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Good evening and blessings to all of you. You have just heard the chanting of the 12th chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā by our students, the Brahmacharis of the Viśvadīp Gurukul Ashram in Holy Bharat, Rajasthan. The Bhagavad Gītā is one of the most beautiful and holy texts, an immense source of knowledge. Our subject this summer is Brahmavidyā. Many of you have attended workshops, retreats, or seminars where preliminary kriyās and instructions on Brahmavidyā were given. Brahmavidyā is the knowledge. Vidyā is that which you are learning; that is why a place of learning is called a Vidyālaya. What is the difference between Vidyā and Jñāna? Vidyā involves vidhi—the techniques and learning process. The perfection from that learning, the mastery you realize, is called Jñāna, knowledge. Thus, Brahmavidyā leads to ātma-jñāna, self-realization. Yoga in Daily Life is a science of body, mind, and consciousness. We are fortunate to have this scientific system, based on ancient authentic literature. Its speciality is the subject of satsaṅg, the highest technique of yoga for awakening dormant human qualities and abilities. Through satsaṅg, even a foolish person can become a great speaker and a wise one. The entire satsaṅg is the science of Brahmavidyā, for in satsaṅg there are the guru vākyas—the teachings. The guru represents all saints from Satyuga until today, who have researched through meditation, without physical or electronic tools. These instruments have limitations, but the citta that travels with the astral body, even beyond it, allowed yogīs and ṛṣis to discover the entire universe—the Caturdaśa loka, the 2100 different solar systems. They discovered this through meditation and two kinds of samādhi: nirvikalpa samādhi and savikalpa samādhi. When you enter samādhi through Brahmavidyā Kriyās—which we will continue to learn this summer and the next—you do so with a particular wish or saṅkalpa to realize or discover something. This is savikalpa samādhi. Samādhi is where the knower, the knowledge, and the object of knowledge merge into one. These three—jñātā (knower), jñāna (knowledge), and jñeya (object)—become unified. In savikalpa-samādhi, you hold these three in your mind, yet you must become one with them to transit your consciousness through the endless universe. Satsaṅg is full of many fruits. It teaches where to go and where not to go. If you go to Kushaṅga (bad company), you will be destroyed. If you go to Dushaṅga, you will be in pain for life. Therefore, the great men instruct us on our behavior and thoughts. Our diet has a very strong effect on our spiritual development. We must know what to eat and what not to eat. The techniques of yoga are endless. In the Bhagavad Gītā, there are eighteen chapters describing various yogas: Bhakti-yoga, Sannyāsa-yoga, Karma-yoga. Atha yoga-anuśāsanam—now the discipline of yoga begins. When the knower, knowledge, and object become one, the astral body can take flight. The higher the runway, the clearer the signals from the radar, and the better the weather. Then you can stretch your wings towards your goal. At that time, you carry either a saṅkalpa—a wish to know something from the universe—which keeps you more connected to the physical body and material world, or you go without a specific wish. If you are in a dream and a mosquito bites you, you wake up immediately. Similarly, no matter where in the universe your astral body travels, you can return to your physical body instantly, without any lapse of time. The speed of our mind, and more than the mind, our cetana (consciousness), and more than that, the speed of our astral being, is thousands of times faster than any technology. There is no instrument that can measure this simultaneous awareness. There is a story about the Ṛṣi Vālmīki. He was an Ādivāsī, a tribesman, who lived more or less like a criminal, stealing to earn money. The great Ṛṣi Nārada met him and changed his entire life. Vālmīki sat in meditation for thousands of years. Termites built their mound over his body, and snakes and other creatures lived within it, yet his body was not damaged. His prāṇa was preserved. This shows that in deep meditation, the body can be protected. However, do not torture your body thinking it will lead to liberation. Twisting the body in difficult postures is like a theater act or bodybuilding; it is not the essence of yoga. A dog can also lift its leg; that is not yoga. Yoga is different. As Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said, "Karmasu kauśalam"—success comes through skillful action, Karma Yoga. Those who burn their karma through yoga become the siddha, the accomplished yogī. Brahmavidyā is present inside every śāstra and grantha. It involves merging the knower, knowledge, and object. Sometimes, while singing bhajans, one may enter a spontaneous samādhi—this is called Pāvara Samādhi. A person may get up and begin to dance. Never ask why; simply observe. The heart dances in devotion, like a peacock dances in the forest when it rains. A bhakta's heart dances in the name of the divine Gurudev, God. This is an inner experience, not an external performance meant to attract people. That is a business. During satsaṅg, there should be no noise, no instruments playing, and no one should get up and move about. Everyone should concentrate. As we say in English, "Be silent." When you are silent, each drop of your ātmā... It is like a small bird that drinks only direct drops of rainwater, or like the fish that produces the best pearl from a single drop of ocean water. That is the highest quality. The Brahma-jñāna we are going to practice further requires that you keep your body healthy. Do not torture it; take care of it. Practice classical yogic postures, āsanas, according to the scientific system of Yoga in Daily Life. Very soon, our webcast will feature a daily lesson on how to perform these practices perfectly. Then, "Brahma with the I" will dwell in the Brahmajñānī. One who knows Brahman becomes Brahman. Yoga is not for demonstration, like acrobatics in a circus. It involves no torturing. Be gentle. The body needs gentle care, not hardness. This is called wellness—awareness of wellness. Wellness harmonizes body, mind, and soul. Eat, drink, work, meditate, practice āsanas, prāṇāyāma, satsaṅg, and adhyāya (study). Eating together in one place is like a bandarā, called laṅgar or sāmu. There, Annapūrṇā herself comes, and even Bhagavān Śiva goes to beg food at her door. Before eating, there are two important things. First, to invite the divine energy or God who provides and blesses this food. Second, when we sit with food before us, our appetite awakens. Chanting at this time activates the solar plexus, the Maṇipūra cakra. Therefore, after chanting, the food is properly distributed in the body. Om Pūrṇam Adaḥ Pūrṇam Idaṃ Pūrṇāt Pūrṇam Udacyate Pūrṇasya Pūrṇam Ādāya Pūrṇam Evāvaśiṣyate. When we chant together, our Maṇipūra cakra becomes active. Appetite increases, and all the digestive juices begin their work. The five prāṇas—prāṇa, apāna, samāna, vyāna, udāna—and the five upa-prāṇas begin to supply nourishment. These are all subjects of Brahmavidyā. Today, I wish you all the best. Have a good evening, and receive the divine blessings of Bhagavān Śrīdīp Nānā Mahāprabhujī. Until next time: tomorrow, according to Holy Bharat time, our webcast will be at 8 o'clock. Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ. Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ, sarve santu nirāmayāḥ, sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu, mā kaścid duḥkha bhāg bhavet. Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ. Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Bāsmātī Kar Lū.