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Mahādvāna Gurujī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Mahādvāna Gurujī Bhagavān Kī Jai,... Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jai, Om Śānti, Śānti,... Om Śānti, Śānti,... Śānti, Śānti,... Śānti. I am happy to be here with you. Some of you have already spent one nice week with Viśvagurujī. Truly, coming here to the Ashram, to Strelka Ashram, after a whole year of work and school, is a real holiday. We often hear from Viśvagurujī that in ancient times people also had holidays, but they were different from holidays in these times. In previous, ancient times, people sought time for themselves. They sought to be alone in a place to contemplate the entire year. At that time, ekānta (solitude) was very important for meditation, for being in satsaṅg, or simply to be somewhere without other people to meditate. We need time for ourselves to understand where we are, to reflect on what has been, and to plan what we want to do with our life. But nowadays, people take holidays and run away to a circus, to a madhouse. They go on vacation with many people, a lot of alcohol, a lot of meat, and noise. We have no opportunity to hear what is in our head, and people do not want to hear what is inside them. For that, they take other medicine, like alcohol, to kill the brain. For us, it is completely opposite: we are trying to revitalize our brain. If we want to progress in spirituality, we need inner evolution. The only way for that is to be in satsaṅg, to have darśan with a self-realized person, a Guru, and to be in peace. There are many people here, yet we will have ekāntavās (a solitary stay) because we will be with ourselves. This will be a great opportunity to contemplate our life. This one or two weeks will also recharge our spiritual energy to continue our spiritual life. Now, with this satsaṅg, we begin the second week of our summer seminar with Viśva Gurujī. Try to utilize this time. Try to be in satsaṅg. Try to leave the concerns of your life at the office door. Here in the ashram, use this time, this rare opportunity in life, to do something for yourselves. I am truly happy to be here, to have darśan with Viśva Gurujī and with all of you. Being with your guru-brothers and sisters is very important for spirituality. Strength in the Kali Yuga lies in unity. If we want to quit a bad habit, we need a support group and must be that support for each other. Once at the Kumbh Melā in India, I heard from an old Indian gentleman that brothers and sisters are brothers and sisters; there is a strong connection. But your guru-brother and guru-sister—that connection is even stronger and more important. In ancient times in the West, they said the worst sin is to act against your family. But they were referring to your spiritual family. Truly try to be a support to each other, a real family. Understand that the only way to survive in Kali Yuga is this unity: satsaṅg, darśan, and being in this spiritual energy. Even if we do not understand anything, we are in this energy, and it will change us. Enjoy, utilize this time, and truly try to feel the joy in your heart. When we listen to bhajans, we always hear that a yogī is full of joy, without fear. That is important: be without fear, be with this inner joy, the feeling of the heart, the opening of our heart. Enjoy the satsaṅg and the darśan. Salutations to the Cosmic Self. Salutations to Śilāk Purjā Siddhapīṭa Paramparā. My humble greetings to His Holiness, Vishwa Guru Mahāmaṇḍaleśwar Paramārth Swāmī Maheśwarānand Purījī. Om Namaḥ Nārāyaṇa to Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Vivekpūrījī. Hari Om, and good evening to all of you present here and watching through Swamiji TV. Welcome to all who came today. It is always beautiful to be in the presence and grace of Gurū Dev. It is always good to rely on and consider what our heart thinks and how our heart guides us. Sometimes, however, it is better to rely on other people and their opinions. This is portrayed in a story we will now discuss. There was a couple who had lived through their Gṛhastha āśrama, as we discussed earlier regarding the four āśramas: Brahmacarya āśrama, Gṛhastha āśrama, Vānaprastha āśrama, and Sannyāsa āśrama. Having crossed his Gṛhastha āśrama, the husband finally decided and told his wife, "Our kids are grown up, married, and working. Why not move a bit towards spirituality?" The wife agreed, and they decided to attend a beautiful satsaṅg. A Guru was giving a satsaṅg in the village center, normally called a chok, where there is a tree and all villagers can gather. It is up to us which song we want, which company we want. Do we want positivity or negativity in us? It does not matter if we are in good surroundings; our minds are such that we are drawn more towards negativity than positivity. That is why we have a Guru Dev: to guide us, to show us where positivity is, and to push us towards it. That is why we have satsaṅgs here in the evenings. In that village, a Mahātmājī was holding satsaṅg. The couple went, sat beautifully, and Gurujī was preaching. He was telling the importance of the Guru and how the Guru is the protector of all, singing a beautiful bhajan: "So the Satya Guru is keeping you, he is protecting you always, he is guiding you. There is nothing to worry about. Chintāmāta Karaṇa, don’t worry." This was the bhajan Swamījī was singing. The couple arrived a little late, like some of us, so they missed the beginning. But they enjoyed their time sitting peacefully. Gurujī was giving beautiful nectar, as Viśwa Gurujī always gives us. After the satsaṅg, they decided they wanted to make a spiritual master, to make that Gurujī their Guru. But before they approached Gurujī—and this is why I mentioned in the morning that when we have doubts or questions, we must not be afraid to come to Gurujī, otherwise there is a high chance of misunderstanding—before they could reach Gurujī, the other disciples sitting there intervened. We all think we know everything. We read a few books, listen to a few lectures, and we are ātmajñānī, no? That is how it works, no? No. To make it work, you need the grace and kṛpā of Gurudeva. It is not so simple, nor is it simple to be a sannyāsī. People think, "Yes, wearing orange clothes, very good, earning good money, no?" This orange is fire. We go through that and renunciation, giving up things, accepting things as they are without expectations. This is needed not only for sannyāsī life but for all of us. It is good not to expect things and just accept them as they are. There are also many disciples who can be lazy. There is a beautiful and funny story about that—and laughter is good for health, so I will share it. Once, a Guru and disciple lived in a hut in an ashram. The disciple was quite lazy; he liked to sleep a lot. With a Guru, we should be such that we do not need to move. I know it is hard. We always want to stretch our legs, and it is different for people who cannot sit for long periods, but as much as possible, we should try to sit straight, looking towards the Guru. He may just glance at you for one second, and that might mean something. A true disciple, as I said a few days ago, is one from whom Gurujī does not even need to say what he wants; just by looking at his movement and into his eyes, you know. The disciple was lazy. Gurujī was meditating, and the disciple was looking at the ceiling, at the ground, then closing his eyes and having a small nap while Gurujī rested. He was meditating, and the disciple next to him was sleeping—or relaxing, I would say. Gurujī woke from meditation and said, "Could you go outside the door and check if it is raining?" Being lazy, the disciple said, "Gurujī, your cat just walked in from the door. Just pet it a little, and if your hands are wet, it is raining. If not, it is not." Gurujī wanted to go for a walk but realized the disciple was too lazy to go. He thought, "What should I do with this one? He needs to move a little." Then he said, "Okay, let’s go to sleep." "Yes, very good idea, Gurujī." The disciple said, "But to sleep, we need to turn off the lights, Gurujī. In your teachings, you say that when you close your eyes, everything is dark. So why turn off the lights? Just close your eyes, follow your own teachings." Gurujī was like... fine. Then he said, "Okay, but if we go to sleep, we should check if the doors are closed. It is not good if..." The disciple interrupted, "Gurujī, I solved two of your problems. Attention to cut a guru? Just what? So the third one, why can’t you do it?" Gurujī said, "Okay, I can’t do anything with him. I will go." He went to close the door. The disciple said, "Gurujī, you are standing at the door. Just go outside and check if it is raining. That will answer your question. Gurujī, close the door, and just stretch your arm—here is the switch for the light. While coming back, switch off the light." These are also the types of disciples Viśva Gurujī has to deal with. We are blessed to have a kind, generous Gurudev who is always calm and happy with us. Returning to the previous story, the husband and wife did not go to Gurujī. They listened to the people sitting in front, who were present before they came. Those people told the couple that for proper guru bhakti, to make a Guru, both husband and wife cannot have the same Guru; otherwise, they would end up as guru-brother and guru-sister. A better idea was to find two different Gurus. Life would not have gotten so complicated if they had gone directly to Gurujī and asked, "Can we become your disciples?" But they thought, "These people were here before us. Maybe Gurujī already said something in his lecture about making disciples." So they decided to listen to the people. In India, there is a saying: "Listen from everyone, but do what feels right to you." If we still have doubts about our decisions, we have Gurudeva to sort it out. But first, try to evaluate problems in your own mind. Listen to everyone. See what is right, what is wrong. Use your vivekā (discernment). Not like that disciple with the horse, but use your Viveka properly. If you still cannot, pray to Gurū Dev, and he will appear. It is destined that either we find the Gurū, or the Gurū finds us—just as the wasp finds the worm. No matter where it is, the wasp will find the worm and make it a wasp. For example, the wasp flies outside, sees a worm, makes a small nest in a corner of your house, takes the worm, and places it in the nest. But the wasp does not randomly pick any worm. There are three types: uttam, madhyam, and kaniṣṭha. In the same way, Gurudev has three types of disciples. We are all on different levels, but we all walk the same path. The worm will first see if it is the madhyam one. Madhyam means middle, kaniṣṭha means the lowest, and uttama means the highest. The madhyam worm, whenever it hears the wasp buzzing, immediately runs and escapes. The kaniṣṭha is lazy; it just hides under the nearest leaf. But the uttam one will stand up and gaze directly at the wasp. The wasp knows this is the right one. It takes that worm, places it in its nest, stings it with its own hormones, and closes the nest. The wasp does not stay there all the time; it comes and goes. Whenever it comes, it makes its buzzing noise, which irritates the worm so much it cannot sleep. The worm is always nervous, wondering, "What is it doing?" The wasp comes, injects, and goes. Listening to that buzzing all the time, after a period, the wasp comes silently without noise and hears the worm starting to make that buzzing noise. Then it knows the worm is ready. It opens the nest, and two wasps come out. In the same way, we must all try to become that uttam worm so Gurudev comes, picks us up, and trains us. We are all uttam because we listen to Guru Ājñā, no? Guru Dev always says, "Guru Kripā Kevalam, Śāśvata Ānanda Maṅgalam." Guru Dev says the blessing for a child is Guru Amilost. When we have Guru Dev with us, we have nothing to worry about. The couple went back home. At night, they discussed their options. They said, "We would love to have the same Guru, but we do not want to break our marriage and become brother and sister because of this." They decided to sleep on it and decide in the morning. In the morning, they decided to have separate Gurus because they wanted to remain husband and wife while following the spiritual path. What a coincidence. Just as the wasp came to the worm, two sādhus came to the village at the same time. If the disciple does not find the Guru, the Guru finds the disciple. They both went to different sādhus, attending their satsaṅgs. One day, the husband said, "I am going for satsaṅg; you stay and cook." Previously, they went individually, but on the day both sādhus were in the same village, someone had to stay home to care for the house and kids. The husband said, "I go for satsaṅg; you stay." The wife said, "No, no. You stay, and I go." The husband became aggressive, started shouting, hit the wife, locked her in the house, and went for satsaṅg. There, he invited his Gurujī home for dinner. He returned quickly before the Guru could arrive. "Open the door, cook quickly, my Guru is coming." The wife said, "If your Guru comes, I will beat him. I will call my Guru, and he will come." They had such a joyful, lovely marriage their whole life. Because they decided to listen to other people and not to their Guru, a couple who never had fights began fighting over even beautiful, positive things: whose Guru would come first, whose Guru could eat, whose could not. The husband said, "If you call your Guru, I will kick him out and beat him more." It is better to listen to ourselves, come to the Guru, see what he says, and follow that path.