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Part 1: The Path of Devotion and the Grace of the Guru Oṁ Śālapurījī Mahādeva kī jai, Devādevadeveśvara Mahādeva kī jai, Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī jai, Hindutānāṁ Samrāṭ Paramahaṁsasvāmī Śrī Mādhavānanda Purījī Sadgurudeva Bhagavān kī jai, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṁsasvāmī Śrī Maheśvaraṁ and Purujī Gurudeva kī jai. Salutations to the Cosmic Self. Salutations to Śālapurījī Siddhāpīṭha Paramparā. My Daṇḍās Praṇām to Abhiraj Guru Dev, His Holiness Vishwaguru Mahāmṛtileśwar Maheśvarānand Purījī Mahārāj. Om Namah Nārāyaṇa to Mahāmṛtileśvara Svāmī Vivek Purījī and all the sannyāsīs present here. Hari Om, and good evening to all of you present here and watching through Swamiji TV. As we all know, we have been discussing Guru Bhakti, the Bhakti path, and about māyā over the past many days. As I mentioned earlier, māyā is something which is from the universe and in the universe. You cannot get rid of it, and you cannot run away from it. We go with it in life, and by the grace of the Guru, by surrendering to your Guru, we focus on our spiritual path and we go ahead. Once, a sādhu was living in the Himalayas. After many years of tapasyā, he came down to the Kumbh Melā. At the Kumbh Melā, amidst millions of people, a man accidentally stepped on his foot. In that moment, anger erupted from his mouth: "How did you do this? Can’t you see? Are you blind?" After shouting, he realized what had happened. He thought, "What was this old sādhanā for? What was this tapasya for, which I did in the Himalayas? If kāma, krodha, madhya, lobha, ahaṅkāra—all these things—come up, then was the tapasyā for nothing?" This is māyā, and it is a part of the universe. But only by the grace of the Guru, by listening to the Guru, by listening to your Master, and by following the right path can we overcome this and cross Māyā to proceed on the path of enlightenment. The jñānī are those who follow the path of jñāna yoga. It is also a path to attain the same goal we all seek. But sometimes, when we read too much and learn too much, what arises within us? Ahaṃkāra, ego. And then God says, "Okay, you chose Jñāna Yoga. Go ahead, learn as much as you want, but in the end you will have to come to Bhakti Yoga." In Bhakti, there is a beautiful example. There was a man in Orissa, in eastern India, named Bandumauti, from a poor family. He returned home to find his family hungry, with no food. He said, "Right now I do not have much, but I have a friend in Jagannāth Purī." Jagannāth Purī is a very famous temple in India; Lord Jagannath is a form of Lord Viṣṇu. The temple has a unique quality: when the wind blows, the flag on the temple flies in the opposite direction. No scientist or science can explain this. Any flag outside the temple premises flies with the wind, but Jagannāth Mandir’s flag always flies against it. Bandumauti told his family, "We will go to the temple, and my friend will provide us food." They had little, so they traveled on foot, hitchhiking when possible. When they reached, a great festival was ongoing, with thousands of people. His family said, "We are hungry now. Where is your friend?" He replied, "With so many people, he might be busy tonight. Tomorrow morning we will meet him, and he will provide for us." That evening, they went near the temple kitchen where food was being cooked for everyone. Starch was flowing out from the cooking. They drank the starch to fill their bellies, hoping it would suffice until the next day. But Bandumauti was a great bhakta of Lord Jagannāth. That night, before sleeping, he prayed: "Jagannāth Prabhu, please, I do not want my family to lose faith in you. We need food. Please help us." He prayed that Lord Jagannāth would provide so his family's faith would remain strong. If you believe and have trust in God, in the Guru, you will get what you wish for. That night, Jagannāthjī acted. Jagannāth Temple is the only temple where God does not sleep. Most temples, like our Omāśram, have opening and closing times. Our Jadan temple for Śivjī is open from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m., then closed from 12 to 2 p.m. while we offer bhoga to Lord Śiva—He eats lunch and rests. It reopens for darśan from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., with evening āratī at 6. But Jagannāth Purī is open 23 hours a day. They say Jagannāth Jī does not sleep due to his love for his bhaktas. The temple is closed for only one hour for the deity's bath and change of clothes (Śṛṅgār). Consider the temple's height. Every day, a Paṇḍit climbs to change the flag without any harness or ropes, using only a small ladder. It is said that if the flag is not changed even for one day, the entire city will be plunged into darkness for a period. How does science explain this? Lord Jagannāth's statue is made of wood. Why wood? When Lord Kṛṣṇa departed this world—after a hunter accidentally shot His foot—His body was cremated and His ashes placed in the ocean. However, His heart was found by a man in Purī. That heart was placed inside the wooden statue. Every seven years, the pundits must open the statue blindfolded, transfer the heart to a new wooden statue in complete darkness, and seal it. The pundits say that the object coming from the mūrti is so radiant that it would blind them even through blindfolds; hence, they must be blindfolded to avoid blindness while performing the transfer. So, when Bandumauti prayed that night, Lord Jagannāth, who is Bhakta Vatsala (full of love for his devotees), came during the one-hour closure. He brought a golden plate of food that had been offered to Him, carried it to Bandumauti, placed it before him, woke him, and said, "Here is your food," before departing. Bandumauti and his family ate. He was left with the golden plate and, not knowing what to do, kept it in his bag, intending to return it to the temple in the morning. After the hour, when the pujārīs returned, they saw the golden plate was missing. They alerted the guards, believing someone had stolen it during the closure. The guards searched and found the plate in Bandumauti's bag. He tried to explain, "My friend, Lord Jagannāth, came and gave me the plate and food. I did not steal it." No one believed him, and he was put in jail. Then Bhakta Vatsala, merciful to his bhaktas, appeared in the dream of the king of Purī. He said, "If your friend came to you hungry, and you gave him your plate—the plate you offered to me—would you put him in jail? What is the harm in that? Release him from jail, feed him, and provide for all his needs for life." The king awoke and thought, "Lord Jagannāth came in my dream and said He has a friend in jail." He ordered the man to be released immediately. Just as Lord Viṣṇu is Bhakta Vatsala, so too is our beloved Guru Dev, Viśvagurujī. He is always merciful and generous towards his bhaktas. The Guru is always full of love and affection for his disciples. Through bhakti, through the devotion we have for Him, through the bhajans we sing, through listening to His words, through that pure devotion, He grants us everything we wish for in life. There was a dog from Ayodhya who found little food, surviving on scraps outside a temple. One day, a dog from Prayagrāj came and said, "Here you have nothing. Come with me to Prayagrāj, and you will have all the jalebīs, gulab jamuns, and dishes you wish for." They decided to cover 20–25 kilometers daily, aiming to reach in 6–7 days. They started at 6 a.m. After 20 kilometers, they were tired as the sun set, so they stopped to rest in a village. However, dogs mark their territory. When outside dogs enter, the local dogs try to drive them away. They found no food and had to move on. They said, "We will walk another 20 kilometers and rest there tomorrow." But the same thing happened again; local dogs chased them away. Within 48 hours, they reached Prayāgraj without food and without stopping. Had they stopped, the local dogs might have bitten or killed them. This is a life lesson for us. When we proceed on our path and face failure or do not get what we want at a certain place, we must not give up. We continue to the next opportunity and the next, until we reach our final destination. It does not matter how many times you fall; do not give up. Get up, move ahead, and you will reach by the grace of Guru Dev. A friend went to another friend's house. Outside was a sign: "Beware of dogs." He did not see it and entered the front gate, where a German shepherd began barking. He thought, "Let me try the back door." But the dog was there too. So, he called for help. When we are stuck in life, what do we do? We ask for help from Gurudev. The master of the dog came and said, "Come here, sit here." In the same way, Gurudev resolves our problems in that moment. Once the trouble was controlled, the friend could enter the house and meet his friend. So, when trouble is subdued by Gurudev, we can easily cross that path, move forward, and enter the śaraṇa (refuge) of Gurudev. We need the willingness to surrender and the devotion towards the Guru. Nowadays, many motivational speakers talk about mindfulness, controlling your mind, controlling your life, and daily routines for success. But no one speaks about devotion towards God, towards the Guru. With a pure heart, if you have devotion towards the Lord and towards your Guru, nothing is impossible in this universe. Only with devotion and śraddhā can you tame your mind and guide it onto the right path. When we do our Mālā or meditate, our mind will run around. That is the dharma of the mind; it will go here and there. Let it go. Through the mala and meditation, we learn to tame the mind and focus it on a certain path. If thoughts come, let them come. Do not follow them. For example, while doing a mālā, you might think, "I am flying to Australia," and your mind goes there. Do not run after it. Just focus and continue your practice. Thoughts come and go; let them. Do not allow yourself to be carried away. Try to let the thoughts pass while you remain focused on your action. It is like how I am speaking now. Our dear Vimala is screaming and running around, yet I remain focused on all of you and continue speaking. Things will always happen around you and inside your mind. Do not run behind them. Stay focused on your meditation, your mālā, and hold the Guru within you. The Guru is within us; we do not need to look around. Simply imagine Him, perform your Mānasik Pūjā, and begin your day. I thank Guru Dev that I came to Strelky this time with Him. The last time was 2018, and in the intervening years I wondered, "When will I go back? When will I go back?" When I stopped thinking about it, I ended up here. Sometimes you do not need to constantly ask and think and think. Just let it be. What is supposed to happen will happen. If it is not supposed to happen, then enjoy where you are. If I sit in Jordan thinking about Europe, I will not be able to enjoy what is happening in Jordan, nor will I enjoy Europe when I am there. Right now, I am blessed to be in the presence of Gurudev and happy to be with all of you. I am not worrying about what is happening back in Jadan. And when I return to Jadan, I will not worry about what is happening here. The past is gone; the future is unknown. Live now, be happy, and enjoy. Part 2: The Simplicity of Life and the Power of Stories Life is very simple if you want to make it simple. But if you want to make it complicated, it is also very easy to make it complicated. If you want to complicate it, of course, it is very easy. Our mind can do anything we want. I did this and this and this—so many things I messed up in my life. I wish I could repair it. It’s true, we can only wish that we could repair it, but we can’t. What happened, happened. Let it go. The only thing you can do is think about what you did and say, "Okay, I won’t do this again in the future." But do we know what’s going to happen in the future also? Only the person who knows is Him. So He is anyhow guiding us on that path, so let’s just be in His presence and go further in our lives. What comes, let it come. What goes, let it go. Don’t complicate our own lives, please. Before we start chanting again, I had a few requests for the correct pronunciation of the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya Mantra. The second line is maybe kind of complicated or not pronounced well. The first line, I think we all managed. The second line is not "amṛtat," but "māmṛtat." So maybe some of us are singing, "It’s not amṛtat, it’s māmṛtat." Some of us maybe put the "ma" here and then say "amṛtat," but it’s not "amṛtat," it’s "ma amṛtat." Still any doubts? Once more, please: Tṛyambhakam yajāmahe sugandhim puṣṭivardhanam, urvar rukumiva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt. Ananta saṁsāra samudra tāra naukāya tabhyam, gurubhakti dabhyam, vairāgya-sāmrājādapūjanābhyam, namo namaḥ śrī-gurupādukābhyam, kavitvavarāśiniśakarābhyam. Daurbhāgyadāvam budhamālikābhyām durīkṛtānām ravipaṭṭhitābhyām namo namaḥ śrī-gurupādukābhyām. Nāṭāyāyo śrī-paṭṭhitāṃsāmīyo kadāchidapyāśudāredravaryāḥ mukāśyavāchāspaṭṭhitam hitābhyām. Namo Namaḥ Śrī Gurupādukābhyām. Nālikānikā Śapadāhidābhyāṁ Nanāvimohadinivārikābhyāṁ Namajanābhīṣṭati Pradābhyāṁ Namo Namaḥ Śrī Gurupādukābhyāṁ. And then this one, which we are learning today, right? Vraja Ratna Nṛpāli Mouli, Vraja Ratna Kānti Nṛpāli Mouli, Vraja Ratna Kānti... Kānti Nṛpāli Mouli, Vraja Ratna Kānti, Saritvīrājādhyāṣa Kanyakāvya, Saritvīrājādhyāṣa Kanyakāvya. This is not a normal 'j', but 'jh'. Not 'ch', but 'j-h-a', 'jh'. Jh. So, jhaṣakanyakābhya, jhaṣakanyakābhya. Just a cognac abhiyam... Sorry, very good. Just a cognac abhiyam. Saradvairaja jhasa kanyakabhyam. Saradvairaja jhasa kanyakabhyam. Nirpali mauli vrajaratnakanti. Saradvairaja jhasa kanyakabhyam. Nirpali mauli vrajaratnakanti. Saradvairaja jhasa kanyakabhyam. Nīpālī maulī vraja-ratna-kānti sare dve rāja-jhasā-kanyā-kābhyām nipat vadābhyām nipat vadābhyām... Nataloka Paṅktehe. Namo Namaḥ Śrī Gurupādukābhyām, Namo Namaḥ Śrī Gurupādukābhyām,... namo namaśrī nirpāli. Maulī Vrajaraṭnakaṇṭī Saridvīrājajhaṣakanyakābhyāṁ nirpātavadabhyāṁ nātalaukapaṅkteḥ. Namo Namah Shri Guru Padukabhyam Nripali Mauli Vraja Ratnakanti Saret Viraja Jhasha Kanyakabhyam Nripat Tadabhyam Natalauka Panktehi Namo Namah Shri Guru Pa... Enough of stirring of the pot. So, for those of you who are writing, please write: "Salutations to the sandals of my guru, which shine like gems on the crown of a king. Salutations to the sandals of my guru, which shine like gems, like a crown on a king, which shine like a maid in the crocodile-infested stream." Like the crocodiles you can see in the stream, but only the eyes you can see. When it’s very dirty water, you can still see only the eyes of the crocodile on the surface. "And which make the devotees attain the status of a king." So that’s why we need the mercy of our beloved Guru Dev and His blessings in our lives. That is why we need the grace of our Guru Devī in our lives. About dogs... We talk a lot about Guru Pūrṇimā. We talk about Guru Bhakti. We talk about so many things. Also, how to continue when we come home. Today we had such nice children play about the horse. And many times, Swāmījī nicely explained that our mind is also like a horse. And the children made such nice entertainment, drama, or story. Because stories are so important, because all the time our mind is curious. And we have "what will be next, what will be next." And on that way is functioning telenovela. I always say that it is the Sheherazade, the Thousand and One Nights. Because she was so wise. And she never told the whole story immediately on the first night, because the next day would be the last day of her life. And also Viśvagurujī said that when we are trying to teach somebody, it is like you are putting the honey on your elbows. Because it’s impossible to reach the elbow. But all the time, you will try to lick. And through that, when you are trying, you will think about this. And through that, that story will make a change in you. Also, why give stories? If you come to somebody and tell that person you have such and such a problem, immediately you will make a wall, and you will come into a position where you are protecting yourself. In that moment, it is almost impossible to give knowledge. But Viśvagurujī makes our problem into such a nice story about one farmer, and we are laughing, how that farmer is stupid, lazy, how he or she doesn’t understand this normal thing. And I realize if I am laughing at some story, really laughing at some story, it must be that I am in that story. And time passes after the story. And after a few months, a few years, a few decades, you come into a situation where you recognize that you are just acting like the character from the story. And you say, "Oh, yes." But in every story is also, like we talked before about the Rāmāyaṇa, in every story is also a cure for our illness. But the first cure is that we recognize that we are in that problem. First step, I always talk about Alcoholics Anonymous. I’ve never been to this therapy, but I think that that kind of group and cure and therapy is excellent. And the first step is, "Hello, I am dead," and, "I am an alcoholic." Because never will a person who is an alcoholic say, "I have a problem with alcohol, I am an alcoholic." Because of that, they are not buying a liter of alcohol; they buy a little. Because it is just for heating the body. But five, six times per day for heating water. And when we realize that we have the same problem as a character in the story, I think that we made 70% of the cure. Because when we realize that we have a problem, when we are aware that we behave in this and that way, in that moment, we are able to change our behavior. If we are not aware, how will you change? Like when you catch a tick. And the tick is somewhere, who knows where. And you are not aware that you have this tick. And it is sucking and sucking and making you become ill. But somebody says, "Oh, you have a tick, put it out." When we are aware of the problem, that is excellent. And don’t be sad when you realize that you have a problem. Don’t have a complex, "Oh, I’m not good." Excellent. So many people are thinking that they are great because they are not aware of their own problems. And always, it is important to practice and to have a will to change ourselves. Also, today, one story comes to my mind. It is interesting because we hear that story from Viśvagurujī, but also, that is an old Indian story. But also Lev Nikolaev Tolstoy took that story and wrote it. That story from Tolstoy is much shorter, and it’s only one part inside. And because of that, I will tell this story from Tolstoy. There were three monks, and they were three monks living on one island. And people told that three monks are holy persons. They’re so great. They helped others. And the main priest wanted to check these three monks. And he went to that island with a lot of other people and priests. And he met three old grandpas, completely normal, and they asked, "How are you praying?" And they said, "We pray. We are three, you are three. Please lead us. We are three, you are three, so please lead us. Give us mercy." And the high priest said, "Oh, my God. How do you pray? You don’t know how to pray. That is not prayer." And they said, "Oh, yes. If you said this, please teach us." And that high priest was one week or ten days teaching these three old grandpas how to pray, how to make the ceremony. And these three old grandpas tried to learn prayer, like we are trying to learn these ślokas, and they learned. And after ten days, this high priest said, "Okay, now I will go back." He gave blessings to them. And with the boat, slowly went to the mainland. And these three saints started to pray. But in one moment, they got stuck. They didn’t know how to continue. And they said to one, "You are the youngest one, 85. Go and ask, 'How is the continued prayer?'" And that priest was almost halfway to the mainland. And that young boy of 85 was running. And he continued to run and came to the boat and said, "Please tell me, how is the prayer going on?" But everybody in the boat was completely shocked. Because he was running almost half a kilometer on the water. And they bowed down and said, "Forget everything. Your prayer, 'We are three, you are three, please help and guide us,' that is enough." If you want to see this, you will also find that story on YouTube like a short movie. It is one popular Tolstoy story. And you will also find that Tolstoy had a lot of influence on Gandhījī. Because also he talked about Ahiṃsā and how to make such a great movement to make a freedom of India through Ahiṃsā. And for everything we need that bhāv inside, bhāv, feeling. And that prayer, our mantra, it is not important to be some extraordinary. But it’s important that you have feeling in your heart. Feeling that bhāv, that is important. If you want to have a Saṅkalpa, you exactly know when Saṅkalpa will be fulfilled or when it will not be. Immediately when you repeat your Saṅkalpa, you exactly know, "OK, or, oh yes, it will be." Not, it will be; it is. Because you will feel it in your heart. And before any saṅkalpa, try to have one manana, thinking about, "If I will get this, what will I do with it?" It is no problem that you have a red Ferrari. Why not? I never said to myself, "No, no... It is not for me. I don’t have money for this." No. I always ask myself, "OK, what will I do with this?" First problem: where will I park this car? If you live in the city, you exactly know this. And after that, when you park your car, your precious car, always you will make parikramā three times around your car. Is it a good position to park or not? Maybe a few meters, you know, how many vṛttis? And after that, you know how you must pay for everything. And because it’s one, they said an anecdote, what Swāmījī said. I was not there, and I am not sure about this. I will not tell the name, but they said that one very famous Greek philosopher passed every day through a marketplace, and he was observing everything. And after a few years of this, passing every day through that market and looking at everything, one person who is selling in that market asked, "Master, I observe you. A few years you are passing every day on that marketplace. But you never buy anything." And he said, "I am so happy that I don’t need anything from all this, and I am enjoying this." And that is also important, not to say to yourself, "No, it is not for me. I am a yogī, no, I don’t have money." Just think what I will do with this. And we hear a story from Viśvagurujī about one man who was playing and making a performance with the cobra. And when you have a cobra, after a few months, you change the cobra. And he changed the cobra, because otherwise it would be torturing the cobra. And he released the cobra and tried to find another cobra. And he found a nice, big cobra. And he put it in something like this, with the cover. And very carefully walked with this, and it was in Rajasthan. A lot of sand. A few trees. And he was really tired from the sun, and he decided to relax a little. But on that tree was a living monkey. And the monkey was observing that somebody was coming to him. And imagine a monkey sees that somebody is very carefully bringing something, and in the monkey’s mind immediately starts, "Oh yes, it is the honey inside. I want this honey." The man went to that tree, relaxed, and the monkey was observing from above. And you know how we start yoga nidrā. Deep inhale, exhale. And before repeating three times Saṅkalpa, we start. Once I heard from one man, "Oh, I didn’t know that there is an existing Saṅkalpa at the end." And that man just relaxed, and in that moment, a monkey jumped down, took that bucket, and ran up the tree. In that moment, the man woke up and said, "No, no... please, please, put it down, put it down. Inside is the snake." But how will you explain something to the monkey? As much as you are screaming, no, no... He thinks, "Oh, yes, yes, inside is the honey." And the monkey comes to the highest branch, puts this basket and this hand, and thinks, "Now I will nicely enjoy the honey." He opens it, and a snake comes. Now he starts, "Oops, how will I release myself from this problem?" We want a new relationship, and when you have a good relationship with some partner, you know, after ecstasy comes the laundry. You open this and, "Oops, I don’t want this relationship. I want a nice red Ferrari." But parking and all, paying tax to the government. Oh my God. How to release this car? And because of that, always try to think. I want this, and OK, no problem, I want this. Once I was listening to Guru Gītā, and inside, they said it would be nice to meditate in the garden of the Tulsī. And I think, oh yes, it will be nice. And my monkey goes to the Tulasī garden, but we are in Europe. Come the winter, and you start with so many problems. One short story: I didn’t think about this. One disciple got blessing from the master. He got the mantra, and Guru said to him, "Go somewhere far, not in the forest, but near some village, yet in the forest. Meditate only with two pieces of cloth: one on you, and one you wash and dry." And that man was going to the village to beg for food, but he had one mouse. And that mouse always eats a little of the cloth. And he begged for food, but also for cloth. And people asked, "What are you doing with this cloth? You are eating cloth." He said, "No, no, I’m not eating, but the mouse is eating this." And the village people gave him a cat. And now he didn’t have any more problems with the mouse. But he begged for the food and milk for the cat. And the villagers said, "Oh my God, take a cow." But okay, for the cow, they said, the cow is the lady. And for a cow, you need two people because you must take care of the cow, and food, and cleaning. That is a lot of job. It is not romantic that I will have a cow. No, thank you. And how will I meditate and have a cow? And always he goes to the village, asks for the food, and pleads, "Help me with the cow." And people gave to him two persons who would take care of the cow and the land. And you know the story, that two persons need house, wife, family, and after 12 years, when Gurujī came to visit the disciples, Guruji found not only that he is meditating, but he is meditating in the middle of the great village. And before starting to have saṅkalpa, or some wishes—I need this, I want this—it will be nice to put this and all this. Try, just for the moment, think, "Okay, what will I do with this?" That is very important. And thank you for this great seminar with Viśwa Gurujī. Really, I think that was a great opportunity to be here in this nice place for our body, our mind, and our soul. Siddhi number one, Kīja Jai.