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Good evening to all the brothers and sisters, spiritual seekers here and around the world. This evening’s blessing reaches you from Śrī Mahāprabhujī’s āśram. First of all, our dear Satgurudev Holly Gurujī came and stayed here for nearly two weeks. And second, think of the thousands of bhaktas. How many years have we had this āśram now? Since 1995 — seventeen years. Approximately three to five thousand people visit each year. Over seventeen years, that amounts to about eighty‐five thousand, and with tourists, nearly a hundred thousand. Now these hundred thousand people practised the divine science of Yoga in Daily Life here. They practised mantras, prayers, and followed the principle of ahiṃsā, non‑violence. Imagine if all of them ate meat during their stays of one, two, or three weeks. How many animals would have lost their lives? And those who do their sādhanās gain a very great benefit. Every teacher and organiser of Yoga in Daily Life from the Czech Republic and other parts of the world — a sāttvic, balanced, healthy vegetarian diet will benefit them. As a teacher or organiser, it is not only about bringing a group here. Calmness of mind and spiritual development arise. From those hundred people you bring, you receive credit: ten to fifteen percent of their spiritual development will automatically be credited to you. They will be thankful that you brought them. This is how one shares the benefit. It is like the saying: you are not hunting the animals yourself, but if you show the hunters where the animals are — like deer or rabbits — you share in the act. Once, a yogī was meditating in a small hut in the forest. At that time, the human population was very small. Every king struggled to bring people into his kingdom; if someone left, it was a disgrace. Kings did their best to offer facilities to live there, and if someone came from another kingdom, that king would be unhappy. He would send soldiers to bring the person back; there could even be a war over it. But now the population is large and it is hard to get a visa. Times change. So, that yogī lived in the forest. One evening at this time a deer came running and passed right by his hut. Ten or fifteen minutes later, a hunter arrived at a run, bow and arrow in hand. He asked the yogī, “Did you see the deer? Which direction did it go?” This is called Dharmaśaṅkaṭa — a dilemma, a test of whether you follow your dharma. It is said you should not lie. If the yogī tells which way the deer ran, he becomes guilty of killing that animal. If he says, “No, I don’t know, I didn’t see,” then he lies. So he closed his eyes for a minute to see whether he would be lying or not. Then he remembered the words of the scriptures: Brahma satyaṁ, jagad mithyā. This saved the situation. He said, “Yes, my dear friend, I would like to help you very much. But what can I tell you?” The hunter said, “Don’t waste my time. Tell me which way the deer went.” The yogī replied, “That is what I want to tell you. Listen: Who speaks cannot see, and who can see cannot speak. So what should I tell you? The mouth speaks but does not see; the eyes see but cannot speak.” The hunter thought, “He must be a crazy man,” and went away. So the yogī thought, “For a while it is good to be considered crazy — better than to be part of that sin.” This is what I want to share: if you lead someone to good things, you share the benefit of those good things. If you lead someone to bad things, you also share the bad. Therefore it is very important that we lead people to good things. So this āśram, Śrī Lakṣmī, is beautiful. All four seasons are indescribable. It would be very good if you come with your friends, partners, and families. Look, we are here together today, and next weekend we have a beautiful seminar here. But who knows who will be here and who will not? Be aware of the present moment. The time that has gone is gone. Whatever remains, utilise it while repeating the name of God. Similarly, yesterday we spoke about likhita japa — the writing of the mantra. While writing your mantra and concentrating, the nāda, the sound, automatically awakens in us. That sound is eternal, universal sound. What we call God is love, and love is God. The ṛṣi Nārada asked Bhagavān Viṣṇu, “Lord, where do you mostly stay? Because whenever I come, you are in the divine ocean, the ocean of milk — the Kṣīra Sāgara, where Śeṣanāga rests.” So Bhagavān Viṣṇu said, “O Nārada, I am not living in Vaikuṇṭha. O Nārada, I am not living in Vaikuṇṭha, nor in the hearts of yogīs who merely try to practise but do not follow the principles — Guru Vākya, the mantras, and so on.” The waves of your thoughts reach that God, and there is an eternal, unbreakable relation. Gurujī said, “Svāso śvāsa āpakāśumāraṇa.” While inhalation and exhalation — ascending and descending breath — “Se o prāṇe Mahāprabhujī ojīva tve meno.” Automatically, in the heart awakens the feeling — just as when a musician or a singer sees a song or a poem and feels like singing it. From the likhita japa to the singing japa — the vaikharī, the vaikharī mantra. Now you know this bhajan, you know this mantra. Many of you have it, and those who know it recognise it because we chant it often. You may keep your eyes open or closed, but now experience what we did yesterday with the Mahāmṛtyu Jaya mantra. Observe your entire body, your mind, your thoughts, your feelings. How do you feel when you chant? Let us chant a few times: Śrī Dīpanirañjana Sābādho Kabhan Prabhudīpanirañjana The seat of the sound is in the Maṇipūra Cakra. Whenever we speak or chant, it influences the Maṇipūra Cakra — the solar plexus. The centre point of our body is the navel. From there the soul begins, and the manifestation of the entire body starts: developing the intestines, spine, head, then limbs, and so on. Thus, the awakening of spiritual consciousness actually takes place from the Maṇipūra Cakra. The Maṇipūra Cakra is where energy is taken in and used energy goes out — like an exhaust fan. It expels the used air from the room and at the same time draws fresh air inside. So there are two forces in the Maṇipūra Cakra, and they are called Prāṇa and Apāna. When we speak or sing, an immense amount of pure energy comes in, and all toxins are purified by this vibration. There is pressure. Of course, it is controlled and centred by the brain centres, but the Maṇipūra Cakra remains a very important centre. So, the vaikharī mantra — chanting — purifies negative thoughts and negative energy and gives sāttvic energy to your body. If you speak good things, that speaking turns your inner self toward the divine. But if you speak bad things, it turns in the opposite direction, polluting your consciousness, your intellect, your mind, your thoughts, and your vṛttis. Therefore, take care of your Maṇipūra Cakra, and then write and chant. Write and sing. Write your mantra. Write your mantra. Nāḍī Yoga — Nāḍī Rūpa Parabrahma. There are ten sounds in our body, belonging to our ten indriyas: the jñānendriyas and karmendriyas. And the tenth or the eleventh sound is called Brahmanāda. Brahmanāda means the sound of Brahman, the sound of the Ātmā. So’ham: I am that, and that I am. But if you simply repeat “So’ham, So’ham,” that will not help. You have to practise and awaken that sound throughout the entire body. At that time you can no longer say, “I am unhappy. I am ill. I have fear.” The Ātmā has no fear, no illness, no unhappiness. The body suffers, the mind suffers, the intellect suffers, but the Ātmā does not. Jīvātmā and Paramātmā — the suffering that happens in the body is not of the Ātmā. So purify those energies through chanting. Chant, chant, chant. Then you will become one with your practice. The great Tulsīdās Jī, who wrote the holy Rāmāyaṇa — the life of Lord Rāma — and to whom Hanumān Jī appeared. Tulsīdās Jī asked Hanumān Jī, “Can you show me God just once? I want to see my Lord, my beloved, just once, so be it.” Will thou come, will thou come, just for once, come to… Dho, my open wide I keep for thee, my heart open wide I keep for thee. Will thou come, will thou come, just for once come to me? Will thou come, will thou come, just for once come to me? Just once, night and day, night and day, I look for Thee. So Tulsīdās Jī said, “No problem, Hanumānjī, please tell me where I can find God.” Hanumān Jī said, “You need not go very far. He comes here every day.” Tulsīdās said, “Oh, beautiful! But when, where, and how?” Hanumān Jī answered, “Here on the bank of the Chitrakūṭa, where you are staying. Every morning Lord Rāma comes to bathe in this river.” “Really?” “Yes. Many, many people come and bathe, and Lord Rāma comes too. And do you know what He does after bathing? He makes a beautiful tilaka from sandalwood paste.” So Tulsīdās Jī took a stone plate and a piece of the finest sandalwood, which smells very fragrant, and he began to grind it, thinking, “My Lord Rāma will come, and I will make Him a tilak.” He said, “Hanumānjī, please, you must warn me when He comes.” Hanumān Jī replied, “Well, I cannot tell you immediately. But I can tell you that He comes around this time, within these fifteen minutes.” Now Tulsīdās had a deep longing to see his Lord. He was making the sandal paste. Lord Rāma stood beside him. Tulsīdās, seeing many people coming and going, did not notice. Then Lord Rāma slightly bent down, took the sandal paste Himself, made His tilak, blessed Tulsīdās, and went. Tulsīdās thought, “What a person! He took my sandal paste. It was for Lord Rāma, and Rāma went away.” He asked Hanumān Jī, “Is there a problem?” Hanumān Jī said, “Yes, there is a problem.” Then Tulsīdās Jī wrote what Hanumān Jī said: Chitrakūṭ ke ghāṭ par baisantan kī bhī, the banks of Chitrakūṭa, the crowds of the saints. Chitrakūṭ ke ghāṭ par bhai santan kī bhīḍ, bhīḍ means a crowd. So many saints, Tulsī Dās candan ghisay, Tulsī Dās jī dela santalovu pastu tilak kare Raghuvīra. So when Rāma took the paste to make His tilak and Tulsīdās did not notice, indirectly Hanumān Jī expressed his hope that Tulsīdās would become aware. In that half-minute, Tulsīdās was thinking, “Oh, some sādhu took it.” But Hanumān Jī said, “Tilak Kare Raghubīr, Tilak Kare Raghubīr, Tulsīdās jī, what happened? Tulsīdās jī, what happened? It’s gone! I told you, I sang for you, I gave you the hint. You didn’t understand. That’s it.” Therefore you have to become aware of it, become one with it, and with love and devotion to the Divine, it will come. So there is one bhajan of Mahāprabhujī. I am not sure of the first line, but it goes: Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā He Kevalam…