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Part 1: The Oneness Beyond All Paths We are still celebrating Diwali, the incarnation of Mahāprabhujī. I thought now we could go a little deeper into Mahāprabhujī’s teaching, which for us is also Swāmījī’s teaching. Our way is the way to oneness. Our way is the way to non-duality, called Advaita. But we live in a world of duality, and our mind is also quite influenced by it. We are often not aware of how funny that is—how funny it must be from the point of view of a saint who has realized this oneness. There is a small story. A man was walking and came upon a shepherd with a flock of sheep. He got interested and went to the shepherd and said, "I’m interested in your sheep; can I ask you a few questions?" The shepherd said, "Of course." The man asked, "You are walking with the sheep around. How many kilometers do they actually walk per day?" The shepherd asked, "Do you mean the white ones or the black ones?" The man said, "Okay, the white ones." The shepherd replied, "About five, six kilometers per day." "And the black ones?" "About the same." "Tell me, how much do they actually eat per day? How much grass and so on?" "Do you mean the white ones or the black ones?" "The white ones." "About, I would say, two kilograms." "And the black ones?" "The same." "And when they give wool, how much wool do they actually give in one year?" "Do you mean the white ones or the black ones?" "The white ones." "About three kilos." "And the black ones?" "No, the same." The man then said, "But please, you always answer my questions in such a strange way, distinguishing between the white and the black ones. Why do you do that?" The shepherd said, "But that’s only natural. Because the white ones belong to me." "Aha, and the black ones?" "They, too." I think one could call this the laughter of an enlightened one—how we, in reality, think and act. But, of course, this way of thinking creates real problems. This is the point I want to speak about a little now: the different religions, and how our yoga path is actually situated in the middle of these spiritual paths. In the beginning, when people come to yoga, they understand it more as a physical workout—a common teaching with many different styles. When they come to us and get to know that yoga is actually a spiritual path, then confusions come. What does it really mean? Sometimes I am told that people are a little afraid of spirituality because the thought arises: "Aha, so yoga is actually a religion. Now, when I start practicing yoga, that means in the end I have to give up my religion and change." This is a point where there is a question: Are we clear ourselves on this point? Do we see it as a weak point, or as something where we can very clearly explain to people? I can see it sometimes in subtle things. For example, now I am traveling around and see so many ashrams, not only here but also abroad. You will be astonished how different they look. Some of our ashrams have the charm of a garage—plain, with nothing. When I ask, the answer is, "Everyone should feel at home here." But I don’t feel at home there. I had a similar experience in India when I visited the beautiful Lotus Temple in Delhi. Maybe you have seen photos; it is beautiful architecture, the whole building like a big lotus. It is a temple of the Bahá’í religion. When I went inside, I was a little astonished. There were benches similar to those in a church, but in front there was nothing. It was empty, like the center was missing. I asked the people, "Why is it like this?" They said, "Yeah, we want that everyone feels welcome here, from every path, every religion." But I felt only emptiness. I give you an opposite example. When I was in America, I was also in Atlanta, which is in the south, a rural area. That is an area which is very Christian, mostly Baptist. There are also Hindus, and there is also a Hindu temple. When I came to their ashram and had a program there, first of all, I can say it was a most successful program. They managed to bring more people together than in our main ashram in Washington, and it was a really enthusiastic atmosphere. When the satsaṅg was finished, they simply didn’t want to go. But when I looked at how they had decorated the ashram, there was a commode—a very clear altar with pictures on the wall. It was open, and all around were pictures of Kṛṣṇa, of Rāmakṛṣṇa, of Devpurījī, of Swāmījī. All around was wonderful decoration. I asked them, "Don’t you have problems?" "No, we don’t have any problems." So you see, this is a little bit of a sign for the inner attitude. I don’t say it to criticize anyone; it’s just to give a hint. It very much depends on our inner clarity. When we inside are really clear, we don’t need to go into a defense position. Now, let us look at this point a little. What is actually Mahāprabhujī’s teaching? I give three examples from the Līlā Amṛt. The first is a story about the blind Muslim boy. There was a boy who had become blind, and they brought him to Mahāprabhujī. They were Muslims, and they asked, "Mahāprabhujī, in the hour of need we trust in your loving kindness. Please grant sight to the eyes of my nephew. Although we are Muslim, I am sure you won’t turn us away." Now listen to Mahāprabhujī’s answer: "The kingdom of God knows no distinction of caste, race, or religion. To me, you are one of God’s children. It doesn’t matter if you are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Christian, or Jew." And then came a very strong test. Do you remember that? He said, "You take the juice of the ankara plant and put that in his eye." Every Indian knows this ankara plant is extremely poisonous; it would surely destroy the eye. But this man had such faith in Mahāprabhujī, he straight away did it. And he opened his eyes. So it was a test. It was not this juice which opened the eyes; it was the divine power of Mahāprabhujī. And this was just a test to see if he really had faith. So it doesn’t matter if he is a Muslim, but it matters if he is a Bhakta. It matters if he has faith. Karim Baksh was at a loss to find words to praise Mahāprabhujī, and this incident afterwards attracted many devotees among the Muslims to Mahāprabhujī. There’s another event which is even more clear. Pushkar is a place where Hindus and Muslims have places of worship very close together, so they cannot avoid actually meeting each other. Therefore, when there is some discord, it is there. Once there was such a struggle between them, but they both had faith in Mahāprabhujī and asked him as a mediator. What did he tell them? "Brothers, what turbulence have you brought here? Your quarrel is senseless." Remember how we were laughing about the shepherd? Now we have it here in practice. Mahāprabhujī is here asked, "Are you for white or for black?" "Your quarrel is senseless. You work under a big mistake if you think that you are enemies just because you follow different religions. You must learn instead to love one another like brothers, because we are all children of the one divine Father. God lives in the heart of all living beings. Doesn’t matter if you are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Christian, or Jew. If you truly practice your faith, then you will come to God by either route. If you truly practice your faith, then you will reach God on this way or on that way." And let us think on Mahāprabhujī’s Mauna Satsaṅg. Mahāprabhujī said, "In this mudrā"—and we have the picture of him—mentally, he gave teachings to different groups belonging to different castes, rich and poor, and followers of different paths. Now, let us see what he was teaching to the different religions. The message for the Christians: "The message of Jesus Christ is true. The path of service and forgiveness is your liberation. Follow his example." The message to the Sikhs: "Guru Nānak was a divine incarnation. The ship of His name will carry you across the ocean of the world. Always chant his name." The message to the Muslims: "Allah is God. He alone exists in the many names and forms. He alone lives in the heart of all beings. Therefore, harm no one. Never cause pain to any being, and pray to the Lord." The message to the Parsis, or also called Zoroastrians—that’s a very old religion: "Honor of fire means honor of all forms. Fire burns everything. Fire, by its very nature, transforms everything into fire. In the same way, Gurudev burns the ignorance of the disciple in the fire of self-knowledge." And the message to the Buddhists: "Keep the rules of Buddhism and be true followers of Buddha. That is your liberation." I think it’s more than clear. So, which religion is now real, true? Each religion. The oneness and the acceptance of all religions. Yet there is a problem. Religions have developed in different parts of the world at different times in history, so definitely they are different. They are very different: different buildings like temples, churches, mosques, and so on; different prayers; different rules for the followers; different festivals during the year. So when you look on this level, you find only differences. You find so many differences. So now, where to find the oneness? Another problem is that these religions have a history. At the origin of the religions, they were all saints. What do you think would happen if Buddha would meet with Jesus, with Mahāprabhujī, with Rāma, with Mohammed? I guess they would be extremely happy and embrace each other, brother. But what about their followers? They do have problems; not so easy to embrace each other. The problem is that in history, often the essence got lost. The origin, everything was clear. But then, if in history there are not always enlightened saints who can revive the tradition, fill it with life again, adapt it to the necessity of the present time, then religions tend to become stiff and dogmatic. So it means everyone has to believe certain things, but no one knows actually anymore why. Everyone has to follow certain rules, and no one knows anymore what’s the background of that. Another small story. In a temple, they always did worship. Before the prayer, they put the prasāda there. But often the prasāda disappeared, and they observed a cat. The cat always came at the right time and stole the prasāda. So finally the master said, "Okay, we have to do something. Bind the cat at the pole before the prayer, and after the prayer you can let it free again." So the problem was solved. The cat could be present, but it couldn’t steal the prasāda, and everyone knew: before the prayer, the cat has to be bound to the pole. Now, after some time, the guru left the body. And still they were binding the cat to the pole. Then the cat also passed away. But everyone knew, of course, before the prayer, a cat has to be bound to a pole. Now, unfortunately, there was no cat. So they were searching to find a cat, because they had to find a cat to bind it at the pole; otherwise, they couldn’t do successful prayer. You understand? How things developed then in the history? What made a lot of sense in the beginning suddenly becomes an empty ritual. So, most important is that there is always a saint who understands the essence. If this is not the case, then some deformations can happen, and then also fanaticism can come. That is actually a problem of Bhakti Yoga. In Bhakti Yoga, you have your Iṣṭadeva, your chosen God. All your love goes to this chosen God. This God is for you everything. But how easily now comes the next thought: the other gods are not true gods, that this God, which is for you everything, is actually the only God, and everyone should follow this God. This is when the real problems start: the idea of converting someone from one path to another path, from one God to the other God. And then, when this becomes like an official policy, then actually the spirituality is lost. Then ideas of power mix in, and ideas of possession and money. Then actually the different religions become like political parties who are fighting now to have more members than the others. And then the real problems are there, which can lead even to wars. I heard Swāmījī saying once that most probably more people have been killed in the name of God than for other purposes. So here now, Mahāprabhujī’s teaching is such a relief: accept each other, tolerate each other, love each other. That is Mahāprabhujī’s teaching, and that is also Swāmījī’s teaching. I remember when Swāmījī was asked, "Swāmījī, what do you think about Jesus?" and Swāmījī answered very relaxed and said, "Jesus is my colleague." That’s a nice way of putting it. We must know where is our path, but we should respect and tolerate every path. Now, where exactly is our path? Let’s come to this question. Is yoga now really a religion, maybe? Or is it closely related to this or that religion? I guess this is a point which is not so easy. We heard yesterday a lecture from Holī Gurujī. In this lecture he gave yesterday, a quite important hint—let me repeat from this lecture. Holī Gurujī said, "In India today, there are 2,350 different religions and sects." Each of these has its own rituals and its own practices. But only a discriminating person, a person with viveka, can recognize the right way. And then he says, he quotes, "Religions compete among each other for first place. But only that religion which is beyond religions leads to God." That’s interesting: that religion which is beyond the religions. So what would be that religion? Let me quote Swāmījī. Swāmījī says very clearly, and this is now exactly Swāmījī’s words that I’m saying: "Yoga is not a religion. Yoga is also not part of any religion." That means it is also not part of Hinduism, as many think. "But yoga is the essence of every religion." Yes, this religion beyond the religions, that is actually the yoga. That is our path. That is Mahāprabhujī’s teaching. So now, how to understand that? I myself was, when I lived in India, very interested in this question. You know that I lived in the ashram and built up a library there. I was very concerned to have each and every religion represented there. That was one reason also why I went, for example, to this Bahá’í temple to buy some books from them for our library. I also was very concerned to have represented every path, every master. So when you come to Jhadan, you really can study that. But naturally, of course, I also looked in the books and studied myself a little bit. It was a little bit like my hobby now to study these different paths, these different religions. I tried to find out not what is different—and that’s easy—but what are the underlying, uniting principles. I came to certain results. When we want to do such a study to understand now about the oneness of the religions, then we have to make an important distinction between two aspects of every religion. We can call it the exoteric and the esoteric aspect. Exoteric means the outer appearance. Esoteric means the inner essence. We said already, on the outer appearance, on the exoteric level, there are so many differences. But when you look more carefully, you will find in every religion groups which explain their own path in a different way. For example, within the Muslims, these are the Sufīs. First of all, of course, this is possible only when there is a master. This inner essence is known only to those who have realized this essence. So practically, it means to go searching for the enlightened saints and their traditions within every religious path, because somewhere the traditions are always alive. Unfortunately, sometimes these are minorities which are really persecuted by the official representatives of the same religion. And sometimes they are very easily accepted. So what I found is that there are certain principles actually appearing in all these esoteric teachings. The first is: there is only one God. The second is: you find God inside, not outside in the world. Let me give an example for that, and you might be astonished from whom I’m quoting now—from Jesus. This is in Luke, the Gospel of Luke. When he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." You see, he wasn’t an enlightened saint? He knew the truth, and he spoke it. "The kingdom of God is inside"—that means God is inside. The esoteric teaching is always the teaching to search for the divine within ourselves. It’s not so much about rituals and traveling here and there, pilgrimages, and so on. They all have their sense, but they all can inspire us and help us. But essentially, the path to God is the path inside. And the main technique to search is called contemplation or meditation, everywhere. And everywhere, the name of God is respected. What is it for us? Mantra. Mantras are used in every spiritual path. Very, very often, even they have something very similar to our mālā. They have malas with 108, or, for example, the Muslims have 99 plus 1, where the 1 is Allāh. The Christians have this rose—how is it called?—rosary, which has actually 54, it’s half of 108. From the Sikhs, Swāmījī once got a wonderful mala from cotton. So it’s astonishing how even in the details there are similarities. But the name of the Lord is the main technique, actually, to achieve this higher consciousness. This is known everywhere and used everywhere. And in these esoteric teachings, they are always very much aware of the necessity of a guru, the guru and disciple relationship, and the guru paramparā, the tradition of the gurus. What Swāmījī always says: no one can be a guru without having a guru. Open any good Buddhist book, for example, and you will always find in the beginning of the book or at the end of the book that he always explains about his masters. In one Buddhist book that was written by an enlightened master, he gave the title to his book, "The Words of My Perfect Teacher." That means, like, I did nothing; I wrote only down what my master told me. Such humbleness. This is a sign of true spirituality. And every Sufi tradition from the Muslims, they are very eager to prove that their guru tradition goes back till Muḥammad. So these are some uniting principles on the esoteric aspect of every religion. Now, in some of the religions, these esoteric aspects are, let’s say, more hidden. This is now specially valid for the three main Western religions. We have three religions in the West. The oldest one is the Jewish religion. The second one, building on this, is Christianity. The Jewish scripture, the Torah, is a part of the Bible. And again, building on that are the Muslims. You might be astonished how many chapters in the Koran are about Jesus and Mary. So Jesus is well known, only he is seen as a prophet and not as the Son of God. In the Jewish religion, for example, you have the teaching of the Kabbalah. And, for example, we had around 1600, 1700 a very strong wave of gurus called Hasidism. The first of them was called Baal Shem Tov, and I read some books about them and their stories. To tell you, this is exactly Swāmījī’s teaching. If I have here now this book which they are selling here—how is the title? "From the Darkness to the Light"—this book is available here. Who wants can buy it here. Or you read these stories of these Chassidism masters; you will be astonished. Part 2: The One Essence and the Need for a Master The same teaching, the same essence, is found everywhere. In Christianity, for instance, in the very famous Master Eckhart and his sermons. In books, it sometimes reads like Jñāna Yoga. There is also the very famous Francis of Assisi and many others—nuns and monks in monasteries who were deeply meditating. Consider Father David, a friend of Swāmījī, a high representative of the Catholic Church yet so open-minded. As I said, in Islam, this is the Sufīs. The Sufis are true yogīs. One of my very first yoga classes was with Sufis. I went regularly and really enjoyed their classes; I even remember we did Yoga Nidrā there. The essential teaching is everywhere the same because there is only one essence, only one truth. No one can change that. In the Eastern religions, the similarities are more apparent, or let's say the esoteric teaching is more open. It is not so much hidden or suppressed. For example, in these religions, the law of karma is generally accepted. You have it in the Bible too: when Jesus says, "As you sow, so you will reap," that is the law of karma. But it is not so much the official policy of the church. The Eastern religions would be Hinduism, Sikhism—which goes back to Guru Nānak—and Jainism, which is also a very ancient tradition but mostly known for its last great guru, Mahāvīr. He was a contemporary of Buddha. So Buddhism is also one of these religions. Mahāvīr and Buddha actually knew each other. They lived about two and a half thousand years ago. In these religions, the esoteric aspect is more obvious. But even there, it somehow needs explanation. It is not so much suppressed, but to understand the real essence, you again need the teaching of a master. Mahāprabhujī was such a master. How did he teach? Mahāprabhujī shows a very popular form. He didn't write thick books for philosophers and intellectuals. His teaching is in a very popular form: in the bhajans. So, to understand our path, we have to look at our Bhajans. Of course, in the Līlā Amṛt and in the bhajans, you will find most bhajans address Hindus. But when you look carefully, they are not Hindu bhajans. They address Hindus, picking up what they believe, but often in a very challenging way. They say, "Okay, you can go for a pilgrimage, you can bathe in the holy rivers, you can go to the temples, you can do the fasts, you can do the almsgivings." And then comes a big "but" always: but all that will not bring you to liberation. So, as a Hindu, you hear that. It is not a reconfirmation of what you are doing all the time; it's an awakening call to go deeper, to think about what you are actually doing. And then comes the "but": you need a guru who explains the essence. What does it really mean? What are the traditional beliefs of the Hindus? In fact, we must be clear: not all bhajans address Hindus. We also have bhajans addressing Muslims. Who knows the bhajan "Ha-fakīrī"? Fakīr is a term used for the sādhus among Muslims. And very clearly, in the bhajan, "Then comes Mecca Medina" appears in the next verse. So this is a bhajan directly addressing Muslims, speaking about Allāh. Just think of this story from the Līlā Amṛt about how Mahāprabhujī spoke to Hindus and to Muslims. Because of that, he was respected by both. He was respected by all religions because, remember, in the Mauna Satsaṅg, people from all different paths and religions were gathered around him. Mahāprabhujī was such a saint; he radiated this love and wisdom. He did not need to hide anything. But we have to realize what is really the essence, and then we can also contribute to the oneness, as Swāmījī always tries now with these inter-religious prayers, always trying to bring people together from different religions for the same aim. Let me try to go a little deeper so we understand the difference between exoteric and esoteric teaching. As we said, there is an essence, but to understand it you need a master. I will give two examples: one from the Muslims and one from the Hindus. The Muslims have five rules. To become a Muslim, you accept these five rules. The first is to declare Allāh is God and Mohammed is a prophet. One rule is five prayers per day. How many do we do? I think we are not so good Muslims; we have at most two, usually. Many of us do not even have these two prayers regularly. So we can learn from them: even if not long, to stop and think of God five times a day. Wherever they are, they turn to Mecca. That’s a beautiful rule. Then, one is the fasting month, Ramaḍān. They also have a kind of tapasyā in their teaching, which we have from Swāmījī as a fasting day per week and on the full moon day. Almsgiving, certain donations, is also a part. The fifth rule is the Ḥajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is said every Muslim should do that once in a lifetime. So far, everything is clear; it is easy to become a Muslim. But to follow that path and understand it is not so easy. Now the Sufi master comes and starts questioning this. The point is not to follow rules but to have an aim: God-realization. Take the example of the pilgrimage (yātrā). The rule is once in a lifetime. One can ask: why only once? Would it not be better every ten years, or as often as possible, maybe every year? We have to think. What does the pilgrimage mean? Mecca is the place of God. You do the pilgrimage to meet God. That is the aim of our spiritual path: to meet God, what we call darśan, self-realization or God-realization. The common understanding is you take holidays and walk to this place where there is a stone, the Kaaba. It is a great experience among thousands or millions. But will this bring God-realization? The Sufi master explains: God is not there. God is here, inside. The esoteric teaching says, "Search God inside." God is in your heart. Do the pilgrimage inside. Meditate on God. Repeat the name of God. Realize God where He is: inside. When you reach the aim and realize God inside, how often do you need to repeat that? It is not possible, not necessary. Like in Vedānta, we have the symbol of the rope and the snake. In the evening, you are scared; you see a snake. You observe, go closer, and realize it is only a rope. Now you know. How often more do you need to know? How can you repeat the process of knowing? Once you know, you know. There is no second time. Suddenly it makes sense to say once in a life you have to do the pilgrimage—but the real pilgrimage, not on feet, but in our heart. That is how the Sufi master explains it. Next, he gives the right mantra and meditation technique. Suddenly it becomes clear and practical. Suddenly, it is yoga. What started as Islam becomes yoga. Now take the other example from the Hindus. They also have clear rules: to visit temples, worship at home, go to holy places on pilgrimage. We have the bhajan "Guru Charanam" mentioning 64 main places of pilgrimage. An important part of Hindu belief is the Kumbh Melā: to bathe in the holy rivers. At that time, all three holy rivers are flowing—Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and Sarasvatī. It is known that two flow all the time, but Sarasvatī is a secret underground river flowing only rarely, during certain planetary constellations occurring every twelve years. Therefore, every 12 years these huge Kumbh Melās happen, where millions gather. It is a beautiful, uplifting spiritual atmosphere—the greatest spiritual festival in the world. I was there with 30 million people. Why do they do this? The Hindu belief is that when you bathe at this time and place, with the right constellation and all three rivers flowing at their meeting point (Saṅgam), all your sins will be washed away. In yoga terminology, you are free from your karmas. So far, so good. Now let us think critically. How would that work? When we go into water and wash our body, our sins are gone? Sins mean karma. What is karma? Is it dirt on our skin we can wash away? Karma is a fine vibration in our subtle bodies which always goes with us. It is not something physical you can wash away. So how should that work? Again, you need a master to explain the essence. I know one called Swāmī Maheśvarānanda, who wrote a nice book about the chakras. He clearly explains that all scriptures have different levels of understanding: a surface level and a deeper, real meaning. Swāmījī explains: these three rivers you find outside, but you find the same inside. That is the principle of esoteric teaching: whatever is outside, you find inside. Modern science explores everything outside; yogīs, for thousands of years, know because they explore inside. As there is moon and stars in the sky, we have moon and sun inside: Iḍā and Piṅgalā. So, as we have three holy rivers outside—Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī—we have three holy rivers inside: Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumnā. It is said two always flow: Iḍā and Piṅgalā are always active (though one more than the other, changing). Suṣumnā is not always active. Iḍā and Piṅgalā are the energies of day and night. Suṣumnā becomes active only when these two energies are in harmony, which happens naturally twice a day: at twilight, sunrise and sunset. Therefore, these are the best times for meditation. As Swāmījī says, about two hours before sunrise till one hour after (three hours) are best, and one hour before sunset until half an hour after (one and a half hours) is good in the evening. Through yoga exercises and prāṇāyāma, we can balance Iḍā and Piṅgalā and activate Suṣumnā. It was said the Kumbh Melā happens every 12 years because Sarasvatī flows only every 12 years. The nāḍīs in us actually join every twelve hours, in the morning and evening. So every 12 hours Suṣumnā is active. We have to search for the Saṅgam, the place where these three rivers meet. This is the Ājñā Chakra, also called Trikuṭī. There is an interesting hint from language: "river" in Hindi is "nadī," and these energy channels in us are called "nāḍī." It is not by chance. Sometimes it is obvious, but you still need a master to understand it. So we know where the three rivers meet: here, at the Ājñā Chakra. At the time of Kumbh Melā—meaning when all three are active—we should bathe, meaning dive into this water. What does that mean? To go into it. How? That means meditation. When you concentrate, there is still an object. When you go deeper, you become one with that. So you concentrate, meditate deeply. Meditation may lead to samādhi. It is a practical yoga technique we are speaking of when we speak of the Kumbh Melā. Everything in Swāmījī’s teaching is about the chakras. He describes different types and stages of samādhi. Basically, there are two: savichāra samādhi and nirvichāra samādhi. Vichāra means a seed—the seed of karma. Sabīja means with seed, nirbīja means without seed. There are samādhi experiences which are beautiful, but your karmas are still there; you are not yet liberated. The highest form is Nirbīja Samādhi, when once forever these seeds are burnt. Swāmījī sometimes says they are roasted. When you have a seed and put it in earth, a plant grows. But if you roast the seed and put it on earth, nothing happens. These seeds are the origin for future incarnations. When roasted, they cannot sprout, cannot create a new incarnation. Once we experience this Nirbīja Samādhi, we are free from the cycle of birth and death; we are liberated. You see? A small difference in understanding what Kumbh Melā really means. A tiny shift, but then suddenly everything makes sense. Washing in water is not really the way to purify karmas. It is definitely a great and inspiring experience; it is great to go there. I know many who come back very happy. But the essential teaching is something else. To understand that, you really need a master. So, to understand the essence of religions, we need the guidance of a master. I was once in India in a challenging situation. I was invited to a Catholic school in Udaipur to give a lecture about yoga. It was a big school with maybe 3,000 students. The principal was a Catholic priest himself—an Indian in a long red dress—and I, a Western swami. He invited me to speak about yoga to all students of classes 5, 6, and 7, some hundreds. He said, "In these classes they have some yoga practice," meaning they know about āsanas and prāṇāyāma. "I want you to speak about the spiritual meaning of yoga." That was an interesting challenge: I didn't want to offend anyone, but I didn't want to hide anything, and it had to be simple for children. So I told them a story. I said, there is a mountain, and on top is a beautiful house: the house of God. Everyone is fascinated and wants to come there. People discuss the house. One says, "Look, the beautiful red house of God." Another says, "Are you stupid? It's blue. I see it." A third says, "It's green." They cannot understand each other, but all are true. One side is red, one blue, one green, one yellow. They have different views and cannot understand another's view. They also discuss how to get there. On one side is a big ocean, another high mountains, another a wild forest, another a desert. They say, "You need a camel." "But the camel cannot climb mountains; you need a strong rope." "The rope will not bring me through the ocean; you need a ship." They think the other is stupid. They cannot understand there are different paths. One comes over the ocean, one through the desert, and they start climbing. Halfway up, they look around and realize, "Oh, there is an ocean and a desert." They start to understand and develop tolerance. This is a sign of spiritual progress: when we start to understand there are more paths and accept others. Finally, one comes up and stands in front of the yellow door, one the green, one the blue. They enter. Where are they now? They are in one and the same space, experiencing one and the same reality, one and the same God. It doesn't matter anymore if they came through the red, blue, or green door. It doesn't matter if they came through the ocean, desert, or mountains. It matters only that they are there. What is important is someone who can give guidance: one who is already in this house of God. He can observe the disciples coming and give hints: "Be careful, that mountain is dangerous, go the other path. Be careful, there is a whirlpool, go the other way." A master is someone who has realized, who is already there. He can guide disciples from different paths. So, more important than the path you choose is that you have a guide, a master who can guide you on that path. That was my message to them. It was easy to understand, and there was no problem. I was not hiding anything. Yoga is the way to enter the house. It doesn't matter on which path you are going. No need to change any religion. But really important is that we have a master, the right technique, and that we do our sādhanā. As I observed, all spiritual, esoteric techniques agree on certain principles: mantra, meditation, master, and the sādhanā to practice. Now, back to Swāmījī’s words. I will repeat what I said, and I guess now you will understand it deeper: Yoga is not a religion. Yoga is also not part of any specific religion. But yoga is the essence of every religion. That is Mahāprabhujī’s teaching, that is Swāmījī’s teaching, that is our path. I hope now you are a little bit inwardly stronger and need not go into defense when someone asks you. All the best. Hari Om.