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Life is a play of light and darkness, the eternal play of consciousness and unconsciousness. Human consciousness is a shadow spread between them. That duality is Vyoga, the world of division. Division is painful because it separates us from wholeness and leads us into the transitory. Viyoga creates the fear of mortality, which in turn destroys the meaning of life. That meaning is found only in the light of Yoga, in eternal completeness. Thus, it is natural that the greatest gathering of people on this planet, the Kumbha Melā, is dedicated to the idea of immortality. India is the civilization and culture of Yoga, the return to the light of consciousness which never sleeps and never dies. That consciousness is the wholeness of our own being. Here, at the festival of Kumbha Melā in Haridwar, the system of Yoga in Daily Life was present, celebrating yoga as Life with a capital L. Around the author of this worldwide accepted system, Vishwaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṁsa Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, gathered as usual many seekers who recognized their master as the light of yoga. Here, along the banks of the Gaṅgā, over the course of three months, Yoga in Daily Life genuinely inspired people from all five continents. This primordial river acts as a bridge, linking the transitory to the permanent and linking divinity to humanity. Like yoga, it flows through Vyoga, carrying the nectar of immortality as an inextinguishable and attainable dream of self-realization. The living proof of that attainment is the yogīs. Through the practice of yoga, they have achieved the realization of yoga. Some of them accepted the status of Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras, the ones who actively guide people on their path to enrich human lives, thus making them the light of the Kumbha Melā. The colorful procession of Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras flows through the streets of ancient Haridwar. Lasting for hours, this joyful meeting of yogīs with a million thirsty souls affirms that life is meant for the realization of yoga. These meetings saturate our consciousness with hope and our hearts with faith. Man is a bridge for another man, a bridge by which we reach other banks, expanding our realizations. Yogis broaden us to the knowledge of the Self. When you have darśan of a Paramahaṁsa, the highest swan, then you yourself spread the wings of hope. Hope becomes a will, and will achieves the goal. Saints and sages are the beacons of spirit in the darkness of the transitory. That is why they receive the honor to dip first into the holy water of the Gaṅgā. Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras experience that moment as a personal act of gratitude for the blessing through which they serve all beings. With that purity, they bless the water, curing it from mortality, and thereafter the bhaktas and seekers bathe. The water is like fire, a universal symbol of life and purification. In the water of a purified being, a passionate fire of yearning for completeness is awakened. And from that fire originates the light of knowledge, the knowledge of oneness. That is Yog Śakti, Kumbha Melā, the merging of the mortal with the immortal within the vessel of the human body. All methods of yoga lead to one goal: the removal of obstacles on the path of realizing our own being. All layers of our being, from the roughest physical to the most subtle and spiritual, are obstructed by the same pathologies: weakness, stiffness, restlessness, confusion, and consequently, ignorance. Yoga in Daily Life systematically cures this pathology. When we refresh our bodies, deepen our breath, and calm our minds, we understand ourselves better and understand the word of Gurudev better as well. When we reach that balance, we experience the Guru Mantra more deeply. Mantra is the voice of oneness, the hymn of the unity between the human and the divine. Guru Mantra opens the magnificent gate of Guru Kṛpā, through which we return to yoga, to the state of untroubled self-awareness. Our camp along the banks of the Gaṅgā awoke our awareness of where we were and why we were here. This holy river comes from the Himalaya, whose strength, peace, and magnificent steadiness embody yoga and yogīs. It runs from the highest point in order to flow into the symbol of immortality, into the ocean. Worship of those symbols of salvation takes place every evening with the hymn to Mother Gaṅgā. Moments of gratitude to the river of life, which, like Suṣumnā, carries the light of the soul into the inexhaustible ocean of the light of Ātmā. Kumbha Melā is a valuable opportunity to practice under the guidance of a Mahātma. It is also a rare and treasured opportunity for Mahātmas to meet each other. These are special moments of festive joy. Our camp truly enjoyed the visit of every Ācārya, of every sage who completed his life in the depths of yoga. Their words abundantly enriched the inner treasure of our being. The path of God, God’s word is G-O-D: Generator, Operator, and Destroyer. Brahmā is the Generator, Viṣṇu is the Operator, and Śiva is the Destroyer. The divine soul, as a divine soul, we are divided into two parts. Physically, we are here, we are seen, but you see me, here is a form. I see you, here is a form. But who is seeing? Who is listening? The listener and the seer are one and equal in everybody. To fully experience Kumbha Melā, we will take a helicopter ride. From above, we enjoy the sights of Haridwar, the many branches of the Gaṅgā, and our camp. Following the Gaṅgā towards its origin, we arrive at the refuge of many yogīs, the Himalaya. The Gaṅgā, like life, like every search for origin, meanders. Finally, we arrive at Devaprayāg, the point at which the Gaṅgā begins. Just as within the human body, Iḍā and Piṅgalā merge in Suṣumnā to pour their restlessness into the flow towards freedom, so Alakanandā and Bhagīrathī here form the Gaṅgā. Further on, the Gaṅgā flows like a holy river to feed and cure the body and soul of those who approach its banks. From here originates Oṁ Śrī Alakhpurījī Siddha Pīṭha Paramparā, the lineage of masters of Yoga in Daily Life. In this captivating beauty of silence dwells the timeless Ātmā, Śrī Alakhpurījī, by whose grace Śrī Devpurījī became a blessing. Śrī Devpurījī’s disciple, Bhagavān Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī, as the incarnation of Pūrṇa, radiated the fullness of Yoga. Dharm Samrāṭ, Paramahaṁsa Śrī Malāvanandajī, with his immense and almost unrepeatable devotion, was a worthy messenger of the unity between God and man. Based on such a magnificent lineage of masters, Śrī Māheśvarānandajī continues to relentlessly spread the light of yoga for the welfare of all beings. The greatness of a civilization is reflected in the greatness of its openness. Here, in the ancient fortress of the spirit, the Mahanirvāṇī Akhāṛā, Swāmījī’s disciple Śrī Svāmī Jasraj Purījī Mahārāj was accepted as a Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, though originally from Australia. Openness for other people, for other ideas and cultures, is evidence of one’s own strength, self-confidence, and wisdom. India has for thousands of years been the home of truth. She does not fear to give the truth, nor to receive it. This great honor upon Śrī Jasrajjī is brought to him through the purity and strength of his devotion to self-realization. Real devotion is manifested as the purity and stability of belonging to one’s master, under whose guidance Śrī Jasrajjī Mahārāj safely passed through the thorny path of the spirit. His sādhanā and guru-bhakti have been abundantly tested through Guru Sevā. In the light of yoga, in the return to wholeness, sādhanā, guru bhakti, and guru sevā are a holy trinity. The purity and strength of that trinity inevitably pours out the grace of the Guru, which, like the Gaṅgā, merges us with the divine ocean. This is a day of immense humility for the blessed disciple and a day of pride for Gurū Dev. Mahanirvāṇī Akhāṛā, in its own authentic Advaita, oneness of everything in existence, pays respect to the one who has attained yoga as the universal right of every being. It was our great happiness to all feel that a part of the blessing that fulfilled the spiritual dreams of our brother was upon us as well. Today is the day of pride for Śrī Pañcāyatī Mahānirvāṇī Akhāṛā, and also the day of pride for the whole Sādhu Samāj, the Indian Sādhu Samāj. Especially, I would like to say, in the vast sky, there are countless shining stars. According to this, these all-Maṇḍaleśvaras are stars of the Vedānta philosophy sky. Among them, a very incredible star, a very incredible star, is Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī Mahārāj. Today, we appointed the disciple of Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī Mahārāj, a great disciple, Svāmī Jasraj Purī, in our line of Maṇḍaleśvaras. The aim of Indian Advaita Vedānta philosophy will be fulfilled by him, I hope. Indeed, it is the divine day that the light of the Sanātana Dharma, which is an eternal universal law. Sanātana Dharma is not a man-made religion; it’s not a dogma, but it is that which balances and unites the entire universe. I humbly salute and say that in this divine space, this divine place of Bhagavān Śrī Kapila Muni Jī, and with the blessing of Amare Pitādheśvara and the holy saints, today Svāmī Jasarāja Purī Jī has received the Paṭṭābhiṣeka of Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara. He will bring the light and the message of the Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya and the Svāmījī, Sanātana Dharma around the world. My body was born in a certain country, but ever since I took sannyāsa dikṣā at the great festival of Prayāg Rāj Mahā Kumbh Melā, I consider myself a child of Bhārat Māta. I will continue to teach and impart knowledge of the essence of the Sanātana Dharma in a concise form. In the end, I offer my heartfelt salutations and prostrations to my Gurujī, Satguru Dev, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, and Svāmījī Maheśvarānandajī. With this, I conclude my discourse. Oṁ Namo Nārāyaṇāya to all. On the 12th of April, we celebrated a precious anniversary. Twelve years have passed since Paramahaṁsa Maheśvarānandajī was inaugurated as Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara by Mahānirvāṇī Akhāṛā. The significance of this day was crowned with a great bandhārā, a communal dinner of a thousand sādhus. Mahātmas of Mahānirvāṇī Akhāṛā participated in this unique festival. It would be difficult to gather more beacons of spirit in one place ever again. Great souls no longer live for themselves. Their lives are full of empathy, understanding, and support for all in the jungle of life. By ancient tradition of Bandhāras, gifts are showered upon all those present. Yogīs know perfectly that the more unselfishly you give, the more you receive. Giving is expanding. Giving is liberating. By giving, we will melt the hard core of all our suffering: our own egocentrism. This bandhā was an excellent introduction to the final bathing of Kumbha Melā. Before the procession, the precious ceremony of Guru Pūjā was performed. A Gurudev is Jñāna Gaṅgā, the Gaṅgā of wisdom. The water that touches his feet becomes Caraṇāmṛta, the nectar of Guru Tattva. The living master, the living teaching, and the living union of the masters and seekers are all saturated with the river of life. Haridwar was flooded by millions of pilgrims. Kilometers and kilometers on the banks of the Gaṅgā, and the entire city was flooded by people. We merged into the ocean of sanātana dharma. The thirst for immortality brought all these souls to gather in Haridwar, not only because of the holy river, but even more to have darśan of the mahātmas. This time, in the honorable procession of Mahānirvāṇī Akhāṛā, Yoga in Daily Life has two Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras: Vishwaguru Śrī Maheśvarānandajī and Śrī Jasrajjī Mahārāj. Kumbha Melā is a festival of hope, showing that it is possible to achieve the highest. That highest, some call God, some call truth, some call freedom, while some call it Ātmā, the self. Yogīs know that everyone is right, because all those words belong to the one and the same. Seeing one whose own realization personifies that truth is a great step toward spiritual fulfillment. Svāmījī approaches Mother Gaṅgā as a son and as a father. A son who comes for his mother’s blessing, and the father who blesses this water for all the children of the world. We, as his spiritual children, with the utmost respect, participate in the complete immersion of the human into the divine. The water that pours out towards the sun is the spirit that flows towards the light. Every drop is one disciple that Gurudev carried from the darkness into the light. All around, the Gaṅgā is aglow. In this mass of people, every single person succeeds in remaining alone with Mother Gaṅgā, with their own saṅkalpa and their own prayer. In this water, humans strip the egoism away from their core and cry out for purity. Only and only purity, freedom from self-obsession, awakens full devotion and a deep longing for the truth of the divine and the completeness of freedom. Here in Haridwar, Gurudev blessed us with unforgettable moments. With him, we gathered in the river of life, which never dies. These pictures, with the nectar of immortal memories, will inspire our souls not to stop on the path of return to Amṛta Sāgara, the ocean of immortality, the light of yoga. Once more, an incomparable and extraordinary experience became an unforgettable memory of Yoga in Daily Life.