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This evening, our topic is how to develop spirituality while living a normal, family life and working in offices. What should we renounce, and what need we not renounce? What is renunciation? This is very important to know for many people, especially in this century, in such a modern life, in this Kali Yuga. Is there hope for us to achieve the highest goal, which is spoken of, described, and guided by the great saints of the world? Are these only empty words? If these are only fairy tales, or is this the reality? Yes, it is a reality. It is a reality, and those saints who attained Self-realization, who attained God-realization, who saw God in different forms—those saints will not lie. If Jesus speaks about the Holy Father, or a Hindu saint speaks about Īśvara, Parameśvara, Brahman, or a Muslim speaks of Allāh, this is not a fairy tale; it is reality. Therefore, how can we realize that highest truth in this world? Our beloved Holy Gurujī, His Holiness Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī of Rajasthan, India, said: "Enter the kingdom of the Lord through the gate of sacrifice." Now, Tyāga. Mahātmā Gandhījī said, "Renounce and enjoy." What does it mean to enjoy? Not this worldly life. All worldly enjoyment is temporary. These are the empty bubbles on the water. That enjoyment has little joy and more suffering. Then, what do you think you enjoy? But a great personality like Mahātmā Gandhījī said, "Enjoy." What is the best that you can enjoy? It is very hard to find out what you can enjoy. Think over what brings you the joy which you can call, "I enjoy that joy." That enjoyment we are searching for throughout our whole life. And that enjoyment is called contentment. jab āī santosh dhan, sab dhan dhūl samān. You may have thousands of elephants as your property—Gajadhana. Now, in Kali Yuga, we are not capable of keeping even one elephant, but there were rich people who could take care of thousands of elephants: Gajadhana, Vajradhana. They had golden birds, or Ratnadhana Khāna, and they were the owners of the mines of diamonds and precious stones. But they had no peace in their heart; they had no joy from that. When contentment comes, the satisfaction, then that happiness, that joy is indescribable. Many are searching for joy. What is the best way to enjoy? There is one little story, which you might laugh at—what kind of story I bring in between. Or should I leave it? Should I tell it? Okay. There was an emperor we call Bahādur Shāh, the Turk, who came to India and ruled. They were known as Bahādur Shāh. So, one of the Badshah’s secretaries was very clever, very wise, and very good—the best advisor. His name was Birbal. Birbal always used his viveka, and it was very, very sharp, just like a knife. And Bādshāh sometimes didn’t like it. Many times Bādshāh told him, "Go away from me. I will not see you anymore. You lost your position. Go." He said, "Okay," and he went away. After a few days or months, Bādshāh needed him so much. Nobody could help him, so he said, "Please come back," many, many times. So the Bādshāh asked Birbal a question: "Birbal, what is the best that we can enjoy? I would like to enjoy something. What is the best?" Birbal said, "Go to the toilet." Oh, my God. The Bādshāh became so angry. "Always you put such things in front of me. You insult me. You should have said something—dancing, and let the dance and music and drinking or something, enjoying. Eat something good, play some games, go swimming, go out." Birbal said, "Okay, sir, truth is truth. You want to enjoy, and that’s what I want to tell you, but where do you enjoy?" Okay, after some time, again the Bādshāh invited Birbal to work. After three years passed, one day Birbal organized a beautiful evening with some dance and many, many things. Before going to this program, they invited many other guests. Birbal offered the Bādshāh a little bite—meaning what you call a finger bite, something to eat. They always like nice things, pakodas or this and that. And Birbal put in those pakodas sonāmukhī (a laxative). You know all the sonāmukhī? Yes? Say it a little louder. That’s it, because we are on the internet; people should know there is someone who is sponsoring. Now, they went. There was a beautiful hall, a very beautiful audience, and many VIPs sitting. Someone was playing sitar and tablas, and someone was dancing. Well, after two hours or one and a half hours, the Bādshāh said, "Birbal, where is the nearest toilet?" Birbal didn’t listen. "Birbal, yes, your highness, where is the nearest toilet?" He said, "Ah, wait, enjoy, your highness, enjoy." "I have such a spasm in my stomach. I must go." Birbal said, "That is not enjoying. This is enjoying." He said, "It doesn’t matter. I must go." He went and came back. Birbal said, "Why did you leave this enjoyment?" He said, "Now I agree. To go to the toilet is more enjoyable than this joy, you know?" So when we speak about enjoyment, what do we mean by enjoyment? Āyurveda says the first happiness is a healthy life. The second is that you have some kind of material means so that you can welcome the guest and offer them something to eat. If you have nothing, you can’t do anything. The third happiness is that you have your own milk cow, your own milky cow, so that you have fresh and good milk. The fourth happiness, chauthā sukh: a good neighbor. A good neighbor is like your family member. Otherwise, many of you know how your neighbors are, upstairs or downstairs or to the side. You want to sleep, and they play loud music. You want to play with the high heels? Ladies walking in the kitchen, "tuck, tuck," midnight, so high heels must have rubber down. Often we hear in the corridor, they go like this. "No, ahimsā." You should write on the door, "No high-heel shoes, please." The fifth happiness: istrī ājñākārī—your wife or your husband, an obedient partner. That your partner has a mutual understanding with you and is not quarreling every day. Many times the man comes home late from the office, and he makes overtime because he doesn’t want to come home and see who is waiting for him. So, ladies, when your husband is coming home late, then you should know who is guilty: he or you. And there are some who are longing, looking forward to coming home, and someone is waiting with a warm heart. Obedience, or a partner who has a mutual understanding. And the next happiness is children who are also obedient, who also follow you, understand you, and love you. Many of you have children, but you don’t have that happiness because the children went to kuśaṅga (bad company). In this Kali Yuga, it’s a big plus point if your children have a good education, they love you, and you love them. So what is happiness? Mahātmā Gandhījī said, "Renounce and enjoy." What can you enjoy? Enjoy your inner peace. If you have a lot of properties and money and things, you cannot enjoy peace. You always think, "Somebody will take it away. This will happen. That will happen." When you have nothing, you are happy. You walk through... When you are a tourist on a street in a new city, you know how you hold your bag, because there is a passport, there is money, there is this and that. If you have nothing, you finally walk nicely. No one can—there is no chance for a pickpocket. That’s it. So "enjoy" means inner contentment. That is the biggest enjoyment, the biggest happiness in our life. And how to get this? To renounce. Tyāga. Now tyāga means not that you just throw away or that you say, "I don’t like it." No, no, no. Tyāga—you give also to others. That happiness which you will receive from yourself and from others to whom you give something—that’s indescribable happiness. That is a joy. Giving is a joy. Giving without expectation, without waiting for a "thank you." If you give someone something, they take it and don’t even say thank you and walk away. You say, "My God, what kind of person is this?" It means you are expecting. No expectation. Otherwise, that which you give becomes selfish. That is not a tyāga. And the person to whom you give money, food, clothing, anything—don’t demand anything from that person. Don’t judge what he or she will do with this. It’s not your property anymore. See, you gave it, and therefore giving is not easy. So while leading a normal life, while leading a household life, while working in the offices or business life—in all this, you should have inside detachment, not attachment. And it is said, if you give, you will get back more than you gave. But still, don’t expect like that. Okay, Swāmījī said, "Give, and I will get double." So now you give something, and you get nothing back. You wait; tomorrow you got nothing. The day after tomorrow, you got nothing. Not in that way, not in that way. It is something different, something different. So, while leading your spiritual life as a normal worker in the office or anywhere, you can develop your spirituality and you can attain Self-realization. Holy Gurujī used to say, "Okay, you are very busy. You have a hundred things to do, a hundred things. You are very busy. When you have to do a hundred things, then take one more, a hundred and one. That one has not very big meaning." And that is your mantra repetition and your meditation. If you say that you don’t have the time, Gurujī said often: an alcoholic person, no matter how busy he or she is, will find time to drink alcohol. A smoker, no matter how busy he or she is, will find time to smoke. Who drinks coffee at a particular hour of the day? It doesn’t matter how busy you are, you will drink your coffee. So we are addicted to many things. Let’s have one addiction more, and that is God’s name. Therefore, it is said in Gurujī’s beautiful bhajan: "Now I am divine, intoxicated while drinking the nectar of God’s name." Rasa means the juice of the fruit. And that is the name of God. Compared with that juice of God’s name, the nectar of God’s name, all other juices of this world are tasteless. That’s it. Only that one knows who tasted the divine nectar. Lucky are they, blessed are they, fortunate ones are they. And they who will get the realization, or the God-realization, are those who tasted that nectar of God’s name. So, it doesn’t matter how busy you are. Nowadays, special technology has come. That’s called computer, and many, many... People are working in the office, at home, in the airplane, in the train, in the bus with the computers. But while working with the computer, let it go. What we call the ajapa mantra—repeat your mantra. And I can tell you, your computer work will become more easy. And if there is a complication, you will say, "Dīp Nirañjan, śabda bhañjan," and suddenly everything is there. Yes, try. My computer didn’t function, and I said, "My God, it was very important things to find out." And, you know, I don’t know what to press. I don’t know which computer point I should press. I belong to this generation which is three sensory behind. So I said, "Dīp Nirañjan, śabda bhañjan," and I just touched something, and it interfered. I said, "Thank you, Mahāprabhujī. Gurudev, Gurudev sab kush kartā hai." Therefore, Holy Gurujī said, "Don’t worry. Sab kush deva datā dī padāyā. Sab kush deva datā dī padāyā. Janam Jai Namah. Jai Namah..."