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Śaṅkara Bhagavān, Adhagpurījī Mahādeva, Devadhī Deva, Deveśvara Mahādeva, Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Hindu Dharma Samrāṭ, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān, Satya Sanātana Dharma, Oṁ Śānti. Ego elevates a person only to cast them down with great speed. Pride or ego, and greed, are exceedingly dangerous for human beings. This ego is so powerful and hidden. We know we possess ego, and we know we cannot control it, yet we try to conceal it. But ego is like a massive boulder you cannot move. If you are filled with ego, do not imagine you will achieve anything. What is true achievement? It is self-realization. Yet, even if you attain self-realization, that great boulder of ego can again fall across your path. It is like being in a cave when a huge rock falls to block the entrance. You cannot move it, and you remain trapped in the cave of your own ignorance, ego, and pride. There was a man who went to the forest to perform sādhanā—spiritual practice, tapasyā—to attain some power, siddhi. A wise person, a yogī, once said: You may believe you are on the right path, but a small side path, a narrow footpath, can lead you into thorny bushes, stones, and wild animals—snakes, scorpions, tigers. Then that path dissolves, and you are lost. This is what happens when one is driven by ambition to achieve perfection. Why do you seek perfection? Because you desire to be great. But that very desire will cause your fall. However, if you possess pure devotion, you come to understand God. We hear the words about God, but we do not truly know. There is a bhajan that says, "If I see God... at the last minute, I do not know His face. What will I do at the final moment without knowing His face?" Many great people in the world, even great ṛṣis, have been destroyed—patana means destroyed—through ego. But if you have devotion, if you follow your path and tread in the footprints of your Gurudeva, you will not allow others to worship you. Instead, you worship your Gurudeva. If someone worships or adores you, inwardly you should pray: "Gurudeva, this is not my pūjā. This worship is not for me; this adoration is not for me. Gurudeva, forgive me if I feel even a little that I am being worshipped. Know, my Lord, that this worship is for You. It is You who gave me this chance, that through me they can worship You. I am not worthy of worship. Let me be the servant of the dust of Thy feet." Our beloved Holy Gurujī said: "Gurudeva, if You will not accept my service to You directly, then let me serve Thy servants, and let my service be fulfilled through serving Your servants." This is the attitude of one who has no ego. Otherwise, if Gurudeva speaks one harsh word, you burn inside with anger, hatred, and jealousy. You think, "I don’t need a guru, I don’t need that guru; I know I have the knowledge." But this shows you lack true knowledge precisely because of ego—your greatest enemy. A man once went to perform sādhanā in the forest. He desired siddhi, miracles, because he wanted to show the world he was a great saint. He sought the power of levitation. When someone strives earnestly, God grants it. He renounced everything, meditating day and night, performing prāṇāyāma, kriyās, mantras, and prayers for levitation. After many years, he indeed became lighter and lighter, rising above the earth—one meter, two meters, three meters. He sat in the free sky, thinking: "No snake can bite me, no scorpion can reach me, no ant, no tiger. I am safe; I can levitate. All this saṃsāra, all these people are like ants to me, mere reptiles. No one can reach me. I am great, I am great—after all my sādhanā, of course." He would come down to walk or fetch water, but whenever he wished, he could ascend. He could levitate to the middle of a lake and wash himself, hovering just five centimeters above the water. When a crocodile approached, he would rise before it could catch him. His ambition grew: "I am the great one. How many people will follow me? All ministers, officers, rich men—they will walk behind me. I will be the greatest of the greats." As he sat levitating under a beautiful tree, a large bird perched above dropped something. He raised his hand and said, "Who is that?" The bird remained there. He thought, "You small creature, you do not know who I am. Animal, bird, you should know. Die." The bird died and fell. He said, like Rāvaṇa, "I have siddhis, not just one. Two are proven. I can kill anyone." He thought, "I am the man, a sannyāsī." But a sannyāsī means you now have the chance to serve others. It is the time to practice, to rid yourself of ego and pride. After this life is finished, you will see who goes to Brahmaloka and who descends to Narakaloka. Therefore, my dear, slowly, slowly: dhire dhire mana, dhire se sab kus hoi, mali sīñche se gāye, hṛdaya meṁ phal hoi. Oh, my mind, slowly, slowly, pomali, pomali. Slowly, slowly, my mind, then slowly, slowly, everything will come. Just as a gardener waters the garden, and when the season arrives, it bears fruit, similarly, the time will come. The blessing of Gurudeva will be given when the time is ripe. There is another story about ego, illustrating how those with ambition can lose their power. Holi Gurujī told this story concerning Kāmadeva, the Lord of passion. A sādhaka named Sītalapurī, after performing sādhanā, also attained greatness and levitation. Vowing brahmacarya, he went into the forest. One day, Kāmadeva came, sent by Indra—for whoever attains 100% perfection through sādhanā may claim the throne of Indra, so Indra always sends his servant, Kāmadeva, to test them. Kāmadeva approached the sādhaka, who asked, "Who are you?" He replied, "I am Kāmadeva. What are you doing here?" The sādhaka said, "I am coming to you. Run away. Get out of here." Kāmadeva said, "Do not be proud of yourself. Your brahmacarya?" The sādhaka retorted, "What, you dare speak to me like this?" Kāmadeva warned, "Do not be proud. I will sit on you like a horse and ride you." The sādhaka threatened, "Get away, or I will burn you with my third eye. I am not that bird." Kāmadeva departed, and the sādhaka swelled with pride, laughing, "Today I was the great one, the successor. I am successful now. I won, and Kāmadeva lost. This is my sādhanā. I will go further. I will challenge Indra himself." But Kāmadeva had said, "I will ride you one day." The sādhaka ate only once a week, going to the river for a handful of water. On the way stood a beautiful tree. A woman came from about five or six hundred meters away and placed a little halvā, a sweet, on the tree. His routine was to take one sip of water and one bite of tree bark, chewing whatever came into his mouth—that was his weekly diet. She observed his actions. Kāmadeva knew everything. He placed the halvā where the sādhaka would bite the bark. The tongue—the tongue is a great māyā. These two indriyas are very hard to conquer: the tongue and the organ of passion. He tasted the halvā and thought, "Oh, today, after a long time, nice halvā." Kāmadeva said, "I have bitten him already." The next day, he returned. Kāmadeva remained far away and did not place halvā. The sādhaka searched all around the tree. There was no halvā. The test had come. One must be careful with taste, for it is not the best guide. Achal Dājī said, "In this body there are ten senses, but two senses—the desire of passion and the taste of the tongue—are the ones that, along with the desire for the spiritual... Hatha, Kina, and Sādhana—these two have destroyed their Sādhana. These two will destroy your Sādhana. Therefore, surrender them to Gurudeva. For this, give it to Gurudeva. Hari Oṁ." Again, halvā was brought. Then one day, halvā and parāṭhā were placed. You know what parāṭhā is? Oh my God! He wondered, "Who is bringing this?" One day, Kāmadeva, appearing as the woman, quickly placed it and ran. "Who is this lady?" Now, every time she came later, he would wait. His ascetic diet was finished. She began coming closer, walking quickly to the tree, placing the food, and running away. He said, "Stop, stop. Who are you?" She replied, "I am bringing you some food. But why on the tree? Why not bring it to my hut?" "I did not know if you would allow it." "No, no, it doesn’t matter, no problem." So she began bringing food, and he ate there. One day he asked, "Who are you?" "I live in the village. My parents are poor and very old now. I serve them." "I see. Are you married?" She said this and went away. The next day she did not come. The third day she did not come. The fourth day she did not come. He thought, "How stupid I am. Oh God, please let her come to bring food." When she returned, she asked, "What did you ask me a few days ago? I was angry. What did you say?" "I don’t understand your language." She said, "Did you ask if I am married?" He said, "No. Do you want to marry?" He replied, "I don’t know." "What, you don’t know? My parents must agree. I decide nothing. My parents, my relatives, all must agree." She asked, "Would you marry me?" He thought, "Oh God, that was the result of my accepting food. I only wanted to serve." She said, "Yes, you will have a lifelong chance to serve me." He said, "I will ask my mother." Slowly, slowly, she drew him in like a mouse in a trap. He agreed; she agreed. They performed a ceremony, were married. He said, "Now we are married." She said, "Not yet, the ceremony is not over. One part remains, after one week. Until then, you must clean everything—clean my street, clean my house, clean my clothes. But do not touch me." He did all this. Kāmadeva was at work within him. She said, "Now the final ceremony is coming." He thought, "Oh God, finally it is coming. What is it?" She explained, "My village is very traditional. We must follow our culture, or the whole village will oppose us and not allow our marriage." "But we are already married." "No, no, the ceremony is still ongoing." "So what is it?" "It is not so difficult. You must stand on your knees and hands, and I will sit on your back. I will hold these reins—a tschugel—which you must hold in your mouth, like a horse." "For how long?" "We go around our house." He agreed. She sat on him, pulled the reins strongly, his mouth straining. And what did he see? Kāmadeva on his back, riding him. Kāmadeva said, "Yes, it is I, and you are also the same. You told Kāmadeva, 'I can destroy you,' but your pride, your ego, has killed you. Now, what can you do? You are nowhere." The sādhaka asked, "What should I do now?" Kāmadeva replied, "Go to your Gurudeva’s seva. Perform that sādhanā." So he went, completely defeated. Therefore, safety lies in taking shelter at your Gurudeva’s feet and performing seva. Seva is not only for Gurudeva but for all who come to the ashram, for all who come to you. Help, serve, and do not claim to be the greatest. One should be like Śiva. This is why Śiva has one name: Bholenāth. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Har Har Ho, Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ... Namaḥ Śivāya. Devadhī Devalak Purījī Mahādeva Kī Jai, Śiva Svarūpa Deveśvara Mahādeva Kī Jai, Bhagavān Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhu Kī Jai, Hindu Dharma Samrāṭ Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jai, Guru Mahābandhas Kī Jai. Vasiṣṭha Maheśvara Nandī Guru Devakī Jai.