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Spiritual seekers, children of the one universal Father, devotees, and aspirants—we are here to understand this life and to know our true Self. You are the Ātmā. You are the Supreme Soul. This Ātmā is Śānti Svarūpa, which means the Ātmā is the very form of peace, and that peace is thyself. It is not merely within you; you are that. This Ātmā is bliss. That divine bliss is thyself. This Ātmā is the happiness we search for day and night. It is immortal; no weapon can kill it, no elements can destroy it, and death cannot take it away. It is immortal, eternal, blissful, and divine. This Ātmā is Ānanda Svarūpa. Ānanda means divine bliss, and Svarūpa means form. Therefore, you yourself are that divine happiness and peace. That is why every being searches day and night for peace and happiness. But that happiness is not outside; it is within you. However, there are barriers between that Ātmā and our present awareness. These are three, known as mala, vikṣepa, and āvaraṇa. Mala means impurity—impurity in eating, physical impurity, emotional impurity, intellectual impurity, mental impurity. This kind of impurity will not let us see the Ātmā clearly. Where there is impurity, love does not come. Where there is impurity, the divine Śakti does not come. Where there is impurity, Mother Sarasvatī, the Goddess of Wisdom, will not come. Therefore, purify, purify, purify. Spirituality means purity. To be pure is to be spiritual. Often we think negatively. Often we give commentary that is not correct. Very often, you hear something from someone and then begin to speak about it. That becomes negative karma for you, and negative karma is like a very big, heavy rock. You have to cross the ocean, and this big rock is hanging from your neck; it will pull you down. Similarly, sometimes in life you come across a rock. You think it is a good friend, a good person, but sooner or later it becomes that rock which pulls you down and will not let you cross the ocean. Through your impure feeling, impure thinking, and negative talk—what we call blackmailing—you develop that rock and tie it to your neck or your foot. Long ago, I saw a poster from Amnesty International. There was a small room like a basement with only one small window, and sunlight was coming in. A pigeon was sitting there, and on its leg was tied a chain connected to a 20-kilo iron ball. The window is open, the light is there, the feeling to fly away is there, the willpower is there, but the 20-kilo weight is too heavy for the pigeon to lift. Like this, many of us are imprisoned by certain qualities which are not our own. Someone else has given them to us through blackmailing. Ten days ago, I was in a beautiful program. First, I had a multi-religious dialogue in London, then there was a large program organized by the Brahma Kumaris with about 5,000 to 10,000 people. Many famous singers and artists were invited to celebrate the birthday of one of the oldest ladies, a leader of the Brahma Kumaris. They call her Dadi, which means grandmother. She spoke a few very nice words. She said, "You have peace in you, and keep this peace in you. In the morning when you get up, just for half a minute or ten seconds or one minute before you get out of your bed, think of peace: śānti, śānti, śānti. This peace will guide you the whole day. Don't listen to others." She said, "When someone begins to talk negatively or about someone else, immediately stop. Do not let other negative thoughts enter you. What will happen? This negative thought will come into you and take your peace away. And the one who brought it will also go away. What will remain? Yourself in darkness, without peace." These were very wise words. When spoken in Hindi, it is an even more beautiful sentence. So, you have peace in you, but much negative gossiping takes you away from it. We are imprisoned by that blackmailing, imprisoned by our emotional problems and intellectual complexes, and we become lost. Therefore, the impurity, mala, will not let you realize the Self. Keep away from impurity, negative thinking, and negative words. --- Recording location: Czech Republic, Prague, Weekend seminar