Video details
Yoga Workshop, San Francisco
Today is a special day, the festival of Holī, celebrating the victory of devotion over arrogance. Every spiritual tradition begins in the name of God, a guideline like a torchlight in darkness. The full moon's gentle light is considered a nectar. In a past age, a king named Hiraṇyakaśipu sought immortality through austerities. He received a boon that no human, animal, weapon, or natural cause could kill him, neither inside nor outside, nor during day or night. He declared himself God and forbade worship. His son, Prahlāda, was a devoted worshipper from birth. The king attempted to kill the boy repeatedly, but divine protection saved him each time. The king's sister, Holikā, who was immune to fire, sat in flames with Prahlāda in her lap. She burned to ashes while the devotee remained unharmed. Ultimately, the divine manifested as Narasiṁha, half-man and half-lion, at twilight on a threshold, using no weapons, to fulfill the boon's conditions and defeat the arrogant king. This day marks the victory of righteousness.
Yoga is designed for reunion with the universal one. Haṭha Yoga balances the energy channels, purifying body and mind. Its six cleansing techniques are Netī, Dhautī, Naulī, Bastī, Kapālabhātī, and Trāṭak. Practice requires discipline and gradual progress, not competition. These Kriyās promote health, concentration, and inner peace, aligning body, mind, and spirit.
"Whom God protects, no one can kill. Even the whole world is your enemy."
"Brahma Satya, Jagat Mithyā. God is truth; the world is transient."
This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.
The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:
- Yoga in Daily Life - The System
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda. Ibera Verlag, Vienna, 2000. ISBN 978-3-85052-000-3 - The Hidden Power in Humans - Chakras and Kundalini
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda. Ibera Verlag, Vienna, 2004. ISBN 978-3-85052-197-0 - Lila Amrit - The Divine Life of Sri Mahaprabhuji
Paramhans Swami Madhavananda. Int. Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashram Fellowship, Vienna, 1998. ISBN 3-85052-104-4
