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Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa Nārāyaṇāya. Huma sabhakta prabhu śaraṇa pārāyaṇam. Namo śrī prabhu dīpa nārāyaṇam. Oṁ namo śrī prabhu dīpa nārāyaṇam. Śrī Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī, Śrī Śrī Deva Puruṣa Mahādeva kī, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān kī, Sat Sanātana Dharma kī, Sab Ṛṣi Muni Mahātmā kī. Good evening, blessed self, dear spiritual seekers. The blessing is coming to you from the Holy Land, Bhārata. Today is a beautiful day because it is the evening before Śivarātri. Especially for spiritual seekers and practitioners, it does not matter in which form or belief you perceive God; Śivarātri is for all. Many people just read about Śivarātri, many have only heard the name, and many do not know why it is observed. Even in India, many have lost awareness of its significance. That is a pity. Throughout the year, there are many holy festivals around the world from different religions and beliefs. Every holy festival speaks about love, about God, about prayers. No festival in any religion speaks negatively. Certain festivals are remembered even though negative events occurred during that time. For example, Holī is the day when Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa came to destroy the devilish energy of Kaṁsa and Holikā. Daśaharā, before the Pāvalī, means daśa (ten) and hara (lost); the ten-headed Rāvaṇa lost. Always, dharma is the winner and adharma is the loser. Or what we call Good Friday: it is the day Jesus was crucified. It is not "Good" Friday in that sense; it originally means God's Friday. Why do we remember and celebrate it, even with a holiday, when a negative event occurred? It is not that we accept the crucifixion, but it reminds us: "Dharma kī jai!" The right cause is upheld. It reminds us that even if it costs my life, I will stand for my dharma. Which dharma? Human dharma. The crucifying of Jesus was not only an attack on him but on all believers. We sacrificed for the sake of Dharma, for our God, to take away sins. Similarly, there are many festivals in Islam, Judaism, among Parsis, Hindus, the many Hindu branches, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jainas, and so on. What I want to convey is that in the whole world, nearly every day is a holy, divine day somewhere. This is to make humans aware: "O human, do not forget your dharma, your human dharma." Human dharma is kindness. Human dharma is to give love. Human dharma is to protect. Human dharma is to understand. Human dharma is to liberate. Dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ: when we act to protect dharma, that dharma will protect us. There are also festivals connected with fullness of joy and happiness, such as Christmas, Dīvalī, Janmāṣṭamī, or Rāma Navamī. All festivals remind us to acknowledge the brotherhood throughout the world, to respect the beauty of our nature—the animals, vegetation, mountains, lakes, rivers, and oceans. This responsibility is given by God to humans. God sent humans as protectors, not as destroyers. Now God is looking from very high up with a magnifying glass: "What are my messengers, my soldiers, my protector humans doing with my beautiful earth?" Many mountains are damaged, destroyed, dug away. Many rivers are blocked and polluted. Many lakes are polluted, then buildings are constructed within them. Ocean life is dying. We read this in the newspaper every day. When you get a newspaper of perhaps 20 or even 100 pages, how long do you read it? Often just the headline, then it is thrown away. Consider how much wood is needed for one newspaper. With millions of copies printed daily, how many tons of wood are required? How many hectares of forest are chipped away? Unfortunately, since the daily print media system began, we have lost the knowledge of the scriptures. We have forgotten and neglected our beautiful, holy, historical, and mythological scriptures. All these books are just in libraries, locked and covered in dust. Ask people around the world who believe in Christianity: every morning while drinking coffee or tea, how many read a page, two pages, or a chapter of the Bible? And how many read the newspaper? Even sitting on the train, tram, or in the office before work begins, people look at the newspaper. If we read the Bible instead, I think we would be much happier, healthier, relaxed, and spiritual. Ask Hindus how many read their scriptures: the Gītā, Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumān Chalīsā, Upaniṣads, or Vedas. Imagine one man selling newspapers and another selling Upaniṣads. You will see the newspapers sold within half an hour, while not even two copies of the Upaniṣads are sold all day. This is the condition in the world. So we must ask ourselves: "Do we also read the Līlā Amṛta every morning? The Dīpa Vidyā Gītā, Guru Gītā, Hanumān Chalīsā, The Hidden Powers in Humans, the Patañjali?" No. How then can you expect your vṛttis (mental modifications) to be positive? Festivals remind us of that kind of uplifting activity, for self-protection and the protection of others: to forgive others' mistakes, acknowledge and accept them like brothers and sisters, and share your love through small presents or kind words. That is why great ṛṣis, yogīs, mahātmās, and saints designed these holy days. Nowadays, we not only celebrate Christmas, Rāma Navamī, or Janmāṣṭamī, but we also celebrate our birthdays—that is good. We celebrate wedding anniversaries—that is also good. Some even celebrate, saying, "Jai Ho, thank God, I am finally divorced!" But I do not want you to celebrate that. However, there are days when we feel released from certain tensions. Holy festivals unite us. So it is with Śivarātri. The most merciful God, who loves us unconditionally, is Śiva. That is why His name is Bholā Nāth. Bholā means very clear, innocent, pure, like a small child. With a little chocolate, a child is happy. Similarly, with a little prayer, Śiva can bless us with the entire universe. Śiva is consciousness. Śiva is the light. Śiva is mokṣa (liberation). Śiva is beauty. Śiva is truth. Satyam Śivam Sundaram. He is Svayaṁbhū (self-manifested), able to manifest anywhere. In every atom is Śiva consciousness. Consider the atom and the large laser machines, the pictures taken from satellites. When laser technology developed, it was called the third eye—the third eye of Śiva. That is that consciousness. There is a small story about how quickly Śiva blesses someone. There was an open Śiva temple during monsoon. A thief came inside. The street was muddy; he had no shoes and his feet were dirty with mud. He entered the temple and saw nothing to steal, except for a water pot (jalahari) from which water dripped drop by drop. You know, there is a method called drip irrigation that the Israelis developed. The person who developed this system took the model from the Śiva temple. Did you know this? Now you do. It was developed by someone from the Rajasthan desert district near Kailāśa. He received a big award, and then Israel also adopted this boond-boond (drop-by-drop) system. Well, that pot was made of copper, with a capacity of three or four liters. The thief decided to take it, but he was too short to reach it. We all adore the Śiva Liṅgam as God Himself. Śiva Liṅgam represents universal consciousness, the endless entire universe. The man searched but found no ladder. Thieves work in a hurry; they even check for the best constellation for stealing. He was anxious, thinking the watchman (chaukidār) would come. So, with his dirty, muddy feet, he climbed onto the Śiva Liṅgam. The old Liṅgam became covered in mud. As he was trying to take the pot, suddenly Śiva appeared. Śiva was happy and said, "I bless you, my son. I bless you. I am so happy with you." The thief asked, "Who are you?" Śiva replied, "I am Śiva. I am happy with you, so happy." The thief was surprised: "Why are you happy with me? I am a thief." Śiva said, "No, no, you are a great one. You are much better than others." The thief asked, "What do you mean, Lord?" Śiva explained: "People offer only flowers and sandalwood paste to me from afar with their hands. But you did not just apply sandalwood with your hands; you offered your whole entire self onto me. You sacrificed your entire self on me, and that makes me happy." That is why He is called Bāla Nāth—simple, pleased with little prayer. He will give you everything. Therefore, the one who loves us is Śiva. Jīva and Śiva. Consider this: when we have one drop of water in our palm, that drop is a jīva (individual soul). When this hand is held over the ocean, the drop is in your palm (jīva) and the ocean is Śiva. What we need is just to turn our hand, and what will happen? The drop will fall into the ocean. So Jīva kyā ban jāyegā? Śiva. Jīva jāyegā Śiva. Similarly, what we need is a little surrender. Then your consciousness will merge into the oneness of cosmic consciousness. That is Śiva Rātri. Rātri means night. It is said that Śiva once blessed a hunter. Can you imagine? Normally, we say hunters are sinners because they kill animals. Yes, this hunter went to hunt but found no animals. He returned home empty-handed. His wife and children were waiting, expecting food; the children were hungry. His wife was very angry that he came empty-handed, so he went out again at night to find something. At the same time, he was afraid of the wildlife, so he climbed a tree and waited there. He did not know that beneath this tree was a small Śiva temple. He was waiting for animals to come near the tree. First, he was nervous. Second, he was angry because he could not find anything. Third, he was sad that his wife was angry. Fourth, he did not want to fall asleep in the tree, so he kept plucking leaves and throwing them down. Many leaves fell down, and below was a Śiva Liṅgam. Then, a deer came because it saw the fresh leaves on the ground. The man wanted to shoot it, but the deer said, "Please do not do this to me. I just came to take something for my children. Let me first go and feed them, and I will come back." The hunter thought, "Maybe she will do this." Then three or four other animals came, and they all made similar pleas. Finally, a male deer came and also asked to be spared, promising to return. Then the two female deer came together, and at that moment, Śiva appeared. Śiva said, "My dear, I am so happy with you. You are feeding these beautiful animals, and you are performing such a ceremony, an abhiṣeka, upon me today. My altar is here, and you are offering these flowers and leaves to me." Those were Bhilpatra leaves from the Bilva tree. That was the night Śiva came to bless a sinner. So do not forget: there is one who can take our sins away. Yes, there is one. There are thousands of examples of who will free us from sins, and that is Śiva, Bholanāth Śaṅkara. Therefore, there is one God known as Mahādeva. Mahā means great, Deva means God. In German, they sing, "O Guru, say God." It is a praise to Śiva. So Mahādeva. There is another name: Hanumānjī, whom we call Mahāvīra. Mahā means great, Vīra means the hero, the brave one—the greatest hero. But in reality, Hanumānjī is the incarnation, the embodiment of Śiva. When Viṣṇu comes, Śiva comes to help. When Śiva incarnates, Viṣṇu comes. They are both one. Śiva meditates on Viṣṇu, and Viṣṇu meditates on Śiva. When a husband goes to work, the wife thinks of him, and the husband thinks of her. Both are together all the time. So Śiva and Viṣṇu are one. Do not create differences. Today is Śivarātri, beginning tomorrow. This is a great day for the whole universe, not only for this planet. Śiva is the one who frees us from all sins. He is great, and He loves all. That is why all creatures are around Him. He loves snakes. He loves scorpions. He loves everyone. He loves the devas (celestial beings), and He loves the rākṣasas (demons) also. He gives lessons to both rākṣasas and devas. Śiva balances everything. If you want to have a rose flower, you must also hold the thorny plant. When you seek the goddess, you must go through the devils too. But it is good that these devils, because of that beautiful flower, are also taken care of. Thus, because of the bhaktas (devotees), even those with devilish energy are still protected. So, pāpa and puṇya: this has been our subject in recent days. Pāpa (sin) is to kill someone, to cause pain, to disappoint someone, to criticize someone. Puṇya (merit) is to make the heart happy, to make thoughts happy, to give the feeling of freedom. We will continue this. Tomorrow evening there will be an Abhiṣeka in the Śiva temple. My dear brothers and sisters around the world, you are all welcome to be part of our Abhiṣeka ceremony. There will be different timings to accommodate various time zones: European evening, Australian morning, then noon and morning in other regions. There will be four Abhiṣeka ceremonies, and you are welcome to join. We will have a webcast. Until then, I wish you all the best and bless you in the name of Bhagavān Sadāśiva Śrīdeva Purījī. Bless you. Śrīdeveśvara Mahādeva, bless you. Today we inaugurated a new Śiva temple. The name of this temple and its Śiva is Mahādeśvara, the Mahādeva Śiva temple. Mahādeśvara is our holy Gurujī. One of Gurujī's disciples built this Śiva temple, and today was the inauguration ceremony. Thousands of people came, and how happy they were to finally have a Śiva temple there. Śiva's consciousness, Śiva's universe, Śiva's liberation, Śiva's blessings—Śiva is kindness, Śiva is beauty, Śiva is truth. Satyam Śivam Sundaram. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya... Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya... Deveśvara Mahādeva kī, Śaṅkara Bhagavān kī, Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī, Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān kī, Satya Sanātana Dharma kī, Hari Oṁ Tat Sat.