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Part 1: The Three Fires: Navigating Disturbance in Meditation and Life Good morning to all of you. This blessing comes to you via our webcast from the Republic of Czech Republic, from Bhagwan Śrī Deep Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī’s ashram in Střelky, set within beautiful nature. We are in a weekend retreat with many devotees from around the world. Today is a most beautiful day. This early morning, we had the opportunity to be together, to meditate, practice, have breakfast, and see each other—all Guru brothers and sisters. Our subject over the last two days has clarified many things for our minds: how and what we should do and practice. We meditate every day, but a question often arises: "When I meditate, after a while I go so deep within myself that I don't want to practice the mantra. Even when I repeat the mantra, I feel vikṣepa (distraction). I would like only to be with myself in a beautiful feeling." This is a very important and good question, relevant not just for one person but for all practitioners. We know every good thing has obstacles. Meditation has different levels. What we often do with different imaginations is not meditation; it is only a concentration technique. We try to withdraw our senses and mind from the external world to come to our inner world, our inner self. But the vṛttis (thoughts) are connected with our vāsanā (latent impressions), desires, ambitions, expectations, daily life situations, or problems—whether problematic or pleasant. They all involve our mind. So when you sit for meditation, all thoughts return. What should we do in these moments? Should we stop or continue? We shall continue. This saṃsāra, this world, is full of noises. It is a living planet where something is always happening. Karambhūmī, the Earth, is working. Water is working. Fire is working. Every creature is working, and you are working too. Therefore, it cannot be that there is no movement. True saṃsāra was created from noise, from the sound Oṁ, the resonance which is the cause of this creation. Now, this resonance manifests differently. Some sounds disrupt you, others do not. What you like, others may dislike. Likes and dislikes are divided between individuals. Therefore, whenever you meditate, you will have to face worldly thoughts. Even if you go to the mountains, the Himalayas, a beach, or a small island, these thoughts—the very purpose of saṃsāra—will not let you be free. Even the great sages and yogīs who enter samādhi for hours are surrounded by certain disturbances of purpose: ādhibhautik, ādhidaivik, and ādhyātmik. Tritāpa—tapa means fire, heat, and problems. The first disturbances, ādhibhautik, come from different creatures: humans, animals, mosquitoes, flies, ants, snakes, scorpions, tigers, lions, birds, and so on. Life is not safe in this world. Jīva-jīva-bhakṣati: life eats life. Animals eat animals. But there is one word that divides the human from the animals: the human. It is not said the human will eat animals; animals eat animals. Still, humans can be eaten by other animals. So these different creatures are a disturbance for meditation. You cannot run away from this. However, humans have buddhi (intellect) and can protect themselves from these disturbing ādhibhautik factors. We put up mosquito nets, make a fire, build houses—we can protect ourselves. Thousands of years ago, there were no mosquito nets; life was not easy, and the human population was small. People died from mosquito bites, spider bites, snake bites, and diseases like appendicitis, which was fatal then but is simple now. Today there is more protection, yet humans are not happy and create more complications daily. So, no matter how deep you are in meditation, a mosquito does not know you are meditating. When it bites your skin, you feel it. If you feel it, you were not in deep meditation—that is a very clear answer. When you are very tired and sleeping deeply, you do not feel mosquito bites; you only see them in the morning. This means we are still experts in sleep, not in meditation. Then there is ādhidaivik: illnesses, mental and physical. Mental illness is said to be the biggest punishment for one's sins. This is not discrimination against those who have these problems; may God protect us and help them become healthy again. Ādhidaivik also involves different energies, spirits, angels—devas, goddesses—energies that can be negative or positive. Therefore, ādhibhautik, ādhidaivik, and ādhyātmik: these are the three tapas, three disturbances. We must first become free from them, but they attack us all the time. It is not easy to get rid of them. But Gurujī said in a bhajan: > Tinoī Tapa Pāpa Miṭajāve, Tinoī Tapa Avichala Sukha Pāve, Paramānanda... Śrī Dīpa Nirañjana Sabhā Dukkha Prabhu Dīpa Nirañjana Sabhā Dukkha Bhakti Śrī Mantra Se Govemanamanjana Isimah Govemanamanjana Śrī Dīpa Nirañjana Sabhā. We become free from the sins that cause the three tapas; these three fires are removed. The problem is solved. When there are no mosquitoes, scorpions, or snakes, and you are secure, you are happy and relaxed. You look from the window and see tigers and lions, but you are in a secure house they cannot enter. You enjoy looking, then you sleep. Can you imagine sleeping beside tigers? You can sleep twice: the first time and the last time. If your bed is among these creatures, you cannot sleep. So there is a need for divine protection. Tinoī tāpā pāpā mita jāve. Avicala sukha pāve. Avichal: chal means movements, changeable. Achal means steady, unchangeable, everlasting. Avichala sukha: you get unshakable happiness, joy. Paramānanda: param means the highest, ānanda means bliss. You realize the supreme bliss through this mantra: Dīpa Nirañjana, śabdukha bhanjan. In this saṃsāra, there are problems. Tritāpa is very active. When there are no mosquitoes or animals, you have mental problems; you cannot sleep, you create problems. Some people are troublemakers. If they cannot cause trouble, they cannot sleep. They have a telephone and call someone to say things that create trouble, then say, "Thank you, I sleep." This means their Viśuddhi chakra is completely out of order, and their Maṇipūra chakra cannot resist outer pressures. That is why they have stones in the stomach they must throw out. Some people feel a heaviness on the heart. This means the Anāhata chakra is blocked; there is a rock on it. Their vṛttis always search for negative points to disturb others. Sometimes, people who are mentally not in order cannot see others happy. If a neighbor, colleague, or friend is happy, they become jealous. This is an illness. They cannot see others' development because they want to be the dominating one, with everyone saying, "Oh, thank you, you told me this." Their ego is like a bean soaked in water—the next day it is blown up. Troublemakers. I do not want to name names, but many who are sitting are on the telephone only chatting and trouble-making. This trouble comes back. After a few years, their face design changes negatively. There is no smile, no charisma, no radiance, no prakāśa, no aura. It is like sucked-out, dry skin—a dry plum. Why? Because your good energy is destroyed through negative talking. Do not take others' problems onto yourself, and do not become responsible for them. They come to me and say, "Do you know, Swamiji?" I say, "No, I don't know." "Oh God, it's terrible, did you hear?" "Yes, I hear it's terrible, but what?" "Stefan and Bhaktānanda were fighting today. It's terrible." What is your problem if they were fighting? Or, "Swamiji, they were both sitting and drinking coffee in your room." Why not? His room is not my room. There are mosquitoes and spiders there; it is their room. How can we say it is my or your room? Your house is not your house. There are many mouths under the house. Ants say, "It is our house." A baby is born there and says, "We have birthright. It is our house." Others' problems—do not put them in your subconscious and create a problem, then transport it to a second and third person. You become the sinner. The problem you describe reflects on you, and you become responsible—unless you are the person who clarifies and finishes the problem. Like a forest fire: do not be the one who carries fire to other trees; try to put out the fire where it is. Then you are the greatest. Therefore, ādhibhautik, ādhidaivik, ādhyātmik—these three tapas sit within you. They are like a fire that will burn you. You will get nowhere and will suffer in this life and the next. That is it. So during meditation, when thoughts come, they are healthy. Let them come. God gave you intellect and vivekā (discernment). These thoughts are there to be answered; this problem is there to be solved; these thoughts are there to be enjoyed or to live life with. They are different thoughts. Therefore, with your intellect or vivekā, answer these thoughts. Let them become part of your life. Then these thoughts will merge again into calmness, like the ocean and waves. You are the waves, and God is the ocean. You are the ocean, and thoughts are the waves. No ocean, no waves; no waves, no ocean. These are the vṛttis. You flutter on the vṛttis during meditation. You smile, you understand, you are generous, with an open heart and open mind. You are that border, that beach where waves come and flow back. You are soft and gentle like sand; the waves come, disappear into the sand, are purified, and go back to the horizon. So if negative thoughts come, understand and say, "It doesn't matter, it goes back to them who did this. It is not your problem." During meditation, welcome all thoughts. When there are no more thoughts, then be sure something is wrong with you. Find something to stabilize yourself again. A healthy person will always have thoughts. Then you come to śūnyākāśa, cidākāśa. You come above this physical level. Ādhibhautik tapa will not disturb you, but ādhidaivik and ādhyātmik—these two are still there. The mental and astral energies, the astral forces, are there to protect you, and there is your mantra. So during meditation, the mantra must be repeated, with a mālā or without. The mantra is the torchlight for you to go through the jungle in darkness, where many wild creatures can disturb you. It indicates the path, and as you pass, the creatures are disturbed and disappear. You are safe. As you go deep in meditation, it is very pleasant. You feel like floating, like being in the air. Your body becomes light, and sometimes you feel you do not breathe anymore. But do not make a mistake—please breathe further. You think you cannot breathe and are not breathing, but you are. When you feel your breath stop, take a few deep inhalations, open your eyes, look left and right, then go back into deep meditation. Otherwise, you can have psychic problems, heart problems, or problems with your Viśuddhi chakra and Maṇipūra chakra. These three chakras—Maṇipūra, Anāhata, and Viśuddhi—are very powerful and meaningful. Problems with them can last a lifetime. Mūlādhāra and Svādhiṣṭhāna are only temporary. Part 2: The Power of Mantra and the Maṇipūra Cakra Yesterday, a Bahādur asked Bīrbal, "What is most enjoyable?" The answer was: "Going to the toilet." But when that is finished, it is over. However, your Viśuddhi Cakra, Anāhat, and Maṇipūra—these will have a lifelong effect. Those who cannot digest this and are criticizing, talking, or blackmailing will have problems with the Maṇipūra. Maṇipūra means it will first reflect on the eyes. Your Maṇipūra is very much connected to your eyes. This is the light, the fire, and it is also connected to your voice, the sound, and the vocal cords. Therefore, Maṇipūra is the seat of sounds. What kind of sound do you produce from Maṇipūra? Negativity will reflect on your indriyas negatively. Whatever positive sound you produce will reflect on your indriyas positively. It is you who is directing, governing, guiding, and controlling your senses and yourself through the Maṇipūra Cakra. We do not know much about this, or perhaps you do not know much. Please deal with your Maṇipūra Cakra very carefully. If you use your Maṇipūra Cakra to make someone unhappy or create problems for them, then the anger of others will reflect on your Maṇipūra Cakra. The result will be that you become a person who gets angry very easily. You will also experience depression because your Viśuddhi Cakra is more or less blocked; it cannot neutralize the energy. It is best to neutralize the energy of both the Viśuddhi Cakra and the Maṇipūra Cakra and to merge your heart with infinity. Chant Oṁ. As soon as you chant Oṁ, your depression and anger will disappear. When you come to the astral level of your meditation, you feel very divine, very light, with no thoughts or very few thoughts. You think there are no thoughts, but the thought "there are no thoughts" is itself a thought. So vṛttis are there. You cannot finish them even after death. This is a big question. Now you have to arrange and bring into order everything you did from birth until your last day. At the time of death, you must tidy your room. Yes, my dear: what you ate, the desires behind that eating, where the food came from, how it came to you, your drink, everything. And what have you done to other creatures? What have you done to other humans? What did you speak? How many did you bring into conflict, and how many did you free? How many did you help? This whole jungle stands in front of you, and there is nobody there—no one for whom you were fighting lifelong, to whom you were jealous lifelong, to whom you were an enemy, or to whom you were loving. Only you, and you alone, have to go through this jungle. At that time, your mantra will show you the light. It is that mantra which will help you. And there you will see what is Mahāprabhujī. Right now you do not know who he is. That time you will know what is Gurujī. Each bit of his mālā, which he repeated billions of times, is for us. He left behind a great treasure, and that was his mālā, his meditation, his prayer, which all the bhaktas, the devotees, are inheriting. Just as your children inherit the property of your parents, so too this spiritual heritage grows day by day. Each bead of your mālā unites with that cosmic light, with that cosmic resonance. Therefore, during meditation, you must use your mālā and meditation mantra. When we come to that level above the bhautika śarīra, the adhibhautika, then we come to the mental level: adhyātmika, adhidaivika. There, you have no more control; you have no more decisions. There is a higher force which will decide and which will protect us. The most terrible thing is this: though we leave this physical body, everything is still there. The feeling is there, the memory is there, the vision is there, the suffering is there, the pain is there. All of it is there, but the body is not. So if someone thinks, "I do not like this world, and I will die," that is not a solution. You cannot run away from this. Suicide means another great sin, a big mistake. Never, never, never think of dying or suicide. Otherwise, you will have to wait a long, long time. You will be on a waiting list to get another body to incarnate again, even as an animal or any other form. No, no. Therefore, at the higher level of meditation, it is said that meditation without a mantra is like a dead body with no soul inside. It is just a statue with no prāṇa, no soul inside. Meditation is the beauty of our life. Meditation is the highway for us to achieve our goal. So when you come to the śūnya ākāśa, when you come to the cidākāśa, your body is relaxed, with no pain—that is nice. But then remember again: Guru Dev, Guru Kṛpā. No saint in this world succeeded without going through divine prayers and the guidance of a master. Some had a living master, and some just prayed to the master as God, or as a light, or as someone. Without that, you cannot. If you are developing only intellectually, okay, you can inspire millions of people. But that was not the aim of your life. If you close your eyes and go within thyself, you are in darkness. You have missed it again. You have missed the human life again. On the first evening, Friday, I told you: not respecting time is a sin. You are not respecting the time which God gave you. And your time is only your time. Your time is not the time of your husband or your wife. Your time is not the time for your children, or for your colleagues. Your time is only your time. And when your time ends, the time for changes will come. No one can hold you back. No one can take you and say, "No, no, I will not let go." Even if you close your beloved one in a bulletproof glass box, air-packed, he will very easily go out from there. Therefore, you cannot hold it. It is your time, and your time you can share with someone. How you pray for someone, you give. Your understanding to someone—you are a human. Forgiveness is a human quality. Understanding is a human quality. To be kind is a human quality. To be merciful is a human quality. To solve problems is a human quality. To love with the heart means to understand—this is a human quality. So these human qualities you can share with others; then your life can become greater. When you give your time to someone—I told you one story, I will repeat it again. There was a great Ṛṣi, thousands of years old. The Ṛṣis were many thousands of years old, yes. I would like to be a thousand years old, but when I ask these girls, "Do you want to live a thousand years?" they say, "No, Pitā, I want to die today. Why? My boyfriend left me. I will die." You see, that’s it. We do not want to live so long, no. So the Ṛṣi had only one child, one son in all his days, and the Ṛṣi was very happy. The wife was very happy. He was a great Ṛṣi and a great astrologer, so with great joy he made the horoscope of his son. Everything was the best constellation, a divine constellation, a divine child. My God, but there was one point: his life was only seven years. After seven years, he would die. Unhappiness in happiness—he was very sad. Look, there he is, very wise, very great, but he was also very sad. So if you are sad, do not worry. Even such great sages were sad. So what are you? You are not even a mosquito compared to them. One day, the great sage Nārada came by. Great Nārada was coming while singing God’s name: "Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa." The Ṛṣi was so happy that Nārada came. Nārada came and said, "Bless you, bless you, Ṛṣi, bless you. Great, great. Looks great. Oh, you are great. Everything is in order, I think so, but you look a little sad, Ṛṣi. What happens? On your face, there is no smile." And the Ṛṣi said, "Yes, this is a problem. Well, but destiny leads. We cannot go against nature and destiny; we must accept. But," the Ṛṣi said, "better God should not have given me the child. Then I would just say, 'I cannot get children,' and hurry home." Nārada said, "Well, I do not know if it is possible, but I can tell you one technique so that your child will have a long life." "Oh, Ṛṣi, please, praśna, praśna, pañca praśna. Oh, please, please, sir, please, my dear. Tell me quickly," Nārada said. "Ṛṣi, bless your child, and I also bless him and teach him that he gets blessings. Teach him how he should bow down to everyone, touch their holy feet, everyone’s. And when he will bow down, they have to give him a blessing. And when you give a blessing to children, then you must bless with 'Long life.' This is the blessing of the parents, the blessing of the elderly people. Anyone, for all children, is like their own children. What you wish on Christmas or on a birthday: 'Happy birthday, long life, happy life.' But should you wish only once on the birthday? Every day, when the child goes in the morning and bows down to everyone, everyone says, 'Long life, long life, long life, yug yug life, yugas and yugas.' This was an immortal blessing of Gurujī. And as many times as you will sing, and as many people as will sing, definitely my life will become longer. And teach him Abhiṣeka to Lord Śiva." So this small child every day used to go with his father to the Śiva temple and make abhiṣeka with the water. "Oṁ tryambhakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭivardhanam, urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt. Namaḥ śivāya." Like we saw yesterday in Avatārpuri. It was a beautifully made video from Avatārpuri. We knew he was in, but we could understand we were happy. So that boy got blessings from so many. And on the day when the seven years were just completing, his father told him, "Now, for 24 hours you should make Śiva Abhiṣeka." And then came the date, the king of death, Yamarāja. Yamarāja is the king of death. Yama was sending his messengers to bring the child, so the Yamadūtas came. But they could not enter the Śiva temple. They waited. And he was looking and making, "Oṁ tryambhakaṁ yajāmahe." And the Yamadūtas were waiting and doing like this, nervous. "The boss will punish us for what we are doing." They waited and waited, and he did not go, and he did not go. So the Yamadūtas went back empty-handed. Yamarāja, the king of the dead, said, "What have you done? You did not bring the child? Kill him!" They said, "We cannot. He is sitting near Śiva. You can go and see." He said, "I cannot go to Śiva also." And they said, "Let us go and deal with the Dharmarāja." Dharmarāja is the king of dharma, the king of death, the king of dharma. The king of dharma is called Dharmarāja, and Dharmarāja has the records of your life. You could say the Lord of Destiny has in his record. And they went there and said, "Dharmarāj, we want justice." He said, "Yes, show us the record of this boy." And he showed the record of this boy and said, "Well, he has seven years of life, but..." What means "but"? It is not fair, unjust. He said, "No, no... but he has so many blessings, so many blessings. And Śiva’s protection—we cannot do it. But we have to do it, or change in your book, change in the record, or allow us to take him back." Dharmarāj said, "No, I cannot change the book. Otherwise, I am not the dharma. No protection. You cannot change the records, like in government records." Dharmarāja and Yamarāja went to God Viṣṇu and said, "Lord, we have some problems which are created by Nārada." He said, "What? This is a problem. His life, seven years of life, tear it away and just write 'life.' Life, seven, put it out." So with the rubber, they put the seven number away, and "life." So his life was prolonged so long that the Ṛṣi became a great saint. Still, he is alive, and his name is known as Mārtaṇḍa Ṛṣi. And Mārtaṇḍa Ṛṣi—you can read in the Purāṇas the story of Mārtaṇḍa Ṛṣi. And that is the power of the blessing, that you can share your good times with others to help. Do not share your times with others to kill or make unhappy or fight and destroy. Do not be the troublemaker; otherwise, next year you will be born with a tongue which has two parts. You cannot speak; you will only do like... this, that’s it. Who is criticizing? Who is destroying others’ energy, others’ wealth, others’ this? Their tongue will be torn in two pieces. Therefore, repeat the mantra. And in meditation, it is that mantra which will constantly help you. And in your mantra is the power of the Lord. And when the power of the Lord is there, then negative energy like Yama cannot approach you. You are safe. Therefore, ādhibhautik, ādhidaivik, and ādhyātmik—all three tapas are dissolved, they go away, and you become thyself, realizing that you are the immortal. And that is the glory of the mantra, and that is why you should, you must repeat your guru mantra. And the mantra should be positive; the mantra should be sāttvic, not a magic mantra, not some tantric śakti, bhakti, tukti, kruti. Kutti kīrti mantra, śuddha sāttvic mantra, śuddha sāttvic śakti guru mantra—that will lead you and protect you. Then your meditation will lead you to the Bīja Samādhi. Bīja Samādhi means there is still a seed inside. Savikalpa Samādhi: there is Vikalpa and Savikalpa. So, Savikalpa Samādhi still has a desire, and Icchā is still there until your Bīja mantra will go, and after that you come to Nirvīja Samādhi, Nirvikalpa Samādhi. There is no more Saṅkalpa there. It is only vikalpa, nirvikalpa, no saṅkalpa, no vikalpa. Then your consciousness will have a reflection of the Ātman. Then your consciousness will have a clear border, which is opened to the Brahman, like Schengen opened the borders of the Czech and Slovak, Hungarian and Austrian—opened the border. A reflection, the first reflection. And therefore, Mahāprabhujī said: "Chetan Kachil Kashwamin Dikladi Adewa Puresan Chetan Chilaka, Chilaka,... Chilaka." So, this was the answer to the question. Your question: should we continue repeating our mantra during deep meditation? Does the mantra disrupt, or does the mantra help and guide? Mantra never disrupts you. Mantra will ever guide you and bring you to your final destination.