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Salutations to Śrī Ālagapurī Samādevakī, Śrī Devpurī Samādevakī, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavānakī, Hindūdharma Samrāṭ Mādhavānandjī Bhagavānakī, Viśvaguru Mahāmudāleśvarī Yogīrāj Parampitā Parameśvar Parampūjī. Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānandapurījī Satgurudevakī, Satyeśanātan Dharmakī. My adoration to the holy lotus feet of Viśvagurujī, my respects to all the divine sannyāsīs, all spiritual seekers, all yoga and daily life teachers, students, and all devotees of the Alagpurī Siddhapīṭ Paramparā present here in this divine place—Om Śrī Viśvadīp Gurukul Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī Āśram Education Research Center, Om Āśram, Jāḍaṇ, Pālī, Rājasthān, Bhārat—and through the webcast around the world. To all devotees, many, many blessings from Viśva Gurujī. We are all the fortunate ones, the blessed ones, the luckiest ones, for we have the divine paramparā, the divine guru, the divine energy which guides us on the spiritual path and gives knowledge about the scriptures, about peace, harmony, and self-realization. In human life, it is necessary to gain spiritual knowledge and learn the scriptures given by God to humanity. In India, the divine, holy scriptures are called the Vedas, which were written or preached by God. The Vedas contain immense knowledge, immense energy, and thousands, millions, billions of mantras. The Vedas mark the beginning, from when humans came to this planet. In Hindi, when human civilization began on this earth, the divine knowledge obtained that day to advance civilization is called the Vedas. The knowledge with which humanity began for the first time—that is the Vedas. The Vedas are the base of Sanātana Dharma. The word ‘Veda’ is derived from the word ‘Viddha’. It is called the Viddha, meaning the grammar, the sūtras, which are written by God. The Vedas were not given to a particular person, a particular religious group, a particular caste, or community. The Vedas are equal knowledge for everyone. It is said that a person, according to their qualities, should gain that knowledge, realize it, understand it, follow the Vedas’ instructions, live happily in this world, and make others happy too. That is the Vedas. The word ‘Veda’ is derived from ‘Viddha’, and every person, according to their qualities, receives the word ‘Veda’, contemplates it, and by self-cultivating it, can live a blissful life. That is the knowledge of the Vedas. The Vedas are four: the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, and Atharvaveda. In the Yajurveda, there is a written prayer: the disciples pray to God: “Oh God, let me live a hundred years. Let me listen through my ears to the divine knowledge for a hundred years. Let me preach or talk spiritual knowledge for a hundred years. And let me see God’s glow, God’s face, with my clear eyes for a hundred years.” The Yajurveda also mentions immense divine knowledge. Then comes the Ṛgveda. The Ṛgveda says: “Ekam Sad Viprā Bahudā Vadanti.” It is written in Devanāgarī, in the Sanskrit bhāṣā, the Sanskrit language, the language of God in which all Vedas are composed. It means: The truth is one, God is one, the sky is one, the earth is one, the moon is one, the sun is one, the water or ocean is one, fire is one. But wise people, religious people, learned people, they describe God in different ways according to their opinion and knowledge. For example, in India, many devotees know God by the name Rām, Bhagavān. The explanation of ‘Bhagavān’ is: “bha” means bhūmi (the earth); “ga” means gagana (the sky); “va” means vāyu (air); and another “va” or “a” means agni (fire); and “na” means near, implying water (jala, pānī, etc.). The name itself is an explanation: these five elements are God. The five elements themselves are God. These five elements are within us. If one element stops following its dharma or rules, our body would not exist. So, the five elements themselves are Bhagavān. This means humans must take care of these five elements. They should not harm, destroy, or pollute any element. The Vedas instruct humans: “Oh human, do not destroy them. They are part of your life, part of this world, part of the beauty of this planet.” The five elements are within our body: space (ākāśa); our muscles and bones come from the earth—calcium, magnesium, minerals, iron, gold, silver, etc.—this is the earth element in our body. After the Ṛgveda comes the Atharvaveda, a great Veda. In the Atharvaveda, it is written: “Satyameva jayate.” In the Atharvaveda, there is an Upaniṣad called the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, and in it is written: “Satyameva jayate.” It means truth will win, truth will have victory. This is written in the Indian constitution. I don’t know if other countries have such God-given divine words in their constitutions. Even on Indian currency, it is implied: “Don’t misuse money. Use money where it is needed, for what is truly required.” On the Aśoka Stambha at the top of the Indian Supreme Court, it is written: Satyameva Jayate. Similarly, when God appears in this world, as described in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, we hear the sound: “Satyameva Jayate.” After the Atharvaveda comes the Sāmaveda. The Sāmaveda is a very divine Veda. In the Sāmaveda, the importance of music is explained. It describes how we should play and sing. Learned singers sing very beautifully in melody. The explanation of melody, chandokā varṇan, chand maye. One example is from the Ṛgveda, or from Bhagavān Śiva Rudrāṣṭakam, or the Rudrī: Oṃ Gaṇānāṃ Tva Gaṇapati Gomhāvāmahe Priyānāṃ Tva Priyapati Gomhāvāmahe Nidhenāṃ Tva Nidhepati Gomhāvāmahe Vasomam Ahaṃjani Grabhadam Tvaṃjasi Grabhadam. That is the melody, how to sing mantras. All mantras, all God’s glories, all rules, regulations, and instructions for singing are written in the Sāmaveda. In the prayer I cited, “Gananantwa Ganapati Ghum Havamai,” the disciple prays to God: “Oh God, you are divine, take care of me, protect me, save me, help me, bless me, guide me, support me. I am your child, oh God. You are divine. I am one creature among 8.4 million. Out of 8.4 million, I am one creature. God, protect me, guide me.” Not only humans live on this earth, but all 8.4 million creatures live here. Consider how divine God is, how holy, how merciful, that He is taking care of each and every one of those 8.4 million creatures. Humans in this world are so greedy that they cannot even manage to protect their own family, friends, communities, town, or country. But how divine is God that He takes care of each and every creature. God sent humans to this planet for happiness, harmony, peace, and protection—not for destruction. For the purpose of protection, God sent humans to this earth. “Oh, my dear child, you are human, you have intellect, you are knowledgeable, learned, and you have the ability to protect others, to guide others, to support others. Do not live a selfish life.” Many creatures live a selfish life. Animals and birds have only one job: eat, drink, sleep, and make their nest (ghosla). Humans are the one creature that God made and sent to this planet for supporting, protecting, and beautifying this earth. But due to greed and selfishness, disputes arise, everything is destroyed, and unhappiness follows. Thanks to God for giving the glories, the God-glories, the singing in the Sāmavedas, the divine knowledge given to humanity. The Vedas sing. Singing is part of human beauty. If we do not sing ourselves, or if there is no atmosphere of singing, then our life is like emptiness. Where there is unity, where there is oneness, there is God. Where there is duality, where there is hypocrisy, God never comes. So, the glory of God in the Sāmaveda is also called Bhaktiveda. Bhakti—we also have other yogas: Rāja Yoga, Jñāna Yoga—but Bhakti Yoga is the Sāmaveda, also called Bhaktiveda. Bhakti: how to develop devotion toward God through singing, prayer, mantras, and anuṣṭhānas. All these glories are written in the Sāmaveda. In our Mahāprabhujī’s holy book, the Prabhudīp Gītā, he wrote a slogan. It means: If a person reads all Vedas or all Upaniṣads, all knowledge, but still does not understand the knowledge of the ātmā or God, then it is like a spoon moving inside halwā or any sweet; the spoon cannot taste the sweet. Therefore, it is necessary in human life to read, learn, understand, and use this knowledge in life—for oneself and for others—for happiness, harmony, peace, and for the divine path and purpose. So, the Vedas are divine, the Vedas are holy, and the Vedas are the divine knowledge of God given to humans. Many devotees in India, day and night, sing the Veda mantras, Veda melodies, and the glories of the Vedas. We are the luckiest ones to have that divine paramparā, and through it, to receive this divine knowledge. Our holy Gurujī mentioned in his satsaṅg that what we sing—our bhajans, our holy Guru’s paramparā’s prayers—are the essence of the Vedas. The yogīs, the ṛṣis, especially the ṛṣis of our paramparā, analyzed the Vedic knowledge written in Sanskrit. They read it, understood it, and wrote it in very simple bhajans, simple prayers, and simple mantras, which are helpful for every devotee. That is the work of our Mahāprabhujī, holy Gurujīs, Devpurījī, Alakpurījī, and Viśvagurujī. Their bhajans and written books contain immense knowledge. We need to understand, listen, learn, sing, and be in joy. Joy is of two types: one inner, one outer. Outer joy is physical happiness. Inner joy is immortal, endless happiness and joy. This Bhaktiveda, this knowledge of the Vedas, was given to humanity to enjoy not only outer joy. Outer joy can come in any life, but only in human life can one enjoy the Self, self-joy. Be happy, be in harmony, and be the divine soul. This soul came to this earth to meet the divine light, to meet Śiva. But due to ignorance and misunderstanding, we forget the aim of life, and there is no straight way toward the divine path. For that, humans need to learn, read, and understand the reality of life, of human life. For that, our Mahāprabhujī’s divine bhajans are written. So, the beauty of satsaṅg, the happiness of satsaṅg, the ānanda of satsaṅg—who is the baḍā bhāgyavān? It means the luckiest one, the fortunate one, who gets the opportunity to sing and listen to divine bhajans. How beautiful, how divine, how great are the thoughts of Mahāprabhujī. In this version, this divine flower, we call it the aroma of Mahāprabhujī’s divine heart. Thank you very much for listening, and thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to share this divine God’s glories, knowledge, the Vedas, mantras—which are written by God and are nectar for human life. Without this divine knowledge, humans will not be happy on this planet. This Veda is a Veda, and we call Veda in different ways, but it is God’s knowledge given to humans for their inner happiness.