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Śrīdeva Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya. Devadādī Devadīveśvara Mahādeva Kī Jaya. Hindu Dharma Samrāṭ Paramahaṁsa Svāmīśrī Madhavānanda Purījī Sadgurudeva Bhagavān Kī Jaya. Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśwar Paramahaṁsa Swāmīśrī Maheśwarānand Purījī Gurudev Kī Jai. Sadāśiva samārambhaṁ Śaṅkarācārya madhyamām, asmadācārya paryantaṁ vande guru paramparām. Gurur Brahmā, Gurur Viṣṇu, Gurur Devo Maheśvara, Gurur sākṣāt Parabrahma, tasmai Śrī Gurave namaḥ. Mannātha Śrī Jagannātha, madguru Śrī Jagadguru. Māmatmā Sarvabhūtātmā, Tasme Śrī Guruve Namaḥ. Nāhaṁ kartā prabhu-dīpa-kartā, māhaṁ prabhu-dīpa-kartā ekevalam. Oṁ Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. Salutations to the Cosmic Self. Salutations to Śrī Lakṣpurjī Siddha Pīṭaparamparā. Madanvat Praṇāms to our beloved Guru Dev, His Holiness Viśvaguru Mahāmuḍalai Śrī Maheśvarānanda Purī Jī. Om Namah Nārāyaṇa to all the sannyāsīs present here. Hari Om and good evening to all of you who are sitting here and who are watching through Swamiji TV. Finally, after my second visit to Europe, today has the perfect weather for me, where I don’t need a fan. As we know, the things which come in our lives also go. So sometimes things happen in our lives. Things might happen with our parents, with our friends, family, partners, which sometimes can be upsetting and saddening. And as we are humans, our human tendency is much more receptive to getting more sad or going into depression. But in time, we should know that what comes shall pass. I know it can be hard and tough at the time, but that feeling is not going to last forever. And what helps us is the blessings of the Guru, and when we remember Him, He helps us. That is helping in all ways. There was one man, whose name was Śivam, and he was a very joyous person. He was a very happy individual. He always liked to make other people happy. Even before looking to himself, he always used to try to make other people happy. But that phase came to him also, and he started withdrawing himself from his friends. He started withdrawing himself from the world and couldn’t find joy in anything anymore. And he used to feel very sad and upset all the time. But then he remembered that he should go and pay a visit to his Gurujī and have his darśan and get his guidance. So he decides to go to the ashram and to have darśan of his guru to ask for guidance. It’s always good to ask things, ask questions. Many times, it’s not necessary that there is a situation. There might be misunderstandings, but our mind is known to be a monkey mind, very restless. So our mind creates a situation which might not be the truth. So it’s better always to talk it out, to sort things out, to get clarification. A coin has two sides. We might see one side and not see the other side, but for us, that first side which we see is going to be the truth. For example, if we are walking somewhere and there are a few people sitting and talking about something beautiful, about satsaṅg, about something nice, we look at them, smile, and we go further. And there is one group who is gossiping about something negative, about something. Our ears are much higher, and we will go and join that group to listen to what gossip is going on. That’s in all of us. That’s human nature, that we are pulled much more easily towards the negative side than the positive side. But that’s why we have the blessings of the Guru to show us what is right and what is wrong, and to help us see the second side of the coin, where it is more of the positive and more happiness than the sad part. So Śivam decided to go to his guru to seek guidance and to get some clarity. And when he reached the ashram, he saw Gurujī, and he made praṇāms. And Gurujī said, "Oh, my dear Śivam, come, welcome. Long time no see. How come? What brings you to the ashram today?" This is also human nature. When everything is happy, jolly, we mind our own business; we are living our lives. But when something happens to us, or when something changes within us, then we remember, oh, we have Gurujī also there, no? That’s usually the time when we, as human beings, are drawn towards God, towards Guru, towards the spiritual path. Because deep down, even in our hearts, we know that, or we have that belief that, yes, when nothing is working out, then the Guru is still there. That shouldn’t be the case. We should think about the Guru, about God, every day, all the time. But still, we have a whole life to realize this. So finally, Śivam realized that it was time to go and have darśan. So he said, "Gurudev, I am feeling very confused. I am feeling pretty low. And I came to seek your blessings and to seek your guidance." Gurujī said, "Very good, you are at the right place." He said, "But I have one karma yoga for you." Also, Gurudev is famous for giving karma yoga, no? You come to Jadan and you think, "Oh, holidays." And Swāmījī says, "The grass is growing too much, go and pluck the grass." You come to Strelka, oh, very good retreat center. "We are short of men, please go and help them load the rocks in the truck." And they will tell you that, "We have few men, please go and fulfill the tasks." This helps us, this helps our spiritual growth. I went to Katu from Jadan, like, "Okay, finally, no taking care, worrying about the mandir, worrying about these people coming. Okay, I will enjoy my time with Swāmījī." And that night, it was windy like now or stronger, and all the dry leaves from our banyan tree fell on the floor. So I’m just like, he was up, we were upstairs on his third floor. So Avatārpuri, go down, there are a lot of dry leaves, pick them up. And, like, so I’m just... still didn’t even have chai. It’s too early. I didn’t say that, but I had that thought in my mind. So I went down, and me being me, I got a few more people, and then did it with them, so that I didn’t need to do all the work. So yeah, the part where I was thinking that now I will have no work and I will just spend time with Swāmījī and enjoy my time was karma yoga. Because Gurudev knows what is going on within our minds. And that day I was overthinking, and that was my distraction. Because just sitting idly and sitting next to Swamiji, still the thoughts will be going in my head about whatever I was thinking about at the moment. But when we do karma yoga, then in our head is the thought, "Sunny day, and I’m picking up leaves," but it’s some type of work which Gurudev does within our minds to remove the obstacles which we had earlier. So in the same way, Gurujī told Śivam, "I have a work for you, and then I will tell you what to do. I have a knot which is tied very tightly, and I want you to untie that knot." Śivam was thinking, that is an interesting work. He thought Gurudev would say, "Go to Brno and get something nice and come back," or, "Go to some city and do some shopping for the ashram," or something more interesting. But since he was a devoted and dedicated disciple, he took that rope and he sat down and he was trying to untie that knot. But it was a very complicated-looking knot, and it was very hard for him to untangle it. So after a few hours of trying, he just realized that he had made that knot even tighter. And then he went to Gurujī and he said, "Gurujī, I give up. This is not for me. I can’t do this. It’s too complicated. You do it." So Gurujī took the rope, and in that complex knot, there was one loop which he just pulled, and that whole knot opened up. He said, in the same way, our sadness or the thoughts, the negative thoughts in our mind, are a simple knot. But our mind tries to untangle it, to overthink it, and just makes the situation even worse in our minds. But instead of that, we can look towards Gurudev and tell him, "My problems are your problems." If we can say, "Gurudev, my happiness is your happiness," then my problems are your problems. Then he will solve it, and it’s just an easy loop which he pulls, and all is clear. But us overthinking it just makes the knot worse in our head, and that makes the situation even worse. It’s good weather for me, don’t worry. This was for the evening, so it just makes the situation even more tough. So the guru is a person who knows where that hidden loop is, who helps us to remove that easy but complicated knot. So, in the same way, this story is also an example for all of us. That doesn’t matter what complications we might have in our lives. It doesn’t matter how complicated things look to us. In reality, it’s not so complicated as it looks, but when we have that faith within us that Gurudev is there for us, and that Gurudev is protecting us and that He’s guiding us, so that’s why I again repeat, the most important is to surrender. So instead of the problem being solved in weeks, when you seek for guidance, then that knot will be untied within a few hours. So that’s why we are all blessed to have the guidance and the blessings of the Gurudeva. And that’s why we are all blessed to be in his śaraṇ, in his company, in his guidance. And that’s why Gurudev always says, "Gurū Kṛpāhi Kevalam." Exactly. I think I found a title for my new book, which maybe Prem Lata will help me write. So now I would like to request Matajī and her son Kwan. Her son will play us some beautiful Bānsurī flute, and then Matajī will speak something, and then bhajans, and you see, and the book was just an idea in the coming future, as I always say, no expectation is the best. After I turn 50, do you want to share how you got inspired to learn the Bansuri? Ah, yes. Many years ago, I met Swami Madhurām in London, and we got along quite well. Then I learned after he went to New Zealand that he began playing the Bānsurī, which is an instrument that I loved but had never tried to play. Then, after a year or two, I was incredibly surprised when Madhuram had made a CD and recordings. And when I heard his first CD, I decided, I want to play like Madhuram one day. So, 12 years later, it only took a little time. I started this year to play. So the inspiration took a little time, but when you want to follow the path, eventually you can make it. Thank you. Śānti, Śānti, Hari Om, good evening, my true brothers and sisters, and salutations to our paramparā. We are now heaven on earth, are we not? Every time I make my journey here, it’s always difficult, but the moment I come here, I feel like I am in heaven. I think all of you also come long ways from different countries. I’m quite sure you are also seeking heaven on earth. Because the moment you arrive here, you just feel peace, that ānanda. That ānanda. I think that’s what we are all seeking. It doesn’t matter who you are in our life. We go through happiness and sadness, difficulties, but the moment we can... because happiness, sadness, or difficulties, they come and go. No matter how much you enjoy something or you face some tragedies, they will one day disappear. Right? Is that okay? Okay. And all of us are at different stages of our life. Some of you are very young, some of you are middle-aged, and I am in my own age. But the path of our life, some are more difficult, some may be very easy, and some are just average. And then you wonder why, because we are lucky to become human. And to become a human means we can get liberation. You will ask, "What is liberation?" because many people just live from day to day, not knowing what is the purpose of life. Eating, drinking, smoking, just to satisfy from day to day. And then today, we see that the whole world worries about nothing but money. And today, we see that the whole world worries about nothing but money. But money cannot buy your freedom. It cannot buy your liberation. Because you might not suffer this life, but you never know what you will become in your next life. We have only got this life to free ourselves, or we can become a dog or any type of animal. So the purpose of our life is to free ourselves, but how? We don’t know, so do you know how we free our life? All of you? I’m quite sure all of us know. Can anyone tell me who has no mantra? Can you put up your hand, those who have no mantra? No one? All of you have a mantra? I’m quite sure my student has no mantra. This is the only way. I cannot say it’s the only way. I know that there are many, many masters. The word guru is a master, and we have our mothers as parents, as our gurus. And you go to school, your teachers are your gurus, or somebody guiding you is your guru. But for the liberation path, to free our life, we have to find the valid guru. A guru who knows you, a guru who is guiding you, not even just verbally but innerly. There are many gurus today. They all speak about principles, speak about spirituality, but not necessarily can they guide you innerly. But the guru who gives you the mantra, who is appropriate for you. Not in a mass initiation to give one mantra for all, everyone. Because I’ve seen now today many yoga teachers, when people finish a course in yoga, they give mantra, and I’m not sure that it’s valid, but I’m talking about individual mantra. The word mantra. "Man" is the mind, "tra" means liberation. That means that mantra that is given to you will liberate your mind. We human beings, no matter who you are, we are constantly bombarded by our mind. And that’s why we need mantra. We can stop our mind with mantra, and over time your mind becomes more quiet and becomes more peaceful. But you need a guru who gives you that mantra, and I’m talking about our Viśvagurujī, and we are all Viśvagurujī disciples, and our Viśvagurujī is in form and also in nirguṇa form. And Avatār Purīdhī kept on saying that Viśvagurujī is always with us. That means he is in his nirguṇa form. We cannot see him, but he can see us. But not only is he seeing us, but he can also read all our thoughts. And when you take mantra, he promised to liberate you unless we do not follow his Guruvākya. But Guru Vakya is not so easy, because very often we interpret wrong, and sometimes our mind is so strong, just like myself when he told me, "You go to China." And I just thought, how can I go? I don’t know anyone. I didn’t come from China. Although my ancestors are Chinese, I grew up in London. I didn’t see too much of China. I just couldn’t think about it. And I delay and delay. And then I see that my obstacle is getting bigger and bigger. You see, when your guru tells you something, if you do it, he paves the way for you. And then I met some Chinese people who phoned me for Chinese classes. I found them there in China. Later, she invited me to China, and at the same time, our own disciple in China, and I really realized all this was arranged by Guru Dev. I went to China, and I met up with our disciples, and then that is how it started. And even now, I’m in China, I know it’s not me. And one time Viśvagurujī said, "Take the light of Mahāprabhujī to China." I told Viśvagurujī, I’m not able to do that. I said, please, you have to talk to Holy Gurujī, and only Holy Gurujī is worthy of Mahāprabhujī, not me. And that is something, maybe another important topic. First is the mantra. And I hope the people who have no mantra understand this is really important, because it is meant for you only. And then you will find that the Master is guiding you on the way. And then the second thing is, whatever we do, it’s the Nāhaṁ Karatā. And that "Nāhaṁ Kartā," unless we really surrender, not just physically, the mind has to give up. And really seek that light, Mahāprabhujī’s light to the sky. So in our paramparā, first we get the mantra and we get guided, but one thing I haven’t mentioned yet: without doing karma work, we cannot purify our mind. Even if we do a lot of mantra, that is part of it. But when we do karma yoga work, that means we forget our own problems. We will take care of other problems, then we forget our own problems, and that is the best work: work for others, not for yourself. And also, one thing I remember very clearly, Mahāprabhujī said, give up all your wealth. I will look after you. And I find that this is really true, because we worry so much about our own survival. I don’t have enough money, but if you don’t give it away, you will be penniless. You understand what I mean? The more you give, the more Mahāprabhujī will give you. I think in this present time, money is the most important for everyone. Do karma yoga work? Give up that thought of, "I don’t have enough." And you will be blessed. So mantra, karma yoga, and the most important thing is to have bhakti. Trust. And you will be in ānanda. And that’s what we are all looking for. Thank you. Thank you.