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God does more for animals; that is why mankind is sad. That is why mankind is sick. That is why the human brain is restless. The hunger of the human being is filled inside the human being. A king once declared that no one would be poor in his kingdom. No one would be hungry. Everyone would be happy. Food and drink would be available. He told his ministers, "Go and see that there is no one who is sad, no one who is hungry, no one sleeping on the bare ground." He deployed ten to twenty thousand workers for this purpose, to seek out any poor person and provide them with everything. The king thought to himself, "Truly, I am such a great king. There is no hunger in my kingdom, no poverty." God saw that his ego had increased greatly. God decided, "He thinks in his mind; his ego should be erased a little." He had done good work, this is true. But that "I also came," right? That "I do, I am going to do"—what is this "I"? Which "I" is this? One morning, around eight or nine o'clock, the king was strolling in his garden, having come out of the palace. At that moment, an old beggar appeared. He must have been seventy, seventy-five, or eighty years old. His clothes were torn, he had no shoes, his long hair was unkempt, and he leaned on a stick. He was very hungry and asked the king to give him something to eat. The king saw him and was alarmed. "What is this on the border of my kingdom? Where did you come from? Where do you live?" "I live here," the beggar replied. "Under the fort you have built. It has been ten or fifteen days, and no one has offered me cooked food." The king thought of the ten to fifteen thousand soldiers he had deployed so that no one would be sad, hungry, or suffer in the winter. "Since when have you been here?" "I have been here for a long time, Rājā. Since the time I came to see you, I have been here. Sometimes I get bread; now I am old. Otherwise, I have gone without food for twenty days." The king said, "From today, you will not be poor. What do you want now?" He said, "I want food when I am hungry. What can I do?" He asked for food. "Rājā, fill this bowl in my hand." The king immediately ordered rice, vegetables, and rotis to be placed in the beggar's vessel. The beggar stood holding the vessel open. They kept filling it, and the vessel never filled. It seemed to disappear, to become invisible. They put in one kilo, two kilos, three kilos; five rotis, ten rotis, twenty rotis—nothing remained inside. He put in money, gold; whatever he put in was lost. When it grew cold, the beggar asked for a blanket. They gave him one, and immediately it was lost somewhere. The king thought, "What is this? Is this magic? Is this a magician, or is this a test for me?" The king gave everything, and everything was finished. Finally, the king asked, "Who are you? And what is this beggar's vessel made of? Which vessel is it that whatever is put into it disappears?" That beggar said, "Rājan, this vessel of beggars is made of the human mind." Why? Because the human mind is such that it is never filled. No matter how much you give, it still feels it is less. Other animals will eat according to their need and leave the rest. But a human will eat one bread but take ten with him. He will eat one fruit but fill his bag, or put it in his pocket to give to children, neighbours, his wife, or someone else. He tries to take everything. But look, even the tree is so kind it does not say, "Do not take so much." So the beggar is the one who wants to take again and again, and the king is the one who has no desire. In the kingdom of a certain king, Lord Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatījī were going outside the village. Cremations were done outside the village. (Now the streets have expanded, and cremations sometimes lie in the middle.) There are cremation grounds where the body is burnt with fire. Samādhi is not for everyone. It is only for the remembrance of great souls. And if you make a samādhi there, then there should be pūjā. If you make a samādhi for your parents and do not perform pūjā there daily, then a pitṛ (ancestral spirit) or an āsurī ātmā (demonic entity) may come to reside there. Then there will be trouble in the house. If there is to be purity and worship, you should make a proper place for worship; otherwise, you should not make it. That is why water becomes samādhi, earth becomes samādhi, or fire becomes samādhi. There are also saṁskāras and air. The ṛṣis, when someone died, would take them to the jungle and leave them there for birds or any animal to consume. So, outside the village, in the cremation ground, after noon at three or four o'clock, someone had lit a pyre (chita). The fire was lit, the firewood was still burning, shining. There are many types of fire; fire is considered a god, and when we see fire, we bow to it. Havana Agni, Yajña Agni, Dīpak Agni, Jaṭhā Agni, Yoga Agni, Karma Dagdha Agni... We pay our respects there. And even though fire is so pure, sometimes even the fire gets burnt. The one who drinks the smoke, the one who burns the fire—they live in big houses, have air conditioners, have servants. You have provided all facilities. And this devotee of yours remembers you day and night, and you did not even give him the means to make bread. Bichārā marī huī lāś jahāṁ jalī huī hai, citta agni pe rotī pakā rahā hai, itnī sumithā āp inko nahīṁ de sakte hai. Bhagavān Śiva said to Pārvatī, "You do not know. I can give, but he will not accept." Pārvatī said, "Do not involve me in such matters. Who would have thought that Lord Śrī Trilokināth would not accept such a gift?" Lord Śiva said, "Pārvatī, it is like this. Even if I give, he will not accept." "No, Lord, I do not believe you. You do not want to give. Go and give him something, and I will see how he does not accept." Lord Śiva said, "Okay, Pārvatījī, if you insist, then let us go. Stand behind this tree. I will go and try to give something to him." That saint, that Mahātma, was sitting where the pyre was burning on the banks of the Gaṅgā, still burning. That Bābājī was sitting, making a large piece of dough and roasting it on the fire. Bhagavān Śiva appeared and stood before him, but he did not even look up. He was just sitting there, roasting his bread. Bhagavān said, "He does not listen." Bhagavān Śiva said, "Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya." Still, he did not look up. He did not even look at Bhagavān's feet. He was sitting with a stick in his hand, cooking his bread. Lord Śiva called out to him again. He was cooking his bread, not looking up. He said, "Who is it? Who is here?" Lord Śiva said, "I am the Lord of the three worlds, Śiva." Still, he did not look up. He was looking at his bread. Bābā said, "Why did you come here? What is the need to come here?" Now Pārvatījī put her finger to her mouth. Bhagavān Śiva said, "Hey Yogīrāj, I am aware of your penance, and I have come to give you something." That yogī said to Bhagavān Śiva, "When did I ask for it? You have come to give, but when did I ask? Many beggars are sitting in big cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, in half of the places. Many crores of beggars are sitting. Give it to them, go. They are sitting in big bungalows." God Śiva said, "No, I have come to give you." "I have not asked for it. I do not want it." Bhagavān Śiva said, "Yogī Mahārāj, this is my rule: when I appear, I take something or give something. Ask for anything, whatever you wish." He said, "I have no wish." "Even then, ask me for something." "So I ask you to go away from here." Bholenāth Gurudev... Over there, Pārvatījī became anxious. Bhagavān Śiva said "tathāstu" (so be it) and left. Pārvatī followed behind, saying, "Bhagavān..." Bhagavān Śiva said to Pārvatī, "See, Devī, I told you he would not take it. I tried a lot. But what happened? I did not insult him. They are great Fakirs." This is why Mahāprabhujī and another Mahātma, Adhrā Rāmjī, said that the one who has Kubera with him—Kubera is a treasurer of Bhagavān. If Kubera is blessed, then it is worthwhile. So the one who has Kubera with him still spends his days on alms; if there is carelessness, then it is like this. They ask for alms and fill their stomachs. Kubera is also present. So, in front of the king, he is saying, "Bhagavān, that Kubera is also present, even though he spends his days on alms. If he is careless, then he is like this. And if he is angry with the poison, then he is like this. And if he is immortal, if he is sweet to eat, then he is like this, Rājā." The king was at the end of his understanding. Then, Bhagavān, Tribhujanāth Viṣṇu Bhagavān, said, "I am very happy that there is no sorrow in your kingdom, no hunger, but your ego has increased." When ego comes into a person, then his downfall is near. Ego is of many types. It becomes "I am a wealthy person: I have this, I have that. I have done so much charity, I will do this, I will do that." This is also ego. Ego is our most dangerous enemy. Kāma (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), and ahaṁkāra (ego)—these are impurities. These impurities will not let us live in peace. So here is such a sacred place, where Triveṇī is considered—Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī—and lakhs and lakhs of divine beings have meditated here. Whether you take a dip or not, whether you bathe in the Gaṅgā or not, your bath is done as soon as you enter here. In Gujarat, from a place called Kashbuj, five Patels thought they should go to Gaṅgājī and take a bath to attain liberation. So the five Patels left Kashbuj to come to Gaṅgājī. It was very far. On the way, someone asked, "Where are you going, Patel brothers?" "We are going to take a bath in the river Gaṅgā." "Okay. Is it only for bathing, or for darśana (sacred sight) as well?" They said, "If there is darśan, then it is even more important." "Okay. Then do one thing: in whichever village you rest at night or during the day, drink water from that house and eat food from that house as if you have already taken a bath in the river Gaṅgā." It was very important for us to go to Gaṅgājī at that time. From Mumbai, we would sit in a plane for 1.5 to 2.5 hours, come, take a bath in Gaṅgājī, quickly take a taxi, sit in the plane, and go back. And in the past, it took months. We didn't know if we would return from the pilgrimage or not—Kedārnāth, Badrināth, Gaṅgotrī, Yamunotrī. There, in the Himalayas, you had to walk near ice cliffs. They were fortunate to return after darśan. Such people, upon entering their village after darśan, would be given a grand welcome (jhulsā). There would be a pūjā. They had returned after darśan. So if you also come here, and when you go back to your village, at the very least, even if you do not perform such worship, give them prasāda. It should be done. It should be celebrated at home. What is money? It is in your hand. Spend 100–500 rupees, 1,000–10,000 rupees, or 20,000 rupees. Make offerings and tell everyone that Gaṅgājī has come. That is why we are inviting you. This is sharing good deeds and accumulating good deeds together. So if someone stays in a village where Gaṅgājī has gone, they ask, "Who are you?" "We are from Kaśpustī. We have come to visit Gaṅgā Mātā. We want to see her." "Okay." On their way, they reached a spot one kilometre from the Gaṅgā. There they found Bābājī's hut. The Gujaratis from Kashmir thought, "Should we stay here in a saint's hut? Why not ask Bābājī if he has been to the Gaṅgā or not? It is the work of a saint to see if the Gaṅgā is nearby. He must have taken a bath, being in such close proximity to the saint." They went to the hut and sat there. The saint fed them khichḍī and gave them satsaṅg. The saint said, "Sons, this is a hut. Go and sleep in it." An old Gujarati said, "Bāpu, what is this? Bāpu, this is the Gaṅgā, right?" Mahātmājī said, "Child, what is this Gaṅgā-Baṅgā? I don't know." "Oh, Bāpu, if all the people go to the new place (Navamata), then if you are not there, you come from the well, take a bath..." "Oh, Bāpu, look at the Gaṅgā." He said, "I don't know Gaṅgā-Baṅgā." It was nine or ten in the evening. The Gujaratis were very sad. "Oh God!..." They waited. At one o'clock in the night, under the moon of Pūrṇimā, the Gujarati people sat feeling sad. There is a lot of devotion in Gujarat. It is said that in the east, paṇḍits are worshipped; in Punjab, jñānīs are worshipped; in Rajasthan, people are worshipped; and in Gujarat, there is Dhaṅgī Pūjā. No one goes to Dhaṅgī in Gujarat. They sat with their eyes closed, thinking, "Oh, this Bāpu is very obstinate. Bāpu, tell me the direction." The people of Rajasthan are such that they are not wearing many clothes. They sat with their eyes closed. "Go away from here. This Bābājī is very difficult." At one o'clock at night, they saw two black cows coming. Then three black cows came. "What is this? How did these three black cows come at night at 1 o'clock?" As they came closer, they became black women. Just like African women are black and big. Gujaratis have large families and are scared of thieves. They thought they were robbers or ghosts. And when they came to the edge of the ashram, they became white women. The women, like those from foreign countries, were all white and in white clothes. One of them washed the dishes in the ashram. One of them washed the dishes in the kitchen. And one of them filled a pot with water and kept it inside. Now the Gujaratis were scared. "Now we will be eaten." So one old Gujarati said, "Sister, who are you? I came here to eat khichdi at night; you gave me money for this? You have done me a favour." One woman said, "No, brother, we are not dacoits. So who are we? My name is Sarasvatī." She was standing, sweeping. "And she is cleaning the utensils. She is Yamunā. Bol Sadguru Devāt. And listen, brothers, people of the world come all day long and wash their sins in us. So we wash their sins. But even we need a shelter, or even when we wash our sins, what we do is we go to the shelter of the saints. So from the shelter of the saints, our sins are washed away." Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and Sarasvatī said, "Bol Sadhguru Devāt." That is why it is said that the Guru is supreme. All are elevated where the Satguru dwells, where the Satguru's grace is. Seeking the shelter of saints... An elephant came out of a lake and was going towards the jungle. It was taking mud with its trunk and throwing it on its body. It was doing this again and again. One observer said, "It is afraid of mosquitoes and flies, that's why." A second said, "It gets sunburned." A third said, "Ask it why it is pouring the soil." They asked the elephant, "You have just taken a bath. Why are you pouring the soil on yourself?" The elephant said, "I took a bath and purified my body a little, and came out. I am pouring the soil because I believe that some sage, monk, saint, or guru might have walked here. Then his sacred feet-dust will be on my head, and I will be blessed." This is why it is said that the Guru's feet are to be revered. Therefore, you are the blessed one. There are many things in life which we must do. We have obligations towards parents, partner, children; obligations towards society; and also obligations towards nature and animals. We work day and night. We do many things. Therefore, we think, "I have no time. I can't go there." But you are the luckiest and most fortunate that on this special constellation now, this year, the Mahākumbh Melā is here in Tīrtharāj Prayāg, Prayāg Tīrtharāj. This is called the holy place which is the king of holy places. The guru of all holy places is Pushkar in Rajasthan. And the king is here where the Triveṇī—Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī—meets. Since the time of Satyuga, Śiva, Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and great saints like Maharṣi, the great Ṛṣi Bharadvāja—the Bharadvāja Āśram is here. Great Ṛṣi Yājñavalkya, many, many others, Śiva, Bhagavān Rāma, Kṛṣṇa—all incarnations have been here. The facilities were not there, comforts were not there, but these people did not care about physical comfort. Their inner comfort, where they found solace, was in feeling divine peace, divine bliss. Divine bliss cannot be felt through materialism; it is only the bhaktas who can feel this; others cannot. And this special constellation now, in these two months, and especially in these four nights, comes once every 140 years. So lucky are they, blessed are they, that they have the opportunity to come to this divine place. This place is not connected; it is not divided only for the Hindus. Because at that time, in the Satyuga, there were no Hindus, no Muslims, no Christians, no Jews. There was only humankind and Sanātana Dharma. Therefore, this divine Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and all these holy places are ancient. They are not designed for a particular religion; they are for all. Everyone will get the benefit. The conflict is in the mind of the people. Even these modern religions, which are from the past 2000, 3000 years—a few thousand years at most—are definitely pure and divine, but there is no duality in them. The conflict we experience is created by humans out of their greed, out of their ambition for position, power, money, wealth. Through their cleverness and negative intellect, they try to divide. Human feelings make humans enemies to other humans. Now religion has become a very hot potato. Religion became a question: should we follow religion or not? And then, which religion should we follow? If you accept and adopt one religion, others will fight against you. The young generation of this century, the 21st century—the youth, the learned people—they have studied, and thanks to electronic media, they have information about the whole world. They know about all religions, their activities, their feelings, their dogmas. Therefore, the youth is confused: which religion should we follow? And that is what this Kumbh Mela is addressing. All of India is attracting the youth and the whole world here again. They don't want dogmas; they want practical knowledge. Tons of theory are nothing compared to a gram of practice. Now, you see, you will see many, many young people here in the Kumbh Melā. There are millions. In two days, 127 million people will take a dip here. No one has invited them. No, Gaṅgā did not write them an invitation. Gaṅgā did not send an invitation to Japan, to America, to Africa, to Europe, to Asia. But the whole world is gathered here. That is the specialty of the spirituality of Holy Bhārat. The ṛṣis, the Guru, the Guru Tattva, and all who come here—the mother does not make differences between her children. She gives everyone equal love. Father and mother do not make differences. The Guru does not make differences between disciples. The Guru has equal love for all. Bhagavān, God, has equal love for all. But it is that one who has duality in the mind—in the mind of the people, in the mind of the disciples. If we remove this, suddenly there will be waves of God, divine blaze. But humans are greedy. I was telling a story about a poor man begging for a pot. The beggar's pot is made out of the human mind, and humans have no limit. They want more and more and more. Animals are much better. Animals follow the rules of nature. In living, in creating children, animals have their time and their principles. But humans have no time. Any time, humans are ready to do anything, and therefore humans are suffering. A human goes to a tree with a few good apples on it. He will not take only one. He takes one in this pocket, a second in that pocket, a third in his jeans, then looks for more pockets, a small bag, puts one in his mouth, and walks away. The birds look and say, "That's why when the human comes into the fruit garden, the orchard, the birds look and think, 'Oh God, the greedy one has come.' He will not leave anything for anyone." When the cherry is ripe, the cherry tree has thousands, even millions, of cherries. Birds will come and eat only one or two and fly away, but humans will shake the whole tree, let the cherries fall, take a full basket, and so on, to make a business. Animals don't make business. Animals don't have storerooms. They trust God—that there is a little piece of corn for the ant and a hundred kilos for the elephant. Who is giving? God. Human, who are you that you think you feed all? No, no... And therefore, we are the happy ones, the blessed ones, that we sit here. The aura, the radiance, the energy—with each and every breath, with each and every touch of the air on our skin, we are recharging with divine energy. We feel the cleanness. Cleansing and recharging energy and spirituality. Therefore, we can sing the praises of those great saints, our gurus, who gave us spirituality, who gave us knowledge. And therefore, we feel here... so when you are here, and you meditate and look within thyself—self-inquiry meditation—then you will feel the divine bliss. Otherwise, you may only enjoy the outer atmosphere of the Kumbh Melā, the millions of people, and so on. But can you imagine, the Government of India made such perfect arrangements; no one is suffering. Everywhere there are bridges, electricity, water, cleanliness, security, everything. So I think we should thank the Government of India. And the Mela administration, the authority of the Melas, we thank them too. Of course, you can't fulfill the wishes of millions—there are about 150 million people—but they do their best. So I want to tell you that there is still a chance to come and immerse yourself in the Gaṅgā. Those who are listening through the webcast around the world, we wish you all the best and invite you to come to the Gaṅgā. We are still here for about 10 more days, or not even 10 days—one week we are. So buy a ticket to India and come quickly for the next bath. The holy bath with us will be on the 15th of February, but you must enter this area by the 12th or 13th of February. Otherwise, it will be so crowded you could hardly come in. My dear brothers and sisters, all spiritual seekers, the blessed ones, the Guru Bhaktas around the world, blessings are coming to you from holy Bhārat and this divine place, the king of all holy places, the Prayāg Rāj holy place, they call it. Ilahabad, also. So welcome and blessings to you, and may God bless you with happiness and good health. Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Deveśvar Mahādeva Mādhava Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān. Very good.