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Guru is Brahma

A spiritual discourse on the value of singular focus and devotion to the guru.

"If we have, and all of us have, a lot of pictures, we are something like these ten-year-old little guys who try to collect all Pokémons. Our mantra is 'Collect all.'"

"Therefore, it is said: 'Dhyāna mūlaṁ guru mūrtiḥ, pūjā mūlaṁ guru padam, mantra mūlaṁ guru vākyaṁ, mokṣa mūlaṁ guru kṛpā.'"

The speaker, Swami Vivek Puri, shares reflections from a satsang, emphasizing the spiritual power of focusing on one mantra and one form of the guru. He argues that collecting too many spiritual images dilutes their value and hinders clear visualization at critical moments like death. The talk expands into the profound reverence for the guru's feet (caraṇāmṛta), illustrated with stories from the tradition and the recent awarding of the Yoga Ratna to Vishva Guruji in London.

Filming location: Vép, Hungary

Praṇām Gurudev, Hari Om dear friends. I am gentle because I must be gentle. Viśva Gurujī is Viśva Gurujī, and me and me, and who knows what will happen with me. But I must say one thing: everything that Viśva Gurujī said is correct, and it is good for our self. I have already been with Viśva Gurujī for more than 35 years, and it was a really hard fight all the time. I must be completely honest all the time, yes, but... in the end, after a few years fighting about one topic, you realize, yes, Viśva Gurujī is right. And I lose a few years. I think that you also have a similar experience. This topic about pictures is really right. Imagine when you start to meditate. In your cidākāśa or in your hṛdayākāśa, you want to visualize your iṣṭadevatā. It is so easy to visualize Devapurījī. Why? Because we have only one picture. None of us has a problem with how we will visualize and see Devapurījī. But when we start with Mahāprabhujī—sitting, standing, turban and no turban, and half meditation—you are in a dilemma about which picture you will use. What does it mean? Imagine in the moment of our death, what will be? If we are also repeating so many mantras from so many masters, in the moment of our death, it will be a mishmash. Start with one mantra, continue with another mantra, picture one and two and all this. Once I was really a warrior for myself. When I realized that Gandhījī, in the moment when he got a bullet, what did he say? "Rām, Rām." And imagine what we said in the moment when we stood on the ice. I will not tell, but all of us know. Imagine in the moment, not a bullet, but something happens. On what will we think? What will we say? What will we imagine? Oh, that is the problem. I once heard from Viśva Gurujī that if you give somebody a picture, that is the same as when you give somebody a mantra. Yes, really, sometimes when you are in a deep problem, sometimes just a picture arises, an image, and that is enough. If we have, and all of us have, a lot of pictures, we are something like these ten-year-old little guys who try to collect all Pokémons. Our mantra is "Collect all," and all of our drawers are full of the pictures. How many times do we look at all these pictures? Once in a few years when we clean. I also realized once: on each Kumbh Melā I took one stone, a little water, a little sand, a little this and that. After ten years, you are thinking, "What is this? From which Kumbh Melā?" What does all this mean? That is what happened: inflation. It loses the value. If we want to have a value of something, imagine our great-grandparents, ladies, had, I think, two or three dresses: a very nice dress for very important happenings, one for normal, and one for working. Some dresses had a special place because they were wedding dresses from great-great-grandma. That makes value. If everything is too much and everything is open, they lose value. That thing, that picture, that image will not lose value, but we will lose benefit from this because we will not anymore value that, like what is for real. Once I saw in India, when Viśva Gurujī gave a picture for people in satsaṅg of Mahāprabhujī. Old people, not the young generation, old people took this picture with so great respect—on the forehead, and put it on the heart. That picture, put on the altar, has so great strength because we have inside that feeling, that bhāva. In the end, everything is in that which we feel inside. When Viśva Gurujī said, "Not so much picture, not putting this there," yes, that is completely true. If we just stop for one second and try to realize what Viśva Gurujī said, whether we like it or not, Viśva Gurujī is always right. You have an easier or hard way to learn this. Really, I pray from the depth of my heart to our paramparā that all of us have that luck to understand that and to learn that in an easier way. Because of that, because Viśva Gurujī is always right—not like in that joke, "the boss is always right," not because of that, but because of his knowledge and that light which he brings from inside—Viśva Gurujī is always somewhere on the way, because everybody wants to be and to have that light. Because of that, on the first week of the seminar, for two days, Viśva Gurujī was not with us because he was in London, not only because of a day of yoga, but because in London, in the parliament, a conference was organized: the second yoga conference in London, which organizes the Parliament. Also in that Parliament, there is one part which is called the Old Party Parliament Group: Indian Traditional Science. At that conference, and afterward, where Viśva Gurujī also gave a lecture, Viśva Gurujī received a very great award. That award is Yoga Ratna. That Yoga Ratna, we know what is the Yoga. And Ratna is what Swāmījī is, and that is the precious stone, but really precious. Swāmījī got on the 20th of June, in the House of Parliament, this award. Yes, and it is very nice that we know all this, and to give also a token of our love. We know already that Swāmījī is that Ratna. But it is also nice to... we will put on a much better place. For those who have come on this second week, always, it is good to remember that being in this hall, having a darśan, having a satsaṅg, is something that is really precious. We also hear many times from Viśva Gurujī that how many people are now on the planet Earth? Six billion, yes, something like this. Imagine how many are in the satsaṅg. Just this. When you realize that in the whole planet, so many people, how little people have the opportunity to be in satsaṅg, and especially in satsaṅg with the guru, with the life master, and have darśan, that it is something very, very, very rare. For that, thank you, Viśva Gurujī, that you are with us. We hope that we will not need to think about what to do with the picture for the next few thousand years. Thank you for everything. So, hum. So, hum. It is Vivek Purī’s reminder, this which I got in the British Parliament. But there was a great, great man from South India, and it is about how many hundred years? He was the first person, a very great learned person. He gave much freedom for the women and for the men, and it is the freedom. So the British government gave the place and the statue of that great professor, scientist near the front of the parliament, back side where the river is flowing, and it gave about 5,000 square meters of land for 5,000 years. The statue there is beautiful, very beautiful, so we went to respect him and gave the mālā because he was the first person in the world. So there are great saints, great persons everywhere. There is about in the Rāmāyaṇa that what is written in the Rāmāyaṇa, that śloka, unfortunately, I have forgotten. Holy Gurujī very often used to speak about this slogan. Because long, long ago, there were big problems on the earth. People were suffering. Animals were suffering. The forest was suffering. Many things, troubles there. So from the Saptaṛṣi, one ṛṣi—the ṛṣis, they are free—so he went to Bhagavān Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is residing in what is called a milky ocean, sometimes out, sometimes in, and his āsana or his bed to rest there is coiled by a snake. And śāstra means thousands of faces of that snake. So he is making an umbrella, and always Viṣṇu is resting like this. Lakṣmī is sitting there, and she is doing seva, massage, etc. And the Śeṣa Nāga is also taking care, and Lakṣmī also. Viṣṇu will wake up for the next yuga. Until then, he is residing in the ocean. But there was a problem. People and animals were suffering. So that ṛṣi went very angry, and at that time, Viṣṇu was above the ocean, lying down, and Lakṣmī was there. The Ṛṣi came, and he said, "My God, Viṣṇu, the creatures are suffering. They are in trouble, and he is enjoying completely. He has no sorrow, and he and Lakṣmī, they are happy." That ṛṣi, he came quickly and he could not hold his words and his anger. This ṛṣi came with his right foot. He bit on the chest of Viṣṇu. Lakṣmī was completely angry, and Bhagavān Viṣṇu took the feet of the ṛṣi on his chest. Viṣṇu held it and said, "Ṛṣi, I am so sorry. You could just say, 'Hello,' but your feet are so beautiful and so soft, like flowers. But my chest is like iron. I am so sorry. Did you feel hurt on your feet?" And the ṛṣi was so sad again. He said, "I am sorry." But first, he told everything. Then Viṣṇu said, "Ṛṣi, please, what can I do for you?" The ṛṣi said, "Nothing." He said, "Yes. Your holy feet, which you had put on my chest, that foot for me is worshipped," Viṣṇu said. "So from today onwards, your holy feet, O saint, will be worshipped. They will wash your feet, that caraṇāmṛta will be, they will drink that caraṇāmṛta. And you know, in your toes, the big toes will be that jval, and that will be the light of liberation. So you should all, any bhaktas, they will take your toes in the mouth, they will tie the tongue from the toes, or they will wash your feet, and that is called Caraṇarāja. Lucky are they who can get this Caraṇarāja. This is Caraṇa Prasāda." So these were the words of Viṣṇu. Therefore, it is said: "Dhyāna mūlaṁ guru mūrtiḥ, pūjā mūlaṁ guru padam, mantra mūlaṁ guru vākyaṁ, mokṣa mūlaṁ guru kṛpā." So, "dhyāna mūlaṁ guru mūrtiḥ, pūjā mūlaṁ guru padam." So, "Guru Padampada" means the legs, the feet. Always, Gurujī, I can tell you, Gurudev said that Gurudev was meditating on the lotus feet, especially on the toes of Mahāprabhujī. Gurujī said he always saw like diamonds, and he was in divine, what you call samādhi or whatever. Whenever anything happened, he would look to Mahāprabhujī’s holy feet, and there he would like to drink the nectar. But only that one is lucky who can do this; others will not. So everywhere you go, we are falling in the front; we bow down to the holy feet. Nak man ghana jyoti, only that much I have. Half other I forgotten, so nak man ghana jyoti. Nak means the nails of Gurudev’s toes. Nak is the toe’s nail. One day, one disciple of Mahāprabhujī’s whole family is very, very devoted to Mahāprabhujī, and Mahāprabhujī was staying in their house. They had four sisters and one brother. One day, one sister came to me. Mahāprabhujī is passed away, and the mother and the sisters of this sister, they are also passed away. One day, she came to Jadani ashram, about age 65-70. She was sitting there, and she was always, when she sees me, she has tears. I said, "You are great to me." "I am not great to you," but from her sari she opened the knot, and then there was a little box. She was, tears running, and she said, "These are the nails of Bhagavān Mahāprabhujī, and every day when I wash, I drink this water. But this nail, there is no one who can have the value of this." And she said, "Please, I offer you this, and that I have with me in Jaipur ashram in Jodhpur, because I know if I forget it somewhere, or lose it, I will never pay back to my sister who was giving it." This is only for those who understand. Those who understand, they can drink the prasāda, Caraṇarāja, and that will take the mouth in the toes of the Gurudev. Others will not. In many, many ancient times, many times the great saints were like that. Not only in India, but slowly, slowly, lost. One day, Gurujī’s Mahāprabhujī was walking, and Gurujī was there. Gurujī, every day Gurujī brought water and washed Mahāprabhujī like a mother washed the baby. Then Mahāprabhujī was on the sand, nice fine sand. When Mahāprabhujī took his footstep on the other side, Gurujī took that sand. A whole life he had with him. And he gave me, he said, "Mahesh, always this sand, not too much, one or two pieces of the sand in the head and the mouth." Mahesh Gurujī said, "You will always be successful." Like Mahāprabhujī said, "Caraṇarāja, you have it in your mouth." So I put it in India and in Vienna, and I am always traveling too much, and some countries do not want that. "Why are you taking the sand?" But that is only one can, otherwise others will not get it. There are many snakes, but from all these snakes, one is called the king snake. This is the cobra, and only the head and mouth are cobra. The rest is not. When the cobra is very, very old, that time he has in his head what is called maṇi, very like a stone. He is now old, but he needs the light so that creatures come, and the snake is eating. So he spits that maṇi out, and there is light everywhere. Any sound from animals or humans, immediately the cobra will first swallow this maṇi. If you try to catch the cobra, you can try to kill it in every centimeter. That maṇi is not there. Like only a mother’s chest has the milk. And only that milk, mother, produces a body. Otherwise, not. That is called that maṇi. Maṇi... So padam. That maṇi, we can say, is the navel, or the king of the cobra. If you can get it, millions, millions, but it is not easy. Not easy. It is like it goes out from the body. Many people are trying tricky. They put one pot slowly, slowly, slowly down, try to put down, but the cobra sees, and he sucks this maṇi. So, maknak gani maṇi, and that same is on the toes of the Gurudev’s nails. You will not understand. Many will understand. But a fairy tale. Yes, a fairy tale is the real tale; the others have no tail, it is cut off, so that it is... that it is something. So, āsana, prāṇāyāma is very good, meditation is all, but Gurubhakti. Therefore, there is "Guru Brahma." Guru is the Brahma. Guru Viṣṇu. And Guru Devo Maheśvara Śiva. "Guru Brahma, Guru Viṣṇu, Guru Devo Maheśvara, Guru Parabrahma." So finally, Parabrahma is the Guru. All this Brahma, Viṣṇu, Śiva, they bow to the Guru principle, the Guru knowledge, not this your body, but that time body when you will have, your body will be like that, but it is not easy. So we said better that we bow down to the Gurudev; do not become that you are a guru. When you think that now they should touch me, that I am the master, do not do like this. Otherwise, whatever you have, that will also be gone: that maṇi, that knowledge, that light, that wisdom. That is something. In the Rāmāyaṇa it is beautifully written, in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam also, and all other holy saints. I told this morning the 18,000 ślokas are from that which Vedavyāsa has written. How many poems do you write? And many others. Also, the Vedas. Therefore, this Guru Pūrṇimā is actually the worship of Ved Vyāsa. Ved Vyāsa is that Guru. He was born on this Pūrṇimā, and that is why it is called Guru Pūrṇimā. Because they all follow the Ved Vyāsa, we are worshiping our Guru. But Ved Vyāsa and these great saints, the Sanātan Dharma is from ādi and anādi, from beginning till end, all. There is no end, but in Kali Yuga different religions came. That is why there is a lot of spirituality disturbed. So, where are we going? What can we do? Purify your heart. That is what. Every day, make a water in your palm and say, "Guru Brahma, Guru Viṣṇu, Guru Deva," and so on. And then, "Guru Pada," make maṇi and you drink it. As long as you have the devotion, and on the day that is called Holy Water, you go to the church. There is a door on the right side, and there is a stone, and there is water. So, those who follow Jesus take this water as tilaka and put one drop in the mouth. From where did this come? It came from that ṛṣi at that time and the Vedavyāsas. We think now it is only stupid things, and they call it fanatic. So, can you find what is a fanatic? Okay, it is a fanatic. Can you write 18,000 slogans? You will die already, so it is like this: what we tell a fox in the farm, and there are beautiful grapes, and he wants to eat the grapes. And this is saying, all knows, everybody knows. So, the fox is always getting off, jumping, but he could not catch that. And he cannot give up. So the fox tried to create something so that he could get rid of these grapes. So he said, "What did he say?" So do not go to eat grapes; they are very sour. And so it is that people who are talking about this, that is like that. But we should not imitate. Imitation is not good. There is a right, the real gold ornament, and there is the other, what you call wrong. So it looks like gold, but it is nothing. So reality is reality. If the gold is real, you can melt it and still there will be gold. So, whoever has purity in the heart and in the mind, and no negative thoughts or negative words, then you are the great. Otherwise, you will listen to everything, and you will say, "The grapes are white and sour." Clean, clean, clean. Mind, go clean your mind. So, Patañjali said, "Atha," and then? Okay, so that we can follow. Anuśaṅ, we will try. But immediately he put a locket, lock under the front, a barrier. What? After this? What did he say after that? And how will you come over these three things: citta, vṛtti, nirodha? So, a thousand students were there, and one remained. Patañjali said, "Where are you going?" Because man, citta, vṛtti, it is so hard to take away. So they went, the five disciplinary men. But there were sitting lions, deer, tigers, elephants, many birds, around the house or this cottage. The ṛṣi was sitting outside, and he was preaching that ahiṃsā, so all these animals, the lion and deer sitting beside, the tigers and cows sitting beside, the peacock sitting beside. They are, I do not know, I did not see, but they write in the book, in the picture, so it is not like it is not only a fairy tale. It is, and it was, and it will be. So perhaps we are all disciples of Patañjali, 7,000 years. So, my dear, let us purify our heart. And please do not beat on someone’s chest, but worship the feet. That is why the time they begin to bore down mothers, fathers, all elderly persons, and what they should give you: "Blessing, live long." Live long. But what does it mean to live long? "So long" means endless. He did not say, "Live little." No. "Live long." Bless you long life. And that long life has no end, and so that was the Ṛṣi. Many, many ṛṣis. Alak Purījī. Now, in so many bhajans, we have Ālakpurījī’s name. Morning prayer, when we are saying, "Śrī Guru, Ātma, Paramātmā," there is coming the name of the Alakdeva. I am so happy you came and practiced. So only a few days, then we will see when, where, how. We said we will come, but who knows? You do not know from the thousands of birds which bird will fly away. It does not matter if it is the old one or the young one. Someone has only life until death. That one had some kind of problem to solve. He or she has solved it, and that is all he was born for. He is gone again. This nest is only for sometimes. So our parents, mother, father, everything, we know what we are doing. If we leave, then please, Mahāprabhujī, Devapurījī, Gurujī, keep us healthy. Not suffering. Suffering is punishment. So tell Gurujī, enough punishment you have given us. We had many, many things, so please, at the last minute, let us be great, great, peaceful. That is it. Let us do our sādhanā. So citta prithinirodaha, always think right down in your house: citta prithinirodaha, and what it means right down there. Then you will see that the saints are saints. Long ago, I was in Greece. Slowly, slowly, I turned to other countries, and there, and there. So there is this capital of Greece, it is Athens. From there, there is another lake. It is a very beautiful, what you call, angel, and that is called the Dejavan Monastery. This monastery is called the Holy Katerina, and there is a story that there was one saint. He was very holy. Other Christians did not believe him, so he died. When he died, there was a good smell all the time. So they took his body and they grieved somewhere else, so there was also smells and many things. How complete story I have forgotten, and they all, the priest was very, very angry and naughty, so they brought him in the holy Caterina Monastery. There are many, many people going every day. They are making a program, and there is a very good smell, and maybe 200-300 all to this body. I was there, and someone told me that there is this monastery, and this is like this. I said, "Let us go." There were three or four persons with me, and we went there. Outside of the monastery, three or four patriarchs were sitting. One of my drivers, his bhakta, was parking his car. Then he came behind me. That priest said, "Who is this guy?" He said, "This is a friend of mine." "If he is in any religion, kick him out." So he said, "No, no, it is not a religion." You see, so much bitterness in such a monastery. But that man is still there, and people are worshipping and worshipping. It is not that someone is putting on some kind of smelling perfume, no. They do not allow anyone to wear perfume in. So maybe some of you know, have you been there? Have you been somebody there? Okay. So perhaps we will go someday. It is a very nice island, and that time I was swimming for two hours, three hours, and the sun was shining for a long time, so we were swimming until it was dark, and someone said, "A shark comes and takes you," so before dark, I always came out. I want to say, there is scent, and where there is scent, there is something. The fruits are sweet, but around them there are thorns, so we have to be careful. Understand? And what is a caraṇ pādukā? Caraṇ pādukā are the shoes of Gurudev, the sandals of the Gurudev. And caraṇ rāja, the sand from the feet of the Gurudev. Let us see, we will continue tomorrow, yes?

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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