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Part 1: Title: Auspicious Gathering: Welcoming Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras and the Grace of Satsaṅga We are also participants, and we would like first to greet our Gurudev, that he is again in Croatia with us. We were excited and surprised several months ago when two of our Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras, two of our sannyāsīs, were introduced as Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras. And we, who are taught to be reserved and not to show emotions, when we first saw Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Swāmī Vivek Purī, we almost cried. And I heard that the same happened when Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Swāmī Jñāneśwar came to Croatia last week or in recent days. So, Swāmījī, it is a great honor for us Croatians that our two Swāmīs are Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras. It is a great responsibility, of course. So, thank you once again on behalf of all of us. I would also like to greet the representative of the Indian Embassy, Mr. Mitra and his wife, and all of our sannyāsīs and sādhvīs, according to our good custom. I would like to give a traditional gift, Dakṣiṇā. So, firstly, Swamijī, and also to our Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras. Speak the names. Yes, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras Swāmī Ganeśwar Purījī and Swāmī Vivek Purījī. And then to our Sādhvīs: Sādhvī Dayā, then our Australian guest, Sādhvī Śivajyotī, Sādhvī Sāvitrī, Sādhvī Om Purī Jī, and our Sādhvī Ānandī. Thank you, Maṅgal Purī, thank you. I think in the whole European continent, there are only the Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras from Croatia. And not only one, but two. Who knows? There will be a third one too, a fourth one too. But it depends. It’s not that you simply become a Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara. It must go through much scrutiny. Many are searching on their path. How? The Akhāṛā has its own people. From as far as Croatia, they were sending someone. If this spiritual lineage is connected to this Akhāṛā through a long paramparā, then they have to sit and decide. Of course, there were some reservations. Nationality, the countries — because they are foreigners with a different way of living and eating, I had many days and months of talks with them. It began in 2011. And, of course, they wanted to know about the paramparā, whether they have an Āśrama — they cannot become a Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara without having an Āśrama. And the question arose about foreign countries. So then I told them one śloka of Śaṅkarācārya where there are no differences of caste, gender, or nation. So if you make these differences, then you act against the teachings of Ādiguru Śaṅkarācārya. So I said, “Well, of course, it’s your decision. I’ll go.” And they all kept pulling me back. And one of my best friends, a Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, took me in his arms. And I went back to my āsana and said to myself, “No, Swāmījī, we will never, never disagree with you.” So, it was wonderful. Now, it is not only a matter of defending our own Akhāṛā. We have seven Akhāṛās of Śaṅkarācārya’s Daśnāmīs. And all the presidents and secretaries of the Akhāṛās have to agree. So it is the work of our Akhāṛā to secure their opinion. And then comes this ceremony, which lasts for hours, and all the Akhāṛās must be present. Their president or secretary attends. And after the ceremony and the tilak of Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, like a crown, first the shawl is given to our Ācārya Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, then to the other Akhāṛās, and then to our senior Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras. It is a very high title, and when you respect them, you are not only respecting them but you also respect the Akhāṛā. And if the Akhāṛā notices that they are not respected, or that they are running here and there, or that they do not respect one another, they can make observations and will tell me. The Akhāṛās organize the holy bath, the royal bath, the chariot and everything — so it is a very elevated affair. So, I congratulate you, Christians. I thank you, Croats, that you have offered two beautiful sannyāsīs to the Akhāṛā, and they emerged as Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras. I told them in Haridwar, at the Kumbha Melā, that I wanted to make twenty-five Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras. And they were so happy, but then the president of the Akhāṛā said, “This means, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvarjī, Viśvagurujī, you want to take over the Akhāṛā.” So, it was in my mind that at this Haridwar, Ilāhābād, there would be about five Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras from European countries. But whatever Mahāprabhujī decides, that happens. It is better to know before eating the fruit whether the inside is rotten. So thank you, everybody, and I congratulate you. And now we also have our sannyāsīs and sādhvīs, and Śivajyotī. She made the journey of thousands of kilometers. She will fly on the 22nd and arrive on the 24th, or nearly the 25th. A completely new continent, a beautiful one. Preljep. That’s called Australia. So, I think Śivajyotī was here with us for one week. And I would ask her to say a few words. Not a few words — she can speak at length. To say a few words, we can talk a little longer, not just a few words. It’s nice to turn around and see everybody. It really is a beautiful country. I’m very blessed to be here and to float in the Adriatic. So all thanks and praṇāms and everything go to Swāmījī for this opportunity. For the blessing of the Sannyās Dīkṣā that we received just now on Guru Pūrṇimā. And to live this divine life dedicated to Sanātana Dharma. This morning Swāmījī was speaking about Sanātana Dharma. And as he was speaking now, it reminded me of a memory from the Kumbha Melā, just after Vivek Purījī and Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Ganeśvara Purījī had their pīṭhābhiṣeka. That reminded me of an event from this Kumbha Melā, right after Vivek Purījī and Ganeśwar Purījī became Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras. After the whole ceremony, all the greetings and shawls and everything, they went to the Ācāryajī’s hut. Swamiji and many saints were sitting around Acharyaji and speaking, and one of the other new Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras, a very great soul, said, “I am so happy, and it feels so special that some of my foreign brothers also receive this title today.” He said, “I am so happy, and I feel very special that our brothers from abroad have received this Dīkṣā.” Because if peace is to spread through the world, it will come from this Sanātana Dharma, from this place. So we can really thank them, and we can thank our Master for this incredible spiritual light which He is giving to us all. That is my feeling; it was very touching for me in that moment. Other than that, being here, just thank you to the organizers — Purījī, Sādhvī Ānandī, and Gītā. I know they were working tirelessly, and Anandi told me that 250 people had registered, and then 250 extra came in the last three days — which blows my mind. It is an amazing organization; as far as I can see, everyone seems very happy and peaceful, and I’m sure the programs with Ganeśwar Purījī were great, though unfortunately I could not be there. But I thought it is also nice for him to teach and speak in his native language and to enjoy, and it seems everybody is very happy. So, thank you all. For many years people said to me, “You should come to Croatia, you should come to Croatia.” So I feel like finally I was able. And many of you know Maru was in Brisbane Ashram, and she said to me one day in the garden, “I think many Croatians should come. Hundreds should come one day when Swāmījī is visiting Australia. Not only Croatians, but everybody.” So I hope that comes true, and I very much wish to see you there, because your flavour and your love and devotion to Swāmījī is really very touching. I have learned a lot from you all, and I hope that there are many more moments like this that we can share. See you in Australia. Thank you, Śivajyotī. You see, in astrology, each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding horoscope. If it is a ‘G’, then it does not matter what name it is; it belongs to that horoscope. Even if you are born in August — even if you are born, for example, in Kolovoz — you can be a Scorpio. It does not depend on the month; it depends on the constellation. And so that name is the correct name. Otherwise you can give any name, but then it does not influence you. According to our Paṇḍitjī, who is not here, according to the astrological calculation, numerology, and name, these few things are very important for us. Based on that, five or three letters are obtained. And then you can choose the name, but the first of those three or five letters should be the initial. So Australia and Austria have the same. When you go to India and you say, “I’m from Austria.” — “Oh, Australia!” — “No, no, not Australia, Austria.” Or if you say, “I’m Australian.” — “Oh, Austria, near Germany.” So, also on this Guru Pūrṇimā, our dear Umā Purī became a sannyāsī. And I think she would also like to say something. Yes, you can speak in German — no problem. Or in English. Dear friends, surprisingly there are always two things we never know in life, as Swāmījī always says. One thing is when a guest will come and knock on your door. The second thing is when death is coming. And the third thing is when the master will tell you to speak. It is real satsaṅga with our Gurudev. The Himālaya coming is lighter than being in satsaṅga. And we realize this when we are together with Swāmījī. How divine these moments are. We cannot compare them with anything. And this time here together passes so quickly. These few days — afterwards, when we return, it seems like years since we were together. I was asking Śivajyotī when the Kumbha Melā was — was it this year, or when? It was so rasant, so moving. Time loses its value; so we cannot count the time with Swamijī. There are also no words to explain, only, as Swamijī says, we hear of four kinds of milk. The first milk is mother’s milk, the second milk… is cow milk, sheep milk, goat milk, plant milk, coconut milk, and the fourth milk is the Jñānāmṛta, the knowledge. The nourishment for our soul, for our whole being. And Gurujī says in his bhajan, “Abhahama, Guru Swaraṇa Sukhobaya,” how the heavy cloud is hanging in the sky. There is no empty space in the sky, just heavy, heavy clouds hanging. And birds and all living beings are looking at this cloud, waiting for when the rain will come. And suddenly it is raining. And it is raining just as Gurujī explained: as when we are in satsaṅga, jñāna — the knowledge, the love from Swāmījī — is coming and it is simply raining. And we drink and drink and drink this nectar until we are completely full. And Gurujī explains this in his bhajans. And one line also says how Gurū Dev changes destiny, the mekā. How suddenly he changes everything. Swamiji always said, “What is impossible, he makes possible.” What is possible, he can make impossible. Even death has no chance to come near. So, we cannot explain how we feel here when we are with Swamijī in the satsaṅga. There are no words. So, thank you. There is much to tell. Many must speak. But time is passing. When we came here last Saturday or Sunday, we began our anuṣṭhāna. You took holidays. You took time from your families. Of course, you spent some money. And all the while you were thinking of coming here, looking forward to learning something and practicing. Now you know how much you practiced, how much discipline you maintained. And what have you gained now? A hunter — in our countries hunting is generally not allowed, but if someone does it, then it is the poor who are involved. Unfortunately, in some countries it has become like a sport. That should be prohibited, and the name should be taken out of sport hunting. Ah, love. It is a shame for sport. But in Kali Yuga, money rules. The fence eats the field. The fence destroys the field. Then what is the fence for? The bodyguard kills the protectee. Then what was the bodyguard for? Similarly, we humans — and sport is really very disciplined. Part 2: The Pāras Stone and the Urgency of Spiritual Practice Many disciples from the world of sport come with great discipline. They are very sāttvic. Many have come from Karate, and they truly are disciplined and excellent disciples. However, when a sport involves the killing of animals, it lacks ethical principles. That should not be. There was once a hunter in the forest who would kill animals—rabbits, small deer, birds—and bring them home. This brings to mind the story of our grand master, Devpurījī. One afternoon, around five o’clock, Devpurījī was returning from a village, walking through the desert to his ashram. In those days there were no roads; the landscape was like the Sahara. As he walked between two villages some ten to fifteen kilometers apart, with few trees, only low bushes, a man was approaching with a basket. At a distance of maybe four or five hundred meters, the man saw Devpurījī coming. People both greatly respected and feared him—much like children who fear their parents’ anger when they have done something wrong. So the hunter quickly hid his basket under a bush, then went forward with folded hands and offered praṇām. Devpurījī asked, “What did you hide in the bush?” “Nothing, Gurudev, nothing. How are you, Gurudev?” The master said, “You have killed so many birds. Did you not think of their children? Many birds have babies in their nests. You were thinking only of your own children. Bring the basket here.” Devpurījī kicked the basket, and all the dead birds flew away—he can give life. The hunter gave up hunting and vowed never to hunt again. Similarly, another hunter was in the forest when he saw a sādhu, a yogī, approaching. The hunter explained, “I am a poor man. I have just an arrow and bow. I kill animals every day to feed my children. I am very poor, Gurū Dev.” The sādhu replied, “Do not commit this sin. Why kill these innocent animals? Do you know what karma you will incur?” The hunter said, “But what else can I do? I have nothing.” The sādhu put his hand into his bag and withdrew a beautiful yellow stone, like a topaz. “Take this stone. When you touch it to iron, the iron will turn into gold.” “Really?” “Yes,” said the sādhu. “I give you ten days. When I return, you must give the stone back. But in those ten days, you may make as much gold as you like.” The hunter took the stone home and told his wife, who was overjoyed. He said, “Tomorrow morning I will go to the market and buy iron.” He went to the iron shop and asked, “What is the price of iron per kilo?” “Twenty rupees.” He thought to himself, “I am a poor man. Twenty rupees is too much. Do you think it will become cheaper?” “Yes, it could, because other countries are not buying iron now, so the market may fall.” “Thank you. Then I will come back in two or three days.” After three days he returned. “What is the price now?” “Ten rupees.” “Thank you, God. God always listens to the poor. Do you think it will become cheaper still?” “I think so. The market is falling.” “Then I will wait and buy later.” Three more days passed. He asked again—five rupees. “Thank you, God. Do you think it will be even cheaper?” “Of course. I think there will be a great disaster in the economy now.” “Alright, I will come again in three days.” After three days he asked once more: “What is the price?” “One and a half rupees per kilo.” “Oh, Mahāprabhujī, thank you! Do you think it will get still cheaper?” The shopkeeper thought, “This man is not normal.” He answered, “Yes.” Then the hunter delayed again. Nine days passed. On the tenth day, at eleven o’clock in the morning, the sādhu returned. He saw no gold. The poor man was sitting there as poor as ever. The sādhu said, “Please give back my pāras. The ten days are over.” “Yes, but I have done nothing—iron was too expensive.” The sādhu replied, “If you had touched even a single iron nail with this stone, it would have become gold, and with that you could have bought not one kilo but many kilos. By now you could have turned entire railway lines into gold. But you thought it was too expensive and kept waiting. You will remain as you are. Give me back my stone.” In a similar way, last Saturday and Sunday you came to meditate, to practice āsanas, prāṇāyāmas, meditations, and prayer. But you were frying yourselves on the hot rocks. I observed. I did not teach this technique in the seminar, but I thought perhaps the new Mahāmaṇḍaleśvar has a new technique—so everyone is lying on the rocks, which are not that comfortable. We must ask ourselves: what have we learned in these ten days? Day by day we are getting late. Every minute of life is lost. Now you will go home tomorrow. How will you survive, balancing worldly life and spiritual life? You must practice. It is said that Svarāt and Parmarāt go together. Svarāt means selfishness, Parmarāt means selflessness. We must work to earn our living, but we must also practice for our liberation, for that immortal life. There is God. We humans understood that God created us, and we also created God. Without humans, there would be no God. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva—they may be sitting somewhere and nobody comes to offer adoration. The trinity looked at each other: “We began creation, but what now? We tried so hard, yet no one comes to us. We are supposed to be the highest.” Śiva said, “It is our own mistake. What should we do?” So Brahmājī created a human and told him, “We three here are known as God.” The first disappointment was with Brahmā and all the Saptaṛṣis—none wanted to create families. Brahmā asked Viṣṇu, “What should I do?” Viṣṇu said, “I don’t know.” Then they went to Śivajī, and Śiva said, “Why do you always come to me and disturb me?” Brahmā replied, “No, Lord, you must do something. You must start the families.” Śiva said, “What is that? I am happy in the Himalayas, one with myself.” Brahmā and Viṣṇu pleaded, “Please do not close your eyes, for once Śiva closes his eyes, ages pass.” And so, I think, humans were created, and we humans understood what God is. We introduced God, we recognized him, we came to know there is a God. That is very important for us. Without God, life is nothing. God is in your heart, in your thoughts, when you have spiritual thoughts. It is said that in Kali Yuga, humans will not have enough discipline. Look at us—we are the example. Why go far? Goethe said, to see the blue sky you need not go to Australia. (He didn’t say Australia; I say it.) So why go elsewhere? We are the best example of what we did and didn’t do. Kali Yuga suffers from lack of discipline, lack of spirituality, lack of mercy. Therefore, Tulsīdās says in the Rāmāyaṇa: “Kali Yuga keval nām ādhārā, sumeru sumeru narahoi bhavapārā.” In Kali Yuga, the only support is the name of God—devotion, prayer, repeating your mantra, kīrtan, pūjā. O human, by repeating the name of God, you can cross the ocean of māyā. Ultimately, we must surrender to God and ask for His help, for the divine Śakti. In spirituality, there are no gender dualities. That is why we adore equally. Even Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva worship the Divine Mother Śakti. According to Sanātana Dharma and Vedic Dharma, we have many women who are great holy ladies, saints—there were many in the past and there are many now. Of course, one must prove it. Now that you have become an example, you must have the heart of a mother, with mercy inside. I observe why a certain sannyāsī sits as he does. There is an example: chameleons, geckos, and lizards, at certain times during the monsoon and before the rain, change color—yellow, green, red, pink—due to the humidity in their bodies. I am always surprised, and I have been surprised to see that my sannyāsīs display beautiful colors within a single day, like a rainbow. You cannot even count rainbow colors. As long as you change colors, you cannot reach that true level—neither you nor them. When walking on the street, two must always be together. I do not know the rules in Croatia, but in many countries, if a policeman walks in uniform alone, he is not allowed to walk about or stand drinking coffee; otherwise he will be suspended. Yet without uniform, they can drink and dance—no problem. The uniform is a protection, not just for you, but for the entire system of the Paramparā. It is a kind of permanent and sure protection. When a policeman says, “This road is closed, please go that way,” even if you don’t want to, because he is a policeman, you go. People will listen because you are in sannyāsa uniform—there is no compromise. If tomorrow you wear a tie and jacket, nobody will offer praṇām; they will say, “Hi! Shake hand! Hi guy, where are you going?” Therefore, the uniform is protection. We all have the protection of Mahāprabhujī’s mercy, but our duty is to protect the dignity of those spiritual rules and our paramparā. That is why every religion has particular rules that must be followed. In Sanātana Dharma, there is no teaching that women have no right to become a monk, to do prayer, or to perform pūjā. In India you will see many female sādhūs, not necessarily in orange dress, and millions adore them because they have performed tapas, opened their hearts, become mothers, become fathers. When you take sannyāsa, you do not write or speak of yourself as female; you address yourself in the masculine, because you are above male and female. But you have to work. Many are thinking of becoming sannyāsīs now; next time I may bring a paṇḍit and we can make many sannyāsīs. But it is not easy. Making a ceremony is very easy—our paṇḍit will be happy to earn more money. But what will your father, mother, wife, or husband say? You cannot go to the office in a sannyāsī’s dress; your boss will look at you and ask, “Where did you go on holiday?” Only one who knows diamonds can recognize a real diamond. We might mistake it for a crystal. Someone sells us a nice piece of glass: “Oh, it’s 24-carat! 500,000? The market has fallen, otherwise it would be 1.3 million dollars, but now it’s 500,000—and if you like it, I’ll give it to you for 300,000.” In reality, that piece of glass is not worth even one euro, yet we pay millions. Why? Because we don’t know. Only the best jeweler can test a diamond and tell whether it is genuine. To know that, you have to study. As one bhajan says: “Se Kaže.” So, from this seminar we have learned something. Most of you were not here during the week; you came on the weekend to prepare for the Brahmā Vidyā Kriyā. We learned, tried to understand, and practiced the union of prāṇa and apāna in the maṇipūra cakra. Whenever you practice relaxation—after the āsanas, during the āsanas, from time to time when you relax—concentrate and develop your maṇipūra cakra. For our further Kriyā, the maṇipūra cakra is very important. It is the kendra bindu, the center of our existence, the center of our phenomenon. So this sādhanā, with your guru mantra, you should practice: prāṇa and apāna, the saṅgham in the maṇipūra, and the taraṅga vibration, the resonance that spreads from there throughout the whole body. We will continue that until next time. We wish you all the very best.