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Christmas Satsang

A Christmas satsang on spiritual discipline and universal realization.

"God-realization, or liberation, is not limited to any culture, country, or any part of the world. It is universal."

"Your Ātmā is a very VIP, a very important person. And now, your Buddhi, your intellect—the main duty of your intellect is to guard your Ātmā from Kāma, Krodha, Mada, Lobha, and Moha."

Swami Ji addresses the gathering on the occasion of Christmas, emphasizing the universal call of divine incarnations like Jesus. He explains that true celebration requires following the teachings, which involves the disciplined purification of inner enemies like desire, anger, and jealousy. Using analogies like a cat hunting a mouse and the story of Narada searching for Krishna, he stresses that intellect must guard the soul, and that spiritual festivals remind humanity of love and unity.

Recording location: Austria, Vienna, Christmas Satsang

Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ and Bhagavān kī Jaya. I am very happy to see you all on this very special occasion of Christmas, that you all came. Indeed, this is the first Christmas satsaṅg in Gurujī's āshram, and you are most welcome. The glory of Christmas we all know because we know the Bible. The real sense of celebrating Christmas can only be if we follow the teaching of Jesus, the Holy Saint. Every spiritual festival or occasion has a great meaning, not only for humans but for the entire planet. Whenever that spiritual, divine soul manifests on this globe, it is not only for a particular person or a particular part of the world, but for the whole world. God's incarnation is for everyone. God-realization, or liberation, is not limited to any culture, country, or any part of the world. It is universal. Therefore, this spiritual realization, God-realization, or Brahmajñāna self-realization is for everyone if we follow the principles or the rules. Spirituality needs more discipline and continuity. Worldly people, out of worldly desires, many times change their feelings, meaning they break their discipline. Spirituality is a very rich food, and this everyone cannot digest. In order to be successful, we need discipline. First, we have to become free from those negative powers which are within our phenomenon: that is Kāma, Krodha, Mada, Lobha, Moha, and Ahaṅkāra. Kāma, Krodha, Mada, Lobha, Moha, Ahaṅkāra: the passion, anger, attachment, greediness, and ego, selfishness. If you have not purified this, there is a door closed for you, no matter how long you are practicing. It is hard work to change the inner feelings, the Prakṛti. We cannot change the Prakṛti, but we can purify it; we can give the judgment. Otherwise, Prakṛti is like this. There is a dog or a cat, and you feed your cat or your dog vegetarian. As soon as the cat will see the mouse, she will attack the mouse. She will kill the mouse; she will eat the mouse. In that minute, she doesn't think that she is a vegetarian. But there is a difference between a cat and a human. So, humans for some time say, "I don't want anything, only spirituality and meditation." But when some temptation comes, then this inner desire of the cat attacks. And then you forget again all your pure consciousness, purities, pure thinking, pure actions. Temptation and desires have destroyed many, many people. Therefore, we have to observe ourselves; we have to guard ourselves like there is a security, a very tight security, and they have to guard the entire house from near and from far distance for one person or more persons. So, Ātmā, which is residing within us, is that; it is a VIP. Your Ātmā is a very VIP, a very important person. And now, your Buddhi, your intellect—the main duty of your intellect is to guard your Ātmā from Kāma, Krodha, Mada, Lobha, and Moha. Otherwise, years and years of practice are destroyed. I see many day by day; many people, out of their weakness, they have no willpower. This inner enemy attacks them, and again they are lost. When the cat sees the mouse, she forgets, as I told before, that she is a vegetarian. But not only this, she also forgets what is Ahiṃsā. And one cannot follow Ahiṃsā unless one does not know what Ahiṃsā means. That Ahiṃsā you should have towards thyself. Put yourself in the place of the mouse, and then you will see what it means when the cat attacks you. Therefore, in the Holy Bible it says, "Thou shalt not kill," not only humans but all other creatures. Suffering, pain for a living being who is living in the five-element body, who has a Prāṇa, is not easy. We are afraid of a small injection. So what can you imagine when the cat bites a living mouse? That time the mouse prays and gives the suggestion to the cat, "Thou shalt not kill." But that cat doesn't listen to this because it is so nice, that nature. So many people, they fell into the temptation. Even they go to the pilgrim place and they fell into the temptation and lose their path. They go to India and they fell in certain temptation; they lose the path. And not only oneself but also confuses others; there is a double sin. Therefore, we have to learn. We have to learn and remember those holy souls or holy incarnations who incarnated in this world. They manifested their divinity here, their divine form here, and they were going also through great difficulties. Because who comes in this world? This world is a suffering world; it is a mortal world, not an immortal one; it is a mortal one. But in this mortal body we can achieve the immortality of the realization. So wise are they, wise are they who overcome Kāma, Krodha, Mada, Lobha, Moha, Ahaṅkāra, and Īrṣā, Dveṣa. Īrṣā means the jealousy, and Dveṣa means the duality. But the Dveṣa of the duality here means quarreling, not only the duality but with hate. You divide with hate something. That's called Īrṣā. And in whose heart is Īrṣā, there all negative qualities are residing in the heart or the consciousness of that person. So the holy festivals like Christmas or Dīvālī, Rakṣā Bandhan or Eid, or in Judaism there are also some holidays, in Islam, in Buddhism—every religion has beautiful spiritual days. And these days are reminding us about love and unity. Only love can bring unity. Where there is īrṣā or dveṣa, jealousy and duality, there cannot be unity. The problem is this: we have heard this thing many times, but īrṣā is so intensive. Īrṣā is so intensive that it is like a needle in the heart. I was thinking; I was in the hospital recently, you know, and they gave me an injection here in the vein with a needle, and I was thinking to bend my arm, you know, and the needle was telling me, "No, no." And so īrṣā is a needle in the heart. The person who has īrṣā knows this; it doesn't matter who it is. If I tell Madhu to speak something, Erika will be very jealous, and that is the īrṣā. "Why does Swāmījī tell Madhu to speak?" This kind of quality immediately shows that you are still at the zero point. You are nowhere. Yesterday I was watching a video a little bit about Kṛṣṇa. There is a new, nice story about God Kṛṣṇa, and people said, "Very nice, very nice," so I wanted to see it. I saw the first episode, and there were some questions. There was Bhakti; she was crying because her two sons were suffering very much in Kali Yuga. The sons of Bhakti are Jñāna and Vairāgya. In Kali Yuga, there is very little Jñāna and Vairāgya in us, so Jñāna and Vairāgya are suffering in us. And when Jñāna and Vairāgya are suffering, then Bhakti is very unhappy, and she is crying because she is lost. So the son of Brahmā, the great sage Nārada, he promised Bhakti to find the answer for how Jñāna and Vairāgya can be happy again and young. You will be surprised that when you see the pictures of the goddesses, different gods, either male or female in Indian mythology, they always look very young and beautiful. It looks like a young girl, about 20 years, 25 years, and she is a grandmother or great-grandmother. And we say, "Why? How is it possible?" Because where there is spirituality, there is youthfulness all the time; you are never old. And when you lose this, suddenly you have no more aura; you have no more charisma. Very often I see people who fall into some wrong direction through temptation. Then I often tell the people, "Now you see the aura of this person." So, whoever is very spiritual is always young, always beautiful. But Jñāna and Vairāgya were very old and suffering and crying. They even couldn't get up because in Kali Yuga, Jñāna is knowledge and Vairāgya is detachment. Anyhow, Nārada went to search for God Kṛṣṇa in the universe, because you never know where Kṛṣṇa is playing his Līlā somewhere, on which lokas, on which planet. Kṛṣṇa was playing, dancing with the gopīs, and Nārada was running throughout the entire universe, but he couldn't see Kṛṣṇa anywhere. And Kṛṣṇa was smiling and saying to the gopī, to Rādhā, "Oh, I have to go." She said, "Where?" Rādhā said, "Where?" He said, "My one bhakta is searching for me and suffering. But you know, he had a great ego. That's why I am not appearing to him. And I have to give him punishment." So the master always gives punishment to the disciple to destroy the ego of the disciple. If you are the right disciple, then the ego will be destroyed; you will be free. If you are not right, then you will leave the master and go somewhere, lost in the universe. So the master has to be strict, but it is with love. Anyhow, Nārada was searching for Kṛṣṇa in the universe, and then the merciful Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared to Nārada and asked what he needed or for what he called. So we are in this universe searching, and in this Mṛti Loka we are here and searching for that Kṛṣṇa of our ātmā, our inner self. But that you cannot see; you cannot have ātma-jñāna, self-realization, as long as you will have this ahaṅkāra, ego, kāma, krodha, mada, lobha, moha. So, it is a clear answer for you and for me. If I have in my heart these qualities, then I know my door is closed. So, you need not ask, "Master, do I have jealousy or not?" "Swāmījī, am I jealous?" I said, "No, you are not." I go, "How could it be possible that you are jealous? No, no." "You think I am selfish, Swāmījī?" I said, "No, no, no, ... you are never selfish. Only your body is selfish, you know." So this is, you know what you have. Don't ask someone. If you ask someone, "How beautiful am I?" do you think they will say you are ugly? If you ask me how beautiful you are, I will say, "Oh, very beautiful." I will not say you are ugly. Therefore, it is a blind one who is that. An ignorant one is that one who asks others, "You think that I am jealous? You think I am selfish? No." You know very well. Don't ask others; ask thyself. And so the holy days—Christmas, the incarnation day of Jesus, or Kṛṣṇa, or Rāma, or Buddha—this all has a message for humanity and positive energy for the entire planet to protect the whole planet, to protect all the elements, to protect the vegetation, rivers, lakes, oceans, and all creatures. God is for everyone, and therefore there are no dualities, no boundaries, no limitations. There is no limitation in God's love. God's love is free, endless; everyone can have it. A beautiful lake, a beautiful lake or a beautiful clean river is flowing, and everyone can drink water who wants to drink water. When a river is flowing and if you are drinking water and another one also comes to drink and you are jealous, then you know how far you are. So, that cat does not know about Ahiṃsā because this cat is only acting according to its nature. But for humans, God has given intellect, and we shall use this; use your intellect. Use something which God has given us between the two ears here. And that is our brain. And in the brain is everything. So in this way, Kṛṣṇa's tree, in the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, God Kṛṣṇa said very clearly about the tree. And this tree is a human life or life. And the branches are our limbs. And every leaf of the tree are the hymns, the mantras, the names of God. And our actions are the fruits which are hanging on the tree, good things. And the light is the glory of our deeds. We are born here to bring the light, to be the light in darkness. "Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya," lead us from the darkness to the light. This is the Upaniṣad's mantra: "Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, mṛtyor mā amṛtam gamaya," lead us from mortality to immortality, and "Asato mā satyam gamaya," lead us from unreality to reality. From unreality to reality, from mortality to immortality, and from the darkness of ignorance to knowledge and light, we can only proceed if we follow the divine teachings of those holy incarnations, like Jesus, who came and suffered but still remained on his path. For me, Jesus is an idol, an example for me. What kind of example? This is it. Jesus is a great example. And that great example for me is this: whatever happened, he didn't change his path. He did not change his opinion, even though he had to suffer on the cross. But he remained for God, for the truth, and with a great heart of forgiveness. So, it doesn't matter what happened. Hunger, thirst, pain, suffering, name, fame—always. And that reminds me when I sing that song, or when you sing the song, I remember Jesus very much. And that is "Miltā hai sacchā sukh, keval palṭā hai sacchā sukh ke, Bhagavān āpke charaṇoṁ, Gurudev āpke." And afterwards in this song, it is said, "Even if I have to walk on thorns, even if I have to go through the fire, still, Lord, I will be for you, because I know." And that's what God, Jesus, suffered to bring this message of peace, love, and unity. And so, for me, Christmas is a very clear picture of the path to reality, to realization, to follow the Master truthfully, not just to eat cakes and sweets and make business. So, Christmas tree, you are the Christmas tree. Everyone who comes to you should find something under this tree. Everyone who takes shelter in you should find love, forgiveness, understanding, not rāga and dveṣa, not jealousy, and not dualities. And quiet, purify, calm krodha, mada, lobha, moha, and ahaṅkāra, and jealousy—all of this. So, this time is called like Dīvālī pakṣa, like this is a Christmas pakṣa. This is the time. We don't know exactly on which day he was really incarnated, I mean Jesus. But this is the time, more or less, and this light because of the darkness. But if you think the Christmas tree light is because it is dark here in Europe, what about Australia? It is the longest day now and hot. So, Australians also celebrate Christmas. Christmas is celebrated around the whole world, and you will be surprised: the largest community of Catholics is living in India, more than in Europe, you will be surprised, and the largest community of Islam is living in India except Indonesia. So, Christmas, God's light, God's name is everywhere throughout the whole world, so we can't say from where it is. And this incarnation of Jesus came from the East, so I am always smiling inside that the evening lands or the urban land, or that is European, that is a European religion. It is not a European religion; it is an Eastern religion. But we don't think so far. So, anyhow, it doesn't matter—East or West, North or South, everywhere—because sooner or later the sun will rise here and also set in this part of the world. So, it is everywhere. So, it is nicely said: when the first sun ray reaches that land, it becomes the holy land. So, I wish you many, many blessings of God, Jesus, and all holy incarnations, that these days will give you sāttvika buddhi, good intellect, that you will forget all your enemies, the mistakes of all others, forgive them, love them, give them understanding, and purify your heart. Bless your family, your friends, and your country, and I wish you a very happy, prosperous, and healthy New Year. And, of course, we will see each other many times. So, it depends when we will see. We can say that we will see, but we don't know what happens in the coming days. So, let's be happy together as long as Mahāprabhujī's blessing is that we are together. So, I wish you all the best and thank you for coming. And we made satsaṅg instead of on Sunday today, so you can travel back home peacefully today. And satsaṅg was earlier so that you can come home peacefully before the snow and rain, and the weather is changing. Still, please drive carefully because already this Saturday many people are celebrating Christmas. And you know, many fewer people drink chai, but more drink another kind of juice, and that is grape juice. And it is very interesting. Grapes are pure fruit. It is a fruit for everyone. If the goddess likes to eat the fruits, but the juice of the fruit is also the essence, that is very, very good. But wine, now you see, is also the juice of the grapes, but the prakṛti has changed. So, now that wine becomes more harmful because the prakṛti changed. Similarly, you are a human, but when your prakṛti is changed, then you become harmful for yourself and for others also. So, today many people will also be on the way, so take care. And the Austrian friends were asking me, "What should we cook, where should we cook?" I said, "Don't make the cooking business because so many people will be in difficulty." So they were unhappy that we are not giving food. I said, "No, no," but still they made a lot of bakery, so we thank them. Recording location: Austria, Vienna, Christmas Satsang

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.

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