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Part 1: The Worship of Kātyāyanī and the Nature of Devotion Lopurjī Mahādeva kī jai, Devātidevadevīśvara Mahādeva kī jai, Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī jai, Hindudūraṃ Saṃbhārada Paramahaṃsvāmī Śrī Madanpurījī Mahārāj kī jai, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṃsvāmī Śrī Maheśvara Ānandapurījī Satgurudeva Bhagavān kī jai. Sadāśiva Samārambhām Śaṅkarācārya Madhyamām Asmadācārya Paryantām Vande Guru Paramparām. Aigirinandini Nandetamidini Viśvavinodini Nandanute Girivaravindyāśirodini Vāsini Viṣṇu Vilāsini Jishnunute. First, I would like to bow in front of our Guru Paramparā and Viśvagurujī. Good evening, dear brothers and sisters around the world who are watching the webcast tonight with us. Today is the sixth day of our Navarātri series, and today’s Devī, the goddess, is Kātyāyanī. Kātyāyanī’s story goes like this: once upon a time, many years back, there was a ṛṣi, a sage, whose name was Kath. Kath had a son named Katiya, and Katiya had a son named Kātyāyana. So this is already three generations of sages, ṛṣis, who were doing great tapasyā: Kath, Katya, and Kātyāyana. Kātyāyana was married, and he didn’t have a child. So he was doing meditation for many, many years, praying to the gods to get a child. After many years of his great tapasyā, his wish was fulfilled. But meanwhile, at the same time, there was a demon named Mahiṣāsura. Mahiṣāsura was every day bringing his terrorism higher and higher and destructing the whole world. The whole world was very disturbed by his terrorism. I will tell first the story about Mahiṣāsura. Who was Mahiṣāsura? Mahiṣāsura was the son. His father, Kadam, fell in love with Princess Mahiṣī. Mahiṣī is actually a Sanskrit word which means buffalo. So he fell in love with Princess Mahiṣī, who was cursed to be a water buffalo. By the combination of Kadam and Mahiṣī, Mahiṣāsura was born. That’s why his mother’s name is Mahiṣī, and that’s why he was named Mahiṣāsura. As he was a son of a Rākṣasa, a demon, and a water buffalo princess, Mahiṣī, he could change his forms anytime he wanted. He could be a Rākṣasa, a demon, when he wants, or he could also change his form to become a buffalo. At that time, when Mahiṣāsura was terrorizing the whole world, all the gods and goddesses went to Lord Śiva first. They went to Lord Viṣṇu and prayed if they could help them and help the world from the terrorism of Mahiṣāsura. After all the prayers, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Brahmā went together to Lord Śiva and prayed, "Oh Śiva, Oh Lord, please save us from the terrorism of Mahiṣāsura." After the prayers to Śiva, Śiva and Pārvatī created a fire, which later transformed into the form of Kātyāyanī. Kātyāyanī is actually a form of incarnation of goddess Durgā, and she was born because of the hard tapasyā of the ṛṣi Kātyāyana. She took her incarnation as this daughter of Kātyāyana, so we had Kātyāyanī. Kath, Katya, Kātyāyana, and Kātyāyana got the daughter, Kātyāyanī. So, Kātyāyanī, that was the daughter, the form of Durgā. Her form was like this: she had four arms. In one arm, she had a long sword. In one arm, she had a lotus. The third arm was for blessings, and the fourth arm was there for the protection of the whole world. Her purpose, why was she born? Her purpose was to protect the world and kill Mahiṣāsura, the demon, who was terrorizing the whole world. Therefore, Kātyāyanī was trained. After she was born, all the gods gifted her some type of their power. Like Śiva gifted her his triśūla, and Lord Viṣṇu gifted her his Sudarśana Cakra. Agni gave her the powers of throwing fire. Vāyu, the wind lord, gifted her a śaṅkha, a conch. So all the gods and goddesses gave her eighteen different types of weapons to kill Mahiṣāsura. She usually rides a lion; that’s her vehicle, her form of traveling. After that, when she was all prepared and all trained, she was sent to kill Mahiṣāsura. After a vigorous fight with Mahiṣāsura, she chopped off the head of Mahiṣāsura. That’s why her second name, another name given to her, was Mahiṣāsuramardinī. Mahiṣāsura is the name of the Rākṣasa, the demon. Mardinī means the one who killed Mahiṣāsura. Mahiṣāsuramardinī, the one who killed Mahiṣāsura. If you notice, every day when I’m singing, before I start my speech, I sing this mantra, "Aigiri Nandini Nandita Medini." That is actually the Mahiṣāsuramardinī Stotra. It is a compilation of 21 mantras which are created to worship Mahiṣāsuramardinī, Kātyāyanī. The first śloka is, "Aigiri Nandini Nandita Medini, Viśva Vinodini Nandanute." So, Aigiri, oh goddess of the mountains, the protector of the world, who protects us. I praise the wife of the blue-necked person, Śiva, the wife of blue-necked Śiva. This whole śloka, the whole stotra, is made to worship Kātyāyanī, Mahiṣāsuramardinī. It is said in the Purāṇas and the Śāstras that she is the most powerful out of all the nine avatars, all the nine devīs in the Navarātri. She is the most powerful one, and she is the one who kills the most powerful demon, Mahiṣāsura. She is very easy to evoke. So she is the most powerful one, and she is protecting us from all the negative energies and all the evilness in the world. Today we are on the sixth day; then we have three more days to go. On the ninth day is Rāma Navamī, when Lord Rāma was born. That’s the story for today. Thank you very much. Have a great evening. And now, Viśvagurujī, Hari Om. Premanaji, our Swami Premanaji Maharaj is going to give today the worship of different festivals. Our Swāmī Premānandjī has been many years in India, and of course in our ashram, and long he was also with Gurujī, our holy Gurujī. In our every ashram he did and is doing seva. Also, he traveled mostly in the direction of the Himālaya. The Himālaya is very mysterious mountains, and there are all kinds of creatures there. We mostly find in the humans more there about different kinds of ceremonies. But it is not only in the Himālaya or in India; it is on the whole earth. Our earth is rotating, and so it is coming from one direction to the other direction. The sun is there, and we think the sun is rising. The sun will be coming to midday and again down to sunset, but the sun is not moving anywhere. The earth is moving. It means that we cannot say only that we are on the one spot. Also, similarly, the moon is also moving and coming. It is a double speed from that moon, and that’s why the fortnight moon is becoming complete and then again second. But the sun is all the time. It is in every country where I have been going. I was working there in many, many different parts of the world, and so there are many very spiritual places. Also, some stones, mostly stone, has a miraculous power, and there are some people, but they have no this kind of understanding. They understand, but they don’t understand. Even the people in India itself, in India, many, many now the movement’s different. Mostly they were slaughtering the animals, eating the animals, so it is everywhere. It has been, but it is a spirituality’s goddess, and that is that one who is more God’s, God is, etc. It is about many things. We are talking about Śakti and Śiva, and no, not many things. These are, if you want to know for one deity, it will take one year to understand that. It has not killed, it has not been killed; it has done, it has not. Very, very difficult things to understand, so we cannot tell in a few words, but it is our whole earth. Premānandjī has also been traveling, but more so he traveled in India, in Nepal, and in this way. So, I think, Swami Premanājī is very much close to these Indian spiritualities, more spiritualities. I think today is a day of the mothers, this all and different. Mother is not only the mother. Mother is a father also, yeah? Mother is a father also, and father is also mother, like that. So there are different actions in the bodies. That is, many people have to understand; they’re not just like, "Okay, this is that, and that is that." That is not like that, you know. There is a worshipping of all animals, everything. Even the snake is worshipped very much. And his snake is a very, very holy and very divine, but there are different, and this and that. But the snake is his, his āsana or lying down is on the body of the snake, and he’s sitting under the earth on the water, and where the Bhagavān Viṣṇu is residing on him, and even the Pārvatī is there, or Lakṣmī. So there are many things. Things are getting... Our Premanājī was researching many things. He also met many, many sādhus. So I think, I was thinking today, our Swami Premanājī... So I think your place, Premanājī. If you come a little closer, so that we have a little bit. Mahāprabhujī is not closing, but thank you. Hari Om, Pānam Gurudev. Adoration to our Guru Paramparā. Dear friends, worship is everywhere. It’s just that what we make out of our action, which intention, which motivation we do it, so it becomes worship. It doesn’t matter if it is work or that would be, say, pūjā, or whatever we do in this world. Because whatever we do, actually, we do within the framework of our own existence. We all came from God, and we are part of Him. So whatever we do, we do for God. Now, we are sitting here in this hall, in front of Gurujī’s mūrti. Daily we are worshipping, daily we are praying, and daily we are opposite him, and he gives his blessings to us every day. Worship means we approach certain qualities, we awaken certain qualities in our worship, in our pūjā, in us, in ourself. Swamiji mentioned that before I was traveling; nowadays it’s a little bit difficult to travel in this crisis. You know, this corona crisis. But it also has a meaning, it also has a sense. Every chaos is a new chance. You know, corona is not only the virus, it’s also a famous beer in America. So I don’t know if this is a good thing or good advertisement for that, or it hits back. But don’t worry, not America is alone. Also in India, we have something very nice. We have a very good sweet juice that is called Gurujī. When it comes to this day nowadays, about not traveling, about being in the room, about not going outside, not too much mixing with people, I remember the poem of Ḥāfiẓ where he explains something: that if you really want to know about yourself and about the world, just allow yourself to get locked in a room. Don’t have a mobile, no reading, no books, nothing. Just make sure somebody will bring you sometimes some sandwiches, and then go through, because this is a tapasyā. When you go, restrain your senses from outside. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a cave or in your room. It will change your perspective of this world; you will see this world in a different way, with different aspects. I grew up in a very traditional Catholic family, in a traditional way, visiting mass, knowing the mass by heart in Latin. It was always one or two sentences in front of the priest was a mess. Boy, but never successful with certain things. So for me, it was natural, a kind of worship. But at that time, you know, when you worship, if you don’t understand, you do it automatically. It becomes a kind of routine. And then, when I met Swamiji, this changed very much, because I started slowly to understand what it really means to worship, to devote something, and to have something opposite as a mirror where one can see oneself in a better light, a clear light in a clarity and simplicity, and to see one’s own qualities inside, and not only to see the qualities, the good and the bad or the good and not so good, but also to develop certain qualities by mirroring oneself. Because whenever you worship a deity, or a god, or a saint, or a person who is near to you, it’s not only the worship that you make, pūjā or something, no. It’s just you approach it with humbleness, with devotion, and ask for blessing. Blessing means well wishes that every person can give, but if you go in deeper worshipping, with your pūjā, with a certain type of tapasyā, anuṣṭhān, you have to be ready. You have to prepare yourself for that. You have to prepare yourself physically, mentally, every day, and then be ready to be open for that. For example, it is difficult for people in the West to understand certain deities in Hinduism. How can you worship an elephant and a person, a child with an elephant head? So first, you have to make some kind of homework to look into the matter intellectually, from where it comes, to listen to the stories, to understand where it’s coming from, approaching, and so on, and how it comes that this person or this deity is suddenly there and worshipped by millions and millions of people in different, even in different forms. But only when you do, in the doing of the worship, you will start to understand, and by understanding you will realize, and when you realize, you will realize that it works, it is reality, you awaken. That mūrti, the prāṇa is there, the life is there, but with your worship you awaken it, you call it. We hear so many things about Śiva and Śakti nowadays, the nine days of the mother, the different forms of Pārvatī, Umā, and so on. We have to understand that it is a symbol: one side, consciousness; on the other side, nature. Nature means also illusion, means also Prakṛti, means also Māyā. Now, we need much more Śakti than actually we need Śiva. Because through Śakti we come to Śiva. And when we don’t awaken Śakti, Śiva will also not awaken, because she has to be first awakened. And when she is in life as nature or materializes itself, she will remember Śiva, and because her own nature is love towards Śiva, towards that creation, only then will she try to awaken Śiva. And this happens only through love. Only when Śiva opens his eyes, when he hears the calls of Śakti, of his consort, he will slowly open his eyes. He will come out of that meditation, and when he opens his eyes, he will take interest in this life. He will take interest in his creation and will take interest in all of us because his nature is playful, joyful. And when he opens his eye, his real eye, then he sees his own creation. Then his own mercy comes, his own compassion, his karuṇā, not corona, karuṇā. There’s a big difference. So whatever you choose to worship, it’s according to your own nature. It’s not something that somebody can tell you, "You should do this, you should do that." Gurujī can, yes, he can give you some advice. I can give you some hints, but whatever you choose as your worship, as your deity, that is according to your nature, that is the best. And out of all deities, out of all worshiping, the best is actually Guru Pūjā. Through this Guru Pūjā, through this meditation, for these prayers for the worship of the Guru, you will realize his tattva, his nature, and when you realize the nature of Gurudev, you will know everything is contained in that. Everything is inside that. We say, "Guruḥ Brahmā, Guruḥ Viṣṇuḥ, Guruḥ Maheśvaraḥ, Guruḥ Sākṣāt Para-Brahma, Tasmai Śrī Guruve Namaḥ." Mahā, so whatever type of worship you choose, it will come to you. But you should also be aware that what comes to you, can you handle that? Let’s say you worship Durgā. Durgā has many different forms, but there’s also a very fragile thing in it. It can be very frightening because whenever you want to pass through, you will come to the gate of fear, and when fear stands in front of you, you cannot either go back, or you push through, and then the real form and the real nature of that deity, of that god, reveals itself because it’s a kind of protection. There is fear you cannot go through. Fear is the cheapest room in this ashram, because when we have fear, we are blocked. Fear has different reasons and different symptoms. So it’s not just their fear, but there are different types of fears. And when you worship Durgā, for example, she is frightening. You have in one hand she is a sword, in the other one she is a head, a chopped head, and so on. And when she comes in this form, what will you do? Maybe you ask for it. Be sure you have some pampers with you. But when you pass through, then the real glory reveals, and the same is with Gurudev. It’s not easy to find out, to pass through, because what is this real form? Okay, every guru has, according to his teaching, by his nature, this way that, for, and so. But Guru Tattva itself is universal, and to understand that, it needs a lot of pūjā, it needs a lot of dedication, it needs service, it needs devotion. All these qualities... when I was travelling, as Guru Dev said, through the Himalayas, I saw many temples, many people, many sādhus. Good stories, interesting stories, and all the stories I heard, there is nothing wrong in that because they are all true, because in the Himalayas there are things existing that we even can’t imagine. It’s a hotspot, a hotspot for everybody’s phone. Just you have to know how to connect. You have to know what the password is. And this password, where you can get it, you have to find out. The simplest thing is that, oh, yes. When I was traveling once to China, I wanted to go to Mount Kailāś. And there I met a man from France. He was a journalist, and his main object of his journey was to find the mysterious Yeti. Yes, he said, "I’m coming from there and there, and the newspaper told me I should research," and I just told him, "Look, yeti, okay. Yeti may be existing, but not as you think. Just travel through India, you will see many yetis, because it’s not a yeti, something special. It’s just that yogīs who have a very long jaṭā." And they are living in the secluded area, and it’s cold, so they have a kind of coat out of their own hair. There are people who told me about huge, huge, not animals, but humans, three to four meters high. So what do we think about that? And there are many, many places in the Himalayas, small temples where there’s so much history around, so much living divinity worshipped for many, many thousands of years, and still it’s going on, going on... So many mandirs and people, they are sorry. I will rectify it next time by cutting it, so it’s not a mystery. Mystery is only something that we don’t know, you know? It’s a mystery, or it’s some secret. Nothing is secret. Nothing is a mystery. Nothing is secret here. Only it is secret when you don’t know how to approach it. If you don’t have the key for it, it’s a mystery. What is in this box? I don’t have the key, so I want to know. Once you have the key, it is not anymore hidden. So by worshiping these nine days of mother, we do something. We worship, actually, at the end we worship Rāma, because these nine days are symbolically for the nine months of pregnancy, and through this worship, through these nine days’ worship, after that, we celebrate the birth of Rāma. So, through our tapasyā, we add something to call Rāma on this earth, everybody. And I hope that this will work. I hope that many of you get the blessing of Rāma after these nine days. And, of course, I am looking forward that we get mainly the blessing of Gurudev after these nine days, because what I feel is, not much difference. It is the breath. When it’s talking, yeah, there is. It’s good. He is a musician. Premanājī is a musician from Australia, Austria. Om Namah Śrī Prabhu Dīp Nārāyaṇam. Om Namah Śrī Prabhu Dīp Nārāyaṇam. Om Namah Śrī Prabhu Dīpanārāyaṇam... Om Śabdāś Prabhu Śaraṇ Parāya Om Śabdāś Prabhu Śaraṇ Om Śrī Prabhu Dīp Nārāyaṇa Om Nam Śrī Prabhu Dīp Nārāyaṇa Om Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpanārāyaṇam Om Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpanārāyaṇam. Open this. Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Śrī Rām Jayā Rām Jayā Jayā Rām Śrī Rām Jayā Rām Jayā Jayā Rām Śrī Rām Jayā Rām Śrī Rām Jayā Rām Jayā Jayā Rām Śrī Rām Jai Rām Jai Jai Śrī Rām Jai Rām Jai Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Śrī Rām, Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Rām, Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Rām... Jai Jai Rām, Śrī Rām, Śrī Rām, Jai Rām, Jai Jai Rām, Śrī Rām, Jai Rām, Jai Jai Rām, Śrī Rām, Jai Rām, Jai, Jai Rām, Śrī Rām, Jai Rām, Śrī Rām, Jai Rām, Jai, Jai, Śrī Rām, Jai Rām, Jai Rām. Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Rām Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Rām... Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Rām Shrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Rām Shrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Rām... Shri Rām, Shri Rām, Jaya Rām, Jaya Jaya Rām, Shri Rām, Jai Rām, Jai Jai Jai Shri Rām, Jai Rām, Jai Jai Jai Rām, Shri Rām, Jai Rām, Jai... Jai Jai Ram, Shri Ram, Jaya Ram, Jaya Jaya Ram, Jaya Jaya Ram, Jaya Jaya Ram, Siyavara Ram Chandra Bhagavān Kī. There is no one you could understand one of that God as Bhagavān Rām. Many people did not understand, but it is also very important that they understand what was the Bhagavān Rām. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa is also the God, and many miracles which he did, but he had to, time to time, change. And that is not wrong, not bad, but he tried to bring the people, bring the devotees, so that they remain on the path of God. But similarly, Bhagavān Rāma has also the same thing, but he remains on the one path. That is the difference. Kṛṣṇa had many, many different kinds of actions. And in that action, many people did not understand. And after a while, in this Kali Yuga, slowly, slowly, people didn’t understand properly what Kṛṣṇa is. If you see Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, how he appears, how difficult it was. We have all good actions which have been happened from Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, but those parts of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa’s incarnation, or the birth, all is the same. Only there is one who is Śiva, that’s called Swayambhū, who have no mother and no father. There was no father and there was no mother. It is manifesting Himself, and how beautiful and how good and how everything in His body. And that His body, Bhagavān Śiva, He gave the whole body to everyone. So in reality, all humans, male or female, they are remaining, they are coming from Bhagavān Śiva. And Śiva is a long, many, many times, and it is very, it is said that recently some sādhu said, and he was in Turkey, and in Turkey I was there also, and there was one great Sufī. Part 2: The Dance of the Saint and the Wisdom of the Ages I witnessed a great Sufi saint, a king among saints, in a state of samādhi. He was dancing. In his trance, he becomes one with the divine. This is not an ordinary dance of joy; the joy of joy is not mere joy. It is something else entirely. For hours, he seemed to flutter in the air. Many of us were sitting there, but at a little distance because the movement of their robes created a constant breeze like a ventilator, and it grew cold. They were deep in trance. If one is in a trance and drinks alcohol, it can diminish quickly, but these Sufis possess certain techniques or feelings. I attended a conference, and we traveled by bus to a site. There, they were digging and discovered an entire city underground. In Turkey, they unearthed a massive marble Śivaliṅga and an entire temple, which they reconstructed. We do not know for how many centuries it lay buried. There are many miracles, yet all reside in Śiva. After Śiva, we can speak of two or three things. We speak of incarnation, though incarnation and birth are essentially the same. We use 'incarnation' in a more spiritual, auspicious way, like that of a god. In these incarnations, all the gods—Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, and others—are among the 24. Now is the Kali Yuga, and this is its play, a game that will bring great torment. The time is coming. As described in a book I am referring to, which explains its meaning and timing, one such incarnation is Svayambhū. Svayambhū is that which manifests on earth by its own will. This book has many names. Therefore, Śiva creates the human body and all other creatures. It is not that Śiva made only humans. That is why Śiva is called Paśupati Mahādeva, the lord of all creatures, all animals. That is why snakes are around Śiva, and why there is the ḍamaru—dum, dum... That too is Śiva. Many people do not understand this, they do not worship Śiva, and that is why they suffer. Their home suffers, children suffer, wife suffers, husband suffers. Sooner or later, they lose all sense of unity. The husband is on one side, the wife on the other. They should marry. There is no necessity for extreme tapasyā. Just recently, about three or four months ago, something happened. A couple I know very well, from my mother's village in Nepal... In India, there is a tradition regarding the children of a daughter born in her mother's village. Not only is the daughter who marries and leaves respected, but when her children visit that village, they are also shown great love and respect. I have seen this myself. But now, with too many motorbikes, cars, and constant coming and going between villages, that kind of respect has faded. For instance, our holy Gurujī, our Gurudev Swāmī Madhavānandjī, was from Nīpal. His sister was married in Rūpāvās, nearly 200 kilometers away. Can you imagine him traveling from Nīpal to Rūpāvās in one day? He did. He was young, about 17 or 18, or perhaps 20. Even later, around 70 or 80, he went there to bring something for my uncle, my mother's brother. They said, "Take this to our sister in Rūpāvās." But how? There were no cars, no vehicles at all. Gurujī carried a lot of things for his sister from their mother. When he returned home, he sat with my father for a long time, showing him great respect as his brother. My father said, "Let me massage your legs." Gurujī replied, "No, no, no, I cannot." Life was filled with such joy. Now, if someone comes, people might close the door, worried they will ask for coffee or food. That is gone. Similarly, the Kali Yuga is progressing. In the same way, that creation by Śiva encompasses all living creatures, including water, earth, air, the pañca tattva: annamaya kośa, prāṇamaya kośa, manomaya kośa, vijñānamaya kośa, and ānandamaya kośa. These sheaths exist, and we are within them. He is the svayambhū, he is a god, whatever you call him. Now, some foolish people say, "If there was no Śiva, then who was there, your grandfather?" But after that, who comes? The same principle, appearing through what we call different incarnations. Who is a good person, a humble person, doing good for everyone? That is called the incarnation of a special person. So we say all such are incarnations, and who is not an incarnation? Just a birth. He mentioned Premanenjī's country, a beautiful country of kings, Austria. Many countries were under it. Kings always mean fighting, that is all. Then Gandhiji came and, during the Second World War, made the whole country one, including all the kings. We still respect some kings, but our government or ministers will not address them as "Your Highness"; they will say "so-and-so person." They will not say "king" because they cannot; that time has passed. We can say it, but governments will not. It comes and goes. So, an avatāra is one who comes and goes. An avatāra must not be only a sādhu in white cloth, or black cloth, or green cloth. Who is that incarnation? There are two you can see. What shall I tell you? A story must be very interesting. I can tell you a few words, but if there is nothing there, it is pointless. It is that which gives you that. How can it be so? We say that if wife and husband are equal, of the same opinion, then when they die, they will have power in heaven. Not only will they go to heaven, but they will wield the power of that heaven. The Kali Yuga that has come is very timely. So, mother and father, or wife and husband, are not only coming together to have children and so on, and then you kick her and so forth. No, no, no. That is just 5% of what they enjoy. 95% is living life. For a wife, her husband is not just a husband but her God. For a man, his wife is not just a wife but his goddess. That is for both. Then they are in śvarga loka. Sometimes animals behave like this, and humans do too. Why am I talking so long? You might think I have forgotten. I am still normal. I will tell you now. I was born in my village, but my feeling is for Nīpal because I was the son of that village's daughter. In Nepal, people are good. So, this couple again... their son and I studied together, sitting near each other on the mat, coming home. I knew that person and his parents well. Their father was about 80 or 90, and he died in Mumbai. Their son had become a merchant there. When the father died, the family decided to keep the body there for medicine and rituals. The father died, and they were taking him for the funeral. His mother was also in the car. After they entered the area of Gujarat, his mother, along with the wife of the deceased, was talking. She made a gesture with her hand towards her husband's body and then passed away. They both died very close together. They brought both bodies to the village, and it was a big festival for the people. It is a feeling. How is that? Because that is a female and a male. It is not only because of Śiva. He made everything. It does not matter if you respect Śiva or not, but it is. Śiva and Pārvatī are in our heart, and we have two parts to our heart. That is both mother and father inside. We have two brains. Many things, everything in our body, we have two. That is very interesting. Those who are not like that, or do not know, who forget, whose parents did not explain this to them, are, of course, lost. Like a deer in a vast forest. One deer loses its path, runs here and there, tigers or other animals come, and it is killed. If you are grouped together, you have a happy and good life. There are many things like this. Therefore, as Avadarpurī said, he stated, "Bhagavān Rāma is great, okay, Kṛṣṇa is also very great." But when you see the totality, how Kṛṣṇa and how Rāma are, that is great. They are different. And so it is with the mothers. He was also the son of King Daśaratha. Daśaratha had a destiny behind him, you know? Many things happened. Then they were worshipping. Who were they worshipping? It was worshipped, giving nice satsaṅg. I read some holy book. For nine days, they took great care of her, and that is Navarātri. After that, on the tenth day, is God Rāma. The tenth is Daśaharā, and Daśaratha is also connected to Rāma. It is a long story of how great Bhagavān Rām is. In the kingdom of Bhagavān Rām, all creatures were great and peaceful. No one had problems. The forest and everything was great; even the birds were happy. That is called my kingdom. Is that kingdom here? No one fights each other, though of course they have their own nutrition. In the time of Bhagavān Rām, no one was unhappy. That was it. But it happens... sorry, but still, are people so? When Bhagavān Rām returned from Śrī Laṅkā to Ayodhyā, his kingdom was peaceful. But you see, there were negative people too, who gave negative thoughts to Sītā. There is another chapter. Gurujī said, "Do not be proud only of your father, that their children do not." Do not think, "I am born of a great saint, so I am like a god." Gurujī said we worship Bhagavān Rāma. Bhagavān Rāma had two sons, Lava and Kuśa, and they worship people. Beyond that, there is no third; no words about him. It was only Bhagavān Rāma and his two sons, Lava and Kuśa. Their children, we do not know where or how they are. It is okay. Destiny is there. Our destiny, one of them, is in Udaipur, Jaipur. In Jaipur, the king is the same. The destiny of Bhagavān Rāma is that all people are like this. Gurujī said when a great saint is a Bhagavān, he does not talk about his parents, his children, or their children. No, they are for all. That is very important. One day, it was beautiful: a nice garden, beautiful grass, a good footpath. Sometimes there are peacocks. There was a nice dog, a beautiful dog, sitting peacefully on the green grass about three meters away. A paṇḍit—they call him a paṇḍit, but nowadays they are paṇḍits in name only—was walking slowly with a nice turban, dhoti, and a stick. The dog was sleeping. What did the paṇḍit think? He turned towards the dog and beat it four or five times with his stick. The dog cried and ran away. The paṇḍit did not care. But the dog called a meeting at God Rāma's palace nearby. It is said... what is there? It is said, "Walk, say to God Rāma, people see it, Bhagavān Rām, in your kingdom, in your palace, is a dog, and he wants to ask you a question. I want to know, I want to give an explanation." So, all were sitting there, and the dog was there. He said, "What?" He told God Rāma, because God Rāma could speak with animals. That is Bhagavān. Bhagavān said, "Bhagavān Rām, what happened?" What do you mean? The dog said, "Do you not see, my Lord? You see what happens to me?" He said, "What?" "One paṇḍit, a Brahmin, I was sitting three meters away. I made no noise. I was not walking. I never did anything. I was not on his path. I never did anything, so why did he beat me with sticks? I want judgment." Bhagavān Rām said, "My son, my child, dog, judgment will happen; we will give it." Bhagavān Rām asked everyone in the court. Everybody said, "As you say, God Rāma, Bhagavān Rāma, who are we? You can make the judgment." Bhagavān Rām said, "Paṇḍit, why did you beat that dog?" He said, "It was just my feeling. I did it. That is all." "Did he do anything to you at any time?" "No." "Then why?" "Well, I did it." Bhagavān Rām said, "What kind of punishment do you want from me?" "Who will tell the punishment? Bhagavān Rām, you only punish me." Bhagavān Rām said, "It does not matter what kind of punishment I say, but from the heart of that creature, he should give what he will tell, and we will go according to that." The dog came slowly and said, still having a problem, to Bhagavān, "Bhagavān Rām, are all here in this? I want to give the replacement to this paṇḍit. In the next life, he should have a very nice maṭh, a big maṭh where there are sādhus or gosvāmīs. All sādhus, they are all sannyāsīs and sādhus, they call them maṭh, and a maṭh is like... like a king. The king has a castle, and they have maṭhs." So it is said, "Dog said, please make him the man of this one. There will be good life, good eating, everything." Everyone was laughing. A dog is a dog. A dog should have bitten him or something. The paṇḍit was happy. "I got my maṭh." Bhagavān Rām said, "Why do you give him such a good punishment?" The dog said, "God, the punishment is not so easy. Why, Bhagavān, you know better than me. Because in the maṭh, he will sit like a maṭh kā pant. People will give many rupees, and many... māl tāl, and he will eat first and not give to others. What does that mean? Because he will accumulate more sin than from beating me a few times. But now there will be sticks. His whole life, he will take so many things from the poor people who bring offerings. And for that, for ages and ages, he will remain a dog outside some poor person's kuṭiyā." That is a kuṭiyā. Europeans say it is a kennel. That kuṭiyā is in that kuṭiyā. Bhagavān Rāma said, "Wow! I am satisfied. Even the dog is giving better judgment than me." That is why this judgment comes in the stories. That Nāma Rātri, now the time of the mothers. So, mother, janay to aisā janna. Mother, if you give birth, then give a son like this. Otherwise, do not give any child and just remain, how do you call it, unmarried, like this. Even the dog will talk like this. Now, Kali Yuga is coming in this way. So, my dear, that is what we—this is also yoga. This story is not mine. I may have made many mistakes, but that great book... what is that book's name? No, not Vyāsa. He says, "Brahma Namaha," and "Mahāpuruṣāya Namaha." So Mahāpuruṣā, which is said, who are our Mahāpuruṣā? Who are our Rajpurohit? Who are their Ṛṣis? There were two Ṛṣis, one trying to kill someone: Vasiṣṭha Muni or Viśvāmitra. So Bhagavān Viśvāmitra and Bhagavān Viśvāmitra's guru, Bhagavān Rāma's guru, Viśvāmitra, Bhagavān Vasiṣṭha Muni. After the coming of Bhagavān Rāma from Śrī Laṅkā, Vasiṣṭha Muni again gave him knowledge and teaching. Even though he was a king and like a god, he sat down and taught him. He taught that one book, Grace, like this, and that is what it is. That is very, very good. You must read it. I will get it. I will give it tomorrow. So, a big glass, and all who want to know yoga, my dear, only torturing your hand like this and like that is torturing your body. A yogī is that. Guru or śiṣya ke pās mein. Where there is knowledge, it is coming. So it is said that the Chandana, Chandana Patra hotā hai. Wo usko Sona banā detā hai. Pāras. Paras sona hai, that can make the gold, but nothing but guru will make the guru, that is it. Paras cannot make the paras, but guru will make the guru, and that will be, that is called the real guru. Others, there are many running here and there. Ego and ego and... they say, "I am better than my guru," and this is... He said, "Gurujī, please do not make noise. You go in your room and sit down," like this. Guru kṛpāhi kevalam, śiṣye ke ānanda maṅgalam. And so is that. Voh kitab hai mere, Yoga Vāsiṣṭha. I have not told you any wrong thing, you boys. Do not sing this, Swamiji. I do not know. Yes. They are Vasiṣṭha, Yoga, Yoga Vasiṣṭha. So then Vasiṣṭha Muni, who was there, gave them jñāna. And in that jñāna, all this came in. Bhagavān Rāma also came and gave Jñāna to Viśvāmitra. See, tomorrow we will see something. My dear, what are you looking for in the cinema? But I look at your television all the time, so I tell you, a vision. If there is no vision in it, then what will you do with the vision? Yes, that is why, if you want to do it... Now many, many yogīs are meditating outside because they do not have anything empty inside, and if they do, then they are afraid. Because if they come to know my mistakes, how many mistakes were there towards other creatures, then they are not. How many eat meat? How many eat eggs? How many this? How many kill them? And in past lives too. Therefore, they cannot give themselves to meditation. So, it may... there are many things, my dear. Therefore, and today is the 60th day of Lord Rāma's coming. Lord Rāma is coming. Rāma is coming. Rām's coming. So for nine days of Mā, what kind of food do we give to her? We bless her hands, wash her clothes, and what happens to Devī Mā? She is there. She is called Navarātri. There are other women, not only women and women. They killed him, they killed him. They are right, they do. But for us, it is someone else. He is the same Lord Śiva. And he is the same Devapurī. He is the same Alagapurī. He is the same Mahāprabhujī, and he is the same Devadideva. In the form of God, our Swāmī Madhavānjī Bhagavān is ours. He said, you know, that is what I am telling, sometimes in Hindi and sometimes in English, because some Hindi people are sitting, suddenly I am going there, and then I am coming to the other side. So I will say a little more in German. Yes, and then many will understand better. I understand. So I already know my many beloved Bhaktas in Germany, in Australia, and so on. That is my favorite language too, but I make a lot of mistakes because in this one I have so often only spoken in Hindi or English. But it will come back. I have to learn. I will learn it again. Right. In German. You should speak to me again in German. That is also good. Speak to me again. Or, in German, Salz, salt. The salt. Salas, salas bergen sind voll mit der salas. Und salas ist das salt. Namah Śivāya, Om Namah Śivāya, Om... Har Har Bholen. Namah Śivāy, Om Namah Śivāy, Om... Har Har Bholī. Sītā Rām, Jaya Rām Sītā Rām, Sītā Rām Sītā Rām, Sītā... Rām Hey, Sītā will come quickly. Sita Ram, she is waiting for Rama. Sītā Rām, Sītā Rām,... Sītā Rām,... Sītā Rām. Am Sitara... Am Sitara. Bolo Sītārām, Sītārām,... Sītārām. And when you want to learn more of this kīrtan, then come to Kumbh Melā. Then you will hear all day and night, "Sītārām, Sītārām." Nobody can practice any other mantra. Many people want to practice their mantra, but then again going, "Sītārām, Sītārām... Sītārām." I said nobody can give any other lecture there. And no one gives lectures there because Bhagavān Rām's power is so strong, Śrītā and all are so strong. Om Sītā Rām Hari Om.