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Satsang and chanting of Hanuman Chalisa

Prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā infuses life into a statue through faith. For a true bhakta, the consecrated form is God, who receives offerings. A story illustrates this: a young girl, tasked with temple worship, offered simple millet porridge with pure devotion. She pleaded with the stone deity to eat, using her skirt as a curtain. Through her sincere faith, Kṛṣṇa consumed the offering, which the regular priest never witnessed. Ritual alone is insufficient; divine response requires a pure heart of devotion. Faith makes the divine manifest and accessible.

"Thāle bharaṇe lāi rakhi chado upar ghar kī bātaki." "So love can melt the rock."

Filming location: San Francisco, USA

So, prāṇa, prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā. When we perform prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā, the statue is no longer a mere statue. It is life. That is why we perform pūjā three times a day, offer bhoga, and give out prasāda to eat. If you do not believe, then it remains just a statue. You simply place the offering on it, leave some halwā, and later clean it away. But for a bhakta, it is not like that. It is God. He definitely eats. There is a Rajasthani bhajan, isn't there? Karma bhaikā. There was a farmer's daughter... Should I tell it? We are speaking of life, of course. There was a small, very famous village in North India. They had a small temple of Kṛṣṇa with a priest, a pujārī, who performed pūjā every day. A few people used to come. There was also a little girl, about 10, 12, or 15 years old. One day, the priest had to go somewhere and there was no one to replace him for the pūjā. So he asked this girl if she could perform the pūjā for three or four days until he returned. He explained to her what to do, and she already knew from watching him daily. He would bring a plate covered with a cloth and place it near the statue of God. Then he would draw the curtain. Three things should be behind the curtain: bhojan, bhajan, and ghana. Bhojan: when you eat, don't gulp or talk; eat peacefully because this is for the Devatā. Bhajan, meditation, should also be done quietly, not in the middle of the street. And your treasure, your money, your diamonds—don't just display them nicely somewhere. Keep them safely locked away in your treasure chest. Similarly, for God, there is a cloth. The paṇḍit goes in, uncovers the food and water, makes his offerings, comes outside, and waits. He chants some mantras—that is faith, your faith. So, the girl knew what to do. The next day, when the priest was gone, she came. These paṇḍits used to make very nice prasāda—halvā, khīra, purīs—very good things. And who eats this? Not God, but the paṇḍita. So he cooks well. In her house and family, they had only what we call daliyā, khichṛī made from millet (bajrā) and ghee. So she brought a plate full of this dāliyā and a big bowl full of ghee. She covered it, came to the temple, and placed it before the statue of God. She closed the door. There was no curtain, because Paṇḍitjī always had his own, and he would make a curtain. Now she waited and said, "Eat, please." She told the God, the statue of Kṛṣṇa, "Eat." She said, "Eat." Now, what is the situation in the temple? It is a stone statue. You put food in front and say, "Eat now." She said, "I will go outside for a while. Now eat. I have no time for you. I have to go to my field and to my parents. So please eat." She said, "Hmm." Then she thought, "Paṇḍitjī always has his own cloth for a curtain. But I don't have one; I only have my skirt. Okay, I will hold it like this, my skirt, and now you eat," the girl said. So what happened? Kṛṣṇa came and ate. Afterwards, she saw the food was finished, the water was gone, and a little prasāda was left. She said, "Thank you. You left too little for me, but it's okay," and she left. This never happened for that priest, who performs the ceremony every day with all its rituals. But children or bhaktas have a very pure heart. So there are times when we offer food and then eat, and we can say, "Brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma havir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam, brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ brahma-karma-samādhinā." Anyhow, there is a bhajan. I forgot how it goes. It is in the dialect of Gujarati and Rajasthani. They sing mostly: "Thāle bharaṇe lāi rakhi chado upar ghar kī bātaki." There is something like this: so love can melt the rock. So Kṛṣṇa had to come because she felt so sad, thinking, "Paṇḍitjī will be angry with me. Kṛṣṇa remained hungry. Maybe he didn't like my cooking, but I have nothing else, so please eat." That is how bhaktas can—God comes. So God can always do anything for the good. So what? I don't understand. And the Garbhagṛha—in the temple there is the Garbhagṛha, you know that. So Garbhagṛha is that Garbhagṛha. When Prāṇa Pratiṣṭhā is done, He comes out of the Garbhagṛha and is born. So why are you still keeping God in the graha? Or change His name. He is always in the Garbhagṛha. So why is He in the Garbhagṛha? Second, why in the Garbhagṛha is there no window at all? Is there any window? Especially in Dakṣiṇ Bhārat, there are so many dīpak burning inside, and everything is dark, the walls are dark, but there is not any window. So these two things I want to know: why is there no window? You can at least make something small for ventilation. So graham, graham. And the second is... Why are there no windows? And third, the question: why do you put the rice on the forehead and not...? What is the reason? But why the rice? So, you people are bhaktas of your Gurujī, so ask them: why do you apply rice? I don't believe that chāval is clean, chāval is this, chāval is that, chāval is that. There must be something that one should... I am searching for a question for this answer. Okay? You can ask anybody. When you get a good answer... Some say rice is a very old grain. Some say it is that. Some say rice is not uncooked. I don't know how that can be. It is uncooked, but if you peel it, then it is cooked. And some say chokhā. In Gujarat, it is called chokhā. It is good. It is good. So why is it good? Everything is śubha. So these are four questions, no, three: the garbha, the windows, and the rice for the tilaka. Okay? Do you find it on Google, betā? Do you find it on Google? Yeah, it doesn't matter. And if you find it on Google, then tell me, can it be told? Good science. Cake, which is... cake, firstly, in our language, this is a bad word. Secondly, if you buy and bring it, there are a lot of eggs in it. But cutting that cake means you are cutting your life. And after that, the lamp or candle that we light and extinguish—it means you are extinguishing the age of your life. Similarly, in our culture, in our spirituality, we do not blow off the candles. We light the flame. We don't blow the flame. Agree? Similarly, on your birthday, do not blow off your candle. That is decreasing your life. Illness comes, etc., etc. Therefore, never blow the candle on your birthday, and no cake. Rice and milk, this is a... milk is the first food, the first food from the One. Milk belongs to the mother; the other milk belongs... To the cow, that is, the milk of all animals. One milk belongs to the mother, the other milk belongs to the cow. And the third milk belongs to the cow, the third milk belongs to the cow. And the fourth milk belongs to the cow—tell me. Tell me the fourth milk, then we will know a little. Now we have tasted that, so you have not tasted the fourth milk yet. One milk belongs to the cow, mother—whether it belongs to someone's mother, whether it belongs to animals or humans. Second milk is cow's milk, or any animal's milk, small or big. Even a mouse's milk is made of cow's milk. And the third milk is made of cow's milk, like coconut milk, or of banyan. Everything, everything is made of milk, of soybean. So tell me, which is the fourth milk? Write it down in your Google. And if it is not, then we will see one day; we will do research and make it. Do not tell about the milk of urea. In India, urea milk is made. Pesticide urea. These days, urea milk, plastic milk is available. And they make coffee. The coffee jug is made. Fan. It does not go down; it remains the same. Because it contains urea. So, life, birth, and time are made up of human beings. Time does not exist. What does "time made up by human beings" mean? We are beyond time, one without space and second. Now, your work, the program, please continue. Hari Om. Āśramād. Praṇām, Gurudev. It is a joy to have you here with us again today. And as our Gurudev said, it is Hanumanjī Day. Saturday is Hanumanjī Day. And what a blessed opportunity it is for all of us, all our bhaktas, to have this opportunity to express our love and devotion to our Gurudev and welcome him to our āśram again. We also have another special guest joining us today. They are my yoga friends from the South Bay Daśāvatāra Yoga Center. And we are very happy to start a program today with the chanting of Hanumān Chālīsā and also the Gītā Dhyāna Śloka and Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gītā. So, thank you for coming. God bless you. Thank you for watching. Third śloka, third śloka, fourth śloka, fifth śloka, sixth śloka, seventh śloka, eighth śloka, ninth śloka, tenth śloka, eleventh śloka, twelfth śloka, eleventh śloka, twelfth śloka, twelfth śloka, twelfth... śloka, twelfth... śloka, twelfth śloka, twelve. Śrī Gaṇeśāya Namaḥ, Śrī Sarasvatyai Namaḥ, Śrī Pāda Vallabha Nārasiṁha Sarasvatī... So, thank you. It was a very glorious, very divine chanting. If you understand, then it's something like divine nectar. And especially the chanting of the Hanuman Chālīsā, the glory of Bhagavān Śrī Rāma, Sītā, and great Hanumānjī. We thank all these bhaktas from the Daśāvatāra temple of Śrī Swāmījī. He is Yonindeś Gaṇeś Swāmījī. He is great. He is a great musician. He is a great speaker. He is a great master, everything, etc. So, Vibhīṣaṇa Swāmījī, I congratulate him for his bhaktas here in San Francisco, Oakland. Thank you, everybody. Nowadays in the world, many things happen which are not spiritual, ethical, and moral. Especially, you will know that Sanātana Dharma, Vedic Dharma, Hindu Dharma is based on ahiṃsā, non-violence. When Śrīmad Bhāgavatam—what you were chanting now—at the time of the battle of Mahābhārata in Kurukṣetra, at the end of the great war, the Pāṇḍavas, of course, were the winners. The Rākṣasas, Vṛttis, they were destroyed, killed. The five Pāṇḍavas came to their uncle, grandfather, Bhīṣma. Though Bhīṣma was on the side of the Kauravas, he was for the Pāṇḍavas inside. At the end of this battle, the Pāṇḍavas came and said to their grandfather, "Father, grandfather, what should we do now? What is our duty? How should we follow, guide, and rule the kingdom?" Bhīṣma was lying on the bed of arrows, with nails in his whole body. So he fell down and he was lying on the bed of nails. All these arrows went through his body. Bhīṣma had an oath, or he had blessings, that he would not die as long as he did not wish to die. It doesn't matter what happens, but now he's lying there, and every inch has arrows through his body. So the Pāṇḍavas came, and Yudhiṣṭhira came and made a praṇām and said, "Ab āpke kyā ājñā hai? What is your command?" At that time, he attained realization. Before, not that realization. He knew what it means to suffer—kill, torture, etc. So, there is one book written by a great professor-philosopher from Maharashtra. His name was Kane. Kane received the Bharat Ratna when he was alive. Otherwise, many gates await. So, Kane wrote many books, out of which there are two volumes, very thick books, thousands of pages, and these books are called Dharma Śāstra. And in volume one of Dharma Śāstra, he is writing, for the first time, this word: he creates "ahiṃsā paramo dharma." Bhīṣma said, for the first time, this word: ahiṃsā paramo dharma, non-violence is the highest principle. You can read that to find some slogan or some word: who said this first time, when, why, in which situation. Dina or kāla ke anusāra, according to the days, the time, and the space. So, Ahiṃsā Paramo Dharma. He had to study so many books, thousands and thousands. Great London, great Karni, you should buy that book. And you can search these words, like beautiful words there; it's like a jewel. So, Sanātana Dharma and Hindu Dharma are based on non-violence. No cruelty. Kisi ko dukh nahī denā chāhiye. Do not trouble any creature. Even if you kill a little creature, that will reflect on you as karma. And therefore, this is the main reason that you should not eat meat. Why? From where does meat come? It's from living beings. You have to kill them. And how cruel it is nowadays, how they are killing just for their joys. On certain religious days, like Daśarā, you see on Daśarā in Nepal, they kill thousands and thousands of buffaloes. Just cut them, just cut them. So, there is one field given for them, these people, and the field is about a few hectares of land. And at that time, the whole field had blood up to your ankle joints, similarly like the Muslims doing the Bakrī ʿĪd. Now, you saw it. This cannot be that. God does this, or God wants this? So, "ahiṃsā paramo dharma." The Hindu religion is one of the religions where there is real ahiṃsā, real compassion, real love, real understanding. Understand others' pain, understand others' needs, understand others' situations. Don't be selfish. Don't use your anger. Don't use your hate. Don't use your, uh, cruelties. Don't use your temptations. And don't use your stupid, non-social knowledge. Who is not socialized speaks such words, and these words go to the others in the heart like a knife. So you can kill someone physically, mentally, emotionally, intellectually, socially, economically, etc. There are so many ways to torture and kill persons. It is said such a person who has no social feelings and knowledge, and if... Someone is giving someone knowledge, and one thinks it is a torture. It is not a torture. When the child is going to school every morning, you have to go. Is it cold or hot? You have to go there and sit there, years and years. You know by heart your chair, no? And you know by heart your wall. In the school, four walls, you are sitting. How many years? That is the training of the master. Training of the teacher to make you a diamond from the coal, otherwise remain the coal. So, education. Education belongs to the human for the love of each and every entity, if not more, then at least as much as you love thyself, as Bhagavān Dīpnā and Mahāprabhujī said. Therefore, Sanātana Dharma will come again after all these cruelties, what's happening. Again, it will come, the Satyuga. The roots, the foundation of the religion, is mercy, confession, non-violence. So you will see in Indian religion, mostly, 90% it is with the Ahiṃsā. Now it began slowly, slowly. Different religions come, different preachings come. And many people change their religion because they say, after changing religion, you can eat meat because their religion allows it. No religion will allow anyone to kill. Christians said, "Thou shalt not kill." It didn't say thou shalt not kill humans. Even in the Old Testament, it is said, "Those who have eyes, don't eat them." So where are the teachings of God? If God said... God will never say, because God has created everyone with equal love and equal respect in life. God gave the beauty to this planet with the different lives and different trees, vegetation, oceans, mountains, lakes, rivers, desert, etc., etc., different flowers, the beauty. O God, beautiful, O God, beautiful,... O God, in the mountains and the forests, in the meadows and the deserts, in the meadows and the rivers and the oceans, in the clouds and the rains. O God beautiful, O God beautiful,... O God beautiful. In the humans, in the animals and the birds, in the fish and all the living beings, O God, you are beautiful. This song was made by Paramahaṃsa Yogananda, so find it out and sing it sometime. So, God realization, to understand God, this is that, this religion. Now, finally, you have to come and take the principles of the Hindu religion to survive thyself and survive, to save this planet. Om Śānti Śānti.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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