparā, on the path, we offer our devotion to our guru, or to Mahāprabhujī, to Devpurījī, or to Gurujī. Others offer it to Kṛṣṇa, or to Rām, or to Mahādevjī, Śiva. Sometimes people ask the question, “But how do I find that bhakti? Where does that bhakti come from, that devotion?” It’s not something that you can make happen. To force bhakti, or to say, “I will devote myself to this,” and force it to happen, just means that somehow it’s fake. Bhakti is something that just comes from within you; it erupts from within you. At times during our lives, it may not be our path. Many may find that at times they are just full of that bhakti and devotion, whatever object it may be towards—whether it’s towards your guru, or to the master, or to nature, or whatever—but it’s just there, like screaming within, so powerfully you feel it. Such a joy, such an energy, it’s so alive. And then at some other time, you may find it’s just not there. But we continue with our practice, with our sādhanā, and with our karma yoga, and leave the door, the possibility open for it to come again. It also may be that what somebody else is drawn toward is not what draws you. There’s no point in bhakti trying to be like somebody else, because every one of us is different, and we all have our different phenomena within. At the same time, we cannot force what we feel, even when it may be so strong within us that we want to share it with everyone. You can’t make somebody else feel what you feel. You may be able to show them what a joy it is for you and what a beauty it is, so that people may be inspired to find their own bhakti and what attracts them to bhakti. But there’s no recipe that you do this and this, and you’ll have bhakti. We have all of our practices, our pūjās, and our kriyās that we keep going, and we can purify ourselves so that it can have the chance to blossom. And so I guess that at Christmas time, for those people who feel that devotion and bhakti towards Jesus, it must be their most beautiful time of the year. And for those who may not feel that same devotion, because they have a different object of devotion, then take the chance to be inspired by those people’s devotion. It’s beautiful to see other people in their practice, to see what different paths can bring, what peace they can bring, what joy they can bring within people. And it doesn’t matter if it’s from this path or that path or that path. That peace and joy and love that come from the paths—it’s all the same, it’s all so beautiful. So to everybody around the world, when they’re celebrating with their families or whatever they may be doing on this day, enjoy that feeling of unity that comes with Christmas, of sharing, of forgiveness, and take the chance to share everybody else’s love and their beauty, what they have inside. And also to share yours with everybody else. Śāstra Saṁjās Rājpūrī Mahārāj, kī jai.