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Śrīman Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa, Śrīman Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa... Deep Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa... Nadeep Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa... Satguru Swāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān kī Jai. Satya Sanātana Dharma kī Jai. Blessings to all of you. In the name of our Siddhapīṭha, Alakpurījī Siddhapīṭha, I welcome all dear ones in this hall and in different parts of the world who are with us through the webcast. I am happy to see you. We are in the middle of our seminar. Tomorrow, a new seminar session begins. Without practice, we cannot achieve anything. Bhakti, devotion, is also a practice. Without bhakti, you cannot perform karma yoga. And you cannot perform karma yoga without jñāna yoga. And you cannot practice jñāna yoga without rāja yoga, the discipline. Therefore, we cannot simply say, "I am a bhakti-yogī." If you do only bhakti and nothing else, then you are being lazy—just sitting all day singing God's name. God said, "Go and work. Then I will give you something." But if one says, "I have heard that one should just sit and remember God all the time, so people will give me something. I don’t want to do anything," that is like being a bhakti-holic, just as one can be a workaholic. Day and night, such a person calls, "Rām, Rām..." Rāma is the incarnation of Bhagavān Viṣṇu, who was born in the dynasty of the Raghus as the son of King Daśaratha. And Kṛṣṇa is also an incarnation, from the Yādava lineage, the son of Devakī and Vasudeva. It does not matter which name we say; finally, we come to the same point. We can say Bhagavān Rām, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān Dattātreya, etc. Ultimately, there is only one Bhagavān. It does not matter which language you speak; there is only one we call God. Therefore, God has no title. It is not "Mr. Professor God Krishna" or "Dr. Engineer God Rāma." That is only salt and sweet. Just Rām, Kṛṣṇa, so many names, or just one name: Jesus. You do not say, "My God, Professor, Doctor Jesus." As short as is good. In this modern civilization, we are also returning to micro things, smaller and smaller. We used to carry a whole suitcase full of video cassettes. Now we carry a little stick containing all the cassettes in one small bag. There was a bhakta who did not practice discipline, did not work, and did nothing but chant God's name day and night. One day he died. Coincidentally, two persons died at the same time: one was that bhakta, and the other was a karma yogī, bhakti yogī, jñānī yogī, and rāja yogī who did all kinds of work—farming and other duties. Morning, evening, and noon, he had a little time to remember God: "My Lord, my life is worship to Thee. Work is worship." Time to time, he remembered God. Both died around 2:30 at night. They knocked on the door of heaven, and the gatekeeper opened it. He said, "Two bhaktas have come. Please allow them to enter into swargaloka." God asked, "Who are these?" One was the one chanting day and night; the other was the farmer. God said, "Bring the farmer into heaven. Put the one who chants day and night in hell; he disturbs me. I cannot sleep. All the time he is calling, calling, calling." If you telephone the emergency fire brigade all the time, they will think you are not normal. So bhakti has its place, and karma has its place. Seva, service dharma, is one of the greatest dharmas. There was once a barber who lived in the state of Gujarat in India. Being a barber, the king called him every day at exactly nine o'clock to shave him. Unfortunately, the king had a leprous disease. The barber, a great bhakta performing seva, was there every day at nine. One day, around 8:30, he was on his way to the palace when a group of about ten sādhus came. The barber greeted them. They said, "Bless you, Bhakta." He said, "Praṇām." He asked about their breakfast. They said, "We left very early. Bhagavān degā kyā, God will give us somewhere." The barber was a great bhakta. For him, the orange cloth was the highest thing, because this is the color of Lord Śiva. This is the flag of Shiva. The flag is higher than the country itself. The whole country is in the shelter of this flag; it represents the entire country. There is a beautiful bhajan from Mahāprabhujī where he says: "Bhagwā Jhaṇḍā Hind Desh Kā Pūjanī Ādi Anādi, Śiv Śaṅkar Kī Gaḍī," because this belongs to the holy place, holy chariot, holy chair, holy āsana of Bhagavān Svayaṃbhu Śiva. That orange robe is adorned. It means that if you go to India today wearing an orange shirt and skirt, it does not mean people will say, "Praṇām." You must have that initiation from that tradition, from that gāḍī; this is the Śiva gāḍī. I will tell this story later; let me finish the other one first. That barber was a great bhakta, and he invited the sādhus to his home—about 11 to 15 people. His wife was also a great bhakta. It takes a little time to prepare breakfast for 15–20 people. I see here in the West that to prepare food for 15–20 people, you take three days. You invite five people for a birthday party on Sunday, but you are cooking and buying from the supermarket and putting things in the fridge two or three days before. This is a very clear indication that you do not know how to cook. You do not know what fresh food means and what old, tāmasik food means. Therefore, we adore, thank, and are proud of our Indian ladies. She will not say no. Within half an hour, maximum one hour, she will prepare everything—varieties, not only one cup of tea. She will not say, "Oh God," or "Husband, are you stupid? What should I do now?" No, she is happy. God gives everything. So he said to her, "Sit down, please. Wash yourself and make yourself comfortable." He ran and brought fresh milk and fresh vegetables. She was cutting vegetables; at the same time, the dāl was cooking. She put the vegetables in; at the same time, she was making halvā. Dāl, halvā, vegetable, chapātī—all four at once. And at the same time, she takes the thālī, cleans it, and sets it. Are you not proud of such a mother? Are you not thankful to such a wife? Do you know what abilities and talents are? And for her, it is a left-hand game—even not right hand. The right hand would be when 50 or 100 people come. It is like Arjuna: practice, practice, practice. You are driving a car. You know what is happening behind, left, right, and in front. Your friend is talking to you. One hand you have on the steering wheel, the second hand on the telephone, and you pick up a cigarette from the street. You take over and drive comfortably. Practice. Therefore, learn cooking from the Swamiji.tv everyday cooking classes. She served vegetarian food in 40 minutes: dāl, halvā, vegetables, not only chapātīs but parāṭhā, and she prepared 15 donation envelopes. She cleaned the thālīs and told her husband, "Dear, please be kind and serve them." Yes, there are some ladies here who can do it—some. They were trained for 30 years with me. I am not telling you things on this website. The training was hard for me. How many times I had to swallow uncooked chapātī! But until then, Dr. Shanti became perfect. I asked, "Please, can you make chapātī for me?" So perfect. Therefore, if you do not learn anything, do not worry. Learn cooking. That is your future, that we will turn Kali Yuga into Satya Yuga. From the six philosophies, there is one more called Pakṣaśāstra, like the Upaniṣads or Āyurveda. In Āyurveda, there is a chapter called Pakṣaśāstra. Āyurveda can turn poison into nectar and can make the solid—what you call quicksilver, mercury—into a solid form. Anyhow, that is why all Indians have good brains for study. When there are examinations in America, there is a local saying: if there is an Indian student, do not worry, he is Indian; he will pass with the best numbers. To whom should we thank? His mother. Sometimes, when the mother is not at home, the father goes and buys pita bread and pizza. When you put everything in the microwave, you need not eat anything because there is nothing—only just filling this little pipe in intense time. Do you know something? I was living with mother in Vienna, Matajī, and someone brought a microwave. I was so delighted: in half a minute, my dāl was hot. What a siddhi! And Matajī said, "Throw it away. We do not even feed a dog with this." Okay, Matajī. You must obey the mother and learn from her. If you do not learn from your mother, then surrender to your wife. She will teach you. If not, then get ready to pack your luggage and find another apartment. So your wife is so great if she can cook; otherwise, you cannot swim and she cannot swim—both fall in the water, I tell you. I am not making a joke. The source, the strength, and the only hope for a long life is cooking—cooking natural things that must have energy inside. Well, she prepared in 40 minutes for 10 or 15 people: parāṭhā, halvā, chapātī, dāl, and vegetable. She prepared the plates and envelopes. If you feed some sādhus, it is tradition to give some donation. We make a joke: for what donation? The sādhu said, "Because while eating, my teeth were polished, so this is a fee for my teeth." It means my teeth become smaller. That is a little joke. Well, the sādhus were eating slowly, and that barber totally forgot that he had to be at the king's at nine o'clock. The king was very ill and had a strong anger. "Kam takat gusabharī? As weak you are, strong anger you have." But he was a bhakta and forgot. The sādhus ate. At eleven thirty, they left. Then he said to his wife, took his bag, and went to the king. Of course, he was very nervous. "Today, I do not know what the king will do with me," but he went. He came to the door of the palace, and four people came to welcome him. They said, "Please come, the king is so eagerly wanting to see you." He went there. The king stood up and bowed down to the barber. The barber thought, "Am I dreaming? What happened?" The barber said, "Yes, Your Highness, I am sorry to come late." The king said, "No problem, I am waiting for you. What a miracle you had in your hands today! When you were shaving me, you touched my body, and look, my leprosy disappeared. I am so thankful, obliged for lives and life." The barber thought inside, "Thank you, God. Thank you, my Lord." The king gave him a lot of things: land and a house. His name was Sain Bhakta, Bhakta Sain. God came for the sake of the bhakta and, to save the king, took the form exactly like Sain Bhakta. So for the sake of the bhakta, God does anything you want. In India, when we see a barber, we do not say barber; we say Senā Bhakta. There is a big temple in Gujarat, and this whole professional community is respected. Rājā Bhakta Senāchārya is one of the best friends; he is also a Mahāmaṇḍaleśvar and lives in Jodhpur. What I want to tell you is that saints or Gurudev take upon themselves the destiny of the devotees. It means God takes upon Himself the destiny of the bhaktas or the saints. And the saints, the bhaktas—a saint does not become one merely by wearing a cloth. It is inner dedication, inner pure devotion. Through that, anyone—just shave the head, take this orange cloth, and walk—automatically they will give you respect. There was a time of the Turks in India. They were called Bādhśāh, like an emperor. Some Bādhśāhs were great; the last one was destructive. When the Bādhśāh used to go somewhere, it was a big preparation. He rode on an elephant with elephants, horses, camels, music, and drums—even when he went to the lake for a bath. One day, there was a man who had a donkey loaded with mud or something. The big bag hanging on the donkey's back had a hole. The owner of the donkey found an orange cloth somewhere and repaired the hole with it. The procession of the Bādhśāh was passing, so the man stood on one side with the donkey. The Bādhśāh saw the orange cloth on it. He told his lord, "Stop the elephant." He got down, bowed down, and put one golden coin on that orange cloth as a donation, then went away. The owner of the donkey thought, "My donkey is holy! Even the Bādhśāh is adoring it." He came home, told his wife, and they took shampoo. They cleaned the donkey very nicely with lots of water and sandalwood around everywhere—a little on the ears, nose, and everywhere. He wondered, "What karma do I have now? Maybe this was my good karma." They massaged the donkey's legs because it was tired, hung ornaments on its ears and neck, and fed it nicely. That was only for one day—good karma from a past life for this donkey to enjoy. Then it will be the same. Sometimes you have good, happy days, happy hours. That was something from the past. You got your credit; you enjoyed your credit. If you go to the bank again and say, "Please give my credit," nothing is left. Your account is empty. You got your credit. So, my dear, great Guru Nānak said: "Sabdina hotan ek saman"—every day is not an equal day. So it was happy, but that is all. How to make that happiness everlasting? Surrender, give it to God. Then God will prolong it. The next day again, at eleven o'clock, the Bādhśāh was going to some place. That man brought the donkey in front, moving it left and right. The Bādhśāh said to his minister, "Hunt away this donkey." The minister said, "Hey, move the donkey away." The man said, "The same donkey yesterday, the Bādhśāh was surrendering to." The Bādhśāh said, "Not the donkey. I adore that orange cloth of the Holy Saint, that fakir. Remove your donkey. Otherwise, my elephant will remove it, and then you can take the bones of your donkey." So, my dear, "Bhagwā Jhaṇḍā Hind Desh Kā Pūjanī Kayādī Anādī, Śiv Śaṅkar Kī Gāḍī." Therefore, this is the flag. The Indian flag on the top is orange. That is the color of renunciation. In the great battle, many warriors, the Kṣatriyas, died to protect Hindu Dharma. There was a battle between the Mughals and the Kṣatriyas, the Hindus. It is a long story—the last kings of Rajasthan, Udaipur, Mewar, Mahāraṇā Pratāp, etc. When they occupied the palace in Chittor, the Hindu Kṣatriyas were a small army, and the invaders wanted to capture all the queens of the kings. At that time, the Kṣatriyas took the orange cloth, the Pītāmbara—the color of fire—and with the one slogan, "Har Har Mahādev," they went into battle and won. At the same time, the queens did not want to surrender to the Muslims. So when their husbands and sons left, they knew they had no chance to survive. They made a big fire, jumped from the palace into it, and gave their lives. You see, not to surrender—that is satsaṅg. These are the glorious land and glorious saints. I am only telling you what I heard, what I saw, what I read. I just give you these words from the satsaṅg of holy Gurujī. We have a dharma cakra in our flag. That was from the great emperor Chakravartī Aśoka, and that is why this is the dharma cakra. So we have to dedicate, learn, and surrender. Otherwise, karmas will come back. It does not take time. Time does not wait for anyone, and karma does not leave anyone out. Therefore, surrender. Gurudev used to sing, "Noon come, Philip come." God bless you. It is so humble. I had a little nausea. There are many, many great saints who showed us the path. They are gone, but they left here everything for us. If we follow, it is our benefit. If we do not follow, it is our bad luck. I wish you all the best. Tomorrow's webcast will be again in the evening at 8 o'clock. Tomorrow begins the new week's seminar. We have some organizational meetings, but programs will be here. We have great sannyāsīs here who will keep you busy. So from my side, Hari Om and good night. Many blessings of Śrī Alakpurījī. God bless you.