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Part 1: Satsaṅg: The Tree of Immortality and the Guru Paramparā Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Śrī Śrī Devī Viśvara Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Śrī Alakhpurījī Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru, Viśvameśvarānanda Gurudeva Kī Jaya. Once upon a time, two parrots were sitting on a tree. They were talking to each other, and the male one said—they were discussing. One was named Mena and the other Suā, and he told her, “My dear one, my darling, listen to me carefully. Listen. You don’t talk. You should enjoy meditation and sing the name of God, but what you are talking is nonsense. You fly from branch to branch, and in your heart you are eating the fruits of passion. But these fruits are poisonous fruits. And who knows what will happen in a single second? Death may take you away. Listen, O Mena, concentrate on the name of God and don’t fly here and there. You are joyful, yet full of ego, full of pride, and you keep moving. But these enjoyments are like a Fata Morgana. We know what a Fata Morgana is, don’t we? In the desert you think there is water, but there is no water—it is a Fata Morgana. Listen, my darling, the juice you are enjoying is not real. When we fly away from this garden, who knows if we will ever meet again? As Svāmījī always says, when a leaf falls from a tree and the wind blows it away, that leaf will never return to the same tree. Therefore, you should repeat the mantra Soham, Soham. And keep the world behind you. Do not turn toward Māyā. Keep your back to Māyā and your face forward to reality. Mahāprabhujī says, therefore Gurudeva gives you satsaṅg. And this satsaṅg is the tree of immortality—the very tree that yields the fruits of immortality.” Then she said, “Wait, wait… Listen, O my dear one, listen. You listen carefully. You should repeat the mantra ‘Soham.’ You have your own tongue to repeat it, and it costs you no money. You should repeat it. Don’t tell me—you too have a tongue! And you know that death is like a cat waiting behind. He will finish you in a second, and you will see him chewing your skin and mouth. So take advantage of the time: rise each day and meditate, O Suā. Don’t be so lazy. This garden of the world will one day dry up. Everything will dry.” Śrī Śrī Deveśvara Madheva Kī Jai, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai, Śrī Śrī Deveśvara Madheva Kī Jai, Śrī Alakhpurījī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Hindu Dharma Samrāṭ Svāmī Madhavānanda Purī Jī, Sattva Gurudeva Kī Jai, Viśvaguru Mamlā, Viśvaguru Paramāṇ, Svāmī Maheśvara Nandājī, Gurudeva, Kī Jai. First and foremost, my respect and adoration to our Guru Paramparā: Śrī Alakhpurījī, Siddha Pīṭha, our dear Gurudeva, Viśvagurujī, Svāmī Hṛdayakamala, Svāmī Umāpurī, and all friends. It is pleasant and joyful to be here again after such a long time in Vienna, in the ashram. I was very joyful when I came to Vienna, especially to our original āśram in Śikānedā Gaze. And I have a question for all of you. You may answer it to yourself, perhaps not now, or you may think about it. Actually, why did you come? For what reason did you come today or yesterday? This ashram is a huge blessing. It is a blessing for every one of us, a blessing for Vienna, a blessing for Austria. For it is very rare that a saint comes, establishes an ashram, and blesses the place through his personal presence. I remember the time in Shikaneda Gasse at the beginning of the ’80s and ’90s. Looking back and looking now, what really changed is one thing: we now have the images, the mūrtis of our beloved Paramparā here—Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī, Satgurujī. Under normal circumstances in this world, people who have achieved greatness in life, who brought about a significant change for the upliftment of others—Mahāprabhujī, Kartā Mahāprabhujī, Kartā He Kevalam—they hold a special meaning for each one of us. These are not just images of name and form; they are living examples. For these statues were consecrated with a certain dedication and with a certain pūjā, and in that pūjā, in that ceremony we call Prāṇa Pratiṣṭhā, life has been infused into the statues. Many people in India, when I met them, would say, “Oh, look, our statue is breathing; they are alive.” And we really have to thank Viśvagurujī for undertaking such a task and bringing this prāṇa into the statues, into the mūrtis, and into this whole āśram. So again, think: what attracts you to come here? Today I was with Viśvagurujī in his flat, and there was a beautiful picture of Holī Gurujī. We were talking a little, and Viśvagurujī explained to me where that picture was taken. I remember it well—it was exactly the picture I had first seen, the one through which I first heard about Gurujī. It was in 1982. Viśvagurujī was coming regularly to Salzburg, giving seminars, and at Christmas time he brought a small folding picture. There was that picture of Holī Gurujī, and my first thought on seeing it was, “This person, this personality—I want to meet him.” Soon afterward, Svāmījī invited us on a group journey to India. I don’t know if any of you were on that journey in 1982; many of the disciples, unfortunately, are no longer with us. And there we met Gurujī for the first time, in Jaipur. The Jaipur Ashram was very small, not really in the city but outside it; not even a proper wall surrounded it. But we arrived, and there were only two or three rooms, a small hall, and Holī Gurujī’s room. At that time, Viśvagurujī was travelling with us, and Holī Gurujī also travelled with us in the bus. We had a very interesting journey around Rajasthan, visiting the different bhaktas in Jodhpur, Pali, and up to Jaisalmer. There are many, many stories to be told, but I would like to share a little about Holī Gurujī and my impressions. I am very grateful to Viśvagurujī that he gave me the opportunity to be with Holī Gurujī in his sevā for a certain time, and to take care of his āśram in Jaipur for some years. Those were hard times, but you know, hard things are sometimes the most precious. You have to extract gold in different ways, and it is not easy. Yet if you do it in the right way, something valuable can emerge. To begin with, we have to understand that Gurujī came from a very traditional society. At the time when he was young and met Mahāprabhujī, life was different, society was different, and everything was a kind of survival. Yet when we look at Holī Gurujī’s biography, we can see from the very beginning his urge, his quest for knowledge and spirituality—and I imagine it was not easy. He did not speak much about his time with Mahāprabhujī. But we can see in his personality a reflection of many of Mahāprabhujī’s qualities. And as with great masters, they are like the parasamaṇi that turns iron into gold. But they themselves are the Parasmān. From the time I first came to India until now, many things have changed. But the real source of strength, of energy, lies in our Paramparā. It is such a great Paramparā, such a great tradition. It is necessary to uphold it with respect, with honor, with devotion. And now it is time for each of us to slowly become aware and conscious. What does this mean? Because we are the ones who will carry the teachings, the spirit, and the messages of this Paramparā forward—into our families, into our society, and beyond. Without Holī Gurujī, we would not be here now. That is the simple reality. And without Svāmījī, without our Viśvagurujī, we would also not be here. When I had the blessing to be with Holī Gurujī, I was a young man, knowing nothing. Now I am an older man, still knowing nothing. But, as you know, we derive many things—strength and wisdom—from our memories. We have experiences in life; they may fade away, but some things will always remain with us. That is our inner bond, which we call love, devotion, dedication, a certain knowledge. It will never leave us. Sometimes it may be covered over, but we can dig it up, try to find it again. For these are the most precious stones, the pearls and diamonds we should honor and respect. Life with Holī Gurujī was not easy, but it was beautiful. At a certain point, everyone comes to a moment when they think they cannot continue—it is so hard, so difficult, the circumstances. One day, I remember, I was sitting in the Jaipur Ashram early in the morning. We had just taken a walk at 4 o’clock before Gurujī. Afterward, Gurujī went to his room to do mālā, and I was sitting outside. I was thinking, “How can I change my attitude? What can I do to be more joyful in my service toward Gurujī?” Suddenly a thought came: “I am here now; whatever happens, Holī Gurujī comes first.” And this attitude, this feeling, this vision helped me greatly, because it pushed aside many other things and gave me much strength and endurance. Now, Svāmījī can tell many more things, many stories about Holī Gurujī. But when I compare a little—not to create a distinction, but just to observe—Viśvagurujī has the nature of a lion, and Holī Gurujī has the nature of a tiger. Both are kings in their own way, and one must understand how to approach each. This is a very important point. As I said, Holī Gurujī followed a very traditional way of teaching. Life was not easy; he had to struggle greatly and undergo intense tapasyā. Yet he was very clear about what he wanted. When he met Mahāprabhujī, his seeking and longing were fulfilled; he knew, “Now I have reached my goal.” From that moment onward, he completely dedicated his life to Mahāprabhujī. The outcome of that dedication is what we see here today, in the long run. Those efforts were seeds that fell into the earth, and now they are sprouting. You are all among those sprouts. It is your responsibility, your dharma, your duty in life now to take care of this small or larger plant, to see that it grows properly. In time, it will bear fruit. For others, it will provide shade for those who wish to rest under its branches. This is a very important thing for all of us to consider, because the time has come for us to think, to truly crown our Viśvagurujī. Holī Gurujī was a personality unlike any I have met anywhere in the world. His personality was extraordinary. I cannot speak much of his spiritual greatness. But his human personality was so strong that I have never seen its equal. He was determined, clear, a shining example of simplicity and devotion. Outwardly he was pure bhakti, and inwardly he was an even purer jñānī. Gurujī possessed immense knowledge and wisdom, and even the little he could share, he shared. Of course he had much more—but first you need to find someone who can understand what you want to share, what you want to give. His knowledge was immense. Sometimes he… I would like to give you more, but language is a problem, and this is a problem. Yet my experience is this: Gurujī knew many, many secrets of… Part 2: The Beauty of the Guru’s Teaching and the Sacred Gift of Prasāda This is the beauty of this universe. Many systems exist within it, and what occurs there—he never spoke about that. But the things that are his legacy, what he dedicated to this world, you can find in his bhajans. These are the real pearls, these are the real diamonds. Even one sentence in a bhajan contains everything of the universe. Even one word—that is the beauty, the beauty of Gurujī, of his teaching. And his practical part, many of you saw: there was twenty-four hours of mantra going on. Even when Gurujī was very sick in the hospital, you could see he could not keep his mālā in his hand, but you could see that this was always going on, always. And Gurujī always emphasized, always emphasized, practice your mālā. Because in your mantra, even only one word contains the seed of the whole universe. If you are able to realize only one word in your mantra, you will be done; you will be finished. You will have achieved everything that you wanted to achieve. But everybody has his destiny, and we can only say that for us, Holy Gurujī is a sample of a spiritual life, a spiritual achievement. He is a true master, and he was able to make a true disciple of everybody. But it also depends on the disciple. The master is ready to give everything. If we can’t eat properly, we have our plate in front of us—we have to eat ourselves. If we are not willing to eat, it is our fault. There are many stories about or with Holy Gurujī, many nice stories, but they are all connected somehow with Viśvagurujī. Gurujī many times told me, “Oh, how is Swāmījī? When I was in... where is Swāmījī? Where is Viśvagurujī? When will he call?” And he was doing many times mālā for the support. And when Swamiji, Vishwagurujī, came to India, you could see the joy when they met. It was not a normal joy when you come and see some relatives. No, there was a connection that is beyond comprehension, what you can’t imagine. And both Holy Gurujī and Viśvagurujī, both of them, they fulfilled their dharma in this world, their duty, their responsibility. And they also showed us how to reach there, how to come there, how to achieve. Gurujī was very strict, but his strictness was based on the foundation of love, respect, and understanding of human nature. The deep understanding of human nature, the needs and the wants. Strictness was there because whenever Holy Gurujī saw that my brain was growing some roots towards Māyā, he started to cut those roots. But his love was beyond understanding, beyond understanding with the intellect. You had to open for that. And that was the main teaching that he got from Mahāprabhujī; he was ready to share it, as is our Viśvagurujī, who is ready to share everything. But who wants everything? We want some thoughts. That’s what we like to have. That’s what is comfortable. That’s what gives us some acknowledgement, some status, and so on. And Gurujī was an embodiment of simplicity, which is very much missing nowadays in society. His needs were simple, very simple. He had a second dress, his mālā, his water pot, and, of course, one servant, one sevak with him. But not because of the sevak to serve him, but actually Gurujī was serving. If we try to understand that, then we also will try to understand his dedication towards humanity, towards humans, because he saw in everybody the divine. The real, true, divine quality, the Ātmā. And he did everything to make people understand and make them do something for themselves to realize this Ātmā in themselves, because that was his experience. And once you make this experience, once you come there, you will share it. You try to share it in the way your personality is made. Every guru does it in a different way. Yes, Holy Gurujī’s name is Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī. Madhav, it is the sweetest one. All names have a very deep meaning, a very deep meaning in life, from birth to death. And these names are not given by accident. They are given for a certain reason. In the name, the contents are inherited already, a certain quality that everybody has to unfold, or should unfold. It is part of his dharma as a human. So is Mahāprabhujī. Mahāprabhujī, we cannot say much about him. But Mahāprabhujī, it’s the great pharaoh. Everything in this world has a name and form, rūpa. But Mahāprabhujī is not limited to this form. He can have any form. We just have the luck to see him in photos in this form. And due to Holy Gurujī’s blessing, His prayer, His deep prayer, as many of you know, we are lucky to have Viśvagurujī here. Now we are talking very casually. We know each other, and we take it for granted. But who knows what has been before? From where do we know? How do we come together? There are no accidents in the universe. There are laws, divine laws, cosmic laws. There is an order, and when you are in that consciousness to see that law, you will become that law, and you can work with that law. Due to Holy Gurujī’s deep prayer and divine vision, Vishwagurujī is sitting now here with us, and Vishwagurujī is bringing forward all the teachings, all the messages, all the qualities of our Guru Paramparā for the welfare of us, of the public in general, of this āśram, of so many thousands of people, of devotees, of disciples around the world. And it is now up to us to support and to engage with activity in different ways to complete his giant vision, to fulfill his Saṅkalpa in this world, to make his being here, Pūraṇa, complete. And I really, really pray to Mahāprabhujī that this vision will come true within the next year and that we can offer Viśvagurujī that āsana, that seat, which he really deserves in this world. In this sense, thank you for listening. Thank you so much, Viśvagurujī. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Kī Jaya, Śrī Śrīdhveśvara Mahādeva, Kī Jaya, Śrī Alakhpurījī Bhagavān, Kī Jaya, Hindu Dharma Samrāṭ Svāmī Madhavānanda Purījī, Sattā Kuru Deva, Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru Mahāmāleśvara Paramaṃ Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Guru Deva, Kī Jaya. She was with us, and we had a beautiful lecture. She stayed two days, and he was coming. Many people come in, sometimes only coming once, but he was always coming, and many there are still, there are still, thank you very much. Life is life, but that life, which becomes like the whole universe. Yes, definitely. We all do this. You will, you will definitely come to this, your spirituality, from this Premanājī or some others. We are all, we have this prasad. And when the prasāda comes, then everything is within ourselves. When we make prasāda here, why do we eat the prasāda? We have a home, we were eating nicely, we were all together, but still we came a little. Why do we want little? We could have more. But prasāda, prasāda, and prasāda is not mine, not others’, but for those who are very holy. You see, someone goes into a church, and you go into the church, it gives only just a little. And this is the prasāda. Sometimes this, sometimes they give in the mouth or different. It is a reality, both together. How are they giving prasāda? Many people were going down. Slowly, slowly, something goes away. But still there are dead bhaktas, all in their ashram or in the church, etc. And how they do, they know what they are doing. But, you know how we are, the purity of the prasāda. And our, this prasad, when given, then it is from God. It has been given by God. So we have only two of these, or only this one. It is very, very much. Only to see that, then a touch they give us, and it comes, and many, many people take the prasāda home. They have a little, but they break a little, little, and then they will eat this prasāda, just a little. And so we are doing, you know that also, when we have this only one, and we put this in so big, so much, just one goes in, becomes the whole prasāda. Because it is God’s, Bhagavān, Mahāprabhujī, Guru’s, that touch in this is the immense and immense insight. You know, we have Gurujī’s, our Mahāprabhujī’s, and Mahāprabhujī’s mālā we have there, and I have him like this, something, a little bit, a little bit maybe. And this prasāda, which Holy Gurujī was giving, and that was with me, all the nearby Mahāprabhujīs. And now, Mahāprabhujī is not physically here, but I kept this prasāda very nicely locked. And those, our bhaktas here, any from any, those Mahāprabhujīs, then I give them just one. Some people say it is like this, so I give them two, three, or something. But all of Mahāprabhujī’s til went to the Paramātmā, Śiva. But this prasāda is still there, full, full. I give many people like this. So prasāda is very great. So you have in the church, and in this, how you are looking, water or something. Mahāprabhujī Karatā He Kevalam, Mahāprabhujī Karatā. And in embassy, and he was always told me that he goes here in Vienna and nearby, a little bit, and there is one little church. Little church, and it is a mother, holy mother, and always he goes, and then that was the end of his universe, of his office service, was there. Now he is retired, but he comes from India to here, and near our river, this river, yeah, and on the other side of this river, there is something. And she went there, and I went to see her. It is also very little, not big, but he said that so much strong power, energies for everybody. So when the holy mother, the holy mother is great, we should go like this. So everywhere is that, and we should tell it all to Bhagavān. So many are things, and so are our old Gurujī’s, Mahāprabhujī’s, Devpurījī’s, and we become whole, the Alakhpurījī’s. Alakhpurījī was that time from the Śiva’s, and so that I don’t know how many people will be, because many years that he have Alakhpurījī’s. So we came, we, Mahāprabhujī, Dev Mahāpurījīs, Devpurījīs, and Alakhpurījī Aage. So this is there, and I had so many insights. I have seen from that, just a minute. And he always has that one kind of temple, mandir, and the ground, all Alakhpurījī’s. Great. I hope when I come again, we will have darśan. I hope for this darśan. I will go for darśan, maybe not for long, but I will stay there, and then I will come back down a little, but Alakhpurījī and I, we will all go. You should go. All of you should go to Alakhpurījī. Even if I am not there, you should go. We have all my energy, my touch, my self, and everything. I came to this area, to so many countries. There, so, it’s not me, but my Gurudev’s, His foot, His everything. And that is, we are all there. And it’s, you definitely feel that when we, Alakhpurījī’s, we came there in that kerb, in His kerb, not kerb, cave, in the cave. And many people, you see, they come, and it is very good. It’s very good. So, thank you very much. It’s Mahāprabhujī. Jai, Jai, Jai Ho Prabhu, aur hamārī rakṣā karnā, Hari Om. So, tomorrow I am also in satsaṅg here. Thank you. So, I will be in satsaṅg tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, then I will again come to have darśan. But tomorrow morning I will go to Mahāprabhujī’s, Mahāprabhujī, first to our mandir, our ashram. But it is so many cannot go, we are so, but today I will go there, yeah. This is the first āśram I began to do very much, and it is very good and very nice. Daytime, it is, of course. You cannot go everywhere, and you are going to the office, this, this, this. And in the evening, they are coming then. So, but, baḍī khāṭū, ye khāṭū hamārā, Mahāprabhujī kā darśan, jaya kar ke jāūṅgā. Hari Om.