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Good evening and welcome to all. This gathering is the joy of the whole year. We are coming to the last hours of 2016, so let us think it over. What have we experienced this year? Where have we been? What situations have we faced—happy, joyful, friendly, unfriendly, unpleasant, complicated? Many different thoughts arise. Now we are going to change the date. The date and time are man-made. Man has created all this counting: mathematics, years, days, months, seconds, and so on. Otherwise, there is no time. For the Ākāśa (space), there are no changing days. Similarly, for the ātmā (the Self), there is no change. That is why it is called achalva, meaning unmovable. It is akhaṇḍa, unbreakable and everlasting. It is nitya, everlasting. It is vimala, spotless. It is nīrākāra, without any form. So, who is counting what? Nothing changes. Our life changes, our thoughts change, but in reality, nothing is changing. For our worldly life, however, we count the years. Now, which New Year are we celebrating? This one is from Christianity. For the Hindus, it is different. The Buddhists have a different New Year. The Chinese have a different New Year. The Jews have a different New Year. Islam also has a New Year. And yoga in their life also has a New Year. Yes, that’s it. So, everyone counts according to their interest, according to what they accept. Which one should we celebrate? That is the question. Finally, it is said: for you, the New Year is your birthday. All quarreling is finished. Yes, I celebrate my birthday and you congratulate me. You celebrate your birthday and I congratulate you. If we do this—when you celebrate and congratulate me, then I should also congratulate you—that is harmony. You may do it like this: if one hand gets dirty, the other hand says, "Wait a minute, I will help you and clean it," and it cleans. That is called both hands clinging together. Similarly, every culture, every spirituality or religion has its own feelings. We should not be against their feelings. So we shall celebrate everyone’s birthday, every religion’s New Year. Now, the second thing: for everyone, one day is the New Year. It doesn’t matter—animals, any creatures, any plant or tree, or a human. There is only one New Year, and that will be tomorrow. For everyone, tomorrow. And tomorrow never comes. So, every day is a new birthday. Every day is a New Year. That is called the one without a second, beyond time and space. That is the ātmā. The ātmā is never born and never dies. Therefore, there is one very nice bhajan: Isī bhajan ko gajānand siṅghe ke vahiyat siddhānand sakh gajānand ānand kartā sadāhi gajānand ānand kargatā sadāhi vahiyatmā siddhānandam ehumraha. This bhajan is also like from the Bhagavad Gītā. This is about Vedānta and about the ātmā, which is the reality. So, Vahī Ātmā Mehu—I am that Ātmā. And what is that everything? It is nicely explained, so let’s sing. Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Kīrīké Deveśvara Mahādeva Kī Jai, Alakhpurījī Mahādeva Kī Jai, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai. In the satsaṅg, one should awaken and compare oneself with that reality. So, who am I, and who am I not? That is it. We did not forget. Did you write also? Sing? Okay. There is destiny. Destiny leads our life. Our being, our desires, our wishes—whatever is in our destiny, certain karmic desires or karmic things—when they come to an end, then where are you going? What will you do? You go for a walk, five kilometers, and then you come to your destination. Then where will you go? Will you come home again? Within five miles or kilometers, you will not stay there. You will come back home again. There is one little story Holī Gurujī used to tell, about how a master and disciples have a relation, dialogue, work, etc. In a little village, or a little forest wood, there were beautiful small cottages, huts. There were a few grass huts—two, three, four—for the guests. They had two or three cows for milk. Milk is the first food when we are born. We were drinking milk from our mother. Then, after some time, white bones came out. That’s why, so don’t show your bones. Don’t say, "Hey!" They say, "Oh, like a wolf or hyena." But also, there is something beautiful when four meet together. "Four Meats and the sixty-four Kvetov sa Rostvori Alebo Kvetov sa Rostvori Alebo." Four Meats and 64 Blossoms. What is that? Four eyes, and how many teeth do we have? Thirty-two. So, thirty-two and thirty-two? Sixty-four. So when two eyes meet, and if you love the person, if you like the person, if you are both happy, then smile. And all our thirty-six—yours and mine—blessed be. And when this thirty-six, ah, thirty-four, sixty-four, then all the hair, all the cells in the body are happy. The happiness comes in the body, recharging the energy. Milk is very good. Well, nowadays milk is manipulated, but otherwise milk is very good. If you can’t sleep, then one glass or a cup of hot milk. You may put a little honey inside if you want. Drink milk. You will sleep, like in a mother’s lap. There will be a baby while drinking, drinking, sleeping. That’s it. Yes. Anyhow, one Gurujī and disciple were living in this little small āśram, a little hut. Every day, many bhaktas were coming from villages, having prayers, kīrtan, bhajan. In the daytime, some people would come. They were getting milk or tea. One day, the disciple said, "I want to go to Prague." The master said, "What? Why do you want to go to Prague?" "There is one big festival. I want to see it. Master, you keep me always here. I can’t go anywhere. I have only one wish: to go and see Prague. And you have so many bhaktas in Prague, so no problem, I can stay somewhere." The master said, "My son, who will milk the cows? Who will graze the cows? Who will clean the cows? Who will make the tea for bhaktas? I am old. You stay here." "No, no, Master. So many years, all the time I’m only here. I also want to go somewhere." The master said then, "Wait some time, till I organize someone who will look after the cows in the āśram." Sometimes when destiny is guiding you somewhere, there is some karma there that you have to fulfill. Gurujī was meditating at night for three or four days. Why did this desire awaken in him? Just to go to Prague. Gurujī said, "You can go to Brno, it’s closer. Olomouc is closer. Why Prague?" So Gurujī is meditating, and Gurujī sees a few houses. His food was in his destiny to eat one day in that family. The next day, in another family. Like this: morning breakfast somewhere, lunch somewhere, because so many bhaktas invite him. So, like if Gajānanda goes somewhere and if he does good sevā to you when you are coming, then they will invite you. They will invite you for breakfast and for coffee, and this and that. That’s it. So it was about 15 families, Gurujī said. Only fifteen families. He researched more in meditation. That’s all. We call it Anjala. Anjala. An means food, and jal means water. On each and every grain is written the name of who will eat it. Will it be you, your wife, your children, your guests, your neighbors? Or the birds, or the mouse, or the ants? Who will eat? We are harvesting. We are carrying with the trucks, but some seeds fall down because this is written for some mouse there on the road. So, this is very important to understand: why do you have a desire towards what? And when this is finished, fulfilled, then you don’t have any more interest. So then Gurujī wrote the address of all bhaktas. And he told Chitrapuri and Vasant, "Please go to Prague and bring that much material, about one meal for this person, one person." So they went there and they bought from the fifteen houses. They said, "Why does Gurujī want only one particular portion?" They said, "We don’t know." Gurujī said, "Not more than one handful, and not more than half a teaspoon of salt." So everything Gurujī wrote—everything—from someone’s house, only cake. They brought the food, and Gurujī said, "You should cook this every day. This, this, this. And when it is finished, then I will think about your journey. Until then, I will find some people to look after the āśram and the cows." So, it was very good. All about food, what was it? Good things. He was enjoying. Otherwise, every day was kadhi, kadhi, chi-chri, kadhi, chi-chri. So he was eating. Every day, his desire to go to Prague was getting less. After 15 days, he said, "What will I do in Prague? I have not been there. I did not see the people there. If they will welcome me or not, how happy I am. I am doing sevā to Gurujī. And, my dear cow, and this little calf, I don’t know who will take care of this calf. He must get enough milk. No, I don’t want to go to Prague. Where will I sleep? How will it be? How happy I am. Gurujī is here. People come every day. They all respect me, love me, and my cows. I feed my birds. No, I do not want to go to Prague." So he came to Gurujī. "Gurujī, I am not going to Prague." "Why, my son? I have organized everything. You can go." He said, "No, I am not going. I know, it doesn’t matter who is coming for sevā. I will not be happy there. My body will be there, but my whole consciousness, my awareness, my thoughts, all will be with you, Gurujī, and my cow, and this cow, just born two months ago, is so nice. No, no, Gurujī, I don’t go to Prague." Namah Śivāya, Om Namah Śivāya, Har Har Bholē, Namah Śivāya, Om Namah Śivāya, Om Hara Hara Namah Śivāya. "Oh Gurujī, I will stay here. I will not go. Namaḥ Śivāya Namaḥ Śivāya Hara Hara Bhoḍe Namaḥ. I will stay here. Hara Hara Bhoḍe Namaḥ Śivāya, Om Namaḥ Śivāya, Om Namaḥ Śivāya, Har Har Bhoj, Namaḥ Śivāya, Har Har Bhoj, Namaḥ Śivāya, Om Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī, Śrī Viśvarāmāṇḍaya, Kī Jaya, Mahāprabhujīp Āśrama, Strīloka, Kumbha Melā, Jadana, Om Śrī Alakh Purījī, Śrī Madhavānanda Purījī, Śrī Madhavānanda Purījī, Śrī Viśvarāmāndāya, Kī Jaya, Mahāprabhudīp Āśrama, Strīlky, Kumbha Melā, Jadān, Oṁ Śrī Alakh Purījī, Śrī Madhavānanda Purījī, Śrī Madhavānanda Purījī, Śrī Mahāprabhudīp Āśrama, Strīlky. Kumbha Mela, Jādan, Oṁ Śrī Viśvarāmānandāya, Kī Jaya, Mahāprabhujīp Āśram, Strīloka, Kumbha Mela, Jādan, Oṁ Śrī Viśvarāmānandāya... He can change the lines on our palm. He can make a nail on the line of your face. He can divorce the other side. Maybe he can’t remove, but he can divorce. But a bhakta has to follow. So, you know, there is a story from Greece. One prince was born, and the king was told, "Your son will marry your wife." And then it happened. So similarly, this is somewhere to guide, somewhere to understand. Endure the situation and wait and wait. So, let’s just think a little bit about what we will do in the New Year, and what we will leave behind. The past is always, but it’s not only one year. If you are 60 years old, you should think of all the 60 years. And new is only just beginning, so that New Year will be the 61st. That much load you have on your head. That much responsibility you have on your shoulders. So, everything we have to think. Every day is New Year, so this is now for our dates changing. Otherwise, if the date is going and going, then we don’t know how long it will be. So I wish you all the best today, and I will announce tomorrow’s program after this. The webcast will be about 8:30 tomorrow, and there will be bhajans and a talk, and the rest of making a little nice fire outside in our āśram somewhere in the forest. And now, for the New Year, one should fast. Don’t take all these heavy things into the next year. So, all the best. Hari Om. Kī Jai, Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jai, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jai. Oṃ Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ, Sarve Santu Nirmayāḥ, Sarve Bhadrāṇi Paśyantu, Mā Kacchit Dukha Bhāg Bhavet. Oṃ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ...