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Shankaracharya wrote many, many things. He was an incarnation of Shiva. When he was eight or seven years old, he knew everything by heart—all the Vedas and all the sacred scriptures. Can you imagine what that means? If one studies for a lifetime, then perhaps one knows a quarter of a Veda by heart. Those with a good memory and talent for learning may occasionally know what is written in all the Vedas. But Shankaracharya knew everything. Thus he is known as the Knower, the Incarnation, the light of knowledge. Shankaracharya is regarded as one of the greatest thinkers ever to have been incarnated in human form—such elevated thinking. Shankaracharya is the head of the Swami order, which is Sannyāsa. The Swami order, Sannyāsa, is the highest order in human society and in the initiation system. He founded ten monasteries or lineages. There are the various Swamis: Giri, Puri, Bhārati, Sarasvatī, and so on, to which we also belong, or I belong. Our entire spiritual lineage belongs to Shankaracharya. It is the highest authority. Shankaracharya wrote and spoke a great deal. There is a very small book about it, quite a small one, not so difficult to read—28 pages. But in 28 pages, he may have given us knowledge for 28 lifetimes. His teaching is that he has proven non-dualism. There is a teaching that instructs dualism and a teaching that instructs non-dualism. Dualism concerns individual life and divine life—that is, God and the individual self. Shankaracharya says there is no difference. He gives many, many examples in his teaching, and through these examples he brings clarity that there are no differences. For instance, a small example: there are different kinds of forms and pieces of jewelry—a ring, bracelet, necklace, earrings, and so on. But the metal they are made of is gold. He says the differences are in the forms, not in the gold. Whether it is a ring, an earring, or a necklace, it is only a difference in quantity and form. But gold is gold. And so it is: whether it is God Himself or the ātman, the Self of my little mosquito, it is the same. Differences lie in qualities, in forms, and so forth. And this is in consciousness, in knowledge, and in ignorance. The differences lie between ignorance and knowledge. The people in this world are seekers. We are seeking something in the direction of spirituality, the Highest Self, towards God. For the Shankaracharya teaching, this is a great help. We seek what is an absolute or highest truth. What is the absolute? What is God? And who are we? It is where unity exists, where there is no dualism, no attribute—neither male nor female, light nor darkness—where one is completely in oneness. Since Shankaracharya says that all kinds of desires are also obstacles and make you dependent, or they bind you, they tie you down. Even the desire to attain Mokṣa is still a desire that binds you as well. And in a song he says: Na muktir na bandhaḥ, Chidānandarūpaḥ, Śivo’haṃ Śivo’haṃ. (There is no liberation and there is no bondage. I am of the nature of Consciousness and Bliss, I am Śiva, I am Śiva.) But this is for those who have realized this state of consciousness. For us, it is a difference between heaven and earth. And perhaps we are still beneath the earth, not above it. The seeker is searching for something serious. He understands what a master means and what the words of a master signify. And then he follows the Guruvākya, the teaching of the Master. Others fall into doubt, mistrust, suspicion, and uncertainty. And where there is confusion, where there is mistrust, where there are doubts, then fear arises—insecurity, psychological disturbances, sleeplessness, nervousness, sadness, loneliness, and lack of clarity. One feels abandoned or lost, helpless, miserable, and so on. Why? Because we have lost our wings on which we fly or hover above. And these wings are our trust. And how have we lost them? Through our ignorance. What types of ignorance? This ignorance where we began to compare our foundation of trust with something. And when we begin to compare something, we limit things. It is assumed. We limit our knowledge; that is already a sign, a small knowledge. There is no question of comparing what I believe with anything else. When you begin to place value, you have already limited yourself; you have lost. Of course, one must not believe anything blindly. It should be there, what you have found in your life. One usually does not change like one changes clothes. From my own experiences, I see many who come and say, "Oh, Swāmījī, you are the master." And after a few years, he says, "Well, I think I was mistaken." I say, "I do not know whether you have erred or become confused." Then someone else comes from somewhere and falls into it, and then the other one says, "Perhaps you are looking for another master; I know a good master again." So, Mahāprabhujī said: "The one who does not understand Guruvākya and does not keep his promises cannot cross this ocean. He must return to the cycle of rebirth and death through 8.4 million species of living beings." Human life is a miracle; it is very mysterious. It is a question, and very few people can answer this question. Or, how do you say, to dissolve these rasas? Human life is very difficult for people themselves to understand, first of all. People are very dependent, fearful. So, human beings are very, very dependent. A human is a living being in this world who is not free. Other living beings at least have freedom, and they follow the laws of nature. They follow the law of nature, but humans do not. We are dependent in every respect. And we want to be free from it, but we are afraid. We are dependent on emotions, on culture, on religion, on revenge, on country, politically, materially. No matter where one looks, there is fear and dependency. This is a jungle. It is such a dense jungle where many wild animals are, dangerous ones. Darkness, dense, thorny forest, and dangerous creatures. Now we have to go through without any protection. This is the state of a human being. Each one of us, when we look within—our thoughts are so scattered. And just as the wheel spins, so it is. Now, where is man the highest or best living being? When you look at it this way, human beings are the poorest and most suffering beings that have ever been given life, like a human. At the same time, human beings have the freedom and ability to liberate everything, to become free, and to realize unity, to realize perfection. Other beings are bound to nature, but humans can realize supernatural powers and liberate themselves through their struggle in life, and indeed through knowledge. Everyone can attain or realize this. And this is the teaching of the Holy: "Know thyself, recognize your Self." This is the answer and solution to all your problems or liberation from all your difficulties. But know thyself in a wholesome way. There are some people who are said to be saints. That is called, I don’t know what this word means, but they say, "spinning mill." They spin around; we do not spin. This is again a sick mind or sick thoughts. One who has realized knowledge is independent, self-aware, clear, relaxed, and happy—without fear and without dread, or without anything at all. So Shankaracharya says: know thyself, do not identify yourself with your worries, with your illness, with your sadness, with your ignorance, and so on. You are pure divine Self, you are the Ātman, and it is true—we are that. And not only us, but other living beings as well, though they do not yet possess this consciousness; they do not yet have this Buddhi, this intellect. It is lacking. And humans have an intellect that can be trained, that can help, that can develop. And here is Shankaracharya’s book, called Aparokṣānubhūti, Self-Realization. The path to self-realization, the path to knowledge, the path to perfection, the path to oneself, and the path to God. And this is it. The question always arises: how long will it take, how far is my path? Shankaracharya laughs about it. You do not know how far you are from yourself. You search for your Self somewhere, thousands of miles away. You are not there. So, if we do not know who we are and how far we are from ourselves... If we know this, then we say there is no path to the Self. Because there is no path to the Self. And when one says "the path to the Self," that is a joke. Ridiculous. You stand here in the middle of the crossroads and someone asks, "What are you doing? And where are you going?" You say, "I go to myself." So where do you go to yourself? I am within you. "Oh my dear one, where do you search for me? I am with you. My heart is outside of the town, but my residence is in your breath. My dear ones, where do you search for me? I am, my abode is in your breath. You will find me there within no time. In half a moment, you will find me." So, we should direct our indriyas, all our senses, all our search, all our energies. We should concentrate, look back, inward. Look to yourselves. You have seen enough faces; you have laughed enough at how the other looks. But just look at your own face, at least in the mirror. And the mirror is still, for us at the moment, the teaching of the Holy. The book is a mirror where you can see your Self very clearly. You are standing here, five meters away from my front mirror; you see yourself very clearly and everything. And someone throws or strikes you with a stone in the mirror. Do you feel pain? No. You are there yourself, that is your Self, but you have no fear; you feel nothing at all. You see only your reflection, the sattva within you. But when someone touches your body, you feel it, because there you are yourself. Such intellectual knowledge is only a reflection. But it is something as well. Theoretically, you also know a lot about yourself, and then come to the practical. And so the teaching of Shankaracharya extends far. And in the very first mantra, the Ācārya, Śaṅkara, he gives his adoration to the highest Self, the Master, the Guru of the Guru, Śrī Hari, the all-pervading God, everywhere, as your own breath, the Self. And His qualities—God, although He has no qualities, but when one speaks of qualities, then it is so—it is supreme bliss. Every living being, no matter which, seeks happiness, seeks joy, seeks pleasure. And why? Consciously or unconsciously? Through various things. Also in eating. We like to eat what tastes good to us. And why? We eat not only to live, but also because there is a feeling. It is a satisfaction when you get what you like to eat. And this feeling of joy, a happy feeling, that comes from your true, divine Self. Because it is joy itself. It is the highest bliss. And whoever has realized this is constantly in bliss. Unfortunately, we are only present during the meal. The next day, when we get on the cart, the joy is less. Then one promises oneself, "I must lose weight," and so on. But when it comes and the same joy is there again, then we forget once more. Thus, our joy, our happiness is transient. But constantly the Self becomes aware of it again and again, and seeks the same again. So, the Self, the divine Self, is joy. And to realize joy, to have joy, we should, if possible, use and enjoy it with both head and heart together. Sometimes there is something where the joy is pleasure, but then the result is negative. For example, drugs. Perhaps, I do not know how this enjoyment can be. But the dependent, the addict, when the effect is gone, they seek the same thing again. And so the addict, the seeker is the addict. We are also devotees, but we are devotees of divine love, the bliss that awakens. Because all of you sitting here have come to the spiritual path with the thought that you are seeking a higher, a better joy. And I have definitely found it, have begun it. We will lose again, but we will begin again. Once you have tasted it, you never forget that flavor. And it always leads back there again. Paramānanda: Param is the Supreme and Ānanda is bliss. Śrī Harim Paramānandam—and therefore God is the highest bliss. But God is not in one form; God is the entire world itself. We have given names according to our language and culture, but it is nothing else. When one says, "My God is better than your God," then it is about a teacher. And so, most religions began with a teacher. And that is called man-made religions. But the Sanātanadharma is eternal; it is bound with nature, with these creatures, with God. And then, when one says, "My God is better than your God," that is dualism. Then come differences, differences of opinion, and then one can also begin to argue. And there is so much force driving it that what we say suddenly becomes a world war. A butterfly can cause a storm. When a butterfly flies and through the movement of its wings, which creates air movement, that can slowly, slowly become a hurricane. And so it is: it is dormant power in the subconscious, somewhere. And suddenly, it is set in motion. Through what? Through mine and yours, ours and theirs. Then with these forces, it develops with ignorance. When we plant seeds in our garden, weeds grow along with them. And we only want to water and fertilize our beans, what we have planted. But when we water the beans, we automatically water our weeds as well. So, the beans or good harvest, what we have sown, the plants, is spirituality in religion. But the differences, the opinions, those are weeds. If the weeds are not removed from the fields immediately, then the weeds will take over. The true seeds, the true beans will remain small, and weeds grow like a jungle, the nettle. And with all this, our hatred, jealousy, greed, suffering, anger, ego, and revenge, and so on, grow. And that is a sign of ignorance. And that happens because dualism is present. In divine consciousness, in God, there is no dualism, there are no differences. Love is love, God is God, consciousness is consciousness, matter is matter. Everything is very beautifully illuminated. Everyone has their place, everyone has their position, everyone has their task and function. And so human beings are meant to evolve further. ...to Śrī Harim Paramānandam Upadeṣṭā Īśvaram, who gives us Upadeśa. Upadeśa is a very beautiful word. When a Swami, a Sādhu, a master speaks, then he says, or one says, "Please, can you give us some Upadeśa?" "Up" means closer, so the student sits closer to the master. Upadeśa is the First Teacher; the one who gives Upadeśa is the First Teacher. Upaniṣad, the word Upaniṣad comes from this. "Up" means closer and "ṣad" means student. The student sits closer to his master and listens to his wisdom or knowledge. This is a dialogue between master and disciple; this is the Upaniṣads, this is the teaching. The first master, God Himself, is the first master. Everyone comes afterwards. And so, the teaching of yoga is the very first teaching. And in this yogic teaching, the first master gave his instructions. He has given rules; he has the rules and regulations. And these are the spiritual: faith, prayer, helping, being spiritual, God, belief, and so on. And then various teachers accepted that. It may be Buddha or Kṛṣṇa or Rāma or Jesus or anyone at all. Everyone speaks of God, of love, of spirituality, of the Self, of negativity, of evil, and so on. Where do they have it from? Everyone has the teaching from the first Master, who is God, the creator of this world. And He is omnipresent throughout the entire world, in all Lokas. Lokas means planes—all levels, all the different levels. From heaven to cave and from cave to heaven, or even beyond what exists. Fourteen lower worlds and fourteen upper worlds. Well, seven below and seven above. So all the lower and higher worlds. So far, there are 14 worlds and 21 solar systems that can enter our consciousness or our human consciousness. Fourteen worlds, seventeen Brahmāṇḍas, 2100 Lokas, 2100 systems where your soul has the freedom to wander boundlessly and rest for a while. One of these 14 worlds contains 1100 solar systems. We have the name Śivaloka, and this divine Self, the First Master, God Himself, is omnipresent in every atom. And to understand Him is a masterpiece. One cannot understand Him. When one thinks of Him and tries to see Him in every atom, one becomes completely confused. One tries to understand, but then one no longer understands. For example, if He is inside every atom, how can He be in the bullet that kills someone? How can He be present in atomic power, which is full of fear? Yes, in the Mahābhārata, especially in the Rāmāyaṇa and also in the Vedas, there is mention of atomic power, Rākṣasas. In the Kali-Yuga, there will come Rākṣasas with such powerful energies that no one can oppose or fight against them. He must not be born. His birth must not take place. And when it is born, it becomes heavy, because then it becomes the most powerful. And that is atomic work, a power plant. That is the Rākṣasas. It is an energy, and within this atom, God is also present. So how can we understand God? One cannot understand this as long as one is bound by qualities. It is easier to see a good God, but seeing an evil one is not easier at all. It completely confuses us. So much easier to say, "Dear God, He is everywhere, within everyone, no matter where I look, He is God." Then move in the direction of love, but the tiger knows what is happening. He is omnipresent, everywhere, in every atom. And He is the cause of everything. God’s will, Heaven’s will—how can it be the cause of the nuclear power plant? But He is. He is Brahmā as the Creator, He is Viṣṇu as the Sustainer, and then He is Śiva as the Destroyer. He has created, He has sustained, and He will destroy again. God says, "Be mindful, the time is coming." At some point, there will be the last drop, which then begins to flow out. As soon as we see what we humans have caused in this world, it is no wonder that so many diseases and so many negative things occur. And why does this happen? Why is this illness present? Perhaps, who knows, the destroyer, the Śiva power has begun to act. Although Śiva means beauty, Śiva means liberation, Śiva means bliss, Śiva means joy, Śiva means unity, Śiva means the truth—Satyam Śivam Sundaram—yet at the same time Rudra. And Rudra, when Śiva as Rudra, his consciousness, awakens in Rudra, wrathful, then everything happens. He is the cause of all. And therefore, whenever, I bow down. When then, if then I adore Him, who is the cause of everything. He is the Almighty and Omnipotent everywhere. He is the first Master. He is the Supreme Bliss. And that is God.