TV Channel

Dear devotees, bhaktas, and practitioners of Yoga around the world, after a long time, I am with you again. Through this webcast, I cannot see you, but you see me. Many blessings. Divine blessings are coming to you from the Holy Land, India—the land of countless holy incarnations from the beginning of time: Swayambhu Śiva, Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and many great beings who lived thousands of years ago. Many ages have passed, what we call the periods of the yugas: Satyayuga, Dvāparayuga, Tretāyuga, Kaliyuga, and their repetition again in Mahāyugas and Manvantaras. Yet, in this holy land, miraculous things have always happened. It was the great ṛṣis and yogīs of India—whom you may call incarnations of Brahman itself—who researched and revealed the knowledge of the entire universe. Yathā brahmāṇḍe tathā piṇḍe: what exists in the universe exists within the human body. What is not in this body is not in the universe. The first Indian sages brought forth the science of astronomy, the knowledge of planets and galaxies. The concept of Ananta Brahmāṇḍa—the endless universe with millions of solar systems—was declared for the first time by a great philosopher from India. Similarly, astrology, palmistry, spirituality, practice, and achievement originated here. Some Western scientists propose tons of theories, but they are nothing compared to a single gram of practice. That practice comes from the Indian sages who demonstrated reality directly. These great yogīs told us of the Jīva, the individual soul. The journey of the soul has continued from the beginning of creation, from Swayambhu Śiva until today. They revealed two kinds of life: life on the physical planet and life in the astral world. Through meditation and astral travel, they researched and followed the journey of the individual soul throughout the endless universe. How does the soul travel? How does it develop? Does it develop toward the positive or the negative? Whether the soul dissolves into darkness or into light depends entirely on your individual personal behavior. How you think will become your reality, not anyone else's. What you speak, what you act, each and every thought will return to you. The yogīs observed the soul's journey across the cosmos: where it comes from, what it does on this planet or in the astral realms, and how it takes form through the five elements in different life forms. For the first time, yogīs from this holy land clearly saw that there are 8.4 million different kinds of life on this planet—knowledge no one else in history could provide. They clearly declared the four different ways life enters this physical planet: Jarāyu, Andes, Vedas, and through the bark of the tree. These manifest in three levels: jala-tattva (water), tala-tattva (earth), and nāpa-tattva (space). The soul is a quality, not a quantity; it can enter even the tiniest creature invisible to our eyes, and there it must suffer or enjoy the destiny created by its karmas. That destiny is created through your desires and your thinking. Icchā hī dukhon kā kāraṇ hai. Icchā ke dvārā vāsanā, aur vāsanā se hī mānav prāṇī mātra dukhī. First comes your wish, then your desire. Desire is the cause of all suffering—mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and social. You alone are responsible. Do not blame anyone. Who are you to blame? No one else is responsible for your suffering. If you project your negative feelings and thoughts onto others, you only multiply your own bad qualities. Then the ṛṣis discovered something beautiful. Where is the end of this journey? What is its purpose? The purpose of all endless journeys throughout the universe is to merge back into the ultimate reality, the origin. That is called Īśvara, Parameśvara, the Self. That Self has no attributes; it is only and only the Self, and that is called Ātmā. As individuals in duality, we exist as separate beings. As the universal, we exist as the Ātmā. Those ṛṣis also declared what the Ātmā is and how one attains Self-realization. You may perform many sādhanās, chant many mantras, conduct ceremonies, yajñas, prayers, or magics. You may gain some powers, but not ātmā-jñāna. Without that, there is no mokṣa. Therefore, mokṣa-mūlaṁ guru-kṛpā: only through the grace of the Guru can you attain ātmā-jñāna. There are many kinds of knowledge, and that knowledge can only be received from the master, the guru. Even to learn how to write A-B-C, you need a teacher, and that teacher is your guru. If you have feeling, love, devotion, and respect for your teacher, all his or her knowledge will come to you. If you doubt, nothing will come. It is love that merges into oneness. Doubt and hate separate you. Thus, the science of Yoga, as revealed by the ṛṣis, is a universal science. That is called Sanātana Dharma. Sanātana Dharma is not a man-made religion. Man-made religions are all the books we have, written by or about divine incarnations. But Sanātana Dharma is the principle that balances and governs the entire Ananta Brahmāṇḍa, the endless universe. It is Sanātana Dharma through which the seasons function: spring, summer, autumn, winter. It is Sanātana that from the ocean, steam rises to become clouds, which then turn back into water and fall as rain. They observed how the water from the ocean becomes steam. In reality, that steam is the ocean itself, but now we see the beginning of duality. We see the clouds, and then drops fall. As long as you hold a drop in your hand, it is just a drop. When that drop falls back into the ocean, it becomes the ocean. Similarly, the Jīva that you carry in your consciousness, the Jīva in your astral form, is a drop. When, through the grace of Gurudev, this drop merges and becomes one, the Jīva becomes Śiva. That is the ultimate purpose of human life, the purpose of all religions, prayers, and good deeds. These blessings are especially significant on the occasion of the holy festival of Holī—a festival celebrated since ancient times, symbolizing the victory of truth, the victory of love, the victory of the devotee, the victory of dharma over adharma, the victory of Satya over Asatya. It is the holy day when Lord Viṣṇu had to take the form of Nṛsiṁha Avatāra—half human (from the navel down) and half lion (above). 'Nar' means human, and 'Singh' means lion. He took this form to kill the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu. Hiraṇyakaśipu had a sister who possessed a siddhi: she could sit in fire without burning. Hiraṇyakaśipu instructed her, "Take your nephew Prahlāda on your lap and sit in the fire." But satya and dharma cannot be destroyed. Truth cannot be changed by any philosophy, religion, or politics. She took her nephew onto her lap and sat in the fire. What happened? She burned, while he remained unharmed, even though she possessed a power, a siddhi. Thus, the tradition in India is that one month before Holī, a pillar called 'Pahalad' is erected in the center of the village, along with a long tree representing Holī. After one month, this Holī is carried outside the village and placed in the fire, but Pahalad remains in the village, unburned. This day commemorates when she was burned. When I first came to Europe, I was surprised to find that Holī is also celebrated there, but in a different way. In every village—especially in Czechoslovakia (during the Russian communist regime), in former Yugoslavia, in Austria—there was a Holī tree. They call it 'my Baum,' my tree. You see, all festivals of the world originated from India. India is the mother of all cultures and languages, the cradle of all cultures. All cultures were born here, were nurtured and cared for in the cradle, and when they grew, they traveled to distant lands. So, all dear brothers and sisters around the world, on the occasion of the Holī festival, I bless you all and send you many, many blessings and good wishes. May your truth remain unshakable. May your faith remain secure. May your devotion and love remain free from doubt. May all adharma and bad thoughts be destroyed today. This is the day to take a saṅkalpa. I look forward to seeing you again through the webcast. Unfortunately, at the Kumbh Melā, there are millions of people, many with emails and devices. Can you imagine? In an area about 10 miles long and a few miles wide, there are millions of devices connected. No server can handle that. It is very difficult; otherwise, we would have a live program every day. I hope our video team will film something daily and send it to you from a hotel. I hope they will do so. If they do not, it is their mistake, not mine. You know, at the last Kumbh Melā on Śivarātri, a few days later on the 17th of February, our dear Swāmī Jasarāj Purījī received a very high title in sannyāsa according to the Śaṅkarācārya tradition: the initiation of Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara. Disciples from around the world were there. Many questions arose, and thousands of congratulations came from across the globe. I was very happy, and thanks to Mahāprabhujī for blessing our dear Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Swāmī Jasarāj Purījī. Now, other sannyāsīs are also preparing physically, mentally, and psychologically. There will be others, but it is not easy to pass the test. It is a very high spiritual test—not a trivial one—where your thoughts and feelings are scrutinized thoroughly, like with a metal detector. There is another test. Now I will give the floor to Śrī Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Svāmī Jasrāj Purī Jī, who originally comes from Australia. I wish you all the best and a happy Holī. God bless you. Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavānkī, Deveśvar Mahādevkī, Dharm Samrāṭ Satguru Svāmī Mādhavānandjī Bhagavānkī, Satya Sanātan Dharma Kī Jai.