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Part 1: The Purpose of Human Life and the Path of Yoga Om Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ, Sarve Santu Nirmāyāḥ, Sarve Bhadrāṇi Paśyantu, Mā Kaścid Duḥkha Bhāgbhavet, Om Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Salutation to the cosmic light, Lord of our hearts, omniscient and omnipresent. In his divine presence, good evening, dear brothers and sisters around the world. The blessing is coming from the holy Bhārat, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Viśva Guru Dīp Āśram. Welcome, all of you, and nice to see you through the webcast after a few days. I was somewhere in a remote area where there was no internet connection. I do believe that you had a very good Guru Pūrṇimā. You had a very nice celebration and satsaṅgs of our universally worshipped Satguru Dev, Śrī Devpurījī. Dear spiritual seekers, practitioners of spirituality, and seekers of Ātmā Jñāna, the subject for the last three months is continuing: the aim or the purpose of human life. So let it begin again, to continue this subject. After all this, one of the most divine, successful, practical, which is designed for everyone, is yoga. Yoga is one of the most ancient techniques. It’s not only the theory. Unfortunately, in the Kali Yuga, theories are developing out of the human intellect, but you know that tons of theory is nothing compared to the gram of practice. Therefore, it is said, "Abhyāsa, abhyāsa, o." Kunti Abhyāsa. O son of the Kunti, Arjuna, practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect. In fact, practice makes the master, and practice leads us to the final destination of human life. Out of 8.4 million different creatures on this planet, which are divided into three categories: Jalcha, Thalcha, and Nabcha—creatures in the water, on the earth, and in the space. The eternal ātmā, which is connecting with the jīvātmā, the jīva, that jīva is traveling around the entire universe, the endless universe, on the waves of time, fluttering on the waves of time through space. Darkness and light, pain and pleasure, happiness, the miseries, good and bad experiences. Finally, by the divine mercy of the Almighty, this jīvātmā got the human body. But it does not mean that we discriminate against other creatures, no. Humans have a particular dharma in human life. First of all, self-realization. Ādi Guru Bhagwaṅ Śaṅkarācārya said, "From where do I come?" Where is my origin? Why did I come here in this life as a human? What am I doing? Did God send me here for that purpose which I am doing? Drinking, eating, sleeping, and creating children—even animals are very active. Fighting each other, jealousy, hate, revenge, it is in every creature. Animals are also angry, have hate, have jealousy, and have revenge. Many times you can see the elephant takes revenge. Buffaloes, dogs, tigers, snakes, birds, and so on. But the human, through human qualities, has to defeat, has to master, has to overcome, and become free from this hate, jealousy, greed, ego, and so on. So, who am I? I am not this body, so the subject leads us to the Rāja Yoga, where we will come a little later. Even my body is not mine. It is temporarily given to us. It is an instrument. It is a tool. That’s all. How long will you use this tool? One day, your car will become old. The carousel will be rotten. The engine will be destroyed. The tires will also be old. Everything will fall apart. What is then? Buy a new car. From time to time, we take it for repairs in the workshop. And similarly, when we are ill, we go to the doctor and get the repair. Sometimes an eye doctor, sometimes an ear doctor, a nose doctor, a throat doctor, a dentist, for the liver, for the gastroenterologist, for the heart and bones, and so on and so forth. But how long? How long? All that we are doing is a pūrpañj. Destiny is smiling on us. Destiny is smiling on us and looking down and saying, "Oh human, how long will you try to keep this your body?" My decision is assured. You can’t cross that border. What you are doing in between is your karma that you are suffering. Human beings nowadays are leading a very unnatural life. The people who live so-called in civilization, so-called in big metro cities, so-called with all the modern technologies, they are mostly ill. Day by day, many hospitals are created. When hospitals are full, there is no place. The person who is living in the city is not even able to fast for one day. Fasting: breakfast and lunch, you have to quit and have only dinner. But as soon as you get up in the morning, or one day before, therefore, psychologically, you are giving the thoughts in your mind, "Tomorrow I have to fast, this evening I will have a late dinner, no problem." Even if you have a late dinner, by sunrise you will be hungry. Now I am fasting, but I can have a coffee with a little more milk inside, because I am fasting. Yes, it is said you can eat some dry fruits, almonds, raisins, cashews, and so on. It’s allowed to drink one glass of the juice, also a piece of fruit, why not? So it means psychologically you make yourself so weak. And till evening, you are without energy, having headaches, blood pressure goes down—all is psychological. And if you have to fast for a whole week, Navarātrī, nine days of the Divine Mother, Those who are fasting for nine days, you know how many liters extra with the ghee inside. The milk they are consuming. Morning, half a liter of milk with 100 grams of ghee. Lunchtime, half a liter, one liter of milk with 100 grams of sugar, 50 grams of ghee inside. And evening, same thing. Where is your fasting? Still we don’t have strength, and we are thinking, "I hope nine days will pass quickly." This is a condition of the people who lead life unnaturally. And we are very ill. Not only humans, but also your house pet. Your dogs are also ill. Your cows are also ill with you. Your goats are ill with you. They also can’t fast longer. Then let’s go to the mountains, to the tribes, the Ādivāsī. Ādivāsī have that power to endure hunger, thirst, cold, hot, heat. Even sometimes they do not have to eat for a few days, and even they can’t get to drink water. There is no water. But they are capable to run. They go for hunting. They climb up on the mountains. They walk through. Also, the deer in the forest, Neil Guy, Rose, and rabbits, which live in the forest, sometimes don’t get water for a few days. But they can run, they can jump, and they are not ill. So this is a clear picture that humans, even influencing nature in an unnatural way, Manipulated everything, chemicals everywhere. But all is a pollution created by humans. So, humans should think again to come back to nature and to know ko’ham, katham, idam, jātam. So, who am I? From where do I come, and where am I going? Did I come for building a very big factory? Did I come to have many, many newspapers and magazines? I have today a very nice magazine. Did God tell you to make this magazine? What is the purpose of making this magazine? Okay, to give good information to the people who will read this magazine. It goes to the many, many people, Good magazine. Everybody said, "Oh, it’s very nice." And then you open, you see Mahāprabhujī inside, okay? Now, how selfish I am. How selfish I am, because when I see my grandmaster inside, I’m happy. I said, "Oh, it’s a good magazine." And when Mahāprabhujī is not inside, or my master, or something which I like, He said, "Okay, good, but good." So again we become selfish. We are centered towards our own ego. And that is a problem. Did God say something to do this and that? No. But we, as a civilized people, require immense comfort. And became lazy, little by little, the way of natural life is gone. A few days ago, I saw the Mahāśiv Purāṇa, that Swayambhu, no one has created him. It is he who has manifested himself as Brahman, the Supreme, from cosmic energy into the cosmic light, and manifested in the human form as Śiva, who also created Viṣṇu and Brahmā and so on. That time of the creation, when Brahmā began, Because Brahmā got the duty now on this planet to create something, a living planet. And so Brahmā created many, many ṛṣis. And the first disappointment on this planet, Brahma had from his own children. He created the children for the creation, but as soon as they came, manifested through different prāṇas—prāṇa, apāna, samāna, udāna, vyāna—sound, light, five jñānendriyas, five karmendriyas—everyone, when they came, said, "Father, what is it, your wish?" Then, they said that you should become the father creators. They said, "We have no interest. We would like to go for tapasyā, ātmā jñāna—who we are." And they just left. Brahmā was disappointed, looking down. So, when you have some disappointment... In this world, don’t worry. It is the beginning from the Brahma. Who are you? Even they were disappointed. Therefore, it is said, "Be happy."What? And I am that. What will happen with this "I"? And what? Mata kahe putra hamārā. Mother said, "He is my son or my daughter." Behen kahe, bhai mera. Aur brother said, "Bhujamerī is my right arm." And the wife said, "No, no, it’s mine."Then you will die. Mother is crying; she is holding her stomach. Brother is crying because he lost his shoulder or arm. Sister is crying, and wife is crying, but very soon they will bring you to take you to the cemetery, to the crematorium. And it is said, your bones will burn like wood, and your hairs will burn like grass, and within no time this golden body will be burned into ash and blown away. Long as mother will live, she will cry for her child. Some days, the brother, and 13 days, the wife, and then 14 days, she will seek another husband. That’s it. Therefore, what is the sense of this all? Is the creation done for ātmā jñāna? Where I am going is something. Death is the final truth of this life, and then you just jump into the nothingness. At the time of death, no one can go with you. Even our dear ones will hold our hands and sit beside us. Lekin chala gaya, sabhi chhod kar chala, musā phir bās kiyā ban mein, jagat kā jīvan do din mein. Therefore, human life, as many positive thoughts you have, it is supporting to illuminate; that’s called enlightenment. Enlightenment, to illuminate your consciousness, your cidākāśa, your own phenomenon. Every thought of anger, hate, jealousy, revenge, greed, and ego is darkening your phenomenon, darkening your consciousness. That’s called mala, vikṣepa, and āvaraṇa. Mala is impurities, vikṣepa is disturbances, and āvaraṇa is ignorance. So when we begin to think negative and act negative, then we are creating the mal, which means impurities. But we have to become pure from this, and that’s why many times we greet and we meditate. It’s called alakha, what? Niranjan. Alakha, Niranjan. What does Alakha mean? Indescribable. We cannot write enough about that which is alakha, that is ātmā. Niranjan is pure, spotless, and that’s called ātmā. I am the ātmā, alakha nirañjan, nirañjan. When you begin to pollute your chidākāśa, then vikṣepa begins. Then come the different thoughts that are crashing, and that person is searching either for the solution to come out of the problems or searching to create more problems. So some people are known as troublemakers. When they have nothing to do, they think how to create a problem for their neighbor or for other people. In one village, people are living together. They should live as one family, brothers and sisters. But even nowadays, brothers and sisters cannot live in peace together. One village, which has only 40–50 houses, has so many troubles. Fighting each other, trying to create problems, and many, many cases. And one benefit, the lawyers are getting benefit, more money. And if the people will give mutual understanding and live like one family, then lawyers will get something, but not that much that they can take away everything. So for that, Maharishi Patañjali, great Patañjali said, "Chitta vṛtti nirodha." Therefore, if you begin to experience something negative or begin to think this, creating the pollution, then you sit in meditation or prayer and look within thyself. Your own mirror, your citākāśa, is a screen; your intellect is A projector, your heart, the emotion is that both inside which give the light through the knowledge. And now you will see what have you done today, good or bad to someone. The result will be at the end of the life, and sometimes it will come very soon back. We don’t know when. So, "Yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ."Look to your thoughts. What have you done from morning till now? When you will sit to meditation, but still the vṛttis are coming, that’s called vikṣepa. When the surface on the water... There are many, many waves. You can’t see anything that’s lying down on the bottom of the pond, or the swimming pool, or the sea. You have to break the waves to put a glass window over the water, and then you can see, yes, there is something. Similarly, you have to break the waves, protection in your chidākāśa, and that is called your mantra, practice, and meditation. Those who have a mantra and those who are practicing this, Then Gurudev said, "Thoughts come." So in the meditation, you should know there is someone who is protecting me. Through what? Through that Guru Tattva, through that mantra. And that mantra is nothing else than a holy name, the good word, good sentences. If you are injured by a knife, the wound will heal, but if you are injured by a word, that will remain your whole life in your heart as a wound. Therefore, speak such a language, speak such words, that all become happy and you also feel happy and relaxed. That time, when you go to the meditation and the vṛttis come, vikṣepa, You ask, "Why? Why?"Then Patañjali goes one step back. He said, "My student, my disciple, I told you the first: atha yoga anuśāsanam, atha yoga anuśāsanam. Your yogic life, your spiritual life, your practices and your sādhanās, and whatever you are doing, that needs discipline." Self-discipline is the key to success. Where there is no discipline, there is no success. Part 2: The Path of Satsaṅg and the Removal of Ignorance Therefore, with discipline, our actions become very pure. We become increasingly pure, nirañjana. We have no fear, we are not angered, we have done nothing wrong—we didn’t kill, we didn’t hate—we are peaceful and happy. Thus, our citta vṛttis are calm. Yet, there remains a thick curtain, an āvaraṇa, a thick curtain of ignorance. "I don’t know." Of course, you don’t know. Now you must go further. You don’t know what you should know. A great, well-known philosopher from Greece wrote at the end of his life: "Now I know that I don’t know." He wrote many theories, tons of theories, but there was no practical realization. This is the difference between other philosophies and Yoga philosophy, which is a practical path. It has nothing to do with whether you believe in a religion or not, or practice another spirituality. All paths will lead you to that point. God Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna it doesn’t matter which way you go; finally, He will be there. So why not go directly? Which is the comfortable way? Yoga practice, yoga bhakti. Arjuna asked, "On the way, before I come to you, I will die. What is the purpose? Everything is finished." Kṛṣṇa said, "No, it is not finished. Whatever you do in this life..." It will continue for you into the next life, meaning the astral world, and then it will join you again when you return to mṛtuloka, the mortal world. Bad karmas will lead you to other lives, and good karmas will lead you again to human life. There, you will begin your spiritual sādhanā again, very early from childhood, and it will join you for your development. Mala, vikṣepaṇa, āvaraṇa—impurities, disturbances, and ignorance. How to remove ignorance? There is only one way: satsaṅg. Through satsaṅg, you gain that knowledge. "Now I know what I have to do." Prabhūdīpadayālaya jambhī. Kusangse Prabhumo ye bachāvo. Dostyāṅr durjan durrakhī. Therefore, our holy Gurujī prayed to his Gurudev, Mahāprabhujī: "O merciful Mahāprabhu, deep. Please listen to my prayers. I am not asking for money, wealth, kingdom, or anything. Only one thing: Satsaṅg." Even for the gods, satsaṅg is rare to have. With good karma, they come. But svarga, heaven, is not forever. In heaven, you have no time for satsaṅg because there is only eating and enjoying, eating and enjoying, and dancing. That is all. You are ever-young until you are exhausted, like a lemon completely squeezed. It means all karma is finished, enjoyed, and then you are dropped down to the mortal world in the dustbin. But you don’t know where you will come. Sometimes from above, you say, "Oh, my friend is now a cobra." Another says, "Oh, that one is like a frog, jumping here and there." Many, many different forms. You have no decision to come again to human life. Only your good karma has that decision. Kusanga, says Prabhu, "Therefore, Lord, protect me from kusanga." Kuṣaṅga means bad society. If you are sitting under a tree thinking negative thoughts, it is Kuṣaṅga. If you meet a friend for a walk and engage in criticism and negative talk, it is Kuṣaṅga. You go walking, swimming, or for coffee or tea, and you talk about how that person has taken ten meters more land. "How to do that? We go to the patvārī, then to the collector’s office, and we give... because this ten meters of land is atikarman. He took it away. We shall do something: go to the serpents and bring the bulldozer and destroy the whole house." Did you go for coffee to create such things? Why couldn’t you sit and talk nicely about God, about how people are good? Ten feet of land is nothing. It’s okay. You can move a little back, ten feet from your land. When you look at yourself, you have occupied more than that one. Therefore, mutual understanding and feeling towards others. It is said in the Bible, "I will be to thee as thou art to me." Jo aisa tū mere se ho, jo aisā meṁ tumhāre sāth ho. Is it right? Therefore, kuṣaṅga is when people sit together and do something where there is no name of God, no name of mercy, no name of understanding or love. Lost and lost and lost forever. You are lost forever from satsaṅg. "Oh my darling, oh my darling, lost and gone forever." But where? In nothingness. And satsaṅg is where you went to God, to the divine consciousness of yourself, the ātmā-jñāna. "Protect me, please, Lord, from such people who are always criticizing and having kuṣaṅga." Therefore, the yogī says, "Peace." The mother says, "Peace." The father may be angry, you know. The father, no matter how naughty you are, wants to give you a slap on your cheek immediately. The mother says, "No, no." How quickly she stretches her hand. Similarly, it is said the great one can understand and forgive and protect, because, mother, it is her blood in that person. The great one can understand and protect you, and the little-minded can destroy you. Therefore, it is said that a big donkey does not sleep. A big one does not sleep, and when he sleeps, half. And a horse does not sleep, and when he sleeps, a donkey. A small one does not sleep, and when he sleeps, a big one does not sleep, and when he sleeps, half. A horse does not sleep, and when he sleeps... When the pot is full, you can carry it on your head, like the Indian ladies bringing the full water pot. It should be full. Then there is no movement because there is a purāṇa. There is no emptiness, and she or he can walk and talk to you. The pot is nicely balanced on the head, and he or she carries it without holding it, talking to friends, saying, "Oh, yes," and looking here and there, but the main concentration is on the balance of the head, neck, and thought. Similarly, you live in the world, you talk to everyone, you enjoy everything, but your main attention is that your spirituality will not fall down. When it falls down, it is broken. When it is broken—don’t break the thread of love. When the thread is broken... Rahim Dās was a great poet. He said, "O Rahim Dās, the thread of love, don’t break it with a little misunderstanding. When it is broken, you cannot join it. If you try to join it, it will not be the same." Similarly, the wise one will think over, "What should I send? Information first in my brain, and then to others." Kuṣaṅga can destroy everything. Here in this room, you have seen this beautiful mogrā flower. It is in my hand, but everyone feels its good, pleasant smell. This is satsaṅg. If something is stinky, everybody will say, "Sorry, Swāmījī, can we open the window?" And then, "Sorry, I have to go because it’s smelling." So love is that which is a pleasure for all creatures, for trees and humans. And hate, jealousy, and anger are that stink which makes an unpleasant atmosphere in people’s mind, body, and heart. Satsaṅg is that. Satsaṅg is not only sitting and listening to me or somebody else. Satsaṅg is a way of knowledge. It means to remove that curtain: mala, vikṣepa, and āvaraṇa. Mala is impurity, vikṣepa is disturbances, and āvaraṇa is a curtain. When there is thick fog and you drive your car at 130 km/h on the highway, you suddenly enter the fog. You slow down to 50 km/h, slow down to 30 km/h. You can hardly see 50 meters. You slow down to 20 km per hour. Similarly, when you do not know, you slow down and go deep into your heart to protect yourself. Don’t run into that kuṣaṅga, otherwise you will crash somewhere. So Ādi and Ādik are saying Āsurī and Daivī Śaktis are fighting. At that time, at the time of creation, Lord Śiva... There was a fight after the disappointment of Brahmā with his own children and the Devas, and the so-called goddesses in heaven were fighting. But Lord Śiva is equal for all. He loves all. He controls all. What is the solution now? At that time, Śiva gave the Bhaviṣya Bāṇī. He told that this fight would continue, though he advised finding a way. That was Samundar Mantan. When you see the picture, exactly Samundar Mantan is what nowadays is drilling tubules in the ocean for oil. When the oil came out and began to leak in Mexico, it was exactly that picture, like that time when the halāhala jahara, the poison, came out and people did not know what to do. All were dying. Nature was dying, fish were dying, humans. Śiva said, "Give it to me." All the wealth, all ratna, is in this ocean. But greedy humans are still fighting. So this human life is an ocean. Human good qualities are the treasures in the body. You should read the book Yoga and Dead Life, called Hidden Powers in Humans. When you read that book, you will know how many jewels dwell within you and also how many poisons are within you. It depends. Through satsaṅg, you can take out these valuable jewels. Through kuṣaṅga, you can bring out these terrible poisons from the body: anger, hate, jealousy, and the like. Therefore, Maharṣi Patañjali modifies some parts of yoga in a different way. That’s called Karma Yoga, and that is why Kṛṣṇa said, "Yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam." Yoga kāraṇ sukoṣalam. "O Arjuna, through Karma Yoga, you can become successful in your life." Which kind of karma? Two kinds: sakāma karma and niṣkāma karma—selfish actions and selfless service. Therefore, it is in God Himself. He was weighing on a scale: what is more, mokṣa or seva? He put them on the scale; seva was more than mokṣa. It means the joy of seva, the fruits of seva, the result of seva, is more than the joy of mokṣa, because even if you have mokṣa, you have to come back one day. You should get brahma jñāna, ātma jñāna. Mokṣa means moha kṣaya. But for how long? Again, you will come back. Seva dharam hi mahān hai. In every culture, religion, and tradition, helping, the help, is great. So I always say, helping hands have more value than just folded hands. Someone comes to you and says, "Sir, please, can you do this for me?" You say, "Sorry, I can’t." You are sorry, you did so much, but it didn’t help them. But if you give your hand and say, "Okay, I will do this for you," be ready to help. Karma. Kali Yuga kevala nāmādhāra, sumer sumer nar, hoi bhava pāra. Kali yuga kevala nāma ādhāra. In Kali Yuga, Bhagavān Śiva said, it will be more Bhakti Yoga. Easier. Because in Kali Yuga, people have no discipline, concert discipline. We are not strong enough to do tapasyā. We meditate for 20 minutes and then say, "Oh, Swāmījī, sorry, but my knees are hurting." In Satyug, ṛṣis and munis at that time were doing meditation, samādhis, and termites were making their homes on the bodies of the yogīs. In many stories in the Purāṇas, you can read and see how much endurance they had, their immunity. The termites could not destroy their body; they had protection. Are they both the same? Are they David? Adyat me from all these three—tapa, bhakti—but now is bhakti bus. Just whatever it is, how it is. Om Gurudev, bhagavān āp kī jeo, kīrtan karte jāo, kīrtan karte jāo,... kīrtan karte jāo. Bhagavān nāma smaraṇa bhajana karte jāo, to theek ho jāoge. Then it is said that Rāja Yoga is the yoga of discipline: Aṣṭāṅga Yoga—Yama, Niyama, Āsana, Prāṇāyāma, Pratyāhāra, Dhāraṇā, and Samādhi. But that requires discipline. Rāja Yoga means discipline. And then finally is Jñāna Yoga. Beautiful, but also not easy. Finally, the last judgment of Jñāna Yoga is this: Brahma satya, Jagat mithyā. Though the jagat saṃsāra is continuing, the yogī said, "This life is a dream." What I am telling you now, after some time, will be like a dream. And then, finally, so it comes to Jñāna Yoga. So Gurudev says, "Sādhanā charā karo Hari pyār, sādhanā charā karo Hari pyār. Jinse hove mokṣa tumhārā, jinse mokṣa tumhārā, sādhanā charā karo Hari pyār. Sādhanā charā karo Hari." O devotees of God, O Gurudev’s bhaktas, O spiritual seekers, do the four kinds of sādhanās through which you will get your mokṣa and ātma-jñāna. This is a Rājayoga. There are four principles in Yajña. Pela sādhanā viveka vichāro, pela sādhanā viveka. Satya yā satya karo, nyāra nyāra satya, nyāra nyāra sādhanā jara. Karo hari pyāra viveka, mind above the mind, intellect and above. The intellect is a cream. Cream is called viveka, and viveka is that which finally gives the judgment: "Brahma satya." Finally, there is only one truth, and that is God is the truth. The Brahman is truth. That is the highest: "Brahma satya" or "Jagat mithyā." The world is not permanent, lasting. The reality is that which will last, and non-reality is that which is changeable and always changing. Brahma bhogāya sāra sādhanā-cāra, sādhanā-cāra śamadam śaradha or titikṣā, śamadam śaradha or kāryupa rati samā dāna vichāra, kāryupa rāma samā dhana vichāra sādhanā cāra. Chautā sādhan hai mokṣa kī icchā. Chautā sādhan hai. When will the world be free of sorrows? The desire for liberation. Kab hove jag duḥkha-tāra? Yehi sādhanā kare jan koi, yehi sādhanā kare, tabhi hove haṁsa uddhāra. So now it’s already more than one hour. Tomorrow again, we will continue with the Sūtra Chara. I will explain the version, and we will continue the Jñāna Yoga. Wish you all the best. Good evening and good night, or good morning, wherever you are in the world. Shānti, shānti.