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Part 1: The Soul’s Unaffected Beauty and the Devotion of Surdas Victory to Bhagavān, victory to Devashwara Mahādeva, victory to Dharamsamrata Satguru Svāmījī Madhavānandajī Gurudeva, victory to Satya Sanātana Dharma. Dear brothers and sisters worldwide, welcome to this evening satsang. This prayer comes to you from the āśrama of Mahāprabhujī in Hamburg, Germany, surrounded by beautiful sunshine, lush greenery, and beautiful people. I warmly welcome all of you here, as well as our president of the Ashram Association for Yoga in Everyday Life in Germany, Mantra Purī, Amṛt, and all the committee members and bhaktas. A very good evening to all our viewers—this satsang and its blessings are broadcast from our Śrī Mahāprabhujī Ashram, Yoga in Daily Life, Hamburg. We have enjoyed a wonderfully rich program this week, covering mudrās, bandhas, kriyās, and breathing techniques such as pūrak, recak, kumbhak, bāhir kumbhak, antar kumbhak, jālandhara bandha, ujjāyī prāṇāyāma, and a little about khecarī mudrā, agni cakra, uḍḍiyāna bandha, jālandhara bandha, and mūla bandha. It was a program brimming with techniques and theory, and if all the Hamburg participants practice diligently for one year, perhaps they may even learn to levitate. But the question remains: practice. Discipline. Truly practicing everything. Today we also have the Pepsiḍ ceremony in our Hamburg āśrama, and here sits a bhajan group, our Sevā Purī from Hamburg—he is truly a sevak, one who performs sevā. He has a deep interest in nāḍī yoga, and as you can see, he plays the tabla and other instruments beautifully. We will organize a bhajan band in Germany, perhaps right here in Hamburg, drawing musicians from different countries—Austrians, Czechs, Slovaks, Germans—and we shall see who wins the prize. Three hours of glorious bhajan singing would be wonderful. Now, I hold a text in my hand, but unfortunately it is written in such a way that it is almost unreadable. Still, I wish to reflect on a few words and ponder their meaning. And before that, let me share a story. There was a blind man. We know that if God has not given someone eyes, He has endowed them with many other talents. Many blind people excel in music—playing the piano, sitar, guitar, tabla—and there are saints who have been blind from birth, yet they have memorized all the scriptures: Vedas, Upaniṣads, Rāmāyaṇa, Gītā, and countless other works. They know them so perfectly that people with wide-open eyes wonder, “How does he know all this?” We have not learned it, but God has given them intellect, and they speak flawlessly. There are also people who cannot hear a thing, yet they become the best singers and speakers. It is said that the body may be disabled, but the soul is never disabled. The body can be ill, yet nothing affects the soul, nothing touches the Ātman. So it is a mistake to say, “A healthy body has a healthy mind.” Nowadays one could even call that a form of discrimination. There are people without healthy bodies who are fully awake, conscious, and intellectual, while many know how to keep the body completely healthy. Some sit in wheelchairs, yet they are extraordinarily skilled in graphics and so many other fields. Therefore, a healthy body does not guarantee a healthy mind. In the same way, the body may be somewhat ill or the mind a little disturbed, but the soul is not a sick soul. Some people speak of a “sick soul,” but no, there is no sick soul. Your thoughts are sick when you perceive the soul as sick. Have you seen the soul? Did you, at the vegetable market, examine the souls like monkeys and declare, “This one is good, that one is sick”? No. So never think that sick souls exist. Furthermore, when illness comes, do not take it as punishment. Do not complain to God or think no one can help you. Illness is a task, a life situation that we must—or should—go through. Every illness is a signal, a sign for us to accept it completely with awareness and understanding, and to learn to live with it. Certainly one day you will fully realize your life again and enjoy it on other levels. You see, this body is full of vikāra. Vikāra can mean illness, impurity, or complications—something like rotten eggs. This body is full of vikāra. Interestingly, the bodies of certain animals, especially vegetarian ones, do not start to stink immediately when they die; they do not rot as quickly. Others begin to stink within a few hours, and grain-eaters in particular give off a strong smell very fast. We know that when a person dies, within hours the body is placed in a cold room, and a pendant with a name is attached to a toe—Mr. Müller, such and such, birth and death dates recorded. What is your passport now? A cold room. So, our body is full of vikāra, and we thank God for giving us such beautiful skin that covers everything. If what lies within the stomach were open or transparent, it would be rather unappetizing. Everything in the nose, sinuses, brain, lungs—all of it is full of vikāra. Sometimes allergies or internal conditions manifest through the skin, and for the skin it is very good to use neem powder and make a daily face mask; soon all those pimples and skin problems will improve. Even a biscuit with tea can help cleanse the system. Vikāra—this body is a bag full of vikāra. Nevertheless, the soul dwells in this body—a beautiful soul, utterly remarkable, peculiar, and indescribably radiant. Whether it is a human soul, an animal’s soul, or a mosquito’s soul, it is not about quantity but quality. What shines in this soul is the Ātman, the Self, Eternity. The soul is bound by our actions and destiny; it comes and it goes. The Ātman is ever-present, while the body remains a collection of vikāra: kapha, pitta, and vāta; malla, mūtra, rakta—stool, urine, blood—and many other types of hormones, all contained within this frame. So we thank God that He has arranged everything so attractively—a beautiful package like a chocolate, lovely to behold, though we do not know what lies inside. Now, holy ones, there was a saint who was blind. How can we truly speak of such a person? The blind man was a great saint, and therefore he was called Sūrdās. “Sūr” can mean the sun, a hero, or a servant, a devoted one. Sūrdās was blind, poor, and a tremendous bhakta of Lord Kṛṣṇa. His devotion, his singing, his poetry—full of devotion, longing, and pain. Viraha—viraha is that specific pain of longing, spiritual love, spiritual yearning. And as Sūrdās sang, Lord Kṛṣṇa came to him as a little baby and sat there listening to his bhajans. But how was Sūrdās to know that Kṛṣṇa was sitting there? He was blind. Then Kṛṣṇa said something, and Sūrdās replied, “Do not play with me like that. I know You are sitting in front of me, and You also know that I cannot see with physical eyes; yet I see You, I feel You sitting beside me.” Suddenly people arrived and saw Kṛṣṇa sitting there; when Kṛṣṇa noticed them, He vanished. And there, Sūrdās sang a beautiful bhajan: Mana taḍapata Hari darśana ko āja. My mind, O Lord, is suffering so restlessly and painfully today—for what? Because I long for Hari darśana, to behold my God, Hari, Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa. Mandira mandira mūrata terī, In every temple there is a statue of You, O Kṛṣṇa. Bina dekhe sūrata terī, mana nahīṁ dhīraja. Yet, without seeing Your face, I find no comfort. Your statue stands in every temple, O my Beloved, but I find no radiance in Your face, no light for my eyes. Leave my eyes alone until every heart is filled—O my Lord, do not hide Yourself, as if closing Your eyes and wandering here and there. Ghaṭa ghaṭa ke vāsī—You who dwell in every heart, You reside in all. Ghaṭa means heart, vessel—ghaṭākāśa, maṭakāśa, hṛdayākāśa, cidākāśa, ākāśa, mahākāśa. Do you remember when I spoke of these? Not yesterday, but Friday. So, ghaṭa ghaṭa ke vāsī—the One who dwells in every heart. O Kṛṣṇa, You live in every heart. And Mīrābāī also says, Maiṁ ākhyāṁ pyāsī re Hari darśana ko āja—today my eyes are thirsty to see God. So Sūrdās, the saint, sings, and Kṛṣṇa sits beside him, listening to songs penned by Sūrdās, overflowing with devotion and love. God comes to us; we need not travel anywhere. It is love that brings realization, nothing else. But if you play back and forth with your love, you will become lost. Only those who truly know what this love is understand it. This love permeates all matter; it is not in the body, not in matter itself. It is extremely subtle, invisible—yet it is there. You may say, “Lord, I do not see You,” yet still I know who You are. Sūrdāsji also said: Prabhujī merī avaguṇa citta na dharo. My Lord, please do not take my faults into Your attention, do not notice my mistakes. Perhaps I have made so many errors. Avaguṇa—guṇa means quality, good quality; avaguṇa means bad quality. Sūrdās the blind one did nothing else his entire life; his whole existence was solely one thing: God’s name, devotion. Day and night he sang His name and composed poems, so perfect, so beautiful. There is no music school in India that does not sing the songs of Sūrdās, of Mīrā, of Kabīrdās, and so on. And this beautiful song is a favorite of many, many musicians—a best musician himself, he sings with a voice that brings tears to the listeners’ eyes. When they sing, the voice becomes a divine voice—unlike mine, like a broken bamboo flute. Prabhujī merī avaguṇa citta na dharo—my Lord, please do not hold my faults in Your mind. Forgive my poor eyes, but see my good qualities. And when we pray to God for forgiveness, it means the Lord removes our sins; avaguṇa also means sins. Thus, the sacred Gaṅgā, right at the beginning of Satya Yuga, descended to this planet to wash away all impurities. Brahmā subdued the Gaṅgā here on this earth. Samadarśī tihe nāma tihāru—O my Lord, Your name is “Equal Vision,” because You see no duality, no dualism. Samadarśī: equal vision, equality. Whether it is a president or a low-ranking official, a human is a human, and in the end both go beneath the earth or into the fire. Do we say, “This is the president, so we must throw his ashes a little higher into the sky”? Everyone must pass through the same door, no matter who they are. With the same vision, O Lord, You are the One who sees all as one, with the same eyes, with the same love. Prabhujī merī avaguṇa citta na dharo. Samadarśī tihe nāma tihāru, cāho to pāra karo, maiṁ nā terī hāra. Whenever You wish, You can bring me and my boat to the other shore, to the mainland. If You so desire, You can certainly liberate me, grant me mokṣa. The decision rests in Your hands. I can only say, “Please forgive my faults.” And now there is an example I shared yesterday: the story of the touchstone, the pāras stone. Do you remember? He says: one piece of iron is worshipped—it is loha, a piece of iron like a bell or a knife used to cut prasāda, or a triśūla considered sacred. Here on the altar for pūjā, one piece of iron lies and is prayed to. The second piece of iron is a knife at a butcher’s shop, perhaps from the very same batch. One became a bell for pūjā, the other a knife that has killed many innocent animals. It was the same iron that went in and came out. The difference lies in quality, effect, and usage. The pāras stone does not see qualities or lack of qualities; pāras does not notice guṇa or avaguṇa, good or bad. Pāras does not discriminate. Kanchan it truly makes—pāras has its own dharma and instantly transforms iron into gold, kanchan, kanchan. So, God comes to us. Love brings realization. And this love is subtle, invisible, yet present everywhere. May the blessings of this satsang be with you all. Part 2: Mere Augun Chitta Na Dharo Kāñcana is gold. Kāñcana karata kharo. Prabhujī, do not hold my mind in faults. O Lord God, please, keep in your mind, do not notice my mistakes. O Lord, forgive my mistakes. Forget them. Do not hold them in your chitta. Do not hold it in your mind. Let it flow out. A devotee provides proof, instruction to God—indirectly: Do not keep this in your mind. But that is love. It is like the saw, cutting both sides, in going and coming. Where there is transformative love, both sides exist. Prabhujī, in my eyes, Chittanadhāra is said to be of two kinds: one is a river that flows, and the other is a sewer, dirty water. Melo hi Nirbharjo, in the sewer there is dirty water, sewage water. When the two rivers have met—but when this canal merges into the river—Sursarī Naham Pariyo Dann does not say this is sewage; Sursarī is a sacred river and no one says this is sewage water, but rather Sursarī water. Many, many sewage waters flow into the Gaṅgā, but we do not see it as dirty water because the Gaṅgā purifies everything. Similarly, oh Lord, it may be that my consciousness, my actions, are like this sewage water, but my consciousness was anchored in Your consciousness; then I am no longer that sewage. Eka jīva, eka brahma, sūra śyāma jagādu—Lord, one is the jīva, the individual soul, and the second is Brahman, the Self, the highest Self. Brahman, Sūra Śyāma jagādu, Lord God, this is my struggle between you and me. Sūra is the sun, and Śyāma is Kṛṣṇa. So Sūrya says to Kṛṣṇa, this is it, the strike is for this reason—this is what the strike is about. But Lord, one day: Aba kī bāra mohipara uttāro, Lord, this time, this time in this life please, let me cross over, let me cross over. Ocean of Māyā, ocean of illusion, ocean of unreality. I do not want to get involved in this dispute about Jīva and Brahma and all that. I only want one thing. Aba kī bāra mohipara uttāro—Lord, this time in my life, please help me to get through. Otherwise, my prāṇa is leaving, I am dying. Prabhujī, “Mere augun chitta na dharo, mana” is sung very beautifully. It is such a beautiful song. Indescribable. And what is indescribable? The feelings. And these are the feelings—devotion, respect, beauty, and lamentation—also from a surrendered one to God or to Bhagavān, to Gurujī. And so it is. This is a very beautiful bhajana. Next time, we will write a little better so that you can learn more effectively. Because Śiva Purī was singing, and I did not understand at all what he was singing. But thank God, I received a text, although it is a bit misspelled. It is, Gajanana has tried to do well, but that is only for a mind like Gajanana’s. We should know that our head is like his head. That is it. Thank you. So we will stick to the usual language corrections. Very good. Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān’s, Devīśvara Mahādeva’s, Mādhava Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān’s, and the eternal Satya Sanātana Dharma’s next bhajana will be at Pīṭe Sevapurī with Ānandī Sāvitrī and the entire bhajana band, not this LB, Andre. So you will have bhajana singing for half an hour, then I will come to you, okay? Have you already had dinner this evening? Not yet? Let’s do it this way. Those who haven’t eaten yet, slowly disappear from the back and eat. Then come back again. Satsaṅga continues with bhajana band. Okay? Good. Let’s do both. Satsaṅga. Hungry, I worship You, O Gopāla, this garland of Your radiance—one says: hungry, I worship You, O Gopāla, this garland of Your radiance. O Gopāla is Kṛṣṇa; with an empty stomach, I cannot meditate. I cannot practice mantra on an empty stomach; there is your mālā, you should use Kṛṣṇa. And the bhakta says, with an empty stomach I cannot meditate, here is your mālā, you can do it, I am leaving. That is so. Okay. Oṃ Kholi Śrī Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavāne Kī Jaya, Śrī Śrī Dīpa Puruṣa Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Śrī Mādhava Kṛṣṇa Bhagavāne Kī Jaya. Oṃ Kholi Śrī Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Śrī Śrī Dīpa Puruṣa Mahādeva Kī Jaya. Jodhase Jodha Jagam … It is beneath the wind. So, bhajanas were beautifully sung, and the portion of the Guru Gītā was also very beautiful. Gītā means singing. Glory in Kali Yuga is easier for people to achieve their goal through bhakti yoga or devotion. Unfortunately, now many people are also losing bhakti. It has been said, Kali Yuga is solely based on the Name—countless countless beings are immersed in worldly existence. Kali Yuga is solely based on the Name. The only support we have in Kali Yuga is the Name of God, the Mantra. Every mantra is a name of God, of the highest principles. Sumara sumara narahoya bhavapāra—O people, through meditation and repetition, you can cross this ocean of ignorance. Sumara sumara narahoya bhavapāra. Kali Yuga kevalaṃ nāma ādhāra. But it is also said that when Kali Yuga comes to an end, people will behave even worse than animals. The habit of a person, how they behave, their ethics and morals will suffer, aggression will increase more and more, which means again the qualities of the rākṣasa arise, the demon. A person completely loses what is called grace from the human heart. Every living being has love and grace, but very limited. And in the human heart, through human consciousness, the intellect in the heart moves only patience, love, or grace. Grace—what we say is Kṛpā, Kṛpānidhāna—O Lord, You are gracious, and this is in the human heart. Grace also means forgiveness, understanding, possession, guidance, help—what we call God’s grace, God’s grace realized through the human heart in this world. And when a person loses grace with feeling, cruelty arises. A word like cruelty encompasses all negative qualities and all the harm a person can inflict—to be cruel. And then it is the end of the Kali Yuga. We still have several generations to wait. But it is as I said, when in winter in Hamburg, in the month of January, early January, with a clear sky, dark night, and suddenly at 6 o’clock in the morning or half past 6, you see a dawn, a light. And dawn is hope. So now the question is, at which dawn? And so the Kali Yuga is already on the distant horizon as dawn. The side of sunset, evening light. Agnideva, are you leaving already? All the best. And so the disciple of Mahāprabhujī, Maṅgīlāljī, writes a beautiful bhajana about the end of the world—when and how it will be, and who will be nothing but a victim of it. He says, be certain, Gurudeva will come to take you beforehand. So, which soul will automatically unite with Parabrahma? And thus, in the Kali Yuga, one observes behavior from one person to another, from one individual to another, within families, with children, parents, partners, teachers, students, business partners, and so forth. One sees that the hunger of desire, which is called greed, has no end. And so, human believes, business, business … money, money, money. And Jesus clearly told his disciples and the people, you shall not believe in the false god. You said gold, you worship gold as God. And when that happens, then you have lost the path. And the time has come again, my business is everything. Damn it, I can run a train on that. Say it exactly, persistently. And this is a dance of the Kali Yuga. And so, they are still safe and will come and will be forgiven. The qualities of Mahāprabhujī are the support of the mind; God will not overlook our very small, small mistakes. He will forgive or purify. Small mistakes, like having ice cream at night. He will forgive you; you won’t get any cavities in your teeth. And so it is. Thus, bhajanas are also a path of spiritual development. A spoken poem: Āga lāgī ākāśe, jara jara girata aṅgārā—in the sky there is now fire, fire has broken out. Jara jara … aṅgārā—and great glowing embers, fiery glow, fall into this world. If the sādhu, the holy one, had not existed in this world, then the entire world would have completely burned. And so fire signifies this negativity. Anger, hatred, envy, greed, jealousy, cruelty. And so, chanting sessions and spiritual courses with a spiritual person are a support. And the fire will fall. And now people are not content on this planet. They have pretty much destroyed this planet and now they want to destroy the other planets as well. Going to Mars. Who will Mars here to Mars? Can one think about how one should live there? Ah yes, rebirth, that is something different. In other forms, in other elements. Badstatwa, there is nothing there. And have you ever thought about how all these people will be transported there? So, that is a greed of a person. This is a hunger, or one might say, a bottomless glass. Gives in, gives everything, flows out. Where is it necessary for all this to be done, and why is it that poor people in many, many countries suffer, have no medicine, no this, no water, and so on? Our planet would be so beautiful and people would be so happy. Everyone has food, drink, clothing, work, everything. No, that is not what we want. Tax evasion and factories and guns and killing. What is this? What does this mind truly want now? We are now witnessing so many storms; this has only caused dementia. Day by day we see the desert, how the desert grows. No green leaves to be seen. And so it is, as an Indian once said: The last tree will be cut down or lost, and the last fish will die. Oh man, human, you will see, then akelai will rage, your Viveka will awaken. You cannot eat your dollar or your euro-dollar. You cannot eat gold either. A man had a desire to attain a siddhi, perfection. And he went into the forest and meditated and meditated. God, God … God. So then God said, Śiva came and said, well, should I go to him after all? He said, yes, my child, what do you wish for? He said, are you God? He said, “Haja, then why do you ask what I desire?” You know everything. And God, she said, yes, I know, but I want to hear it from your mouth. And so many people come to me and say, Swāmījī, but I don’t need to say anything, you know everything. And when I say something, they say it is wrong, that they did not wish for it. That is it, that is a trick of play. So I say, I really don’t know what you mean. So God has said, how beautiful it can be. Give me a CD, God, a supernatural power. Whatever I touch turns to gold, like the Parīśa. God has said, are you sure that you want all the gold? You said, yes, Gold, I am, God said, okay, Lord Jung. God has gone home, and the man has gone home. And when his grandchild comes, grandfather, grandfather, and the grandfather embraces him. The grandchild is adorned in gold. He stands there, the gold is gone. When the second one comes, Grandfather, what happens to him? He too has become gold. And now Grandfather said, I am thirsty. Take water and a glass; water is gold, the glass is gold. I am hungry, he takes chapātī, it is gold. Everything it touches turns to gold. Well, that is it. That is the Māyā. Well, his wife has arrived. And the great-grandmother has also become gold. And now his son and everyone who comes does not come closer. She says, please leave the house. So he went back again and said, God, please, what have you done to me? God has come and said, I have done nothing at all. You wanted that. That was your wish. And so, God said, please help me. Then God said, alright, now everything will return to normal. Go home. Come home, touch everyone, everything has become normal. So, what becomes human, becomes … becomes …? And so it began, greed. In the Satyuga, the Devas and Rākṣasas began to churn the ocean, how do you say? Whirling. Whirling. And then came poison. People say, this is a fairytale, what’s going on. The Indians have a concept; in the Purāṇa, poison appears. It had come as blue poison, like smoke. And now, when you see, the Americans have drilled these, and now these poisons do not know what to do. Now we need Śiva. And that was, and is, and will be. And so, we have an inner struggle. We churn ourselves up inside. And so, whoever stirs like this, the next one in life will be stirred as well. Big teeth, cracking nuts. So, bhakti, devotion, love, and grace. Grace dwells in the human heart. Towards all living beings. And so Satsaṅga is where one learns, and you know, there are few swans, but many crows are present. There are few diamonds, but many stones and large rocks are present. So, there are few bhaktas, truly seekers. All the others who want to do yoga and this and that, do they actually want to do it themselves? Someone asked me, Master, do you know leg yoga? Yes. A leg yoga. And now, if there is such a thing as leg yoga, this might be an advertisement. When you come to the yoga class, in the anteroom there is a girl, like on an airplane, in first class, business class, coming with the tray, with water and juice and wine and so on. And she is standing there with the wine. Practice like this, enter there and receive wine. Then it is subtle, and inside you can fully feel the wine. During the break, we will have another sip of clarified butter. And when the course is finished, everyone sits together and drinks, and then they go home. And so it is. This wine tasting is blessed, complete your good guṇas. And so it is today. Everyone says something, claiming that this is Yoga. Well, because Copywriter Śiva and Śiva say nothing at all. But thank God that we have our yoga in daily life, a system, and our yoga teachers and future ones who will follow all these principles. And we have a licensing system because we want quality. And there is no compromise on quality. So, that is all for today. I wish you all the best. And tomorrow is a holiday for me. Śiva Day. And on Tuesday there will be another webcast. 9:30 in the evening. So we will see what the topic will be. Until then, I wish you all the best. A beautiful Sunday evening and God’s blessings to you. Until next time. Adio.