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Part 1: The Ripe Fruit: Liberation from Attachment There is also the same kind of fruit, this cucumber. It is also so long, so thick, or so round, like a watermelon or a sugar melon. When it is completely ripe, then it automatically separates from the plant, from that vine. Without suffering; neither the plant has any wound, nor does the fruit. Suddenly, it just separates. And so in the mantra it is said: "Urvārukamiva Bandhanān." Like this cucumber, may I be liberated from my attachments. We are connected to this plant of our family relations, what we call our dynasty: mother, father, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, and so on. Our memory is not so strong. Maybe we know our parents’ names, and we may know our grandparents’ names, but very few are those who know all the names of the fifth generation past. Our memory is not so good. Our attachment to this world, to everything, is a test. We are not afraid to die, but we are a test. Let’s say me, for example. Yesterday I was sitting and I said, I hope that after my death, this beautiful spiritual center will still be maintained. You see what our attachment is. It is attachment inside, because I wish that all people who come here get the blessing and good things. Practicing yoga—yoga is not practiced in Australia very much, but something completely different is designed. There are, I would not say, but I must tell you, something nonsense. It has nothing to do with yoga. And sometimes, in the magazines, they give such a posture which is impossible to do. Impossible. It must be like that. Many people say, "Oh, yoga, oh, I can’t do this. It’s not my job." You are not an artist in the circus. So yoga should be something very simple, classical, authentic, and balancing, harmonizing body, mind, and soul. But, you know, we want to do something. Humans want to be always adventurous, and okay, the young people may do it, but people after 50, 60, or 70 or 80 years, they can’t. And therefore, Yoga in Daily Life is very successful and done a lot in the world because this is a system, and very scientific, and slowly, no harm, no harm. And always, I tell all my centers and my teachers of Yoga in Daily Life that now you have to go this way. And those who, in the name of Yoga in Daily Life centers, are teaching different things, they are not successful. So no force to your body, no force to your mind, no force to your concentration, nothing. You feel free, relaxed, and happy. But people like, sometimes, certain words. I was now in San Francisco before; it was already seven weeks ago, or not even. And they said, "Swāmījī, what do you think about Vinyāsa Yoga?" I said, Vīṇā Yoga is not a divine yoga. Even I never heard in my... in this camera it’s not too high, but my face is there. Like that or like this. It’s good. So when you come to their center, like in an aeroplane, you know, sometimes one comes with a tray, or you go to some party and one comes with a tray: orange juice, red wine, white wine, yellow wine, apple juice, and like this. So they come with a tray or in the front room, yes, please welcome, and you take one glass of galko, and then you come and relax. And then after practicing āsanas, they again sit and they get a little wine. And then they do prāṇāyāma. The whole brain is making, yeah, and then they sit in meditation. Yes. And then after the program, again, you get a little bit of drinking. And next, corner police let you, what you call the blue, blow, blow blue. So it became commercial, then it is a pity. So people said, "No, we are doing only for our body, and that we can feel that we have done something." We don’t want spirituality and this, okay? But without spirituality, there is no life. Without spirituality, there is no yoga. Without spirituality, there is no religion. Without spirituality, there is no ethics. And without spirituality, there is no completeness of human life. So we pray to the Lord to free us from this attachment, attachment to all these minds. So when death comes, you will scream, maybe. You will tell the dead, "I don’t want to go. I have to go first to my bank and sign my checks." Shaykhs, death will not give you one second. They will say, "No, I want to sign my testament." Death will say, "Don’t worry, somebody will take care. Come on." So, Oṃ Tryambakaṃ Yajāmahe Sugandhiṃ Puṣṭi-Vardhanam Urvārukamiva Bandhanān Mṛtyormukṣīya Mā’mṛtāt. My adoration, my vandanā. Mithyur Mukshir Mahāmṛta, my prayer to thee, O Lord, that at the time of my death, mṛtyu, bless me with mokṣa, the immortality, that my, this soul shall dissolve in the cosmic soul to become one. And so this mantra, this is very good for purification of the karma. There are many ceremonies. There is one kriyā, a beautiful kriyā for purification of karma. I introduced this only to the Kiwis, to the New Zealand people, and there were, coincidentally, three persons from other countries. So now the Kiwis, they are doing this Kriyā. How is that Kriyā name? I forgot it. Sudharā’s Kriyā. You know, he is practicing, but he forgot it because of all the complaints. He never comes to practice, and that’s why I purposely asked him the name. So even he doesn’t know the name of the Kriyā, so it is very clear that he does not practice. This is a policy and a diplomacy of the business people. In my black point, I will exclude you on this Thursday from the Kriyā, so Sudharas Kriyā. There is a beautiful Sudharas Kriyā last year. Devpurījī blessed me with this kriyā. And in Oakland and Wellington, I initiated them with this kriyā, and it’s a beautiful, wonderful, they feel like after this kriyā, like they have been bathing in the nectar, a portion of the nectar. It’s a beautiful kriyā, and you have that certain kind of essence, the oil, and some kind, you have to make the sudhāras, and the sudhāras you have to take just one teaspoon. That’s like a nectar, like a caraṇa amṛta. There are different kinds of amṛta. Amṛta means nectar. The pañcāmṛta, there are five different kinds of essence which include honey, milk, ghee, and yogurt. And there comes inside rose water, there comes inside sandalwood, oil, and many different things. So this includes there; it becomes amṛta. Then, but still not that kind of amṛta that you are thinking. Now, you have to have these certain mantras to mix in. So, how are you going to mix the mantras now inside? And that mantra is with that, which is a kind of abhiṣeka. And this abhiṣeka is to your different energy centers with certain mantras. And so this mantra comes and transfers into your sudhārasa. And sudharasa, the mantra is constantly filtering this energy of the sudharasa, which you are preparing. And then you have to drink it. Lucky are you. And when you drink it, it is such a strong feeling. So they all asked me, "Can Swāmījī be here to drink every day?" So I said, "Okay, you can prepare a small bottle and take one teaspoon every morning." So this group sits together and they make this Sudhāra Kriyā. This should be given only to those who are really, really seriously doing it. They promised me in front of me, they made a vow in front of the fire, God’s son, and all elements, that I promise that in any case, till the end of my life, every Thursday and every full moon day, I will perform this. This is Sūtrāya Rasa Kriyā. If you have not done it, what about your words? That Kriyā can turn right or the other direction. And I spoke one week with them. Every day, I explained it to them. And again, I gave them five days to think it over, explaining it to them. And again, one week, they said, "Swāmījī, we will do, we will do. Please give us this Kriyā." And now, black sheep. What will happen? First, I have to discuss with your wife. Okay, so that theory and practice, the tons of theory is nothing compared to the grain of practice. So only the intellect will never liberate you. Only your love will not liberate you. You have to put into action your love and your intellect. Between love and intellect, you have to have one balancing principle, that’s called viveka. Viveka is the highest level of the intelligence. So the intelligence is like this, stand for the camera, and is balancing both. On one side is love, on the other side is intellect: love and buddhi, prem and buddhi, love and intellect, the emotion. Then it comes to the right angle, to the right point. That time when you do these kriyās or these sādhanās, you wash your karmas, like after working in the field in the hot season, full of dust and sweating. Now, you come under the water and take this nice shower. You come out of your bathroom and you say, "Oh, I feel like a newborn child." I don’t know how a newborn child feels. I have forgotten. You know, but we imagine, but a newborn child is also not happy. Christ, oh God, where do you send me again in this world? There was a twin, one half brother and one sister in the mother’s womb, and they had a discussion, talking inside. And then sister said, "You know, we will be born." One sense thing, we will be born. Where? We are very happy here. There is nothing more. Then she said, "You know, and we will eat. Eat?" You don’t need to eat. We are eating from the navel, from the mother’s body, and we are happy. I don’t imagine or talk about things which never exist in the universe. Sister said, "Yes, brother." And you know, we will be washed with warm and cold water. Who will wash us? We don’t want. We are very comfortable and pure. Yes, and then they will wrap us in the cloth. Sister, I know you are the elderly one. I am the younger one. I believe you, but not with such jokes. No, father will take me in his arms, and mother will take me, and they will look at us. No, there is no mother, and there is no father. And take in the arms. We are happy as we are, sister here, and then they are gone. Sister looked to him. What do you say, brother? He said, "Yes, you are right." So you never know how things are developing. What I am telling you, sometimes you think, ah, this is a fantasy. It is not a fantasy. You will come there, and I will be there. Doesn’t matter, even if you die tomorrow, I will be there. Don’t worry. Yes? Thousand percent, I will be there, and I will say, "Which direction do you want to go now?" Because the guru-tattva is everywhere, not this physical body. So, when, and so, which side will you go? Karma, wrong, left side. I said, "Swāmījī, protect me. I am going now to this painful situation." My dear, I told you many times, but I will pray. So a Guru Tattva works for us on the astral level as a justice, who gives the judgment and operates your karma and frees you to the liberation of mokṣa, the light of that Guru Tattva. Don’t neglect and don’t think it is a joke. It is the truth. And at that time, either you will be very happy or you will be very unhappy. Why? You will be happy because you followed and practiced everything, and you will be unhappy that you did not practice, and you will say, "It is a pity, I should have done." You know, there is one story I told many times, but I can repeat it once more. There were five college students. They were good friends, walking every day through the park and near the river, and like this, one day they suddenly saw a cave. He said, "Maybe we never saw a cave." He said, "Let’s go in and see how it is." One said, "Oh, to go in the cave?" He said. Yes, yes, let’s go, why not? So all of them, all five, they enter the cave and begin to walk. It was afternoon, five o’clock. It was summer, not winter. In winter, the sun goes down quickly. They walked and walked, and it became darker and darker. So one of them said, "Hey, boys, stop. Do you know where we are going?" He said, "Yes, in the cave. Yes, in the cave, but do you know how to come back again? Maybe the caves have a few other caves, and we go into one cave, and then we go to another, and then we lose the way." Let’s go back. They said, "Yes, really, we are all scared of what we are doing now." So, there is how to go back now. Well, let’s turn back, and let’s hope we will go as soon as we see some better light. So there was one man, one boy, a student, very curious one, like a businessman. So it was like a lagin bhai. That boy said, "Well, I want to know what kind of stones, color, and the sand, what is earth here in this cave." So he wanted to take some with him. And in the dark cave came the voice, "Children, be careful. I warn you, don’t take anything from here, otherwise you will be sorry." Others told them, "You are crazy, everywhere you create trouble. Don’t take anything, your science subject is okay, very good, but not for this kid." Go, we go back. So they turned back. A voice came. But I also let you know, if you will not take something, you will be sorry. Now you take something, you are sorry, and you don’t take, we will be sorry. So they said, "It doesn’t matter if we will be sorry or not, we don’t want to take anything." At least we will not be guilty. So they put their hands like this and walk. But that one boy, he was curious, went down and took some stones. Again, came sound. I told you, don’t do this. You will be sorry. What did you take? They said again. How are you? Come on. So he took something and put his hand in his pocket. Thanks to God, some light was there. So they walked towards the light, and they came out of the cave, never more. We will not go in. They turned back, and the cave disappeared. Now, this boy, what he has in his hands, he puts out, and see what it is: diamonds. Now, this boy said, "Oh God, I am sorry I took so little." Others were so sorry, "Oh God, we could also have taken." Have taken. So this ashram is that cave. Hundreds of people are going every day. No one sees that yoga center. But they came in like you, and you are sitting and I am talking and telling you. Inside you, your inner voice is there. I will try a little. I will, okay. So, try a little, and then one day you will be sure that you would have practiced completely all the system that is. So, purification of our karma, in practice, is our actions. Help, help. When you go through your garden, there are some plants. Five days or two, ten days, there was no rain. They look not so good. Take a little water and give them. After five minutes, you come back to your garden, and you know your plants will smile for you. And the smile of the plant is thanks to you. The thanks is the blessing, and that blessing is in such a subtle form. You don’t see with your hands and touch with your eyes in this. Part 2: The Alchemy of Compassion: Small Acts, Great Karmic Purification The blessing exists in the interaction between the vegetation and you. Or when you give some water, some sugar water, to wasps that have nothing to eat. Do not dismiss them as mere pests and spray to kill them. Love them. Give them something. Feed them, love them; do not eat them. This is very important. These are the little, little things. When you walk on the way and see a small stone lying on the road—a small stone like a cherry—you should remove it and put it to one side. Many people who walk may twist their ankle because the stone is on the edge of the path. Or, if a car is driving and its tire pressure hits the edge, the stone can fly like a bullet and injure someone. It was only a stone, but by removing it, you performed a great karma. Removing a piece of glass, or a thorn from the way... you are not merely removing a physical thorn from the platform, the pedestal, or the path. You are removing the karmic thorns from your own destiny. Believe me, with this act, you have removed a great karmic rock from your karma. And mantra... so, give some seed, feed the birds—something here, something there. Once, a farmer came with a tractor trolley laden with fruits and leaves, carrots, apples, and cherries. He was standing in the market as school children passed by. He gave one child an apple, another a cherry. A child said, "No, no, I want bananas." He was there to sell, but he realized the children had no money and were gazing at the fruits, so he simply gave. That act gives joy. When you receive, you receive karma—responsibility. Our responsibility means we now have a duty. What is duty? That duty is a karma. And when you give, you give something away and make someone happy. But who is happier? The one who gives. Joy is always in giving. When you give a Christmas present, a birthday present, or a gift on Dīvālī, Holī, or Rakṣā Bandhan, how happy you are. This coming full moon is the day of brothers and sisters, when a sister ties a thread on her brother's wrist and blesses him. This tie is a bond of love between brother and sister. The brother promises his sister, "I will protect you in every aspect." And the sister promises, "My dear brother, I will ever love you as my dear brother, and I will bless you and also protect you." To maintain ethical and moral principles in the world, you must create relationships of brotherhood and sisterhood. So once a year we have this day, called Rakṣā Bandhan. Rakṣā means protection, Bandhan means the tie. You tie for protection. This year it will be on the 2nd of August, this full moon day. You can choose anyone. If you do not have a sister, you can choose one. Here, there are many sisters. Ask them, "May I accept you as my sister?" Or a sister may come and ask, "May I tie this and ask you to be my brother?" It is beautiful. On this day, in many cities and districts, our government gives free travel tickets to sisters to go to their brothers and return. It is nice, and only for that same day. When we sit in meditation, we are in that form where we believe He is in me and I am in Him. I sit near Him and ask Him to accept all my deeds from the whole day. "Please accept this and bless me, or give me what is good for me. The rest, oh Lord, You take and utilize as You like." When you go to sleep, tell Him, "Oh Lord, my body, my senses, my intellect, and my mind—I give their responsibility to You. Protect me in my sleep." When you get up, say, "Lord, consciously or unconsciously, even through dreams, if I have done something wrong, forgive me. Please take care and guide my body, my senses, my words, my intellect throughout the whole day." You should pray: be my steering power. Lead my steps according to Thy will, that I do only good and positive things, that I go where people are unhappy and I can bring happiness. As the holy friends from Assisi said, "Lord, make me an instrument of Thy love." May I bring happiness where there is unhappiness. Where there is pain and misery, may I bring joy. Let me be a bridge, heart to heart, so they may walk over it to unite. These are the prayers and meditation techniques of the great saints. It is not about meditating and saying, "God, there is a house for sale; I want to buy it. Can You make the price lower?" Although, yes, you can also pray, "Lord, please help me. Tomorrow I have an examination." He listens, and He will help. I receive emails and telephone calls nearly every day: someone has an operation today—unfortunately, many are for cancer, or hip joints, or other things. "Please, Swāmījī, can you pray?" Someone has died, can you pray? Someone is married, "Can you pray that I get pregnant?" I pray for that too. And then when she is pregnant, she says, "Please, Swāmījī, can you pray for nine months that everything goes well?" So I must pray for nine months. I tell Mā Prabhujī, my prayer to the Lord: give good health to mother and child, and may the child be born healthy. Please bless them. Then my duty is finished. Āśā vahavasā, āśā vahavasā—where there is hope, there is living. You live on that hope. Hope is a walking stick from the cradle to the grave. Do not give up your hope. So, prayer, prayer, prayer. When students go to school for an examination, they come and take their pen and say, "Dīpa Nayan Bhagavān Kī Jai. Mā Prabhujī, you will do it." I am but an instrument. Dīpa Nirañjana, Śabda Brahmān. Yes, it helps. You know the very famous Swāmī Vivekānanda, who brought Indian science and yoga to the Western countries. In Chicago, when he first came for the World's Parliament of Religions, he was giving a lecture. A lady artist sitting opposite was drawing his portrait. After his lecture, she gave him the portrait and asked, "Sir, who is that behind you?" For she saw two figures: one was himself, and behind him was another—a picture of his Guru. There was no picture on the wall, but this artist could see the aura. That aura was exactly Paramahaṁsa Rāmakṛṣṇa, Vivekānanda's Gurudev. Vivekananda said, "That is my Gurudev." So whether you believe or not, the Gurudev is there, observing in his subtle energy body. That is always there. And if you are angry with devils, then always the anger and the devil are there. So, how do you feel here? Let radiance shine out. Always keep the light inside. "Let me be the light so that I may enlighten the hearts of all. O Lord, let me be the light so that I may remove the darkness of ignorance. Let me be that joy, so that I may remove the pain and misery of others' suffering." This is the best way to purify your morning. Say: "I am human. What makes me human? What does it mean for me to be human?" These three reflections will protect you from many negative activities. You go to the bathroom, touch the water and say, "Thank you, Lord, that I have access to clean water." Do you know how gracious our water element is? Consciously use that water. We call it Jal Devatā, the water deity. Then you come to your kitchen to warm your milk, coffee, or chai. But thank not your coffee. Thank the water and the fire. "O God of Fire, Agni Devatā, I bow down to Thee. Bless me and be always with me." If the fire is not in your body, you will die. Our body temperature is automatically maintained. There is an automatic central heating system, a clock fixed by God. It does not let it go too high or too low. When it is too high, an alarm sounds—you have a fever. When it is too low, you are freezing. The five elements are balanced perfectly within us. Agni Devatā is within us. Jal Devatā, the water, is within us. Mātā Dharaṇī, the Earth, is within us. Vāyu Devatā, the air, is within us. And Brahman, the sky, is within us. Yathā brahmāṇḍe tathā piṇḍe: as is in the universe, so is within me. I pray to all, and all in me I pray to myself. I ask for a blessing for myself to bless myself, for I see all as myself. That will protect us from negative karma. Then you come to your food—breakfast, whatever it is. We pray, "Thank you, Lord, for giving me this as prasāda, blessed food." And so on with everything. When you come to your car or leave your house, say the mantra: Oṁ tryambakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭivardhanam urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt. It is for protection from accidents. It costs no money and takes little time. This is a very simple way. Other ways exist: yajña (fire ceremony), havan, mantra anuṣṭhāna, certain fasting, wearing certain colors of cloth depending on your constellation, wearing certain metals or stones on the body. There are many different things. But I have shown you one very simple way. Therefore, there is one mantra which Gurujī experimented with: Prabhu Dīpa Nirañjana Sabhā Dukkha Bhan. Prabhu Dīpa Nirañjana Sabhā Dukkha Bhan. Isi Mantrasī Hove Mana Mañjana. Isi Mantrasī Hove Mana Mañjana. Śrī Dīpa Sabhā Dukkha Bhanjan. Prabhudeepa Niranjanas... Gurujī said that through this mantra, your mind will be purified of all negative qualities. What will happen then? Hṛdeya Kamal kī āṅkh khul jāve—the eye of your heart-lotus will open. That eye of the heart is to see God. That eye of your heart will only open if you daily apply an ointment. The ointment for the eye of the heart is this mantra, this name. Just as every day you apply makeup to your eyes—you are very expert, you do it very quickly—similarly, the mantra can be done anytime: "Dīpa nirañjana, sab dukha bhanjana..." It does not take time. Hāth meṁ kām, mukh meṁ Rām: in your hands you have work, and in your mouth you have God's name. This bhajan, this evening, I will translate for you word by word. This is the easiest of the easy ways to purify our karma. Dīpa means the light. Nirañjana means the pure, spotless one. Sab means all. Dukha means troubles. Bhanjan means to remove, to break. "O Lord, remove all my obstacles, all my pains and troubles. Transcend Thy cosmic light, pure Nirañjana, into my heart." Śrī-dīpa-nirañjana-sabadukhabhan. Prabhu-dīpa-nirañjana-sabadukhabhan. mana manjana. Śrī-dīpane jan sabha-dukha-bhan, prabhu-dīpane ran jan sabha-dukha-bhan. Nēmasē dhāveto dharaśana pāve, nēmasē dhāveto dharaśana. Dēvī dēvatā kare saba vandana, dēvī. Devatā saba vandana, śrīdhīpa nirājana, sāpatukā Prabhu Deepa Niranjana, sabadhu nema siddhaveto darśana pave. Nema means discipline. If you practice with discipline (sādhana), you will attain darśana. Darśana means to see. When you attain Ātmā Jñāna (Self-knowledge), then you will see. Even the Devī Devatā, all gods and goddesses, will greet you. They will welcome you. They will greet you like this. After when? After that... life is gone? Not necessarily now. Can you have Ātmā Jñāna now? Yes, you can, no problem. But how will you go out the door, and what will you do now? Different things. So again, karma comes; pollution comes. It may not attack you personally, but it can happen. You cannot trust your body and your senses. Therefore, at the end of your life, all credit is given to Thee. So keep practicing all your life. Keep your discipline and your spirituality. Even if troubles, misunderstandings, or conflicts arise, remove them and begin again. Say, "O my Lord, please forgive my laziness, my ignorance, my mistakes. I am Thine; accept me." God is like a father and mother. So Gurudev will always forgive and accept us again. That is very important. So for today, that is enough. I give you three practices. First: Oṁ Tryambakaṁ Yajāmahe Sugandhiṁ Puṣṭivardhanam, Urvārukamiva Bandhanān Mṛtyormukṣīya Mā’mṛtāt. You have this in your yoga books, Yoga and Life or Hidden Powers in Humans. It is very good. Second: I gave you the practical technique of removing thorns or stones from the road, feeding hungry birds, giving water to a dying plant, and greeting and respecting the five elements—water, earth, air, fire, and space. Be aware of that. The big problem today is that many millions have no access to clean water. And there is much food in the world, but it is destroyed or not used properly, or polluted with pesticides. But anyway, to give to the needy is a blessing. Third: In meditation, surrender your karma to God. And finally, this mantra: Oṁ Prabhudeep Niranjan Śabduk Bhanjan. This is the best mantra. You can have it today, okay? Write it down. If you want a mantra, this is your mantra now. I accept you as a disciple, and you have a mantra. Anyone who wants this mantra can use it, and I bless you in the name of Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī. You will see how happy you will be, how many things will turn positive in your life. But you must practice. It is not that I taught and you heard, and now all problems are gone. It is not so quick. It is like putting a seed in the ground. Now it is your duty to care for that seed. Day by day it will grow, and one day the fruit will come. A mother has a baby in her stomach; she cannot wish for it to be born tomorrow. It takes nine months, and her duty is to take care. Slowly, slowly, it is a beautiful process. I pray to the Almighty for your good health, peace, harmony, love, and happiness in your life. Hari Om.