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Ekāntavās means to live in a peaceful place, far from all civilization. It is a place for anuṣṭhān, for dedicated practice. Yoga is as old as this universe. Ānand Brahman, the endless universe. Within it is the endless, universal consciousness. Yoga is the principle that maintains the balance between that consciousness and the space. All visible and invisible elements in this space—all stars, moons, suns, and planets—are in balance. This balancing principle is yoga. It is the same principle that balances the five elements from which our body is created. The hundreds of thousands of systems and principles within the body are also balanced by this one principle: yoga. Mind, emotion, memory, thoughts, space—everything is balanced. Where there is balance, there is harmony. Therefore, the next step to understanding yoga is harmony. And where there is harmony, there is unity. Simply translated, yoga is union—the union of the individual with the cosmic One. But yoga means that balancing, uniting, maintaining principle. Without it, nothing can happen. Therefore, the first pūraṇa, the first vibration, the cosmic resonance that took place in the Cosmic Consciousness, is called Icchā Śakti. This is the fourth principle: divine willpower. "I am one, now I will multiply." But that desire is not like human desires. That mind is not like human intellect or human mind. It is a tendency, a cosmic vibration. The yogīs declared that yoga is a sound: Oṁ. Nāda rūpa parabrahma—if you want to see the form of Parabrahman, the supreme, it is the sound, the vibration. If you want to see the form of the highest Parabrahman, it is the sound of Oṁ. It is so fine that we cannot hear it with our ears. Therefore, it is said: "Oṁ kāra vindusa yuktaṁ nityaṁ dhyāyanti yoginaḥ." After all their research, the yogīs realized that the sound Oṁ—comprising akāra, ukāra, and makāra—is that Parabrahman. From these three principles, the three guṇas developed. Thus, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa are practically the three guṇas. The yogīs concluded that Oṁ is the highest form. When we speak about God, it does not mean a human form, not as we typically think. Vedānta, or Hinduism, or Sanātana Dharma, believes in only one God: that Parabrahma, the supreme, omniscient, omnipresent, only one God. One in all and all in one. Gurujī used to say that one is in everything, and all is connected to that one. One in all and all in one. Everything can be found in one, and one can be found in everything. Therefore, creation is His second form. All are His sons and daughters. Even a small creature, even a small ant, is also the son of God and the daughter of God. Therefore, everything is holy. All these principles created by that One we can call, for example, Agnidev, the fire god. We have not seen God. We don’t know how it will be when we see Him or what we will get. But that Agni, that fire, is in our body as temperature. Without it, we cannot live. If the temperature goes too high, we also can’t live; it will kill us. So, every element is God. Jal Devatā, Agni Devatā, Vāyu Devatā, Pṛthvīmātā, Ākāśa—these are all Buddhas, these are all Gods. Therefore, not only are humans holy, but cows or buffaloes can also be holy. Jīva ātmā, that soul in which the ātmā is living, a living creature, is a creation of that One Supreme. All that maintains that consciousness is yoga, and therefore God Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna: "Arjuna, from time to time I manifest myself through my yoga māyā, through yoga śakti." He did not say that He manifests through āsanas and prāṇāyāmas. So, if yoga is only āsana and prāṇāyāma, then we don’t know what yoga is. But after long research, they discovered how to keep balance in body, mind, and soul—what is good for humans. So they created a system. The first consideration was nourishment. This food is not only for humans, animals, or trees. Before creation, there was a kind of parliament, a protocol about creating this planet, where all the goddesses and gods were sitting together. They do not have differences. There is no little god, no semi-god, and no big god. God is God. Fire is fire. It is just fire, whether in a matchbox or a burning building. So the heavenly architect, Viśvakarmā, was consulted. Viśvakarmā is also God. He designed this world, this planet. That’s why we say, "O God, beautiful in the mountains, in the ocean, in the fields, in the rivers." Natural ground and trees have an automatic shape according to Vāstu Śāstras. But the question was: What is the aim of this world? How will survival be maintained? Is this world sustainable or temporary? It is sustainable, but self-sustainable. Here is Karmabhūmi, Mṛtyuloka—the place of death and birth. Liberation is here. So, what will happen if all are born here and there is no more place? If everyone is born and can sustain themselves and doesn’t die? Everyone would be lazy. No one would do anything. Perfect. Then it was said, we shall give them jāṭharāgni, the digestive fire: hunger. Hunger is the guru of all. The laziest person, when very hungry, will get up and search for food. But what should they eat? So they consulted with Yamarāja, the king of death. The principle became: life will eat life. That is cruel. It is not our aim, they all said. But if not, this planet will not function. There will be sin, many sins. The Dharmarāja, the king of virtue, said, "That’s not good. Who will maintain them? There are also devas." Life will eat life. But animals... So God said to the animals, "Eat whenever you find anything." So the cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep—they eat all the time. But this cannot bring them to liberation. We must have one exception, a being that will learn how to live and use its life. That is the human. So God gave something very special to the human between the two ears—the left and right hemisphere. By using this, you can liberate yourself, or you can bind yourself to the cycle of birth and death (chaurāsī). With this help, you can either set yourself free or put yourself into bondage. But what about the food of the devas? Only smell, fragrance. However, there are two powers: the Devī Śakti and the Asura Śakti. The Asuras, the Rākṣasas, said, "We are not satisfied with agarbattis, flowers, and good smells." They need tamas and rajas guṇas. For them, it is the smell of spoiled food, meat, alcohol, and so on. So, in holy places, there are good flowers, perfumes, and incense. For black magic and tantric ceremonies, they need blood, meat, and wine. Everyone is satisfied according to their own nature; all are happy. Therefore, that principle which maintains and balances even our body—circulation, organ function, glands, nerves, joints, ligaments, tissues—must be some power, some energy. That is yoga. So the first consideration was nourishment. Then movement. Where there’s energy, there’s movement. Where there’s movement, there’s progress and development. Where there is development, there’s life. So life is connected with energy, movement, and achievement. If you remain one week in bed, you will become very ill. So in yoga, they researched postures. These postures are the positions of different creatures, showing how they live, sit happily, or relax. That’s why the names of all āsanas are only animals' names. For example, Kuñjal Kriyā. Kuñjal refers to the elephant. When an elephant does not feel well in its stomach, it puts its trunk into its mouth, takes the acid out, and spits it out. The yogī does similarly: drinks water and vomits. This is Kuñjal Kriyā. Another example is the cat, Mārjārī. Consider the cobra. Generally, you will not see a cobra standing up all the time. Why does it raise the front part of its body? When it is frightened, scared, or angry. When it raises up, the nervous system around its spinal column calms down, and then it goes down and away. According to Kuṇḍalinī knowledge, the Svādhiṣṭhāna Cakra is where our anger and desires are hidden. When you practice Bhujaṅgāsana (Cobra Pose), your Svādhiṣṭhāna Cakra is influenced greatly. It releases your anger and fear. Self-confidence develops. We see this automatically in children; they often like to lie on their stomachs and lift up, as it helps in personality development. So every āsana has its science, its psychology behind it. Therefore, yoga āsanas are not a sport, not gymnastics, but holistic knowledge because they influence body, mind, and intellect. There are three principles in doing āsanas. First, dynamic movement for body warming—like an appetizer before a meal, just five minutes. Then comes stretching, which removes stiffness from the body. This is like a counter-posture, such as Kaṭhūprāṇām. Then come the postures, the āsanas. Āsana means where you can feel comfortable. Your sitting place is also called an āsana, and your bed is śayanāsana—a place where you can relax and sleep comfortably. Through āsanas, the function of the glands and circulation develops; an entire physical rhythm comes into balance. Many have problems with the thyroid gland. Yoga is the best treatment for it. Practices include Bhujaṅgāsana, Matsyāsana, Ustrāsana, Ujjāyī Prāṇāyāma, Jālandhara Bandha, and Naukā Sanchalana Āsana. Do these every day, three or four times, and your thyroid problem can disappear. The complete sister course is: āsana, prāṇāyāma, mudrās, bandhas, and kriyās. These form the complete block of your daily program. Then comes dhāraṇā (concentration), dhyāna (meditation), and mantra or japa. Now, due to hectic life, social duties, and many kleśas (afflictions) and vikṣepas (distractions), sometimes we cannot keep discipline. Therefore, the ṛṣis said to householders that they should go away for a while and relax. In the modern system, we have holidays, but nowadays holidays are not truly holidays; they are often chaotic. Therefore, a place like this—a beautiful Ekāntavās—is ideal. I would say this is a gurukula, where master and disciple sit together and have Upaniṣad. Only a few days are left. That’s why I said, "Observe mauna (silence)," and enjoy this indescribable beauty of nature. Breathe this pure air, this prāṇa. Prāṇa is life. God is prāṇa-nāṭa, the giver of this prāṇa, which is the source of our life. So, yoga means uniting. Yoga means the balancing principle: balance, harmony, and finally, unity.