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Do not think that yoga means being overly serious. Do not think yoga merely means closing your eyes. There is a time for everything. Do not be one-sided or narrow-minded. Always maintain control over your mind and senses, able to withdraw from the external world at any time or to engage with it. God Kṛṣṇa said a yogī should be like a turtle, which can, at any moment, draw its limbs in or expand and stretch them outward. This weekend, we are dedicated to discovering inner strength through meditation. Every creature, every plant sprouted on this planet, every drop of water that falls, and every grain of sand holds immense energy and potential. This energy can be shaped by the environment; it can temporarily carry negative vibrations or become an immortal, divine vibration. Where saints and holy men walk, that part of the earth becomes divine. There was an elephant that went to bathe in a large, beautiful, deep lake. Can you imagine? Its heavy body, suddenly weightless, fluttering on the water. Imagine the joy of that creature! Each leg is so heavy—one leg alone is impossible to carry, perhaps three times the weight of a human body. Yet, as soon as it enters the water, this heavy body becomes buoyant. We might call its skin thick, but for the elephant, it is not. Imagine if it had fine skin like ours and had to walk through thorny bushes—the poor animal would bleed day and night and die. God knew exactly what kind of body and strength to give each creature. Now the elephant is happy, swimming. It takes a full trunk of water and pours it over its head. Modern technology has imitated this and created the shower. The shower technique in the bathroom comes from the elephant showering with its trunk, and the bathtub also came from elephants. When you go into your bathroom, feel the hot water, bathe, and splash water everywhere, your wife might say, "You are bathing like an elephant!" So it is. This beautiful, divine, and ancient creature still exists, and we are happy to have elephants because they are creatures that bring luck, happiness, and protection. That is why Lord Gaṇeśa has an elephant head and trunk. The elephant was enjoying the water, swimming. It dove deep, slowly putting only its trunk out for air, then closed it and went under again. Then it played a joke: it exhaled from below the water, and humans imitated this to create what we call the water fountain. The elephant sank, dove deep, inhaled water, and then exhaled fully. "Oh my God," people said, "where is this water suddenly coming from?" Then the elephant emerged, saying, "I am enjoying myself, relaxed." What a wonderful element water is. No water, no life. Water is holy. Jal jahan jagadīś: where there is water, there is God. Where there is God, there is life. Where there is life, there is God. Buddha jīvot: where there is water, there is life. Nowadays, 70% of the planet struggles for water. Seventy percent of our planet has much water, but it is polluted, undrinkable. What we humans are doing to our mother earth is unbelievable. After a nice bath and swim, the elephant slowly came out, happy—just as you feel after a long day of work, coming home to wash and feeling newborn. The elephant walked calmly and peacefully toward the forest, but then it took dust with its trunk and threw it on its head. Some people sitting nearby said, "This is a stupid creature. It just had a bath, and now it puts dust on its body." A modern psychologist like Chidananda said, "You people do not know. You must understand why this creature is doing this." Animals have more feeling and intuition than we do. Another person sitting there, named Vivek Purī, asked, "What do you mean, Chichi?" Chichi said, "You see, it is putting dust on its body to protect against insects, flies, and mosquitoes." Anandi was sitting there and said, "Stupid. Why? It has such thick skin. A mosquito cannot penetrate it." Then Savitri asked, "Then why is it putting dust on its feet?" Parvati came and said, "You see, this elephant is very intelligent, very wise. It thinks that perhaps in the past, a holy saint walked through this place. Perhaps it is holy dust, and if the Charan Rājā (dust of the holy feet) falls on my head, I will be blessed and liberated." Therefore, it is said: Dhan Dharan Ki Prabhu Ichha, Dhan Dharan Ki Raja Dena, Guru Samoye Charanokhi, O Raja Dena, Dayalu Moe, Charanokhi, Padatamalokhi, O Prabhu Charanokhi, Padatamalokhi, Raja Dena, Guru Samoye, Charanokhi, O Raja Dena, Dayalu Moe, Charanokhi, Bhoga Namangu, Sampati Namangu. Dharapatakhi prapu sampati namangu dharapatakhi. Chant, chant. Guru Caraṇokya, Prabhu Dāsī, Guru Caraṇokya, Samaye Caraṇokya, Rājā Dena, Dayālu Mohe Caraṇokya, Prabhu Caraṇokhi Padatāmālokhi Rājā Dena Guru Samaye Caraṇokhi Rājā Dena Dayālu. So, it is said the elephant was putting dust on its head after having such a nice clean body, thinking that perhaps there is some grain of sand touched by the holy lotus feet of a great saint. If that saint's dust touches my head, I will be liberated. I am not asking for the joy of heaven, the kingdom of heaven, nor the kingdom of this planet. Nor am I asking for family, house, and prosperity. Also, I am not asking for mokṣa, because mukti is the servant of the Gurudev's holy feet. I only ask for that holy dust through which all our karmas will definitely wash away. The Himalayas are known as holy mountains. India is known as a holy land. How many incarnations manifested in India? How many prophets and messengers? Brahmā, Śiva, Viṣṇu, Nārada, Ṛṣis, Devas, Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, Narasiṁha Avatāra, Vārāhī Avatāra—twenty-four incarnations manifested in India. No doubt it is the holy land. Do not judge India by its present situation. Present-day people may run behind materialism, but still, in the cells of their blood, an Indian—whether they have adopted Christianity, Buddhism, or Islam—still carries the divinity of Divine Mother India. It is, it will be, and it was. That is it. Therefore, the essence of the Himalayas flows through different glaciers and caves where saints are living. For many hundreds of thousands of years, they are still in their bodies. They are not visible to us, like Alakpurījī from Satopatha, from the high-power Himalaya between Kedarnath and Badrinath. Such a holy presence—when the wind blows through their body (though their body is transparent and they stand beside us unseen), that wind becomes a divine blessing. Wherever this wind touches—rock, glaciers, snow, trees, humans, or animals—they receive this energy too. Wherever the holy feet are touching, that is washed by the rivers. That is why the holy Gaṅgā River is so sacred; this Gaṅgā is especially holy because it carries the dust from millions of holy saints, not just one or two. The water of the Gaṅgā is completely mixed with that; it is called the divine nectar of immortality. When we have dust on our body and we put water on it, it flows out clean—purification. Similarly, the water of the Gaṅgā, particularly during the Kumbha Melā, when you take one deep dip and come out, you have a different color; you are completely different. Which one? Karmic. But again we come out and make jokes, smoke, poke, and do many things, and then again the karmic dust comes. So again, Mother takes us in her lap, we dip in and come out, and again we are free from all these karmas. Rebirth and death—a blind one will not see. But it does not matter if you see or not, believe or not believe. It does not help anything because reality is as it is. It cannot be changed through belief; evidence will. The truth never dies; it will remain truth forever. So even if you are blind and do not believe, if you dip in the Gaṅgā and come out, you will also be purified. Therefore, Holy Gurujī said in one bhajan: "Gaṅgā, Yamunā, or Kāverī." Bharat kā hai charan pakhārā. Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Kāverī—all these holy rivers are washing the holy feet of Mother India, Mother Bhārat. Himālaya hai sheṣa Bharat kā. The Himalaya is the head of Bhārat. The golden eyes, the crown is on its head. What glory of Bharat! So the science of spirituality and all this modern science—what are they trying to find? Nothing is new. Nothing is still new today. Ānanda, Brahmāṇḍa Śāstra, Sūrya, Śūnyākāśa, or Brahmāṇḍa Chetanā—cosmic consciousness. The Vedas declared: what is in the universe is in your body. Oh human, just go and search within thyself. Within you is the fountain of joy, within you is the ocean of bliss, and within you is the immortal soul, the immortal ātmā. Kill this little "I," this little ego, and you will realize the divine life. Therefore, that sand dust, when it comes, is something divine. Then, they say, "This elephant is so big. How many kilos? A strong, mighty African elephant—how many kilos? A few thousand, my God. Very mighty, big." But they say it has very little eyes. The elephant's eyes are said to be little, small. No, no... It has two big eyes. If you want to look, then why are its eyes so close and down? So they asked the elephant. Better we ask him, "No, where are you looking? Your eyes are always so concentrated." And an elephant told them, "You are a human; you do not know. I will tell you." Then tell us, he said. "Then why are you going to the forest? Oh elephant, why do you just disappear in the forest? Go to the village, to the city," he said. "When I saw the Holy Lotus Feet, all doubts, ignorance, and illusion disappeared. I become a vairāgī (detached one), and that is why I go to the forest, because there is beauty and there is more God." Moku kaha tu dhunde bandhe, main to tere paas mein. Moku kaha tu dhunde bandhe, main to tere paas mein. So, that is: Laggi laggi sab ko hi kahe, aur laggi nahi ligar. Laggi uske aise lag gayi, ho gayi ārām pār. Everyone said, "Oh, I was hurt. Oh, I was hurt." When there was a strike, people were shooting, but they were not hurt. The one who was hurt was the one the arrow or the bullet went through. That one knows what hitting means, or what pain means, or what that arrow was. Therefore, lagī—what lagī? You are shot with the arrows. That is it. Lalanjī also said one very nice bhajan. He said no. Suna kar jñāna kameerā, Suna kar jñāna kameerā. Bhaya dharandā ambā dilākhe andhar, Bhaya dharandā ambā dilākhe andhar. Jāne na paṇḍita pīrā, Tum bolo jāne na paṇḍi tapir kyā? Tum jāno nānī gurū māryā, Kari choṭa māre lagī āy. God bless you. Dhayaala miliaa, Prabhu khoran ki dhayaala miliaa. Prabhu khoran kardiya chakna chhor, kumbho kardiya chakna chhor. Tum jaano aal, Satguru maarya tiya. Tum jaano aal, ham gyani guru maarya. Lagi aaye kar chota maare. Lagi aaye kar chota maare. Ne na tapakene, o bolo ne tapakene, a tum jano a te gorya, a tum jano kya ne dhuruma. Shabda tir ki esi maari mit gaya man magroor. Shabda tir ki maari mit gaya man magroor. Arre, arre, mit gaya man magroor. Lalaka hai, apa dhoka nahi. Lalaka hai, apa dhoka nahi. Sunna me uga sur, o bolo sunna me uga. Sattva Guru Maa, tum jaano, aal kyaanī. Guru maghī āyā kare, chhoṭā māre laghī. Therefore, lagi. Lagi means two things. One, lagi means you are hurt—by a stone, a bullet, an arrow, and so on, or by your wife. Yes, one never knows, or by your husband. But husbands are mostly full of ahiṃsā (non-violence). Second, lagī means you have such an inside feeling, concentration, attention—that is all. And third, lagī means the fruits; lagī, the cherries are hanging on the trees. Beautiful cherries, no? Yeh bhi lagai, both inside. Therefore, Mīrā also said: Sapana naki charanam vinaam hoi chunai bhave jag maya sapana naki hoi laki lakana naki Therefore, through satsaṅg, through meditation, through mantra, all negative energies are cleaned up. All negative powers go away. No negative energy can attack you—no magic, no black magic, no hocus-pocus, no hocus. Focus on the... This is okay because on whom Guru Kṛpā is, all is merciful to that one. Whom God wants to protect, no one can harm, not even one hair. Even one hair cannot be damaged by anyone, even if the whole world is against you, because He would protect you. Have confidence; go to satsaṅg. When you have a mantra, it is like a bulletproof glass. Negative energy comes, like a fly or a bird wanting to fly through the transparent glass, but cannot go through. Bang, bang, bum, hum, so hum. That is it. Therefore, all your negative energy is cleaned up today. No more negative energy, no more energy. All is gone, but take care. Always be in the center of the Gurudev. Baḍā bhāg mānuṣ tan pāvā. Tulsidājī said in the Holy Rāmāyaṇa, "Fortunate ones are we that we got human life." So today is enough. It is quarter to ten, ten to ten, and you are tired. See you tomorrow morning again, as usual, okay? Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān. Tomorrow again, meditation—discover your inner strength. Awake the petals of your consciousness to realize your abilities and divinity within thyself.