On Monday morning, Daaji conducted a meditation session at Br. Sanjay Sehgal’s house and had informal interactions with the practitioners who had gathered there. He also conducted a sitting before leaving for his trip to Guyana. After the meditation there was a brief Q&A, during which a sister seemed to faint. After a few minutes, she was alright. It wasn’t until his talk in Dallas that Daaji explained what had happened to her. [As the practitioners there were conversing with Daaji and laughing at his jokes, Daaji was simultaneously transmitting to the group. One sister practitioner, who was standing at the back, went into such deep relaxation at the cellular level, that her body slumped to the floor when people around her thought she had ‘fainted!’] 

Dialogues from before the meditation session:

• That’s our tradition, the younger one can be your teacher. Like young Ashtavakra addressing Raja Janak as ‘my son’ when he himself is a boy. 
• That’s the most fascinating work, the Ashtavakra Gita. When you analyze Bhagvad Gita, it’s between Arjun, a warrior, and Lord Krishna, an avatara purusha [a divine personality who incarnates in human form]. So the gap is huge. The questions are like that. While in this scenario, Janak and Ashtavakra are both like rishis, so the dialogue is of a very high order. That's why the common people love Bhagavad Gita, because it appeals. Ashtavakra Gita will bounce off. 
• That was an interesting revelation. If you want to give something back to God, what can you give that was not already his? The only thing that we created and which we can return is the ego, self-identification. That is our creation. And the moment you give it, you become divine. It's very easy to give up your desires. It’s not equal. Even when you give up desires, you’ll say, ‘Oh, I gave up all my desires,’ but the ‘I’ still comes in. 
• The most misunderstood sloka in the Bhagvad Gita is karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo stvakarmaṇi (Chapter 2, Verse 47).

You have a right to your actions, but not to the fruits. I mean, who will work like that? Suppose, you have to go to Athens, you have to plan. If you didn’t have a car, you’d have to make some arrangements. If I have to move from Hyderabad to Mumbai, I have to have tickets. To buy tickets, I have to have money. To have money, I have to work. It's a chain reaction. So in the mundane world, we put the fruits of the action first – ‘I want to attain this.’ You want to study, so you have objectives in front of you, and then you study. Same thing with our normal work or business. You have the goal in front of you, and then you work accordingly to fulfill that goal. Because the word karma is misunderstood. You know the word ‘gay.’ What was its meaning before 1960? There was no hesitation in saying ‘I am so gay today I am so happy.’ Now, the meaning has changed. Similarly, karma had a different meaning then. That’s why they have another word, shram [hard work/toil/labor]. So when you work in this world for the objectives of this world, we call it shram. Not karma. Karma is all about brahmavidya [divine knowledge]. And I cannot demand, ‘God, give me God realization.’ I have to surrender. So the fruits of my action, brahmavidya, have to be surrendered first and then work. It's up to God to reveal or not to reveal.

• Q: You mentioned you don't like parishram as a word. You said if you do anything with love, there is no parishram. 
  Daaji: No, parishram without love. Work without love becomes labor. I will give you a small example. As a pharmacist, I had many businesses, many drugstores in New York. I would hire interns, train them not only about the pharmacy but about running a business as well. Whenever I asked them to come, Sunday for example, they would not come. ‘Sir, I have this or I have that.’ But the moment I invest in them and open a drugstore for them, they become the owners, part-owners. And then, even without me telling them to come on Sunday, they'll be working there. Because they see a gain out of it. A mother, she wakes up at 2 in the morning to feed her baby. She doesn't write it in the diary. The father, he’ll write it in the diary and tell her also for a whole week, ‘You were sleeping. I woke up, warmed the milk and fed my child.’ Not our child. So karma can change drastically. And Lord Krishna talks of karma performed in such a way that it becomes akarma. Akarma means there is no consequential impact on your heart or mind. And that happens only when you do things with love. Mothers, they cannot have the memory of doing anything for their children. They do it out of joy, out of love. Even gyan, or karma. Karma will become labor without love. Imagine a farmer working, or especially a laborer working in a farm. He loses body mass. He can count his ribs. He hates to work. There’s not just of the absence of love, but also the added hatred toward the work. So the body loses weight. While you go to gym - only 2, 3 hours or 1 hour, and you build muscles, because you are passionate about it. 
• So our attitude changes everything. Attitude in worshiping God also is like that. If you worship God for ulterior motives, you better not meditate. Even for peace of mind, don't meditate. Even for samadhi, don't meditate. For heaven? Just forget it. The moment you put an expectation, it becomes desire. And desire is not good, you see. 
• Q: What about, let's say, a small little thing, let's say your job is in trouble. Now, in those kinds of practical situations?
  Daaji: You can offer prayer, things that you cannot change on your own. Prayer should be the last resort. Have you done anything and everything to improve the quality of your work? I have seen not only as a pharmacist, but as an entrepreneur also. If you do find an employee who is excellent, you will never feel like losing that person. If they demand 3 months of vacation, you’ll say ‘take 4 months.’ If they want a higher salary, you’ll say ‘take double.’ You will not like to lose such a person. But to those who are always excusing themselves you’ll say, ‘Go whenever you want to go. You will liberate me.’ So to an organization or to your company or in a family, you must become indispensable – meaning a high level of quality work. And whenever we do things, haphazard, incomplete, inconclusive, it will haunt you. Don’t you often dream that you forgot your pencil going for exams? Unpreparedness. 
• Q: In one of the Whispers from the Brighter World, Babuji emphatically says, ‘Destiny is fixed, you can’t change it.’ And then we talk about designing our destiny also. How do we position the two?
  Daaji: When he says this destiny is fixed, that is based on your previous karma, they will surely have the consequence. There is no doubt about it. But things we do now will also create another destiny. Not only do we enclose our destiny, but somebody else can also affect your destiny. Take for example the life of Lord Rama. Did he have any predestined future? He had no samskaras, either to suffer or to enjoy. He came with a purpose. Mother Sita, she did not have any samskaras. They were pure souls. Yet they suffered like nobody else. Your suffering is nothing. Why? Who was the cause of their suffering?  A person no lesser than a mother influenced their destiny – Kaikeyi [one of the wives of Raja Dashrath]. Her jealousy, and a father's ego, Dasarath’s. He could have easily said, ‘I'm sorry, I can't fulfill this promise.’ But he was so proud of it. He said, ‘pran jaaye par vachan na jaaye’ (I’d rather lose my life than give up a promise). The cause of Ramayana are these. And same thing, cause of Mahabharata is also this ghamand (pride) of Bhisma.
• Q: What is the best way to work on your ego? To refine it and desires?
  Daaji: Meditate well. So, we’ll meditate now!

After the meditation, Daaji spoke again:

• Q: What was the purpose of Lord Ram’s coming?
  Daaji: That you’ll have to ask Lord Ram! (laughter)
• Q: If I’m hurt by someone, somewhere is it a reflection of my ego meaning that I need to work on it more? 
  Daaji: Depends on you. Hurt is generally because we expect too much.
• Q: Arjun had a choice between Shri Krishna and the rest of the army. Do we also have the choice? 
  Daaji: No, you don't have a choice. You have only Arjun. You don't have any option anyway, neither Krishna nor the army. Whom are you fighting? You're fighting against yourself only. You don't have real enemies outside.
• Q: Can we have a national gathering every year? We are missing you a lot. If you can come, that would be great. But otherwise…
  Daaji: Every now and then to host things like this in a hotel, why don't you raise funds? Not for my ticket, but at least for a home, an ashram. Make one ashram here. It’s possible in the US. If it's not possible in the US, it's not possible anywhere else. You should combine your efforts together. Think for a moment. Would you become poorer by burning $10 every day? When can you become poor? How much do you need to burn? $100 a day? $10 a day you can afford, right? So, everybody has different thresholds. So reach that threshold and contribute every day.
• Q: We will work on that.
  Daaji: No one is doing it. See this mission is here, at least if I remember, since 1968 in the United States. Even if you had collected $1 per day contribution, between all the members, by now, in every city you’d have an ashram. Just one dollar a day. Now at the rate of inflation, we should consider it $10 a day. And you’re not contributing for anybody else. It's for making your own place; you can send children there for summer camps. You can also spend time there. And when few families live together in that place, it will be a thriving community. So think of it. Suppose I build 300 rooms. Would you be interested in one room? 

Audience (in unison): Yes! 
Daaji: At the rate of 25,000?
Audience (in unison): Yes! 

Daaji: How many of you would be interested in this room?  (everyone raised their hands) Holy Lord! You can do it, bhai. In another six months you can have one. I underestimated you guys. That is my fault. (laughter)

Audience: We’ll actively work on it. 
Daaji: Yes, we must do it. Don't let it pass this Christmas. We have ashrams for meditation and all that, but it must be a place where we can stay. You see the expense of all these people who came together [for the National Gathering]. What, more than $1.5 million dollars going to Hilton? Did you count it? All these people? And it’s not your place. You gave 1.5M and it’s gone. 

• Q: Daaji, I wanted to thank you for coming here. It is hard for me to travel. Yet my goal was to come to India to be in your presence. 

Daaji: Come home to Kanha Shanti Vanam. It is a different field there.

• Q: Master, yesterday you told us we’ll never understand Master’s love. How do we get there? So we make your job easy. 
  Daaji: At least start by not misunderstanding. Try and understand yourself before you understand anyone else.
• Q: In Austin, abhyasis together bought 20 acres of land.
  Daaji: But that is for themselves, you see.
• Q: No, Master, actually we had intention to give some part of land to the Mission. 
  Daaji: Intentions are not good enough
• Q: 3 acres we wanted to give to the Mission. We haven't discussed with a couple of people yet, but we are ready to give.
  Daaji: What will we do with 3 acres? Nothing can be done. If you’re going to dream big, dream really big. Think of 3000, not 3 acres. 
• Q: When sincere practitioners go through a lot of suffering, is it because their samskaras are big, their practice has to be made stronger, is the Hierarchy of Masters still testing them, or is it all of the above?
  Daaji: It’s all of the above.
• Q: What can be done for a person who is no more?
  Daaji: Just pray. What else can you do? And don't wait till it's too late to do anything. Do it while they are here. For example, you could have served your mother or father during their lifetime. After they are gone, what will you do? What can you do? So our job is here. In the Gita, Lord Krishna talks of karma and the consequences of karma. He doesn't go in detail with akarma. Akarma means things that you have forgotten, inaction. But sometimes, not sometimes, almost always, the consequences of your inactions are more dire and serious than those of your actions. Something I could have done, I did not do. I could have told my father, ‘I'm sorry for insulting you.’ I could have apologized. After he is gone, it's too late. Now you keep breaking your head. How can I offer prayer to my father to forgive me? You could have done that in your lifetime. That's what I call incomplete tasks. They haunt you.
• Q: Could there be a reason why I did not do what I'm supposed to do? Like there were some limitations or there were some egos or there was something that did not allow me to do that. 
  Daaji: You take it for granted. That's it, so we have to overcome that. Create that humility. Apology means that I have to bend myself. 

At lunch, Daaji met with one of his old classmates from his pharmacy days. They had many laughs at the table!

Snippets from the conversation:

• “There are 3 specialties of this system; one, the role of the master who is always working. Anytime you sit, the transmission will come. Second specialty is this transmission which in Sanskrit is called pranahuti. This transmission is the only thing that differentiates Heartfulness from all other systems where the Guru’s capacity is there to transmit all the time. Third thing is Heartfulness Cleaning. It enables us to get rid of our samskaras [inner impressions, complexities, tendencies and impurities, little by little. So that you are free from samskaras. Because it is the samskaras that work like seeds, creating the future. Once that is gone, then you have freedom.
• What is pranahuti? You can give many definitions, but if you understand its function you’ll appreciate it more. We take a balanced diet for our physical body. For mental enrichment, we interact, we contemplate, we learn from books and elders. How do we enrich the soul? It is with pranasya pranaha [life of life itself]. That which enriches the soul is pranahuti. 
• Q: But first we need to understand that we can enrich the soul? If I didn’t know that then I wouldn’t be coming to you.
  Daaji: Correct. But you need not also, because the very first 2-3 sessions will tell you once you experience. 
• Q: The general public will not even believe until they experience. This is the first time I heard that you can enrich the soul.
  Daaji: The purpose of life is to enrich the soul. Suppose you give your children X amount of money. After ten years, if they have the same amount of money, you’ll feel sad. So say the soul comes from the Source with X capital and it returns back with the same purity, same potency. That’s what religion is talking about, returning with the same purity. But that is the wrong approach. You must multiply it and have 100x or a million times X. And we have multiple souls. The soul can divide itself and manifest in many places, taking birth in appropriate families, growing together, and then having attained a high level, again it merges into one entity. This sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it! 
• Q: When friends discuss that we’re all fortunate to be in India or to come here. Lucky that I wasn’t born somewhere else. Why did that not happen?
  Daaji: Where you are born depends on the field of vibrations created by parents at the moment of conception. The soul matching that frequency will descend. [Daaji recounted the story in Mahabharat about how the attitude of the 3 women during their moment of conception influenced the nature of the 3 half-brothers, Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidur.]

So the grooming starts much earlier, much, much earlier. Similar things happen at the moment of death. Depending on the soul’s evolution, the vibratory nature of the soul will rise up to that dimension which matches its own frequency. It cannot go anywhere else, it automatically fits into that level of dimension. 

There are two types of souls who cannot be born again and again easily. Souls like Buddha and Mahavira – you need a very fit womb for that. Another one is people like Hitler. Those souls cannot find an appropriate womb also because nobody is also that bad to have such a child. It is said that Mahavir took more than 5000 years before he was born again. Ordinary souls, the moment they die, they are born somewhere else again. Recycled again and again. 

I am thinking now, what happens to the soul actually. It descends, when in its own wisdom it finds that a particular family was good, that the vibrations are good. But our moods are not very steady. We are not in a stithyapragya state; our mind, our moods, they fluctuate. So the soul feels cheated at the time and it gets affected. So you can hypothesize perhaps that it quits very fast, and that results in a natural abortion. Or, even if it does find the right womb in the beginning, but after some time, due to change in tendencies in the family   there will be differences in brain development. Confusion starts in the soul. That can damage neurological development.

You have to be in tune with nature. If you bring in epigenetics into the whole equation, you will find that the atmosphere around the time of conception and rest of pregnancy are important. 

Once I read that when you are sitting in front of a guru, you should have your left leg on top of the right leg. In the gurukulum they teach you that. There is also a science behind it. 

• Q: What is that? 
  Daaji: We have a sympathetic system and a parasympathetic system. When the parasympathetic system is active, you’ll learn fast. So when you keep this left leg on the right one, somehow the parasympathetic system is activated. Once you become calm, you learn better. Similarly when you have your left nostril active, you become calm as well. 

Daaji’s visit to the USA and the National Heartfulness Gathering in Atlanta was a profound experience for all who attended. The gathering concluded with a renewed sense of purpose and a deeper commitment to living a heart-centered life, leaving a lasting legacy of love and peace.