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Good evening. Blessings to you all, dear devotees, spiritual seekers, practitioners of yoga, and all who walk a divine path in daily life. Today was a great day filled with beautiful things. The most beautiful was that you awoke this morning. What can be greater than this? I was happy to see you awakened. The second beauty was our walk through these hills of the Adriatic coast. We saw many beautiful lakes, creatures, and evergreen olive trees. The air here is fragrant, meaning many herbs grow here, as per Āyurveda or naturopathy. They are truly organic and unpolluted. Walking for two to two-and-a-half hours gave us great energy—so much that we needed the sea to cool down. The water element is the life of this planet, and we are part of it physically. This water is blessed by Lord Śiva. When Lord Śiva told Viṣṇu to perform tapasyā, the sweat from Viṣṇu's body covered him and became the ocean. Thus, that life is Viṣṇu's life, the life of God. We exist in Him, and He exists in us. We will speak more of this another time. Saint Patañjali spent most of his time in the forest. He speaks of ahiṃsā, compassion or mercy towards every creature. This is not easy to realize, though we hear, read, and speak of it. It is said that various creatures—lions, tigers, cows, ghosts, birds—would sit in his satsaṅg. No creature held aggression, anger, or ill will. No one had fear. The presence of the great saint Patañjali created a fearless atmosphere, nirbhaya. Bhaya is fear, and there are many kinds. People fear the global economy, illness, family problems, or companies. But the greatest fear every creature has is death. Death here means not only leaving the body, but how it will happen—through what pain, suffering, situation, and how long that pain must be endured until the soul departs. We pray to God that when the time comes, we may leave smoothly. Therefore, it is said in the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya Mantra: Oṁ Tryambakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭi-vardhanam, urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt. We pray to the third-eyed Lord Śiva to bless us with good health (sugandha, puṣṭi), to be always healthy and complete. The sense of the mantra is expressed in "urvārukam iva bandhanāt." Urva refers to what we call Kurkumbar, a fruit like a large papaya. When left on the vine, in time it separates from the plant automatically, without suffering. It has a rhizome that smells beautiful; the fragrance can travel far. It does not suffer. It means the time has come, the life is ripe, and it separates from the mother's body without pain. "Mṛtyor mokṣīya māmṛtāt"—therefore, O Lord, when death (Mṛtyu) comes, may it lead us to immortality (amṛtatva). That death should lead us to the liberation of immortality, to fearlessness. Thus, Holy Gurujī sings in a bhajan: Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān kī jai. Teri Satguru rakhe ilāj, chintā mat karnā. The Gurudev will definitely take care of you. Do not worry. Be nirbhaya, without fear. Be nirvaira, niṣaṅka, without any doubt. The entire purpose of prayers, meditations, mantras, and spiritual life is to lead us from unreality to reality, from darkness to light, and from mortality to immortality. It means we will not come again and again in the cycle of 28.4 million creatures. It means we are free. Many say a baby is happy and comfortable in the mother's womb. But according to the śāstras, it is not easy for the soul to be there. There are rivers of hormones and blood flowing through. One of the most important parts of life on this planet is being born with everything okay—not born with one eye, blind, or with many possible bodily disabilities. We can thank God we were born happy and healthy. It is not easy. This is the first challenge, the first introduction to your destiny: that you had a comfortable life in the mother's body and a comfortable birth, that you have finally come to this freedom. So, the first liberation is being liberated from the mother's body. Yet, the jñānī, the wise one, knows life in this world will be more difficult than in the mother's body. Now we are in the womb of the world. That is why the great Śukadeva Muni did not want to come out of his mother's body. He remained there for many months or years. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva all had to come to request him: "Please come. There will be no māyā in this world. There will be no more temptations." Then he agreed. After some years, they said, "Now we can let māyā free." And that was that. The purpose of practicing all spiritual sādhanā is to become free from the pain of birth and death, and from the disappointments and sufferings in this world. What we normally do will not solve our purpose as human beings. We must come to the point of doing something that leads us to immortality: tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, mṛtyor mā amṛtam gamaya. Patañjali teaches this. He led his disciples in the forest. Where we sit today was once only forest and water. Slowly, people like us who did not like the big earth tried to run to small islands. Can you imagine? Suddenly, there is no transport or possibility of returning to the mainland. We always try to separate. Humans are always searching to separate. Do not separate; try to be with. After this, different kinds of feelings, pains, vikṣepas—external, internal, and from ādhibhautik, ādhidaivik, and ādhyātmik sources—the tritāpas, pāpa and puṇya, sin and pious deeds, are explained by Patañjali. Now he says: "Viṣaya-vṛttiva-pravartir utpanna manasa stiti-nibandhanī." Those vṛttis which again and again go to viṣaya. Viṣa means poison, and viṣaya means desires. So, viṣaya vṛtti—this kind of desire that makes you want to have or do this and that—is what always draws us out. Vṛtti is vṛtti. Even when you reach a higher level, vṛtti remains cañcal, restless. There is a story: A man had a dog whose tail was always curled. He did not like the tail being like that. Some people have a moustache like this. Some like it, but others do not, perhaps because the person has ego. So Holy Gurujī said: "The tail of the dog and the moustache of a man are always curved. He wanted to make them straight. Holding it a long time did not work." He put a bamboo inside, and after one or two years, he opened it; the tail went back. Similarly, our vṛttis—habits, desires, thoughts—go there again and again. Many problems and attachments always remind you: "You are mine, you are mine," "We are yours, we are yours," and so on. This is Mohaka Bandhana. It is so strong, very hard to break. Those who have cut this bandhana find liberation easy. But if you cannot cut this bandhana—bandhana meaning knot or being tied—it is difficult. As Brahmānandājī said in a bhajan: That was the blessing, the mercy of my Gurudev, that he broke the bandhana of my moha, my attachment. "Mohaka bandhan todhya, meri chanchal chit ko modhya." Chanchal means restless. Chitta means your chittavṛttis. He turned it in the direction that always goes to Brahman, the Supreme, towards liberation. Yet after all this practice, someone comes and your moha awakens—your mother, father, brother, sisters, wife, children, friends, house, property, money. This is bandhana. To become nirbandhana is very hard. There is a story. A man, a Paṇḍit or priest who reads holy books for a certain time as a saṅkalpa, came to a king and said: "Your Highness, I have a wish and request." The king said: "Yes, Paṇḍitjī, what do you wish?" "I would like to perform a Kathā." Kathā means reading a holy book for certain days—a saṅkalpa: Bhagavad Kathā, Śiva Purāṇa Kathā, Devī Bhagavad Kathā, and so on. What we are doing with Patañjali is also Kathā—Kathan, that which is told, retold to make it clear. The king asked: "What will happen through your reading of this holy book or Kathā?" He said: "King, you will get Mokṣa." The king said: "Very beautiful, wonderful." Holy Gurujī always said "wonderful." "In 15 days, mokṣa? Oh, Paṇḍitjī, welcome. What must I do?" He said: "Nothing. Always when I read, you should be present and listen." The king agreed and made all arrangements for the Paṇḍit's stay. When the Kathā began, the king listened with folded hands, hearing every word. After 15 days, the Kathā was completed, pūrṇā āhuti. Paṇḍitjī asked the king: "King, today my Kathā is completed. Whatever donation you wish to give, please, and I will go." The king said: "Paṇḍitjī, your Kathā is not completed." He said: "Yes, sir, it is." The king said: "No. You told me I would get mokṣa, but I have not gotten mokṣa. I do not like that. Stay here in my palace day and night; your duty is to read the book. On the day I get mokṣa, you will get even my kingdom." He told his soldiers: "Close him in a room, give him all comfort, and let him read his book." Paṇḍitjī said: "Oh God, I think when I left home, a black cat crossed my path. Something was not a good constellation." After a few months, a Mahātma came, an Ātmagyānī Mahātma, a knower of the Self. His name was Swami Jñāneśvar Purī. Jñāneśvar, the lord of wisdom, from the city of Purī, the city of wisdom. He came to the king's palace. The king was very happy, welcomed him, and asked: "Your Holiness, what made you come to my house? I would have come to you if you had sent a message. What can I do for you? Do you need anything?" Jñāneśvar Purī said: "No, I have no wish, no desire. I was just passing and came to bless you, that is all." The king thought: "This Swami must want something." The king asked: "Please, can you stay one night here?" Jñāneśvar Purī said: "Yes, I can stay, but I do not like to stay in someone's house. I stay either in a temple, a public place, a hut, or the forest." The king had a beautiful park with a hut, and Jñāneśvar Purī stayed there. A sanyāsī should not sleep in a parent's house or a guest house, but in a neutral place. The next day, he said: "I want to go." The king asked him: "Swāmījī, I have a question: what trouble am I in?" Swāmījī said: "King, you are in trouble." The king said: "Yes, sir, what kind of trouble?" He told the story of the Paṇḍitjī. Swāmījī said: "Do you want an answer in practical terms, or shall I just tell you?" Jñāneśvar Purījī said: "It would be best if you can show me practically." Then he said: "Okay, call Paṇḍitjī." Paṇḍitjī came and greeted Swāmījī; the king was sitting. Swāmījī said: "King, for some time you must surrender. Let me do whatever I wish; do not be angry." The king said: "Master, even if you chip off my head, I will not be angry. Please do it." "Bring me two ropes." Two ropes were brought. With one rope, Swāmījī said: "Tie it to this pillar, the Paṇḍit." They tied him. "Second, to this pillar, tie the king." So both were bound, hands and legs. Now Swāmī Jñāneśvar Purī said to the Paṇḍitjī: "Paṇḍitjī, please, can you free the king?" Paṇḍitjī said: "Swāmījī, my self is in bondage. How can I liberate him?" He said: "Thank you, very good answer." "King, you are a king, strong and powerful. Can you free this innocent Paṇḍitjī?" The king said: "Yes, Swāmī Jñāneśvar Purījī, I can do it with my words. I will tell my soldiers." He said: "No, no soldiers. I am telling you only." The king said: "Though I am a king, I myself am tied to this pillar. I cannot free myself to free him." This story means our soul is that king. Our mind is that paṇḍit, or intellect, our vṛttis. But the Ātmā, the true form, the Gurudev, the Jñāneśvar Purī must come. This knowledge must come to liberate us. Therefore, thinking "I am great, I have studied so much, I have three or four university degrees," will not help at all. Thus, some philosopher said: "Tons of theory are nothing compared to a gram of practice." Therefore, "viṣaya-vṛtti, viṣaya-vātiya-pravartī-rūpa-utpanna-manasa-sthiti-nibandhanī"—that vṛtti which constantly creates viṣaya is still active. But because you have cleaned and purified your antaḥkaraṇa, purified all desires, you achieve that level of knowledge. Now, whatever you think, whatever vṛttis come, they become pure vṛttis as helpers to your sādhanā. They will liberate and support you. A good person always has good thinking; a negative person always has negative thinking. When you achieve good vṛttis, you have all good things. Therefore, "viṣayāvatī, viṣayāvalī pravṛtti"—that your vṛttis, your nature, awakens (utpanna), and all your mind cleans up, creating clarity. At that time, your abhyāsa becomes solid, steady, and speedy. Your practice leads you there. Those vṛttis will lead us to the amṛtatattva. We are all searching, longing for that amṛtatattva. But where are your vṛttis going now? What are you thinking while I am talking? Someone looks at the olive tree—have you never seen one? Someone looks for olive fruit—have you never eaten olives? Someone looks for water. This is an obstacle. Suddenly, it turns your intention in a different direction, and you miss the good things. Like a story: A blind man was in a big hall and wanted to come out alone. He had a stick and one hand on the wall, walking until he found the door. When the door was half a meter away, he began to scratch his head but kept walking. Again, he put his hand on the wall; the door was behind. After walking long, he came near the door again. It was itching here, there—many places. This itching is a desire. All the time, people used to marry only once. They said: "We know what we want, we have experience, we have children, now we do not want." But now, even an 85-year-old lady marries a 98-year-old man. What do you marry now? That is a psychological certification, a sign of viṣaya-vṛtti. So, mind, oh my mind, come. "Yathām veda batāvat hat chod manachal saṅgh mere Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān kī jai. Hat chhoda manā." Oh my mind, now give up this innocent, again-and-again crying, longing towards viṣaya vṛtti. Come with me. Who says this? Your intellect, your ātmā, your buddhi, your inner vṛttis tell you: "Oh my mind, come with me. I will tell you what is ātmā." God is within everyone; that is ātmā. The Ātmā is highest; nothing is higher. Even the gods—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva—are also only Ātmā. When you become one with Brahman, you are equal to them. They are your part, and you are part of them. A drop falls into the ocean. There is no difference between the ocean and the drop. The drop becomes part of the ocean, and the ocean becomes part of the drop. It is unity, eternal peace, and light. That same drop cannot be taken out again. You can try: take water, fill a bucket, but that drop is gone; you have a bucket of water. Similarly, when the individual soul merges into the cosmic Self, the individual existence is gone. As long as the soul is there, you exist individually. That level of consciousness is achieved through what? Abhyāsa, prayer, practicing mantra, bhakti, devotion, positive thinking, a positive way of life, and being capable of saying to yourself: "No." Is there someone here who can say no to your desires? One day yes, five days yes, and then maybe, and then think: "Ah, Swāmījī always says this. Let's go and eat this and that." This is your desire. It is very hard to say no. If you cannot say no to yourself, with what authentic power can you say "Yes" to the Lord? Because your "yes" is "no" to others. That is why saying no to yourself is yes to Him. When this comes, then "viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī." At that time, śoka—unhappiness, sadness, as when someone dies and we offer condolences—disappears. Aśoka means without sadness. When the yogī, through practice (abhyāsa), mantra, and Īśvara praṇidhāna, is solidly one with the Self, then śoka and aśoka cannot touch him. He is above both happiness and unhappiness. Mahāprabhujī said in his bhajan: At that time, abhyāsa karte karte, while practicing, the sādhaka becomes free from all sadness and troubles, and akhaṇḍa-ānanda, everlasting bliss, awakens in consciousness. Then all his prakṛti, all feelings and vṛttis, become prakāśamaya, like light. "Na ahaṁ kartā"—you are not the doer. "Naaham karta, Prabhudeep karta, mahā Prabhudeep karta hi kevalam." While doing this sādhanā, "istir ho jātā hai man." All vṛttis become calm and peaceful. Then you come near Nirvīja Samādhi. You are solid with yourself. So think today, while meditating: How many thoughts come? How long will you repeat these thoughts? While doing, doing, one day Yama Rāja will come and throw a rope around your neck and pull. A cowboy catches a wild horse. We are wild horses, but do not worry. Sooner or later, the cowboy of Yama will throw the rope around your neck. Whether you say no or yes, it will pull you. That is death. For death, it does not matter how you die—happy or unhappy, suffering or not, painful or pleasant. Death only wants you to die. That is it. So, "viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī"—all śoka disappears, happiness appears, and all your vṛttis become like a light, supporting. Next, we will come tomorrow to "Vītarāgaviṣayaṃ vā Cittaṃ." Tomorrow we will begin at 4:30 for our webcasting, because there will be a radio interview in Kannada at 6 o'clock, so we must be a little earlier. Please come tomorrow around 4:30 here. All the best. Bless you. It was nice to be with you. Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān kī Jai. Śrī Śrī Dev Puruṣa Mahādeva kī Jai. Dharam Samrat Satguru Swami Madhavānandjī Bhagavān kī Jai. Satya Sanātana Dharma kī Jaya. Oṁ Nāhaṁ Karatā Prabhudeva Karatā Mahāprabhudeva Karatā Hi Kevalaṁ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ.