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Spirituality is the longing of the transient for the eternal, the longing of the mortal for the immortal. Each code of practice, belief, and attitude common to all Hindus is directed towards one goal: to attain liberation, God-consciousness, and to realize our immortal self. The crown jewel of Hinduism is the festival of Kumbh Melā. Thousands of years ago, the gods and demons agreed to work together temporarily, churning amṛta, the nectar of immortality, from the primordial ocean of milk, and sharing it equally. When the kumbha, the urn containing the amṛta, appeared, the demons ran away with it and were chased by the gods. During that battle, drops of nectar fell at four places in India: here in Prayāg, in Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nāsik. The Kumbh Melā is observed at these places, symbolizing our quest for immortality. Before the festival starts, a city of tents is built on the banks of the Gaṅgā to accommodate millions of pilgrims. Here, the Yoga in Daily Life system has its camp. Under the guidance of Vishwa Guru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṁsa Śrī Svāmī Mahāśvarānandajī, the author of this world-renowned system, we enjoyed the beauty of the simplicity of this place and the awakening power of Gurudev's words. All these holy saints who incarnated geographically in this part of the earth, from the peak of the Himalayas—from there, the holy dust from the feet of the holy saints is flowing through the different streams of the water, different creeks and the rivers, and joining these mighty rivers, and brought this holy dust together on this saṅgam where the three rivers are. Merging into the one place, and you are sitting today directly here. The festival of Kumbh Melā is traditionally opened by a procession through the crowded streets of Prayāg. Sights and sounds so typical of colorful India fill the air. At the beginning of the procession walk Nāga-Bābā sādhus. Nāga-Bābās are naked ascetics who have renounced even their clothes in the name of God. After them follows the soul of the procession: the great yogīs, the mahātmās. Those great souls are Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras, the masters of akhāṛās. Akhāṛās are monastic orders organized long ago to support and protect the spiritual paths of Hinduism. Every step through the city is a joyful celebration of unity—through the unity of the people and their gurus, to the unity with the immortal, with the self, with God. This joy proves that Hinduism is a happy religion. That happiness is rooted in true belief in the holy scriptures and in the teachings of the Mahātmas, who always testify to the immortal essence of all existence. The direct experience of the divine nature of the human being, realized through yoga, brings unparalleled bliss of completeness. Hinduism is a living religion, continually refreshed by the living saints who are Brahma Jñānīs, knowers of Brahman. That's why the French philosopher Romain Rolland wrote, "If there is any place on the face of this earth where all the dreams of living man have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India." And so the procession inaugurates this great festival, revitalizing the bond between those who are awakened within that dream and those who are seeking that awakening. Although no one receives an invitation, the sheer number of pilgrims makes Kumbh Melā the largest gathering anywhere in the world. After visiting Kumbh Melā in 1895, the American writer Mark Twain wrote, "It is wonderful, the power of faith that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak, the young and frail, enter without hesitating or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant troubles without repining. That act done in love is beyond the imagination and marvelous to our kind of people." The camp of Yoga in Daily Life has its own life. We practice every morning. Regular āsanas keep our bodies fit for all other daily activities. Prāṇāyāma recharges our energy and awareness. Through meditation, we dive deeper into the spiritual essence of Kumbh Melā. A very light but nutritious diet keeps our bodies and minds in balance. Every day, pundits introduce to the audience some words of wisdom from the infinite treasure of Hindu holy scripture. Svāmījī is constantly in the focus of all the media. He answers countless questions about yoga and spirituality. The store selling Yoga in Daily Life publications attracts many pilgrims throughout the day. Every evening is crowned by the words of truth spoken by the Mahātmas. This was the vision of India, which was built on the strength of its knowledge and spirituality in a single line in the whole world. If anyone had wished for the welfare of the world, then it was India's Sanātana culture. Our life will have to become Nārāyaṇa from Nārāyaṇa. In our life, we shall become from the human to God. We will have to become Śiva from Jīva. We have to become the Śiva. This should be our aim now, here, just now: to realize the eternal one, and that is not anywhere else, and not at all the other one, not the separate one, but that is the self. What you are able to do for us and for the world is to be a great sign of hope. Because in your presence and in your work, you truly bring the presence of God, the one God, seeking unity of hearts, unity of minds, unity of cultures, and unity of religions. God is one, maybe described in different names and forms, but God is one. You listen, hear so many times, film star, tennis star, but among us, Svāmī Mahāsarañjī is shining as a spiritual star. Yogīs know that the true kumbha, the true urn containing the nectar of immortality, is our own body. The anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry of the human body are the instruments of the liberation of the individual. The two hemispheres of our brain, the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and central nervous systems, and our nāḍīs, divided into iḍā, piṅgalā, and suṣumṇā, all represent the true Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and Sarasvatī. The Iḍā and Piṅgalā flow through our body like the Ganges and the Yamuna through India, crossing each other, creating cakras, psychoenergetic centers, until they reach the Ājñā Cakra, the eyebrow center, where they unite with the third river, Sarasvatī, the river of wisdom and self-realization. The Ājñā Cakra is the true Saṅgam, where all streams of being finally find their confluence with reality, the non-transient. That realization of our divine nature is the nectar of immortality, which cures all suffering forever and liberates us from the agony of transience. All yoga exercises lead us to that unique goal: the return to a state of non-transient completeness. Kumbh Melā is a rare opportunity for sādhus of the same akhāṛā to be together as a part of a spiritual family. Under the patronage of one of the Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras, they celebrate their unity at the festival meal called Bāṇḍārā. This Bāṇḍārā is organized by Śrī Mahāśvarānandajī, and thousands of sādhus get a meal, a shawl, some money, and a picture of Śrī Kapila Muni, the true Brahma Jñānī from the 6th century BC, author of Sāṅkhya philosophy and the patron of the Mahānirvāṇī Akhāṛā. This tradition unites sādhus, strengthening their spirit in a common goal. Kumbh Melā has gained international fame as the world's most massive act of faith. For devotees here, time stops, and they dive into Sanātana Dharma, the eternal relation between the human and God. This is Saṅgam, the confluence of India's three most sacred rivers: the Gaṅgā, the Yamunā, and the mystical Sarasvatī. The main highlight for most pilgrims during Kumbh Melā is the observance of the sacred bath at the Saṅgam. This is a moment of humility, devotion, and hope that by God's mercy, karmas will be purified and the soul will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death. After many years of practicing yoga, selfless service, and the ascetic life, eight of Svāmījī's disciples decided to become sannyāsīs, monks. They go through sannyāsa dīkṣā, the ceremony of renunciation. The sannyāsa initiation is the highest initiation in a human's life. But a sannyāsī who takes the sannyāsa offers all the negative qualities, all the desires, and purifies and offers oneself into the sannyāsa to live further. This means immortality. There will be no more death and no more birth. Our special guests at Sannyās Dīkṣā are Her Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria in India and His Excellency Monsignor David Capo from Australia. A ceremony that we have witnessed this morning, deep in tradition and deep in the great spiritual culture of India. But as Svāmījī said, this ceremony of sannyāsa is universal, and you are called into such a beautiful life of loving service that we ask the one God of the universe to love and care for you during your lives. At this divine spot of Saṅgam, where for thousands of years numerous yogīs and ṛṣis did their sādhanā and tapas, Yoga in Daily Life performs a set of exercises. Surrounded by thousands of spectators, we show them that yoga, the jewel of India, is accepted all over the world. To breathe and to meditate on the holy sand of Saṅgam was an unforgettable experience. For numerous journalists, this is an opportunity to interview Svāmījī and new sannyāsīs. After the holy sand, we enter into the holy river. Our presence here becomes a pure joy. A tremendous quantity of love and devotion erupts into a bliss of oneness. Gaṅgājī exploded. Love purifies. Love unites. Love liberates. Since ancient times, this holy river Gaṅgā has not been just a stream of water. Each river is a stream of life, but the Ganges, from its source in the Himalaya to its confluence with the ocean, is the true Suṣumnā, the living stream of spirit, a stream of prāṇa feeding the whole civilization of Hinduism. Without its beauty and depth, many doors to the truth would remain closed. Through the millennia, this river has inspired and seen countless sages meditating on its banks and diving into the essential nature of Ātmā. The Ganges is the eternal and silent witness, bridging time. For these people, she is Gaṅgā Mātā, the mother Ganges, and Gaṅgā Devī, the goddess Ganges. Hinduism is not only a religion, not only geographical or national. Hinduism is a state of mind. Through the breadth of its inquiring spirit, Indian mahātmas, yogīs, plunged without fear, prejudice, or calculation into the measureless immensity of the spirit. Searching passionately, they discovered what they searched for: the truth. For the wise, only the truth is beautiful. Truth liberates heroes who no longer accept being slaves of ignorance. For the glory of that freedom, Hinduism dances and sings with all its being. For yogīs, all efforts are joy, and all renunciation is freedom. Hinduism, as a way of life, through each of its teachings, symbols, and practices, is directed towards freedom, towards the truth, towards God. This is a religion in which the first human right is to realize and unite with God as one's own essential nature, even here and now, in this body, in this life. Therefore, Hinduism is the state of limitless, unhindered mind, the religion of joy, nonviolence, and closeness to God. Such festivals are also a precious opportunity for Mahātmas to meet other great souls present at Kumbh Melā. Their meetings are a confluence of the rivers of nectar. Divine souls, awakened within the dream of mortality, are beacons of the eternal light of life. Here, we can enjoy the blessings of each other and the blessings of yoga. Yoga is one of the great powers that keeps all Brahmins pure. May everyone be happy, not only the people of India, but may the whole world, every living being, always be happy and experience happiness. Finally, the most auspicious day of Maunī Amāvasyā arrives. A few hours before dawn, the procession of Mahātmas moves solemnly towards Saṅgam, passing through innumerable excited pilgrims. Bhajans, devotional songs, turn this near-freezing morning into warm waves of spirit. The river of souls moves towards the river of immortality. Much more than just a river, the Gaṅgā is a timeless bridge between the human and God. What unites the human with God also unites the human with the human and the human with the whole world. This is water of purity and an awakening into the awareness of our true, golden, divine nature. Each drop is the elixir of life. Drops coming from Gurudev will never evaporate from our souls. Such moments of unity give us tremendous strength and the courage to continue our spiritual journey back home, back to wholeness. Here you know that you are not alone and that you are not dreaming an unreachable dream. In the presence of mahātmas and surrounded by millions of seekers, one feels that the earth is not so hard and that heaven is not so far away. The procession continues with a stream of yogīs who come from all over India. Some of them come out of seclusion only on such occasions. The whole Saṅgam is dancing and singing. It is a dance of spiritual strength and joy. This environment, the radiance here, the aura of all holy saints, millions, this aura is a Kumbha. Tens of millions of people take a dip into the holy waters of Trivenī Saṅgam. In this ocean of people, there was not a single incident. There was no nervousness or tension. When a pilgrim comes to the Saṅgam, it is a deeply personal moment, only God and you. The combined sanctity of the three holy rivers, coupled with the devoted prayers of hundreds of millions of pilgrims through thousands of years, has earned this place the rank of Tīrāṭ Rāj, the king of holy places. Here, the human spirit becomes free from bondage to the concept of mortality. The aim of human life is God-realization, self-realization. The self and God, there is no difference. The difference is in the quality, that quality which the individual created. If we remove the quality of the individual karmas, then we will know who we are. Then you will realize that I am the Self, the Brahman.