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The Master invited a devotee from America to share, and the assembly first chanted: Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti He Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti He... One devotee then spoke: I am here after twelve years. It has been a really long time, and the last few years without Gurudeva in America were extremely difficult. When the invitation came to come here, my heart was suddenly dancing. It is a truly beautiful time here. I am so grateful to be here. While visiting the Kathu Hall, I remembered that on August 31st it will be twenty-five years since I received mantra from Gurudev. I believe a few of us here also received it then—Swami Jñāneśvara, I believe, was on the same mantra dīkṣā. I was in the Washington Ashram, and one Thanksgiving Day, I was sitting when I got a call—I believe from here, from Střílky—saying that Vishwagurujī would call. I waited and waited. Then Guru Dev called and asked if there was a family in Atlanta who would like to start an ashram, and if I would like to go there to help. I said, “Of course, yes.” After one year, I went to Atlanta. It is not really in the city; we are about fifty kilometers further out. We started in October 1999 with our first yoga class. This was together with the family of Purohit—Kelāś, Dinesh, Kelāś Jī and Dinesh Jī—and Kelājī’s parents, Mātājī Pārvatī Jī and Rāmchandra Purohit. They were with Mahāprabhujī, and in their home they have Mahāprabhujī’s shoe; her brother has the other shoe. Sometimes I look at that shoe. We have been teaching yoga there since 1999, and it has been growing. We now have classes in person and online, and there is a yoga teacher training program led by Kelāś Jī. A new retreat center is coming up, and it is going to be so beautiful—it is huge, with forests included. When it is ready, I hope you all come. The Master then encouraged the devotee to speak about yoga. She continued: We are teaching Yoga in Daily Life. It is very beautiful. Actually, in 1999 in Beaufort, where we are, we were the only yoga. Then, in the last few years, so many have appeared; there is a lot of competition. But when people come to us and feel a resonance, they say, “Oh wow, I have never seen anything like this, I have never experienced anything like this. I have taken so many yoga classes, but here it is different. Now I know what authentic yoga is.” There is something we offer that is unique, very precious, very special. We must value it—we must know what kind of gem, what kind of diamond we have—and present it confidently. I hope our Yoga in Daily Life will be shining everywhere. Another devotee then addressed the gathering: Praṇām Gurudev. Greetings and good evening to all of you, brothers and sisters here in Střílky, and to all who are connected with us through modern technology. In the presence of our Divine Master, our Satguru Dev, we are actually living what is being sung in this mantra. Our Master, Paramahaṁsavāmī Maheśvarānandajī, is perfect completeness. He is everything we are searching for in this universe. In these moments, every minute and every second with our Master, we are in the ocean of His love, in His infinite, holy aura. We are immersed in His Divine Presence and receiving wisdom that we can get nowhere else. The teaching our Satya Gurudev gives us comes from Satya Yuga, from Śrī Alakhpurījī. That perfection, the divine filling the whole universe, is where our steps are heading on the spiritual path—even if we start with a simple physical exercise. We all know how it was when we came to yoga, when we came to Swāmījī. We were like small children. I speak for myself: I did not know much about what Gurudev actually means, what yogic spirituality means. Many of us came only because of health issues. That was our start. But years have passed. Years ago, we were immensely blessed to meet our beloved Gurudev, and thanks to his endless patience, we took all those small, imperfect steps, step by step—making progress, or at least I hope so. We strive to move on that path which is one hundred percent safe, the path our Guru Dev offers us. What is important is not to stop. If a turbulent, difficult period comes and we come to a halt, let us pray to Mahāprabhujī and to our Satguru Dev Swamījī that we remain standing firmly on the path, even in difficult moments. For myself, in such a situation, the most beautiful image I can imagine is one of those big trees in this garden. Think how this big, strong tree is deeply rooted in the ground, how many storms and difficulties it has survived. In a similar way, we should stand firmly on our path. In spite of all problems—and it is natural that life brings issues, a series of waves going up and down—I think it is good to keep this image of the tree, deeply rooted, standing firmly on the ground. As soon as the storm is over, it is very important to take another step and move forward. When it is sunny again, it is time to go. Every day, every hour, every minute we move forward toward the aim to which our beloved Master directs us with all his blessings. I would like to thank him for all of this on my own behalf, and perhaps on yours as well. I am aware that I am an imperfect disciple. Perhaps you feel similarly—we make mistakes, are sometimes weak, and may even disappoint our Guru. But I wish that he remains patient with us and continues to lead us. Gurudev, thank you. A third devotee then spoke: Gurudev, Praṇām, Hari Om, dear brothers and sisters. Vishwagurujī has asked me to say something, though I really do not like to talk much. Ever since I met him, he has always sort of put me in front of people. I really prefer to be in the woods, in the mountains, in nature. Once in America, during satsaṅg, he said something like, “Be careful, watch for Amṛtāgā because she may go into her cave—don’t let her go into the cave.” He always reminds me how precious and beautiful this human life is, this opportunity to be born as a human. Even though there have been many times I did not even want to be here anymore because life was challenging and difficult, and I questioned what it really means to be a human being, I used to say to myself, “Why would you like to live an ordinary life if your life is extraordinary?” And that extraordinary life has brought so many opportunities, so many meetings. Vishwagurujī once told me, “You have seen it all.” I have been in this world for fifty-two years. I lived in the Czech Republic, and now I live in America. I traveled around the world, experienced many cultures, saw many different ways of life. Today, watching the children’s program, I had tears in my eyes. Seeing the children and the education they receive here through Yoga in Daily Life reminded me of the childhood I had. I grew up in a little village where children were surrounded by community—aunties, uncles, grandparents, parents who loved them. Children were free, they could experience childhood, feel safe, feel loved, and be raised in a dharmic way. That was the upbringing I had for my first nineteen or twenty years before I came to America. There I found a world so different I could not understand it. Of course, there are good people everywhere, but I found myself in a place of wealth, a materialistic life, where relationships were very different. In the beginning, I tried to fit in, but it was completely opposite to what I had known—a place of competition, where people have a lot of fear of one another. That was a very good lesson for me. I even asked Vishwagurujī, “Why am I in America? I never wished to go there.” I realized I was probably put there to learn something about humanity, to know different forms of humanity. When I met Vishwagurujī in 2007, I received my mantra and was given my name. I asked him, “What does it all mean? What am I supposed to do?” He told me, “You are to keep, to maintain dharma.” At that time, I did not understand the meaning of the word. Over the years I learned that dharma is duty, the right thing to do. Vishwagurujī often speaks of the dharma of the body, the family, society, nature, the trees—that responsibility to do what is right exists in everything. As a child, I was raised to help the elders, to respect the wisdom of the elders. When I came to America, I learned that at forty you are old and no one is really interested in you, and beyond fifty or sixty you are sort of thrown out of society because wisdom is not valued. Even while living there, in very different societal values than I was accustomed to or see when I return to Europe, I have always tried to do the right thing. I have not always done it, but I was trying. There is a verse in the Bhagavad Gītā that I think of often because it gives me strength and reminds me to do the right thing. A rough translation of that verse is: “Is the one who, doing the right thing, loses—even though doing the right thing—loses?” I try to keep that in my consciousness when I face various situations in work, in dealing with people, in teaching yoga—trying to do the right thing, even though sometimes I become the loser. There is one more thing I would like to share. Vishwagurujī has asked me to speak about meeting him or starting the ashram. Some of you may have heard the stories; it is a very long story, but I recall that it was May 5th or May 7th in 2007 when I flew to New Zealand to meet him. I did not even know if I would meet him—I was just flying to pick up a book. Before going back to the US, I had a little satsaṅg with Vishwagurujī. I was sitting with him in the living room as my time to leave for the airport approached. He got up from his chair to rest, going down a staircase to his room. I stood behind him, watching him go down. He coughed a little—you know how Vishwagurujī sometimes coughs. Just a little cough, and as I watched him, I became very afraid. I was very afraid for his heart; I felt his heart. I had never told him this, but in that moment I thought I would die for him to live. I was saying to myself, “Please take my heart. If you need a heart, please take my heart.” The Master then said, “So, still you have not given me help. Come on, have prayer now.” And he led this prayer: Alakh Purījī, Mahādeva, Śrī Śrīdeveśvara Mahādeva, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Śrī Madhavānanda Purī Gurujī, Śrī Sattā Gurudeva, Viśvagurujī Paramahaṁsa Maheśvarānanda Yogirāj, Śrī Alakhpurījī Mahādeva, Śrī Śrīdeveśvara Mahādeva, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavāne, Kī Jaya, Śrī Madhavānanda Purī Gurujī, Śrī Satṭā Gurū Deva, Viśvagurujī Paramahaṁsa Maheśvarānanda Yogīrāja.