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Divine Energy In Mahaprabhu Deep Ashram

The ashram's sanctity arises from sustained spiritual practice and adherence to non-violence, creating a potent field for development. Leading others to this goodness shares in the resulting merit, just as guiding others toward harm shares in that negativity. Present awareness is crucial, for the past is gone and the future is unknown. Sound, particularly through mantra, is a direct tool for purification and connection. The eternal sound of the Self, when awakened, reveals our true nature beyond suffering.

"Who speaks cannot see, and who can see cannot speak."

"Brahma satya, jagad mithyā (Brahman is truth; the world is illusion)."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Good evening to all the brothers, sisters, and spiritual seekers here and around the world. This evening's blessing comes to you from Śrī Mahāprabhujī's āśram. This ashram has a very special atmosphere and divine energy for two reasons. First, our dear Satguru Dev, Holy Gurujī, stayed here for nearly a month. Second, since its establishment in 1995—for 17 years now—approximately 85,000 visitors and tourists have come. Imagine if all these thousands of people, staying for weeks, ate meat. How many animals would have lost their lives? Everyone who comes here is health-conscious and practices the divine science of yoga in daily life with mantras, prayers, and the principle of ahiṃsā (non-violence). These facts have made this ashram a holy place. Those who come here and breathe this air automatically experience spiritual development. For those who practice their sādhanā here, it is a great advantage. Every teacher and organizer of yoga in daily life, from the Czech Republic and beyond, should bring their students here for a weekend or a week to experience the yogic, sāttvic, and balanced way of life. A healthy vegetarian diet will benefit them greatly. As a teacher or organizer, you do not only bring a group here; you also receive a benefit. If you bring a hundred people who gain physical, mental, and spiritual health, peace of mind, and spiritual development, you receive credit. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of their spiritual development is automatically credited to you, and they will be thankful. This is how one gains benefit. It is said that you may not be hunting animals yourself, but if you show hunters where the deer or rabbits are, you share in that karma. Once, a yogī was meditating in a small hut in a forest. At that time, the human population was small, and kings competed to keep people in their kingdoms. One evening, a deer ran past the yogī's hut. Soon after, a hunter with a bow and arrow arrived and asked, "Did you see the deer? Which direction did he run?" This is called a dharmaśaṅkaṭa—a moral dilemma testing whether you follow your dharma. It is said one should not lie. If the yogī revealed the deer's direction, he would be guilty in the killing. If he said, "I didn't see," he would be lying. He closed his eyes, pondering, "Should I lie or not?" Then he remembered the words of scripture: Brahma satya, jagad mithyā (Brahman is truth; the world is illusion). This saved the situation. He said to the hunter, "Yes, my dear friend, I would like to help you very much, but what can I tell you?" The hunter insisted, "Don't waste my time! Tell me which way!" The yogī replied, "Who speaks cannot see, and who can see cannot speak. So what should I tell you? The mouth speaks but does not see. The eyes see but cannot speak." The hunter thought, "He must be a crazy man," and went away. The yogī reflected, "For a while, it's good to be crazy, but not to be a part of that sin." The lesson is this: if you lead someone to good things, you share in the benefit. If you lead someone to bad things, you share in that negativity. It is very important to lead people to good. This ashram in Strelky is beautiful in all four seasons, indescribably so. It would be very good for you to come with friends, sisters, and families for a real retreat. You treat your body and mind daily at home, but it is not enough; energy is lost. Here, you retreat and restore it. Health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health. The body is not immortal, but without this body, everything is nothing. As long as we live, we should live happily and relaxed. Who knows how long we will live? It does not depend on age; whether you are 100 or 10, we cannot say. Our destiny is written elsewhere. We are here together today, and next weekend we have a beautiful seminar here, but who knows who will be here? Be aware of the present. The past is gone, and the future is not here. Try to harvest good things in the present. Therefore, Guru Nānak said: Teri Biti Umar Hari Nāma Binā Sumerana. Kāle Mere Mana, Teri Biti Umara Hari Nāma Binā Sumerana, Kāle Mere Mana. (Your life has passed without remembering Hari's name. Now, O my mind, your life is passing without remembering Hari's name.) Hisa Choro Santa Jana Sunna Bhagavanta, Aina Nakshah Sunna Bhagavanta. Ya Jagame Nahi Koi Apna, Summa Rannakale Mere Mana. Teribiti Ummarari Nama Bina, Summa Rannakale Mere Mana. Yesterday we discussed Likhita Japya—writing the mantra. While writing your mantra with concentration, the sound automatically awakens within you. That sound is eternal, universal sound. What we call God is love, and love is God. The ṛṣi Nārada asked Bhagavān Viṣṇu, "Lord, where do you mostly stay? Whenever I come, you are in the divine ocean, the ocean of milk." Bhagavān Viṣṇu replied, "O Nārada, I do not live in Vaikuṇṭha, nor in the heart of yogīs who only try to practice but do not follow the principle of Guru Vākya. I am there where my bhaktas are singing my name." Automatically, your aura or the waves of your thoughts reach God, establishing an eternal, unbreakable relation. Gurujī said, "While inhalation and exhalation, ascending and descending, the breathing breath is resonating Thy name, O Mahāprabhujī." Automatically, feelings awake in the heart. When a musician sees a song or poem, they feel compelled to sing it, or you remember the melody. Similarly, while writing this divine mantra, an indescribable vibration, beautiful harmony, and happiness awaken in our heart. Thus, you transfer your technique from Likhita Japa to singing Japa—Vekrī Mantra. You know this bhajan, this mantra; many of you have it because we chant it often. You may have your eyes open or closed, but now you must experience it, as we did yesterday with the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya Mantra. Observe your entire body, mind, thoughts, and feelings. How do you feel when you chant this mantra? We will chant it a few times. The seat of sound is in the Maṇipūra Cakra. Whenever we speak or chant, it influences our Maṇipūra Cakra (solar plexus). The center point of our body is our navel; our body developed from there—intestines, spine, head, then limbs, and so on. The awakening of spiritual consciousness actually takes place from the Maṇipūra Cakra. This is where energy is taken in and used energy goes out, like an exhaust fan removing stale air and drawing in fresh air. These two forces in the Maṇipūra Cakra are called Prāṇa and Apāna. Light and sound therapy are both centered here. Anytime you speak, place your hand on your stomach or navel first; you will feel pressure when you speak. Of course, this is controlled by brain centers, but the Maṇipūra Cakra is very important. Chanting the Vekrī Mantra purifies negative thoughts and energy, giving sāttvic energy to your body. If you speak good things, that speech turns your inner self toward the divine. If you speak bad things, it turns in the opposite direction, polluting your consciousness, intellect, mind, and thoughts—your vṛttis. Therefore, take care of your Maṇipūra Cakra, then write and chant. There are ten sounds in our body belonging to our ten indriyas—the jñānendriyas and karmendriyas (senses of perception and action). The eleventh sound is Brahmānāda, the sound of Brahman, the sound of the Ātmā: So’ham (I am that, and that I am). Merely repeating "So’ham, So’ham" will not help; you must practice and awaken that sound in the entire body. At that point, you can no longer say, "I am unhappy, I am ill, I have fear." Ātmā has no fear, illness, or unhappiness. These are mental projections. The body, mind, and intellect may suffer, but not the Ātmā. The jīvātmā (individual soul) suffers with the body, but not the pure Ātmā. You conquer this energy by singing. Chant, chant, chant until you become one with your practice. The great Tulsīdāsjī, who wrote the holy Rāmāyaṇa, was once visited by Hanumānjī. Tulsīdās asked, "Can you show me God once? I want to see Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa." Hanumānjī said, "I cannot show you directly, but indirectly. I can tell you; you must wait to see." Tulsīdās said, "It doesn’t matter how many lives I must wait; I will wait. I want to see my Lord, my beloved, just once." He sang: "Will Thou come, will Thou come, just for once come to me? Open wide I keep for Thee. Night and day I look for Thee." Hanumānjī said, "You need not go far. He comes here every day." Tulsīdās was overjoyed and asked when and where. Hanumānjī said, "Here on the beach of Chitrakūṭa, where you are staying. Every morning, God Rāma comes to bathe in this river. Many people come, and Rāma comes too. After bathing, He makes a beautiful tilak from sandalwood paste." So Tulsīdās took a stone plate and the finest sandalwood, grinding it into a fragrant paste, thinking, "My Lord Rāma will come, and I will make His tilak." He asked Hanumānjī to warn him. Hanumānjī said, "I cannot tell you immediately, but He comes within this hour, in the next 15 minutes." With longing, Tulsīdās prepared the paste. God Rāma stood beside him. Many people came and went. Rāma slightly bowed, took some sandal paste Himself, made His tilak, blessed Tulsīdās, and left. Tulsīdās thought, "What a person! He took my sandalwood paste—it was for God Rāma!" When Rāma had gone, Hanumānjī asked if there was a problem. Tulsīdās explained, and Hanumānjī recounted what happened in verse: Chitrakoot ke ghat par baisantan ki bhi, Bhaji Chitrakoot ke ghat par bhai santan ki bhīr. Je tam daf, so many saints, tolik svědců. Tulsī Dās chandan gise, tilak kare ra gubīr. (On the beach of Chitrakūṭa, amidst crowds of saints, Tulsī Dās was making sandal paste. Rāma took the paste, and Tulsī Dās did not notice.) Indirectly, Hanumānjī had hoped Tulsīdāsjī would become aware. In that half-minute when Rāma took the paste, Tulsīdās thought, "Oh, some sādhu took it." Hanumānjī said, "He’s gone. I gave you the hint; you didn’t understand." Therefore, you must become aware, become one with it, and have love and devotion to the Divine. It will come. There is one bhajan of Mahāprabhujī, but I do not know how it goes. The first line, yes, link up.

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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