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Part 1: The Temple Within: A Discourse on Devotion and the Sacredness of Worship Candana hai is deśa kī māṭī, tapobhūmi harā grāma he. Harabālā Devī kī pratimā, baccā baccā rāma he. Baccā baccā rāma he. Candana hai is deśa kī māṭī, candana hai is deśa kī māṭī. Tapobhūmi harā grāma he. Baccā baccā rāma he, baccā baccā rāma he. Chaha saverā śaṅkha bājatā, chaha saverā śaṅkha bājatā, lohṛī gātī śyāma he. Ārā Balā Devī kī pratimā, baccā baccā rāma he, baccā baccā rāma he. Candana hai is deśa kī māṭī, tapobhūmi harā grāma he. Harabālā Devī kī pratimā, baccā baccā rāma he, baccā baccā rāma he. Ca karma sevā gayā badalatī, śrama niṣṭhā kalyāṇī he. Tyāgorā tapa kī kathā re, kavitā kavi kī vāṇī he, kavitā kavi kī vāṇī he. Gyānyā kā gaṅgā jala sa, gyānyā kā gaṅgā jala sa nirmala he, avī ramai he. Ārā Balā Devī kī pratimā, baccā baccā rāma he. Iskī senika samara bhūmi meṃ gāyā karate gīta ye, jahāṃ ke tama halake nīce kelā karatī sītā he. Jīvana kā ādarśa jahāṃ pada para parameśvara kā dhāma he. Ārā Bālā Devī kī pratimā, baccā baccā rāma he, baccā baccā rāma he, baccā baccā rāma he. Oṁ balī siddhi ta Nārāyaṇa bhagavān kī jaya, Śrī Siddha Vaiśvamadeva kī jaya, Inodama Samrāṭ, Satguru Madhavānandajī bhagavān kī jaya, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Yogī Rājī kī jaya, Bhārata Mātā kī jaya. Jai Hind, Satguru Deva kī jaya, Satguru vacana nibhānā pyāre. This is a spiritual lecture about Yoga in the Indian tradition. Pūjārī, pūjārī... Thank you. Bhajan is one of the best, but once again we are coming together. We have made a saṅkalpa, a firm resolve, for this whole world situation. From our own being, from our own deepest feelings, we shall radiate peace, harmony, and health to all. Many thousands of temples are now closed, and people cannot go to them; instead, we are told to stay at home and offer prayer, pūjā, worship right where we live. But when we truly perform sādhanā and praṇām with genuine feeling, then our house itself becomes that temple. During pūjā, we can vividly see our temple, our āśram, our altar before us—all is present inwardly. Sometimes we think, “I must go to the temple,” and we go for a few minutes, an hour, or an hour and a half, then return home. So what is the real difference? We can keep the temple open twenty-four hours within us. That continuous feeling of the divine presence means we are becoming one with God. People have different forms of God and different religions, but what matters is that inner feeling. Otherwise, consider how many approach the temple only during school, college, or university examinations. When exam time comes, they run to the temple: “O Gurudev, Jaina praṇām,” or “O Bhagavān Rāma, O Bhagavān Hanumānjī, O Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa,” or to the Jinas, the Buddhas, and so on. They go from home to temple, yet throughout the whole year they never say, “I surrender. I work for you. All is for you. Please accept these flowers.” Instead, they come shivering, chattering, pleading: “Please, God, please help me.” And God might reply, “You have not truly come to me. You have not bowed with humility. Yet you demand, ‘Give me, do this for me.’ Why should I respond?” Many miss the point. In India, for instance, when people encounter a respected person—a prime minister, a president, a great saint like Mahāprabhujī—they often do not focus on the person himself. They stand beside him, adjusting themselves for a photograph, saying, “Come, show me. Yes. No, no, stand up. More down, look that way.” Meanwhile, the dignitary is attending to something else entirely, not gazing into the camera. So you are there in body, but where is your heart? In the temple it is the same. One rushes in and immediately says, “Please, I need something. Make my son good. Let my husband be healthy. Let my wife be good. O God, even the little mouse in my house…” But are you truly praying to God? Contrast this with what I have seen in many countries when people go to church. They kneel down on their knees, bow their heads, and say, “I pray to my Lord, please bless me. I pray to you for this need.” They look toward the altar, to Jesus or the Holy Mary, and they surrender completely. Yet we come, snap a photo, maybe barely touch the holy feet, and give nothing—no donation, no true offering. What does that signify? Therefore, if you visit an āśrama or temple, consider the example of the Sikhs. They have the Gurūdvārā—the door of the Guru—which is like a home where the Guru dwells. For them, the physical Guru is no longer a person; the holy book, the Guru Granth Sāhib, is the Guru. Guru Granth Ko Jānīye, Prāgyaṭa Gurū Kī De. Know the Guru Granth as the manifest body of the Guru. Those with true respect and understanding see that the Guru Granth is present in their own hearts. In the Sikh community, before sunrise every person, man or woman, rises, washes, and goes to the space at home where they read from the Guru Granth. The wife reads, then the husband reads—whether together or separately, they bow down. This is immense respect. They do not say, “My Gurujī is this great personality.” No, for them, there is only Guru Granth Sāhib. When a Sikh enters a Gurūdvārā, you see the depth of their reverence. No one may enter bareheaded; a cloth or turban must cover the head. They have five sacred symbols, one of which is the uncut hair tied in a knot, always covered; another is a small dagger in the hair, a turban, metal rings worn on the arms up to here, a special undergarment, and a comb. The comb and the uncut hair signify readiness and cleanliness. The rings served as protection in battle. These symbols remind them of their warrior spirit and their commitment. Even the greatest person, upon entering the Gurūdvārā, removes their shoes. Volunteers stand outside, take the shoes, clean them carefully, and place them neatly. When people pass through the water channel, others wait with towels to dry their feet. Those without head coverings are given a cloth. Inside, nobody sits on a chair—only the holy book and the reader are elevated. Everyone else sits on the floor. Whether in India or in centers abroad, if someone cannot sit on the floor due to age, a bench may be provided outside the main hall, but the principle is humility before the Guru. Once, years ago in Mumbai, my Gurujī sent me as a young boy to collect a donation. I took a taxi and, through some misdirection, found myself in a dangerous situation—some ceremony where I sensed trouble. I ran like a mouse, jumped into another taxi, and the driver, a Punjabi, said, “Sit in my car. No one will touch you. I am a Punjabi. Chalo, come with me.” He saved me. That day I truly understood: in times of distress, you can run to a police station, or you can run to a Punjabi’s taxi. They are known as warriors. Thus, there are two ways. You can visit a temple with a list of demands, barely present, or you can cultivate a living temple inside yourself, a twenty-four-hour awareness of the divine. When that inner temple opens, every act becomes worship, and you see the Lord’s image in every child, as the song says: Baccā baccā rāma he—each child is Rāma. The sandalwood of this land, the land of penance, the image of the Goddess—it all resides in the heart that truly bows down. Part 2: Unity and Devotion: The Path of Bhakti and the Guru’s Grace The Punjabis, truly, will not kill you. They respect everyone—ladies and men alike—this you should know. Of course, there are different things like alcohol and this and that, but I tell you, that is not the essence. So, that is the quality of a true guru. What is happening now? In an airplane, they carry a kirpan, and they say, “We will not take it out in the airplane,” so the security permits it. In the army and everywhere, they wear the turban. But our people, the Indians, the Hindus, don’t even want a little little this and that. They don’t want any turban lost, and in the same way, they should not lose their religion. Yet they say, “No, it was there, we need it not,” and thus it is lost. That religion is lost with respect. And then, when you go to your examination, and when results come, you don’t go to the temple, to God. Instead, you stay at home and later go, saying, “I have done it, I don’t know how it will be,” and then go to dance, do this and that. Bhagavān says, “Okay, I will change your paper inside, don’t worry.” Yes, so these people are lost. How will you know? That’s it. Therefore, we must have the Guru. And you do not take the Guru for something of attachment. No, it is all equal, like a wedding sitting. If you said, “No, this is one of the best,” then you will say that Agni Devī is all the time cooking for half an hour or two hours, or you don’t know what to do. And the little Puṣpā, from a baby, she always speaks. When I say “Agni Devī, Agni Devī,” she doesn’t hear. I signal like this, and she says, “Oh, Puṣpā Bhajit, Swamiji’s colleague.” She is there, really respectfully. She does very hard work—working at the machine, also laundry, chai, food for people working, many many things—you can’t imagine. She is completely, similarly like our Umāpurī, very... It was hard for Umāpurī; she had a problem with her hand and leg. She would take my two bags here, one bag here, and her bags here, all for you. But I said, “No, let me take.” And Om Purījī said, “No, give it to me.” I said, “Too much.” But that is bhakti. That is bhakti. And Umāpurī, Mānsā Devī—she had all, really she had a problem with her knee and ankle joints and so on. Many bhaktas, everyone, nobody is like this. When we come to the Himalayas, you know, the people were taking a lot of luggage, and my luggage—my one bag is there. I was in Alakhpurījī’s place, and then I wanted to go on the horse, and now my bag and these things—where is Swāmījī?—and the horse goes quickly. But Harṣa Devī took so many things and ran, went really up and down and up, and came to Badrināth already. That is bhakti. That is, yes, “I want to do it.” I have all my bhaktas like this. All my bhaktas are like this. And those who are not, I don’t ask them to please carry this and carry this. No. But in that way, there is also a big problem. Big problems—they spoiled me. So, no, don’t do it. I will take it. Do what I did. And now, there are two things which I am really... so I must tell you something. For a bhakta, I can tell anything. Yes, and bhaktas will tell me anything also. But sometimes spoiling, and that spoiling is not so good—a shame. Then I was ashamed. Now I will tell you—I didn’t tell all, but today I tell you this. Well, finally there was the last airplane from Wellington, Auckland, New Zealand. We took our five other money; we had worldwide, which is still there. And we flew to Singapore. Mañcā Devī began to pack everything. She wears exactly, and so, Umāpurī. She said I should sleep. Of course, I cannot sleep. Until 10 o’clock we had satsaṅg, then we came to the hotel, and then we were booking and doing this, and we had to be at the airport by 4 o’clock, and at 11 o’clock is the airplane, and then so many people will be there. So, my God, there will be a long queue. I said, “Mānsā Devī, don’t be nervous,” and she said, “No, no, you sleep, don’t.” I said, “Okay.” I said, “Okay.” We made everything. She was making it very nicely because my luggage came to Mumbai and her luggage went to Vienna. And the pariṣad and the pariṣad mother would go to the Czech Republic. So, exactly as Mañcā Devī said, “This is yours, and that’s your money, and these are your things, and this and that are your one suitcase, and this, like this, and where is this?” She had a board, and she can’t walk; she had a problem with her knee. But anyhow, this is a good lecture; this is something that has something to learn. So we were at the airport, and we had about three or four hours. So we went to the lounge, and there was a second lounge, and then we went there. I said, “Okay.” Now, nearly all three people had tears: Puṣpā, Puṣpā, and Pāras. They are both mother and daughter, and after I turned in my direction, the other side, Puṣpā, that little girl, was crying so much: “I will go to meet Swamiji. Swamiji said, ‘I will come, don’t worry.’” And Mānsā Devī also. Mānsā Devī was getting on the airplane going to Austria. And she was getting to Prague on another airplane, so I went to my inside. I thought it would be a full airplane. And like big, very nice. And how many people say on all these? In the front of this airplane there is first class, business class. And Mānsā Devī goes to her side; they have the other side, we are on the other side, me on the other side. And when they want to check, there are two passports. One passport is little Puṣpā; she is from Australia. She was born in Australia—no, she was born, I think, in Dubai. And her mother, her father is also from Czechoslovakia, Australia. So from there they got a visa, passport, and Puṣpā, Santosā, and Santosā have passports from Czech. On the border they wanted to get in, but they said no, “This is a girl from Australia, and you have there.” She said, “But this is my daughter.” They said, “No, it is your daughter, but where is some guy?” He said it was such a big problem. But then, somehow, he called her mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law in Australia, and so they came. Okay, but still, this is not finished—what we call the drama. That is a drama, my God. Now, I was, I was said, I hope my passport is here. I was there. Otherwise, our Umāpurīs or the Mānsā Devīs are there, taking all my care. And now I’m telling you my needle in them. Okay. Then I was sitting in the airplane, and the hosts came, and they are very nice people. And this one lady, girl, she came and said, “Swamiji, this is a form you have to fill out.” I said, okay. But she said, “Swamiji, don’t worry, I will fill it for you.” I said, “Okay, yes. I was sleeping. I was eating a little, and so on.” I said, “I hope my luggage will be there. I will do this. How will I carry it at the airport in Mumbai?” But there, police security was there, and many things, but still. Now, this lady, the host from the airplane, she said, “Gurujī, please write your telephone number in India.” Because this was for this, about the crown, no? The corona. I said, “Yes, I have mine.” So she said, “Tell me my number.” I said, I don’t know. And she said, “But you know your number.” I said, “I have an Austrian number and this, and I have an Indian number, but I don’t know.” And I’m looking, and again, not. And I think she gave up. She thought, “This is... this Swami is not normal, really.” She said, “I said, ‘I will do.’ And then, after, at last, what should I do?” I look everywhere here, and this, I cannot write a VN number. Then, I write a number. Yes, my number is this. Yes. +91, then 922, and 129, 5, 125. Okay, because I know by heart the number of Agni Devī. They don’t know which is Agni Devī’s number or which is mine. And they saw my form, and they said, “Okay, number sir, go, hurry home.” So that means, as I said, I must have certain things on my paper or here, and not only in this. So it was a life like that. But when I came down, nobody was there. I got out, but I had a problem with my foot. So I had a wheelchair, and in the wheelchair, they were taking me here and there. So one man came and said, “Sir, please, are you okay?” I said, “Yes, I’m okay.” And then they have this machine to sew here. And I said, “What will he do now?” But he said, “Okay, Swamiji, you can go. You have no fever, not hot.” And then another go, and there’s one girl sitting there, and you sit down. “I will check every one of your papers,” and I’m sitting there. After two hours, she comes and says, “I will go there.” So I said, “Don’t go.” This lady said, “I will check your paper properly, and I will go there. You sit down.” I said, “Check my form here, and sit down there and give it to me. I’m going.” She said no. I said, “Yes, sit down.” And other police came. He said, “Yes, give it to Swamiji. Why are you? Hey girl, you don’t know how to work out.” Oh God. Then I said, “Mahāprabhujī, how did it come?” Then, of course, came the guard; the police guard came. And one of the friends, who was a student from our school here, our hostel also, no, no... Only school, because he was from Bhagavās, he is from Bhagavās, and he is an officer there, yeah, so it was. And then, of course, Narendra was this, so more or less, this is a story. But this story is not like this story; it is that how one should always be more alert for oneself. Then I was so angry at Mānsā Devī; she didn’t give me the telephone number. And Om Purī also, maybe. Om Purī is also good, Mānsā Devī is very good, all are very good. But it is like this: we have to have certain things ready if we go somewhere. And my bhaktas, they are so humble. Yoga in Daily Life bhaktas are around the whole world, and I can tell you that they are a rare organization of yogīs. Only a few have many, many years at the same time—like Vivekānanda, Yogānanda, Śivānandajī, Mummai, Hansaman, and there are a few others. And there is also our Yoga in Daily Life. And so there are now the good people. Everybody said, “Oh, you are from Yoga in Daily Life.” So, that is very important because don’t think that Swāmījī is mine. Then, it comes sometime like this. This will go like this, yes. So Gurujī also. For example, in Jodhpur, I was very young. I had only half-short trousers till here, and it’s here, and going with Gurujī. He is begging like this, and on the way, on the street, one man sitting, who is washing, cleaning the shoes, and making the shoes, repairing. And Guruji showed, and Guruji sat there with this person and said, “How are you?” because Guruji knew this person. Others said, “Gurujī, you are sitting with this person from here, from the shoes.” And Gurujī said, “Why not? Where are your shoes?” Gurujī said to the other person. “You are also in the shoes. Sit down here, come.” So, Gurujī. And then Gurujī was going with—we were meeting with the Mahārājā of Georgepur, Rājmātājī, and they invited me and Gurujī there. So Gurujī was there. So Gurujī was strict, humble, kind, and like this. But if someone said, “This is mine, and that’s his,” Gurujī would say, “Okay, that’s it.” So, a bhakta, a bhakta is only one. We, our body is one. But you don’t know how many things we have in our body, how many bones we have. How many bones? I don’t know. When we were born, we had a complete set of bones. But when we die at about 90 years or 100 years or many, many, they are lost inside somewhere. Bold and decent, yes. Tell the doctors; some doctor told me, I don’t know. And how many nerves do we have? When we are born, it is very nice. God gave us exactly perfect nerves. And many times our nerves are broken or this and that. We are not complete. How many muscles, how many organs, many, many things, but all is mine. When there is a little pain here, a little pain, the whole body concentrates there. And so, is that all bhaktas, all disciples, all gurus, all saints? They should be like one in a day. That’s why, right? Arrow, my God, it was arrow. So, in that way. That’s why Gurujī is very strict, Gurujī is very humble, and disciples are like this. And now you see, all our bhaktas, they are much better than me. They are much better than me. They spoiled me, but I am still there. Okay? He is everywhere, and we are all sitting here. Why? Because we became one. So one body, but many organs, many cells, many eyes. How many eyes do we have? Three, at least. Yes, everything. Therefore, bhakti is very, very important. Therefore, it is said: In the holy feet of the Gurudev are all thousands and thousands of what we call the holy pilgrim places or the holy places. Madhavān Jī, Bhagavān kī jaya, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Yogī Rāj kī jaya, Satya Sanātana Dharma kī jaya, Hari Om.