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Let us chant a peace prayer: Śāntir bhavatu sarveśā, maṅgatu sarveśā, pūrṇa bhav, loka samastha sukhino bhava, nāḥ karatābhudīpa karatāmabhudīpa karatahi ke oḥ śānti śānti... Lead us from the unreality to reality. Lead us from the darkness to the light. Lead us from mortality to immortality. May there be good health, peace, harmony, and mutual understanding everywhere. May we all... To achieve the fulfillment of our human life, my whole world and the universe should be peace. All should be happy. We are not the doer; God is the doer. Mahāprabhujī is only the doer. Peace, peace... Swāmījī, welcome all dear guests to this peace forum of the Śrī Svāmī Māta Vānanda World Peace Council. For the opening of this World Peace Forum, I ask to light the peace candle, the light of peace. Swāmījī, will you please give the light to this candle? May I also ask our Sugandh Purī, Gregor Kos, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of the Republic of Slovenia, whom I cordially welcome, and our Dr. Manfred Steponat, Mansukram, the President of our International Śrīdīp Mādhavānanda Āśram Fellowship. May I briefly introduce to you the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council. It has been founded and established by Paramahanswāmī Maheśvarānanda, our Swāmījī, in remembrance and in honor of his beloved master, Tām Samrāṭ Paramahaṁśrī Svāmī Matavānandajī, who lived in Rajasthan, India, from 1923 until 2003. The World Peace Council has been established as a non-governmental, humanitarian, and charitable society for the improvement of the world situation and the welfare of mankind. The Council is an instrument to disseminate and to bring to realization the messages of Mahātmā Gandhījī and Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī in order to achieve unity and peace in the world. Śrī Svāmī Mādhavānandajī, our reverend Holy Gurujī, during his whole life preached and campaigned for ethics, tolerance and peace, the protection of nature and the welfare of all living creatures. Śrī Gandhījī, also Holy Gurujī, preached ahiṃsā, non-violence, and respect for all living beings. The World Peace Council supports the declarations of the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals, and the Earth Charter Initiative as fundamental and necessary principles on our path to a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society. In July 2012, the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council was acknowledged by the United Nations, which granted it special consultative status on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council is closely connected with the Yoga and Daily Life societies around the world. These non-profit organizations were established to disseminate a culture of peace and spiritual evolution through the practice of the Yoga and Daily Life system. And now I have the honor to read a message from the Vice President of the Śrī Svāmī Māta Vānandā World Peace Council, who could not be here in person because he is living in Australia, Monsignor David Capo from the Archdiocese of South Australia in Adelaide. He addresses you, the audience, and Swāmījī with the following words: A message to the Peace Forum held in the Yoga and Daily Life Ashram Vienna, celebrating the UN Non-Violence Day and the anniversary of the birth of Mahātmā Gandhi. From Monsignor David Capo, member of the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council. Hari Om. Greetings and blessings to all. I offer my special prayers for Swāmījī, my dear friend, in his inspiring leadership in the cause of world peace. We need his leadership and his spiritual guidance in this time of crisis. These are extremely different and varying times. Terrorism is present to us throughout the world, and to an extent unimaginable only a few years ago. It is a time for all people of goodwill, and in particular people of faith in the one God of the universe, to bind together in prayer in order to free the world of violence and terrorism. We see the horror of violence and the destruction of human life, and a deliberate intention of the terrorists to undermine civil society, good order, and the sense of security that citizens need to have in their Governments and in the institutions of society. People of faith, people who have an abiding love for the infinite dignity of every human being, must now stand together in opposition to terrorism and the way that it can hide behind a perverted image of religion. We have an important role to carry out. It is to be prayerful. It is to show by the lives we live that we believe in human dignity and the equality of all people. It is to show that we can open our hearts to people of different religions, races, and colors, without prejudice and discrimination. It is to be active and not passive in living out our non-violent love and compassion towards all. When people think and act differently to what we believe to be just and right, let us reach out in dialogue and use the model of our own behavior to persuade others that the path of non-violence and peace and justice, compassion, and understanding are the only path for happiness, fulfillment, and the good order of the world community. It is time for us to stand in public solidarity with these values and principles. I know that Swāmījī is an embodiment of this way of life. May his leadership and our commitment to these values contribute to peace in our troubled world. With my prayers from Adelaide, Australia, and with every blessing, David Capo. I would like to add just a few words to this message, to show how important and how urgent it is that we come together, that we make such gatherings, and that we be aware and make people aware of the situation of the world. Just two days ago, the World Wildlife Fund published research, and it shows that in the last 40 years, the number of animals—the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish—have halved, 50 percent only. So we are really, this is a violence. Not only to humans, which we read in every media and see on television every day, but the violence against our Mother Earth, against nature, against the animals. Human, this research work says further, humanity consumes per year 50% more resources than the Earth can regenerate in the same period. This includes farmland, fishing grounds, and forests, and if we go on in this way, in a few years, I think it was in 20, 30 years, we, yes, by 2030, so 15 years only, we would need two planets so that we can continue to exist, and if all people would live like in Kuwait, we would need six planets. Austria is also not so good in this ranking, if Austrian people... We will continue to live like we do now? We would need 3.1 planets to meet the needs of all people. So these numbers, I think, will give us much to think. Yes, it is so. This I wanted to share with you. To tell you, because it's really—it was so, yes, horrifying when I read this—that I thought it must be known to all. We have some very nice reference addresses that were prepared, and I would... At first, ask our president of the International Śrīdīp Mādhāvānanda Āśram Fellowship, Dr. Manfred Steponat, Mansukram, to give us his message. Welcome, all yoga friends all over the world who are watching this webcast. I'm very happy to be here today and have the possibility to talk to you, to speak some words as a representative and the president of the International Śrīdīp Mādhāvānanda Āśram Fellowship. Today we celebrate Gandhi Jayanti. This is a national holiday in all of India, which marks the occasion of the birth of Mahātmā Gandhi. This year, already 145 years ago. Of course, I cannot congratulate him himself, but I want to congratulate the proud country of India on the birth of their son, who later became the father of today's nation because of his lifestyle, his teaching, and his work, meaning his lectures and intensity on the truth. Also, the General Assembly of the United Nations in the year 2007 called this day a national international holiday, which is called the Non-Violence Day. As you can read also in the holy book Līlā Amṛt, of course everybody can do this because it's free on the web to read. Mahāprabhujī went to Mount Abu, and he also met Gandhījī in the ashram. Gandhījī came and asked Mahāprabhujī to speak some words of wisdom and to sing some of his bhajans, and so Mahāprabhujī did. He gave a satsaṅg, and he also promised Gandhījī that there would be no obstacle on his way, that means nobody will stop him on his way, and that India will be a free country for a long, long time. Also, my brother, she told that India is the land of ahiṃsā. Also, already in the old Vedas is written that the highest principle of the human Dharma is ahiṃsā. Ahiṃsā means non-violence. The principle is not to harm any living being, not in thinking, not in doing, and not in writing, and it especially includes also yourself. This means also to follow a vegetarian life, not to harm any living being. And no wonder, because of this, in India is such a great number of vegetarian people living, and I was very happy to read a few days ago in an article that the Prime Minister of India offers a vegetarian buffet to the guests from China, which he had during his activities and his life. Gandhījī, in the early beginning of the last century, discovered also one text of the Greek philosopher Socrates, because he found so many of his own ideas in this text, translated it to the language Gujarati to make it readable and understandable for more and more Indian people. As you know, also Holy Gurujī composed a lot of his bhajans in this language, Gujarati, and he also wrote some books, and he has many, many disciples in Gujarat. And Swāmījī, as his successor, also teaches us the principle of Ahiṃsā. All this work of Swāmījī is based on the teachings, the bhajans, and the wisdom of Śrī Devapurījī, Bhagavān Śrī Mahāprabhujī, Holy Gurujī. And I'm very thankful and happy that we have this master beside us who can teach us this wisdom. Also, I'm very happy that Swāmījī will go tomorrow to Gujarat, and I wish Swāmījī a very nice and blessed journey. And I hope you will meet a lot of Holy Gurujī's disciples there. Thank you, thank you. May I now ask Swāmī Premanand, who is originally from Salzburg but has been living in India for decades, I think, in Om Ashram. Swāmī, Swāmījī, may I ask you to address us? My name is Swāmījī. Dear friends, on this very occasion of the 2nd of October, for quite a few years, we have been celebrating a special day initiated by Swāmījī, and honored are two great sons of one mother, Mother India. Most of you have heard the name of Mahātmā Gandhi. Mahātmā means a great soul, and a great soul can only be one who realized his own inner being and transformed it in his outer action, and Mahātmā Gandhi was such a soul. He was a person who shaped the destiny and the present situation of India, the present India as it is seen in the world. And I guess without him, India would never have come to such glory. Mahātmā Gandhi said, "There is no way to peace, but peace is the way." The second great son of India is our beloved Holy Gurujī, Swāmī Madhavānandjī Mahārāj, who, in his own way, shaped with his measures of peace, not the country, but the minds of so many people. Because peace itself is not what you can get, what you can acquire, or what you can produce, but what you have to live. And you can live only peace when you are that. Peace is a state of being, not something you have to show. And that is the message of Gurujī. His main words were, as I much remember, peace and bliss result from satsaṅg. It means there is no satsaṅg; there can be no peace. And there is no peace, there can be no happiness in a human. Only when we transform our own being, our own inner being, can we live in that peace of Ahiṃsā. In India, there is a saying: there are seven saints who can sleep under one blanket. But for a king, not even a kingdom is big enough. And that shows the situation, the present situation in the human race. In nature, there is no question about peace, but with humans there is. And humans are gifted with intellect. They can discriminate, so for them, it is the question of being in peace with the outer world and being in peace with oneself. And one is only in peace with the outer world when one realizes one's inner peace and one's inner truth. Because peace itself is only a part of the truth, of that which we are, our most inner being, our own self. In this sense, I wish you all the best and Om Śānti. Thank you, Swāmī Premanandjī. And may I ask now our Muktamaṇī, Claudia Matejowski, who founded the Āyurveda Academy of Yoga and Daily Life in Austria. Please, Muktamaṇī. Hari Om. Thank you. I am allowed to share some thoughts about Ahiṃsā and Gandhījī. "Ahiṃsā Paramo Dharmaḥ." This is one of the main sentences of the Mahābhārata, and it means nonviolence is the highest form of righteousness. Not harming anybody in thoughts, words, and deeds. This is the highest principle. And Gandhījī made it especially ahiṃsā, one of these high, high, high principles. And I thought, what can we all do in our daily lives with this? Many questions may occur. Maybe we ask, we start with the food. Where does the food stuff come from? How is it planted? How is it harvested? Are the people who harvest it and work for this well paid? How do we eat our meals? Do we cook properly? Do we dedicate time for it? How are we thinking while we are cooking and eating? Are we watching TV while eating or doing something else? What do we understand from healthy nourishment? Or the next topic: how are our thoughts in general, especially when we are harmed or have a very unpleasant situation? Where are our thoughts? How do we behave? How do we think? Which kind of words do we use when we are in a not pleasant situation, when we are under pressure? How do we control ourselves, our words, our deeds, and all our activities? Next topic, maybe: How do we live? How is our home? Is it neat? And does it have a certain structure? This is also a type of peace inside the environment, how we create our environment. Or our dresses, do we buy, buy, buy? Or do we buy what we need? And when we buy, what type of clothes do we buy? Are we sure that all these clothes are produced in a proper way, and all the people who are sewing them, and in all the factories, are they really treated well? This is also a big question. What types of friends do we have? What is our environment, and what types of activities are we engaged in? What are our aims, and do we do everything at any price? Many, many questions, which are all dealing a little bit with the big topic, ahiṃsā. And I was thinking, how can we combine this all with our yogic life? And it was not easy, it was not difficult for me to find answers, because Swāmījī often mentions the four principles of āhār, vihār, āchār, and vichār. So I went a little bit deeper and thought, "What can it mean in..." This context shows we know that "āhār" means diet and nourishment. All the questions I was asking before have something to do with this, so we need to see what type of diet and what type of nourishment can we use in order to have a contribution to peace? This is our own decision and our own observation, and of course, in this context, the main part is vegetarianism. We all know this. And I find a quote from Gandhi which I would like to read now: "Spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants." So he has a lot of these types of quotes. Next principle is Vihāra. What does Vihāra mean? It means to know where to go. Where and whom will I expect where I go? What environment will be there where I go? What type of atmosphere will I find there? What types of friends do we have? This is very important also. Who has an influence on us? Will this influence create peace in us, or will it not create peace in us? How do we live our lives? And how do we entertain ourselves? Nobody has something against good entertainment, but how far, and what, and where do we go? So all that came into my mind was what Swāmījī always says: satsaṅg, satsaṅg. It can be in many ways. It's not only the spiritual gathering on Friday evening, singing bhajan, and listening to spiritual texts. Satsaṅg, we have at first with ourselves, and we create satsaṅg with our families, with our friends, because when we follow ahiṃsā, we will find the right way to live and the right words to speak, and so we can inspire and we can learn something and have a good and healthy and happy time together. The dexterity, what we can do with our yogic life in the terms of vihāra, is sevā and satsaṅg. For sevā, I also found a nice quote from Gandhījī: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Sevā. Next term is ācār. Ācār means the behavior, the habit, all the life rules, the positive thinking, the positive speaking, the positive actions, the good manners, sattvic behavior, ethic code of conduct, and doing good to others, not only to others, but also, to a certain extent, to oneself. We also should not harm ourselves and behave in that sense. So, by following, as we know from Ācārya Patañjali, the five yamas and the five niyamas, we are on the safe way. And Gandhījī says, "You and me, we are one. I cannot cause you pain without hurting myself." And the fourth is vichār, the way of thinking. The contemplation to analyze, to come to an inner dialogue with oneself, so that we can really come to our inner qualities, the antaḥkaraṇas, to the qualities which are related to mind, to intellect, to ego, and to behavior. So when we think about this and meditate and contemplate, we find also a lot of answers which can give a contribution to ahiṃsā in that sense, as we spoke before, not only in the behavior but in all the other aspects too. And for that I found a lot of quotes which Gandhījī said. Please allow me to read them. "A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he will become." Next, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong." "An ounce of patience is worth more than a ton of preaching." "See the good in people and help them." "Without action, you cannot go anywhere." "If you do not find God in the next person you meet, it is a waste of time looking for him further." "To believe in something and not live it is dishonest." "Nobody can hurt me without my permission." "In a gentle way, you can shake the world." "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." Thank you very much for listening. Thank you, Muktāmaṇī, for making... she made us again be aware of these four important principles that should be observed in our daily life, and we can observe them. In this way, we can also do something as an individual for peace, for non-violence, even if we think it's a global issue, a catastrophe, and we cannot do anything, but we can do. And this Muktāmaṇī told us again and made us aware again. And thank you also for these nice quotes and thoughts of Mahātmā Gāndhī, to bring near again this high thinking of this Mahātmā, this great soul. Now I would ask our Gregor from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Sports of the Republic of Slovenia to bring us his message. Thank you. Your Holiness, respected Viśva Gaurav Svāmī Māheśvarānandajī, respected Śrī Ālok Purījī Siddhārth Pīṭh, respected Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī, World Peace Council, respected representatives of different countries, nations, minorities, dear brothers and sisters, It is my special honor to be present here today, also to speak in the name of the Republic of Slovenia. The topic today: nonviolence, Ahiṃsā, Gandhījī. What powerful words. It looks like anywhere we go around the world, people know those words: South America, North America, wherever. And it is not that those words are known only in modern times, when we have the internet, cell phones, computers, and social media. It looks like those words have been there for ages, and when we think about how it is possible that they are so well-spread and well-known, perhaps the proper answer would be because they are inside of us. They are within our hearts. It is what we are striving for. It is our sincere belief that non-violence should be there and that we should live it. On the other hand, even though quite regularly we can see on the television, on the news, or read in the newspapers how human rights are violated, there are rare occasions, especially in the media, that animal rights questions are raised. We would be raised, that we would be able to see what is happening every day around us, to read about it, and to raise awareness about it. I would like to pay special attention to one topic, which is animals which are used in sports. It is most definitely true that if we say that there are not just human rights, but also animal rights, shooting animals in sports... It should not happen; it should not be there. It is the same if I give you the example: if somebody would be shooting an airplane and we see this on the news, we are shocked. How could this have happened? How could people take the weapon in their hands and shoot down an airplane full of people, who die immediately? On the other hand, nobody thinks when they see on the field so-called sportsmen having guns and shooting birds. It's the same action with the same gun, shooting at very similar objects. Some are metal, some are living beings. For living beings, we don't care, at least not for them who are at the airplane. Again, it should never be the same as it should never be animals killed for eating. Again, the ancient principle of ahiṃsā, non-violence, so not killing animals for the purpose of eating. Another attention I would like to draw on is also regarding the pesticides. They are also killing birds. Now, the question remains: do we really need this kind of unhealthy agriculture? The answer is very simple. No, we don't need it. Again, another question is, then who needs it? The capital needs it, because they would like to do profit. They are not doing it for the purposes of human food or animal food. No, they would just like to sell more for lower prices. This is not something that humankind needs. Therefore, I think it is of the most special importance what Viśva Guru Swāmī Maheśvarānandajī, this year on the special occasion of the 15th of August, which is not just his personal birthday, but also the birthday of the Republic of India, initiated this year, and it is the very important initiative, the foundation of so-called "Save the Birds," is, I believe, his new gift not only to humankind, but by protecting the animals, also his gift to the world. And by doing so, once again, Swāmījī is showing us how he can be reacting in advance, not just as so many international organizations which are only doing some actions after 50 years, after all the crimes have happened, after many people are already dead, but he has noticed the problem which is there around us, and he suggested the initiative. I think we all should be very grateful to him. It is now the perfect opportunity for us to follow this initiative and to be very active in it, to produce in each country, perhaps first in Europe and then all around the world, the special websites which would, in the first phase, have all the necessary data and analyses on which birds are endangered species, which are extinct species, for example, which are also the national and world treasure, because if we don't see the data, we will not be able to see what is disappearing every day constantly, and let me just conclude by thanking again Swāmījī for his initiative, and to all of us, with a very simple sentence: let's save the birds. Thank you very much, thank you very much, Sugandh, especially for raising your voice for the innocent animals, the birds who suffer so much through our hands, the human hands, and cannot speak for themselves. Thank you. And I would ask our dear Yasmin, she is an actress, she is our rising star, and she also does much work and many efforts to spread vegetarianism and veganism, and she is very active in this. She has a website, she has a society, even, I think, yes. And please tell us about this. Namaste, Swāmījī. How are you? Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, my name is Jasmine Davy, and I'm an actress for film and TV, and it's a very great honor for me to speak here today, especially on Mahātmā Gāndhī's birthday, especially on a topic that he spoke about very much: ahiṃsā. I have to say, ahiṃsā means very much to me. You could say it's my guide, my column in life. It's so important to me that my husband, or my soon-to-be husband, and I founded a web portal called Proahimsa for a better world, concerning environment, human, and animal rights. So, the last topic... Animals, I like to say, are the train that drives me. It's my most important. I just love animals since I'm a little kid, and I feel the need to speak up for them because they cannot do so themselves. You know, the thing is, though, it doesn't matter which of those topics is the most important for you, because it all belongs together. If it's environment, human rights, or animal rights, they all go hand in hand. If you care for one, you care for the other. If you hurt one, you hurt the other. One thing's for sure: ahiṃsā is for all of them the cure. It was no purpose that rhymes, by the way. So what is ahiṃsā? We heard that a few times today. We translate that with non-violence. In German, we translate that with non-hurting, non-killing. What does that mean? Does it mean ahiṃsā is the opposite of violence, the opposite of hurting and killing? What is the opposite? What would that be? Compassion, love, understanding, mercy. Non-hurting, I would maybe translate or say it would be maybe healing. Non-killing, maybe we can say it would be saving, protecting. You know, all of those things you find in every religion on this planet: you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not lie and betray, you shall love others as much as you love yourself. So, I can say this: all is what ahiṃsā means to me. All of that together, and I can say, for me, ahiṃsā is something that unites all of the religions. Even more than that, ahiṃsā stands on top of every religion. Why? Because it's timeless, it's not bound to any country, to any land or society, or to any group of people. It's not even bound to this planet. Ahiṃsā is universal; it's a cosmic principle. It's valid for every inch of nature and for every inch of universe. So how does it influence us? How can we integrate it in our own lives? As I'm a very, very lucky person, I grew up with a spiritual master, with my Swāmījī, who taught me the meaning of ahiṃsā since I'm a little kid, so him and Yoga and Daily Life planted a seed in my heart, so ahiṃsā can grow in my heart. I know, of course, that ahiṃsā starts with thoughts, your own thoughts. As we're now up here in our own heads, the thoughts spread around, and they spin and spin. And we all know that sometimes we think about things that happen in the future. We don't know anything about it yet, but still we think about it. It makes us wild and crazy. And yeah, well, it can make us all of the qualities we have inside: sad, angry, nervous, like I'm now a little bit, so, and the other way around, of course, it can make us happy and caring and loving. So, what can we do? Thoughts come and go, but what I do... I always remind myself that I don't know anything about the future, I don't know anything about the situations that might come, that might take place, and I don't know anything about the people that I'm judging. Swāmījī once said, "Everyone walks around with his own hand back, and we can see the outside, but not the inside." So maybe we should try to lead our thoughts in a very positive direction. That would be the Ahiṃsā way. Second is words. Of course, mostly thoughts lead to those words. And again, we don't know anything about the person who talks to us. So maybe we should watch our language and be careful what we say, because we can hurt the other person very much. Words always strike; they never fail. I have two quotes I would like to read. One is by Ernst Festl, who is a writer. He said, "The price of a word is worth more than it costs," very nice. The other one is by Winston Churchill, who said, "By swallowing evil words unsaid, nobody has ever harmed his stomach." I like this one very much. It means, um, it doesn't cost us very much. We say to a person a friendly word, for example, but for this person, it might be the world. Third, in actions. Again, mostly thoughts and words lead to actions, and we can influence the entire world with what we do every day. So, as I was introduced, I'm an actress. As I played movies, I always have a director telling me what to do, telling me say this, say that, walk from A to B, and, um, laugh, smile, cry, whatever. I'm told what to do. But in real life, I am my own director. Bless you. I am directing my thoughts, my words, and my actions. It's my decision what I think, what I say, and what I do, so it is up to me to decide not to be part of destroying this planet, not to be part of destroying Mother Nature and all of her beautiful children. And here I come to my most important matter: animals, for unfortunately, for many people on this planet, a very inconvenient matter. We can decide not to eat meat, not to pay for torture and suffering. We can decide not to accept silently that people die of hunger and the rainforest is cut down for soy fields that are being used for poor livestock animals. This is not only wrong, it's not necessary. Mother Nature gives us so much more than we can take. It was Mahātmā Gandhījī who said, "Mother Nature has enough for everyone, but not for everyone's greed." Is that right? So I think we have to decide to stand up against injustice, and we should not look away to the other side just because it's inconvenient. Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Yes, nothing is something. There are billions of different beings on this planet, and we're just one of them. In all arrogance, we claim to be the most intelligent one, the strongest one, the most powerful. But if that is so, wouldn't that mean we are obliged to take responsibility, especially for the weak ones, especially for the ones who cannot speak for themselves? Wouldn't that mean that compassion has to stand over five seconds of good tastes on our tongue? What is all this empowerment for, if we don't use it to save and protect? I have a few statistics that I would like to read to you, just very shortly, just the surface. It is about 56 billion animals that are slaughtered every year for food, without fish. 56 billion. Can you even imagine this number? This would be 1,776 animals per second. If we just hold our breath and count to three—one, two, three—almost 6,000 animals are killed in those three seconds. That's the truth. Of course, this greed for meat is killing our planet. It makes up 18% of the current greenhouse gas emissions. To put this in perspective, animal agriculture is responsible for producing more climate change gases than every car, boat, truck, motorcycle, and airplane on the planet combined. The greed for meat is also keeping up the world hunger. It takes 15 pounds of grain to make one pound of beef. In comparison, 13 pounds of grain fed to humans directly can feed 13 people for most of the day. Of course, the environment is also being destroyed. The rainforest is cut down. The tons of urine and feces ruin our lakes, rivers, and drinking water, and so on, and so on, and so on. That was just a little surface, just scratched. And I'll stop here because I think everybody's got the picture. So I'm asking again, can we just look away? Can we afford to look away and say and do nothing? Do we really believe that torture and destruction will lead us to a positive direction? I think we all know the answer. You know, we can very easily stop eating meat and stop using animal products that are made of pure suffering. It is not very hard for us, but this choice taken will just be a huge impact on this planet. At this point, many people like to say, you know, but the lion also hunts the gazelle. This is nature. The stronger kills the weaker. Yes, but then I have good news for you. We are no lion. We are no lion. We are human. We have no claws, we have no fangs, we cannot run very fast, we cannot jump very high. So what can we do? We have the empowerment to realize ahiṃsā, which means compassion, understanding, mercy, forgiveness. We have the empowerment of choice. A higher consciousness can empower us to overcome all our base instincts. This is the true meaning of "humanity"—ahiṃsā, compassion, forgiveness. This is what makes us human. If we do not live this humanity, what are we? It is a little compassion over taste, a little mercy over greed. It is a small step for us, but a giant leap for humanity. We can change everything with our thoughts, words, and actions. We are powerful, and it is our duty to protect, to save, and to help. This is our essence. We must start and make the right decision. When? Now. Why? Because we can. We can decide to climb a high, steep mountain or descend into a deep canyon—it is up to us. But I tell you, ahiṃsā will lift us to the mountain's peak. Thank you for listening. Thank you very much, Yaśmin Devī, for your lively and honest statement. Those of us who know you well know you truly live according to your words, which is wonderful. Indeed, the prospects are not so good. We heard, and I would like to quote again the World Wildlife Fund experts who say: "We cut down trees faster than they regrow, we fish the oceans empty, and we produce twice as much carbon dioxide as the atmosphere, forests, and oceans can absorb together." If we do not change quickly, we will all soon suffer the consequences. Now I ask our Chaitanyaprakāś Yośī Wärzel to give his message. He is a long-time disciple of Swāmījī and a member of Yoga in Daily Life Vienna. Please. First, I wish to speak in my own language, the language of this country, which I learned from my mother. It is a favorable situation that an Indian minister, His Excellency Anand Sharma, proposed to the United Nations to declare the birthday of Śrī Mahātmā Gāndhī as the International Day of Non-Violence. This day coincides with, and is very close to, the days we yogīs celebrate, when the female divinity overpowers the force of the asuras with Devī Śakti. So we can celebrate three things together here. What is violence? We call everything we encounter that we do not wish to encounter, violence. It is simply powerful and imposing. This handling of force and violence shows there are two kinds. Someone near a powerful incident—an accident, natural or technical violence—jumps in to save others, to cover up the angst. They experience injuries, burns, and will need time to heal. They will not be angry; it was meaningful suffering they endured. Every mother knows what violence broke through her during childbirth. She had to unbind and endured great pain, as they say. As a man, one cannot know it, but one can respect it. Yet, as soon as she holds her baby, she can smile. She suffered meaningful suffering. It is not always something as grand as what Mahātmā Gāndhī did—building a world movement, leading thousands in civil resistance, and forcing a world empire to its knees without violence, without an army, without weapons, only with the power of will. There are also much smaller things that happen daily: accidents, saving lives, enabling births. A child goes to school and is bullied. They have to return and endure the bullying again because the school's rules cannot protect them. The scars will not fade. The child does not rejoice. It was senseless suffering. Workplace bullying: a rumor is spread, one's reputation is tarnished, justification is insufficient. Something sticks, and one must return. What remains? Scars on the soul, pain in the soul. It was senseless suffering. These two types, and others, meet us repeatedly. Now, back to Śrīmad Mahāgāndhī. He developed a tool, which he called Satyāgraha—the power of grace, or the power of goodness. He said everyone should acquire this power; everyone can achieve and apply it. For the truth, when used with grace and understanding for the other, will radiate back. Our neurologists in the last 10–15 years have found that the power we possess—mirror neurons—means the mood, opinion, and concern with which you meet your conversational partner, or perhaps conflict opponent, will radiate back. It will be reflected. "Mirror neurons" is the right term. I return to quote Gandhi directly from his writings: "This power could be owned and used by everyone. Everyone should, regardless of what any other person does, begin to be good. Then the goodness of one will be reflected in the other. And in the application of non-violence, I discovered very early that the search for truth does not permit violence against an opponent. Rather, they must be weaned from error through patience and compassion." I thank you for listening, and I look forward to us meeting at the next anniversary with more experience in peaceful living. Thank you, dear Chaitanyaprakāś, for your interesting and wise words. Now I ask Kṛṣṇānandajī, the president of Yoga in Daily Life Hungary, for his statement. Hemavatī from Győr will translate to English. My dear brothers and sisters, all saṃnyāsīs, it is my pleasure to welcome you on behalf of all Yoga in Daily Life practitioners in Hungary. We are fortunate to build on a living paramparā, and we can fulfill the words of Mahātmā Gāndhījī. He said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." What do we all truly want? We wish for peace, love, compassion, and harmony. This is a beautiful thought and theory. But Swāmījī has often said, and we have experienced, that tons of theory do not reach the limits of practice. We want these things, but they remain mere theory. Swāmījī said millions of times that a gram of practice is worth more than tons of theory. I believe peace and loving compassion should be practiced 24 hours a day, right where we are. If we strive for peace, we must live in peace with our neighbors, family, and even those not kind to us. Loving compassion means accepting that not everyone thinks as we do. Other beings may desire different things. If I cannot accept this, it is not peace. Peace is acceptance—being able to accept other people's wishes. His Holiness Māta Vanamālājī, our holy Gurujī, said, "All in one, one in all." Perhaps we must try to realize peace and love within ourselves; then, as Gurujī said, that peace will become peace in everything. World peace is a beautiful notion, but the first step must be taken where we live our daily lives. Swāmījī gave us the system and opportunity to build ourselves and be aware of the harmony of body, soul, and spirit. But we must not forget the health of society. Yoga in Daily Life is a means to create harmony of body, mind, and soul, but we should not forget social peace and harmony. The most important message today is to realize we should have as much love and peace as we feel when close to those who have already realized it, like our Master of Love, Swāmījī. When we come into the close circle of Swāmījī, we experience a peace and love we wish to attain. Thank you for your kind attention. Have a nice evening. Thank you very much, dear Kṛṣṇānandajī, for your true message. Now we eagerly await and ask Swāmījī for his peace message. I think Dr. Sital is coming. Dr. Sital, are you here? Oh, I'm sorry, I did not see you. Please, may I ask for your statement? Respected Swāmījī and friends who believe in peace. Peace is not a new word for us. Before Gandhījī, many great personalities used it. This peace is within you; you should not look outside. As Gandhījī said: love, peace, and non-violence. If you love someone, you cannot be violent toward them. If you have a little dog you love, you naturally have sympathy; you cannot be violent toward it. It is the same with people. Some believe you can win the world with non-violence or violence. In Gandhi's biography, it is written you can win with love or with hate. Hate means if you hate someone, you want to win or kill them. You can also be the winner that way. But Gandhījī chose the path of love. This was not only the best way but the truth, because love is God. Others have spoken and written very well. I will be brief. Gandhījī said, "An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind." It is easy to understand: if someone hurts your eye and you do the same, you both lose an eye, and the world becomes blind. This is non-violence. A good example from Indian history is Emperor Aśoka the Great. He was a great warrior, a killer. He finished, in his opinion, three-fourths of the world. Finally, he realized: if the whole world is finished, he is the only man left. What had he fought for? He then turned to peace, realizing violence is not the only way to win. It is like a lone person winning a race because he was the only runner. With violence, you can finish most of the world, but finally you are alone. You will repent, "What have I done?" Those who choose love, non-violence, and peace have the true message. If we act like Aśoka, we will be alone; the world will be gone. We use so many weapons and bombs; eventually they will be used. With the nitrogen bomb, who will remain? I will finish with a few words. Non-violence is not outside; it is inside you. Realize nothing is outside. Everything is peace through non-violence and love within. You only need to find it in your body and mind. Sometimes your heart feels one thing, your mind another. Consciousness is there. Whatever you do, your consciousness tells you before you act. If you heed your consciousness, you are definitely on the path of peace and non-violence. Thank you, Dr. Sital, for such clear examples showing non-violence benefits us more than violence. Now, may I ask Swāmījī for his message? Mātājī kī humble adoration and salutation to our spiritual lineage, Oṁ Śrī Alagapurījī Siddh Pīṭh Paramparā, our gurus. Dear brothers and sisters, we have known for a long time, but it was declared by the United Nations a few years ago: the International Day of Non-Violence in honor of Mahātmā Gāndhījī. Millions today adore, remember, and follow his path. Gandhīvīcāra, his philosophy, holds very high values. Unfortunately, in recent decades, even in India, his teachings have begun to disappear. Thanks to the UN, they are being revived. Otherwise, Gandhījī would remain just a rubber stamp—"father of the nation." Many great dignitaries and philosophers left valuable golden thoughts for humanity's protection. But the greed born of ignorance is too great. Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda's World Peace Council has worked for two decades, holding numerous conferences worldwide, even at UN headquarters. Thousands of NGOs work for peace and protecting our beautiful Mother Earth and all creatures. We need to take just one step, as dear Yaśmin said: decide. It is very simple: don't eat animals. That is all. There is enough food for us. It is frightening: with one breath in and out, how many millions of animals are slaughtered? Every entity seeks happiness, not sorrow. Sukha means a happy life; duḥkha means a painful, troubled life. Imagine if someone took your children away. How would you feel? Or if they took them and killed them before your eyes? The love of a mother or father is the same, whether animal or human. But we call animals mūkha prāṇī—they have no language to say, "Please don't kill me." Pain is pain. Perhaps we are not afraid of death, but the pain we cause creatures is unbearable. A fish taken from water dies a thousand times before its body succumbs. We have two words: puṇya and pāpa. Puṇya means pious, good deeds that give good luck, destiny, and life. That is Dharma. Dharma rakṣita rakṣita—Dharma protects the protector. Pāpa is sin, which brings revenge a hundredfold. If you cut someone's finger, the revenge may chip your whole body to pieces. Pāpa leads the individual soul to suffering; puṇya leads it toward light and liberation. Our Sadgurudev Svāmī Madhavānandajī used to say the essence of all four Vedas and six philosophies of India is just two words: if you treat others well, you receive good. If you trouble or torture someone, you will be tortured. Karegā so bharegā—as you do, so you shall receive. There is a story. A monk came daily to a village for bhikṣā (alms). A sannyāsī must beg for alms for at least twelve years; in the Buddhist tradition, they also do. Buddha was a Hindu, a warrior. If you do not go for bhikṣā, your sannyāsa life is unfulfilled; your ego must be completely ironed out. Just wearing orange means nothing. Nowadays, orange is a fashion color—nails, shoes, socks, stockings, dresses, handbags, even eyebrows are orange. That does not make one a sannyāsī. A crow sat on a church peak, proud. When asked why, it said, "Don't you see? Everyone is praying to me!" The monk's life achievement is not easy; the ego must be washed away. Then there are no "why" or "how" questions. This monk had one mahāmantra: "Bhikṣāṃ dehī" (please give me food) and "Karegā so bharegā." People gave food. One lady, not spiritual, who adapted to every situation like an actress, thought, "He disturbs us." She decided to give him the best food. She made sweet lāḍḍūs (balls) and put poison inside. The monk came. She said, "Others give you cold, old chapatis. I made these for you." He took them and blessed her: "Karegā so bharegā." She thought he would die and she would see who suffered. He returned to his hut by a seasonal riverbed. He washed his hands, performed mantras and pūjā, offered the food to his Gurujī's photo, and began to eat. He spoke to himself, "Mind, tongue, you are spoiled. Every day you eat dry chapatis, and now you go for the lāḍḍū first? No." He put the lāḍḍū aside and ate the other food. In the afternoon, he felt hungry again after meditation. He took the lāḍḍū down but said to his mind, "You never feel hungry at this time. This is artificial hunger from spoiled taste." He hung the lāḍḍū up again. Heavy rain came, filling the river. Two men arrived, unable to cross. They asked to stay in his hut. He said, "Of course. Āśram means 'welcome' (ā) and 'work' (śram)—do good physically, mentally, spiritually, socially, environmentally, and then rest." He gave a satsaṅg on ahiṃsā, the highest principle. After an hour, he asked if they had eaten. They said no, they were hungry. He offered rice, lentils, and vegetables to cook khichdī. They tried to make a fire, but the wood was wet. It would not start, only smoke. Swāmījī thought, "Mind, you can have the lāḍḍū anytime. Have mercy on them. Dayā (mercy) is the root of Dharma, and that mercy is ahiṃsā." He called them and gave them one large lāḍḍū. They were happy, ate, and slept. Next morning at Brahmamuhūrta (the auspicious hour before dawn), Swāmījī went to wake them. They were dead. "O Rām, O God!" He found their ID cards. They were the husband and son of the lady who gave the lāḍḍū. In the village, the lady was asking, "Did you hear the Swāmī died?" People said no. At that moment, the Swāmī came for alms again. "Bhikṣāṃ dehī." The lady was shocked. "I put so much poison! How is he alive? I will use double poison tomorrow." She came and asked, "How was the lāḍḍū, Swāmījī?" He said, "The lāḍḍūs were good, but your husband and son died." Karegā so bharegā. Karma returns sooner or later. We must try to reduce karma—pāpa and puṇya. Puṇya is virtue, good deeds, ahiṃsā. Sometimes we do not know. Near a railway station, we see poor people begging. We think, "They will buy alcohol or drugs, or they are cheaters." How do you know? If they do buy alcohol, so what? The whole of Austria drinks alcohol. Who are we to judge? If you do not wish to give, do not give. But do not pollute your consciousness with such dirty thoughts. That will come back. In the story of Lilāmṛta, at the Khaṭṭū Āśram, Mahāprabhujī was in his room, and Gurujī was outside. A thief came at night to the kitchen. Gurujī heard and told Mahāprabhujī, "There is a thief in the kitchen." Mahāprabhujī said, "Let him sleep; do not disturb him." Gurujī said, "But he is stealing." Mahāprabhujī replied, "He needs it. He does not dare to ask. If we need something, we will get it again. Let him go peacefully." That is ahiṃsā. Ahiṃsā is physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual, political, economic—in every walk of life. Animals, mūk prāṇī, have their karma and destiny. Who knows? Perhaps it is your uncle, father, sister, mother, or brother inside that body. The soul, once out of the body, you cannot see where it goes. It cycles through karma. One kills, then is killed, and so it continues. Human life is precious because humans have intellect, which needs positive education. Animals are innocent; they are mūk prāṇī, they cannot speak. Dr. Radha gave us news: how many animal species have disappeared in the last 20 years because humans killed them? If not directly, then through pesticides. Worldwide, honeybees are declining. No scientist can make the honey a bee makes. Butterflies are disappearing, affecting fruits. Where are we going? On the path of destruction, which is also violence. Non-violence is to be merciful to this earth. "I am the world"—this was first spoken by Pitāmaha Bhīṣma in the Mahābhārata. After the great war, Bhīṣma realized the Self. "Oh my God, what have I done! This is my karma, my attachment, ambition, ego, pride. I could have saved all." When the Pāṇḍavas asked Bhīṣma for instruction, he said, "Yudhiṣṭhira, paramo dharmaḥ ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ"—non-violence is the highest principle. In the Vedas, every mantra; in the Upaniṣads, every mantra; in the Bhagavad Gītā, every mantra; in the Rāmāyaṇa and all holy books of Sanātana Dharma, they begin with Śānti. "Oṁ Dyauḥ Śāntiḥ..."—peace everywhere, peace in water, on earth, in herbs, in the environment, in heaven, peace be with us. The Vedas are filled with peace. So where is that peace? Gandhījī said there is no way to peace; peace is the way, our destination. Gandhījī struggled greatly. Many great saints in India never used aggression. Even when killed, they said, "You cannot kill the ātmā, only this body. But before killing me, you have killed yourself." A dead body kills a dead body. If this jñāna (knowledge) were present, there would be no wars. On one hand, they manufacture and sell weapons, then go fight with them. They give weapons to kill each other. They use pesticides; you get poison through food, and your children are harmed. We are killing each other. That is hiṃsā, not ahiṃsā. Toward plants, herbs, rivers, lakes, oceans, earth creatures, water life, and humans—that love is universal love. That is called God. In war, when someone is killed, they say, "A human was killed," not "an enemy." If you kill a human, you killed a creature. If you cannot create a creature or give life, you have no right to take it. Human food is different. The Vedas say, "Jīvo jīvasya bhakṣaṇaṃ"—life feeds on life. But, O human, you are no longer an animal. You are above that. You are a protector, not a destroyer. Bhaktamānī spoke nicely about āhāra (diet), vihāra (recreation), ācāra (conduct), vicāra (contemplation). It is a simple way of life giving quality and spirituality. In a story of Devapurījī, a hunter had killed birds for his children. Devapurījī asked, "You think of your children, but what of the baby birds in the nest?" He had the power to give life back, but we cannot give life. Therefore, all spiritual teachings of India's saints and Mahātmās are a great pride. We are proud of our Prime Minister. Now are the nine days of the Divine Mother. As Sugandha Bodhī mentioned: "O Divine Mother, you are the mother of mercy, compassion..." Today completes these nine days for the sake of protection and ahiṃsā. Our Prime Minister was in America a few days ago. He had a dinner at the White House with the President. They prepared beautiful vegetarian food. When it came to Mr. Modi, he folded his hands, prayed, and said, "I am sorry, I cannot eat. I am fasting for nine days, drinking only warm water." For five days in America, he drank only warm water, yet he was strong, vibrant in his talks. India has given spirituality, Dharma, philosophy, higher thinking, and great literature. India gave culture to the world; it is the cradle of culture. There is a higher culture in that saṃskṛti (culture). Now many run after materialism and suffer like the rest of the world. But still, millions live with ahiṃsā and a vegetarian life. My dear, if we cannot do good, at least we should not do bad. This is the message of our satsaṅg, our paramparā, and Gandhījī. I am happy for your divine thoughts. We should reflect. There is only one thing: don't eat meat. That is all. One thing: don't eat it. The rest you can eat. There is a beautiful poster on the street: "There are hundreds of possibilities." There are hundreds of reasons not to eat meat, only fruits and vegetables. Now people are going; Swāmījī will stop. I wish you all the best. We shall pray to God: if we made any mistakes, O God, please do not notice my mistakes. You are the God of Equal Vision. Please let me come to you, into the light. Ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ. On this day, we offer flowers in respect and honor to the father of India, Mahātmā Gāndhījī. Mahātmā Gāndhījī kī, Dīp Nayan Bhagavān kī, Deveśvara Mahādeva kī, Mādhava Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān kī, Satya Sanātana Dharma Bhārata Mātā kī, Oṁ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ... Āryo.