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Part 1: The Glory of the Mother: Tales of Devotion and Divine Protection Gajānanaṁ bhūtagaṇādhi-sevitaṁ kapittha-jambū-phala-sāra-bhakṣaṇam asatāṁ śoka-vināśakārakaṁ namāmi vighneśvara pāda-paṅkajam. Mantra mūlaṁ guru vākyam, mokṣa mūlaṁ guru kṛpā. Namo'stu te Vyāsa viśālabuddhe phullāravindāyatapatranetra. Yena tvayā bhārata-tailapūrṇaḥ jvalito jñānamayaḥ pradīpaḥ. Putre tithanmayatayā tarvobhinedo tam sarvabhūtādayam muniman toṣmi. Pūjate viṣayopabhogirachanā nidrā samādhiṣṭhati. Yad yad karma karomi tattad akhilaṁ śambho tavārādhanam, Yasya yaṁ sukṛtīnāṁ bhavane śrīlakṣmīḥ pativratā, Kīrtiśca śraddhā satāṁ kulajanaprabhāvaśca lajjā, tān mātastvāṁ paripālaye devi viśvam. Tulita-baladhāmam hema-śailābha-deham danuja-vana-kṛśānam, Jñāninām agragaṇyam sakala-guṇa-nidhānam vānarāṇām adhīśam, Raghupati-priya-bhaktam vātajātam namāmi. Śrī Āyā Rāmamaya Sab Jagjani, Karahu Praṇām Jori Jugpāṇi. Boliye Sache Darbār Kī Jai, Boliye Aṭal Chhatra Kī. Jai, Boliye Śrī Deveśwar Mahādev Kī Jai, Boliye Śrī Dev Purīṣā Bhagavān Kī Jai, Boliye Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhu Bhagavān Kī Jai, Boliye Hindu Dharma Samrāṭ Mādhavānandjī Mahārāj Kī Jai, Boli Paramahaṁswāmī Mahāmaṇḍaleśwar Maheśwarānandajī, Mahārāj, Kī Jai, Boli Mahāmaṇḍaleśwar Swāmijī Jñāneśwar Purī Jī, Mahārāj, Kī Jai. Jai Sabhī Santoṅ Kī Jai, Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jai, Boli Śrī Govindevjī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Sarvamaṅgalamaṅgale Śive Sarvārtha Sādhike, Śaraṇye Tryambake Gaurī, Nārāyaṇī Namo'stu Te. Merī Bhardo Jholī, Merī Bhardo Jholī, Merī Bhardo Jholī. This is a spiritual lecture about Yoga in the Indian tradition. Śruti, Śruti, Mahābhāgam iṣṭaṁ te varcināmṛtam Na tṛptāsmo vājaṁ pītvā dvaipāyana kratam śubham. The sages who have been sitting for a thousand years say to Śrutijī, "We are not satisfied. We want to hear more stories." And what Vedavyāsa Jī said to Janamejaya Jī—such stories we should listen to, from those devotees, about when and how people worshipped the Mother. Devi Bhagavata means that those stories should be told to us where devotion to the Mother has been performed by some king, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or any other living being. Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā... He Ke Nabhag Agni Dādī Bacche Ve, He Ke Ṛṣabhdev Jī Ve, Ṛṣabhdev Jī Ke 100 Bacche Ve, Unmeṅ Sabse Baṛe Bharat Jī Mahārāj Ve Aur Bharat Jī Ke 3 Janm Hue, Satya Ke Liye Unhoṅ Ne 3 Janmoṅ Tak Priyas Kiya Aur Jo Unkā 3 Janm Huā, Murg Yonī Ke Pashchāt, Usmeṅ Unkā Rām Jad Bharat Paḍā. Yānī unhone kisī kī cintā nahī̃ thī, na to ve kisī kā tiraskār karte the, na vo kisī kā sammān karte the, na koī pūjā karte the, na koī pāpa karte the. In their life, there were many incidents, but such an incident of the mother’s glory happened: dacoits took her to offer as a sacrifice, and when they sacrifice, before that, the dacoits carefully mark the entire body with a snake-shaped thread, just as in a wedding they decorate the bridegroom—in the same way they decorated her, and she too is a sacrifice. Whenever an offering is made, it is first raised high up, raised all the way up, and then to fall, a person needs something. To bali chāḍhāe jātī hai aur bali chāḍhāne se thoḍā sā pahle, Mā Kālī ke sāmne unkā shir bali vedī par rakh diyā, to Mā Kālī ko yeh sahān nahīṅ thā, unhone koī bhī prārthanā nahīṅ kī, kisī bhī prakār se Bhagavān ko pukārā nahīṅ, lekin Mā Kālī ko yeh sahān nahīṅ thā, sahī peḍā hoī, Purījī, Purījī... When we are worried about our life, it means we do not believe that we are allowed to exist, or we do not allow God to think about us. Because we are worried for our life, we think we are the director of all parts of life, and we will take the decisions. But this is not true. Let me tell a small story about King Bharata: they were 100 brothers. Nine went to Taina, Tibet, and they started the tradition of Nav Nāth, the Nāth paramparā, the Nāth tradition. And King Jad Bharata, for achieving the supreme goal, the last… The goal of consciousness, the last goal of life, he tried in three lives. In the first, he was a king and he was praying, but his mind attached with compassion—compassion with attachment. So in the first life, when he died, he thought about a deer. So in the next life, he became a deer. In the third life, he was born in a Brahmin family but did nothing. He lived in the Brahma Bhāva. He directly connected with the whole existence. And even not doing any rituals, even not taking bath, because he was already pure, no need for bath, almost enlightened. His mother died when he was in very early childhood. Once upon a time, some robbers, ḍakūs, they kidnapped him and they wanted to kill him in front of the Kālī, to offer bali. And King Bharat, in this life he was not a king, he was a Brahmin, but he did not worship, nor did he call to Mā, "Please save me." He did not even cry, "Help, help." He just supported. He supported the robbers, just supported. And finally, this is also happening: before the bali, before the kill, they offer him lots of garlands, sweets, and clothes. It happens in this life. Before marriage, in India also, you can see the whole society, the whole family, people offer a lot of clothes and jewellery. This is the tradition before bali. Purījī, Purījī... We do not believe in the power of existence. Who was caring when we were in the womb? Or who is caring when we are sleeping? Who digests our food? So when we worry about our life, it means we do not believe in Her power. She is already caretaking. She is already very protective of us. This story tells us that the more we think about ourselves, that "I will save myself," we will not be able to save ourselves. Jāko rākhe sāiyāṅ, māre sake na koī, Bāle na bāṅkā kar sake, jo cak vairī hoī. Or else, the Zed security people also die. Or else, the security guards also die. Such incidents have happened in the world. Or else, I heard Hitler himself died. He himself committed suicide in the end, so there is no one else to kill. We ourselves are ready to kill ourselves. There is a very beautiful story in the Devī Bhāgavatam. One more thing: there is a brāhmaṇa named Triśra (Viśvarūpa). He has given a name to the world, he has given the knowledge of Nārāyaṇa Kavaca to Indra. Once, Bṛhaspati Jī got angry and left. Now, when two people are together, one will be angry and the other will be happy. And when they are together, they will definitely be angry with each other. If they are not, it means they are not together; they are only physically together. And the closer they are, the more angry they can be. The father gets angry with the son the most, and the son gets angry with the father the most, because they are close. And where there is no anger, there is no relationship. He described Viśvarūpa because Bṛhaspati Jī was angry and hid away from the gods. Viśvarūpa taught him, but Indra had doubts about Viśvarūpa. Viśvarūpa used to meditate upside down. So Indra thought that he wanted to take away his position because he had enemies. My enemies are demons, so Ashta’s wife was the daughter of demons. This is still going on. Indra also gave his daughter to Śukrācārya Jī. These relationships keep on forming. Now they have killed the three-Śiras. Three Śiras. Three Śiras. And this type of story you can find only in the Indian Purāṇa. Three heads, ten heads, a thousand hands of Bāṇāsura. So this is the greed of human beings. We are not satisfied with the one. This is another thing. Right now, the law is not allowed. Otherwise, the boss will put a GPS system in all the servants. Sim is dwelling inside everyone, and even they want to put it in the mind. And I heard, and I read in the newspaper, that one person made a machine when Obama went there to Israel. People want to read other minds. Doosre kā man paḍloon, doosre ke buddhi ko paḍloon. When we observe our own thought process, then the journey of spirituality starts. Jab apnā man, apnī buddhi padne lagenge, doosrā mere bāre me kyā soch rahā hai, doosrā musse achchā hai, burā hai, tab tak hum dharma ke mandir me praveś nahī kareṅge. Indra is exactly that. Indra is not a dharmik person; he is a selfish person. I will not even say selfish; there is a word below that. Understand this, he is a leader. He is a śanśad, understand this, Indra. Indra is a politician, actually. He is not a spiritual person. Indra is a complete politician. The one who does this kind of deed becomes Indra. He has also become Gautam’s wife. That is why Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvarī, Bhuvaneśvarī, Jagadeśvarī, and Bhagavatī do not do any politics, you see. That is why she is Bhagavatī. Indra ne Triśra ko kaise mārā? Pīche se chip karke mār diyā, lekin o ākhe bandh kiwe marawā bī aise lektā hai jaisī jindā hai. Its three faces, from one face, Vedas and meditation, from one face, drinking honey, and from the third face, watching all four directions, seeing who is doing what, thus performing the five fires, he was also performing austerities. The monks around him said, "Hey, hey, Indra, what have you done?" Your kīrti has been destroyed. So, Indra did a lie here. To kill the dead Triśra, he gave the woodcutter a challenge: that you cut his head. So he said, "Hi, hi," to Indra. He said, "Indra, it is a shame on you that you have such a sinful mind, that you kill a person sitting on a throne." Purī Jī Kā Māra Dete Ho, Uskā Nām Hai Takchha, Badāī Kā Nām Hai Takchha, Mujhe Aisā Lagā Hai, Kis Duniyā Mein Sab, Tumse Adhik Pāpī Koī Hai Nahī, Hai Indra? Arre, Main Tumhāre Is Pāpa Karne Mein Kabhī Bhī Sāth Nahī Dūṅgā. Indra bolā, "Ki tum merā yeh kāma karoge, to mujhe yajña mein hissā milegā, I will also give you a share in it." Bribery, to cover up this corruption, even Indra’s leg will have to be pulled. Indra gives bribes. Indra gave a bribe to King Takṣa, and says, "I will give you some part of my power, because I will give you some part of my power." Hearing this, the elder became happy, and he cut his three heads from his koṭhar. When he cut his three heads, one became gauraiyā. What will be gauraiyā, Mahāntjī? Gauraiyā bird, the second became Titer, and the third became Kapinjal. These three birds came out of their different faces. Prakash, Prakash... Aapne Mahābali Śatru Ko Mār Karke Aapne Ghar Jāne Kī Socī, Ek Bāt To Hai, Pāpī Ko Bhī Patā To Hotā Hai Kī Maine Pāp Kiyā. Indra Socḥ Rahā Hai, Maine Badā Galtī Kī Hai. Rāt Ko So Ne Pā Rahā Hai To Ādmī Kitnā Hī Kuch Bhī Kare, Apnī Patnī Se Kuch Bhī Nahī Chhipā Saktā. In this world, there is no greater spy than wives. They are the biggest spies. What comes to the husband, what goes, where it came from, where it went, they can investigate in a minute. The CBI is spread before them. Do minute mein pura scan kar leti hain, the wife. They are the most detector. They can detect what the husband is thinking, or you can say, jasoos bohat badi jasoos hoti hain ye spy. Abhi yeh kahaniya puri bata na. Ab dekhiye, Sachi ne poocha. Aap ye samānī ādmīyo, kitnī lambī lambī gehṛī gehṛī śaṅkāyeṁ kyo le rahe ho? Koi galtī karke āye ho kyā? Ādmī āpne jākar to kuchh śikha sakta hai, nahīṁ meṁ kuchh nahīṁ śikha sakta. Some people speaking in the sleeping, nahīṁ meṁ, arey arey maine kyā kiyā, arey. Arey, Brahmātiyā kar diya. Aise bol raha tha, "Patañjī ne kā bhāiyā, kyā bāt hai?" To bole, "Maine ek bahut baṛā mahāpāp muñjhe ho gayā. Tvaṣṭā kā putra mere se mar gayā. Agni ke samān hua kaṇṭhī wālā thā." Patañjī ne bhī ke diyā, "Bhāiyā, to bahut galat kiyā." Idhar Tvaṣṭā Ṛṣi ko jab pata chalā, to unhoṁ ne Bhadrakālī kī, Mahākālī kī, sādhanā kī. And from that burning fire, a great person manifested. The story of this person is also told in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Now, see, Vṛtrāsura first stands up and goes to perform straight tapasyā. Vṛtra means his face, his face was as big as the earth and sky. In his face, all the human beings used to walk in front of him. He represented the Asura army and took a boon from Brahmā Jī, "O Brahmā Jī, I do not want to die by any weapon, or deity, or dāna, or anything like that which everyone asks for." When Indra came to know that Tvaṣṭā’s son was coming to kill him, then Indra thought, "O Bhagavān, O Gurujī, our Bṛhaspati Jī has come." So he started asking them, "What should I do? How should I destroy my enemies?" So Bṛhaspati Jī is giving us a lesson here. Through these stories, we don’t have to choose any other lesson. Bṛhaspati Jī is saying the most important fruit of good and bad comes soon. If you do bad and nobody is a witness to your bad karma, don’t worry. Nature, it will come back. Very fast, you will suffer the result of your bad karma. Isliye, aiśvarya kī icchā rakhnē vālō ko vicāra pūrvaka kāma karanā cāhiye. If you need prosperity in your life, think before action. Don’t think after action. Dūsrē ko kaṣṭa pahum̐cānā. Jo vyaktī bhī dūsre ko duḥkh dene kā karam kartā hai, uske jīvan mein kabhī śānti nahī̃ ātī hai, chāhe voh koī bhī kyoṁ na ho. He Indra, tumne moh aur lob ke vaśīt bhūt ho karke brahma-hatyā kar dālī. Ab ye Vṛtra śir tumhe nahī̃ chhoṛegā aur isko haraṇā mushkil hai, Mahārāj, kyoṁki ye... Brahman putra hai, Brahman ke putra ko harana agar Brahman kisi se bair karega, to bollo bhaiya, mushkil hai. Kyonki aapne Chanakya ka naam suna hoga, Kapil Devji ka naam sunaoge, Parashurāmajī ka naam sunaoge, aur Yaduvaṁś ko jisne śrap diya, vah bhī Brahman the. To bolte hain, Brahman peeth pāṭāl chhalyo Bali. Bali ko chhalne ke liye Viṣṇu bhī Brahman kā rūp dhan kar ke gaye. Brahman peeth pāṭāl chhalyo Bali. Brahman sāth hazāron ko jāre ek netra kī agni se. Kapil Dev Jī ke sāth hazāron ko jalā diyā. Brahman peeth pāṭāl chhalyo Bali. Brahman sāth hazāron ko jāre. Brahman śok liyo samudra ko, Agastamuni pī gai śara samudra. Brahman śok liyo samudra ko, Brahman lāṭ diye Hari ke tan par. Brahman chattriya hīna kiye pṛthvī ko, Brahman Yādav vaṁśa ho jāre. Aur Brahman se bhāī vair mat karo, Indra Brahman se Parameśvarare. Bholē Bhaiyā, tum yeh mat soco ki tum usse jīt jāoge. Tum ne, pehlī bāt to kisī ko guru banā na cāhiye, nahīṁ cāhiye ta. Bohot Bura Kya, Ab Yeh To Brahm Hatya Ke Prabhaav Se Tum Jeet Bhi Nahi Paoge. Viṣṇu Bhagavān ne kahā, abhī hum iskā upāye doṅge, tab tak tum sandhī karlo apne śatru se, sandhī karlo. Ab dekho, akhir Brahmaṇ kā putra thā Vṛtrāsura, to sandhī kar lī. Brahmaṇ kā svabhāva batāyā hai yahāṁ pe. Jāda to śubhav, main āpko secret batāūṅgā, nā kisi bhī jāti varṇ ke secret. Purāṇoṁ meṁ sab diye, apne āp paḍho, dekho kyā kyā kiske secret hote haiṁ, kaisā kyā. Secret batā hai Mahārāj, pāoṁ pe kulhāṛī mār nī hai, secret batā ke. Secret batā hai sab kā śāstra meṁ, śāstra ke. Andar kyā nahīṁ hai, yeh paḍhāī kī hai, aur koī pahle koī yeh fīs leke thoṛī paḍhā, jaise school mein āp bachche kā admission karo. For this knowledge, you will have to learn Sanskrit. For this knowledge, you will have to be patient; there should be patience, and in this all the... Mental knowledge is given, all the spiritual knowledge is given. This is told through the stories and stories. So Indra has become his friend, and Indra deceives. Suranar Muni Janaki, Yahniti, Swarath, Laag, Kareu, Sapiti. What is the definition of love? Love is beyond the skin, beyond the form, beyond any type of smell, beyond any type of taste. Beyond taste, beyond form, beyond fragrance, and beyond any type of sound. Hajjāro kilometer door kī ghaṭnā hai. Ab dekhiye, Mahārāj, pitā jī ne, Vṛttrāsura ke pitā ne, Vṛttrāsura ko kahā, "Betā, kisī pe viśvās mat karnā, kyōki Indra tumhārā śatru hai, aur chhalā nīti jāntā hai." Gaṇḍa-mādana parvata par pahunch kar ke, deva nadī Gaṅgā jī mein snāna kar ke, Apna Vratrāsura kā thikā dosti ho gai. Abha main apna dhyāna se baithāṅ, kyōṅki Indra se sab kuch chīna liyā thā, Vratrāsura ne. Abha Indra paradhīna ho gayā. Indra ne Viṣṇu Bhagavān ke sātha mil karke Vratrāsura ko mārane kī yojanā banāī. Vṛtrāsura ke pās mein aisī vidyā ho gaī, ki Indra se svayam nahī̃ mar saktā thā. Bhāgavata has told that he made Vajra from the bones of Dadhīci Ṛṣi’s body, and because Indra has already lost, now he is doing pūjā, meditating, doing tapasyā, he kills Vṛtrāsura by hitting him from behind with his ghaṭa. This time, Brahmātyasakṣad dressed up as three-faced and ran to eat Indra. Indra changed his form and started meditating in the water of Kamal Tantra. With the inspiration of the Devatās, Nahuṣa was made the king of Indra. Indrāṇī was very beautiful and pure. Part 2: The Binding Power of Māyā and the Karma of the Gods: Stories from the Devī Bhāgavat Nahuṣa felt pleased at the prospect of possessing her. Thus it was that Indra’s wife worshiped Mother Bhagavatī here. You have been told that Indra’s wife worshiped Mother Bhagavatī at this very place. So, Indra committed the sin, but Satī did not. Today, by the grace of Bhagavatī Paramā, Nahuṣa was turned into a snake by the brāhmaṇas who pronounced that curse. And the trouble that had come upon Satī was removed. Bṛhaspati has given us the knowledge that no person is happy in this world. One who is perpetually inflamed by greed, who hates everyone, who grieves at the happiness of others, a parastrī-gāmī (one who pursues another’s wife), of sinful intellect, deceitful, one who destroys desire, who opposes everyone — such an egotistical person always remains unhappy. Bholiyā, Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī. So, this is a very important message of the Śrīmad Devī Bhāgavat. I would like to request Mahāmaṇḍaleśvarajī, please say something about this small story, because if I speak too many stories, it becomes difficult to translate. Bholī Jagadambī Mātā Kī Jai, Devīśvar Mātā Devā Kī Jai, Hindu Dharma Samras Mātā Kṛṣṇaṁ Bhagavān Kī Jai, Viśvaguru Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Satya Gurudeva Kī Jai. So these were two stories, Deva. Viśvakarmā wanted to have a son. Well, he obtained one son with three heads, and then this son started to perform tapasyā. Because he was also from the brāhmaṇa caste — the brāhmaṇa caste is actually that part of society which is dedicated to learning, dedicated to preserving knowledge. That is why it is always said in the Purāṇas, the Vedas, and so on, that everyone should protect the brāhmaṇas. Not because they are so high and mighty, but because if they had to go out and work and earn money to feed themselves, then who would study? I think all around the world this is the same problem for all teachers. We want the best teacher for our children, but we do not want to pay them. We do not want to give them anything. We simply want them to provide the best school and everything. So these are the brāhmaṇas. They possess so many powers; therefore, usually you do not want to fight against brāhmaṇas. It is shown in these few stories that Vṛtrāsura, who was the son of a brāhmaṇa, was himself a brāhmaṇa; he could open his mouth and swallow entire armies. Another ṛṣi was able to drink up the whole ocean. And the curse of a brāhmaṇa was enough to destroy an entire Kṣatriya clan. We all know the story of Paraśurāma, who became angry at the Kṣatriyas, the warrior caste, because they began to abuse their power. So he was born and then he finished the warrior class itself. But this son — because he was half-demon, he had three heads, and he was also a brāhmaṇa — was actually more introverted. He was such a gentle personality. With one head he was reading the Vedas, with the second head he was drinking nectar (and of course, there are other things that you can interpret). And with the third head he was looking all around himself. Now he was going deeper and deeper within; he was practicing more and more tapasyā, leading an increasingly ascetic life. Then Indra, as you said, the politician of the moment — the politician of that time — started worrying about his position in heaven. So he made a decision, and one day he came and killed him. There was no reason, no provocation — nothing. He said, “If I let him live long enough, he will become too powerful. Once he is too powerful, I will not be able to do anything. So let us finish him before he becomes too strong.” Now he had killed him. The three-headed one lay dead, yet still looked as if he were alive. So Indra started thinking: “What now? I am not sure that he will not come back to life.” There happened to be a woodcutter felling trees nearby, so Indra called him — the woodworker — and said, “Please cut off this demon’s head.” The woodcutter replied, “I am not so stupid as to commit such a sin. What you did was very wrong, but what you are asking me to do is even worse than that. I do not want to participate.” Then of course, Indra did what we all usually do. He said, “Alright, I will give you my power, I will give you money, I will give you this, I will give you that.” And naturally, the woodcutter finally said, “Okay, I will close my eyes and do this thing.” So he cut off the head of that demon, of that Rākṣasa, and Indra was happy for the moment. But when he returned to his heaven he was very unhappy, because he had actually committed the greatest possible sin: he had killed a brāhmaṇa. He had, in truth, killed a teacher — which is the highest sin that exists in the Purāṇas. At night he could not sleep. His wife asked him what was wrong. He at first did not want to say, but eventually he slept. He told her what had happened, and even she did not agree. When the father of this three-headed demon learned of it, he was so furious that he began to perform a pūjā; and from this pūjā, Vṛtrāsura came forth. So great was his anguish that he said, “Your name will be Vṛtrāsura — the demon born from the release of my anger, my anxiety, and my duḥkha (misery) at my son’s being killed.” Because he was born from the fire, immediately after being born he possessed extraordinary powers, and of course he had been some king in a previous life. Then he went to perform tapasyā. When Brahmā appeared, he asked Brahmā the same thing: that nobody should be able to kill him, and all those things that usually happen. And when he received that boon from Brahmā, he was crowned the king of demons. All the demons from Pātālaloka and everywhere else came out of hiding and joined him in the conquest of heaven. After the conquest of heaven, once they had established themselves there, Indra asked his guru Bṛhaspati, “How can I fight them?” Bṛhaspati replied, “You committed such a great sin that it is very hard to do anything. The only thing you can do is basically run away.” Of course, Indra did not listen. He went and fought. After the fight, first Vāyu went, then Varuṇa, then Vāyu again, then Agni — everyone went. But finally Indra even ran away, and then they went to Viṣṇu, hiding here and there. And of course, Vṛtrāsura took possession of the whole heaven, and with heaven, all the three lokas — because Pātālaloka was already his, Bhūloka (the earth) he had already conquered, and heaven was the last stop. So he became the king of everything. Now, how to get rid of the vṛttis? Viṣṇu said, “First, there is nothing else you can do. Go and befriend him. Then, in time, we shall see what we can do.” So Indra came, telling him, “Oh yes, you are great, I am nothing,” and so on. And after some time, even when his own father and everyone were warning him, “Do not trust Indra; he is a cheating person, he has a double mentality,” still Vṛtrāsura believed him. And naturally, once Indra had gained his complete confidence because they had become like brothers — like best friends — in one moment, when the time came, Indra used a weapon made from the bones of the Ādityas, as we remember from other stories. With this weapon, along with the power of the Māṭājī and so on, Vṛtrāsura was killed — again from behind. So now Indra had committed two Brahma-hatyās. He had killed two brāhmaṇas in such a way that his fame declined enormously. Now the demon Kali, who is called Karma, was returning to swallow him, because he is a god of the heavens; there everything comes back very quickly as payback. Even nowadays, before you can go and do anything — steal anywhere or kill anybody — nothing happens immediately. Nowadays we have so many police cameras here and there. Within one or two days it is already known who did it, how they did it, and so on. But in God’s world everything is even quicker, and nobody forgets anything. Even if we forget, the Dharma Rāj and the karmas are always there. Of course, there is only one solution: Gurudev’s mercy. So Indra hid in a lake, in an ocean, and while he was hiding there was no king of heaven. So they put another person in his place to rule the kingdom, and this new ruler was very good. As we have the saying in English — and there is also a saying here — power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. So of course, that new Indra (because “Indra” is a position, not merely a name; it is the position of the ruler of the whole universe) became corrupted. He declared, “Everybody bows to me, but Indra’s wife, who is very beautiful, Śacī, she does not like me.” In the meantime, Indra was slowly recovering; he did not want to come back to heaven. But with some help from the Guru and all the other Devas and Devatās, Indra managed to regain his power, and he managed to cleanse the sins of all those Brahma-hatyās and so on, by the mercy of Devī. Now the only point was: how to remove that new Indra. The old Indra said to his wife, “Don’t worry; the ego will, completely by itself, do whatever is necessary.” He said, “Just tell him that he should come to your palace, and that the seven ṛṣis should carry his palanquin.” So now you can see the new Indra, sitting in the palanquin borne by the seven ṛṣis. He was shouting at them, “Quickly, quickly, go quicker!” because when he saw Śacī, his passion naturally rose double, triple, and so on. He grew so obsessed that he no longer thought about where he was; he kept saying, “Quickly, quickly.” But he was using a Sanskrit word that means “quickly” and also means “the snake.” It is always difficult — very tricky — to use words that have a double meaning. He used a whip on the ṛṣis, and he struck the foremost ṛṣi, who was very famous for his anger, and said something quickly. Then that ṛṣi simply turned and said, “Yes, you shall also become a snake.” And from that moment, that Indra, along with his entire entourage, dropped down to Pātālaloka and turned into snakes. And of course, the old Indra came back to his place and continued ruling all three worlds. Unfortunately, those two stories of how he killed and cheated would create a huge negative — how to say — PR for his kingdom, which in future stories everyone would use against him: “Now, you said you are like this, but you did that,” and so on. So it is very easy to come from bad to good — to be known as bad, and then you become good. It is not easy, but when you become good, people are happy. But when you are good, and then you do something bad, and then again you become good, that black spot on the shirt will always remain; people will just always… And it will take time to resolve this problem. So the problem is we have to be so careful, we have to be polite. Because once you lose your temper, once you start to curse somebody, then next time people will not believe you anymore. It does not matter if for five years you are doing tapasyā and one day you become angry; you lose all those five years of tapasyā. So now we will continue with the next stories. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī Jai. Janmejaya uvāca: Deve sattvaṁ ca samprapya bhraṣṭa evaṁ deve sakhāraḥ? Bhraṣṭa-sthāna-daso katham etat sarvaṁ samācakṣva kāraṇaṁ karuṇānidhe. So, this is for father and son only. Janmejaya did not want to be liberated; he wanted to see his father’s ultimate progress. And Parīkṣit wanted to be liberated. Thus, the Śrīmad Bhāgavata is the secret of love and līlā for liberation, while the Devī Bhāgavat tells the tales of those chains — the chains in which the consciousness of the human being is bound. Janmejaya asks, “How can Indra become so strong and powerful? Deve sattvaṁ ca samprapya bhraṣṭa evaṁ deve sakhāraḥ; bhraṣṭa-sthāna-daso katham — Oh, my father becomes bhraṣṭa at home. One of the two children agrees or not; the one who agrees is the one who likes me.” Dekho, khūb soch vichār, jagat meṁ svārtha kā vyavahāra. Pūt kamāī kar ghar lāve, mātā kare pyār. And my sister said, “My dear brother,” my wife said, “I will go to my old husband, I will go and take him.” I saw a great deal of thought — the behaviour of selfishness in the world. Selfishness is going on in the world, mother, so why does it go on? Why does selfishness arise in the mind? It is said that this is the work of Mahāmāyā. Mahāmāyā has bound the jīva in such a way that it makes a difference in one’s own son, brother’s son, Purījī, Purījī… Māyā ke vaśībhūt hai, usko vo doṣ mat do. Ek strī hai, uske liye beṭī hai, bahū hai, lekin antar ho jātā hai. Māyā ke vaśībhūt hai, uspe dayā khāo. Ye mā̃ kisliye pūjā karte haiṅ, tāki thoḍī māyā se nikle. Ham ā̃kh khole, ham pardā haṭā ke dekh sakte haiṅ, ki sacchāī kyā hai, tabhī to bolte ghuṅghaṭ ke paṭ khol de. Ab Indra vo pardā nahīṅ haṭā pātā. Kahte sau yajña karke bhī, Indra dukhī kyoṁ hai? Ninyānme kā phir. He has performed one hundred yajñas, and now if anyone else completes one hundred yajñas, Indra begins to tremble. Tell me, O Muni Śreṣṭha, why does this happen? So Vyāsa Jī said: Listen to the reason for this. The Tattva-jñānīs have told us about the three stages of karma in the form of sañcita, vartamāna, and prārabdha. And karma also has three types: sāttvika, rājasika, and tāmasika. Many times, sañcita, śubha and aśubha karma must be experienced as sin or puṇya. We should know who it is that removes suffering, yet living beings have to suffer their past karmas. There is no doubt about it. O Rājendra, the devatās, kumbhas, asuras, yakṣas, gandharvas, kinnaras — all of them have to suffer the fruits of the good karmas done in the past. O Rājendra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudra — all of them have to suffer the fruits of the karmas performed through Māyā Devī. Viṣṇu Bhagavān kī garbha kī yātanā bār bār bhogante bhaḍte. This was my mistake. So karma has been applied even to Viṣṇu Bhagavān, even to Mahārāja Śiva, even to Brahmā. Aur jo adhika vaibhavaśālī hotā hai, usse devatā jānana chāhiye, jismeṁ vaibhava bhaḍ gayā. Aur jo ṛṣi nahīṁ hai, vah kāvya kī racanā nahīṁ kar saktā; koī poetry kar rahā hai to samajho ṛṣiyoṁ kā usmēṁ aṁś ā gayā hai. Aur jo Rudra nahīṁ hai, Mahāprabhujī kā pratāp… Bhagavān, Bhāgyavān, Vidyavān — all are a portion of the Devas. You know, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna were a part of Nārāyaṇa and Nara, but see how they too had to do their work and how they had to undergo it. They went to the Pāṇḍava forest; what did they not do? This is what Nārāyaṇa and Nara do in the Kaliyuga, in Badarikāśrama; they also perform ugra-tapasyā. In the Nārāyaṇa Bhadrik Āśrama, ugra tapasyā was performed, yet in the form of Arjuna he did not obtain the fruit of that tapasyā. Prāṇiyoṁ ke deha sambandhī karmoṁ kī gati atyant gahan hai. Just look at the life of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa: he was born amid danger, imprisoned in a cell, and as soon as he appeared he was secretly taken to Gokula. He stayed eleven years in Vraja, then was taken to Mathurā, where he killed Kaṁsa, the son of Ugrasena, and thereafter freed his mother and father from prison. See, all this had to be done under the sway of that same Māyā Devī, because of Yoga Māyā. And you know well: when Prabhu Śrī Rāma came, he imposed no conditions; but when the Lord came the next time, he set two conditions — you can check the Bhāgavata. Toh bole, mere jaane se pehle, Śeṣanāg jī, Balarām jī kā utār lele, Purī jī, Purī jī… This is the arrangement of Mahāmāyā. And the real meaning of this Navarātri is that we can open our eyes and see what Mahāmāyā is. Otherwise, we cannot even perceive Mahāmāyā. It also gives us the power to see it. So how can we…? I have heard a story: once a president went to a jail. He told everyone, “You can ask for anything. If the President comes today, he will give you something or the other.” Purījījī… Ke Bhagavān, ek ṭrak, jāṛā, guṭkā, bīṛī, kabāṇḍal kā pākeṭ bhej do. He Bhagavān, Das Ṭrak, Sariyān Kī Bharke Bhej Do, Das Tolā, Sonā Bhej Do, He Bhagavān. Ab dekho, Bhagavān se hum agar apnī mukti māṅg le, vah bāhar jā gai, kyõ? Kyõki janme hī kaid meṅ hai, aur karma ke bandhan kī kaid, māyā kī kaid. Part 3: The Illusion of Māyā and the Path through the Yugas Now, whenever the desire arises to step outside, what kind of fish are these? She ventured into that very lane and neighborhood. Mahārāj, she became intoxicated by the fragrance of the procession and fainted, collapsing to the ground. What is this? She could not rise until evening. To her, it seemed like a stench. And see, in the evening her son arrived. He called out to his father, saying, “Don’t do anything. Just bring some old clothes, put more dead, crushed fish on her nose, and sprinkle the water used for washing fish. That will cure her.” And that is exactly what they did. This is how our habits have trapped us; we have been living in captivity for life after life. For countless births we remain imprisoned. We have no idea of the light. The one who shows us the light is considered harmful by us. When Mīrā speaks of the light, people give Mīrā poison. When Jesus speaks of love, they crucify Jesus. When Kabīr speaks of love, they throw Kabīr under an elephant’s feet. When Mahāvīra speaks of love, they pierce Mahāvīra’s ears. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa spoke of love, of truth. Did they let him sit peacefully? How much did he have to flee? So, the one who speaks of truth and love is not understood by society. He does not like sugar, and we also do not like sugar. He speaks sweetly, that is what seems good. No one likes a person who speaks bitterly. When diabetes occurs, the doctor says, “Do not eat sugar,” and advises, “Eat bitter gourd, eat neem, eat fenugreek.” They say this because, until now, we have considered sweet things to be bad. This is the nature of karma. What is the worship of the Mother? What is the Mother? What am I? And where are we seated? Contemplate this a little. But he will not contemplate. Only Mother exists, only Mother exists. “Jaya Mātā Dī, Jaya Mātā Dī. Patti bāndh lo, chale jāo, ṭikaṭ karā ke. Ghar meṁ baiṭhī mātā dī bhī karlo.” How can one recognize her all around, everywhere? The Mother’s power—within oneself also, that power exists. But they are using that power with their own will. See, O Janmejaya, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa himself, by the order of that very Mahāmāyā, performs various types of līlās on this earth. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa’s līlā is that Mahāmāyā. This is his power. And today, the worship of Kātyāyanī comes. “Śāstraṁ Kātyāyanī.” So, who worships Kātyāyanī? One who desires a good husband. One who needs a suitable husband performs the worship of Kātyāyanī. “Mahāmāye Mahāyoginye Dhīśvari Nandagopa Jutāmdehi Patime Kurute Namaḥ.” With this prayer, Kātyāyanī Devī is worshipped. This Kātyāyanī, slipping away from Kaṁsa’s hand, went to Vindhyāchal Parvat, Vindhyāvalī. And when you follow this path, Durgā Saptaśatī, it is also said, “Yaśodā Nandagṛhe Jātā, Yaśodā Garbha Sambhūtā.” In Dvāpara, when the Devatās prayed to Bhagavatī to slay the demons, Bhagavatī said that she would become the sister of Lord Kṛṣṇa. So, what will you make of this Mother? Will you make her a devotee, a devotee, or will you make her a slave? “He Kevalam He Kevalam...” Thus, concerning this conversation, Vyāsa Jī is telling Janmejaya that, son, the effect of the Yuga Dharma is very contrary, and everyone has to believe in the Yuga Dharma, to know what the Dharma of each age is. In the Satya Yuga, where do you think those who were born with dharmic qualities go? And in the Tretā Yuga, where did those who gave charity and lived in Dvāpara Yuga go? Satya, dayā, dāna, ek patnī vrata, sabhī prāṇīyoṃ meṃ ādarśa bhāva, tathā sabhī jīvoṃ meṃ sambhāva rakhnā—this is the religion of Satyuga. This is the habit of people in Satyuga. What are these habits? Satya, dayā, dāna, ek patnī vrata, sabhī prāṇīyo meṁ adroha bhāva, tathā sabhī jīvo meṁ sambhāva rakhnā. This is the common dharma of Satyuga. In Satyuga, people follow this dharma on their own and proceed to heaven. This is the situation in Tretā and Dvāpara as well, but in Kaliyuga, sinful humans go to hell, and they remain there until the transition between yugas. After that, they return to earth as humans. When the end of Kaliyuga and the beginning of Satyuga occurs, virtuous souls can take birth again on earth from heaven. And when the end of Dvāpara and the beginning of Kaliyuga happens, then all the sinful beings from hell are reborn as humans. Therefore, what do they do? This is how people behave according to the yuga. Kaliyuga is predominantly untruth (Asat Pradhāna). That is why there is “Prajābhi Vaiśya” in it—the one who wields a stick will snatch away the merchant’s wealth (or: the one with force takes what he wants). And divine yoga, sometimes in the birth of these beings, brings personal action, that is, there is personal action. There is a personal action. There is a personal action, i.e., there is a personal action. “Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā...” They were exclusive devotees of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, yet under the influence of Kaliyuga, they placed a snake around a sadhu’s neck. Could any Pāṇḍava have done such a thing? This is the influence of Kaliyuga. In Satyuga, all Brāhmaṇas are knowers of the Veda and remain engaged in the worship of the Supreme Power, performing the three-times-daily sandhyā. And we meditate on Gāyatrī Mā. When reciting Gāyatrī, one of the mantras is Māyā. In every village, a temple of Bhagavatī Parambā used to be built. Why is Parambā’s temple built? So that Bhagavatī doesn’t put us in this mess; she puts us in this mess? The one who puts us in this mess doesn’t get anything. In Satyuga, people of all ages are naturally interested in the worship of their mother. In Dvāpara, the demons of the previous era were considered to be the same. They will transform into some Brāhmaṇas, some scholars, some saints, assuming various forms. These are the demons of Kaliyuga. In Kaliyuga, those who are hypocrites, who deceive others, who speak lies, and who remain far from the Vedas and Dharma will become such. And in worldly conduct, the clever—people will call such a person good. That paṇḍita is the one who will backbite and make mockery. “Ye bhaut acchā paṇḍit jī hai, maskarī karegā, hasāyegā, joker banegā, usko log vidvān mānenge, ye batāyā hai, aur āpke anusār nāc ke dikhā degā, āpke man ko khuś kar degā bole, vahī acchā paṇḍit hai, aur jaisā jaisā kalyug kī vṛddhi.” As Kaliyuga advances, truth and religion become better and better? O King! As Kaliyuga advances, women and men become selfish. And I have told my husband and wife that they will accuse the sinners of lying and using their craft. They will be able to speak about the true religion. Aha! They will speak about the true religion and will be able to accuse. “Pāpa mithyā vādinya sadā kaleśa rata nirpa sva bhartu vācaka nityaṁ dharmabhāṣiṇa paṇḍita.” “Guru Merāj Vidyān Batāwe, Pakad Hāse, Hāt Milāwe, Brahmānand Rūpa Darśāwe, Kab Tak Nij Rūpa Chhipāoge, Guru Se Bachke Kahān Jāoge, To Jīv Guru Kī Śaraṇa Gati Meṁ Calā Jāye, Kyō Ki Guru Kehte Usko Hai Jo Is Mahāmāyā Ke Cakkar Ko Samajh Gayā Hai, Jo Samajh Sakta Hai, Sach sach batao, abhī Devī Bhāgavata, āp logo ne pahlī vār suniye, ke āp ne kabhī is prakār se socḥā, Aap to chakkar me pade reh kar ke.” You are performing that worship within that dream. You are in that dream, performing that worship. You are in that dream, offering fruit to that enemy, offering fruit to that friend. Everything happening in the dream is just dreaming. So, these are the stories of dreams. How can a dream come to life? That is why it is said, “Jagat Trayya Bhor Kī Sehjo Therat Nāyī.” The dream is this world. Today, Guru Śaṅkarācārya says, “Jagat Mithyā Brahma Satya.” If you say “Mithyā,” if you think it is true, it is a lie. Even then, Śaṅkarācārya is worshiping his mother. Mārkaṇḍeya Jī is worshiping his mother. People who have attained Brahma Bhāva, those who have Brahma Bhāva, why are they worshiping their mother? So that they can tell you. Purī Dīyā This is a spiritual lecture about Yoga in the Indian tradition. “Mayāmandir lejati ye, ek do din Bhagavān acche laktay hain, do tīn din bād, Bhagavān ke kapre dekhte hain, gehne dekhte hain, phir mandir dekhte hain, mandir kī dīvāre dekhte hain, phir nāp ne laktay hain, ye māyā kā hī. To Prabhā hai, phir pūjārī se nātā banā lete haiṁ, Bhagavān ko bhūl jāte haiṁ, phir sochte haiṁ, Bhagavān kahāṁ haiṁ? Bhagavān to hote hī nahīṁ.” Are brother, you went to the temple—did you go to count the temple walls, to measure how big the temple is? How small it is? Did you go to measure it? How is the temple running? Why is it running? Who built it? Where did the money come from? Did you go to think about these things? Yet a person gets caught up in such things—this is Māyā in you. And there is not much difference in small children; rather, small children are what they are, we are not what we are. If small children watch television, watch cartoons, there is no impurity or purity in them, because they simply see what is. But we people... “Jo baḍī kahāniyā̃ nirmāṇ karte haiṁ amnī khoprī meṁ, tabhī to bhagavān khoprī pakar ke baiṭhe, Mahādev jī khoprī kī mālā pahan ke baiṭhe. Tumhārī khoprī lau, tumhārī khoprī kī mālā banāuṅgā maiṁ. O kaunsī khoprī? Bole, tumhārī khoprī se tum dukhī ho.” Who is the most unhappy person? From his own head. Because he is very dangerous. That is why when one takes Sannyāsa, first he shaves his head—no, he says, at least do something. And when a person becomes intelligent, they say his hair falls off. Being bald is not a symbol of intelligence. Say, Jai Mātā Dī. That is why when a woman becomes intelligent, she goes to a beauty parlor and gets her hair cut. Why? Hair is not a symbol of intelligence. When a person’s hair turns white... now see, a man went to the king to beg. He said, “King, give me something.” The king said, “What should I give?” He replied, “Just fill my vessel.” The king said, “Just this much? Just do this much. Will you fill my vessel?” He said, “Yes, I will fill your vessel with gold coins.” Purījī, Purījī... “Rājāī darate, fakīr kabhī nahīṃ darate, kyōṅki rājā ko khoe kā ḍar. Jada Gehne Zaroor Ye, Bank Ke Locker Me Dardo, Kuch Hai Nahi To Kya Karoge?” When I die, when I am hurt, when misfortune befalls me, that thing does not worry about me. When we were taken from that house, placed on a stretcher by four men, the house did not weep that Amar had died. In fact, in 10-12 days, the room in which you and I used to live, the setting of that room becomes, “Whose room is this now?” He said, “The place is empty, the crowd is empty.” This is the story of everyone, brother. And after a while, the king said, “Come on, I am leaving.” The fakir is thin and thin. What will he do, kill me? I will handle him alone. And the king made his soldiers stand to the right and left for a few kilometers. And he said, “Now tell me, what is your character made of?” He said it is made of an ordinary man’s skull. “Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā” We try to get out of this māyā. We say, “O God, put more māyā into it. Eat 100 shoes and watch the drama.” 100 shoes, beaten by 100 shoes. But see the drama of the family come inside. Nobody prays to Mother Bhagavatī, Goddess, saying, “I want to just quit this game.” This is just drama, and we all are involved in this drama, just “raṅg-rogaṇ lagā rahe haiṅ drama meṁ.” Just we are thinking more and more and putting some of our own color on this drama. We don’t want to go outside, and this is the problem with man or woman or the human being. Until we agree to surrender at the feet of the Guru, we cannot understand what Māyā is. The meaning of Māyā has been explained in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Ekādaśa Skandha: “mā aur yā, vaha jo nahīṁ hai, hai hī nahīṁ, lekin hai, ab batāo.” Māyā means just dream, and we are walking in a dream, Mahārāj, enemies are walking in the dream, what all is not walking in the dream. He told us about the Yuga Dharma. Why did he tell us about the Yuga Dharma? By telling us about the Yuga Dharma, if a person is doing good or bad to you, then you can understand that it is the Yuga Dharma. In Kaliyuga, you will also find people of Satyuga, and in Satyuga, you will also find some people of Kaliyuga. That is why those bad people were there in Kaliyuga. Now it is told who the pure disciples are in India, and further you can see another story of Māyā. “Muniyo ke āśram bhi puṇya sthāl hai, pūrī pṛthvī par sabse śreṣṭh āśram kā nām hai Badrī kā āśram, bolī Badrī Viśāl Bhagavān kī. Aur iske alāvā, jahāṁ par log tapasyā karte haiṁ, samādhi lagāte haiṁ, vo bhī tīrth ban jāte haiṁ, aur apne dharm kā pālan karnā. Yehi tīrtha ho kā phala hai, agar tīrtha ho meṁ jāke jhūṭha bol liyā, tīrtha meṁ chorī kar liyā, indriyoṁ ko saṁyama meṁ nahīṁ rakhā, purī jī. Siddha pīṭha paramparā, Viśokānandajī, Mahānirvāṇī Akhāṛā, 'Nāhaṁ karatā prabhu, dīpa karatā, Mahāprabhujī dīpa karatā he kevalaṁ.' Jñāna-niṣṭha puruṣa kā satsaṅga pāpa to ho. Jai. To antrik mel bhi sāp ho saktī hai, kyōṅki Gaṅgā jī meṅ tū bāharī sabāyī karoge, jaisī Gaṅgā jī ke bāhar nikloge, pāp āke vapis chipak jāyeṅge, aisā bolte. Gaṅgā jī meṅ jab koī snān karte haiṅ, to pāp roṅe lagte haiṅ, lekin unko vapis devtāoṅ ne vardān ne jai. Ye bāhar nikale, o pānī sukhe, phir ghujjanā isne,” and through our senses, we do something or the other. Here, another play of Māyā is told. King Janmejaya asked, “The greatest ascetic and righteous sage, Brahmājī’s son Vasiṣṭha, was a great ascetic. Why did he and Viśvāmitra fight with each other? Why did they curse each other? The conflict that was between them—both became birds. Both gave each other the curse to become birds.” “Rājā Ṛṣi Śantanu Hindū Ātma Putra Kī Kāmanā Se Varuṇa Deva Kī Prasannatā Ke Liye Narm Ek Nāmak Yajña Kar Rahe The Aur Duṣkar Mahāyajña Kiyā.” In the olden days, Triśaṅku’s son Hariścandra was the forefather of Rāmacandrajī Mahārāj. He was doing penance, Narmahit Namak Namak, and he tried to please Varuṇa Dev. And the king’s supreme beauty took pride in Varuṇa Dev’s grace. He said, “O God, give me a child, I will give you a child, Varuṇa Dev.” That is why you must have heard that when you go into the water or cross the river... This should not be said even in jest. Because Varuṇa Dev says, “He has given me a promise,” Varuṇa takes it away. That is why Varuṇa is also a very powerful Dev. Hey Rajan, Rani has adopted a child, and when the child was born in the house, Varuṇa came and said, “Bring Hariścandra, give me a child of your own.” But he cannot even think who will give his child for sacrifice. Purījī, Purījī... I know it is difficult to leave your son because he is a child. I am leaving after hearing your sweet words, but I will come back. Varuṇa said this again. The king said, “O Jaladhināth, I will perform the samāvartan saṃskāra and make my son a yajña animal and give him to you.” He started planning like this. One day, when the child came to know that he had grown up, he ran away from home. And when the time came, Varuṇa Deva came back from the abode of Yajña. He said, “Where is that child?” The king said, “The child ran away from home.” He ran away, he made him run away—you don’t want to go into the story. Now, after hearing this, Varuṇa Deva became very angry. So, the king’s ministers said, “Listen, do something.” Varuṇa Dev gave a curse until then. He also gave a punishment, due to which Hariścandra contracted jalodhar rog (dropsy). “Jalodhar rog, Mahārāj, kyā nām hai Kalyug mein is rog kā nām? Hān, peṭ mein pānī bhar gayā, jalodhar rog ho gayā.” Thus, the child is now living in a cave. Whenever you come... He said, “You will go, your father will make you a sacrificial goat to save you from his disease.” In the olden days, Brāhmaṇas thought about it, and they came up with an excellent solution to cure the disease. They said there are thirteen types of sons in the Dharma Śāstra, thirteen types of children. And after listening to them, they made a poor Brahmin’s child their child and gave a lot of money to the Brahmin. Now, that child is crying, “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me.” The small child is crying a lot. If someone who makes your serials picks up this story, then it will run for a few days, because the child’s sacrifice is the chutney. But you have just six days. Tomorrow, these two Mahārājjī, Basānjī, Navratanjī will also go today. See, here Viśvāmitra talks about saving that Brahmin boy, but Hariścandra... they do not do this in the face of their life. Part 4: Curses, Liberation, and the Path to Purification: Stories of Viśvāmitra, Vasiṣṭha, and King Nimi Viśvāmitrajī had tied Sunāsāheb there to die and given him the dīkṣā of the Varuṇa mantra. Therefore Varuṇa Deva came and freed that child, and he also freed the king from the curse. Both of them were freed. Now Viśvāmitra was very angry here because you were committing so many crimes, you were killing a small child. You think your child is different from the other child. Vasiṣṭha said to Viśvāmitra, “Arre Jālim, tumne mere yajamāna ko kaṣṭ meṁ kyōṁ ḍāl diyā? Tum bhāgale ho jāo.” So a quarrel broke out between Vasiṣṭha and Viśvāmitra. When Vasiṣṭhajī, by the grace of Viśvāmitrajī, received the curse, he said, “May you both become primal birds.” They both became birds. They fought again, they became birds. And this is true, Mahārāj. Say Jai Mātā Dī. The people of Padhali fight a lot. The people of Padhali fight a lot. The more harm the scholars have done to this world, the more uneducated they have been. Why? The man of Padhali becomes very dangerous. He becomes dangerous. Don’t send children to school from tomorrow, because it becomes dangerous. And this is true: all the children are being born dangerous. Today’s parents don’t understand anything. They even beat up small children these days. Aaj kal 16 sāl kī laṛkī ko bhī chammaṭ se khilānā paṛtā, khāle bitā, thoḍā sā soup pī le Maggī ke sāth, thoḍī sī pastry khāle, kyoṁ? Ek aisī sanskṛti ko paidā kare, ab dhanī khaṭṭā kare, kyā khaṭṭā kare? Jiske lie khaṭṭā kare, vo kahāṁ jāne? Vo to bikhar rahe, Purījī Purījī… So, Brahmājī came after getting angry at Haṁsa and Viśvāmitrajī, and Vasiṣṭhajī also got rid of those fights and got angry at both of them. Brahmājī had to come in between, and he sent his āśramas. In all the bodies and in all the animals, there are three types of faith: sāttvik, rājasik, and tāmasik. And sāttvik faith is always unique in the world. Although there is ego in Sattva Guṇa, it is very unique. Gurulok peichān lete dekhte ādmī, aurā hotā hai nā aurā. In Russia, a photography was created, Kirlian photography. Usme ādmī kā aura kā citra bhī liyā gayā. And in Russia itself, there is such an experiment that during the time of the Mahābhārata, the sounds that occurred during the time of the war, Bhīm ne to ek do apne hāth me, Hanumān jī ne bāyāṁ hāth me tākaḍ de dī thī. Then Bhīm picked up two or five stones and threw them into the space above where they were circling. They have all experienced and recorded those voices. I have read such a book. I am telling you as proof. So those voices have been heard. So our aura, when we go, all that comes after us. In our Marwari, there is a saying, “Andho Netu Dojimau.” One man used to go to the āśram daily. Gurujī used to go from āśram to āśram. There were many āśrams of Gurujī. So the disciple got mercy. He said, “This poor boy, he can’t even see with his eyes. So I will tell him to eat food at my place.” Mercy is the root of Dharma. Sin is the root of humility. He did mercy, so he came to eat food. He came alone to have breakfast. He came in the evening and brought his little child with him. He said, “I can’t see him at night.” Two people came and said, “It’s okay.” One came and took his child with him. Two people were having breakfast. On the second day, he brought his wife too. He said she is sick. His wife has become a child. Gurujī, it is a sin that I eat alone and not feed my wife. On the third day, he said, “Today my daughter is coming to my house as a guest.” Gurujī’s daughter is here, son, daughter-in-law, and daughter. Now, the fun part is, the daughter was also blind. On the fourth day, her blind husband also came along with her daughter. He called Gurujī. Gurujī, now the food for four people has been distributed. He said, “All of his family members are blind, all of them are blind, all of them are blind.” He said, “You should have thought before giving the invitation.” You should have thought before giving the invitation. What is going to happen now? Jheel ke andar pathar to ek āvarttan banā, do, tīn, chār, aise karmoṅ ke āvarttan bante hī jāte haiṅ. You will help one person, two people, three people, four people, but whose help will you give to everyone? Sabase pahale apanī madada karo, aura apanī madada ye karo ki, He Bhagavān, maiṁ kisa prakāra se, kisa kī saṅgatī se, isa mahāmāyā kī māyā se pāra jāne kī kośiśa karo. Varna, hama isa mahāmāyā ke chakkar se kabhī mukta nahīṁ ho pāyeṅge, mahāmāyā kī sādhanā ke dvārā hī aura sṛṣṭi dīkṣā aura śikṣā ke dvārā hī. Bolī Jagadambī Mātā kī. Now Vasiṣṭha jī once also cursed Rājā Nimi. This too is the course of karma. I am taking you along in this story. You would want to translate or something? Want to say? Yeah, up to you, please. Yes, only okay. Then let me finish it again. Āye. Vasiṣṭha Jī Ko Vasiṣṭha Jī Ne Nimi Ko Śrāp Kyō Diyā? I will tell you the story of Vasiṣṭha Jī. Vasiṣṭha jī has a name, Vaitra Varuṇī. Vasiṣṭha jī’s wife’s name was Arundhatī. She was a great goddess. She was the mother of the world of education. Once the king asked Vyāsajī, “Why did the Nimi king and the brāhmaṇa curse each other?” He said, “Listen, it is natural for the king to do dharma and to do penance.” And the mind of all beings is bound by qualities. That is, it cannot be purified. There are qualities in everyone’s mind. What are the qualities? No one can be free from this. No one can claim that I have become free from this. The one who will do penance will still have qualities in it: sattva, rajas, tamas qualities. And the one who will rule the kingdom will still have these three qualities in it. For this tri-quality purification, the purification of the mind and the purification of the body should be done. How is the purification of the body done, Mahārāj? The purification of the body is done by investing money. Whatever you do, invest in it with your heart. Investing in it will purify your dravya. And our scriptures say that one should invest at least ten times. Ādat dāna chāhave daridra. Paupam prabhavasya narkasya parayanti. In this human being, the one who has not given donation in this world is the most unfortunate. Donations should be given, and there are many kinds of donations, like Vidyā Dāna, Jñāna Dāna, Anna Dāna, Bhū Dāna, Gau Dāna, Land Dāna, Suvarṇa Dāna. All these kinds of donations have been mentioned in the scriptures. And in the Gītā Press, there is a part of the donation that has been given. Because if I give you a part of the donation, you will think, “What is this, Panditjī, have you taken out any new technique?” I have not taken out any technique, but you must have seen that our elders, our family tradition is that if a person falls ill and he does not get the medicine of the doctor, then he is told to donate this for him, and the medicine is given. I do not know what magic it is, and the one who does not donate does not get ahead; this is certain. Everyone should donate. Even the donor should donate. The one who does not donate becomes sick. Just like you have built a door in your house, if there is no ventilation behind the door, you will be suffocated. Just like there is ventilation, donation is also a ventilation. Tell me, which sin does a hungry person not commit? A hungry person commits many sins. So it is said, the one who does not donate becomes dāridra. Because of poverty, he commits sin. And due to the effect of sin, the hell-like state goes to hell, and one becomes evil again, commits sin again, and cannot be freed from this cycle. That is why in our country there were so many great donors: Yudhiṣṭhir Dhanvīr, Karṇa Rājā Dhanvīr, Śrītyavādī Hariścandra Rājā Dhanvīr. Mahārāj Daśaratha donated a promise, that “I give this promise,” so he sent his son according to the promise. Vācanaṁ kiṁ dhāritram… dravya śuddha ho jāyegī, jiskā dravya śuddha hogā uskī kriyā bhī. Kyōki Lakṣmī kī tīna gatiyāṁ haiṁ: dāna, bhoga, aura nāśa. Agara āpa dāna nahīṁ karoge to bhoga karoge, acchā bhoga nahīṁ karoge to nāśa to usakā apane āpa ho jāegā. Ki joḍata joḍata mujhī mara gaye, mojha kariye khamando ne. Ki khoḍata khoḍata mūshaka vana gaye, mojha kariye bhujaṅgo ne. Āpa ikaṭṭhā karte jāo, karte jāo... Phira kyā hone vālā hai? Āpake sātha to koī jalāegā nahīṁ, to sarvashreṣṭha cīza batāī hai dāna. And in this world, there is no one who is poor, you listen to this. Is Bhagavān poor? First tell me. Poor? He does not create poor. But man has a habit. I have heard that there is a beggar in Vaiśālī, and his son has a very big job package in Singapore. Still, he did not leave his work. He came in the newspaper. Two and a half years ago, no one told me here. Asking is a man’s habit; no one needs to ask. Asking has become a habit. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā. Just by listening to the story, it can be cured by the grace of the mother, but otherwise, for this, it is like an operation. A person has a lump of cancer; in the same way, a lump will come out by eating a stick, a stick like a yarn, otherwise it will not be cured. So dravya śuddhi, as soon as dravya śuddhi happens, the actions will be purified, the karma will also be good, and by the purification of the action, the mind will also be purified. But in this, it is told that this is a dilemma; it is a hard task. Along with it, it is also written in the scriptures, śāstra kā sahārā aura cāhiye. So it is written: Dravya Śuddhi, Kriyā Śuddhi, and Manaḥ Śuddhi. If this is done, then Sattva, Rajas, Tamas—the three qualities—will be transcended. Sthūla, Sūkṣma, and Kāraṇa—the three bodies—will be transcended. If we do this, then we can be free from many spiritual and material problems. So if sacrifice has been done, then Bhagavān himself becomes its doorstep. Sacrifice has been done. This word “sacrifice” has come from sacrifice. Where else has it come from? Where has the word sacrifice come from? The creation of Jammahai was at that time when Indra and Vṛttāsura were fighting. Vṛttāsura kept Indra in his mouth and slept peacefully. He did not hit him, he pressed him in his mouth, like you people press betel leaves. Now, Devatāon created Jammahai at that time. So he slept, and Yamarāja came, and Indra came out again. You know the story, Jammahai in the story. Like this, this word Bali has come out of Bali. Now let me tell you one more thing about karma. There are some people who do a lot of karmas, but still they get nothing. There are some people who do karmas, but still they get nothing. And there are some people who don’t do anything, but still they get a lot of things. So why do we have these three types of gaṭhiyās? In our Śāstra, I am telling you, when the program started, I am telling you that these gāthiyās are told because I have been told that those who have come to their doorstep, or when there is a chance to donate in life, there is a chance to donate, you cannot donate all the time, that you are passing by like this. Think that you have to pay money in the temple today, not like this. Our pilgrimage, our festival, our fast, our satsaṅg, our organization, like you do the business of fast, all these are the chances of donation. By the way, for the doer, this is the chance. You do not have to give for that. Rājā Yudhiṣṭhir came here to beg, he came here to beg, he… Then Bhīma came and blew the conch. Bhīma, the son of the wind god, blew the conch, saying, “Today my brother has conquered time. Today my brother has conquered time.” He said, “Come tomorrow. Who has seen tomorrow?” So, for the sake of charity, he was told to act immediately. Then they say, “Unworthy, unfit—this should not be done for us.” What is an unworthy recipient, a worthy recipient, or a supremely worthy recipient? Because I have heard stories of such kings, who would close their eyes and give charity. He used to say, “I am ashamed. Who am I to give?” This is the story of Rahim Dās Jī’s time. When he used to donate, tears used to come to his eyes, and people used to say, “I am giving. What is mine that I am giving?” Now tell me, what can you give? To whom can you give? What did you bring that you will give? What can a person give? Brother, I am a mediator. I have been sitting as a guest for two days. The one who sits on the platform with a bag, which train will come, where will it take me, where will I go, I don’t know anything. Purī Jī, Purī Jī… Purī, the one who does not give even when asked, does not get it even when he does his deeds. This is a fact, write it down: Ād Devī, Bhagavad, Bhagavad, Rāmāyaṇa, Gītā, that you will get what you have given. What is not given, you will not get it. Do it. Do as much as you have to do. Say, Jai Mātā Devī. Now see, why was there a fight between Rājā Nimi and Vasiṣṭha? See, Indra had to do 500 Yajñas and Rāja Nimi had to do 5,000 Yajñas. Kāma baṛā ho gayā, project uḍāyā, uskā budget baṛā ho gayā. Rājā Nimi kā, lekin Vasiṣṭha jī ne pahale Indra ko vacan de diyā. Aur Rājā Nimi ko is bāt kā haṅkār thā ki maiṁ pāñc ācārya yajña karā rahūṁ, aur āp mere kula purohita haiṁ, pataṅt ho gayā to āpa mere yahāṁ pe yajña karā ho. Vasiṣṭha Jī ne usako bahuta prema se samajhāyā aura bole, “Suno, maiṁ abhī pāñca sau yajña kara ke abhī āyā basa. Brahmāñ cāhe to pāñca sau kāyā pāñca ācāra karate chuṭakī meṁ bholā. Abhī pāñca sau kara ke ātā hūṁ.” Lekina rājā kahatā hai ki, “Maiṁ yajña ke liye sārī samagrī… Ekatrita kara liye sāre ṛṣiyoṁ ko muniyoṁ ko bulā liyā hai. Aba āpa jaba taka nahīṁ āoge, taba taka maiṁ inako kahāṁ rakhūṁ? Merī to saba lokā atīta yā cukīṁ, lekina Guru Vasiṣṭha Indra ke yajña meṁ cale gaye aura rājā bhī udāsa ho gayā. Unhone Gautama Ṛṣi kā pūjana kiyā. And beyond the Himalayas, in Subhāga, near the ocean, he began performing a yajña. Look, why does a man perform a yajña in Vāsīt? My name should become famous. When a man performs any action for the sake of name, then that mind becomes pure. Like the yogī Dakṣiṇa Prajāpati performed a yajña. I will not call upon Bhagavān Mahādeva, I will show him as inferior. One should never do any such work in which we think, “But let my name be there.” This hunger for name or wealth, it only subsides when Mother shows grace. If Mother does not show grace, then we will remain in hunger. My newspaper has a name printed on it. My newspaper has a photo printed on it. Big people gave me the Padma Vibhushan. India gave me the Ratna. They say these are diseases. These diseases were in big kings, that I did 100 Yajñas in 100 Yajñas. I did 1,000 yajñas. Such was the feeling in those kings. They were their own human beings, and what are they saying? That Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvarānanda, Mahādevatā also could not be freed from these vṛttis. When the mother’s grace is given, then only the jīva gets freedom. Freedom means that I do not have to work for money. One thing, keep your hand on your heart and think: is the most worthless thing money or not? When Sikandar went, both his hands were empty. Both his hands were empty, and how much to win the world? Purījī, Purījī… Rājā Nimi ke pāsa āye, Vasiṣṭha jī to rājā Nimi nīnda le rahe the. Unhoṁ ne sevakoṁ ko bolā, “Bolo unake gurujī āye.” Bole, “Nahīṁ, abhī uṭha nahīṁ sakate, vo so rahe haiṁ.” Yeha jāna karke ki rājā Nimi pāsa nahīṁ ā rahe, unhoṁ ne muni ko śrāpa de diyā ki, “Jāo, tumhārā śarīra gira jāye.” Yeha rājā Nimi kā jaba śarīra girā, to rājā Nimi ne… Part 5: The Twofold Fall and the Inner Path Then he cursed that body, saying, "Hey, Vasiṣṭha, may your body also fall." Both bodies fell. Some people, you know, go into a coma like that, and some people, their bodies remain fully alive... Idhar toh chipkalī ā jāī, toh log Devī Bhāgavat chhoṛ ke bhāg jāī. (Here, if a lizard appears, people would abandon the Devī Bhāgavatam and run away.) Arre, sās agar hospital meṁ bhartī ho jāī, toh bahu pīr chalī jāī. (Oh, if the mother-in-law gets admitted to the hospital, the daughter-in-law develops a pain.) Char Bhaiye Toh Char Ghar Milenge, Aapne Sanskṛti Mein, Ye Am Ṛṣiyo Ki Santan, Patni Mein Thodi Si Kami Ho Jaye, Toh Pati Bole, Lo Talak De Dunga, Pati Mein Kami Ho Jaye To Patni Bole, Bikar Hai, Arre Kami Isliye Hai Ki Tum Theek Karo. (If there are four brothers, they will get four separate houses. In our own culture, we are the children of the great sages. If the wife has a slight fault, the husband says, "Here, I will divorce you." If the husband has a fault, the wife says, "It's all messed up." Oh, the fault is there precisely so that you mend it.) Tumhare aaspaas mein koi gharbar hai to usko thik karo, bhai. Tum satsaṅg mein aaye ho, chhodke kahān jaoge? Bhāganā baṛā muśkil hai, Mahārāj. Kahāṁ vo Japan ke log kyā kare? Jinki nahīṁ sunī hogī unhoṁ ne Devī Bhāgavat par. Unhoṁ ne kām kiyā pṛthvī ke dūsre logoṁ ko rind dene ko. Āge rāj aur hamle kyā karāte? (If there is trouble around you, then fix it, brother. You have come to satsang; where will you go by leaving it? Running away is very difficult, Maharaj. Just look at the people of Japan, what could they do? Those who might not have listened to the Devī Bhāgavatam—what work did they do? They worked to destroy other people on Earth. What do kings and further attacks accomplish?) At that very time, they were watching the World Cup, a cricket match was going on. This was the month of April; now it will be two or three years. So, this is our soul. We think that if our neighbor’s house is on fire, let it burn, let someone die there, we don’t have any problem. No, we are all sitting in the same boat. Today he is drowning, tomorrow we will have to drown. Until we read our scriptures and bring this feeling inside us—this sense of how much purity we live in, in our bodies, in our caste, in our money—if we renounce this kind of purity, if we rise up, then only will we become human. This work is done by animals as well. When another dog comes, all the people in the lane start barking too. We are humans. Being a human is higher than being a deity. A deity cannot be free. A human can be free. He can become a great human. Within this human, the flower of God can bloom. See, both cursed each other. From this body of Vasiṣṭha Jī, which he had created, in the next birth, Agastya Ṛṣi came out, and Vasiṣṭha Jī came out again. Apsarā ke sanyog se Mitra aur Varuṇ, ye do inke pitā hai. (Through union with an Apsara, Mitra and Varuṇa are his two fathers.) This is regarding Vasiṣṭha Jī. And this body of King Nimi was preserved. The spirit of the blink, which exists in the eyes of all people, went into it. Palke jhapak ne. Manuṣyoṁ kī āṅkheṅ palak jhapaktī ye, devtāoṁ kī āṅkheṅ nīṅ palak jhapaktī ye. Dhyān rakhnā, aur bhūt prīt kī bhī, bhūt prīt kī bhī āṅkheṅ nīṅ jhapaktī ye. (Through the blinking of eyelids. The eyes of humans blink; the eyes of the deities do not blink. Keep in mind, also the eyes of ghosts and evil spirits do not blink.) Now, that body of King Nimi which had fallen: when the churning of that body was done, from that same body the names Mithi and Videha emerged, and he became the king of Videha. And those who became his children were called Janaka, the children of King Nimi. So, this was the story. In the next birth of Agastya Jī and Vasiṣṭha Jī, great ascetics emerged from the splendor of Varuṇa. And these people came to King Ikṣvāku, and in the Ikṣvāku dynasty, they became the Purohitas and Ācāryas. By the grace of Bhagavatī, Nimi achieved such a high position today. Nimi ke vaṅś me sab hone vālo ko log Videhī kehne lage. (All who came in the lineage of Nimi were called Videha.) Both were performing auspicious works, so why did they become angry with each other? This is a human question. To Vyāsa jī kehte, dekho, kāma, krodha, lobha, ahaṅkāra ye śatru śarīra meṁ sadā vidyamāna rehte haiṁ, aur sarvatra dūre haiṁ. Sansāra meṁ na to koī pahle vyakti huā hai, na hone kī sambhāvanā rehte haiṁ. Jo in śatru ko jīt le. (So Vyasa Ji says, look, desire, anger, greed, and ego—these enemies are always present in the body and are far removed from everywhere else. In this world, there has never been a person before, nor is there a possibility of one, who could conquer these enemies.) Only the one who conquers them receives the grace of Bhagavatī. Maīsā sūr ko jeetnā etnā mushkil nahīṁ hai, jeetnā isko jeetnā hai. (It is not as difficult to conquer death as it is to conquer these.) Desire, anger, greed, and ego—regarding Kapila Muni, Bholē Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān has written that Kapila Muni was such a great practitioner of yoga, yet he turned the sons of Sagara to ashes. Anger used to come to Mahādev as well. Even Viṣṇu Bhagavān, so innocent by nature... Yeh Pārvatī jo jīt legī, vo inse bhī ūpar uṭh jāegī. (The one who conquers even Pārvatī will rise even higher than them.) So, Guru’s glory is that Guru teaches us to change anger into love, to change ego into surrender, to change work into sacrifice. This is Guru’s glory. Karma is the same. What is the control of karma? Karma is that which does not create bondage, and knowledge is that which gives liberation. Otherwise, everyone is useless. Ek bhajan gāyeṅge, phir main Mahāmaṇḍaleśwar jī se vintī karūṅgā, kī Mahāmāyā, āp sab par āśīrvād kare, kī hum apnī bimārī ko nahīṅ naṣṭ kare, bimārī kī jaḍ koī naṣṭ kar de, tabhī to jīvan meṁ ākar ānandit raheṅge, ākar khuś raheṅge, ākar hum maje se raheṅge. (We will sing a hymn, and then I will request Mahamaṇḍaleśwar Ji that Mahāmāyā bless us all, not just to destroy our sickness, but to destroy the very root of the sickness. Only then, having come into this life, will we remain blissful, will we remain happy, will we live in joy.) Victory to Śrī Siddhī Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān. First of all, I would like to congratulate you for still sitting here. You didn’t run away from here. This is called tapasyā. These days in big programs like the Bhāgavatam, whatever happens here and there, there are many artists in it: singers, dancers; it’s a whole show. Knowledge is this much, and the show is this much. Yā ultā hai, show itna, making, gyān itna jo ācārya jī batā rahe hai, ham sab jānte phir bhī sunnā paṛte. (Or it's the opposite: the show is so much, the making is this, and the knowledge that the Ācārya is explaining—we all know it, yet we still have to listen.) In English, this is called common sense. Nobody actually applies it. A mother tells her son something, a son tells his mother something, and neither is ready to listen. If the mother is not ready to listen to the son, and the son is not ready to listen to the mother, then these two—Guru and disciple... Ākṣas Gyā Tapasyā Karne, Āp Nī Kyā Keh Diyā, Ek Pāv Mein 1000 Sāl, Dusri Pāv Mein 2000 Sāl, Phir 10,000 Sāl, Phir Kitni Lākhoṁ Sāl, Hamāre Kahā Hai, Hamāte Toh 50 Varṣ Toh Ho Gayā, Marnā Hīye, Kahā 1000 Jīyeṅge? (Conducting tapasyā for the senses... What did you just say? Standing on one foot for 1000 years, on the other foot for 2000 years, then for 10,000 years, then for so many lakhs of years! In our case, we may say this, but we have already lived 50 years. Death is certain; how can one live for 1000 years?) If we are to perform 1000 tapasyās, then this is tapasyā for me: I will go home and drink tea. It will take about half an hour or so. I will drink from this very vessel. I want to drink sherbet now; I’m feeling hot. I want to eat that now. How is this tapasyā? Don’t eat now; eat later. Jisai unho ne ek hajar baad mein, wo sab kuch kia jo aam ne kia. Waisa am, ek gante baad, do gante baad. (The one they performed after a thousand years, they did the same thing ordinary people do. Like ordinary people, one hour later, two hours later.) So, then I, then rasa... now I will speak in English. But I have seen that more people understand my English than I realized. And now after that, we will perform the Āratī. I will not speak much; do not take tension. Victory to Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān. Now again, I’m in a difficult position. There were around 20 stories. Now, how to translate 20 stories in, like, 10 to 20 minutes? It’s a little bit difficult. Just speak about Dravya Śuddhi, Kriyā Śuddhi, and Manaḥ Śuddhi. So the most interesting part about the Devī Bhāgavatam and our belief in the Divine Mother, our praying to the Divine Mother, is actually that we want something. Yesterday, there was an end to yesterday’s story. There was a king who got robbed by his own family and his own ministers, and then there was a businessman who got robbed by his own family, and they met. And they were meditating and doing pūjā for years and years and years—actually three years. So, finally, what happened? Matajī appeared and said, "What do you want?" And the king said, "I want to conquer all my enemies and get my kingdom back." And the other person said, "I want to get rid of the Māyā. I don’t want to live anymore in this saṃsāra. I want to be free of all this attachment." 99% of us are for the first reason. 99% of us are praying because we want something. There is only one or a few percent who are actually praying that we get liberation. And the Mahāmāyā, the one who is actually supporting all this illusion, this dream—because this dream is constantly coming, what does Māyā mean? Māyā means dream. So, all this can be crossed when you get a blessing from the Divine Mother. When you get the blessing from this illusion, it is like, "Yes, okay, I’m blessing you that you can cross me." Here is the Guru, here is the way. In the same way, like you go to some job and you want to be successful, you ask your wife, "Please, give me the blessings that I’m successful." And your wife, your mother, whoever says, "Yes, please be successful. My blessing is with you." So that’s why Mahāmāyā is so important. That’s why the prayer to the Divine Mother is so important. There is one story we heard many times, the story about Hariś Chandra and his tests, about how Viśvāmitra put him through a test so that he lost his whole kingdom. He had to sell his wife and his son into slavery, then himself into slavery, and so on. But there was always something missing in that story. How come, for the fun of the gods, to see who is the most pure human, who is the most honest, dharmic person, such a great difficulty you have to endure? So finally, in the Devī Bhāgavatam, there was a backstory for why this actually happened. Harishchandra, the king, did not have a son, and he was praying to Varuṇa, the god of the water, "Please, I need a son." Varuṇa came and said, "Yes, I will give you a son, but then you have to give him back to me." So the wife got pregnant, and after the son was born, Varuṇa came immediately and said, "Okay, give me the son." That’s why Mahārāj said that, not even in a joke... when we also have in Europe a saying, "I will drown you," you know. I will just put you in this water. In the West, what do people put? They put their four children in the river because otherwise it becomes too much, and people don’t want to feed them, so they put them in the river. It is considered a sin, but still people do it. So, not even in a joke should you say, "I will give you to the water," because the god of the water, Varuṇa Dev, is very quick. He says, "Okay, you offered me your son." Then he will come to your house and ask for your son. So, somehow Harish Chandra said, "No, okay, first month, no, he’s only one month." Then after some time, he’s this, and after some time, he’s that. So, Varuṇa Deva got so angry, he said, "Okay, now you’ll get some disease, something like diarrhea, the oleo in the body, you will just—the water will come out, you will be very sick." And no, it doesn’t matter whatever, whoever does anything, or whatever the doctors ask, you cannot pass. Then, of course, our mind is very intelligent, you know. We cannot sacrifice our own children, and even if you could sacrifice, the child found out what was happening and ran away. Now you cannot find him anymore. Now again, there is this trade, you know, you go somewhere and you ask, "I want to buy your child." Now we have a lot of trade like that going around the world, which is very bad, but it’s happening. If it’s possible to stop, excellent. Śrī Śrī... He will give his door, he will give anything. So now when Viṣṇu in the disguise of Vāmana came to him as a Brahmin boy, and he said, "I only want three steps of your land," the king said, "Yeah, no problem." And of course, what happened? The Vāmana, the Viṣṇu, because it’s Viṣṇu, he just grew, and with one step he covered the whole earth. The second step, he covered the whole... all three lokas, everything. He said, "Now you owe me the third step. What should I do with the third step?" Then he said, "Viṣṇu Bhagavān, put it on my head. I am yours." So Bali lost, but in the same way, he won. Because he lost, but as soon as Vishnu put his feet on his head, he was free. And even Viṣṇu said, "Now you are the ruler of the whole Pātāla." And from that time on, everything—it means Bali Charaṇa, it means to give your own head. But what we are doing is giving somebody else’s head. In all these sacrifices, then the kid was crying, and Viśvāmitra came. When he saw the kid was crying, the kid said, "I am supposed to be given as a sacrifice to Varuṇa Dev." So, Viśvāmitra said, "This is the mantra of Varuṇa Dev. Varuṇ Dev will repeat it, and he will be pleased." So, he repeated the mantra and got free, and he even freed Harishchandra from that disease. Now, how come it’s so difficult? We get so attached to our own children. Dhritarashtra was blind—either he was physically blind or he was just blind to what his children were doing. This we will never know, but we can only guess. So then, after this happened, there was this test of Hariś Chandra, when he had to sell his other child, his wife, and everything to keep his word. Because through this change, when he got free of this disease, his karma also got uplifted, and he became free of all these desires. Then it’s also interesting that you have King Nimi and Vaśiṣṭha, who are also great, and they cursed each other, and they died, and from the essence of them, many other wonderful things happened. But the thing is, how come even the great, great people, even the great saints, get angry? Even Śiva himself gets angry. Viṣṇu gets angry. Because this anger and everything is in our nature. Only the question is how long it will last. It is said of normal people that their anger lasts like a cut made with a knife on stone. And the anger of the holy people is like you put the knife through the water. As soon as the water comes back together, everything will be nice and calm, while our anger lasts for centuries. Now, there are three things which are very difficult to give. One thing is, we have to live to purify ourselves. It’s difficult in this world to know how to purify. We don’t have thousands and thousands of years to meditate. We don’t have anything, but what we have is money. We have something, we have food, we have this, we have that. So the point is: give. Start giving. You can give your money, you can give help, you can give knowledge. There is even a whole book written on what you can give. The giving is only limited by your desires. Now, again, there was a story. I’ll just tell it shortly; we all know it very well. You give a finger, and people take your whole hand. You offer food for one day, and then the people come and live for one week there. And they bring their friends and bring everybody. Here in India, it’s even more interesting because there are so many. The house—one house in India is like a railway station. There is not a single day that you don’t have five different people there. And many times, they don’t even know who is there. If I go to Panditjī’s house, and then I ask—you have, like, four people sitting and eating, you know—and if I ask him, "Who is this third person?" he said, "He’s from the wife’s side." It’s probably her relative, you know, because you have the brothers, daughters, sisters, friends, sons, nephews. These are the relatives who are actually allowed to come to your house. So, the relative network here in India is very big. Now you can imagine why it’s so difficult. In Europe, it’s easy because there is only one son, one daughter, or maybe two sons, or one, that’s it. Here, there are like ten in one house. Now, all of them get married, and all of them have their own family from both sides. Now, anybody can come anytime. Now, it’s not only that you give, it’s also on the person who is receiving. He has to think, "Okay, maybe I’m overdoing it. Maybe this part is missing." One part is giving, but the other part is receiving. Am I receiving too much? Can I offer something? Because there are some people who just take. It doesn’t matter how much you give; they’re like the mind. It doesn’t matter how much you put in your mind, the wish is never finished. There is always a place for more. There is always a place, like a bottomless pit. You don’t have to search for a bottomless pit anywhere on the earth. It’s right atop our body. So today it is very interesting. There are three days more for the whole discourse of the Devī Bhāgavatam, which is only one of the Purāṇas. These things which we are listening to are only the stories which are actually happening nowadays, but we cannot look at the present. We like to hear the stories. Even if we don’t like the stories, we like the stories of somebody else’s family. We cannot look at ourselves, so these Purāṇas are for that. Go into the past so that we will be able to see the present now. So with this, we will now finish today’s webcasting and start with the Āratī, and we will see you again tomorrow. Victory to Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān. Victory to Deveśvara Mahādeva. Victory to the Emperor of Hindu Dharma, Mārā Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān. Victory to the World Teacher Mahāmaṇḍaleśvarānanda Purī Jī, the true Gurudeva.