TV Channel

Part 1: The Ancient Principle of Yoga: A Cosmic and Personal Perspective Good evening, dear brothers and sisters. Welcome. I am happy to see you all in this beautiful hall; at least I now see how a European dancing hall looks. Thank you, Vlado, for your kind words. Dear friends, I am very glad to be here to share a glimpse of yoga and spirituality with you. I see many of you know yoga, and I offer my warmest greetings to those who are here for the first time tonight. Yoga is not new in your country; it has become part of your culture, with thousands of Slovenians practicing it, which is wonderful. Today, I will represent yoga from a different point of view so you may understand its background. Yoga is a very broad subject, and everyone finds what they are looking for. It is a very, very ancient principle, even older than our planet. Please listen carefully to what this means. Your soul is also very ancient, but especially the consciousness, which is as old as the universe. Consciousness has great meaning in life, and the individual has its own meaning in creation. There is a mystery here that is not easy to understand. For centuries, great thinkers have contemplated, discovered, and written about it, and we continue this endeavor. Yoga is a power that balances the entire universe. It is a force that maintains equilibrium. In yogic language, when we talk of the universe, there are three levels to understand. One is what modern language calls a galaxy, which we call Ānand Brahmāṇḍa. Brahmāṇḍa can be translated as the cosmos. Our part of this cosmos is our solar system. But Ananta Brahman means the endless. Yogīs describe 2,100 solar systems and then give the name Ānand. It is fascinating how they discovered this without instruments—through concentration and meditation. This is not only for them; we can also do it if we are disciplined. Ananta Brahmāṇḍa, Ananta Sūrya—that is the entire universe. This entire universe is governed by one principle. In Sanskrit, in yogic language, we call this Parameśvara. Parameśvara, Īśvara, is God, the Supreme God. That consciousness, that God, governs the entire universe. He is the creator himself. The question arises: who created the creator? There is no one who created Him. He is the one who manifests Himself, known as Swayambhū—the self-manifested one. Then we come to our solar system. Here, the governing authority delegated by Parameśvara is called Īśvara. After Īśvara comes the individual, and we are those individuals. Every creature with life inside is an individual. These are the three phenomena. Now, in all these three systems, what is balanced? The principle that maintains proper order, that power, is known as yoga. All stars, planets, elements, and visible and invisible principles are balanced by one principle, and that principle is yoga. Everything that exists is balanced through yoga. By that Swayambhū, the five elements are manifested, and these five elements have built our body. In this body, there are millions of different functions. We know about some, but not all. The mystery of life is indescribable. All these functions—the five elements, consciousness, intellect, emotions, memory, thoughts, mind, feelings, breathing systems, circulation systems—are all balanced systematically. This balance is taken care of by a supreme being. That supreme principle, which I will call yoga today, is formless and nameless. But to understand it, we need a name. The name becomes important; to call someone, you need a name. The name given by the great scholars and thinkers is "yoga." In the Bhagavad Gītā, God Kṛṣṇa said, "Whenever I incarnate, I incarnate through the help of yoga śakti." This manifesting self needs that power, that principle. God incarnates from time to time. He has come several times and will come again. Perhaps He is here, observing us continuously. This is one aspect of yoga I wanted to share. The second meaning of yoga, which leads us back to that point, is generally translated as "union." Yoga means union. What does this union mean? It is the union of the individual with the cosmic one. Every river enters the ocean sooner or later. All liquid on earth originates from the ocean. Similarly, every creature, regardless of form, originates from the one source—God, the Cosmic One. Sooner or later, everyone will return to that origin. That return to unity is called Yoga. As humans, what we possess more than other creatures is intellect. Through our intellectual work on our body, mind, and consciousness, we can hasten this process of returning to unity. The technique for this is called yogic technique. There is an explanation of the word yoga using the example of two oxen or horses pulling a chariot. They must walk in such harmony and balance that the chariot is pulled evenly. These two horses pulling the physical chariot of a man are emotion and intellect. Both must be in balance for you to reach your aim. This is the second meaning of yoga. The third meaning of yoga is taken as a therapeutic way. Here we have a system called Āyurveda. Āyur means life, and Veda means knowledge—the knowledge of life, to prolong life. Why do we need to prolong life? Why should we live long? Because humans have realized there is a God. There is life, the individual, rebirth, death, and liberation. The process we are going through is not always pleasant. Now we return to our life. We divide life into three parts. One part is from death until birth—life in the astral world. This is a subtle energy we cannot see with physical eyes. Yogīs have declared this, and now modern scientists also explore what happens after death through interviews with those who have returned to the body after clinical death. So, there is a part of our life spent in the astral world. The second part is our life as embryos, from the first second we enter the mother's womb until birth. The third part is from birth until death. Each life has its own problems. In each, we face pleasant and unpleasant situations. It is said we are fluttering on the waves of time, from space to space, through light and darkness, experiencing pleasant and unpleasant things. While sailing on these waves, the wind of our destiny takes the boat of our life in a particular direction. Destiny is created individually. There are two things: karma and destiny. Karma is in your hands to do, but destiny is in the hands of God. If you believe in God, here is a clear example. Imagine holding a stone in your hand. It is your stone. You can choose to throw it away or keep it. To act is in your hands. But as soon as you throw it and it leaves your hand, you cannot run to catch it. Bhagya (destiny) has run away. Now, that stone will hit the target where your aim or desires are concentrated. What is done is done and becomes your destiny. Every action brings a reaction, and every reaction creates new actions, in an endless cycle. Our destiny is so vast we do not know where to begin counting. This individual destiny directs our boat. Life from birth until death is not easy. This process is one of development, but what is most unpleasant for us is change. We are born and do not want to die. Everyone fears death; even a small ant is afraid. Every creature has one desire: to be happy. Day and night we seek that happiness. This process, these three kinds of life, is called the circle of rebirth and death, Caurāsīkā Cakra. Yogīs declare there are 8.4 million different kinds of creatures on this planet. If you do not believe it, begin to count. One day, I did not accept it and began counting. After 500,000, I gave up. The yogī gave us correct numbers, dividing creatures into three: Jalchar (creatures in water), Thalchar (creatures on and in the earth), and Nabchar (creatures flying above the earth). Out of these 8.4 million species, one is human. At this point, I will stop and come to another point: a very big question mark in the minds of all humans. For many it is clear, for many it is not: rebirth or reincarnation. "I believe in reincarnation, or I do not believe in reincarnation." This is the struggle. The yogī said, "The truth cannot be changed by belief." The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Whether you believe it or not, it is so. Reality cannot be changed by any belief, tradition, culture, religion, philosophy, or mentality. Where there is birth, there is death. But where there is death, perhaps there is no birth? No, there is rebirth. However, in this rebirth, there can also be no birth—meaning, those who are liberated will come out of the circle of death and birth. Part 2: The Path Beyond Death: Yoga, Self-Inquiry, and Liberation There is a beautiful picture of the king of death. His name is called Yamarāja, and he is holding in his mouth one big circle, a big wheel. On that wheel there are many, many creatures, and constantly he is eating them. Everyone has to go into the mouth of Yamarāja, and it is said that death is so cruel. Yamarāja is so cruel; for him, it doesn’t matter how you die. The main thing is that you die; we are His nourishment. This process we repeat many, many times is unpleasant, is painful, and we don’t want to go again into the mouth of Yama. What to do to get liberation? Here, the yogī began to think about life and how to prolong life through Āyurveda and through movements. So three things are very important in our life: the movement, krejtanje, and the nourishment, hrana, and breathing. Through these three things, we can help ourselves and we can prolong our life. With the help of these three, we can help ourselves and prolong our life. But we are very lazy. We are not disciplined. So Yamarāja is very happy. He said, "Oh, this human nourishment, they are so undisciplined. This is my human food. It is so undisciplined." Now, here yoga techniques developed. Again, taking help of nature, they looked into nature to see how nature is helping itself. So many exercises, postures, āsanas. Many of the āsana practices have been named after animals, because they found how animals are helping themselves. For example, an elephant, when he feels acidity in his stomach, puts his trunk inside and takes liquid out. And so in yoga, there is also an exercise: you drink a lot of liquid, and you vomit it out again. Or a cat: when the cat, after a long time sitting, gets up and stretches her back in such a beautiful way. So, there is a posture or exercise called Marjari, the cat pose. The most beautiful and flexible backbones have got the Marjari, the cat. In this way, the movements were developed. Food and breathing techniques are very important; they influence our body in a positive way. It is like a miracle. Well, this you can learn in your yoga classes when you go to your yoga teacher. In Slovenia, there is not even one village somewhere where there is no yoga exercises—either Yoga in Daily Life or some other yogas. So, there are many, many possibilities. It is said, whoever is searching will find. So, if you are a seeker, you will find it. Now, the yogī found through these three things, through these three mediums, that he can prolong life in order to practice yoga. And in order to realize yoga—what does it mean to practice yoga? Is the other thing not practicing? Yes, that is an instrument for practicing yoga. Yes, these are all the instruments for practicing yoga: nourishment, movement, and breathing. This is a medium to keep your body healthy and long. The practice of yoga is meditation. Realization of yoga means the union of this individual with the Cosmic One. When you have reached this aim, then there is no more rebirth. And consciously or unconsciously, every human knows this, and everyone would like to realize this, but problems are there: we are too lazy, or we have no discipline, or we have some complexes, and these complexes have destroyed mankind. Complexes of religion, complexes of cultures, nations, languages, and so on, so that there is no tolerance. The yogī says you should stand above this. It doesn’t matter in which God you believe. Or it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe in God... But you believe in something, and realize that what you believe. And then you will know there is a God. There is a supernatural power. There is always someone who is observing us. You see, for humans, let’s say, we are spending one lifelong time. We, as people, spend one form of life, nine months, as an embryo. And these nine months are very, very important in our life. Day and night, every second, something is developing in this body. Day and night, in every moment, something develops in that body. And God has to be present there all the time. He is so busy, like a surgeon in the operation theatre. He has to do a very serious operation, and he is very busy. All the doctors and nurses are around that surgeon, and he moves one hand, and the instrument is in his hand. It comes, and he has to work. God is like a surgeon in the operating room, surrounded by doctors and nurses, and when he needs something, that moment an instrument is in his hands. He is like a surgeon who guides us through our lives. And what God has forgotten, no one can correct again. We try, anatomically, some operations, physiologically. But that is a repair. The real origin is something different. So there is a God. There is a God. So, they put the question in front of the humans, the yogī, and that question I was putting also in front of you and in front of me several times. And some are new here today, so may I repeat the questions? The answer to the questions should not be intellectual. Mr. Einstein said that tons of theory are just nothing compared to one gram of practice. So practical knowledge. Practical knowledge is the best knowledge. Theoretical knowledge is also something, but I need practical. And these are the questions you should ask yourself. If you know, and if you don’t know, try to find out the answer. It doesn’t matter in which religion, in which culture, or with which master; if you find the answer, practically, then please tell me also, so that I will also come there. And these are the questions. The first question is this: Who are you? You are not a human, you are not an animal. You are not a god, you are not a devil. What are you? You are not this body. You are not this body, you are not this mind, you are not this consciousness, you are also not this emotion. It is your emotion, your body, your consciousness, your thoughts, but who are you? Theoretical answer, I know very well. We are immortal souls, we are immortal ones, we will never die, we will never die... we will never die. When we are talking about death, the body will die, but when we know that we are immortal and only the body will die, then why are we afraid? So you can say, "I am not afraid of death," but what will happen if the roof begins to fall down here? Will you still sit and listen to the lecture? No, we all will escape. Or a white tiger comes. What happens here? So I must give credit to Mr. Einstein that practical knowledge is still greater than theoretical knowledge. The practical knowledge is much greater than the theoretical. Well, this question, "Who are you?"—find out. Discover who you are, who you are, and see that you are the same. That one is somewhere lost here in this body. That one is somewhere lost here in this body. It’s not so far from you. It’s not so far from you. It is nearer than you could think. It is nearer than you could think, and it is farther than you could think. When you know, it’s so near, and when you don’t know, it’s so far. Knowledge, but you should know. Sometimes knowledge can also cause great pain. So, be careful to know something when you want to know something. Second question: from where do you come? From where did you come in this life? So where have you been in past lives? We should know our background. We need to know our background, not that you are Slovenians, Croatians, Indians, Austrians, Americans, and so on. It’s not about the nation that is your origin, but where have you been in the last life? So, from where do you come? Third question: do you know why you came here in this life? Do you know why you came to this life? Did someone send you here? Or was it you who came here? What made you come here? It must be some particular aim. So, do you know why you came here? Fourth question: are you doing those things for which you came here, or have you forgotten about them? Are you doing those things for which you came here, or have you forgotten about them? Fifth question: do you know where you will go after this life? You are putting money in the bank. You are buying property. You are building the house. We are doing many things for this life. We make the insurance, health insurance, everything. Everything, but did we ever think about our future life after this day? But what kind of insurance are we making for the next life? So the yogī said, "A normal person will think about that." Because everything will remain here, nothing will go with us, unfortunately or fortunately. Even this beautiful body will not go with us. What will go with us? Only our destiny. And what is the destiny? How does our destiny look like? It looks like what we are doing. It will be like what we are doing now. So finally, the yogī tried to meditate and pray and do something good, positive. So, positive thinking, love unites, and hate divides. So, there is a God. Postoji Bog. God exists. So, the last instructions, or in other words, I want to tell you: if you will be aware of three things in your life, your life will become comfortable, and you will continue your spiritual practices. First, whether you believe it or not, there is a God. I do not mean God in some form, because for someone it is God, it is Buddha, or Jesus, or Kṛṣṇa, or Rāma, or Mahāprabhujī, or Muḥammad, and so on. And for someone who is atheist, who doesn’t believe in these forms—atheists, for example, do not believe in that form—but atheists also believe in something, and atheists have a very peculiar life. They are very good people, they have a very good heart, they are loving people, they do... Do not believe what you believe, that is all, and why should we be there? And why would you call them bad people when they don’t believe what you believe? Then they can also say you are bad people, you don’t believe what they believe. So, who are we to judge someone? Therefore, let them believe as they believe. Let people believe in what they believe, because finally, God is above those beliefs which we are believing. And when finally your destination will be reached, all ways will end; there is no more way. After long flowing, when a river enters into the ocean, her way ends. So all beliefs, no matter which religion or which path, all will finally end when we enter into the cosmic consciousness. All of our religious paths will end when we fall into the cosmic consciousness. So there is God. Second, do believe. Where there is birth, there is death. And where there is death, there is birth. Never think that you are immortal physically. Sooner or later, one day, we are on that number. In life, many good and bad things happen, but the most terrible tragedy that will happen in a human life is that a human will die without God realization. And the biggest tragedy that can happen to a human being is to die without God Realization. So please don’t die without God realization. Please don’t die before you know God or Self-Realization. Because you never know if it will be given to you again, this beautiful life. A human body is the most precious diamond. You can’t buy this body anywhere, and you can’t lend it to anyone. You can’t borrow or buy it anywhere. And the third thing is that you do believe: every action has its results. Believe that every action has its result. Either mental or physical, whatever you do, the fruits will come back to you. Whatever you do, the fruits will come back to you. Do good, face good. Do bad, face bad. If you do good, you will meet with good. If you do bad, you will meet with bad. So every karma has its fruits. Who is born will die. Time doesn’t wait for anyone, and there is a God. With these final words, I will tell you to begin, immediately, your spiritual sādhanā. Pray, meditate, read holy books, and have love in your heart for all creatures. No dualities, no jealousy, no anger, no complexes, no hate. Be without hatred, indifference, envy, complexes. That will make you divine, and that, for me, is yoga in daily life. So, whatever you are doing, if it is good, that is yoga. If you are a good writer, you are doing yoga, because you make them happy. If you are a good musician, that is yoga. Or if you are a good singer, your voice makes others happy, that is also yoga. Use your talent for good things. Avoid all negative things, negative writing, negative critiques. Love each and every being, every creature. If not more, then at least as much as you love yourself. I wish you all the best, God’s blessing, for your good health, and to begin with your spiritual sādhanā to drive away negativity.