TV Channel

Gurudevo Maheśvara, gurur sākṣāt para brahma, tasmai śrī guruve namaḥ, mannātha śrī jagannātha, madguru śrī jagadguru, māmātmā, sarvabhūtātmā, tasmai śrī guruve namaḥ. Nahaṃ karatā, Prabhupādīpa karatā, Mahāprabhupādīpa karatā hi kevalam. Om śānti, śānti, śānti hi. Salutations to the Cosmic Self. Salutations to Śrī Alakpur Jī Siddha Pīṭh Paramparā. Madan Dutt Pranāms to our beloved Gurū Dev, His Holiness, Viśwa Gurū Mahāmaṇḍaleśwar Maheśvarānand Purī Jī. Om Namaḥ Nārāyaṇa to all the sannyāsīs present here. Hari Om, and good evening to everyone who is present here and who is watching through Swamiji TV. Sorry for the delay; I was in Brno and just returned. This morning we were discussing Rudrākṣa and Mālājapa. Today we will mainly focus on the Pañcamukhī, the five-faced Rudrākṣa, which is the most commonly worn. I will explain those from one to five mukhi, but with a primary focus on the fifth. The Ekamukhī, or one-faced Rudrākṣa, is the rarest to find. Its rarity makes it both hard to locate and expensive. There are two variants. The first is the round, golden Rudrākṣa, which is extremely rare. It is completely round like a normal bead but has only a single line on it. This symbolizes Lord Śiva and greatly aids the spiritual path and the attainment of mokṣa. The second variant is called the Kaju, which literally means cashew nut in shape. It is more commonly found in Indonesia and Nepal. It helps couples and relationships, strengthening their unity and bond. It also assists with heart problems and similar issues. The Trimukhī, or three-faced Rudrākṣa, represents Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa (Śiva). It is beneficial for kidney and other health issues. It can be worn by anyone for good health and spiritual progress. The Caturmukhī, or four-faced Rudrākṣa, is for Brahmā, who has four heads (he originally had five, but one was cut off—a story for another day). This Rudrākṣa is good for students, teachers, and anyone in the field of education—anyone with an interest in studying, learning, or teaching. The Pañcamukhī, or five-faced Rudrākṣa, is the most common and is also very powerful on the spiritual path. It is also connected to Lord Śiva and holds the essence of all five elements. This is the bead we typically use in a mālā for mantra japa. Rudrākṣa is essentially the tear of Lord Śiva. For an ordinary person, it may seem like just a seed. But the power within the Rudrākṣa, and how it becomes consecrated, is through the blessings of the Guru. Let me share a story. Once, a boy named Rajesh was working very hard. While passing on the street, he saw a person selling Rudrākṣas. He had heard about their benefits many times from different friends, but he did not have that feeling, that purity of heart. For him, the thought was, "Okay, if I get a Rudrākṣa, maybe it has magical powers and should automatically work." He went to the shopkeeper and asked, "Do you have any Rudrākṣas?" The shopkeeper said yes and pulled one from a drawer. He said, "This is a Pañcamukhī Rudrākṣa, a very powerful one. Pañca means five, and Mukhī means the lines you see on it." Rajesh said, "Okay, give me one. I will take it home, and hopefully my mind will become more peaceful, and I will feel good." Feelings are very important in everything—feelings in your relationships, with your parents, with your partners, with your guru. Feelings are necessary everywhere. For those of you wearing sandalwood or redwood mālās, those will not have mokṣ. But anything blessed by Gurudev is powerful. So Rajesh bought a five-mukhi Rudrākṣa, brought it home, placed it on his office desk, and thought, "Very good." He continued with his life, and guess what happened? Absolutely nothing. For him, it was just another artifact on his desk. After weeks, he thought, "Nothing has changed. What’s going on? Something is wrong; the person cheated me." He went back and said, "Sir, you cheated me. There is something wrong with this Rudrākṣa." The shopkeeper replied, "No, sir, I did not cheat you at all. I gave you a proper Rudrākṣa. You don’t know how to use it." Rajesh asked, "What should I do?" The shopkeeper inquired, "What did you do with it?" Rajesh said, "Nothing. I put it on my table, and that’s it." The shopkeeper explained, "No, no, sir. You have to wear it, and you have to wear it after it has been blessed by Gurujī." Then Rajesh said, "Achhā, achhā," which means "good, okay." You know, in India we have many "ācchās." It’s all about expressions and feelings. "Acha" can mean, "Oh, really?" "Acha?" can express surprise. "Acha" can relate to diction, or even anger. We Indians are also famous for our head movements. For you, this is yes, and this is no. For us, that could be a yes, and that could be a no. It’s up to you to interpret. Do you want to come for satsaṅg? Yes. Do you want to go to a party? That’s a no. You just have to know the person and guess what they mean. So Rajesh was like, "Okay, okay." He went back home. One fine day, he decided to go to the nearest ashram. He went to Gurujī, made praṇām. There are still spiritual people in India, though it is quite modernized nowadays, unfortunately. Modernizing is also good, but we should still remember the roots from where we all started. It doesn’t matter how high a post we reach in life; we still have to remember where we started. This is the part where I feel very proud to be a disciple of Viśvagurujī. It is very sad to see the youngsters nowadays in India, especially in the cities. Their clothes have completely changed, their mindset is thinking of kusaṅga (bad company). Most Indians want to go to the US or the UK to study. And then I see all of you, disciples of Gurudev, all coming to India, coming to Gurudev, coming and experiencing Indian culture and the ashrams. It is funny and sad at the same time to see how Indians are now pulled much towards Western culture, while Westerners are now pulled more towards Indian traditions and culture. At the ashram, Gurujī asked, "How may I help you?" Rajesh said, "Gurujī, I bought this Rudrākṣa, but it’s not working for me. There is some defect; maybe you can see what’s wrong." Gurujī asked, "What do you do with it?" Rajesh replied, "Nothing. I bought it from the shop and put it on my desk, and nothing happens." Gurujī said, "The first mistake is that you were supposed to wear it, not just put it on the desk. Second, if it’s not blessed, if it’s just bought from somewhere where it still has the essence, you can wear it, but it is still not activated. For that, we need to have an open mind, believe, and trust in the Guru—a positive mindset and an open heart." Then the guru blesses that Rudrākṣa. He takes it in his hand, puts it to his own mālā or to his heart, or even just his touch to the mālā is more than enough. He puts his powers into it and then gives it to you. You wear it, it becomes active, and it works with your inner energies, starting to give some type of effect. Otherwise, the table was enjoying the effects. Rajesh realized this. He wore it and decided to trust the guru, which was a good choice. He started to feel some effects within himself; he started feeling the difference. He came back to the guru after a month and said, "Gurujī, it works." Gurujī said, "I know." Slowly, he became a disciple. He took mantra dīkṣā and got a whole mālā. More Rudrākṣas mean more effect. It doesn’t matter if it’s one bead, one mālā, or 27 beads; it just has to be blessed by the Guru, and that is more than enough. Even the mantra does not need to be 15 letters, 5 letters, or 10 letters. It can be just one letter. But if the mantra is given to you by your guru, then it does the magic. Just the bhāva is very necessary—the belief, the dedication, and the purity are necessary. How long or short the mantra is does not matter. That is why the most important and beautiful thing is that Gurudev gives us a short mantra like Oṁ or gives us a long mantra. The effect is always the same if you have love towards the Guru and belief in the Guru. Swami Śrī Madhavānanda, Purūjī Sadgurudeva, Jaya Gauraṅga. Viśva Guru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Paramahaṁsa, Svāmī Śrī Maheśvarānanda, Purījī Gurudeva, Kī Jai.