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This is a story told to me nearly twenty-seven years ago. It comes from Austria, a beautiful country at the heart of Europe, a jewel in its crown. Its landscapes, mountains, and lakes possess a unique radiance. The country and its people are very nice indeed. But I am not here to advertise Austrian tourism. We were holding a retreat at a hotel in the Alps, with about 130 to 140 people. An old man of about eighty-five or ninety was also staying there. Each day, a caretaker would bring him outside in his wheelchair to sit in the sun and have breakfast. Every day, as I passed, I would greet him: "Good morning, good morning." That is often all we communicate—a hello, a comment on the weather, a "have a good day." We have lost the person-to-person connection. We begin with the weather and end with the weather. Nowadays, if you ask someone personal questions, they become suspicious, wondering what your interest is. We have lost trust. I asked the old man, "How are you, sir?" He replied, "Young man, not good. Now, you cannot go away." At least one should show respect and ask further. I asked if he was in pain and he said, "Sit down." So I sat beside him. He was always lonely, with people only offering fleeting greetings. As I sat, you could feel he was ready to cry. He told me: "I was the director of a big company. Two thousand people worked under me. I had a beautiful official car, a private car, and three houses—one in Vienna and two in the countryside. I had so many friends calling, 'Hello, come to the party!' I hardly had a free evening. And, of course, I had money too. But now I am old. I had only one child, my daughter. She lives in Germany. On my birthday or Christmas, she just telephones or visits once a year to say, 'Hello, how are you, Father?' I don't know what happened to my houses, where my cars have gone, or where those friends are. They hugged me and behaved like my own children or brothers. I ask myself, 'Where are they today?' When I didn't need them, they were all there. Now that I need them, no one is here. I don't even know who has the rights to my bank account, or if there is any money at all. My daughter put me in an old home. I had to sign something, and that was that." Elderly people carry memories, disappointments, love, happiness, and wealth. We humans are like an aircraft: there is some turbulence at takeoff, but when it reaches altitude, it goes smoothly. Similarly, the beginning of life is like this, but when you come to spirituality, it is divine. Now repeat your mantra, my mind. Your life is gone without this mantra, the name of God. Without a mantra, without spirituality, life is like a bird without wings, an elephant without teeth, the sky without the moon, a body without eyes. We make so many comparisons, yet we still do not understand; we still have doubt. We can only thank God that we are healthy and still have good eyes. We can clap our hands—solid. But how are yours? We do not know what our eyes mean. The blind person knows what it means to have eyes. We do not know what sound is, but the deaf person who cannot hear knows what it means. What do sweet words mean? When you cannot hear anything, it does not matter if someone says "I love you" or "I hate you," "you are stupid" or "you are beautiful." One cannot begin meditation, one cannot begin sādhanā, one cannot have that spiritual mantra or path unless one realizes this truth. And often, when you realize it, it is too late. This was our starting point with that elderly person of ninety-five. In those ninety-five years, he experienced memories, happiness, love, comfort, and two world wars. To survive was a challenge. Human is a very beautiful creature, a very perfect being. Humans have everything, yet human life is very complicated and mysterious because we know what is bad and what is good. We have viveka (discrimination). When someone has viveka, it will decide. Whoever does not have viveka is in the darkness of ignorance, laziness, ego, pride, and non-acceptance. First comes viveka. From this planet up to Brahmaloka, the highest world, all that we think is enjoyable is just like dust. Name and fame—God Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad Gītā that one who is above name and fame is a vivekī or a yogī. First comes viveka: satya asatya kā nyārā nyārā—what is truth and what is not the truth. It is believed there is a swan, a Paramahaṅsa, that lives in the Mānasārovar lake. That Paramahaṁsa is very rare and appears only to some. But holy saints can see it. This swan, when you mix milk and water together in a plate or cup, will take only the milk and leave the water behind. Similarly, those who have achieved a higher level of consciousness through mantra meditation leave the water of māyā behind and drink the milk of spirituality, and thus fly over. Without mantra, meditation is a body without a soul. It is not easy to realize everything. A person may be named Lakṣmī, but she may not have one pound to buy bread—yet Lakṣmī is the goddess of wealth. One may be named Viveka but be in total darkness of ignorance, sitting with ego and laziness, with no knowledge at all. One may be named Prakāśa (Light) but be in darkness. One may be named Santoṣa (Satisfaction) but still suffer and be dissatisfied. One may be named Yogamitra but still be in conflict. One may be named Dayāmātā (Mother of Compassion)... I will not go further. It is said that the name you receive, you have to realize. Meditation is the power of saṅkalpa śakti, icchā śakti. Your icchā śakti (will-power) will be perfected. Icchā means your desire or wish. Saṅkalpa is your resolve. The regulation you make should come true. Yet sometimes you stretch out your hands and get nothing. In the Anāhata Chakra, the heart center, resides the seat of Icchā Śakti. This morning we spoke about art. The Anāhata Chakra and the Ājñā Chakra should both be open and purified. The fulfillment of your wishes comes from the heart. But before you wish for something, you must have viveka very clear. Buddhi (intellect) can be flexible and changeable, but viveka cannot change. If viveka changes, then it is not viveka; it is the selfishness of the buddhi. Mind, intellect, and viveka—the highest quality of intellect is that which cannot change. Reality is reality. Therefore, when a yogī once begins and comes to sādhanā, it is said: even the mighty Himālaya may begin to shake, but my trust, my belief, will not shake. The moon and sun may change their direction, but I will not change. With such a solid saṅkalpa, such a decision, you work for that, and it is your meditation that will lead you very comfortably. Nothing is impossible. Everything is possible if you have discipline, self-discipline. The great saint Patañjali tells disciples: "Now I tell you the disciplines through which your yoga sādhanā, your practice, your aim, can be successful." That means anuśāsana: Atha yoga anuśāsanam. Ānuśāsanam means discipline. It is Patañjali's words that discipline is the key to success. So, self-discipline for what? So that you do your sādhanā on time and do not neglect it. Do not change. In the beginning, it may be a little harder, but then it will become your nature, your habit. Habit is the second nature of man. Whatever habit you have becomes like your nature. If you abuse drugs, that becomes the nature of the body; the body requires it again and again. There is a bhajan: "I am also the intoxication of the drug." But God's name is my divine intoxication. Practice daily for two or three months. Then, automatically, the time will come when your inner self will require it. You will say, "Now it is my time for meditation." You sit, close your eyes, and off you go into deep meditation. Practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect. But if there is no discipline, you will say, "Oh, today I am tired." Tomorrow, a friend invites you for dinner. "He is my friend. I can practice anytime." You come home: "Oh, I ate too much, I cannot." On the third day, someone invites you to the cinema: "This is the last day this film is playing." You had an interest, so you say yes. This is a kind of temptation for a yogī, a test to see if the yogī will be strong enough and have discipline or not. Āsurī Śaktis, negative powers we spoke of yesterday, constantly send negative energies, though we do not know in what form. This is a problem. Kabīr Dās, a great saint, said that māyā is always at hand, searching for a chance to catch you and pull you up, to hang you up. She became a queen for a king. She became holy water at a holy place. Muhrat ho kar baithī—she sat as an auspicious moment. In the temple, she became a statue. Yogī kī bhai chailī—she became a disciple of a yogī. Kabīr Dās gives so many examples. You never know when māyā can attack you to "hang you up," meaning it will kill your spirituality. Therefore, it is said: "Jag mein raho to aise raho"—If I live in this world, O Lord, help me to live like a lotus flower in the water. The lotus grows in dirty, muddy water, but its blossom is above the water, beautiful. From this dirt comes such a beautiful flower. If water falls on its petals, it slides down. Similarly, we have to learn to live in this world as the lotus flower. We are in māyā. The lotus cannot exist without that water. Take the water away, empty the lake, and the next day you will see the flowers hanging down. Similarly, if we go out of this māyā, this world, we will die. We have to live here, but above it. It should not attach to you. When we meditate, everything becomes clear and protects us from this illusion, these temptations which seem to be reality but are not. They are given to you temporarily. Even your parents are given to you temporarily. Your children are given to you temporarily. Your partner nowadays is very temporary. A plastic toy can last a whole life, but this biological toy... So, māyā. Meditation gives us contentment. Meditation is the way to the Self, and that Self represents the Cosmic Self. Now we will have a meditation after a ten-minute interval. In ten minutes, if you have questions, write them clearly on a piece of paper so that I or the person reading them can understand. The person does not work in a chemist's shop who can read every doctor's prescription. Thank you. Enjoy the interval. Question: When Devapurījī gave three sons to the merchant in exchange for three chapatis, did he overcome the parents' destiny, change it, or reveal a destiny they didn't know? Answer: Devapurījī always used to say, "God takes upon himself the destiny of the devotee." So Gurudev takes upon himself the destiny of devotees. He took the destiny upon himself and freed them. If you go into a dark room and bring the darkness in your hand, then come into the light and open your hand, there is no sign of darkness. Similarly, such a great saint can change or delete destiny. It reminds me of a beautiful story, but it will take time to tell. Should I tell it? Then you will say again, "Swami, you didn't give us meditation." To understand destiny is not easy. There was a man searching to see God. Who wouldn't? We also would like to see God. He met a spiritual person who told him, "You will see God, but not here in the city—in the forest." He trusted him and went to the forest. The person told him, "Do not sleep in ignorance, for God may come while you are sleeping." So he did not eat, did not drink. There was nothing to eat in the forest—high mountains, hot climate. He kept his eyes open all the time. After many days of no eating, drinking, or sleeping, he was very tired, lying on a rock with open eyes, waiting: "God will come. My dear one will come. Just once, come to me. The door of my heart is open wide for thee. Night and day I look for thee." A big crow, like those in London parks, came and looked at this man who was nearly dying. The crow waited one day, then a second. The man was very weak. Animals like crows will not attack while a creature is still living. But the crow was hungry and saw the man had no strength to move. It flew and sat on the man's ribs. With its sharp beak, it bit his stomach to pull out his intestine. A second time, a third time—it managed to get something. The man was still looking into empty space: "My Lord will come." The crow was causing pain. At least the crow had ahiṃsā? It was painful for the man. The man answered—a poet saint wrote this poem describing the story of love, the love of devotees for their God. The crow asks, "Is it painful?" The man answers with his eyes swimming in tears, saying, "Eat, eat all of my body, each and every piece of flesh. Take it, eat it. But my friend, one request: please do not eat my two eyeballs. I still have hope to see my beloved with these eyes." The crow jumped down in front of him and said, "Are you crazy, man? Stupid? Who is your lover? Quit it. You will find someone else." That man spoke again to the crow: "My friend, if it is a piece of paper, I can read to you what is written here. But I cannot read to you my destiny. If it is a piece of wood, I can break it. But love, I cannot break." The crow looked left and right, looked up, and looked into the eyes of the man, and smiled. It changed into God Viṣṇu, with four hands—one holding a lotus flower, the Sudarśana Cakra, the Śaṅkha, and the Gadā. God said, "My dear, I am that one. That was a hard test for you, but I wanted to know if you really love me or not." Viṣṇu gave his blessing, and immediately the man became healthy again, with no wounds or anything missing. He got up. The Lord embraced him. As soon as he embraced Him and looked at Him, and God looked at him and smiled, he was full of joy and tears were falling. He said, "Lord," closed his eyes, and the Lord dematerialized. So, do you have time to wait? Mīrā Dāsī, in her bhajan, said: "Janam janam kī hari tumāre sāth, Mīrā"—For many, many lives I am with you, O Lord. "Darśana do—now, please come to me." She sings in front of the temple: "Darśan do ghanśyām nath merī āṅkhyā pyāsī re—O Lord, show me, give me your darśan, my eyes are thirsty for you. Mandir, mandir, mūrat terī—In every temple there is a statue of you. Phir binā dekhe sūrat terī—But still I cannot see your face. Āk michanī chhodo abto—Give up this play of hide and seek. Ghat ghat ke vāsī re—You are dwelling in every heart. Darśana do ghanasyā manātmāri." It is a beautiful bhajan from Mīrā. So, destiny. Gurudev takes upon himself the destiny of the devotee—if the devotees are like that man, who did not care about the body or its feelings of pain and pleasure. Question: What about when I feel fear all the time? Answer: This is a hidden fear in our subconsciousness. Yesterday we spoke about the unconscious, subconscious, conscious, superconscious, and cosmic conscious. It is a fear of uncertainty—the fear of not fulfilling a wish or desire, or of losing something. It is a championship, a challenge, a competition. If one barber has a nice shop and a second opens beside it, you do not know how much jealousy the first barber has. If a third comes, the first might close and go away to avoid losing business. So he went away and bought an expensive shop where there were no barbers nearby. He opened a beautiful barber shop with great mirrors. For ten days, no customer came. He asked someone, "My friend, why does no one come for a haircut?" The friend said, "Well, you are mistaken." "How?" "You opened your shop in a community of Indian Sikhs, who never cut their hair." So, the fear of not having success or losing business, or fear of other things, comes in the form of negativity: jealousy, ignorance, hate. Jealousy is a sign of an undeveloped personality, still like a child. A fully developed person is never jealous. "I am jealous; somebody will take my telephone. It is so beautiful, I like it. This other man has his eyes on my telephone all the time. I am afraid to lose it." Jealousy, in psychology, is a sign of an undeveloped personality. But if I am above this, it does not matter; he can have it. If it is in my kismet (destiny), it will come back. If it is not in my kismet, it will not come. In India, on trucks, buses, and cars, they have good slogans written. On a bus it is written: "Samay se pahle aur bhāgya se jyādā kabhī nahī miltā hai"—You cannot get anything before its time or more than your destiny. So wait. If you are pregnant, wait for nine months. Then you will get a baby. You cannot be with a man today and want a baby in your arms tomorrow. And if it is in your destiny to have one baby, you cannot already want twins. That will not be. This is always very difficult to understand. So, unnecessarily, do not have negative thinking. If it is in your kismet, it will come. If it is not in your kismet, it will not come. What is meant to be yours forever will be. Otherwise, what is gone is lost, but you are not. Be like a mighty tree. Birds come and sit, and in the morning they fly away. The tree does not cry. You should be a shelter for all. Your shoulder should be strong so that everyone can lean on it. So do not be jealous. Do not be angry. Do not have negative thoughts. This inner impurity brings negative thoughts. If someone or something is gone, I will not say why. Question: The mind needs work. Therefore, when you begin to repeat a mantra, your mind gets the duty to take these mantras and thoughts and work with them, and the other restlessness disappears. Answer: Yes. Question: Can we have a śrāddha ceremony performed in London? Answer: Yes, you can have it in London. In England there are many Indians, many priests, Brahmins, Pandits. They know exactly which kind of mantras and pūjā to perform. If you have an interest, we can try to find a priest who will perform the ceremony for you. You have to go there, or he has to come to your home. I do not know his schedule. But surely you can have it. Who is asking? One person? For one, there is no problem. It is very important to perform correct, good, scientific, spiritual ceremonies or mantras for our ancestors. If we cannot do more for them, at least we should do this. Question: Can chakras be damaged? Answer: Chakras cannot be damaged. Even if your body is operated on, the chakras are not physical; they are astral. So chakras will be with you forever and ever, until you come to Brahmaloka. Do not worry, they are not damaged. They can be polluted with fear, negative energy, and such things, but they cannot be damaged. Why didn't you listen yesterday? I talked for one and a half hours on this subject. Next time, listen to the Master with both ears and the Ājñā Chakra. Use your memory, okay? Question: How big are they? You didn't tell me? Answer: That is a very good question. I am only 175 cm, so maybe they are a bit bigger than this. That is another thing. Thank you. The meditation I want to lead today—my first question is, how long can we be here? Okay, so we have fifteen minutes for meditation. This fifteen-minute meditation means you just remain and do nothing. We will have some background music. I will give very little instruction and see how your meditation functions. I will tell you what to do, of course. And now I can tell you what I will tell you to do: I will tell you to do nothing. See what happens. Now, trying not to do anything is also doing something. Holy Gurujī used to say: "You can do physical work all day and maybe not be so tired. But ask a worker who does hard work outside for eight hours a day, 'Today do not do anything. I will give you double salary. Sit for eight hours and meditate.' Will it be possible for that person to sit for eight hours and only meditate? No." It is easy to do something, but hard to do nothing. But this is the time where you know what to do without doing anything. Or what to do? Nothing to do, except your mantra. So take your mālā. I will give some instructions at times. Lights off. Those who have no mantra should just follow their breath: "I know that I inhale. I know that I exhale." And keep the picture of Gurudev in your mind. Make yourself comfortable. Adjust yourself so you will not feel discomfort during meditation. That is enough. Do not put all the lights off. That is enough, yes? Be aware of your whole body and come to yourself. Be aware of this hall. Be relaxed. Just relax. Close your eyes and repeat your mantra. Withdraw yourself from the external world. I am, just I am. I am here. I know that I am sitting and meditating with my mantra. Choose any place within yourself where you would like to be—in the Maṇipūra Chakra, the heart (Anāhata Chakra), the Viśuddhi Chakra, the Ājñā Chakra, or the Cidākāśa (inner space). Relax. Repeat your mantra very consciously with a very clear mind. I know that I am practicing my mantra. I know what it means. Take a deep inhale once, exhale, and dive within yourself. Feel Gurudev's presence, or any divine personality you believe in. Keep in your ciddākāśa (conscious space) the imagination of His presence. Feel free, without anxiety or doubt. Just be there, relax. Be one with yourself within, in divine presence, in oneness. Be aware of your being here. Keep your body straight, upright, and motionless. Be aware of your being here in this hall. Do not run away with your thoughts to the outer world. Observe your thoughts as you would take care of a small child, ensuring it does not touch electric wires or fire or anything that can harm it. Similarly, observe your mind. Keep it in your inner space, with your mantra. If it wanders, bring it back. Fold both hands and say whatever prayer you wish—very short, full of love, devotion, and faith. As your last hope, surrender inwardly: "Gurudev, what will be with me? Maa Prabhujī, what now, what will be? Yours." Repeat after me. Place your palms on your face, or slightly massage your facial muscles. Leave your eyes closed. Bend forward. Touch your palms to the ground or your yoga mat. Keep your eyes closed and feel the blood circulation towards your head and face muscles. This is good for your eyes, ears, and gums. Wait until the light is on. Feel the stretching of your back muscles, spine, and neck muscles. Gently, first open your eyes. Raise your head about five centimeters and see the light there on the ground. Now slowly come up. Hari Om.