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We remember and celebrate Guru Pūrṇimā today. When you look at the sky, there is a half moon; it is not a full moon. So how is it possible that we celebrate Guru Pūrṇimā today? In India, we write the day as Guru Pūrṇimā. I was doing the same in Europe, writing Guru Pūrṇimā on the dates. But today, an Austrian told me, "Old tradition must change. Old culture will die and new culture will begin." I said, "Let's begin with us." I learned that in Western societies, they begin to celebrate Christmas already from the 1st of December. This is because on the actual Christmas day, people are with friends, family, or on holiday. So, we are now doing it five days earlier, one week, five days earlier. Actually, it is called Guru Parva. The Guru Pūrṇimā Parva lasts one month, from the new moon till the full moon and from the full moon till Amāvasyā, the dark moon. So, this whole month is considered as Guru Pūrṇimā. You can say it is like the Christmas season. All markets are open for a long time to remind people that Christmas is coming and is here. For us, it is Guru Pūrṇimā. There are many tales about Guru Pūrṇimā. We also call this Guru Pūrṇimā as Vyāsa Pūrṇimā. Vyāsa is a great saint, a great sage, about whom you can read in the Mahābhārata and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Vedavyāsa belongs to the dynasty of the Pāṇḍavas. Vedavyāsa was the grandfather of Pāṇḍu and the great-grandfather of Arjuna. It is believed that for the first time, the Vedas were dictated and put into written form by him. Before that, the Vedas were only spoken from master to disciple, which means everything was kept in memory. What is in your memory is called Smṛti, and what was spoken is called Śruti—what you heard: Śruti and Smṛti. But Vedavyāsajī was a trikāla darśī, meaning a knower of the past, present, and future. Before he decided to write, a lot of the knowledge of the Vedas was lost. In Kali Yuga now, we will have no memory. Compared to their memory, our memory is 0.010. I can prove it to you now. Take an example: you take a telephone and ask your friend, "Can you please give me that number?" and the friend will dictate. What will you do? You will write. This is the first sign that we do not have memory. We do not even have memory for five seconds. In many cases, you say, "Please, can you repeat once more? 0036 is correct?" and then again you ask, "Can you repeat once more? 5896, slowly please." "5, 9, 6, no, no, 5, 8, 9, 6, moment, 5, 8, oh, I have 5, 8, 6," again you lost it. This is the introduction to our present memory. So, Vedavyāsa knew what would happen, and he wanted the Vedas to be put in written form. But his thoughts and words were so quick that no one could write so quickly. He was looking for someone but was not successful. Then again, he began to pray for the search of someone who could write. So first, we said you should remember Gaṇeśa. Any work you begin, if you would like to be successful, then remember first Śrī Gaṇeśa. Even if his father is there, the first is Gaṇeśa. There is a story: his father was in trouble when he forgot Gaṇeśa, because Śiva did not invite Gaṇeśa for his marriage, so Gaṇeśa created problems. He sent his army—Gaṇeśa and his army is the mouse—and he told the mouse to dig the earth so that they could not go through; all horses and chariots were stuck. Then the father remembered that Gaṇeśa could be successful. So, there are many stories about Gaṇeśa. When Gaṇeśa ... Śiva is marrying Pārvatī, Śiva is making first Gaṇeśa pūjā. This you should ask Paṇḍitjī: how is it possible we call Gaṇeśa a son of Pārvatī? So, was the son first born or after? And if not, then which Gaṇeśa was that whom Śiva made a pūjā to? To understand Gaṇeśa is very hard. He is not only an elephant head, and you know the most beautiful one; it does not matter in which form you see, Gaṇeśa is most beautiful. You will not see any God so beautiful as Gaṇeśa. Now he is available in dancing form and with umbrellas and everything, in dhoti, in lungi. And you know, Gaṇeśa is the remover of obstacles. Anything you begin, first you should remember him. Even when you make your mālā, you will say, "See Gaṇeśa and Nama." When you begin singing bhajan, satsaṅg: "Sumiro ghana nāma Gurū Deva, nāma Gurū Deva, Śeṣa Maheśa, Gaṇeśa." So, ghana nāma means Gaṇeśa. God Gaṇeśa came to Vedavyāsa and said, "Receiver, can I help you?" He said, "I am looking for someone who can write what I dictate. I cannot find anyone. Gaṇeśa, can you find for me someone?" Because Gaṇeśa is also the God of intellect, the God of wisdom, and the God of wealth. Gaṇeśa said, "Before I go to find someone, I think there is no one good enough other than myself. I offer my service to you." But Vedavyāsa said, "I have one condition. I will not stop even for a quarter of a second to think; that means I will not repeat what I have spoken." Why should he not repeat it? Maybe he does not remember what he spoke a few minutes ago? No. It is so as not to waste time. Gaṇeśajī said, "I agree, but I have my conditions too. I will not wait for you even half a second. You should continue the flow." So, Vedavyāsa asked, "How will you do it?" He said, "I know my language, and what do you call this? Shorthand." And from that time, the science of shorthand writing developed, and so the Vedas were written. It is believed the great sage Vyāsa Muni was born on this Pūrṇimā; he is a symbol of pūrṇa, wisdom, and completeness. It is said that no one so wise and perfect has incarnated on this globe until now. Dr. Sital mentioned that even Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva adore and worship the Gurudev. Yes, when you read the Mahābhārata and whenever Vedavyāsa appears, Kṛṣṇa himself washed and worshipped the feet of Vedavyāsa as the highest one, as a guru, and as a saint. One of the reasons we remember and pray is to get that knowledge and that blessing on this full moon. Secondly, guru. "Gu" means darkness, and "ru" means light. It is the first second of the reflection when the light of the sun touches the earth. That is the second constellation of Guru Pūrṇimā. For all bhaktas, the new year begins today. Whatever you practiced for one year, you offer as flowers, a present, or a donation to the Gurudev. You offer your sādhanā to the Gurudev. "Whatever I did, all my sādhanā, I offer to you. Accept it. All fruits and results of my sādhanā, I surrender to you. If you find me worthy enough, then please bless me and give me something." You are cultivating; the master is doing nothing. And you have to surrender and give him back everything, and you get nothing. Good business. But the Gurudev will not keep anything; he will multiply it a thousand percent and give it back to you. It is that bank which will pay you the highest interest; the interest is that your sādhanā benefit will increase day by day. Dindura, Ratha Chogunath. Double in the daytime and four times at night. What can we surrender? Material means nothing. Surrender all your sādhanā. Surrender your confidence. Surrender your life. Surrendering life does not mean that now you can kill me. But remember him in every action. As Pandajī said, when you get up, the first thing you should remember and see is the Gurudev. Do not even drink a cup of tea unless you have brushed, washed yourself, and performed a pūjā. It could be only that you light one flame and an agarbatti; that is all. This is also your pūjā. This is called niyama, discipline. On the day you have forgotten and did not perform any pūjā in the morning, noon, and evening, it means your Gurudev is fasting now. You did not give him a meeting; you locked the door and went on holiday. So, he is not even a flurry. So, when you go on holiday, take his picture with you and perform your pūjā there. Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Summer seminar