TV Channel

Part 1: The Sacred Journey of the Soul Through Ceremony and Satsaṅg That was beautiful, and there was a necessary little break from singing. Satguru Swamījī, āj to yate hī sāyā bhajananda karo, caraṇ kamal. That’s it. Once more. Yes, Mahārāj. Girls, don’t run, okay? Slowly. Thank you. Ten percent was better; eighty percent has to be corrected. Thank you. Please, everybody, put off your mobiles. Thank you. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jaya. Śrī Śrī Devpurīśamade Kī Jaya. Dharm Samrāṭ Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandjī Bhagavān Kī Jaya. Thank you, Dr. Shāntījī, for your beautiful bhajan singing. It is beautiful, wonderful, great, and divine. Every word which is a word of Gurudev, no matter in which form—poetry, bhajan, lecture, or dialogue—is always great. All dear ones here and in different parts of the world, the blessing is coming to you from Śrī Mahāprabhujī Āśram. Welcome, all of you, and those who are with us through the webcast. Satsaṅg is our life. It is said those days will be counted as the days of the holy saints as a human where you have Sant Darśan and satsaṅg. Other days are passing as the days of other creatures, too. Therefore, all spiritual seekers, Nābhaktas as well as the Sādhus, the saints—it doesn’t matter from which belief—when they have spiritual meetings, it is the Satsaṅg. Prayers, where you read also the holy books, perform the particular ceremonies—may be the earth-breaking ceremony, the foundation stone, the house-warming party, what we call Graha Praveśa. Graha is the house, and Praveśa is entry. The first day when you make fire or cooking in your new house, in a new kitchen, there is a ceremony that means a lot for the space. It may be a house or a flat or a hut. It is not that you are cooking every day and after one month you make a housewarming party. That is not correct. You can do it, of course. Like you live a few years together with your partner, and then you say, "Now we will get married." But will you marry now? Nothing is left. But okay, just for your papers, for bureaucracy. So, Gṛha Praveśa has a great meaning: to bring harmony, peace, and a good atmosphere—healthy family, healthy children. Similarly, there are ceremonies for a new baby’s birth, name ceremonies, wedding ceremonies, and divorce ceremonies, because nowadays, to get a divorce is a great event in some people’s lives. And the Antheṣṭi. Antheṣṭi is the final, the last funeral ceremonies. Humans have researched, and the saints have researched the movements of the soul—how the soul is descending from the astral world to this material world. Every event has to be celebrated. It means ceremonial. Ceremonial means some mantras and spiritual speaking. That is all which comes from the space. He had been traveling through many other lives in this material world, and due to karmic events or effects, destiny decides. It is decided by Dharmarāja. Dharmarāja is the justice of the right house-ness. It is the Dharmarāja who is deciding where this soul should go back, how the life of this soul in the body should be—happy life, pleasant life, healthy life, spiritual life, or mysterious life; troublesome, illness, suffering, etc. There is no one to be blamed. Do not blame your parents; do not blame your children. Do not blame your neighbors, your sisters, and your brothers. There is no one to be blamed, but to blame one’s own karma. This all is passing through the universe. The rituals—you may call rituals, you may call the ceremony, you may call the blessing giving, or you may call prayers. Different religions use different words. But in all this ceremony, there is one main thing, there is something which is very important, and that’s the name of God. It doesn’t matter which name you have. Mahātma Gāndhī’s favorite song, "Raghu Pati Raghava Rāja Rām, Patita Pāvana Sītā Rām." Mahatma Gandhi was a great bhakta of God Rāma, and the evidence is these two. The favorite prayer and song, "Raghu Patti Raghav Raja Ram." Raghu is the dynasty, Patti is the lord or the king, Raja is the king, and that is Rāma. "Raghu Patti Raghav Raja Ram," the king Rāma, the god Rāma. "Patita Pāvana Sītārām," you are the liberator of those sinners who lost everything, O Lord of Sītā. Ishwara, Allāh, Tero Nām. Mahātmā Gāndhī said, "May we call you, O my Lord, as Ishwara or Allāh? Both are your names. There is no difference in the name." Sabko Sanmatī De Bhagavān. Mahātmā Gāndhījī said, "O Lord, give good and positive thoughts to everyone." So, this is the first evidence, very clear, that Gandhijī was a bhakta, devoted, and his iṣṭa-devatā was Bhagavān Rāma, Sītārāma. Many people understand Krishna and Rama, meaning Krishna and Balarāma. They remove the name Bala, and just put the name Rāma. And 95% of people don’t know if they are singing the glory of Bhagavān Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, the lord of the Raghu dynasty. So it is that Rāma, Sītārāma, the lord of Sītā, and Sītā was his faithful one. Even God has to go through certain difficulties, including Sītā, in order to take upon themselves the troubles of the bhaktas and to fight and remove those negative energies. So we can see how their life was. And finally, the second evidence is that Gandhijī was a bhakta of Bhagavān Śrī Rāma of Ayodhyā, Sītārāma. When he passed away, the last words he spoke from his mouth were "He Rāma." Similarly, when King Daśaratha, the father of Rāma, passed away, he also said "He Rāma." And also, Rāvaṇa, at the last, his breath went, "Śrī Rām, Hey Śrī Rām." So, whole life he didn’t say Rāma and Śrī. He never said Śrī, which is a respected one. Śrī means wealth, Śrī means the happiness, prosperity, wisdom. Śrī is the Lakṣmī, so Śrī is the Sītā, Śrī is the Pārvatī, Śrī is Sarasvatī. So he didn’t want to say, always he said Rām, but finally he also said Śrī Rām. But we know how difficult their life was. All, all the holy saints—Mohammed had not an easy life. Some of the friends of the Prophet didn’t have an easy life. Some of them were killed. Jesus was crucified. The holy saint from Assisi was stoned and thrown away. Everyone was looking at him and spitting on him as if he were a crazy schizophrenic. But now we adore, meditate, and worship him. Satya Meva Jayate, finally we will realize the quality and the truth in that person, in that embodiment of the God consciousness. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa also didn’t have an easy life. What a life of Krishna, that he has to be born in prison. What a life of Krishna, that he has to escape from prison. What a life of Krishna, that he has to go and graze the cows in the forest. If you count all this, it was not easy. As well as to be present in the battlefield of the Mahābhārata. As well, he had to sometimes become angry and take his weapon, the Sudarśana Cakra. Because incarnation must have both the blessings and the weapons. Certain things need the weapons. You cannot do anything. Where you need an axe, you cannot do it with a needle. And where you need a needle, you need not use an axe. So that is Sudarśana Cakra. That is a Triśūla. And there are different. So, all till 24 incarnations, Naimitta Avatāras as well as the Nitya Avatāras. But in every dharma, in every religion, in belief and human beliefs, there is some form of God. That name or that form of God is the main thing in the ceremonies. And there, this is a core point. And so, the first has to be the ceremony, and then you have to make this step. Then you begin. Not that you are already cooking one year in your house and then say, "Okay, we make a housewarming party." The body is warm, the house is already smelling from everything. So, the first time putting the fire in that house, Agni, Agni Dev. These beautiful feelings and rituals will be forgotten. But, thanks to God, around the whole world, still it is life. Many people don’t believe, many, many people, 85%, and we see that 85% of people are suffering. They are suffering, but these 15% of people, they are suffering with them, have to go through it. But inside them is that seed of the light, and that light will lead them to mokṣa, to liberation, to brahmayāna. So, from how the soul is entering, the ceremony begins. Before that, the wedding ceremony begins, and before the wedding ceremonies, the prayers come, and one waits for that which is meant to be forever. Two souls are traveling, and then comes the birth, and the name, and the hair cutting, and so on. That means that through this, we try to take away and make it a little lighter for that soul to become free from the destiny and finish all bad karmas, and finally, successfully merge into Brahman, into the Supreme. And that’s why the ceremonies are there. And there is the satsaṅg. In the satsaṅg, there is always reading and speaking about the truth of God. And there are not two gods. There is one God. There are not two fires. There is only one fire. That fire is in the kitchen. That fire is in the flame. That fire is in the garden. That fire is in electricity. That fire is in water. That fire is in the cold ice. That fire is in the cold air. That fire is like the fire of your anger. And that fire is the fire of your jealousy. That fire is the fire of your longing. And that fire is the fire of the vīra, the longing for God. That is the fire of your passion, the karma, and that fire is the fire of your wisdom. That is the fire, the same fire, the fire of yoga, yoga agni, karma dagdhani. Through the yoga practice and through the yoga fire, you can burn all the seeds of your karmas, and that’s why we practice yoga. That means not your āsanas, that means not your head standing or the hand standing or the foot standing or the toes standing or the back rolling or the stomach rolling. This is good for the movements and a healthy body. Yoga begins there where your satsaṅg begins. Yoga begins there where you sit near the master and have the wisdom and knowledge—that’s called the gasping, the gospel of the master. That is called Upaniṣada. Up means near, and sad means the disciple. That disciple sits near the master and listens to the wisdom that the master is speaking. And disciples take that wisdom in their heart, in their consciousness, and in all their five kośas: Annamaya, Prāṇamaya, Manomaya, Vijñānamaya, and Ānandamaya kośas. And so there is the name of God in everything. So that day will be counted as a real day of human life, Sant Darśan. You see the saint, and you have the satsaṅg. That is all which goes from the astral world, descending to this mortal world. It enters, luckily, decided by the Dharmarāja, the Lord of Justice, and in the human body. It is already entered in the human body, but still, it is not an easy life in the mother’s body, too. It is very, very, very important and challenging seconds, even not days and hours and months, but every second is challenging for that soul which is developing into the embryo, or for the embryo which is developing. How many engineers are working inside in the form of the cells? And every eye is measured so many times that one eye is not too big and one is not too little, you know. Or one eye is looking this side, and one is looking that side. Everything is perfectly managed and maintained. Also, the ears, exactly measured—not that one ear is hanging here and the other one is there. So, such a perfect engineer as Mother Nature, but that all has to be in this river, this flood of blood and hormones. It is a great challenge, a great challenge. It is a great challenge to be born as a healthy human. And it is a great luck to be with those parents who can educate you in such a beautiful way, with spiritual and ethical principles and spirituality. Everyone is born; animals are also born. Their life is also challenging, you know, but humans have to go through those beautiful ceremonies. So, there is a soul inside, but now he doesn’t want to go out. Why are we afraid? Why are we afraid of death? We don’t want to go out of it, because now we feel safe inside. Why? Because this is a very clear answer: the soul has been suffering. The soul has experienced pain, has experienced disappointments, a lot of pain, and death. The blood never knows how we were killed in past lives, maybe in the butcher’s house, at the butcher’s, or some other animals attacked and ate you—you were still alive, you know, how painful it is for life and for death, it doesn’t matter how you will die. So, this is that soul which does not want to go out because it does not want to have the same experiences again. But sooner or later, you have to go. So it is the satsaṅg and the saint’s words, Guru Vākya, Guru Bhakti, and Guru Kṛpā that lead our soul to the Brahmaloka. So there are ten doors, and this all goes out of one of the doors, and the eleventh door is the door of the Brahmarandhra, which you practice in your Kriya Yoga, where you concentrate and you prepare your Brahmarandhra to let your soul pass through this. Theory will not help you. Practice will make it comfortable and easier for you—very easy. But if you don’t practice, be sure there is no one else to blame, neither your master, nor your friends, nor your partner. It is only and only by the one self. These ten doors include the two jñānendriyas, the eyes, the two ears, the nostrils, the mouth, and the genital system, the reproductive system, and the urinary system. This and the tenth door is that which comes from the Brahmarandhra, and the eleventh one is endless, without any border, no border. But if there is no Guru Bhakti and one falls down from Guru Bhakti, and one doesn’t practice, one thinks, "I know everything, I am the wise one," then the soul goes back to the Naraka. In Naraka, there is a waiting list. And the waiting list is not only that you have to wait. But waiting means torturing time. Torturing time, we cannot decide how many days or years, months, or yugas. In darkness, the soul feels that again. So that soul goes down with the code and urine. Means that you lost the Guru Bhakti, means that you went to the darkness, means that you went to the nothingness. The Brahma Randra, when it opens, then you come to the Brahman. There is no gate anymore. There is no ceiling over your head. Part 2: The Immortal Touch of the Guru: A Discourse on Love, Separation, and the Eternal Light That is why, when we establish a Śiva temple, the Śiva must be installed first, and only then do we build the doorway. The Śiva Liṅgam never enters through the door. Alternatively, you must have an open steel temple; no roof should be above it. It has to be brought in from above because He is Svayambhū. Śiva is Svayambhū. So there is no boundary that can limit Him, and He will not come through a door. This is symbolic of the endless universe, the endless Brahman. And that Ātmā is Śiva. Thus, the individual soul is like a drop in the hollow of our palm, and that drop falls into the ocean. The drop is the jīva, and the ocean is Śiva. That drop will eventually merge into the ocean, and that is the aim of our life. Therefore, we are fortunate that we can have satsaṅg. We are fortunate that we met our Gurudev. We are fortunate that he blessed us, that he placed his hand upon our heads. I am fortunate that through his mouth we heard mantras, and that these bhajans and songs carry the divine words of Mahāprabhujī. And so, “Āyā soṭo jāyegā rājā raṅg fakīr” – whoever came has to go again; it does not matter whether one is a king, a beggar, or a saint. One will go as a guilty sinner tied with iron chains, another will go riding the beautiful Airāvata, the white elephant, and yet another will go with Puṣpavāhana, seated in a magnificent basket-like vehicle. The balloon will lead to heaven, and beyond heaven into the Brahmaloka. Today is the anniversary of Bhagavān Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī. Mahāprabhujī blessed this earth, and wherever his holy feet touched the ground, that earth became blessed. That light of truth and power will never disappear. It is resonating, and it is present. Just as at the Kumbha Melā, from the Satya Yuga until today, millions and millions of people go and bathe at a particular constellation time when the nectar fell. That was in Satya Yuga; now we are in Kali Yuga. Is that nectar still there, or has it already been washed into the ocean? Yes, it has been washed into the ocean, but still the vibration remains. Similarly, perhaps many things have changed on that ground, but the holy touch of the Master’s feet will never change. “Guru Charaṇam Me Hatsat Tīrat Hai, Wo Ved Purāṇah Gāte Hai.” So all holy places are present wherever the Master stepped, walked, or lived. Mahāprabhujī blessed the creatures of this earth for 135 years – not only humans but many, many other beings. Many birds and animals, if they saw him with their eyes, attained mokṣa. We cannot understand it, but it is so. His kṛpā was upon everyone. Yet, as I have said, the law of nature is this: “Banegā wo bikḥregā.” That which is formed will be deformed. What is built will be dismantled. Whoever came will go. Sunrise must also have its sunset. Night came and day went. But again, day will come and night will go. This is the eternal law. And so, on the 5th of December, 1963, Bhagavān Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī entered Mahāsamādhi, and his beautiful, miraculous words and satsaṅgs – which our beloved Satguru Dev, Swami Madhavānandjī, is recording in the holy Līlā Amṛt – remain with us. The Līlā Amṛt is our scripture, and you should read at least one or two līlās of Gurudev every day. In that holy book, Mahāprabhujī is described, and Holy Gurujī describes what life was like. Indeed, even though you are living with God and have become one with God, when that God departs, you become truly sad. You are a Brahmgyānī, you have attained Self-realization – how can you be sad? And yet, you can be. Because this was not only for one person. God does not incarnate for just one person – not for Hanumān alone, nor for Arjuna alone, not for Prahlāda, and not only for Durvāsā, but for all, for everyone. So Gurudev is not for one person. Gurudev has equal love, equal care, equal attention, and equal blessings for all. I once asked Guruji, “Why were you so sad, and why do you still become sad whenever you remember Mahāprabhujī?” Tears come to his eyes. And Mahāprabhujī said, “Because I think, if Mahāprabhujī were still here on this earth, how many millions of people would have received his darśan and blessings?” So, not everyone will understand. Similarly, there was a day when Arbha Prabhujī was at Khaṭṭū Āśram in his beautiful small room, and Gurujī was sleeping outside in another nice, beautiful hut. It was 3:30 or 4 o’clock early in the morning, and it was monsoon time, raining. At that time, there were many jungles. Now, houses are being built everywhere. There was a time when you drove from Vienna to Salzburg and could hardly see any farms or farmhouses; you could count the towns and villages on your fingers. Now, from Vienna to Salzburg, there is not a single square meter left without some house, company building, or something similar. Everywhere, from Delhi to Jaipur, you will not see empty space – all buildings are there. Anyway, at that time, during the monsoon morning, Mahāprabhujī was singing. And Gurujī said that many snakes were simply passing by. No one was afraid of them, nor were the snakes afraid. Yet nowadays, if we see a small spider, we cry, “Oh God! My hairs are standing on end!” This is fear within our soul, accumulated over many, many lifetimes. So we must overcome this fear. That is why Gurujī said, “Mahāprabhujī proclaimed: ‘Karāḍū ajar amaratan kāyā, bhakta Harī kā sachā hove to, kyū man mein ghabrāyā? Bhakta Harī kā sachā…’” Thus, Mahāprabhujī said, “Karāḍū ajar amaratan kāyā” – I can make your body and your soul immortal. If you are truly a bhakta of God, why are you afraid? Why do you have fear? So those who have fear, depression, loneliness, and sadness – it means you have no trust in Gurudev. You have no belief in God. When you believe in God, there is no depression. One day we will be depressed – but depression means a deep rest. This body will rest deep under the earth or in the fire and return to the elements. Fear is a form of ignorance. Fear is a symbol of not having trust in God or trust in yourself. People are afraid of so many things. Therefore, Holī Gurujī also very beautifully said in his bhajan – and this bhajan goes, I think, “nirbe raho nishank, kabhī mat dharnā, terī sadguru rakhe lāj, kabhī mat dharnā.” So when the sadguru will protect you, why are you afraid? Let it be. And when something unpleasant and painful happens, it could have been a thousand times worse, because we have to go through certain destinies. They cannot be removed one hundred percent. That is why this life is given – so that we have to work for something. On that morning, at 3:30 or 4 o’clock, Mahāprabhujī was sitting on his bed in his room, and Gurujī was outside in his small hut. Mahāprabhujī was singing a bhajan. Gurujī got up immediately and went to stand near Mahāprabhujī with folded hands, and he saw that Mahāprabhujī had tears in his eyes. He was surprised: God has tears in his eyes. Look at the Rāmāyaṇa – you will see tears in Rāma’s eyes, and in Sītā’s and Lakṣmaṇa’s, and in Kṛṣṇa’s as well. Tears sometimes come because one is overwhelmed, the heart is filled with a certain emotion, and that must be. Mahāprabhujī was singing a bhajan, and Gurujī’s memory was so good that even a month later he could write down exactly what Mahāprabhujī had sung. Gurujī said that he is the kind of swan that picks up all the pearls flowing from the Gurudev’s words, the Guruvākyas. Every word is stored in memory, and nonsense things disappear. But our memory is so overfilled that we have no space for positive messages – you cannot send an SMS inside because the memory is overloaded. To delete that memory, we must go into satsaṅg and darśan. Then the stress goes away, and the nonsense goes away. At that time, Mahāprabhujī was singing: “Satguru, kain bishāriyā samahāra jagadāriyā vaya thāṅg jal bhariyo adh bichā cal rahijā antaryāmī, kain bishāriyā samahāra.” O my Satguru Deva, why have you separated? That was when Devpurījī had entered Mahāsamādhi. He was in Kailāśa, and Mahāprabhujī was in Khaṭṭū. There were no mobile phones, no SMS. Even to send a message from Kailash to here, people had to travel by horse; it took at least two or three days. Yet Gurudev, Mahāprabhujī, experienced everything as if he were sitting right there beside him, saying, “Oh, my Gurudev, why did you go away? Why did you separate?” Bicharna means going away, like when you lose your horse and it goes away. Bichāraṇā is separation. Like the gopīs who were always with Kṛṣṇa – gopīs are the female disciples, and gopas are the male disciples. When Kṛṣṇa went away, the gopīs asked Uddhava, Kṛṣṇa’s close friend: “Hai Uddhava, Hame Batado, O Uddhava, please tell us the difference. Yog se kyā vyog kam hai?” What is the difference between Yoga and Vyoga? Yoga means coming together, and Vyoga means separation. “Yogiyon ki banme kutya?” The yogīs have their hearts in the forest. “Vyogyon ke hirde basat hai” – but the one who feels the separation, that beloved one lives in the heart. So it means that when there is yoga, you become one; and when there is vyoga, you also become one. Both times, your heart feels the pain; you feel love. In union, you feel the love in your heart. In separation, again the heart feels, but it feels the pain. “Sadguru Kain Bishriya Sa Mahārāj” – O Mahāprabhujī Sheth, O Gurudev Devpurījī, why have you separated me, you and I? “Jag Daryava Athang Jalbhariya.” Jag means the saṃsāra, the word daryāvā is ocean. The worldly ocean is endless. Athang means you cannot know how deep or how long it is. “Advich Chalarehi Jahaj” – O my Lord, my boat is just in the middle of the ocean. How will I cross this ocean without you? Because you are my captain. So in our life, we are as if in the middle of the ocean, and we do not want the separation, but it must not be that way – because whether far or near, on this earth or on other planets, it does not matter. Love grows in distance too. Attachment creates doubts and desires to separate from the beloved, but real love cannot disappear. If there is no love, the neighbor’s door is very far away. But if there is love, thousands of kilometers are not far; it is very close, because that is an inner relationship, a beautiful oneness. “Hai Udav, hame batado, yog seekh ya yog kam hai?” Swamiprabhuji, in his beautiful book called Padaviran, describes this. Viraha means love, longing. But that Viraha, this Viraha love, is for spirituality – longing for God, longing for the Divine. And someone forgot to switch off their telephone, as I told them, and it is ringing. This is very important. I took out this bhajan today; this Padaviran is a beautiful book of bhajans. But you have to understand. If you do not understand, it is like reading a holy book in front of a buffalo all night and then asking in the morning, “Did you understand?” I need my feeder, I need grass. That is it. To understand this, “selected pearls” means the selected disciple. Sometimes the wrong pearls enter, but when they pass through a certain machine to clean them, you see, “Aha, this is a wrong one,” and it goes out. It will automatically be rejected; quality will select and quality will reject. So we have to develop quality, because every quality – whether harmony or some energy – comes to you or me. Gurudev is alerting you: look, these qualities are entering, good or bad. You cannot change them; only the Self can change. The final selection happens at the end of life, but rejection can happen at any time. Therefore it is said: “Hoshyār Rehnā Bandhe, Nā Jānā Mūl Bhūl Ṭhagā Ke.” O my friend, be alert, be careful. Do not go away cheated. This is the city of thieves; they will cheat you. They first give you a drink, and then they cheat you. You are the king of your mind and senses. These are your people; mind and senses are your subjects, but you are the king. “Mat kar iskī gulāmī” – do not become their slave. “Rājā Antaryāmī” – O Ātmā, you are the king. Don’t be cheated. It means do not miss this human life. If there is little help, we cannot do much. “I don’t know anything. How will I cross the ocean? You only know everything, O my Lord.” “Please listen to the prayer of your poor disciple. Karuṇā Nidhāna Dayālu Deva – you are the source of karuṇā, which means mercy. You are the merciful God. Please protect your bhakta,” Mahāprabhujī said. “O my Lord, without you, whom should I ask? There is no one for me to listen to. This time is not good. You just left this body; You separated.” Mahāprabhujī said this. Swāmī Deepakī, this is the request. Mahāprabhujī said, “This is my request to thee, O my Lord, Devpurījī. Binti Sunrijo Alak Awaj – O indescribable One, please listen to my prayers, my request: that your mercy, your kṛpā, your guidance, your love, and your divine light should protect and be with me forever.” In the same way, Gurujī beautifully writes in his Līlā Amṛt, the holy book, how Mahāprabhujī departed and what Mahāprabhujī told him. And Gurujī said that he could not imagine a single day in his life without Mahāprabhujī’s physical presence. But that had to be. We could not imagine our life without Holī Gurujī’s physical presence in this world. Yet this feeling is known only to that bhakta who has become one. So I pray to Mahāprabhujī for his divine blessings and guidance for all of us. And we pray that his light comes upon this earth to protect and liberate more and more spiritual souls. All the best – Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Śrī Devpurīṣa Mahādeva, Mādhava Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān, Sanātana Dharma, Hari Om.