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Blessed moments with Holy Guruji

The guru's presence is a transformative teaching beyond words.

I met Gurujī but did not know Hindi, creating a perceived barrier. Yet, his storytelling was a profound lesson; he fully embodied each character, making them instantly known. That moment taught me the power of non-verbal communication—how body, voice, and movement express inner states and can change our inner world. Every action was a teaching; singing a bhajan, he transformed the atmosphere with immense energy. Being with him was full of that strong energy and love; language was unnecessary. Great souls possess tremendous humor and love that transforms. To be near such energy requires strong nerves and preparation through sādhanā, or one may fall asleep from the intensity. Though Gurujī is no longer physically here, he is present in every satsaṅg and bhajan. Through the bhajans, which are rare and preserved from the paramparā, the guru is with us. We owe the opportunity to know this lineage and these bhajans to Viśva Gurujī.

"Gurujī became every actor, every person in that story."

"Language was never a problem; there was no need to talk."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Praṇām Gurudeva, Hari Om, dear friends. A few minutes ago, Swāmījī asked me to say something about Gurujī. Thank God, many of you, and we, have seen Gurujī. He visited Czechoslovakia many times, and we also met Gurujī in India. The first time I met him was in India, during my first visit. What is there to tell about Gurujī? Our great misfortune was that we did not know Hindi, so we lacked the opportunity to be closer to him due to that language barrier. Yet, I want to share this story. Once, Gurujī and Viśva Gurujī were invited to a village to give a satsaṅg. The whole group was sitting on the stage, with Gurujī and Viśva Gurujī in front of us. At one point, Gurujī began the satsaṅg and told a story. I do not recall which story it was, but what I felt in that moment was this: Gurujī became every actor, every person in that story. He embodied the character of each person—their voice, movements, everything. In one moment, you knew exactly who was the farmer, who was the king, who was the yogī. You knew in that moment. I remain aware of that event, that moment with Gurujī, because he also gave me a great teaching. I learned from it about non-verbal communication and how crucial the position of your body, your voice, and your way of speaking truly is. It is a two-way street. On one hand, they express your inner state of mind. On the other, through āsanas and movements, we change our inner world. Every moment with Gurujī was a teaching. Every time Gurujī began to sing a bhajan—you know that famous movement of his when he starts—he would immediately begin with these gestures (I do not know the name of this instrumental mimicry). In that moment, such great energy would arise. It showed another lesson: how such a person, such a holy person, could instantly transform the entire atmosphere in the hall and the surrounding area. When we speak of Gurujī, for me, if you were to place a picture in an encyclopedia under "guru"—a real, ancient guru—I would immediately put Gurujī's picture and explanation there. He also gave Swamī Ānandī and me the chance to cook for him a few times. Now, I am sorry for that because we cooked such awful food for him. Yet, he ate it with—I must say—such love. We cooked with such love, but oh my God, now I know what Viśva Gurujī and Gurujī had to endure! I must say that being with Gurujī was always full of that strong energy and full of that love. Language was never a problem; there was no need to talk. You know, in past times, especially in that picture of Mahāprabhujī with the finger, there was Mauna Satsaṅg. It depends only on us. If we are also in inner peace—meaning we are not in constant internal dialogue—then everything is possible to receive through that silence. I once heard from someone that Gurujī was in a room with some Indians, and they somehow started telling jokes. That person did not know Hindi at the time, but he said he started laughing until he cried. He then said to himself, "Now I will not anymore... I will not give myself the chance not to understand the language," and he began to learn Hindi. What does that mean? As I said a few days ago about Viśva Gurujī, all great persons, great souls, possess a tremendous sense of humor. Humor, love, and that kind of energy which transforms you. What we were always able to see with Gurujī was his dedication to Mahāprabhujī. And also, as I said of Viśva Gurujī, he was a great guru but simultaneously a great śiṣya. I know that Gurujī was all the time in the heart of a great disciple. I think it is only through that feeling that one can become a great saint. I remember one more thing: what is required to be with such a great soul? We need strong nerves and a lot of energy. I remember once massaging Gurujī on the floor. After some time, Viśva Gurujī entered the room, also sat on the floor, and they began to talk. I was sitting a little farther away, but it was so beautiful to see that kind of energy, that flow of love. We have one great picture where they are sitting in the same āsana, Gurujī and Viśva Gurujī, with an old door behind them. Do you know that picture? It is a profound picture because it shows that great love between master and disciple. I was sitting a little far, and in that moment, the energy was flowing too strongly. We have all had this fever: you switch off. When you are not strong enough and are in that energy, you sleep. I was barely able to sit. Then something happened with a gecko on the floor; it fell down near me at that moment. The gecko was in shock, and I was in shock. Swāmījī and Gurujī laughed so much at me. To be with such a great soul, we truly need to be prepared. We need to have a lot of sādhanā because we are like in that story of the third worm, the one that fell asleep. I am sure all of us have had such an experience—at Kumbh Melā or elsewhere—where we joke that Viśva Gurujī is not applying a filter but giving too much energy, and in that moment, we all fall asleep. The whole Jādam... I have said it already, but once more: I hold Jādam and feel it as the glory of the Paramparā, the glory of Gurujī to Gurujī. That is, I must say, the great work of our Gurujī, our Viśva Gurujī. Now, when Gurujī is no longer physically with us, on every satsaṅg, Gurujī is with us. Every bhajan is Gurujī. Every time we sing Gurujī's bhajan, he is alive, not only as energy but physically present in the world with us. Through the bhajan, the guru is here with us physically, not only in the form of energy, but in the singing he is here physically. He is constantly giving us teaching. But, you know, without Viśva Gurujī, we would not have been able to meet Gurujī physically, nor would we know about our entire paramparā. We would not know about the bhajans, because bhajans are very rare. Everyone sings kīrtans; very few, almost nobody, sings bhajans. Having these bhajans is also a great blessing from Gurujī, because Gurujī preserved all these bhajans from Mahāprabhujī and our entire paramparā. And Viśva Gurujī preserved that, teaching us all the time how to sing the bhajans, giving us explanations of the bhajans. All the time, we have the opportunity to be with all our paramparā, especially with Gurujī. Thank you, Viśva Gurujī, for this opportunity, for that great knowledge, and also for what you did a few times: bringing Gurujī to Europe. Thank you once more.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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