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A very good evening, dear brothers and sisters, including those joining us via webcast from various parts of the world. Much love and blessings come to you from the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria, from the Sri H. G. Ashram Yoga in Daily Life. I am pleased to see all of you here and also happy to connect with you through the webcast. Yoga in Daily Life is a science. It is a path to harmony of body, mind, and soul. It is a system that anyone can practice. Everyone finds something for themselves in Yoga in Daily Life—for physical and mental health, for the body, for the soul, for the mind. Yoga is an ancient, scientific, timeless path that exists in this world—a path to God, a path to oneself, a path to health, harmony, and happiness. To live a life full of love and devotion is Yoga. According to the oldest scriptures, the Vedas, the name of Yoga, or the power Yoga-Śakti, or the consciousness and the pure principles of human life, appear in almost every mantra. Yoga is not only about being healthy and happy for humans; it also contains teachings, instructions, and ethical principles that apply to our environment, all living beings, our oceans, mountains, and the entire planet, Mother Earth. What happens on this planet also affects other planets. Simultaneously, other planets affect our planet. As it is said in the Vedas: yathā brahmāṇḍe tathā piṇḍe—whatever is in the universe is also in this body. Our individual body is covered by skin. But what is inside? Various organs, glands, nerves, muscles, bones, hormones, and not only physical but also mental energy, mental influence, the psyche, and so forth. When we take a sip of water, it affects the entire body—the heart, brain, gallbladder, digestive system, lungs, muscles, glands, and so on. What happens to our heart affects all organs. What happens with the kidneys affects the entire body, our whole existence. Yathā brahmāṇḍe tathā piṇḍe. Whatever exists in the universe—ānanda, brahmāṇḍa, śāstra, sūrya, yogīs—is endless. The entire universe and thousands of solar systems exist within my body as well. The entire universe, the Infinite—we do not know how far it extends, where it begins or ends, how many planets and stars there are—but it is one body, one form, and everything plays within a single form. Therefore, what happens on our planet affects our entire solar system and beyond. What happens within our solar system or beyond, with other planets or stars, even in space, affects our planet. We, as a body or form, whether humans, animals, or other living beings, are a part of this great body called the planet Earth. Thus, what happens with our planet affects us positively or negatively. And what happens within us, physically or mentally, also affects our being. Therefore, in Yoga, in Vedic culture, in Sanātana Dharma, in Hindu Dharma, in the oldest scriptures, a prayer is always recited, for example, the peace prayer. Prayers are offered for our planet, for all the elements—fire, water, vegetation, the healing herbs, for our space, for the universe, for the divine or cosmic consciousness, and also for ourselves. May there be peace everywhere. Consider an example from a family. It is normal that sometimes a small quarrel arises. I know a true story from around 1977. I was in Austria for a weekend seminar and stayed with a host family—a yoga family with three little girls and a boy about one and a half years old. The girl, who understood things well, was watching a children's television program with me. In the program, a woman was scolding her husband. When such arguing starts in a family and a member says, "Finally, I want my peace," and walks away, that is seeking one's own peace selfishly. What about the peace of others? Do not run away saying, "I want to have my peace." One should stop and let there be peace, live in peace, be peace. When we think, "I should be healthy, I should live in peace," that is not enough. If hundreds of people are sitting there and everyone is hungry, one person saying, "I want to eat, I am too hungry," does not fill the stomachs of others. When your belly is full, it does not mean others are full. So, thoughts in Yoga have always been for the whole—not just for this planet or just for the world, but for the entire universe, for antarīkṣa, the Infinite Space. No matter what happens, thinking "100 meters high is not my problem, I am sitting here in peace" is incorrect. It influences us. To understand this, one can consider astrology: how planets influence our planet and also us individually, and how an individual's existence relates to our planet as a whole. Therefore, Yoga means unity. Yoga means harmony. Yoga means union. And Yoga also means balance. In the entire universe, it is only through our negative attitudes, bad habits, selfishness, and feelings—"I like this, I don't like that, I don't want this, I am not like that"—that problems arise. Who is this "I"? That is the whole problem. Our problem is what we so often say: "I do not want." "I do not want my coffee." Who taught you that you should drink coffee? No one forced me to buy this coffee. And when one says, "This is not my coffee," it is not in accordance with humanity. In Europe, they say it is nothing Christian. It does not matter what we think or do; it has an effect, an impact, on the entire universe. We are a tiny, almost invisible, individual existence within this universe. Consider bacteria. Some bacteria are barely visible to our physical eyes, but they are so strong they can topple an elephant. In a way, we are like bacteria all around this planet. Of course, we are benevolent, and that is good. Our existence, our mind, what we have gathered or intensified over several lives, or what we have clarified, what has become significant and come into alignment, is very important. I mean not just the mind, but the spirit, or what in religion is called the Holy Spirit. All are the Holy Spirit. All carry the same divine light. It is said: love your brother and your sister. And our brothers and sisters are not only our physical relatives but all who are born here, all who live here. Compassion has such a positive effect on our existence. Our being is immediately illuminated when we have compassion. Those who walk the spiritual path more deeply can also embrace their religion. Religion comes from spirituality. This is very closely intertwined and difficult to define. Sometimes one asks: which came first, the tree or the seed? Where there is spirituality, there is religion; where there is religion, there is spirituality. Religion means union, understanding, kinship with people, among living beings and creatures. In every religion there is spirituality; there is only one truth and there is only one spirituality. People say this person is spiritual, this group is spiritual, there is more spirituality there. So we come directly back to where the word spirituality is used. A person is also from spirituality, and so is religion. We have different names for religion, but in the end, we say it is religion. Reality is reality. Reality is spirituality. It is not dualism because one religion is a universal religion. The people who have attained enlightenment have said that your spiritual development comes through your practices. Begin your spiritual practice. You should not immediately judge someone. That was a false judgment. Sādhana, discipline—what can you do? How can you practice your exercises so that your spirituality expands? It means your karma becomes less negative. Negative karma is sin, darkness. Enlightenment, spirituality, and freedom are positive. Spirituality is like light, illuminating everything, revealing all. Negative is darkness, hidden, your true Self. You are blinded by Māyā. Māyā here means ignorance. If you explode through your ignorance, it will come back to you. No matter if you drink poison, it will come back to you. The effect means your soul will suffer. The soul will suffer, and this living body will suffer along with it for a while, until the body says it can no longer continue. Your knees will say, "I can no longer." Your joints will say, "It is enough." The whole system says, "Now I can do nothing." And we say it is karmic. That means, through our existence, we have created karma here. We have succeeded, and so we will continue to develop the influences of karmas on our soul. Even our soul will find out. Spiritual practices are very, very simple. There is nothing simpler than a spiritual practice. Today I listened in a Satsaṅg to an Indian master. He spoke very beautiful, instructive words and shared a story. He said, whoever practices Yoga, whoever listens to the Guru Vākya through their master, should honor and follow the words of your master more than the body of your master. More than the body of your Master. He said, no one will give me food because no one regards your body or the Master's form. It has been said: through Sevā, whoever confuses themselves with Sādhana or spirituality is like a leaf in the wind. Peace and strength mean a state, a feeling, clarity, or the power to decide between good and evil. Those who do nothing, who do not practice mantra, then spirituality will weep. And once again, spirituality does not mean that you sit all day meditating and practicing mantra and say, "Ados will work, spirituality is important to me," "Oṃ, Oṃ..." while your children are crying. It is not so. Spirituality grows through Sevā, which means helping. Helping hands have more value than folded hands. In these 24 hours, at least once, do something virtuous, something good. For example, give a glass of water to your thirsty plants. Or if you walk along the street and see a thorn, a stone, a piece of glass, or a banana peel, bend forward and remove it. If someone steps on a banana peel, 99% of the time they will fall and may need an orthopedist. Do we have to create such situations? So think: what I do is good, not only for me but also for others. For others means not just your family. If we remove a shard from the street where someone broke a bottle, we think: children may come, people may come, a dog, a cat, or a little mouse could be hurt. This is intended for all living beings. A small matter, a drop, fills the entire jug. Every lip is counted. Through Sādhana and through Sevā—these two—spirituality grows. Sādhana means spiritual practice: yoga, meditation, breath exercise, and your own mantra practice. The power of the mantra purifies and applies to all negative energy. And immediately, Sevā. Sevā means it cleanses or liberates you from your ego. Selfless service. Liṣkām-Karma acts negatively; niṣkām-karma acts positively, selflessly. That is strange and not strange. A world-famous person wrote in a magazine what India has given, among many things, two of the best to the world: Swāmīs and Yoga. There are so many Swāmījīs and the best yoga teachers, the best people who preach, teach, or spread yoga, the messengers. No matter which yoga teachers, which system they practice or teach, all speak of non-violence, peace, health, cleansing, vegetarian meals, biological food, and so on. A day will come when all values will once again say, "Yes, this is it." You just do your duty, that's all. Just do your duty. Do it. Go on, practice and teach without making any claim on others. You do it, your duty, that's all. Just do your duty. Be good, that is all. And being good is sometimes not so easy. The saint told a little story today. I will tell you one; I will tell the second another time. Satsaṅg is the best school. We always learn something positive, beautiful, and good. Our mind, our consciousness, our knowledge become clearer, more intense. It is even said of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva—these trinities: the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Liberator—that they constantly seek Satsaṅg. All Devī, Devatā, Ṛṣi, Muni, they long for a Satsaṅg. What does Viṣṇu need? He has the entire universe. He is the Lord of the entire universe. His need is great. We have a small family and cannot be content with just anything. He has the entire world, countless solar systems, everything within his consciousness. Whether Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, or God, it is not the case that they are different. Name is the manifest; Reality is the one. But they also enter into Satsaṅg. That is the most important thing. Mahāprabhujī also said one learns a lot through Satsaṅg. Blessed are those who can go to Satsaṅg; fortunate are those who do. Unhappy are those who have negative karma that prevents them from coming to Satsaṅg. When one comes to Satsaṅg and always holds dualism, saying "I don’t want this, I don’t want that, I don’t need this," that is not the way. "My God, yes, thank you, at least do you remember my God. This is not my culture, my God." That is the problem: your mind. Surrender your mind. Now, I will tell you a story. They say that Pārvatī—I heard this and liked it very much—Pārvatī was sitting on a very beautiful rock by a lake, practicing her exercise, meditation, tapasyā, for over 1,000 years. And we are not even capable of spending a week in kriyānisthāna. In kriyānisthāna, everyone is crying, "I cannot, Swāmījī, can I practice kāma yoga?" Yes, you can. Tapasyā means to go through the fire. Tapa means fire. When discipline is practiced with a clear goal to be achieved, no matter what it is, then it is Tapasyā. Through your spiritual practices, through your sevā, love will grow within you. And love, just like a father or a mother, sees no boundaries. Love sees no differences. Love has no duality. Love is divine love, cosmic love. When something happens to someone else, you feel it in your heart. Because you do not have universal love, the love that is called divine love, you cannot kill animals. Divine love means you cannot kill an animal. Then you will not eat meat. As long as there is no love, you may go to a doctor who says you must eat meat. Perhaps you were a vegetarian for some years and start eating meat again. After eight months you may become even more ill. How can I eat and kill other living beings when I have recognized this love in my heart? As long as I am not free from ignorance, it is counted as your karma—action and reaction, cause and effect, the theory of karma. So Pārvatī meditated enough, and then Śiva comes when Pārvatī passes through his test. I do not know why the gods or goddesses sometimes act so unfairly. She was meditating, and in the water, there was a young boy, about ten years old, who wanted to swim, but a crocodile came and took his legs into its mouth. Pārvatī quickly went there. She spoke with the crocodile: "No, do not do that." The crocodile said, "It’s easier for you to say. I am very hungry, and no one has been here for such a long time, not even any fish, because I have already eaten everything. Finally, I have seen this young man, and this is my desire." Pārvatī said, "Do not do that. Please, don't do this. I will give you something." The crocodile said, "What?" She said, "I will give you my thousand years of spiritual practice, my Tapasyā. I will give it to you so you can let go of the boy." But he was not her son. For a thousand years she practiced very hard, and all for the sake of this one person. She dedicated everything to saving the child; this was not just anything, it meant a great deal to her. The crocodile said, "And what will I get from that? Your thousand years of tapasyā? You will become free. And why do you do that for so many years?" She said, "Oh, I will continue to practice. But I want to save him, and to carry you through my thousand years as well. I also want to save you." He said, "Okay, I will set him free." But the boy was still stuck. "And when I am not liberated, I let it be. I will speak with God." She said, "I am speaking with God for you." He said, "No, it is already too late. Because I let him go free and you say God has no time." She said, "Then I have no time." He said, "Yes, I know you have been meditating here for a thousand years. And you will listen to me. I know you have been meditating here for a thousand years. Do I still have despair? I listen, but I have failed." But she was ready to offer her own Self. The crocodile let the boy go freely and transformed into Śiva. It was not a crocodile. And Śiva says to Pārvatī, "Now I am very pleased with your practice, your spirituality, your love, that you have universal love. And I give you my word, you will be my faithful one for eternity." So the perspective is always with Pārvatī and Śiva. We must open our hearts, the feelings in our heart. As long as the heart is not open, all living beings remain closed to our door to liberation. Do not let anger explode immediately. No judgment. Accept. Yes. That is it. Then your soul will be happy and free. We will do a meditation now. Tomorrow we will continue through our webcast. Now, this meditation and practice is for the other participants here. We will do an exercise on how we can feel our heart free and open. I cannot promise you anything, but we will strive to do something. With that, I wish you all the best and a pleasant evening. Good night, perhaps somewhere on the other side of the Earth as well. Good morning. I wish you all a good day. And to those who have a birthday, I wish you a wonderful day. Just like the Nirañjanapurī. Manapūrṇa in Dubai—they are always with us. Today is a special day. So I will send down my good wishes and my blessing until tomorrow at 9 o'clock, 9 a.m. our Austrian time.