TV Channel

Last, but not least, we should not forget those without whom this whole event would not be possible: our Swāmījī. When we began planning this seminar, we thought it would be good to have Swāmījī present, at least a little. Perhaps we might play a video or a meditation from him. But in reality, Swāmījī was so present in spirit. I saw Jyotī and Chakpurī coming, and the presents I had for you I already gave to someone. Can you now give them, please? Thank you to Chakpurī and Jyotī. To whom did I give the gift for Chakpurī? I didn’t give it? Then you come here. Okay, now he is there; he will take it for him. Thank you. You must remember that the Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna group, though it is the smallest group here now, is originally the essence of this seminar. These techniques are now very reduced, but originally they are Swāmījī’s personal techniques, the very means by which he attained what he attained. When the practices done there are filtered a bit, they are still the techniques Swāmījī received, and thanks to which he reached his realization. I have been practicing this since 1987. At that time, Swāmījī was personally leading the whole program, and practically everyone who came, came for that. Back then, it was mostly held in Reichenau in Austria, in the mountains, a very beautiful setting. However, the groups were not so big; there were maybe eighty people together, and most of them practiced in Kriyānusthāna, while for some who could not, there was a small side group. So Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna is truly the most essential program, and it would be good if everyone tries to reach a level where they can participate in it. So the Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna is the main program, and therefore everyone endeavors to reach the level of the Sun so that they can join. It is not easy. It is a little demanding, though Swāmījī already made it much easier. Originally, the programs were longer. This tapas, this fire that purifies, is truly something. It burns away karmas that could be obstacles on our future paths; otherwise, we might burn in that fire. So, I think we can be happy that Swāmījī was very present here, and we are preparing everything so that he can come back here soon. One part of this is the reconstruction of Swāmījī’s apartment. We mentioned this earlier, and there on the table is the donation box, should anyone wish to support it. And because not everyone might know what we are actually speaking about, they prepared some pictures so you can see what is going on there. They took photos so you could witness what is happening in that house. Does it take time? Should we sing a bhajan? I think one bhajan would be good. As it will take a while, we will sing a bhajan. I think one would be good. Always, when we travel—and you have to travel now, and I am traveling a lot also—we are all travelers. This gathering was just for two days; now it was eight days. You can sing, if you can sing. Swāmī Gajānandjī was trying to force me, or convince me, to say something at least from time to time during satsaṅg. And I successfully resisted. I successfully resisted because I just came back from India, and I am still not physically balanced yet. So I did not want to make any tapasyā for myself, nor for you. But then he asked me to say something, at least at the end, so I said, "OK." We had a beautiful week here, full of harmony and peace, which in these days of Kali Yuga is very rare. I think for a long time we will remember these days. All of us could feel Swāmījī’s presence, his help, his love, and his guidance. That was very beautiful for us, and also a very beautiful experience. So we thank Swāmījī a lot. And we also thank Swāmī Gajanan for beautifully leading the seminar. I would like to tell you one story which happened to me many years ago, and I think it could be an inspiration to all. A long time ago, I was reading in Swāmījī’s lectures that during Yoga Nidrā, one can get to the first point of one's own life. This interested me, and I thought I would like that too. Then I forgot about it. But the wish was working. Once, I was practicing yoga nidrā, and all of a sudden, I was somewhere. I could see myself saying goodbye to Mahāprabhujī, and I was going to the earth. It was very beautiful, very touching, but it also felt like it was just for a short while, as if you are going shopping or taking a short trip somewhere. And after a very short time, we are back again. So many times I remembered this experience. I believe it is true for all of us, because I think all of us are saying goodbye to some divinity. It did not have to be Mahāprabhujī; it could be some other form of God, but God. So we should try to live in such a way that when we see each other again, there is nothing we have to be ashamed of. And when we come back there, we come back as a victor—and if not a full victory, at least a partial victory. This is something I would like to wish for you all, and for myself also. Can we see the pictures now? Can you maybe switch off these lights for a moment? I would like to show you how it looks up there. We will have a flat which will be small. There will be one window to the east. Then there will be a staircase, a small changing room, a bathroom, and a beautiful window giving a view to the garden, to the park. Until now, we were doing all the work by ourselves, but for the woodwork and the plumbing, we need to hire somebody. We are trying to be finished by the middle of August for the seminar. I was saying maybe play it one more time; I didn’t translate properly. Was it enough, or do you want to see it once more? Maybe then the Hungarian translation, because you didn’t translate properly, no? So, should we do it once more? I mean it’s just three minutes or so. So then, please show us once more. Now, let’s have a look at how your kindness and bhakti is changing, through money and karma yoga, into the flat for Swāmījī. In the pictures you can see how it looks right now. It will be a small flat. It will have a window to the east. To this room, there will be a turning staircase. There will be a small changing room, a bathroom, and a bedroom with this beautiful window to the park. Till now we were doing everything ourselves, but for the wood and plumbing we need to hire somebody. We are trying to finish for the seminar in August. So, our Krishnānandjī is one of the old disciples of Swāmījī, and I guess he might like to share something with us. Krishnānand is one of the old disciples of Swāmījī, and he would like to share something with us. Karata Mahāprabhujī kī jaya. Maybe an old disciple, maybe not. First of all, as the bhogīs always find something to celebrate, I thought about what kind of celebration there might be today. I have been a disciple of Swāmījī for 33 years and twice 33 days. Even that is a miracle, that I managed to be a disciple, and since then my life is a series of miracles. Every day and every minute that I can be with Swāmījī is also a miracle and very beautiful, and in this way, all of life becomes a celebration. This year, I would like to mention only one thing, which refers to Guru Vākya and how serious it is to take it seriously. I probably could not tell all my experiences this year, so I will tell only one, but this is an example of how we should take Guru Vākya seriously. In 1979, after the completion of a summer camp, Swāmījī said that there was still time to be with us. I think the time has passed when he can say such things, but back then he stayed here in Hungary, and we went on a national tour. That is when one of the miracles happened—something people call a miracle, though they do not understand it. Five, six, or maybe seven of us traveled the country in Trabants, and Swāmījī said there was a very nice area; let us go there for a picnic before we get to Budapest. After arriving, Swāmījī said that the time had come to teach yoga nidrā only to us, to those who were there. He told us to lie down in yoga nidrā, and he began to teach it. We were very, very deep in the yoga nidrā when Swāmījī suddenly said, "Okay, now is the right time to get up, open your eyes, sit up, and as quickly as possible jump into the cars and go, because in two minutes there will be so much water here that we cannot move." None of us believed it, really, because it was a very hot, sunny day. The sky was blue without any clouds, and the sun was shining so strongly we could have squeezed the sweat from our clothes. One of us, I don’t remember who, said, "He is the guru, he is our guest. If we can make him happy, then just go." As the last person sat in the Trabant, in that moment I noticed something like the sky closing, and then it started to rain. As it turned out, a few hours before, the entire country had been raining. It had only stopped in that area because Swāmījī wanted to do yoga nidrā. And so we learned that we should not believe our eyes so much, but rather the Guru Vākya. And just a quick reminder, did I hear correctly that this building was a prison before it became an āśram? I don’t know if you remember well, but I heard that this āśram was a prison. Well, we all watch a lot of things in our childhood. In Hungary, we know that after 1956, my great-grandfather was imprisoned for political reasons, and I was a young boy of about ten years old at that time. Like every teenager, I wanted to have some supernatural power to go there and free him. I went to all the circuses where there were fakirs, thinking that they were also yogīs. For five years, I read many yoga books and went to the circus if a fakir was performing, because I believed fakirs also practiced yoga. I forgot about this, but then I met Swāmījī, and once he mentioned that maybe we could go to the prison to teach yoga. It became my wish to go there, and I managed to do it just in time. For the last year, we went to the prison and made "Yoga in Daily Life" classes for the prisoners. There are different groups, but I think the prisoners wanted to joke with us. We were invited to present the exercises, and a group of twenty to thirty men was assembled. One of them was as big as a three-door cabinet, and they all had very, very big muscles. I was there with Kiran, who was showing the exercises. They all pressed into the yoga room and told each other, "Well, now we will not tire each other out." I told Mahāprabhujī, "What to do with them?" Of course, we constructed an altar from the books. I told Kiran that I would place Swāmījī’s picture on the altar, and that he should stay in position until I said his name. We practiced Śalabhāsana. I told them that everyone has different physical conditions, so everyone could return when they felt like it, but most probably everyone would stay in this position until the end of the class. After two or three minutes, somebody let their head or leg down, but I told them, "Oh, it’s no problem. You can take the position again and repeat it four or five times." It was very strange: these men with enormous muscles, one of them didn’t get up after a while. Finally, everybody was just lying on the ground. Then I said to Kiran, in a whisper but loud enough that everyone could hear, "Okay, slowly you can return, because nobody is practicing anymore." They started whispering to each other, "Well, there might be something in that yoga." And from that moment, they did everything; they did all the breathing exercises, the peace meditations, and the full practice. Thanks to that, yoga earned tremendous respect in that place, because they stand on the side of power, physical power. Since then, they have been doing all the exercises, prāṇāyāma, and physical postures. The guards and people working in the prison said, "There is no justice. The prisoners can practice yoga, but we cannot." And in our system, yoga in daily life, we really have to believe, because these people, who are extremely stressed, when the yoga class is over and I say, "Hari Om," they don’t want to go. They sit further. Then, when they finally leave, they ask, "When will there be a new yoga class? Hari Om, Hari Om." Next week we will go to them again, and I really hope I can carry this atmosphere here to them even further, because they need Hari Om very much. Thank you, Kṛṣṇānandajī. And I think now is really time to slowly come to an end. I think the best is if we sing the prayer at the end, so you can take this energy with you.