We are a group of Aurovillian, a name called Spiritual Multiversity Group, Luca France, myself. We are organizing this event as a part of Sri Aurobindo's 158th birthday anniversary. As per the Charter of Auroville, Auroville is a site of material and spiritual researchers for a living embodiment of an actual human unity. And so keeping this line of Auroville Charter in our mind and heart, we are aiming to invite spiritual teachers and scholars from different spiritual paths to give a talk and workshops which could be helpful in our spiritual journey. And in the Indian yogic system as well, we have Mantra, Yantra and Tantra have been mentioned as a tool by which Nara can become a Narayana. Nara means human being and Narayana means divine. And so today we have a guest, Sri Shampalanand Mishraji, who will talk about Mantra Yoga and Sri Aurobindo. I would request Luca to please welcome him with the flower. Shampalanand Mishraji is a professor at Rastram School of Public Leadership at Rishi Hood University. He is a Sanskrit scholar from Odisha. Through the Vande Matram Library Trust, he plans to generate verified authentic English translations of almost all important scriptures available in Sanskrit. This pioneering project would also lay the foundation stone of original Sanskrit works that would enhance the appreciation and cultivation of the Vedic knowledge. Shampalanandji regularly conducts workshops, training programs, orientation courses and talks for students and teachers on Sanskrit, Mantra, Yoga and Bhagavad Gita. He writes articles in English, Sanskrit and Odiya. He composes verses and songs and he has edited and authored many books. Shampalanandji was awarded the Maharishi Badrayan Vyas Award for Sanskrit in 2012 by Pratibha Patil, the then President of India. And Shampalanandji is also specialized in Sanskrit Grammar. So now without taking now much time, I would request Shampalanandji to start with the Mantra Yoga and Sri Aurobindo. Thank you, Shampalanandji. Namaskar. So the topic today is Mantra Yoga and Sri Aurobindo. So in any practice of Yoga, spirituality or in our spiritual journey, Mantra plays a very important role as a tool, as an instrument, as a means for the attainment of a state which helps in attaining many other higher realms or achieving in life the real purpose, the higher goals of life. Let's concentrate on the word Mantra itself. In Sanskrit, every word is conscious of its own history, its self-explanatory. It explains why it stands for a particular idea, particular object. So the word Mantra itself can explain why it stands for whatever is the meaning of the Mantra. Every word in Sanskrit is derived from a root sound and that root sound is also connected with many fundamental experiences. So in a sense, like when we come to Sri Aurobindo to learn about the mantric nature of Sanskrit language or the Mantra as a language or the language of the Mantra, so we will find that Mantra or Sanskrit as a Mantric language is not just helping in elevating the human consciousness, but it also helps the Sadhaka, means the seeker, to find out or to arrive at the fundamental experiences of the humanity, which is an important exercise to find out what are the fundamental experiences. And most of the meanings of the words derived from the root sounds are based on those fundamental experiences. That by itself is a completely different topic. We will focus on what is the word, the etymology of the word Mantra. The word Mantra comes from the root sound Man. Every root sound has several meanings, not one meaning, layers of meanings. Man means every activity that mind does or any activity connected with mind is the root sense of the root sound Man. Man means to concentrate, Man means to think, Man means to consider. So that's where you have the word Matta. The word Matta comes from Man, means an opinion or someone who thinks about something. What one thinks about something is Matta. And Man also means the mind from which you get the word Manas, because it does all these kinds of activities. Now there is the other component which can be explained differently. Tra is a suffix in Sanskrit, which is added in the sense of a tool. Like the eyes are called Netra. Netra means it comes from the root sound Ni, means to lead. So eyes are means by which we are led. You have Patra means vessels. Pa means to drink. So Patra, you have Vastra. The clothes are called Vastra. Vast means to cover. So the means by which we cover ourselves is Vastra. So Mantra means a means, a tool, an instrument by which one is capable of contemplation. The mind can be concentrated, brought into a state of focus. One-pointed concentration is possible by Mantra. So because the mind can be brought through Mantra into a state of focus, so what Mantra does is makes the mind free from all its chaos. So that's why traditionally it is said, Mananath Trayate Iti Mantra. It means like it protects, it saves, it makes the one who contemplates free from all vagaries, all chaos. The nature of mind in the ordinary state of consciousness is chaotic. Mind is affected by many doshas, many faults. It's never concentrated, it's in a chaotic state. It doesn't see clearly things because it always has a distorted version of everything. It is covered by many components. There is a veil in front of the mind. There are many thick layers, you can say. So the pure divine mind which can see clearly, think clearly is something which can be achieved through Mantra. When we come to Sri Aurobindo, so how he explains the word Mantra is something which no one has explained, especially what he says in his book, The Future Poetry, what he speaks about the Mantra in The Secret of the Veda, in The Hymns to the Mystic Fire. So when it comes to poetry, Mantric poetry, so he says that there are three intensities, the intensity of rhythm, the intensity of the thought content, the intensity of the soul's power, the soul's vision. So when these three intensities they meet, so that poetry becomes mantric poetry. Who can do that? Who can produce that kind of poetry? The one who has raised himself or herself from ordinary to a higher level of consciousness. So the one who was living in a higher level is living or is capable of, by the power of tapas, by the power of one's own sincere effort or by the power of a self-discipline. So one who has raised himself to a higher level of consciousness has developed the inner power of vision, so then he can see things clearly, directly, see the truth directly, has developed the inner power of audition, can hear the voice of the truth directly, so that person is called Rishi. Or in the feminine form it is Rishika. So he had both Rishis and Rishikas who live in a higher plane of consciousness, have the power to see the truth directly, have the power to hear the voice of the truth directly. So Pratyaksha Drashta, that means a direct seer, a Pratyaksha Sharuta or a direct hearer of the truths. So they see the truth, a certain aspect of the truth when they contemplate in a meditative, in a contemplative state, a truth it appears in the consciousness of the Rishi. So it starts reverberating and when it descends and starts reverberating in the consciousness, so it takes a shape, it takes a form, gets arranged by itself in the form of sounds and the Rishi has the power to see the pattern and that arrangement is very harmonious and harmoniously rhythmic and that pattern is called the mantra. So what he sees is the mantra, that's why the Rishi says, Yadrag eva dadrase tadrag brahimi or tadrag brutel. So the way I see I present. So there is no distortion in mantra. Why mantras are powerful? Because they are the sound symbol of or their representation of a solid realization of the truths where there is no distortion, there is no loss of content. So in mantra one finds, like when a realization takes place, when a deeper truth is seen, the way it is seen, the way it is heard is never distorted in the mantra and it is expressed through minimum use of words, through minimum expenditure of energy and without loss of content. So mantra contains within itself the essence of the truth realized. So by coming in contact with the mantra, one can have the same realization, what it contains. One can have the same realization, one can become one with that realization. That's the power of mantra. In the tradition, the Rishis were of various types. The prominent ones were those who could see the truths and through whom the mantras descend. The second type of Rishis were who learn that from the Rishis and reproduce it or teach it to others. So the mantras were used for raising the consciousness, for coming in contact with that experience, the higher truths, higher realms of consciousness. And because mantras are pure, the mantras are very potent rhythmic sounds, they have the power to transform. They have the power to transform, transform what? Transform the entire nature, transform the consciousness in the sense it will uplift the seeker from ordinary to the higher. And especially it brings the mind into a state of silence because silence is the ultimate source of speech. Silence is the ultimate source of speech. So from silence it comes and one can understand things better in a state of silence. That's what a pure music does, that it brings the entire consciousness into a state of silence.  It brings the entire being into a state of silence. That's what a sculpture, an architecture, a beautiful painting. So anything in its purest form, without any distortion, is mantra. You listen to the whisper of the nature, you listen to the chirping of the bird, you listen to the pure sounds of the waves, the ripples of the flowing water. It's all mantra because it brings the entire consciousness into a state of silence. And ultimately that silence speaks. So in the Indic tradition, the gurus usually do not speak, do not speak much. Gurus tu maunam vyakhyanam. Sishyas tu chinna sanjaya. The guru doesn't speak anything, sits quietly. And the sishyas, the disciples, they get rid of all their doubts because there is a silent communication. The transmission of the spiritual force, the spiritual wisdom, it takes place through silence. So what we speak, the gross most speech, so there is much distortion at that level. So that is why so much of confusion, miscommunication that we do not understand, we start misinterpreting others, misinterpreting ourselves. You know the Chinese whisper game. You start with something and then the last person will have something very, very different. So that's how the distortion happens, the mind keeps distorting the things. So now in the tradition, Indic tradition, you have this practice of mantra, the mantra yoga. There are two different ways of this practice. One is a mantra sastra sadhana, one is a mantra yoga sadhana. In the mantra sastra, what happens? Where one has to get initiated into the mantra, initiated by the guru, and follow letter by letter what the sastra says. Sastra means the text without asking any question, without any doubt, without any confusion. It's a total dedication to the sastra. If the sastra says get up, you get up. It says sit, you sit without asking any question. If the sastra says go and then stand in the sun, you have to go and stand in the sun. No question. But that is meant only for some special seekers who have that intense seeking to grow through the sastra under the guidance of a guru. But at the same time, you have the mantra yoga sadhana, which is a simpler form of practicing the mantra as a yoga. The whole purpose is to grow from within, to bring expansion into the consciousness, because that's another important function of mantra, is that it makes us free from the narrow state of consciousness and makes us expanded. So one starts living in the expanded consciousness. So in the mantra yoga, one has to be clear about the purpose, that why one is doing the mantra, for what purpose? The mantra should never be used for any kind of selfish interest, vested interest. The sole purpose of practicing the mantra is inner journey, virtual journey by which one travels from the ordinary state to the higher state of consciousness, expanding oneself. So expansion of consciousness is the very aim of the yoga, the evolution of consciousness. So that being the purpose that has to be kept in the mind with all sincerity, with all devotion, with intensity and purity and aspiration, if one does the mantra yoga sadhana, so the mantras help immensely in achieving that goal, that highest aim, which is the expansion of consciousness. Now when we are talking about the mantra yoga sadhana, we discussed a little bit about what is a mantra, what is the power of a mantra, how it transforms the consciousness, what is the content of the mantra, the content is absolutely the truth itself, a higher realization, and by coming in contact with the mantra, contemplating on it, meditating upon it or reciting it, so one enters into the very consciousness of the mantra. So every word, every mantra has its own chaitanya, chaitanya means the consciousness. So by practicing the mantra, one unites one's own consciousness with the consciousness of the mantra, the force behind the mantra, the truth behind the mantra. So that is why it is called the yoga, the union, the union of one's own consciousness with the chaitanya of the mantra. By constant repetition, so one can also contemplate on it, but that comes a little later. At the initial phase, when the sadhaka, when the seeker is not absolutely ready, so he has to start with a gross form. You cannot take off just, you know, concentrate on it, meditate upon it. That doesn't become possible for many in the beginning stage. So this is where the loud repetition of the mantra is prescribed by the tradition, that you can just recite it loudly. Here the uchcharana. So it's called the mantra uchcharana. Uchcharana is usually translated as articulation, but it has a deeper meaning. Uchcharana in Sanskrit, utt means up. Anywhere you find the word utt, it means up, like udaya. Surya udaya, the sun rise. Chharana means move. So when you do the uchcharana of any mantra, so it means rising above with the mantra. The soul rising above with the mantra, with the sound. Uchcharana. It is the rise of the consciousness, that is what is meant by uchcharana. With the articulation, the rise of consciousness. And when the mantra uchcharana is done, this is the bhava that one has to carry. And the first stage is vaikari. Vaikari means the loud recitation of it. Where if the uchcharana is suddha, means pure, then it yields more result. The suddha, the purity in the articulation is an important component in mantra. Practice. So where one has to understand each sound, its make-up, how it is built, how it has to be articulated. Even then, the tradition, the experience of many sadhaks say, even if your uchcharana is not suddha, if the bhava is suddha, bhava is more important, again. Then also one gets the right result. There is a beautiful verse in samskruth which says, dhiro vadati vishnave murkh vadati vishnaaya. So it means like the wise man who knows the language. So he says, vishnave nama.  So for him, vishnu also, vishnaaya. But shivaya, ramaaya, suryaaya in samskruth becomes, because the word ends with a. So any word ending with a, like shiva, surya, rama, becomes ramaaya, suryaaya, balakaya. But the sound ending with a, like vishnu, it will not be vishna, it will be vishnave, guru will become gurave, prabhu will become prabhave. Now here it says, dhiro vadati vishnave, the wise man who knows, he says vishnave, murkho vadati vishnaaya, the ignorant one will say vishnaaya, he simply imitates the sound. Then the next line says that ubhayus tu samam phalam, but both of them can get the same result if the bhava is perfect. Why? bhava grahi janardana. It means, like the God doesn't look at the technicality of your sound, how technically you are perfect. He looks straight at the bhava in the heart. However technically one may be perfect, a musician or singer. But if there is no bhava, he cannot, you know, do much. It will not appeal. So in mantra yoga sadhana also, while doing the practice of the vaykhari, though suddhada has to be maintained, yet bhava has to be also pure. And if the bhava and uccharana, both are perfect. So one has intensity in the result also. When one goes on practicing the mantra, the vaykhari, their conscious stage, naturally the sadhak enters into a higher stage called upanshu. Upanshu stage is where the consciousness now doesn't feel like articulating it aloud, but it just, you know, repeats it within. No one else can hear. Although there will be lift movements, the sound is repeated, but it's not audible. Like it is audible in the vaykhari stage. Then by repeating, moving, and doing the upanshu, there comes another stage, natural stage, where it becomes manasa. Manasa means it becomes mental. So where there is no repetition, it just happens. And the sadhak can see it happening. He's not making any effort of doing that. Now the mantra becomes a part of the whole consciousness. Now that union of the consciousness of the sadhak has happened, union with the chaitanya of the mantra. So he becomes the mantra. You know, like I give this example of Hazarat Inayat Khan, who was a great musician. So when he moved from India to UK, he was a Sufi mystic. So at a certain point of time in his life, he stopped music. But when he was asked, why did he stop music, he said, because I became music. There's no need of doing music separately. I am the music. So this becoming is the highest stage. Now the union means it's becoming. One becomes one with that. That is the ultimate gain. Brahmibhuta. Like the mother says, to know is good, to live is better, but to be, that is the best. So to become that. So in mantra yoga, now we say that mantra yoga, it's not specific only to the practice of mantra. Like a musician who is practicing his music and he becomes one with music. For him music is mantra. So for an artist, whatever tool he has, when he manifests that perfection and becomes one with that, so that's mantra for him.  So the mantra manifests in different ways. It's not just the mantras that we see in the text, they are mantras. So mantra has a bigger scope. Anything in its purest form is the mantra. So that is the deeper understanding of mantra and when we say that we must practice mantra yoga, so it is not just to get confined only to certain mantras, like Om Namah Shivaya or Vishnave Namah or Gurave Namah or Om. But silence is also mantra to practice silence, to bring silence into the being, because ultimately what is explained here, the highest form of speech is the paravag, it's called the paravag, and at that state, that is how the paravag is described. The highest form of speech is a nishabdha, that's soundless brahman, where there is no movement, it is motionless, it is soundless, it is indivisible. And in order to understand anything in its purest form, so one has to move from the gross most to the subtle most, but for the sake of reaching to that level, the mantras, the music or any outer form, any outer means is a great help. So we resort to that for our practice. And in mantra yoga, in the mantra yoga sadhana, so what is given the highest significance is to contemplate on the essence of all sounds, the highest of all the mantras, the sound o, which is ekakshara brahma. It's a single sound, single unit of sound, which itself is the brahman, which itself is the source of all sounds, which is the source of everything, source of this creation, because the entire creation comes from that ekakshara brahma o. To contemplate on o, to meditate upon it, to repeat it, to become one with it, to allow oneself to open one's own consciousness to the force of om, so then it starts exercising its own force on the human consciousness or the consciousness of the sadhaka, of the seeker, so then the transformation takes place. So the highest mantra, therefore in all traditions, whether you turn to the Vedic Vedantic or the tantric tradition, every tradition has om as the highest sound for practice, for contemplating on it. And there are certain mantras, which has become very popular, you can say. Not because many singers have made it popular, but the very consciousness of the mantra, the chaitanya of a mantra is raised because of the intense practice by the sadhaks. So for example, you have the Gayatri mantra, the Mahamratinjaya mantra. There are many even om. So for so many thousands of years, people have been repeating and doing the sadhana of this. So by which the very consciousness of very force behind the mantra is raised, is brought to the surface level. So with a little bit of opening, one almost feels that that force. So in Mantra Yoga Sadhana, one can even start with some of these mantras which are available to us. Then another thing is people ask this question when we do any mantra practice, is it necessary to know the meaning or the meaning will come automatically. We just contemplate or we just repeat the mantra. So if one knows the meaning, it's always better. So then one can evoke the right force behind the mantra. But if one doesn't know the meaning also, one can go on practicing the sound, the mantra, with all sincerity, with all devotion. Then what happens is the mantras being very highly rhythmic, potent sound, they start affecting the entire nervous system. They prepare the mind or the realization of what lies behind the mantra. This question was also asked to Sri Aurobindo. Like whether one should repeat the mantra knowing the meaning or is it necessary to know the meaning or it's not necessary to know the meaning. So Sri Aurobindo has said that it's a science by itself. So when one starts repeating these mantras, it starts activating the nervous system. It starts energizing the cells. It prepares the mind for its realization. So a state comes, a time comes when the force behind the mantra, the meaning of the mantra, gets revealed by itself. That's where one can even contemplate on certain sounds, certain words. Repeat it. And the force behind the meaning of that word, the meaning of that sound, whatever lies behind the sound, it comes automatically to the sadhak. It gets revealed to the sadhak. So it's a process by which one can know the meanings. And that's what Sri Aurobindo himself did. And he himself is an example of like how the language itself, Sri Aurobindo never made any effort for learning Sanskrit, learning Tamil, learning any Indian languages. It just came to him. So he concentrates, he contemplates, he follows that yogic process of meditating upon the words and it starts revealing. In the last few months, he had mastered you over the language. He could enter into the spirit of the mantras of the Vedas. There are so many people, so many scholars who have been spending their entire life studying the language. Still they cannot bring out the spirit of the mantra. But by following this yogic process of contemplating, opening one's own consciousness to the mantra, so the word itself, the mantra itself is revealing itself. That's what the Vedas says, tanum vibrunute swam. It means like the speech itself opens its own body before the Sadhaka. It reveals its own meaning to the seeker, to the rishi. So that's the state of realization. And that itself is the power of a mantra that it can lead the Sadhaka to a state where the meaning, the force behind the word, behind the mantra gets revealed to the Sadhaka. He doesn't have to refer to any dictionary, any commentary or read or has to depend on any outer source for knowing the meaning. So at the initial phase, therefore, like we can read, we can understand the meaning from someone, but ultimately the highest understanding comes when the word itself reveals its own meaning to the Sadhaka. So this is what happens when a Sadhaka moves ahead with the mantra Yoga Sadhana. So this is a little bit of understanding about the mantra Yoga. So if there are any questions, we will address to that. Yeah, that we will do, definitely. Yes. I'll take one, two, three. Yes, my personal experience is I do it like a Shabda Sadhana. This I have been doing for last 15 years and say where I pick up a key word of the Veda or Upanishad or in the Sanatana Dharma. So instead of referring to any dictionary or anything, I take it as a Sadhana. I contemplate on it. It's an object of meditation for me. So I repeat it like a mantra. Then a time comes it opens up so many meanings of it, the inner meanings. And those inner meanings are never found anywhere. So then I start preparing my own note then apply my own linguistic and the grammatical knowledge. Because sometimes when you present it, people ask question how grammatically how do you justify it. So it's not a question of justifying for myself, but for others I have to justify how grammatically it is correct. That's what Vedalankarji, Jagannath Karaji did when many people started asking questions about Shri Aurobindo's interpretation. That's what Kapali Shastri did because they were well versed in Sanskrit grammar. So whatever meanings Shri Aurobindo brought too, so that's why many traditional scholars, they don't agree with Shri Aurobindo and they can never agree because they speak it from purely grammatical point of view. But the Shri Aurobindo brings it from a very higher consciousness. So this is what happens so many words like if you go to my blog page, so I have shared notes about the first word that I had taken for my Sadhana was Shraddha. So till then it was just the meaning as a mere faith or intense faith or pure faith. But Shraddha is now no faith to me. It has very deeper meaning. Then when I read the book, The Mother, and how it helps understanding Shri Aurobindo many people say Shri Aurobindo is very very difficult to understand. But this Shraddha, this understanding of the Sanskrit words it helps me understanding Shri Aurobindo. When I contemplated on Shraddha and the meaning that the meaning which came to me based on that I could understand the first chapter of The Mother of Shri Aurobindo. So clearly. So Shraddha is its state to give you the explanation which came to me. Shraddha is clinging to whatever is true to one's inner aspiration. So when you go to Shri Aurobindo's room and come down there is this Mother's writing clinging to truths. That is Shraddha. So it cannot translate it as faith, as a single word clinging to truth. When Shri Aurobindo says in The Mother that when one part of your being is opening of itself to the truth, to the divine, the other part has a reserve then know that the truth will not come to you. So there has to be harmonious coming together of each and every part of the being to collaborate with the central aspiration. That is Shraddha. So this is how it has helped me and I continue with my Shabda Sadhana. Before you were mentioning that the root man means everything that has to do with mind and actually it's very interesting that the Shurobindo himself used to say that the root man is being so man itself. So regarding that regarding the mantra practice you said there are three stages but also three ways of doing the mantra I've read that one is loud repetition one is sort of moving lips and one is mental repetition and that can be done at certain stages like for beginners can it be done like the mantra the japa mantra can it be done like in a mental way and is it more effective or is it more I find it more difficult like to keep the concentration if it remains not spoken loud because the sound itself kind of aligns myself so by repetition in the mind I find it more difficult to keep the concentration throughout the session so can you say something about that. See it all depends upon like it varies from person to person see for myself also many people ask me what kind of meditation technique you use for yourself because I have never meditated so far I can't meditate that's not my way of doing that but I like I carry that word in me I see it so it's a very different way I feel the silence behind many things I see the nature I am in the nature I look at the flowers, I look at the leaves I look at the sky, I look at the stars moons on I hear the chirping of the birds I like to sit in front of the ocean in the silence instead of having a particular time and meditating with my eyes closed or sitting in a particular position so that's my way of doing it so one has to find out for oneself what helps there's no single way of doing the practice now what happens like if you start what I mentioned from upanshu sorry from vahikari to upanshu manasa manasa is not just repeating in the mind so the mantra itself there comes a stage where the mantra itself gets repeated you know starts reverberating in the entire consciousness it's not just the mind and another thing another important aspect of the mantra is that one though one does a particular you know mantra yet the real mantra is happening in the human body constantly that's what the tantric say ajapa japa that one doesn't do the japa but it's happening inside because this entire body is a sabda sharira is a sound body all the sounds the fundamental sounds one finds in the varnamala in the alphabet of samsklu they are constantly generated and getting repeated in the body so to do the mantra yoga is to grow aware of the japa the mantra which is there in one's own consciousness so that's another way of growing more and more aware about oneself seeing all the movements within oneself but a simple mental repetition may not help may not help so sometimes people feel a burden headache and unable to meditate upon it because they force the mind to do it what Sri Aurobindo says even Swami Vivekananda also said that there are four ways of doing this the first stage is observe observe what happens in the mind so this is the preparation that one has to have for taking up anything deeper observe watch over control and master these are the four stages so observe just like a witness take quite take some deep breaths just observe what is happening without participating like a witness see things are going, coming, happening whatever is happening just detach yourself and then see like a witness then at the next stage you are watching over it like what kind of things are the right things what are not right then to control is not to allow anything which is wrong which affect, which will affect so you start controlling then when you have mastery so that is the highest stage that you become the master so it is up to you whether to allow or not allow so you can lead yourself to a thoughtless state because you are not allowing any thought good or bad that is the Nirvikalpa state so you do not allow anything because you are master you can make yourself thoughtless or you can allow certain thoughts which are necessary but everything starts with this observation that you start growing more and more aware of this so the same way the tantric practitioner they say that grow aware of the sounds which are generated within the body itself become aware of the different chakrasthanas, different marmasthanas different sandhisthanas so different locations in the body where the sounds are prominently heard or seen so if anything is creating a pressure and you are not happy with it ultimately whatever practice we do it should create that joy and comfort and happiness if that is not happening so we have to find out the ways what helps so some people do ask whether should I sit in a particular position or not because no particular position is going to give the realization you can sit for the entire life in the position in which Buddha sat you will never get nirvana by sitting in that position so when Shri Garbindo had all his major realizations while walking he never followed a particular way of sitting or doing that so one has to find for oneself what is conducive to your own swabhava and swadharma and follow that earlier there were gurus who used to give a bija mantra that you have to perfect until you get the ultimate result but now we don't have gurus who experiments with different bija mantras they say it can work like every medicine is good but the reactions may not be good so how do we experiment without a guide without a guide without a guru this is where the challenge is more because to find the sadguru the real guru is a challenge by itself that is why Shri Garbindo says that find the guru within yourself so the guru is there within the Shastra is there within the ultimate Shastra the ultimate guru is within ourselves so by growing more and more conscious of ourselves ok initially there will be difficulties there will be challenges but ultimately this is the assurance which is given that we will find the guru within we will be able to listen to that subtle most voice which comes from within and as Shri Garbindo says that that subtle voice it keeps prompting it keeps I know influencing but though we hear it we don't heed to it we avoid it but most of us with a little bit of awareness if we have we do hear that inner voice guiding us telling us what to do what not to do but most of the times because of our engagement with the external we don't heed to it so this is where the challenge that to be aware of that inner voice and then follow the dictate of it however bitter it may be because most of the times we are scared of following the inner dictation with the fear that oh it's not going to give me any kind of pleasure or joy that usually people seek so we are more engaged with the we are happy with the sensual pleasures where the senses are happy I see something happy I taste something happy but the inner taste is tasteless so there is a risk in that we have to detach and then start hearing our inner voice and to find out this is the challenge greatest challenge that is why the sadhana the discipline has to be followed strictly to be with us and then to discover that guru that sastra that ultimate wisdom within ourselves we thank you very much for this beautiful overall view of the mantra as a sense and so now in reference to the srirabhindo yoga to your knowledge because srirabhindo as we know he has went through the old culture and the old spirituality of India being educated abroad and come back he went through the old range and old realization tantric, Vedic and so now the mantra according to you in this yoga because there have been several mantras we wrote them in matrimandri also on the board everywhere which one according to you was that one indicated for his own sadhana and how to use it for srirabhindo, madra, sadhana for the realization of the realization of this madra srirabhindo and the other so in this context how according to you srirabhindo has because we have so many mantras it was meant also the bija mantra that is related to the tantric and so and so and srirabhindo was more than tantric tantric means the bija means the shivaism of the kashmir means the Srivijaya of the south India but srirabhindo as you always use particular freedom of the construction of the mantra as far as being cool understand asking information basically my question is which is according to you historically there srirabhindo is the madra mantra and how to use it in srirabhindo madra sardhana okay so srirabhindo has given us the mantra om anand mayi chaitanya mayi sattya mayi parame if you want to take up as a practice so that is one of the mantras that he has given he also has given a gayatri mantra to us om tatsavitur varam rupam yannashatya nadipayit that is another mantra and the mother herself has given like she used to do om namo bhagavate that is the mantra for the cellular transformation she used and she also has mentioned about om she says om is the signature of the lord everything comes by the sanction of the lord the supreme and that sanction that presence is there in everything and being so she says just chant om all will go well in a simple way so these are the mantras which at personal level I use following the way of srirabhindo and the mother om anand mayi chaitanya mayi satya mayi parame because the ultimate goal of any yoga is to be united with the higher half we are in the lower half in the physical, vital and mental that is the lower half called aparattha the lower half which is limited and the higher half is sat, chit and ananda the ultimate aim of any yoga is to manifest satchidananda within ourselves unite the aparattha with parartha and for this om anand mayi chaitanya mayi and satya mayi parame the absolute which of the nature of satchit and ananda so that needs to be invoked so then the satchidananda manifests in the aparattha or the qualities of satchidananda it starts manifesting within ourselves so that's the intent of anand mayi chaitanya mayi satya mayi parame and it's again it becomes more powerful because it's not descriptive it's invocative in nature so hey anand mayi hey chaitanya mayi hey satya mayi hey parame it's all vocative so that's what we receive from Sri Aurobindo how come one of come out from the fear and how mantra can help the fear comes from the second entity in a relative state of existence the fear comes so that is where the ultimate way of getting rid of any fear is to establish oneness and unity within oneself so as long as we live in binaries in dualities we cannot get rid of fear so that is why the Gita says have that equanimity state of equanimity ekattu manupasyata tako moha kah soka ekattu manupasyata so once that unity of consciousness is achieved there is no moha, no soka no fear so ekattu to be in that state of oneness and sameness ekattu and samattu is the highest thing to be achieved so fear means any duality or binary means dvandva means fear has to be there so the mantra by gathering our consciousness and then bringing it into a state of oneness bringing it into a state of you know concentration bringing into a state of silence it establishes that unity it establishes that oneness and sameness that is how the mantra helps getting rid of the fear how does mantra helps for team building let us say what you refer I mean so how does mantra help in team building that's where the highest message that we get from the Rig Veda itself when we contemplate on the last hymn of Rig Veda so it is through the mantra we invoke the power of you know collaboration so it creates that samanam mantra may our mantra be same samanah rdayaniva may our hearts be same may we speak the same words samaniva akuti may our sankalpa may our aspiration be same so this is where we unite together so when a group of aspiring souls they come together to ascertain truths that is the true sath sangha sangha means coming together to ascertain the truth sath and this happens in the state of prayer so if collectively so that's why the collective prayer has more power in bringing unity in achieving anything that we want to achieve at a collective level next is one last question has shirobindo explained by chance it's a curiosity like the shirobindo's mantra om anandamai chaitanyamai satyamai inverts the order of satyamai chaitanyamai anandamai so satchitananda if we follow the order starting with satchamai chaitanyamai anandamai so is there any explanation of that when you go from the lower strata so first comes ananda then chit and then sath so when you concentrate on the koshas is the anamaya, pranamaya manomaya, vijnanamaya anandamaya so that ananda why ananda is in the beginning there is also like another explanation because that is the ultimate gain ultimately so satchit and ananda in whichever order you put it doesn't matter because ananda is not devoid of satchit and chit chit is not devoid of ananda and sath sath is not devoid of chit and ananda unity prevails there so the ordering doesn't matter but if you want that ordering when you go from the lower strata ananda, chit and sath and then he adds the word parame the absolute who is of the nature I have two questions you had mentioned about the sounds in the body the first question is this is explained in the hindu shastras now what I would like to know is this knowledge of the sounds in the body which is very important for mother's work of transformation because it's the materialization of sounds is this a knowledge that is connected only with the Sanskrit language in other words if you don't know Sanskrit and you don't know the shastras is this experience of the sounds in the body something that is not necessarily connected only with Sanskrit yeah true because mantra actually has no language yeah that is true that's why music is mantra nature is mantra silence is mantra when kabirdas tulsidas narsimhetta they are giving us their words each word eats message of theirs is mantra so it follows a different language this brings the second question there are mantras in the spiritual tradition of India that have a specific meaning like om namo bhagavate srinaraya naya or to the mother or to different gods different forces these are specific or even anandamay chetanamay satamay these have a meaning but then there are mantras that do not have any specific meaning there are either letters or the combination of letters like bijas what is the difference between the two you see nothing is devoid of meaning meaning means it carries a force within itself that force itself is the meaning okay and when you say like mantra has no language when you deal with a mantra when you are repeating with a mantra it doesn't create the sense of that you are using a particular language it takes you beyond the language when you read Savitri of Sri Aurobindo which is in English but he has raised the language to the level of mantra there one doesn't feel that oh I am reading English mantra or I am reading this language mantra it takes you beyond the sense of language but doesn't that have to do with the different levels of manifestation of the sound it has to slowly it prepares the consciousness to come to that level it doesn't happen suddenly so that is why the sadhana is necessary okay good alright so maybe like we can do the chanting of om as I said like whenever I do it I follow mother's instruction that om is the signature of the Lord that means everything and being in this creation has that sanction so the presence of om in everything and being connecting like getting connected with everything and being that is the bhava one has to carry and shanti is this particular word shanti is so powerful it immediately calms down the entire consciousness calms down the entire inner and outer space so when we say shanti a little longer don't say shanti the force of a visarga it has tremendous impact when you articulate it so I will do it once then you can follow me shanti shanti shanti we can do it all together om shanti


Hi, my name is Stephen J. Von Nichols. I write about this stuff. Wow, there I am in My old office. I have a much nicer office now So how does someone with a liberal arts degrees and who you know, I'm an English and history guy How does someone like me end up in Linux? Well, I'll tell you how Once upon a time there. I was a newly-minute PhD in history with all those job offers Just pouring into me Geez What could I just do? Well, I'll tell you what I could do. I discovered that I could read Good-scale reading. Don't you think I could write and I could do research I also discovered and this I did not know I'm one of those people who I just get computers So So the little clicker doesn't work Little clicker There we go and So there I was I Could get computers I could read I could write I actually ended up in guess what computer science and in technology and I started out actually in Working with IBM free 60 mainframes My first language was IBM free 60 assembler You don't want that to be your first language You really don't and then I found a PDP 1170 and what was running on that PDP 1170 a come on folks. You should know this basic history Unix that's right and I thought geez this is good stuff I can use this and so I started picking up Unix and Now I discovered that technology still doesn't work Ha, there we go and from there. I discovered you know what I like this enough. I want it on a desktop Say hi to my first Unix desktop anyone anyone else here use this thing? Yeah It ran system 5 release 3.2 Unix back in the day and that's where I picked up that And it was nifty and it was neat and it got me thinking I can also Besides speaking C. I could speak English That's a rare combination And so it was I started writing about this stuff first just to other technology people and then I discovered I could Translate from C to English to people who think that C is a litter in the alphabet between B and D And that's all they know and so it was that I started working on things like Open desktop anyone here used to work with that one good old open desktop Also known as open deftrap because once you are in it terrible things could happen to you Terrible terrible things and at the time though there were other people Who were doing things on the shell level and goodness knows I know shell and I remember when the big user interface It's based were between C and born shell and then eventually something called born again shell And so I was doing all this and I was starting to write about it and making a living at it and then Along came this thing called Linux and I remember back when Gosh, I forget what year it is now, but we're about going on 25 years of Linux. We're getting close to that and I discovered that Linux was actually neat that this little finished graduate student with a really funny name on The Minix news group was on to something and so I started working with Linux starting with the release 0.0 free Which Linus will tell you was the first one that really worked and so it is I Took my background of liberal arts reading writing and research added to it my ability to do interesting things with computers and On top of that I added what I think and I think most of us in this room would agree is Still the most powerful operating system today as it gets near to its age It gets near to its first quarter century and that's how it is that someone who Really studied East Africa and diplomatic history and English Renaissance drama and I'm not making that up ended up Making a living about writing about Linux and using Linux because it's not just for technical people It's not just for engineers. It's also for people like me who just really like great operating systems and great tools Thank you very much for your time


Over the four days summit, technology demonstrations have taken centre stage, highlighting how innovations can help meet the UN's goals from quality education to improved health. Here's a very simple example on this demo stage. Nearly 300 million people are blind worldwide and 60% do not graduate from university and face high rates of unemployment and social exclusion. But it doesn't need to be that way. Any route revealed one of the most exciting new projects in the field, a virtual guide dog on a mobile phone, providing real-time description of your surroundings. Ira connects a blind person who has a smartphone or a smart glass, remote streams their view over to a remote professionally trained agent who can look at the world, understand it and describe it. And once the description comes back to the blind person, they can go and do amazing things all the way from ordinary to extraordinary. When we talk of AI, we often think about robots or new gadgets. Well, right now I'm in the art corner. So this is a totally different look at AI. For more on this, here's Christian. Through art, we can bring these topics into the world of culture and inspire people to come on board and help us dream up ideas how AI can be used for the sustainable development goals. All of this Berlin-based artwork is AI-inspired and the artists say it fits into the UN's SDGs aims of expanding learning systems and human creativity.


Hi, I'm Daniel Borza, a chef here at Hackensack Meridian Health. And I'm David Apostle, a registered dietitian at Hackensack Meridian Health. And we're here at the Johnson Diabetes Center because we know that holidays can be tough on your diet. So we're here just to share a couple of healthy recipes. Today we're going to be making a creamy citrus, sesame and ginger dip. Combine all ingredients except fresh vegetables in a blender and process until smooth. By using Greek non-fat yogurt, you're using a good source of protein. Place in a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use. You can use this recipe as a dip for fresh vegetables or as a salad dressing. By serving fresh vegetables, you're adding a good source of dietary fiber. And by making your own dip, you're cutting back on a lot of salt.


We'll go ahead and get started. Thank you all for being here today. My name is Megan Rush. She's her native pronouns, and I'm actually the partner coordinator of the LGBT Resource Center. And I'm just going to play a little bit of this facilitation role today, because our panelists will be doing most of the talking. So today's panel is actually brought to you by CORE, which is our Community Outreach Educators. We use HOUSE under the LGBT Resource Center. And the committee on HIV and AIDS here at UCR, which I am the former chair of, and Marisol is the current co-chair of. Sorry, I didn't mean to call you apps, I wanted to say hi. And we have two awesome panelists here today to speak with you. So we'll just go ahead and get started. I will go ahead and let you two introduce yourselves. Hi, my name is Eric Gonzalez. I also go by Crescent Rose as my dragon. I am a current student at UCR, third year transfer, and I am majoring in linguistics. Very cool. My name is Rafe DeRozzi. I'm 33, I'm 34 May. I live in West Hollywood, and I bartend half the time. And then the other half, I do a lot of social media, vlogging, in particular talking about living with HIV, fitness, and just becoming a better person overall. So if you talk, you already mentioned that you're HIV positive. Can you both talk about your experiences with finding out your status and how that has either deterred you or interfered with some of your life goals, and what has helped you achieve your goals? For me, when I found out I was living with HIV, I had two choices to make. I could, like, continue a school, or I could, like, just put everything on hold and kind of go for more artistic, rather than perform and drag. And I chose drag because I felt like, at the moment, I really needed an art to, like, really express what I was going through. I was diagnosed with AIDS, actually full-blown AIDS, on my 27th birthday, I think it was 2012. Complete shock to me, I was in a long-term committed relationship. So that was the last thing on my mind, and it was my worst fear in life up to that point.  It spurred me into now I'm a competitive physique bodybuilder, so I'm all about health, I'm a personal trainer. It really just spurred me to really go inward and focus on myself and grow as a person like I'd never had before. So it actually, it was a gift in a way. So oftentimes, people seek out support systems. Can you talk a little bit about, like, what your healthy support systems look like and how you navigate those? One of my health support systems is actually here on campus. I really feel comfortable in the LGBT Resource Center because it's not only like a safe place for, like, clear students or people who identify under all of those categories, but it's also a safe place for me to just, like, be comfortable and be myself and not worry so much about, like, you know, who I am at the moment, but just to, like, you know, just let everything hang out and be comfortable. Another support system I have is kind of the drag community because they allow me the opportunity, the stages to perform in to create different stories. I'm a very open, autist, like, heart on my sleeve kind of person. I've always been that way and I can't keep secrets. So the first thing I did was tell everyone. I told my coworkers, I told my family, I told my friends. And interestingly, everyone was extremely supportive. I know that's not the case for everyone in every situation, but for me, I was lucky and those around me were very supportive. So that was, like, my core support. And from there, I just felt, like, safe to move forward and heal. And by the way, I just want to throw this out there. Like, there's nothing that you can ask me that I'll be, like, offended by or won't want to answer, like, whatever it is in your mind if you want to ask, feel free, please. Going off of support systems, sometimes we can get negative backlash when you come out to somebody in a certain way. Was there anybody, like, you're in a family group or your friends who had a negative reaction because of your new phone status? For me, it was just, one of them was just myself and, like, trying to deal with all this. And I didn't really, I felt like I went through a lot of negative ways to, like, deal with it. I started drinking a lot and I knew that wasn't healthy, but it was the only way I knew how to deal with something. I've grown to, like, understand that part of my life and I've been drinking a lot less because of it. But another negative, like, relationship I've had was with an old friend who didn't really understand what I was going through and had just kept using me for, like, rides or, like, you know, support and when I needed support, he was never there for me and it just really drained me because I was going with my own life struggles and I would often put things on hold just to make someone else feel better but I never had that moment of self-care or that moment of, like, friendship, reciprocation that I needed. For me, I would say it was mostly in the dating realm. By and large, guys were very open and if they were reticent or scared of small conversation, educating them on how it is today, would at least open up their minds to the possibility of dating. So, but there's occasionally, like, a couple of people here in there that were just like, sorry, I can't, but by and large, people were okay with it. That was also another difficult thing for me to get used to is that being open and talking about people and, like, progressing forward, if, like, I was romantically interested in them was always scary because I never knew how they were going to react. And the topic of, like, how do you say it or when do you say it or all those little, like, nuances? How do you disclose? Exactly. Yeah. So, you mentioned a little bit around stigma. How do you navigate the stigma on a daily basis when you come out to people? What are your reactions when you find new information about either positives or negative news and politics around HIV and AIDS? How do you navigate it on a daily basis and what are your feelings around when new stuff comes out, like, articles and people who've been newly diagnosed? One of the support groups I go on is, like, a Reddit subgroup for people living with HIV and that's where I get most of my HIV-related news. I remember recently when they announced that there was a second person that was here living with HIV, that subgroup actually helped me, like, read more of the information beyond the face level of it and understand that they were going, it was like a bone marrow transplant, which is not feasible yet for everyone to go through, but it is a step in the right direction. My thought process with living with HIV has been, okay, so the medication's doing its job, it's not affecting my body anymore, I'm perfectly healthy, I can't even transmit it to other people, so it's really not concerned for me. People say, well, oh, when you take your medication every day, isn't that, like, a constant reminder that you have HIV? And I go, well, I take 20 other supplements every day as well that, like, is so much more than just this one tiny pill that I have to take, so really, for me, it was a mindset that I'm not going to let it define me, I'm not going to worry about it, there's nothing to worry about, it doesn't take away from who I am or my value or my self-worth, so it's just, focus on what I want, my passions, what I want to do with myself, being happy, and that's it. And if it comes up, it comes up, like I said, I bar 10, I'm very social with my guests, so if they're asking me about my personal life, I'll be like, oh yeah, I have a diagnosed with AIDS and feel like, wow, that's an opportunity to just chat and share. Yeah, there was a lot of inward work, I would say it took me about six to nine months, which is about how long it took me to go from having AIDS to having my CD4 under control, to almost being undetectable. During that time, I was listening to Oprah and Deepak Chopra and meditating and the secret and the motivation manifesto, lots of books, lots of self-help, payhouse, just immersing myself in that vision boards, dream boards, like everything I could to completely rewire the way that I think and perceive myself. An opinion question. Well, actually it's a two-part question. Did you have comprehensive sex education? And do you think the actions that led to a positive status would have been different if you had more education around safer sex? So, the irony is that when I was living in Orange County, I was volunteering for a non-profit that was specifically geared towards teaching 18 to 25-year-old males about HIV-AIDS and safe sex. It was called Empower OC. Oh, okay. I worked for a similar organization. I wanted to know if it was the same one. Yeah, it's not even around now. But that was the irony of it, was that I had this wealth of knowledge and education and I was around it. I was volunteering. That's what I was doing. But for me and what I've noticed and what I try to communicate through my vlogs is that it's such a complex issue because just because we're educated doesn't mean we're going to make the right decisions because a lot of it is emotional and psychological. And I think if you're raised to not value yourself or respect your body or if you're so hungry for connection with another human being, you might be willing to compromise on, say, using a condom or being safe or asking the right questions. And that's what I did. I was having unsafe sex before I entered this relationship. So I did get tested negative before I started the relationship but it could have been in that window period where it doesn't show up. Or I could have gotten it from the guy that I was with. I found out he was cheating after that. There's no way for me to know. So that's something I've kind of just made peace with. I wish I had that speech growing up because it was just like, you know, it was just the basic heteronormative stuff like use a condom, try not to just use a condom and be safe. But it really wasn't comprehensive in terms of the LGBTQ community. It was just very vague and not general enough for me. Yeah. And when I was coming out at that point, that's when Ellen DeGeneres was just coming out. And I remember I saw Queer's Folk on TV was probably the only thing I saw at the time. And I saw Angels in America with Meryl Streep. I remember bawling in front of the TV like, whoa, like they get me. There wasn't as much cultural acceptance of LGBT either at the time. So that definitely had a huge impact on my decision making. How do you think conversations around HIV and AIDS have evolved? Because in the 80s, we had the huge initial scare of HIV and AIDS. A lot of people died. What are your feelings and opinions around the evolution around the conversation? I realize that's a heavy question. It's also slightly off script. It's super tricky because, yes, we want to normalize the virus and our perception of it, but at the same time, we don't want to make it so ambivalent about it, that we just do whatever we want and not care for ourselves and make the right decisions. I definitely absolutely think there needs to be more conversation happening. That's why I started vlogging on YouTube. That was the one thing I noticed was like, okay, when I bring up HIV and people talk about role models, the first person they mention is magic. And I'm like, magic Johnson, that was like three decades ago. Who else, Charlie Sheen? I don't know. So I'm like, we need more people that are relevant and current and young and represent the demographic today who have it, who can talk about it openly and educate and normalize it but still communicate the importance of having a knowledge and then doing the right things and also not judging people who have it or thinking, oh, I can't have a relationship or I can't have healthy babies with this person, et cetera. How difficult or easy has it been because I imagine that these medications must be expensive? Do you get them through your insurance? Did you have to like, sometimes when I try to get insurance cover, they'll be like, no, your insurance doesn't cover this, and I have to put in like a special request, like I have to fight for it, like how easy or difficult is that situation? I actually only know that I'm covered through my insurance at the moment. I really don't know what the next step is when soon as I'm off the insurance, but I know that there's a lot of people that have been able to continue living and take their medication. To me, that's just like a big question I have not thought about fully yet because in a way, it kind of scares me, but I know that there's a lot of resources out there to help me. There's government-funded programs, like ADAP, OAHIP, that help take care of people. Ryan White was a big case that helped get that going. So for someone basically who makes under 60K approximately a year, they can get fully-funded, paid-for health insurance, which will cover the cost of HIV medication. So I don't have to worry about paying for that. Now, that doesn't mean that people don't fall out of that system or that there's not accessible places and resources to go to. In California, it's a lot easier, but that can look different nationwide. So you don't need to be worried, because you live in California. I'm a part of a group on campus called Lady Med School. Each group has a special team, a special area that they focus on, and my group does HIV and AIDS awareness. So I guess my question to you then is, as somebody who is positive, what are things that people who are not positive can do to help your community, because you kind of are a community of people. Especially in terms of... For our group, we go to a lot of younger venues where it's a high school kid. We have all this knowledge about the fact that it's not a death sentence or that there's lots of health, there's lots of different resources out there. But how do you convey that to people and maybe to people who aren't as knowledgeable or don't want to even come up to your table and look at you? Yeah, it's tough because of the people not wanting to be associated with it. Even though they might not have anything to do with it, they don't want to just be seen. So I think that requires a lot of proactivity on your part, on approaching people and having just being the source of comfort. No, this isn't scary and we're just having a conversation, which is tougher for you. Even on my vlogs in the comments, if people make a comment, a lot of them feel the need to say, oh, I'm not positive, but this is my comment because they are putting themselves out there and they think that just because they're watching my video and making a comment that everyone's going to assume this person has HIV and God forbid. So I totally get where you're coming from and it's tough, yeah. On a side note, I've been watching Drag Race on BH1 and I've been seeing a lot of advertisements on PREP. So I feel like that's also another way that we're reaching in the right direction in terms of advocacy and spreading the right information because those commercials are very uplifting in a way that it's not treating it like a death sentence, it's just showing actual people. Are you like the resource for all your friends who go get tested? I have had a few people come up to me, not a lot, not as many as I would think and not as many as I'm sure that there are who have tested positive. When I do get messages, it's from people that I don't know on social media throughout the US or internationally who are scared and don't know what's going on or where to go or resources or they're like, I haven't told a single person, I've had it for two years, you're the first person I'm talking to about it. So, yes, to answer your question. But it's usually not in my inner circle, it's out. Any other final questions? Yeah. So I guess if someone are close friends or someone with HIV positive, it's a good way to put forth them. That's a great question.  I will be your friend and I will take you step by step through the process and we'll figure it out and once you do, you'll be old and like literally you can go to a clinic and then they will guide you and take you through the process, get you on medication. And then once it becomes a system, a habit, then it's just a matter of following that and going about your life. Thank you so much to Eric for organizing this panel. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Bye, thanks guys.


The slaves were taken from Africa to America. They were deposited on the Gory Island in Senegal. From Senegal, they carried them to America. They were tied and worked on the plantation. But they stayed so many years in America working on the plantation. But after they have discovered the machine or the industrial revolution, that is, men used to brush and they used to plant the cotton. They discovered a machine that can brush the whole area for one day while the human being brushed it for three months so there was no need. So then they decided. But before that happened, there was a man by the name of Paul Coffey. Paul Coffey was a negro of New Bethlehem. The man of negro and Indian appearance. He was a man of ability and a wealthy merchant who spent $1,500 USD both entirely by himself just to bring the slave back to Africa. By that time, the slave master never had the idea of bringing him to Africa. Paul Coffey brought the first batch of slaves to Africa and went back to America. Of course, when he got to America, he felt sick and he died. That is, his plan will never realize. American Colonization Society, ACS, from his work, they were formed in Washington, D.C., December 18, 16 for the sole purpose of bringing the slave back to where they came from. It was not coming to Liberia. They were not coming to Nigeria, no Ethiopia, no Ghana, no Sierra Leone, no La Côte d'Ivoire, but they were bringing them to Africa. When they landed, they landed on Sierra Leone, Chevrolet Island. But when they got there, the Sierra Leone government honored the governorship of Governor Charles McCarthy. By that time, Sierra Leone was under British colony. They were colonized by British. And to see a foreign person, American, black American, a negro, landing on there was somewhat suspicious. So they were to do the political motives. And of course, they denied them. They never said to, well, notwithstanding, some of them stayed there for some time and mosquito malaria, mosquito bites some of them, some of them died. Of course, the frustration got them. Then they started driving along the west coast of Africa, west coast of Africa. They drove along this side. This is a kit, go straight into the sea. Then of course, they came back and saw the piece of water going inland, which is the Structon Creek, and they landed on the Prevence Island, which is, they landed there, no permission, no request. Nobody asked them to stay there. But they landed there peacefully. They put their suitcases down, their water they had, they put everything down. They stayed there for three, four, five hours, almost a day. Then of course, when they got there, you see them, you see this man, it's a young Liberian. Then he nailed them. He said, praise God! We have resumed. And he says, the sweet land of liberty, the glorious land of liberty, this is our land, this is our land, our people's land, our forefathers land. This is what he's saying. They were happy as compared to Sierra Leone. They were commented in Sierra Leone as compared to Liberia. They asked for no permission. Nobody gave them the permission. So as a result, the first name for students, some of you here are students, some of you here are students here. The first name they gave the island was Perseverance Island. That was the original name. The Perseverance loved the island and they were sinking gloriously, the glorious land of liberty. And there, they landed here. So you can see the ship back here. This is the ship Elizabeth that brought them. It came with 88 immigrants and landed on the island. Then they stayed there. They and the settlers, they and the indigenous, the native, they worked together. They got there, but the question was, who is going to interpret? Our people were never educated. Literally, they were educated, but not literally educated. They couldn't understand English. And the indigenous couldn't speak Degola. They couldn't speak Bahasa, Nenakruna, Vano, Nopale. But then my children, but the name of King Saboso or Madingo Trader, he was a trader. He worked along with the Spanish people. He worked along with a lot of people. He was the interpreter between the indigenous and the people. He put them together and they all worked together. And they under the curtain tree, which is Dana, they went under the curtain tree and they made peace. And then, of course, later on, they accepted them on the land. The ships are coming in. They came with Nautilus. They came with an unspecified number of people. The island is 11.2 acres. They couldn't accommodate everybody. So they talked to the indigenous and they allowed them to come on the mainland. They settled around Water Street. Any of you know Water Street? There where they landed. They stayed there and they moved there. Then, of course, they started moving about. So as a result, you will see them. As you see here, this is Cano. This guy is wounded. And this one is feeling sorry for the wounded. What happened? Well, after they allowed them to come on the mainland, there were some other native people that were not happy with the idea. When the men went in a bush to look for food, the indigenous, some of the native people came and attacked them. So this is Matilda Niempo. Matilda Niempo was there and walking along, they heard him and of course she used the cannon or pipe. They probably put fire here and they exploded. It killed a lot of our people. It made some of them run away. So then, when everything settled, they used to consider her as hero, heroine for killing our people. So because our people were not educated, that every year December 1st was Matilda Niempo to be celebrated as Matilda Niempo Day. So we used to celebrate it. Not until in the 80s when Biji back up Matthew, you know about back up Matthew, you know about Thuan Ray, you know about Ebon Soya, each woman formula junior, they say no.  Do we celebrate Matilda Niempo Day? No, it's not there. It's not in existence. So this is how it is like. Now, until then we have Thomas Buchanan. After the Lenin, we have come a worth period which was headed by Thomas Buchanan. He was one of the settlers from America. He became the governor of let's say Morrovia. He was the governor of Liberia. Until 18 for the something we had our election and this man was elected as the first president of the Republic of Liberia. Joseph J. King Roberts from America Strait. He was not born here. From America he was African-American. He was a mulatto. He became the first president of Liberia. The indigenous local area with a specialization, our tradition. Greet them like this. This, this, this. This is what they introduce to them. That is, they are part of our society. No discrimination. So this is the flag of Liberia. It was hosted August 24. Every year August 24 is our national flag day. It has 11 stripes red, white, and blue. And it was made by seven ladies, headed by what? Susanna Lewis. She was a head from America. So you can see it. August 24 is celebrated as our national flag day. Every year. America has 50 stars, but we have only one star. The red stand for villa. White stand for purity. The black, the blue in the red corner stand for the dark continent of Africa. And of course, the stars stand for the moon star of Liberia. Anything, most of the things you see in Liberia from America. In Liberia, we have Virginia. In America, we have Virginia. In America, we have Maryland. In Liberia, we have Maryland. We have Louisiana in America. Louisiana in Liberia. We have Mississippi in the United States. We have Mississippi in Liberia.