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Salutations to the Cosmic Self. Daṇḍavat praṇāms to our paramparā: Śrī Alakhpurījī, Śrī Dīp Paramparā. My daṇḍavat praṇāms to our beloved Guru Dev, His Holiness Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Maheśvarānandajī. And good morning, good afternoon, good evening to everyone watching all across the world. Let’s talk a little about surrendering and why it is important to surrender to the Guru, and to let go of the unnecessary baggage we are carrying through life. These things are all enemies to us, because they pull us down very rapidly. It is like climbing stairs or climbing a mountain—you are almost at the top, but then your ego hits: “Oh, I am at the top! Great, I achieved what I wanted.” And as soon as that ego comes, you spiral down. That is why we say it does not matter how high you reach in life, what you achieve, or how big a person you become in a company or anywhere. You should always remember your roots and where you started. When you keep that awareness—remembering how your journey was—it makes your life much more fruitful and successful than simply living ahead, because you remain conscious that, “I was nothing, I worked for it, I made the effort, and now I am who I am.” It is good to have some wishes in life. But whether those wishes will be fulfilled or not is not in our hands; that rests in our destiny. The only one who can alter or change our destiny in any way is Śrī Satguru Dev. Whatever we have done in this life and in all past lives—those karmas are coming back to us, and we are experiencing exactly what we did. If we did good, we receive good; if we did bad, we undergo hardship. All of that is written in our destiny, but the intensity of it is in His hands. For example, if it is written in your destiny that you are going to have an accident today, the intensity of that event can be lowered through true Guru Bhakti. If you have faith in your Gurudeva, the severity becomes mild—you might just get a thorn in your foot. What is written will happen; it cannot be completely removed. Yet the Guru can help to reduce it as much as possible for us. That is what the Guru is for: to guide us and to help us through all the difficulties of life. The Guru is like a tree that gives us shade, such as a sandalwood tree. Around a sandalwood tree the air smells beautiful, the wood is precious, but you also find many snakes there. The sandalwood tree does not absorb the poison of the snakes; it simply gives shelter to all beings. In the same way, the Guru shelters us without being tainted by our negativity. Letting go at the lotus feet of Gurudev is essential because we all carry expectations. Wishes will be fulfilled when we approach God or the Guru with niṣvārta bhāva—that is, without any svārtha, without any expectations. I know it is hard to live without expectations, but if you want to be truly successful and invite auspiciousness into your life, then go to Gurudev without any expectation. Simply bow down and say: “Gurudev, I am yours and you are mine. I know that everything will be okay for me.” In India, before exams, children go to the temples and say, “O God, my exams are coming,” even though they may not have studied for the whole week or month. The night before, they read whatever they can, and two hours before the exam they visit the temple and pray: “God, please let me pass, and I will offer you one liter of milk, a coconut, or a certain amount of money.” That is again svārtha. But if you surrender and come to Gurujī—not because of Swāmījī’s position or influence, not because you want a transfer or promotion through connections—just come to Swāmījī as Swāmījī, without any desires, simply to have his darśan. Then he blesses you, and that blessing—the śakti that flows through him to you without any reason, purely his grace—is more than enough for us. To be honest, in the beginning I also had a little stage fright, wondering how I would manage speaking in front of people or what I would say. No matter how much I prepare, when I come here I am completely blank. Then I close my eyes and say, “Swamijī, you speak through me,” and I recite: “Nāhaṁ kartā, Prabhudīp kartā, Mahāprabhudīp kartā, and Kevalam.” Whatever comes out is not my own; I do not know what is coming. That is the easiest way. Last night I was preparing a few stories to tell, and now I cannot even remember one of them—so great! So whatever comes, you surrender and say: “Gurudev, you speak. Just come through me and speak best.” We all tend to dwell on the past, wondering, “What did I do? Was it right? Was it wrong?” Apart from giving yourself stress and white hair—and I know this from experience, because stress gives me white hair—you achieve nothing. Thinking about the past cannot change anything. What happened, happened; let it go. The same applies to the future. Do you know what will happen? Only Gurudev knows. Leave it in his hands and let him deal with it. The only future goal we should hold is Guru Bhakti, Guru Seva, his blessings, and the ultimate aim of becoming one with him. What will happen when I go back home? What is happening in India? Right now I am here with you all, enjoying my time. We are having satsaṅgs and bhajans; I am in the present. What is happening in Jadān is happening in Jadān; what is happening here is happening here. So let us try to be in the present and leave everything else, just as we do in Anuṣṭhāna—completely setting everything aside and concentrating on the mantra. In the same way, now that we are here, we concentrate on this. Whatever is happening outside, at home, in the family—what will happen, what is supposed to happen—will happen; you cannot change it. There was once a Guru and a disciple. That disciple was always full of himself: “I am the greatest, I know everything.” That little ego, which resides somewhere in all of us and which we constantly try to uproot, was strong in him. So the Guru placed a banana in the disciple’s hand and told him to hold it as tightly as possible, gripping it in the middle. Then Gurujī said, “Now open it and eat it, but without letting go of the grip.” The disciple tried his best. He managed to peel the top part, but because his grip stayed tight, the banana squished completely in his hand. Gurujī asked, “What did you learn from this?” The disciple replied, “Let go and then enjoy the sweetness.” In the same way, we have to let go of our self, our ego, and everything that clings to us. Then, and only then, can we open the banana and enjoy its sweetness—eating it properly without squishing it in our hand. There is a beautiful bhajan that calls us to wake up: Samājāvere. Om Śālabhpur Jī Mahādeva Kī Jai. What comes in this life, or whatever comes, has to go. That is the cosmic rule. What comes goes. Now I am here; in ten minutes, who knows where I will be? So what comes, goes. The same applies to happiness and sadness. When sadness arrives due to some cause, remind yourself that if sadness comes, it will also go. What comes goes. When happiness comes, do not get too overjoyed either, for that too shall pass. Nothing is permanent in this life—not even us. We were born with nothing, and we will leave with nothing. You cannot take even a single penny with you. That is why it is best not to become excessively excited when something happens. This time, when I found out I was supposed to come to Europe, I was not overly overjoyed, because anything can change at any moment. Now I am here with you all, and I am happy. But when the news came, I stayed calm. When rough and tough times arrive, simply say: “Guru Dev, I know you are with me, I know you are protecting me, I know you are guiding me, and I know that everything will be okay. This time shall also pass, and the good, happy times will come again.” As the bhajan reminds us, it does not matter how much money you have, how much wealth you possess, or how big a mansion you own; everything will stay here. Our Master is teaching us that at your last time—anta samé, anta meaning “last,” samé meaning “time”—the jīva, the ātmā, will go alone. Nothing will accompany it. That is what the Guru explains. So it does not matter what you achieve in life. Be in the present moment and be happy for what you have right now. We always see the other person’s garden as greener. The person walking on the road sees a cyclist and thinks, “Oh, I wish I had that cycle.” Then it is cycle to motorcycle, motorcycle to car, car to helicopter, plane—wherever the mind wants to go. But the one walking should also realize that there are people who are unfortunate and perhaps have no legs. He should feel blessed that he has legs, at least to walk. We should be satisfied and content with whatever we have; that alone should be more than enough for us. More and more—that is the tendency of a human being. We always want more; it is never enough. We never say, “Okay, I am done, it is enough.” We get one chocolate and we want more chocolate: “I don’t like dark, I like milk, I like white.” It is an endless game. But once you realize, “I am happy and I am okay with whatever I have,” then you will be truly happy. It may be age, growing up, hormones, or whatever you wish to call it, but before I always wanted more sweets, more technology, nice clothes. Now, currently, I am in a state of mind where I am okay with whatever. It does not matter if my clothes are torn or fresh and new, if I am sweating profusely because it is hot. I am okay with whatever. Maybe I sound like an old person, but I have experienced this in the last one or two years: just be okay, be in the present, be happy with absolutely everything, and you are simply happy. Do not bother thinking about what will happen or how your day will go; it does not matter. What is going to happen will happen; you cannot change it. Just let it be and be now. Let us try to enjoy every single moment as much as possible. Thank you very much. Děkuji Vám.