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It is so nice to see you all again. Our meeting is like a gathering of a large family, and it is very divine to be together. Once, I spoke with Holī Gurujī when he was in Czechoslovakia, in Europe. I said to him, "You see how many bhaktas love you and the devotion in their hearts." I then asked, "Do you see how much love you have for them in your own heart?" It was Guru Pūrṇimā day, and Gurujī was at Śrīlā Kriyā Āśram, as most of you remember. Gurujī said to me, "Yes, but it is that love which you have filled in their hearts." And that is reflecting back. Of course, I simply said it is your grace, trying to press my ego down. This is called bhāva. Bhava means many things. It can mean price, devotion, respect, or emotion. It depends on the context of what you are speaking about. The kind of bhāva you put into the consciousness, into the hearts of people, that is what comes back to you. If you speak to someone negatively and harbor negative thinking, then consciously or unconsciously, you will plant negative thoughts in others. This happens because you have a doubt. When you have doubts and do not have a harmonious relationship with your master, your partner, God, or your friends, then that kind of bhāva is within you. You may try to correct things on the surface, but it does not function because the mistake lies elsewhere. We must search for the cause, and that cause is in your own heart; it is as if you have lost your bhāva. There is a story, which many of you know. I have told it a few times; perhaps you do not remember, and some are hearing it for the first time. God Viṣṇu is supreme in the universe, as is God Śiva. Viṣṇu prays and meditates on Śiva, and Śiva prays and meditates on Viṣṇu. It is a very good exchange program. As much as you respect your friend, your friend respects you in return. You can even receive blessings from an enemy. It is better to have a blessing from an enemy than a bullet. So, this bhāva... God Viṣṇu has incarnated many times on this planet in many forms. Whenever the Lord returns to the divine world, they have their own life there. They live with divinity and have their own carriers, like horses. We have cars; they have their own means of transportation. Viṣṇu, who is also called Hari, has Garuḍa as his chariot. Garuḍa, the eagle, is the king of birds. That is why many European flags and national emblems feature the eagle, Garuḍa. Garuḍa is the quickest flying animal. If you remember, there is a story from a bhajan in Gurujī's collection: "Gajko ger liya jal bitar, tera nam pokari." It tells of an elephant caught by a crocodile in the water. The elephant could not fight the crocodile and called out to God Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu had to come to save the elephant's life. He told Garuḍa, "Fly the fastest." Garuḍa flew at his highest speed, faster than the Concorde, but it was still not fast enough. So Viṣṇu left Garuḍa and, with his own strength and speed, came down and saved the elephant. This story means that God listens even to the animals. Do not think God only listens to humans. When you torture an animal, they feel pain. They are suffering and have no one to call. In their own language, they remember God; they call to God. God does not make distinctions. A father does not differentiate among his children; a mother does not differentiate among her children. For God, animals and humans are equal. He loves his innocent children more. For Garuḍa, being the carrier of Viṣṇu is a source of great happiness. He is the happiest being. Garuḍa was completely surrendered, full of devotion, and he was proud. He had more ego than a minister himself. Of course, they were proud. Garuḍa used to experience the life of Viṣṇu—how he lives, what he does—and Garuḍa was completely devoted. When God incarnates and comes to this mortal world, he does not come with all his divine principles. They remain in the other lokas. Wherever he goes, he has everything. God Viṣṇu incarnated as God Rāma. You know the Rāmāyaṇa and the story of Rāma. God also has to play his role within normal circumstances. We do not understand: is that necessary? If he is God, why can he not help himself? Jesus was not a God, but he said, "I am the son of God." Though he knew all this, who was he? Could he not help himself so that he would not have to suffer on the cross? We do not understand. So Rāma also went through many circumstances of life. When Sītā, his beloved, was kidnapped by the demon Rāvaṇa, Rāma had to go to Laṅkā. There was a fight, a kind of war. At that time, they practiced very high sādhanā. They were using their spiritual power and mantras. Those mantras still have power now, but we lack the discipline to achieve that power. The sun that existed then is the same sun now. The moon that existed then is the same moon now. The earth that existed then is the same earth now. Humans looked similar then to how they look now. The difference is that at that time they had discipline and the willpower to practice. We do not. We cannot even control our thoughts. We cannot control our eating habits. We cannot give up our negative thinking. In our thinking, we always believe we are the best, but we are not. We are not even half a percent of what we think we are. We are very far from that which we imagine ourselves to be, and our negative thoughts and pride push us down more every day. At that time, they had immense abilities. Their weapons were arrows. But when they shot an arrow, with a particular imagination and mantra, that arrow would function accordingly. They could create a heavy storm, a hurricane, fire, a flood, or rain. But they could not use this in everyday life; it had its principles. So, Rāvaṇa shot an arrow at Rāma with the intention that it would transform into a huge, poisonous snake that would completely wrap around Rāma's body. Then there would be no weapon that could free Rāma from that snake, and every second the snake would suck the prāṇa from him. Everyone was looking for what to do. It is like someone has drunk poison and you are standing beside them. You are not a doctor; you have no medicine. You look on, but you can do nothing as the person dies before your eyes. In the animal kingdom, there are also enemies, just as humans have enemies. The greatest enemy of the snake is the eagle. When an eagle sees a snake, it will fly down and catch it. When Śiva and Viṣṇu came together, the snake of Śiva was afraid of Garuḍa. The snake was complaining to Garuḍa. All who were standing there—Lakṣmaṇa and the others from the Rāmāyaṇa—were thinking. They found one solution: only Garuḍa could help. But who would call Garuḍa? He was on holiday. Viṣṇu was here on this planet, and they did not know in which corner of the universe Garuḍa was enjoying himself. They asked Hanumanjī, who was capable of finding Garuḍa and bringing him. So Hanumānjī jumped into space like a space rocket—the theory of the space rocket came from Hanumanjī. He found Garuḍa and asked him to come quickly to the mortal world. Garuḍa said, "Yes, and how is my lord?" and so on. Hanumanjī was angry. He said, "Don't ask me anything, just come." So Garuḍa went with Hanumānjī at high speed. When he saw Rāma lying on the earth, his whole body wrapped by the snake, unconscious as if taking his last breath, Garuḍa said, "Is this Viṣṇu? What is he doing like this?" Hanumanjī said, "Garuda, I will take your neck and squeeze it. Do not delay. First kill this snake, and then we will talk." So Garuḍa quickly freed Rāma from the snake, tearing it into pieces in no time. Rāma awoke again. Now Garuḍa had a psychic problem. He greeted Rāma, and Rāma blessed him, smiling and saying, "You can go back." He went back, but he had a turmoil in his brain—a depression, day by day. Many of you know what that is. What you experienced in your childhood can still disturb you. Sometimes, wrong impressions are not easy to get rid of. Garuda used to perform everyday prayer to Viṣṇu—puja, meditation, mantra—but now he could do nothing. He thought two things: First, "I am greater than Rāma. He could not fight this snake. Without me, he would have died. I am the best one." That is the ego of the disciple. "For what should I practice now? I do not need Kriya; I will stop it." You stopped the prāṇāyāmas, the āsanas long ago, and Haṭha Yoga Kriyā—you have even forgotten what that is. You have time for gossiping but no time for practice. When you wake up, you have only negative thinking. You make everyday mistakes and say, "Why doesn't he understand me?" Did you wait one year without making mistakes? No, we do not have the energy to endure and wait. There are different bhaktas who are waiting. "Night and day, night and day, I look for thee, night and day. My days fly without seeing thee..." You are taking care of yourself. Everything is within us. So Garuḍa was inflated: "I am great. I know everything. I do not need anything." The second problem put him into depression: "How is it possible that Viṣṇu could not help himself? He was lying on the ground helpless. I had to come to help him. So, what is the sense in meditating on him and repeating his name? He who cannot help himself, how is he going to help others?" He was caught in these two dilemmas, in a depression. When he came out of the depression, he was inflated with ego. Throughout the whole universe, he had no peace. He lost peace in such a way that you think you never had it. Perhaps you had it, but you do not remember what it was. A beautiful dream—as soon as you wake up, it is gone, disappeared. So the bhaktas who have these doubts and these two dilemmas are lost. But nothing is impossible if you try. When you have depression or psychic problems, you go to a psychologist or neurologist and speak for help. They also have their advisors. First, talking friend to friend. The Ṛṣi Nārada was very close to Viṣṇu. So Garuḍa went with great confidence to Nārada. They met and hugged each other. "How nice you came," Nārada said. "My friend, you look depressed." Garuḍa said, "Yes, I do. What is the problem? Can I speak to you with confidence?" Nārada said, "Yes, you can speak without confidence. It is your problem. Will you help me?" "I cannot promise." So Garuḍa told the problem about God Viṣṇu to Nārada. Nārada said, "Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa. That is very sad. It is very pitiful. When you have doubts in God, then no one can clean your brain again." Garuḍa said, "But there must be someone in the universe who can help me. I cannot live like this. Always, when I close my eyes, I see Him." "You are lucky," Nārada said. "When you close your eyes and you see him, how many millions of people try to close their eyes and meditate, but they do not see anything?" Garuḍa replied, "Yes, but I see him helpless. It does not matter how. The main thing is, I cannot sleep. Whenever I try to sleep, I think of Him." "Lucky are you, that you go to think of Him." "But you cannot understand me," he said. "Of course, I do not understand you because you do not understand my Lord." "But who can help me? Maybe God Śiva, because he is the Lord of Viṣṇu." So Garuḍa went to Śiva. Lord Śiva said, "Garuḍjī, welcome. But you look a little restless and depressed." Garuḍa said, "Yes, my Lord, help me." Śiva said, "This is an incurable disease." So many of you know who is sitting here. When you have doubts, no one can cure them. You try very hard for some minutes or some hours, then you are in the same condition again. You fall back into the same situation. It is very difficult to clean. The biggest tragedy that can happen to us is to have a doubt. "But help me, Lord." Śiva said, "I cannot help you." Pārvatī was sitting with him and was suddenly surprised. Śiva said, "I cannot help. My God, he can change the entire universe, and he cannot help this poor Garuḍa." She was thinking this, and Śiva understood what she was thinking, so he smiled. He said to Garuḍa, "Lord Śiva..." And Mrs. Śiva said to Garuḍa, "There is one way. There is a good remedy for your problem, and that is to go to the satsaṅg of the Kagbushaṇḍī." Kagbushaṇḍī was a crow, a ṛṣi incarnated in the form of a crow, but a wise one. All the goddesses, devas, and devīs who live in heaven, or whatever you call it, have a lot of free time. So they spend most of their time going to satsaṅgs. When the gods go to someone's satsaṅg, that one must be great. That is a satsaṅg. Kagbushaṇḍī lived somewhere in the Himalayas, about a few hundred miles away. Anyone who enters that area automatically has their doubts cleaned up and returns to their original state of mind: love, respect, harmony, understanding. It does not matter what problem you have in life; you go there and the problem is solved. So Garuḍa went there. As soon as he entered the district—like when we enter the Nāgor district, we feel Mahāprabhujī; when we enter India, we feel Mahāprabhujī Devpurījī's presence—if you are a bhakta, then no matter which direction you drive, you come directly there. When Garuḍa arrived, he immediately regained his love and realization of Viṣṇu. He became the happiest one and, with folded hands, praised the Lord for his mercy again and for forgiveness of those mistakes. This story reminds me of many life circumstances of yours. Even though you did not tell me, somehow I know. There is a Garuḍa Purāṇa; there are many Purāṇas, and the Garuḍa Purāṇa is mostly read when someone dies, to find the way again to God. It is beautiful. So that is how we have to help ourselves. Where are you? All the problems you have, the cause is yourself. It is because you are not disciplined and you do not understand. If you were to understand, it would be different.