TV Channel

Dear yoga friends, dear friends of Yoga in Daily Life, I welcome you to this summer retreat in Hungary, at VEB. As you may know, we hold classes here every year for Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna, Mantra Anuṣṭhāna, advanced yoga techniques, Haṭha Yoga Kriyās, and lectures. Swāmījī is not with us as he has duties around the world, but we have a special guest who arrived a few days ago: Śrī Gulābjī Kuttarī from Rajasthan, India. He is giving us another lecture today, and I am very happy to welcome him. I now give him the floor. With the sākṣī (witness) of the Gurus, Parameśvara, Swāmī Siddhānandjī, Sadhvījī, and with everyone's blessings, I wish you good morning. I was thinking of speaking on a different topic today, but the questions here guide me toward what is for the common good. One excellent question is about how the Vedas are effective in life, how to interpret them and use their wisdom. What is the difference between Vedic science—the sūtras and information of the Vedas—and modern science? Modern science changes with time. From the historical to the pre-historical age, we see different forms of science. The Mahābhārata had different types of warfare. Today, we have entirely different technology governing a totally different lifestyle. Earlier, mankind used to handle technology; today, technology is handling us. This is a significant difference. But the wisdom in the Vedas is for all times to come. It speaks about those elements of the universe which do not change with time. That is why they remain relevant even today, after thousands of years. We talk about them, learn about them, and try to apply them wherever possible. For example, Sṛṣṭi (creation) is based on the principle of one couple. Just as we talk about positive and negative, yin and yang, the Vedas speak of Agni and Soma. Agni cannot be simply translated as "fire"; at different levels of the universe, it has different connotations. In gross language, we say it is the fire element which changes its form at different levels. Likewise, Soma is a form of water which also changes with the levels. The entire universe consists mainly of these two basic elements. They are used as matter and energy, convertible into each other at finer levels. Modern science now accepts that matter can be converted into energy and energy into matter. Our Śāstras, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa—all scriptures are full of examples where the energy of mantras is used to create material things. Even Rāma was born from the prasāda of a yajña. Draupadī in the Mahābhārata is another example. Even today in India, different types of anuṣṭhānas are performed to fulfill wishes—for a child, for wealth—using specific mantras. This is an example of using energy to gain material results. If you follow the path of Agni and Soma, in our living form it manifests as man and woman. Applying this Vedic wisdom, if we look at ourselves from these principles, things appear different. What is the nature of fire? It consumes everything it contacts. This energy consumes all matter in the form of Soma. In a Yajña, everything offered is burnt, consumed by the fire. What remains in the end is the fire itself. All forms we see in this universe are ultimately in the form of Agni. We consume Soma in various forms—drinking water, drawing it from the air—to sustain ourselves. The fire also needs continuous consumption of matter to be sustained. We say human life is the most precious on earth. How do we judge this? Judgment is based on results; there is no other criteria for judging any action or principle. What is the result of human life? How does this result come? How do the principles of Brahmā and Māyā work in human life? From the Vedic perspective, Brahm is free. Māyā encircles, encompasses, or covers Brahm and gives it a form. This means the male principle in the universe, in any species, acts on that principle of Brahm. It is free at heart and potentially not trained to act. Māyā, as energy, is empowered to encircle Brahm, train it, tie it to herself, and create a union. Without this union, creation cannot proceed. This process seems complicated today, especially compared to our grandparents' lifestyle. They lived in what seems like a different world, yet the principle remains intact. Human life is important because human beings have the potential to rise to the capacity of Bhagavān Himself or Herself. No other species has this potential. Narse Narayan Banjana: from a human being, you can rise to the level of Nārāyaṇa, God. When Brahm is not active, how can it become Nārāyaṇa? Who makes it Nārāyaṇa? How is it possible? This is the track we must follow from the Vedas: how to make this life purposeful and meet its goal before the body expires. The role of Māyā, as an all-energy form, is that all creation in this universe is done by Māyā. Brahmā has only the identity, the seed. Every action is governed by Māyā, not by Brahm, not by men at all. If we apply these principles one by one to our lifestyle, we will see they hold true. Māyā is that which attracts, binds, and captures attention so that you are not moving aimlessly; all your attraction is concentrated and bound by Māyā. This form is called Mohinī, which means capturing attention completely. If you put this form of Māyā into practice in daily life, she will shape the man. What type of man is required, or needs to be reshaped, so he can be turned into Nārāyaṇa? It is a very big goal we generally do not look for. Another fact of life is that we try to live based on our intellect, which creates problems. There is hidden Vedic wisdom here. If both try to live like men, imbalancing the universal process, you will still be forced to behave like a woman or Māyā by the end of life. As you grow old, you automatically start behaving on emotional planes, and your intellectual planes become silent. They remain intact but silently follow the emotional order. You cannot escape this because we say Prakṛti and Puruṣa, Brahma and Māyā, work in both bodies. That is why we speak of Ardhanārīśvara—Śaṅkara, Śiva, is sometimes termed Ardhanārīśvara, meaning half the body is male and half is female. This depicts that both energies, matter and energy, are together in both bodies. But the need of creation is to have stronger emotional levels in females and stronger intellectual levels in males. Where both levels are equal, you find problems in that life, in the household and family structure, and this is reflected in the children. Parents are judged by the quality of their children. Swāmījī is judged by our quality in society, not by his own beauty or strength. Parents are judged through their children's ability to serve society. I was worried by a question: how to create love for a newly born baby? When there is a close heart... As I said, we have five levels: Annamayā Kośa, Prāṇamayā Kośa, Manomayā Kośa (the heart, emotional level), then Vijñānamayā and Ānandamayā Kośa. Manomayā Kośa is the third inner level. If we do not live in personal, interpersonal relationships at this level, we cannot bring desired results. Today, we are busy with Annamaya Kośa (the body) and Prāṇamaya Kośa, or the intellect. Where is the result? We complain but never touch the heart. This is the core of life. The heart is where basic desires reside. Not everyone can enter this heart. Only husband and wife can enter each other's heart level. No other man and woman can do that; they will not cross the Prāṇamaya Kośa. That is the commitment level of life, ready for social or spiritual elevation of each other. Otherwise, nature's principles are disturbed. We cannot challenge nature; we are not that powerful. Our intellect talks of swimming against the current, acting against social norms without caring for results. Our heart always wants something new, never satisfied. Within two days, what you have is old, and you chase something else. There is no end to desires. Our mind is cañcal (unstable), and desire itself is the form of Māyā. Desire is where Māyā starts operation in human life. But as discussed, we have two types of hearts: the original heart and the heart under coverings of nature—Sattvaguna, Rajvaguna, Tamaguna, and more. What we see through these coverings is an image of the original heart. So we have two types of desires. The desires of the original heart are part of Māyā, and desires with coverings are also the role of Māyā. Energy works around us. The first energy level is based on old karmas, which create desires in our original heart we cannot change. You might have seen someone asked to accompany another and they never return; they cannot deny those desires. These desires may not be real, making our whole life cycle unreal. We ourselves are unable to touch that Manomaya Kośa. Human life is important also because the one whose role it is to make us human is the mother. She brings us to this form. In India, most goddesses are worshipped on different occasions. This power of Māyā is not small. When we say Brahmā creates the universe, Brahmā is the symbol, but his Śakti, Sarasvatī, creates the world. Viṣṇu is the Lord, but Lakṣmī is worshipped and is responsible for the material universe. The action part, the creation, is all handled by woman. If they do not follow nature, both are in trouble. There are many examples of trouble from neglecting principles. In the Rāmāyaṇa, Rāma was asked to stay in the forest for 14 years. During that period, Sītā was lost, and Rāma chased her, crying. Why was it necessary for Rāma to run after Sītā? He could have had many more. What principle was behind it? Why did Kausalyā want the kingdom handed to Bharata and ask Rāma to leave? Why was Rāma not like her own son? She was behaving like a woman, not like a wife. There is a difference. The Mahābhārata is full of such episodes. Kuntī gave birth to Karṇa before marriage, and he suffered complexes his whole life. After marriage, she gave birth to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, who behaved religiously, committed to nature's principles, moving through the forest but never crossing social or natural limitations. How was this possible? Śāntanu had two wives, and neither could produce good children. It is not about producing children or staying together; it is the principle of nature where Māyā must bring Brahmā back to the original source. Bhagavān is defined as one who attains six basic powers: jñāna, vidyā, vairāgya, aiśvarya, yaśa, and śrī. These can only be transferred by the Mother alone. If she does not pass them on, your human life is not worth living a hundred years, for you have not fulfilled life's purpose. This Māyā, this Agni—you can look at life from different Vedic angles. Then we see life is different from how we visualize it. We visualize it only for our four basic needs as per the soul's nature: eating, sleeping, fear, and producing children. These are the four basic natural karmas of every creature. We are not involved in karmas beyond the fourth, where we try to become Nārāyaṇa. Even for basic food, which constitutes our manas, we can govern desires by selecting and consuming proper things. Food means physical food for the body, intellectual food from discussions, emotional food from human interactions, and spiritual food. Do we care for that? We don't know the body's workings. All our systems slow after sunset; we are advised not to eat then. But today, a small percentage eats before sunset. In India, if you invite someone for dinner, they arrive after nine o'clock. Where are we moving without looking at basic body principles? Do we eat sattvic food? We don't care. In the old Indian traditional system, the first important thing is selecting food ingredients, with foremost importance given to geography and climate. Indian food changes with the tropical climate: different in winter, different in summer. Food changes with age, festivals, and for pregnant ladies after delivery. There is great variety. The next emphasis is on who is cooking. The cook is most important because his or her emotions are involved with the food. She can pass all messages to the eater without uttering a word. See how Māyā, energy, handles us. We discussed yesterday how our vibrations affect a glass of water. This food carries all the cook's messages, like a mantra. A mother knows what her son prefers and cooks accordingly. The son can tell if something is cooked by his mother. Messages are passed and understood. Similarly, care is given by the person serving, with a motherly attitude nurturing the heart through emotional vibrations. This is how the manas is strengthened, for it is the king of our senses and must be strong. Otherwise, we cannot face struggles, understand or control desires, meaning we cannot control life. We follow the crowd, never going inside to learn about ourselves, always rushing outward. This is also the role of energy. From the beginning of the universe, the Sṛṣṭi Yajña consists of two basic elements. What is Prakṛti and Puruṣa? The same two elements. From avyakta puruṣa onwards—akṣara puruṣa, akṣara śakti, kṣara—down to our paśu, prāṇa, śakti on earth, all is based on the same principle. But we must define the role of Māyā and understand it at all stages. You cannot get rid of responsibilities. If you do not give proper shape to your own Puruṣa, your male partner, he will not respond as desired. It is she who creates a sense of love and affection in the male's heart, for he is intellectually more powerful, hot in nature, and impatient. This is natural, not created knowingly. The male is given the desired form by the sweetness of the heart, nothing else. You cannot use any instrument. By passing waves of sweetness, bringing the soul in that body to the human level, and helping it take the path to spiritual goals. When we look into the Vedas with this understanding, it helps us in meditation. In meditation, we look beyond what is visible, beyond the intellect's capacity. Meditation coincides with Vedic wisdom. There are many details, but the basic thing is to think how to move ahead spiritually, give meaning to life, and how both can join hands to cross the barriers of desire. For that is Māyā's role: it brings you back, not allowing you to cross barriers and become Nārāyaṇa. The strongest barrier is Māyā, and only Māyā in the form of the wife can help you cross it. Not any other woman; she will entangle you more. Only the wife can help you cross her own barriers. This is the beauty of human life, unseen in any other species. This is how Vedic wisdom takes you from the beginning back to where you started, merging into the same ocean. All aspects of life are handled, but the problem is language. Even I have problems talking. I don't know how much was understood or misunderstood. I am more worried about misunderstanding; if not understood, there is no harm, but misunderstanding is harmful. I was cautious with vocabulary. English is not my mother tongue; I try to say what I mean, but there could be errors. Be cautious when reading English books on the Vedas, for they translate words that do not carry the same meaning, taking you elsewhere. You will never clear the picture in your mind. Literature that includes the original word in the text is helpful, for from that word you can draw your own meanings. Otherwise, it is very difficult. Thank you. There is another question: what is concentration, and how to improve it? What is meditation? Concentration is being in the present—getting rid of the past and future, being involved with what you are doing. There is no process except your own determination to be present. If you are not present, results are not with you. Analyze what is in your head. If busy with past memories or future problems, set them aside. These are the two barriers. If we get ease from them, we are in the present. It is very difficult. Swāmī Chetanandājī told us the present is tough to stay in. We may come back momentarily, but staying long is hard. That's why we practice meditation: to put thoughts and body to zero, standing still, quiet, without movement of thoughts or emotions. Then we sometimes feel we come to the present; otherwise, we see one thing and then another. Concentration is being in the present to draw proper results from our actions. You explained that negativity and suppressed desires affect chakras and related organs. Conversely, when an organ is ill, can working on a specific chakra help? How can we have a real effect? I think this is Swāmī Chidānandajī's subject. It is possible; many people do this. There are courses in the United States on chakras, auras, handling energies, identifying chakra status, and healing through chakra energies. Swāmījī must teach in meditation how to realize chakra status—whether they are in proper shape, moving at specific velocity, have proper colors, or are fully opened. I can only say it is possible to handle sickness because both are interrelated. Chakras, as I said, are endocrine glands in modern medicine. If there is a gland problem, the organ is affected. The remedy is to improve the gland. Medicinal treatments may neutralize body symptoms but not create remedial effects on chakras. The only way is through meditation and practice. Would you be interested in my personal opinion? No, no personal opinions, please. Could you explain the meaning of the red paint? Every system has its own procedures; those who run the system should explain, for such comments are not welcome. I am not authorized to comment on personal life. Ask the same organization where the question is related. Tell us about Gurū Nānak and his principles. What relation does Kabīr have? They were from the same medieval period in different parts of India. India is ten times the size of Hungary. That was a period when many saints and religious people were born, blessing the country. They were highly reputed, left a big mark, and contributed practical wisdom of a very high order. They all talked about basic principles, which were the same. Even Swāmījī says the same, for they talk on basic principles that do not change with time. The second part is how to handle changes reflected through time, which every society has in its culture. Culture is disturbed today; we are not heading for any culture. The world is becoming a unique culture, so in all countries, coming generations will look similar. We are losing this difference, and human society will have a different face. We already see things getting bad. On one side, we are happy developing in education and technology; on the other, personal, interpersonal, and social life are hampered. We are not growing in more important areas, and there will not be enough solutions. Who will spend their life for society like Swāmījī? In two generations, such people may disappear or be a handful for the whole globe. It is time for some to get ready, work on this information, do research, translate good wisdom into your languages, and pass it to the next generation. That is the basic, important role we can play. Media will not do this. If we want to be happy, we should do it. If we want our children happy, we should do it. Nobody else will do it for us. How to understand this? Let us discuss if you have any questions. Otherwise, let us discuss the role of desire in life, for there is nothing else. If there is no desire, there is no life. How do desires change? What is our role in handling them? What is needed to understand them? As I said, there are two types of desires governing our life, which we take casually. When hungry, I shout at my wife or mother: "I am hungry, nobody is looking at me." This happens in every house, especially when children come from school looking for food. But once you finish eating, where is the shouting? A desire to do something new takes place because energy is back. This is the changed shape of the same desire, a shadow. Every desire is a hunger. Once fed, you want to achieve something, then achieve more, then prove it to society. If not cautious, achievement turns into arrogance and ego, becoming your enemy. How to handle desire at different levels is important. The same achievement—a gold medal, distinctions—if not handled properly, works against you. This is where jñāna comes: deciding which desire not to accept at every stage. As desire changes form, we need to decide. There are two paths with money, power—how to use or misuse it. As long as we live, we have this duality of Māyā. Both things are not different. Light and darkness are together; increase light, darkness decreases; remove light, darkness returns. If you don't want to love, you hate, and love is gone from your heart. They are not two different things. We need to learn this role of Māyā, this duality. By not understanding the second side, we may lose good things unconsciously. Most things happen this way; we take one-sided decisions that are never real. When we take shelter of jñāna, decisions become mature and thoughtful, not taken in haste, and we do not lose sight of the goal. Again, you see the basic difference in man and woman. Men jump to conclusions and decisions, not women. That's why she controls family and society. We say she has more hands than man. All goddesses are depicted with many hands—six, eight, ten, twelve—while gods have four at most. This is how life is based. When we talk about desire, there is only one desire in life: to love and to be loved. All other desires are secondary. Behind every fear is the fear of death. Desire is to love and be loved, bringing us back to the emotional plane. Life is governed only at this level. So for good interpersonal life, it is only possible through love and affection, termed bhakti. There is no other definition of bhakti. Dharma, prema, bhakti are synonymous. Everywhere you surrender your ego, considering the other person, God, Guru, or partner. Life is handled only at this level. To enter spirituality, you cannot enter with the head; it must be silent. So long as it is active, it interrupts. The body also interrupts, so we control it through āsanas and prāṇāyāma. Through prāṇāyāma, we control our brain and thoughts, for they are tools to fulfill desires. There is no physical or intellectual desire as such; all desires are from the heart, the manas. This relates to concentration: concentrate means join yourself with your own desire, be present with it. Even if I am an intellectual male, to enter spirituality I must learn capacities from my wife: how to be loving, have an open heart, surrender before God or higher energy. I must convert back into my role, not as an intellectual. Being at the peak of my career will not help. Only love has rasas, sweetness. Rasa is known as Brahmā. Why are children sweeter? They get this rasa from the mother. Juices in fruits come from Mother Earth, not from the sun or seed. This is the difference. Seeing this, we come to the same conclusion: to enter bhakti, we cannot do it without opening the heart and surrendering the ego. Ego is the source of desires, expectations, ambitions, over-ambitions. It is not easy to inculcate how to love, for loving is easy but dropping ego is not. If we learn to drop ego, life becomes easy, simple, and sweet. What difference does it make whether I bow before Swāmī Chidānandjī or before any of you? It is only my perception. Why can't I think everyone is Swami Chidānand and bow before all? My ego says, "No, bow only before sannyāsīs." If we work on this ambition, ego, or arrogance in meditation, if we drop ego, we can enter the world of love, straight into bhakti and meditation, and learn to be in the present. Then past and future will not bother us. They bother only because of ego. We have sayings to "forget the past," but ego does not allow it. There are two equal and opposite forces: we want to cross Māyā's barriers as humans—we may not get another chance—and the pulling force pulling back is our ego, more powerful than our growth speed. Here we need to control, understand desires, and dissolve them. I emphasize with a personal request: do not suppress desires; learn to dissolve them so they never return. They will not bother you, whether for power, money, or status. Even if spiritually high, you don't need this. In meditation, we learn to dissolve desires and ego together, for all desires come from ego. To make life purposeful and worthwhile, we must control and cross the barriers of desire. I think that is all. Thank you very much.