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Satguru Tām Nāmam Om Śānti. Blessed self, dear sisters and brothers, welcome. It is a very auspicious time, and on this occasion every religion has come together. This means that we all believe in the One. Today is the day of the ancestors. Since time immemorial there has existed this science — a knowledge handed down from ancient times — of following life as our ancestors did. There are many opinions, and many who are knowledgeable or self-realized. When the soul leaves the body, all five elements remain in the body — ākāśa is there — except one element is not there. This is very important to know and to contemplate. Space is there, air is there, water is there, earth is there, but one element is missing: fire. Yet other yogīs say that the flames are no longer present, the glue-like fire has gone, but the heat remains. And that heat we do not feel; our body becomes cold, the eyes close or remain open, the mouth slowly falls slack. Then the body becomes some kind of spare shell; dead energy arrives, the heat departs, expanding us. So it is a different kind of heat, but still all five elements remain here. Once they have gone we can do nothing. Nowadays we can put a body in ice or in glaciers — and as the glaciers melt, many ancient ṛṣis may be emerging from them. But the soul exits the body at a speed like that of a shooting star. When we see a shooting star we say, “Oh, a shooting star.” How quickly does it go? Within seconds — maybe not even a whole second. In your meditation you can imagine that your speed is like that of a shooting star. That is all; it is gone. Ādiguru Śaṅkarācārya writes in his Aprokṣānubhūti about a snake: the snake flashes past and disappears, leaving a line in the sand. If we take a stick and beat that line, we can beat as much as we like, but the snake is no longer there. Similarly, we are now — this is a matter of yes or no. A certain reality arises in some religions. And so we go to graveyards. There are places for the holy saints, the high league, and for others, and we all go to the graveyard. We decorate the grave, we place a candle and flowers, we kneel down. Memory comes, the eyes drip, the heart aches, and we look at the grave — father, mother, my child. But that is exactly what he said: “What are you looking for? I am not here.” Therefore, in many traditions these five elements, the body, are burned. The ashes go into the river, or into the forest, or somewhere — it is gone. In the very oldest times it may have been like that. And there are some people, as in the Middle Eastern Persian tradition, the Parsi religion, where wars and fighting always raged. The Persians were killed or driven out of the country. So many ships were full; all the Persians came and landed on the shores of the Indian Ocean, near Gujarat and Mumbai. The Persians were still on the boats, like refugees. Some people came with respect and approached the king’s court of that time. They said, “Persians need shelter. Please give us a place in India.” The king was seated, and the Persians — about twenty or thirty people — came. The king welcomed them, gave them water, then chai, welcoming them warmly. He asked, “What can I do? We need a place in this country. They kill us.” This is a real story; you can ask anyone. Then the king said, “Okay.” He ordered one cup of milk — a somewhat larger cup — and one glass of water. He gave the water to the Parsi, offered the milk, and said, “Please put this water into the milk.” So he poured the whole glass of water in. The king said, “Please take the water out again.” The Parsi replied, “Your Highness, do not joke with us.” The king said, “No joke. Milk and water cannot be separated. In the same way, you will be with us as one.” Always we should be like this milk and water. The Parsi people in India still respect this so much, and they also have fire ceremonies. Many of their ceremonies are like those also performed by Indians. The Parsis have this tradition. They have always loved this lamp, and in their ceremonies they wash feet. When someone dies, they neither grieve nor burn. They simply place the body in the forest for animals to eat. Even now in Mumbai — how big is Mumbai? — the government has given them some tall buildings with great, long roofs where there are perches for birds. The birds come, remove all the clothing, and take the body. Yes, there are these birds, and they eat. This is a tradition in Mumbai, in Kolkata, in Delhi — in big cities everywhere. Wherever they are, the Government of India respects their tradition. Some communities place the body in the river or in the middle of the ocean so that fish and animals can eat. This is one tradition. The second tradition concerns where the soul has gone. The soul carries with it — only the earth, the flesh, remains here — the rest is our karma, our destiny. There is a subtle life, an astral body, and that astral body is so speedy: like we open and close our eyes, and it is gone. When you meditate, one day perhaps you will see this. Once, suddenly, I had a meditation two years ago. Biradha was with me in Ukraine, and we had a sudden, beautiful meditation. I saw how many souls are going; it was very beautiful and light. Islam has different views, Buddhists have different views, but in reality, in the end we all meet in oneness, because there is only one sky, nothing more. So nowadays, everywhere, ceremonies are being built for the ancestors. Indians call them Pitṛ, Pitṛ — ancestors. Many people believe in this, and it goes deeper. It is good that in Christianity we have the tradition of coming and offering light and flowers. Similarly, although the soul is gone, there is no distance. Because in this room there is a beautiful rose, and its fragrance is here, and in the next room, and outside the window. There is no limitation. And you have to pay, like from the bank you must give the credit. You have a credit for your parents, your mother and father. You are the essence of them, and they are asking. Otherwise, we know that sometimes ancestors may disturb a whole family, and occasionally a whole family is destroyed, the house ruined. The husband may leave the wife, or the wife the husband, and the children will scatter — one child suffers here, another elsewhere — because the disturbance of this ceases there. If you perform the rite, it is for those who truly believe. And it is true, whether you believe it or not. So we must make a ceremony. It is very nice. Thanks to God, in Christianity they are doing this; they come to the church, and there is also this and that — it is very good. This is that day, and just now it was also — most people go to Prayāg, no, not Prayāg, where the Buddha attained bodhi, Bodh Gayā. So it is in Bodh Gayā, or in Badrināth, or in Banāras. There are certain points, you see. When you go to Badrināth and perform ceremonies just once, at Alakhpurījīs, in the Alaknandā, you are liberated. Otherwise you come back somewhere and somewhere; I am not going to make this whole explanation complete. The soul suffers, and the soul is not suffering, but the soul moves in destiny. And how many animals are slaughtered? But do not think that only that is the animal. Perhaps you have been there — your soul is there, and you are slaughtering that. There is a coming and going... Water wells and water pots are going on. Coming here, waterfall, then go down and feel it back again, coming and going. So that one is experiencing suffering, pain. As long as we live in a physical body, in life, we have only one definition — or in other words, I forget — evidence. That evidence is pain. You all and myself, we are all aware of it; we feel pain even from a small injection. Similarly, if you prick with a needle, even a sleeping fish will react. Pain is the torture of this life. When an animal is killed, you can cut its parts, this and that, but as long as it is alive, the whole body, all the flesh, is in pain. And this pain is evidence for that soul. Whatever has been done in these five elements will return. You will experience all the pain coming and going. It is not that you will become human again, or that from human you will become the holiest and leave. There is no God — only you are that. You have to develop that, that is all. And today is also the day when God Rāma comes. Rāma was not incarnated for just one, but for many, many, cleaning everything. Ādi Kṛṣṇa too. And our Holy Gurujī’s life was very beautiful. Holy Gurujī was the last sanyāsī disciple of Mahāprabhujī, and I think there were very few disciples of Mahāprabhujī other than Holy Gurujī. How many bhajans he wrote, and what devotion to Holy Gurujī! There are other stories which I do not want to tell you, but Gurudev brought the message of Mahāprabhujī throughout the whole of India — north, west, east, south, everywhere. It is Holy Gurujī who, out of his energy, his power — whatever you call it — gave me the work and duty for Mahāprabhujī. So Holy Gurujī’s words are always true. Holy Gurujī wrote a beautiful bhajan, and what was that very beautiful bhajan? It is the true Khyām. It comes through all bhajans. What Holy Gurujī writes is the true Khyām: Prakāś Puñj Amṛt Ke Sāgar, Śrī Dīp Harī Mahādhunī Hai, Sāre Viśvame Gunj Rahī, Prabhu Kī Amar Kahānī Hai. That means that in the whole world, that divine light and sound of Mahāprabhujī is pervading everywhere. How? Through all of us. Yes, and now it is so — Mahāprabhujī made a miracle. There is such an instrument, the webcast. Through the webcast, all of Mahāprabhujī is Nāda Brahma. And so, Diwali is very great, like Christmas. Bhagavān Rāma existed about 150,000 years ago, yet he is still present. Hanuman is still here, and our belief, our people, is still here, and so on. It was Mahāprabhujī’s and Holy Gurujī’s samādhi. He went deep. It was the day before yesterday, but you already know this story, so I did not want to repeat it again and again. Because Gurujī gave permission with a promise: “If Maheśvarānanda tells me, then I will give up the body; otherwise I will not give it up.” And so some of his bhaktas told Swamiji, “Gurujī, it is time to go.” Even at that time he was in samādhi, but this finger was moving all the time with the mālā. That means Mahāprabhujī’s name, the mantra of Mahāprabhujī. Hari Om, Gṛhastha, okay. And so many things fill one with so much. One exists of many; this exists. This seat is called the Gāḍī, the holy seat. In Christianity it is the holy chair. When you sit here, it is automatic — the Guru Kṛpā, the words come. I did not make any preparation or decide what I would talk about today, and this and that. Really, truly, I do not know anything. But when I am here, as Gurujī said, “Aisā Merā Satguru Andar Bole.” Which bhajan is that? Aisā Merā Satguru Andar Bole, Samīrā Nī Guru Andhārā Bharam Na Khole, Bhīrā Sataguru Andhārā Bho. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Śrī Alakhpurījī, Siddha Pīṭha Paramparā Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Paramahaṃsvāmī, Maheśvarānandajī, Guru Daiva Kī Jaya, Prāmāṇandajī Mahārāj Kī Jaya Ho. And so, Holī Gurujī had greater tapasyā in Mahāprabhujī’s seva at Balagoda and Kathu. Mahāprabhujī mostly stayed also in the village of Khattu, Śivabhāga. Where Mahāprabhujī lived in his final time, the whole area is where Gurujī was staying. Gurujī walked — you cannot imagine. I think he touched and walked on each and every stone in that whole area. Now, this time, we have established Mahāprabhujī’s life and Holī Gurujī’s. We established an āśram for all who wish to go. Of course, the body of Mahāprabhujī is there, and it is everywhere under about 200 meters. So there is a new ashram and Alakhpurījī’s Siddha Pīṭh. This is the Siddha Pīṭh and a Śiva temple in memory of Gurujī there, Alakhpurījī Siddha Pīṭh, and it is a beautiful, nice āśram. You should go there. And so now, for the first time, we are celebrating Holy Gurujī’s anniversary. Many, many people will come — thousands from Nago district. If you can come, you are most welcome. Many are coming, so I will be there, and Diwali is also there. Therefore, on this date you are, what to say, welcome to come or to have a satsaṅg here. I wish you all the best. Hari Om. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān. Dev Purīṣa Mahādeva. Satguru Swāmī Madhavānandajaya Bhagavān. Sat Teṣaṇātan.