TV Channel

Many of you know the story of Lord Rāma. It is said that when Rāma went to Śrī Laṅkā, the whole monkey and bear armies went with him. Why monkeys and bears? Why animals and not humans? Were no humans interested in supporting Rāma? Did everyone leave him? No. Before he went to the forest for fourteen years—into the āśram, into the forest—his stepmother, Kaikeyī, asked the king to fulfill her wishes. These were promises that had been given by the king. She said, "Good. When you tell me you will fulfill all my wishes, how many wishes do you have?" So she asked for some wishes to be fulfilled immediately, and some she kept in reserve. "The time will come, and I will ask you. Because you told me, 'Anything you wish, I will fulfill.' And you have so many wishes that I will fulfill." So, out of many wishes too, she said, "Now I want to be fulfilled. You are a king. You are a husband, and you are a father, and you must keep your word. Therefore, I wish that you fulfill now two wishes." The first wish was this: that my son Bharata should be nominated tomorrow as king, and not your eldest son Rāma. King Daśaratha had decided to give his kingdom and make Rāma the king. They had organized everything, that tomorrow morning there would be a ceremony to crown Rāma. And within one night, everything changed. A kusaṅga. So, the story, you know, is complete. So, first, her first wish was that tomorrow Rāma should not become the king, but my son Bharata should become king. Daśaratha had three queens: Kaikeyī, Kausalyā, and Sumitrā. Kausalyā was the mother of Rāma. Sumitrā was the mother of Lakṣmaṇa. And Kaikeyī was the mother of Bharata, and Śatrughna was also the son of Sumitrā. The tradition was this, as in Europe also, that the eldest son becomes the successor of the king. But she said, "My son should become a king." And second, her wish was that for fourteen years, Rāma should spend time in the forest, out of the kingdom. With this kind of punishment or instruction: that for 14 years, he is not allowed to stay in any village and not to meet any humans for making meetings and conferences. So he could only go to the ashrams for darśan. Therefore, he was not allowed to go to the humans and have humans near him. This was the wish of his stepmother, and he fulfilled her wish also. Therefore, when Sītā, his wife, and Lakṣmaṇa also followed Rāma... And you know, Sītā was kidnapped by Rāvaṇa, the devil, the king of Laṅkā. And now they had to go to Sri Lanka. But between Sri Lanka and India, in India, there is an ocean. At that time, there were not many airplanes. Hanumanjī was the only one who could fly. At that time, there was only one airplane. And that airplane had Rāvaṇa before 10,000 years. And that aeroplane was a special aeroplane that, according to your wish, could become bigger or smaller. It could become a one-seater, a two-seater, or like a jumbo jet. And that's called, the first aeroplane of this world was pushed from within. So when Rāvaṇa came to kidnap Sītā, he came by that, his private aeroplane. Pushed from within, he kidnapped her and flew away with the airplane. Now, when Rāma's army went to Śrī Laṅkā to bring Sītā back, he did not know how to cross the ocean, so they were sitting on the beach. They were sitting on the beach, and there Rāma made out of the sand one Śiva Liṅgam. He prayed to Lord Śiva, and he prayed to the ocean also, to give him the way. The ocean didn't want to give way, so Rāma was angry. He took his bow, because he was a Kṣatriya, a warrior. And Kṣatriyas, the warriors or anyone, they should keep their Dharma. And Rāma could, with one arrow, shooting one arrow, he could dry the ocean completely. But the ocean appeared to Lord Rāma and said, "Please don't do this. I am your grand, grand ancestor, but I will give you the way. I will help you." So Rāma prayed to Lord Śiva. And we are sitting there. Hanumanjī had an idea. And then Hanumanjī got an idea. He took a stone and wrote the name of God Rāma, "Rām," and he said to the ocean, "If you want to exist, then let it float," and he threw the stone in the ocean. So they put many, many, all the monkey army was putting big stones. Rāma also wanted to put a stone inside. Whenever Rāma put a stone in, it went down. Rāma thought, "Hanuman has more siddhis than I do." So Rāma asked Hanumanjī, "Hanuman, did you see? I hope people didn't see. My stone goes down, and your stones are remaining on the surface. What is a miracle?" Hanumanjī said, "No wonder, Lord. There is no miracle in this, Lord." I said, "Why?" To whom you throw away has no chance to remain above. He will go down. If you throw someone out of your hands, he has no more chance, Lord. He has gone into the naraka, into the hell. Therefore, please don't throw. Relax, sit down. He will work. And so they made this bridge. After that, when Rāma came back, he took that pushpa vāhana, and half of all his secretaries went with him. Hanuman and Jāmbavān, and Hanuman and others, they were walking over the bridge. When they crossed the bridge, all were decided in India, and Rāma blessed the bridge and said, "Śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ," and he said, "Peace, peace, peace. Now you can go down," and that bridge set down. This is written in the Rāmāyaṇa, but people think, "What a fairy tale, what a beautiful children's fairy tale." But now that bridge is found through the satellite by the Indian scientists. The discovery that it breathes. A few years before, it was discovered by some Western scientists, but they didn't tell. But when the Indian scientists found it, they opened this. Then they said it's a rock, so they made the test. And yes, it is man-made, it's not a natural rock. So now, this one example alone tells that the whole Rāmāyaṇa is truth. These are more than 10,000 years. Over 2,000 years already, the life of Jesus. For many people, it could be only a fairy tale, but it is not. There are many evidences, so for those who believe, it is there. For those who don't believe, it doesn't exist. During Rāma's stay in Sri Lanka, there was a battlefield. There was always fighting between good and bad. Always, always. So there was a fighting because Rāvaṇa kidnapped Sītā, and Rāvaṇa sent a message that respectfully he should return Sītā back. But Rāvaṇa was laughing. But you know, the truth is truth. Rāvaṇa had a big ego. He thought, "I am the mighty, and the whole world is on my side." But truth is the winner. During that battlefield, Lakṣmaṇa got an arrow in his heart. So he fell down on the ground and became unconscious. That arrow means Mṛṣavana. Mṛṣavana means an arrow which never returns back without killing. At that time, they had a siddhi; they spoke mantras, and then they shot the arrow. The arrow was going in the direction according to their wish, so they didn't have to aim. And they didn't need that strength, physical strength. But they had a mental strength, siddhis. Lakṣmaṇa got Mṛṣavana. He fell down on the ground. It was afternoon. The principle was this: that after sunset, no one will fight. Only during daytime should war take place. In the night, fighting only rākṣasas and cowards. They all were very unhappy. They said tomorrow, before sunrise, Lakṣmaṇa will die. No one could help. Even Rāma couldn't help. All were sad. When Rāma left Ayodhyā for 14 years, he went abroad for 14 years. When Lakṣmaṇa wanted to go with him, Rāma said, "No, don't go with me." But Lakṣmaṇa said, "No, brother, I can't live without you. I must go." Then Rāma promised Lakṣmaṇa's mother that he would bring her son back as healthy as he was. Now, Rāma is very sad. What will happen with Lakṣmaṇa? With which face will he return to his mother? With strength, he will tell Lakṣmaṇa's mother that I came without Lakṣmaṇa. So Rāma was very sad, and they got the Āyurvedic doctor, Vaidya. This is the evidence now. Even the Rāmāyaṇa Kāla, the time of the Rāmāyaṇa, the science of Āyurveda was there. And the Rāmāyaṇa Yuga is approximately 10,000 years. So Āyurveda was older than that. An Āyurvedic doctor came from Sri Lanka, and in the battlefield, a doctor should be neutral. A doctor should never think about friend and enemy, but without making differences, the Dharma of the doctor is to give treatment. And he told, he read the Nāḍī of Lakṣmaṇa, and Vaidya said, at the time of the sunrise, Lakṣmaṇa will die. Hanumanjī said, "Is there any way to save him?" He said, "Yes, but that's impossible." Hanumanjī said, "Nothing is impossible for a bhakta. When the Lord is in favor of his bhakta, nothing is impossible. Nothing is impossible. Don't waste our time; tell me what to do. In which corner of the universe?" Vaidya said, "In the Himalayas, on that and that mountain, there is one herb that is called Sañjīvanī. If you can bring that, you can save Lakṣmaṇa's life." My God, it's nearly 4,000 km distance. 4,000-5,000 km distance. Hanumanjī said, "How does that Sañjīvanī look like? Because I go there, and I don't know how it looks." He said that in the night and dark, the Sañjīvanī is shining, illuminating, lightening. So you see, today I got a Christmas plant which is sparkling. So, like the Sañjīvanī was, so this is an imitation of the Rāmāyaṇa story. So Hanumānjī said, "I will come as quickly as possible. You sit and drink your milk." At that time, there was no coffee and no tea. Hanumanjī said, "Jaya Śrī Rām." This was his mantra. And off he was flying, like a Concorde. And he landed there, but the Rakṣasas also had siddhis, powers. They have already sent the message: "Hanuman is coming. So make the māyā. Make the māyā, that on this hill everything is sparkling." So Hanumanjī landed there, and all plants are sparkling. So he said, "Now what to take? Time is passing." Hanumānjī was the most intellectual person. He had a very powerful buddhi, and he was very intelligent and very strong. He took the whole hill, and all the plants were on it, and he flew with the whole hill. So during his flight from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka, many, many herb seeds fell down. So there were also many Āyurvedic herbs growing there. When he was flying from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka, on the way, midway is Ayodhyā, the birthplace of Rāma. His younger brother, Rāma's younger brother Bharata... That time he was not at home. He was with the grandparents of his mother. Gandhārī, not Gandhārī, sir, Kaikeyī. Kaikeyī was at the time somewhere in Africa, in Afghanistan, or somewhere here. They came back. Bharata was very, very angry with his mother. How could she be so cruel? And he didn't accept the kingdom. He only put the shoes of Rāma on the throne as a king, and he sat on the lower place and did the work only as a secretary worker. When the spies and secret police noticed with the radar controls that someone was flying over Ayodhyā in this space, they informed Bharata. He alerted the army, and they found a mighty giant flying with a mountain. They thought, "Definitely, he is the friend of Rāvaṇa and Rāvaṇa's enemy. He is going to fight against Rāma." So Bharata shot the arrow with a mantra, and it hit Hanumanjī's knee, and Hanumanjī fell down. While falling down, Hanumanjī said, "Śrī Rām, Jayā Rām." Bharata realized. He said, "Name of Śrī Rām, he must be a devotee of Rāma, not an enemy of Rāma." So he went there and spoke to Hanumānjī. It was the first meeting of Bharata and Hanumānjī, and Bharata was so sorry, but he had done this. He realized what he had done. "How is that? Bad luck in bad luck. I had bad luck in bad luck. But brother Hanuman, you are dear to me more than my brother. Please excuse me and have a rest today here." Hanumanjī smiled and he said, "No. Rāma kāj kī bin mojā kahā viśrām? O Bharata, without doing the work of my Lord Rāma, I cannot rest. If I rest, it will be a great, great pity. Great pity. Why? What happens?" He said that I will not tell you. I will tell you in the next meeting. But I cannot relax. I have to work. You relax. And again, Hanumanjī says, "Jai Śrī Rām." Hanuman said, "Jaya Śrī Rāma," and he took off. On the other side, Rāma was very, very sad. Now the morning star came up, and the moon was going down. Rāma said, "Hanuman, when will you come?" As soon as the sun rises, Lakṣmaṇa will die. But as soon as the morning star appeared, a giant came with a big mountain, like the whole of Strelka mountain. It was a sound. Like a five-concord sound, you know, and "Jaya Śrī Rām," he came down and he told the Āyurveda doctor, which is Sañjīvanī, "Take it quickly, otherwise you will be the next one." So then, when he took the right herbs, he made the juice and he put the drops in the mouth of Lakṣmaṇa. As soon as the drops touched the tongue of Lakṣmaṇa, like an electric current, it went into his body. And with "Jaya Śrī Rām," he got up, and Hanumān was happy, Rāma was happy, and Lakṣmaṇa was happy, and Vaidya was happy. And suddenly the sun was rising. O Sūrya Namaha, Bhāskara Namaha, Āditya Namaha, Bhānve Namaha, Mitra Namaha, Hiraṇyagarbha Namaha, Savitā Namaha, Uṣṇe Namaha. How many names has the sun? Twelve names. Devpurījī, Mahādeva kī, and the sun rises up. That is the work of the bhaktas, and not waiting for the other one to do it, and this one to do it. "It's not my duty. I have worked enough. Why not some others doing? I will do only for a certain time, then I don't want to do." Such people leave you, lead you into the middle of the ocean, they drop you in the middle of the ocean. You know the story of the camel and fox going to eat the kukuruc? You know the story, no? So, sitting on the camel, in the middle of the river, the camel tells the fox, "I cannot anymore. I have to dip into the river." So, this is not a friend, this is not a partner, this is not a disciple, this is not a bhakta, this is not a relative, this is not a friend, this is not a relative, this is nothing. Who does not know what the words and promise mean? So one is never tired of doing this, and work should continue, and we will all do like this. World peace definitely will be there. Do you think that I will be forever with you here? One day you will see only videos here. And remember, yes, Swamijī, my Swamijī, where are you? Neither you nor I will live here, but we have to prepare for our next one. You should be an example for that. You should become a highway for them. Prepare a highway. In German, they say Ordnung is a one-way street. Everything, when it's in order, is a one-way street. So make a highway, no obstacles. But if you change your opinion, it's not anymore my responsibility; it's God's. What will you do with this? That's not good. Therefore, never think that you are tired, and never think that you have done enough. You have done nothing. Whatever you are doing, you are not doing for anyone, but only for yourself. You do neither for Mahāprabhujī, nor for Gurujī, nor for Swāmijī, nor for world peace, nor for these people. You are doing this only for yourself, because the fruits will be yours. You will be granted. That's it. So you are doing for you. You are not obliging us. No, no, no. Don't think that you obligate us. If you are thinking that you are obliging us, then don't do it. Stop. Go home. You will see on the third day. On the third day, you will see the result. That you will come on your knees back. Please give me the chance. So you have a golden chance to do something for yourself. That's why it's called an āśram. A is welcome, and āśram is work for you. That's it. Therefore, work. Don't limit and don't count. Whatever you have done, don't count it. You have done nothing. Whatever you have done, you have done only for you. And when you count it, you will lose that also. As soon as you count, that becomes selfish. As soon as you don't count, that becomes selfless. Sākāmī and niṣkāmī. That is, I want and I don't want karma. Be low.