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An ancient Upanishadic mantra, many thousands of years old, proclaims: Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya. Lead us from darkness to light. This is the journey from the darkness of ignorance to the light of wisdom. From the darkness of ego to the light of humbleness. From the darkness of jealousy to the light of understanding. From the darkness of hate to the light of love. Lucky and blessed are those who have this light in their heart and in their thoughts. Poor and lost are those who do not possess it—the light of wisdom, love, forgiveness, and understanding. They dwell in darkness, leading a miserable life. Therefore, the ṛṣis, the holy sages, after their profound research, gave us this beautiful prayer: lead me from tamas to light. "Tamas" refers to tamo guṇa, and alongside rajo guṇa, these are the causes of our physical, emotional, and mental suffering. Where tamo guṇa and rajo guṇa prevail, there is the suffering of our entire body. But where there is love, understanding, and light, there is jyoti. There is happiness. Not only your body, but your entire being—all five kośas and your jīvātmā—blossoms. As in a bhajan from our grand master Śrī Lalanānjī Mā Prabhujī's disciple: Suno, sajan... "Sajan" means people, satsaṅgī, good people. There are two kinds: sajan and durjan. Durjan is one who is always negative, destructive, angry, jealous, and full of hate—one who creates troubles. Therefore, Holy Gurujī said in the bhajan, referencing "dhust" or "durjan," "dur rakhi jo." "Dhust" means a cruel person; "dhu" implies two, one who creates duality. "Durjan" is a merciless person who has no mercy. Because they are in darkness, they are "dhust" or "durjan." Dur rahi jo so sajan: a sajan is a good person, helpful, wishing you well, a positive person. A durjan is one who will take away, who will steal, who will always be angry with you. When you see such a person, you think, "Why is he here?" and you automatically recoil. Inside, it feels like a chill is burning. Therefore, the light of love, the light of understanding, the light of mercy, the light of kindness, the light of forgiveness—all this is called jyotiḥ. Its opposite is tamas, darkness. Humans have the possibility to walk towards the light. And if you cannot, then we pray, "Oh my Lord, lead me towards the light." In this part of the globe, in our winter, the sun moves north and we have a little less light. So, humans developed technology to make light. First, there were oil lamps; the oil may have been just wood. Now we have electric light, and so on. Then Makar Sankrānti comes around the 14th of January, when the sun moves south. In other parts of the world, winter begins, and we welcome the coming summer. The sun is vital for our planet. As stories tell, when Jesus was born or incarnated, there was a big, shining, sparkling star. We do not know when he was born; some say June, others say different times. When you ask Austrians and Middle Europeans, "What do you wish for at Christmas?" they say, "A lot of snow, a white, beautiful Christmas." I was in Australia in 1980 and asked an Australian the same. He said, "Hot sun, so we can lie on the beach." So, festivals vary according to culture. But this festival awakens love within us. It awakens the memory of our friends and relatives, reminding us to remember them. If someone made a mistake, we can forgive them. It is not easy to forget, nor is it easy to forgive. We may not want to forget someone, but if they made a mistake, we can forgive. Divya Jyoti was a witness to my world trip. He is where he is, and she was with me. We had a very beautiful time with the Maoris. They have such festivals and nice traditions. Everywhere in the world, when people trust you and you come to them, there are ceremonies. They assess whether you are a friendly person or someone who will take something away from them. When they accept you, they greet you. Many first touch head to head and nose to nose. We had a nice welcoming program at the new ashram. Even though it was our ashram, I was not allowed to enter until the Maori people welcomed me in the traditional way. Thanks to the government and people of New Zealand, they recognize this is the land of the Maoris. In every speech, political or otherwise, they acknowledge it. So, men and women came happily, singing. I do not know what they were singing, but it was nice. I hope they are listening now, as many in New Zealand are connected. They came, touched my forehead and nose, and breathed my breath. I had a tilak here, and those who greeted me like this also received the tilak from my forehead. People are beautiful everywhere. They are very nice. In this video, what Divya Jyoti made shows nice greetings, how they were dancing—it was a very beautiful program. People around the world are all the same. We are all children of one God. We are all citizens of one world. We are all children of the essence of one God, the Ātmā, sādhanā. So, no sādhanā? Oh, my good friends—you can say that. Who is a friend? A friend is one who will always wish good for you. To be a friend is easy, but it is not easy to be a Frank. It is said that when you give your promise, you must dedicate even your life, but you will not break your word. There is a story I used to tell about a master and disciple on a hilltop. There was only one tree. The master walked with his disciples up the hill—a long, hard walk. Slowly, the vegetation grew less and less the higher they went, but at the top was a beautiful tree. The master sat under it. Many disciples—30, 40, or 100—followed and sat there. Something happened; they disagreed with the master, and one after another stood up and left. It was a windy day, and everyone walked away. One disciple walked about 200 meters, then came back and said to the master, "I cannot go, because I belong to you. I promised; I am yours, you are mine." If you are a real friend, you will not forget your friends. This is the day of Christmas. That tree on the high mountain is very high, and your most beloved one is sitting under it. You can say it is Jesus, or your friend. If you have turned away to leave today, you should come back and say, "I will be thy guru, Dev. I will be thy devotee. Many may come, and devotees may go, but still, my Lord, I will be thine. I may go farther than the stars, but still, my Lord, I will be dying. And even if I die, look into my eyes. Mutely, they will say..." So, to be yours, or to be a friend to your friends, is something beautiful: your parents, your relatives, your friends, your neighbors. We should not be against anyone who makes mistakes. This life is here, and life is there. It is in nature's course; perhaps this life is given to make mistakes, too. If you haven't made any mistake, we would say, "Okay." But this body, the stupid mind, and circumstances—sometimes you think something is a mistake, but I think it is not. Is there a conflict when you do something you think is right, but I say it is a mistake? We must find a way to come together. There is a picture Gandhījī described in his poem: There was nice grass for donkeys to eat. Two donkeys were tied with one rope. One donkey wanted to eat the grass on this side, the other wanted the grass on that side. The rope was not long enough, so they pulled against each other. This is what political parties are like. They suffered and suffered. There were two other donkeys in the same situation. They both decided to eat from the same heap of grass. The first two looked at them, got an idea, and said, "Let's be cooperative. Let's work together." Then both could eat. So, do not be that donkey that pulls, insisting on "my religion, my culture, my tradition, my language, my country." That creates great conflict and suffering in the world. We create conflict and then we suffer. Therefore, we pray on this divine occasion that God gives everyone mutual understanding and the viveka wisdom to see that whatever is happening to you is nothing. You are divine. You see the divine, but do not drink wine, otherwise it is not divine anymore and not very fine. Suno sajan sat guru gharāyā. O sajan, listen, my Gurudev came to my home. Kali, Kali, Harṣavat hai. Every cell of my body blossoms. "Kālī" means the blossoms. The entire body is blossoming, opening, happy. "Harṣ" means happy. So, when we think positively and come together, our body—not only the physical, but our mind, emotion, and intellect—blossoms. Otherwise, as Mahāprabhujī said, an iron spoon, though it is in the honey, cannot taste the honey. So, though I have been telling so many good things for so many years, repeating and repeating, if you still cannot correct yourself, then you are that spoon which cannot taste the honey. This festival, this light, is something that makes us happy—me happy, and something that makes other things happy. So why not? When you eat an apple, it makes you happy. When I eat an orange, it makes me happy. Why not? If I eat an orange, I might be allergic, but you say, "No, you must eat an orange." I say, "No, I will eat an apple." You say, "Apple is not good, eat an orange." That is a fight. So, let us be happy. The main thing is that we are happy and we are together. A big star appeared in the sky, in heaven. So, our Vienna Yoga in Daily Life is a big star, you see, hanging. Our president and all, they were thinking this time, and with our Ashok and Ram Tirath, they prepared a nice star for all of you. Good. Now, this is a star, but there is a light. You will be the light in this star. Every family—per family—because when Jesus came, there was only one star, not two. The small ones were many. There are many small ones. So, each family or household, please, you will receive one star. This is from Vienna Yoga in Daily Life, for everyone. These stars are a Christmas memory, a remembrance. May this star shine forever.