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Gurur Viṣṇu, Gurur Devo, Maheśvara, Gurur Sākṣāt, Parabrahma, Tasmai Śrī Gurave Namaḥ. Brahmanandam, Parama Sukhadam, Kevalam, Jñānam, Utratim, Dvandātītam, Gaganasadṛśam, Tasmai Śrīyadi Lakṣyam, Ekam Nityam Vimalam Achalam Sarvadhi Sākṣibhūtam. Bhavatītaṁ Trigunarahitaṁ Satgurutvaṁ Namāmyahaṁ. Oṁ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ... Hari Om. All dear ones, dear sisters, brothers, spiritual seekers, welcome. I wish you a happy, holy festival. There is a God, whether one believes or one doesn't believe. God incarnates, and there are two kinds of God's presence. One is called Nimitta. Nimitta means a particular situation incarnates God. The second is called Nityāvatāra, where from time to time the senses are incarnating. The sense represents that incarnation of God, and God represents the sense in that form. According to Indian mythology, till now there have been 24 incarnations. Twenty-three have been, and the 23rd one is coming. Everyone is looking forward, hoping that God, the Nimitta God, should arrive. There are ages: Satya Yuga, the age of truth; Tretā Yuga; Dvāpara Yuga; and now comes the fourth one. We are in the dark age, called the iron age. In humans, spiritual, ethical, and moral values are going down, down, and down. It is said that in this Kali Yuga, the dark age, the Avatar is called the Kali Avatar and should come. The story we are discussing is from several million years ago. Long ago, there was a king who went to the forest to perform austerities to realize God, as he wanted to ask something from Him. He went to the forest, surviving on only a little water and some fruit. Bending on one leg, he prayed to God, prayed to God, prayed to God. That king was nasty, very negative. He wanted to have more and more power, thinking, "I am the ruler, only I and I." But still, he did such intensive austerity that God had to come. God appeared in front of him, manifesting the divine form of Brahmā. "My son, what do you wish?" He said, "Fulfill my wish, please, Lord." God said, "What?" The king said, "Make me immortal, that I never die. I remain as young as I am." God said, "This is out of the law. Even Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, they are also changing. I can give you long life, but not immortality. You can ask for anything you want. I will give you a blessing for that, but not immortality." Then the king said, "God, give me one blessing." God said, "Say what?" The king said, "My wish is this: that normal death cannot kill me. Neither should I die in the day, nor in the night. I should not die inside the house or outside of my house. No weapon or human or animal can kill me." God said, "That will be." God then disappeared. Now the king, Hiraṇyakaśipu, returned to his kingdom and called his people from everywhere on earth. He gave the message: "I am the God, Hiraṇyakaśipu. No more God from heaven or hell. There is only one God, and that is me. If anyone doesn't believe me, kill them. Everyone should sing my glory: God Hiraṇyakaśipu, Hiraṇyakaśipu." But it is said, in the house of God, no time will come when devotion is absent. One day, the king went riding a horse at night to little villages to hear if someone was having satsaṅg, like we are talking, or singing God's name. He was riding on the horse, and in a little village, there was a little fire burning. An elderly woman was sitting there, chanting the name of God. The king came down from the horse and asked, "Why are you chanting the name? Who? Which god? There is no god. I am." She was afraid. She said... He said, "No, no..." She had gathered wood and pots. She put a lot of wood on the fire, and about fifty pots were inside. When the fire became high, a cat came, meowing nervously and running about. The woman realized, "Oh God, that's my cat. The cat gave birth to kittens in one pot, and I put that pot in the fire. Now it is fire. These cat babies will die." She asked for forgiveness, chanting the name of God. She told this to the king. He said, "OK, I will stay here till the fire comes down. Then I will see if the kittens are alive. If they are, I will let you go. Otherwise, I will make a fire and put you alive in it." On one side was the cat, and the babies were in the fire. The mother cat was very sad, and now the king would kill the woman. Her heart was beating, and she remembered God, God, God. The next day, in the afternoon, about five o'clock, the fire had calmed down. She opened one pot after the other. There were two clay water pots. She saw, and the king saw, the cat kittens, meowing, jumping from one pot to the other, playing. That pot was completely untouched by fire. She was so happy. The king said, "Ah, stupid. But I promise you, I will let you go." He went away. That lady is also considered holy. On the seventh day, people will worship her as well. She is such a holy saint. Now, Hiraṇyakaśipu had a beautiful son. When the son was about one and a half years old, he used to say, "God." The king said, "My son, I am God, Hiraṇyakaśipu." The son turned his face away. When he became two, three, four years old, he was singing the name of God: Hari Om, Hari Om... By chanting, chanting, this is the name. The great mantra: Hari Om Tatsat. Hari Om Tatsat, Hari Om Tatsat. Japa karte, japa karte, yahī nām: Hari Om Tatsat, Hari Om Tatsat. Hari hī Om. God is Om. Om is God. He is Hari. Hari means God. Repeat and repeat the name of God. That is a mahāmantra, the best mantra, the great mantra. King Hiraṇyakaśipu was so angry with his child and put his son in school. He told the teachers, "Teach him. Give him a lesson that he should not repeat the name of God, only me as God: Hiraṇyakaśipu, Hiraṇyakaśipu." Hiraṇyakaśipu's son, Prahlāda, was singing so much that all the school children began chanting the mantra, "Hari Om Tatsat. Hari Om Tatsat." All going well at home: Hari Om Tatsat. The king was so angry. The teacher came to the king and said, "Lord, I cannot. I tried everything. No, I cannot. Okay." Indirectly, the king wanted to kill his son. The king's sister also had siddhis—miracles, abilities. What she was doing: every day she used to bathe, not in water, but in fire. She made a fire and sat in it. Not one hair of hers was burned. All impurities from her skin or whatever were cleansed, with no soap or water. So Hiraṇyakaśipu went to his sister and said, "Sister, please do one good thing for me. Your nephew, Prahlāda, is chanting the name of God. And you know that God is only me, not anyone else. Sister, you have to help." She said, "Okay, brother, I will do it." He said, "How should you do it?" She said, "Take him in your lap." Since he was her nephew, she lit a fire, sat in it, and took the nephew in her lap, holding him. He was chanting: Hari Om Tatsat. Hari Om Tatsat. Japa karte, japa karte, yahī mahāmantra: Hari Om Tatsat. And this lady, his sister, began to burn. She burned to ashes. Prahlāda came out of the fire, put the ash down, and emerged. He remained, and she died. Her name was Holi. So yesterday was the day of Holi. Hiraṇyakaśipu then ordered his son to be killed, but the son remained. The son was God's son. The next day, Hiraṇyakaśipu's son Prahlāda came, and they were so happy. Prahlāda was celebrating; everyone was putting color on each other. Happy days, happy days. The color of happiness, the color of joy. The devil had died. So this is the day. Yesterday they burned Holi. The holy boon and the nephew remained—Hiraṇyakaśipu's son, Prahlāda. The story is not over. The game began. Hiraṇyakaśipu said, "Send warriors, take this child, and throw him in a lake where there are many crocodiles." So they threw him there, and there were lotus flowers. He was stepping on the lotus flowers, and slowly, while singing, he came out and returned home. The king was so nervous, but of course he didn't want to say, "I want to kill my child." Then he gave an order to the soldiers: "Where there is a bunch of elephants in that wild forest, throw him there and come quickly back." So they threw him, left him where many elephants were. He came back. The elephants did not do anything to him. Again, the king was very unhappy. He said, "Go into the mountain and from a high hill, kick him down." So from the rocks, he would fall down, and his body would break, and he would die. They did so. They threw him, and there was a tree with a branch there. He landed on the branch. He was singing, "Hari Om Tatsat, Hari Om Tatsat," and then slowly he came down and returned home. It is said: whom God saves, no one can kill. Not even one hair can be damaged if God is the protector. Prahlāda kept growing. Hiraṇyakaśipu thought, "This is bad luck in my kingdom." So, in his palace backyard, he made one big iron pillar. The iron pillar was hollow inside. He put a lot of coal on the fire. It took two to three hours for this coal to start burning. The iron pillar, so thick, became hot. One could not sit within twenty or thirty meters of it, it was so hot. The king was sitting far away. He called his son and said, "Prahlāda, why are you doing so? You are my dear son." He said, "Why have you never seen God? I am your father, I am God. Can you give up this mantra? Hari Om Tatsat, Hari Om Tatsat." Prahlāda said, "I don't give up. You are not God. God is different." Then the king said, "You have one choice: either give up this name, or, if there is a God, then go and hug the pillar. Then I will say, 'Yes, there is a God.' If not, then I will, with my hand, chip your head." Prahlāda said, "Better to die in the fire than have such a father, a devil." Hari Om Tatsat. What happens? Hari Om Tatsat, Hari Om Tatsat. Hari Om Tatsat, Hari Om Tatsat. While dancing, he was very surprised. His father came within about two meters. This little boy felt a little fear. He thought, "I will burn now." In that minute, what happens? He sees ants crawling on the pillar, hot and red, but the ants were going up. He said, "Oh, little ants cannot burn. How can I burn?" He ran to hug the pillar, and the pillar fell into two parts. He was standing there, and one form came out: a lion from the navel up, a big lion, and a human below. This form hugged Prahlāda and took him in his lap. Who? That lion. That lion's name is called Narasiṁha. Nara means human, and Siṁha means lion. King Hiraṇyakaśipu held his chair and trembled. He saw this symbol was not an animal and was not a human. He thought, "There must be something." He was going like this, wanting to run into his house. Quickly, the Narasiṁha Avatāra jumped and caught the king in the middle of the doorway and sat on him. The Avatāra said, "King, where are you? Inside or outside your house?" Half the body was in the house, and half the body was outside. The Avatāra said, "It is not in and out. Look, is it night or day?" It was just sunset. "Is this my cloth? Is it some weapon? Say no. Am I human? No. Am I an animal? No. Your time has come." He killed Hiraṇyakaśipu. That is their festival, which people worship for Prahlāda, and they burn that Holi and Hiraṇyakaśipu. Let's sing: Om Tatsat, Om Tatsat,... Om Tatsat. Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ...