Purification of Brahmin Priests

O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,

Oh! Brahmin priests! Even today you are the qualified agents for the propagation of divine knowledge of the Lord. Even today the public is inviting you only for the ceremonies, which are either auspicious or in-auspicious. Every human being is attending the ceremonies and is spending some of his time, energy and money either willingly or unwillingly. Every body is forced by the tradition to attend these ceremonies. Even a human being who is fully busy with his business or profession and does not spend a single minute for spiritual knowledge and the God is attending these ceremonies and is spending at least one full day for these functions. If these ceremonies are done in real spirit, every human being should slowly turn towards God and must have attained some spiritual knowledge. But, unfortunately there is no iota of change in any human being after these ceremonies. If at all there is any change, such change is coming only due to the spiritual functions conducted by spiritual preachers heard by these human beings when they attend these special spiritual meetings. In fact, in the olden days all these ceremonies were only spiritual preaching and every priest was really a spiritual preacher.

The priest conducting these ceremonies was called as Vashishta. Vashishta was a great spiritual preacher who preached Jnana Vashishtam (Divine Knowledge). Vashishta was attending all the ceremonies like the ceremony of birth, thread marriage, marriage of Rama. Vashishta attended all the ceremonies and conducted them as functions of materials (Dravya Yajna) and occasion of chanting prayers (Svadhyaya Yajna). When the Vedic hymns are chanted by using some materials like sticks, fire etc., such function becomes a mixture of these two. In fact, today every ceremony performed by Hindus is a mixture of these two sacrifices only. Once the meaning of hymns is revealed, then the interest and quest for God starts. Such quest is called as Tapo Yajna. Then these hymns are explained, discussed and analysed deeply. The final conclusion of such discussions is called as Jnana Yajna. Today the spiritual function where the audience with interest and the preacher giving right knowledge through sharp discussions, is a mixture of Tapo Yajna and Jnana Yajna. Thus, the Yajna or the ceremony (function) has two sides. The external side is the mixture of Dravya Yajna and Svadhayaya Yajna and the internal side is the mixture of Tapo Yajna and Jnana Yajna. When Vashishta conducted a ceremony, both these sides were fulfilled. Vashishta is the priest externally and spiritual preacher internally. Such a person who is both priest as well as spiritual preacher can be only called as Vashishta. The degree M.B.B.S. trains the doctor both in medicine as well as in surgery. But now the doctor giving medicine and doctor doing the surgery are completely separated. A priest is not acting as spiritual preacher. A spiritual preacher is not acting as priest. Therefore, today every human being has to spend the time separately for the priest and for the spiritual preacher. But the priest is inevitable because the ceremonies are compulsory. The spiritual functions are optional. A person is attending the ceremonies without failure but is not attaining any spiritual knowledge. Suppose he does not attend the spiritual function, in such case what is the result? He or she is not getting any spiritual knowledge and lives and finally dies like an animal involved only in the welfare of his or her body and his or her family. Majority of the people belongs to this category only.

In the absence of spiritual knowledge even justice (Dharma) is cracked. Simply preaching about not doing injustice and threatening about the hell cannot control the injustice. Suppose there is a corrupt person. If you say that the corruption is not good, nobody will hear. If you say by corruption one will be arrested by police, he will find the ways to divert the police. If you say that the corrupt fellow will fall in the hell, the corrupt fellow does not believe this and asks for the proof of the hell. Even if somebody believes in the existence of hell, the priests also are becoming corrupt by showing the corrupt methods to escape the hell. Therefore, mere propagation, threatening by showing police, courts and hell are not effective in controlling the injustice. Unless the injustice is controlled, the society cannot be reformed, which will be constantly subjected to disturbance and social evils continuously. The permanent solution to establish social justice or for the liberation of an individual soul is only the spiritual knowledge. The knowledge of mere ethics including the threat regarding liquid fire etc., cannot control the elite intellectuals. The spiritual knowledge alone can establish the real justice and also can give the liberation of the soul. Thus, the Gita, which is the best spiritual knowledge, is competent to establish justice in the society and to give liberation of spiritual soul. Thus, the Gita mentions about the establishment of justice (Dharma Samstapanarthaya…) and also mentions the liberation or Moksha (Muchyante…), achievement of God (Mameti…) and also pleasing the Lord (Mama Priyah…). Thus, Dharma, Moksha and Kaivalya are the three birds for one shot, which is the spiritual knowledge.

Oh Priests! In the present situation you have to become the spiritual preacher also and you must be elevated to the post of Vashishta. Both Pravrutti and Nivrutti sides should be present in the same Yajna. At least some basis of spiritual knowledge must be in every ceremony. Mere chanting of the Veda and using materials develop only Pravrutti, which is the fulfilment of worldly desires. If this side is only developed, such developed Pravrutti develops social corruption also. Then the human beings do every thing for the welfare of themselves and their families only. Therefore, there is no other alternative for the Lord who comes down in human form to spread the divine knowledge to uplift the humanity from injustice and to lead the humanity in achieving the grace of God except approaching all of you to help Him in His mission. If you are elevated as spiritual preachers, every human being will have compulsory spiritual knowledge at least at some basic level.

Then every human being will attend the spiritual preaching of great spiritual preachers also for further clarifications. For this purpose, you have to learn the meaning of the Veda. Recitation of the Veda is not at all required in the present time when the Vedas are stored as printed books. In olden times, since there was no printing technology, preservation of the Veda by recitation was essential. Today you can conduct the ceremony by directly reciting the hymns from a printed book. But some of you feared that in such case every body will do this and then you will lose your profession. Therefore, some of you created a Sanskrit verse which states that one should not read the Veda from a printed book (Likhita Pathakah). With this fear only you kept the recitation in living condition. Then there is no alternative than to learn the Veda by recitation from a Vedic teacher. Again, there is fear that every body may learn the recitation so that you lose your jobs. Therefore, you have limited the Veda to your caste only. Thus, keeping this target in your mind you have developed a big vicious circle. You can keep your vicious circle alive even if you say that a Brahmin only can conduct the ceremony even by reciting from printed book. Such recitation will not spoil your condition in any way. By this you can save the unnecessary time wasted in memorising the Veda from a Vedic teacher. In stead wasting so much time in memorising the Veda, it is better you allot this time for learning the Sanskrit language. Now, you can explain the Veda, which alone can generate urge for knowledge (Tapo Yajna). Then only the Jnana Yajna can come in to picture. Then only this society will be reformed and every human being will get liberation and attain the real grace of God.

You are supposed to be relatives of great Vedic scholars like Kashyapa, Bharadwaja etc. The Veda also states this (Brahma Bandhuriva…). You have come down from the sages like a light from another light. You have the genes of those secret sages. Even today the society is respecting you based on this single point only. But the light that came from another light also must have light. The genes must show the same old characteristics. But such characteristics are not seen. This is shameful on your part. You do not know the meaning of even a single statement of the Veda. Therefore, your practice reflects your ignorance of the Veda. The Veda says that food should not be wasted (Annam na Parichakshita). But just see your leaves after finishing your meals. How much food you have wasted? This wasted food thrown out becomes food for bacteria, which causes diseases even to good people. Then, in what way you are different from a demon who harms good people? Food is the form of wealth which gives health. Health is the best wealth. This food is Dhanya Lakshmi, who is Lakshmi in a particular dress. Dhana Lakshmi is the same Lakshmi in another dress.

If you have insulted Dhanya Lakshmi, Dhana Lakshmi is also insulted because Lakshmi is one and the same in both forms. This is the reason for the poverty of the Brahmins. If you do not like an item, you must keep it separately in another plate before you taste it because the Veda says that the tasted food should not be eaten by others (Uchchishtam abhojyam-Veda). Therefore, it is said before eating itself you should separate the unwanted food (Yat rochate tat grahyam…). Don’t be angry with Me for this harsh truth. I am also a Brahman like you. I am your real well-wisher. My advice may not be liked by you but it is true and will be in your welfare only. I invite at least the realised souls from you to join My mission as My soldiers in establishing both Pravrutti and Nivrutti. Let every ceremony performed by Hindus be used as a platform for spreading the spiritual knowledge apart from meddling with material and chanting Vedic hymns. If you follow My advice you will be blessed in this world by Goddess Lakshmi and you will also be blessed by the Lord Narayana in upper world to get the final salvation and to please the Lord.

(This discourse was given by Swami spontaneously in a ceremony in which several Brahmin priests participated. Swami showed the clean leaf on which Swami took His food and comparatively showed the leaves of other Brahmin priests on which lot of food was leftover. Swami became emotional and gave this discourse to all the priests.)

The Second Day Discourse For Brahmin Priests

Oh! Brahmin Priests! Shankara always argued with the Vedic Scholars who were Brahmins and Spiritual Preachers controlling the masses as their followers. In the Bible, you find Jesus often addressing the priests, who controlled masses and even the Government officials. Therefore, you are essential agents for propagating the spiritual knowledge in the masses. If you are covered, all the public is covered. The huge public cannot be approached directly. Therefore, all the human incarnations of Lord that came down who preach the spiritual knowledge to the entire humanity contacted only these Brahmin priests cum spiritual preachers. When a marketing manager of mutual funds visits a town for the investments, he conducts a meeting with the agents of that town. If the agents are convinced, the investors in the town are captured. Even if the marketing manager approaches some investor, the agent is necessary while contacting the investor. The reason is that the agent is always in contact with the investor and the investor bends finally to the agent only due to personal and continuous contact. The agent has influence on the psychology of the investor due to continuous contact. Of course some elite investors may directly contact the marketing manager and learn about the various schemes and may directly invest with the help of the marketing manager only without the agent. But such cases are rare. The investors in mass come only through agents. In the simile the human incarnation is the marketing manager and the agents are the Brahmin priests cum spiritual preachers. The investors are the entire humanity. Shankara and Jesus always debated with these priests. Shankara and Jesus always argued and criticized the priests for their defects.

The psychology of a child or an ignorant person is that he does not like the continuous criticism. But Shankara and Jesus were eager in the welfare of the humanity and were vigorous in transforming the priests. In fact such transformation helps not only the humanity but also the priests. The ignorant priests did not like such vigorous criticism and therefore Shankara was killed by the black magic of a priest and the priests crucified Jesus. The psychology of a child or an ignorant person is similar, which does not like continuous and severe criticism. But from the angle of the teacher such criticism shows eagerness of the teacher in the welfare of the student. The father of a Sanskrit poet called Bharavi was continuously criticising his son whereas the public was appreciating. One day Bharavi decided to kill his father. But while Bharavi was hearing secretly, his father was explaining to his mother that the father should never appreciate his son. Shastra says that if father appreciates the son, the longevity of the son is reduced. What does this mean? If father appreciates the son he will be easily captured by pride and egoism. Then the fall comes quickly. If the father appreciates, the son will think that the appreciation must be true because it comes from the mouth of the father. Therefore, a real well-wisher looks at the defects only but the psychology of the other side does not permit. Therefore, the preaching must be from both the angles, which are the eagerness for transformation of the student and also from the angle of the psychology of the ignorant student. Therefore, criticism must be always mixed with appreciation. In the Gita, you find Lord Krishna appreciating Arjuna here and there while preaching. The parents should follow such path only regarding their children. You have tasted the Prasadam of Ugadi just a few days back, which was a mixture of both sour as well as sweet.

Therefore, I am adopting the same mixture-technology in advising you. In fact, the Lord always adopts this mixture-technology. But why Shankara and Jesus adopted the severe path of criticism? They were also incarnations of Lord. The reason is that the situations were serious. When the defects reach climax and the priests were fully blind, such path was essential. Suppose your son is blind in wrong path, will you not be serious and criticize severely? But now the situation is not so serious because at least some of you have open mind and are prepared for transformation. Some of you have come to Me with appreciation and wanted to hear Me further. Some of you have expressed apology and stated that whatever happened was due to the ignorance of the truth. But, at the time of Jesus, all attacked Him vehemently because they were all completely blind and rigid with full ignorance.

I am the incarnation of Shri Dattatreya, who was the son of the sage Atri. I know your minds and some of you have an immediate doubt about this statement. Some of you have even developed repulsion to this statement in your minds. If I do not clear this point now itself, even others will be attacked by the same repulsion. Jealousy and egoism are very powerful and contagious virus, which cause the repulsion-fever. Let Me kill this virus now itself without allowing it to progress. When I say that I am the human incarnation of Lord Datta, it means God embedded in the causal and subtle bodies of Datta entered into My human body. I am just a composite of Gross, Subtle and Causal bodies. In the energetic gross body of Lord Datta present in Brahma Loka, even now God with causal and subtle bodies still exists. But by His inexplicable Supernatural power (Maya), God along with causal and subtle bodies from that energetic body of Lord Datta has come down and entered into Myself. Due to His Maya, as I told, still God with causal and subtle bodies exist in that gross energetic body of Lord Datta. Therefore, when I say Datta entered into Myself, Saguna Brahman (God with causal and subtle bodies) has entered into Myself. God by Himself is called as Nirguna Brahman, which means God without attributes (Gunas). Therefore, Lord Datta is speaking through Myself. This is the clarification of the concept of human incarnation. Therefore, do not misunderstand that Lord Datta is Myself. Lord Datta needs a medium composed by five elements in this world. His energetic gross body is not suitable in this world. I am just the wire and Lord Datta is the current. By this angle you can destroy this virus. When I told that I am Lord Datta, it means the electric wire can be assumed as current. People say ‘current’ by showing the electric wire. From this angle you can treat Me as Lord Datta just like treating the electric wire as current. Lord Datta was also a Brahmin and I am also a Brahmin. Dattatreya is the ultimate God but even in that human incarnation the influence of the Upadhi is always there.

Therefore, He has some soft corner towards His caste and based on the same reason, I too have soft corner towards you. The Upadhi is like the external shirt and is not at all the person. The Upadhi is not even a part of the person. The shirt is not your limb like leg or hand. It is only an externally associated item. Yet, it has some influence on the mind. When the police officer puts his uniform dress, his mood becomes serious. When he is in civil dress associated with his family members his mood is jovial. Therefore, the external dress has some influence on the mind. Similarly, the caste, which is an external factor, certainly has some influence on the mind. Therefore, My original source as well as Myself have the same shirt and have the same influence. Therefore, please understand Me and realise that I love all of you and My advice is totally aimed at your welfare and upliftment only and not to harm you in any way. Therefore, treat Me as your friend due to the common dress that is the caste and take My advise positively. Please do not misunderstand that God has caste feeling. God and the soul (pure awareness or causal body) are attribute-less. Caste feeling is an attribute (Guna) present in subtle body only. Therefore, neither God nor the causal body of God has caste feeling. Even the causal body of any human being cannot have caste feeling because the causal body of any living being is attribute-less. The difference between a human being and Lord Datta is that in the human being the soul is controlled by the attributes. Therefore, the human being is over powered by the caste feeling. In the case of Lord Datta, God and His causal body are not controlled by attributes. Therefore, the caste feeling is under the control of Lord Datta. Even in a realised scholar, the causal body is not under the control of the attributes and therefore, scholars are not controlled by the caste feeling. Association with an attribute does not mean that you should be controlled by that attribute. Even a controller is associated with the attributes just like a king is associated with his servants. Therefore, remember that the human incarnation of God is associated with all the Gunas, but He is not controlled by the Gunas. Every human incarnation is Datta only, which is associated with the three main qualities (Sattvam, Rajas and Tamas).

All the good and bad qualities are condensed into these three main qualities only. The three faces of Datta indicate these three main qualities. Thus, Datta does not mean the form with three faces. The Gunas are under His control and will be used by Him whenever the necessity arises. In this occasion, the Lord wants to encourage the priests by removing the misunderstanding that the Lord is their enemy due to this criticism. Therefore, the Lord used this attribute to apply it as an ointment on the wound created in their hearts due to this soar and strong acid-criticism. There are some clever human beings who say that they do not have caste feeling. In their case, the caste feeling is not present only in their words. But it is present in their mind and action. In the case of Lord Datta here, the caste feeling is neither in His mind nor in His action. It is present only in His words. Great people maintain homogeneity in minds, word and action. Clever people who are bound to hell maintain heterogeneity in mind, word and action (Trikaranas). The attribute limited towards for a good purpose is not sinful.

The Veda means knowledge. The root word of the Veda is Vidul, which means knowledge (Vidul Jnane). If you are reciting the Veda and if you do not understand any word of it, how funny will be the situation! If somebody is called as Harischandra Prasad by name and tells lies everyday, how funny it looks! Similarly, you are called as Vedic Scholars (Veda Pandita). Again, the word Pandita means knowledge. The root word is Panda, which means spiritual knowledge (Panda Parmartha Jnanee). In the Gita while writing commentary on the word Pandita in the second chapter on the beginning verse itself Shankara stated this meaning (Nanu Sochanti Panditah). Now the Veda means knowledge and Pandita means also knowledge. Therefore, the word Veda Pandita is stressing on knowledge. Even the word Adhyayana means knowledge according to the Sanskrit grammar. Therefore, how much shameful it is, if you simply recite the Veda without knowing its meaning? When the meaning is not known, how can you practice it?

You have recited the Vedic sentences like Annam Na Parichakshita, Aham Annadah, Ahamannam, Annat Purushah, Aham Brahma, Annam Brahma etc. You don’t know the meaning of any of these statements. Therefore, you have thrown the food on the leaves. All these statements say that the food is Brahman and the food is yourself. Brahman means the greatest item among a category. Food is the greatest item because it is the basic need of the life. The basic aim of the activity of every living being is only food. Therefore, food is Brahman. You are a form of food. Your gross body is the form of matter-aspect of food. When the food is digested, the inert energy is released. This inert energy is responsible for functioning of lungs, heart, kidneys etc., in the body. When this inert energy flows through nervous system, it becomes awareness-energy. The various works of this awareness energy (mind, intelligence, chittam and egoism) constitute your subtle body. The pure awareness is your causal body or soul. You are just a composite of these three bodies. Thus, the food in the aspect of matter becomes the gross body and in the aspect of awareness-energy becomes subtle and causal bodies. The food as inert energy is a part of the gross body itself. Thus, you are totally food. How have you become Brahman? Since food is Brahman and food is yourself, therefore, you have become Brahma. Therefore, food made you Brahman. Now by rejecting the food you have insulted yourself and you have insulted Brahman. The Veda is also called as Brahman because it is the greatest scripture (Refer Gita: Brahmakshara Samudbhavam). Therefore, you have insulted even the Veda. How much sin you have committed by insulting this food? Can there be a greater sin than this? Food is the source of all your activities. Even your spiritual effort is an activity by which you can attain salvation and please God. Therefore, food is the root cause of even your spiritual effort.

Yaska, the sage who prescribed the grammar for the Vedas explained the stage of a priest who recites the Veda without knowing its meaning. He compares such priest who carries a bag of gold and delivers it to the house and takes just one rupee as the porter’s charge. The priest is delivering crores of rupees to another human being through the Veda just for one rupee (dakshina). This happens because the porter does not know the contents of the bag. The priest who does not know the meaning of the Vedic sentences recited by him is just similar to that foolish unfortunate porter. Without knowing the meaning, how devotion is developed? In the absence of devotion there will be no fruit from the God. Suppose, you go to your father and deliver a dialogue of love in some foreign language, which you don’t know, without knowing the meaning of any word of your dialogue, do you have any trace of love in your heart? Suppose your father asks whether you know the language in which you have delivered your love dialogue and you say that you don’t know the language. Then your father will hate you. Therefore, the meaning only can generate feeling and not mere word. Love is a feeling. Devotion is love. The Lord will be moved only by love to answer your prayer. Yaska says that the ceremony performed merely as a mixture of Dravya Yajna and Swadhyaya Yajna only is just like cooking the food without fire (Anagnawiviva...). The interest for God does not arise when the meaning is not known and so no question of love. In such ceremony Tapo Yajna and Jnana Yajna are absent. Yaska says that such ceremony is useless because it does not yield any fruit. The process of cooking cannot yield the cooked food because everything was present except the fire. The process of cooking itself is absent and therefore, the fruit of cooking does not arise at all. Similarly, when the process of devotion is absent, how the grace of God, which is fruit of devotion, can come? The person who is doing the ceremony is not getting any fruit. It is a waste of time, energy and money. The public is fooled by you due to ignorance and you are also fooling yourself.

Sometimes when the ceremony is over the fruit appears and you think that the fruit is due to your ceremony. If that is true, in every case for every ceremony the fruit should appear. But only sometimes the fruit is appearing. What does this mean? Due to the rotating cycle of good and bad fruits (Karma Chakra) the good fruit appeared accidentally at that time. You attribute the fruit to your ceremony. A palm fruit is just going to fall and exactly at that time the crow landed on that branch. You think the fruit has fallen due to the landing of the crow. This is called as ‘Kakataleeyaka’. If the fruit has fallen due to the landing of the crow, every time whenever the crow lands a fruit should fall. The Gita says the same (Naadatte kasya chit…). The Lord says that He is not giving good or bad fruits by Himself. Only the good or bad actions of a soul are giving the corresponding fruits. Ofcourse in the path of highest proved devotion, the Lord may consider a special case and may yield some good fruit. The technique in such case is also very complicated. Generally, in such case, the Lord brings the good fruit from the future cycle to this present birth like the premature withdrawal of a deposit. People think that the Lord gave the good fruit by His grace even though they have not done a good deed. It is the fruit of some good deed done by them in the previous birth, which is not known to them. Only in a very very rare case, God undergoes your punishment and yields good fruit for your exceptional devotion. In such case your exceptional devotion itself is considered as a good deed. Therefore, even in that case the theory of Karma is not violated. For such line also devotion is needed, which is a feeling that depends on the meaning of the word and not on the sound of the word. In what way you are different from a tape recorder uttering the same sounds?

The sound may generate a little feeling but such feeling is very much negligible compared to the feeling generated by knowing the meaning of the words. Unless you know the meaning and discuss with sharp analysis and unless you draw the right conclusions and practice such final decisions, how can you prove your real love towards God? Without the proof of love, God will not react because God is not the human being who can be fooled by false love. Some human beings may be satisfied by the expression of love itself and may be trapped without the proof of such love. Such human beings are ignorant fools. In the olden days, kings were fooled by poets in this way and the poets were rewarded with wealth. But God is not such a foolish king who can be trapped by the poetry without the proof of love. Hanuman never praised Rama by any prayer as you can see in Ramayana. Every action of Hanuman was a proof of love towards Rama. Therefore, Rama made Him the Brahma as the future creator. All this can be known only by knowledge. Therefore, you must become a Vedic Scholar and you must turn every ceremony into Jnana Yajna. If you simply recite the Veda you cannot be called as Veda Pandita and you shall be called as Veda Pathaka, which means a person who sounds the Veda.

The infrastructure for conducting a professional college is already present. Buildings and laboratories are present and only attendants and non-teaching staff exist. What is the use of such infrastructure without technical staff and teaching staff? Can the students be benefited? Similarly, huge temples with statues and priests along with management members exist. The temple is the building. The statues are the laboratories. The priests who just wash and decorate the statues are the attendants. The management members are the non-teaching staff. The public attending such temples are the ignorant students. If a college without technical and teaching staff exists, and if they say that the student will get the degree in that college, can you believe it? Similarly, if the priests or the management committee advertises about a temple that by visiting the temple one can get upliftment in this world and can get salvation, you should not believe it. If a student goes and observes the clean and decorated equipment with full meditation and prays it, can the student become engineer or doctor? Similarly, if you go to the temple and concentrate and pray the decorated statue, you are neither getting your desires fulfilled in this world nor getting the salvation in the upper world. There should be the technical and teaching staff to teach the theory and practical in the college. The present temples without such scholars are just like the colleges without teachers. It is just like a beautiful human body without life. Therefore, you must appoint a scholar also along with a priest in the temple or let the priest be a scholar. You are having the faculty improvement programme in a college.

Similarly, let all the present priests be taught Sanskrit language and learn the concepts of all the scriptures. Even the knowledge of Sanskrit language is not necessary. Language is just a vehicle of communication. Let the priest be trained in the concepts of the scriptures so that when the public attends the temple, the priest need not recite some unknown hymns in Sanskrit. Let the public sit before the statue. The statue represents the concept of human incarnation. Let the priest or the scholar explain the concepts of spiritual knowledge in different angles. Then, only a temple becomes meaningful and serves the purpose for which it stands. In the olden days the temple was under the control of a learned scholar called as Mathadhipati. Matham means temple and it is a centre for knowledge. Every temple was a Matham only. The king never interfered in the administration of the temple and never touched the funds of the temple. The king spends only the revenue collected from the public for the public works. Similarly, all these temples today must be handed over to a committee of great saints and let the administration of the funds be handed over to them. You doubt about the corruption and misuse of the funds. Do you think that the corruption and such misuse is not present today? It is present in every place. When the spiritual knowledge is propagated, not only the present corruption in the temples but also the corruption in the entire country will disappear.

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