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Good evening. Welcome, everyone. We are truly blessed to be able to hold a satsaṅg. Satsaṅg leads us to Brahmaloka—it is the words of great saints. Even here, little children who are speaking are in a perfect satsaṅg. So, if people do not come to satsaṅg, do they receive any benefit or not? Our Gurudev, Swami Mādhavānandjī Bhagavān, always had beautiful words and a little story. Stories, poems, drama, dance—this is the finest knowledge that enters one’s whole being. Many books are written and read; many things are typed into computers. But can you remember all that is on your computer? If it is stored there and you don’t know it by heart, what use is it? The divine words of great beings, especially the saints, are truth, and they lead us to our destination, to God and beyond. For this reason, there is a bhajan that Mahāprabhujī sang. Mahāprabhujī himself wrote and said, “Satguru Sat Saṅgyārī Olu Avere.” One day, no one came to satsaṅg; only a few people were serving him. Gurujī Mahāprabhujī asked, “Where is the satsaṅgī?” A satsaṅgī is one who attends satsaṅg. The distinction is between satsaṅg and kusaṅg. I taught this long ago and have repeated it a few times. It is called uṭhān and patan. These two words can lead us to great heights or, sometimes, the wrong path. That is kusaṅga or good saṅgha. Uṭhān means developing, rising higher and higher. Otherwise, there is destruction—that is kusaṅga. Yet both are born from a single point, like a seed. When we put a seed in the earth, it sprouts and has two leaves; rarely, three. In the beginning, there are only two leaves. That is uṭhān and patan. Patan is the falling. Uṭhān—that’s development. And Patañjali? That is going down. Why? Because you may be very good, but you go towards negative qualities, all kinds of habits, and even your parents cannot bring you back. That is drugs, stealing, having no money—you know it all. That is called patan, falling down. Uṭhān means you are developing, whatever subject you take up. We were all very small children, just born. One went to school and had good friends, while others had many friends that did not lead to high quality—even if you became more educated than your parents, your parents may be sad because their children are not good people. There is only one word for it: uṭhān or patan. Uṭhān is developing, developing, developing. Patañjali is distraction, distraction, distraction. What is the one word in between? Gurujī always used to say, “Satsaṅg.” That single word, satsaṅg, leads you to the highest quality. In school, with good friends and good teachers, you become a doctor, a surgeon, a professor, a great poet, a sādhu, a spiritual person—all good things. That is uṭhān. Humans are born to rise. The second word is “kusaṅga”—bad society. Be careful with kusaṅga and do not spoil your children. Keep them in discipline and don’t give them too much pocket money. Give them everything they need; you can give them money, no problem, but know what they use it for. When your parents ask, “How did you use the money?” and you reply, “It’s not your problem, it’s mine,” then soon you leave the house and say, “It’s my house.” There are people like this. Another child will say, “No, I don’t need anything, please you can buy it for me—I have no time because I must study.” There is no force; you educate, you give education. How? When you are small, you say, “Good morning. Good night.” The child hears it many times. When friends come, you say, “Shake hands. Say hello.” The parents teach, the children listen and hear. But outside, perhaps another child, when you say “Sit,” he just says “Good morning.” You see the difference. So, parents are like a lump of clay. It is the duty of the parents, like a potter, to take the clay and make a beautiful statue. That is an artist. Look at Mahāprabhujī’s image; it was only stone, but a master made it, and now we worship that statue. Because that master shaped the stone, and the parents said, “Dear professor, I give this stone into your hand.” One day, the professor will invite the parents, and at the university, when the student receives his diploma, he gets a beautiful cap and with great happiness the book is placed in his hand. Everyone is there. So, that stone was made great by the professor. Similarly, my dear, if you want a child, the mother and father must be careful. What do you want the child to become? You are the best husband, grateful and beautiful, but even more, the wife is beautiful, happy, kind, learned—she can give everything. Between the two, the child becomes a diamond. This is what we call uṭhāna or patan. It is in your house, in your hands. The father must know how beautiful his child will be and how great he is to his wife, so that in her womb such a beautiful child will come. You will come as a human, not like a donkey. Donkeys are good, but not in that way. Now, the human gives birth to a human. But still, this child is like mud, and now you will shape a great person. Your nation will be proud, your neighbors proud, the whole world proud. How? It depends on the parents. That is it. Therefore, regarding satsaṅg and kusaṅg, there is a beautiful story in Gurujī’s book. We wrote all these books and stories, and I used to tell them long ago. One lady wrote them all down and then published a book of the stories under her own name—not from Mahāśvaraṇandajī. She claimed they were her stories. That is called a thief, and that path does not go well. The Bhagavad Gītā is the Bhagavad Gītā; you can take knowledge from it, but you cannot claim it as your own. Similarly, what Gurujī said—his stories are very beautiful and very simple. All saints speak simply but supremely. There was a great poet named Kavi Kālidāsa. His story is beautiful and long, and his books are in the best libraries of universities everywhere, originally in the Sanskrit language. When he was in Sri Lanka, a king offered half his kingdom if someone could complete his poem. He wrote half a poem and said, “Now who can complete it? Then I will give half my kingdom.” Many came, but the king said, “No, no.” A lady from a shepherd’s household heard this, took the paper, and went to the king. “Your Highness, please give me your half poem; I will bring it back complete.” The king looked at her, but he was wise. He thought, “Why not? Maybe she looks like this, but perhaps she is a diamond.” She went home where Kavi Kālidāsa was staying, and she said, “Look, we can get half the kingdom.” He said, “Why? For what?” A wise person doesn’t seek such things. He asked, “What is it?” She said, “Nothing, give me a pen.” He read the half poem, completed it easily. But that night, the lady killed Kavi Kālidāsa. Then she went to the king: “Your Highness, here is the completed poem.” The king questioned her: “How did you do it? With your knowledge? Can you read it? How did you write it?” She replied, “I am not stupid; you are testing me. It is yours; I go. Enjoy.” The king said, “Wait, sit down.” He sent a message to her house and discovered Kālidāsa had been killed. It is said the king burned her alive. So, a wise person doesn’t matter from where they come; knowledge is knowledge, and lack of knowledge is lack of knowledge. It does not matter if you are male or female, young or old, or from which country. If you have that knowledge, that love, harmony, and peace, others may hide their actions. But satsaṅg—don’t lose it. One day, there were two good friends, about twenty-five years old, good students at university. Every day they went to satsaṅg, served their Gurujī, and listened. One day, a friend said, “A very beautiful and great cinema has come; let’s go see it today—it’s only for one day. Can we go?” Both agreed to go to the cinema. But one of them was more intelligent—like many good people. He was always sending our programs on the Swāmījī television. (What is his name? Puri.) One said, “I think let’s go to Gurujī in the ashram for satsaṅg.” The other said, “We go every day; once we skip, Gurujī will not be angry.” So Ātmpurī said, “Okay, I go to Gurujī’s satsaṅg, and if you want, you go to the cinema.” This is patan and uṭhān—one seed splitting under the skin. After satsaṅg, one disciple went home and on the way stepped on a piece of glass, which was very painful. The other, returning from the cinema, found a big bag—more like a money purse—filled with gold coins. He went home. The next day they met. “How was the cinema?” “The cinema was stupid. All the time my thoughts were on Gurujī, what satsaṅg he would have given. But you know what happened? On the way, I found a pocket full of gold coins.” “Wow, maybe that is a good thing from the cinema.” The other said, “What about satsaṅg? All the time I was thinking about cinema—dancing, girls and boys—I was in satsaṅg but completely distracted. And when I left, look, I have a wound on my foot.” Both boys thought something was wrong. Going to cinema brought money, while sitting in satsaṅg brought injury. They went to Gurujī at eleven o’clock. Gurujī explained, “It was great luck for the one who went to the cinema to get gold coins; it seems he was meant to become a king, but he got only some coins. And you? You were in satsaṅg. If you had gone elsewhere, you would have died in the accident.” So, how easily good luck can turn into bad, and bad into good. This is the power of good society—whether your parents, neighbors, or friends—who you keep company with matters. It is about giving something up as well. Today, because Gurujī’s book came into my hands, you will not forget these stories, though you may forget my lecture. One story was uṭhān and patan, the other about always going to Gurujī’s satsaṅg. I can give you one more. Are you tired? It is a beautiful story about Buddha. In the time of kings, there were also very good merchants, and kings often took loans from them. There was a farmer who every morning, exactly at 8:30, walked past a beautiful field where another farmer grew many kinds of flowers—red, green, blue, and all varieties. One merchant said to him, “Please, every day at exactly 8:30, prepare a garland for my Gurujī.” The farmer made beautiful garlands. The merchant paid ten krona daily. One day, it was Guru Pūrṇimā. The merchant said, “My Gurujī has Guru Pūrṇimā; can you make an even more beautiful garland?” The farmer crafted an exquisite garland—it is an art: which flower, which color, how it is arranged. He arrived five minutes early, holding the garland carefully. The king and queen passed by in their carriage. The queen said to the king, “Your Highness, today is Guru Pūrṇimā, and we are going to our Gurudev. Look, there is a beautiful garland. I want to give it.” The king called to the coachman, “Stop. Can you give us this garland? How much money should I give you?” The farmer replied, “I’m sorry, King. This is for someone else. I can make another.” “But this one is specially made, after a whole year of making garlands for him.” The queen persisted, “I too will give it with my own hands to our Gurujī.” The farmer said, “Sorry, I cannot.” The king declared, “I give one million krona.” The merchant arrived just then and said, “The garland is here. I offer ten million krona.” The king upped it to twenty million. The queen said, “I will give my kingdom.” The farmer replied, “Sorry, I gave my word, and I will remain true to my word.” So the merchant said, “I will get you two kingdoms, but I already have my Gurudev’s garland.” The gardener gave it to the merchant, not the king. The king and merchant both saw: this is an honest person who can renounce everything—so much money and even a kingdom. He renounced it all and said, “Now I know you can become king and rich, but my Gurudev will take me to Brahmaloka.” Yes, that is it. How can we see renunciation and enjoyment? Renounce and enjoy. Who said that? These are very simple things, but they are an education for our family. We need to bring society back to this. The world is already changing in a very sāttvic and good way. You know what vegans are? Things are changing. Yoga is coming. Care for animals, forests. We are moving again toward Buddha; it will come. We are changing the world—all humans together. Can you believe? Fifty years ago in Europe, very few were vegetarian; now see what is happening. You are turning Indians in a good way, bringing this knowledge and wisdom back to India. People are admiring yoga and meditation. In our ashrams, other Indians ask, “Why are these Westerners here in normal dress, washing and cleaning, giving money? What is this?” Yes, like this we will show the way again, and we are opening the door of the sun. Alakhpurījī, Devpurījī, Mahāprabhujī, Holī Gurujī, and so on. Therefore, Mahāprabhujī said, “Satguru Sat Saṅghiyārī Olum.” Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān. But concerning the Holy Gurujī and Mahāprabhujī, there are so many beautiful discussions. I want to tell you just one example—it is true and written in Līlā Amṛt. When Gurujī took sannyāsa, he said, “Gurudev, you tell me to go there while you are here. How will I remain with you and with your satsaṅg?” Mahāprabhujī replied, “That means you have not understood the Gurudeva. Even if you are on high mountains, rocks, or in a forest where there is nothing to eat, or among tigers, lions, and snakes—do you not trust me? At the right time, I will come and bring you food. Whatever you need, I will already have provided. Do you think there is any distance from me?” This you can read in Līlā Amṛt. Always remember this: when the body is in one place, but your Self is one with That, it is very important.