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Unity, love, forgiveness, and devotion

An evening satsang on unity, awareness, and forgiveness.

"Whenever Bhaktas come, unite, and sit together, that is Dīvālī, that is Christmas."

"More than anything, there is forgiveness. When we forgive people for what they have done, it's not for them, it's for us."

A swami addresses a full hall, emphasizing the power of collective devotion to transform the age. He discusses the importance of awareness in daily life, using personal anecdotes about zoning out while driving and reducing phone use. He stresses that selfless service (seva) requires devotion (bhava) and explains unity through the metaphor of beads on a thread of Guru Bhakti. He shares a story from the Ramayana about a dog seeking justice to illustrate forgiveness and the dangers of ego, concluding with teachings on living in the present and protecting dharma.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Gurur Brahmā, Gurur Viṣṇu, Gurur Devo Maheśvara, Gurur Sākṣāt Parabrahma, Tasmai Śrī Guruvāya Namaha. Manātha Śrī Jagannātha, Madhguru Śrī Jagatguru, Māmātmā Sarvabhūtātmā, Tasmai Śrī Guruvāya Namaha. Salutations to the Cosmic Self. Salutations to the Cosmic Self. Salutations to Śrī Ālāgpurjī Siddhāpīṭa Paramparā. A pozdrav Śrī Alak Purujī Siddhāpit Paramparā. My Dhanyavād Praṇām Svābhāvād Gurudev, His Holiness, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramaṁ Svāmīmaheśvarānanda Purījī. A Mā Pokorné Praṇām Jeho Svatosti našemu Gurudevovi Svāmīmu Maheśvarānandžimu. Om Namah Nārāyaṇa to all the sannyāsīs present here. Om Namah Nārāyaṇ všem přítomným sannyāsinům. And Hari Om and good evening to all of you who are present here and who are watching through Satsaṅg TV. Very happy to see the hall again full. That's the beauty when we all unite and come together in this space, sit here, and again awaken those things which have been sleeping for a while. Every day is Diwali, every day is Christmas, every day is a beautiful occasion for us Bhaktas. Whenever Bhaktas come, unite, and sit together, that is Dīvālī, that is Christmas. And where we have the beautiful love atmosphere, where we have the atmosphere of joy, of togetherness, that is the beauty. That's why unity is very important. Especially in the time where it is said, yuga, which means in times of despite, in times of not good times, then the buddhi, then the intellect becomes nāśātmikā, which means it goes towards destruction, and Kali Yuga is full of that. But as Gurudev once said, when all the mātrā śakti, when all the śakti comes together, they have the power to change Kali Yuga to Satya Yuga. But that is when you all śakti sit together and go towards the positive side, not towards gossip. Humans are the ones who create things, and humans are the ones who destroy those things. The human mind and the human body have something that other creatures do not have. Khana, pina, bhogana, basul samana, which means eating, sleeping, and reproducing, can be done by animals. But God gave us something which other creatures do not have. Something in between our two ears, which is? Brain, buddhi. You know why God gave us two ears? Any guesses? Put information in one and throw it out the second one, no? But no, it goes in one, you process it, the same way as you eat food, it processes it, it takes all the nutrition and then you let it out. So, same thing: you take in information, process it, take all the positive things, and throw out the negative things. But most of the time, we bypass the processing part. That's why the awareness is missing in us. When we are talking to someone, it takes us maybe five minutes to zone out. Or when we are sitting somewhere and then... Even it happens sometimes while driving, which is dangerous, but... That's a... I don't know the name of that effect, but it happens. You're driving, you're alone, no one to talk to, nothing happening, and suddenly you just zone out of that and you're awake, you're driving, but you don't realize anything, and suddenly you wake up and, oh, I'm driving, okay. That's why I'm telling you, I'm the same as you all. It happened to me recently, so that's why I read about it. You just zone out, and then you are not sleeping. You're wide awake, you're driving, you're overtaking everything, but there's a moment of realization, oh, I'm driving. That's why awareness is very important. It doesn't matter what we are doing; that awareness should be there. Our mind is so fast that it can think or do a hundred million things in a second. We are sitting here in satsaṅg now, but our concentration, our mind, some of us are here, some of us are already somewhere else, some of us are thinking about other things. Vasanth is thinking, "From where are we going to get money for building?" Gopal is thinking what to plan, how to do the schedule, because we are leaving tomorrow. We all have different ideas, we all have many things running in our head. How many of us are truly aware of what is happening around us? First thing when I walk into a room, it doesn't matter where I am, if I'm talking to someone, I notice things, small, little details, just to have it there. Maybe that information is not useful, maybe there's nothing with it, but still it's good to know your surroundings, it's good to know where you are, the space, the people, everything. That's why our parents or our adults were smart. When you're eating, no phones. When I go to Delhi and I'm eating, and Samādhi always, no phones on the table. I was like, "Yeah, yeah, why?" Because we should be aware of what we are eating, we should be fully focused on every single taste of the food. If we are studying, our focus is on the studying. Now, recently, already past two months, you might have noticed that I'm not too much on my phone, neither here, neither outside, nowhere. Social media, everything other people handle, I'm much more free now. It feels much more relaxing. Only now, the biggest complaint from people is, "Oh, you don't pick up the calls." I don't carry my phone, sorry. If you need anything, please contact them. And then people ask me why I don't answer the phone, why I don't pick up the phone, and I can just say, "Well, I don't have the phone with me, so I have to call someone else." Because you are much more aware of what is happening around you, you can observe things much better. It's much less of a distraction, it's easier, it's just much easier. And it's much easier. I'm much more aware of the things that are around me. I can feel my surroundings. I can feel what's happening. You know what's the easiest technique to fall asleep? Do meditation with my mother. When I was young and I couldn't sleep, I started doing my mantra, and within a few minutes I'm sleeping. Why? Because that is the time when we go within and we realize things, and there's nothing else, you know. There are no distractions, we feel bored, and we just fall asleep. But even when we are meditating, even when we are doing our mālā, anything that we do, awareness is very important. Awareness towards the certain thing that we are doing. Seva is there, but is the bhāva there? We are serving the Master, we are serving our parents, we are helping our children, we are doing something at home. Anything, are we doing it with bhāva, or are we just doing it for the sake of doing it? It doesn't matter what, because without bhāva... That seva is incomplete without the devotion, the bhakti; the sādhanā is incomplete. And without faith, understanding, and surrender, it is also incomplete. Because this mind is the one that is restless, not the body. The ātmā is always in peace, but the mind makes it restless. Sitting here, our mind is, "What is he talking, repeating? Again, the same things." Christmas, I could have been... I mean, it's still not Christmas, but still, it's what? Sunday? Sunday? Saturday? See, when you are less distracted, you don't realize anymore if it's Saturday or Sunday or Monday or what. In the morning, I'm told, "You have this and this and... this." I said, "OK, OK... done." That's why I like little planning and just going with the flow. Because plans never work. I tried that a lot. Planning trips, planning this, planning that. And if things don't go according to plan, then disappointment. That's why I know certain planning needs to be done. That's why we were sitting today and planning the whole next six or seven months, so the dates will come to you soon, that you can do your planning. But me personally, I go day by day, minute by minute. Because this is not permanent. Nothing is. So if we are stuck in the future, we won't be able to be in the present. So instead of being in the past or in the future, we are now. We enjoy the atmosphere, we enjoy the beautiful satsaṅg, we enjoy the beautiful company. When do you all see each other? All coming from different places, different countries. Something that unites us is Bhakti, is here, is Strelky, is Jadan, it's Gurudev. All of us are coming from different countries, different backgrounds, different workspaces, different cultures. We still are worn in that same mālā, like these beads. We are these beads, and this thread which is going through is that Guru Bhakti, which is holding us all together. And that's why unity is very important. Because if there's one thin branch or a thin log and a strong wind comes and you don't bow, it stays straight, it will break. But when they're all together and it's much stronger, then it doesn't matter how strong the wind comes, it doesn't break. That's why being united and sticking together is really useful. Even in families, unfortunately, now it's also in India. Before, there were four children staying together, living in the same house. There was unity. They used to come down, talk to each other once a day, twice a day, whenever. Nowadays, we get older, and parents go into old age homes. Four brothers go in different directions. Maybe see each other once a year for some festival. In the house itself, everyone has their own room. You come from work, kids come from school, everyone goes into their own individual rooms. When you see each other, even for meals, you know, kids want to eat something else, they will just order online, done. The new Gen Zs will call it modernization, but it's not modernization. It's basically our roots and our cultures, which we are forgetting. Ale není to nic moderního, je to jen to, že. Zapomínáme na svoje kořeny a na svou kulturu. It might feel like a burden, it might feel like being bound into something, but it's actually that love which is there, which should stay there. Možná vám to připadá zbytečné, možná vám to může připadat, že vás to svazuje, ale ve skutečnosti je to, co vás drží. Even I noticed the difference between us when we were traveling together now. There were two different places I stayed, and one was a house where there was a bigger living room, and the house was a little bit open. Four of us, we all boys, came in the evening, sat together, ate together. We talked a bit, and the other place where I stayed, the next day or two days after that, it was a closed, tiny space. You know how London houses are, narrow staircase going up, then more up, one room here, one room there, living room here in the closet. We came back, all four of us in our rooms, we didn't see each other. Time for satsaṅg, okay. Coming down, let's go. Coming back from satsaṅg, I disappeared. A když jsme tam přijeli, tak každý vlastně zmizel v tom svém koutě, v tom svém pokoji, a neviděli jsme se, jenom jsme si řekli, aha, na satsaṅg pojedeme v tolik a v tolik, tak jsme se jenom potkali na schodech. And so even the space, in which you live, should be open. Because the more walls, the more obstacles, barriers. Privacy is one thing, but love, compassion, and unity are another thing. If we are all living in our own worlds and we all come together, united here in Strelky, it doesn't matter if it feels like we are living in our teenage days, where there are ten people in one dorm. Or it's the walls falling apart a little bit, maybe. Or anything. What holds us together is the love, the power. At least love yourself that much, that much that you can love others. First, we need to love ourselves to love anything else. And if we can love someone else that much, as much as we love ourselves, that also makes a change. But that will be possible only when we understand ourselves and stop blaming ourselves for absolutely everything. We accept ourselves, and then we accept others. What is it said? Vasudeva kuṭumbakam, which means the world is one family. Why is it said, "Ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ"? Because all creatures, every single insect, every single animal, everyone should be loved, because they also have that ātmā within them. And where there is ātmā, there is paramātmā. Now, this time is still very good. Now, when Gurudev says, "Jīva, jīva, bhakṣate," it's applying for bigger animals eating smaller animals, and unfortunately, some humans eating animals. So pray that we get mokṣa, liberated and free from this and this life. Because in the ending of Kali Yuga, humans will be eating humans; it will be cannibalism. There will be no love, no compassion, no peace, nothing. And then what did Lord Kṛṣṇa say? A co říká Pán Krišná? Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham. When dharma is affected, he says, when dharma is threatened. When dharma needs protection, když je potřeba ochraňovat dharmu. When dharma turns into adharma. Then I shall incarnate. Tak potom se inkarnuje. But who protects the dharma? We do. Dharma, rakṣati, rakṣataḥ. The one who protects dharma, dharma will protect that. But if we are all adharmīs, then what will happen? So when we work with dharma, that's why who was known as Bhagavān Śrī Rāma was known as? And that's why Bhagavānśrī Rāma was known as the one who was protecting and holding dharma. You know what's a darbār? In Jadan we have Sadguru darbār, right? In Jadam we have Sadguru Darbār. Sadguru means Sadguru, darbār means where he sits and meets people. So in Ayodhyā, Bhagavān Śrī Rāma had his Rāma Darbār. Where he used to sit every day and listen to all the people and give them justice. That is again what we were talking about in the morning, not Svadharma, but Paradharma. Living and dedicating life for others. The king, the saint, Their whole lives are not for themselves; it is for others. How much sleep does Guru Dev get now? Different, but in the past, how much sleep did he get? Not much. For personal time, there is no personal time, even now. Inwardly, it doesn't matter if his physical body might be relaxing more, but inwardly, it's still functioning. Because our life is for all the people. That's how life is. So in the Rām Darbār, every day people used to come and ask for justice for whatever happened, or things like that. And one day in the evening, after ending the Darbār, Bhagavān Śrī Rām sent Lakṣmaṇ outside to check if everyone was done or if there was still someone outside waiting. Lakshman went outside, looked around, no one, Bhagavān, all done, everyone is sorted for today. Lakṣmaṇ went out, he didn't see anyone there, so he goes back and says, "Rāmo, for today everything is finished." But Bhagavān Rām knew everything, so, "No, no, there is still someone." But Bhagavān Rām knew everything, so no, no, there is still someone. Go check properly. Lakṣmaṇa goes outside, and he sees a dog. Patiently sitting, has a wound here, bleeding, but patiently sitting. Did you come to see Bhagavān Rām? Yes. Please come, he is waiting for you. He goes inside and he bows down. Now, don't ask me how the dogs talk at that time. But at that time, humans were huge, so anything is possible. The same way as a mouse can carry the weight of Gaṇeśjī. And the same way a small mouse can carry the weight of a big Gaṇeśjī, it is the same. Talking about unity, sorry, change of topic, I love this. You see how good we are. But you can learn something from Śivjī's family. What is the mode of transport for Gaṇeśjī? Mouse. What does Śivjī have around his neck? Snake likes mouse. Yeah, the favorite food of snakes is mice. Then what is the mode of transport of Kārtikeya, the brother of Gaṇeśa? Peacock. Peacock likes snakes. We know because we have peacocks in Jadan, and we have snakes also in Jadan, so... Máme pávek v Jadanu, víte, jak oni ty hady tam pronásledují. Then, what is the mode of transport of Māta? No, a kdo vozí, na čem jezdí Matā Pārvatī? Hmm? Tiger, lion. A ta jezdí na lvu nebo na tygrovy? That one eats peacocks. No, a ten si rád pochutná na pávovy. And the mode of transport of Śivjī? A na čem jezdí Śivjī? On Nandī. Also can be eaten by a lion, easily. But still, they all live in that same space together without harming each other. And here, four of us, five of us in one family, can't live together properly. That's why Śivjī is known as Mahādev. They are Devatās, Indradev, Agnidev, Varuṇdev, Viṣṇudev, all are Dev, but Śivjī is Mahādev. That's why Śiva is known as Mahādev. There are many Devs, Indradev, Vandev, but Śiva is Mahādev. Devokidev Mahādev, which means the God of Gods. You know why? Because in every family, there is one or two beings worshipped. Viṣṇujī, Lakṣmījī, two. Then you have Indra Bhagavān, then you have Agni, fire. All of them are worshipped, either themselves or husband and wife. But in Shivjī's family, look, Shivjī is worshipped, his wife Pārvatījī is worshipped, his son Gajananjī is worshipped, Riddhī and Siddhī, the wives are worshipped. The nephews, Śubha and Lāba, are worshipped. The brother of Gaṇeśa, Kārtikeya, is worshipped. Even the motor transport of Śivjī, Nandī, is worshipped. That's why he's Mahādev, because the whole family, everyone who is with Śivjī, is worshipped. So, there are many things to learn from Śivjī and his family, so in the same way we can stick together. Instead of blaming each other, instead of pointing out problems between each other, we can live in unity and live in happiness, and there will be much more peace amongst each other if we live like that. We are always trying to find peace outside of us, but we are not trying to find that peace within us. And we find peace within us, then everything around us will feel peaceful. So Bhagavān Śrī Rām then asked the dog, "What do you want?" Justice, my Lord. What happened? I was peacefully sleeping, sitting, and one beggar came and hit a stone on me, and now I'm bleeding. Bhagavān Śrī Rāma said, "Call the beggar here to my court." He said, "Bhagavān, sorry, sorry, I did a mistake, I know I did a mistake, I am really sorry. I was angry at some other things, but because animals can't speak, we assume that the anger can go out there." So I was angry, so I threw the stone. I'm very sorry, so I'm ready to take any punishment you give me. And so I know that I threw that stone out of anger. I am sorry for that, and I am ready to take the punishment. And Mr. Rāma called those mantrīs, those ministers who stood next to him. You are the one who holds the justice, so you tell us. Bhagavān Śrī Rām said, "It happened to you, so you tell what punishment to give." The dog said, "Bhagavān, I don't want any harm to him, but you make him the priest of this temple in the village." So, you know, God and Guru have the power to make a Rājā a Raṅg or a Raṅg a Rājā, which means they have the power to make a king a beggar or make a beggar a king, so suddenly from having nothing, he had everything. Being the main person, the main priest, many perks come with that. He got an elephant, not a popemobile. So he was sitting on an elephant, roaming around the city. And when you suddenly get too much, or when you get more than you expect, then comes pride. Aham, me. Then the ministers and everyone questioned Bhagavān Rām, "You are Maryādā Puruṣottam, you are the one who gives justice. What did you do now, this?" Then he said, "Ask the one who gave this punishment, why did he give it?" They called the dog, and they asked the dog, "Why did you give this punishment?" The dog said, "Bhagavān, in my previous life I was a priest of that temple." And because of this ego boost and my karmas, and what all I did, this is who I am. Then the beggar realized and bowed down and said, "I am good as a beggar. I don't want to become this." More than anything, there is forgiveness. When we forgive people for what they have done, it's not for them, it's for us. Because when we forgive them, it gives us that sense of peace which we need. Until we are going to hold that grudge within us, it is going to eat us alive, not that person. You don't need to give them a fake smile, you don't need to interact with them, nothing. Just inwardly forgive them. And then see and feel that peace which we get inside. It's hard to forgive, I know. It's hard to forgive, I know. Sometimes things come like a smack on your head, and then you can't forgive them, but eventually, with time, try to forgive. I know sometimes things come like a smack on your head, and it's hard to forgive that person, but eventually, slowly with time, try to forgive them because that will bring peace within. So then the dog forgave that priest. And again, Vraja to rank, back down to ground zero. But still, that beggar was much happier than being a priest. So as Bhagavānśrī Kṛṣṇa said, karma karo, phal kī cintā mat karo, do your karma, do not worry about the outcome. So today we discussed unity, love, forgiveness, devotion, and surrender. Today we have many other things, so Thank you for watching.

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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