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Part 1: The Ocean of Nectar and the Foundations of a Happy Life Thank you, Amṛt Sāgar. Good evening, everybody. Hari Om and welcome. Amṛt means the nectar, and Sāgar means the ocean. It is a beautiful name: Ocean of the Nectar. Nice name, Amṛt Sāgar. It is said that within you is the ocean of bliss. Within you is the fountain of joy, and within you is the immortal. Amṛitsāgar Yoga is the ocean of nectar. We congratulate you for your beautiful center. When I came here one year ago, it was just in preparation. Now I can see it is a beautiful yoga āśram, center, studio—whatever you call it. I wish that all who come to this space will find peace, harmony, happiness, and good health. Bless you and the center. Yoga in Daily Life is based on ancient, authentic literature; it is very original. You may say it is first-hand information, and now you are the second-hand information—good. And when you give it further, you will be the first hand. It is a scientific system. It is long-lasting, not temporary. This system is practiced around the world in many different places: yoga centers, rehabilitation centers, old age homes, schools, schools for the blind, for poor victims, prisoners, and by physiotherapists. There are different centers which are teaching and practicing yoga in their lives, making thousands of them. There are many schools. The system has been practiced for 42 years in Europe, Australia, and Africa. So, this is a little introduction to the Amṛt Sāgar Yoga Center. Welcome, all of you. This is ancient wisdom in modern times. Many of you know, and many of you may not know, that the science of yoga was developed and given by yogīs. We call them ṛṣis, hermit sages, who were living in the forest, in huts, or in caves. They were meditating, they were practicing, they were researching the human body, the human mind, the human soul (ātmā), the sense of life, and life after life. They researched the connection of our soul with the universe, the life of the soul in the universe—they researched all about planets and all the solar systems, thousands of solar systems. These are the most ancient scriptures; we call them the Vedas. In the Vedas, they write of Ananta Brahmāṇḍa, Śāstra Sūryas—the endless universe and thousands, millions of sun systems. At that time, they already spoke of the life of our sun, in which solar system we are existing, how long the life of the sun will be, what will happen, and everything—without any instruments, only through their meditation. They were known as the seers of the past, present, and future. That is why we do believe, we do respect, and we do follow the instructions of those great humans, those holy ones who incarnated in this human body and meditated for thousands of years. It is believed that there are still some yogīs—we do not know how old they are—who are just sitting in ice caves. Everything is covered with glaciers. They are living from energy, energy nourishment. They do not take liquid or solid food. They just take energy from the universe, and they are still meditating. It is hard for us to approach them. If we search, we will hardly find them because they are all covered with snow, glaciers, and caves. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā He Kevalam In Āyurveda, it is said, "Pahala Sukh Nirogī Kāyā." Āyurveda is part of yoga; it is called yoga and Āyurveda. These are two wings for the soul to fly towards liberation. Āyur means life—life spent, long life or short life. Veda means the wisdom, the knowledge about our life. Life means being healthy, not just lying in a hospital and surviving on machines. That is not life anymore. Yoga means the union, the individual uniting with the universal one. That is the final goal. But the union of body, mind, and soul means harmony in our physical being, in our mental being, and in our inner self, what we call the ātmā. That is the individual self. So, ancient knowledge or wisdom says: Pahala Sukh Nirogī Kāyā. O human, the first happiness, the first good life. The word Sukha has no single translation in the English language. You cannot say it in one word. You can say pleasant life, comfortable life, happy life, healthy life—all this together comes as Sukha. Unhealthy, troublesome life, disharmony, discomfort is Duḥkha. Sukha means... again, I have no single word, so I can say "happy." But happiness, when you translate it into Hindi, is another word; it is not sukha. Language is always difficult to translate. Duḥkha means troublesome, painful, unhealthy. So these are two parts of our life, like two banks of a river. One bank of the river is sukha, and the second is duḥkha. We can say that one bank is pleasure, and the other is displeasure. But now, the wise one says life is that river which is flowing, not these banks. Our body is just keeping our life, but something inside flowing is different. The river has curves but no water. So we have troubles, maybe unpleasantness, illness in body, unhappiness in mind, but our inner self is the divine, and that we should realize. So, pahala sukha nirogī kāyā: the first happiness is a healthy body. If you are healthy, then you will manage to do everything well. But if the body is not healthy, then something is disturbing all the time. A healthy body means a long life. So, "Pahala Sukh Nirogi Kaya." And then there is a little explanation of this happiness. First is health. Second, to have prosperity, material goods, what you call nowadays money. This beautiful center, what Amṛt Sāgar made—nice wood. Is it wood or plastic? Bamboo. These curtains, everything is very nice. It was not falling from the sky. She bought it. That cost money, and it was not nicely polished and cut. That also cost money. We are sitting on nice, beautiful yoga mats. These were not just flying in through the windows. The same thing at your home: whatever you do, it costs money. And when you do not have anything, then you will lose even your friends. So people love your money, not your skin. Therefore, Āyurveda says you should be able to offer someone who comes to your door, if he is thirsty, a glass of water; if he is hungry, a piece of bread; if he feels cold, you should be able to give a blanket. That means having money—not that you are struggling like poor people who are struggling to become billionaires, to become the first richest person in the world. But if you see in reality, inwardly, that person is the richest, suffering one. He or she is only guarding the money. When we were born, our fist was closed. When we die, it will be open. So it means when we are born, we brought something with us. But when we die, we have left everything, with open hands to go. Nothing will go with you. Therefore, the things that you have shared with others are a sense of life. For the needy one, the hungry one, the thirsty one, the suffering one—if you share something, that is great. There are many people sitting in the street. I walked today here in San Francisco, here in the Bay Area, what you call Oakland, by this lake. I was surprised; in the 38 minutes we were walking, I saw two or three poor people who were very much in need, or maybe more. So, if you give to someone who does not have, then his or her blessings will be like the blessings of God. May he or she not say, "Bless you," or not; do not expect anything. Automatically, from his or her inner being, happiness will come to you. That is a real blessing. Or if some animal is injured by accident, by a car or anything, and you help, you bring it to a doctor. Mahāprabhujī Karatā Mahāprabhujī Karatā, pahala sukha nirogī kāyā, dūjā sukha ghar meṁ māyā. Māyā means also temptation, māyā means illusion, māyā means also the money or whatever you call it. So the great saint says, "Oh Lord, give me that much, that those who come to my home do not go away hungry, and my family also does not remain hungry." For that, we are working. The second happiness is your good luck, if you are... whatever, but this all comes through good luck. The second happiness is a good partner, husband or wife—that kind of husband who does not make arguments with her, and that kind of wife who does not make arguments. One man came to a yogī and asked him, "How should the partner be? Can you give an example?" He said yes. This wise man, his name was Kabīrdās or someone. It was 11 o'clock in the daytime, and the bright sun was shining. He was sitting outside under a tree, and he said to his wife, "Please, can you put the lamp on and bring it here?" It was an oil lamp. She went inside, made an oil lamp, put a glass on it so the flame would not go out, brought the light there, put it down, and went away. After half an hour, the man asked, "Can you tell me how a husband and wife should be?" The yogī said, "I told you. I did not tell you; I only showed you practically." The man said, "What? You did not notice?" The yogī said, "No. Look, I asked my wife to bring me light, and she did not say a single word. Why? The sun is shining. What will you do with the light now? There was no question. I asked her, and she brought it." That is a perfect understanding which keeps the harmony between husband and wife, friends, and family. Lucky are they, happy are they, that they have obedience, husband or wife. Obedience does not mean in a negative way; it is mutual understanding. So it is said, "Pati patnī kā ek matā ho svarga meṁ śata." When husband and wife have the same feeling and decision, then they have a power in the human. In heaven, they hold high positions. In heaven, there are also different levels, okay? The second happiness is money. Money means not that you become billionaires, but that you have all that you need. Third is good children. Nowadays, parents have no power, or nothing, no knowledge to educate children in such a way that these children will be happy, and they will make you happy, and they will make the world happy. So it is very important that children have natural education, love towards nature, respect and love for neighbors, for friends, for parents, and spiritual education. Nowadays, spiritual education is missing, and that is why we see how the youth are sometimes behaving. And fifth happiness: a good neighbor. If you have a very good neighbor, you are blessed; you are the happiest one. And the neighbor is not only a neighbor; the neighbor is like your family member. In your happiness and unhappiness, your neighbor always supports you and is with you. That is it: a good neighbor. And the sixth one: you have your own little garden and your own cow for your good milk. Organic vegetables and your good fresh milk without manipulation in the dairy. These points make you healthy. Physical health, then wealth, then partnership, then children, then neighbors, and your nourishment. These are the six principles for health and for keeping life happy, healthy, and long. That was the wisdom they gave in that time. But now the human population has grown like anything. We are sitting in this multi-floor building. There are hundreds of apartments. How many people are living? It is not possible that everyone has a cow on their balcony, no? And we would need a big lift. So then, again, they gave the answer. That time, they knew that it would happen, and they said yes. Then, respect two things: this and call. Then lead your life according to these two. Try to manage your life in these situations, but still be happy and healthy. Now, this means, where are you? So if you are in this multi-storey building, of course you cannot have your big garden. Maybe you can have, in your balcony, little green things. Part 2: The Foundation of Health and the Wisdom of Yoga You can cultivate small spices and herbs instead of only flowers. This encompasses the time, the situation, and the atmosphere where you find yourself, so try to settle within it. In a large city where it may not be possible to have everything, you have one thing here: a yoga center—Amṛt Sāgar. Therefore, it is given again: God has provided us opportunities. There are yoga centers, sports clubs, tennis clubs, and many swimming pools. There are many, many possibilities for you to go and engage in some exercise. Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā... The instruction for humans is: health. The first happiness is health. Without this health, you will not be able to realize God, because if you are not healthy, you cannot meditate. Yes, you will remember God every second if there is severe pain in the body, and if you have a mantra from your Gurudev, you will recite it: "Yamantra Gurudeva, Gurudeva Dīpa Nirañjana Samtukha Gurudeva Guru." These are the conditions of our situation. We do remember God, but we should try to manage our life as healthily as possible. Then they asked, "What do you say about accidents?" They can happen too. We may be walking peacefully, having done nothing wrong, and suddenly a car crashes into us. What is that then? Yes, they say this is what you call your destiny. It is in your karma that this has to happen. An accident is a kind of destiny that arrives like a gust of wind and is gone. It is a kind of constellation. If you can avoid it, it is a matter of a second, like air moving swiftly. Therefore, many times yogīs try to leave the house or change their location. They measure the energy through constellations and planets, and for every individual, it is specific. Consider the airplane accident that happened in Nepal. Did you hear about it? About 16 or 17 people were in a small propeller airplane, and an accident occurred—a crash. The pilot died, and ten other people died. One hostess also died, or lived? One child and three other people survived; all the others died. Now, which karma? Why did they die, and the others did not? There, it means an individual constellation is at play, and sometimes it is a collective bad energy. So, they said that you should repeat some mantra. Yes, there is protection, and so there is an individual mantra as well as a common mantra. You should always hold in your thinking the wish for all the best for everyone. As it is said in the Vedas: "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ"—may all be happy. When you wish "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ," you share your prayer for everyone, and you receive a double blessing in return. Even if they do not know you wish them well, the credit flows. The blessing you receive back is invisible, but it returns to you. Therefore, be positive and think positively. Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ, sarve santu nirāmayāḥ, sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu mā kaścid duḥkha bhāg bhavet. May all be happy, may all be free from illness, may all see auspiciousness, and may no one suffer. O Lord, may I also live healthy and happy. This is the general mantra for a healthy body, mind, and intellect, which will always wish good for others. An ill-minded person, one with a mental illness, will wish good only for a limited circle of people they like. For others they dislike, they will wish all bad things. But at that time, God knows, or the divine energy knows, that although you wish ill, it will not reach them. It will come back to you because you think selfishly. Why do you act because you dislike someone? It is not correct; it is unjust. You are human, so again it is said in Āyurveda and in Yoga, in Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra, that if you act without knowing, you will face trouble in the future. And even if you know, but you think your action may cause trouble for someone, then you must find a way through your knowledge to avoid that thought. There is a small story. A yogī was sitting in a forest meditating when a deer passed by. The deer was there for ten minutes. A man came running behind the deer with a bow and arrow. He asked the yogī, "Hey, did you see the deer? Which direction did it run?" The yogī saw the man and said, "Yes sir, how are you?" The man said, "Very good, but tell me, don’t waste my time." The yogī said, "Yeah, what should I tell you?" The man insisted, "Which direction did you see the deer? Which direction?" The yogī said, "Yes, which direction?" The man said, "Yes, then tell me." The yogī was thinking, 'Oh God, I saw it; the deer ran in that direction. If I tell this man, he will find that deer and shoot it. He will kill it. If I don't tell him and say I don't know, then I lie.' So what to do in this situation? I do not want him to kill that animal. I want to lie. So he found a way for all three to be protected: the deer should be protected; the hunter should be protected from committing the sin of killing an innocent animal; and I, too, should be protected. So he said, "Well, those who have seen cannot speak, and those who speak cannot see. What should I tell you? Those who have seen cannot speak, and those who can speak cannot see. Maybe that side, or this side, or that side." The yogī said this, and the other hunter thought, 'This man must be crazy,' and left. So it means the eyes have seen, but the eyes cannot speak. Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā... To all practitioners of yoga: "Atha Yoga Anuśāsanam." Āyurveda said, "Phelā Śuknī Rogī Kāyā"—first happiness is a healthy body. How to attain this healthy body? Then the Ṛṣi Patañjali said, "Atha Yoga Anuśāsanam"—your yoga begins with discipline. Without discipline, your life will not be happy and will not be successful. "Atha" means now, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. Now, begin to develop discipline in your life. Whatever you are doing, think it over and then act; then you will be happy. Many concentrate only on the physical body, and many think only about controlling the mind to control the physical body, yet they do not consider the intellect. Many are concerned only with the intellect—that they should know this and that. It doesn't matter if they are under stress, and it doesn't matter if they cannot sleep for a few days; they will achieve this or that. Then you are thinking only about your intellect, which is also not good. You put your body in trouble, you put your mind in trouble, you put your intellect in trouble. These three are temporary for you, but the fourth one suffers because of all three. The fourth one is your inner soul, and that inner soul is the witness of our deeds. So, an accident happened; that was the karma of the body, mind, and intellect. But because of the karma of these three, what is inside suffers. Therefore, you must take great care that your inner self does not suffer and that your inner self remains healthy. Like a pregnant woman who does her best so that the child, the baby, the embryo is comfortable, will be healthy, and will have a happy and good birth. Similarly, we have inside our life an embryo, and that should develop towards the cosmic Self. So we see yoga practice not merely as, "Oh, I like it very much," or "Look, I lost three kilos in one week; my waist and belly are very good now." For how long? It's good, it's good, okay? Very good, of course. But there is something deeper than this. Therefore, wise persons said, "Āyurveda, pehla sukha nīrogī kāyā." First, happiness is a healthy body. When you have a healthy body, then you can work—for your partner, for your children, for your neighbors, for everyone. Create a happy environment surrounding you; then your life becomes comfortable and happy. Otherwise, life is miserable. In practicing yoga, there are many different exercises people do, but if you want to achieve what you truly desire, you should practice systematically. It is not because of my book that I am introducing you to this, but in this book, there are both very simple and very advanced exercises. If you prepare your body and know you can do more than the simple ones, that's okay. You should do the others, but do not deny the simple ones. Even if you have been practicing yoga for ten years, you should do very simple exercises at least once or twice a week to move every muscle. They are more effective and beneficial than just standing on your hands or on your head. We have the handstand and many other standing poses. All we need is standing on Chakraslavakya, from where this Amṛt Sāgar is coming. I have been going there since 1973. How old were you in 1973? Above 40? Four years? Then you definitely saw me somewhere. That is why you came to me again. Yes, in all her village and everywhere, I was very often. There was one elderly man, about 65 or 70, who liked headstanding very much. One day, he read in a book how good headstanding is for memory, good blood circulation to the brain, and for staying young, and so on. You know how people think. So he developed his headstanding practice, and once he said, "I will see how long I can do it." He stood for 35 minutes, 40 minutes. After forty minutes, he fell down and became unconscious. The ambulance came and took him to the hospital, where he was stabilized and regained consciousness. The doctor asked him, "What have you been doing?" He said, "Headstanding. I tried to see how long I could stand; it was nearly 40 minutes, I remember." The doctor said, "Aha, good. Headstanding is good, but leg standing is better." So God gave you two legs to stand on. No, the head was not given to you to stand on, but to understand. We shall use ancient wisdom in this time, and now there is truly a great need for all that is ancient. If you have any questions, you are welcome to ask; otherwise, we will have a little meditation. Okay, Amṛt? Make a little interval for us, okay? We will now have a meditation practice. Adjust yourself in a comfortable way so you will not feel discomfort during the practice. For stability, place your hands on the knees or the thighs, with the thumb and index finger together. Slowly move your fingers and fold your palms, and repeat after me, "Naaahaa." Place the palms on the face, open your eyes, touch your hands on the floor, lean forward, try to touch your forehead to the ground, and feel the circulation slowly, with the help of the hands. During meditation, when we concentrate intensely, we give a lot of work to our brain. So we use a lot of energy. One day, when we learn to meditate without any imagination or forced concentration, then our brain will gain energy. So after meditation, it is good to bend forward and place your head down for half a minute or one minute, allowing fresh blood circulation to come towards this part of the body. Above the neck reside the head, the ears, the nose, the eyes—these jñānendriyas, the five senses of knowledge. Jñānendriya means the senses through which we learn something: the two eyes, the nose for smell, the ears for sound, the tongue for taste, and the skin for the feeling of touch, which is all over the body. Taste, smell, sound, vision, and touch—these are the five senses. So, bend forward for a while and let the circulation come there. It is good for our eyesight. Well, I wish you all the best for today, and I will see you tomorrow. God bless you.