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Salutations to the Cosmic Self. Salutations to Śrī Alak Puruṣī Siddha Pīṭa Paramparā. My Dhamma Pranāms to our beloved Guru Dev, His Holiness, Viśwa Guru Mahāmudrā, Śrī Maheśvarānand Purījī. Oṁ Namaḥ Nārāyaṇa to all the sannyāsīs present here. Hari Oṁ, and good evening to all of you who are present here and who are watching through the webcast. Hari Oṁ and much love from Strelky to all of you who are watching. I wished for some snow but got some rain, but that is okay. The past week in England, in London, I was thinking, "Okay, finally I will go and I will get some snow," but this is also beautiful weather. I like it cold and dark. Those who know me know that I keep my room very dark as well. So this is good; at four o’clock in the evening, it feels like nine o’clock at night. Because it does not matter if it is dark outside or if our room is dark. What matters is that the inner light, that jyoti which is lit inside of us, should be lit. Because that jyotī, when it spreads, will bring even the darkest days into beautiful light. This jyotī we all have inside of us. This is the divine light which flows down through the paramparā, from Śailakpurījī to Devpurījī to Mahāprabhujī to Holī Gurujī to Viśwagurujī, and to all of us. You know, sharing is caring. That is why today I felt that I wanted to share this Śakti with all, because it is not only mine, or it is not only yours, it is all of ours. The blessings of Gurudev are not for one; they are for all. We all are His disciples. We all are His. There is no duality, there is no difference between you and me. We all are one; that is what Holī Gurujī always said: all in one, one in all. So that is why, when we are all sitting in this hall, how good it feels because we are all sitting as one united, beautiful family. The divisions, the partitions, the problems—these are all created by us, no one else. It is in our hands if we want to live in a space or in a world where we are in the mess, or if we want to come out of the mess and be the solution. Life will always throw something at you, but how we deal with that is in our hands. And when we sing, when we know that Gurudev is taking care of us, then why should we worry about anything? We just focus on Sākām and Niṣkām Bhakti Seva—but not Sākām, Niṣkām. Because this Bhakti, the sādhanā, what all we are doing, is not a transaction. But we make it into a transaction. We come to Gurudev: "Gurudev, do this for me, and I will do this," or, "Give me blessings for this," or, "Give me blessings for that." Then it is not Niṣkām; then it is Sākām. Dharma, Artha, Kāma, Mokṣa. We were discussing this yesterday in Vienna also. These are all four parts, but when we merge them together, when dharma, artha, and kāma balance themselves within us, then mokṣa is possible. We said that when dharma, artha, and kāma unite, then we will achieve it. When we live our life with righteousness, when we live our life following our personal dharma... When we use the artha—artha means wealth—but in which way is it earned? If it is earned by bribery, if it is earned by doing some other types of black, shady stuff, if it is earned by different improper aspects, then it is not going to be the proper artha. But when artha is earned by dharma, by following the dharma, then that is fruitful. Kāma, we know kāma, and we say that it is desires, but kāma does not mean only desires. Kāma is also love, compassion. It means desires, but it also means the way how we live in our daily life. Only when we humans live in dharma, with kāma and artha in the proper manner, is mokṣa possible. And then in kāma, we have niṣkām and sakām. Sakām is with something, with some expectations, with wanting something. There is always a difference if we want something or we need something. Most of the time we do not need something; it is just that we want something. And that icchā, that desire for wanting more, will never die. We will always want more. But we need to realize if we really want more or we need more. We must realize whether we really need it. There is a difference. And when it is niṣkām, when it is without any expectations in return, when it is not a transaction but just a pure wish from one heart to another, then that bhakti is fruitful. What does it say? Where there is a bhakta, where there is bhakti, there God resides. And where God is, automatically Guru is there, because Ramakrishna says, "Guru is there because Rāmakṛṣṇa is there, because Rāmakṛṣṇa is there... because Rāmakṛṣṇa is there. Rāmakṛṣṇa is there because Rāmakṛṣṇa is there. Because Rāmakṛṣṇa is there... is there because? So we have bhakti because we are bhaktas. We were already discussing this two times in the past week, so some of you who are present might remember. We were discussing the four parts of yoga: bhakti-yoga, jñāna-yoga, karma-yoga, and rāja-yoga. All four paths are leading to that same ocean; they are merging into that oneness. But we need to have all four paths together and work together with them, not only focusing on one individual path. Only bhakti and nothing else is also not possible. Only jñāna—you will learn, learn, learn, and then you become dry because there is no bhakti. Only karma yoga, then your backs will hurt. And only rāja yoga, then you will be somewhere because no one will ever see you. That is why Gurū Dev gave us all. We sing bhajans, we sit here, we have satsaṅgs—we have bhakti-yoga. We are reading the holy scriptures, we are reading books—we have jñāna-yoga. We come to Strelka or to Jadan, we get karma-yoga. And we do our sādhanā, our meditation, our Kriyā—then we do Rāja Yoga. Then we have the eight steps of Yoga: Yama, Niyama, Āsana, Prāṇāyāma, Pratyāhāra, Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, and Samādhi. First, we do with the do’s and don’ts, which are Yama and Niyama. Then, after this, these are steps. You know, you cannot just directly jump to samādhi and think, "Okay, done, samādhi, mokṣa." This is not instant. Only instant coffee is instant. So, yama and niyama, then we come to āsana, prāṇāyāma. Then, after practicing that, we slowly come to dhāraṇā: Dhyāna, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and after all that, then finally we go into that deep meditative state which is of samādhi, and one day we will go mahāsamādhi. Nothing is permanent. This body is not permanent. Nothing is permanent. But we all say, no, no—mahāsamādhi, why? It will happen. I do not know if it will be Mahāsamādhi or if it will be death for us, but something will be. When great Mahāpuruṣīs, the great ṛṣīs, yogīs, when they finish their work in this mortal world, then, when they depart from this body, that is Mahāsamādhi. And for the rest of us, it is death. Same thing, just different ways. One is if we leave with our icchā, with our will. And one, if Yamarāja is sitting on the bull behind with a whip, "Let’s go, let’s go," that is different. And then the other thing is when Yamarāja sits with a... and says, "Okay, let’s go." Who will protect you from that beating of the Yama? All the palaces, houses, money, everything that we are collecting—this all will stay here. That is what Gurudev is explaining to us. Nothing is going to go with us. We were born naked, and we will die naked. The only thing that we will take with us is Guru Kṛpā. Guru Kṛpā is the pulling of that rope, and the one who is hanging in the dark hole, holding on to that rope, is us. So we have Guru Bhakti, we have Guru Kṛpā, and we are there, and he is pulling us out. We have everything that we wish for. But niṣkāma seva, because seva dharma paramo dharma, which means seva dharma is the highest dharma. Dharma rakṣati: the one who protects dharma, dharma will protect, and that is why seva dharma—because that is the easiest or the hardest, we think. Cleaning the floor or the garden or the altar, or a little bit taking care of our partner or parent or this and that, is hard seva. Sometimes we think that to tidy up maybe a little in the garden, on the altar, or some room, to take care of our partner or our parents, is occasionally demanding. Holī Gurujī used to talk about his experiences with Bhagavān Śrī Ādip Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī and him being in his seva, v seve u Mahāprabhujīho. At three o’clock in the morning, Mahāprabhujī’s day would already begin. Nowadays, this is when our night starts, Kali Yuga, what to do? So, three o’clock, Mahāprabhujī’s day used to start. First, there was this slab, stone slab, and it used to be called Devdungri, that is, that Devpurī Dungri. That is the Duna up in the Kathu. To meet the people or to be more accessible, he used to reside also in the Bagichi, which is now the Devīśor Bagichi in Barikatu. So, three o’clock, sitting on that slab, Holī Gurujī showering, bathing, scrubbing Mahāprabhujī, dressing him up, and let’s go. Āratī, sādhanā, pūjā, all day meeting people, giving darśan. Writing bhajans, and finally, when the night would end and he would—Holī Gurujī would just fall asleep, Madhav, which means Madhvanājī. There is this letter which came... Could you read it for me? If it would be disciples like us, who are very ignorant, then we would say, "It is two o’clock in the night. Why are you torturing us? We will do it in the morning." But when it is pure-hearted seva, when it is niṣkāma seva, then we do not think about ourselves. It does not matter what time it is. He woke up, "Yes, Mahāprabhujī, as you wish," because guru-ājñā-vijāranīya, which means to not doubt the guru. Just follow his instructions. And after reading the letter, Holī Gurujī again went to sleep, and as soon as the sleep hit, Mahāprabhujī comes up with a new, brilliant idea: "I have new words for my bhajan. Can you write it down?" And then slowly, slowly, it is already three o’clock in the morning, and this bell rings. Ding, ding, ding. Wake up. And some of you, like Gajananjī and many of you who were also in Gurujī’s Seva, no? Remember that? You were not in Gurujī’s Sevā? No, but I heard from people who were in Gurujī’s seva, they used to get this much place behind his bed to sneak and sleep before the daṇḍa would be flying on them. So if we look at Gurudev, Viśva Gurujī, he was very gentle and very kind. Any type of prasād, does not matter if it is prasād of chocolate or sweets or daṇḍa or a slap or whatever, that is prasād. And when you are giving a shape to a metal to make it some glass, or a cup, or a plate, or something, it has to be put in very hot fire and hammered until it brings that shape. Or living with Acharya Mahāmudrā, that was also an interesting time for me. Many things are flying from many directions at many times. And even if you locked the door, he had a way to put his daṇḍa through the window to wake us up in the morning. 4:30, if you are not awake, then something on your body will be red. At the time, I always used to think, "Swamiji, why am I going through this hell?" But Guru Agyā Vējarānīya—Swamiji said three years. I stayed exactly three years with him. I was the longest lasting sevak with him. Till date, no one managed to pass three months, four months, five months. But now, when life is happening, then I realize that that was good for me. That is why Gurudev is the Trikāl Darśī, not us. Because he knows what is—it does not matter if you are going to go through a very hard time, but he knows that that is beneficial for you in the future. And many things which would affect me, if I had not gone through that, do not affect me anymore. So, I think that was the hammering part. But the problem is that we all, instead of looking at what we are doing, we all look at what this person did wrong, what that person did wrong. And now, when things come on my head, I just say, "Just imagine what you were doing when you were 20 or 25." Life is a growing process. It is not that you become a successor, you sit here, and immediately you are. It does not work like that. Life is a growing process for you, for me, for all of us. I always tell you that there is always something new to learn every day from someone; the same applies for me. When I sit here, something—nāhaṁ kartā, prabodha kartā—whatever flows, flows. But when I am off this āsana, I am again me. But you know what is the problem? Comparing. We all have a different way of functioning in our lives. I talked about this during Diwali also, but it was not on the webcast, so I decided to remind you of it today also. Holī Gurujī had a different way of functioning. Swamiji had a different way of functioning. And I am also trying to figure out the way of functioning. Figuring out—just remember that word. Did not figure it out already. So it is a process. So instead of trying to see what wrong I did in the past or what wrong am I doing, you can tell me what to improve when I am good. But it is a learning process for all of us. It is not easy for you, it is not easy for me, it is not easy for anyone. But when we have trust, and when we say so, do not worry. If you think your life is going very badly, do not worry. Everyone’s life goes like this. But we have that backing up power of Gurudev, that he does not let us give up, and he pushes us forward and forward. It is always easy to talk about who did what, but it is not easy to see what we did. It is easy to point fingers, but remember, when you are pointing one finger towards someone, three fingers are still pointing towards yourself. So first, fix ourselves. I do not mind the pointing fingers, I do not mind anything that comes on my head, because I know that He will protect and He will guide me. And we are humans. Humans make mistakes and learn from their mistakes. We are not born just pure and pious and everything, you know. So instead of doing this, do this. Otherwise, life is going to go on and on and on. But how life goes, that is in our hands. When we know that we are in that protected bubble, where he is guiding us and not going to let anything bad happen to us, then we do not give up. I always say that we are that blue sky. And the clouds which pass by can be dark grey, can be black, can be white, can be nothing, but did you ever see any cloud stuck in that same place? Because everything flows; nothing is permanent. So if those dark grey clouds are hovering over us, just know that that shall also pass. Nothing will stay. Happiness will also not stay, and sadness will also not stay. That is why I learned to be non-neutral. Things do not make me happy anymore, and they do not make me sad anymore. Some will call me a robot and a rock, or some will call me whatever. It does not matter anymore. But this is how life goes on, and this is how we have to learn from life. So, coming back to Holī Gurujī and Mahāprabhujī—enough of me. Because I just felt like sharing, because you all are my family, so whatever things come into my mind, I like to share. After reading the letters and finally getting maybe some minutes of sleep here and there. Again, three o’clock in the morning. And one day, Holī Gurujī was in his Sabarmatī āśram, which was in Gujarat. And he received one letter from Mahāprabhujī. And he was very pleased, blessed, and happy to receive that letter because he did not normally receive many letters from him. And in that letter it was written, "Madhvananji, please bring a khadi." Khadi is a specific fine material of cloth in India. So, "Bring one khadi shawl to me and come to me as soon as possible." So he was surprised. He said, "Mahāprabhujī is asking for something?" That is very rare. So he went to one of his disciples, Dr. Bhatt showed him that letter, and Bhatt Sahib also read it, and he understood the point. He requested Holī Gurujī if he could do that seva of buying that cloth. So not only one shawl, he bought a whole ton, which is like twenty meters of cloth. And they went towards Barikhatu and greeted Mahāprabhujī, and Mahāprabhujī said, "Sit down." They gave that cloth to him, and he sat peacefully under that beautiful banyan tree of Kathu. And next morning, early morning at six, seven, Mahāprabhujī called Holī Gurujī. It was time March, near Holī, and he said, "Ten months exactly, after ten months, after four days after Pūrṇimā, I will leave this body. So if you wish for something... ask now." But obviously Holī Gurujī did not take it seriously. He said, "No, no, no, nothing. I do not believe it. Just give your śakti and your light around the whole world." He said, "No, I am not joking. I am being serious." Life continued. After some time, one month before December, Mahāprabhujī wrote letters to all the bhaktas around. And slowly, slowly, people started gathering, but still no one believed it, but because Mahāprabhujī called everyone, they all came. They had beautiful satsaṅgs and bhajans. And four days after, three days after Pūrṇimā, the night before—today is Pūrṇimā, by the way, so according to the date it was the 5th of December 1963, and according to the moon calendar it will be four days after, which is on the 8th of December this year. So in the evening, they had beautiful bhajans, and Mahāprabhujī told all the Bhaktas, "I will be leaving tomorrow. If anyone wants something, this is your chance. Ask." But no one believed. The next morning, Holī Gurujī said that he was sitting in his sādhanā, in his room, and he had a vision of four pillar-like divine beings who looked like Lord Viṣṇu standing there. They made seven rounds of parikramā around Mahāprabhujī. They made praṇām. And Mahāprabhujī said, "Now it is time for me to go." And when he went, then he passed all the Indra-loka, and everyone was throwing flowers, then Deva-loka, Śiva-loka, Viṣṇu-loka, Brahma-loka. And Holi Guruji was thinking, "There is only one Vishnu, how do I see four?" Then Mahāprabhujī said, "Those who reside in Viṣṇu Loka look like Viṣṇu. Those who reside in Śiva Loka look like Śiva. Those who reside in Indra Loka look like Indra." So we all live in Vishwagurujī Loka, so inside we all look like Vishwagurujī, no? Because for us, this is our Loka. We do not need to look further and backwards, nowhere. And then, when Holī Gurujī opened his eyes, he realized that he was still in his room. And then that day, the whole day, Mahāprabhujī was giving darśan, and then in the evening, I think ten minutes—what time was it? Ten minutes past five or something in the morning? Ten minutes before five or something? Yeah, so something around that time, Mahāprabhujī told everyone, "Now it is time for me to depart." And after he departed his body, the doctors were checking the nāḍī. There was no pulse, but that glow on his face still remained, as he was still there. And usually the body gets very hard. But until all the bhaktas gather for two or three days, the body still remains soft. They had a beautiful procession to the place where Mahāprabhujī already decided, which we all had darśan of, that beautiful samādhi of his in Duna. For girls, it is 9 days; for married people, it is 12 days; for sannyāsīs, it is 16 days. So after the body is burned, then 12 days, and after the body is buried, then 16 days. And then on the 17th day, everyone gathers and does the bandhana. So that was how Mahāprabhujī departed. But that physical body might have departed; that light of—that is why Dīpak Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī, because this dīpak is lit in all of us. The Deepak is lit by Ālāpurjī, then spread by Deepurjī, then by Mahāprabhujī, then by Holī Gurujī, then by Viśvagurujī to all of us. So our job is now to continue by fueling that deepak, and spreading that beautiful light, that divine teaching forward to everyone. Oṁ Śālakpūr Jī Mahādeva Kījā Devādau Deva Deveśvara Mahādeva Kījā Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kījā Hindu Dharma Samrāṭ Paramahaṁsa Svāmī Śrī Mādhavānanda Purī Jī Satguru Deva Bhagavān Kījā Viśva Guru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṁsa Svāmī Śrī Maheśvarānanda Purījī Gurudeva Kījā, Sat Sanātana Dharma Kījā.