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Good morning, everyone. Today is a very beautiful Wednesday, the day of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. "Gaṇ" signifies all divine personalities, incarnations, and goddesses, not only within our solar system but throughout the astral world. There are many tattvas (principles), but the highest is the Brahman, or Guru Tattva. Gaṇeśa is the Lord of all these Gaṇas, the Supreme. He is known as the Lord of intelligence and intellect. Buddhi is more than intellect; it is the very being of awareness where all decisions are made. It also governs the different functions of the senses and the subtle energies within the body. This is governed by Gaṇeśa. As a protector and a guide, he is the foundation. Therefore, the Gaṇeśa Tattva resides in the Mūlādhāra. The seed of Gaṇeśa is in the mūla, meaning the roots or the foundation. When the foundation is solid and balanced, no storm or earthquake can disturb it. Similarly, when a person becomes sure and clear about themselves, no emotional waves—such as depression, introversion, anxiety, uncertainty, sleeplessness, phobias, or physical problems like an imbalanced nervous system—can disturb them. Symptoms like becoming easily angry, nervousness, body shaking, sweating, or speechlessness, which reflect on the physical body, along with unclear thinking and changing words out of fear, all occur because our foundation is not strong. Gaṇeśa is not merely the form with an elephant face and trunk we see; that is a mythological picture. Who has seen Gaṇeśa? It is said Gaṇeśa is the son of Pārvatī. But consider: when Śiva and Śakti were married in a yajña (fire ceremony), they first had to pray to Gaṇeśa. At that time, Pārvatī was not even born. So, which Gaṇeśa was that? One must go very deep. When Śiva and Pārvatī’s wedding happened, they again performed a Gaṇeśa Pūjā. Which Gaṇeśa was that? This Gaṇeśa is called Śubha. Śubha means well, pleasant, happiness, and clarity. It is a virtue. One loves Śubha and Labha. Śubha means good, and Labha means benefit—not only monetary benefit, but success itself. In whatever we do, we first think of clear vision and success, that nothing should disturb our work and it should be pleasant, a Śubha. Some write Śubha first, then Labha. For example, when you have a housewarming party after buying, building, or renting a home, you should not immediately cook inside. First, you prepare: clean everything, arrange your furniture, bed, and kitchen. Yet, you do not sleep or cook there, not even a cup of tea. When everything is ready and you are prepared to move in, then you first cook and then either do it yourself or invite friends—but in no way should meat, eggs, or alcohol be involved. There, Śubha is called Maṅgala. Maṅgala is also this planet, which belongs to Tuesday. Maṅgala means all goodness and happiness. When organizing a wedding for your children, yourself, or friends, you write congratulations with words like, "I wish this Maṅgala Kārya will be happily completed successfully." Maṅgala Kārya means an action of happiness, good luck, and a bright future, done for your good physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. In India, and in ancient religions, there is a symbol of Maṅgala: raw sugar made from sugarcane. It is very pure, brown, and like bread dough. When someone tells you, "Oh, you will be successful there," you can say "Thank you" and give them a big piece of this sweet. Or you distribute a little to everyone so that all have a sweet mouth. This is distributed first. A sweet mouth means you spread the sweetness of relation, friendship, good words, and good thinking. Offering the sweet means you accept it; now there is no enmity between us, and we all bless that person or people. We bless them: "In this house, in this flat, God protects you. We wish you happy hours, happy days, happy years." Then it is Phūla, Phala. Phūla means the flower—blessing, blooming, flourishing. Phala means the fruit. It means you get good children, a happy family that grows in happiness. "Always keep the flowers in your house open, and may the fruits be sweeter than what you gave us." This is how we bless. Everyone has blessings; you can bless anyone. It is better to bless than to curse. Blessing is completely opposite to a curse. This Maṅgala belongs to Gaṇeśa because he is the Lord of all elements. Therefore, his statue or name is placed on the door. When you enter a house or flat, you see Gaṇeśa first. But do not place him where shoes and other items are lying. According to Vāstu, Gaṇeśa removes all negative energy. He is like a mighty elephant standing before your house. Would you like to go in? No, unless you are a friend with it. He is guarding us. All negative energy, including black magic, cannot come near. If someone wishes to harm you, they have no chance. That is why it is great for Gaṇeśa to sit there. "Gaṇeśāya Namaḥ" is a bīja mantra. When you begin some work, you can say, "Let's do Śrī Gaṇeśa," remembering Gaṇeśa first, then all others. There is a story. When Śiva went for his wedding to Pārvatī, he did not worship and invite Gaṇeśa. Gaṇeśa then ordered his own Gaṇ, especially the mouse, telling them, "Where Śiva’s chariot is going, you must go in front, under the earth, and make so many holes that the chariot cannot proceed." They dug so quickly, quicker than a jessie bee bugger, and Śiva wondered what was happening. Someone told Brahmā, "You didn’t invite Gaṇeśa." Śiva then stopped and said, "Gaṇeśa Jī Mahārāj, forgive me. You are cordially invited." Immediately, the road was good, and they could go. This is a kind of divine play. Not only in our families but in divine families, there are also many misunderstandings. There is always some kind of discord, so do not worry if you have misunderstandings in your family. Whenever such a situation arises, make an experiment: remember Gaṇeśa Jī. Always keep a medal of Gaṇeśa Jī. When you buy a car, take the key and place Gaṇeśa Jī inside your car. Give him the key and say, "Please, Gaṇeśa, take care of it." Then there is no chance for accidents. This is not blind belief; it is a fact that in the atmosphere, in the subtle world, there are certain energies. When we remember them, that energy is directed towards us. The entire body of Gaṇeśa in mythological pictures carries good meanings. It is not merely half-human and half-elephant; it has significance. This is not only in Vedic mythology but also in Greek mythology: half-fish and half-human, half-horse and half-human, half-lion and half-human. Why? It was necessary; it could not be done differently. For example, when Viṣṇu incarnated as Narasiṁha (half-lion, half-human), it was to confront Hiraṇyakaśipu. Hiraṇyakaśipu had prayed and received a blessing that no human could kill him, no animal could kill him, he should not die in the daytime or at night, neither inside nor outside the house, and no element or weapon could cause his death. Brahmā said, "It will be so." Hiraṇyakaśipu thought he was immortal. But Viṣṇu came as Narasiṁha. Nara means human, Siṁha means lion. He caught Hiraṇyakaśipu at sunset, when half the sun was setting and half was visible. Hiraṇyakaśipu tried to run into the house, so the Narasiṁha avatāra caught him between the door. He asked, "Look, is it day or night?" It was neither. "Look at me, am I a human or an animal?" Also neither. "Look at my claws. Are they weapons?" No. "Are you inside the house or outside?" Neither. "Is it water or fire or any element?" No. "So your end is here." Therefore, the mythological pictures we see, including in Old Greek traditions from ancient times, were real. We may not believe now, saying it was just their mythology, but it was real. It still exists, but in hidden forms. Sometimes people act like a cat or a snake with two tongues; there is a hidden quality inside. Sometimes a person becomes so cruel and destructive, not thinking about the destruction they cause. When a storm comes, it is destructive. Such a person might say, "I don’t care, even if I go to hell, I will destroy all this." That is a rākṣasa, a negative force. God protect us from such things. Therefore, Brahma Vidyā says: develop your positive energy; only that will help you. Others will destroy you. In this world, there are billions of spiritual people. Do not say good people are rare; there are millions of good people, regardless of religion or culture. Inside them is love, mercy, and so on. But from time to time, negative energy comes quickly. A nicely clean, washed dress takes time: washing, drying, ironing. But to make it dirty does not take time. When such cruelty appears in persons like Hiraṇyakaśipu, Kaṁsa, or Rāvaṇa, their end is near. When they begin to manifest or vomit their inner negativity, then God appears and ends it. Also, today is the day when Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa incarnates. Out of twenty-four incarnations, Kṛṣṇa is known as a complete, full incarnation. As seen in the Bhagavad Gītā, Kṛṣṇa manifests his body into the universe; his soul is in every atom. Everything—fire, flood, volcano—is within his universal body. But he incarnates for the sake of bhaktas (devotees) and for righteousness. "O Arjuna, from time to time I manifest myself through my yogamāyā." That is the highest śakti, the universal śakti, called yoga māyā. Many people worship yoga māyā; there are temples of yoga māyā. That yoga is the divine śakti. Through it, we come to manifest ourselves, realizing "I am ātmā." After self-realization as the ātmā, we work further to realize oneness with Brahman or Śiva consciousness. So after self-realization, you still have a lot of work to do. This is taught in Brahma Vidyā. Today at midnight, Kṛṣṇa will be born. Do you know why he was born? Observe what a human can do when a person becomes mad, losing control to ego, greed, hate, and jealousy. The fire of anger makes that person unable to discern what is theirs or not. You know how Kaṁsa was torturing his own sister and his own father. He told his father, "You give me your crown, or should I take it?" Similarly, today, children may demand, "Write the property in my name, or should I take it?" There are children like this. Therefore, at that time, Kṛṣṇa incarnated. Perhaps we will see a little this evening in a video from the Mahābhārata, when Kṛṣṇa was born. We will see one episode. Sometimes it is not easy to watch. If you are vegetarian and love animals, seeing someone kill your dear animal is painful. Or as a mother, if your newborn child is taken and thrown against a wall, the pain of the father, mother, and all others is unbelievable. That soul comes at the highest time to destroy. God says, "I do not just come. I first count and see their mistakes. It is not I who am killing them, destroying them. It is their inner thoughts and deeds that are killing them." As in the Mahābhārata, Arjuna said to Kṛṣṇa, "I cannot fight; I cannot kill them; they are my people." Kṛṣṇa said, "Who are you to kill them? They have killed themselves. They are standing in front of dead bodies." You kill yourself inwardly before you do something bad to others; therefore, mercy is essential. Many people practice mantras in Christianity, saying, "Mother Maria, your mercy. Your mercy." Yes, that helps; it comes into our heart. Such mercy awakens in your heart. Every religion has very beautiful mantras, but you have to practice and believe. Can you imagine Devakī, the mother of Kṛṣṇa, suffering when her own brother took her newborn child and threw it against the wall? Similarly, can you imagine the pain of Mary if it was true? No one was there; all had left. Only she was sitting there. That is the Mother. Brahma Vidyā is that knowledge: not to cause pain to anyone. We will have an interval for 10 to 15 minutes, and then we will have practice. Adios.