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Sada Śiva Samarambhāṁ Śaṅkarācārya Madhyamām Asmadācārya Paryantāṁ Vande Guru Paramparām. Gurur Brahma, Gurur Viṣṇu, Gurur Devo Maheśvara. Gurur Sākṣāt Parabrahma, Tasmai Śrī Gurave Namaḥ. Mana Nātha Śrī Jagannātha, Madh Guru Śrī Jagad Guru. Māmātmā sarva bhūtātmā tasme śrī guruve namaha. Om Śalāk Puruṣa Mahādeva Kī Jai. Devadatta Devadeva Viśvam Mahādeva Kī Jai. Śrī Dīp Nayan Bhagavān Kī Jai. Hindudharam Samrāṭ Paramahaṁswāmī Śrī Madhavān Ānandapurījī Satgurudeva Bhagavān Kī Jai. Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṁswāmī Śrī Maheśvara. Praṇām Purujī Gurudeva Kī Jai. Salutations to the Cosmic Self. Salutations to Śrī Alak Purujī Siddha Pīṭh Paramparā. My Dhanyavād Praṇāms to our beloved Gurudeva, His Holiness Viśva Gurujī. Om Namo Nārāyaṇa to all the Sannyāsīs. And Hari Om. Good evening to all of you who are present here, and to those of you who are watching through the webcast. It is a beautiful evening here in Strelka. Tat Tvam Asi—that is what we are going to talk about today. Tat means ‘that’, Tvam means ‘you’—meaning all of us—and asi means ‘is’ or ‘are’. That Ātmā, that is immortal, that is not something that can perish, that can die, that can go. The same as the love and the presence of Gurudeva are everlasting, our ātmā will also not go. How many of you remember the story of Naciketā and Yamarāja? Very good. Naciketā was a very young child, but very knowledgeable, or very highly developed, I would say. His father was Vājaśravā. His father was performing a Viśvajit Yajña. Yajña means an offering to the fire, an offering to a certain deity for certain purposes. The pūjās or the yajñas were being performed. This is the beauty of stories; everyone might have different versions, but the moral of the story is always one. In that yajña, his father had to give away all his possessions. The young boy Naciketā asked, "Father, who will you give me to?" No reply. The second time, he asked again, "Father, who will you give me to?" Again, no reply. The third time he asked, "Father, to whom will you give me?" You know what comes when we are frustrated? Anger. So he said in anger, "I will give you to death. Go." And Naciketā didn’t worry about anything. He said, "Okay, father, as you wish," and he started his journey towards Yamaloka. You know who Yamarāja is, right? The one who will… judge us. But we have Gurudev, so no worries for us. He started his journey slowly towards Yamaloka to meet Yamarāja. Finally, when he reached there, Yamarāja was out, busy in his work. One day, two days, three days—Naciketā was sitting on the doorstep of Yamaloka without food, without water, without anything. After three days, Yamarāja finally came on his mode of transport. On the third day, Yamarāja came on his animal, which is a buffalo. He saw the young Naciketā sitting outside. In India, we have a saying, "Atithi Devo Bhava," which means the guest is like God. He was very impressed that someone willingly, of his own will, came to the doorstep of Yamaloka, and with no food or water. He felt a little upset. He said, "Three days, three wounds." So, guess what Naciketā’s wishes were? Chocolate, ice cream, pizza? First wish: "Can my father and my bond be restored, and can everything go well between us?" Yamarāja said, "Tathāstu," which means "so be it," and granted it. Two more wishes to go. Second wish: "Explain to me the meaning of the Viśvajit Yajña, the offering to fire, the theory, the whole detailed explanation about why it’s done." Yamarāja explained everything to him about the Naciketa Agni, which was named after him. The third boon was: "What is after death? After we all die—we all will die, as Vasant mentioned yesterday—one day we all will go. Then what happens to us?" To ask Yamarāja, the Lord of Death, this question surprised him. When a child comes to a parent asking for something very extravagant, the parents try to give lālac. Lālac means… today my English is a little… Lālac is like a temptation, a distraction. So he tried to give him alternatives: "I will give you gold, or I will give you a flying chariot, or I will give you all the prosperity you can wish for. Ask for anything you want, but not this." So Naciketā replied, "Just as all things that come will go, what will I do with all these materialistic things? You will give me a golden chariot, and I die, and then what? No, I want to know what happens after death." He was not tempted by the lālac. Yamarāja was impressed and said, "You passed the test." Then he explained everything about what happens after death: that the ātmā is ajara, immortal. Yamarāja told Naciketā about the ātmā. It is smaller than the smallest, bigger than the biggest, hidden inside all of us, everlasting, not dying with the body. It is always there. After teaching him this, Naciketā didn’t say yes or no, not because he didn’t understand, but because he now knew the truth. Yamarāja then said that now, because you know the truth, death will never harm you; nothing will happen to you. He became immortal. When he came back to his father, his father embraced him. In one way, we all can be Naciketā. And Gurudev is the one who is showing us and telling us this truth. But we need to have faith and dedication like Naciketā had. The fruit is always much sweeter when you have patience. I worked a lot personally on patience. Many of you who know me from childhood know I wasn’t such a patient person. But when you are patient, then at the end of the day, Gurudev knows why he is tightening our screws all the time. At that moment it feels hard, but later we realize that we are like that metal which Gurudev heats up in a very strong fire, takes a hammer, and shapes. When that shape, or form, or statue is created, you can only see how beautiful it is when it’s done. So, patience we all need. If Naciketā didn’t sit for three days waiting for Yamarāja, then the fruit of immortality wouldn’t be there, no? In the same way, we might think: every year we come to Strelka, every year we are sitting in the sauna, or every year Vasanth comes up with a new project to work on. Every time there is something to do—this is tapasyā. Or when we go to Jadan, you come to Jadan and the next day they already say, "Okay, you are now in the Om Āśram working," or you are doing this or that. You say, "Oh, I’m still on jet lag." That all has a purpose behind it. Because what Gurudev is doing for us, with us, is very profound, and the results you will always see once you end up in the playground. Because the way Gurudev works with us, what he does with us, what he does for us, we will know the results when we are at the playground. But the body will go to the playground. The Ātmā is Ajara Ātmā, Saccidānanda Guru. At the playground, the body will end; the ātmā is ajara ātmā. We will be united with that light. That Jyoti is one. And that jyoti is in all of us. Gurudev gave us that jyoti in each and every one of his bhaktas. But we need to realize it. In Aprokṣaṇam Bhūti, there is this śloka: "Ko’haṁ? Kadā abdam jātaṁ? Ko vā kartā savidhāti?" Who am I? From where did I come? We need to ask ourselves and realize that. Once in our lives, sometime, every one of us has thought: why in the world am I here? What is the purpose of my being? Why am I existing? So, you have already started on the step of asking yourself, who am I? Where do I come from? And then we see why we are here: because of Gurudev. If we wouldn’t be with Gurudev, then in what deep mess we would be in. That’s why we should be very grateful for the work which Gurudev has done, that he helps us, and always did, and always will help us to overcome and to hopefully attain liberation. Every journey is hard, same as life. If we are driving—okay, European roads are still good, but if you come to Indian roads, you know how many holes and bumps there are. Oh, actually, I was driving to Borno a few days back, not on the highway, but on this other road. There also, the road is not so good, so not only India. So, same as life: full of bumps, full of holes. But if a thorn goes in the tire and the air goes out, we don’t just leave the car and take a different car and disappear. We change the tire, we move on, and we continue with our journey—same as with life. Giving up is not an option. Many times it happens, or we have that feeling inside of us, that it’s not worth it to stay, or what is the sense of me being even here? Everything around me, myself, is bad. Everything is bad. Why? It is very hard to get this human life. It’s not easy. You had to go through millions or thousands of lives to finally get this human birth. And if we got this human life, then it’s not that we again waste it. One story came regarding this. I had a different story planned, but you see, planning is not good. There was a man, and he had a Gurujī. I think this story is from Ānanda Motī from Holī Gurujī, I believe, not so sure. So Gurujī said, "My dear, you know, in India or in our culture we have four āśramas." How many of you remember the four ashrams? Swamiji told us many times. Okay, the first āśrama is Brahmacārī āśrama. Don’t worry, I will continue these interactive things. Brahmacharya Āśram is the first āśram, the ashram in which studying, learning, and education all happen. Now, the lifespan is different, but let’s say, for example, from 0 to 100, so zero to twenty-five is Brahmachārya Āśram. Then comes Gṛhastha Āśram, where you get married. The best part is, I skipped it. For me, no Gṛhastha Āśram, not one Gṛhastha Āśram—direct Sannyāsa Āśram. A lot of peace. So, Gṛhasthāśrama next, where you get married, you have kids, you are working. Then third comes Vānaprastha āśrama. When the kids are grown up, they have their own kids, then you retire and you give the children the task to take forward, and you and your wife slowly start going towards spirituality, or you are connected to spirituality, but you start going deeper into it. I just noticed: when I’m in Jadan, I sit in Bhakti Sāgara, I see so many orange people and so little yellow people. Here, there’s more yellow and less orange. Jadan is full of oranges, and here is full of bananas. Then, the fourth āśrama is the Sannyāsa āśrama. Sorry if you don’t like my jokes, but I like to make you laugh. And laughing is good, why not? One life, let’s enjoy it. Hopefully, one life. So in Sannyās Āśram, you let go of everything and focus on your spiritual journey ahead till you die. So Gurudev came to his house. He said, "Let’s say, what was his name?" Heart decision, nursing. Nothing personal. So he told him, "My dear, you are already in the Gṛhastha āśrama, you already have a child, come with me." He said, "But Gurudev, my son is too young. I need to take care of him." The son was already in college, but yeah. And he said, "A little bit, let him grow up. I need to get him married, and then I will surely come with you." And Gurudev said, "OK, my dear." After some years, Gurudev came again. He asked him, "Now let’s go. Your son is married, your son has a kid, let’s go." "But Gurudev, I just want to spend a little bit more time with my grandchild, and then I will surely come." Gurudev said, "OK." After some time, he came again. And he asked, "Where is the nursing?" You are alive, but that story is not. You have your first registration. Then afterwards, he asked the son, "Where is he?" He said, "Sorry, father died." And Gurudev closed his eyes. Gurudev is… Good, finally I get some answers. So Gurudev closed his eyes and looked around, and he saw the dog, who was the pet of the household or the guard, was actually the father. No, sorry, before the dog was, I think, the bull. So the bull, and he asked, "What are you doing?" He said, "Gurudev, what to do? You know, I wanted to help out my son and help him by working for him." And while the bull was pulling the thing for farming, the son was taking and hitting. And you see, your son is not even respecting you. "Come, let’s go with me." "Gurudev, I’m still a very young bull, I can still work some more years, and when I cannot anymore, then I will surely come to you." This is what happens when we die with attachments, or when we die with a wish for completing something. Then your ātmā is stuck here. Then, next time Gurujī comes, he asks, "Where is the bull?" The bull was working so hard and was exhausted, and he died. He looked around and saw a dog. "What are you doing?" "Protecting my family, my son, my grandson. I need to. If someone comes to steal something, then I can bark and awaken my son. I will come, I will come, sure Gurujī, I will surely come." You know how we Indians always say, "Yes, yes, Gurujī, we will do, we will do," and then… Same with our Gurudev. He will not let us suffer, He will not want us to suffer, He will not want us to go down that black hole. And just like our Gurudev does not let us suffer, does not let us fall, does not let us fall into that black hole. And then Gurujī comes again. "Where is your dog?" He is playing in the playing yard. Then he sees, while Gurudev was there, the son sees a snake hovering near the child. And Gurudev, then the son runs with a stick to give him mokṣa. And Gurudev said, "Wait, wait… I will give a special mantra to the snake. Don’t kill it, wait." So Gurudev went to the snake and said, "Look where you are stuck. Now let’s go." Their Hṛdaya and their name, which means as late as it can be, it can be late, but it’s never going to be darkness in the lotus feet of Gurudeva. It’s never too late. You always have an opportunity, you always have a chance, and this is the chance. And finally, when we understand that, then we are in Paramānanda with Gurudev. Everything else will come and go. But we do not need to be stuck in this cycle. We want to get freed, and if we want to, no problem. Kaliyuga is just a baby now; it’s just beginning, so don’t worry, you have a long way to go. And we think now these wars and what is going on, this is nothing compared to what is written, what will happen at the end of Kaliyuga. There will be so much crime, so much torture in this world that even humans will eat humans. We will become cannibals. So, I think we should get free in this life. Because this is one of the most beautiful eras we are born in, with Gurudev. And the more amazing part is, look from where you all came from, from where we all came from. We all came from all different parts, all different lives, but look where we end up here. And that we are connected to the great paramparā, that we are disciples of such a great master as Viśva Gurujī. It wasn’t there, it will not happen again. And it is said that Gurudev is incarnated to come and get all the bhaktas of Mahāprabhujī back, so that’s what’s happening. So if you ever feel in life, "What in the world am I doing here?"—we are on the right path now. Coming here is your wish, and now we are in his hands. Let it flow. But when we give up our inside things which are stopping us from moving ahead in our spiritual journey, then you will feel the flow. When we let go of this wish to complete something. If we just let it go and surrender to Gurudev and say, "Gurudev, my life is your life, you deal with it," then you will see how easy life feels after that. But if you want to complicate it, sure. Because then we will create problems, then we will try to solve those problems. Before we manage to solve those problems, we will create another problem. That is the beauty of our beautiful mind. Our mind is cañcal, cañcal means restless. It can’t stay calm. Our mind will always be running like a wild horse. And that’s why when we have something, then we overthink it, and then we just create more and more and more. Then we try to solve those things and create and create. And if we surrender to Gurudeva and let it all be in his hands, then we know that we are in safe hands. To tame that horse, to pull the reins on that horse, is all we have, and that’s the beauty of it. All that Gurudev has given us, it’s all for us. Gurudev, whatever he did all his life, it was always for us. Always for his bhaktas. His whole life he dedicated to his bhaktas. Gurudev could have done many other things with his mind. I was talking with my friend who was here a few days, two days back, because he didn’t know much of Swāmījī, so I was talking and explaining to him about Swāmījī’s whole life. With the mind of Gurudev, God knows what. If he wouldn’t be this, then what? He could have done so many things, but he dedicated his life to us. And that is why we should be very grateful that we are his disciples. And we should know that we are in safe hands. And not have doubts about ourselves and not give up in our lives. Gurudev always told me, "Je manuštvo žīvan, baḍa animal, he, jese vyartanehī gavana, che je," which means, "This human life is very precious, do not waste it." Nepromarni ho. All the tools—mālā, kriyā, satsaṅgs, bhajans, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, rāja yoga—everything we have, everything we are doing, why? Because Gurudev gave us these tools for our self-development. And now it’s our job to realize that. And the guidance of Gurudev hasn’t gone anywhere. If we are going to do something stupid or something wrong, don’t worry, he will pull our leashes and stop us. But for that, we need to fully trust in him and say, "Gurudev, I will do…" We go on in our lives; if it’s wrong, he will stop us; if it’s right, he will let us. But that faith is within us, and we need to have that faith towards Him. We go and have a shower in the rain. If I were younger in Jadan, I would just run out in the rain and have a nice shower. Is this the first rain of this year? Because in India we have a saying: if you have a bath in the first rain, then you know all these pimples or any skin problems we have, that all goes if you have a shower in the first rain. But I love this weather, and the best part is now we are stuck here, you cannot go anywhere. And the best is that now we are here. So, as Fulporujī would say, enjoy, not outjoy. So let’s enjoy the beautiful weather, the beautiful thundering and the rain and the beautiful family. Announcement, yeah. Playground. If you forgot to close your window in your room, please go and close it, especially in Ganga rooms. If you have these skylights, these roof windows, please go and check and close them, because otherwise it would flood us. Out, beautiful! We will have a nice swimming pool. That’s why now it’s high time. That’s why we have these bhajans. We sang "Ceta Ceta," I think so, "Bhajitum Jago." Both similar bhajans. "Ceta Ceta," rise, awake. It’s high time for us to wake up and listen to Guru Vakya. Do not try to find the logic behind this. This is good. Learn this. Guru says, "Ājñā Avijāranīya." So try not to find the logic behind the Guruvakya, just follow. Do it because it is to seek logic in the Guru’s words; simply follow them. Because he always, he is Trikāla Darśī, not us, so he knows what is right and what is wrong. Because he is Trikāla Darśī, not us, he knows what is right and what is wrong. Guru, Ājñā, and Vichāraṇīya. Ājñā avichāraṇīya. So whenever Gurudev says something to us, then we remember this: Guru ājñā avichāraṇīya. We are not going to find logic behind this, why this, or why did he say this? It doesn’t make absolute sense. I am a doctor, and why did he tell me to become a teacher? He knows why; you will later know why. Between 2010 and 2018, or not even 2018, let’s say 2023, so many years I was always thinking, "He always goes to Europe, he doesn’t take me with. Why am I not going?" In 2004, ’06, ’08, and ’10, I came every two years, but then from ’10 to ’18, I didn’t come to Europe. Didn’t like school much. No, study, study, not going anywhere, not even from where I was studying to anywhere else, nope, study. But now I realize that that was the time for me when I was in the fire and I was being shaped. And when it’s the right time, he knows when I should come. So last year he brought me, and I believe that, no, that was the right time. At that time, it was always, no, Swāmījī always going, he doesn’t take me. It’s so cool, it’s so much fun traveling and doing this and doing that. But I think if I wouldn’t have gone through that tapasyā with Viśvakānandjī, then I don’t think I would be what I am now. Sometimes, hard training is also good training because that is long-lasting. Yeah, Bhakta is clapping for the young people, because he is planning to give you guys hard treatment. But yes, sometimes that is also necessary in life. And that is training. And when is the right time for us in life, then it will automatically happen, what is supposed to happen. But for that, we need to give up and trust. Let it be in His hands, because when we try to manage it, we won’t be able to. But you see how powerful He is? He is managing all of us. Everything He does, He does for a reason. And every time He closes His eyes, He is fixing some of our screws. At the moment, it won’t make sense for us. Later, we will realize that.