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Glory to Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, glory to Śrī Deveśvara Mahādeva. Dear devotees, today’s satsaṅga is a source of supreme bliss. It is the remover of the soul’s sins, the means for souls to attain knowledge, and the source of supreme auspiciousness. All beings in the world desire happiness; no one wishes for sorrow. Yet, within the happiness that appears in this world, many times more sorrows are hidden. Therefore, despite engaging in various forms of worship, visiting pilgrimage sites, and performing austerities, attaining true peace remains very rare. The true Śuka is the auspicious incarnation of Paramātmā Gurudeva who comes to bestow blessings. Merely uttering His name dispels countless obstacles and sorrows. Even beholding Him removes suffering. Applying the pollen from His lotus feet upon one’s head brings fortune and transforms one’s destiny, making one truly fortunate. Therefore, to remove the suffering of the world and to bestow true happiness, the divine incarnations of the Lord appear. And they enable many beings to directly experience the Self as Paramātmā. Without Gurudeva, no one in the world has ever attained Ātma-Paramātmā, nor will they ever. Many may become sādhana practitioners, may become siddhas through yogic practices, but Ātma-jñāna is given only by Gurudeva. Without Gurudeva, there is no jñāna, and without jñāna, there is only suffering. There is no end; without knowledge, the soul’s lament does not cease. Even if one gains all the gold in the world, the knowledge of the jīvarājī—that is, the subtle consciousness—does not vanish easily. That self-knowledge is attained through the grace of the Īśvareśa Satgurudeva. Therefore, it is written in the Rāmāyaṇa: Śiva, Viṣṇu, and Brahmā become equal only through the Guru; without the Guru, no one can cross the ocean of worldly existence. Neither Śiva, Viṣṇu, nor Brahmā can become equal or attain liberation without the Guru. Without the Guru, one cannot cross the ocean of worldly existence. In Maharashtra, there was a saint named Chaṅgadeva Jī who attained great siddhis through intense sādhanā. He used to sit on a lion and carry a whip made from a black serpent. His siddhi was so elevated that when death approached, he would send his prāṇa away, and when the time of death had passed, he would bring it back. So, while doing this, he said that he would never die. He lived for 1400 years. After all, if there was no knowledge of the ātman, then what was the knowledge of Sant Jñāneśvara, Muktābāī, and Nivṛtti Nātha Jī? The three—two brothers and one sister—were all Jīvanmukta jñānīs. They sat on a wall, and their glory and splendor were immense. When I go to see Śāṅgadeva, I look at him, and seeing him sitting on the lion, I become afraid. When he rides the lion, the disciples play the chaṅtī and bājā. The kings and queens sing bhajans joyfully. Jñānadeva and the saints were sitting on the wall. Let us welcome Unnan. When the wall moved, the wall moved. When the wall moved, the eyes of Śāṅgadeva opened, and he realized that this is lifeless, whereas ours have life. So, to me, it is a greater truth. Śāṅgadeva fell at their feet, and Jñāneśvara Śānta gave him self-knowledge, and he attained liberation in life. And without the śrāntas and without the Satgurukha Deva, life cannot be liberated; the direct vision of the ātman cannot be attained. There was a Svāmī Bhāskarānanda in South India who had attained great siddhi, was a great tāntrika, had studied all the Vedas and śāstras, and did not accept anyone. He used to defeat everyone in his lectures, and after defeating them, he would write down that he had won. He was so adept in the art of mantra that he could sit for long hours, pressing himself to the ground, closing his mouth, and his mantra would take effect. He heard the name of Bhagavān Śrī Dīpanāna Mahāprabhujī—how He is the Mahāprabhu, and he would say, "O Lord, many..." We cannot attain complete perfection—then how is Mahāprabhujī truly Mahāprabhujī? I will see; until now, no one in the world has ever defeated me. And as for Śoṇa, the situation was dire, like a prostitute wrapped in a rag of filth, and Śākṣā was like a dark, terrifying trident in the soul. Gurudeva was seated as usual, and he said, "Who is this one who calls himself Mahāprabhujī?" I said, "He is the one seated there," and he said... "Vāpākhaṇḍī, oh arrogant one, Daṇḍī, your knowledge is cold, oh Daṇḍī, you should feel ashamed of this, you must cultivate humility." And ego, pride—these are the root of all sins. What should be conquered? Conquer the enemies within: lust, anger, greed, and pride. Their feelings changed completely, and as soon as they heard the Amṛta Vacana, they fell at the feet and said, "Gurudeva, this is exactly what you have commanded. Whatever faults I have, they are with me, but Gurudeva, by your dīdāra darśana, my inner flame has been pacified. I do not find supreme peace within through any practice. My life has become completely detached." Gurudeva said that heat comes near fire. Coolness comes near water. The flames of the liberated souls calm down as soon as they come under the shadow of such men. Then he embraced the devotion of Gurudeva and all that... One who gave up conquering others and continued to practice self-restraint, the soul has said: When you became a deity, you performed actions; when you did, you were called Indra; when you resembled ghosts, spirits, and night, you were put to sleep. The Satguru now awakens you. Many times this being performed such deeds that he even became a deity, and sometimes he elevated his actions to become the king of the gods, Indra. That too came to an end; then he became a ghost or spirit. After that, he turned into worms, insects, and other such beings, and finally became a lifeless creature, a mere body. When the direct realization of the Ātman occurs, this world, which is like a dream, comes to an end, and one attains liberation in the Ātman itself or Paramātmā. This grace is bestowed only by Gurudevī, who is the true sovereign. Yes, the one in whom the divine power is complete, in whom the īśvarī jyoti is perfectly illuminated, who embodies the very form of Bhagavān, that life can liberate. And yet many sādhus wander about, some spending their days performing jantara mantras, others reading the Vedas and Vedānta. Spending the day narrating stories, some spend it with medicine and water, others bid farewell with light. Without the knowledge of the true self, one lives a life immersed in various kinds of illusions. True men have no need to engage in any deception. Mahāprabhujī resides in the heart; even with 100-200 or 400 people, daily meals are provided. Someone asked, "Bābā Jī, where does this come from?" Śāmāna Gurudeva used to say that I have come from the realm of truth. I had ordered Kuḍrita that after 200 people have eaten, then I will eat. So Kuḍrita has to take charge and make arrangements; I do not have to do anything. All the siddhis are at their feet. You yourself stand and do all the work; that is why the Īśvarī Puruṣa attains great perfection. Today is the death anniversary of Mahāprabhujī, and it is on this very āśrama that I used to serve at his sacred feet, sweep the floors, and take care of all his needs. When I remember those days, I feel immense joy. And sorrow is also experienced when the Lord departs. What can I say, we have witnessed many of His līlā. He was the ocean of supreme bliss, the form of Paramātmā, the Sadguru. Without the Sadguru, no one attains true happiness. If you want to be happy, then engage only in Satsaṅga. Satsaṅga is the ship that helps one cross the ocean of worldly existence. There are six types of saṅga in the world. Khevayyā Mahātmā, sādhu, mubārikho, mubārikho. And seeing the world burning, Pūrbu sent the flame of knowledge; the rain of immortal knowledge is mubārī. The world is burning, but the cloud of peace is their immortal rain. The words of peace cool the three kinds of heat, and with many praises, the suffering is alleviated. Praise is sorrow; all kinds of misfortunes flee upon hearing the saints. Even if a hundred suns and moons rise at once, the darkness of the heart cannot be dispelled. The darkness of the heart can only be dispelled by the grace of the Guru. Therefore, without guru-bhakti, a human is no different from an animal. One without bhakti is like an animal; that is not true bhakti. One takes birth in many lower species, but only through the wealth of bhakti are births purified. Therefore, one should engage in devotion to Paramātmā, take refuge in the true Gurudeva, receive mantra dīkṣā, and practice the mantra. Without practice, there is no siddhi. Thus, one will attain purity through practice. Hence, one must engage in sādhana, sevā, and dhyāna. By worshiping their feet, one worships the deities of the three worlds. The essence of the word Ṣaṭguru is that all beings—Jina, Nivāya, Sabhā, Nive, Ḍāla, Pāda, Phala, Phūla, and even the gods—are dependent on the Guru. Just as the tree depends on its roots, trunk, branches, leaves, fruits, and flowers, similarly, all deities and sacred pilgrimage sites are subordinate to the Gurudeva. Therefore, it is said that the true Ṣaḍguru is the imperishable Īśvara, the supreme controller; the worship of the goddess is performed by the devotees. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śabdeva also serve Gurudeva. Guru Nānaka says that the true guru seeks the Brahmavettā, the great Lord; Nānaka is the supreme knower, the very Parameśvara. The Brahmavettā are saints, and even their Śiva desires to behold them. There was a desire, and therefore such divine manifestations of Bhagavān were bestowed; Mahāprabhujī appeared here and has uplifted many people. Many who were starving have been saved, many blind have regained sight by His grace, many childless have been blessed with children, many sick and incurable have been healed, and even abroad, people fulfill their wishes in His name. They complete and become pure; by chanting their name, all obstacles are removed and bliss arises. Therefore, if one takes the name of the enemy guru, sins are incurred. The name of the enemy guru is like a ship; by boarding it, one crosses over. Those who have faith serve the guru and cross over, wearing the garland of surrender. The name of Gurudeva is the ship to cross the ocean of existence. With faith, one holds on to that name. If one practices, the name is of the great power and grants great siddhi. If one firmly holds and remembers the name, then without doing anything, one attains the fruit. One should earn wealth like money; this life is invaluable. Devotion can happen in human life, it cannot happen in the next birth. Eating, drinking, enjoying, and sleeping—these are only for animals. If this is the only characteristic, then even animals can perform śamāna; if animals cannot do bhakti, cannot meditate, cannot use a mālā, cannot practice sādhanā, but humans can, then such a precious life should not be wasted. It has passed beyond the animals, therefore, having attained this life, one should earn bhakti and engage in sādhanā.