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Hari Om, everybody. Svāmījī, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvarānanda Purījī, Satrī Ānandī, Kaṁsa Nyāsī, Vimunājī, Rokmanījī Satvī, Mantra Purījī, Bhavatī, dear Vasantī Gaṅgā, Hari Om, and all dear sisters and brothers and friends, those of you who have travelled so far—from America, Australia, Ukraine, Hamburg, from all over Europe—bhaktas and friends coming to see our beloved Gurudeva. What can I say? Svāmījī is most probably listening, watching over us. He underwent some treatments for his eyes, and everything went well; he will soon be here with us. We came this summer having taken our holidays, spent our money, and done many things to make it possible to be together in the āśram with all of you and with our beloved Gurudev. What we recognize is that the āśram is nothing without us all. It only comes alive when bhaktas are here, when all of us are here. We waited a long time for this summer retreat. We had two beautiful, divine weeks in Vep. Now, during this time in our Strilky Ashram in the Czech Republic, there will be various kinds of anuṣṭhānas and sādhanās for different levels of practice. Group A will focus more on āsanas and prāṇāyāma. Group B is dedicated to Anuṣṭhāna and deeper meditation techniques. There is also a group for the children, and one more group: Karma Yoga. In truth, Karma Yoga is the best group. Without Karma Yoga, our yoga path—your yoga path—cannot be successful. Group A is open to everyone. For Group B, the Anuṣṭhāna group, it is said that at least three years of mantra practice and the permission of a yoga teacher are required. Every evening there will be satsaṅg and a lecture with Viśvagurujī. In the morning at 10:30 there will be another lecture where everyone comes together, either outside when the weather is good or here inside. In all our sādhanā and techniques, let us be aware that we are here in the āśram and use this time like a precious diamond—use the time very carefully, and do not miss any program. We do not know how often we can come here or how often this possibility will arise. Just now a bhajan of Śrī Mahāprabhujī was sung. In the Līlā Amṛt it is written: “Atachora Mana.” The conscience speaks to the mind: “Give up your own icchā, your own will.” We know that we cannot trust the mind. It is like a monkey, jumping here and there, just as our desires and indriyas are. The mind always tries to fulfill wishes in a pleasant way. So the conscience says, “My mind, give up this self-will.” Gurudev says, “Come with me, and I will show you the secret of your Ātmā.” That secret is caved into the body, caged within the body of the five elements. Then you will be very, very happy. Who says this? Mahāprabhujī, Śrī Mahāprabhujī. He says: “You will be very, very happy.” You cannot find this happiness in the world; it is indescribable. We do have a little, small happiness every day. We try to live a good, happy, comfortable life, to make our lives somehow pleasant and happy. But this happiness does not last; it is only on the surface. And here Gurudev says, “Come, I will show you the real happiness that springs from your own Ātmā.” That is why Mahāprabhujī said, “Go always to your master. Try to be as near to him as possible. Try to be as much as possible in his radiance, and he will guide you.” Meditate on Gurudeva. Then you need never fear. Father, mother, all relatives, and friends—none of them can give you this self-realization. To realize our inner self, to realize who we are and how we are, takes time and peace. To withdraw within, far from the worldly sorrows and troubles, from the prapañca, the drama of this life—it takes time to calm all the vṛttis, all our feelings and thoughts born of worldly things. And Mahāprabhujī says, “I will show you this, your inner divine self.” All the yogīs meditate upon it. It is caged in this physical body. So why are you suffering? I received this knowledge from my Gurudev, Śrī Devpurījī. Śrī Devpurījī gave me this divine darśan, and he showed me his divine self. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai. Śrī Śrī Devīśvara Mahādeva Kī Jai. Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai. Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Purījī Devā Kī Jai. At the same time, I want to apologize for sitting here. We all waited for our Gurudev. Please do not be too disappointed. Svāmījī is here. I know this from my own experience. Fortunately, I can sometimes be with Svāmījī and do sevā in different forms. Even now we are performing sevā. And I know that when Svāmījī is physically here, he is not really here; he is more there, where his physical body is not. He knows exactly when the Hīrapurī camera goes round and round, showing every face—who is here and who is not. It does not matter whether Svāmījī is sitting here in physical form or not; he is here. Yet of course we are all bhaktas, and we long for his darśan—to see him, to hear him with all our indriyas, to be with him. But it will happen, and it will be even better than before. Like the bhajan from Holī Gurujī you were just singing: “Juga Juga Jīvo Maheśvarānanda.” I remember the time when Gurujī asked our bhajanāñchī to sing this bhajan for Svāmījī while we were in India. We had the inauguration of our Śivamandir—an orange flag was raised. Then our Holy Gurujī was composing this bhajan about Svāmījī. Svāmījī sat next to Holī Gurujī, and he was so embarrassed that his own master was writing a bhajan about him, the disciple. He kept trying to divert attention away from it. I think he spent the whole time feeling ashamed before Gurujī. We know how much Svāmījī loves Holy Gurujī. And here is Holī Gurujī writing about Svāmījī, saying that across all the yugas, Śrī Maheśvarānanda is there—the one who showers the immortal bliss of merciful Śrī Mahāprabhujī upon all living beings. He showers the bliss of Śrī Mahāprabhujī to all beings. This is the promise of Śrī Mahāprabhujī: that he will always be at Svāmījī’s side. Where Svāmījī is, Śrī Mahāprabhujī is also. And where Mahāprabhujī is, Devpurījī is. Where Śrī Devpurījī is, Alakhpurījī is. And where Svāmījī is, we are. So we are always with them, no matter what; we move together. And for all living beings, he is always showering bliss. It is the great fortune of the land of India that such a great soul was born there. That is how Holy Gurujī spoke: such a great and powerful person incarnated in India. He removes all the bad karmas of living beings, and he also removes the three tapas in which bhaktas burn. The three tapas, as we know, are the three kinds of heat—the fires of the physical body, the mental body, and the astral body. He relieves this suffering. He gives bhakti, devotion; he gives jñāna, knowledge; and he also gives the yoga sādhanā, the proper sādhanā that is different for each person but which he knows. He gives bhakti. He gives the devotion. In this sādhanā, we know that nowadays there are many different kinds of yoga—you could say on the market—yet this Yoga in Daily Life that we have cannot be found anywhere else. Its step-by-step practicing is a very sure way, a safe path. And there is one special aspect we cannot find elsewhere: we have our Gurudev, we have the Paramparā, we have everything. I have travelled far and wide, but nowhere could I find this. This is what Svāmījī gives. Along with it, he grants us Brahmajñāna, the highest knowledge. We know there are two kinds of vidyā: Aparāvidyā, the knowledge we acquire for our worldly life, and Parāvidyā, the highest knowledge, which we cannot simply learn. But Svāmījī bestows it through his blessing—Paramājñāna, this Parāvidyā. Sometimes, due to circumstances, mental troubles, or doubts, we can lose our way. But there is a way to find the path of devotion and bhakti again: through daily prayer, prayer, and more prayer. Pray to our Paramparā: “Let nothing happen that divides me from my Gurudev. Please protect this relationship between me and my Master.” This is bhakti—not merely emotional bhakti, but bhakti coupled with jñāna, with knowledge, so that we know where and to whom we belong, and that Gurudev is always guiding us and is with us, no matter where we are or where he is. We know the story Svāmījī tells about the worm in the cow dung. A bhakta had once incarnated—whether man or woman, I don’t know—as a worm living in cow dung. Somehow the worm made its way into a lotus flower. A bird placed it there. Perhaps Gurudev came as that bird, swiftly, to place the worm in the lotus. In the evening, the lotus closed its petals. Every morning at dawn, the lotus was plucked and brought directly to the altar. And I had darśan of God and Gurudev, and within me, the worm was there. So Gurudev takes care of us wherever we are. And here Mahāprabhujī says—or Gurujī says—that this Gurudev, Svāmījī, is so established in his knowledge that there could be no more. He is utterly grounded in it. And this he showers upon everyone. Every man and woman finds again their own nature; there is no need to change anything, we simply come back to our own nature. And here Gurujī said, “He makes the bhaktas independent and free.” He makes them Jīvan Mukta, liberated while living. These are the words of Gurujī, not a story. And he does this without any selfish interest. Śrī Mahāprabhujī remains always at his side. And here Gurujī says, Madhavānandajī says this with great joy, that he removes all tensions, all tapas, and all illusions from the suffering of this world. This is the bhajan “Juga Juga Jīvo Maheśvarānanda.” I think we will sing it for Svāmījī—could we? For Svāmījī said that as long as we sing this, he will remain alive. And we often sing it, so that he may stay with us alive. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Śrī Śrī Devīśvara Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Viśvagurū Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Śrī Svāmī Viśvānandajī Gurudeva Kī Jaya. Artha kī pṛthvī pargaye Śrī Māheśvarānandjī Mahārāj, juga juga jīva Māheśvarānandajī… When we look at the bhajans we have, we also cannot find their like anywhere. The world offers kīrtans, gospel songs, mantras, religious songs—but the bhajans of Śrī Mahāprabhujī, of Holī Gurujī, and of all the yogīs and saints, into which they poured their experiences, their teachings, their knowledge, their guidance, and the longing of Gurudev for God—these cannot be found elsewhere. Consider the bhajans of Mīrābāī, where she tried to describe her longing and suffering; we cannot find such expression anywhere. From time to time Svāmījī translates a bhajan and explains it, because we do not know Hindi. For example, I understand a little, but I cannot speak it well, nor Sanskrit. Yet through his explanations, we can grasp the meaning. It is also Svāmījī who told us about Śrī Mahāprabhujī, about Śrī Devpurījī and Alakhpurījī. We had never known them before. Through words, like in the bhajan of Svāmī Śivānanda, a disciple of Śrī Mahāprabhujī, he helps us understand what the words mean. With words we can see the face. We come to know what Nirguṇa means and what Saguṇa means—the formless God and God with form. He explains what Māyā is and what Brahma is. He explains what this life is. This comes through words. Svāmī Śivānandajī said this while staying at the Kāṭhu Āśram with Śrī Mahāprabhujī. Then his relatives arrived, the whole family, because they did not want him to remain there and become a sannyāsī; without family, without children, who would take care of him? They wanted to bring him home. But Svāmī Śivānandajī said, “No. You are related to me by blood, but my real relatives are those who understand me and understand my words, what I am saying. My guru brothers and sisters—these are my relatives, this is my family.” And we all know this. We experience it in our daily life: how troublesome and painful it can be, how often we are disappointed, even without expectations. Life can be very hard. Nowadays, in this Kali Yuga, there is no more Ahiṃsā; everybody runs after position, money, ego, power. There is only one place where we can find shelter: the āśram near Gurudev. The only place where we can find rest is the āśram, Gurudev, and our spiritual life. Svāmījī once said that protection lies in protection, so we must now protect ourselves and be strong. And this strength we receive from our Paramparā. As Gurujī said in a bhajan, many people are living, but the real human being, the true meaning of a human, is one who has Guru Bhakti. And this is not easy to obtain. We think Guru Bhakti is easy, but it is not. We must work for it, wait, keep it, realize it, and understand what it truly means. The real human is one who has Guru Bhakti. And a person who has found his Gurudeva in this life need never fear, for that bhakta will always be protected. We have fear, we have troubles, we have pain. But suddenly, when we meet our Gurudev, they disappear. Suddenly the pain in our heart opens the heart again, and we see the light—not only inside when we close our eyes, but also outside. Gurujī gave the example of King Hariścandra and how hard his life was. You know the story: he had to give up his kingdom to keep his dharma, his duty. He was tested to see how far his dharma would hold. He had to leave his country and even sell his wife and son. He worked at the graveyard burning dead bodies. It reached a point where he could not even cremate his own son’s body without payment. And then Gurudev appeared. It is a very painful story; perhaps you know it. There is also the story of Dhruva, who was not allowed to sit on his father’s lap. He was always pushed away, and he suffered greatly because he could not embrace his father. So he left, and he received a promise: “Dhruva, you will not only sit on your father’s lap; you will receive your own planet, a star just for you, and you will always be with me.” That is why the evening star we see first, the Pole Star, is Dhruva. He was given that star, and he shines first in the whole firmament. How much he suffered—even his father wanted to kill him because he would not stop repeating the name of God. Yet he was always protected. Svāmījī said that this is the protection of Gurudev: nobody can pull out even one hair; nobody can do anything. That is why King Janaka, even Śrī Kṛṣṇa and God Rāma, all served the Gurudev. Even Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva serve the Gurudev. I am not saying this to look good in front of Svāmījī or you. This is what Mahāprabhujī said, what Gurujī said about their Gurudev. And we say the same about our Gurudeva. We pray: “Please, Gurudeva, protect us, please help us, please guide us. Bhagavān Kī Jai.” [Applause and calls of “Jai!”]