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Part 1: Yoga in Daily Life: The Eternal Path of Consciousness Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavānakī, Śrī Devīśvara Mahādevakī, Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavānakī, Sanātana Dharmakī. All dear ones, blessings of Mahāprabhujī. Welcome. Today is indeed a beautiful day. And this year, I am more or less in Slovakia for the first time. Blessed country. Blessed people. The time has passed so quickly – forty years. I see nearly three generations. I have seen three generations, and many things in our lives have changed for the better. Life is an eternal path. Life is not the destination, but it is the way to the destination. Many things change, which is natural. The dharma, the principle of life, is to be born, to grow, and to die. In this we can see three things: giving, enjoying, and supporting creation, as well as mokṣa, liberation. Dharma, Artha, and Karma: the principles, the wealth, and the action. Yoga, as we know, is a science of body, mind, and soul. In the cycle of life of every creature, it is always proceeding towards higher consciousness. There is always a certain effort to reach higher consciousness – from the one-day fly up to human consciousness. The human consciousness, the human soul or body, is the highest point a creature can achieve. And now the question is: what is further? We had our destination to climb to the peak of the mountain. And now, what is further? So we have to go down. This is the cycle of creation. So we reach the peak of our consciousness as a creature. Now we have two directions. This is apavāragha or śvarāgha – either to go back or to go to the highest one, to Brahman. That means there will be no more suffering from worldly pain. The soul is free forever. God made this for us and gave us the possibility and facilities. But we have our responsibility. How much will we use our ability to come to cosmic unity? Life will continue. We are witnesses of our life. From childhood, as far as we remember, till today, we have had many experiences, many difficulties and moments of happiness. We have seen natural disasters, floods, storms, snow, heat, and cold; temporal, zonal, social, political, and economic situations; and emotional, intellectual, and physical pain, as well as physical changes. Yet our inner self is always the same. We feel old in body, but not in the mind. In our feelings and mind we are as ever as we were when we were born. This is the eternal law. We have to occupy the place for a while and then make it free for our coming generations. And that is the truth of this life. The final truth of this life, what we call it, is death. We will all experience this one day. We all have to go in the same direction. Therefore, human consciousness can be developed. The so-called great saints or yogīs, or you may call them ṛṣis, are said to have had a very long life – thousands of years. But we don’t want to live a thousand years. This life is heavy enough for us. And if someone would like to live a thousand years, by the law of nature it is not possible now. So those great seers, the saints, through their spiritual abilities developed the science of yoga. They also developed something through which a human can be comfortable, healthy, and happy. If we follow the instructions of these great saints, our life can be more comfortable, easier, and happier. And there is an individual choice – everyone has the right to this. But in this Kali Yuga time, this time of iron or the time of darkness, we humans fall into the extreme stream, the force of life – so-called more bhoga, more material enjoyment or material consciousness. There is a story of a spider. There was a spider, and the spider created a nest from its own hormones to catch some small creatures. But one day, the same spider became stuck in that nest and could not come out. The spider saw its nest; it became completely dependent on it. So we humans, particularly in the last few centuries, have made immense development. We learned to build houses, to bring water to the highest floor of a building, to produce electricity and many other things. As much as we invented it, we thought we would be happy and enjoy. That is true, but we became the slaves of it. We are completely dependent. Can we imagine today even a few minutes without electricity? Maybe from a battery or directly from the powerhouse. Can we imagine the power of electricity in an operation theatre? All the instruments would not work at all. In many, many ways, we have made ourselves dependent. So in our human creation there is more trouble and less comfort. We know that no creature is as unhappy, as ill, and as greedy as humans. There is a kind of mouse with a long mouth and a long body. When a snake tastes that mouse, it realizes that if it swallows the mouse, it will die. If it leaves it, the gases that come out of the mouse’s body will quickly blind it. Now what is its situation? If it keeps the mouse, death; if it leaves it, a miserable life. The snake has only one chance: restlessly it searches for water so that it can dive deep and then release the mouse. So this modern civilization, this technology, is in one way very good. Otherwise, we don’t know how to become free from it. You might call it the question of petrol, coal, gas, and many things. If we stop, we cannot imagine. In every way, we are caught by our own creation. There is a God-made world, and there is a man-made world. The God-made world is perfect and sustainable. The man-made world is not perfect and not sustainable. Now, the great saints saw this in their meditation. The oldest scriptures, what we call the Vedas and Upaniṣads, described everything – when and what will happen. And that is coming true, everything. So they created the science of yoga, and that means the way of living – nourishment, spirituality, ethics, and the development of human qualities. Animals fight against animals, but we are humans; we are not animals. We have in our heart compassion. Then why, around the world, are there even now wars going on? And wars towards whom? Not towards animals, but humans towards humans. Every spiritual or holy book, if I remember, says that when people were playing with gold in front of temples because they thought that gold is God – what we call money is God – if I am not wrong, at that time Jesus said: Do not believe in this wrong gold as a God. Follow the teaching of the Master. O my disciples, I am the way to God. So we should follow those valuable instructions given by great saints and incarnations around the world. These were my original thoughts when I came to Europe, to what we then called Czechoslovakia. How to present this ancient science of yoga, because there are always religious, cultural, and political conflicts in the world. There are constant political, religious, spiritual, and economic conflicts – and today also. But the name yoga in daily life means it is something you can use in everyday life: how to lead your life in a healthy way, how to live this life, and how to develop spirituality. Some of us follow, and some after some time give up. We witness many, many things in our life. For example, forty years ago when I came to your country, very few people were used to drinking mineral water from a bottle – not only here, but everywhere. Some people began to make business with water, and so-called five-star hotels started to serve this water. And now we carry our mineral water with us all the time. You couldn’t imagine that time. Now we carry the mineral water bottle, or water bottle. The time will come when we will have to carry oxygen bottles. Now, where do we want to go? Therefore, Yoga in Daily Life is also very strictly and strongly advising all practitioners and other people to protect the environment. We can’t avoid everything. Now we can’t avoid electricity. But when you come home, just one bulb is enough to see everything. Yet many people have a habit: they come home and put on the light in every room. It consumes energy. And how and where do we produce this energy? That is a cycle, and finally it has bad effects on nature. And when there is a bad effect on nature, it affects our body too. Many times I have said in my lectures, when you sit at a dining table and food comes on your plate, ask yourself where this food came from. If you are eating meat, then ask which creature had to offer its life for this food – not only that you want to eat, but the pain of that creature, how it was kept and killed, and it is now on your plate. Now, second thing: you have vegetables on your plate. Ask the same question: from where did this vegetable come? How much poison is in it? Pesticides. Forty years ago, hardly anyone asked about organic food. Nowadays, everybody is searching for organic food. So all the nourishment we have is so much manipulated by human greed, and that also affects our body very negatively. Suddenly, the doctor tells you that you have cancer, or an allergy, or heart problems, kidney problems, blood pressure problems, or problems with the veins. Day by day, we discover new problems in our body. There is a 95% chance this problem is about our nourishment. We are not living for eating. But we eat for living, as some wise man said. So what you do for your own body, if you are clever and wise enough, for your own benefit and for the sake of your children and family, you will decide what you eat. Then the next point of Yoga in Daily Life: how do I understand "love your neighbor"? I would say it’s not only for humans, but for all creatures. But at least learn first to love all humans. To love your family is not a miracle – it’s very natural that you love your wife, your husband, mother, father, children, brother, sister. That’s normal. But what do we think now? Wars are going on, bombs are exploding, and how many children die? Parents die? You know the situation in the world. So if we can understand that just as my life is dear to me, similarly their life is also very dear to them. Peace is nowhere but in our heart. Gandhi said, "There is no way to peace; peace itself is the way." So imagine and think over how much understanding you have for others, how much ego, how much jealousy, how greedy we are, and many, many things. Just to love a few dear ones is not enough. To love only a few dear ones is attachment, selfish love. To love all is universal love, the love of God. So we should understand everyone’s needs and support them. We do many karmas daily – that’s the nature of creatures, and mostly of humans. But how much feeling do you have inside for others? So-called desires will never be satisfied or content. You will never fulfill desire. Desire is like a fire, and trying to satisfy something is like putting petrol on it. When the petrol is gone, the fire will ask for more. There is a story I have told many times, from about thirty or thirty-three years ago. I met an elderly person during a seminar. That man was in a wheelchair, and his age was approximately ninety-six. In the morning, as I was passing by, I said, "Good morning, sir. How are you?" He looked at me very sad – not good. Now, I couldn’t allow myself just to go. I held his hand and sat beside him. He told me a little story about his life. He had been the director of a very big company. He had two or three cars and a very big house in Vienna, two or three houses in the countryside, and only one child, a daughter. At that time, he got tears in his eyes. "I don’t know where all my friends are. No one comes to me and asks how I’m doing. I don’t know where my house is, and I don’t know where my cars are. Even about my daughter, I don’t know where she is. On my birthday and Christmas, she telephones or comes just to visit me for one hour. I compare my time then and now, and I am very sad," he said. "I was thinking they are mine: my house, my cars, my money, my wife. No one is here. They put me in the sun with a wheelchair for a while, and then they take me to breakfast and bring me to my bed. Is this the sense of life? Is that life?" I pray for all of us that we will never see such days. Life is a school. We learn many things, and we should utilize what we have learned. And for the next generation, we should give wise instructions. Gandhijī said, "Mother Earth has enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed." The next point of Yoga in Daily Life is health. Health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health, as some wise man said. But I say, if the body is there, then health is there. And if the body is not there, nothing is there. So through nourishment and then through the special yogic postures, movements, yoga can keep our body long, healthy, and movable. Part 2: Yoga and the Wealth of the Soul If we want a healthy, flexible body, we achieve it through nutrition and specially developed yoga āsana positions. Unfortunately, many people have turned yoga into a commercial venture. About an hour and a half ago I had a satsaṅg via Skype with people in the USA, and one person asked, “Why can’t we make our yoga in life commercial? It could become a very good and big business.” He mentioned a few organizations in the world that work commercially. So I asked, what will we do with money? The science of yoga and the teaching of our grand masters—Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī, Devpurījī, and our dear Gurujī—is not intended for commercial things. Material wealth anyone can take away from you. But the wealth of spirituality and wisdom no one can take away. Great Saint Mīrābāī said: I got the jewels of God’s name. Khāyo no khūṭe, chor no lūṭe. As much as I utilize, it will not get less, and thieves cannot steal. Din din baḍat savāyo. Day by day it is increasing, multiplying. So, the more spirituality we have, the more we will be happy—more than anything. Therefore we do not commercialize our worldwide organization, Yoga and Divine Life. And thanks to our Slovakian yoga teachers, Czech yoga teachers, and teachers from all other countries of Europe and beyond: they are not oriented to commercial benefit. That is the best thing you are doing. Those who understand will understand; those who do not will not. Yoga and its life system are designed according to ancient, authentic literature. You have yoga from first hand. It is designed for physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. One month ago in Brno there was a scientific conference with thirty-five doctors, physiotherapists and psychologists who presented papers on their research work—several years of research on yoga in their lives. They found the healthiest and best way to practice. In Slovakia, famous spas like Piešťany and others have declared Yoga in Daily Life a scientific system, because these kinds of practices develop happiness and calmness within you—harmony, happiness. That is why we call it Yoga in Daily Life: for harmony of body, mind, and soul. All problems come when you are not content and you search for something other than what you have. It means you are inside not content, and the soul has no harmony. The Yoga in Daily Life practices, for which you have the book and good teachers—if you do not practice systematically, they will not give that benefit. Everything has to be practiced as it is given in the book. Otherwise the exercises are not different from other yoga or from what others teach. When and which posture, āsana or movement should be done, is all there. So I would suggest you begin seriously to practice for your own physical, mental and spiritual benefit. In this material world, even if there is a very dear person, you never know when one day they will go away from you. Nowadays many things happen. So who is there who loves you? Or who is there that you love? We all would like to love, we all would like to give love. But to give this love we need an object upon which we can pour our entire love and feeling. And when that object suddenly disappears, the energy that flows through your heart, that love, is lost in nothingness and gives you back a kind of disappointment, unhappiness. So first learn to love thyself. Love your ātmā, your soul, your mind, your body. And do not expect from outside, because everyone wants something from you. As much as you can give, give it. There are two who love us: the first is God, and the second is yourself. So, love is within you. What are you searching for outside? The fish is in the water, but the fish is thirsty, suffering. Similarly, love is within us, yet we search outside to fulfill it. Real love is that salt to salt. I am not talking of physical love but of human warmth—the attention of another human being towards us. So, my dear, Yoga in Daily Life is a complete system. It teaches us how to make our life successful. Finally, it is said: the flower will die, but the beautiful fragrance of the flower will remain. This body will go, but your beautiful work, beautiful thoughts, and beautiful being here will remain forever. So enjoy as much as you can to give. Be free. Do not depend on anyone. Do not make yourself dependent. We depend only on our daily good nourishment. All these five elements are the light and love of God. Then you are ever happy and healthy. And if the signal comes that you are not healthy, then understand that this is a law of nature—a cosmic law. If you have to reach your destination, you cannot go without raising one leg up and taking a step. When the right foot goes in front, the left will say, “I will not go.” We are stuck there, so one foot has to leave that place and go further. That is life. We have to go one day. We do our best to do something in the world, and that is the aim of our life. This life is an eternal journey, not a destination. With this kind of thinking, yoga and life are practiced in your country, and there are many hundreds of good yoga teachers. I wish them good health and much strength so that they can help you more. You learn, and you should also become a teacher of Yoga in Daily Life and obtain the diploma. I was thinking for a long time, already a few months ago, to come again to this beautiful ashram in Bratislava. It is the middle of the week. So many friends are working and having yoga classes. Therefore I wish them many blessings—those who could not come—and I welcome you from the bottom of my heart. I pray to Mahāprabhujī for your good health, spiritual development, harmony and long life. God bless you. Now, where is the President? Any wish, Mr. President? We can have one bhajan; at the same time it can be the interval if someone wants to move. Anyone have a question? There is one principle: when there is no question, it means there is no answer. And I am proud of you—you understood everything. Everything is clear, so you don’t need a question. We will have a fifteen-minute interval, then we will sit together and have a little satsaṅg. But my lecture is itself a satsaṅg, so I don’t know what more you want. It’s quarter to eight, so this was a satsaṅg. But we have an interval, and then we will continue. And our dear Andrea will sing a nice bhajan. Andrea is a very good yoga teacher, and we have known her for many years. Welcome, thank you. Give her a mic, please—and the camera can go on Andrea so that people can see who the beautiful singer is. I told you the entire science or philosophy of yoga in life. Now, again, I would like to give very practical instructions. If we would like to get good health and maintain it, then from twenty-four hours, dedicate one and a half hours to yourself for the well-being of your good physical health. Best is to practice in the morning before breakfast. And as your teacher advises, do each and every movement slowly. For example, you do ten rounds like this: one, two, three, four. Instead of doing it quickly, if you want more benefit, just do it slowly. Then the muscles get proper strength and proper exercise. When you do it slowly, you feel all the muscles that are parallel, passing along the spinal column. And if you do like this—many of you are doing it, so let’s try it now. If you don’t mind, those who don’t want need not do it. It is for your good, so do it three times or five times: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two… twenty. And try to feel which muscles are affected or influenced. So, one, two, three—not fast, but slow. Okay, very good. Now, you have to feel which muscles are affected. Elbows should not be in the front. Like that, your back muscles get a little pressure, as if you are pulling your shoulder blades together. Now we will do one, three—thank you. Did you feel the difference? So, slow and quality. We do not want quantity. Do every exercise concentrated and slowly; then it is called psychosomatic movement. To do quickly is very easy, where you use your body only. But to do slowly, the body, awareness, concentration, and mental attention come into complete balance. I don’t know if it is from Japan or China—they call it Ching Chang, or Jing Jang, King Kong, Ching Kong… they are moving like this, yes, Tai Chi. For some people it’s boring, but when you stand and you make this movement slowly, then you see how the muscles are working. Sarvahitāsana is specially designed to develop your muscles, bring relaxation in the muscles, and remove tensions from muscles and ligaments. So, to do it slow you need more energy, and you are completely body aware; you are one with yourself. This is for our own physical and mental benefit. Nearly 75 to 80 percent of good health is in your hands. So, exercise, and from time to time, fasting. People who have little strength should not fast. People who have a few kilos more than they should, and if you don’t have diabetes or you are not pregnant, then it is advised to fast two or three times a week. Only break fast, and the next day break fast again. And use more water—drink more water. It is in your interest. Tomorrow begins the nine nights of the Divine Mother. It is called Navarātri. It’s a long story which I will not tell again, but in some age ago there was a Rākṣasa, a devil, and no one could kill him. He was very destructive. He got some blessings for his ambition. He performed great tapasyā—austerity, praying and praying and praying—and God came. He asked one boon: “No one can kill me. And if it happens a second time, that one cannot kill me.” So whenever someone tried to kill him on the battlefield, he came alive again. Then the Divine Mother, the Cosmic Mother, appeared. And whenever she destroyed him, the next day he was there again. It took nine nights, and then his promise was fulfilled. Second, that Mother is one of the most merciful. Many of you also pray, “Thy mercy, O Maria.” There are two principles: masculine and feminine, mother and father, energy and consciousness. So the Mother, the feminine, has that energy, and it is mostly for protection. During these nine days people will pray to gain her blessings. In the Upaniṣads it is said that the first god is the Mother, and the Mother is the universal principle or energy. God is consciousness and the Mother is energy—Śiva and Śakti. And this is not compared in the way we compare gender differences. So it is the Divine Mother. We do not define God or Goddess with genders; it is the divine energy. Some people will fast for nine nights and nine days. On the 18th of April the nine days will be completed. Tomorrow is the beginning. Tonight they will decorate her temple and keep the divine light there, or some candle. But make sure that your house does not begin to burn. The windows should be closed because of draft. Try to keep this light for nine days. Best is that candle you also use for the graveyard—a nine- or ten-day candle in a red plastic bottle, I think, and that is for safety. The red color is the color of the Divine Mother, and that is the color of our blood, and that blood is our mother. Our entire body was developed from the mother’s body. So Mother is within us, in every cell. If you put that candle, put some solid pot under it, and don’t keep paper or something near it. Pray to the Divine Mother. You can put a picture of Holy Mary or Durgā Devī. Are you your grandmother? Are you your mother? Because your mother is the Divine Mother, your grandmother is the Grand Divine Mother. So there are different pūjās and ceremonies; tomorrow begins. You can fast and eat only one meal, but those who are underweight, have low blood pressure, get a headache when they don’t eat, or are taking medicine that requires them to eat something—they should not fast. And prayer: prayer for your good health, for her divine mercy, for us and for the whole world. I pray to Almighty Mother to bless us. With this, today’s webcast program is finished. Wish you all the best. Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Devī Svara Mahādeva, Mādhava Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān, Śrī Matan Dharmakī, Hari Om.