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Good evening, everyone. Welcome to our summer seminar. I guess you are not so happy to see me here. And believe me, I am not happy to sit here. Because we all hoped Swāmījī would now be among us. We were thinking yesterday, should we write a letter to Swāmījī for his birthday? And someone said, "But tomorrow he is coming." No, it doesn't make sense. We will congratulate him tomorrow. So now, unfortunately, Swāmījī is stuck somewhere on the way. And we don't know exactly where. It could be in India. Surely he will come this week, but we don't know really exactly when he will arrive here. Interestingly, Swāmījī didn't give us any information. That means there is something in his mind, because he knows us too well. When everyone would know in advance, do you think we would all be here now? So many would say, "Oh, then I don't need to come." And obviously, that is what Swāmījī doesn't want. So I would see this as a training. You know, when I learn something from Swāmījī, then I would say, for more than 20 years, the essence of Swāmījī's teaching for me is in three words, in three simple words: Accept, understand, and give. And if I remember right, I think that was from all the videos which were ever published from Swāmījī, from number one, exactly also the title. And it begins with acceptance. So accept the situation simply. There must be some sense in it. That means now we should ask ourselves, what does it mean for me to be here when Swāmījī is just now not here? So we should reflect, actually, why did I come here? Really, now, think, what is the point of being here? We are here, of course, to meet Swāmījī. This is one aspect: to get teaching, to get guidance, to get blessing. But for what? To do our sādhanā. To go on in our spiritual path. And this we have to do anyway. So, I guess this is the point why Swāmījī didn't announce it before, because he wants that we do our sādhanā. So I would say it as a kind of test: how serious we are in our will to do our sādhanā, and how serious we are in our discipline. Now, of course, this special program that Swāmījī was conducting these last weeks will not be as long, as he is not here. This special program that Swāmījī was introducing is this new Brahmavidyā Kriyā. This, of course, cannot be now, because only Swāmījī can teach this. But it doesn't matter really for us, because we go back to the normal Kriyā Anuṣṭhān program and the other group. So we will have, as it was, the Kriyā Anuṣṭhān program as it was for more than 25 years. And when Swāmījī comes, then we will see; he might change. But we should also not be so sad about the situation. You know, Swāmījī said, when the master is shouting at the disciple, then the disciple should actually be happy. Because when he is kind and explaining and teaching, this is just the input, the teaching. But when he is shouting at you, then he is really directly working on you. That is much more, so that is a kind of blessing. So we should simply accept the situation in which we are now as a special blessing. Swāmījī is directly working on us. And Swāmījī gave an example for that: how Mahāprabhujī was working on Holī Gurujī. Holī Gurujī was singing bhajans, but Mahāprabhujī didn't like his voice so much. And one day, Mahāprabhujī shouted to the Holī Gurujī, "Do you remember this story?" Do you know what happens next? Holī Gurujī, in full devotion, accepted that as a blessing. And it was a blessing. Because from that day on, his voice changed and became beautiful. And that is a voice which we know from Holī Gurujī, and which, fortunately, we have on many recordings. But the point is to accept that. You know, there are many stories that the Guru awakens the disciple in a very simple way. I will give you one example. There was one disciple; it was in Tibet. He had to participate in a big ceremony with his master. And he was a very devoted disciple to the master. But on that day of the ceremony, he felt so sick. He had a really bad stomach ache. So now what happened? On that day, the master came straight to him. Because one is like the official head of the ceremony. And they had some special pot, which then that person would get, or some special hat, which that person would get on the hat. So now the master came straight to this disciple and put this on his head. So he felt so bad, and suddenly everyone was looking at him. He was now like the main person. And then what the master did next, he took his fist and boom in the stomach. Can you imagine? Now the guru attacked the disciple. As a result, something happened in his stomach, and he was quite strongly farting, and of course everyone heard that. And he became completely red in the face. And now the guru says, "That's it." And that was too much for the disciple. His mind gave up. And he went into samādhi, and that was his enlightenment. He became a great guru and later told this story of his own enlightenment to his disciples. Guru Kṛpā Hi Kevalam, so that can also be Guru Kṛpā, but we have to accept it. But there is a "but": that cannot happen just at any time. There is something before, and this something before is the sādhanā. Something before is the purification process, so only if the disciple is ripe and on the point, then the guru can do this and really give the last kick. There is another very similar story, but well known, about one Tibetan yogī with the name Nāropa. He had to go through certain trainings, I would say. And the last step in his enlightenment story was that the guru took his shoe, I guess it was a wooden one at that time, and very strongly beat him on the head. And that was enough, and the disciple got enlightenment. But in this case, we know exactly what was before. In the other story, we don't know exactly the story before. It was that he had to go through twenty very strong tests. It is said that there are 10 minor and 10 major trials. And that we have an idea of what it is about. I will just read the very, very first, the smallest text. So he was searching for his guru. He never met his guru. And he had got some indication he should go to the east. But understand, in the Himalaya there are not so many ways. So then he said he arrived at a very narrow path with a big rock on one side and a river on the other side. There he met a sick woman who was lying on the path. She had leprosy. And it was so bad that her whole body was affected and extremely ugly to look at. And her hands and feet had nearly disappeared. She had infected wounds all over her body. And now she was lying just in this path where he had to go. And she saw him coming and said to him, "Sorry, I cannot move." So what could he do? He knew he had to go this path if he wanted to meet his master. But he couldn't escape. What should he do? It was such a disgusting view just to see her, and also the smell. So what he did, he closed his nose and jumped over. He could now continue his path, and then immediately she disappeared. And a voice came from the sky: "If someone practices spiritual paths, then one has to have love and compassion." If you don't have love and compassion, then you will not get the result of the path. And you will never be able to find the teacher. And at a later stage, then actually the master told him that in all these twenty situations whom he met, that was the master. So this woman there, who was looking so ugly, that was just a māyā of his own master. He was already there. Testing the disciple and then teaching the disciple. You should not just jump over me. You should have compassion and think how you can help me. So that was the first test and the first teaching of twenty. The others are much harder. I don't dare to tell. That means, in the same way, we have to be worthy of the blessing, this beating on the head or this beating in the stomach, however it might be. In the end, that is the blessing, the final liberation, but the master knows. That not everyone is ready for that, so it's on us now to get ready. That means to follow the teaching, to apply the teaching, to practice. And that is actually the main point why we are here. So let us not forget that. And now the fact that Swāmījī is not here at present is already a kind of tapasyā for us, a kind of hardship, you can say. The sādhanā itself, especially now the Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna sādhanā, is also a kind of tapasyā. And how often we try to escape from it. This is something that Swāmījī spoke about just recently, a few weeks ago, on the other summer seminar. He mentioned that there are certain points which he tried and tried with us, and simply he didn't succeed. And he mentioned especially two: one is the fasting, and one is the mauna. So I think it is worth a little bit to think why we always escape from these things when they are a little bit more difficult. I guess the point is that we don't really understand it. Let's take the example of fasting. When we do only the spiritual fasting, which is not a real medical fasting, but, for example, let's take the example when someone really is fasting for a few days or a few weeks, the medical fasting, so what happens then? Actually, first of all, it's a great process of purification. Not only that, unnecessary fat is reduced. But whatever impurities are in the body, they are released one by one. Every day, something. And the body still has energy. One doesn't feel weak, actually. And this is because the body switches to inner nourishment. So instead of awaiting food from outside, now the body knows that's not coming, so it takes food from inside. So that we should actually apply in this situation in which we are just now. So we don't get just now Swāmījī in physical form outside, so let's get in touch even more with Swāmījī inside of us. What we are doing in our fasting is basically just reduced and controlled eating, because still we eat one meal per day. And what Swāmījī always advises us is also to have control in our eating every day. You remember he always says, "Fill 50% of the stomach with food, a quarter with water, and leave a quarter empty." So, who is really doing that? And what's the point? Another master, Mikhail Ivanov, actually explained that. And he said, "If you don't eat fully until you really are full, but you stop before, then after some time you will realize that you are actually not hungry anymore." And this is because this missing quarter is now filled with fine energy, with spiritual energy. So, as we had in the example of the physical fasting, now it is actually replaced through inner nourishment, and here it is replaced through fine energy. So it helps us on our spiritual path. When we keep discipline, when we keep tapasyā, in some point, in the end it helps us spiritually a lot. Mauna is also a kind of fasting. So, I don't know if now everyone really experienced it. But I can say, when I kept for some time real Mauna, afterwards I was so much aware of my own speaking. I listened much more carefully to myself, to what I was talking. And I was somehow standing aside, and saying, "Gajanan, why are you talking such unnecessary things?" It's just a waste of energy. So we become finer, more sensitive when we do this type of practice. It's a kind of purification and sensibilization, and it makes us strong. Because when we go through something and we succeed, then it arises our self-confidence. And this is also something that is very good on the spiritual path: that we have a strong willpower, and we decide something, and we really go for it. You have to think that one type of tapasyā, Swāmījī makes us, actually part of our discipline when he initiates us. He gives us a mantra and says we should practice, but he also gives us a duty to fast once per week. So that is exactly why, because it is an essential part of our spiritual path. And if we always try to avoid, then we shouldn't be astonished that it doesn't work as we thought it should. Tapasyā is really a very basic element of the spiritual path. I am at present studying the Rāmāyaṇa, and there is a situation where, when Pārvatī is advised, she wants to have Śiva as her husband. And Nārada comes, Ṛṣi Nārada, and gives a prophecy, yes, he will be your husband. But under one condition, you have to practice tapasyā. A little bit more than just one day per week fasting, but real tapasyā. And then she got a dream, and in the dream again some ṛṣi told her that this is the right way. So he is saying, "Go, mountain maid, and practice penance or tapasyā." You should be sure that the prophecy of Nārada is true. And it is also known to your father and your mother. Tapasyā leads to joy and puts an end to pain and karmas. Tapasyā vede k radosti a učiní konec karmám a utrpení. A je důležité o tom přemýšlet. Protože my obvykle vidíme ty nepříjemné aspekty tapasyā. But in fact, it is the way to remove the karmas which make us suffer and lead us in the end to the joy, to the real joy. And then he says, "By the power of tapasyā, God Brahmā is creating the world." By the power of tapasyā, Lord Viṣṇu protects the world. By the power of tapasyā, Śambhu, the Lord Śiva, is in the end dissolving the world. And again, by the power of tapasyā, Śeṣa, the god of the snakes, is supporting the earth on his head. In fact, the whole creation rests on tapasyā. Keep this in mind, go and practice your tapasyā. And her reaction was that she was happy. And she gladly went away and practiced tapasyā. And that was not a small thing. It was a few thousand years. And then came the voice from the heaven, "Listen, O daughter of the mountain king." Your desire is accomplished. Give up now your tapasyā, and the Lord Śiva will be yours. But this was after some stronger effort. So when we compare this with the training which we get from Swāmījī, I would say it's just nothing. But even that seems to be too much for us. And how hard is it for Swāmījī now to deal with this situation? So let us try simply to accept it happily, as Pārvatī did. And let's try to have a very beautiful and harmonious seminar together. We also have one bhajan about one aspect of tapasyā. It's always hard when we have to renounce something. And that's the aspect of vairāgya. So let's sing the bhajan "Vairāgya Nahīṁ Hovare." It's Mahāprabhujī's bhajan. He says, "Vairāgya nahīṁ hove re binā satsaṅg." He says you cannot develop vairāgya, non-attachment, without satsaṅg. And then the second statement is like the other side of the coin: "Binā satsaṅg nahīṁ lage Hari ko raṅg." That means without satsaṅg, you cannot develop the color of God, or you cannot be colored in the color of God, and that means bhakti. Bhakti and vairāgya belong together. But how? There was one guru who was working in the garden, and the people asked him, "What is the way to enlightenment?" And he said, "It's very simple." You know, the plant is here, you take it out there and plant it in there. That means you give up your attachment to worldly things and now leave all your love to the divine. So, let us sing it together. Satsaṅg nahī̃ lāge, hari karāṅg. Vē rāgya nahī̃ ho vēre, vīnā sattu saṅg. Vē rāgya nahī̃ ho vēre, vīnā sattu saṅg. Tāshī mātra hari dvārakā nāva jam nājaṅ. Tāshī mathurā hari dvārakā nāva jamnā gaṅgā tīratha jāva bhatṭaka kavā. Tīratha jāva bhatṭaka kavā. Nahi hove bharamana bhang ve, radhya nahi hovere dina sattva sang. Ve ragyane hi ho vere, vina sattva sang. Vina sattva sang, na hi lage hari karang. Ve ragyane hi ho vere, vina sattva sang. Ve ragyane hi ho vere. Vināsattva-saṁbhāhe veda-karāṇadeka-kautā-bhādu-aṭṭhaṁ Jatapayoga Samadhi Sadhu, Jatapayoga Samadhi Sadhu Sahekharukatan Ve Radhyanahi Havere Vinasattesan, Ve Radhyanahi Havere Vinasattesan. Sāhe devī deva mannāvo, tūjā karo aṭṭhāṃ. ... Vinavarāgya kadho nāhi suddhara. Vinavarāgya kadho nāhi suddhara. Nāhi milmukti kadhāṃ. Thank you for watching. Sat Sat... Sat Sat... ... Sat Sat... Sat Sat ... Sat... Sat Sat... Deep Sadāsara Nāgata Āvagam namitam Vērādhyanahi hūvēre Vināsattasam, ... Vināsattasam nahilāge, Vināsattasam nahilāge. Without Vairāgya, you cannot overcome your worldly attachments. And this is not possible without satsaṅg. And when we are stuck in our worldly desires, in our worldly thoughts, and the complications of life, then, part of our energy is bound there and cannot go to our aim. So in the end, tapasyā is always a tool, a test. What do we really want? Because we will accept the tapasyā, the difficulties, and the end of every sādhanā is that. When we exactly know why we do it, what we really want. And this is also said now about Pārvatī, when she did this tapasyā. The more she did this tapasyā, and she continued her very strong sādhanā, the more grew in her the love for Lord Śiva. She had it before, but now it really came out. It was purified. Tapasyā is a way to purify our karmas. And this is, in the end, the point of this whole Kriyā Anuṣṭhān program, of this whole summer seminar. Because in our daily life, yoga in daily life, we are very much in the daily life. And always there is something which is just now, today, and the next day also, and the next day also, obstructing our sādhanā. Here is nothing obstructing, at least not from outside. If we want, we can do 100% sādhanā here. So if you want, you can choose also, for example, to keep real sādhanā in the mauna here. If you want, you can keep the sādhanā in eating little, fasting. If you want, you can concentrate also, between the sādhanā, more on the spiritual, and not talk so much and go so much here and there. So Swāmījī creates now the situation for us, the chance for us. It's up to us to take it. Okay. So now, the deep nine back. One, two, three.