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Part 1: The Science of Yoga and the Awakening of Inner Energy With salutations to the cosmic light, the Lord of our hearts—omniscient, omnipresent, the source of our life and governor of this universe—may He bless us with divine grace. My dear brothers and sisters, good evening. I am happy to see you again here after one year. It was a beautiful stay in your country these last few days, where we discussed chakras and Kuṇḍalinī yoga. Today, I wish to speak about the science of Kuṇḍalinī yoga. But first, I would like to offer a glimpse of yoga itself so you may understand a little of what yoga means. You have the opportunity to hear about yoga from the first source. How old is yoga, and who brought it? Who is the author of yoga? This question is asked by many people around the world. We read in books about Patañjali, about Kṛṣṇa, about Rāma, and about Paraśurāma, who lived more than 15,000 years ago. What is yoga, and how do we understand it? In this universe, two governing powers exist: Devī Śakti and Āsurī Śakti. Devī Śakti is the divine power, and Āsurī Śakti is the devilish power, or what you might call satanic forces. These two forces are always in conflict. Beyond them is one reality: Cosmic Consciousness. That Cosmic Consciousness is also governed by one power or energy, called Yogamāyā, the Cosmic Mother, the Divine Śakti. This power balances the entire universe. All visible and invisible elements are balanced by that cosmic energy. When that energy enters different fields or parts of the cosmos, it mixes with certain qualities. Just as light passing through a red filter becomes red light, and through a green filter becomes green light, so too does this energy move through the universe, taking on qualities and natures that further affect what we call yoga. Yoga is a balancing principle that harmonizes our body, mind, consciousness, emotions, and intellect. It is the science of body, mind, and consciousness—the mother of all spirituality, born from the consciousness of the Almighty Śiva. All spiritual paths, mantras, and prayers originate from that Lord Śiva. Śivaṁ Sundaram. It is Aṣṭa Satyam, meaning the ultimate truth: Satyam Śivam. That is Śiva—liberation, that is bliss. Sundaram is the beauty, the reality. That reality, that bliss, exists within yourself. Śiva means liberation. Śiva means consciousness. Śiva means the liberator, and Śiva means bliss. The origin of all yoga thoughts and techniques comes from that source. It is not possible to say how many millions of years it is. It is said no one created Him; He created Himself, and that is why He is known as Swayambhu. That consciousness, Swayambhu, manifested Himself through Yogamāyā, through the power of yoga. As Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna time and again, "I manifest myself here through my yoga śakti, my yoga māyā." That balancing principle harmonizes the elements and explains how creation takes place. The elements—fire, air, water, and earth—were created. The fifth, ether or space, is also there. Yoga means when harmony is present, things come together, uniting. Literally, yoga texts say yoga means union: the union of individual consciousness with cosmic consciousness. The practice of yoga means reunion. The union can happen only the first time, but reunion happens many times. That is why practicing and following yoga means reunion. What is cosmic consciousness? It is God, the universal God, not as a form. There is only one God, whom we all believe in across different cultures, traditions, and religions. That same God exists within you, within me, and within all creatures. It is the light of that God from which we all come. We are all His sons and daughters. Never forget this: God does not love only humans. God loves all creatures. God loves the whole of nature. The rain is not only for humans to bathe and drink; it rains for all. The air, the oxygen, is not only for human life; God created it for all. All benefit from this. Problems begin in human society when people begin to neglect other creatures and prize only human life. Therefore, it is said: Eko Brahma Dvitīyanāsti. There is only one Brahman. You may say God, Holy Father, Brahman, reality, energy, light, truth—whatever you wish. Eko Brahma, that is only one. And Dvitīyanāsti: where there is a doer, there is duality. And where there is duality, there is distraction. That Supreme One, whom we call omniscient and omnipresent, is in each and every atom, yet we cannot understand Him. We still do not understand Him. Because if He is in every atom, then He is in weapons too. He is in the bullet too. How is it possible that a bullet can kill us? To understand this takes a long, long time of meditation. Meditation is the way to the Self. Meditation is the way to God. That meditation is your prayer. That meditation is your love. That meditation is your honesty, your work—that which unites us. All that God has created, He has created for all. From these elements that God created, we humans are also made. We come into the human body. According to yogīs and the science of yoga, the body possesses special energies or abilities that other creatures, unfortunately, do not have, and that is the intellect. The human intellect can be trained; it is limitless. Human intellect and human consciousness can learn, transcend, and manifest. Among the 8.4 million different creatures God created, one is the human in a human body. There are a number of chakras. Chakra means a circle, a center in the body. These chakras produce energy and consume energy. When an individual is born, at the time the soul descends from the universe, from the astral world into this physical body—the first time it enters the mother’s womb—it is accompanied by thousands of different energies and forces. Some mothers, when they receive a child, feel an immense light in their body because that child has brought this energy. It is a complete system that comes with it. Every individual is its own phenomenon, with its own principles, laws, and nature. Animals have their own law and nature, and humans have a different one. Why the chakra? What does chakra mean? Chakra means turning—movement. Chakra also means endless. There is one cycle which is turning endlessly. Similarly, life is endless; that is called Chaurāsī kā chakra, the circle of 84 lakhs (8.4 million)—rebirth and death, rebirth and death. Some believe in rebirth, and some do not, but reality cannot be changed. Whether you believe or not, there is rebirth. You have been born many times, and now you are human. Maybe you will not be born again, or you will be born again. Why do I say "maybe"? Because many things happen in human life, good and bad. The most terrible tragedy that can befall a human is to die without God-realization. But God-realization cannot take place unless you realize yourself. The great Śaṅkarācārya said: "Who am I? From where do I come? What is the purpose of my coming? And where will I go?" He said, "Do not lie to yourself. Realize. Know thyself." Know thyself is the answer to all your questions. Know thyself is the end of all your sufferings. Knowing thyself is coming out of the circle of birth and death. If you do not know yourself, you do not know the God we believe in. We believe in God, we pray day and night, we meditate, yet we are still not sure. We have love for Him, we dedicate our lives to Him—not all, but some of you—but still, where is the realization? Do not miss this chance of human life. This is the most precious diamond given to us by God: this body. You cannot borrow it anywhere. You cannot give it to someone for a while. You cannot buy a body. Otherwise, humans would be very clever. Therefore, it is said in the Rāmāyaṇa: "I am a great fortunate one that I am born as a human, because I can work through a human body in this life." There are 72,000 nāḍīs spread throughout the whole body, through which conscious energy flows. These 72,000 nāḍīs are responsible for our phenomena—for our physical condition, our mental condition, our mental health, and our spiritual health. Everything that happens in our body is connected with these channels. They are not physical nerves; they are energy channels. And what energy flows inside? The Cosmic Mother. We breathe in and out. Physically, we can say oxygen, but a self-realized person says no. It is that universal mother, Yogaśakti, nourishing her child, who sits in each and every heart. That energy flows through our channeling system, the nervous system. I would like to show you some slides. After a few minutes, you will see them. They have their meaning, and you will see how the nervous system functions. Of course, it is difficult to understand as it is written in Sanskrit. But the artist has tried to depict these nerves around the human body, and these nerves connect to the chakras. Every part of the body has many chakras. In your hands, you have many chakras. Would you like to awaken the chakras in your hands? Healing powers are sometimes very useful. You can heal yourself. If you have a strong headache, stomach ache, or other problems, you can put your own hand on your body and feel release. Or if someone has problems, you can give them energy. These chakras are very easy to awaken. I would like to give you this technique this evening. If you practice, you will become a good healer. If you do not practice, nothing will happen. Would you like to awaken the chakras in your hands? Now, say something—yes or no? Yes? Thank you. Alright. If you would like to awaken your chakras, then open your palms and hold them like this, and feel your palms. You will feel a sensation. You will definitely feel a sensation. We will change. While chanting "Om," concentrate on your palms. You will feel the energy. That is the first step. We will do all steps. The Om chanting will purify the energy and make it easier to awaken your centers gently. The whole second step: hold your hands straight like this. Sometimes people feel very strong energy in their palms, and sometimes they feel pain, remembering Jesus crucified. You can feel it on your palms now. You will definitely feel a sensation. That is only your blood circulation; the blood is flowing down, and the centers in your body, in your hands and palms, are awakening. Where there is movement, there is energy. Where there is energy, there is movement. Where there is movement, there is a process, a growing development. Now, put your palms together, touch them completely, and rub your palms. Meanwhile, the picture of the nāḍīs will come on the screen. Just rub your palms until they become hot. Let them become hot. Now hold them like this. Do you feel it? At least one person feels it. Can you move like this? Do you feel the magnetic power? If you move in this direction, you must feel the needles slowly, as if you have some ball in your hand. Now, let the chakras go to sleep again. Close your fists, hands down, open your palms, and feel it again. If you do not feel it so intensely, they have gone dormant again. If you do this a few times a day—which takes half a minute or one minute—within one year you will have healing hands, and then you can help anybody. I do not see the picture on the screen. Maybe there is a child's picture of the nāḍīs. Among these 72,000 nāḍīs, three are most important: Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumnā. The left nāḍī, connected with the left nostril, controls the entire left hemisphere. The right nāḍī is called Piṅgalā, which governs the right hemisphere. The third one is called Suṣumnā, through which consciousness flows. It is the Suṣumnā nāḍī that receives the energy channel from the astral world and distributes it to all other parts of the body. The left nāḍī is known as the Chandra Nāḍī. Chandra means the moon. The moon never rises equally; it represents the mind. The left nostril, or left nāḍī, controls our mind and represents our emotions. We do not have the same thoughts every day; we are always changing our opinions and minds, just as the moon rises differently each day. Anyone with emotional problems should practice prāṇāyāma with the left nostril: close the right nostril and breathe through the left nostril. Within a few minutes, your emotional problems will diminish. There are different kinds of emotion: anger, hate, nervousness, jealousy—they are all emotions. The right nāḍī is called Sūryanāḍī, the sun nāḍī. The Sūryanāḍī controls your temperament, your activities, and maintains your concentration. If one is nervous and lacks concentration, practice prāṇāyāma through the right nostril. Immediately, concentration will develop. The best technique to calm down and develop concentration is the breath technique: deep inhale and exhale. Scientifically, it is proven that breathing techniques help greatly in cases of depression, mental problems, psychic problems, and also physical problems like heart conditions, circulation issues, and digestive problems. In many ways, prāṇāyāma is a science. Once you practice systematically, the central nerve—the third one—is called Suṣumnā, also known as Brahmanāḍī. Brahma is the supreme, the cosmic. Consciousness flows through the Brahmanāḍī. These two nāḍīs begin from the small of the brain behind the forehead, at the Ājñā Chakra. From there, the left nāḍī goes to the right, and the right nāḍī goes to the left. Where they cross, a chakra is formed; then they change their way again, crossing like a serpentine pattern. That is why Kuṇḍalinī Śakti is known as a snake power. These are the eight main chakras. Please show the chakra picture—the eight main chakras in the human body, which yogīs advise awakening. The human body is divided into five categories. The soles of the feet belong to the earth. From the ankle joints to the knees belongs to the vegetation. From the knees to the hip joints belongs to the animals. From the hip joints at the end of the spinal column to the throat belongs to human consciousness. Above that belongs to the Devī Jagat world, or spiritual consciousness. It is not advisable to touch other chakras; you can purify all through these chakras. The entire human personality, the individual's attitude, resides in these chakras. In some, the Mūlādhāra Chakra is active; in others, the Svādhiṣṭhāna Chakra; in others, the Maṇipūra Chakra. We will come to this later. Next picture. Now, these chakras, which are the main and very strong ones in the body—how? Part 2: The Awakening of Consciousness: Chakras, Karma, and Liberation They receive energy, and these radiant chakras can be awakened through the practice of āsanas and prāṇāyāma. Āsanas are physical exercises. Prāṇāyāma is the breathing technique, along with concentration, mantra, and meditation. In some people, these chakras are turning in the wrong direction. They are not physical chakras; they are in your astral body. You cannot change them through an operation. For example, if you have an operation on your thyroid gland, nothing changes in your Viśuddhi chakra, because this is part of your astral body. We have five bodies, and within these five bodies, the soul resides. Within the soul, there is the light of God, and that is called Ātmā. As long as the soul is not liberated, you have no union. Heaven and hell are merely two rooms for a yogī. Heaven is a slightly better room, and hell is a slightly worse one. But they are both limited. Heaven begins where hell ends, perhaps. When your heavenly karma is finished, you must return to the cycle of eighty-four lakhs (chaurāsī) of births. You must come back into this life. Therefore, going to heaven does not mean liberation, because in heaven you still exist as an individual. As long as you are an existing individual, you are not one with God. You have to become one with Him. When He was here, I was not here. Now I am here, but He is not here. Why? Because the street of love is too narrow. Two cannot walk together; two have to become one. This means you must give up your personal ego, your personal identity, and merge into God, into God-consciousness. As long as you want to be yourself, you are still not one with God. Therefore, mokṣa means complete oneness. Consider this glass of water. I taste it and tell you it is sweet. As an example, let's say this water is sweet. Why? Someone put sugar inside, but I do not see the sugar. You might think, "Swāmījī is not normal." There is no visible sugar inside, yet it is sweet. What happened? The solid form dissolved into the liquid form. But the sugar and water did not truly unite. The sugar kept its quality. Therefore, the sugar did not become one with the water. But sugar unites with sugar, water with water, salt with salt, gold with gold. Quality unites with quality. So we have to develop the divine quality within us—the quality of holy prayer. Practice your mantra and meditate. Be kind, be helpful. Do not run away from your duty. Those who run away from their duty are cowards; those who work are heroes. God gave you this birth with certain duties. You should know your human Dharma. What is your Dharma, and what is my Dharma? Each of us has a different Dharma. Unless you realize your Dharma, you are acting wrongly in matters of dharma, karma, and perhaps your next incarnation. This time, I will talk about these chakras. In some, chakras are turning in the wrong direction; in others, they are more dormant. So, how do we awaken them? How do we regulate them? There are special techniques, which I cannot fully explain now because they require practice. It is not about the physical body; it is about the astral body. This work is done through concentration and Kriyā Yoga. When you practice Kriyā Yoga, and specifically the special chakra kriyās—called chakra śodanam or nāḍī sañchalan—these practices can change your chakras. The chakras we have, as shown in this chart, are: Mūlādhāra, Svādhiṣṭhāna, Maṇipūra, Anāhata, Viśuddhi, Ājñā, Bindu, and Sahasrāra. These are the eight chakras. Now we will discuss the Kuṇḍalinī and the Mūlādhāra chakra. The Mūlādhāra is the first chakra, the first milestone of human consciousness. It is the border between human and animal consciousness. From here, human consciousness begins to develop. We have five levels of consciousness: unconsciousness, subconsciousness, consciousness, super-consciousness, and cosmic consciousness. Normally, humans oscillate between three levels: unconsciousness, subconsciousness, and consciousness. Super-consciousness comes through meditation and prayer, and cosmic consciousness comes afterward. Mokṣa comes later, when you depart from the physical body. Unconsciousness is the storeroom for pralabdha. Pralabdha are past deeds, karma. You know what karma is. Karma has cause, action, and result. Whatever you do, where there is action, there is reaction. The result of the action is a reaction, and that reaction becomes the cause of a future action, so it returns to us. Past deeds, especially from past lives, we call prārabdha—what you call destiny. Some cause good luck or bad luck, and some cause sin. In karma, there are two kinds: positive karma and negative karma. Negative deeds are sin, and positive deeds are good karma. Karma is in your hands. It is like a stone in your hand. If you want to throw it, you can. If you want to keep it, keep it. But once you throw the stone and it leaves your hand, you cannot run behind it and catch it. It is no longer in your hands; it is gone. Now it becomes your destiny. It is in the hands of God. What you have done is now in His hands. Karma is performed through four means: through the physical body, through words, through thinking, and through your social power—such as money, influence, or political power. Therefore, it is said: "Do not harm anyone. Do not criticize anyone. If you cannot do good, at least do not do bad. If you cannot think positively about someone, at least do not think negatively." Negative thinking means poisoning oneself, and positive thinking means enlightening oneself. Tolerance: every child says, "My mother is the best mother." But which mother is not good? Every mother is the best mother. Every religion says, "My religion is the best religion." But which religion is not the best? All religions are the best religion. The problem is that people do not understand this. In religion, there is often no tolerance because of fighting for power and position. Love unites, dear friends, and ignorance divides. Hate divides. Let us work and help each other to create world peace in love. The pralabdha, past karma, lies dormant. In the Mūlādhāra Chakra reside all the problems you suffer today. If you can purify it, you can change your entire life. You will feel like a completely different person, free like a bird flying out of a cage. Mūlādhāra: "Mūl" means the roots, "ādhāra" means the base. The original basis of your destiny is in the Mūlādhāra. The roots of your problems are there, and human consciousness begins to develop from there. The yogīs, in their imagination, call this a lotus flower. When you meditate, you may not see such a lotus, but the lotus has special significance. It is used in many herbal medicines. The lotus stays above the water. Water is māyā, and the lotus is your soul. Although we are in this world, we should always stay above it. We make many mistakes; we are human and have human weaknesses. We know we do not always get what we expect. Some did not get enough love from their father; some do not get love from their mother, or from friends, brothers, or sisters. There are many problems here. But how can we help ourselves to overcome or change our destiny? It is the science of yoga, of prayer. The yoga principle is prayer. Meditate. Believe there is a God. Help others. Serve. Be kind. Give love. These are uniting principles. Any religion in this world that has these principles derives them from yoga. Yoga is not a part of any religion. Yoga is the father of all. That is very divine. In the Mūlādhāra Chakra, there is a red color. Red signifies Śakti, the Divine Mother, Mother Earth. The earth has a red color, and we come from the earth; we are the salt of the earth. You are its essence; the energy within you is a dormant energy that can be awakened. I know this is a long process and a vast subject, and you are tired, having sat for two and a half hours on hard chairs, so I will try to finish soon. In this chakra, you see the symbol of an elephant below. The elephant means wisdom and prosperity—not monetary prosperity, but the prosperity of knowledge and reach. Are those who are wise also poor? Are those who are not satisfied and want more and more wise? Unless we overcome this problem, our treasure remains dormant. There is a mother elephant with seven trunks. Have you seen such an elephant anywhere, except in pictures? Not even in Jagannātha, which is very well-kept. What do the seven trunks mean? Because this is the earth chakra, they represent the seven main minerals, the saptadhātu, which are very important for our health. Awakening the Mūlādhāra Cakra is not only spiritual but will also solve health problems. Suddenly, your blood will show positive results—you will have enough iron, minerals, and vitamins. This works in all five bodies. There is a Śiva Liṅgaṃ in the middle. Śiva is consciousness, and the Liṅga is the attribute of that consciousness. The entire universe revolves around the Liṅga. Zero. Water is also zero. Energy is in a round form. That is the attribute of cosmic consciousness. That is the liṅga. Around this liṅga, a snake is coiled three times, with its head pointing down. These are the three guṇas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. These three guṇas make your consciousness dull, and the process is going downward; development is going down because there is an inverted triangle. That inverted triangle pulls your energy down; your development goes down. We have to turn this triangle and bring the energy up. The triangle should point downward, allowing energy to rise and expand. There is Śiva and Śakti. Śiva is consciousness, and Śakti is nature. There must be a union of consciousness and nature for it to work; otherwise, it does not. The Śiva consciousness is complete. He resides in another chakra, at the top of the head, which you saw before: the Sahasrāra. Sahasrāra means the thousand-petaled lotus where you feel a small, soft spot on the crown of the head. That is the place of Param Śiva in this body. God gave us ten doors. When one dies, one exits through one of these doors. The two lowest doors are for urine and excrement—the anus. The third door is the mouth. The fourth and fifth are the two nostrils. The seventh and eighth are our two ears; the ninth and tenth are our two eyes. When some people die, they release stool and urine. What does this mean? Their consciousness has descended to a lower life again. Normal people, when they die, exit through the mouth—the mouth opens wide—or through the eyes opening wide, or with a little blood from the nose or ears. This means such a person did not attain liberation. They will go to the astral world and, on the waves of time, flutter from space to space, and according to destiny, will be reborn into a new life. The modern world, in modern science, calls this recycling. If you believe in recycling, then you should believe in rebirth. If you do not believe in recycling, perhaps you do not believe in rebirth, but reality does not change. No religion, tradition, philosophy, culture, intellect, or mentality can change reality. Reality is reality. The liberated soul, the yogī who is praying, meditating, and working hard, passes through the tenth door. That is the Kuṇḍalinī Śakti ascending through the Brahmanāḍī Suṣumnā and uniting with Śiva in the Sahasrāra Cakra. If you are a good writer, writing things that make everyone happy, you are a yogī. If you are a good musician, you are a yogī. If you are a good painter, you are a yogī. It is not necessary to sit and meditate with closed eyes all the time, withdrawing to a hut somewhere. I call such a person one who runs away from duty, the laziest one. Yogīs are active and creative. So, there is a Śiva Liṅgaṃ and the Kuṇḍalinī Śakti. That represents your three karmas: past, present, and future. Your destiny is in this chakra. This is about the Mūlādhāra Chakra. If you would like to read or listen more, perhaps next time I will speak about the Svādhiṣṭhāna Chakra, and then I will speak more about Kuṇḍalinī. Fortunately, every chakra is described in your new book, "Yoga and Daily Life," regarding Kuṇḍalinī and chakras. This book is a complete book. It covers Haṭha Yoga, Rāja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jñāna Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Kuṇḍalinī Yoga, and all kinds of yoga. You can find it there. Next time you will hear more about this, as you cannot absorb everything at once. I would like to tell you one thing: the United Nations is turning towards religions and asking for their help to create the world peace we need—religious tolerance. The subjects were tolerance, forgiveness, reconciliation, uniting, coming back together, removing poverty, and understanding. There should be no war in the name of God or religion. More than 1,000 religious and spiritual leaders were at the United Nations headquarters in New York. At the end of the summit, they gave everyone a film titled "The New Millennium Mantra." So, what should be the new millennium mantra? Tolerance, forgiveness, understanding, and so on. This film is about eight or nine minutes long, and I would like to show it to you. After this film, our evening program ends. I would like to thank all our organizers. There are many of them. They worked very hard to bring us all together here under one roof, and I am very happy that you came this evening, dear brothers and sisters. Yoga is such a vast subject. It is the science of body, mind, and consciousness—a lifelong path. That is why I call it Yoga in Daily Life. Whatever you are doing, do it with positive thinking. Let us begin in this millennium to work for world peace. They said that after the end of the Second World War, more than 30 million children became victims of the wars that followed. Many were killed, many are handicapped, and many are psychologically disturbed, totally out of control. Millions of women were killed and suffered, and millions of our young brothers, the soldiers, were killed. What do we want to achieve with this? Why are we fighting? If we are not able to love each other, then what more can we realize? You are wearing white dresses, and I am wearing an orange dress. So what? That is all? I should not wish that all of you wear orange, and you should not wish that all wear only white. Human freedom, human rights—we should work for these. Hold this mantra, and let us make a saṅkalpa that this century will be the century of peace, and that in the end we will say there are no more wars and weapons. We have to work for this, and in that, you are very important. Each drop, one by one, fills the glass. Every step will be counted. So your work and your wishes will be counted in this world to create peace and harmony. I pray for your good health, for your long life, and for divine protection. God bless you, God bless your country, and God bless the whole world. Let us be together in harmony, love, and peace. Thank you, good evening, and good night. God bless you. Thank you.