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Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai, Deveśvara Mahādeva Kī Jai, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jai, Oṁ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ. With the blessings of the Ālāgapurījī Siddha Pīṭha Paramparā, I welcome you all. This morning, a thought arose: we must all strive our best to attain Self-realization. Who does not desire what is better? Since we all do, let us work for it. There is a beautiful bhajan by the great saint Sūradāsa. Sūradāsa was prajña cakṣu—born blind, which is called prajña cakṣu, unlike blindness from accident or illness. His bhajans are beautiful and full of wisdom, describing the beauty of Kṛṣṇa and the world; I believe he had inner vision. In the Brahma Muhūrta this morning, I remembered Sūradāsajī, and remembering him led me to remember Gurujī. That time, Brahma Muhūrta, is when Mahāprabhujī is present. Reflecting on what a disciple expects from a master, children from parents, or friends from friends, Sūradāsa says in his bhajan: Prabhujī mere avaguṇa chitta na dharo. What beautiful words. He says to God, "O Prabhujī, O God, mere avaguṇa chitta na dharo"—please do not notice my faults. Ava-guṇa means bad qualities; guṇa is quality. "Please do not look upon my bad qualities. Why? Because I know, O God, samadṛṣṭi hai nām tihāro, chahe to pār karo." You are known as the one with equal vision (samadṛṣṭi); if You wish, my Lord, You can ferry me across the ocean of ignorance. When a master, parent, or friend begins to make distinctions, the relationship is not genuine. One should not prioritize someone because they hold a high position or are wealthy, while speaking of serving and caring for the poor. Such distinctions are dualities. It should be advaita, non-duality. I wondered, do I make distinctions among my disciples? I searched for the rich and the poor among them. I looked within in my Mānasa Pūjā to my Holy Gurujī, and Holy Gurujī said, "You will never find your bhaktas poor, for they are very rich. They can give day and night, yet they will have more than one can imagine." True wealth is our wisdom, received from our Ālāgapurījī Siddha Pīṭha Paramparā. Siddha Pīṭha means the seat of perfection, of completeness, always full. Pūrṇamadaḥ, Pūrṇamidaṁ—whatever you take from the Full, remains full. A peacock's egg needs no added colour; the chick that emerges is itself colourful. Similarly, all our bhaktas, from this Siddha Pīṭha, are already wise. Softly, gently, and smoothly, they will attain mokṣa. But—and a lecture is incomplete without a "but"—if you still have knots in your heart, it will be difficult. These knots are likes and dislikes. As soon as you say, "I don't like this," a knot forms in the mind and heart. Prabhujī, mere avaguṇa chitta na dharo—O Lord, please do not notice my mistakes. A mistake is gentle, but an avaguṇa is a deep, bad quality, very complicated and difficult to change. You can train a dog to be vegetarian, but once the master is gone, it will attack and eat meat; it is in its nature. Similarly, some people possess such ingrained qualities. You may think, "I will change the whole world; I am the best; all others are stupid." That is a fine mantra: "All are stupid." But you think so because you are blind; you do not see. Open your eyes. Open your dṛṣṭi—your vision. Equal vision. Some are thirsty. We all possess love, compassion, and mercy for everyone. Currently, there are political complications forcing people to leave their homes. Consider when you are on a train, bus, or plane: you have a booked seat. If someone asks you to move so they can sit with a companion, you may refuse for a few hours' journey. Yet, what of those who must leave their homes for distant lands, unsure if they will ever see them again? Do not think they leave with joy. We believe in love and help. We must help and work in such a way that no one must give up their home in the future. This is the point. Samadṛṣṭi, equal vision. With it, you are not blind. When your samadṛṣṭi opens, that is knowledge. That is love. When children come home, parents are happy because they have samadṛṣṭi. When you gain knowledge and open the third eye, you see all equally. Whom should I criticise? Of whom should I be jealous? Whom should I not accept? Likes and dislikes are the problem, the source of all suffering in the world. But we yogīs are somewhat drastic; we abide in samadṛṣṭi. So, Prabhujī, mere avaguṇa chitta na dharo. You must also say this to your ātmā. The ātmā does not hear, speak, or know good and bad, for in the ātmā, all is good. But the jīvātmā and mind have many things hanging around, like a Christmas tree with beautiful lights. Yet, for one in conflict, another kind of "beauty" hangs there—not sparkling or illuminating, but thorny and dark: kāma (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion). These negative qualities prevent you from seeing the positive. Thus, you are blind. How can you say all are stupid? You do not see. If you saw, you would see all are the best. Guru Nānakjī said he went to see people of bad qualities. Wherever he went, he found good people; none were bad. He said: Bura nāmuk dekhān ko gaye, bura ne milā koye—"I went to see the bad ones, but I found none." Jab dil khojā apnā, mujhse burā nahī̃—"When I searched my own heart, I found no one worse than myself." It is not easy to judge, to accept, or to declare that no one is worse than I. We are shy; a little ego remains, and we do not wish to admit it. Very well, I accept that you do not accept. But even without your outward agreement, you know you are not good. We should purify ourselves. Therefore, all our bhaktas are very rich. Richness is not about money; that is a beggar. A beggar is one who wants more and more, to become the world's richest person. They cannot donate for humanitarian support, for forests or animals. If asked for a thousand dollars, they calculate that someone now has five hundred thousand more. They count, guard, and become slaves to property. To protect it, they keep guard dogs, alarms (bong, bong), and still cannot sleep, resorting to "white poison"—sleeping tablets. In Mumbai, an interview asked, "Who is the happiest?" They found the happiest were those sleeping in the breeze with just a blanket, no money or radio. Asked, "Are you happy?" the reply was, "Don't you see how happy I am? I am free. Every day I choose a new view, eat when I wish, go where I want. I have everything." Even an iPhone? "I have everything there." The fewer possessions we have, the fewer problems. More possessions bring more burdens. This is not richness; it is a burden. True richness is contentment, simply accepting all and seeing their good qualities. That master said his disciples are all equal to him. In a night satsaṅg with sannyāsīs, they understood me. I did not perform a miracle—I do not know how—but they did, by placing the richest in front, saying, "We are so rich, we are fed up with this richness." They are rich in sannyāsa, in ānanda (bliss). Yet, some worldly tension remains; you cannot be rid of it entirely. Desire is very sensitive and sharp, like a chilli. It is hard to maintain your oneness. That is always a problem. You change everything, even your poor husband. He goes to a psychologist who says, "Keep coming for consultations"—it is business. One partner takes money, then the lawyer, then the psychiatrist. What is left? A plucked chicken. Ānanda, happiness—you do not know when feelings change, perhaps not yours but others'. Therefore, happiness, joy, peace, richness, contentment, and love reside within when you are pure. We cannot control others; it is their decision. When it comes, it comes; when it goes, it goes. When one goes, everything goes. If someone new comes, say, "Welcome." There is a door for coming and one for going; that is wisdom. Gurujī said: when someone wants to come, welcome them; when someone goes, there is "less crowd." If you come, welcome; if you go, less crowd. If you like, most welcome. Let us reflect on this past year: how many good deeds did we do? How many times did we neglect our sādhanā? How many times did we doubt ourselves and others, especially those sitting before us? Sometimes you say, "Oh, I know," but then, "Swamijī..." Very well, you say, "I do not accept, but I will do it." This happens to you, but do not think it happens to you alone; it happens to me toward you as well. With one hand, there is no sound; one hand needs another—either a second hand or a face. My nature is to offer both. Folded hands have value; they signify prayer. But the other hands, not folded, are for helping. Help, help, help. We know this is a holy time, called Christmas. It is interesting that all holy festivals are close: Dīvalī with light, then Christmas with light. Why do these festivals come at this time of year? Because there is less sunlight; we need light. Every festival is a good reminder. This one reminds us of forgiveness. Are you ready to forgive? If you forgive the mistakes and harsh words of partners, parents, or friends, it will be a great act. Many things are good; this is a time to give. If you cannot give materially, give your blessing. You possess immense blessings. I say, "I bless you; your ātmā blesses you." All can bless: parents, elder siblings—everyone. Blessing is great. Give to the needy. Giving to one who already has a full plate has less value; giving to the hungry has great value. Step by step, we perform good karma. Now is winter. Buy some grain—wheat, barley, various seeds. Each day on your way to work, through a park or elsewhere, carry two handfuls of seeds and scatter them near a tree trunk. Many birds will eat. These two or three months are hard for nature to find food. Feeding them is a great deed, not costly. Forgo one coffee a day. What does a coffee cost? Half a euro? One euro? It varies: in India, one euro may buy ten coffees; in Nepal, fifteen. In India, you might also pay 500 rupees for one coffee. It depends where you are. In satsaṅg, the value is very high; in kuśaṅga (bad company), you are brought down. Where are you? If you forgo one coffee daily, use that money for the birds. Or, visit a bakery at day's end; many discard bread they cannot reuse. Ask them for it for birds and animals, or pay a little, and feed other creatures. This is the best Christmas present. For truly needy people, do good. Do good, get good; do bad, get bad. Gurujī said the four Vedas and six philosophies of India contain a two-word essence: if you give others pleasure, you get pleasure; if you give others trouble, you get trouble. That is the essence of all śāstras. This Christmas, I pray for all of you, all bhaktas worldwide, all people, all creatures—Jesus's blessing to us all. On calendars, we change dates; the new year approaches. I wish you a happy and prosperous new year. Our real new year is our birthday, but we collectively observe January 1st. The Chinese, Jewish, Hindu, and Islamic calendars differ; it is no problem. It is good that many different festivals bring joy to earth. I wish every day could be so. With this, I wish you all the best. Remember, tell Mahāprabhujī at year's end: "Mahāprabhujī, mere avaguṇa chitta na dharo—please do not notice my mistakes. Samadṛṣṭi hai nām tihāro—O Gurudev, You are the one of equal vision. All are the same to me." We will try to do more good things in the coming year.