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Children Are The Future Of The Country

A satsang reflecting on simplicity in spiritual practice, inspired by Children's Day observations.

"Even when you look at yoga practice... you have to have this certain type of mat and these special clothes... It becomes so complicated. But this, for me, is just an example of how simple these things can be."

"And that simplicity that comes with that... the most important thing to have in your practice is to have a childlike mind, very simple."

He draws a parallel to spiritual practice, arguing against the accumulation of complex rituals or special equipment. He emphasizes that true practice, like mantra repetition with a mālā, requires only inner dedication and a simple, childlike mind. The talk concludes with prayers and a final anecdote about a child's joyful wonder.

Filming location: Jadan, Rajasthan, India

Abhata kato prabhuwa panibhaya, aagebhiya panibhaya. Agar bhula hove prabhu meri, agar bhula to apamata bhula na dayalu. Hama nama ape kali na, Prabhuji, hama nama ape kali na. Dabase sumaran lakina hamane, Dabase. Lakati rangame vinadayalo Hama naam apakali naa Prabhujī, hama naam apakali naa nishadhin na sallaghi atta vintar pavasa gara kaise tiranam. Satta Guru Nama jaha jahe bhare, Satta Guru Nama jahe jahe bhare, Satta Guru Nama jahe bhare, Satta Guru Nama jahe... God bless you. Deśa videśa vā uttamāṁ phiriyā visevā brāhmaṇābhintinah. Āpajeśa datā ore nahīṁ dekhā. Āpajeśa sarvasvāṁ ko dinadāyālo. Hamā nāma pe kāleṅa Prabhujī, hamā nāma pe kāleṅa. Jab se sumaraṇa kī nāma ne, jab se hākatī raṅgam evinā dayālu. Hama nāma pe kāleena Prabhu jī, hama nāma apakā reena. Apake nāma samā nā hindujā, bahuta sādhanā hama kī nā. Apake nāma samā nā hindujā, bahuta sādhanā hama kī nā. And the solution is also false. And the solution is such. Experience that does not go away. God, you have taken my name. God, you have taken my name. Japa se sumaraṇa kī nāma na, japa se java dī raṅga me vina rāya lo hama nāma āp kālī na. Prabhujī, hama nāma āp kālī na. Śrī Pūjābhagavānādimpanārāyaṇa Mahāvatārarilīna. Śrī Pūjābhagavānādimpānayālo Mahāvatārarilīna Mahāvaradāna Sadā Yehimaṅgo Mahāvaradāna. Thank you for watching. Śrī Maheśvarānandikā Terecarāṇame Śrī Maheśvarānandikā Terecarāṇame Dhanamāna Harapānadina Dayālo Hama Nāma Apakālina Śambhujī Hama Nāma Apakālina I'm not the... the... The... ... The... Today was Children's Day, and we went to school to see the displays which the children had put on. Just a little bit of information about what Children's Day is here. It's actually Nehru's birthday, the first Prime Minister of India's birthday. I hope I got my history right. And he always wanted that, rather than that his birthday be celebrated, it should be celebrated as a day for children. Because he always saw that the children, of course, are the future of the country. He made actually a lot of educational institutions that were very special in India, some quite famous universities and some institutes of technology and management, which are on the world level some of the best, and also some schools, which are one in each district in the state, have very, very good education. So he was always pushing towards children getting a good education. Although in some ways the system may not have succeeded as he liked, it was always his wish to promote that. Today in school they were doing some... the children were dressing up as different goddesses and gods, like Saraswati and Rāma, and also as farmers, celebrating the farmers who work in the fields. There was painting, there were pictures, there was the mehendi, the henna, art on the hands. And there was also what they call rangoli, which is making pictures on the ground out of color and out of different objects. What I love about the rangoli is actually the principle of it, that you should use whatever you can find around to make those pictures. It's not that you have all of this special color and special equipment that you do it with. Today, when we went to the school and saw the rangoli which they had actually made, some colours were there which they had bought from the market, but also they were using dāl, they were using different coloured dāls. They were using small stones, they were using some of the flowers from the garden, they were using leaves, they were using sand, they were using sawdust. All of those things were coming together to make those pictures, and that was their decoration. The same principle applies in the village: whatever they have to make that with, they quickly make the decorations when they're having their functions. For me, it's quite a beautiful example. Last year we also had the example with them after there was the earthquake in Japan, and the children in the next weeks afterwards, they were making all of these different pictures in the school on the ground with one of the teachers of the village and of flowers and of trees and so on, they were really beautiful. And they were all made out of broken bricks, which were there, left over from the construction, and which were here and there in the piles. Tiny little pieces of brick, and then also the other leftovers from the construction. And what their principle was, what they were thinking is, they just wanted to show to the people in Japan that something beautiful can come out of the rubble. Out of the broken building, it was really nice. For me, it's a real lesson about, as Westerners, you know, we always require that we have this equipment and that equipment and so on to be able to do something. Even when you look at yoga practice and you look in a yoga magazine in the West, you have to have this certain type of mat and these special clothes and this special underwear and special air conditioning of the room or whatever, or it should be only in the nature, or here and there. It becomes so complicated. But this, for me, is just an example of how simple these things can be, how that beauty doesn't come from having all different equipment, but from just having the value, the feeling towards it inside, towards making that decoration. Also, when you look at our practice, there's always this tendency to accumulate more and more practices. But to turn it off today. But for what? Actually, our path is so simple. And the more simple it is, the more pure it is, and the more we can be aware of just those things which we have to do. I can remember when I was younger, I was playing the guitar, and one of the things I thought about playing guitar was that if I learn this instrument, then at least when I get older, if I come to a financial crisis and I have... No other assets, or I don't have a lot of money. At least I can take my guitar, and I can be happy, and I can play, and I can have my entertainment in that, and I can have the joy. After staying in Jhara a long time, I don't play guitar much, but I have noticed that a guitar requires a guitar, and it also requires strings, and there's something even simpler: that if you can find your happiness in it, that you're really set in the future, and that is in your mālā. At any time in life, if you have that connection with your mālā and with that mantra, all you need is the mālā, or not even that, you can do it without, and a space to sit, or a chair to sit, or whatever. It's something that is so simple that everyone can have, but it's the ultimate in beauty. It can be something so beautiful if you can cultivate that. And it doesn't require a lot of equipment, it doesn't require a lot of money, it doesn't require anything. It requires just a dedication from within, a connection, and a trust in that mantra. And that simplicity that comes with that, I was reading this afternoon one book by one Zen master, and he was just saying, the most important thing to have in your practice is to have a childlike mind, very simple. Without any complexity to it, just to look at what you're doing now, to look at the practice that you're doing, to look at the moment that you're in, to keep it as simple as possible. That seemed to me to go so well together with what the kids were doing today in the school, taking those very simple things and putting them together into their joy, into their expression of art, and into their expression of the beauty of life. I guess what I got out of Children's Day was just to keep it simple. Keep our practice simple. We don't need more and more different things to do, but we need to just do what we do well. To look at what we have around and to make the most out of that. I used to amuse myself when I would go back to Australia, and it would become so complicated that I had to meditate somewhere where there was a beautiful sunrise. And, you know, you'd get up really early so you could go there and be in that place to see that sunrise. And I think, and now I'm going to close my eyes. I could have done it at home, or I could have done it outside in the garden, because I'm not going to see any of that sunrise. I'm going to do my mala now. That place where we do this practice doesn't have to be perfect, but our attention should be directed towards that practice, not to be so worried about what is around and the conditions that we think are disturbing it. Why should they disturb it? The practice is going on inside. Ambole Śrī Dīt Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai, Śrī Śrī Dev Puruṣa Mahādeva Kī Jai, Dharma Samrāṭ Paramahaṁt Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandapurījī Mahārāj Kī Jai, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṁt Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānandapurījī Satguru Dev Kī Jai. Sadā guṇa rūpa dharayo hari rāgame jīva ke pratipāla. ... Hare Hare jīva ke pratipāla. God bless you. Joko in jana dhare nirjamana se bhaage paramarjan jaal. ... Hare hare bhaage paramarjan jaal. Na na maa maa naa naa bhaa naa bhaa naa naa naa... na. Parama Kripāl Tarana Karana Aaye, Parama Kripāl Hare Hare Aaye. Bare Bhāgyase Darśan Na Pāve, Bare Bhāgyase Mohana Madana Gopāla. He bhajore panna vayā, siru prabhu nīm padayā. He bhajore pannā vayā, siru prabhu neem padayā. Bhuja bhagavannadi pannarayana, bhupannake bhupal. Sire bhujabhagavannadi padayalo, bhupannake bhupal. Hare Hare, bhupannake bhupal. Kae Śrī Madhavānandajī hamare, Kae Madhavānandajī hamare. Śrī Pādahirakhāva, Bhajore Vannāva, Śrī Pādahara. Bhajore Vannavā, Śrī Pādaharā. God bless you. I have to make one more comment. Today is the last day that, Seeing as we're just talking about keeping things simple and appreciating what is around, today is the last day that we have with Professor Eberlin, who is actually the expert on this subject. For two months, Evelyn's been here, and how old is she now, five? And I don't know if everyone else has enjoyed it as much as I have. She's wandered around everywhere in the ashram, appreciating every leaf on every tree, the ants that are crawling around on the ground, the grass, the horses, the cows, the squirrels, and everything. Everything has been something fascinating. I never saw a toy in her hand, and I never saw her without joy. Fantastic. So I think that she's the professor on the subject, really. Unfortunately, she's refused to give us a lecture. But I think we just had a two-month lecture. Śrīdhara Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, kījē, satagurudeva, kījē.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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