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Good evening, dear yoga friends. I welcome you to the Yoga in Daily Life summer retreat here in this beautiful area of Vepe, Hungary. This is the last evening of our two-week retreat, and as always, we have a subject for our evening talk. Tonight's subject is the influence of our nutrition, our nourishment, our food, on our life. The Supreme Brahmā wished to multiply the creation of the universe. He had the desire to multiply Himself, to go out of unity into diversity, into form. This wish, this joy to expand and grow, is immanent. In the whole universe, in every cell and every living being, the creation began with two aspects: Puruṣa and Prakṛti. Puruṣa is cosmic consciousness, and Prakṛti is nature, matter. Cosmic consciousness alone cannot grow or act, and Prakṛti by itself also cannot grow or act, for it lacks consciousness. Therefore, these two must come together. Puruṣa and Prakṛti must join to become an entity again. Only then can consciousness and matter expand and grow. For them to unite, there must be a link, a glue. This we call Prāṇa. Prāṇa unites consciousness with Prakṛti. When nature and matter are pure, prāṇa is pure and filled with complete cosmic consciousness. However, as we know, matter is a form of energy that becomes increasingly dense and concentrated. When matter becomes more concentrated, this energy somehow loses the awakened consciousness; it is its nature. For example, when we look at the beautiful, endless blue sky, we feel happy, light, and free. But if that air concentrates and a cloud appears, we can no longer see the sky. The cloud is in between. We know the blue sky is behind it, but we cannot see it. If the cloud concentrates further due to pollution or dust, it becomes darker, and less light passes through. If it remains for a long time, we forget about the endless blue sky behind it and think only of the cloud and darkness. It is similar with our consciousness. When we take on a form, a body, it is not so pure. Disturbances come from outside. We call these mala, vikṣepa, and āvaraṇa. Mala means impurities, inside and outside the body. Vikṣepas are disturbances. And āvaraṇa is the curtain of ignorance. When we are in the body, we do not know we are pure cosmic consciousness. Suddenly we feel like an individual: "I am an individual. I am alone. I must protect myself. I want to grow and find my position in this world." According to the principle, when nature and prāṇa are pure, they are connected with cosmic consciousness. Therefore, our duty and aim should be to keep ourselves pure, or to become pure again. When the Supreme Consciousness, whom we call God, created the universe, He also gave rules for its governance. These cosmic principles were given to the universe. Those saints who were completely united with this God-consciousness knew these rules and always conveyed them to human beings. When we know and follow them, we will not have to suffer; we will be free. The highest commandment in the universe is Ahiṃsā. Ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ. The highest principle is non-violence. This means we shall not harm—not only not kill, but not harm any living entity through our words, thoughts, or deeds. If everyone followed this, we could live in paradise on Earth. But we forget, and then we suffer the consequences. The next cosmic law is that every action has a reaction. What I do comes back to me, reflects upon me. What I send out returns. I must suffer that consequence, whether good or bad, immediately or later. I must balance this principle. Yogīs have always advised human beings to live as vegetarians because of these two aspects of cosmic law: ahiṃsā paramo dharma (not to harm or kill) and the law of karma. On the other side, to attain cosmic consciousness, to know our Self and be in unity, our matter must be pure. As Swāmījī said a few days ago, and as the sages stated in the Upaniṣads, the soul enters into vegetation in the form of food grains—that is, seeds. The soul enters vegetation in the form of seeds. We should understand that this is holy. A seed is holy. We know from year to year: we give a seed to the earth, and a new plant grows. When we harvest fruits or seeds, we keep some for the next season to plant again. This is the cycle. Nowadays, with our intellect focused on the molecular and biochemical level, we think we have discovered everything and can change it as we like. We may produce bigger fruits, all uniform in size and shape. But as we know, these bigger fruits often lack taste and may also lack nutrients like vitamins and minerals. We change nature because we want more—to expand and grow. We even alter the genetic material of seeds so they grow more easily and resist insects or fungus. We produce hybrids that grow big and strong, looking nice, but they can no longer produce seeds. In the next season, we cannot use seeds from them. I think we should be aware that we are interfering with the cycle of birth and death in seeds. The significant problem is that we seem unaware of these cosmic rules and the cosmic consciousness that built the universe, in which all is connected. To be conscious in our living form, we need prāṇa, which connects consciousness and matter. Prāṇa itself is neutral, pure energy. This energy comes from sunlight and pervades the entire universe—matter and all living beings. In dead matter, prāṇa passes through; it does not remain. But in living entities, prāṇa is kept inside. In the development of living beings, we have plants. Their consciousness is not highly concentrated; they have cells with consciousness inside, but not as an individual being. Then we have animals, insects, and creatures on land and in air. Finally, we have human beings, who are more in individual form. We know consciousness has the structure of an individual soul. In humans, we call it Jīvātmā. But animals also have individuality—their own character, feelings, ability to learn and remember. They too have these kośas, the different layers of being. In the human body, we speak of five kośas, five layers of our phenomena, all built from energy. The highest density is in our physical form. The other layers are also energy: the prāṇamaya kośa (vital energy sheath), manomaya kośa (mental sheath), vijñānamaya kośa (intellectual sheath), and ānandamaya kośa (bliss sheath). All this is prāṇa, becoming progressively lighter yet powerful. We know the strength of our wishes and thoughts in influencing our entire system. Animals also have thoughts, wishes, and feelings; they have these kośas too, except perhaps the intellect (buddhi) as we have. These are energies, vibrations. This prāṇa from the sun, these pearls of light, enters a living entity. Prāṇa itself is pure and neutral, but when it enters an individual form, it takes on the vibration of that form. My mind, thoughts, intellect, and feelings influence this prāṇa, this vibration. We know this: when we are together, we feel the state of another—whether happy, angry, nervous, negative, or full of love and harmony. We also know plants and animals have their specific qualities. Therefore, yogīs always advise vegetarianism. On one hand, prāṇa in vegetation is purer, and the consciousness living in plants is less differentiated. It will not strongly influence our own kośas with its individual vibrations; the prāṇa is more pure. If we consume meat, we take in animals that already have their own characteristics, habits, and qualities. These vibrations remain in the food, and we take them over. In modern life, many people are full of fear and aggression without knowing why, despite living in safe social structures. Many such problems stem from food. On the other hand, when we kill, we must suffer the consequences, for it is a cosmic law not to harm or kill, as the action will return to us. Many great souls have given this advice. As Leo Tolstoy said: as long as we have slaughterhouses, we will have battlefields, for they are connected. The wish in every living being is to be conscious, harmonious, and complete. When we apply these rules in daily life, it greatly helps us return to our inner unity, to the knowledge that we are cosmic consciousness, filled with bliss, wisdom, and love. We should use this knowledge daily, especially in how we take food. When food is natural, it contains all its nutrients and the full content of prāṇa. When we modify this natural form, it loses some ingredients—carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins. The more we refine our food, the lower its quality. This applies not only on the material level but also on the level of prāṇa. Natural vegetation contains abundant prāṇa; refining or changing its form also diminishes prāṇa. Therefore, it is best to use food as much as possible in its original form. Then we receive all nutrients for our physical body and the full prāṇa. There are different dietary approaches: vegetarian with milk products, vegan (excluding all animal products), and raw food diets. In raw food, there is the most prāṇa. People on raw diets often feel light and energetic. However, from my perspective, living solely on a raw diet is not easy, as we must take great care to obtain all necessary nutrients for healthy metabolism. Raw food often has strong fiber structures enclosing carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins. Our intestines must use considerable energy to digest this fiber and access the nutrients. While we get much prāṇa from fresh food, the body uses much energy to extract the ingredients. We must also be mindful of specific nutrients like vitamin B12, calcium, and protein on a raw diet; deficiencies may cause problems not in one year, but over 10 or 20 years. A balanced vegetarian diet including both raw and cooked food is easier for maintaining health. Cooking alters the fiber structure, making it easier for our enzymes and organs to access and absorb nutrients into our blood and cells. However, we should also ensure we take in prāṇa. Therefore, avoid overcooking and include fresh food daily—fresh fruits, vegetables in salads, or juices from vegetables and fruits, which are delicious and full of prāṇa. In the diet Swāmījī advises, milk products are included; he is not against them. In Āyurvedic knowledge, milk is considered a very pure, sāttvic food. I believe it is the quantity we consume that determines whether it benefits or causes problems for our digestion and system. A small amount, perhaps not daily, can be included. As we become more aware of what we eat, we become more sensitive to the freshness and prāṇa in our food. We look at food and immediately feel whether it is good for us, fresh, and energetic, and we sense how much we need. This is a combination of consciousness. When we are aware and conscious, we receive information from prāṇa and from our body's reactions. We always wish to be balanced in all aspects of our kośas: physically healthy, balanced in prāṇa, mind, intellect, and feelings. We should be aware that the vibration of our food influences our entire being. The conditions where food grows—the soil, surroundings, amount of sunlight or artificial light, fertilizers, water, rain, region, and season—all influence the food. We are advised to consume organic food as much as possible, for it contains the best prāṇa and vibration. Even the person cultivating the vegetation, their motivation—whether for profit or love of working with plants—impacts this vibration and information that comes to us. We always seek to be complete, balanced, harmonious in all our kośas, one with ourselves, complete in consciousness. A very simple step to purify ourselves in all our kośas is through our nutrition. Our consciousness becomes more aware, and we achieve greater balance. When eating daily meals, we might crave sweets, for example. But we must consider what we consume. Chocolate, for instance, is an artificial sweet containing sugar and fat but little else—no prāṇa, vitamins, or minerals. Such food is very heavy; it lacks prāṇa, tires the body, and diminishes consciousness. If we desire something sweet, we can choose foods containing prāṇa. Many fruits are sweet, even dried, and retain their prāṇa and natural form with all nutrients, not just sweetness. This natural sweetness also contains minerals and vitamins. When we change our diet accordingly, our cravings and tastes will also change. Āyurvedic doctors advise eating dried fruits like figs and dates in the morning. They contain much sweetness, important for our glands and organs, providing good carbohydrates and iron, necessary for the spleen. The spleen produces red blood cells, which need iron to carry oxygen to organs and cells. With artificial sweets, these nutrients are missing. We crave more because our body needs them, leading to a cycle of dissatisfaction. Similarly, if we eat many vegetables but lack sufficient protein, we will feel something is missing. With adequate protein, we feel content without overeating. We have this human form and should be conscious of our ability to choose nourishment. When it is pure, full of prāṇa, and balanced in all nutrients, our body remains healthier more easily. Our other kośas—prāṇa, mind, intellect—also benefit, making us more capable of returning to our aim: reuniting with our Self, becoming one with cosmic consciousness. I also reflect on this inner desire to expand, grow, multiply, and create. This is the wish of the Supreme Consciousness, and we are part of it. We should use this desire to grow in the right way. Often, we apply it in the outer world—expanding business or wealth. This impulse is part of creation. However, the real aim is to expand inwardly. In the outer world, expansion has limits; matter cannot grow indefinitely. We seek growth, but when we turn to the level of consciousness, there we can truly expand and fulfill our longing for growth. Similarly, on the bodily level, we should not seek to expand the physical form but to expand our prāṇa and consciousness, as Swāmījī said. When we are more aware of this, we will take greater care with what we eat, for it greatly helps purify all our kośas and return to the unity of cosmic consciousness and Prakṛti, which is the aim of our life. We can be very thankful to our Gurudev Paramahaṁśrī Svāmī Māheśvarānandajī for offering us this knowledge.