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We offer our praṇāms to our paramparās, to the gurus of the paramparās, and also to the parents of our paramparās. They are in oneness, like mother and father; they are all our ancestors. It is important to reflect on how many ancestors we can remember from the past. Our Guru Paramparā can include both male and female; they are all in that line. It is a very important point to remember them every morning, every evening, and when we are eating. There is a great story and teaching about this: when we are on our path, they are guiding us. Guiding is the best word. And we ourselves are becoming ancestors for the future paramparā. Who will come for us? All of this is connected. Especially today, as we worship, we give praṇāms to all ancestors. In that, we offer our adoration. We take refuge in Bhagavān Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī. We pray to Thee, O Gurudeva. If we are counting according to Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, we also pray for forgiveness for any mistakes made last year, and we pray for the future, which is unknown. Our ancestors... If we can understand this and follow it, then everything remains on a beautiful path, like being on a highway. Whether the bridge is above or below, we drive smoothly. In the same way, we navigate our feelings. With this, today I wish to offer praṇām to Mahāprabhujī, Holī Gurujī, Devpurījī, Alakpurījī, Līlā Nanjī, and all our Guru Paramparās: Holī Gurujī, Devpurījī, Alakpurījī, and so on. Oṁ Namoḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa Haṁsabhādāsa Prabhu Śaraṇa Parāyaṇam. Oṁ Namoḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa Nārāyaṇam. Oṁ Namoḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa Nārāyaṇam Haṁsabhādāsa Prabhu Śaraṇa Parāyaṇam. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpanārā. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpanār. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Deva Haṁsabhādāsa Śaraṇa Parāyaṇaṁ. Śaraṇa Parāyaṇaṁ Prabhu Deva. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Deva. We are all servants of the Lord. Oṁ Śānti, Oṁ Śānti, Oṁ Śānti. On this day, what I want to tell you is this: when I come to this seat, which is called the Guru Gādī, the energy of our paramparās comes into the whole body. Whether you believe it or not, there is always instruction, knowledge, guidance, and a sense of direction being given. We should know how the paramparā comes. For example, let us consider this Western country where we are sitting. 99.9% of people, with respect, perform ceremonies for the departed body on earth. There are generally four ways to dispose of the body. Some people say, "We want to give this body to the water"—meaning a flowing river or the deep ocean. The idea is that different creatures, like fish, will consume it. They feel, "My body served me and received nourishment its whole life. Now I wish for it to be useful." So they give it to water, rain, and rivers. The second way is practiced mostly by Parsi people. When someone dies, they place the body in a designated space in a forest so that birds or other creatures may consume it. The body is old; there is no soul inside anymore. You could call this a fifth way, but it is similar. There is also the sentiment: "Oh God, when I die, let me be somewhere that nobody knows, where nobody will cry." But that was from a time when humans were fewer. Now we are everywhere and we know the human ways. Kabīr Dās said in a beautiful poem that Bhakti Devī is here to help you know how to proceed. The third way is to burn the body. Often, a trace of the soul may still be inside. By burning, that soul is not left to wander or suffer. The fourth, or fifth, way is burial in the earth. It is said that when we see someone has died, many times the prāṇa is still in the brain. People may say the soul is gone, but this is something to understand. If you know these five things, now you have come to know. When we go to the grave on the day of burial, we grieve. Everything seems finished. But why do we go from time to time with flowers? Once a year, there is a festival, and we visit the chests or markers where they are engraved. We offer flowers. The cemeteries here in Europe are very nicely maintained—clean, good, with beautiful decorations. There is one here near a castle with a beautiful archway. Why do we do this? Because the ancestors said we should decorate and honor our parents, and the parents of our parents. People mostly know which grave is for their ancestors, and there they will place the body of the next family member. This concerns the jīvā, the soul. Other creatures are different, but it is said that when the soul, the Jīvā, comes into a human body, it is more sacred. Therefore, what I said: we must have respect for both our Guru Paramparā ancestors and our family ancestors. In both ways, it is right and true, and we must follow this. Secondly, we think of what we call religion. Religion was not originally there. There was only one: the Sanātana. Sanātana means all that is living. Even the trees are ancestors. Everything God has done is very nice, appearing in its own time—like summer, then the season after summer, and all four different seasons. Who has done this? There is no religion to winter or summer. Which religion will claim this? This is all natural. For us, whether we believe in God or not, these are the different kinds of ṛtu, or seasons. There are many traditions. It is less now, but we still go to their cemeteries once a year. In Christianity, I think there are two or three different observances. First, they worship or honor the Christian master, the holy saints, and then others. Why is this? Because it is tradition, and we are connected. Even if the body is gone, they are with us. Some believe this, some do not. It is said that if proper ceremonies are not performed, or if a grave is not properly maintained, there can be a disturbance. A parent might think, "O my child, I gave you so much from my womb until I died. How will you respect and carry this forward?" Someone might say, "Ah, that's stupid." But when you die, you might become what is called a ghost. Often, ancestors—your parents, mother or father—may linger around your house. They may want you to leave or may cause unrest. They become what we call a ghost. A ghost is not someone else's; it is your own. Others may think it's stupid; they don't believe. I have lived more in the West than in India—52 years. I have learned something: when people speak of "first and last," or the "second war," and sometimes ask, "What is happening?"—especially in castles and certain places. People have told me stories. In Slovakia, there is a monastery. A man who was my bodyguard for ten years told me he was guarding there and experienced the real truth. He felt talking, laughing; he was trembling even with dogs beside him. In another castle, they said when you go from one room to another, you feel someone is there, but see nothing. I went with Mahāprabhujī, with Holy Gurujī's prayers and agarbattis (incense sticks), and the next day that monastery was completely cleansed. There were no more disturbances. So, we are all still bound to them. Whether you believe it or not, whether you like your father and mother or not, it is your blood, a constant lineage. We should always perform good ceremonies as long as we remember our ancestors—the day they died and, if you remember, the day they were born. This is not a negative thing. I am not telling you this to make you afraid. No, our parents would never do anything wrong to us. But after a certain time, if neglected, things may not remain good. I have heard that in Europe, sometimes at night, there are stories of beings coming and dancing. Who are they? Vampires. I have only seen them in videos and cinema from America and Britain. In villages or cities, when people go to see such places, sometimes they go underground where there are many curves and graves. Some people are afraid; some are not. Is it a joke or is it real? It can be in any country. The American Indians also know of such things; for them, it is nothing other than their ancestors. So please, we should not be afraid, nor take it negatively or as a joke. It is my father. It is my mother. It is my brothers, my grandparents. Now they are separated in spirit, and my guru will take over for them—my parents, my mother and father. And we are now being liberated. Then the soul goes on the other path, the spiritual path. If you have not done things properly, you may also suffer somewhere. This is the time we are not bound, but released. We should never think, "Oh my God, what will happen now?" Your parents have died, but they still take care of you, though they are gone. It is not that my father will be coming to the door all the time saying, "Hello, beta (child), how are you? Sit up." So we should never be afraid. How do my father or mother take care of me? It means they are still here. Yes and no. When they were alive, you could see them. When they die, their body is gone. Then they are in your heart. They were with us, and now they are with us inside. That time they were an individual; now they are in oneness. And that oneness is going to the highest level, God, whatever that is. There is a person in America who wrote about life after life. His thoughts are different. A person like you or me, because we are at least somewhat spiritual—I am a little bit spiritual; you are the supreme—so don't worry. He said one goes to darkness and one goes to light. Yogīs, and we all, speak of having eleven apertures. We have the five senses, and how the ātmā departs. There are ten: the nostrils, the ears, the mouth, the urinary tract, and the anus. These are where the prāṇas may exit. In yoga books, it is written how the prāṇa and the soul go out: two ears, two nostrils, a mouth, two eyes, the urinary tract, and the anus. You may see that when someone dies, sometimes the eyes roll up, or some blood comes from the ears. This indicates how the soul is departing. But the eleventh is here, at the crown, called the Brahma Chakra. Through the Brahma Chakra, the soul can depart. That is why, when a body is burned on a pyre, the skull often does not break easily. The eldest child, generally a son or another, takes a bamboo stick and breaks the skull after it is burned, then pours ghee so it burns completely. The prāṇa departs at that time. When that is done, you free your ancestor—your father, mother, or child. There are many, many things. Whether you believe it or not, or I believe it or not, in many scriptures there are writings because we are human. Sometimes animals are also involved. I have heard stories of a horse, cow, or dog that died, and people have seen them afterward. There is the left nostril and the right nostril. The left nostril is associated with a darker path; the right with a lighter, milky path. From Brahmaloka comes a very clear path. After the soul departs, the body is finished, nothing there. But still, the jīvā travels with our subtle impressions. They describe one path as dark, one as right. We know that sometimes people say, "I died and came back." So it means no one should suffer or feel problems unnecessarily. They will not become a ghost. That is only what people think, stupidly. Why would your mother or father become a ghost for you? It is not like that. They are gone. It is said: when you have a cage and inside is a bird, and you catch the bird inside, you know it is a life prison. But one day, if the cage door opens, the bird flies out in a way you can't imagine. Similarly, our soul, liberated from this body, says, "I am free." I have none of these problems now. No one asks for my money. No one is bound. Everything is... Again, we are in Brahmaloka, like air. How many times have you flown in airplanes? I have flown sometimes for 12 hours continuously, very high, nearly 10,000 meters high. I think, where is Brahmaloka? Somewhere? Nothing. So there is always Brahman, Brahmalokas. We are all Brahman—not the Brahman caste, but the cosmic Self. When we do our sādhanā and prayers, if we pass by someone's grave, or your parents' grave, just for one second, offer your humility and remember them. On the day of their death, if we can believe and say something to them, that will be for you, not for them. All good things will come to us. So, my dear, we are here, you and I, we are the same. Our completeness, liberation, is on that day when the breath leaves. Otherwise, we are all together. When will we be liberated? We do our best, but what we call mokṣa—who takes the consciousness? It is yes, but not one hundred percent. When you have that thought, "I am liberated," I make a joke. I know it is not so. You may think it is, but it cannot be so as long as we are walking; our leg could break. So, my dear, for some seconds or hours, we can enjoy the feeling: "I am supreme, realized. I have no desire, no negative thoughts. From this body, let me go now." That last minute, then you are supreme or liberated, or whatever you call it. Or Buddhists and others say, "I liberate you, I will give you liberation and knowledge inside." I laugh, my dear. You are very pure, very clear, but it can happen that we fall into the garbage. We don't know until then. We will fall down, stand up, go the wrong way again, and return. Now we have good navigation systems, which makes it a little easier. But please, mark this instrument in hand before the day. Please, this navigator... Yes. So, you are a good one. You are a divine one. You are a guru, or you are anything, but your end is not there yet. We are still very far away. Do you understand me? Everyone thinks they are the best, they are good, and they are doing well. But suddenly you can fall down on the other side. I could give many, many blessings. I could give sādhanās. I could believe someone will go to Mokṣa, that it will be very supreme. And suddenly, they come to bad company (Kusanga), and everything is gone. So, my dear, today is the day of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa and his mother. Think of how much suffering father, mother, and the whole world endure. He also suffered, but he is like air—he is not there, and he is there. We all know this well. The picture you have is not the full reality. Therefore, once Gurujī said, "Kṛṣṇa knows that is Bhagavad Gītā, not the other one." So Kṛṣṇa said, but he is gone. Kṛṣṇa knows he is the Gītā, and the mother knows who the father is. Similarly, you know your heart and my heart's feelings. So we are not only like this; we are okay, we are good, but we have to remain on our path. Our body is physical, made of four tattvas (elements), and these tattvas need everything. Within the tattvas are all different things, so we have feelings. We have pain, happiness, joy, and lack. We have desires, but we should stay on our path. This is, I think, a little... I thought I would not talk about this. I tell you every day. Sometimes I think, "I will teach or tell something." But my paramparā Gurudev put me on this chair, and then I am lost, because it is that energy. You know, in Christianity, there is the chair of Jesus, no? The cross? No, the chair. You know the Pope? On that chair, nobody can sit. When one Pope has died, the chair is respected and kept. Guards protect it. When a king died, his chair was taken care of. When one sits on it, then nobody can tell you anything, because you are only on it. They lock it, everything. That energy has to come, so I step out of this chair. It is with me anyhow. Mahāprabhujī, Devapurījī, they will protect me. That I can say: "Please protect me." "Protect me" means protect all of them.