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Part 1: The Essence of the Haṭha Yogī Oṁ arvindu sayuktaṁ nityaṁ dayanti yogina, kaṁdaṁ vakṣadaṁ cheva, oṁ kārai namo namaḥ, oṁ śānti, śānti, śānti. Deep Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī, Deveśvar Mahādev Kī, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandjī Bhagavān Kī, so much prāṇa. Good evening, all dear ones here in this hall and in different parts of the world. Whether you believe it or not, I see you and you see me. That’s great. The subject is Haṭha Yoga. Haṭha and yoga are very great subjects, and Haṭha yogīs have a very easy life to get self-realization. Others have to wait, maybe many lives, but a Haṭha yogī has that achievement that even God Himself respects and adores the Haṭha yogī. When the Haṭha Yogī comes, that Bhagavān Sadāśiva Svayaṃbhū, Bholenāth, with great respect, welcomes the Haṭha Yogī. A Haṭha Yogi's consciousness becomes like Śiva itself, and Śiva himself will see the Haṭha Yogi as a higher consciousness. Now, who is that Haṭha Yogī? How does Śiva see him? And how does a Haṭha Yogī see Śiva? We are talking today about Haṭha Yoga, Kavita. Now, if we practice and become a Haṭha Yogī, we don’t have to worry at all about whether we will get liberation, or mokṣa, or ātmā jñāna. But what kind of Haṭha Yogī should one be? A Haṭha Yogī should stand above all. Haṭha Yogīs have great willpower, and Haṭha Yogīs endure immense situations: hot, cold, hunger, thirst, comfort, discomfort, respect, no respect, etc. So before I tell all this, there is one beautiful story between a Haṭha Yogī and Śiva himself. Śiva is the creator, or who blessed us with the science of yoga, the science of all mantras, yantras, tantras, all vastu śāstra, yoga, meditation, prāṇāyāma, etc., Guru Gītā, even the Vedas are created or given by Svayaṃbhū Śiva. It is said that through his exhalation, he gave these Vedas. So, there was one Haṭha Yogī who achieved that higher consciousness. At that time, he had no desire, no care about anything. There was this small village, about 100, 200, or 300 houses. I didn’t count exactly how many there were, but there were some. And outside of the village, about half a kilometer, one kilometer away, there was the crematorium. When people die, they burn the body there. So someone died, and the whole village went for the funeral. The person was a very loving, kind person. The whole village was crying when such a person died. In the story, there was a dictator, and he was so angry if people would not greet him and do this or that. They always used to say, "Yes, sir, yes, sir." So he had one dog. His dog died, so the whole neighboring villages and his village all went for the funeral for his dog. If nobody would come, my God... but when the dictator himself died, nobody went. That’s it. So you can see the quality of the person. Who goes to the funeral? They take a piece of wood to offer in that fire, so it was a big fire. After, when the fire was burnt and calmed down, they all go home, but still the coal which was still having... The fire, cool weather, sometimes like in Melbourne, daytime is good, but night is freezing, and so with the air, the fire was still active, cold. So there was one Haṭha yogī. He was collecting or going. Sometimes, to get food, and mostly said only chapati flour or something, not cooked food, so he got about one kilo of chapati flour. He went now here to make his chapati somewhere, so he went out of that village, and he saw there’s a fire burning. There is some fire where the dead body was burned. He went there. He had only one pot for everything, so he brought the water, and he made his chapati, or bread. But now, I think you people all know what chapati is. From one kilo, it was a nice, thick chapati. And now he’s sitting. There sat a yogī, and he waved his chapati with his hands and put it on the fire, and now he’s baking his chapati. Little drops of water raining, cold wind, dark night, 11 o’clock evening, nobody there. He’s sitting there, so Pārvatī and Śiva both... We were walking by, and Pārvatī saw that someone is making chapati there, where the funeral place is. And Pārvatī asked Śiva, "Who is that? What is he doing?" He said, "Some yogī is making his food, chapatis." Pārvatī was angry. Women are always... Have a good heart, and they are angry also, but angry out from love or compassion. She said, "Śiva, my lord, I’m disappointed." He said, "Why, Mahādevī? Why are you disappointed? I’m sad, but why? Look, there are many people." Who’s gambling and doing so many businesses, and money, and money, and they have a lot of money, and house, and comfort, and air conditioning, and everything. That time was not this, what you call the microwaves. But she said, "They have all comfort, and they never think of you, Śiva. They never pray to you, and you gave them everything. And look, this bhakta, this yogī, day and night repeats your name, 'Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.' And you can’t give him even a little comfort where he can make his food. No house, nothing. That’s why I’m angry. Give him something." Śiva smiled and said, "Devī, Goddess, you don’t understand." She said, "I understand or not?" No argument. Provide him a little comfort. Give him. He said, "Well, I would like to give, but he will not take." You don’t want to give such good excuses. I want to see you give, and I will see if he takes or not. You see, that’s called woman hut, triyā hut, bal hut, yog hut, and rāj hut. These are four kinds of haṭha. Śivjī said, "Then, Mahādevī, you stay behind this bush so that he doesn’t see you. I am going to give him something and observe what he will take or not." He is making his chapati and sitting very relaxed and happy. No sorrow, no pain, no desires. It doesn’t matter; cold is cold. And Śiva came and stood in front of the yogī, the hot yogī. And he didn’t look. The yogī didn’t look. He is happy looking at how the chapati, my chapati, is getting baked well or if it will burn or not. After five minutes, Śiva said, "He’s not afraid." Oh, the yogī didn’t look up. Who are you? Bhagavān Śiva said, "I am Svayaṃbhū Śiva on whom you are meditating." And the yogī didn’t look up. He said, "And why did you come here? Why did you come here? What do you want?" You still haven’t looked up. Pārvatī was biting her nails. Bhagavān Śiva said, "I came to give you something." He said, "When did I beg you? I didn’t ask you for anything. Why did you come to give me something?" And Pārvatī is listening. She is about thirty meters behind the bush. He said, "Ask anything, I want to give." He said, "I have no desires. I don’t want anything." Śiva said, "I know you don’t want anything. But when I appear, when I come, then I give something. Ask anything, and I will give it to you." So he said, "Okay, if you want to give me something, then disappear. Go away." Śiva said, "Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya." And Śiva went away. Śiva walked away, and Pārvatī was going behind slowly, slowly. Śiva said, "My dear, did you hear?" Said Śiva, "Your māyā only you know." He said, "You don’t know. A Haṭha yogī is above everything. Therefore, don’t disturb them. He has no desires." Therefore, Mahāprabhujī said in Vajan, so that is the Haṭha yogī. Would you like to be like that? If you like to be like that, then, walk on my path. That’s it. It is not easy inside; you have to purify, purify... So, this is a story to understand what a haṭha yogī can achieve. A bhakti yogī is bigger. A bhakti yogī: "Oh God, give me this, please. God, give me a blessing. God, give me a job, please. Can I find a good job? Can my children get a good school? This, that I have here pain, I have here pain all the time." We are begging from God all the time, day and night we are remembering God. God has no rest. So two persons died; one was a bhakti yogī, all the time remembering God, the other never thought of God. They both died and they came to the door of heaven, or Vaikuṇṭha, whatever you call it, Svarga. And the doorkeeper opens the door and says, "One moment, I have to go to the Dharmarāja." He went to the Dharmarāja. Dharamrāj, at midnight, who is there? You could bring it tomorrow. He said, "No, no, no. I can’t let them wait. Tell God, there are two persons here." God said, "Go and ask what their name is, and from where they are coming." So they went and asked him. So one is a farmer. The farmer said, "What, God? I was the door of the God. I didn’t want to come here, but anyhow, it’s good." The other one was a bhakta. So they went and said to God, "One is that..." Hardly he remembers you, God. And the other one, day and night, he repeats your name. God said, "Okay, bring the farmer in," and the other one was sent back to the earth. "It’s your bhakta," He said. "Yes, his day and night disturbs me, doesn’t let me..." Me, sleep? I can’t sleep. And he sometimes comes, so he is a peaceful person. So bhakti yoga is very good, but all the time we beg something. Jñāna yogī, rāja yogī. So the jñāna yoga, all the time having argument: "No, this is not like that, this is like that. This is like that." All the time, argument, argument. Rāja yogī, all the times making the disciplines. Atha yogānuśāsanam, anuśāsanam, anuśāsanam. All the times. Haṭha yogī is completely content. He is completely satisfied. No desires, neither for God, nor care for heaven or hell. He is ātmā. So this is Haṭha Yoga. Another we call, we said in India, Bāla Hut, Tṛiyā Hut, Rāj Hut, and Yoga Hut. Bāla Hut, Bāla means the little child. When the child wants to have something, he will get it from his parents. Will not give up crying or say, "Father, can I have? Father, can I have?" Father has such a big heart. Mother will say, "No, no." So, Father said, "Okay, but Father will go shopping and bring something and give it." You see, Father’s heart is very, very big. Mother keeps disciplining. Bāla hut. Bāla means small child. Tṛiyā hut. My dear, there is a majority of the tṛiyā women. Tṛiyā means woman. So, don’t be angry with me. Tṛiyā hut is what a woman decides she will do. Very strong will. Very strong will. So you never know what’s going on in her brain and her feelings. So even the husband had to surrender to her heart. Heart means force, a very gentle force. You know, Mahatma Gandhi, it is said that he didn’t fight with weapons. No hiṁsā, ahiṃsā. We will win. But that was a very fine violence. That’s also violence. When you ask somebody, or your husband or the wife, "What is that? What is that? Tell, what is that?" And always, don’t talk anything. Tell me. Finally, tell me. This awakens your aggression, and that is also a very gentle way of hiṁsā. So, but Gandhi did many things good. So, Gandhiji, please don’t tell me anything. He’s looking here. So, Bāla hut, Tṛiyā hut, then Rāj hut, the hut of the king. Now kings are the ministers. And whatever the ministers want, they bring the law into the country. How many people are suffering in the world from this junk food? And how many people are suffering? We know, and they know, that this pollution that is here is destructive for all creatures on this earth. Also for the plants, for the water, for the water life, for the humans, for the animals. But they sign it; it’s by law. We can’t do anything; it’s a law. Now, you can’t drink the cow’s milk directly from the cow. By generation and generation, since the cow in Satyuga, Kāmadhenu came. Cow milk is a mother’s milk, but one child died. But you didn’t ask how many children died because of improper milk. That we don’t know, but they are ministers, they have power, and there is a law, and they are doing. And we can’t do anything. So the king has his or her haṭha, what they want, they will pass the law. Then there is a yoga hut, haṭha of the yogī. When a yogī decides, then he will achieve his self-realization. Yogīs have no directions. One day, a yogī was walking through the forest. He had long hair, and from the back side, the wind was coming. A strong wind was blowing, and he had long hair like Gita from Melbourne. All the time, hair was going over the face, and the yogī said, "Hmm." Again, hair was falling over the face. She was again making like this. After a few times, the yogī said to the wind, "Okay, I will go in this direction." That is the decision of the yogī. They have only one target: to come to the self-realization of God. So, these are four kinds of Haṭha: Bāla Haṭha, Tṛya Haṭha, Rāja Haṭha, and Yoga Haṭha. This is generally what people are explaining. Now, another, according to the Śāstras, the literatures, authentic, ancient wisdom, This Haṭha has six kriyās called Ṣaṭ Karma. In Ayurveda, they have Pañca Karma. So, Pañca Karma comes from Haṭha Yoga, they left one out. They have only five, but Haṭha Yoga has six kriyās. Six kriyās for the purification of the entire body. When the body is pure, there is no vikāra, no impurity. Then our concentration, our feelings, our health, everything is pure and healthy. So these are the six kriyās which Haṭha Yoga represents. The Haṭha Yoga neti, cleaning of the nose with the neti pot every day; dhauti, the cleaning of the elementary channel, the food channel; then dhauti, different kinds of dhautis: neti, sutra neti, and jala neti; basti, cleaning of the entire intestines. Cleaning the stomach, that all the time the people, they were doing, yogīs, they were going in water, in the lake, and make one yoga posture, and they suck the water through the anus, half liter, then go in the field and leave this water out again, come. And again, suck? Now there is everywhere water is polluted, so it’s dangerous to do; we can get infections. Therefore, now we have developed one technique called Śaṅkh Prakṣālana. And this one should do once a month or four times a year. When one season ends and another season begins, that time also our entire system is changing in the body, so blood purification. So these four seasons. Śaṅkha means a conch. When we have this conch, we see the conch has the reels. If we put water in, it doesn’t go directly. We put water in, and then we move like this; then water comes out quickly. Similarly, our intestine, the human intestine, is 8.4 meters long—quite long, from here to there. Part 2: The Path of Haṭha Yoga: Purification, Practice, and Patience Creatures that are not vegetarian have a short intestine, while those with a long intestine are all vegetarians. When a human eats meat, it takes a long time to digest, and often some pieces remain. This can create cancer. Many cancers now appear in the body. With Saṅkalpa Prakṣālana, you have the exercises in your Yoga and Daylight book. There are four or five postures, but you should learn from a master teacher, your yoga teacher. Do it four or five times with your teacher; then you can do it at home. You have to drink about 25 liters of water. Yes, 25 liters, not a glass. Some yogīs drink only a little, but that is nothing. After 25 glasses, the water comes out yellow. Then it becomes a little clean, and you think, "I’m finished." Drink two glasses more and do the exercise. You go again, and pieces will come out: black, red, green, gray, sometimes like stones. If you can’t survive drinking 24 liters, then at least drink two or three jugs. This is done only four times a year. You cannot imagine how pure you become. But afterwards, you must be very careful about what you eat and what you should not eat. For two months, no meat, fish, eggs, or anything like that. Only one month remains, and then you have to do it again. Also, for about 10 days, no raw food, no fruit juice, and no bread—only freshly made chapati. Your teacher will tell you what to eat and what not to eat. If you don’t follow the diet after Saṅkalpa Prakṣālana, you will have gastric problems. Instead of benefit, you will have problems. Prevention is better than treatment. This is Haṭha Yoga: Dhautī, Bastī, Kunjal Kriyā—that is also Dhautī. When we have what we call heartburn after eating, something comes up and gets stuck here. There is a lot of acidity inside. We go and buy medicine and take a tablet, but that is not a solution. This technique we call Kunjal Kriyā, taken from the elephant. When an elephant feels acidity in the stomach, he puts his trunk inside and sucks all the acidity out and cleans it. This is done by imitating the elephant. Also, the elephant goes into the lake, takes water, and washes his head. We made an imitation; all that you have, the bathroom shower, comes from the elephant’s technique. One elephant was washing himself and swimming. Can you imagine such a heavy body? Suddenly in the water you are fluttering. For an elephant, it is a joy. He did Kunjal Kriyā. He made a good cleaning, and then slowly he walks again to the forest, and he takes the dust and puts it on his body. People say, "Look, stupid animal. Just now he was washing, bathing for one hour, and now putting dust on his head again." One said, "Well, because of flies and mosquitoes." Mosquitoes? An elephant’s skin is thick. He doesn’t feel anything. Others said, "Well, he’s stupid." Another said, "Well, too much sun is shining; he wants to put on dust." One person, wise like all of you, said, "Why don’t we ask the elephant?" So they asked the elephant, "Why are you doing this, elephant? You bathed very nicely, very clean, and now you are putting on dust?" He said, "Yes." Why? He said, "I hope that maybe some time ago some holy saint walked here. So his holy dust from his holy feet, if it goes on my head, I will get mokṣa." Look, animals also have such beautiful feelings and thoughts. Who are we to say, "Stupid animals"? They don’t understand our language, and we don’t understand their language. Every creature has love and feeling. For concentration, gazing on one point: a candle light, or on a red or black or yellow dot on a piece of paper—this also your teacher will teach. Then comes Kapālbhāti Prāṇāyāma. Kapāl is the forehead, our sinuses. After doing Neti, Jal Neti, we should do Kapālbhāti. Kapālbhāti is only exhalation. It must come from the navel. Don’t do it like this, that’s like a frog. Should I jump or not? Kapālbhāti is only exhalation. Those who have problems with headaches should practice Neti from time to time, and every day, three times a day for five minutes, do Kapālbhāti. You will not have a headache, but if you are lazy and don’t do it, then you suffer. Treatment is there. Bhastrikā is different. Kapālbhāti is like this. What happened to my mic? Hey, Mr. Technician, from that side. This is like a locomotive when we are using coal, the volume is higher. That’s the locomotive starting. Then comes Bhastrikā. Bhastrikā is mokṣa, okay? Thank you. Bhastrikā is now the locomotive starts. Oh my God, the engine is getting warm from here, not like this. This is wrong. When you do Kapālbhāti or Bhastrikā, you put a nice water pot on your head. It should not fall down. If you do like this, it will go like that. Thank you. These are the correct techniques. You have to get the examples; your teacher will do them. Neti, Dhauti, Basti, then Nauli. Nauli is the churning of the stomach. That is a little difficult to learn, but after two or three months of trying, you can learn. Your yoga teachers are experts, and they have to do this before they obtain their license, the Yoga in Daily Life license. When they can’t come to Austria for the examination, they have to do it through a webcam or Skype. The teacher looks there, examiners and a student who is going to be a teacher have to show Nauli. That one will pass the examination. Thanks to God, we have the Skype technique, so that’s practical. Examination: Neti, Dhauti, Basti, Nauli, Trāṭaka, and Kapālbhāti. This is Haṭha Yoga. In Australia, they said, "I want to practice hot yoga." I said, "Okay, we prepare warm water for Kunjal, we prepare the Sutra and Śaṅkha in water, and like, come drink." No, I want Haṭha Yoga. Yes, we give you Haṭha Yoga. So Australia completely turned the other side upside down. What is Haṭha Yoga and what is Rāja Yoga? Rāja Yoga is āsana, physical postures, and prāṇāyāma: Yama, Niyama, Āsana, Prāṇāyāma, Pratyāhāra, Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, and Samādhi. This is Rājayoga. Tomorrow we will have time to talk. And Jñāna Yoga, philosophy. But philosophy is that, finally, brahma-satya jagat-mithyā: the essence, the reality. After all, the world is unreality. Only the Supreme is the reality. The final truth is only that God. The rest is only our struggling. These are the techniques of Haṭha Yoga. Classically and as a philosophy, this is the definition of Haṭha Yoga. In the book, you must read—must not, you should read, because "must" is against human rights. About chakras: in our body there are 72,000 nerves, and all these have to be purified through the techniques of Haṭha Yoga. These 72,000 nerves are a network through the whole body. Our feelings, touch, and pain all depend on the nerves. There are a few nerves which balance and control all the nerves. Vajranāḍī starts from the big toe and second toe. Vajra means strength; it is the foundation of the building. You see tall buildings. The engineers studied and put their whole thoughts and brain to make a solid foundation. The Vajra Nāḍī is our foundation and is responsible for our immune system. The Khāṭu Praṇām in yoga and the life which you have is training and strengthening our Vajra Nāḍī to have good immunity in the body and concentration. Khāṭu Praṇām is completely different. You have a chart there. The other three nāḍīs are Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumṇā. Iḍā is the left nostril connected to one nāḍī. Piṅgalā is connected to the right nostril. The central one is Suṣumnā. The Suṣumnā nerve is responsible for receiving the cosmic energy, which is what we call prāṇa. It’s not oxygen; it’s prāṇa. That nāḍī supplies prāṇa to the whole body and controls all. They call the left sympathetic, the right parasympathetic, and the central nerve. The left nāḍī is connected to our emotions. Emotion means we are in motion. Sometimes this motion is so strong we can destroy many things: anger, hate, jealousy, greed, revenge. These are emotions. A wise person will wait until the waves in the ocean become calm. Then you dive to search for pearls. If you act when big waves are there—what you call hurricanes? Tsunami. Don’t search. Our emotion, our mind is sometimes awake like a tsunami. Then, so angry. One of the philosophers from Europe, someone wrote him a letter and asked him to answer something. He wrote back about 10 pages. After writing 10-12 pages, he signs his signature and then writes P.S.: Sorry, friend, I had no time. That’s why I wrote a long letter. What does it mean? I had no time to think it over. If I had thought, then I would just write a short and sweet answer. When our emotion, Iḍā Nāḍī, is active, then nowadays it’s very easy. Sit at a computer, write an email, and send it. Pasta. Ishan phyatik. Finished. Not even a computer; there’s a telephone. SMS. Oh, sorry, I used to talk in German, English. "You are stupid, and this and I don’t agree," and this and finished. Finished, and after you are sure. This modern technology is very good, but please wait, think over, and sometimes think for days, and sometimes think for years to answer. There was one master, my master, and he was very respected in that village. Whenever he was walking, many people came and joined him and said, "How are you, Master?" and so on. He was walking through the market. It must not be that all are your good wishes; some are jealous, some think, "This bloody man," or "the mad," or like anybody. One man came out of his shop and said, "Master, can you answer me something?" He said, "Yes." "What is the difference between your beard and a donkey’s tail?" The Master just walked away, and the disciples were so angry they went to play boxing. The techniques of boxing came from the kangaroos, like a shower came from an elephant. You know how quick and how good boxers the kangaroos are? Yes, it is from the kangaroos. Yoga is a natural way; everything comes from nature. The Master went, all went. The age of the Master was about 75. He was coming near about 100. In the last hour of his life, he called one of the disciples and said, "Please go and call that merchant. Master, you remember him. He was so aggressive and such a bad man. He wanted to compare your beard with a donkey." Master said, "Well, it’s my things. Call, please." The man who was humiliating the master was so sorry from age 75 till 100. For 25 years, he was inside so unhappy, thinking, "Why did I have such a stupid thought to humiliate such a great, wise person?" He came and said, "Sorry, sorry, Master, I was stupid." Master said, "No, no, my son, no. You had a right to ask the question. You wanted to know the answer. I’m sorry that I couldn’t answer you immediately. I cannot die without giving an answer, so I owe you the answer." He said, "I don’t need an answer, Master." He said, "No, but I have to give. My son, I want to tell you, there’s a difference between the tail of the donkey and my beard." And he passed. Sometimes we have to wait a lifetime to clarify something, but don’t die without answering. And don’t answer immediately. That is a wise person. Therefore, computer technology and this SMS, my God, it’s not. SMS is Swami Maheshwaranand School. SMS, Swami Maheshwaranand School. Go there and learn before you answer or write. The left nāḍī and emotion. The mind, the principle of the mind or the master of the mind, is the moon. The moon changes always. Similarly, our mind, our thoughts change always. So don’t trust your thoughts immediately, and don’t give judgment. The right nostril is the sun, that is the fire, that gives us strength, creativity, activity. Also, our anger comes from there. This too has to be controlled. The suṣumnā nāḍī belongs to that wisdom or higher consciousness. The left nostril represents one letter called "Ha," and the right, "Ṭha." So, Haṭha. This is in the śāstras, in the books, in all the literature: the definition of Haṭha Yoga comes from Ha and Ṭha, and Yoga means union, balance, oneness. When both nostrils, these nāḍīs, Iḍā and Piṅgalā, are balanced, then we have achieved yoga. Then our prāṇa and apāna meet together in the navel, and the kuṇḍalinī, our consciousness, will rise up to the sahasrāra chakra. So Haṭha Yoga is a philosophy. Haṭha Yoga is the way which is above all other ways. That person who achieves Haṭha Yoga is a real yogī. And we are all bhakti yogīs, prasād yogīs. Immediately eating prasāda, this, this. But enjoy. Whatever will happen, we will see after. This is Haṭha Yoga, and tomorrow morning, a little bit, we will speak about techniques. Moreover, our dear Swami Ummapurījī will come about 9:30, half an hour, okay, or quarter to 10, 10, because she has duty and something to do. Tomorrow will be Australian time; Sunshine Coast is Queensland. According to that time, Umapurī will also have a webcast talking. You can talk in the webcast, and afterwards I will come and talk something. Thank you. This is Haṭha Yoga. You can ask questions after, because they can’t ask me questions. It’s in the air somewhere. Thank you. Wish you a very nice Saturday in Europe and Friday in Canada, Vancouver, etc. Wish you all the best, and God bless you. Do not have the haṭha like a Pārvatī. Let Śiva manage peacefully. Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti.