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Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa Nārāyaṇam Bhaṁ Sab Dās Prabhu Śaraṇ Parāyaṇam Bhaṁ Śaraṇ Parāyaṇam Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa Nārāyaṇam ... Haṁsa bhakta prabhu śaraṇa parāyaṇam. Oṁ namo śrī prabhudīpa nārāyaṇam. Hama sabhakt prabhu śaraṇa parāyaṇam. Hama oṁ namo śrī prabhudīpa nārāyaṇam. Nam haṁsa bhakta prabhu śaraṇa parāyaṇam. Bhakta Prabhu Śaraṇa Para Nama Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpanārāyaṇam. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpanārāyaṇam.... Dīpanārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya. Deva Puruṣa Mahādeva Kī Jaya. Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jaya. Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jaya. Salutations to Bhagavān Śrī Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī, Deva Puruṣa, and Satguru Deva Svāmī Mādhāvanandajī. Blessed self, dear spiritual seekers, good evening. Many blessings to all of you here and around the world, dear ones who are with us through the webcast. Bless you all. Today is a very significant day, which we call Makara Saṅkrānti. Makara Saṅkrānti, which comes once a year, signifies that now Sūrya Nārāyaṇa, the Sun God, is moving northward toward this part of the earth where we all are. We had a very nice winter. Now, very soon, the days are becoming longer and brighter, and it will be spring. Makar Saṅkrānti, according to Vedic time, is the celebration of the moon and the sun. It means the sun is now starting its journey towards the north. For the last four decades, I spent time in Europe, and I know there was also this Sanātana Vedic culture, respecting and adoring all of nature as well as the moon and sun. I remember in some parts of Europe, in the morning or evening, they make a very nice big wheel, put some oil and cotton on it, light it on fire, and let it roll down from high hills. You can see it is like a sun moving. So, it does not matter which language we speak or where we are; we all respect and adore nature, and with this, also our ancestors. On this day, in many different parts of India and some other parts of the world, also in Nepal and many other countries, they are celebrating Makara Saṅkrānti. On this day, tonight, they will, for example, in Rajasthan and in some parts of India, cook corn seeds. They will boil them tonight long, and again tomorrow morning, and then mix them with scratched sesame seeds. First, they roast the sesame seeds on a hot pan, then scratch them, then mix them. It is called the old sugar. That sugar was used long, long ago, and still people use it. Now, it has been replaced by crystal sugar, but that sugar is from ancient times, gur or miṣri. They will mix this in, and it is very delicious. This is done mostly tonight, then tomorrow people will eat it. Also, consuming a lot of sesame is a therapy. For one week or fifteen days a year, this month they use it, which gives immense energy. Sesame has a lot of calcium, and its oil contains many vitamins and some minerals. That old sugar—old not in the sense of being preserved for many years, but in the way they prepare it—has a less harmful effect on the body, unlike that crystal sugar or refined sugars. There is another sugar also called good, a more ancient one made from sugar cane. Our body needs a lot of energy, especially to keep the body healthy and supply all the necessary nutrition. Our ancestors, according to the season, designed the diet for humans. Of course, it is pure sāttvic, pure vegetarian, which keeps the body and mind, all the kośas of the human, healthy and pure. These are all five kośas which need a kind of energy, and that good energy comes from those kitchen cookings, what we call the grandmother's kitchen. It means the old tradition. Nowadays, due to transportation facilities, humans have changed their diets. What we should eat in winter, we are eating in summer. What we should eat only in summer, we are eating in winter. So, food has become a fashion. Food has not remained as nutrition, as nourishment. The day before yesterday, someone told me a statistic about how many children in India or some other countries are undernourished, that the children are very thin. But I think that was a wrong diagnosis, wrong research. It is not that case. We know now that in countries like Europe, America, and many other countries and parts of Africa also, people have a problem that they have too much weight, over kilos. They may consume less food, but still their body becomes fatter and fatter, and that is more of a problem. So, more than undernutrition, people have more problems with the heart, kidneys, liver, and also with their concentration. You will see in schools, for example, maybe in Australia, New Zealand, or America—I have been and I see that the vegetarian children, the Asian children, Indians, Nepalese children—they are always the best in school. In England and America, they used to say at the time of examination, "Oh, this is Indian, don't need to worry, he will be passing his examination as the first one." In America, I remember once the former President Bush said in a university that Americans should study properly and have good nourishment; otherwise, very soon the Indians will take over because their brains are brilliant. Their concentration is brilliant. So, do not judge someone if one is slimmer, meaning fewer kilos. That is what we all need. I would say that 78% of people in the world, including many of you sitting here, are fighting every day to lose kilos because we are overweight. This problem in the world is not because of over kilos or less kilos, but what we are eating, how we are eating—the nutrition problem, the way of fast food, and just cheese, bread, meat, and fat, which makes the human dull. This is one reason that when such nourishment is consumed, the annamaya kośa is overloaded, and the annamaya kośa cannot process everything. As I told you, good digestion means not just that you eat, have hunger, and can pass your stool without any problem. Digestion means that the body, our annamaya kośa, is utilizing all the nutrients that the body needs from the food. In vegetarian food is everything: minerals, vitamins, proteins, and everything that we need. But the problem is that we used to eat a different kind of fat, the dairy products. The milk which comes directly from the cow and is consumed within a few hours or two hours has other values than that milk which you milk from the cow ten days before and preserve in a plastic bottle or somewhere in the freezer. It does not matter how you or a doctor will think, but that milk has lost that fine quality, the prāṇa. Therefore, the annamaya kośa takes some kind of fat and food, but the prāṇamaya kośa is missing. The prāṇamaya kośa does not get enough supplementary things that it needs. So, do not judge the person who is thin. I would say the happy and lucky are they who have little kilos. They can run, move, walk properly, eat, digest, sleep, have good concentration, and have good blood circulation. They have little problems with diabetes and so on—diabetes, blood pressure, heart issues. This has become a modern illness in the stressful world. So, Makara Saṅkrānti today is reminding people again to take care; the season is changing, and now you should change also your diet. Now, very soon will come Vasant Pañcamī. Vasant Pañcamī, according to our lunar calendar, is the beginning of spring. At the beginning of spring, the entire nature is changing—not only the nature, but the vibrations, the energy, the temperatures. The processes in the Earth are also changing. So, we are not separated. We are not out of this nature. Though we are movable creatures—many trees cannot walk, but we can walk—there is no difference. According to nature, it is a tree or a human. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa in the 15th chapter speaks about this tree and the human tree. Normally, trees have roots down and branches up. And it is said the human tree has the roots here, the brain, and the branches are down. So now we have to prepare for our next season, which changes every three months. We have to plan our diet, our exercises, our prāṇāyāmas, as well as our way of dressing, the color of the dress, and in which season what. So now in Makara Saṅkrānti, they are using yellow color mostly, and Vasant Pañcamī is entirely the yellow color. In some countries, the children or the people are playing what they call the flying of a kite. They let fly the kite, and many children nowadays have competitions like this. That means now the sun is coming, flying, and all the birds are flying again towards the light and to the north side. So, this is a beautiful indication we accept. Similarly, the yogīs also have their exercises for the four seasons, also the prāṇāyāmas according to the four seasons, and also the meditation techniques, different according to the four seasons, and imaginations according to the four seasons, and also many mantras. Not only this, that we yogīs and humans are changing, but it is believed also the different goddesses in the astral world, and devas, and spirits, and whatever we call, they are also changing. For example, when you go to one of the most ancient, holy temples—temples created by holy people, which became a pilgrim place—these holy people lived somewhere; their ashram, their place, became holy. And there they established the monument of God, of different goddesses. So, like in Badrināth, Kedārnāth, and in the high hills there, it is said now winter is coming and God is going to sleep. There is one very beautiful experience you can have when you go to the Badrināth temple. On a certain date, the beginning of the winter, they put a bandh kar dete. Bandh means the curtain and the door of the temple. But the main priest of the temple makes one oil lamp and puts a beautiful wick in it. For these four months, this light survives. The door is closed, there are no windows, it is very cold, the temperature goes down to minus degrees, and outside there is snow. You know, after some time, it does not matter how much oil you have, slowly that wick will burn and go off. But that light does not go off. That is again a challenge, or not a challenge, it is a proof that the light of God is there. Who is taking care of that flame for so many months? No one is allowed to enter, no one can enter, everything is locked. Then the time comes; the main priest comes and opens that bandh, that means the Darbār, the kingdom of God, God's audience is opened. They open the door, the flame is there, light is there, and again the ceremonies are there. For us humans, we just believe and think, "Now we wake up the God." It is not that one can say, "How stupid it is, God is sleeping, then what should the world do? So whatever we are praying, God does not listen because he is sleeping." Well, for the arguments, there is no answer. God is everywhere. He is ever awakened. God is divine consciousness. God never sleeps. But it is that, according to seasons, to give us indication or relation of what we should do and what we should not do. Also, I think it is because during this winter time, for many pilgrims, it is difficult to approach the temple and come there. So, as they have also, they know that now they should not go because it is dangerous. So similarly, the seasons for us, for our body—annamaya kośa, for our prāṇamaya kośa, manomaya kośa, vijñānamaya kośa, ānandamaya kośa—as well as for the environment and for nature, it is very important that we follow the seasons. I think I will design one beautiful chart: in which season, where, what should be eaten. Now, of course, there can be a question. Maybe some of our dear ones, friends watching the webcast—we have here winter, and in a country like Australia, there is summer. So what we design here is not valid for Australia and that part of the world, because there is summer. And when we have summer here, they have winter. So again, this question was put from the disciples to the master, and then the master said, "Yes, my son, it is correct. Use your viveka according to the deśa and kāla." Deśa means where you are, which part of the earth, or in which situations you are in, whose house you are in, and so on, where you are. Just when we are in Nepal, we have to follow the law of Nepal, the culture of Nepal, the tradition of Nepal. And when we are in the neighboring country, like China, then we have to follow and obey the Chinese rules. We are very near to India here; we are to the Indians. But if we said, "No, I am a European, and I do as in Europe doing," okay, you can do, but people will not appreciate. There is a different way of living, a different way of thinking, a different culture, nature, and so on. So, this call: what situation is there? What kind of time is there? I mean, in which time you are there, not this winter, summer, and so on, but every time, every minute is very important. So we have to be alert about the time. You know, many people are very careful with the time. For example, the artist, the world champions in Olympia—for them even a half second, quarter second counts. They have to be very alert and very aware about the time. Everyone can swim and make so many rounds, everyone can run so many kilometers, and so on. But time is counting, and time is passing. Similarly, for our life, for humans, we are also like in a championship. The time is given to us by God, or destiny, or Mother Nature, or whatever we call it. This much time we have. After, even if you do not want to go, and we do not want that someone go, but it will go. It is finished. After, you can run behind as much as you can, you can cross the line a thousand times. That look, "I am crossing that point," has no value, no sense. So deśa and kāla: deśa is where are you, and kāla is what time is. Your situation is what is given. So likewise, the yogīs should design wherever you are in your country. And if you do not know, then look in your grandmother's kitchens. Before 100 years, before 500 years, how they were eating and how they were living, how they were preserving. At that time, there was no electricity at all. There was no fridge; we could not have cold rooms, and there were many things we did not have. But they had everything; they were healthy, and they were very happy. And they were looking forward to the next season that they could have. This is something I would say to you: in the month of July, when it is very hot, now you bring the Christmas tree and sing "O Tannenbaum." Everybody will say, "I think this person is a little bit... the screws are loose." Still, not a Christmas here. Yeah, you can play the CD, you can see some videos, and so on. But we are not celebrating Christmas in July, or in June, or in May, or in August. Everyone is aware that on the 24th and 25th of December, it is like this. Similarly, Dīpāvalī, the biggest festival, the festival of lights, where they put the flames, the dīpaks, the light everywhere—the light, because the tree of life and the tree of light, and this tree of life is more than 10,000 years old. At the time of Bhagavān Rāma, when he comes back from Śrī Laṅkā to Ayodhyā, they put the beautiful oil lamps hanging on the trees. So, the Christmas tree and putting the candles, this is exactly the following of that tradition of the Dīpāvalī as a Christmas too. So we are all very connected to this nature. And we are all looking forward: when now is the Makara Saṅkrānti, and now everyone is looking forward for the Śivarātri. Every night is Śiva's night. But there is a particular night which is called Śivarātri, and people are preparing for fasting, anuṣṭhāna, pūjā, and abhiṣeka for Śivarātri. After Śivarātri, we are waiting for Holī, and after Holī, we are waiting for Guru Pūrṇimā and Rakṣābandhan, and so on. Humans have so many spiritual festivals. So according to that type of thing, if we work and live our life and have also our diet and way of living, that could help us very, very much to keep our annamaya kośa, prāṇamaya kośa, manomaya kośa, vijñānamaya kośa, and ānandamaya kośa in harmony, balanced, pure, clean. And then that Lord of our Lord, our God, our Self, the Ātmā, which is residing in these five kośas, will be very happy and feel divine. So yoga means not only that you just practice āsanas and prāṇāyāmas and relaxing, and that is all. That is a preliminary stage of yoga. It does not matter; you can do any kind of posture which is a difficult one; everyone cannot do. You can stand on one hand, or you do the Vṛkṣāsana, and this Vṛkṣāsana, where you put your hands down and your back is up and you touch your toes on your head or put your foot soles on the head, it is Scorpio postures. Okay, this is a kind of flexibility in the body, but it is still limited to the body. Definitely, it affects our prāṇamaya kośa, our manomaya kośa. Our vijñānamaya kośa must be very alert, otherwise you will break your spine. And to perform this posture, you have to practice two, three years, four years to master this posture. So there are many postures which we only look at in the book and say, "Oh, beautiful, how good it is." You see the artists in the circus, how flexible they are and how they can jump just like a monkey. Yes, we can also jump, no problem, but we jump twice: the first time and the last time. So practice makes perfect, practice makes the master, but still it is āsanas, the postures. Though it is called psychosomatic movements, yogic postures, it is limited to the annamaya kośa and prāṇamaya kośa. So, āsanas, prāṇāyāma, mudrās, bandhas, relaxation—this is a primary level of the yogic. The real yogic knowledge, practice, philosophy, and the essence and aim of that yoga are written in the form of the bhajans. According to the Bhagavad Gītā, there are 18 steps of yoga. So, not only what you see, the modifications by Patañjali, and also Karma, Bhakti, Rāja, and Jñāna Yoga. Okay, this is just; he put in, and this is not bad, it is very, very good. He more minimized, but beautifully explained by Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna, from the first chapter to the 18th chapter, begins with the yoga and ends with the yoga, the name. So, bhakti yoga, jñāna yoga, sāṅkhya yoga, sannyāsa yoga, karma yoga, etc. All the 18 chapters begin when we think, "Now my yogic life begins." If we miss these certain disciplines, we fail. So when you sing the bhajans, when you read these beautiful scriptures, which are written by great saints of the world and wise men, then, oh, very nicely written, it is very nicely said. But how much do we observe this and follow this? There begins our real practice of yoga. This preliminary is okay. Many people are just doing it to be flexible, so that they can move and they can eat more—that they are relaxed and flexible, they have more hunger, and they can eat. That is all. So sleep, drink, eat, and drive. This is what many people think. But those friends, those who are listening to the webcast and many, many millions of people around the world, they are very seriously practicing yoga. So yoga means not only physical postures. Many people are thinking about the essence of life, the way of living, the way of thinking, the way of working, and so on. And finally, it is said in the Vedas and in the Purāṇas and philosophy, in the Śāstras, it is said, Gurujī said this often: the four Vedas and six philosophies, which are the oldest philosophies of the world—the four Vedas and six philosophies. In all essence, it is this: "Baat likhi doi," two things are written inside. Essence of that all is only two things. Sukh dhyāna sukh hote. If you give pleasure, good, protection, and love to others, Sukha. Sukh diyāṅ sukh hoī. If you give the sukh, then you get the sukh. If you give happiness, you get back happiness. Dukh diyāṁ dukh hoī. And if you give the troubles, then you will get the troubles. And so, yoga begins after this level, when we seriously begin to think. Many times I have told in my lectures and webcasts that, for a yogī's first step, like Maharṣi Patañjali said first, "Atha yogānuśāsanam." Atha means now, and now means now, not tomorrow and not after. Now, atha yoga-anuśāsanam. Anuśāsanam is discipline. Similarly, when you are coming to the higher level of the yoga practice, then when you get up, you greet the divine. You look to the divine pictures. What you see first in the morning, that will be in your sūrta, which I explained yesterday, that will guide. And we pray, we salute, we say mantra, which means surrendering, the humbleness. That is very important. Then you become aware; you wake up and say, "I am human." What does it mean for me to be human? And what makes me human? And what makes me human? How to develop those human qualities? And what is my dharma as a human? And what is the aim of my human life? From where do I come? For what did I come? What am I doing? Who am I, and where will I go? Ādi Guru Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya said, "This is morning thoughts before you begin your dinacaryā." Dinacaryā means your day schedule, your daily work. When this is implanted in our consciousness early morning, and then daytime you do something, and you ask yourself, or your inner self will ask your buddhi: you do this, if this is good for human or not. If this is a human act or the act of the asuras, rākṣasas, devils, or what they call satanic. Anyone who talks bad and tries to harm others is a rākṣasa vṛtti, a satanic vṛtti. And devik vṛtti, the divine vṛtti, the god vṛtti, is that you see in everyone beauty and truth, you understand. So at that time, the yogī has to be like a honey bee. Honey bees fly on every blossom, every flower; it does not matter which kind it is. I do not know if the cactus is poisonous, but they said even the poisonous cactus, small plants, the honey bee will fly there and take only the essence, the nectar, the amṛta, the honey. So we have to live in this world as a yogī, as a bee, everything and everyone and everywhere. There is something beautiful inside: good insight. And what we should take? Only good things. Filter the other from your consciousness, from your intellect. So it means annamaya, prāṇamaya, manomaya, vijñānamaya, and ānandamaya kośas will be pure and divine. That finally, because you are aware of this, you come within in your meditation. Daśvapar dhyāna dhāraṇā tathā. Daśvapar dhyāna dhāraṇā tathā, meditation then comes on the sahasrāra cakra. So you transfer yourself from the fourth floor; it means the anāhata cakra, beautiful this bhajan, Chauthī medī, and fourth floor means our heart. That time, like a sleeping bee, awakes Bhavarā. The soul is also known as a Bhavarā, a bee. The soul is known as a swan, a haṁsa, Bhavarā. Bhavarā calā gayā. Bhavarā uḍ gayā. This bee has gone, the bees fly away, and we left the beehive empty behind. So this body is like a beehive, and the queen mother bee flies away, and all the bees will fly behind. So all the qualities, all will be gone. And so, Bhavāra Guñjara. Bhavāra, and this Bhavāra is also a cave. And in this cave, this bhavara, this jīvātmā, and jīvātmā will be awake through the prāṇa-bhāna union, through the suṣumṇā nāḍī, through the Iḍā Piṅgalā's Iḍā Piṅgalā. Her and her union is yoga, becomes Haṭha Yoga. That time, this bhavara will go bhavara guñjara, then you hear bhavara guñjara. Guñjara is like a humming sound. And at that time, in meditation, you come to the Sahasrāra Cakra, and Bhavra sees the way. Anytime he can go out, because the Daśa Dvāra, the tenth door, is opened and free. That is beautiful, beautiful. The aim of the yogī is that prāṇa, or this bhāvara, at the end of life, goes through the sahasrāra cakra. There are nine doors in this body. How the bhāvāra goes out: the eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, and our gender systems. So, these are the ninth. Those who die and make urine and stool means they went to the Naraka Loka. Those who die and open wide mouth immediately have gone to the other Loka, or nostrils, or the ears. But the tenth is Bhāvara here. It means it does not open something whole here. Bhavara can go even through the rock, through a glass box, bulletproof glass, very strong, but bhavara can go through also. No elements can create obstacles to that bhāvarā. Five tattvas: earth, water, air, ether, fire. Bhavara has the freedom to go. So, at that time, Bhavār Guñjar, there you hear the Nāḍī Yoga. That is what we learn in yoga and daily life, and so on and so on. Many read your "Yoga and Daily Life" book; everything is clearly written. So, in summer, we practice mostly the śītalī and śītkārī prāṇāyāma, which gives coolness to the body. In some winter... we practice pastrika and kapālbhāti, and at the time of the spring, we practice the brahmrī prāṇāyām. Nāda yoga, nādarūpa para brahma, and that time daśva dvāra, the tenth door, is known as brahmarandhra, the door to the Brahman. And that ātmā, it goes to the paramātmā. So, science of the yoga, and beginning now. For all the steps, it is that now you have to go to the satsaṅgs, you have to listen to the bhajans, and each word, each bhajan is for you something like the paramahaṅsa, the swan is taking the pearls inside. These are the pearls of wisdom. Amrit Bani, they are drops of the nectar. Bani, the words, satsaṅg and bhajans by great saints. So yoga, because it is coming from Bhagavān Śiva, Sadāśiva, when Śiva first time manifests himself out of the Śiva Jyoti from the entire universe, he appeared in meditation. So he brought the meditation, and he was before meditation, and Shiva is meditation. All who practice meditation, relaxation, those who are practicing prayers and Karma Yoga, anything, everything is coming from the Shiva Jyoti. Brahma, Viṣṇu, all the Devas, Ṛṣis, all are from the Śiva consciousness. Satyam Śivam Sundaram: Śiva is the truth, Śiva is the beauty, and Śiva is the Śiva consciousness, mokṣa, liberation. So finally, the way is that through the meditation. And if you do not meditate, or you cannot meditate long, one day will come that you will meditate forever. Even when they put you in the grave, you are in deep yoga nidrā, and then you try to get up, but you cannot because a lot of earth is on it. So better to do now the meditation to wake up into the divine. Therefore, Mahāprabhujī said, "Braṅg saṅg lat, braṅg saṅg ho kar śabd guñjar sunāy." Through the distinctions of the resonating sound, that braṅgī becomes victorious. Nothing can be compared to the satsaṅg, and satsaṅg is designed for the humans. To come to the Satyaloka with this boat of the satsaṅg, "Brahma satya, jagat mithyā," does not matter if it is Satyaloka or the Brahma Loka, it is the same. So I will give you now, Dr. Shanti, and from my side, dear brothers and sisters, I wish you a happy Makar Sankrānti and the divine blessings of the Alak Purījī Siddhapīṭh Paramparā, Alak Purījī, Devpurījī, Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān, and our Sadguru Svāmī Mahādāvanājī. In the name of all, I bless you and wish you a happy Makara Saṅkrāntī and a beautiful time. Oṁ Na Karta Prabhu Dīpa Karta Mahā Prabhu Dīpa Karta Hi Kevalaṁ. Oṁ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ.