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Dharma

Human life is for service and self-realization without making differences. The ego tests whether one becomes a true devotee. Division in the name of God creates conflict. The system of life begins with Brahmacharya, focused on study. Family life requires fulfilling duties to protect children; divorce causes them great harm. Vānaprastha is detachment, giving everything to children. Sannyāsa is final renunciation. One must renounce all family attachment, never return home, and see the world as family. The orange cloth signifies living in the fire of discipline. Without true detachment, one fails. Sannyāsīs must maintain purity, avoid householder homes, and follow strict rules. Outer appearance means nothing without inner realization.

"That one is dear to me who treats enemy and friends equally."

"Unless we do not master this, we have to go again and again, die and be born."

Filming location: Fiji Islands

All dear ones, human life is given for service to all creatures and for self-realization. It is not easy for people to serve without making differences. When you make differences, you have failed. You are a failure. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad Gītā, in the 12th chapter, very clearly: "Arjuna, that one is dear to me," God said, "that one is dear to me who treats enemy and friends equally." No ego, no name, fame, gain, and no loss. But for a human, some can do this, yet many still have difficulty due to human ego. It is too big, and that is a purpose, I think. Nature has given it to test human life, to see whether you become a great bhakta, a great devotee of God. But again, not one-sided devotion—not my God, his God, her God. This division of God has divided people. People divided culture, gave different names to God, and divided them, creating wars. Even though there is only one God, nirākāra, nirañjana. To realize this, you must become a great bhakta towards no one, or you must have no negative thought. This is very nice to listen to and very easy to speak about. Yet even people who are in my vision now, here and there, 99.9% cannot do it. Bhagavān Rāma goes to his guru Vasiṣṭha, and Bhagavān Rāma asks Vasiṣṭha, "Gurudev, since you are with us, what all happened in this dynasty of the Raghu Kula? We had to go to the forest. Father died. No one of you was there. Sītā was kidnapped. These, these many, many stories. What should I do?" So, Gurudev Vasiṣṭha Muni tells Rāma, as your master, as the ṛṣi or sādhu, I should tell the truth. Whether you like it or you may not like it, hey Rām, you came here as a Viṣṇu incarnation, but follow your dharma, the dharma of your dynasty. And what was the dharma of your dynasty? To be loyal, to fulfill what you promised. So you are angry here. Who is looking? Just sitting in front of me here, many cannot go. Words don’t go into their heart. When the rain rains on the rock, water doesn’t go in, but when it goes on the earth, it sucks in. The rock is thirsty and will be ever thirsty, ever dry, even if you put it in the ocean. But the thirsty earth will immediately drink that nectar of the rain. And unless we do not master this, we have to go again and again, again and again, die and be born, die and be born. Therefore, this is given for the system of life. Brahmacharya is the student life. Unless you have finished your study, do not think of your marriage and this and that. Brahmacharya means your thoughts are all the time in the Vidyā, in the Brahman, not in this modern or worldly dramas. Then comes Gṛhasthāśrama, family life. And you know when your father died or your mother died, how unhappy you are. Very unhappy. When you are grown, even when you are 50 years old, 60 years old, when your dear grandmother dies, you are very sad. What do you think when your children are only a few years old and you get divorced? Such a divorce for a child is like a parent’s death. Do not have children, please. Don’t make such a sin to leave the child standing at the crossroads and, by law, give the choice to the child of which way to go. "Do you want to be with mother, or do you want to be with father?" The child would like to say both, but says, "No, no, no. Good boy, good girl." It’s okay, both are your parents, but choose where you would like to be. They will do it, but they are not happy. It means you fail both. Brahmacharya ashram means you did not learn what the family means. You did not learn what society means. You did not learn how to protect nature, society, and everything. You can’t even protect your one child. You are not able to give love to one child. And you will see, after some years, the child is grown. But their whole life they will blame you. They will not love you when you are old. They will say, "Father or mother, you can choose where you would like to be, in the hospital or an old home." That is revenge. Then comes vānaprastha, tyāga, detachment. Give everything to your children. If you have no children, then give to someone. Charity, no attachment. Educate the children to be one in the family, a joint family. Even many children don’t know who is a mother, or they don’t know who is the father. Finally comes the sannyāsa, renunciation. The sannyāsīs who did not follow the rules, they failed. Therefore, Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya, Ādi Guru Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya, was the incarnation of Śiva. That’s why Śaṅkara, Śaṅkarācārya. And he gave the rules of the sannyāsīs. If anyone wants to become a sannyāsī, they should listen to the rules. If you have any kind of attachment to the family and your property, don’t become a sannyāsī. Don’t become a sannyāsī, then you have lost more than anything. You will go directly down, like you throw a rock in the deep ocean; it will go very quickly. Down. The orange cloth is a fire. Sītā had to walk once in her life through the fire because people were saying something, but a sannyāsī has to be 24 hours, lifelong, in the fire. First is renunciation: family, no more; home, attachment finished. Make it clear that now I am the child of the whole world, and I want to be free from attachment. When you need me, my mother or father, I will help you, but I renounce this after becoming a sannyāsī. Once you can go to your house and ask your mother if she’s... life, or your father, if his life, or your wife, if she’s alive at that time, you call your wife, "Mother, give me a foot. I’m a beggar at your door." Take and go away, never come back. Ask your mother to bless you. Bless, and you should adore your mother. Touch her feet and say, "Mother, as much love you were giving, please, that love was for me. Blessings and bless me always with that love. But now I am a child of all. I beg for your blessing." That is the last food you eat in your family house and the last night was there when you left and became a sannyāsī, and last, coming on the door when you are—this is called a tyāga. I don’t know if you have seen or heard about one of the saints from Assisi. What was his name? Yes, Mr. Franticek. You remember? He had a vairāgya. He even put his dress out and said, "Parents, what belongs to you, I give back." Only, I can’t give my skin and body. That will remain in this body, the mother’s blood. That I take with me. He didn’t come home anymore. Today we adore, we worship many churches we have from the holy friends from Assisi. Now, this sannyāsī, "I am going to Europe for holidays to visit my parents every year." Which parents are you visiting? Never come to Swāmījī. Never say, "I am going to visit my ashram now, Khattu or Nippal or that." No. That will not make you successful. Don’t take from them any more than that. The last thing you can take from your parents was vīkṣā from your mother or from your wife or from your father. After that, not taking anything. As a sannyāsī, you may attend the funeral of your father or mother. Because in the Bhagavad Gītā, it is said very clearly, and Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya said very clearly in the Aprokṣa Nuguti, "Na Sukham Na Dukham." There is no happiness, no sorrow, no sadness, "Na Dukham." Neither troubles nor pain, Chidānanda Rūpa Śivo’haṁ Śivo’haṁ. And therefore, when some Sādhu dies, we don’t say that he died, Braḷīna. He or she became Braḷīna, meaning became one with the Brahman. You write sad news, but a sannyāsī should never write sad news. No śoka sandeśa. But you write that this and this Mahātma or this Sādhu or sannyāsī on this and this day became one with the Brahman, Ātmā. As long as you will have sorrows, explain the sorrows. You are still not an ātmā jñānī, you are not a sannyāsī, you have not fulfilled your duties, then you are humiliating the orange dress, the holy dress of Ādi Guru Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya and Śiva. It is the last and highest step and initiation. For a human to become a monk and then fall down, that is easier. But to come up, then it is the duty of all other people to respect and take care of these sannyāsīs. Don’t sit always hand to hand and your thighs on others’ knees, will Mr. Sannyāsī, Mrs. Sannyāsī, that is not a sannyāsa, it is a nāś. Nāś means distraction, and sannyāsa means no distraction. Sannyāsa means you destroyed all the worries and sorrows, attachment of the world; this you have destroyed. So both sides, if you don’t... Respect is a sin? Therefore, it is very deep, very, very deep in the consciousness of the Indians and the East. In the West, the people in the Eastern countries, when they see a monk, automatically they adore. When you see a priest or a nun, automatically you have respect. When you go to, suppose you go to the Vatican and you say, "Mr. Pope, how are you? Come on, please." No, no. First thing is, you have no access to him, and if automatically your heart sees that divinity of God, Jesus, you are not respecting this body, but that’s your Jesus. You are not folding hands when I am coming to my body. You are folding hands to this cloth. This cloth is immortal, and it is the color of the earth. "Thou art the salt of the earth." Think of becoming a sannyāsī. Forget to go home again, and don’t ask your parents, "Is this my property?" Half, your property you have renounced it. Vikṣā, make all as a home, and whenever it is possible, don’t sleep in someone’s house, a householder’s house. If there is no chance, okay, otherwise stay in the āśram, in the paris. The Christians have youth hostels, but not in someone’s house. You never know who has what kind of thoughts. Anytime they can put you in trouble, and in the grass, the householder’s purity is not there. Sannyāsīs have to follow the purities. It’s natural. Children, every child drinks water like this. Mother drinks from the same. And then the father comes, Papa. He drinks also, and the glass is lying there. Samsālu comes, you hold the water for you, Sannyāsī. And he also says, "Hari Om." Everything is a mix. Because one grain, one grain in your food, comes from some negative energy. It will make you ill. In whose house I ate those grains, in whose house I ate and drank, what energy goes into my body? Touching the body from somebody, after you can look 12 to 24 hours, there is a dark spot, if you can see with your divine eyes. And therefore, sannyāsīs have to keep the distance, and you also have to keep the distance. I had the saṅkalpa, not a very strong saṅkalpa. I said, "I don’t want," but I hoped. And you know, hope is a walking stick from cradle to grave. Hope is a walking stick from the cradle to the grave. I thought, "Oh, such a divine island, the heaven in the Brahmaloka, Indraloka on the earth, and they will all get ātmanubhūti." But none of us could follow the mauna one hour. One day is different. They think Swamiji enjoys keeping us silent. No, I don’t enjoy. I have a very big concern about you because I have the responsibility that I will give you this knowledge, this Kriyā. You didn’t understand the Kriyā, and you didn’t get that Kriyā. You were thinking you have it, and you took it and ran far. You hope there was nothing. Why? Because of discipline. So, if you want to become a sannyāsī, first you have to have vairāgya. Vairāgya means complete detachment. From the earth till Brahmaloka, all kinds of desires and enjoyments should become for you just like spit. That Vairāgya is like this: it is said when you have coughing and you spit, then you cannot go and lick again. Yeah, you spit it, and then you, can you lick it? That is Vairāgya. When you take Vairāgya, you spit at all these worldly things. You do, you are here, but you are detached. Like a lotus flower above the water, many became sannyāsīs, many went away. Hard to find. I have many sannyāsīs, and I pray to Mahāprabhujī, "Please give them again the vairāgya." Yes, they have Vairāgya till the kitchen. Then he begins to eat this and that. I hope that my sannyāsīs will wake up before I die. After that, you can forget it. They will become the boss. They will sit here. I’m a sannyāsī, but for what? What kind of sannyāsī are you? Ādiguru Śaṅkarācārya will put you sitting on the hot rock the whole day, not getting up from there. After six months, I will tell you. Still, you mentioned. It is sādhanā to become one with God. The human becomes a God, not with the ego, and not that "I will become God," but by surrendering, surrendering. And if a sannyāsī makes that mistake, tell. So don’t say, "I go to my father. My father has now a 100-year wedding ceremony." My God, your father lived long. I wish him a long life. Which festival are you celebrating with your parents or with anybody? No sannyāsa. Therefore, my dear all who are listening here, because I love you, do not dream of the dream view that you again and again will come in this saṃsāra. If you come to the dream view, then it is a Brahmaloka. If someone has taken an orange dress or someone is called... Somebody gave you some titles; it does not mean that you are that Brahmajñānī, Brahmaniṣṭha, Śrotriya. All those titles were given by Ādiguru Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya to that sannyāsī who became a real sannyāsī. So don’t think that those who have all got the orange dress, and now you say, "Yes, you adore the orange dress." We all should adore this orange cloth. A few days ago, I went with a swimming view, and these beautiful girls, my God, were wearing the orange bikinis. I asked Madhuram, "Bring the scissors, bring the scissors." So Madhuram said, "Please, Swamijī, let me swim because it’s too far." Therefore, other people don’t know, the world doesn’t know, but we know. Some people, to humiliate some culture and religion, put Gaṇeśa’s picture and Śiva’s picture on underwear. So, well, we ask the companies and this, and we say, "Please, we request, don’t do this." Did anybody put a cross on that bikini? Did anybody put the picture from Makkah, Madinah on your underdress? They will not tell you, "Don’t do it." They will let you forever in Madinah. Hinduism is a religion of happiness, joy, and freedom. But it means we should not take the disadvantage of this. So when someone becomes a sannyāsī, wait. Wait till the master will give you the, say, "Yes, this he has achieved something." If you are a center manager, if you are an ashram manager, you are leading the courses, you are giving the satsaṅgs, it does not mean that you are that one. I don’t dare to say myself is that one. I am a humble, humble servant. And always I pray to Mahāprabhujī, please Mahāprabhujī protect me. That’s it. Vairāgya, as long as you have vairāgya, you are very good. But very soon you will lose the vairāgya. Therefore, Mahāprabhujī said, "But we respectfully give a respectful distance, not that we are angry and this and that." Therefore, I am so surprised. I pray to Mahāprabhujī, "What will happen to these sannyāsīs who took the orange rope, and will this be my responsibility?" When I go to Brahmaloka, they will pull my leg down back. Say, hey, master, go and liberate your disciple first. So they are obstacles to coming to the Prabhuloka for me. But I said, "I have cut off the attachment to all this." I go. So sannyāsa, to become a sannyāsī is not easy. Therefore, another easier way and a difficult way, that I will tell you tomorrow, is Bhakti Yoga. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa gives the answer to Arjuna. Arjuna is asking Lord Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, "What is better, a personal God or an impersonal God?" Kṛṣṇa said, "Both are good." But as a human, with this limited knowledge, a personal God is better, one that you can see and speak to. You can’t speak to anyone. You can talk to the sky. The sky will not give an answer. But if you are a Brahma Jñānī, the sky speaks with you. The sky comes to you. And if you try to go to the sky, you can’t go. You know how much distance is between earth and sky? Till the head, and above the head, what is that empty? So this was the sannyāsa. Many, many rules: a sannyāsī must have a tilak. A sannyāsī’s forehead which is without a tilak? It is unlucky for the people if you see in the morning a sannyāsī without tilak. You have, like, a black cat was crossing your path. So better you should have something ready for the tilak. When you see a sannyāsī without tilak, you should say, "Rājī, tilak, eh?" Swastino Indro Pradashmaha, Tilak Mangalam Bhagwan Vishnu. Sannyāsīs have to cut all the hair. Hindus, according to these saṃskāras and kuṇḍalinī science, you must have hair here. But when you become a Sannyāsī, you don’t belong to any religion. This worldly religion is only Sanātana. Therefore, a finished sannyāsī must fast on Monday and Thursday, several times a day. A sannyāsī must do all the moon phases, also on a Pūrṇimā, Amāvasyā, and Ekādaśī, and do the mālā. After getting sannyāsa, you are... Not doing yagya, you are not touching the fire. There are many, many rules. Then that sannyāsī becomes... So I go, send Avatārpuri to the Akhāḍā and to our sannyāsīs, Viśvakarmaṇjī Ācārya Mahāmaṇḍaleśvar. Oh God, he loves Avatārpuri and Rājendra Puri and all the Sannyāsī boys very much. But where are these four boys sleeping in the room? He has the four. This is called a correction, to correct something. On the one he wrote Avatārpuri, on the second he wrote Rājendra Puri. And all these four sticks lying near their bed symbolically, he loves them very much, but the master has to be strict. They have to get up early, read mantras. Do you know by heart one chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā? Do sannyāsīs sitting here know? One mantra by heart from the Vedas, do you know the Vedas? Piece mantra by heart, sannyāsa. If somebody will ask you a question, what will you answer? And then they will ask, "Whose disciple are you?" Mahiśaraṇanda. Ah, it’s okay. We say, okay, he’s also now become like Europeans. Yes. Therefore, protect me, and I protect you. We come on the good way, so your negative thinking, your doubts—I see every day faces like hanging soap. I’m so sorry, pain in my heart. When he comes, Madhuri is looking for him. You want to eat? Okay. Then I look to Dr. Martin. And Mahātma is saying, "Hello." And then, coming to Sevāpurī, he said. So this face reading is very important. Your face reading tells everything: what you are thinking, what is going on in your heart, what is going on in your stomach, your thoughts, everything you are feeling. Face reading. On the face, you should have a smile. Therefore, it is said. When I look at the picture of my Gurudev, I see how happy and smiling Gurudev is. My mind became so happy again. We shall read this mantra again and should know it by heart. If you are a karma sannyāsī, then the third chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā is karma yoga. You must know the whole chapter by heart, and it is your duty. In one year, you have to learn it by heart. I don’t say tomorrow. Karma sannyāsī, dharma sannyāsī. There are many, many different kinds of sannyāsa. Finally comes Paramahaṁsa, and then, if you get realization, then it’s different. So, title doesn’t mean anything. Outer āḍambar, it’s called āḍambar. Outer show means that thing. What is inside? Yesterday I got a beautiful mango, nice and big. And temptation is there. Still, temptation is there. So I told them, "Please prepare the mango; we will eat." And it always happened to me: when I wish for something, something goes wrong. It’s spoiled because it is selfish. Holī Kuru Jī writes in Līlā Amṛta very clearly about Bhājrī chapātī, no? So any time when I say this, then it comes out wrong. Nice, beautiful mango. I told Shivjyoti, please prepare mango. And she came and she said, "Swami, it’s not edible." I said, "Why not edible? Very nice. Well, barely brown, little cut off." She said, "No." She opened. Inside, all was rotten at this point. Outside was nice. Outside, you can have a big tilak, big hair, or no hair. No hair, big daṇḍa, and big mālās, and walk, oh my God, this much, this much, Siddhāmā Ātmā, and look inside, rotten fish, stink. Yoga Karma Śukauśalam, Yoga Karma Śukauśalam, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said that your Yoga Sādhanā will be successful when you do the Karma Yoga. Then Yoga Agni Karma Dagdani, the fire of Yoga that will burn all your karmas, then you are free to come to brahmaloka. But if you don’t have that, see, not to me, not to her, not to him, but to that one whom you don’t... Like Swāmī Śivānanda from Ṛṣikeś, there’s a story about him. One day, he learned it came, who learned Vedas, Upaniṣads, many books, and he heard the name of Swāmī Śivānanda from Ṛṣikeś, and he came. Sit down. Sivananda knew that something new was coming, like a new marriage, you know. So he came. Sivanandaji got up, and he came and he said, "Namohana Arayana Maharaj Ji. Sivanandaji, how deep in this water?" Sivananda came and touched his feet. He said, "No, no, no. He said you are the great one." Sivananda’s age was at that time maybe 80 years, 90 years, heavy body. Any sādhu come, any Sivananda, that’s the fit of the sādhu. You know the name of Sivananda. Now there are many Sivanandas, there are many named Mīrā, but one Mīrā is, that Mīrā is different. There are many names called Jesus. But that Jesus is different, my dear. So Sivananda asked, "What can I do for you?" He said, "No, Swamiji, I have some questions." And this, "Yes, ask." About this yoga, this yoga, that. Swamiji was talking many things. He said, "This I know, this I know... This I did, this I did." Then Swamījī said, "Great, you are very great. I practice yoga, heart yoga, kriyā yoga, chānsmar yoga, sādhanā yoga, this yoga, that yoga, no yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, everything did." Sivanandaji said, "Did you practice the pain yoga?" What is that? He said, "If you don’t practice pain yoga, all your yoga is a failure." Oh, tell me, what is it? He said, "I will tell you tomorrow morning. We will practice together." He was happy the whole night. He was waiting for Swamiji to teach him, to show him the pen yoga. Swamiji went and said, "So sādhanā, yoga, I thought you will get ātmanubhūti, ātma vicāra." You did not make ātmā vichāra. You were doing your own problem vichāra. That’s why Patañjali said, vṛtti is kliṣṭa or akliṣṭa vṛtti. Kliṣṭa vṛtti, akliṣṭa vṛtti. Kliṣṭa is a problem. Akliṣṭa vṛtti is without troubles, divine thoughts. Kliṣṭa is vṛtti with troubles. So, only three days are left. Even in the last second, it can happen that we are liberated. But I give you three days more. Yes, my dear, get ready to become a sannyāsī, to take dīkṣā. I am making a big, big yajña. And I need 108 sannyāsīs. So, but you know the conditions. Wish you all the best. Thank you. We will tomorrow come, or may become something different, but something will come. If you have morning, wish you good morning. If you have evening, wish you good evening and good night. Nice to see you. Thank you. Deep nam. Bhagavān kī Deveśvara Mahādeva kī Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān kī Sanātana Dharma kī.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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