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Pranām Swāmījī. Welcome, everyone, and a special welcome to all listeners joining our evening satsaṅg via webcast worldwide. The satsaṅg has already begun with bhajans, and I suggest we continue with another one—a short bhajan. A request came some days ago to speak a little about Oṁ. Indeed, Oṁ is a permanent part of our sādhanā. This request likely comes especially from those practicing Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna, as it includes a special Oṁ sādhanā. Speaking about Oṁ is quite demanding, as it is tantamount to speaking about God. We have two excellent sources for inspiration about Oṁ—or rather, I must say three. The first is, of course, what Swāmījī always teaches us. Do you recall when Swāmījī speaks about creation? He says Brahma, God, was alone. As I remember from Swāmījī, He one day made up His mind to change something: Eko’haṁ bahu syām—"I am one; let me multiply myself, let me become many." This is the will, the decision to start creation. And what was the very first fine vibration? Swāmījī usually calls it Pūrṇa. What was that? The Oṁ. It then further split, you could say, into three parts: A-U-M. From this emerged the three guṇas, and we know this is the origin, the material from which the whole creation has been formed. Also, when Swāmījī guides meditation, he often speaks at length and in detail about how the vibration comes and goes in our body. I'm sure you all remember this, so I won't repeat it now. This evening, I would like to draw from two main sources. One is the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, the shortest of all the Upaniṣads. The Upaniṣads are holy scriptures containing the highest teaching and wisdom, directly expressing the highest state of consciousness. Therefore, it is impossible to understand them merely with the intellect; they are not meant for that. They are meant to inspire and guide our meditation. I will share some glimpses from the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. The first verse says: Oṁ ity etad akṣaram idaṁ sarvaṁ—"Oṁ. This word contains the whole universe. Whatever was in the past, is in the present, or will be in the future—all that is Oṁ. And whatever is beyond these three times, that too is Oṁ." I think that is enough; it is a statement we can hardly digest. The second śloka says: sarvaṁ hy etad brahma, ayam ātmā brahma—"All this, I understand, all this world is Brahman. This Ātmā is Brahman." This statement is especially important for us, as in Sanskrit it is one of the four great mantras, the Mahāvākyas of the Vedas: ayaṁ ātmā brahma—"This Ātmā is Brahman." Now it becomes a little more practical. It says the Ātmā has four aspects, which are different states of consciousness—exactly what we know from Swāmījī. It distinguishes between the waking state (in which we are now), the dream state, and deep sleep. It identifies these with the different aspects of Oṁ. For not only does the Ātmā have four parts, but the Ātmā is Oṁ. Oṁ has four aspects: A, U, and M. These correspond to the three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. These are the three states we all know and experience every 24 hours. And what is the fourth? That is equivalent to Oṁ as a whole. A, U, and M correspond to those three known states, but Oṁ as a whole is what we do not yet know. I will read one śloka that tries to describe the indescribable for us: "This state of consciousness, which is called Turīya (the fourth), is the force. We could also say samādhi. Turīya is not the consciousness of the inner world, as in a dream. It is not the consciousness of the outer world, as in our waking state now. It is also not just a mass of consciousness, as in deep sleep. It is not simple consciousness and not unconsciousness. It is unthinkable and indescribable. It is the essence of consciousness. It is peace, bliss, and beyond duality. It is that which is known as Turīya. And this is the Ātmā. This is the Self. This is what has to be realized." The last sentence from this Upaniṣad says: Oṁ ity evaṁ dhyāyatha ātmānam—"Oṁ is the ātmā, verily. He who knows this merges his self into the universal self." So far, this is just an inspiration, an extract from the Upaniṣad. I think it needs a little time to digest. Therefore, I would request Nārāyaṇī to sing a bhajan for us. Śrī Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jai! I said we have two sources when we want to know more about Oṁ. Two holy scriptures. What would be the second one? That is our bhajan book. How often has Swāmījī emphasized that we should respect our bhajan book? It is like a holy scripture, not just a songbook made by musicians or poets. It is all Guru Vākya, the words of saints, enlightened saints. We have a beautiful bhajan from our beloved Holy Gurujī about Oṁ. You will find all the wisdom in this bhajan, and even a little more than in the Upaniṣad. So, I would like to speak a little about it. You can open it. The beginning of the bhajan is "Oṁ kī racanā śarīre," or the title is "Oṁ Kār Mantra kā Bhajan"—the bhajan about Oṁ. Let's sing the first verse to get an idea of how it goes, and then I will go into more detail. Oṁ kī racanā śarīra, Oṁ kī racanā śarīra, Oṁ ghar para brahma rūpa hai, Oṁ kī chāyā nahīṁ dhūpa hai. Oṁ ghar para brahma rūpa hai, Oṁ kī chāyā nahīṁ dhūpa hai. Oṁ ghar nabha rūpa sadā hī hai, nirādhāra re. Oṁ kī racanā śarīra re. We repeat this one line. Now, what does it mean? "Everything is the creation of Oṁ." Remember what the Upaniṣad says: this whole universe is Oṁ. And what Swāmījī says: the first Pūrṇa in creation was Oṁ, and from this came the whole creation. But that is not so obvious; it is a secret. This is what Holy Gurujī says. It is a secret that only the saints, the enlightened ones, know and understand. Those who truly know are one with the Divine. Therefore, he says only those who know the secret of Oṁ are permanently happy; they are in divine bliss. The first verse we just sang says: "Oṁ ghar para brahma rūpa hai." The word Parabrahma, I think you recognize; we had it yesterday when we spoke about the Bhagavad Gītā. It is the highest Divine Self—Brahma, Parabrahma, Paramātmā, Puruṣottama, however we call it. This is the world of enlightenment, but not physical light. That is what Holy Gurujī says now: the sun, the moon, the fire—they do not have the light. Their light comes from God. God gives them the light. Oṁ is this light. Oṁ is the light that gives light to physical objects. "Oṁ ghar nabha rūpa sadā hī hai." Nabha means the sky. Oṁ is like the sky; it has no limit. It is everywhere. "Sadā hī hai" means it is permanent, eternal. "Nirādhāra": you know this, for example, from the Mūlādhāra Chakra. Ādhāra means the base, the foundation. It says here Oṁ has no base, no foundation; it depends on nothing. You can put it the other way: everything is from Oṁ. Nothing actually produces Oṁ; Oṁ is the origin of everything. Now, Holy Gurujī goes more into the aspect of creation. Exactly as in the Upaniṣad, it was said Oṁ splits into three parts: A, U, and M. In the Upaniṣad, it spoke of the three aspects as different states of consciousness. But there are many more aspects to these three: for example, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva; past, present, and future. But most important are the three guṇas, the three qualities from which the whole universe has been created. That is what Holy Gurujī says next: "Oṁ kār kī triguṇā māyā." Through Oṁ came this Māyā, which consists of the three guṇas. The next step is Māyā, the shadow of the world. Through this Māyā, the whole universe has been created. "Oṁ khar me jīva rahe": all living beings, including us, live in Oṁ—like a fish in water; wherever you turn, it is there. That is a very nice saying. "Deha dhārī": deha is the body, and dhāraṇā means to have, to hold. So, the body-wearer. Remember what we spoke about yesterday? The ātmā goes on, taking a body like a coat, putting it off, and taking the next. So, all embodied beings, individual beings, jīvātmās, they are living in Oṁ. "Vidyā sarva Oṁ se āī": all divine wisdom, teaching, comes from Oṁ. Oṁ brought forth the Vedas, the holy teachings. Now, very important about mantra: "Sarva mantra kumula Oṁ se." Oṁ is the root of every mantra. Remember, Swāmījī always says a real mantra cannot be without Oṁ. Therefore, Swāmījī never gives any mantra in initiation that does not start with Oṁ. "Brahma vichārī re": all spiritual desires, thinking, and thoughts come from Oṁ. It is like the light shows us the way, and after we see the light, we want to go there. Now it comes to sādhanā, what to do with Oṁ. Therefore, let us repeat Oṁ all together. That is what we are already doing in the very first yoga class; we always start meditation with Oṁ. So, it is an essential part of our sādhanā. "Oṁ khar se hot ujjāla": Oṁ awakens the light in us. It is the light awakening the light in us. "Dharo Oṁ kā dhyāna": dhyāna you know is meditation. Therefore, stick to meditation with Oṁ. "Oṁ se bhava bhai harire": all worldly fears, especially the fear of death (what we spoke of earlier as abhiniveśa), can be purified through Oṁ. "Ṛṣi, muni, yogī, sāra Oṁ karka haradaya": haradaya means the heart. Therefore, all the ṛṣis, munis, yogīs—they love Oṁ and have it constantly in their heart. "Oṁ kār ke binā vī sādhanā se pe hote bikharīre": without Oṁ, sādhanā cannot be fruitful, successful. "Oṁ kār se hote ānanda": bliss comes through Oṁ—in the sense of Ānanda, not just some joy. God is described as Sacchidānanda—unconditional bliss, not temporary enjoyment. Oṁ is this bliss; Oṁ lets us experience this bliss. "Oṁ kār kūjana Govinda": Govinda is another word for Lord Kṛṣṇa. It says Kṛṣṇa knows Oṁ, but I guess it is a poetical way of saying all the saints, of course, know Oṁ. They know the secret of Oṁ, as in the refrain. "Oṁ se sudhare kāja": kāja here is the same as karma. Through Oṁ, you purify your karmas. How is that? Because karma is actually a certain vibration we create in our aura, a low vibration. Oṁ is a very fine, high, divine vibration. So, it removes this dust, these lower vibrations. "Oṁ se hoya bhava pārī re": through Oṁ, we can cross this ocean of the world. So far, it is very similar to what we had in the Upaniṣad. But now comes one thing more, and that is most important for us, most important for our success on the path. It is Holy Gurujī's bhajan, and you know his love for Mahāprabhujī. He could never write a bhajan without dedicating it to Mahāprabhujī. So, he says in the last verse: "Oṁ Namo Prabhupāda Svāmī, Prabhupāda Svāmī"—Mahāprabhujī's name. "My adoration, my love, my salutation to you, Mahāprabhujī. Oṁ Kār Gurudev Namāmī: you are for me Oṁ." Then it becomes practical: the one who has realized Oṁ, who has realized God, is one with Oṁ, is one with God. If we search for Oṁ, if we search for God, we need to follow the one who has found Him—our master. Holy Gurujī says: "Oṁ ko vandanā hamārī re—my salutation to Oṁ." But here, in this context, it sounds different. It is no longer just a salutation to Oṁ, which is everywhere like the sky, as said earlier. It is a very concrete salutation to the personified Oṁ—his master, our master. Then we have a direction in which to bow down. And I think everyone is happy that tomorrow Swāmījī is supposed to come here again. So tomorrow, Oṁ will sit here. Let's sing together. Oṁ kī racanā śarīra, Oṁ ghar para brahma rūpa hai. Oṁ kī chhāyā nahīṁ dhūpa hai. Oṁ ghar para brahma rūpa hai. Oṁ kī chhāyā nahīṁ dhūpa hai. Oṁ ghar nabha rūpa sadā hī hai, nirādhāra re. Oṁ kī racanā śarīra re. Oṁ ghar nabha rūpa sadā hī hai, nirādhāra re. Oṁ kī racanā sare re, Oṁ kī racanā sare re. Yānī jāne bheda suhita rāhī-sukhī āre re. Oṁ kīra-cchāna sādhi, Oṁ kīra-cchāna sādhi. Kār kītri guṇamāyā, ismāyā cī jagat rachāyā. Oṁ kār kītri guṇamāyā. Is māyā cī jagat rachāyā. Oṁ khar me jīva rahe saptih dhārī re. Oṁ kī rachanā sarī re. Vidyā sarva Aum se āī, Aum kār se Veda rachāī. Vidyā sarva Aum se āī, Aum kār se Veda rachāī. Sarva mantra kumula Aum se Brahma vichārire, dhīrachanāsarīre. Sarva Mantra Kāmur Om Se Brahma Vichārī Re, Om Kī Rachanā Sarī Re. Om Kī Rachanā Sarī Re, Jñānī Jāne Pedā, Sohī Jā Rahī Sukhī Āre Re. Om Kī Rachanā Sarī Re, Om Khar Ratomilsara, Om Khar Sehot Ujjāra. Namo om kha dhyāna om se bhaya bhaya harire. Om kī racanā śarīre. God bless you. Om se sudhre kāl, om se hoya bhāva pāri re, kī racanā sārī re. Om se sudhre kāl, om se hoya bhāva pāri re, kī racanā sārī re. Om kī racanā sārī, om kī racanā sārī. Prabhu Dīp Svāmī om khar guru dev namāmī. Om namoḥ prabhu Dīp Svāmī. Oṁ is basically formless. Honestly, I was a little astonished that we have received this beautiful and profound teaching about Oṁ from Holy Gurujī. We know Holy Gurujī as a pure lover, a pure bhakta, a devotee. He was a devotee on the bhakti yoga path. But he realized everything, the highest, through this devotion. That is what Swāmījī always says: our path is through Saguṇa to Nirguṇa. When we open our heart and have pure love and devotion to our masters, then this highest knowledge about Oṁ, the formless, Nirguṇa, automatically comes. Holy Gurujī is a very good example. Just as he also wrote bhajans about jñāna yoga and all different aspects, all the wisdom came through him via one-pointed devotion. For him, there was no other god, no other orientation—absolute one-pointed devotion to Mahāprabhujī. Through that, he got everything. This bhajan is very good proof of that. I think this is enough inspiration for us to understand more deeply the importance of the sādhanā Swāmījī gives us: why we use Oṁ in yoga classes, in our personal practice, in our mantras, in our kriyās, and in the special techniques of Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna. Now, perhaps another nice bhajan to contemplate? Guru Dev Sarnā Tumhārī, Guru Dev Sarnā Tumhārī, Chintā Merī, Mithā De Merī Dayā, Dayā Lo Dayā, Bera Tumhārī, Bera Dev Sarnā Tumhārī. Guru Dev Sarna Tumhari. God bless you!