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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, ultimate, merciful. God is divine, the immortal one. God is eternal. We individuals, however, have different qualities. We have our human weaknesses: we have anger, jealousy, desires. We have longings, greediness—qualities that create separation. These are the individual qualities. These two sets of qualities do not mix together. They do not unite. Because we try to keep our identity, one has to give up that identity. Either God has to give up, or we have to give up. God is merciful enough that, from time to time, He incarnates in human form; that means He makes these steps towards us. But we don't understand Him. Yet, 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, following ahiṃsā—Buddha was vegetarian—when he was walking, he was observing each step so that he didn't step on some creature. For many, many years he meditated in the forest, under the trees. It is not easy. Finally, he attained enlightenment. When he got enlightenment, then he was lost; he couldn't find himself. And when he tried hard to become aware of himself, he couldn't 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: "Jab maiṅ thā tab hari nahīṅ, ab hari hai maiṅ nahīṅ." (When I was here, He was not here. Now He is here, but I am not there.) Because the street of love is so narrow, two cannot walk together. Two have to 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 there are two big rivers flowing. One is the Tisza River, and the other is the Danube. The mighty one is the Danube. When the Tisza River merges into the Danube, you no longer call it Tisza; it is the Danube. When it is entering 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 Danube anymore; it is the Black Sea. After the long course of the Danube, beginning from the Black Forest in Germany and flowing through all these countries, it becomes one in the ocean. Then it is only ocean. Similarly, we go through many, many lives. We have many experiences. Many benefit from our life. In the Danube, many goods are transferred by ships. Many trees and vegetation get water. Many people also get water. Budapest drinks its water. Many fish exist. All this is a part of the Danube, and the Danube is a 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 there is more water, sometimes less water, but it is constantly flowing, targeted towards the ocean. Similarly, sometimes we have more problems, sometimes fewer problems, but constantly we should be targeted towards the ocean, God. That is satsaṅg. Mahāprabhujī said in one bhajan: There is canalization, dirty water from canalization. When you see all this dirt inside, you do not even dare to put a finger inside. 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, of channels, became holy while uniting in the holy river. But if you take the water from the holy river and put it in your bathroom and canalization, that will not be holy. So try to unite with the holy, and that is satsaṅg. Therefore, Mahāprabhujī said: "Sukhāśā asambhav nahīṅ, Vaikuṇṭha asambhav nahīṅ. A mennyország sem lehetetlen. Svarga asambhav nahīṅ. A menny nem lehetetlen. Parantu sambhav nahīṅ, athavā atyanta durlabh hai satsaṅg." (Happiness is not impossible. Vaikuṇṭha, heaven, is not impossible. Heaven is not impossible. But impossible, or exceedingly rare, is satsaṅg.) So those who understand what satsaṅg is, they go to satsaṅg. "Azok elmennek a satsaṅgra." (They go to satsaṅg.) If you have twenty very important works to do, and the twenty-first, one more, is satsaṅg, leave all twenty works aside and go to satsaṅg. Because this one is more important than the other twenty. There was one 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, one becomes easily and more angry, feeling very easily irritated. The barber was a very divine person; he liked satsaṅgs. One morning at nine o'clock, the barber took his bag containing all his knives, soap, butter, and everything—a 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, and he greeted them. He began to speak with them a little. They were telling very nice things 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, "Still not." Then he said, "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 and satsaṅg. At three o'clock, a message came from the king: "Call that barber. I must go to the king." He told the sādhus, "I must go for a few hours, and I will come back soon." He said, "I have forgotten my duty." One sādhu smiled and said, "Don't worry. Who knows what happened? Just go and come happily back." He went to the palace, and there were a few people waiting with flower garlands, sweets, and a pūjā thālī for the tilak. The barber thought, maybe they are waiting for someone else. He tried to change his way to go into the palace. They said, "No, no, come this side." They gave him flowers and sweets and said, "The king is waiting for you." He thought, maybe this is my date ceremony, in his innocence. He goes towards the king's room, and the king comes towards him, smiling. With folded hands, the king embraced him and said, "Friend, sit beside me." The barber thought, "Barbaric heart. 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's why I called you again. This morning when you were shaving me, look at my cheeks. When you touched my body, all my leprosy disease disappeared. You were touching all parts of my body today. All is healthy. I don't even remember how I was feeling when I was healthy. I thank you." The barber said inside his mind, "Thank you, God." After that, he received many presents and, like this, went back home. The sādhus were there, and he told them the whole story. The 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 what you may call dirty work. But first you have to do for Him." That is important. Recording location: Hungary, Budapest, Seminar