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Gaja means elephant, and Gaja means Gajānanda. Gajānanda means Gaṇeśa. In the Mūlādhāra Cakra is a Gajānanda, an elephant with seven trunks. In Satyuga, there was the churning of the ocean by the Devas and Asuras to find the nectar of immortality, called Amṛta. Amar means everlasting, with no death and no birth. They began to churn the ocean using a great serpent, Vāsuki Nāga, and the mountain Meru as the churning rod. It was a fight between the Asuras, the Rākṣasas, and the Devas for the kingdom of heaven, to become the king, Indra. Indra did not want to lose his kingdom. The Rākṣasas, the Asuras, Śaitān, wanted heaven. A peculiar story is that the Devas and Rākṣasas were brothers, sons of one Ṛṣi who had thirteen wives. They both wanted heaven. The Devas went to Śiva. Śiva is the Lord of all, balancing everything. The devils also adore Śiva, and the Devas adore Śiva. In a certain way, Śiva was supporting the Devas. He did not want all the devils there, killing everybody. But the devils also had very strong power and a guru named Śukrācārya, who was a devotee of Śiva. Śiva had to maintain balance, like a father managing a family with both good and addicted children. Ultimately, Śiva is the creator. They wanted all the wealth of heaven. Śiva said, "In the ocean there is wealth—jewels, diamonds, everything—and the nectar. You will become immortal and will not fight." So Śiva told them to churn the ocean with Vāsuki Nāga and Mount Meru. They coiled the snake around the mountain. In Satyuga, everything was large; there were big snakes and humans were gigantic. Now, in Kali Yuga, everything has become small. They began to churn the ocean. The Rākṣasas said, "We will not stand on the tail side of the snake; let the Devas go there. We will hold the head." So the Rākṣasas held the snake's head, and the Devas held the tail. It was not an easy job to churn the whole ocean. First, a dark blue poison emerged. No one wanted it—neither the Devas nor the Rākṣasas. It would poison the whole world. Brahmā and Viṣṇu came and said only Śiva could solve this. Śiva was meditating in the Himalayas. His meditation lasts for ages; one blink of his eye spans many centuries. For the sake of the world, Brahmā and Viṣṇu prayed for him to open his eyes. Śiva opened his eyes and asked what was happening. They explained the problem of the poison. When children cause a problem, it falls upon the parents. Śiva said, "Okay, give it to me. I will drink it." They were happy and gave it to him. Śiva drank the poison. While drinking, he became blue. From that day, one name of Śiva is Nīlakaṇṭha Mahādeva—Nīla means blue. He drank liters of poison and held it in his Viśuddhi Cakra, using the technique of Ujjāyī Prāṇāyāma to neutralize it. He digested it and wore it in his body. If it had gone to his navel, Śiva would have entered a deep sleep. The mountain where he sat is called Nīlakaṇṭha, near Alakapurījī's kingdom. In the morning and evening, the snow-covered Nīlakaṇṭha mountain reflects the sun's orange light and looks like pure gold. From that day, Śiva is Nīlakaṇṭha Mahādeva. In all his pictures, you see the blue here. This was due to the greed of the Devas and Rākṣasas. I return to the same subject. People are greedy for gold, money, and oil. The greed of humans leads them to churn the Mexican Sea and other seas and deserts. In Mexico, they churned the ocean for oil. Oil came, but it formed a carpet over the whole ocean. Many creatures died, and great pollution was created that no one could control. This is a symbol of the Satyuga story. They were drilling with many machines, but they all broke. An Indian engineer told the Americans that only one kind of glue could help: gum from the Guar plant (Gawar gum). Guar is a grain fed to animals like buffaloes and cows for good milk. When the crop is young, we make a tasty vegetable called Gaur Phali. They brought tons of the gum, made glue, and the machines worked perfectly without leaking. The Americans then bought all the Guar from India. The price, once a quarter dollar per kilo, rose to $200 or $500 per kilo. Farmers became millionaires planting Guar for three years. When the work in Mexico finished, they stopped buying, and the price crashed. The greedy people were left with tons of stock nobody wanted. This is the greed from churning the ocean. The oil was like poison, causing destruction. Similarly, atomic bombs are a modern poison; only Śiva can control such things. After the poison, the churning continued. Next emerged the cow Kāmadhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow that gives endless milk and fulfills all desires—Ichchā Pūrṇā, Mānasā Devī. Once a Ṛṣi invited many people for a feast (Bhaṇḍāra). Too many came. He asked Mother Kāmadhenu what to do. She said, "Just have them sit; the food will come from me." From her body, prepared food for 20,000 people was served at once. When Kāmadhenu emerged, the Rākṣasas said, "What will we do with this cow? We have no space to keep her. Give it to the Devas." So the Devas received the celestial cow. Then came a beautiful white horse, which was also given to the Devas. Then came the elephant with seven trunks. The Rākṣasas said, "What will we do with this elephant? Who will take care of him with so many trunks?" So it was given again. This seven-trunked white elephant, along with the white horse and white cow, are symbols. The elephant is a symbol of prosperity, happiness, joy, and strength. This elephant in the Mūlādhāra Cakra is the seven-trunked elephant, the seat of Gaṇeśa. According to Kuṇḍalinī, the seven trunks represent the Saptadhātu—the seven essential minerals or bodily tissues (like iron, potassium, calcium). To be completely healthy, we need all seven. From Mūlādhāra, by practicing Aśvinī Mudrā, we can activate the glands to produce these Saptadhātus. The elephant represents wisdom and prosperity; every part is valuable. In the past, a rich person had thousands of elephants (Gajadhana). But now, keeping one elephant is expensive; it eats 100 kilos of grass per day. There is a saying: Gajadhana, Bhajadhana, aur Ratana Dhana Khāna. One has hundreds of elephants (Gajadhana), golden eagles or hawks (Bhajadhana), and mines of precious stones and diamonds (Ratana Dhana Khāna). Yet, one is still not happy. It is like a cup with a hole: the Guru fills it from above, but it all leaks out. What should Gurudev do? First, repair the cup. Even with elephants, golden hawks, and precious stone mines, you are not content. A saint said, "You need one more thing, very precious and expensive, and then you will be happy." He asked, "What brings Santosha (contentment)? When you have contentment, all your wealth is like dust. Your elephants, golden hawks, and mines are just dust. You are content and happy." That is the aim of a Yogī: to achieve a state of peace, happiness, and joy, longing for nothing more. Therefore, practice one thing and follow one master. If you go here and there trying different Sādhanās, you will lose everything. In India, we say it is very hard to weigh frogs on a scale. You put them on a plate, and one jumps out, then all jump out. Like when one child cries, all begin to cry. You lose everything. The saying concludes: Gaj Dhan, Bhaj Dhan, aur Ratan Dhan Khān. Jab Āy Santosh Dhan, Sab Dhan Dhūl Samā. Oṁ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ... That is why we always say, "Oṁ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ." A very rich man, sleeping at night, is told that goods worth a hundred billion dollars have arrived in his storage. He sleeps happily. At four in the morning, a call informs him of a big fire in the storage. He has a heart attack. This is Māyā—money, wealth, prosperity, desires. It is temporary. Walking on the grass in the morning, it is wet with dew (Śubha Pānī kā Osu), but when the sun rises, it dries. Your youth lasts only a short time. From yesterday to today, tomorrow you age. Things are happening. Garbha māt kar prāṇī—do not be proud of your youth, money, or anything. One day, everything will go. Someone sent a picture of a Coke chicken meal—a rooster and a Coke. The rooster was young, strong, and beautiful, walking proudly and showing his feathers. He got married. After a few years, he walked with few feathers, looking poor, while his wife, the hen, had jewelry and walked like a madam. Everything changes. That is Māyā. Contentment is best. It brings peace and leads you to happiness. Wherever you go, you will bring happiness, contentment, and peace. So, this elephant with seven trunks represents the seven minerals, the Saptadhātu. The elephant is strength and Gaṇapati, which is why he is Gaṇeśa, and his seat is in the Mūlādhāra Cakra. People ask if it is a lower cakra. It does not matter; there is no lower cakra. I can change your cakra in half a minute. Do you want your cakra on top? I have a book in my hand; I can do it. Your lower cakra will become the upper cakra—Śīrṣāsana, headstand. So Satsaṅg is the lower cakra, and Mūlādhāra is the upper cakra. Done? Then go to the garden. This is the life of the Kuṇḍalinī. Maṇi means jewel. This is the jewel of immortality. Śiva is also in the Mūlādhāra Cakra as the Śiva Liṅga. To talk about this, we would need six months. Would you endure that? You might say, "Swāmījī, don't you want to go to Europe?" In the throat is the Viśuddhi Cakra, but here, in the Mūlādhāra, is creation. Here is Brahmā and Sarasvatī (wisdom and knowledge) and Śiva. So Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, and Gaṇeśa are all in this cakra. The same elements appear in the Maṇipūra Cakra. The seat of sound, the seat of words, is in the navel. Whenever you speak, pressure first comes on the navel. Put your hand there and say anything—dog, cat, elephant, tree, chai, coffee. The pressure is there. When you say "chai," the Maṇipūra Cakra is in tension. When you say "coffee," it goes in. The Maṇipūra Cakra guides and coordinates our speech. For a child who cannot speak properly, there are techniques and particular Āsanas to practice so speech becomes perfect. This is the Maṇipūra Cakra. The seat of sound is here. The immortal Amṛta, churned from the ocean, is in the navel. The nectar drips from the Bindu Cakra, but the creation of Amṛta is in the navel, and it comes to the Viśuddhi Cakra. There it is worked on and produced, then goes to the brain center and returns to the body. That is Amṛtaḥ—the seat of immortality. When we speak, the awakening of sound begins from the navel. There are three levels of speech: Parā, Paśyantī, and Vaikharī. These are the three levels of sound. For mantras, there are five levels: Likhita, Bekhārī, Upāṃśu, Mānasika, and Ajapā—five different levels of perfecting the mantra. Parā, Paśyantī, and Vaikharī: Parā is the origin, the seed of sound in the navel. Paśyantī is where sound manifests. Vaikharī is where words are formulated by the vocal cords, tongue, and gums. These are the three. On the tongue should be honey, nectar. The Ṛṣis said in the Upaniṣads that your tongue should have honey—your words should be sweet, with no harsh or bitter words, no anger, only kind, humble, peaceful, sweet words. This comes from our Maṇipūra Cakra. When we meditate and chant "Oṁ," it begins from the navel and ascends through the spinal column to the Sahasrāra Cakra. From the navel to the Sahasrāra, they are connected by one thread. Put one hand on the navel and one on the Sahasrāra Cakra. Now say something: "Swāmījī, how are you? I am happy." You feel the vibration in the navel. This is not a miracle; some people make you stupid by saying, "I will awaken your Kuṇḍalinī." Today I show you the awakening from here. When you say something and expand the navel and abdomen, the Mūlādhāra Cakra relaxes. When you put the sound upward, the Mūlādhāra contracts and closes. It is not a joke; I am telling you the connection between the Mūlādhāra, Maṇipūra, and Ājñā Cakras. There is a real story. We had a dog that barked all night, and no one in the small village could sleep. One day, a man from our street said, "I will do something so she cannot bark anymore." He took oil with cotton and put it in her anus. With the oil, she could not contract her anus. When she tried to bark, the air passed out the other side. The pressure went elsewhere. So the Maṇipūra, Mūlādhāra, and Sahasrāra Cakras are all connected and support each other.