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It is a beautiful day, the sun is still shining in Vienna, Austria, and a special blessing is coming to you, to your karma and your soul. It influences how our karma, our deeds, affect our soul, what happens to our soul, and how we recognize our soul. The effect of karma on our soul means that one can see and has knowledge of all three times: past, present, and future. Kāla means time, and most often Kāla is used to refer to times that have passed. For the past, present, and future in Sanskrit, we say Bhūtakāla, Vartamāna, and Bhaviṣya. Bhūta means the past, and Kāla is time. In the vernacular, Bhūta is also called a spirit, a ghost. Vartamāna is the presence, and Bhaviṣya is the future. We have knowledge of all these three times, and indeed from the present moment. That means from presence. Other living beings have more feelings; the presence of the past and even the present is not felt as strongly as in other beings. According to Yoga and Vedānta philosophy, there is Saptabhūmikā, the seven stages of consciousness. The last, highest, final step is called Turīya. Turīya Ānanda—one who has reached this stage is called Turīyānanda. Turīya Ānanda transcends the three worlds and has realized bliss within himself. The one who has received this name has the task of realizing it. There were holy masters who were Trikāladarśī. So when a living being comes to such a Master, a Master who knows about their past, about their problems and about their future, and how and in what way he can solve the problems, there is a clear answer or proof for this. It is found in our sacred book, the Līlāmṛta, the Divine Play of Mahāprabhujī’s life. In the presence of Mahāprabhujī, it was one day—a beautiful, pleasant, warm day. I don’t know if it was morning or afternoon; I cannot say. About ten of us were sitting beside Mahāprabhujī, Bhagavānśrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī from Barikatu, Rajasthan in India, and our beloved master, Holy Gurujī, or as we say, Śrī Svāmī Mādhāvanandajī. We see the statue of both masters. In the center is Mahāprabhujī, and then our master Holy Gurujī. And right at the beginning is the Śiva Avatāra, Śrī Devapurījī, the master of Mahāprabhujī. That means our great-grandfather, our great-grandmaster. Holy Gurujī was beside Mahāprabhujī in his sevā, and suddenly something came with a loud noise—an animal. And everyone was running around, wondering what was going on. Suddenly people saw a huge, enormous cobra coming. Allegedly, the cobra was very old. He was so old that his fangs were somewhat worn down. His skin had turned gray, and his head was large. Most people saw it as a cobra, a venomous snake that unfortunately kills. So, two or three people, besides Mahāprabhujī, took stones and wanted to drive the cobra away, to remove it. And Mahāprabhujī said, "No, no... let it be, let it be." The cobra wanted to come directly to Mahāprabhujī. Holy Gurujī was terribly worried and said, "We will not allow this." Mahāprabhujī said, "Everyone, stay calm. Move away a little, stay away from the cobra." And the cobra went to the bed where he sat outside in the sun, because it was warm perhaps, not too hot, not too cold—a pleasant, comfortable climate. The cobra sat beside or in front of Mahāprabhujī, stretching out its head and watching, gazing at Mahāprabhujī. Now Mahāprabhujī said to Gurujī, "Bring me a pure robe, fresh water." Pure means you have not yet drunk from this vessel; it comes directly from the water source. Then Mahāprabhujī chanted or spoke a mantra that no one understood except the cobra. No one knew these mantras except the cobra. Mahāprabhujī took water in his right hand, recited the mantra, and poured the water over the head of the cobra. The cobra lay down again and died. That means the cobra left the body. Then Mahāprabhujī stood up and greeted that Ātman and said to all his bhaktas, "With a ceremony, with mantras, and with great reverence, bury it like a human funeral." And they did just that. People asked Mahāprabhujī, the Divine Master, "What is your Līlā? What is this divine play? We understand nothing." And Mahāprabhujī said, "The soul in this Karmaprabha cobra was once a great bhakta, a great surrenderer. But he did not yet realize his goal. Suddenly he was against his master, speaking ill of his master, or did things that caused the soul to return into a lower body, into a reptile body." How difficult is the life of a snake—no feet, no ears, nothing is simple. But Mahāprabhujī said, "He has gone through his karma, and now his time has come again to come to me to pray, to ask for forgiveness, and to be granted mokṣa, liberation. Therefore, I told him, in the next life you will be born as a human, but do not make this mistake anymore." Mahāprabhujī told him where his master lives and how to find his master again. And so, that was the story of a snake. That means Mahāprabhujī was Trikāladarśī. The experience of a Trikāladarśī Gurudeva is unbroken. Anubhava means experiences. Experience means knowledge. Unlimited, Trikāladarśī—all three times, he knows everything that happens, what was, what is, and what will be. And we, our advantage is that we meditate, we worship, and we pray. We honor and pray to these masters, to such incarnations who hold us in their grace, in their gaze, and will one day liberate us. Someday, certainly, our prayer will sing in His ears. Someday. And for that, we must continue practicing mantra. Never show disappointment. Do not lose your trust, no matter what happens. Oh Lord, true happiness we find in Your presence. And perhaps for that, I must walk through thorns, through stones, through fire, and whatever else. But please allow us to be under your shelter, your protection, and that our refuge is in your sacred feet. Secondly, it is very beautiful. There was a saint. His name was Sagrāmdās. To become holy, you do not need any titles. You do not need higher education or university degrees. But you need your inner purity and to work on yourself—purity and self-discipline. Let go of these expectations. Ego is false. Our task is simply to be present. Our duty is simply to be here. That is all. And if you take a wrong step, you must bear the consequences. And just as it was said in this song, so it is. But we are always changing our feelings, and we hide back and forth. He knows nothing at all. And so it is. We change our feelings and then we do not know, and this is the consequence. Everything, every time you close your eyes or do something, yes, maybe the Master does not know, maybe his physical consciousness does not know, but you know that you did it, and this is enough. These consequences will come back to you because, at the moment, you are a soul, although the Ātman is hidden within you. But the soul is even more sensitive, completely full of feelings. And we identify with our individuality, with the individual soul, not with the breath. And so, no matter who you are, here we are all together, we know, and what is happening, and why, we know that too. And then we make accusations: "Lord God, why is this happening?" and we say, "Oh God, why was it the other one, who was to blame, or who was at fault? It wasn’t me." If someone slaps you, you are to blame. Not the other one who gave the slap. If you were nothing, you could not give a slap. You were there. And so it is. We can make this sound with both hands. One hand does not suffice. Or do we need a cheek? And it was you. And therefore, accept what happens. If you accept, you will immediately feel better. But if you feel good, then you are again the same snake struggling around. If you have problems, difficulties, or pain, everybody is praying. But when one is very happy, then it’s all a celebration. No one says "Mahāprabhujī." Not even at parties. We say, "I am a human being, I can also do." Many do not leave Mahāprabhujī's mālā at home because you go somewhere and you do not want to show it. How often do you put down your mālā? And then you go somewhere to the party, and I see, and I say we will see again. How quickly will you let your pride take over? How quickly will you let your pride take over? Such a saint is a very, very simple person. A very simple, simple person. Perhaps he could not sign his name. Or perhaps he could write it. And all his bhajans and poems are in dialect. And in his time, back then in India, as well as here throughout the world, there were kings. There were kingdoms all over the world. Then suddenly a bad constellation arose for all the kings. There was a very unfavorable constellation for all the kings. It was like a change of planets, a different constellation; suddenly all kingdoms became democratic. And now, all people, we support democracy because in democracy everyone has an opportunity, whereas with a king, only the first child of the king becomes king, and so-called dynasties. But suddenly such a constellation arose that no horoscope could help, no gemstones, no magic, nothing at all. It was difficult for the people to establish democracy; how much blood was shed, how many people died, how many wars there were. There was a tax collector, arrogant and very angry, without feeling, who had taken almost everything from the farmers. The politics was that all the poor should be supported, but all that which the grains and all that have created, gone. Only leave enough so that they have something to eat. That is all. And so, the man was very cruel. So one day, all the farmers came to Svāmījī, to this saint, and said, "Svāmījī, the employee or the secretary or whoever, the tax collector, is sucking our blood. He beats us. He is so cruel. He is so frightening to us." And Svāmījī said, he called this man and said, "Yes, what can I do?" And this man came and said, "Yes, what should I do?" And he was very diplomatic. And Svāmījī said to him, "You know, ordinary people need two eyes. But a person like you needs four eyes. Two for worldly things, and the other two so that you do not see your position as a lord and torment people, but rather so that you see people with the two eyes of your heart." And he said, "Yes, yes... that is good. You know, these people are so stubborn, it’s so terrible. You don’t know. You meditate only, Svāmījī. Forget that, I will accomplish all of it. Tell me, what can I do for you? That is all." And Hari Om. That means to yield. After a few years, the farmers came again, and all the farmers were punished because they had gone to Svāmījī. One day, the tax collector passed away. He has died, and his soul has journeyed and flown into the next life as a camel. And after three or four years, the camel was very young and strong. And a man bought a camel to carry stones from a mine, a deep mine. Back then, there were no cranes, no engines, no trucks, no lorries. Everything was done with animals, those who have toiled and worked with the animals. The life of a camel is such that it must sit down, then the weight is loaded onto it, and then it must stand up. He must have good, strong knees. Young, strong, full-blooded camel, wild. And the buyer was also a young man. And he pierced through the nostrils of the camel and threaded wooden rings through them, then tied them with a rope. Now he slowly, slowly led the camel down into the well, about 50 meters deep. Of course, it wasn’t like that; one could go steeply up or down. It was very rigid. And he has carried so many stones on his back. But the camel could not get up. And the man beats him. And the camel howls. And the man knows, if the camel wants to, it can stand up. But the lazy one does not want to. And the camels bray. And the camel cries out. And the camel weeps. And Svāmījī walks past this mine on foot and hears an animal howling or crying or wailing. He comes closer and looks beneath the mine. A man strikes the camel down. And he sees that someone is beating the camel. He goes down and says, "My son, why are you beating the poor animal? You have carried too many stones. Remove two pieces and he will stand up and walk." He said, "I must go ten times. I have to do twenty pieces ten times. Every time I skip, then the next day I have to unload five times just for these two stones. My bamboo in my hand will teach him a lesson; he must get up. He was spoiled as a baby, but now he is strong and must work. That’s how it is—a lazy man was the master, then his wife took him in hand, and now he must go to work. Right?" So then Svāmījī said, "Good, I will whisper a mantra in his ears, and he will rise and awaken." The man said, "The camel does not understand mantra. The camels understand my bamboo sticks." But Svāmījī wrote a poem. His name was Śagrāmdās. The saint of the Aśoka. That is such a poem, completely in dialect. That means, Śagrām speaks to the camel: "My dear, my dear, now you don’t need to cry. It won’t help you. I have told you several times not to destroy poor people, the farmers, but you did not listen to me. You have accumulated heavy karma upon yourself, and the consequence is now here. These stones, what has been loaded onto your back, are not stones. It is the last of your karma, my dear. Stand up, try to gather all your strength and go, carry your karma." This example clearly shows us that it does not matter what we do in our life. We carry a burden on our shoulders. And sooner or later, in this life or the next, at some point we must resolve our karma. And therefore, we have an opportunity here, in this life, a chance now in this life that we as human beings normally think we can decide, we can have feelings, we can use our Viveka through Bhakti and Tapasyā, through praying, for many, many karmas of love to be able to run away. And that is why Holy Gurujī said in a beautiful bhajan: "Oh, my brother, wake up! Your time is passing. Your time passes. You sleep in ignorance, and the result of your sleeping ignorance will be that in every life you will suffer and you must go through it. Therefore, as a human, wake up. Do something that is good for you, and also good for others. You have been given a human life. Nothing else. Not for money or anything, for anything at all. Everything we do for ourselves is only for a short time, and then we must leave everything behind and go." What happens to us is our good karma. Sevā. The best karma, the best practice, the best devotion, the best path that will accompany you through many, many lifetimes, is Sevā, Karma-Yoga. And if you walk the path of Karma-Yoga, the path of Sevā, then there is no one there who will help you. Nobody will help you. Sevā through your body. Sevā through your intellect. Sevā through your mind. Sevā through your prayer. Sevā through your heart. Sevā through your understanding, forgiveness, and love. All beings who help and are helpful. This is the best way for our soul to be freed from heavy burdens by the circle. Otherwise, we carry it very heavily. Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Deveśvara Mahādeva, Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān, Eternal Sanātana Dharma. Oṃ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ... Hari Om.