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Praṇām Gurudev, greetings to Hary, and to all dear friends gathered here. We celebrate the holiness of Paramahaṁsa Svāmī Māheśvarānanda in Croatia. We are once again in Umag, and this year is special—the 25th anniversary of His Holiness’s arrival in Croatia. If we remember the first seminar 25 years ago, there were about 50 people. This year, we need this special tent to accommodate everyone. Svāmījī said there is finally enough room for us all to practice āsanas. I hope that next year even this space will be too small. I do not wish to speak at length during this public lecture, but only to offer flowers to Svāmījī as a mark of respect, and not to take precious time away from our being together here with him. So, I will simply say: welcome. None of us here is a guest; we are all, so to speak, one big family. We are very happy and satisfied that we can visit Svāmījī in Croatia twice a year. I now pass the word to Svāmījī as a sign of his arrival. Good morning. Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai. Veveśvara Mahādeva Kī Jai. Dharam Samrat Satguru Swami Madhvarānjī Bhagavān Kī Jai. Our adoration to Om Śrī Ālok Purījīsida Pīṭha. Blessings to all of you from Gurudeva. Good evening and welcome, all brothers and sisters. Finally, we are again here in this beautiful country, the Republic of Croatia, and its most beautiful coast, the Adriatic coast. When I told people we would come to Umag, everyone was very happy. A place has a certain attraction or spiritual radiance. For some, it is very far; their travel costs exceed the seminar fee. Holy Gurujī used to say, "Where there is love, there is no distance." And where there is no love, even a neighbor’s door is too far. Where there is love, there is unity. Where there is love, there is understanding. And where there is love, there is peace. Love has no boundaries or borders. Borders are created out of ignorance. Borders exist only in the human mind. It is humans who create borders on this planet—from country to country, district to district, village to village, and individual properties. In some places, every centimeter is very expensive. But for those who possess divine consciousness, there is no border. The aim of human life is to cross borders: the borders of karmic law, the borders of death and birth, to attain mokṣa, Self-realization. There was a question in Herzegovina, Bosnia: "How does this Satya-loka look?" Mahāprabhujī, Gurujī, spontaneously gave all answers; what I give comes from Gurudeva. It is said: this is Satya-yuga. This satsaṅg is Satya-yuga. Right now, we are sitting in Satya Yuga. When we step out of this area, we will enter Kali Yuga. Satya Yuga or Kali Yuga—all is here. Heaven or hell is here. Devoṁ ko bhī durlabha hai manuṣya kā jīvan. Even for the gods, a human life is very rare to attain. One is called human, then called a saint, then called a deva, and then called the centralized one, or God. We are humans. We have human qualities and go through certain mistakes. But some of you are here like saints. A saint does not mean special dress. The uniform of a saint is wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge is that state where there is no ignorance. Where there is no knowledge, there are doubts, jealousy, hatred, complexes, selfishness, greed, desires, longing, and unhappiness. Where there is knowledge, none of this exists. That is known as a holy saint, and such a one is not far from Self-realization. Devas, we call them goddesses. Some people translate this into English as "semi-god." There is no semi-god. God is God. You cannot speak of little love, half love, or big love. Love is love. Fire is fire—whether a great mountain is burning or a small matchstick. Fire is fire. God is God. There is no semi-God, so we call them devas, goddesses. If you read books where "semi-God" is written, make a correction. Write a letter to the author for the next publication: please correct it. Many people translate the soul as ātmā. That is also wrong. The soul is individual, and Ātmā is universal. The soul is a victim of destinies, and Ātmā is free from destinies. But to know this, you must study within. Those who have no experience of this yet write about it are called bookworms—they go to the library and collect information. Therefore, in the Yama and Niyama of Rāja Yoga, it is said: svādhyāya. Svādhyāya means study. But this svādhyāya, in reality, has a different definition if translated word by word. Sva means the self. Adhyāya means the chapter. So, study your inner chapter, the chapter of your life. How many chapters have you closed incomplete? How many chapters did you begin and leave halfway? How many chapters began with pain and ended with happiness? How many chapters began with joy and happiness and ended with suffering and disappointment? And what was your role in those chapters? That is called svādhyāya—studying your own inner life chapters. So, the soul is not the Self. The soul is jīvātmā. The ātmā is the supreme, the highest one. Now, the devas. Devas are those who performed very good works, who were spiritual and prayed, but had no master’s or Gurudev’s guidance, or still did not attain Self-realization. They did not realize mokṣa. Such a soul, which still does not have mokṣa or ātma-jñāna, goes to svargaloka, heaven. In heaven, everything is beautiful; there is no illness, no age limit—all look very young, there are no dualities. It is beautiful. But when your karmas finish—your spiritual karma, your spiritual work—it also has limitations. As a credit for your spirituality, you attained heaven. But when that credit is exhausted, you must return to Mṛtyuloka. Thus, the devas in heaven pray to God: "After this period of heavenly life, if I must be born again in Mṛtyuloka, O Lord, bless me with a human life, that through my spiritual work and Guru Bhakti, I may realize mokṣa, Self-realization." Know thyself. And where do we learn this? In satsaṅg. There are thousands of occasions and opportunities where we can go down the wrong path, many possibilities for distraction, but rare are the opportunities for ātmā jñāna. Satsaṅg—satsaṅg with an Ātmajñānī, a Brāhmaṇiṣṭha, a Śrotriya, a Satguru Dev, a Brāhmaṇiṣṭha—the knower of Brahman and a Śrotriya who can inspire and guide us. Therefore, one great saint said: "O Lord, if I am born again in this world, it does not matter to which form of life You send me. Even if I must become a dog, please, let me be the dog at the door of my master. Let me live in that ashram where I will receive mahāprasād, where I will have darśan, and so on." Even an ignorant person can become a great wise person through satsaṅg. Mahāprabhujī said in a bhajan: Jāne badh bhāgī re jā, jāne badh bhāgī re jā. Jaise kīṭa bṛṅga saṅga ho kar śabda guñjā sunā, Jaisī kī saṅga ho kar sabja guñjara sunā. Hari hara sabja guñjara guñja bīja ke bheda sevo, Bṛṅgī tohe jā vāśo kā nīcā pānīya. Mile vaha bhāgīratī ke māi Hare hara bhāgīratī milata pavitra hotā hai, jī. Gaṅgā jalake lā milata pavitra hotā hai, O jalake lā jāne padbhāgīre janama śobhase. Kapha Mīlejī Śuddhan Cakṣu. This bhajan was composed by Mahāprabhujī himself. Mahāprabhujī is saying: Śobhā satsaṅg kī, what a glory of satsaṅg! Satsaṅg means where truth is spoken, where spirituality is discussed, where brotherhood is spoken of, where understanding, service, and compassion towards every creature are discussed, and where there is belief in God. These are the Guruvākyas, and we believe in them because they are the truth. So Mahāprabhujī himself said, "What a glory of the satsaṅg." But Bhāgyavān hī pāye—only the fortunate ones can come to satsaṅg. This Jīvātmā has no strength to repeat the name of God. Spirituality is very rich food, rich nourishment. It is not a job for everyone to digest. Therefore, this jīvātmā has no strength because karma is different. When you wish to pursue spirituality, your bad karma gives a slap on your cheek and turns your face toward the other direction of Kusanga. What kind of slap does it give? Negative thinking, desires, many, many things. So, fortunate are those who can come to satsaṅg. There is a worm, a special one, that a wasp catches and encloses in a mud house. She makes a little house, like a nest. She always gives injections; she stings the worm, transports hormones into it, and flies away. Then she returns, moves around that house, and makes a sound several times. Then, one day, the wasp comes back silently. What happens? The worm in the mud house is so scared that the wasp will come and sting again. Concentrating on the voice, the sound of the wasp... That sound of the wasp is already in the subconscious of the worm, and it begins to imitate the sound of the wasp. One day, it itself begins to... In yoga, we call one prāṇāyāma by a name. Do you know what it is called? Brahmari Prāṇāyāma. You plug your ears and inhale. This prāṇāyāma belongs to Nāḍī Yoga. Nāḍī Rūpa Parabrahma. In the Vedas, it is said the form of the Supreme One is resonance. Everything is created by sound. The world is sound. Everything. You are nothing but a bunch of sounds. You are completely transparent, and it is only a bunch of sounds brought together through different elements. So, it is like a mantra. When you practice "OṂ ŚO HAṂ"—"I am that"—"AHAṂ BRAHMĀSMĪ," concentrating "AHAṂ BRAHMĀSMĪ, AHAṂ BRAHMĀSMĪ," then one day you become that; you become "BRAHMĀSMĪ." But Mahāprabhujī said: Without Gurudeva, you cannot be successful in this. You can do a thousand things, but you cannot cross this ocean of ignorance. So, when the wasp comes near the mud house and listens, the one inside is now awakened. Her heart hormone is transferred into the wasp. After a few days, she breaks it open or makes the hole bigger, then sits there and makes the sound again. The other one begins to come outside, looking. Then the first flies away, and the other follows. From this, Mahāprabhujī made a beautiful line in a bhajan: Jai se braṅga, jai se kīṭa braṅga, saṅga hokara. Like that worm comes to the wasps and listens to the sound, the nāda. It becomes virāgī (dispassionate). And so, that baby developing inside, when it hears this sound, then it feels vairāgya inside to follow. Like the bhakta said: "Gurudev, I will go with you to Brahmaloka." You know this version too. "I don’t care what people think or what they will think next." The water from the canalizations comes and enters the Ganges. As soon as it merges into the Ganges, it becomes pure—holy water. Then no one will say it is canalization water. Everyone will say it is Gaṅgā water. Only that water will become Gaṅgā—that which enters into the Gaṅgā. So only that will become holy or a guru, who will enter into the consciousness of the guru. You have to merge into it, and you will lose your ego. Your jīvātmā will be lost; your ID will be lost. When a river merges into the ocean, that is the end of that river’s name. Hari Om. There is only ocean. Similarly, when this Jīvātmā enters into the higher consciousness, then you will be known as Brahman. Ahaṁ brahmāśmi, ahaṁ brahmāśmi. So nīcā pānī āi mile, vaha bhāgīratī ke māi milata, pavitra hotā hai. Vaha gaṅgā jal kehlāi, immediately becomes pure, and it becomes known as gaṅgā jal. Jaise nīcā pānī āi. How was that? Jai Se Loh Par Sa Sang Loha Mila. That’s right. Parasa-saṅga-loha-milevo aṅga-sayāṅga-milā Parash... Paras is a stone of very high quality, very rare, even rarer than diamonds. The quality or nature of the paras stone is that if it touches iron or any other metal, that metal becomes gold. So Mahāprabhujī said: "When the iron comes to the satsaṅg of the paras, near to the paras." Aṅga se aṅga milāi—touching both together, body to body. Aṅga means the body. Aṅga se aṅga, aṅga se aṅga. Milai. Merges. Sona kanchen ho jāe—that iron becomes pure gold. But it is said that pāras can only make you gold, not pāras. But the guru can make you the guru. Ganga can make you Ganga, but you have to merge into it and give up your ego, your desires, all of this. There is a best quality of sandalwood called Malyagar. It has a very beautiful fragrance. Any wood that comes near that sandalwood adopts that quality and begins to look and smell like sandalwood. Similarly, satsaṅg makes you holy. Mahāprabhujī said: "Through satsaṅg, one will realize this divine quality, divine consciousness." Fortunate is the one who can come to satsaṅg. So, devas who live in svarga, or what you call heaven—that is not a forever-lasting life. According to the time of the universe and the number of solar systems and planets, they all have their age. Our planet also has its age: the day, the month, and the years. Our one year is one day of the Devas in Svarga. So they have a long age and a long time to enjoy, but again, at the end, you must return to Mṛtyuloka, birth and death. Therefore, one does not pray to go to Svargaloka. One does not pray to go to heaven, but to Brahmaloka. And that is Ātam-jñāna. And that Ātam-jñāna comes through satsaṅg, Śiva, following the Guruvākya, which means all the holy scriptures: Vedas, Brahmavākya; Upaniṣads, Brahmavākya; Gītā, Brahmavākya. All these holy books, the Bible, are Brahmavākya. When the holy book is spoken by great incarnations, then it is Guruvākya. And if you fail the Guruvākya, if you fail, then you go again into this cycle of 84 million creatures. So we are fortunate ones. We have a chance. And God was very gracious that we got human life. This is the most expensive diamond. This is a paras—you can make much gold. And this is the Gaṅgā, which can make everyone the Gaṅgā. And this is the Gurudev inside—you can make everyone Gurudev. But first, you have to awaken, to realize. Work, work, work. Always uplift your consciousness. When you fall again and again to the lower chakras and desires, then you need no consultation. Be sure you will go again into another life, perhaps of a reptilian. Or, who knows where? So, the decision is yours. Now it is in our hands to practice, to trust, to search for the truth. What is the ultimate truth? In God’s kingdom, there is no duality. God did not create any particular religion. God created one thing: all creatures on this planet are God’s children. Love them. Take care of them. Feed them. Love them. Do not eat them, and then you will be in ānanda. That’s it. So when we come to the ānanda loka, then you will know that. God bless you. Jo sumai sattva nāma sahai śānti śānti Pīr nahī̃ āvai bhava mādhātī, kisī se nahī̃ dhāraṇā. Andeśa satyaī samajānā, pūjyādī padāyālūtā nāma sadāī sumaraṇā. When the devas—svargavāsī, meaning citizens of heaven—have enjoyed all the credits of their karmic deeds, they again return to this cycle of birth. Therefore, it is said: if you owe anyone anything, hurry to pay it back. Let’s say you borrow money from someone: 100,000 euros, or 2,000 euros, 5 euros, 1 euro, half a euro, 1 cent. Do not forget to return it immediately, as soon as you can. Otherwise, this becomes a big obstacle for you. You are spiritual. You have good karmas. There is nothing wrong. Now you have the right to take off. To where? You go, you come to the border. Passport control looks in the computer: "No, no entry. You have a debt. Return to martyaloka. Pay back, pay back your karmas, then come." So again, you must return. There is a story Chidānand once told, a nice story. There was a Svāmījī in a village. People liked him very much. Wherever he went, many disciples followed. Svāmījī had a long beard—I have only a little beard; his was three times longer. One day they were passing by a supermarket, and there was a businessman, a salesman, who was a Muslim. He wanted to joke with this Svāmī and his disciples. He said, "Svāmījī, I have a question. Can you answer me?" Svāmījī said, "Yes. What is it?" "What is the difference between your beard and a donkey’s tail?" Svāmījī said nothing. He just went on. Disciples like Vivek Purī, Hanumān Purī, Vasiṣṭha Purī—bodybuilders—they breathed heavily. "My God, we will show him the difference!" But the master said, "No, no. Let’s go." Well, that man who asked the question felt, after half an hour, very sorry. "How stupid I am, that I offended a holy person." You see, even if you make a mistake, afterward you feel sorry in your heart. You feel guilt. About sixty years passed, and the last day of Svāmījī came. He was going to pass away, to enter Mahāsamādhi. Yogīs and vegetarians have a very good memory until the last second of their life. The brain of a vegetarian does not become like a calcium block, and the joints... but we are not talking about eating now. Svāmījī called a disciple: "Please go and call that man." "Which man?" "You remember, once we were going through the supermarket, and a man made a joke and asked me a question? At that time, I did not answer him. But I owe him an answer, and now I am going to Mahāsamādhi. That answer which I owe him means I have to come back to earth to answer him. Again, I must return to this chaurāsī (84 lakh species). So call him." The man was so sorry; he did not dare to come near that holy man. He said, "With which face should I go, and with which eyes can I look into his eyes?" For sixty years he had suffered, knowing he had offended someone. Svāmījī said, "My son, how are you? You know, today is my last day here, and I owe you an answer." The man said, "No, no, please. That was my stupid mistake." Svāmījī said, "It doesn’t matter. Even with stupidity, you throw a knife that will make a wound. My son, I want to tell you: there is a difference between my beard and a donkey’s tail." And then he chanted "Oṁ" and went into mahāsamādhi. Therefore, however many promises you have made, do not change them. Always, from whom you have taken, do not carry this black coat upon you. This is a black layer; it will not let you go. So, to become free from all karmas means you have no death—materially, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and so on. It is not so easy to come to Brahmaloka. Otherwise, every clever businessman—Brahmaloka would be full of clever businessmen. But for them, there is no access. Therefore, devas have to come in. And those who attain Self-realization, who go to Brahma Loka—some part of their energy vibration, that energy vibration, joins together and comes to this mṛtyu-loka as an incarnation. There are two kinds of incarnation: Nitya and Nimitta. Nitya means always, every day, incarnation. That is called holy sense. And nimitta, from time to time. Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad Gītā: "Arjuna, from time to time, I incarnate or manifest on this earth through my yoga māyā." That’s it. So that is another manifestation. So, a normal mortal being, a human—a good human or a bad human, a holy saint, or one who went to svarga, devas, Deva-svarūpa—we call someone a good man: he doesn’t shout at anyone, doesn’t steal anything, doesn’t take away from someone. Helpful—we call such a man like a Devatā. Dev Puruṣa—do not blame that person. That is a Deva-svarūpa. So first, at least achieve this level. Therefore, it is very bad to cheat. It is better to be cheated, but do not cheat. Get rid of all karma. Then it is said... Must means happy, without any worries, divine. "Now I became so must through what? The juice of God’s name. Now, all the juice of the world, all enjoyment for me, is tasteless." But it is a hard nut, yes, my Svāmījī. It is good to listen, hard to realize. Realize. Please, just be happy with us. We do our best. But it is not easy to be just, and therefore, I have some nice surprises for you. Do you want a surprise? Next weekend we have the Śrī Svāmī Mādhvānand World Peace Council—a world peace summit in Hungary. The subject is "Inner Peace: The Answer to World Conflict. The Message of Mahātmā Gandhījī and Holy Gurujī." Who does not know the name of Mahātmā Gandhījī? Can you raise your hands? Who has not read Mahātmā Gandhījī’s biography until now? Raise your hands. Oh, my God. Thank you. Would you like to read? Who doesn’t want to read? Such a good message. Before you come to the conference next weekend... The surprise: Gandhi. Gandhi: My Quest for Truth. Finally, it is translated into the Croatian language. Good. And this credit goes to our two or three sisters—their names I do not know, but you will know. There is also a little written by Śrī Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṃsa Svāmī. This book has just appeared, and you will be the first to have a copy. We have 400 copies, and I told the people, "Why did you bring only 400?" But still, you are welcome to have it. You can buy it for your centers and sell it there, and so on. On the 2nd of October, it is Gandhijī’s anniversary, and you know the United Nations has declared the 2nd of October the International Day of Non-Violence. Worldwide honor to Mahātmā Gāndhījī, and that is when our conference begins. His Excellency, the Ambassador of India to Croatia, Pradeep Singh Ji, will officially introduce this book. Thank you. So those who want to get it, get it. Then you will see what it means to be... How hard the work is. This nut is very solid. It is not easy to crack this nut. You must have good, solid work. Thank you. And I am very happy to welcome you. Happy to see you. And you know, we do not have a business with peace. I, or you, do not. We do not have a peace company. We are not manufacturing peace. You cannot manufacture it. But you can develop it, and that peace begins within you. You know, Mahāprabhujī said: "Make your resolution, your Saṅkalpa." With great confidence, success is yours. Nothing is impossible. And for good things, there are many obstacles. On the thorny bush, finally, a beautiful rose flower comes. So we have to go through the thorns, but finally, we will succeed.