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Part 1: The Essence of Bhajan, Mantra, and Prāṇa The bhajan composed by Holī Gurujī pertains primarily to prāṇa. Our Satguru Dev, Holī Gurujī, wrote two such bhajans, both excellent, concerning how to attain and request prāṇa. The first bhajan, which you will sing, is connected to a mantra. This raises a question: what is the connection between prāṇa and mantra? This is a good subject to explore. First, there is language. From language emerge two kinds: one is full of wisdom, spoken by a learned person who brings happiness to all; the other is negative, using bad words, hate, jealousy, curses, and destruction. The next aspect is poetry. Poetry is full of wisdom, but it too can be of different kinds—positive or negative. We call it dohā. Do means two, signifying a perfect poem that contains both a question and an answer. Sometimes it is simple for people like us to understand; other times, it carries very high, philosophical knowledge. Then comes bhajan. Bhaja means to repeat, like repeating mantras, praying to God, or holding spiritual thoughts. When you ask where a yogī, swāmī, or spiritual person is while they are meditating, the answer might be, "He is doing bhajan." Here, bhajan does not mean singing but repeating a mantra or praying to God silently in meditation. That is also bhajan. Therefore, Gurujī said: Bhajore manvā śrī pūjī dīpa dayālā. This means: repeat His name, have devotion to Him. So, bhajan must not be understood only as singing; this is antarmukhī sādhanā (inner-directed practice). Thus, a poem, a prayer, is also a bhajan. Meditation is bhajan, singing bhajan is bhajan, pūjā is bhajan—everything is bhajan. If asked, "Gurujī, what are you doing all day?" the answer is: Gurudev kī bhajan or Bhagavān kā bhajan. What does Bhagavān kā bhajan mean? It means feeling devotion and remembering the name and mantras of God constantly. So, those who do bhajan will be successful. Bhajan does not mean singing loudly all day. If you are working in a company and start singing, your boss will ask, "What are you doing here?" It is about bhāva—devotion. Whatever you do, do it in the name of God. Cooking food is for the name of God; before eating, you offer it to God. Saying a prayer before eating is also bhajan. So, when asked, "Bābājī, Gurujī, Sādhu Mahārāj, kyā kar re ho? (What are you doing?)" the answer is: Bhagavān kī bhajan. That is all. You should know that as a yoga and daily life practitioner, you are a perfect teacher. You will not fail anywhere because your Master has placed so much within your brain, compactly. That is what is called Siddhi. I am giving you this useful information so we must be happy. Poetry asks a question and then answers it, or one asks you a question and you must answer in a nice way. There is one very nice poem: "When I was here, he was not here. And now he’s here, but I’m not here. Why? Because the street of love is too narrow. Two cannot walk together. Two have to become one." This means Ātmā and Paramātmā become one. So, when I was there, He wasn’t there. When He was there, I wasn’t there. That prem means devotion. The poet says that I am one with God as long as I see God's picture as separate and pray to a separate entity; we are still two, but we want to be one. So, bhajan—the song—has many different kinds: folk songs and spiritual songs. Spiritual songs are also bhajans. Now, language: philosophical language, local language, regional language, dialect. Sometimes dialect language is very joyful. You might make a joke in your dialect, and everybody laughs. But the wise ones, who know Sanskrit, Latin, Old Greek, and Parsi, can make a joke in those languages. In Chinese, there is a lot of poetry and many excellent songs; one alphabet has many meanings. Similarly, in Sanskrit, one alphabet has multiple meanings. For example, I tell you about salt—Himalayan salt, black salt. That salt is called Sendha Namak. And horse is also saṁdha. Now, if I say sandha, what do I mean? You should know, but you might be wrong. I could be asking for something different. If I am going somewhere and tell you to bring the sandhā, and you bring salt, I might say, "No, no, horse, because I’m going, so I need a horse to ride." Or, if I am eating and ask for Sandha, and you bring a horse—these are different things. So, there are many great things in every country; in every language, there are joyful and spiritual elements. Thus, we have language, bhajans, poems, mantra, and then the bīja mantra—the seed. What is the bīja mantra? Bīja is seed. I give you one seed from a large banyan tree; it is smaller than a fig seed. This seed is the universe. Yatha brahmāṇḍe tatha piṇḍī: what is in the universe is in this body, and what is in this body is in that universe. The seed is tiny, but within it is hidden a huge banyan tree—compact, micro. The mantra you get from Gurudeva contains an essence. You concentrate and repeat only that essence. This is called Sabīja Samādhi and Nirbīja Samādhi. Sābīja means with seed: you are in samādhi but still retain the knowledge of being yourself. Nobody will even feel that you are alive. Today I saw a man who had died; his family was sad. The next day, they organized the funeral. They brought the crematorium, put wood, and placed the man on it. The body was cold, with no pulse. Before they set the fire, he sat up. Many were frightened, thinking he came as a ghost, but he was alive. What will science say? Maximum half a minute after the brain is damaged? He was declared dead by doctors for hours. How did he come back? We must ask him: where was he, what did he experience? He was a practitioner; he had Sabīja Samādhi. In Sabīja Samādhi, you can hear everything, your eyes are open, you see everything. You know all that is happening, but you are in samādhi. All organs become minimal. When he realized they would set fire—everyone loves their body—perhaps he came out of samādhi. This is sabīja samādhi, which you can also call sahaja samādhi. Sahaja samādhi means spontaneous; you practice your meditation technique and attain it, though it is not easy. Many claim to practice and teach samādhi, but it is not easy. The other is nirbīja samādhi. There, you have no feeling of the senses; you are one with Brahman, but you can come back. There is still a little will, but no desires or wishes. In that state, samādhi can last for years. We don’t understand, but some are still under glaciers. There is one master from South India, famous and very rich, with tons of gold. We don’t have even one ton. He went into samādhi; they closed him in a small room, put a lot of ice, and sealed the door. Police and doctors came. Gurujī said no one should open the door. By court order, they were allowed to check, but they did not want to. There are two opinions: either he is truly in samādhi, or his family members and disciples are in conflict over inheritance. There is a lot of ice in that room, and he is sitting. I think he is already blue, but they don’t let him go. It has been three or four years. I met his disciples at the Kumbh Melā this time; they invited me to give a lecture. Who knows Īśvarī Māyā? The Māyā of Īśvara, God’s game. In everything, prāṇa is connected. This jīvātmā, this soul, is connected like beads on one thread (mālā). Lives wander with this thread. Prāṇa does not let you go; it protects you and gives you energy and nourishment. Mantra is very powerful. Mantra is that seed, and in the seed is the essence. That essence is the reality, and that is how prāṇa functions. When we do prānāyāma, when we have good food, you should know what kind of food to eat—not just claiming to be vegetarian, but which kind within vegetarianism? Some like eggplants, others get gas. Some like potatoes, others get the form of potatoes. Some like milk, others are allergic. We must adjust ourselves. Nutrition should be healthy and good. Some people get thinner and think they are healthy, but that is also not healthy. The body needs good and pure prāṇa. Prāṇa is everywhere. It is called śabda (sound). One word can make you and others happy; one word can make an enemy, and you may soon be finished. This is prāṇa. That is the śabdabāṇa—the arrow you shoot with your words. "You stupid husband," she said, "you are crazy, and that’s it. I don’t want to see you, thanks to God." See how everything is destroyed? Or you say, "Hello, dear, how are you?"—uniting, and it unites you. This bhajan is sung by Śivānandjī. Mahāprabhujī’s disciple was from Chhortikathu. My caste, my friends, my people are those who understand my language. That which understands my word is positive and good; otherwise, I do not like it. So, about this subject: energy. Holī Gurujī is singing: Isī mantra se hove manda manjan, Śrī-dīpanī rañjan śabadukā bhañjan. Śrī-dīpanī rañjan śabadukā bhañjan. Hṛdayakamal kī āṅkheṅ kula jābeṅ, ye dāle nita nāma kā añjan. Śrī Dīpa Pradīpa Nirañjan, sapa dukha bhañjan. Prabhu Dīpa Nirañjana Sapa Dukha Bhañjana Isī Mantrasī O Vemana Mañjana Isī Mantrasī O Vemana Mañjana Śrī-dīpani-rañjana sapa-dukha-bhañjana viśva-dīpa-jyoti-urme-jāge. Abhaya-pada-bhāve-kāte-sabha-bandhan, Śrī-dīpani-rañjana-sabha-dukha-bandhan. Isi Śrī nipaniranjan, Kreha-guh-char-ka-tap-nahi-lāg, guh-char-ka-tap-nahi-lāg. Uttaprītaka bhāge sābhapanta, prītaka bhāge sābhapanta, Siddhi Pane Ranjan, Sapa Pane Ranjan, Sapa Durbhan, Issi Mantra Se, O Vemana Man, Issi Mantra Se, O Vemana Man, Siddhi Pane Ranjan, Sattva Pane Ranjan. Siddhi Pane Ranjan, Sattva Pane Ranjan, Sattva Pane Ranjan... Avicalla-sukha-pāve-karamānanda siddhi-pani-rañjana, śabdhukvandhi-pani-raṇjana. This is Mantra, this is Mantra, this is Mantra. Mantra se ho vimāna mañjana, Śrī-dīpanī rañjana, sādhubhāna nima, Śrī-dhyāva to darśana pāvhe, Devī Devatā kare sabha vandanā, Devī Devatā kare sabha vandanā, Śrī Dīpa Nirāñjalā, saba dukha vandanā, Isi Mantra se hove mana mañjana. Deepadayala Akhujjala Deepadayala Ujjala Bali Bali Jaam Chandana Nandana Bali Bali Jaam Chandana Nandana Sri-Dipani-Rajana-Sapadukha-Bhanjana. Issi mantra se hove manar-manjana, śrī-dīpani-rañjana, sabha-duhkha-bhānta, dīpani-rañjana, sabha-duhkha-bhānta, śrī-mādhava-nañjike-ānanda-bhaya-bhāri, śrī-mādhava-nañjike-ānanda-bhaya-bhāri, sumara-sumara-patthā pāyā brahma-nandana. Śrī-dīpanī-rañjana-sapadu-dhāntu. This rāga, this melody, was a favorite of Holī Gurujī. He wrote many bhajans in this rāga, especially those very special and dear to him. The bhajan he wrote about our Guru paramparā is also in the same melody, but with a slightly different rhythm. Now we will sing "Oṁ Brahma Śiva Alaka Anādi," which we sang yesterday: Śiva alaka annadī oṁ brahma Śiva alaka annadī Śiva alaka purejā kī āvī chal gāḍī Śiva Śiva. When we sing this bhajan, it feels like a hymn—very powerful. This is not just due to the music but also its special quality. The refrain of this bhajan is actually a mantra, a real mantra. Every time you sing it, you repeat a mantra. The essence of a mantra is the name of God. For example, in India, the Gāyatrī mantra is perhaps the most respected: Oṁ Bhūr Bhuvaḥ Svaḥ Tat Savitur Vareṇyam... The first nine words are all names of God. Now, look at this bhajan created by Holī Gurujī. It has the same quality as a real, strong mantra. That is what we feel when we sing it, making it powerful like a real hymn—the Alakpurījī Siddhārthī Paramparā hymn. These are five words, all five names of God. The first is Oṁ, clear to all of us—the sound form of God, Nāralūpa Parabrahma, the origin of creation. The second word is Brahma (with a short 'a' at the end), the formless aspect of God, the highest consciousness, nirguṇa Brahma. The third word is Śiva. Part 2: The Essence of the Guru Paramparā Every Mahāśivarātri, Svāmījī gives extensive discourses on Śiva as the supreme reality. The fourth word in the refrain is "Alak," which refers to Śrī Alakpurījī. Lakṣaṇa means that which can be perceived by any sense organ—you can hear it, see it, or touch it. But "Alak" means that which cannot be perceived and, therefore, cannot be described at all. Everything in this physical world can be described, but Alak is beyond. Alak is the quality of God, and it is the same as Anādi. "Ādi" means the beginning, so "Anādi" means beginningless. Beginningless also implies endless, eternal. So, is anything here that you can see around you eternal? What is beginningless and endless? Nothing. Thus, it is like singing "God, God, God." That is the power of this mantra, this refrain. The second line of the verse refers directly to Śrī Alakpurījī: "Śrī Alakpurījī kī avical gāḍī." "Gāḍī" is the throne, the seat. We say Svāmījī is sitting on the gāḍī. When we hear "gāḍī," we first think of a physical seat or throne. But this idea is immediately negated by the word "avical" (unchanging, unmoving). That means what is not moving, not changing—again, eternal and divine. There is no physical throne that is eternal. Ultimately, the meaning is this divine consciousness. Therefore, this bhajan is about our guru paramparā. The guru is not a physical form; the guru is a state of consciousness. Hence, it is said the guru tattva is the highest tattva. This guru tattva, this divine consciousness expressed in all these words—OṂ RĀMA ŚIVA ALAK PARAMPARĀ—is the very position of the Alakpurījī Siddhārthī Paramparā. This divine consciousness, which all these words describe, is the strength of our Guru Paramparā, Alakpurījī’s Paramparā. It may be interesting to know why Holī Gurujī wrote this bhajan. It was an inspiration from Svāmījī. Svāmījī had asked Holī Gurujī to write a bhajan about Śrī Alakpurījī, and the result was this one we just sang. I later went to Holī Gurujī and spoke with him. I said, "This is very nice, what you wrote. It’s about our guru paramparā. But did not Svāmījī ask for a bhajan about Alakpurījī?" When I said this, Holī Gurujī remembered that Svāmījī had actually said something more. He recalled, "Yes, it’s true. Svāmījī said, 'On the melody of Jyota Se Jyota, I should write.'" The fact was that Holī Gurujī did not even know "Jyota Se Jyota." So I wrote the text of "Jyota Se Jyota" for Holī Gurujī and sang it for him a few times. Holī Gurujī was not just a guru; he was a perfect musician and poet. Within no time, he picked it up and then created the second bhajan, or prayer, which is now truly on the melody of "Jyota Se Jyota." I always say, be careful with that prayer. I personally keep it for very special occasions because, when you know the meaning, you understand why. It says, "O Alakpurījī, please come." Can you imagine he would come here now? Are we actually ready enough? Let us return to this bhajan. It is a bhajan about the Alakpurījī Siddha Pīṭha Paramparā and about our gurus. The first verse, the refrain, is about Śrī Alakpurījī, and the first verse is then about Śrī Devapurījī: "Unke śiṣya Śiva Deva Purījī"—"His disciple was." He does not say just Śrī Devapurījī but says "Śiva Devapurījī"—Śiva, the highest god. And "Kailāśa Patiḥ Śaṅkara Ādi": He is the Lord of Mount Kailāśa. He is the Ādi Śaṅkara, Śaṅkara being another name for God Śiva, and "Ādi." We already had Ādi and Anādi. Ādi means the beginning, the first, the original Śiva. The second verse is about Mahāprabhujī: "Unkī śiṣyā Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ." So his disciple, Devapurījī’s disciple, was Mahāprabhujī. "Brahmagyāna Divya unkī prasādī": He gave as a prasād the divine Brahmagyāna—the knowledge about God, God-realization. You may remember the bhajan from Holī Gurujī where he uses exactly this word, "prasāda"—the highest state of consciousness, enlightenment, "I, God," from Mahāprabhujī, just as a prasāda. This bhajan is made by Holī Gurujī, so this feeling comes again in this bhajan. The third verse is about Holī Gurujī. But this is written by Holī Gurujī himself, so of course that is a problem for him. How should he write about himself? He solves the problem in a very humble way. He describes himself just as a channel of this divine energy: "I have got from Mahāprabhujī, from my guru, the Mahādhan, the great wealth, the great treasure. I got it as a prasād, I got it as a guru kṛpā, so I received this mercy—kṛpā barasadī. So I now myself give this mercy, this kṛpā, further to my disciples." It is the attitude of receiving with one hand and giving with the other. He expresses exactly what we always sing in the mantra "Nāṃ Karatā"—"I am not the actor. It doesn’t come from me. What I receive from my master, from the paramparā, I just pass on." In this sense, a guru paramparā is like a chain. Now he writes about Svāmījī. We know he likes to write about Svāmījī, as in the bhajan "Juga Juga Jīva Maheśvarānanda." For Svāmījī, he gives two verses. "Mahāśiva Yoga Śrī Maheśvarānanda": Again he emphasizes Śiva. This is what he also did when he wrote the bhajan about Svāmījī on the occasion of his birthday—that long bhajan we will sing in August. As an introduction to that bhajan, he wrote a mantra in Sanskrit: "Śiva-loka-se Śiva-ne bhej jā, jñānī-siddhi-yogī-rāj. Bhārat-bhūmi-parabhān-aye, Śrī-Maheśvara-Nandhi-Mahārāj." What he has to say about Svāmījī as a Śiva, he puts here in a nutshell. This goes back to events we know from Līlā Amṛta: the two times the coming of a great guru as a great incarnation was announced in advance—once by Śrī Devapurījī at the beginning of the book, and later by Mahāprabhujī. "Śiva Loka, Lord Śiva, sent Jñānī Siddha Yogīrāj—a yogī, a master of yoga, a perfect and wise one—Bhārat Bhūmi Parabhānayī. He incarnated in India, Bhārat, and that was our Viśvagurujī." Here he again emphasizes that Svāmījī is an incarnation of Lord Śiva, which his name already says: Mahā Īśvara. "Mahā Śiva Yogeśrī Maheśvara Nandasusoṅbhitkārī Gurujī Kī Gāḍī." Here comes the word "gāḍī" again, which we had in the refrain, meaning the throne, the position, the reputation. Holī Gurujī wrote about himself in a very humble way—that he merely passes on what he received as Guru Kṛpā. But about our Svāmījī, he writes differently. He says, "I do not write just to continue that," but he changed something so that the reputation, the power, the shining increased so much through him. We might first think: compared to Mahāprabhujī, what did Svāmījī do that was so special that he can write that? The answer comes in the next verse: "Sarabhiśma," the divine light—the light of Alakpurījī, Śiva, and so on—is now in the whole world. That is a fact: for more than 40 years, Svāmījī has been traveling around the world, teaching and spreading the teachings of Svāmījī and Mahāprabhujī. Therefore, Svāmījī received the respectful title Viśvagurujī. But again, we must be clear: "Viśva" is not just this earth, our planet; it means the universe—the master of the whole universe, who has influenced other lokas as well. "Sabhā kumilī satya Śiva kiyārī": The memory, the teaching of the true Śiva, came now through Svāmījī to everyone. This teaching became known all around the world, and that is a new quality. Now he comes to us, the bhaktas, the devotees. The devotees of this Guru Paramparā all together now do the pūjā—they praise, pray, and worship. "Unkī jyoti, brahma jyoti, memeladī." This reminds us a little of "jyota sī jyota jagāvo," does it not? He says the light of the devotees merges into the divine light. It is said that the light of those devotees connects with the divine light. If we look, Holī Gurujī’s name is not there. He writes: "Ganeś Purī Ānanda Segavel"—"Gaṇeś Purī is singing this bhajan full of joy." I asked Holī Gurujī why he does not write his own name there. It was, of course, somehow very clear because it is against tradition. Our duty is to praise the Guru, not to praise ourselves or perhaps our disciples. But here, Holī Gurujī writes about himself and about his disciple, who is Svāmījī. From this point of view, he could not give his original name. I argued a little with Holī Gurujī and said, "But you also wrote the bhajan 'Juga Juga Jīvo Maheśvarānanda' about Svāmījī, which we love so much, and there you wrote your name." Then Holī Gurujī explained: "No, that is not praising Svāmījī; that is giving a blessing for Svāmījī, that he may live long and long, and his teaching may continue." That was a blessing to us. And Svāmījī is still here, still without getting tired, going on and on, teaching and teaching. This was Holī Gurujī’s blessing to Svāmījī and to us. So "Ganeś Purī, Ānanda Sīkave Ganeś Purī"—Holī Gurujī—sings this bhajan full of joy. Those who listen to this bhajan, and of course also understand and truly follow it, are fortunate ones. They have very good karma. This whole bhajan was a blessing to Svāmījī, to us, to the whole Guru Paramparā. We are very blessed that Holī Gurujī wrote this bhajan, which can become like the hymn of Śrī Sītā Paramparā. Thank you, Gajaranjī. It is very nice that everyone gained clearer knowledge about the Guru Paramparā. This goes very far back, to the ages from Satyuga time. In the Himalayas itself, there is evidence of our Guru Paramparā, and that is Ālagpurījī. There is a very nice book written by a great poet that describes Ālagpurījī. The evidence was given very clearly by Gurujī because Gurujī knew Mahāprabhujī, and Mahāprabhujī told many things to Gurujī. Of course, all the bhajans of Mahāprabhujī are dedicated in the name of Devapurījī, and Devapurījī brought the message, prasād, and blessing of Śrī Alakpurījī. So we are connected to that time of the Satya Yuga. But still, those ṛṣis and yogīs are there. God is there. God never dies. God is God. All are there. And we also—we also will not die. We are also immortal ātmā, but we do not know. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna, because Arjuna asked, "What is the difference between you and me?" Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said, "Arjuna, the difference between you and me is this: I know, and you do not know." So Gurujī knew, and Mahāprabhujī knew, Devapurījī knew. And so Alakpurījī is there. It is not that I declare—who am I to declare? We do not have to give evidence that I met some yogī there, and it was like this and like that, and he came in a dream, and he is living in the Himalayas. Not like that. Even Alakpurījī is known as a king, and that whole area is called the kingdom of Alakpurījī. Definitely, there were many ṛṣis and yogīs who were his disciples, but we do not know. But this Gāḍī, this holy seat—why is it empty for so long? Because it needs that light, that one who is worthy enough—not for himself or herself, but for the bhaktas. You see, in our paramparā, we have a guru pūjā. Many have no guru pūjā; they have their guru, a side picture of their guru, but they are doing many other kinds of sādhanās—some tantric, some śakti, many different things. In the Kumbh Melā also, you will very rarely see those high-title sādhus; they do not even talk about their guru. But our paramparā is life. In our whole camp in Kumbh Melā, we have received our guru’s name, our lineage, and Śiva, Śiva Liṅga. So the time has come that you all came back. Where have you been? Maybe lost in the kingdom of Alakpurījī. Who knows how many ṛṣis you are. Now you are awakening again. You are thinking: yes, I was there, I am like that, I am like this. Sometimes you will see here, you remember. Svāmījī gave the hint, so we came again. As I told you last year on Guru Pūrṇimā: Let us all work to bring the Satya Yuga—end the Kali Yuga and bring the Satya Yuga. So you all came for Satya Yuga. What can be more Satya Yuga than this? We are sitting here in Satya Yuga. Pahau. You are all spiritual bhaktas, all guru bhaktas. All have pure hearts. All are doing sādhanā. We are here doing no hiṁsā; all we are doing is ahiṁsā. Peaceful time. Nobody fights, nobody is jealous. So what can be more Satya Yuga than this? But we are spreading more and more, so it is the end of Kali Yuga and the beginning of Satya Yuga. We have to carry on; we will come back, and we will continue. Thank you. All the best. And now we will have prayer. Thank you. Dīp Nail Bhagavān.