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Therefore, we are here to learn something in life that is called prosperity. Prosperity means not only money. Prosperity is also cleanness, which is very important. That prosperity is known as Lakṣmī. And Lakṣmī likes always cleanness. She goes only there where there is purification, cleanness: clean dress, clean bed, clean room, clean bathroom, toilets, clean windows and doors, clean bedsheets, clean body, clean mouth and teeth, clean socks, clean shoes, and clean heart and clean thoughts. Lakṣmī runs there. That's very, very important. So, I know you are all very clean, but if not, then try to be more. Every boy ought to wash his socks before going to sleep and dry them under the bed. In the morning, you have your fresh socks, because many times the lady complains. When boys walk in the hall, their samādhi is disturbed. Meditation is suddenly broken; they know who is coming. So I don't know what the laundry system is here, but there is also laundry and so on. So, please bring yourself into this hall with a nice cleanness, and maintain cleanliness in your room. The poor are they; automatically you can see who are not clean. And it is said, who is not clean, their bhāgya, their luck, disappears. Even if your dry dress is somewhere broken, or not broken, but is torn, that doesn't matter. You can repair it, but it should be clean. So this was the competition last week. The result you will get at the end of the week, whether you were a winner or not. The second thing is, do not carry your normal shoes in the sleeping room. Put them down somewhere or under the trees, so that the whole night the air purifies them. So don't bring the shoes in the sleeping room. Shoes have another radiance, because shoes go everywhere with you in the street. You know that the caste system is divided, but now in this last century, unfortunately, they did it in the wrong way. Otherwise, in reality, as Kṛṣṇa said, or in other literatures, that was a division in his own body: the legs as śūdras. It means anywhere they are ready to go and help you to go there. Your duty is to clean them again. The system was there that people should not have bad thinking towards this. You should wash the feet of others; you should not neglect them. Don't say they are untouchable. That was one of the very, very important principles. And I think, somehow, Jesus also understood and he performed the ceremonies also. So now in this Kali Yuga, don't expect somebody will wash your feet every day. But at least you can do it yourself. It was the sign of a good wife, that morning also when her husband got up, she went with a nice bowl of water and she washed his feet. When the water was too cold, he was angry. If it was winter, you know. And in summer if the water was warm, then he was angry. Why? I don't know. But that's, you know, the joy between husband and wife. So, every man who is sitting here, you can tell your wife: first thing, learn, every day wash my feet. Maybe there is something good in it. And if you have no wife, then at least you should wash yourself. And if some ladies have no husband, when they don't know which feet they should wash, then they can wash their own feet. Somehow, generally, ladies are keeping more clean. Ladies are symbols of Lakṣmī, but men are lazy. So please try your best. So both ladies and gents... This is the first priority: to attend to the higher consciousness. Thoughts clean, house clean, everything clean. And it doesn't take a long time. And you know, all of you, that there will be a summer program here. You knew that you are going to attend this anuṣṭhāna program, where a little bit longer sitting is required, but you were not prepared. And those who were not prepared, now they are sorry. They are doing, practicing, but moving constantly. You know, time doesn't wait for anyone. Time is running, so the time is gone. You are here. And now you know that you didn't prepare properly. So those who have been preparing themselves physically and mentally gain the right benefit from the exercises. That's it: one exercise which makes a person developing, forward coming, and the same exercise makes another person disturbing. And it depends on what? On the physical and mental condition of the person, as well as the feeling in the heart. So I spoke in the last weeks, and many were not here. In this week, for you, three kinds of exercises are very important. It's called Manana, Svādhyāya, and Abhyāsa. Manana, Svādhyāya, and Abhyāsa. Manana means to think over. Whatever you are listening, think over what you are learning. Think over whatever problems you have. Think over what is correct for you, what is not correct. If you understood properly or not. Because everyone has a different definition. There were about five friends. They were walking through the woods. And it was the time of August, like now. And there are very nice, beautiful birds, talking and all. They were from different places, so they said, "What is this bird saying?" So there was one, mostly when he said, "Well, this bird," he said, "Yalla Terry, my hair, yalla. Terry, my..." So there was another Hindu, he said, "No, no... It is a different practice. Practice your mantra. Practice your mantra. Don't waste time while walking; practice your mantra. What would this say? No, he said mantra, but not like this. 'Bird is in money, poor.' How many? 'Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ, Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ, Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ.' This bird is saying 'Maṇi Padme Hūṃ.'" The fourth one from the town, who was coming from a big town, said, "This bird is saying something different. We have studies, we have studies of zoology. We are academics in the towns, all are learned at one, and this bird is telling us, 'You have no condition. You have no condition. Don't walk too quick. You have no condition. You need a condition. You need a condition.'" And the fifth one was a farmer. He said, "No, no, I know this bird from birth onward. And this bird is saying, 'The fruits are ripe, the fruits are ripe. Collect the fruits, the fruits are ripe.'" Now, in reality, nobody knew what this bird is saying. So you think you understand, but you don't understand. If you understand just the words of language, that means you didn't understand. If I ask you to go and bring one flower, now you understood only the language, but still you didn't understand the sense of it. In life, there are so many problems in the way. We need to overthink and understand. That's called manana, manana, overthink. Manthan, manana comes from manthan. Manthan means you have in front of you the milk. Now, from the milk, you should gain the butter. And in order to gain the butter, you have to churn it. The churning, that process will bring the butter out. So, all kinds of experiences in life during the whole day, that's for you like milk. And now you should take the essence out of it, that will be then butter. And for that, you have to do manana, manthan, in order to take the butter out, and manana in order to take out the essence, the sense of that. Svādhyāya. Svādhyāya has two meanings. Generally, understand svādhyāya means read some holy books, but here I mean sva means the self, and adhyāya means the chapter. So what is written in your chapter of your life? What is existing in your unconsciousness, subconsciousness, in your consciousness? What happened with your life? As far from the past you can remember, all these chapters which are written in your inner self. How many chapters are there? The chapter of your life, and what is written inside? When did that chapter begin, and when did you close it and begin a new chapter? When you began with someone's friendship, when did the friendship end? Begun, the enemies, and when the enemy ended? When did you marry? When did you divorce? And when did you again think to marry? Then why did you divorce? Many, many things are written in your inner chapters, which are connected with a lot of expectations: kāma, krodha, mada, lobha, moha. So, svādhyāya: what do you want? What are your expectations? And what makes difficulties? What are the obstacles there, and how to remove those obstacles? Perhaps you didn't understand some chapters, so carefully study the chapter again. And abhyāsa means practice. Practice to understand, practice to overcome, practice to learn to endure. Practice āsanas, prāṇāyāmas, practice forgiveness. Many things in life we need to practice. So these five days which you have here, you shall utilize for this. Even while walking, you can do svādhyāya and manana. And when you are doing the manana, it's already svādhyāya. When you are doing the svādhyāya, it's already practicing, so you see how all three can be in one time during walking. So many people are talking, and these and that, it seems that book is completely empty; they don't have any chapters written inside. During karma yoga, or during eating, or during washing yourself, during going to sleep, in meditation, during āsanas and prāṇāyāma. This means to settle your life in such a beautiful way, like you write a book. First, you write the roman script, and then you select the good things, and then you settle one after another chapter in a nice way. Finally, then it happens, the final word. So we need to settle our life. Our life is not settled. You are still searching. You are still wandering here and there with your thinking, with your feelings, and still not satisfied. You are still not settled down. And when you will be settled down, then you will have śāntoṣa. Peaceful in such a way that you are now in nirvāti pantha pravartī and nirvāti pravartī, that still you want to go outside, you are looking for this and that, but suddenly you find your inner peace, and that is indescribable, that satisfaction, santoṣa, and peace. It is so valuable, you can't buy that. You can't pay that much to buy the peace and santoṣa, and it is a very peculiar feeling, a very special feeling. The real satisfaction and feeling of peace, you cannot describe. And that comes when your life is settled down. So, are you in pravṛtti or nivṛtti? Pravṛtti is this: that still you have to do that, and do this, and do that—clean one room and clean the second room. Build one house and build a second house... one flat and a second flat, and one car and repair another car and sell the third car... and write this book and write that, and many, many things. You have work, you have to go to work, come home, and family problems. You are divided yourself into a thousand pieces. As many relations you have, in that many parts you are divided. With all your friends, with all the colleagues, with all the acquaintances, all the family members. As many as you have, in that many pieces you are divided. But it can happen one day that you are in such harmony with all, and you feel yourself oneness and completeness. So if you think, if you will think about yourself in meditation, you will find out in how many pieces you are divided. Or you feel completeness, oneness. How many wounds you have on your heart, the inner side of your heart walls? The wounds of the many unhappinesses, many disappointments, many things, bad words, or bad experiences. Life is not easy. We are struggling through this life, and therefore you have divided yourself into so many pieces. Sometimes, some take that piece of you and puts in the fire, takes from the fire and under the hammer, and turning. And if you say no, don't do... you become cold. Resistance, heart. They put you again in the fire. Again, in the fire you lose everything. Again, you are flexible. You say, "Yes, okay." Then again comes the hammer on it. How many beats of the hammer are there on you? That's why there is no development according to our expectations. Social, political, religious, families, friends, professions... from how many sides we are often pressed. So where is that happiness? And which happiness? You are divided within yourself. So through the svādhyāya and through the manana, and through the Vyāsa... at least for a few days, try to feel yourself as a complete being. So we need this santoṣa. We need this peace. We are hiding. Our reality, we are hiding. We do hide our realities. We have a very beautiful mask over. It seems that we are happy and we are satisfied, but not. The happy one's face is quite a different face. Who has santoṣa has quite a different face. So, look in the mirror tomorrow. Is the bathroom mirror here everywhere or not? Look in the mirror and judge yourself. Good morning. You must go to the mirror and say, "Good morning, myself." This is that bhajan which I am talking about now. Therefore, try to judge yourself. The light which is reflecting on your face, is that your light of yourself, or something different? Because there are many others sitting within your consciousness in the form of anger, in the form of greediness, in many, many different forms. Now, who is today active on your face? Look in the mirror and hunt them away. You should be the... Kindly invite those guests which do not destroy your house, which do not put fire in the night in your house. That is, you have some guests and you give them a beautiful room, and the guest is not sleeping the whole night; he is damaging all the walls, making holes everywhere, breaking all the furniture, cutting away all the clothes and mattresses with a knife, all the curtains with a knife, and all glass broken, windows and in bathroom every tile with the hammer broken, and commode also broken. Come, let me in with the blue. When you come morning to the room, it looks like a ruin. Such a guest, I don't want to have next time. And there are some other guests: when you look morning after in their room, they live so clean and so nice. It's pleasant. So who is existing in your chitta vṛtti? Is now that's it. So they are leading you; you are not leading them. Therefore, santoṣa and happiness in life should also be happiness. Don't be sad always. Also, the gods make sometimes nice jokes and are happy; they also are full of the humors, oh, you know, the humors of the gods. When you will see the humors of God, you will not understand it all at first. You don't see that because you see those, don't see them, but the happiness and humor of God you see in the nature, smiling. And therefore, Śrī Rām Jaya, Rām Jaya, Jaya, Śrī Rām Jaya, Rām Jaya,... Rām Jaya,... Rām Jaya, Rām Jaya.