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You can not reach the Atma without the body

Śrī Gaṇeśa is the deity of auspiciousness and the remover of obstacles. Remember him at the start of any new endeavor to ensure it proceeds without hindrance. Śrī represents prosperity and spirituality, and Gaṇeśa is the lord of all elements and beings. One cannot reach the ultimate reality directly, just as one cannot approach a president without first passing through clerks, or know the soul without the body. Therefore, honor Gaṇeśa as a sacred intermediary. Place his image respectfully in your home. Similarly, holy scriptures are not mere books but the embodied voice of pure souls; only those with pure hearts will find true knowledge within their words.

"Anything you begin in your life and you wish that there should be no obstacles, then remember Gaṇeśa."

"Those whose heart is pure will cause śabda melā, they will find the answer in the words."

Filming location: Vép, Hungary

This sweetness, Maṅgalam, also symbolizes God Gaṇeśa. Gaṇeśa is the God of Ānanda Maṅgalam. He is the God who removes obstacles. So, anything you begin in your life and you wish that there should be no obstacles, then remember Gaṇeśa. When you start something new in your life and you want it to go without obstacles, then remember Gaṇeśa. Remember Gaṇeśa. Śrī is prosperity. Śrī is spirituality. Śrī is Lakṣmī. And Gaṇeśa—Gaṇa is all these creatures. Gaṇeśa, Gaṇa, obliges all creatures. All are devotees of Śiva. And Gaṇeśa—Īśa is Īśvara, so he is the Lord of all elements, and he can remove the obstacles. If he is not remembered, maybe obstacles will come. You see, if you want to approach the president, you cannot directly approach him. You have to go through the small officers and clerks. And if they give a wrong report, you cannot meet him. The one who is sitting on the telephone can avoid your meeting. They can create obstacles. In the whole body, the major thing is the ātmā. But you cannot reach the ātmā without the body. Every limb of the body, every organ of the body, is very important. We cannot neglect them. So, it is symbolic, natural, and cosmic. It is the law, the cosmic principle. So try to remember Śrī Gaṇeśa. Try to think of Śrī Gaṇeśa. Place him in your house. When you enter first, you see him, but do not put him where you put your shoes out, because he is not your shoes' caretaker. Always we have to give respect to the holy symbols, holy pictures, and holy books. Gurū Nānak Sāhib said, "Gurū Granth Ko Maṇi Pragat Gurū Kī Deh." It is said, Gurū Granth, the book of the Gurū Deva, what the Gurū has spoken, the Gurū Vākyas, it is the embodiment of the Gurudev. It is not just a book. Those whose heart is pure will cause śabda melā, they will find the answer in the words. And whose heart is not pure will not get that knowledge. Therefore, these holy books are the embodiment of those holy saints who have written them. That is pavitra ātmā kī āvāj, pavitra, a pure ātmā. Āvāj is the word, the voice, the voice of a pure ātmā, the call of the soul, their pure soul, pure ātmā. So their words are exactly their ātmā. Their words are as pure and exact as the ātmā.

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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