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Part 1: Spiritual Guidance on Mantra Practice and the Tale of Viśvāmitra In the Upaniṣads from the Vedas, many mantras are given to us for our everyday life, to utilize for good work. It is the instructions or ādeśa. Ādeśa means order, but in English, “order” is a little too hard. It is advice, a suggestion by the ṛṣis—the great seers according to the Vedas—on how a spiritual seeker should think for the king of the entire world. Our creation on Mṛti Loka is for oneself as well. Those who are trying to practice spirituality, practicing their mantras, awaken their Anāhada Cakra, which we spoke about this morning—about Mānasika Japa, Upāṃśu Japa. At that time you gain one Siddhi, and that Siddhi is called Vāk Siddhi. You understand, Bhaṭīājī? Did you understand the word? You can tell me what Vāk Siddhi is, if you understood. Okay, he always puts it on my head. Okay, thank you. Vāk Siddhi: Siddhi means perfection, and Vāk means the words which you speak. In that word there is siddhi—when you say it, it will be. And that is what we seek from the holy saints, like all of you, to bless us. And when they said, “Bless you,” already their Vāk Siddhi from their Anāhata Chakra is radiating on you, and it covers your entire phenomenon so that negative energy goes away and your wish comes true—if the person has Vāk Siddhi. And those who are not occupied in the prapañca of this saṃsāra—prapañca means all external activities—we are lost in those external activities. We don’t turn to our inner side, and therefore all chakras are blocked, negative energy is coming, and our words, our thinking, our actions become negative. You can’t bless, but you can threaten. Who can threaten? The ignorant one. Who can bless? The holy one. Now, both of you have in your hands the blessing and the threat. What do you want? Threatening is the Asuras, Rākṣasas, and blessing is the Devas. I am not telling; I am only repeating what the Śāstras and Granthas are saying. Grantha is a very, very beautiful word—a very important word—and it needs to be understood. There are two. One is called Granthi. Granthi means the knots, the glands: pituitary gland, thyroid gland, pineal gland—so many glands. And we are glad that our granthis are working, functioning well. But Grantha—Grantha is a book, a holy book, a spiritual book, a book which is written by some scientists, philosophers, artists, poets, or a holy saint. That book is called Grantha. But what does granth mean? Granth means collected knowledge. That’s called the pulse of wisdom. In that granth you have put it in, like you knit a cloth, weave the cloth—that’s called grantha. And Granthas are ancient and authentic, and those Granthas are the mental, intellectual, and spiritual work of those great saints. And what we are doing is we enjoy their heritage, what we have inherited. We are living from that property of the ancestors, the ṛṣis. And the ṛṣis therefore tell: if you would like to be spiritual and develop and achieve the destination of this human life, then purify your antaḥkaraṇa—manas, buddhi, citta, ahaṅkāra—and free thyself from the three tapas: ādhibhautika, ādhidaivika, and ādhyātmika. And so the ṛṣis, what they got from the Vedas, from the Upaniṣads, they said very beautifully. And they said, “O human, like this you should live.” But to read the Upaniṣads, read the Vedas, read the Bhagavad Gītā, the Rāmāyaṇas—someone asked me a question here about Kapil Muni, who was Kapil Muni, a very great Siddha. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad Gītā, “O Arjuna, among the Siddha yogīs, I am Kapila Muni—Siddhānāṁ Kapilo Muni,” in the Bhagavad Gītā. And that Kapila is our East Devatā, East of Mahānirvāṇī Akhāṛā. Kapila is the uncle of Dattātreya and brother of Anasūyā. This, you don’t know—oh, what great people. Anushayā, she was such a divine, she was divine like Kapil Muni. Like parents, like children, like brothers, like sisters. The quality in the diamond mines comes diamonds, and the coal mines come coal. It was only that one lady—I am calling her lady, I am humiliating her name, holy, divine. She was able to put Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva as her small children on her lap; that story is very long. And therefore, Dattātreya, in one, she put three: Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva as her children. That was a mother. That was a woman. Yes. And what about you, ladies? About that, we will speak tomorrow. Siddhānam Kapilomuni, what about Kapilomuni? Day after tomorrow, next time we will speak. What about you boys? Spirituality is not a little game. Spirituality, it is said—I will translate this afterwards. Everything is about that mantra. We are coming to the Mānasik mantra. But that will not function as long as you are occupied with negative vṛttis, negative qualities, negative work. So the ṛṣi said, “What I want to tell you, the mantra you know all.” How does a spiritual person think before meditation or prayers, and after meditation and prayers? When one bows down to God, what does one see? A real spiritual person, a real yogī and developed one will say, “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ, Sab Sukhī Rahe.” Oh, you know all: Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ—all should be happy. There is no translation in the English language; maybe in Hungarian I don’t know, or in Croatian I don’t know, but in German language and in English there is no translation of this one word: Sukhī, Sukh or Dukha, Dukha Kata Thoda Bhāva Translation, Sukhī or Dukha, Dukha Kata Thoda Bhāva Translation, Sukhī or Dukha, Dukha Kata Thoda Bhāva Translation, Sukhī or Duḥkha, duḥkha kata thodā bhāva translation, sukhī or duḥkha, duḥkha kata thodā bhāva translation, sukhī or duḥkha, duḥkha kata thodā bhāva translation, sukhī or duḥkha, duḥkha kata thodā bhāva translation, sukhī or duḥkha, duḥkha kata thodā bhāva translation. In one word, we have generally all been happy. In Hindi, it’s called khush raho. Happy means khush. But śukh means what? It means that. There is no word. Therefore, I can’t translate. But the Ṛṣi Guru Vākya, that is a Guru Vākya, my dear. That we should follow. When we always speak about Guru Vākya, it is those Vākyas of the great saints. Great ones who lived thousands of years before, or ages before, all should be happy. How should that person be? There is one story, a real story. This happened about 10,000 years ago or more. That was the time of God Rāma. And God Rāma, he was the prince from the Raghu dynasty. God Rāma’s guru, kula guru, family guru. And family gurus’ goals, generation after generation. It’s not like you change every day. Sometimes you’re like, “My Swamījī, my Swamījī, I love you, my Swamījī.” And Dupadā said, “No, I don’t want Swāmījī. He didn’t let me come to him.” How you change? Oh, my dear. It is not a drama. It is about God Rāma. Right? At the same time, there was a great saint called Viśvāmitra. Viśvāmitra lived for thousands of years. The tapasyā of his 62,000 years, 16,000 years—the tapasyā of his Viśvāmitra deed, he surrendered it, just as a donation. To the Guru was testimony. Donated. And when you donate, you can’t take any back. And if you take back, it is a sin. Who is a great person like us here? For 16,000 years, he was sitting in the mountains, meditating. And just as he was happy, he donated his 16,000 years of spirituality. They were other people. We are only the shadow of them, nothing else. The world will promise what you gave; you can’t take it back. Donation: what you gave, you can’t take back. The bullet that left the gun, you can’t catch it back. The soul has gone out of the body; you can’t catch it and say, “I want to have it back.” If you do, you did a great, great mistake, and you have to suffer. 16,000 years—my God, what was the condition of his knees. Viśvāmitra was great, and at the same time, Viśvāmitra was the second guru during the time when he was protecting the yajña of Viśvāmitra. Viśvāmitra was performing one yajña. This yajña was for “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ, Sab Sukhī Rahe.” He made a saṅkalpa that, “I will do this yajña.” And when the Rākṣasas came to know that this is—is it true? How can I—they are sitting, some Indians. I am not creating my story. How can I? So Viśvāmitra performs the yajña, and in the yajña there were two things. First saṅkalpa for the well-being of the entire earth, or our planet. In astrology, our Earth is not counted or acknowledged as a planet. I am not an astrologer, so don’t ask me why. Ask someone who knows about astrology. No graha, nine graha. In nine graha, our earth is not included. Is there somebody who knows perfect astrology? Hands up. Is there someone who knows a little bit of astrology? Hand up. The great one never said aye. You are very great. So first, he wants to do good for the people. Second, his saṅkalpa will be successful only if he can complete his yajña without awakening anger within himself—that I will not be angry. When Rāvaṇa heard about this, the Rākṣasas heard about this, that Viśvāmitra is going to do some yajña for people to make them happy and healthy and this. His name will be the greatest, and where will Rāvaṇa be? Rāvaṇa sat there, and Rāvaṇa called his Rākṣasas. Rākṣasas, I don’t know the name, even the Rākṣasas’ name, but there were the names, Hukru, Hukru... Krikrik, this was the name, something to do. He ordered the Rākṣasas, “Fly there and throw the blood and the bones of animals and humans in the Yajña Kuṇḍa.” In the Yajña Kuṇḍa, no blood, no bones, they cannot come near. And when there is, he, Viśvāmitra, will see. He will see this, he will see this. He will become angry, and Viśvāmitra’s anger was so strong that the whole earth will come to an earthquake. This is Tapa, that’s called Tapa, Tapasyā, Vulcan. The Vulcan, it comes, what is that? It’s Tapa, Tapasyā, fire. So it is said, if you can’t do good, don’t do bad, and try to stay on one side. Don’t disturb any sādhu, you never know what kind of curse he can give you. So they were performing yajña, which lasted for several days or weeks. Svāhā, you know everybody. And Viśvāmitra was sitting there with disciples and other sādhus. And Svāhā and Rākṣasas came in the space. Ha ha... From his look, but that would be anger. Whole life tapasyā is gone, saṅkalpa is gone. All the people and creatures of this planet will suffer. Oh ṛṣi, what happened to your saṅkalpa? They will come and save. What about your saṅkalpa? Your saṅkalpa turned on you. Change your words. Who can protect us? The ṛṣi said he went to Ayodhyā to King Daśaratha to ask the king Daśaratha to send his two sons, Bhagavān Rāma and his brother Lakṣmaṇa, to protect the yajña. He went to Daśaratha, and Daśaratha said, “Holy man, O Ṛṣi, you can have everything from me, but not these young children, who are about 14, 15, or 18 years young. How will they fight against the Rākṣasas?” The ṛṣi said, “King, you don’t know.” You have more attachment towards these two children, like your son, but they are not normal children. But he said, “I can’t.” The ṛṣi became angry. The ṛṣi said, “Okay, I go empty-handed from your door.” The king was very afraid. A sannyāsī and ṛṣi goes empty-handed from my door? What a shame. How many ages will I spend in Naraka? He said, “Please, please, Ṛṣi, don’t go like this. Bless me, and these two children will go with you.” And Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are going with Viśvāmitra. On the way, God Rāma touched his feet to one stone. That stone was cursed by someone, the husband of one. This wife became stone, and someone said when God Rāma will touch the stone with his feet, again she will become a human. That you can read in the Rāmāyaṇa. There were the ṛṣis, you know. If we touch the stone, we have to go to the orthopedic; we will break our toes, my dear. We are nothing. We are not even a corn of the dust of their feet. Even we are not lucky enough to be under that earth where they will step. Holy! Who would think about Jesus where he walked? Wouldn’t you put your palms out if Jesus is walking by? You would put your palms under. But that time, no, we hung him up. When he went away, then we are crying because we did not know who is who. Anyhow, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa came, and they protected. When the Rākṣasas came, they shot them with their arrows, and they couldn’t come back anymore. That time Rāvaṇa said, “Aha, there is someone who is trying to destroy my kingdom, who tried to disturb my position.” And the whole story began, the fighting, no? Satya Meva Jayate, finally the truth that is the winner of the Dharma, that was the great saint Viśvāmitra. Now, though he had so many tapasyās, thousands of years, inside he was still longing. What longing? The wish, the ego, to have a position. And Viśvāmitra would like very much that Guru Vasiṣṭha—because he was the Guru of kings—declares and gives the acknowledgement that Ṛṣi Viśvāmitra should be called a Brahmaṛṣi. And Guru Vasiṣṭha didn’t say anything. And Viśvāmitra was so angry, he stole the Kāmadhenu cow of the Guru Vasiṣṭha. Kāmadhenu, which was coming out of the ocean churning. He killed the children of Vasiṣṭha Muni, Viśvāmitra himself. Spirituality can turn to the Rākṣasa vṛttis because of your greed, your ambition, your ego. God protect us from this. Even somebody will say, “Yes, go and fight.” A wise person will say no. When the dog bites you, you cannot run behind and bite the dog. Is that right? When a dog bites, is it bitten back? No. Now, Viśvāmitra would like very much to be called a Brahmaṛṣi, and this can only be when the Guru, Vasiṣṭha Muni, Vasiṣṭha, will tell, “Oh, Viśvāmitra is a Brahmaṛṣi.” Now, what happens? Viśvāmitra decided to kill Vasiṣṭha Muni. He was looking for the chance to kill him, but Vasiṣṭha Muni had great bodyguards, like you have here, great bodyguards. They are yours, not mine. You are body, and they are gods. I am the ātmā. That’s it all. One day, it is called Śarad Pūrṇimā. It comes, I think, in October, November, always. There were some ṛṣis who had a satsaṅg in a jungle in kuṭiyā. Kuṭiyā, not Kutia. Hungarians say Kutia, Kutia. They learn from the gypsies. Again, coming from India. Again, Kutia and Kutia. So Vasiṣṭha Muni, a great saint, and his wife Arundhatī. Her name was Arundhatī. Read in the Granthas what was Arundhatī, what was Anasūyā, what was Gārgī. My God! Women, great. Thousands of ṛṣis were standing in front of them with folded hands. There is no duality, no discrimination in gender, knowledge, and spirituality. There is no duality, my dear. Therefore, women have equal rights for pūjā. Women have equal rights for meditation, everything. Śrī Śrī... That wisdom, that knowledge is coming. This young girl, 12, 13 years old, talks about the Vedas without looking into them. Tapasyā, tapasyā, knowledge. Anyhow, Arundhatī and they were invited to satsaṅg. After 11:30 midnight, Vasiṣṭha Muni and Arundhatī said, “Now we will go back to our kuṭiyā, to our āśram, to our gurukul,” and they were walking through the forest. There were no concrete roads, there was nothing, and Viśvāmitra knew that Vāśiṣṭha Muni would come back on this path. So he took his arrow and bow and sat in the moonlight. He sees clearly who is coming; he was hiding behind a bush. But just stretching his bow, and Arundhatī, the wife of Vasiṣṭha, she said, “My Lord, how beautiful is today’s moonlight,” and Vasiṣṭha Muni said, “Yes, Goddess, beautiful, pleasant. Today, the moonlight is like Brahmaṛṣi Viśvāmitra’s tapas.” And Viśvāmitra threw the arrows and his bow away. He, Vasiṣṭha Muni, has in his consciousness adoration for me as a Brahmaṛṣi. He ran and fell into the holy feet of Vasiṣṭha Muni and said, “Ṛṣi, forgive me. I did so many bad things against you, but you were never angry. And you know, I only wanted to hear one word from your mouth towards me as a Brahmaṛṣi. Can I give you dakṣiṇā, Bheḍ? Now you bestow the title on me: Brahmaṛṣi.” He said, “Till today, my sickness, so many thousands of years of tapasyā, I surrender to thy feet.” And Vasiṣṭha Muni said, “I bless you with all the fruits of my satsaṅg, even one minute of satsaṅg.” Oh God, again he became angry. So many, bahattar hajār baras kī tapasyā, I gave you thousands, in only one minute. He said, “Yes, only one minute, one Brahmaṛṣi.” So the story goes on and on. The whole Rāmāyaṇa is a beautiful, holy book. So when we practice our mantra—likhit, vekharī, upāṁśu—when we come to the mānasik mantra, at that time the practitioner makes mistakes if there is no proper guidance of the Gurudev. They try to go here, up to the eyebrow center, the Ājñā Chakra, to see the visions. You know, the facial expression I see when people are meditating, what happens? It creates big tension and pain on this part of your head. And therefore, while doing Mānasika Mantra, the mind, the intellect is here, the mind is somewhere between, and we have to come to the Anāhata Cakra. At that time, no tongues are moving, no lips are moving, only the mālā beads, and you are dwelling thyself in thy heart. Suddenly, the heart begins to open its petals, like the unfoldment of the lotus petals, and each opening of the petals brings you joy, happiness, kindness, mercy, love, wisdom, and the beauty of thy heart. Look there through the mānasik japa. Upāṃśu brings you between śvāso śvāsa, apānaha sumaraṇa. That time, āra uraḍ, āra uraḍ bīche, there is akhaṇḍa jyoti, avichala jyoti, āra uraḍ bīche, ramatā ramayā, āra ascending breath, uraḍ descending breath. The meditation is concentration on ascending and descending breath through the Upāṁśa technique. But when the Mānasik Pūjā comes, then you go to the heart. My picture comes because it is a Dhyānmūlam Guru Mūrti, or Pūjā Mūlam Guru Padam, Mantra Mūlam Guru Vākyam, Mokṣa Mūlam Guru Kṛpā. Visions will come, but still in the heart. All, though the signal is here, the computer is here, but the happening, the feeling, comes from here. And therefore, you have to come to your Anāhata Cakra, Mantra Japa. As soon as you touch your Anāhata, relaxation comes. Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā... Morning, I always have a little headache here after meditation, all days. Part 2: The Guru’s Feet and the Mind’s Coconut: Teachings on Mantra and Surrender “You are a yogī,” Gurujī said to me. “Mahesh, you are a yogī.” “Can you tell me why I always have a headache here?” My God, I dared to ask. I said, “Gurujī, when you meditate, what are you doing?” That was my chance to know his practice. And Gurujī spoke truly. Gurujī said, “Mahesh, I behold the divine holy feet of Mahāprabhujī. First, I gaze upon the nails of his toes—Guru Nakha Maṇi Ghana Jyoti.” In the Rāmāyaṇa, Tulasīdāsa writes: “Guru nakha maṇi ghana jyoti, sumirat hṛdaya śubha āraṇa karṇe se”—that radiance will appear in your heart. Nakha means the toenail, especially of the big toes; maṇi is a jewel, like a Muktā Maṇi. A jewel, and when light reflects from it, how beautiful it is—like my crystal mālā, it reflects, though I cannot see myself because it is too near. So, for me, Tulasīdāsa says, the nails of the Guru’s toes are not ordinary nails, not this physical body, but a jewel, ghana jyoti. Ghana means endless, and jyoti means light. Thus, Mahesh, I always imagine that my forehead rests on Mahāprabhujī’s holy lotus feet. And what do people usually imagine? The sun rising. Meditate. Do not move the body. Relax entirely. Now think of the morning dawn, the sun rising. Do not move. Relax… Now birds are flying. A beautiful lake. This is mostly what all yoga teachers do. But the core of meditation is different, my dear. Secondly, we only struggle. There was once a goat in a cage, and a tiger came. The tiger circled and circled, but could not reach the goat because the iron bars were strong. So we have that light inside, like the goat, and we go round and round, struggling, going here and there, and we find nothing. Rām Nām nāriyala hai, mana syāra gurayā le jāta, phoḍe tau phūṭe nahī̃, girī kahā̃ se khāī? The mind is a fox that wants to eat the coconut. It rolls the coconut and tries to break it, but cannot. Unless the coconut breaks, the sweet kernel inside cannot be eaten. So, Rām Nām—the name of God—is that coconut. The mind is a fox; it keeps rolling it, but cannot open it, and therefore cannot taste the nut. Can you imagine what I then did? My God, I began to sweat, wondering what Gurujī would say. But Gurujī was very kind. I said, “Gurujī, you should change your technique.” He replied, “Yes, good, Mahesh! How?” I asked, “Am I a saint, Mahāprabhujī? The Guru’s lotus feet are in the heart, not out there.” He said, “Good idea.” Then he asked, “Why?” I said, “Because you concentrate too much and become tense.” He said, “I am not tense.” I answered, “You may think you are not tense, but you are.” And Gurujī agreed: “Yes, Mahesh, from tomorrow onwards, here.” After two or three days, we were sitting together and Gurujī said, “You know, my meditation is completely disturbed.” I asked, “Why?” “Because you made me transfer Mahāprabhujī from here to here. My years-long practice was here. So, can you transfer him from there back to here?” I said, “That is your job, Gurudev.” So even if you are an expert in meditation, subconsciously we hold tensions, which can cause certain pains and pressures. Therefore, you must come to the Anāhata Cakra—mānasika, mental. Then I asked Gurujī, “What about ajapā?” He replied, “Yes, Mahāprabhujī wrote in his book, Devpurī Anubhā Prakāś, ‘Ajapā jāpa jisko kyā jape?’—for one who experiences ajapā, what need is there to repeat? Bina japye japa hoi—without deliberate practice, it goes on constantly.” These are the practices. But if you have anger or doubt—toward whom? You can weep the whole day without being forced. You can be angry at the president of your society; it does not matter—you are angry, but what happens? Nothing. You only lose yourself in that. So the spiritual person, the honest seeker who is true to oneself, will give up prapañca and practice, practice, practice. Then happiness and light come. Maan Sik Japa—mind. The mind was like a wasp, going from one drop of blood to another. But when that mind finds the real amṛta—what is the real amṛta? Are, vah miṭhāī khāye jo amar banā detī hai. Eat that sweet which makes you immortal. That is the true sweetness. Amar ho jisko khāne se miṭhāī ho to aisī ho, aura phāṭā de mana viṣayo se khaṭāī ho to aisī ho. When the sweet makes you immortal, it is like that; when it tears the mind away from desires with sourness, it is like that. That mind turns toward immortality. So, Mānasika Japa means the mind. It concentrates, comes, and sits in the Anāhata Cakra. Anāhata Nāda—the unstruck sound, the universal sound, the cosmic sound—that is the eleventh sound. When you are in ujjāyī, the sound emerges differently. So’ham—I am That, and That I am. There is no more searching. What happens then? I will tell you about ajapā jāpa tomorrow morning. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai. It is said: when Mahāprabhujī or Swāmījī is speaking, do not meditate. Girls with closed eyes, go down and sit properly—we will explain afterwards. One, two, three. Chetana kā Chetana. Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai, Dev Purīṣa Mahādeva Kī Jai, Dharma Samrāṭ Sattva Guru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Svaramahaṃsāṃ Vaisarāman Jī Devakī Jai. Tomorrow at 9:30 we will have a program here until 12:30 or 1 o’clock, with a half‑hour to forty‑minute interval. Those in a hurry may leave during the interval. Afterwards, His Excellency the Ambassador of India, Gauri Shankar Gupta Jī from Budapest, will arrive. He had other duties and could not come today; tomorrow morning he will start, and we hope he will be here around 11:30. He will speak. He is a Vedantin with much knowledge of the Vedas, the body, the mind, and the soul. Let us see how it goes. When His Excellency begins to speak, we cannot tell him, “Please finish.” That is all. Now we will have a twenty‑five‑minute interval. You may go outside and return, or we will sing bhajans. But before that, Dr. Shanti will say something, then there will be prayer, and then we shall see what the whole night holds for us. Shanti, please speak now, because then the webcast will finish. Sir, Dr. Shanti, you can stand here or take your mic, and come closer so that I too appear in the frame—people like faces. Two things always come as a great surprise: death, and the word of the master. That is why the Guru Paramparā helps me now to tell you the right thing at the right moment. And I know it will be the right thing at the right moment. I have been with Swamiji for thirty‑five years this year. Never in all that time has he spoken about mantra as he has in these two weeks. He has spoken about mantra many times over the years, but never in this very special way that he is doing now since returning from his tours, since he came to Europe. Everyone who has known Swamiji for a long time will agree it has never been like this before. So I feel this is a most precious time for all of us to listen more than ever to what Swāmījī is saying in these hours and days. Every master has a special gift, his special remedy for bringing the disciple to high development. Not everyone gives the same tools. Swāmījī’s very special help is the Guru Mantra. In all techniques, in all the steps we take in yoga and daily life toward realization, He gives us the mantra as a stick in our hand to help us in our development. My greatest wish is that these lectures which Swāmījī has given in recent weeks should be in written form, that we should write them down and publish them. I use this opportunity to ask all of you who can help with writing and transcribing to do so. Do you agree? Please, you could really take action for this. What is precious we should always share. We should take care—that is our main motto—and we should also share how to take care. The Guru is taking care of us. Every breath of his body, his mind, his whole life is dedicated to taking care of us, to bringing light and realization into our minds, to bringing us toward God. To share this wisdom that Swāmījī is giving us in these last weeks is so great that we can then share it with everyone. Everyone who comes to the classes, yoga teachers, you can give this truly as a tool. The greatness of a master is also that he does not hide his secrets. When the book Yoga in Daily Life appeared—the big book, twelve years ago or so—we already had some scriptures, but they were not as beautiful as a book. Moreover, the self‑inquiry meditation that Swāmījī gave us was not actually public; it was more or less only for very advanced people, so that they could undertake this kind of meditation. Then when I saw this book, I was completely surprised by what was inside: the entire self‑inquiry meditation is there. I know, and I am sure, that other groups and other masters may be a bit wonderful, but they do not share as Swāmījī shares, to take care of all of us. I was really—I said to myself—this master is truly great because he hides nothing. He just gives us everything. We should take this as a precious diamond, because what he gives us, dear friends, is truly precious. If we do what he says, if we do what he teaches, if we follow what he recommends, we can and will, for sure, find the way to God. In our seminars which take place in the summer, and in all the past years, those who have participated in the intensive seminars where the mantra is again a very important tool and a vital instrument in all this technique—I can tell you it is wonderful. When we follow this technique Swāmījī gives us, you can have wonderful experiences. I myself had some years ago a very, very high experience in the middle of all the people in an Anuṣṭhān. We always have to be ready when God wants to come to us, and these opportunities are given when Swāmījī’s presence is there. Even if he is not physically present in the anuṣṭhānas or seminars, he is always with us because he is the one giving us the tools to reach the highest point. I do not know why, but a little story comes to mind. The path we are on, the spiritual way, is perhaps the most important. The way itself, the path, is the aim—not the destination. We are all on the way, and it is a very precious and wonderful way. There was once a man who absolutely wanted to reach his goal. He went to many masters and performed years of tapasyā—maybe not 16,000 years, but perhaps 12,000 years of tapasyā. He wanted desperately to reach the aim. He traveled far, to many lands, searching for the door and the house where God lived. He searched everywhere. And you know, when you search for God, He definitely comes to you, for when you take one step toward Him, He takes a hundred steps toward you. One time, he truly found the house of God. It was a house where he was very near; there were some steps he had to climb to open the door behind which God was sitting in the back part of that house. He knew he had reached the aim—he was there, where God dwells. He was very excited. Yet in front of the first step he thought, “Oh my God, what if I see God now? What will it be? My whole life will become senseless afterwards, for the way I search, making so many beautiful sādhanās and practices, and then when I see Him, everything—my whole life—I won’t know what my aim is afterwards.” So he turned back and did not climb the steps to God. But he continued his life, knowing all the while where to find God. I think that Svāmījī has shown us many times and told us many times, “Swāmījī, where is this door? Where is this house?” And he has encouraged us also to enter. That is what I love so much about Swāmījī: he says, “Just search for God in the middle of your heart with Mānasika Pūjā or Mānasika Mantra, or without Mānasika Mantra.” Just sit, simply relax, and think on your Iṣṭatva, and enter the door of your heart and find God there. So, Swamiji, I thank you in the name of all your disciples, present and physically here, and everywhere, throughout all the years. There is this great gift of mantra which you gave to us, and to me in my life. I use the mantra in many, many very difficult situations, and it is such a big help—incredible. It makes us independent. Perhaps that has not been said until now: independent. Of everything that is happening around us, it gives us such strength that we are really like immovable. Maybe we move a little, but we are more unmoving than at any other time. And lastly, I also want to mention that Swāmījī will speak tomorrow about ajapā. I am a simple servant of Gurudev and of the Lord. I am not a super‑realized soul; I am walking the way, just as we all are. One time I was walking in the Himalayas, and this is a great blessing of the Paramparā that I could be there. I was doing one week of meditation—Swamiji allowed me to do an anuṣṭhāna, a meditation anuṣṭhāna. I made it in a cave in the Himalayas for one week. Actually, I was completely unsatisfied with myself because I was not very successful. I did not complete all the mantras; in the afternoon, the long program took me not three hours but six, and things like that. I was not tired at all, but it took a very long time. Moreover, I did not have visions of Alakhpurījī or other ṛṣis from the Himalayas—which I actually did not expect, but one never knows. I had no highlights, no samādhi states, and so on. So I said, “Okay, I did my duty, and we’ll see.” And then what was interesting—do you know what happened afterwards? I left the place, and then ajapā started. That was so interesting. When I came back from solitude, I noticed the mantra was working inside me. It was there all the time, and that was so beautiful. It simply continued and continued inside me. I lost it maybe at times because of many prapañcas—hospital prapañca mainly, many, many prapañcas. But I know that from that time onward, something changed inside, and something is continuing on another level in my consciousness. It was such a beautiful experience to know that our efforts—every effort—are counted. Every effort we make is counted. That is why it is good to listen to the Master and to follow his words. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān. Sādhvī Śāntī. I would now like to welcome and introduce our Sādhvī, Yamunāpurī, who looks after yoga in her life in Spain and our āśrama in Barcelona. She practiced too much Haṭha Yoga, which is why she cannot sit on the floor today and needs a chair. Yes, go on. So when you are in Spain or Barcelona, you know where to go. Sādhvī Yamunā is a very good host, and it is your āśrama; you are welcome anytime. Yamuna, you will learn to speak something. I am so happy to be here that my voice cannot come out. I think the best thing in life is to stay at the feet of your master, at the divine lotus feet of your master. If you understand the meaning of that, your life will totally change. I met Swamiji many, many years ago—I think thirty‑five years ago, yes. Sadhvishanti and I were among Swamiji’s first disciples. And I understand that it is not easy to understand who a master is. Many, many years, yes. Swamiji was very, very strong with me. I was telling Katerina—she was the first—strong or strict? Strict. Thank you. I told Katerina, “Swāmījī doesn’t love me. Every time he tells me, ‘That’s not good.’” And she told me, “No, he loves you especially, because when he sees a stone, the Master knows how he must work to bring out a diamond, no? A diamond.” And I thought, okay, okay, I will see, but I am a very hard stone—poor Swāmījī. Swamiji really supported me very much because I was crazy. He used to tell me I was a crazy fellow, of course. But I am so happy that Swamiji knows how to guide me: strong, strict, but with so much love. And he showed me how to do it, how to take your Master into your heart. Now, in this moment, when I truly received Swamiji into my heart—because before you think so much, “Yes, I have Swamiji in my heart,” okay—but really in your heart, then your life changes. Truly changes. Then, and only then, you understand all things. You understand really who the master is. I have nothing more to say, only that I am so happy, so fortunate to have met Swāmījī in my life. I can only hope for you all that you will truly understand and walk the way to the Master. That is the best, the nicest, the most beautiful way you can find in this life. I wish you all the best. Swamiji, many, many—vielen, vielen Dank für alles. Thank you very much. And as Swāmījī told you, if you come to Barcelona, you are all welcome. Yes, we have a small ashram, but we have a big heart. We learned it from Swāmījī, and you are all welcome. Thank you very much. Problem with the knee? You can sit here. Yes. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī, Śrī Siddhipurīṣa Mahādeva Kī, Dharma Samrāṭ Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai. —