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Mantra is a cosmic resonance. It originated from the primordial sound at the very beginning, which we call Oṃ. Everything has been developed and created through this resonance. It is harmonizing, balancing, and uniting. All the elements emerged from this resonance. When I speak, it is a resonance that comes to you, touches your eardrums, and you perceive the sound. The five elements work together harmoniously in this process. Resonance needs space, and space needs resonance. Therefore, the Sanskrit language, one of the oldest languages, has also changed a little. The alphabet has changed slightly—I refer not to the vowels and consonants, but the written form has altered somewhat. The pronunciation has not changed in Sanskrit, but the writing has. Yet we are not following the form; we are going after the essence, the origin, the reality. These resonances, these sounds, were heard by great persons, saints—whatever you call them—in their meditation. These vibrations were heard by the great saints in their meditative states. They named the alphabet Devanāgarī. 'Dev' means Goddess. 'Nāgarīk' means a citizen. It means a citizen of God. Literally, it means these are the principles of resonance which surround the main principle, Oṃ or God, the main principle, which is Oṃ, which is God. Often, people ask, "Why do Indians have so many Gods?" Yes, thanks to God, they have many goddesses. It is said that all positive principles are like God, and negative principles are like devils. The president does not have to do all the work; the employees do it. The president cannot do everything. Other employees, co-workers, colleagues, they have to help and do it. You have a big factory with an entrance where cars go into the parking lot. There is a person sitting there, opening and closing the barrier as cars come and go. The director cannot sit there and open the barrier all the time. That task is done by someone else, while the director does something different. Let us come closer to our body. The work of the eyes cannot be done by the ears. The work of the ears cannot be done by the nose. The work of the nose cannot do the work of the eyes. There is one story, probably I have told it many times, but I can repeat it. A hunter was running behind a deer to kill it, and the deer ran away. The hunter ran in the direction the deer went. He saw the deer again and was ready to shoot it with an arrow. Again, the deer ran away. When he was ready to shoot again, the animal turned again. Life is dear to everyone. No creature wishes to die. They will either fight, escape, or run away. So the hunter was running in the direction of the deer. He suddenly saw a small hut, and in front of it sat a yogī, engaged in his meditation or mantra. The hunter asked the yogī, "My dear friend, can you tell me where the deer ran to?" The yogī thought: he saw the bow and arrow in the man's hand; definitely this man is a hunter. He will kill the deer. If I indicate the direction, I will be guilty. If I tell him where it went, I will be to blame. But if I do not tell him, if I say I have not seen it, that would also be a mistake. He was in a dilemma between Ahiṃsā (non-violence) and Truth. So the yogī said, "Well, my friend, what can I tell you? Tell me, which direction do you run? That is what I want to say to you. Yes, then say. Do not waste my time. Well, the one who saw the deer cannot speak, and the one who speaks can never see. So what can I tell you? The mouth can speak, but it cannot see. The eyes can see, but they cannot speak." The hunter said, "It must be a crazy man," and went away. So every organ, every limb, every joint, everything in this body has its own duty, its own work. All are working differently. The work of your kidney cannot be done by your ātmā. That is a completeness; it shows the harmony and mutual understanding in the cosmic system. This all-positive system is known as God. This perfect unity is God Himself. So what they discovered—the Devanāgarī, the devas—were the different resonances in the universe. The yogīs and the devanāgarīkas discovered different resonances in the universe. And these resonances are discovered in the body. That is why every chakra has its resonance, its mantras. Every tissue of your body has an immense resonance, a different vibration. That tissue is responsible for that particular part of the body. When we forget all these things, then the ṛṣis advise us to repeat or chant some mantras. That can be a prayer, a poem, a song, a word, or a mantra—something positive. When we forget, the ṛṣis recommend we repeat a certain mantra. It can be a prayer, a song, a positive word. We must first change our way of thinking. They lost the base, the origin, the essence. If you do not change your inner feelings, your decisions, then it will not work. So every mantra, no matter from which language it comes, every prayer, no matter from which culture or language, has a positive effect on the body, mind, consciousness, and soul. Every mantra has a positive effect on the body, the mind, and the soul. In research on the two hemispheres of the human brain, they spoke a lot about human problems and diseases and tried to find treatments. When they came to know about stress, they searched for stress points and found there is no medicine for stress. Dealing with the problem led to the realization that there is no cure for stress, but stress can cause many physical and psychic problems. They said, "When you have particular problems caused by stress, there is no medicine, but three kinds of therapy are advised: prayer, meditation, and exercises." They did not want to say yoga, but said, "the Eastern way of exercising." Everyone who listened knew this. Therefore, prayers, meditation, and āsanas have a great effect on our entire being. And mantra is the soul of everything. Different mantras, when practiced, allow you to concentrate on different parts of the body, different chakras, or on nature. The mantras we have now put together for Kaṭhupraṇām are for each chakra. That we will speak about tomorrow. So think over what I told you: resonance, vibration, prāṇāyāma, meditation, exercise, positive thinking. We are on the way to perfection. If we act more consciously, our development will rapidly increase. But you also have to develop positive thinking. Even if something is completely wrong and the situation is not good, still, you are... I advise, if you can, save the situation. Today I met some Indians on the other side of the border of Hungary, because they did not have the money to come here. A very learned person, a great person who held a very high position in India. We are from the same area. He said, "You know, Swāmījī, today is a very important day for Austria and for Europe. It is the day the Austrian prince was killed, and the First World War began. They attacked Belgrade. Austria was a very big country, but they were not able to digest what happened to them. They fought and fought, and now they remain a small country." So it is a saying that the wise ones, the great ones, should endure and forgive. War will always be your last resort. Fighting, quarreling, jealousy, criticizing will always be your loss. So, whatever has happened, try your best to save the situation if you can. That is the heart of a yogī. Those are the thoughts and heart of a wise person, a holy person. What is gone is gone. What you have in hand, try to keep it. What has gone has gone, and what you have in your hands, try to hold on to it. That is why Guru Nānak, the great saint, said: "Bura jo dekhan mai chala, bura na milya koi Jo man khoja aapna, to mujhse bura na koi. Oh man, jītane dina terā bīt gayā bin nāma Ab kī bāra kar le pukāra, hoi na derā kāma." (When I set out to look for the wicked, I found none. When I searched my own mind, I found none worse than me. Oh my mind, all your days have passed without the Name of God. Now, at least, begin to call upon Him; it is never too late.) That's it.