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Good evening. Deep Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī, Devīśvara Mahādeva kī, Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān kī, Satya Sanātana Dharma kī, Niṣpāpa Guru Maṇḍaleśvara Śrī Param Svāmī Jīmeśvara Āyurveda kī. Welcome to all of you, and thank you for the quick action in organizing this program. [Greetings to the president]. And blessings of Mahāprabhujī and Alakpurījī, Siddhārtha Pitā. This evening's subject is satsaṅg. You have heard about it many times. Satsaṅg means good company. Be with good people who have spiritual knowledge, spiritual feelings, follow ethical principles, and are positive thinkers. If we are with such persons, we benefit greatly. Otherwise, what do we do if we are only in kuśaṅga, gossiping? Sat means truth. That truth is what we call brahma satya, jagat mithyā. The real reality and truth is Brahman, and this world is only temporary. What is unchanging—that is the reality. What changes from time to time is not reality. It may change after millions of years, but that is also limited. Therefore, it does not account for reality. Our body has changed many times. We have taken many different kinds of birth: as creatures in the water (we spent much time in water), as vegetation, then as reptiles, after reptiles as birds, and after birds as animals. Among those animals, one form is human. This means all who are born as a complete baby, an embryo. When the soul, the individual soul, gets the chance to overcome all karmas, then destiny—or Dharmarāja, whatever we call it—sends us to Earth. This Earth is called the living planet. This planet is living, has a life, and there are uncountable creatures. Once, the Discovery Channel showed that where you stand on the earth, under your feet, there are not just earth but so many different creatures seen through a microscope. There is also a creature, a fly, which lives only one hour, then dies. The day flies live one day. So life is coming and going, therefore it is a mortal world. But we come here to become free from some sin and to cultivate good qualities. The ātmā and the soul are two. If we call the soul ātmā, that is wrong, because the soul is individual and the ātmā is universal. Each of us as a soul is different. As a soul, we have karma, and we are born individually with a certain kind of mask—as animals, birds, flies, etc. The soul descends towards the earth. It comes to the atmosphere closer to the earth and first connects with humidity—what we call clouds and fog. Through water and soil it descends, entering into the different elements: space, water, air, fire, and earth. The soul goes through and enters into vegetation via water, proceeding in the direction of our destiny. Destiny is our past actions. Destiny, luck—good or bad—is a result of our deeds, our karma. For animals, whatever they do is not counted as new karma, but they go through karma from the past. Whatever happens is according to their past karma, but their present actions are not counted as new karma. Therefore, it is said: jīva jīva bhakṣate—life eats life. Animals eat animals. But humans have a different law. Humans come here also with destiny, and Dharmarāja, God, gave them something other creatures do not have: intellect, which has the capacity of saṅkalpa and vikalpa (will and doubt). The soul that enters a human body creates new karma and also gets free from karma, while facing or suffering past karma. So there are three things: we face our karmas (how is our life? happy, unhappy? good, bad?), and we have to go through that. No one can change it; that is destiny. Only destiny can be changed by Satguru Dev. It is said: if God made a mistake, Guru Dev can correct it. But if Gurudev has done something wrong, even God cannot change it. This is a protocol. We came here to go through, not necessarily to suffer, our karma. If it is bad, we suffer; if good, we enjoy. And at the same time, as humans, we are creating new karma because humans have intellect. God gave humans the freedom of decision. If you have the freedom to decide, then you are responsible. That decision you make—good, very good, bad, very bad—whatever we do means karma. Other creatures act through just a natural process. They follow the principle: eat, drink, sleep, and create children. That is all. If you do only that much, there is very little difference between animals and you. We must use our intellect and overthink more. But the priority and good thing is that through human life, you can get rid of all bad karmas and attain realization to become free, to return to that original light. The jīvātmā—now I call it jīvātmā. Jīva is the soul, and ātmā is that immortal one. It is called ātmā and anātmā. This is a kind of mixture, and that is called the soul. One day, that soul, which is full of a bundle of karmas, when purified, then there is only ātmā—that is ātmā jñāna. Through water, rain, the soul descends to earth, taking form first through vegetation or bark. When a seed sprouts, that is vegetation—the first step. Second, through impurity: what we call bacteria, dirt, sweat—this is also counted as life. Third is as an egg, from which comes the baby. The fourth, higher one, is being born as a complete being from the mother's womb. There are different kinds of animals in that line, including humans. But humans have the most powerful tool: intellect. Every creature has some sense of living. Some animals may have a little intellect, but intellect needs education. If a human is born and left in the forest without contact with other humans, it will be like an animal—no language, maybe only sounds, not knowing how to eat or what to do, because there is no education. We develop through education. We cannot do much beyond the education we receive. The kind of information or education your parents give you remains lifelong. That is what we call mentality: European mentality, North American mentality, Mexican mentality, Japanese, Chinese, Indian mentality—my culture. Where there are humans, there is culture. Where there is culture, there are humans. Humans, wherever they go, take their culture with them. It does not matter how you describe me; though I have been here more than in India—forty-six years—and in India only one and a half decades, still, in my brain is that culture. I definitely brought Indian culture here. Still, I do not understand your behavior, and you do not understand mine. That is in the blood; it goes in the blood through language, through the touch of the parents' education. There are also some animals we can educate a little, like dogs, elephants, horses, cows—but limited. They also have feelings: happiness, unhappiness, pain, suffering—everyone. Humans have more intellect, and through intellect, education. Education leads us in a direction. Criminals, drug abusers—we should not blame them. The issue is the education received from childhood. That education is called Saṅgha—the company with whom you are from childhood. If they educate us spiritually, with human feelings, ethics, and spirituality, then you become spiritual. Those who do not educate children that way—these children may not even respect their parents. So, if it is good education, it is satsaṅg. If there is no education or it is negative, it is called kusaṅga. Satsaṅg and kusaṅga. We have fixed ideas in our brain; we do everything. We do not blame ourselves, but when someone does something bad or makes mistakes that irritate you, that you cannot digest—that is also in your brain, also limited. The society you have gives you a color. Color means habit. It is said: if you put two cows together in one cowhouse, one black and one white, they cannot exchange color. The black cow remains black, the white cow remains white. But their habits and behavior can change. The best-trained dog, left for some months with other wild dogs, will forget everything and behave differently again. That is how satsaṅg affects you. That is why we always say: go to satsaṅg. In the mind of humans, they are always searching for something. When you are in yoga from childhood, you always think of yoga. But always listening to people talk about alcohol, meat, etc., one thinks it is good, another thinks it is not. But it is not good because that is kuśaṅga. Many times, people make a mistake. They want something different, or they are very unhappy, psychologically damaging themselves. That person becomes alcoholic or takes drugs. In the beginning, they try, thinking it is good, but after that, it is not. There is a story: one river full of water, and a bear fell into the water, very tired. It could not swim, was tired, cold, and hungry. Two friends were walking on the riverbank. One saw the bear in the middle of the river, just fluttering, with no strength to swim. One said, "Look, there must be a beautiful coat lost in this river." He tells his friend—Josef tells Jan. Jan wanted to go get that coat. Josef said, "Don't do it; the river current is very high." But Jan said, "I am strong, a bodybuilder, a good swimmer. I will bring the coat quickly." He jumped in. Josef said, "Take care. If you cannot manage, come out." He swam quickly. The bear, hungry and tired, saw someone coming and began to move its mouth. Jan came to take the coat, but before he could catch it, the coat caught him. Now they are fighting. Hunger is something that can move even the laziest crocodile. Why do we have hunger? This is in the protocol of creation. What will they eat? They said, "Life will eat life." Otherwise, Earth would have only living beings, nobody dying. The hungry bear began to enjoy the bodybuilder's muscles. So, if you have big muscles, be careful before jumping in the water. If you swim with that person and have no nice muscles, do not worry. They are fighting. Josef cannot see far, so he says, "My dear friend Jan, if you cannot manage to bring the coat, leave it and come back." Jan said, "My dear Josef, I want to leave this coat, but the coat does not leave me. I have no more strength." Temptation, greed—we think, "I can test a little bit of the drug." Young people make mistakes. "I will try," so they drink alcohol, carry a knife or a little pistol. Young blood wants to change the whole world. "Do not worry, take a little injection." After some days, the drug has caught you. Now you want to give up, but the drug does not give you up. You are now addicted. "Addict" means any kind of drug, even alcohol—day by day you need to add more. That is addiction: add more and more. Your willpower becomes little, life is destroyed. Therefore, if you do not know, do not touch. When someone says, "Try," one or two times you take it—that is already a warning from God's house. Utthāna and pātana: one means development, the other destruction. Both have one place, one root: destruction and development begin from one point. That is called Saṅgha—society, company. If you write before Saṅgha the word Sat, it becomes Satsaṅga: truth and society. Truthfulness and good qualities help us develop. If you write "ku" before Saṅgha, it becomes kusaṅga: bad society, distraction. This is how in creation, from the beginning, the jīvātmā, the soul, descends to earth, and how it develops and ascends to a higher level. The ascending and descending of the level of consciousness, the level of awareness for humans, is very important—depending on what kind of people you meet and what activities you do. We find this in every holy book: the good things. Every philosopher, every wise person always writes what is good for humans and for the environment. Satsaṅg grants us knowledge. Kusaṅga puts us in the darkness of ignorance. Even if you are alone, you can do satsaṅg: think positive, think divine, think to help all. Think what good you can do for the world. Sing spiritual songs, read a good book that inspires you on the good path, or be with a good friend. In Sanskrit or Hindi, every word has deep meaning. I am sure Slovenian is also good; every sentence or word has good meaning, but I do not know your language because I always have a translator here. If I concentrate on the translator, I forget what I am talking about. You cannot learn a language while translating. Definitely, in your language, it also has good meaning. In Hindi or Sanskrit, there is a word for friend: dost. Dosti. Dosti means not a ghost. When I first came to Slovenia, I stayed in a hotel called Gosta Hotel or Gosta House—the house of the ghost. My heart beat all night; I kept looking in the mirror. So, dost means "my friend," and dosti means "friendship." Dosti means two, of course. If there are two, you can say, "We are friends." Do means two, and sati means truthful. That friend, the second one to you, should inspire you on the best path: best knowledge, best way of life, best way of thinking, inspiration, motivation. Both walk on the path of truth—that is called dosti. Be with such people who inspire and support you to develop your life and work. In kuśaṅga, there is no dosti. That is called duśman—again two words. Dushman means one who will kill you, meaning distraction of life. Let us walk on the path of satsaṅg. If we have a friend, it should be like Bhagavān Rāma and Hanumān, or Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, or master and disciple, or parents and child. We have deep relations with these three. Parents will never do anything bad for you. The Upanishad says: Mātā na bhavati kumātā—the mother can never be a bad mother (except in mental illness). Father and mother will never be bad for you, and your master—spiritual or school master—will never be bad for you either. There are so many good things to learn in this world, and this can be the last incarnation before liberation. What we are doing now is a satsaṅg. Indians always say, "Be silent." Indians have created many English words, you know? The Indian English dictionary has more English words than the English dictionary in England. "Pin silent"—the British say, "What is that?" Maybe a hammer and a pin. A pin is that thing for paper. If it falls, it makes a little sound, and everyone can hear because all are so silent, listening to each word. That is the ideal situation. With Indians, several times we have to say, "Please be a little silent." I am also Indian, a second Indian sitting here. It is true we are like this. Indians are born talking already in the stomach. Twins in the stomach, brother and sister: the sister says to the brother, "Dear brother, we will be born? What is that stupid idea? We are comfortable, nice." Then she says, "And you know, we will drink and eat." He says, "You must be crazy. What? We will eat and drink? What are these things? We already have a system; we are nourished through the navel. And you know, we will just shut off. I thought you were clever. I do not want to listen to you—'he said, she said.' And you know, we will run. You will go that direction, I will go this direction. Joseph, I do not understand what you are saying, but Maria said I am right." So life is like that. Indians are born talking in the stomach. They say, "Ahaṁ brahmāsmi." They are born with the words "Ahaṁ brahmāsmi"—"I am Brahman," supreme, higher consciousness (not the caste Brahmin, but Brahman the supreme). Silent. But Indians have one good quality: to become silent when you speak about how to create a good business. They listen. A businessman died and came to heaven's door. Dharmarāja gives judgment. Dharmarāja is the justice of dharma. He said, "You have this much good karma for heaven, and this much for hell. Where do you want to go first?" The businessman said, "Dharmarāja, do not waste your time. You know who I am?" "I know you are a businessman." "Then I do not care, hell or heaven. Send me where I can get some kuṇa (money). Send me where I get money." That is a person with too much ambition, too much expectation, and expectation leads to disappointment. Therefore, always control the senses, mind, and thoughts, and go on the good path. Whenever you have a problem, go to your parents. If grandparents are there, go to them first—they give good suggestions. Also, go to good friends. Education is given to humans; in their brain is intellect and that education. That is why humans have karma and punishment or reward. Animals are born to go through the process of sin. Humans are born free but have the choice: svarga or naraka (heaven or hell), utthān or patan (ascent or fall). Let us make today a good saṅkalpa, a good resolution, in this holy, divine time of Christmas. We shall make good promises to ourselves. With this, I wish you a good, happy Christmas and a prosperous, happy, divine future for the New Year. This is the time to give blessings; do not give anyone bad words or bad thoughts. Bless, bless, bless. We all have the power to bless, and we all have the power to curse, but we should not do that. Follow Jesus' words: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." With this, I bless you.