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We are all here today to celebrate Śivarātri. I mentioned yesterday that India is a holy land. Numerous holy incarnations took place there—Buddha, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, and many more, twenty-four incarnations, and millions of holy saints. There must be something in that soil. You know, in diamond mines, you get diamonds. In a holy land, you get holy beings. The wisdom brought to the world comes from the ṛṣis and yogīs. What we call civilization originates from the yogīs. Many events are connected with nature, which are very important for our environment and also linked to the daily activities of human life—different seasons: spring, summer, autumn. Every season has its meaning. For each of the twelve months, there is a different prescribed diet. This means our diet and way of living should move in harmony with nature. But we do not do that now. I have a fruit in my hand. Someone with glasses might not see exactly what it is. This is a strawberry. In Banská Bystrica, when do strawberries ripen? In June. Therefore, people living 30 to 40 kilometers around Banská Bystrica should not eat this fruit now, but in June. Due to the facilities of transportation and human greed for taste, we eat fruit and food out of season. We think of our eyes and our tongue, but we do not think of the entire body. That is the primary reason for why we fall ill. The ṛṣis, who also developed Āyurveda and Yoga sciences, gave the principles of nourishment. Similarly, it was the yogīs who were the best researchers, discovering astrology, astronomy, and the most ancient scriptures, what we call the Vedas. In humanity, the most ancient scriptures existing are the Vedas. What is written in the Vedas, you will find in the whole universe. What is not written in the Vedas, you will not find in the universe. If there is any planet developed like this one, and if the Vedas confirm it, then I would tell you to go and search for it. The Vedas state: "Yatha brahmāṇḍe, tatha piṇḍe." Whatever exists in the universe exists within this human body. This is your own cosmos. In this individual cosmos, everything is present. It was the yogīs, through their meditation and research, who discovered everything. It is said: "Ananta Brahmaṇ Śāstra Sūrya"—endless universe and thousands of solar systems. It is said: Parameśvara, Īśvara, and Jīvātmā. Parameśvara is that consciousness which governs the entire endless universe. Īśvara is that which governs our solar system. Jīvātmā is that which governs this body. It was the ṛṣis who realized that there is a Parameśvara, an Īśvara, and a Jīvātmā. Their research showed what, when, and how to do. Yesterday we spoke about creation arising from sound, from Oṁ. How everything arose from Oṁ, from sound. It is said the first Puruṣa was Svayambhū, Śiva. Svayambhū means "He who has manifested Himself." In that spirituality and in that astral world, there is no duality of male and female. But there is a more acknowledged form of the male deity. That is why we always call God "He." But when you go out of this world and say, "I am searching for Him," the astral beings will laugh at you. They will say, "Who is 'he'?" There is no he and she. There is only "we." There is no duality. Duality exists where there is ignorance, and reality exists where there is knowledge. But generally, we call Him God, and we mostly call God "He." In the Vedic or Hindu religion, there has been an equal position for both male and female. There were holy incarnations as females. We adore the Holy Mother, the Śakti. We worship the Śakti, the Holy Mother, in the same way we adore God Viṣṇu or Rāma or Kṛṣṇa. We do not make differences, and that is the beauty of Sanātana Dharma. Always, we first give the place to Her. We say Rādhā Kṛṣṇa, not Kṛṣṇa Rādhā. We say Sītā Rām, not Rām Sītā. We say Lakṣmī Nārāyaṇ, not Nārāyaṇ Lakṣmī, because the first is the mother. The Upaniṣads said: "Mātṛ Devo Bhava"—mother is God first; then "Pitṛ Devo Bhava"—the father is God. The entire universe is the symbol of the mother. The universal consciousness is the symbol of the father. It is also called Hiraṇya Garbha, the Golden Womb or Embryo. That is cosmic consciousness, arising from that Cosmic Sound. The Vedas say that the sound, the resonance, is the form of the Divine. Everything comes from Sound, that is Oṁ. This sound itself is a manifestation of the Svayambhū. Śiva means consciousness. Śiva means beauty. Śiva means the truth: Satyam Śivam Sundaram. This mantra signifies that Śiva is the universe, consciousness. Because the Śiva Liṅgam represents the Universal Consciousness, from this Universal Consciousness creation takes place. All the stars, all the planets, endless solar systems, the moon and sun, all visible and invisible elements are manifestations of one Consciousness, and that is Cosmic Consciousness. To understand this, you must have that consciousness. To understand God, you must have God consciousness. To understand an enemy, you must have enemy consciousness. To understand friends, you must have friend consciousness. Otherwise, you will not understand. So, that cosmic body is the Śiva Liṅgam. Not as a male and female organ—no, that is totally misunderstood. It is that universal consciousness, the light, the truth, and the beauty. Śiva means liberation. Śiva means consciousness. Śiva means knowledge, truth, beauty. So you are Śiva. Within you is Śiva consciousness. It does not matter if you are male or female. Your anger is the tamas guṇa, the fire. When Śiva, who resides in the Himalayas sitting on His holy throne—His hair being Mount Kailash—when He wakes up and moves His hair, then snow falls everywhere. So today when we came here in the afternoon and snow was falling, I said, "Thank you, Śiva, that you pay attention towards us also." All seasons change according to His movements. He has no limbs, but He is everywhere. He has no eyes, but He sees everything. Śiva is the first one in the universe. He is not merely a Hindu god. God is neither for Hindus only, nor for Muslims, nor for Christians. It is a big mistake to speak of a Christian God, a Hindu God, or a Muslim God. God is God. You cannot say it is a Hindu sky and a Muslim sky. The sky is sky. We have to realize this, but we must have this kind of consciousness. Otherwise, we will create differences. Then we will create cultural differences. Then fighting will come, and wars will come. Everything begins with war, and everything begins with human greed. Mahatma Gandhiji said, "Mother Earth has enough for everyone’s needs, but not enough for everyone’s greed." Humans are very greedy creatures. If we give up this greed, we will be peaceful. In this way, when we celebrate Śivarātri, we aim to realize this pure consciousness. Today, around the whole world, everywhere in Śiva temples, people will be celebrating—male and female equally. It is not only for Śiva, but also for Pārvatī, Gaṇeśa, Kārtikeya, and all of us. There will be Abhiṣeka. Abhiṣeka is, you could say, the ceremony or the ritual. But ritual does not mean something negative. Cooking is a ritual, eating is a ritual, walking is a ritual—everything is a ritual; life is a ritual. Therefore, ritual is not negative. But there are some rituals called tantric rituals, magic rituals—magical rituals, black magic, white magic, yellow magic, orange magic. This is called Abhiṣeka. They will perform this on the Śiva Liṅgaṃ, pouring milk, yogurt, ghee or butter, fruits, and water, while chanting the Mahā Mṛtyuṁjaya Mantra. Mahā Mṛtyuṁjaya Mantra means victory over death, victory over our weaknesses—the realization of light, truth, and love. We also have here, symbolically, our Śiva Liṅgam. You all have the chance today to do this. You should have a wish; make a saṅkalpa. It will come true. But do not say, "Make me a millionaire tomorrow." Then Śiva will say, "You are a greedy one." He will say, "For greed, I have nothing. But for your need, I have everything." So Śiva will bless you for your spiritual saṅkalpa, to wash away sin. When you pour water on the Śiva Liṅgam, it means you wash away all pollution—physical, emotional, intellectual, mental, material pollution—and you are getting in touch with the entire universe. Water is life, and life is water. "Jal Jaha Jagadīśa"—where there is water, there is God. For our planet, where there is water, there is God. What is living is God, and we celebrate the living God, not a dead God. God is living in each and every atom. So water is life. The Upaniṣads say that when this Jīvātmā leaves the body, it comes to the astral world, then into the clouds and water, and falls as rain on the earth. God Kṛṣṇa said that through the water and through the moon, through the light of the moon and through the water, He comes to this planet as nectar. Nectar means the source of life, the strength of life. So water, milk—milk means life. When we were born, our first food was milk. There are three types of milk. First, milk from the mother. Second, milk from the cow—cow means all animals. Third, milk from nature, from vegetation. These are the three milks. But which is the fourth one? That is wisdom. So you will get today that spiritual milk, the milk of wisdom. Therefore, milk is very important. Milk is converted into yogurt and into butter; everything becomes pañcāmṛta—five kinds of nectar. This nectar, pañcāmṛta, is milk, yogurt, butter, honey, and water. Together they become five nectars. If you take just one spoon every day, not more, early in the morning, it will improve your health condition and your memory: milk, yogurt, ghee or butter, honey, and water. We say Gaṅgā water, but every river is a Gaṅgā. Every stone is Śiva. But take water from a clean river. This is the nectar. So you can say your mantra once and put some of the water they give you on the Śiva Liṅgam while repeating the Mahāmṛtyuṁjaya Mantra. Where there are people, there is culture. Where there is culture, there are people. You cannot block culture somewhere. Culture means moving. If you try to stop it, culture will die. Culture moves with humans. An Indian comes and brings a touch of Indian culture. Slovaks move and bring Slovak culture, its beauty. That is called multiculturalism; there is beauty in it. Culture is moving. What is moving is living, so it is a living culture. You cannot stop a culture. If you want to preserve culture, let it move freely. The sun is shining, and for our eyes, the sun is very bright. Now, whether you believe it or not, the sun is bright. Similarly, whether you believe in God or not, God is God. So we should not make differences. Therefore, we are fortunate ones that we can be here and celebrate and adore Lord Śiva. Now, for us, in the form of Śiva, is Śrī Devpurījī. The prasāda you receive in your hand, eat it immediately and then go. Drink it. Śrī Devpurījī, who had all the qualities of Lord Śiva—through the presence of Śrī Devpurījī, many divine līlās happened, what you call Siddhis. They did not demonstrate the Siddhis, but the Siddhis happened. There are two kinds of Siddhas. Siddhas are those who try to achieve siddhis and demonstrate them. Siddhi is like a māyā for the yogī or for the spiritual path. Māyā means illusion, temptation, and it takes you away from your path. So those who perform miracles lose their path, and after they leave this world, they will not attain mokṣa. But we worldly people adore and admire; we respect the temptation of miracles. The second kind of Siddha is one who never demonstrates, but miracles happen in their presence. That means the Siddhi is following them; Siddhi is serving them. That kind of siddhi is not an obstacle for them. That is Śiva. The Siddhi is serving Śiva. So our spiritual line is that we do not perform miracles, but miracles happen through their presence. This consciousness of Śiva was embodied in Śrī Devpurījī. Those who have this God consciousness, when they meet the Master once, then they are not running here and there. One philosopher—a very great philosopher, you will know when I mention him—said nearly at the end of his work: "Now I know that I know nothing." He knew so much, but he did not know one thing. He did not have that divine consciousness; he did not know God. The temptation is to acquire... It is a kind of self-abuse, to fulfill your longing, your desires for your ego. Therefore, you want to know more and more. But if you really want to know what God is and what the Self is, if you really want to know what God is and what Jīva is, then you will realize the Master, and then you will not run here and there. So, we all who are sitting here have realized in our Masters the Divinity, the Trinity, the Reality, the unity, and spirituality. We have realized that we have everything. Learning has no end. There was a great ṛṣi, a yogī, meditating for years and years. The end of his life came. It is believed that in ancient times, people lived for thousands of years. They had a different aim in life, not a material life. Their aim was to acquire wisdom. Spirituality is a vast knowledge. He came to know that the Vedas exist. At the end of his life, when he was very old—several hundred years—he realized he had to die. So he prayed to God to grant him long life. God heard his prayer, and a voice came from heaven: "Yes, my son, what do you wish?" "Please, grant me a few thousand years more." "Why? Do you want to become physically immortal? That is not possible. You have to die sooner or later. Then why not now?" He said, "No. I want to study and learn the Vedas." "Okay," and He gave him five thousand years. He was learning and learning. Five thousand years is not a little. The five thousand years passed, and again the message came that he had to leave the world. Again he began to pray very intensely: "God, bless me with a long life." Again God said, "Why?" He said, "Still, I have not studied everything. Please, I want to learn. I beg you, I want to learn for five thousand years more." Another five thousand years passed. The message came again. Again he was praying. God sent a messenger to give him a lesson. The messenger said, "Ṛṣi, do you see this mighty Himalaya? How big it is—thousands of kilometers—and how high—thousands of meters. Look at this Himalaya. Open your palms like this." So he looked at the Himalaya and opened his palms. A strong wind came, and with the wind some dust came, and the dust fell on his hands. The messenger said, "Now close your fist. Now open it and look inside." What was inside? There was some sand, some grains. The God’s messenger said, "You know, these few grains of sand are part of the Himalaya. What you have learned so far about the Vedas, spirituality, Siddhis, and yoga is only this much, as much as a grain of sand. What you want to learn is still the entire Himalaya. Now, how many more years do you want? It has no end." Therefore, just pray for Brahmajñāna, for that God Consciousness, for liberation. You know that liberation will not come through intellectual development, but through spiritual development. That spiritual development is, as holy Gurujī used to say, "one in all and all in one." Unless you realize this, without Guru Kṛpā, you will run here and there. This is a sign of your ignorance. The more you learn, the more you fall into the side of ignorance because learning has no end. Wisdom has no end. Knowledge is limitless. You cannot measure knowledge in kilograms, centimeters, minutes, or seconds because knowledge is endless. The more you learn, the more you will find how much ignorance you still have. Why not make a shortcut? Why not come straight? That is Ātmā Jñāna, Brahma Jñāna. Without that jñāna, all other jñāna is zero. Therefore, it is said: "Know thyself." If you know the One, you will know everything. If you know everything but do not know the One, then you know that you know nothing. That inner knowledge—but you must awaken this hunger within you; you should have this consciousness within you. Mostly, you do not have this. When I am talking, you say, "Yes, very good. Oh yes, I want this." As soon as I go out, in you it is like ants going up—gossiping, talking, moving, restless, no concentration. I was gone only for half an hour, and many of you were disturbed, going out and coming in. Hardly anyone was sitting and meditating tonight for Śiva and repeating the mantra. So this is a very clear picture for me that you still do not have that consciousness. "Lagi, lagi, sab koi kahe, lagi nahi, ligar. Lagi uske esi lagi hogay arampar." Everybody said, "Oh, I was hit, I was hit." But those who were truly hit by the arrow, it went through and through. Such an arrow of spirituality should pierce your heart. Otherwise, it is a long way, coming and going, coming and going. Like the waves of the ocean—you can sit on the beach and see how many waves come and go, endlessly, day and night. This is your situation also. So the end is only one: realization. And that is Guru Kṛpā.