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Part 1: The Foundation of Ceremony and the Journey of the Soul Brahmā Tasmai Śrī Gurave Namaḥ. Dhyāna Mūlaṁ Guru Mūrtiḥ. Pūjā Mūlaṁ Guru Pādaṁ. Mantra Mūlaṁ Guru Vākyaṁ. Mokṣa Mūlaṁ Guru Kṛpā. Satta Guru Svāmījī Ājātate Īśāya Banandakāro Śaraṇakka Mallapadāṅgani Edaro Dhātā. Śaraṇākka mallapadangani edaro Inna ugyo sattukyo sakkāro. Sattaguru svāmījī āyī sāyā vānāndakāro Śaraṇākka mallapadangani edaro dhātā. Charaṇakka Malla Bhadanga Nidharo Aru Aru Dhanamanna Dhanasara Prabhubharu. Dhanamanna Dhanasara Prabhubharu Sepahara Sepahara. Satguru Swamiji Ajdhati Sayavananda Karo Charanakka Malla Bhadanga Nidharo Dāta. charanakka mallabhādāṅgāni etaro Na ugyo sakkāro dāṅgāni etaro sakkāro. Satguru svāmījī ājatātai sāyāvānāndakāro Dāta charanakka mallabhādāṅgāni etaro. Dāta charanakka mallabhādāṅgāni etaro. Kesarachandana Kapuraha Aarati, Kesarachandana Kapuraha Aarati, Janena Sunirapurati. Janena Sunirapurati. Dasapalak Manaka Satguru Swamiji Aaj Tote Isaya Banandakaro charanakka-mallapada-aṅgāni-edaro dātās. charanakka-mallapada-aṅgāni-edaro dīna-ūgyo-sakkāro, rāma-aṅgāni-edaro dīna-ūgyo-sakkāro sata-guru-svāmī-jī. Ācchā-dāte-iṣāya-vānanda-kāro charanakka-mallapada-aṅgāni-edaro dātās. Satsaṅg is our life. It is said that the days of a human will be counted as the days of the holy saints only where you have Sant Darśan and satsaṅg. Other days are passing as the days of other creatures too. Therefore, for all spiritual seekers, bhaktas, as well as the sādhus and saints—it doesn’t matter from which belief—when they have spiritual meetings, it is the satsaṅg. This includes prayers, reading holy books, and performing particular ceremonies. These ceremonies may be for the earth-breaking, the foundation stone, or the house-warming, what we call Gṛha Praveśa. Graha is the house, and praveśa is entry. The first day you make fire or cook in your new house, in a new kitchen, there is a ceremony that means a lot for the space. It may be a house, a flat, or a hut. You cannot do it after cooking for a month; that is not correct. It is like living with a partner for years and then deciding to marry. Will you marry now? Nothing is left. You might do it just for papers, for bureaucracy. So, Gṛha Praveś has great meaning to bring harmony, peace, a good atmosphere, a healthy family, and healthy children. Similarly, there are ceremonies for a new baby’s birth, name ceremonies, wedding ceremonies, and even divorce ceremonies because nowadays, to get a divorce is a great event in some people’s lives. And there is Anteṣṭi, the final funeral ceremony. Humans have researched, 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. "Ceremonial" means some mantras and spiritual speaking. The soul, which comes from space, has been traveling through many other lives in this material world. Due to karmic events or effects, destiny decides. It is decided by the Dharmarāja. Dharmarāja is the justice of the right-house-ness. It is the Dharmarāj who decides where this soul should go back, how the life of this soul in the body should be: a happy life, pleasant life, healthy life, spiritual life, or a 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. You may call them rituals, ceremonies, blessing-giving, or prayers. Different religions use different words, but in all these ceremonies, there is one main thing which is very important: the name of God. It doesn’t matter which name you have. Mahātmā Gāndhī’s favorite song: "Raghu, Pati, Rāghav, Rājā, Rām, Patit, Pāvan, Sītā, Rām." Mahatma Gandhi was the great bhakta of God Rāma. The evidence is in this prayer. Raghu is the dynasty, Pati is the lord or the king, Rājā is the king, and that is Rāma, the king Rāma, the god Rāma. "Patit Pāvan Sītārām"—you are the liberator of those sinners who have lost everything. O Lord of Sītā, Patita Pāvana Sītārāma. "Īśvara Allāha, Tero Nāma," Ātmā Gāndhī said, "May we call you, O my Lord, Īśvara or Allāha? Both are your names. There is no difference in the name." "Sab ko sanamati, Dev Bhagwan," Mahātmā Gāndhījī said, "O Lord, give good and positive thoughts to everyone." So, this is the first evidence, very clear, that Gandhījī was a bhakta, devoted, and his iṣṭa devatā was Bhagavān Rāma, Sītārāma. Many people understand Krishna and Rama as Krishna and Balarāma; they remove the name Bala and just put Rama. 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. 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. The final, second evidence is that Gandhijī was the bhakta of Bhagavān Śrī Rāma, of Ayodhyā Sītārāma. When he passed away, the last word that he spoke was, "Hey Rām!" Similarly, when King Daśaratha, the father of Rāma, passed away, he also said, "Hey Rām!" And also, Rāvaṇa, at his last breath, went, "Śrī Rām! Hey Śrī Rām!" His whole life he didn’t say "Rāma" and "Śrī"; he never said them. Śrī is a respected one. Śrī means wealth. Śrī means happiness, prosperity, and wisdom. Śrī is Lakṣmī. So Śrī is Sītā. Śrī is Pārvatī. Śrī is Sarasvatī. So he didn’t want to say it. He always said Rām. But finally he also said Śrī Rām. We know how difficult a life they had, all the holy saints. Muhammad did not have 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 like he was 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 God consciousness. Similarly, Krishna also didn’t have an easy life. What a life of Krishna, that he had to be born in prison. What a life of Krishna, that he had to escape from prison. What a life of Krishna, that he had to go and graze the cows in the forest. If you count all this, it was not easy, as well as being present in the battlefield of Mahābhārata. He also had to sometimes become angry and take his weapons, the Sudarśana Cakra, because an incarnation must have both blessings and weapons. Certain things need weapons. You cannot do anything. Where you need the axe, you can’t do it with the needle. And where you need the needle, you need not use the axe. So, that is Sudarśana Cakra. That is the triśūla, and there are different ones. So it is for all 24 incarnations, Nemitāvatāra as well as the Nityāvatāras. But in every dharma, in every religion, in belief, in human beliefs, in some form of God, that name or that form of God is the main thing in the ceremonies. This is a core point. So, the ceremony has to be first, and then you make this step. Then you begin. Not that you are already cooking for one year in your house and then say, "Okay, we make a housewarming party," but 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 have been forgotten, but thanks to... God is around the whole world; still it is a life. Many people don’t believe—many, many people, 85 percent. And we see the 85 percent of people are suffering; they are suffering. But this 15 percent of people, they are suffering with them, have to go through it. But inside them is that seed of light, and that light will lead them to mokṣa, to liberation, to the 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 name, and hair cutting, etc., etc. That means that through this we try to take away and make it a little lighter for that soul to become free from destiny and finish all bad karmas, and finally, successfully merge into the Brahman, into the Supreme. 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 no two gods. There is one God. There are no two fires. There’s 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 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. And that is the fire, the same fire, the fire of yoga, yoga agni, karma dagdhaṇī. Through yoga practice and through the yoga fire, you can burn all the seeds of your karmas. That’s why we practice yoga. That means not your āsanas, not your head standing or the hand standing or foot standing or the toes standing or the back rolling or the stomach rolling. This is good for 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 Gāśāpīṅg, the Gāśāpāl of the master. That is called Upaniṣad. Up means near, and Sat means the disciple. That disciple sits near the master and listens to the wisdom the master is speaking. Disciples take that wisdom into their heart, into their consciousness, and into 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 Dharma Rājā, the Lord of Justice, into 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’s 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 the embryo developing. How many engineers are working inside in the form of cells? Every eye is measured so many times so that one eye is not too big and one is not too little, or one eye is looking this side and one is looking that side. Everything is perfectly managed and maintained. Also, ears, exactly measured, not that one ear is here hanging and the other one is there. Such a perfect engineer as Mother Nature, but all that has to be in this river of the flood of blood and hormones. It is a great challenge, a great challenge. It is a great challenge to be born healthy. 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 it 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? This is a very clear answer. The soul has been suffering. The soul has experienced pain, has experienced disappointments, a lot of pain, death, blood. The soul 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 were eating you while 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 again have the same experiences. But sooner or later you have to go. So it is the satsaṅg and 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 Brahma Randra, which you practice in your Kriya Yoga, where you concentrate and prepare your Brahma Randra to let your soul pass through. 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 again to be blamed—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 both ears, the nostrils, the mouth, and the genital system, gender system, urinary. Part 2: The Tenth and Eleventh Doors The tenth door is that which comes from the Brahmarandhra, and the eleventh is endless, without any border. But if there is no Guru Bhakti and one falls from it, if one does not practice and thinks, "I know everything, I am the wise one," then the soul goes back to Naraka. In Naraka, there is a waiting list, and this waiting is not merely waiting—it is torturing time. We cannot decide how many days, years, months, or yugas this torment lasts. In darkness, the soul feels it again. That soul goes down with the code and urine. This means you lost the Guru Bhakti; it means you went into darkness, into nothingness. When the Brahmarandhra opens, you come to Brahman. There is no gate anymore, no ceiling over your head. That is why, when we establish a Śiva temple, we must place Śiva first and then make the door. The Śiva Liṅgam never comes through a door. Alternatively, you must have an open temple with no roof overhead. It must be brought from elsewhere because He is Swayambhu. Śiva is self-manifested. There is no boundary that can limit Him, and He will not come through such an opening. This is symbolic; its significance is the endless universe, the endless Brahman. And that Ātmā is Śiva. This drop, as an individual soul, is like a drop held in the hollow of our palm, and this drop falls into the ocean. So, Drava (the drop) is Jīva, and the ocean is Śiva. The drop merges into the ocean, and that is the aim of our life. Therefore, lucky are we that we can have satsaṅg. Lucky are we that we met our Gurudev. Lucky we are that He blessed us and placed His hand on our head. And lucky that through His mouth we heard mantras. These bhajans and songs contain Mahāprabhujī’s divine words. And so, "Āyā Soto Jayegā Rājā Raṅg Fakīr." Whoever came, has to go again. It doesn’t matter—king, beggar, or saint. One will go as a guilty sinner, tied with iron chains. Another will go riding the beautiful white elephant, Airāvata. And another will go with Puṣpavān, with a beautiful basket, or the balloon that leads to heaven, above heaven, into 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 there. Like the Kumbh Melā: from Satya Yuga till today, millions upon millions of people go and bathe at a particular constellation time, when the nectar was falling. That was in Satya Yuga; now we are in Kali Yuga. Is that nectar still there, or has it washed into the ocean already? Yes, it is washed into the ocean, but still, the vibration is there. Similarly, perhaps many things have changed on that ground, but the holy touch of the master’s feet will never change. Guru caraṇam me har sat tīrath hai, wo veda purāṇa gāte hai. All the holy places are there where the master stepped, walked, or lived. Mahāprabhujī, for 135 years, blessed the creatures and lived on this earth—not only humans, but many other creatures. Many birds and animals, if they saw Him with their eyes, attained mokṣa. We don’t know; we can’t understand, but it is like that. His kṛpā was in everyone. But, as I said, the law of nature is this: Banega o bikhrega—what is formed will be deformed. What is built will be dismantled. Whoever came will go. Sunrise must also 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 Dīpānanda Mahāprabhujī went to Mahāsamādhi. His beautiful, miraculous words and satsaṅgs are being written by our beloved Satguru Dev, Swāmī Madhavānandjī, in the holy Līlā Amṛta. The Līlā Amṛta is our holy book, and you should read at least one or two līlās of Gurudev every day. In that holy book, Mahāprabhujī describes—Holy Gurujī describes—how life was. Even though you are living with God and have become one with God, when that God departs, you become truly sad. You are a Brahmagyānī; you have attained self-realization. How can we be sad? Yes, you can be. Because this was not only for one person. God does not incarnate only for one person—not for Hanumān only, or Arjuna only, and not only for Prahlāda or Dhruva, but for all. So Gurudev is not for one person. Gurudev has equal love, equal care, equal attention, and equal blessings for all. I once asked Gurujī, "Why were you so sad, and why are you so sad? Whenever you remember Mahāprabhujī, tears come." And Mahāprabhujī said it is because He thinks, "If Mahāprabhujī were still here on this earth, how many millions of people would have received His darśan and blessings?" Not everyone will understand this. There was a day when Auribha Prabhujī was in Khaṭṭū Āśram in His beautiful small room, and Gurujī was sleeping outside in another nice hut. At 3:30 or 4 o’clock early in the morning—it was monsoon time, raining—Mahāprabhujī was singing. At that time, there were a lot of jungles. Now, many houses are 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 on your fingers. Now, from Vienna to Salzburg, there is not one square meter left where you don’t see a house or some building. From Delhi to Jaipur, you will not see empty space; buildings are everywhere. But at that time, in the monsoon morning, Mahāprabhujī was singing. Gurujī said many snakes were coming and passing by. No one was afraid of them, nor were the snakes afraid. And now, we see even a small spider and say, "Oh God! My hairs are standing." This is a fear in our soul, carried from many, many lives. We have to overcome this fear. That is why Gurujī said, as Mahāprabhujī said, "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. Depression means a deep rest: this body will rest deep under the earth or in the fire and go to the other element. 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. Holy Gurujī also said very nicely in His bhajan: "So when Satguru will protect you, why are you afraid? Let it be." And when something unpleasant and painful happens, see that it could have been a thousand times worse. Because we have to go through certain destiny; it cannot be removed one hundred percent. That is why this life is given—so that we have something to work for. At that time, it was morning, 3:30 or 4 o’clock, and Mahāprabhujī was sitting in His bed in His room. Gurujī was outside in His small hut. Mahāprabhujī was singing a bhajan, and Gurujī got up immediately, went, and stood near Mahāprabhujī with folded hands. Gurujī saw that Mahāprabhujī had tears in His eyes, and He was surprised: "God has tears in His eyes." See the Rāmāyaṇa; you will see tears in Rāma’s eyes, in Sītā’s and Lakṣmaṇa’s eyes, and in Kṛṣṇa’s eyes. Tears sometimes come because you are overwhelmed; the heart is filled with a certain emotion, and that has to be. Mahāprabhujī was singing one bhajan, and Gurujī—the Guru’s memory was so good that He could write, even after one month, what Mahāprabhujī was singing. Gurujī said that He is that kind of swan which takes all the pearls that come from the Gurudev’s words, the Guruvākyas. Every word is stored in the memory, and nonsense things go away. But our memory is so overfilled that we have no place for positive messages. You can’t send an SMS because the memory is overloaded. To delete that memory is to go into satsaṅg and darśan. Then the stress goes away; nonsense things go away. At that time, Mahāprabhujī was saying, "O my Sadgurudev…" Why this separation? Because that was the time when Devapurījī went into Mahāsamādhi. He was in Kailāś, and Mahāprabhujī was in Khaṭṭū. There was no mobile telephone, no SMS. Even a message from Kailash to here had to be carried by horse; it took at least two or three days. But Gurudev, Mahāprabhujī, experienced everything as if He were sitting there near Him, saying, "Oh, my Gurudev, why did you go away? Why did you separate?" Bicharna means to go away, like when you lose your horse and it has gone away. Bichāranā is separation. It is like the Gopīs who were with Kṛṣṇa all the time. Gopīs means the female disciples, and Gop means the male disciples. When Kṛṣṇa went away, the Gopīs asked a question to Uddhava, Kṛṣṇa’s close friend. The Gopīs were asking, "Hai, Uddhava, hume batādo. Oh Uddhava, please tell us the difference. Yog se kya vyog kam hai?" What is the difference between yoga and vyoga? Yoga means coming together, and Vyoga means separation. "Hai, udav, hame batado, yog se kya? Ab yog kam hai? Yogiyon ki banme kutya." The yogis have their hearts in the forest. Yogiyon ke hṛdaya basat hai. But the yogī who feels the separation—that beloved one is living in the heart. So it means when there is yoga, you become one, and when there is vyoga (separation), you also become one. Both times your heart feels: in union, it feels love; in separation, it feels pain. So, "Sadguru Kain Visriyasa Mahārāj," O Mahāprabhujī said, "O Gurudev, Devapurījī, why did you separate me? You and I? Jag Daryava Athang Jal Bhariya." Jag means saṃsāra; Daryava is ocean. The worldly ocean is endless, Athāṅg—you don’t know how deep or long it is. "Oh my Lord, my boat is just in the middle of the ocean. How will I cross this ocean without you? For you are my captain." Our life is like being in the middle of an ocean. We do not want separation, but it should not be a problem. For whether far or near, on this earth or on other planets, it does not matter. Love grows in distance, too. Attachment creates doubts and creates desires to separate from the beloved one, but real love cannot disappear. If there is no love, then the neighbor’s door is very far. But if there is love, thousands of kilometers are not far—it is very close, because that is an inner relation, a beautiful oneness. Mahāprabhujī, in His beautiful book—this is a beautiful one, called Padviraṇī. Viraha means love; Viraha means longing. But this viraha, this love, is for the spiritual; it is longing for God, longing for the divine. This bhajan I wrote—I took it out today. This Pādavīraṇa is a beautiful book of bhajans, but you have to understand it. If you do not understand, it is like reading the holy book in front of a buffalo all night, and in the morning you say, "Did you understand?" and it says, "Oh, I need my feeder, I need grass." That’s it. To understand this, "selected pearls" means selected disciples. And you don’t know—sometimes the wrong pearls come in. But when they go through a certain machine, or when you clean them, you will see, "Aha, this is a wrong one," and it goes out. So it will automatically reject that quality. The quality will select it, and the quality will reject it. So, quality we have to develop, because every quality—whether harmonious or some energy that comes to you or to me—Gurudev is alarming you: "Look, there is this quality entering, good or bad." You cannot change it; only one’s self can. The selection is there at the final end of life, but rejecting can happen anytime. And therefore it is said, "Oh my friend, be alert, be careful. Don’t go away while cheated. This city is the city of thieves. They will cheat you. They first give you the drink, and then they will cheat you. You are the king of your mind and senses. These are your people: mind and senses. You are the king; do not be the slave. Do not be cheated." It means: in this human life, do not miss it. Otherwise, little help we cannot do too much. "I don’t know anything. How will I cross the ocean? You know only, oh my Lord, everything. Please listen to the prayer of your poor disciple. Karuṇā Nidhāna Dayālu Deva—you are the creator of Karuṇā, you are the source of mercy. Karuṇā Nidāna Dayālu Deva, you are the merciful God. Rakṣā karo bhakt kī laj. Please protect your Bhakta." Mahāprabhujī said, "Āp binā Prabhu kisko pukāru, O my Lord?" Without you, whom should I ask? There is no one for me to listen to. "A vela hai aaj. This time is not good. You just left this body. You separated." Mahāprabhujī said this: "Swāmīdeep kī yahī araj hai." Mahāprabhujī said, "This is my request to thee, oh my lord, Devapurījī. Oh, you are indescribable. Please listen to my prayers, my request, that thy mercy, thy kṛpā, thy guidance and thy love, thy divine light, should protect and be with me ever." In the same way, Gurujī writes in His Līlāmṛta, the holy book Līlāmṛta, beautifully, how Mahāprabhujī went and how Mahāprabhujī told Him. And Gurujī said that He couldn’t imagine there would be a day in His life without Mahāprabhujī’s physical presence. But that has to be; it ought to be. We couldn’t imagine—I couldn’t imagine—without Holy Gurujī’s physical presence in this world. But this feeling is only for that Bhakta who became one. So I pray to Mahāprabhujī for His divine blessings and guidance for all of us. And we pray that His light comes on this earth to protect and liberate more and more spiritual souls. All the best. Śrī Deepnā and Bhagavān Śrī Dev Puruṣa Mahādeva Mādhava Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān Sanātana Hari Om.