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Just now we heard a beautiful bhajan about Swāmī Brahmānandajī, a disciple of Śrī Mahāprabhujī. It is always, let us say, the same subject. I think it guides us our whole life long. Our whole life long, we are in a confrontation. We are confronted with it. And these are our emotions. Emotions are very strong, and Swāmījī always says it should be that the understanding, the viveka, should have the emotions under control. If it changes, and the emotions take over, then the viveka and knowledge are suppressed. Then we are suffering. Then the vṛttis are so high that we cannot control them anymore. It is like a tsunami. Swāmī Brahmānandajī says this: This whole life is like a coming and going, coming and going. I have made some notes. I do not know the Hindi language so well, but I made notes on what Swāmījī was translating and speaking about. It is like the Kumbh Melā, a coming together. Here, Swāmī Brahmānandajī says we only have two days in the world when we come together. This was yesterday and today, just now. Tomorrow we do not know what will be. It is a play of coming and going. It is a play. Somebody went, and somebody came, and somebody is back, and somebody has already backed and is waiting alone there. Even if we are together, it is a reality that we are always alone. In German we say alleine. I do not know the word in English—einsam. Yes, we are alone but not lonesome. This is the difference. Some are suffering when they are alone, but we are not suffering because we are never alone. With us is always our Gurudeva. It is our Antaryāmī. It does not matter how the game is outside around us. We know. And we are sure, like the Himalaya, we cannot be moved—strong and stable. Then Brahmānandajī says, "You come alone and you go alone." Only that which will go with us is our karma, good or not so good, and the light of Gurudeva. That is why we try here on this earth, which is called the Karmabhūmi. We came here on this Karmabhūmi to do our karma and fulfill our dharma. And we try, as much as possible, to do the selfless, the niṣkāma karma. It is not easy sometimes, just to do and not expect anything. But we learn, we practice, we do. Brahmānandajī says, like the tree, he is standing alone. It does not matter. We have this beautiful park here in Śrīkī Āśram. There are so many trees standing, sometimes alone. It does not matter in which circumstances, or weather, or rain, or sun, or snow, the tree is standing there. And here again, I would like to repeat the words of Gurudeva. He always says, "Be like a tree." A tree is like sand. He accepts everyone and gives shadow to those who are coming, gives fruits to them who are longing for fruits. It does not matter if somebody hurts the tree or cuts the tree or brings stones to the tree; he is just giving. And be like a lake, always ready to give water. Everybody comes with some pot, some glass, or some bucket to take water to drink and refresh themselves. And the lake does not say, "No, I will not give to you and you and you." No, everybody can come. So try to be like a lake, and like the sun. For us, the sun is like Śrī Devapurījī. Without the sun, there is also no life. Without light, nothing will grow. Without sun, everything will be cold. So the sun is our Śrī Devapurījī—light, which is constantly shining and giving. These are Devapurījī’s words, because they always wanted to make a photo of him, and none of them were successful. He always said, "If you want to make a picture of me, if you want to have one, then look to the sun. This is my photo. This is my picture." And this is a saint. A saint is here to give, to give and to give. And here Brahmānandajī said, "All religions, it does not matter which religion, at the end they come to one God." You earned millions of money through your sin, through taking away two tricks, but at the end, you cannot take anything with you. You became rich, but we say the last check has no pocket. The last check has no pocket. We came with empty hands, and we will go with empty hands. And always I remember the one sentence of our beloved Holy Gurujī. Today is his incarnation day according to the Vedic calendar, the Indian calendar. Beloved Holy Gurujī, the Satguru Dev, our Gurujī from Viśva Gurujī. One sentence always helped me very much, and I could not understand. I said, "No, no... how can this be?" But Holy Gurujī, he knows what he is doing, what he is saying. He said, between here and Brahmaloka, between here, the Karmabhūmi, and the highest lokas, the highest level from all these seven lokas above and seven lokas below, the highest level between here and there, everything—it is like the shit of a crow. Between here and Brahmaloka, everything is like the caca of the crow. Yeah, really. No matter what it is, sometimes we think that is it. That is it. Now I have found the happiness of my life. Nothing else is important. Only this and only this. Swāmījī always says, "The expectation leads to disappointment." Expectation always leads to disappointment. Here, in between, I remember one story. Once there was a bhakta of God Viṣṇu, the sustainer of this world. Just now we had Janmāṣṭamī, the incarnation day of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Today is Holy Gurujī’s incarnation day. And God Viṣṇu has his own līlā, his own play. This one bhakta was asking God Viṣṇu; they were sitting together, and he was asking his beloved God, "I understand so many things, but I cannot understand your līlā, your game." What does it mean? And God Viṣṇu did not answer. He has his own way to answer in a practical way, like our Viśvagurujī or our Swāmījī. Otherwise we do not learn; otherwise we do not remember. The words sometimes, yes, they can have some result, but mostly it is the practical experience which we have to go through. And God Viṣṇu said to his bhakta, "You know I love you so much, but I am so thirsty. Please, can you bring me a glass of milk? A big glass, cold milk, I would like to have." And the bhakta said, "Of course, my Lord, of course." And quickly he went to fulfill the wish of his beloved one. He went and came to one village, a small village, a nice village. At the next house, he was knocking on the door to ask for a cool glass of milk for his Gurudeva, his Antaryāmī, his Iṣṭadevatā. The village people always have one rule. We say in Austria, the guest is König, and they say the guest is God. It does not matter who comes to your door, unexpected and unannounced, this is a guest, this is God. So you treat him like God. And the door opened. A beautiful young woman was standing in front of him. So beautiful that he was just standing there and looking. And with a voice like mantra sound from the devas, she asked him to come in. "Please, please." She washed his feet before he entered the house, offered him the best place to sit down. "Please come in." The whole family gathered together and welcomed him. Eating, drinking, "Come here, you must be tired, long journey, sit down, please," wind, everything. He was so surprised, so unexpected, that he forgot why he came here. "Please lie down and have a rest," massaging his feet and everything. He was enjoying. He was so happy. Suddenly, this pleasure he never experienced. And he was sleeping, resting, eating, and drinking. Next day, the same. This way, days passed, and somehow he fell in love with this young woman. The parents knew, and they arranged everything for the engagement and marriage. Months passed; he forgot why he came, and suddenly he was married and was living a very happy life: one child, second child, third child, family, father, family, and he was with his wife. He was a father of a family, and he was happy with his wife. They enjoyed this joy and everything that life brought. But one day, a big catastrophe happened. It was monsoon rain, and it was raining and raining and raining. A big flood came, big, big, and all the villagers tried to save themselves, to save the children, their belongings, the animals, quickly, quickly run away. But where to run, where to go? Water is a strong element. That is why our Svādhiṣṭhāna Chakra has the water element. It can be very soft, but it is very strong. Big waves can come. The earth can swallow some water, but not so much. It washes everything away. He also tried to save one child in one hand, one child on his neck, the wife hanging there with the smallest child in his arms, and they tried to go to a little bit nearer place, a higher place. But the waves were so strong that the wife could not hold anymore the arm, and with the small child, she was washed away. He tried to catch her, but at the same time, this other child was falling from his shoulders, and the other child he also lost. He called them, searched for them in this water, but he could not find them. He was feeling such a pain that he lost everything. And he himself became unconscious and was washed away by the waves. Time passed. After some time, he found himself on the shore of the lake. He opened his eyes and was looking around, wondering, "Where am I? Where are all? Everything is gone." Then he raised his view and looked into the beloved face of his Iṣṭadevatā, his Gurudeva, and he asked, "Did you bring me the milk?" And he asked him, "Did you bring me milk?" And then he understood, "Now I understand what this is, your Māyā." And God Viṣṇu asked him, "It is painful, isn’t it?" And he said, "With your blessing, what is the pain?" The pain is only there where the ego is touched. This is our education, our society, which created this in us. Because the Mūlādhāra Chakra is the source of our existence, our whole existence is there. And the Ājñā Chakra, they are connected. It is like the tail and the head of the snake. If you touch the tail, then the head will react. If you touch the head, then the tail will react. So this is the play in between the chakras, between Ājñā and Mūlādhāra. They are the play of the emotions, the waves are. And when we start to activate the Mūlādhāra or the Ājñā, it works in both ways. First, one has to be clear, viveka, otherwise we are completely confused. That is why Swāmī Brahmānandajī said, at the end of your life, nobody can help you. No father, no mother, and not your partner. It does not matter how much they hold you and tell you, "We are with you." But this is only the body. And we know that this body will go back to the five elements. It does not matter how much we, how do you say, treat our body nicely with oil and shampoo and cloth and makeup and this and that. One day in Christianity, they say, "From dust you are, and to dust you will be." You are made from dust, and to dust you will be. But where Rāmānandajī said, "Only your karma will remain, and only the light of Gurudeva." Yesterday, Swāmījī told the story about the wife, the king, and the family, and how the husband was proving who is the reality, who is really his. It is only once or twice painful to realize that one is alone. It does not matter. We are alone. We are together, but we are alone. And we do not expect anything from anybody. If it comes, it comes. If it goes, it goes. What comes, comes; what goes, goes. Ādiguru Śaṅkarācārya, he had once—we saw the video—when he was in Kāśī, he was very high-priced, but still ego was there. And then he got a lecture. A beggar came in front of him, and those who were with Ādiguru Śaṅkarācārya told this beggar, "Go away, go away," because the beggars at that time were called untouchable. You should not touch them. You should not even come near them. But this beggar was nothing else than his friend, the wisdom, in the form of a beggar. Ādiguru Śaṅkarācārya had two friends always with him. One was the wisdom standing in the light, and one was the dead in the shadow. They always were with him, guiding him, showing him, because they are anyhow always with us, visible or invisible. So, do not be afraid of them, not of death and not of wisdom. One day, we will become one. And so, this beggar told Ādiguru Śaṅkarācārya, "Who should go away, his physical body or the ātmā? Whom would you like to send away?" Then Ādiguru Śaṅkarācārya, he just bowed to his feet and touched his feet. He said, "You are my guru, you are my guru. Give this last knowledge, this knowledge what I learned from you: to see in everybody not this physical form but the ātmā, which is in all living beings the same. To see thyself as in other self." Then all the pain and suffering will go away. This kind of realization, that all we are one. Swāmījī always said, "There is a piece of God. One is a ring, one is a necklace, one is a crown, one is a toe ring, one is a coin, but everything is made out of the same material, from this gold." But different forms. That is why Brahmānandajī said, this world is mortal. That is why, meditate on God and pray. Brahmānandajī said, "Listen, my friend. This world is a game." This world is a game to bring you to reality. From one disappointment to the other disappointment. And if we still did not learn, then to the next disappointment. And one day we will realize, "Yes, now I understand." And that is why we have our Gurudeva. He makes it quicker. And he is really the master to show what is the reality and what is not. Every day this repeats the same and the same. The train is coming, and the train is going. Some are waiting, some are getting on the train, some get out. Every day the train is coming and going. This is the bhajan from Swāmī Brahmānandajī, "Do din kha jaga me mela," always coming together. So this game is repeating within us. This, I would say, is only a reflection; it is a reflection of what is going on within us. Once Swāmījī said, when there was the subject of the Svādhiṣṭhāna Chakra, this is like a tiger, or the symbol of the Svādhiṣṭhāna, the crocodile, peaceful. But it can be very quick and very dangerous. Very dangerous. So if you catch this tiger or this crocodile in your inner cage, then we should know how to deal with it and what to do with it. So, when we have learned to control our emotions, not to show them to the outer world, we are still not liberated from them. They cannot go in the air; they are here. And even more visible and feelable. There is only one thing that an Indian said, an American Indian said, "Walk in the shoes of the others, and then you understand." Take the shoes of that person, or the situation, or something, and walk in them. Then understand. I am very thankful that I was the eldest child of three children. And my parents did not, how to say, I had a life. I had always duty, from child and on, to take care of the little ones, to give, to understand. My mother always said this means the intelligent one, with viveka, gives, and the stupid one falls in the river. My mother always told me that the one who is wise, the one who is intelligent, always gives, and the one who is stupid always falls in the river. Of course. When you are a child, you do not understand, and you always say, "I," and always, "I," and always, "I have to give," and always, "I have to understand." But I learned; it was a long way, and still I am learning. And I found these same qualities here in yoga, what Swāmījī always says: to give, to understand. To give others everything, make one step back, two steps, three steps. And let others. This we have to learn. This we have to learn. But sometimes we are thinking, "I want also." This is between Mūlādhāra and the Ājñā, the problem. And Swāmījī said once, "He is doing the same and the same and the same." And he uses the word of the snake; he takes the snake and throws it. And looking, if it is still moving. And then again, take it and wait, if it is moving. If it is moving, again, in the corner. And again, taking and looking, it is moving. Swāmījī has the technique to make it moving or not, and again, corner. And so long, till this snake is not moving anymore, and touching, again, not moving. Now he is ready, but this is a hard process. To make this inner self soft, transparent, and to make this whole being, this whole phenomenon, either use it as an instrument or send it for mokṣa, liberation. It depends. And we know that when we are working, we do some homework or some construction work, and there are different kinds of instruments. Sometimes we use a screwdriver, or a drill, or a hammer, or a nail, or a saw. And all these instruments have different kinds of qualities. The saw does not say, "I would like to be a hammer." And the nail cannot be a drill. It is a nail. So the master who is using these instruments is taking for his need. When he needs a nail, he does not take the needle. When he needs a needle to take a thorn out, he will not use a nail. So we are all different kinds of instruments in the hand of our Gurudeva or our Iṣṭadevatā. It does not matter how you see it. We are ready to be used. We are just ready. But to be ready, we have to become this instrument. Without any "I" and "want" and "my," only be. If I can tell you this one thing, I always wanted to have a special duty, a secret, a special duty. I asked Swāmījī, "Swāmījī, I also want to have some duty, some special duty, because everybody has some special duty, no?" And then Swāmījī said, "Must not be, just be here." This is what I want, to have something special, and I decided just to be here, only here. Yeah, be here. Okay, good. So, till now, I try only to be here, and this is our only duty, just to be here, and just to be here. Thank you. No, you cannot. This is only for Gurudeva. So, I wish you a good appetite. You have lunch. Most probably Swāmījī will be here in the evening. He had some duty now, and he has some duty. We are not the sun, but we try to be a light, a little small flame. Mūlādhāra is a big thing. Mūlādhāra and Ājñā Chakra, both are together. Anāhata and Svādhiṣṭhāna, Maṇipūra and Viśuddhi are different. But if you touch the anāhata, then svādhiṣṭhāna is active. If you touch the svādhiṣṭhāna, then anāhata is active. But if somebody knows this, someone knows this, and observe oneself, what is going on, and study this all. This is your yoga in daily life. Not to study, this is a science of oneself. This we should never forget. That we are learning. We are always learning. At the same time, we are working and doing, always observing. Observing, observing. What is going on? And then we say, "Aha, I see." And if we cannot handle it, then of course Gurudeva will do. But with our viveka and with our knowledge, which we have gained over the years—hopefully a little bit—we can manage. This, here is everything inside. Swāmījī is constantly telling this. Mūlādhāra Cakra, where our kuṇḍalinī is stored. The whole existence, the kuṇḍalinī means wisdom, wisdom, and this way mostly leads to svādhiṣṭhāna and then back, and svādhiṣṭhāna and then back to mūlādhāra, and svādhiṣṭhāna and then back. Sometimes active, and then again lazy, and then again active, and then again lazy. Svādhiṣṭhāna is ego, pride. If we give up this proudness to change it into self-confidence, it is different. There are always aspects in Svādhiṣṭhāna. If we can change this, it is hard work on us. The jealous, for understanding many things, then we have the chance to reach the Maṇipūra. And then the hard work starts. It is unbelievable. Sometimes I am wondering when people give weekend seminars with the awakening of the chakras and this and that. I am just wondering how it is possible in one weekend. Yes, theoretically we can do that, so that people get some knowledge about it and understand a little bit about the yoga philosophy and the science of yoga inside. Swāmījī did these chakra seminars twice in Vienna, and he gave techniques to awaken those chakras. At that time I was thinking, "Stupid, just this little thing and it will awaken the chakra." But I did it, I did it. Then I recognized what this chakra means. Without Gurudeva, I would not do this. Never, never, because it is really strong. This is like a rocket. I would never do it without the Master. These techniques take months and months until the next chakra. And Swāmījī touched the Svādhiṣṭhāna at the end. He started with the Ājñā Cakra. When the Ājñā Cakra you start to work, you are completely confused. We do not think we are now enlightened, or that the wisdom opens the third eye. It is not like this. Completely confused. You do not know what is going on. First it needs to purify, purify, purify. That is why we are doing the cakra śodhana. Long, long it needs purification; long, many techniques. Also, the Viśuddhi Cakra, for example. When we enter the Viśuddhi Cakra, we feel complete emptiness; we are completely empty. Without emotions, you think there is nothing. Completely empty. The Anāhata, suddenly you feel love. Many years you forgot what love means. Many people forgot how the feeling of love is. And suddenly we feel this love; suddenly we could open our heart again. But at the same time, the Svādhiṣṭhāna starts to work. And we are confused. What is this now? How can this happen? There is a longing, expectation, jealousy, greediness, and at the same time, Anna has the fear to lose again. Chakras are very strong. I do not continue here now; they are very strong. Maṇipūra Cakra is like a tornado. It is like we know in this, the Danube has this, what is this? Whirlpool, yeah? It is like a whirlpool which sucks the cosmic energy in. It is our health center. It is very strong, the maṇipūra. I would say the strongest thing in our body. What is the connection between this world and that world? Cut off, then Hari Om and go home. Here is the neighbor. It cut it from the bird, and also from this world to the other world. Stream of the prāṇa. Then the Mūlādhāra, the very source of our existence. All the śakti is there. Divine Śakti. Divine energy. It is the Mother Earth. That is why Swāmījī says, first when you step in the morning, greet the Mother Earth. Greet. Feel the devotion. These are all techniques which affect us, on our inner self. Then we practice yoga in daily life. Stone by stone, we make this all happen. Suddenly it comes. Now is enough. Hari Om.