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Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ... Śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ... Nāda. Nāda means sound, resonance, vibration. It arises when the soul separates from its origin. It is like one seed producing many seeds. This is multiplication. Yet that seed does not lose the quality or the correctness of its origin. A seed that grows here, if taken to a distant country and planted in the earth, will grow and yield the same taste, form, and qualities. There is only one original seed. That is called Brahman. It multiplies, and each seed multiplies again. But it possesses that quality called life. That life, that quality, is the light which represents the origin. Now, this light, if filtered through a green or yellow color, takes on those colors. It enters different environments, so some forms change. But that origin does not change; the life of the seed remains. That life of the seed is the ātmā. What carries this light is the jīva, the soul. That soul enters into different forms, yet it retains that tendency to multiply. In this way, ātmā is one. It does not matter if it is a small creature or a large one. Thus, one thing is clear: we are all one ātmā. That ātmā does not change. That is why it is everlasting, immortal, unbreakable, and of the nature of bliss. What changes is the form, the elements. The form is made of different elements. When we consider the individual, then there is a form, and that form has different destinies because what is moving is the individual. What is not moving is the universal. That is why it is called achala. "Chala" means movable, mobile. "Achala" means steady. Therefore, in one bhajan, one prayer, it is said: How should we imagine or perceive that Guru Tattva? "Tattva" also means element, but not like fire, water, air, and earth. Jñāna tattva—knowledge is also a tattva. It is said: "Śrīguru ātmā paramātmā ho, mātmā puruṣottama, sakala jagakī antara jānī, cara acara kī ātmā." You know this prayer: "Śrī Guru Ātmā Paramātmā ho mātmā Puruṣottama, sakal jag ke yantra yā chara char kī ātmā, prabhu chara char kī ātmā." Śrī Guru Ātmā. "Śrī" means happiness. Śrī means Lakṣmī. Śrī means prosperity. Śrī means good. Śrī means happiness. In our Vedic culture, in Indian tradition, we place a title before every name. This title reveals a difference. What is the difference between the modern system and the ancient spiritual system? The modern system has different titles: driver, housekeeper, farmer, doctor, colleague, professor, engineer. These titles do not reflect the reality of that person; they only indicate knowledge, learning, or education. But the other kind, like "Śrī" (which applies regardless of gender), are forms of address. Then comes the name. In that name, we see this quality. So, Śrī, Pūjya, Ādarṇīya—these are words with great meanings. "Pūjya" is a beautiful word. It means worshipped, worshipable, universally worshipped, an adornment, adoring, glorious. When you say "glorious," "worshipped," or "holy," you cannot compare it with any title from an educational institution. According to Vedic dharma, Vedic philosophy, and Vedic culture, it indicates the reality, the ātmā. And who is that? Śrī Guru, the Guru Tattva. It is the mantra called "Tamaso Mā Jyotir Gamaya." This is the name of Guru Deva. In short, we say, "Guru, lead us from darkness to light." "Gu" is darkness, and "ru" is light. So who, then, is Śrī Guru? The Ātmā. Not this body. So Śrī Guru Ātmā—that Ātmā is Paramātmā. Your child and your father are the same; the difference is in the name. So son and father: ātmā, Paramātmā. Thus, "Śrī Guru, ātmā, Paramātmā, ho mahātmā, mahān ātmā." Here a division appears: two. That ātmā which has self-realization bestows upon us that knowledge of self-realization. That is called Mahātmā. You know, Gandhījī also received the title Mahātmā. No one says "Dr. Gandhi" or "Lawyer Gandhi." He was a lawyer, an advocate, but people call him Mahatma Gandhi. That is Mahā Ātmā. Mahātmā is one who has equal vision. The Ātmā loves everyone. One who does good seva, protects all creatures and nature. All those who do good things are called Mahātmā. But this does not mean you can ask, "Swamiji, can you please give me the title Mahātmā?" Your asking does not grant it. It is we who should recognize, "Oh, this is a Mahātmā." It is rare for one in household and family life to attain the quality of a Mahātmā. As soon as one receives the highest initiation of Sannyāsa, regardless of tradition, we automatically address them as Mahātmā. This uniform of Sannyāsa—if you go somewhere in India and they do not know your name, they will simply call you "Mahātmājī." "Mahatma, you have forgotten your handbag." They do not say "Sir" or "Mister." When they call the master... no, a Mahatma does not appear like that. But as soon as I say "Mahātmā," the Guru-mukhī, the one who has received real initiation and understood this, will feel it. The opposite of Mahātmā is Pāpātmā. In our language, "pāpa" means sin. Now there is duality again, conflict. In that language, "pāpī" is the sinner. Sinners have no access even into hell; there is a long waiting time. That time is not given freely; it passes in torture. Then you are transferred to hell. Torture there is different; you do not die. In physical form, if someone tortures you badly, you will die. This body dies, but the astral body does not die. You feel all the karma. No one listens to you. No one hears. No one sees. No telephone, no SMS, nothing. But you see, you feel the pain in different ways, according to our chapter. That is most painful. From this life, it is easy to die, but how are you going to die there? Therefore, sin exists where there is violence. It does not matter towards whom you are violent—animals, nature, or humans. You can also torture emotionally, psychologically, mentally, socially, economically. There are many ways to torture someone with violence. Therefore, Ahiṃsā is such a beautiful word. If you were to say in the astral world, "Please, ahiṃsā," they would say, "What is that? We do not know this word." If you tell a computer "sorry," the computer says, "We have no 'sorry.'" So, Pāpātmā. That ātmā is within that Jīvātmā, within that soul. That soul's destiny, because it becomes a slave of the senses, leads to other qualities: greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, criticizing, backbiting—many things. This is also sin, and all these sins are entitled to consequences, to suffering and torture. Then Yama says, "We are tired," and orders, "Throw them onto the hill." And what is on the hill? You feel and suffer the pain of that torture without remedy. That is called suffering—long, long suffering. Then, somehow, you are transferred to other creatures, out of the prison of hell. But then where? You go out, but where? In which form? Life will eat life—oh my God, again. Sometimes other creatures catch this creature and eat you. You are not even half dead; to them, it does not matter. You know the hyena? The hyena does not attack the throat. Who attacks? The tiger, the lion. Sometimes wolves, but others, they do not know. They just bite your buttocks. Can you imagine? And this part is still living, with all feelings. Jīvjī bhakti. This world is cruel. This means that after hell, torture begins again. Then God is merciful, and we get human life. Are we repeating the same thing? You promised a thousand, a million times: "I will not do it anymore. I will never do it. I will never eat this. Never, never. I promise you." And here you have forgotten. You have forgotten your promise. So, Pāpātmā. That "pāpī" in that language, in your language, no. Please tell your father comfortably, "Papa." But you know, the word "papa" originally is not in your dictionaries—whether German, Croatian, Slovak, Czech, or Hungarian. There is no word "papa." When you look into your original Czech, Croatian, or German dictionary, you will not find this word for father, or something different for mother. "Mother" comes from "mā," "mātā." The word "mother" comes from the Sanskrit word "mā" for mother. But in English, when you say "mommy," it is from the pyramids. So if you say to your mother "mommy," indirectly, psychologically, you are engaging in blackmail—"Papa" and "Mommy." These are words created in modern language. They have an effect. That is why all Vedic names are spiritual; they have an effect on you and on others. When you call someone Pushpa, you have a beautiful vision of pushpa, flowers. Others also have beautiful, nice feelings: "Oh, I am a flower." When you say Rampuri, you are repeating the name of God Rāma, and in the other, the awakened Rāma is inside. At passport control, they said, "Mr. Paramhaṁsa." I said, "Yes." When they call Paramahaṁsa, it is Paramahaṁsa. Then comes "Mr. Wolfgang." And you know, Wolfgang means "wolf's path." So languages, their names, have a psychological influence. In European languages, there are also beautiful, divine names. I am not saying they are not good, but certain names are meaningless. Once, a man called me—I think at the end of 1972—and said, "I want to come and practice yoga." I asked, "What is your name, sir?" He said, "Le Fleur." I wrote it down and then asked another, "What is 'Le Fleur'?" "Le fleur"—the spoon, soup. Look at that. So that means "cow, cow, hum, hum." The spoon is also not bad, but it is not a name. Anyhow, there are many names I do not wish to mention. So, ātmā, Paramātmā, Dharmātmā, or Pāpātmā. Pāpātmā is that which is without Ahiṃsā. It becomes a destructor, a butcher. Without ahiṃsā, the soul will suffer in the next life. In Fiji, on my first visit, I met a very old sādhu in a satsaṅg. He was saying, "As many chickens you eat, as much meat you eat, that many times you must be born as a chicken and have your throat cut. As many cows and goats as you were eating, at that time there is no excuse. You are in the system." Now, in modern computers, you are in the system. You want to check online, but the system does not accept you. You are in the system. He was saying that many times you have to be born to give your throat. Sometimes you have to be born to give your throat. I was speaking in a satsaṅg in India, and an 89-year-old man was sitting there. With folded hands he said, "Gurudev, I will never do it anymore. No, I will never do it again." I said, "But you ate a lot." "Yes, but I will never do it again." I said, "How can I help you? Now, stop at least. Some will be little." So, ātmā, Paramātmā, Pāpātmā, Dharmātmā. You are all Dharmātmā. Dharma Rakṣita—dharma protects the dharma. "Śrīguru, ātmā, paramātmā ho, mātmā, puruṣottama." That one, that Mahātmā, can only be in a human body. Puruṣottama—that is the highest quality in humans. It is not that you have a human body, but what your inner spiritual work is. That calls you Mahātmā, Puruṣottama. Puruṣottama, as in the Bhagavad Gītā. Bhagavān Rāma, we call him Maryādā Puruṣottama—the follower of ethical and spiritual principles, social maryādā, the best among humans. Or Kṛṣṇa. These great people are called Puruṣottama. Therefore, it is said there is nothing wrong in adoring such people, because the body is different, but inside is gold, inside is the divine Ātmā. You have two bags. One bag is a garbage bag from your kitchen or elsewhere, to drop into the dustbin. On the other hand, you have money from your shop—a few thousand liras, or crowns, or whatever—to put into the bank. Which bag will go into the garbage bin? The garbage will go there, and the money will go to the bank. One need not explain this to you. But who stands above garbage and money? One who can drop anything anywhere. These are our little children. You throw the garbage; your little child will throw the money into the garbage as well, because the mother did it. The child does not know what money means. So we have to reach that level to become an innocent child again. Through all the disciplines, you will become Puruṣottama. Many people do not want this, and they do not want you to achieve that highest path. So they try to pull many back into the garbage. Many flow into the flushing canalization, and many will follow. And many are saved and come to the Puruṣottama. Who are these? How do we call them? They do not exist individually. They are the ātmā of every creature, every entity. So if you harm any creature, you harm and humiliate that ātmā. Therefore, this tattva, guru tattva—you can say "master tattva" if you like, if you cannot pronounce "guru." Once I was with an American person who became a sannyāsī. In the morning from 4 to 5:30, he was chanting kīrtan. This kīrtan was his favorite: "Glory to Gurudeva. Jai Guru, Jai Guru,... Jai, Jai Guru, Jai Guru, Jai, Jai,... Jai." I thought he was asking for chai and food. Often, people brought him chai and food. You see how words can be misunderstood. But in his language and his pronunciation, he was pure, so it is okay. That is why I said the fighting is about language and culture, not the essence. So if you say "guru," or you say "master," or "teacher," or "priest"—if the priest is not going on different paths—then the gurus, sannyāsīs, their position is all the time uplifting. And worldly titles are decreasing. That is it. This is the difference in title. But if you follow your path, if you follow the dignity of your guru tattva, your spiritual line... You see Bhīṣma in the Mahābhārata. He was inwardly with the Pāṇḍavas and adored Kṛṣṇa, but he was loyal to his chair with the Kauravas. Anyhow, so "Śrī Guru Ātmā Parama Ho Mahātma Puruṣo Sakal Jag Ke Antaryāmī Chara Charki Ātmā Prabhu Chara Charki Ātmā." How beautiful! "Sakal jag ke antaryāmī." Antaryāmī is He who dwells within you. Who is that? "Chara charkī ātmā." The ātmā of every entity, every creature. This literally explains what Guru Tattva is. It begins with Śrī: prosperity, wisdom, happiness—what a beautiful beginning. "Sakal Jag ke Antaryāmī Characharki Ātmā Prabhu Characharki... nabha rūpa vyāpo rāpo vimala cetana ātma prabhu vimala cetana... dhyāna āge yagam jāti nīgama se nityayātma prabhu nīgama se." So, this prayer is not merely a prayer; it is the glory, the introduction of what Guru Tattva is. Previously, it was only here: "Siddhī Guru, Ātmā, Paramātmā, Puruṣottama, Mātmā, Sakaljaggī, Antaryāmī, Chara, Charkī, Ātmā." Then it expands further: "Nabha rūpa vyāpī." Nabha means the sky. Rūpa is the form. "Nabarūpa vyāpī" means He whose form pervades the entire sky. And this frog has to come into the endless ocean. There is a bhajan in the Rajasthani language—we have a video—in dialect, beautifully expressing the same thing. "Dederia" means a frog. "O frog, give up the hope of this little pond, this little water." So this frog—we are the frog, living in this little body, always jumping here and there. But how long will you enjoy, my dear, in this body? Then the body is gone. Again you are without anything. There are different animals, different birds, like ducks, waiting. How will you jump now? How to come out of this loop? This is destiny. This is death. You look, come a little out, it goes deep, again go deep. My dear, how long? So come to the satsaṅg. The endless ocean. You will be there. Take off, stretch your wings, to that endless ocean of Brahmaloka, to the endless ocean of Śiva-loka. That is it. So we have a chance. Take advantage of this chance. More I cannot tell you today. Tomorrow we will continue. Śrī Guru, ātmā, paramātmā, sakal jag ke antaryāmī, charāchar kī ātmā, Prabhu. Charāchar kī ātmā, na parūpā vyāpā, śaśvatyāpā, vimala-cetanā ātmā. Dardiyān yāge, agam jāge, nīgam sēdicchāy ātmā, Prabhu. Nīgam sēdicchāy ātmā, ātmā paramātmā ho. Prabhu, mātmā puśottamā, sakal jag ke antaryāmī, charā chara kī ātmā. Prabhu, charā chara kī ātmā, pārśī parvān āgye pratīt ho, adhyātma pratīt ho. Adhyātma niradhāra ho, ādhāra ho, eṣā ho avicalla ātmā. Eṣā ho avicalla ātmā. Śrī Guru, ātmā, Paramātmā ho, Mahātmā, Uttama Prabhu, Mahātmā, Uttama, Sakala Jag ke Antaryāmī, Chara Achira kī Ātmā, Prabhu, Chara Achara kī Ātmā, Alakadeva, Ajabaseva, Brahmabheva, Ātmā, Prabhu, Brahmabheva, Ātmā, Sun Sīho Par Prabhujī, Sākṣī, Śuddhātmā, Śrīgātmā, Paramātmā ho, Mahātmā Prabhu, Mahātmā, Sūkṣmātmā. Sakal jag kī antaryāmī, charā charā kī ātmā, Prabhu. Charā charā kī ātmā dhara, dhyāna sohaṁ, munī mohana, sukha-rūpa, śikhā adhyātma, guru-dīpa ho praṇām. Śāyad api paramātmā, prāpū api paramātmā, śirigu-ātmā paramātmā ho mātmā, puruṣottama prāpū mātmā puruṣottama. Sakal jag ke antaryāmī, charā charā kī ātmā. Prabhu chara chara ki ātmā dhar dhyān sohāṃ, muni mohāṃ sukha-rūpa-sīdhyān yātmā, sukha-rūpa-sīdhyān yātmā guru-dīpa-ho-praṇ namasyar, apahiparamatama prabhu-apahiparamatama śrī-guru-ātma-paramatama-ho-matama-puruṣottama, prabhu-matama-puruṣottama sakal jag ke antaryāmī, chara chara ki ātmā. Dhapu chara chara ki ātmā surat kar guru dhyānase bhavad-dhukse tharhi ātmā, bhavad-dhukse tharhi ātmā śivānanda-pale āratī. Guru-deva-nirguṇa-hātmā, guru-deva-nirguṇa-hātmā, śrīguru-hātmā paramātmā, omātmā puruṣottama, prabhātmā puruṣottama. Sakal jag ke antaryāmī, chara chara kī ātmā, prabhu chara chara kī ātmā.