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Part 1: The Essence of Yoga: Kuṇḍalinī, Cakra, and Self-Realization Asato mā sadgamaya, tamaso mā jyotirgamaya, mṛtyormā amṛtaṁ gamaya. Merciful Lord, lead us from unreality to reality. Lead us from darkness to light, and lead us from mortality to immortality. Śānti, śānti, śānti. Peace, peace, peace. Salutation to the cosmic light. Lord of our hearts, omniscient and omnipresent, in His divine presence, dear brothers and sisters, good evening, respected President Mr. Kumar, dear organizers, I greet you in the name of the cosmic light, in the name of India, and all the great sages. I bless you. It is my great pleasure to be here this evening and serve you with these few words, which are glimpses of yoga. I am happy to be in this beautiful ancient city, which has a beautiful spiritual radiance, and no doubt there are such beautiful souls like you living here. Yoga is universal; it is a science of body, mind, consciousness, and soul. Wherever we find humans on this globe, you will find yoga. Yoga is one of the most ancient or oldest sciences. Yoga is as old as we could imagine space. This evening, the subject given to me is Kuṇḍalinī and Cakra. It is a beautiful subject. The essence of yoga is hidden in this subject: the development of spirituality, as well as the development of human consciousness. The development of the individual personality depends on the kuṇḍalinī and cakras. Whether we are aware of this or not, it is within us. It is active in us, and it is a part of our life. Without this, we cannot exist; it is our existence. About this we shall speak this evening. Yoga in daily life is an authentic system based on ancient scriptures. That science, or the wisdom of yoga, is delivered or bestowed by masters to the disciples. It is not a theory. It is a practical way. It is a reality. Tons of theory is nothing compared to a gram of practice. Our life is a practical life. Our life is not a theory, and therefore we have to deal with practical things. So, yoga is something which is a part of our life. I would introduce you to yoga in such a way. In the most ancient scriptures, which are called the Vedas—there are no older scriptures in this world—it is said the Vedas were delivered by the Creator Itself, Brahmā. It is not a man-made story. The Vedas do not speak about a personal God, but the Vedas speak about the entire universe and its principles. They tell humans how to live in harmony with nature and with the universe, how to understand the process of life, which is not only this physical life, but also the life which has its origin many, many millions of years ago. There are two things: life and death. So life means life that never dies and is never born. What is born and what dies is this body. That eternal, everlasting, immortal, blissful consciousness is thy reality. Know thyself is the answer to all your questions, and we are out from all the sufferings and darkness of ignorance. Where there is ignorance, there is darkness. We should fight for the reality, not with weapons, not with aggressivity, nor with any physical means, but with thoughts, to know what is the truth, what is the reality. What is changing, what is changeable, is the non-reality, and that which is not changing, that is reality. Everything in this universe, what is visible, or what is created, or what is changeable, that is non-reality. And what is not changing is called everlasting, immortal, eternal, divine, pure, bliss, the consciousness. To know that means self-realization. We feel that we suffer, but the self, the real self, is only the observer; it is not the one who is suffering. That is the purpose or the aim of practicing yoga. Yoga is not only physical exercises, breath techniques, relaxation, or just meditation. It is a way of life. It is a way of thinking. It is a way of our being in this world. That is why we call it yoga in daily life, not only practicing for a few hours, but 24 hours, lifelong. Your existence in this physical world is the yoga in daily life. You are responsible. Whatever you are facing, good and bad, do not blame anyone. It is our destiny, and the destiny is caused individually while doing the actions. Our acts through the physical body, through words, through the mental or thinking, or through our social or material power—that is what we call karma. You may call it action, you may call it an act, or deeds. Or you may call it sin, good or bad. It is only a question of language. Every action, every step will be counted, every thought will turn back to you. It does not matter if you do it consciously or unconsciously; it is your thoughts, they belong to you, and they will turn back to you. If you drink poison consciously or unconsciously, the effect is the same. Even if someone is very unfriendly or unjust, still do not blame him. There must be some reason why it happened. It is very hard to understand and very hard to be a Christian, to turn the other cheek. Are you able to turn the other cheek? Then, if yes, you are the best Christian. And I suggest you to be a Christian, but only we are in thinking. We think we are Hindu or Buddhist, Jewish or Christian, or Muslim. But we have forgotten the real principles. It is a problem of the Pāli Rāca. The first is created, our karma, our destiny. And then this life is given to us, or created, this life. According to our past destiny, we got this beautiful life. Though it is a beautiful, divine life, still, some are happy, and some are very unhappy. Why? There must be some cause. To become free and to get the answer is yoga. Yoga unites everything. If you believe in religion, it does not matter; that is yoga. If you pray, that is yoga. If you help someone, that is yoga. If you think good things, it is yoga. Religion means not only praying and kneeling in front of the altar. Religion means union, uniting. Love your neighbor, not only your parents or relatives. The next one is, "All creatures are after you." Each and every entity represents the light of God. That is very important to know, and that is what yoga is. So, there are three principles, you may say, which are big forces, not in a negative way. Power could be positive; power could be negative. It depends on how you use it. So, the Vedas, which are a science of the universe and are thousands of years old, say, "Ānanda Brahman," the endless universe. When you do not know the limitations, it is "Anant," no end. And if you will search the end, you will not find it. But you will become one with that Ananta. You will become Ananta. There was a salty statue. So the salty statue jumped in the ocean, and till today it did not come back, and that is why your sea is salty. So that becomes Ananta, and you are also Ananta. Your self, your individual self, and your anant self are different. The individual self will exist as long as the individual qualities exist. But I do not see anything, because it is dissolved. It changed the form, but when I will drink, I will say salty. Though salt changed the form, it did not change the quality. That is it. So we may physically die, but our sin or our good deeds or our karma will still keep us as an individual. And that is our identity. This individual, since the beginning of its existence, is floating on the waves of time throughout the entire universe, the endless universe, through light or darkness. Experiencing pleasure or unhappiness, time to time, the wave stops for a while. That individual makes a stop, and the quality collects again for manifestation, and there one creates the relation. Relations with parents, children, partners, friends, relatives, house, nature, country, and so on. And this relation becomes so painful, so intensive, that we do not want to give up. But it is only temporary. After a while, this Anant again makes the journey through the endless. In the beginning, there is a very thick relation. You know the pizza? Yes, eating. A pizza with cheese, and when you take a piece of pizza, you see how the cheese is stretching, widening, becoming thinner and thinner, and sometimes then it breaks. After a certain distance, it breaks. So when someone physically dies, both sides are attached. Both sides try to push again together, pull together. But slowly, slowly, due to time, that memory and that feeling become thinner and thinner and thinner. On the day of someone’s death, we are very sad. It is human. Also, animals are sad. You know very well how the animals protect their children. And the ranger who took us in a jeep, so that a few mother elephants were coming with small babies, calves, and immediately he drew away. He said they could be more or much more dangerous than the lions. And the next destination begins. Yes, there are certain processes in the astral world through which we have to go, but that is not our subject today. So, these are the, what I want to tell you, that there are three main forces or principles. One is that endless universe, and the second is the cosmic consciousness. You may call Almighty God, Holy Father, Brahman, whatever you call it, but that one which has no form, it is just there. Your consciousness does not have form, but we have consciousness, and we have different levels of consciousness. To give the definition is difficult, but there are different levels. We are pendling every day, unconscious, subconscious, conscious. Sleep, dream, awake. Every time, the state of the consciousness is changing. Do you know those seconds when you are sleeping? It is not easy. It is not easy to know that just now I was asleep. How do you go from the conscious to the sleep state? And then, how do you go from sleep to the dream? And how do you come back? You are doing it every day. You know this, but it is very hard to. So that cosmic consciousness, eternal, everlasting, that divine consciousness which is existing in the endless universe—now, that universe which is endless—but always we say it is existing in the universe. It must be somewhere like a border. So it is like an embryo in the mother’s womb. This Anant, endless universe, is the cosmic mother, the mother principle. And that supreme, the cosmic self, is residing in the lap of the body of the cosmic mother. That you are. To ste vi. You need not go far away. If you search for Him, it is very far, farther than you could think. And it is so close to you, so near to you. So, we have to realize the oneness. So that is the cosmic consciousness, and the third, a treća sila, is that cosmic principle which is balancing. What balances in a perfect way. Until now, all visible and invisible, all elements, all matter, everything is balanced. All stars, the sun and moon, all planets, so drink water. So the Vedas said, Ananta Brahmāṇḍa, Endless Universe, Sahasra Sūryas, Thousands of Sun Systems. Thousands of sun systems, like we are existing in this sun system, are all balanced through one principle. And that I call yoga, the balancing principle. Where there is balance, there is harmony. And where there is harmony, there is unity, and therefore, yoga means union. Union of the individual consciousness with the cosmic consciousness. So we have to harmonize. We have to balance and then unite. In that ananta... "Bheskāraṇam Svemiru." It is said, "E Ko’ham Bahuṣyāmi," I am one. And now I will manipulate. Now I will multiply, and that is called Divine Will. And that was through the eternal, cosmic, everlasting sound. And the yogī declares this Oṁ, spread throughout the whole universe. Nāda Rūpa Parabrahma: The resonance is supreme. Sound unites. Everything is created out of sound. And that sound is still, continuing the nāda in every atom, in every atom, in an entire space. Through that first element, fire was created—the light. The air, the water, and earth. This becomes five elements, then includes the space. And we come back to now, let us say, to our life. So we are manifested out of these five elements. The Creator has created 8.4 million creatures on this planet. And out of 8.5 million creatures, one is human. There are no different races. There is no European race, African race, Asian race, and so on. Human is human. No differences. Yes, color different, mentality different. Cultural, education, different according to the climate. These 8.4 million creatures, and that is constantly turning with the kāla, with the time. These creatures are divided into three categories: Jalchar, Thalchar, and Nabachar. Creatures which are existing, living in the water, on the earth, and in the air—if you do not believe, begin to count, and next time tell me how much. And this is a circle which continues moving. That is called circulation. That is called the recycling process. It is both circulation and recycling; the word comes from reincarnation. So this is again a different language, so we are in the process of recycling, reincarnating. We are at the top point, where we will be out of the circle, out of this game. If we are aware, if we are sleeping, then we have to repeat it all again. Sleep of ignorance, sleep of lethargy, and the sleep of negative qualities. So, if you come to heaven or hell, liberation or no liberation depends on you, O viśī, o vāma. God is not that one who is taking personal records and says, "No, you go this side, you go that side." God made a perfect system, an automatic system. Everything is automatically good. So this body, human body, which is a physical body, mental body, causal body, subtle body, and there are thousands of different functions: body, mind, thoughts, memory, words, emotion; everything has to be balanced. And something which is not balanced, if mind and body are not balanced, then we say the screws are loose. So we have to tighten the screws. Again, we have to do something to bring it into balance. Now, it does not matter how; that depends on you. What makes you happy, what makes you free, that you should do. Not that I tell you what to do. Who am I to tell you what to do? You know what you should do. You have to find your way through the entire universe, and you have to prepare now for that. Likewise, the human body has 72,000 nāḍīs. And these nāḍīs, now we will see in the computer, please, if there is, so that I do not have to always look up, you know. I got the calendar. Yesterday, I was talking for one hour and looking all the time like this, so I had my neck off. Nāḍīs are spread throughout the whole body. There are 72,000 nāḍīs, and they have their own functions. Through these nāḍīs, nerve systems, our consciousness is spread throughout the body, and energy is circulated throughout the body. There are 72,000 energy centers in the body. And I would say these are 72,000 chakras. Some are small centers, some are major centers. Out of 72,000 nāḍīs, there are some very important major nāḍīs shown on this chart. You know electroacupuncture. You probably had experience. The person who is doing the acupuncture, if the person finds the right point on the monitor, the needle will move. If the person does not find the right point, if they miss the point, the needle will not react. And sometimes it is painful until the person finds the point. Going out of the body, circulating to the body. And it is changing its quality according to the need of that organ, or the limbs, or the part, or the muscle, or the glands of the body. Part 2: The Three Channels and the Journey of Consciousness In yoga, there is a practice called Prāṇāyāma. Specifically, Nāḍī Śodhana Prāṇāyāma. Nāḍīs are the subtle channels or nerves, and śodhana means purification. How do we purify all 72,000 nāḍīs in our body? We cannot pump air into them. When you perform prāṇāyāma and breathe, the air does not go into the nerves—if it did, your brain would be damaged. Instead, the breath technique supplies subtle energy. In the form of oxygen and through the health of the respiratory system and lungs, purification takes place. This energy moves like an electric current. Purification here means it awakens the nāḍīs. Prāṇāyāma is its own science. Out of all these nāḍīs, three are very important. They are connected to the left nostril, the right nostril, and the central nervous system. The left channel is called Iḍā. This is the Moon Principle. The Moon represents water, emotion, change, and the mind. The principle of the mind is the moon. That is why we are always changing our thinking; the moon does not rise equally every day, and similarly, you do not think the same way every day or every time. This is connected to our intellect, buddhi, our creativity, and our active part. The aim of buddhi is to give judgment. The central nervous system is called Suṣumnā, which is connected directly to our consciousness. In a symbolic picture, the left side represents the moon, the right side represents the sun, and in the middle is a circle of light. These three represent mind, intellect, and consciousness. This is the subject of Kuṇḍalinī Yoga. What is the mind? The mind is a mighty power within us. It works very close to the intellect and consciousness. The body in which we live has ten senses: five senses of action (karma indriyas) and five senses of knowledge (jñāna indriyas). Whatever knowledge or information we receive from the outer world, in any form, we can only receive through one of the jñāna indriyas. There are only five keys to enter information into the computer of your brain: eyes, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. There is no sixth. Through these, we are connected to the external world. Whatever you see or experience is taken by the film of the mind and transferred immediately to the subconsciousness. The subconsciousness is a storeroom where everything is stored, and the conscious mind is alert. Everything you see, hear, taste, and smell gives you information, which you catch. The mind takes it immediately and brings it to the subconsciousness. Our level of consciousness, our being in 24 hours, pendles through three levels of consciousness: unconscious, subconscious, and conscious. From the first seconds of our life, beginning in the mother’s body, our real birth, the real constellation, is that one—not the moment you come out. That constellation, that minute, those seconds are very important. The state of consciousness and emotion the mother was in, and the father, the situation and circumstances, everything influences your subconscious and your life. During the entire nine months, it is a very important time when our development takes place. It is not hard at all; in nine months, you have a beautiful clone. That is not special; population is growing anyhow in a different way. How can a normal person clone? Scientists cannot do it. So, do not waste time in the laboratory trying to clone something. Our subconscious level is from the first day of our life in the mother’s womb until now—that wide, that long. Whatever we see or experience through the five jñāna-indriyas enters our subconsciousness, and that is called impressions. The impressions become inside, working as desires, and they must come out. Just as smoke comes from fire, so the mind works. It is a dynamic process, taking information from the external world into the inner worlds of consciousness and bringing those desires which are dormant in the subconscious to the conscious mind. Then the mind has no responsibility; it is the duty of the conscious mind, which is connected with the intellect. Mind and intellect are two processes. The mind creates thoughts, brings, creates, and takes. The intellect gives judgment, forming them, deciding which kind of desire belongs to which kind of sense or subject. Your intellect also tells you if you can fulfill a desire or not. If you cannot fulfill it, you suffer. For example, you want to eat ice cream, but your doctor told you not to eat it due to throat complications or diabetes. You desire it but decide not to eat it. Then you sleep and dream you walk by an ice cream store, go in, buy a big bowl, sit with friends to enjoy it, bring the spoon to your lips—and the alarm rings. My God, even in the dream we could not fulfill our ice cream desire. That unfulfilled desire goes back to our subconscious and may repeat several times. We develop what we call psychic complexes or diseases. Meditation and yoga are to free us from these psychic problems because, slowly, they become formless and we do not know what they are. So, dear brothers and sisters, the mind is a process between the subconscious and the conscious. When you have too many things in the subconscious, your mind is restless. When you sit peacefully and close your eyes to meditate, you cannot because so many thoughts come. Why? Because there are too many things in your subconscious. Therefore, a Kuṇḍalinī yogī says, "Whatever you see in this world, whatever you experience, all impressions—immediately give the judgment, yes or no. That’s all." Develop self-discipline and willpower. Then your subconscious will not suffer and will not be overfilled. This is the mind, the consciousness, and the intellect. These three are very important. These three centers are located very closely to what is called the small of the brain or, in medicine, the pituitary gland. This is where these three system centers begin. The left nāḍī, Iḍā, begins from the left hemisphere, representing the moon, and goes to the right side. The right nāḍī, Piṅgalā, goes to the left side, so they balance. The left one balances the right part of the body. They cross near where the thyroid gland is, near the throat, forming a beautiful chakra called Viśuddhi Chakra. Then the right one goes again to the right, the left to the left, and they cross again at the heart chakra. Similarly, they move like waves, serpentine, finally connecting down at the bottom where the spinal column ends. When the kuṇḍalinī is awakened, when the dormant energies awaken, one does not become nervous or mentally imbalanced. One becomes wise, relaxed, conscious, filled with divine energy. At that time, the consciousness flows through the right nostril; it goes from the Sahasrāra, from the top of the head, connects to the heart, and from the heart back to the Sahasrāra Cakra. In the picture, in the center, there is a white line. It is the channel through which consciousness flows, the central nervous system, Suṣumnā. From the left side begins the blue channel, called the moon or Iḍā. The red one is the sun, representing intellect, creativity, activity, temperament, and consciousness. Because the Suṣumnā Nāḍī, the central channel, is so strong, it always pulls them in, so they come together again. Where they meet, a center is formed—a chakra or psychic center. Emotion and intellect are both equally present in our body. Another picture shows Śiva and Śakti. The left half is female, and the right half is male. These are the two principles that exist in everyone, in male as well as in female. There are male principles in the female and female principles in the male. Without this, a male would not have attraction towards a female, and a female would not have attraction towards a male. If it is imbalanced and more one-sided, then it is one-sided. Where these junctions meet, very strong, powerful centers are formed. These chakra centers in our body are divided into different levels. From our foot soles to ankle joints belongs to the earth element and vegetation. From the ankle joints to the hip joints belongs to the animal kingdom; it is called Paśu Cakra. When this center awakens, a human begins to behave like an animal, forgetting human qualities. From the hip joints, or from the beginning of the spinal column from the bottom, begins the human chakra. There is a border between humans and animals. The bottom chakra is called Mūlādhāra. These are five chakras belonging to the five elements: the earth element is Mūlādhāra Cakra, the water element is Svādhiṣṭhāna, the fire element is Maṇipūra, the heart center is Anāhata, and the air element is space. The border between human chakras and divine chakras is the eyebrow center, Ājñā Cakra, from where these three channels begin. Below this is the human center with human feelings. Above that is divine, very conscious, spiritual; you become holy, love radiates from you. Then these cakras begin to awaken. Through every chakra, energy radiates—healing power, a healthy body, healthy consciousness, a healthy mind, healthy functions of all organs, balanced physical functions, and purified mental, emotional, and conscious functions. Finally, a yogī can unite with the Supreme One, called Śiva and Śakti, not in physical form but as nature and consciousness. Prakṛti and Puruṣa merge into one. Male and female power merge into oneness. This super-consciousness is where one becomes united with the cosmic. That is called the cosmic union, the union of the individual with the cosmic, and that is called liberation. This works through different chakras. These are mythological symbols. The first chakra is where we are stuck. Here begins human development and human consciousness. Here is our destiny, and our development depends on this chakra. Everything has its symbolic meaning. Speaking about each chakra in detail would take hours. So, similarly, every symbol in these chakras—I hope in the next lectures I will continue with individual centers. The awakening, mastering, and application of these centers are not only for spiritual development but also for our physical health, concentration, emotional balance, purification of consciousness, and development of personality. All these are within you, not only in the picture. There is a theory that there are two kinds of horses. One horse is in the picture, and the second horse is on your farm. Both are horses, but if you want to ride, you can only ride the one on your farm. That is the difference between theory and practice. Theory inspires us, gives us information and clarity. But practice we have to do. So, we will go quickly through them. Different colors and animals are shown. Though it is a human chakra, some animal qualities still exist. The Svādhiṣṭhāna chakra is very powerful. Here is hidden passion, which is a cause of anger, jealousy, doubts, greediness, and attachment to many things. The third is the Maṇipūra Cakra, the fire element. That is the beginning of our life. Through this center, we were connected with the mother's body, and through it we still get energy—the Hara Chakra. Maṇipūra: maṇi means jewel, pūra means city—the city of jewels, through which this beautiful body is developed. Then comes the residence of your soul, the Anāhata Cakra. Though its residence is here, it governs and exists throughout the whole body. This is a center for artists; emotions arise here. Those who write poetry, articles, paint, sing—many things. It is the center of pure love. Then comes the fifth, the Viśuddhi Cakra. This means everything is to be forgotten. To achieve this, we must develop the next chakra, which is the seat of the master, consciousness, where our inner eye opens. This is called the Ājñā Cakra, the seat of the commander, the center of order, clarity, wisdom, light, and freedom that brings unity. Then you are passing through immortality. That chakra is called the center of nectar, ambrosia. This is where the ambrosia drips. If you can get this, you become healthy and have a long, long life. Is it easy to awaken? I was thinking I had awakened, but when I look in the mirror, the mirror is getting gray. Then I was disappointed; it is still missing. So, it is beautiful, but it is long, hard work. Those who realize immortality liberate their soul and become Śiva. Śiva means consciousness, liberation, beauty, truth. Śiva means the first manifestation in this universe. Everyone is created by someone, but he is not created by anyone; he has manifested himself. All signs of knowledge, spirituality, esoteric knowledge, the knowledge we learn, language, mantras, prayers—all are coming from Śiva. Śiva is the author of yoga; no one else has the copyright. Those who realize this, their soul finally dances above on the peak, and that is the peak of the holy Mount Kailāśa. So, dear brothers and sisters, that is all for today. We will have more during the weekend, perhaps, and in the next lectures. Thank you for listening and coming. If there were some mistakes, then you correct them and understand accordingly. I wish you all the best, good luck, a healthy and long life. I bless you that all these divine centers become more active in you, that you can spread the light of love and wisdom throughout the whole world, for all creatures. Thank you, and God bless you.