TV Channel

Today our awareness is focused. Today truly marks the 43rd year since Mahāprabhujī entered Mahāsamādhi. On December 5, 1963, during the Brahmamuhūrta between 4 and 5 AM Indian time—which was around 1 AM in Europe—Mahāprabhujī left his physical form. He lived for 135 years, which is no small feat. Very few people nowadays live to such an age. This is only possible when one lives with discipline, without stress, and with contentment. All of us sitting here, unfortunately, lack contentment. We always have some desire: "God, help me fulfill this," or "I am meant to resolve this problem." There are so many things; it is indeed difficult. Every worry burdens our entire body and kills many healthy cells. The body's functions become disordered, all organs are burdened, and the glandular systems fall into imbalance. It can be just one concern—perhaps that your shoes do not fit, or that your nail polish is not exactly right. If you get annoyed all day in the office typing, you keep looking at your nails. My God, hair color, haircut—painting it a silly color, then red, then black, and so on. This too is a worry, a burden. It means dissatisfaction. And of course, there are worries about illness, relatives, family, children, profession, money, and certain matters that must be resolved through lawyers to restore order. Regularly, your car does not run properly and an accident happens; your neighbor plays music too loudly. There are many, many worries in life, and that is a tremendous burden. This is caused by our modern way of living. Our lifestyle is very unhealthy, and we are caught inside this movement. We cannot stand still. It is like a track; you can try to stand still, but it pushes you forward. In ancient times, when the world was not so "civilized" with machines and technology, people lived with much more peace and were healthier. At that time, there was no question of "organic food" because everything was organic. It was perfectly logical that everything was biological. Milk and all products were completely natural. Electricity is not so old that it is present in every village and household worldwide. There are still many houses and small farms in Europe without electricity. Back then, people went to bed early; without electricity, there was no disco. Nightclubs and all that nowadays are also stress factors. Cinemas and films—the best cinema was people gathering to sing folk songs and spiritual songs. They lived with nature and animals, meditated, prayed, had enough time to practice mantra, and rose earlier. Thus, people lived long lives as well. Now, day by day, our lives grow shorter. The best, most joyful time is around 35 years. After 35, you can think you are still healthy and young—thinking is not forbidden. But after 35, your development, feelings, and all that fresh energy in your body—the quicksilver goes down the pillar; it no longer rises up. I am sorry to say, you can think, but that is nothing. Feelings in the mind—we all feel young. The mind is young, but it does not deceive the body. Diseases come: cancer and many other illnesses. Yes, back then people had fewer opportunities, and some even died from appendicitis. Nowadays, operating on an appendix is like pulling a tooth—though pulling a tooth back then was not so easy either. Therefore, everyone kept their teeth. Now, if a tooth is inflamed, there is an injection and it is removed. At that time, people suffered for a longer period but then healed and kept their teeth. Some had nothing done for their teeth and said, "This is a sign we are now old and should be sensible and eat sensibly." There are people like one living in Jaipur who is 146 years old, still alive, able to stand up, go to the toilet, shower by themselves, walk about half a kilometer and return. We also wish to live a long life. I wish you all the best and a long life. But what will you do with a long life if it is constant worries? Alright, I am no longer going in that direction—sorry. Otherwise, you will be disappointed. You come for a pleasant gathering and to listen to Satsang, and I speak again of awakening worries. Now everyone will go home and look in the mirror. Truly, for those over 35, all will wonder if they have any wrinkles. Today at breakfast, I noticed my skin feels tight as well. That is so. Those are all wrinkles. But it doesn't matter; that is beautiful. It is a dignity when you receive the caretaker of the body; it is a dignity that you are truly so old and beautiful. Well, from which side do you see? God Krishna has spoken much in the Bhagavad Gītā: "Arjuna, I incarnate again and again whenever difficult times arise. All the devotees suffer, and the sinners, and the darkness, and the negative energy arise. Dharma is being suppressed, and Adharma will respond. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmyaham. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge." I come age after age. Thus, there are two types of incarnations. One incarnation is from Yuga to Yuga. When it incarnates, a purification takes place in the process. Then, as with wheat or grains, the chaff is also separated. So there is good and bad, just like in a tsunami. There were good people and perhaps bad ones too, and everyone is lost in a flood of life. So, there is one who incarnates as Viṣṇu, as the Perfecter, with this purpose. Until now, God has incarnated on this planet 24 times. The 24th is to come, called the Kalki Avatāra, the God who incarnates in this Kali Yuga. The time is almost upon us for him to come. The second type of incarnation of God is from time to time in the form of a saint. The saints come here as well; they possess the same power and qualities. These saints are here to help all devotees and also to help sinners free us from sin through blessings, prayer, and spiritual instructions, so that they may live according to spirituality. Thus, on this planet, people live according to spirituality. This Earth is still so good and beautiful only because many saints, many spiritual beings live here. I do not think there are no more saints in this time today. No, that is incorrect. There are many saints, many spiritual people. There are many millions who pray and think positively, and because of that, our planet is still beautiful. Mahāprabhujī's incarnation was a perfect incarnation. To speak now of the holy: there are two kinds. One is holy by birth, and the second strives, practices, lives a disciplined life, and then becomes holier. Then one attains supernatural powers and miracles—what we call siddhis. Miracles, the wondrous deeds, you can only see when you have purified your cittavṛttis. Your life has moved entirely positive, entirely pure. Then your life, or you, are like a saint. Just as, for example, Buddha was born a prince and, like us, received vairāgya and spiritual interest. He made great efforts, performed tapasyā, meditated, lived, and then attained Self-realization. Buddha means Self-realization; Buddha means the liberated one, Nirvāṇa. Buddha means knowledge and Buddha means divine consciousness. Thus, there have been many millions of spiritual people on this planet who, through spiritual practices and many lifetimes of helping humans and animals, have reached this stage. Others, like Mahāprabhujī and many others, were such that they came voluntarily due to karmas from previous lives. There is one thing: Svarga, heaven. Heaven or Svarga has a limited lifespan. As long as your good deeds remain, you stay in that heaven. And heaven, according to Yoga or spirituality as we understand it in this philosophy, is nothing eternal. Nothing is eternal. This mind, the spirit of the human or any creature, cannot live forever as an individual. If you exist as an individual, then eventually change will come again. It is against the highest cosmic law. But when you come into Brahman, that means you no longer exist as an individual. Your being in the entire universe is one with divine consciousness, just as a drop of water falls back into the ocean. You can no longer retrieve this drop. It was still there as an individual until it touched the ocean—a millimeter of distance remained. But then it became one with the entire ocean. That is called Advaita, One without a second, beyond time and space. It means in infinity and no longer bound by time. To reach this stage of consciousness, in Sanskrit it is called Brahman, Brahmalīna. Līna means union, becoming one—one in Brahman. And Brahman means that God has no form, no name. Omnipresent is the Supreme, God—perhaps what is called the Holy Father in Christianity. He has no form. Other levels are several Lokas, planes within this universe. Just as our planet is a plane called Loka, the physical world. As the Gāyatrī Mantra indicates, there are levels at different stages in the universe. There is also Pitṛloka, where all the ancestors reside. Perhaps there is also purgatory, as they say in German. Perhaps there is a cave; perhaps there is a heaven. But where the sky ends, there is the cave, and where the cave ends, there is the sky or something beyond. But when it is Brahmaloka, then there is no more distance and no more dualism. When one has attained this consciousness, one becomes one with Brahman. So, from this Brahman, what does a mantra give? Oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate. He is perfect, and all that comes from Him is perfect. What you take out and what remains is also perfect. Therefore, this means that from this Brahmaloka, from Brahman, the Light that manifests on this planet or on other planes is one of the Perfected. The Perfect One naturally possesses all kinds of siddhis, powers, or abilities. The whole of nature, whole Prakṛti, moves and follows its instructions. If He wills, He can bring rain. If He wills, He can bring forth a storm. If He wills, He can do everything. If we want to bring rain, we can scream and cry—perhaps our own tears will come, but not the rain. That is it. We have no control, power, or mastery over the elements. We are trapped in the elements, but they are above the elements. Although living beings and bodies also consist of these five elements, they can master them. Thus, this divine consciousness, the Brahma-consciousness, comes into a form on this planet. There are very few perfect, holy Masters. Among them are Devapurījī, or one might say, Mahāprabhujī. Ālak Purījī is still alive. Ālak Purījī has lived for several thousand years, and there are still many people who live for many thousands of years, meditating in the Himalayas and so on. But they are very far from us; perhaps we will not see them. For us, existence on this planet is a victory. We who live in this part of the Earth, living ordinary lives in cities, whether in the West or East—when we come closer, many kilometers away, they will smell that we stink. When we come closer to these saints, we simply reek because our body is impure, our feelings are impure, our thoughts are impure. And they become invisible to us immediately. There are very few blessed ones who can suddenly have that. But the lives, the rays, the energy, the light... Mahāprabhujī possessed these qualities, this natural radiance, because he was a Perfect One, an incarnation of the Perfect One. Therefore, whoever thinks of him or meditates, the light returns again. It was fitting that Mahāprabhujī's name was also Dīpa. Dīpa means the light. His Master, Devapurīṣī, said to Mahāprabhujī, "Yes, you are the sun of the universe. One sun is what we see, and the second, you are that." This is written in the Līlāmṛta of the Holy Gurujī. These scenes hold great significance. Read Līlāmṛta once again very attentively in stillness. Read only one story. I read one story for whole months, again and again. Every time you read, new knowledge will come, new experiences will come. Some time before, as Holy Gurujī said, approximately eight, nine, or ten months earlier, Mahāprabhujī had sent a letter, messages to Gurujī. A few years ago, he also said that on December 5th, during Brahmamuhūrta, he would return to his Brahmaloka. He asked, "Do you have any wishes?" You know, whenever someone occasionally asked Holy Gurujī if he had any wishes for himself, his answer was always just one: "In every life of mine, if I receive a life or must come back, then please let me be your servant. No matter which part of the universe you are in, may I come to you and be your servant." Not, "When will my Kuṇḍalinī awaken? When will I receive śakti? When will I attain siddhi? Can I materialize something?" Mahāprabhujī could have given everything. But Gurujī knew this is Māyā, an illusion. True happiness, true love is to live eternally in this sacred presence with your Master. Thus, he said, "Lord, no matter when I come to this planet, I shall be your servant." It is said several times that once Mahāprabhujī sat in his room, as written in Līlāmṛta, and Gurujī sewed a shirt for Mahāprabhujī on a sewing machine. Wealthy people came wanting to give something, and Mahāprabhujī said, "No, I have everything. Go to the poor people and the animals." Mahāprabhujī had shirts. I have a shirt, fortunately—with great joy and grace, I found a shirt of Mahāprabhujī that someone gave me. In several places, it was repaired, stitched, tended to. In its side pocket, placed in his hand, I found a very small piece of coconut shell. That was one of the best things. This year on Gurupūrṇimā, I received two nails from someone on behalf of Mahāprabhujī—a disciple who had always worn medals from Mahāprabhujī. She is about 70 now and has reflected a lot. She knows her children are also devoted, but she felt they did not have the same value for possessing Mahāprabhujī's nails, so she gave them to me. That was my greatest joy and a gift I have received in my life. So, Holy Gurujī sewed a shirt for Mahāprabhujī, and Mahāprabhujī suddenly came out of his room and called, "Mādhavānanda, Mādhavānanda, come!" Gurujī went quickly. "What do you wish for? Do you wish for something? I want to give you everything today—the kingdom of all three worlds." Mahāprabhujī said, "You shall keep the kingdom. Let me be your servant." Where? "You always have the most beautiful moments in your presence—the most beautiful life, without fear, without pressure." That is why in this room Gurudev wrote the book and the bhajan: "Again and again, I ask the Lord. Birth after birth, Hari's servant I have been, who has lit the lamp of the kingdom. Birth after birth, in every life, please let me be your servant, O Lord, hear my prayer." So often Mahāprabhujī asked, and Gurudev always gave only this answer. Ten months earlier, Mahāprabhujī had written a letter asking Gurujī to come to him. Gurujī was in Gujarat, and for the first time in his life, Mahāprabhujī wrote to Gurujī telling him what to bring—his rental equipment. Gurujī was so happy that for the first time Mahāprabhujī told him what to bring. Gurujī immediately brought this hundred-meter-long, large cloth. During the Brahmamuhūrta, Mahāprabhujī was sitting on his bed and had called Gurujī. Most people were asleep at this time. Mahāprabhujī told Gurujī, "I will leave this physical world on this date. I will be in my infinity in Brahmaloka. But my energy, my power, will be everywhere wherever my devotees think of me." And so it is. This means that although the One is in Brahman, we still receive energy from these personalities. For example, we pray to Jesus. How is it that he was here 2,000 years ago? Do we receive energy from him? Yes. When you have these feelings, this devotion and these values, then definitely, 100,000% definitely, you will receive help from Jesus—his grace, his love will come to you. But only if your heart is pure and you have no despair, no ego, no hatred, no envy, no greed, and no jealousy. Where these qualities are present, divine consciousness does not arise. Where there is only purity, divine consciousness comes. Thus, in Sanātana Dharma, it is said everything is one. But how you think and the direction you go in determines from which side you arrive. Therefore, respect and acknowledge everyone. Do not say, "My religion is the best and others are bad." Then you have understood nothing. Mahāprabhujī's life was very simple, very straightforward, divine. Only those who have seen Mahāprabhujī with their own eyes can say what he truly was. It is said Mahāprabhujī did not speak much or give many lectures. A little discipline, and he was simply established there. The devotees came, and all saw various forms of Mahāprabhujī. Whoever thought of Hanumānjī suddenly saw Mahāprabhujī sitting as Hanumānjī. Or as Rāma, or Kṛṣṇa, Buddha, Guru Nānak, or Jesus. Whichever bhāva you think, that is the form he took. If you think of an enemy, you see an enemy. If you think of your father, you see your father's face. If you think of your mother, you see your mother's face. It is your bhāva—your feelings. You are the one who realizes the feelings. In this manner, Mahāprabhujī simply sat there, either gazing far into the distance or with eyes closed. The bhakti was so joyful; everyone came alongside. It was simply like a meditation atmosphere—beautiful. Everyone chanted mantras, or the group came and sang bhajans. Mahāprabhujī enjoyed the bhajans and always asked, "Sing bhajan." Once, as Gurujī is like that, he enjoyed bhajan. When someone came and Gurujī said, "Sing bhajan," he said, "I can't." "What else have you done in your life? You haven't even learned or sung the bhajan." That's how it is in life. What have you done if you cannot sing bhajan? God’s name wastes all your time. Spirituality is independent of religion. I just watched an interview with the Dalai Lama. He said spirituality is neutral; it is not dependent on religion. Religion is also good for spirituality, and without spirituality, it is not religion. But nothing is exclusive; one must believe that somewhere. Because your spirituality is your God. Our spirituality is neutral and entirely individual, deeply personal. That is what you have uniquely in your life—your feelings, your existence, the spirituality within you or no spirituality at all. There, everyone has the freedom to decide on which path and how they wish to be.