TV Channel

We shall continue with the mantra. Yesterday, we spoke about sound and communication, and how to direct cosmic energy so that your wishes may come true. This cosmic sound exists in every atom on this planet, as well as in other planets and in space. This energy is created as positive and negative—Devī Śakti and Āsurī Śakti. Āsurī Śakti refers to the negative forces: Asuras, Rākṣasas. How the energy develops in your body determines how you behave. Holy Gurujī once told me a story. We were walking along the Sabramatī River in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where Gurujī had an āśram. Gurujī said that once he encountered a man sitting on the riverbank who was completely drunk. The man was eating cow dung and called out, "Mātmājī, come eat this most delicious cake with me." Gurujī told him, "It's cow dung, not a cake." The drunken man insisted, "No, no, it's the most delicious cake." So Gurujī said, "Then enjoy yourself." The man, heavily intoxicated, ate some cow dung and fell asleep. After a few hours, he woke up; the effect of the alcohol had diminished or worn off. The man realized, "Oh God, what have I done? These stupid things. I was eating cow dung." You see, qualities can change everything. Your intellect becomes clouded, and you act according to those qualities, thinking it is best. Through qualities, one becomes an asura or a demon; through qualities, one becomes a thief or a criminal; and through qualities, one becomes a good or holy person. Constantly, there is a fight between Devī Śakti and Āsurī Śakti within us and around us. When Āsurī Śakti attacks a person or an animal, that being becomes very dangerous. You may have experienced or know of people who, when drunk, begin to throw things around their flat, kick glass with their fists, acting truly like Asuras. The most dangerous drug is alcohol. Consider how many accidents happen in the world because of alcohol, how many people are killed in alcohol-related accidents, how many families are broken, how many children are left without parents, and how many partners are made unhappy. If you want peace, harmony, and happiness in human society, then stop alcohol. Getting rid of alcohol habits is as difficult as quitting other drugs. But alcohol is a major source of money, which is why people do not want to stop it. In reality, the grape is a most beautiful, healthy, and good fruit. Plums, apples, all fruits are very healthy and good. But when the juice of these fruits is manipulated, an Āsurī Śakti develops within it. Similarly, humans have a divine energy, a divine Śakti within them. But due to the influence of negative society, a negative way of life, negative thinking, and consuming food that contains Āsurī Śaktis, they develop corresponding habits and energies. Then their way of thinking and acting aligns with that energy. By the way, there are also personal differences among individuals. A human being has many good qualities, but if one leads an unhealthy lifestyle and consumes foods and drinks that cause distortion, aligning with Āsurī Śakti, then we must change our lifestyle and way of living. If we attune to Āsurī Śakti, we must transform it and purify the three guṇas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. As Āsurī Śakti develops, we suffer from three tapas, three kinds of suffering. Ādi Devikī Ādi Ātmik Sūtrī Tapā Gurujī said in a beautiful bhajan that by repeating your mantra—especially this mantra, Om Prabhudip Niranjan Sabaduka Banjan—you become free from the three tapas: Ādhibhautika, Ādhidaivika, and Ādhyātmika. The more we repeat our mantra, the more energy is purified and filtered. This resonance carries a positive vibration, which develops positive energy and purifies negative energy. There are many different kinds of mantras: Gāyatrī Mantra, Mahāmṛtyuñjaya Mantra, and many others. Ultimately, one may ask Lord Śiva, "What is the best mantra? Which mantra allows a disciple to develop spirituality quickly and ensures realization of mokṣa, samādhi, or self-realization in this life?" Mantra Mūlaṁ Guruvākyam, O Pārvatī. The essence, the root, the foundation of all mantras is Guruvākya. Guruvākya means the words of the Master. If your Master tells you, "Don't do this," then for you it is like a mantra. If your Master tells you to do something, then do it. This is, for you, like a mantra. Guru Ājñā, the instruction of the master. Guru Āgyā: obey, obey, obey the words of the Master. If your Gurudev tells you, "Don't go with this person, don't talk to this person," then you should not do it. But what do you do? When I tell you something, you just go and telephone Swāmījī and tell him all this and that. I don't understand why. We do what we want. You do as you like; it's your life. Be assured, all your telephone calls, SMS, and emails are received by my computer, but I will never tell you. I am only sorry for your development and for how you treat Guru Vakya, the words of all holy saints. The holy saints, regardless of which country they come from or which religion, all their holy scriptures are Guru Vākya. Every holy scripture contains the same instructions. Yet, in every holy scripture, there has always been someone who was chatting or backbiting. In India, we say, "Mukh me Rām, bagal me surī." On the face is the name of God or a smile, but hidden in your armpit is a knife. In the Mahābhārata, there was Śakunī, and in the Rāmāyaṇa, it was not only one Mantrā (Mantharā), but in this Kali Yuga there are many, many such 'mantras' (i.e., negative influences). Mantrā was a destructive power in the family of Lord Rāma, and her end was terrible, causing great suffering. So too was Śakunī. Therefore, the holy scriptures advise you to go to satsaṅg. Lucky are those who can come to satsaṅg, who travel hundreds of kilometers to attend. You saw this at Holi, at Gurujī’s last Guru Pūrṇimā Satsaṅg. There is a great saint, Śukadeva Muni. He was five years old but very divine and great, knowing all the Śāstras. If someone speaks very nicely, giving a lecture, people say, "Oh, he must be an incarnation of Śukadeva Muni." Śukadeva Muni said that a few seconds of Seva to Gurudev is more than sixteen years of Seva to God: Hari Seva Sola Baras, Guru Seva Palachar Tobi ni barabari ved kino vichar. You will see this in Gurujī’s satsaṅg. Therefore, it is ultimately said, "Mokṣa mūlaṁ Guru Kṛpā." Mokṣa is only possible when the Guru's grace is there. And kṛpā does not come merely from your smiling or from Gurujī’s smile. The runway must be clear for the plane to take off. So your inner vṛttis (mental modifications) must be clear. Otherwise, having a smile on the face and a knife in the armpit does not work. There was one lady who used to be an advisor to many people. But in reality, she was destructive; she used to phone all my yoga students. She would say, "Yes, I am like a mother to you. I saw you were a little unhappy today. What happened? You know, our Swamījī is very nice, very divine, and so on. But I can’t understand why you are unhappy. I have a deep connection to Swamiji. I understand Swamiji, and he speaks through me. Tell me something. I promise I will tell nobody, not even Swāmījī. Come, my child. Tell me, empty the heavy stone on your heart, throw it away. Trust me, I am your mother, and I will never tell anybody. Only God might hear what we are talking about, that’s all." She would fawn over the person for half an hour or an hour. Then she would hang up and immediately dial someone else's number, or even mine. Imagine, this crazy person telephoned me, my God. I had to talk for an hour, hearing all the stupid things he or she said. And there is not just one stupid person; there are many. There is a joke: On the highway, a man was driving in the wrong direction. The radio announced, "Be careful, there is one crazy man driving in the wrong direction." That crazy man driving the wrong way said to his wife, "Stupid. The radio said one man, but there are so many driving the wrong direction." So do not think that what you say will not be told further. People promise, "I will not tell, I have not spoken." Yet when these people speak, they immediately tell me or tell someone else. Therefore, in the golden preaching, Līlā Amṛt, Mahāprabhujī says: Do not tell your sorrows or personal things unless you know the person well. To know a person means you understand what they are thinking and how they will act in the future, even after some years. Otherwise, you will be sorry. Thus, Guru Seva and Guru Kṛpā are not so easy. Lucky are those who understand and can do it. So, the final judgment is: mantra mūlaṁ guruvākyaṁ. The essence of all mantras is the words of your master. On the highway, there is a sign indicating it is a one-way road. Another sign says "wrong way, do not enter." These signs are placed after long thinking and research. This instruction for us is Guru Vākya. If you follow the signs, you will arrive safely. If you do not follow them, you may cause an accident or lose your life. Therefore, follow the śāstras; that is like a mantra for us. When we follow that, our time, our positive energy, and our life are prolonged. Many difficulties can be avoided. If we do not know something, then we should pray and repeat a mantra. Jab jab man ghabraye, tum prathnā karo. Jab raha nazar na aaye, tum prathnā karo. Whenever you feel scared, fearful of death or anything, then you should pray. When you cannot find a way out of your troubles, then you should pray. This morning, there was a question on my table from a person who said, "I am very scared of death." The answer is prayer. You will overcome the fear. Who will die? The body will die. You will not die. You will be in the astral world. Will you say, "I died"? Then, who is in the astral world? You were born again. So what do you mean you were born again? Did you die? Amṛtātmāhe Maraṇṣīlakāya... The Ātmā is immortal, and mortal is the body. Ātmā besmrtna, smrtno je samo telo. Az ātmā halhatatlan, a test halandó. Yehi jñāna Arjuna ko Hari ne sunāyā. This knowledge was also preached to Arjuna by Lord Krishna. In the Līlā Amṛt, there is a very beautiful story. Someone came to Mahāprabhujī and said, "I repeat so many mantras every day, I meditate, I listen to holy songs and bhajans, I read holy books, I do so many pūjās and prayers, but still my mind is restless." Mahāprabhujī said, "Well, tomorrow when you meditate, give the key of your mind to me. Say before your meditation, 'Mahāprabhujī, I give to you my senses, my words, my mind, and everything.' And you will see how it functions." The next day, the man came to Mahāprabhujī and said, "Mahāprabhujī, I have never had such a nice meditation. Today, I realized and understood what Chittavṛtti Nirodha means." Therefore, these were among the last words of Gurujī in this world: Whoever realizes their Guru, he or she becomes a Guru. Ove reči su bile, "On ili ona ko razume svoga gurua, takođe će postati guru." Ali, kako prepoznati istinskog gurua? Ja, kao guru, kažem: "So ne može postati šećer, a šećer ne može postati so." Therefore, do not be scared about anything. What will happen, will happen, even if you are scared. There is a nice story about Mahātma Gāndhījī. Gandhījī was traveling by train to Eastern India. The train was going up a mountain. Gandhījī always had someone with him to write everything he dictated, or he would write himself. What happened was that two wagons from the locomotive, the freight wagons, became separated. Half the train went forward, and half the wagons started going backward down the mountain. Gandhījī said to his secretary, "OK, take the book, and we shall write something." The secretary said, "But you know, Gandhījī, we are going to die. We don't know what will happen." Gandhījī said, "We will see afterwards. Why should we lose time? We should write. Utilize the time now. So what will happen, will happen. If we sit here holding the train and say, 'Oh, we will die, we will die,' that is a loss of time. You are suffering unnecessarily, suffering ahead of time already." Therefore, Gurujī said, Teri Satguru Rāke Laj, Cintā Mat Karna.