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The instructions given according to the ancient wisdom of the great sage Patañjali are not merely to be heard, but to be accepted and made a part of your life. Yes, life is a challenge, a struggle, and very mysterious. Despite all this, human life holds the opportunity to attain self-realization or divine realization, to become one with Brahman, which is the main aim of human life. This is not achieved from one day to the next; it is the work of many, many lives. So, if you have not realized that cosmic consciousness, be assured that in the next life you will again be a good human and will continue your spiritual sādhanā, and Gurudev will meet you there again. God and devotee are one; they are not two. Gurudev and Bhaktas are one; they are not two. One comes as two to play this cosmic theater. That is the divine play, Līlā. We see in the Mahāśivapurāṇa that Śiva's Līlā is aprampara, endless. This spiritual path is also an inspiration for others. Those who awaken become aware. They honestly discipline their sādhanā practices, and those who are still not awakened have to repeat the process again and again. Like a goldsmith puts gold in the fire, and the gold is heated until it becomes very soft. He takes it out and then takes a hammer and beats it. Or it can be like a blacksmith and the iron. When it is hot, it becomes softer and is taken out. Though it is soft, he takes a hammer and beats it to form it. Again, the iron cools, meaning the ego comes and becomes hard. Again, the blacksmith puts that iron in the hot fire, takes it out, and again uses the hammer. The iron becomes a beautiful ornament. Now, the piece of iron, which does not have a high price or value, when it goes to the hands of the master, becomes a masterpiece and can be sold very expensively. Similarly, the sādhanā, the tapasyā, is that fire, and Gurudev is that smith who puts the disciple in the fire of the sādhanā, the discipline, the practice. And when they learn a little and some ego comes out, then he gives them satsaṅg with the hammer of the Guruvākya, the words. Again, it becomes little, na ya na ya. Gurū Dev always tells this. Others said, "Just listen, that's all. Be a yes man." Said, "Yes, Swāmījī." Then he realizes that ego came out, then again puts him into the sādhanā in life. Do not think that there are no problems in life. Without problems, 98 percent is boring, and two percent is okay. So there are different problems: external problems and inner problems. That is Patañjali warning his disciples to be alert, to accept, and to try to solve these external and inner problems every day. You get up with different feelings every day, you go to sleep with different feelings every day. You meet so many things, you experience through smell, through sound, voice, and so on. And so many vṛttis come; you are suddenly disappointed, suddenly jealous, suddenly angry, suddenly you decide to break everything, no more. How many are going through such wild water, but still Gurudev protects us. So what we had last, Vākyas from Patañjali. The final, the highest principle is the Guru. At the beginning of this Satyaloka, the creation of this world, this part of the universe, the first Guru is known as Brahmā. Brahmā has accepted, or Brahmā has been given, this position of guru. And so his words are known as guru-vākyā. Now, who has entered into the form? It does not matter if it is Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Śiva, or any who is who. Everyone experiences every day some disappointment, some arguments, some anger. So it is not new that we humans have so many disappointments, arguments, and problems. But everything can be solved. Everything can be overcome, what we call, through prayer, through request. Everything is realized through sādhanā, tapasyā, anuṣṭhāna. It does not matter who it was, either some ṛṣis, devas, or asuras. They go into the forest and make sādhanā according to their iṣṭadevatā, and the iṣṭadevatā comes. Oṁ Brahma Inamaha. Brahmā appears, and he has the power to give you blessings and siddhis. But one thing is reserved, and that is that it cannot make you immortal in this body. Ātmā is immortal, but then Ātmā does not have these qualities, what we call devas, asuras, rākṣasas, and so on. This is the inner quality. Everyone looks like a human, but the inner feeling is different. Inner education is different. Thinking is different. Different quality. Quality makes the person. If one has the quality of a thief, one is a thief. If one has the quality of an asura, then one is an asura. If one has the quality of a saint, then one is a saint. But they are in this world; they have their body, their feelings, their minds. And they meet every day different situations. So Patañjali is saying that after this, when you realize this inner Gurudev... The first Guru is mother and father; the second Guru is your friends. The third Guru is your religious priest, the fourth Guru is your school teacher, and the fifth Guru is your Satguru Dev, and finally, the sixth one is thyself. Because that quality, that consciousness awakes in you. There is one stone called Paras. It is very rare. And if you touch this stone to any metal, or any metal touches this stone, it becomes gold. But it is said that Paras can convert metal into gold, but cannot make Paras. But Gurudev, he can make a disciple not only gold or divine, but makes the disciple Gurudev. That guru quality awakens. On that day, within you is like a fountain of wisdom, joy, vidyā. Knowledge awakens. The source of the knowledge is from Brahman. You need not say that now I am the guru, and if you think that you are now the guru, then it means you are still not. When the sun rises, the sun does not say, "Get up, I am already here," but we say, "Oh, sunrise, we must get up." So who will practice? Who will follow the discipline? Who will purify? Ego and anger, hate and jealousy, and offended fear cannot become that one. So we have these problems, everyday problems, but everything can be solved through prayers. Prayer means personal consultation with God, with your iṣṭa devatā. Prayer means... Request again and again, but request with very clear thinking, with a very clear mind, and with very positive feelings. If you request with a trick, you should know that God knows everything. Whatever you request, you ask God, "Please fulfill my wish." Then he will ask you what kind of wish you have. You said, "Lord, you are God, so you know." He will say, "No, tell me." Because he knows, but still he would like to know through the words verbally you tell. It means that you will not blame God afterward. God will fulfill, and you say, "But I did not mean this." That's it. That's why God gave you a mouth to speak also, not to eat only. So prayer is a request. Prayer is a personal consultation. Prayer is a dialogue, and in that dialogue, God will answer you. God will give you, and therefore, after achieving this highest level of consciousness, then at that time, you should have devotion inside and repeat your mantras, japa. Constantly repeat your mantra. The mantra will guide you and guard you in the right direction. Like your car, you are driving, you have the steering wheel in your hand, so that God does not go in the wrong direction and crash into the other car. And when you think, "Oh, I am in deep meditation now, I do not repeat my mantra," then you are crashed. Somewhere after three days, be sure that you will have some problem. It will have after immediately getting out of the meditation, but sometimes it takes time, in three days. Why? Because you were going without guidance. Therefore, the first, the japa Omkāra, the highest mantra, the highest of the highest, everything is this Aum. That means the resonance, the cosmic sound. Even Śiva, Swayambhū, is that cosmic self. But in front of Śiva, we said, "Aum Namaḥ Śivāya. Aum Namo Nārāyaṇa. Aum Brahma Namaha." First comes Aum. And so in your mantra, first is also Aum. When Aum is included, it then becomes authentic, divine, pure, clear. When the Om is in your mantra, then all your documents have got clearance, all documents, all your destinies, what is written in the dharma. Raj records, you go straight because what have you? You have the passport of guru kṛpā, and that passport does not need any visa throughout the whole universe. So, Oṁ japa. Therefore, all great saints, finally, they went to japa. Mantras, meditations, prayers, when they were young, when we are young, then we are doing many activities. This we can do, that we can do: the Haṭha Yoga, and this yoga, and that yoga, and Śīrṣāsana, this āsana. Slowly, slowly, you come on. The right trip, what you are doing? Mala. Om Prabhu Dīp Nirañjan Sabudukha Bhanjan. Om Prabhu Dīp. Last minute, energy is very little inside. Now, finally, we have the center to our east, Devatā, through our mantra. So, which mantra? Which God? When you believe you have practiced japa, at that time it is said that the sādhaka, the practitioner, should meditate on Īśvara. Gurudev dhyāna mūlaṁ guruṁ. First, it is said, when the practitioner realizes this, then what to meditate on, where to meditate? Not just in emptiness. When you are in emptiness, then you are always empty. Who is meditating in emptiness is that seed which cannot grow, seed, seedless. Nothingness, and we do not want to come to the nothingness. We would like to come to that one that remains finally, that bīja. And that bīja, that seed, is the Brahman. And therefore, that mantra, your iṣṭa devatā, is that your seed. And hold the seed, keep the seed. Dhyāna mūlama guru mūrti. That time, nothing else, only that one, Gurudeva. Wherever you go, whatever you do, in this world or the other world, that will always love you, guide you, protect you, and in his presence, nothing can come near to you—no magic, no black magic, no black energies. No, some negative-spirited people think sometimes, "Oh, some ghost came into my body, my son, my God! He is now mad because my neighbor did magic, and now he has some other soul inside." Let us suppose there is a cup of water, and you see the evening moon and look in. The cup of water in this cup, you will see only one moon, not two. Similarly, in this one body, there is only one soul, except women with them when they are pregnant, right? Yes. Therefore, but still, there are some attacks, and this is also mental illness. So, in the presence of Gurudeva, all is cleared up: what to adore, what to celebrate—the lotus feet. And therefore, the essence of all mantras is the instruction that Gurudev gave you. What you should do, what you should not do. When he said, "Do it," do it. And mokṣa, mūlaṁ guru kṛpā, that time when the kṛpā is there, then everything is there. Mahāprabhujī said, "Meri najar daulat hai." My little look, if I just look for a second at someone, it means I have given richness to the person; they become the richest of the rich. If the little look of the Gurudev, with kṛpā on us, then all will become best friends of us, because he gave that purity, kindness, love. Meher. Meher means His blessing, mercy. So at that time, tajyapah, ush. And at that time, the sādhaka, chintan. Constantly repeating mantra, chintan karu. Chintan means to think over. Chintan means to remember again and again. Chintan means constantly thinking of that, chintan. Where there is no chintan, there is chintā. Chintā means worry, worries. When you are worried about anything, then there are problems. And where there is chintan, there is only one, that is God, chintan. So the sādhak meditates, practices mantra, the practicing of mantra. At the same time, because our mind or intellect is very cañcal, cañcal means restless. Imagine there is a pond, and there is one fish inside, 10, 20 centimeters, or half a meter, or any big pond. Fish comes near, but as soon as you try to catch it, it runs away. It is hard to catch fish with the hand, unless it does not have enough space. Similarly, man is cañcal. Our mind is like that fish, always trying to run here or there, searching for something to hold. So, hold the form, Īśvara Bhāva, that Īśvara, that Supreme, without any quality, without any form, only one, the final, the truth, the reality, which is in everything. In every atom, in every corner of the sand, in every stone, every leaf of the tree, everywhere is that, my East Devtā, my Gurudev. Jaha dekhu vahan aap hi aap ho. Wherever I see, look, you are there. Nitya chetan nirakārī ho. Everlasting, conscious, and formless Kṛṣṇa said, "Not a leaf of the tree can move, or a blade of grass can move, without my willpower." This means, without my energy, everything is charāchara in these movements. In this world, everything is filled with God's consciousness. Those who have abilities can see and feel. Those who do not have abilities cannot feel. Ishvara, śaraṇāgati, shelter to the Lord. After all this, finally, we come there. Therefore, many, many obstacles come, and Patañjali is reminding us that we shall practice the mantra and spirituality. Now, if someone said, "Without spirituality, I can practice yoga and achieve my goal," I doubt. Yes, something physical benefit, that is okay, no doubt, that is okay. But still, to learn physical, you need a master. To be human, very clever, but we... Are so full of ignorance. Even we have needed a teacher to learn swimming, so that is your swimming guru, driving guru, many, many gurus: harmonium guru, singing gurus, piano gurus, many, many. So all from whom what we learn is... Our master and respect them because someone gave you that knowledge, and that knowledge which your consciousness took, your intellect took it. And so, father, mother, friends, all. But finally, after all this, is that our oneness. That time, in the consciousness of the sādhanā, again, again, there come many vighnas. Vighna means disturbances. Do you think that you can peacefully meditate? Except Strelky, our Sangaṁ Hall. Elsewhere, you cannot. But in Sangam Hall, there are also many mosquitoes, insects. Do not think that after a certain level of spirituality, now you are happy, relaxed. No, no, no. Always be alert. Always be alert, and for one thing, you should always be alert. There is one bhajan. O traveller, O tourist, get ready. The train will come, the train will come, but it will not wait for you. It will go. What then will we say? We missed the train. Yes, so we miss the train of Brahma Jñāna, liberation, through our... Ignorance, our doubts, our sleep of laziness and ignorance, that is it. So always be alert. You never know when what can come. And so there are fighting also in the astral levels. When someone tries to develop more spiritually, then the vighnakaleśas come in you also. At that time, you begin to come closer to your antarātmā, to your bhāva, and that time, slowly, slowly, through the guru's kṛpā, the vijñāna bhāva begins to disappear. Oh yes, darkness is going away. Oh, I see now, dawn is coming. Dawn is rising, the sun is coming. What I lost is just lying here, but it was so dark I could not find it. And so, Ātmā Bhāva, Ātmā Darśana, you get Ātmā Darśana. Mahāprabhujī said very nicely in one of the beautiful bhajans, Dikhala diya Devapurījī ne, dikhala diya Devapurījī ne, cetan kā cill kā svāmī ne dikhala diya Devapurījī ne. Cetan, cetan means awaken. That which never sleeps, ever, ever awaken. Pure, pure, ever, ever awakened. Chilka means the reflection, the light. So now the reflection of my Ātmā, Devapurījī has shown me the ātmā-jñāna through my guru-sevā. And so this bhajan, you know, if you do not know, then open one of your video cassettes on the Swamiji TV, and you will see the bhajans. Very nice bhajans. Chetanā, Chīlakā, that time the sādhak, all the vighna, all destroyed. Nirākāra, nirañjanam, like Ādiguru Śaṅkarācārya said, Cidānanda Rūpa Śivo'ham, Śivo'ham. Now I became that pure consciousness. Chidānanda, Chitānanda, Śivo'ham. I am that Śiva, that Swayambhu, everywhere, pure, divine, everlasting, immortal, universal one, Cidānanda Rūpa Śivo'haṁ Śivam. And at that time, you become the knower of that one which you were searching: the knowledge, the knower, and the object. Three becomes one. Now you experience it. You realize, you see, that is the Ātmā. I am the Ātmā. How beautiful. It is nice. Pravda. Bimbam. That time is called the sādhak. That practitioner gets siddhi, and siddhi here means nirvīja samādhi. Now all the seeds of the karma are cleared up, burned. When the seeds are roasted on the hot pan, then they cannot grow anymore through your tapasyā, through your sādhanā, through your guru sevā, through... Uh, doing the nishkāma karma, all the seeds are rusted, and you are pure, seedless. After that, you said, "No, Swāmījī, I want to go back and marry." Oh my God, yeah. What will you do? You are a seedless one, really. Yes or no? So think now. If you would like to do this or not, yes, that time, all bandhan nirmukta, all the bandhas of the karmas, destinies, rebirth and death, and birth and death, all is from you free. You are free, coming to the ātmā jñāna. Nirbīja samādhi, but after, though you are coming to the nirbīja samādhi, there are some external problems which appear to us again. Do not think that now you are okay. You think that somebody comes and puts a knife in your stomach, you do not feel. Oh, feelings are there. There is no dealing with the samādhi. That when you have samādhi, then you have no feelings. No, no, no. Still, there is, and for that, there are still coming to continue. We would like to continue the first. Now, the physical disease appears in the body. You become ill, you have pain, you have still the body. For the people who have not realized this, Patañjali is again giving the instructions: Be ready that these six or nine different kinds of kleśas will come again to you unexpectedly. The first is that indriyas, or in your citta, maybe some vṛttis and pain can appear, or sādhanā. Now you think, "I achieved." Everything I need not to practice anymore? Oh, yes, you are still in the body. Do not worry, we can push you back, pull you back. The rope is in the hand of nature. You are a fish far away, and who is fishing? You will catch you again out. So you think that... Now you can do what you want and run wherever you like to run. Where will you run? So that sādhak who neglects the practices, that is also a kind of vignette or a kind of obstacle for our spiritual approachment or maintaining our spirituality. Therefore, Guru Nānak Sāhib said, Or, you get a doubt: "I did so much, and what I realized is just nothing. I want something more." It means now you have doubts in your success, you have doubts on your sādhanās. Many people, many of you are sitting here, those who can walk already on the water, I do not think of telling about that one, but next week, is it how? Do examination, you know the test. So we will see how many will come for the test examination. Then you get that kind of diploma of yoga in daily life, yes. There is no other protection that can help, but of course you have tried walking through the forest. So you can walk? No, that is it. Or that yoga sādhanā's anuṣṭhāna, which anuṣṭhāna, which saṅkalpa you made to do, and now you have forgotten. You do not respect that. Yes, it was very nicely presented yesterday. Who was here to see them, Mahāśiva? Purāṇa yesterday evening, who saw? I cannot see hands like this, I want to see hands like that. Thank you. You know, such a great Śiva bhakta. And they thought, "I am protected, no one can destroy us, no one can see us." And oh, how beautiful the palace was. And doing Śiva Sādhanā, everything for them was Lord Śiva. One Kushanga, know the words of Kushanga? How sweet it was. Ha, you have everything. What will you do with this? A mala in your hand. And Lord Śiva, what will he do? Now, enjoy. You are a mighty one. After that, there is no more disenjoyment, and you know you are nearly immortal. There is no one who can kill you. Enjoy, my dear. Chance, do it. Come on, do not waste time in this. And say, "Yes, my God." And so many people are practicing yoga and spirituality, and after... Sometimes they came to the kuśaṅga and said, "Yeah, drink whiskey, drink vodka, enjoy, eat meat, go do this, go there." And now they are sitting completely polluted with the drugs and like this, completely polluted kuśaṅga, therefore. Kushang se prabhu, moye bachavo. Kushang se prabhu, moye dost yara durjan dur rakhi. Jo dost yara dur rakhi, śrī deepa dayālaya rājashuna. Prabhudeep Dayālaya Rājasunali Karkeer Pāam Satsaṅg Dijo. Karkeer Prabhudeep Dayalaya Rajasunali Deep Narayan Bhagwan Ki. Therefore, O Mahāprabhujī, please listen to my prayer. Be so merciful to me and bless me with satsaṅg. Oh my Lord, protect me from kusaṅga and such people, fake people, fraud people, please protect me. Yesterday you saw that he came as, "I am your best friend. I am your good, well-wisher." I want to help you, and like this, it comes to you. The people I want to help you, I am your friend, and so on. But are you stupid? What are you doing? It does not matter. It is not my problem. Do it, but I tell you, you can do a better thing, and more. Interesting, oh yeah, what is that and so on? First, it becomes your friend and then kills you. This is the negative energy, these are the negative vṛttis. Therefore, always be ready and be a good fighter. Against negative thoughts and feelings, the fifth, tamo guṇa, and you all know what is the tamo guṇa: too much eating, too much gaining weight, and this, and then, "I am tired, I will do it tomorrow, and tomorrow, tomorrow." So no one has seen the tomorrow, only today, so do it now. Or, like this: yesterday, what we saw suddenly awake, that kind of feeling, I want to enjoy. I want to be free in this world. I will do what I can. I am grown. I am human. I am free. Yes, how long, my dear? How long, then lifelong, you will suffer. But lucky are they who got the shelter of the Gurudev or good friends, that they take care of you and bring you again out. But it is very difficult. When you are drunk in the water and you cannot swim, we will pull you out, but we have to press your lungs and hang you up and down, and an ambulance and doctor and pump your lungs out. That is it. So, be alert. That is what I want to say, what Patañjali is saying, and through this, your vairāgya becomes less. It means vairāgya is becoming less, decreasing, and vāsanās are increasing, okay? If you have tamas guṇa, then be phalahārī. Phalahārī is a very good diet for a yogī, I think. Next time we will make all falahārīs, then I will see many people will have bread and butter and cheese under their bed. Yes, that is it. The seventh obstacle, what Patañjali is saying, is that suddenly you have doubts in your practice, perhaps this sādhanā. What I am doing is not correct. Oh, there came some master who is going to give us very good śakti, good power. This kind of neglecting and doubts, nowhere you will be successful. So Patañjali said that a sādhak should have... Devotion to his or her practice, sādhanā, is a good hand worker, a good engineer. He loves, not only loves, he adores his instruments, the tools. Without tools, you cannot do anything. And God gave us beautiful tools. First, our tool is intellect, and second, tools of our hands do it. After practicing for a few hours, years, and still you did not get siddhi or some success, suddenly you said, "Ah, so many years I was doing nothing. I got it." And my friends who went for swimming and hiking and... No, they are happy and healthy. And what I am doing here, sitting like this all day? Then the master said, "Sit straight." I am sitting straight, meditating, and sleeping. Then the master comes, "Do not sleep." And I did not receive anything till now. So this kind of self-disappointment. Many of you have this, many. There are many sitting in front of me with beautiful faces. They were young and had more beautiful faces, and now they are all these most beautiful with a, how do you call it, what a wrinkle, wrinkles in the face. But I would be happy today to see them enlightened. But they neglected. They lost their faith inside. Mā Prabhujī's beautiful bhajan said, Oh my mind, you lost everything with kushangis. That is it. Kushangīs came with bhajans. Disturbances came in your spiritual life. Now you are walking different ways. Therefore, a sādhak should have confidence: "I will get it. I trust that is it. Gurudev will do." Do not think that tomorrow, today you trust and tomorrow you will get it. Forget it, no, no... Long, long time, my dear, long, long time. It is not so easy, but it is there, yes. And therefore, the eighth obstacle is coming through this; all these previous obstacles, the disturbance begins to take place in your different levels of the consciousness, citta-bhūmikā. So from a very far distance, from a higher consciousness level, slowly, slowly you can fall down. But there is someone who will put a hand down and lift you up again. Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān kī. After that comes another difficulty. That is duḥkha, troubles, weakness in the body. Swas para swahasa, problem with the breathing. Oh my God. This day, today we were walking only a little hill up. How much was it? Forty meters, no? Or hardly 50 meters. And 50 meters we were going like this, serpentine. But 90% of all we were going. Swamiji takes us a long way, but a comfortable one, you see. And those who are doing everyday, according to yoga and daily life, prāṇāyāma, kumbhaka, and this, then they were enjoying, they were happy. Their lungs were full of the oxygen. Oh, they were walking, but of course. They have learned how to walk on the water, so maybe they were a little bit lighter. Next time, we should put them in the front, and we will hold them so we can walk behind. This all, this kind of, and then comes those kinds of duḥkha: ādhibhautik, ādhidaivik, and ādhyātmik, what Patañjali said.