Mansik Puja, Vienna
The subject is Mānasik Pūjā, or mental worship of one's chosen deity. Many practitioners ask how to meditate effectively. Meditating on external symbols like nature can eventually feel empty. The superior practice is internal, devotional service performed within the mind. This mental ceremony nourishes the practitioner with strength and clarity. It transforms perception, allowing one to see the living presence in a sacred image, not mere stone. This feeling is essential; without it, ritual is empty. Service performed with love and imagination is an expression of inner beauty. When you act from the heart in meditation, you explore your devotion. Love contains no demands; it is self-understood. This practice is a personal secret between you and your deity. By serving mentally, you receive peace and your love reflects outward, affecting your entire day. God's light is in every heart; realizing this is true self-realization.
"Therefore, the best solution is Mānasik Pūjā. When you perform Mānasik Pūjā, the mental ceremony, you emerge from your meditation full of strength, energy, love, and clarity."
"In every heart, in every heart, God’s light is reflecting. That is called self-realization. Self means yourself. Realization is that you realize: your self, and everyone is your self."
Filming location: Vienna, Austria
Up next
Nothing belongs to you
Nothing belongs to you, and all things are impermanent.
Yoga's first principle is that nothing exists forever and nothing belongs to you. This truth was even accepted by those under a communist system. No wealth, friends, family, or even your own body belongs to you; all are temporary and will be taken. It is ignorance to think otherwise. Therefore, it is foolish to be sad when someone leaves. Only one reality exists—your Self or God—and all else is duality and non-reality. Everyone will disappoint you, but the Lord will not. A story illustrates this: a farmer dreamed a full life with a family, only to wake minutes later to a real family grieving a dead child. He wondered for which loss to cry. This world may be like a dream. Since nothing is permanent, do not ruin your life with sadness for what is gone. Have the memory, but do not be depressed. Be in deep rest.
"Nothing belongs to you. No wealth belongs to you, no friends belong to you, not your parents, nor your brothers and sisters, nor your husband or wife. Even this body does not belong to you."
"What comes, comes; what goes, goes. Therefore, do not be sad and do not be depressed. Be in deep rest, and deep rest is the best."
Filming location: Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
DVD 242
In the home of the soul
Space builds beings, and beings build space.
A true ashram is a space for retreat and contemplation, enabling renewal of physical, mental, and social health. It fosters balance and leads toward self-realization. Yoga is the paramount method for this, requiring only the body, breath, and consciousness. It is the science of conscious movement and stillness, a road to original wholeness. A Guru is one who has cognized oneness, from which all arises and returns. Such beings live for others. The relationship between guru and disciple is supreme, pure, and meaningful. The guru's essence is what he is—Sat Chit Ānanda—and he serves to cure the disease of ignorance, which divides us from ourselves, others, and the divine. Sādhanā, the practice of yoga, is the source of strength to help others and ourselves. Liberation comes through knowledge and the Guru's grace.
"Yoga is the science and art of conscious movement. It is the science and art of conscious stillness."
"The essence of a guru is not what he says, not even what he does. The essence of a guru is what he is."
Filming locations: Jadan Ashram, Rajasthan, India.
DVD 171
There is no end of learning
The ashram is heaven on earth, a place of immense energy where the Guru is always present in essence. A journey unfolds through divine guidance, not personal will. A trip to India for Guru Pūrṇimā was redirected by unseen forces, leading one back to the ashram family. Later, guidance came through a spoken sentence about Romania, which led to the establishment of an ashram there through inner instruction, not conversation. A pilgrimage to holy sites in the Himalayas was similarly guided, with paths clearing miraculously to allow darśan. In all endeavors, the Guru's direction is for self-learning. Yoga is a path to discover who one is. Scientific research into modified prāṇāyāma, inspired by the Guru's words, later fostered a university collaboration and a successful public yoga event, where a protective cloud appeared as a sign.
"With our yoga in daily life, it is not just āsana. It is a way to learn about ourselves and to look at ourselves."
"One sentence from Gurudev can change and influence so many things."
Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic
Sankalp Mantra
The practice of Śaṅkalpa Mudrā brings completeness to all physical, mental, and spiritual efforts. Perform it three times daily in a good posture. It serves your personal life, family, and work for society, done with awareness of unity with Brahman. This mantra and practice lead consciousness toward completeness, improving bodily functions and fulfilling actions. Preparation is key; a seed grows regardless, but proper planting aids it. Purification is required; the body has impurities, so wash, wear clean clothes, and sit in the prayer mudrā. Śaṅkalpa is your resolution. Sit straight, hold your hands in the mudrā slightly apart. A flower represents completeness and purity; water slides off it like a lotus. Hold your resolution in your hand. Learn the provided śaṅkalpa and mantra by heart. Repeat them. After saying the mantra three times, place petals or rice before an altar. Perform this practice at least twice daily for success. Hold your hands correctly, as improper position may hinder success. If present, practice with others.
"Oṃ Pūrṇamadaḥ Pūrṇamidaṃ Pūrṇāt Pūrṇamudacyate Pūrṇasya Pūrṇamādāya Pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate."
"He Param Pitā Parātmā, mere saṅkalp kī rakṣā kījī."
Filming location: Vép, Hungary
DVD 553
