TV Channel

There are two existences: God and the individual. Both are distinguished by their qualities. We know and believe that God possesses divine qualities. God is pure. God is light. The Ultimate. Merciful. Divine, immortal. Eternal. We individuals, however, have different qualities. We have our human weaknesses: anger, jealousy, desires, longings, greed. These qualities create separation. These are individual qualities. These two sets of qualities do not mix. They do not unite. Because we try to maintain our identity, one identity must be given up. Either God must give up His, or we must give up ours. God is merciful enough that, from time to time, He incarnates in human form. This means He takes steps toward us. But we do not understand Him. However, if you keep satsaṅg with God, then slowly, slowly, you become God. Buddha was born as a normal human being. Through his meditation and yoga practice, and by following ahiṃsā—Buddha was vegetarian—he progressed. When walking, he observed each step to avoid stepping on any creature. For many, many years he meditated in the forest, under trees. It was not easy. Finally, he attained enlightenment. When he became enlightened, he was lost. He could not find himself. And when he tried hard to become aware of himself, he could not find God. That is why Buddha said there is no personal God or there is no form. In a way, he was right, because he was lost in it. Kabīr Dās said very clearly: "When I was there, He was not there. Now He is here, but I am not there." For the street of love is so narrow that two cannot walk together. Two must become one. The qualities of God are stronger, mightier. That is why we merge into God; then we are holy, and we lose our own identity. For example, in our country, two big rivers flow. One is the Tisza River, and the other is the Danube. The mightier of the two is the Danube. When the Tisza River merges into the Danube, you no longer call it the Tisza. It is the Danube. When it enters Yugoslavia, you do not say this river is called Tisza-Danube. No. This merging together is satsaṅg. And when the Danube merges into the Black Sea, you do not call it the Danube anymore. It is the Black Sea. After a long journey—beginning from the Black Forest in Germany and flowing through many countries—the Danube becomes one with the ocean. Then it is only ocean. Similarly, we go through many, many lives, many experiences. Many beings benefit from our life. On the Danube, many goods are transported by ship. Many trees and vegetation receive water. Many people get water. Budapest drinks its water. Many fish exist there. All this is part of the Danube, and the Danube is part of their life. Finally, it merges into the ocean. So you are a part of others' lives, and others are a part of your life. But like a river, its destination is the ocean. Sometimes it has more water, sometimes less, but it constantly flows, targeted toward the ocean. Similarly, sometimes we have more problems, sometimes fewer, but we should constantly be targeted toward the ocean, God. That is satsaṅg. Mahāprabhujī said in one bhajan: There is a canalization, dirty water from the drain. When you see all the dirt inside, you dare not put a finger in it. But when this dirty water from these channels flows into the Gaṅgā, then even the holy man does not see that dirty water. He sees only the Gaṅgā and puts this holy water on his head. So you see how the dirty water of canalizations and channels became holy by uniting with the holy river. But if you take water from the holy river and put it in your bathroom or drainage, it will not remain holy. So try to unite with the holy, and that is satsaṅg. Therefore, Mahāprabhujī said: Happiness is not impossible. Vaikuṇṭha, heaven, is not impossible. Svarga, heaven, is not impossible. But what is impossible? The rare thing is satsaṅg. So those who understand what satsaṅg is, they go to satsaṅg. If you have twenty very important tasks, and the twenty-first is satsaṅg, leave all twenty tasks aside and go to satsaṅg. Because this one is more important than the other twenty. There was a barber whose duty was to go every morning at nine o'clock to shave the king. The king had a disease called leprosy. When someone is ill and physically weaker, they become easily and more angry, feeling very irritated. The barber was a very divine person who liked satsaṅg. One morning at nine o'clock, the barber took his bag with all his knives, soap, butter, and everything—his beauty bag—and was on his way to the king. He knew that if he missed one day, the king would kill him. He had to be on time every day; that was his duty. On the way, he met a few sādhus, holy men. He greeted them and began to speak with them a little. They spoke very beautifully about God: the glory of God, the divinity of God, the beauty of God, the love of God, bhakti, pūjā, dhyāna, meditations. He asked them, "What about your breakfast? Did you eat?" They said, "Not yet." He said, "Then please come to my house." So he forgot the king's duty. He took the sādhus to his house, gave them breakfast, and listened to some bhajans—satsaṅg. By three o'clock, a message came from the king: "Call that barber." The barber told the sādhus, "I must go to the king for a few hours, and I will come back soon." He explained the story, saying he had forgotten his duty. One sādhu smiled and said, "Don't worry. Who knows what happened? Just go and come back happily." He said, "Happily come back again." He went to the palace, and there were a few people waiting with flower garlands, some sweets, and a pūjā thālī for tilak. The barber thought, "Maybe they are waiting for someone else?" He tried to change his path to enter the palace, but they said, "No, no, come this side." They gave him flowers and sweets and said, "The king is waiting for you." The barber thought, "Maybe this is my death ceremony?" Innocent, he went toward the king's room. The king came toward him, smiling, with folded hands, embraced him, and said, "Friend, sit beside me." The barber's heart was pounding. "Am I crazy? Is this a dream or a hallucination?" The barber said, "Lord, I am sorry to be late." The king said, "No, no. I want to thank you once more. That is why I called you again. This morning, when you were shaving me, look at my cheeks. When you touched my body, all my leprosy disappeared. You were touching all parts of my body today, and all is healthy. I don't even remember how I felt when I was healthy. I thank you." Inside his mind, the barber said, "Thank you, God." After that, he received many presents and, like this, went back home. The sādhus were still there, and he told them the whole story. A sādhu said, "God replaced you. He did your service. Because you were doing service to the sādhus, the God-men. So even God is ready to work for you, even if you may call it dirty work. But first you have to do for Him. That is important."