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Part 1: Inner Peace for World Peace Self-fortunate ones, God has given me this opportunity to serve you with my limited knowledge. The topic we shall speak on is inner peace for world peace, within the framework of Yoga in Daily Life. Yoga is Yoga. It does not matter which kind of Yoga you practice; the main thing is Yoga. You may call it Bhakti Yoga, Jñāna Yoga, Rāja Yoga, Kriyā Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Haṭha Yoga. Finally, we have to come to one point: Yoga. That is the main thing. It is like religion: Hindu religion, Jewish religion, Christian religion, Islam religion. So many different ways lead to one point, one destination: religion or yoga. Similarly, peace. There are many activities, many mantras, many thoughts toward peace. But finally, peace is one. Where should we arrive? Nowadays, our world is in turbulence. Our planet is suffering from restlessness and imbalance. Everyone is fighting for peace. For example, if you ask a terrorist why they are fighting, they will say, "We are fighting for peace, to have a better world." If you ask some politicians why they are creating war, it is for peace. When you go to a lawyer and fight against someone, it is to realize peace. Everyone is doing the same thing, but the result looks different. We must understand the origin. We should know the cause and treat the cause. We should know the roots, and then we will be able to find the solution. Therefore, there are thousands of organizations around the world with goodwill, including political ones and even the United Nations, all with one aim, one thought: peace. It does not matter if it is economic development or environmental work; finally, we are coming to that one point to create peace. With the same idea, thought, and imagination, I am also working to find peace, and you also do the same. Where are we now? What is the situation in the world, and what is the situation within us? As Gītā Purī gave a beautiful introduction about me, let us consider how we can help our planet. I mean not only humans. If we concentrate only on humans, we discriminate against other creatures on this planet. We have to work in oneness with all. My Gurudev, His Holiness Swami Madhavānandjī, used to say, "One in all and all in one. Realize the oneness." I would like to come back to the point of peace, but first, to understand what peace is. As Gītā Purī told you, to close your eyes and imagine something, I will tell you: leave your eyes open and imagine something. The space or universe we call Ananta Brahmāṇḍa, the endless universe. We do not know where the end is and where the beginning is. We do not even know where the end and the beginning of the astral world are. We do not know where the door of heaven is or where the wall of heaven is. Where is the door of hell, and where is the end of hell? Is this our imagination, or is there something? Is heaven so limited a space? Who can come there, and who cannot? Is heaven also still the politics of discrimination? If heaven has such politics and discrimination, then heaven loses its quality or dignity. There is one joke—I should not tell a joke in between, but it came to my mind, so I must tell you. There was a big, very solid, strong wall. On one side, some people were sitting, talking amongst themselves and thinking they were in heaven. On the other side, there were also some people sitting and talking, saying they are in heaven—so-called particular religions, particular beliefs. One of them asked from the other side, "Who are the people on the other side talking?" The answer came: they are from that and that religion. They think they are alone, only themselves in heaven. They think they are in heaven. They do not know that we are also in heaven. So God is everywhere, heaven is everywhere, hell is everywhere, good and bad are everywhere. The space is called śūnyākāśa. Śūnyam means empty, without feelings, void space, dark, endless and endless. That is called the cosmic mother, the mother body of the universe. And within the universe, there is consciousness. You may call it God consciousness, you may call it truth, you may call it love, whatever you say. But the consciousness is what we call universal consciousness. First is the mother, and then is the consciousness. That consciousness in the entire universe is known as Hiraṇya Garbha, the golden embryo—the golden embryo within the cosmic mother. Now we have two: space and consciousness. Well, if you cannot follow me, then I am nervous. So space and consciousness are compact. There is no empty space at all. Consciousness and space are oneness. Mother and embryo are one. Between these two, space and consciousness, is one energy, one power. That is called yoga. That is called yoga, like cement holds two bricks together. So, to keep them together in perfect balance, that energy, that principle, is known as yoga. Now you can tell me, how old is yoga? Yoga is not 10,000 or 20,000 or a million years old. Yoga is as old as space and consciousness. Perfectly to keep them together means peace, harmony. So it is a balancing principle. Yoga means balancing—not āsanas, physical exercise, breath exercise, meditations, and concentration. These are the way to yoga. This is not yoga itself. Now we have three principles: balance, harmony, and unity. Where there is balance, there is harmony. And where there is harmony, there is unity, oneness. So yoga means unity, the uniting principle. The word yoga—not karma yoga, not bhakti, not jñāna, not rāja, but only yoga—means union, oneness. So we have three principles more: balance, harmony, and unity. Where there is balance, harmony, and unity, there is perfect peace. And that is what we need in this world. Let us proceed further. It is said that in that divine consciousness, in that śūnyākāśa, there was nothing, not even the elements—only one tendency besides yoga, which was born out of that energy, what we call yoga. That thought we call a universal principle, or in our normal language, "Divine will, Lord, Thy will be done, as God wills." Does God have a desire? What does He want? Śrī Kṛṣṇa said, "Arjuna, in the entire universe, in the endless universe, there is nothing which I cannot have or realize, but still I am acting." For what? In that endless śūnyākāśa, in that space, from that cosmic consciousness, the center point of the universe is the navel. And there began this divine will. The Vedas declare, "Eko’haṁ bahusyāmi"—I am one, and now I will multiply myself. In Jñāna Yoga, what we call the prāṇāyāma, or breath system, it is called rechak, kumbhak, pūrak, and kumbhak. It means exhale, retention of the breath outside, again inhale, and retention of the breath inside. So it is a universal exhalation, meaning the sound. The form of God, if you want to see God, how God looks, then only resonance, feeling, resonance. It is the resonance which unites you and me together here now. It is that resonance which gives you the energy to think, understand, and give further. Sound—everything manifests states out of the sound. It goes all the way down to technology. And that sound, yogīs declare, is Oṁ. A-U-M. Ākāra, ukāra, and makāra. These three, sattva, rajas, and tamas, are the three qualities. Creator, Protector, and Liberator—Trigunamaya, we call the three guṇas. Sound within no time, in the endless universe and universal consciousness, where the Yoga Śakti perfectly keeps the balance, in that becomes the resonance. There, all elements begin to be created. So then it says, "Ananta Brahmāṇḍa Śāstra Sūryas"—endless universes and thousands and thousands of sun systems, which were declared by yogīs many, many thousands of years ago. Then, they begin to make differences. Endless universe, and universe means our sun system. So Parameśvara, the highest, the God or consciousness, whatever you understand or you would like to accept, is that consciousness which governs the entire universe. And then the same consciousness changes its quality and principles to govern the sun system. Also, in which solar system are we? Until the yogīs have the realization through samādhi, 2,100 different universes. That is called Chaudha Loka, Ikiso, Brahmāṇḍa, the 17 different worlds and 2,100 different universes. Out of them come three guṇas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Through these three guṇas, the five elements are created: ether, which is space; fire; air; water; and earth. And now, the disturbances begin. At that time, two tendencies were developed, two kinds of energies, and that is called asuraśakti and devīśakti. Asuraśakti means negative forces. Devīśakti means positive or divine forces. Now, since that resonance came, this balance began vibration, and that balance which begins to create the duality out of that, we call it taraṅga on our planet. Through these five different elements, including our Earth planet, life begins to develop. I am talking about peace, but it is very good to understand the cause and solution here on this planet. When the five elements became life, and now also, it is very important that in your house you have the five elements alive. You have space, you have air, you must have fire. You see the fire flame, but in a safe way. When you go to the office, take care that this small flame does not become a very big flame. And water, we have the running water. Where these five elements are alive, there is a different energy, and there is a balance on this planet. Out of these five living elements, again, that śakti, which means yoga, brought perfectly these five elements together, out of which life began. And in that form, that resonance enters into it, what we call jīva or individual soul. You occupied the part of that resonance or vibration within your individual phenomenon. How do we call that? Ātmā. Ātmā means the highest one, the supreme one. Ātmā is universal. The space in this hall and the space in the neighbor’s house is the same space, but individuality is that which we are sitting as individual here. Similarly, in your body, that divine consciousness is called Ātmā, and this Ātmā is never born and will never die. What will die is this body. What will go and come is Jīvātmā, the soul. The soul is individual, and Ātmā is universal. So all we who are sitting here, we are the Ātmā. In that Ātmā, you and me, we are one. There is no duality. But as individual souls, we are different. You and me, we are different, understand? So in Ātmā, we are good friends. In Ātmā, we have perfect harmony, peace, love, oneness. But in the individual, we created duality, and in this duality, there evolved two different kinds of forces: asurī śakti and daivī śakti—negative force and positive force. Now, the Creator has created on this planet, first, the five elements, then life. Then He created eight point four million different creatures—8.4 million different creatures. If you do not believe me, begin to count, and next year when I come, you say, "Swāmījī, one is missing." So that is what it is. The śāstra said that is what the great ṛṣis, the self-realized souls, declared. 8.4 million different creatures are struggling for their life and fighting between two forces, Asuras and Devas, negative and positive forces. And between them, there is a protective energy that is called love. Where there is no love, there is fighting. And where there is love, there is peace. These creatures, 8.4 million, are divided into three categories: Jalchar, Thalchar, and Nabcharam—creatures in the water, creatures on the earth, and creatures in this space. All of them have an enemy because, before this planet was created, in the heavenly parliament, a law was passed when the heavenly architect Viśvakarmā, with the law of the Vāstu Śāstra, was talking to create a new planet, meaning our Mother Earth, where the jīvās, the individual souls, will come for holidays. So birth will be here. Someone like you asked, "My God, there will be only birth and birth and birth. Only born and born, what will happen with the planet? There will be no more space." Yes, that is correct. Then it is said, what will they do? They should be active; they should work. No one will work. Why should we work? For what? Then this was spoken or consulted with someone other, the fire goddess. Fire said, "Okay, I will enter into every creature’s body as what? Hunger. I will enter in the body of everyone as a hunger, and that is what we call digestive fire." A hungry creature will get up and go and search for food. It does not matter how lazy one is; when hungry, one will get up, go, and open the fridge to see if there is something. A very lazy crocodile will, when hungry, look up and open its mouth. That is a hunger in our navel, the digestive fire. The question came: "How will you be very calm, then satisfied? I need some kind of food in it." Very good. They said, "Okay, they will eat." Another one came and said, "Why? You? What will they eat?" Yes, we are coming near to solve it. Problem: Brahmā said, "I want to have a sustainable world, a sustainable creation which will continue." And through this theory, the United Nations have decided and taken one word called "sustainable development." Sustainability means automatically it will take care of them. Then say it very... painful things, very cruel, but it has to be. I am talking about world peace, the peace for the world. Okay, do not come out of the track; remain there, please. I try to bring the cause of the restlessness in this world, and then will be the answer about how to solve it. What will they eat? Jīva jīva bhakṣati—life will eat life. Why? Because then, who is born sooner or later will be eaten by someone. In order to maintain, nature will maintain itself. Nature, so the souls will come to the mortal world and then again depart, and come and go. That means the cycle of birth and death: who is born will die, and who has died may not be born again if one has the mastery and self-realization. Otherwise, you will come and go. That is called reincarnation—rebirth, reincarnation. The same word is different. Reincarnation is used for the divine soul, God, Holy Saint, and birth is our normal. We are all normal people. We are born. Some people do not believe in rebirth. You know, belief will not change the fact. Whether you believe it or not, I am sitting here in front of you. So, whether you believe it or not, this soul which passed away will come back again to this mṛti-loka and planet in different forms. But many people do not believe. So, I have one very nice explanation that you will believe. The word reincarnation, the word rebirth, is accepted by modern science. And that word, in modern language we are using now, it is called recycling. Do you believe in recycling? Part 2: The Cycle of Consciousness and the Path to Peace Then where is the problem in believing in reincarnation? That too is a recycling of consciousness—coming and going, coming and going. Whether you believe it or not is your affair, but it does not change the reality. Someone then says, "Yes, but as a human, I will be born as a human." The answer is yes and no. It depends on your karma. I should have come to the word 'karma' a little later, but now is the right time to tell you. Karma. According to one's karma, the next life will be what we call destiny, what we call good luck or bad luck. So, I return to the idea of recycling. Here is a tissue, a beautiful paper, and here it is written: "environment-friendly, recyclable." Good. I used it and then threw it in the basket, the best paper basket for garbage. This went for recycling. It is not 100% certain that this piece, which is going into the recycling process, will become a tissue again. It can become a cartoon, a postcard, anything. It can become wallpaper, any kind of paper. So when this paper is a newspaper and is recycled, it will not necessarily become a newspaper again; it can become any kind of paper. Do you accept this or not? Therefore, according to our present karma, our dharma in this world, we will have life further. Our Mahāprabhujī, our holy, divine Satguru Dev—you see him in the middle picture; you should read about Mahāprabhujī, who lived 135 years—this great incarnation said: "Past is past, present is here, future is not here." Therefore, be aware in the present time; your future will be like your present time. It means: Are you angry? Then you will have an angry future. Are you friendly? You will have a friendly future. Every action will have a reaction, and every reaction will have an action. Jīva Jīva Bhakṣate—life will eat life. There was another principle in the parliament. Her name was Dayā, Dayā—mercy. That is why women are the embodiment of mercy. It does not matter how angry a woman is, still she is merciful. And man is the embodiment of knowledge, the jñāna. Say no. This is terrible. When you eat animals, animals will eat animals. Then how will we come out of this cycle of rebirth and death? How will we manage to have peace? Because if I eat other creatures' children, they will not be happy with me. They will fight against me all the time. Yes, then we shall create one creature which will have dayā in their heart—mercy, compassion. That one will and should not eat the other lives, and that is the human. Understand me now, human? But how will they know? Yes, we have to give them intellect. Every creature has an intellect, but the human intellect is so big, endless; you can educate and educate. It is said knowledge has no end. Knowledge cannot be measured with kilograms, kilometers, or centimeters. So human consciousness and human intellect are such a great thing, and humans will understand what is pain, what is pleasure, what is mercy, what we should do and what we should not do. Then we send the humans on this planet, Mithriloka, as a protector to protect all, and as a liberator to liberate oneself and also liberate others. So, my dear brothers and sisters, you are an incarnation of protection, and you are your own liberator through your intellect and through your dayā in the heart. Knowledge and love, perfectly together, maintain the peace. This individual soul, fluttering on the waves of time for billions of years through the darkness and the light, experiencing happiness, unhappiness, pain, pleasure, miserable life, and good life throughout the entire universe, finally came to this planet. And God is in everyone, but in humans, God is more acting as knowledge and love. Now we come to peace. Humans get this intellect or the knowledge that you and I both are one. If I fight against you, it means I am fighting against myself. If I do bad to you, I am doing bad to me. If you are one meter far from me, I am also one meter far from you. See both sides, and therefore, why do we fight? Another: this life is given to protect and to liberate thyself. This life is very short. You know, we are all sitting here, very happy. There are some young people like me, and there are some old people. Life and death do not depend on being young or old; it is destiny, my dear. We all who are sitting in the hall here do not know who will be the first one to go from this world. I wish you long life, I wish you a happy, healthy, harmonious, and loving life. But we do not know what will be next minute. Therefore, this time is given to act and utilize the positive power, the devī śakti, to remove the asurī śakti. When you go to the cave in the mountains, that is completely dark, and go to the darkness in the cave, as Holī Gurujī used to say, and tell the darkness, "My dear darkness, you have been here for billions and billions of years. Can you now go away and take other residents?" The darkness will not move through your kindness, prayers, and requests. But do one thing: switch on the light. What will happen? The darkness disappears. So the darkness of the karma, darkness of the ignorance, darkness of the suffering, darkness of the restlessness, darkness of the fighting, darkness of the wars—everything can be stopped, removed, and we can create perfect world peace when we realize the knowledge, the light of knowledge. Therefore, in yoga and daily life, and in the last so many years where I have moved around the world as an ambassador of peace, I bring three main points: tolerance, respect, and understanding. Tolerance in every religion. The biggest problem is that religions are fighting against each other. Everyone would like to be dominating in this world, with more members and more power, and this is the problem, unfortunately, in this world. A world religion is coming: Sanātana Dharma. Sanātana means relation. God Kṛṣṇa said in the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā: "Mame vaso jīva loke, jīva bhūta sanātana." O Arjuna, I live in every heart, in every creature. On this planet, in every jīva, I am living there. Every creature is a light of God. Do not destroy them. All these creatures, they are my relatives, they are related to me, they represent me. Seeing them, me, Krishna said, then you will be happy. So when I see that dharma, the religion, is a religion—okay, you believe in one, others believe in another, very good, why not? You go to the restaurant: one orders the pasta, another orders the pizza, and the third one orders only potatoes. And all are sitting on the same dining table and enjoying and are friendly together, why not? That is it. So you believe in that religion, another one believes differently, I believe differently, why not? But I order the pasta, and then I try to take the pizza away, and then I try to take the pomfret away. That does not function, my dear brothers and sisters. And that is a problem in the world with religion; it does not matter which religion. That has to be stopped. Let them believe what they believe. Help them, do not change them. Support them. If one is a cripple, just give a hand to walk. Tolerance in religion, respect for every culture. Every culture, no matter from which continent or country—where there is a human, there is a culture. And where there is a culture, there is a human. Culture is the beauty of humanity. And the culture is a way of life for those humans. Respect their culture, and they will respect your culture. Respect means not that now you adopt this and you give up others. No, no one forces you. I am dressed differently, and you are dressed differently. I have a long beard, and another one does not have a long beard. Now I should not tell you only men are they who have a long beard. No, that is a discrimination. Someone said every culture is a good culture. But the best culture is agriculture. So protect the agriculture; that will help the humans to think positively and in a healthy way, with organic nourishment. And understanding—understanding for everyone’s situation. I have eaten, and my stomach is full now. It does not mean that everyone’s stomach is full, that is it. Think for the benefit of all. So, know the situation of every individual’s need. And know the situation of every country. America has its own problem, and Africa has its own problem. Asia has its own problem, and Europe has its own problem. Every continent has some problems and some good things. Understand them. Help them, but do not create war. Peace, understanding. You can never realize peace with a gun. When you are quarreling with your neighbor and you take the gun and say, "Keep quiet," otherwise, you see, he will say, "Yes, thank you." But that did not create peace. The next day, he will get a machine gun. "Hey, guys, I have it in both hands." Action, reaction, action—never finished. But instead of a gun, you go with the flowers and say, "Sir, excuse me if I was not right or not good to you. Let’s be good friends." That will create peace. So give understanding, give respect, and have tolerance. That will lead to world peace. And so the Yoga in Daily Life organization around the world, on every continent, is working to realize, first of all, good health—physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. The second point: to get spiritual development, self-realization. And third, protection of the environment. And fourth, humanitarian, to protect the humans and try to bring the message of world peace. We humans are the cause of many, many distractions on our planet, and we can change, definitely. And therefore, Mahatma Gandhi said, be the change you want to see. So, how you want to see the world, change first yourself. Then the world will be different. So within thyself is the ocean of bliss. Within thyself is the fountain of joy. "Just kill this little 'I' and lead a divine life," said the great saint Swami Śivānandajī. So God is happiness. God is peace. God is love. God is wisdom. And that God is Ātmā, and that Ātmā, you are within you, is that divine soul, Ātmā, and within me also. So if we come closer to our Ātmā, we will never fight, and we will not make any differences or any discriminations for world peace. Gyāna, knowledge, brings peace. Ignorance brings the fight. So try, meditate, and practice where you can get the love and peace. Do not fight for religious complexes. Do not create conflict in people’s minds, but try to get the conflicts out of their minds. Then our planet will be a beautiful planet, again what we call heaven on earth. So, inner peace for world peace. And therefore, meditation is very important. When you meditate and close your eyes, it is not only dreaming and imagining how a flower looks beautiful, how the bees are enjoying the nectar from the flowers. "Oh, the butterfly is beautiful, flying. I would also like to fly." But I do not think I am the divine. No, it is not so easy. Not that "who am I," but "how am I." So Yoga in Daily Life has a very beautiful guided step-by-step meditation called self-inquiry meditation. Self-inquiry meditation means not only "Who am I?" but "How am I?" What is my relation to the world? What I do, what I like, and what people do not like about me. So do not concentrate on what you like, but concentrate on what others like. Do not worry about what disturbs you, but worry about what disturbs others from me. That I should take away. So, these are the steps, the cause, and the treatment. The cause was that resonance in the universe. So, it is very, very long, long ago. But the treatment is again the dayā and knowledge, jñāna. So, therefore: "dayā dharam kā mūl hai, aur pāp mūl abhimān, Tulasī dayā na chhoḍīye." The essence, the root of the righteous household is mercy, kindness. And the root, the cause of the sins, is ego, meaning ignorance. The great saint Tulsīdās said: never give up dayā, never give up mercy. As long as you have life in your heart, do not give up mercy. Love, love, love. Love brings peace, and hate brings wars. Love means it must not be that you now go in the street and try to hug everyone, "Hey, I love you." When you hug 10-20 people in the street, someone will call the ambulance to transfer you to the... psychiatric clinic? So not like that. Wish from the heart, let it flow, your mercy, your kindness. If someone would like to step first in the bus, okay, please, you are the first? Good to be the last, that is it. Let first go them in the house, and then you go in. You never know who is waiting inside—not with this thinking. Okay, that is it. Where there are difficulties, a dangerous situation, you go first and let protect others. That is important. Love, love... Understand, forgive—that is the steps to world peace, inner peace for world peace, yoga and daily life. Therefore, also, meditation and mantras are very important. It is mantra, the resonance, that began that time, divided in two parts: asurī śakti and devī śakti. Mantra means humble word, humble kindness. So I will stop my speech, saying one example of how a mantra can immediately change the atmosphere. That mantra is your language. Suppose you come at the last minute to some office, and you have very important work to be done. If you need one stamp from some officer, an officer just closed the door of the office and wants to go away, and you meet him on the staircase. That person you said: "Dear sir, please, please be so kind, can you help me? It is very important for me. I need your stamp and signature from your office." He or she will sit. Well, okay, come, because you say, "Dear sir, please kindly, can you help me?" It does not matter if he or she is busy. It is said, "Okay, come quickly. We will open the office and give it to you, and say, 'Come next time at the right time.'" Your kind words melted the heart of the other. Instead of this, you stand on the staircase like this: "Hey, bloody one, go and make my job. Where are you going?" What will happen, my dear, there? It will be war immediately. Same mouth, same tongue. Say, "Dear sir, please be so kind." Or the same mouth, same tongue says, "Hey, bloody one." Speak such a sweet language that it makes others happy, and you are also happy. Harsh words are very, very bad. They make a big wound in the heart. If you are injured by a knife, the wound will grow. But if someone says harsh words, it will remain in your heart for life. Therefore, O human, use better language, good language, full of wisdom and love. That is a mantra. So when the master gives you a mantra, a guru mantra—there are many gurus, but you have only one Satguru. And when Satguru gives you a mantra, then your karmas are cleaned or purified. The rest, we will continue tomorrow. Thank you for listening. So you know the cause and treatment, why and how it happened, where the complication began, and now how we can solve it. It depends on you. I do hope you understood something. The main point was the universe, universal consciousness, and yoga. Third point: "eko'haṁ bahu syāmi"—I am one, now I will multiply. The fourth: that sound, vibration, created all, everything in the endless universe: the elements, what we call the water, fire, earth, and this, our planet, and the creation, 8.4 million different creatures. One is the human. This is the door to liberation. Ignorance divides, knowledge unites. Mercy in the heart, knowledge in the brain, perfectly balanced by yoga. Yoga means balance, harmony, and unity. We are individually different, but as a soul, ātmā, we are all one. And so, I wish you all the best, and God bless you. Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. Adios.