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We offer our praṇām to our Bhagavān Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī, to Śiva Svarūpa Devapurījī, and to the Emperor of Hindu Dharma, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān. Together, you and I also bow at the holy feet of our Gurudev. It is a beautiful day, and many programs lie ahead of us. But first, we must offer our praṇām, our registration, to our Gurudev. Hands together. If possible, sit straight, with folded hands towards the heart. Das Prabhu śaraṇ parāyaṇam. Oṁ namo śrī Prabhu dīp. Oṁ śrī Prabhu haṁ sab das Prabhu śaraṇ parāyaṇam. Oṁ namaḥ śrī Prabhu, śrī Prabhu, śrī Prabhu, śrī Prabhu... śrī Prabhu. This is our praṇām, our respect to Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī, which means to all our gurus. It is our adulation. Oṁ Namo. Oṁ is the first. "Oṁ Namo" means we bow down. "Oṁ Namo Śrī"—Śrī is wealth, the wealth of peace, harmony, and understanding. All that is within us—physical, mental, spiritual—is contained within that Śrī. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Dīpā Mahāprabhujī. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpā Mahāprabhujī. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa. Nārāyaṇa is Bhagavān Viṣṇu. As written by Gurujī in Līlā Amṛt and elsewhere, Mahāprabhujī is Bhagavān Viṣṇu. "Oṁ Namo"—Namo means we bow down. Oṁ Namo Śrī Prabhupādīpā Nārāyaṇam. Oṁ Namo Śrī Prabhupādipā. Oṁ Namo Śrī Prabhupādipā. This means we all together, including these little children. If you have your dog here, all little birds, any and all living beings—they are all, we are all. We are not saying only humans, but all creatures nearby. We adore, we bow down. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhupādipā. We are all your devotees. We are your bhakti, and we all bow down. Please give us your blessing. "Śaraṇ"—Śaraṇ means at your holy feet. We adore thee. And so, haṁsabha, divine disciples, we all bow down. With this praṇām, all the best of the best we have, we give to thy holy feet. This is a very nice mantra, and it belongs to our Mahāprabhujī, Devapurījī, Holī Gurujī, Alakpurījī—all these disciples in the paramparā. They are our God, and we are all disciples. Remember, whenever you can, and whenever we have difficulties, just chant this mantra. But the result cannot always be immediate. Sometimes yes, sometimes not. Because we do not know what we have done. How can God immediately make you supreme or solve your problem? It is said that sooner or later, it will come through Guru Kṛpā, the Guru's grace. Gurujī wrote a very beautiful, large book with many pages. In it are many stories of sādhus and sannyāsīs. When they received this book, they would carry it in their pocket. They said to Holī Gurujī, Gurudev, "Please, can you give me this book?" Gurujī said, "It is for you. Will you read it?" He said, "No, not for reading, but I will give it to all the people. The knowledge and stories within will give me great wisdom through my heart, and I will pass that joy on to others." But to understand the story... sometimes we understand, sometimes we cannot because different countries have different traditions, so they must be read in a different way, yet the essence is the same. These stories are very, very nice. Some are real, and sometimes we create a story, but that created story is also real. Our Holī Gurujī told one such story. There was an āśram about one or two kilometers from a village, with a beautiful park and small cabins. The head Gurujī lived in a grass hut, as did many others. A merchant came every morning to see Gurujī, offered praṇām, and then returned to his work. There was a person who had a flower farm. You know, when we go to a city, we need flowers, but you cannot buy them there; they come from people who harvest them. The merchant, always walking, saw this person in the flower garden. He said, "Please, can you make me one flower garland every day for my Gurujī's morning pūjā? I will give you four paisa every day." At that time, a quarter of a rupee was a significant amount. The gardener said, "But you must be precise. I will always be there fourteen minutes before sunrise." The merchant agreed. In that little village, there was a king who would visit Gurujī once a week with the queen, and many people would go. One day, the merchant said to the gardener, "Tomorrow is Guru Pūrṇimā. Please, can you make the most beautiful garland you can? It is for my Gurudev." The gardener made an exceptionally beautiful and large garland and stood waiting. The king and queen were approaching in a horse carriage to offer praṇām on Guru Pūrṇimā. The queen saw the garland and said to the king, "Your Highness, stop here. I would like to have this mālā for Gurujī." She asked the gardener, "Please, can you give me this mālā?" He replied, "I can give you another, but not this one. This mālā is promised. I cannot give it to you." The king said, "Why not? I will give you money." The gardener said, "Money has no value for me. My promise is what I cannot break." The merchant arrived and asked, "Please, a little?" The gardener said yes to him. The king interjected, "No, stop. I'll give you money. How much are you giving the merchant? Four, five paisa?" The king said, "I'll give you one hundred." The merchant countered, "Give me one thousand." The king said, "Twenty thousand." The merchant said, "One million. For my Guru." The king, knowing the merchant was very rich and from whom he sometimes borrowed, said, "Fifteen million." The gardener was astonished. The king and merchant were offering so much money. Why? Perhaps this garland held greater value for Gurudev. The gardener then said, "Your Highness and friend Merchant, today, on Guru Pūrṇimā, I will offer this garland to Gurudev myself. I will give it to him." The king and merchant watched. The gardener said, "For me, billions have no value. My devotion to my Gurudev is more valuable." He went and gave the garland to Gurudev. The king and merchant said, "You are great. We did not believe you were like that." So, that is what we call value. What kind of value? Devotion to God, to the Guru, to the temple, to the church—there is nothing greater than our devotion there. Do you understand? Thus, when we are on the path and decide to become a holy, spiritual person, knowing it is a long way, but our steps day and night are directed towards that goal, then you will be happy. Nothing else will matter. The king was so happy. The queen alighted from the chariot and offered praṇām to the gardener. The king also stood up. The merchant said, "My friend, I thought I was the best merchant here, but you have surpassed me. Janama janama"—life after life—"you have attained this peace, harmony, and understanding for many, many lives." The merchant said, "Money has no value. May I give you one little petal of a flower, not even a whole flower? Or if not that, a little stone. But it comes from my heart." That is what we must achieve. I am trying day and night. I hope someone will jump in front of me. Do you think I will say, "What will I do now?" Do you think I will say, "What do I have to count now?" That someone else is so great? I will say, my friend—you are not my friend, but you are my Gurudev. I offer praṇām in front of you, with my head at your feet. I bow down. Because you are a disciple of that Guru. Whether you know it or not, I will always offer you praṇām. This is our satsaṅg. That is our sādhanā. That is our life. So, even if we first meet a guru or a disciple, or someone who still has no mālā, no mantra, but someone comes, we take them to heart. That person, in our heart, becomes everything. We do not know if he is the highest, or we... I do not know. There is another story from long ago, hundreds or thousands of years, during the time of the Mughals. There was a king who declared, "In my kingdom, no one will be hungry. No one will be without good clothes or money. In my kingdom, all are prosperous." Every morning, the king told his guards and people, "Send a message throughout the entire kingdom so that no one is hungry, no one is in poverty, no one has problems. If anyone is in need, immediately give them what they need, what they want. Take it from my heart. In my kingdom, there shall be no poor—neither humans nor animals." God said, "I want to test him, to see if he is truly a good king or not." The king would come out of his palace about an hour after sunrise to see if all was well. Suddenly, a poor man appeared, dressed in unclean clothes, very weak, with a stick and a pot. He approached and fell down. He said, "Who are you, your highness?" "I am a subject of your kingdom, but I am dying." "But you look..." He said, "Yes, for about 40 days I have eaten nothing. No one gave me anything, and I cannot work. The water is also not good. So, King, I have come to you. Please give me something to eat." The king was surprised. "In my kingdom? My son, my disciple... From where are you coming?" "From just behind this wall. I have always been here, right by this wall." The king asked his servants and guards. They said, "No, we have not seen him there." The poor man said, "Your Highness, you see, they only look upward. Please, I am dying of hunger. No gossiping, please." The king said, "Please bring him something to eat quickly. First, some nice, sweet, hot milk." It was poured into his pot and vanished. Then he brought some bread. The king put many things into the pot, and they disappeared like the wind. The king, alarmed, said, "Bring more, please, quickly!" Again, the king asked, "What is this? I do not understand." The beggar said, "I only know I am hungry, and my pot is empty. You are the king, please fill me with food." The king said, "I think you need something more." "I do not know more or less. My stomach feels it." The king put in vegetables, gold, and many things. The king was frightened. "Who are you? A beggar? You are a king?" He said, "No, it must be something. Please, take whatever you want. I give my whole palace, all my kingdom." "What will I do with your kingdom and palace? Just fill my stomach." The king knelt down. "By that hand, who are you? Please, dear beggar, appear as God." "My son, king, I wanted to know how you are. Now I know you are the best king. You have that prāṇa. So I gave you all, and you gave me also all. Live in this kingdom like this." It was God. God blessed him: "Your hands will always be uplifted, not lowered like a beggar's." The king was frightened, and God disappeared. These are stories, but that was a real story from about five thousand years ago. So, there are those among us whom we do not recognize. Perhaps someone here is like that. Therefore, do not think this person is not good. Always consider this. Who knows where we will be? This is the learning. I know that all our people here, and in these countries, will always offer to you first. Except the football players? No, they are all sleeping. Okay, my knowledge, my stories are finished. They are all, how to say, hypnotized by the king. Such stories you will carry your whole life, until you die. You have books you read with thousands of pages, but you may remember only a name or two, three lines. That is how gurus, or any teacher, first choose something to give us confidence and certainty. You know, our Holī Gurujī's mother was very, very holy. Holī Gurujī's father was also a great Jyotiṣī. They had three brothers—one, I think, died—and four sisters. One of the last was my mother. Gurujī, from birth, was something very personal that no one could understand. Slowly, He performed many sādhanās at a very young age and was always praying to Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. One day in a dream, Kṛṣṇa said, "I will come." Gurujī woke up, not knowing what had finished, but He knew that one day He said, "I will come." Again it came in a dream: "I am that Kṛṣṇa, and I will meet you on that day, in that place." In that dream, He said we would meet each other then and there. He was still very young, about 17, 18, 20 years—I did not ask Gurujī. He said, "I will meet you there." After some years or months, a sādhu came—now Holī Gurujī's guru-brother—and said to the King in Jodhpur that during monsoon, they stay in one place, and there is Mahāprabhujī who will give you [darshan]. So, Holī Gurujī walked from there, nearly 200 km, or 170 km. Now the road is straight, maybe 100 km, but at that time it was from village to village. He arrived at that time. Bhaktas were sitting and singing bhajans. Mahāprabhujī was walking there. You know Mahāprabhujī's very nice, big personality. Gurujī saw Kṛṣṇa. Gurujī fell at Mahāprabhujī's holy feet. Mahāprabhujī said, "My son, my child, get up. You know, my child, I saw you on that day in the dream, and I spoke to you this day, this time, and here. Remember that? The time has come now." This is in the Līlā Amṛt book. Have you read it? I do not have many stories. From that day, Holī Gurujī went with Mahāprabhujī as a young man, probably 14 or 20 years old, or maybe less—I will look in the Līlā Amṛt book. Of course, the parents were sad. "Where is my child?" It took a few months to find out where he was. Holī Gurujī's father came by train to the barricade and reached Mahāprabhujī's ashram. Mahāprabhujī's little kuṭī, a small hut... Holī Gurujī was sitting under a little tree. He saw his father. He said, "Why did you come here?" "Who?" the child said. "My father? My everything is here." Then Mahāprabhujī came out. Mahāprabhujī said, "He is your father. Respect him. Go and offer praṇām." But Mahāprabhujī also said, "He is yours, and he will be." It was Mahāprabhujī who said, "I will give you many sons like this. Do not worry." Of course, it was not easy. At that time, there were no vehicles. Perhaps one could see a jeep from the Mahārājā. We would all look from afar. You know, when we see deer and we are walking, the deer look at us like this. Now, we do not even have a place to park our car. So many things, many things. That is how it is. It is not easy. There are many, many stories Gurujī has told, and they are also in the book. Now, in three days, it will be our Holī Gurujī's incarnation or birthday. We all will be there—all our bhaktas, disciples, friends, everyone who listens to this from Svāmijī's television. On that day, there will be a lecture by Gurujī. It will be a beautiful, very nice program. All around the world—America, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, China, Europe, Africa—everywhere, our bhaktas. We will tell them at their homes, wherever they are, to offer praṇāms and worship to our Hindu Dharmasamrāṭ Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Mahārāj. But you know, everyone has to go through difficulties and good times. Each of us must pass through both difficulties and joys, and we know this is a test. Many will neglect it, whether good or bad. Many will talk, gossip, and engage in idle work. Even Kṛṣṇa, God Rāma, Buddha—all suffered, and many people spoke negative words because they are only dirt. When we take something out from a fruit or vegetable, sand comes with it, and that must also be cleaned. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva—all suffered. All great sages suffered. But they knew they were certain. Gold is gold, and it will remain gold. The sun rises, and it will rise. Whether we are born or we die, similarly, the saints, the ṛṣis, the sādhus know what they are doing. Many will give negative thoughts. That is good. Because when they give negative things, it means they are purifying all our negativity onto themselves. And positively, we are cleaning ourselves. We are lucky. That you are all here... Today is a new moon day according to our Jyotiṣa. That is very nice. It is a great constellation. The new moon... maybe we see it otherwise. The second day, then we can see the moon. Now is the last of the moon days, and then there will be one more night, and the next day the moon is new. The moon has a big story that we will show you sometime. So it is the same thing for you, my dear. You also have many problems. Many say, "What? You do not eat eggs? Do you not eat this? Do you not eat that?" It is not our religion. Our religion is a human religion, nothing else. But you are that star. That is what I wanted to give you today: these two stories and the remembrance of our Gurudeva. My own stories with my Gurudeva, perhaps we will talk about them sometime. It is not so easy. Now you know, I am here. You get up, you look at me, you come close to me. People are hiding, somebody is holding my [arm], everything. You know, now it is like this: I am up here, and when I come, you get up. Someone will help me; they will keep my will, or they will help me here, and so on and so on. But there were some days, little stories... I wanted to become a sannyāsī, and Gurujī said no because of my mother and my brothers. My mother is Gurujī's sister. Gurujī said no, otherwise my sister would be angry. I said no, and this and that. Gurujī said, "I give you a very nice job." For three months I was there. I said, "My son, in this hot sun, hardly..." Water, working in little mines—that is not a life. Really, one day I had no money, only one or two rupees. The workers were paid after one month. I had only one dress, that is all, and I wanted to go somewhere. But first, I went to Gurujī. I knew Gurujī would be very angry. I came to Gurujī, and Gurujī said, "Go out." Not giving? "Come, sit down, drink water." He said, "Go. Why do you come here? Go, go." This is the test of the master. Now I had no money, nothing. There was a railway train coming around midnight somewhere. So from evening, after work at sunset, I did not know the path. I had no money. I did not know how to go, so I was running on the railways. I thought maybe a snake there, maybe some other animals, but I kept going. After a station came, a little station, I sat there. Then a train came. I was looking left and right because I had no money. I got on the train. After two or three kilometers, the ticket collector came. "Your ticket?" I said, "I have no ticket." "Money?" I said, "I have no money." He said, "OK. You can come here with me and lie asleep." I thought, oh God, this is good. At the next station, the ticket collector called the police. "This person is in black." The police took me away and put me in a room—no eating, no drinking. In the morning, at 11 o'clock, another train came. The police took me to Jodhpur, to some police station or where there was a judge. They said, "This is a boy." The judge asked, "What is your name?" I did not want to give my name. I said, "Please, I lie, I lie." "What is the name of your father?" I also did not want to give my name and village. "Then why this?" So I said, "I know. I was working there, and I want to go to my village to bring something." He just said, "Do not do like this. You can go now. Thank you." The police let me free, but for two days I did not eat. Yes, and then I came to my mother and brothers. I said, "Praṇām Māṭājī." I stayed two to three days. Then again, I went back because Holī Gurujī was angry. But my mother gave me some money, and I took the train. After a few days, I wrote a letter to Gurujī. There was no telephone or anything. The rest is a story for next time. Thank you.