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Yoga is a practical path, not a theory. Theory is all inspiration. Of course, the theory is also very important. It should be from the ancient literatures which are authentic. In this modern world, with this modern technology, we people are very expert at imitating. But imitation is not a reason. So the ancient literatures, which explain all the techniques, are from the first hand. In imitation, there always remain some mistakes. And so, meanwhile, yoga is divided into so many places, so many different kinds of techniques. And everyone gives the name how they like. So, we have many different kinds of yoga, every name you can say. Yoga is yoga. Yoga is given by Swayambhū, Śiva. Before the creation of this earth, Śiva appears twice: in the beginning and in the end. Śiva is known as Sarjanhāra and Visarjanhāra. Sarjan means creator. Visarjan is the end of the world again. Yes, time to time, Śiva appears. For the sake of bhaktas, that’s wherever he appeared, the temple is known as Dvādaśyotiraliṅga. There are twelve temples with Liṅgas which have the light of Śiva. Liṅga means the universe, the entire shape of the universe. Within that is consciousness, and between the universe and the consciousness is the Shakti, the energy. That’s Yoga. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa said, "Arjuna, time to time I manifest myself, or I incarnate through my yoga māyā." Yoga māyā means the Śakti, the energy of the yoga. Yoga is that principle which harmonizes, balances, and unites. Therefore, the word yoga also means union, also meeting. Now we are here together. It’s called sanyoga. Saṃyoga means that suddenly we meet here. Coming together is yoga, and separation is called vyoga. When Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa gave up his life, he again became one with the universe, or we can say in general language, he died. His bhaktas were sad, the devotees. The gopīs means the female disciples, and gop means the male disciples. So the bhaktas and Kṛṣṇa’s one of the close friends, Uddhava—they all followed Uddhava, they respected Uddhava. Whenever they had any questions or wanted to meet Kṛṣṇa, they would go through Uddhava. So when Kṛṣṇa left this world, the bhaktas asked the question: "Hai Uddhava, hume batado, hai Uddhava, hume batado, yog se kya vyog kam hai? Hai Uddhava, hume batado, yog se kya vyog kam hai?" The bhaktas, the one of the gopī, she asks Uddhav, "Uddhav, please tell us, what is the difference between yoga and vyoga?" Yog means coming together, and vyog means separation. When you come together, it is oneness, no duality. And when there is separation, there is also oneness. In both cases, we are only one. "Yogiyo ki banme kutya," the yogis are searching for you, O Krishna. And they have their hut, living in the forest. "Viyogīyo ke hṛde basat hai." When a yogī decides to get self-realization or practice only, spiritual sādhanā in the city is not possible. So they renounce and go somewhere in the forest, in the mountains, and they meditate there alone, alone. Yogīs are living in the hut. And who is lonely? Who has a separation, who is lost? In them, in their heart, God is living. For yogīs living in the hut, but for bhaktas, God is living in the heart. Therefore, someone asked Bhagavān, "God, Bhagavān, where do you live? Do you live in the mountains? Do you live with yogīs through yoga? Where do you live? Or do you live in the milky ocean, in Veṅkuṇḍa?" Bhagavān Viṣṇu said to bhaktas, "I am not in Veṅkuṇḍa, nor in the heart of the yogīs. But, O Arjuna, I live there where my bhaktas, my devotees, remember and sing my name with devotion, with love." So, yoga is that power which unites in oneness. Such a union, which cannot be separated, is impossible to separate. And so, those who have the desire, the love to achieve the highest level of consciousness, Ātmanubhūti, the realization of Ātmā, they will quit everything, prioritizing to go through that path. Those who are confused, uncertain, and have not tasted that fruit of nectar, the immortal fruit, will always search here and there, always changing the techniques. It means we can’t come there, so everyone would like to see God. Everyone would like to achieve the higher consciousness, but we cut it into pieces. Life is short; it doesn’t depend on us to prolong our life. In yoga, it is said each and every breath will be counted, because when we were... Born in our destiny, destiny we call Vidhātā in our Indian language, Hindi language, Sanskrit language. Vidhātā, she is that one who writes our destiny. When we were born, in that minute, she writes the destiny. She has a right, so God does not do everything. The work is divided for everyone. It is the Dharmarāja, the God of justice. He sends his secretary, Vidhāta, to go and write the destiny of this person which is going to be born very soon. It doesn’t matter anymore for the human. So, can you imagine how busy she is? She has no time to talk with you. And what she writes, no one can delete. That is the truth. Truth and the truth and the truth only. You can’t change anything. Vidhātā. When in your house, the baby is going to be born in any minute, you will see the vidhātā is coming inside. And you ask, "Please write a good, good future for my child." She said, or she will say, "I’m sorry. It’s not in my hands, not in my power to write the future of your child. I’m only medium. How much my pain, how much pain will move, it depends on that pain." So, finally, from God to Dharmarāja and from Dharmarāja to Vidhātā. Vidhātā, she is going to give the judgment, writing about destiny, but it depends on the tiny pencil which is in her hand. So, we ask, please, can you tell us what you wrote? Yes, she can tell. Yes, what she has written. Can you delete something? No, impossible. That is permanent. And where the Vidhātā writes our future, our fate, our destiny, here on the forehead. So, everyone’s destiny is written on this forehead. But we call it my kismat, my luck, my faith, my bhāgya. The word in Sanskrit or Hindi, every word has very clear meanings. Bhagya, it’s gone from your hand. As long as in my hand I have this katorī, this ball, or a stone. As long as I have it in my hands, it is in my hands. I can keep it, or I can throw it. It is my decision, everyone’s decision. That is what we spoke this morning, how to change the karmas. And in that chanting, yes, this morning was beautiful. So action is in your hands, but the fruits are not in our hands. That is in the hands of God. The Bhagavad Gītā said, "Go ahead, do your duties. God will give the fruits." This is the teaching of the Bhagavad Gītā. But God doesn’t give directly. It comes indirectly. So, as long as I hold this katorī in my hand, it is under my power. Tana, mana, bachana, dhana. Karmas we are doing through body, mind, words, and our position or wealth. Now I throw, and it is gone. I cannot run behind that stone which I throw to catch back. Stone will go there where it should, or is meant to, hit the point. In our hand is to press the button; the bullet will go, and we can’t run to catch the bullet back. Similarly, whatever you have done physically, mentally, intellectually, or whatever your position is, it is gone. So, bhāg gayā, it is gone out of your hand. The thief has run away, the enemies have gone away, they have run away. So, that bhāg gayā is gone. So action, karma, becomes bhagya. Action becomes destiny. And Vidhātā, she is writing, and everything is written here from past lives, many, many generations. The impression printed on this part of the body. So we say, "Oh, God." Do we say sometimes? Nobody told you like this. You don’t say, "Oh, God," or we said, "Have nothing here." So automatically, we know where it is. This morning, we discovered where the soul in this body is living, and everyone indicated the same point, except one disciple who is still in other stars. Every time. So, in the Bhagya, Bhagya is a beautiful word, beautiful. So, the most horrible, terrible destiny which can be written is called daridratā, daridra. I don’t know the word in English, what I can say, daridra. So, what do you know? Lowly? Let’s say lowly, she said. Okay. It means in every aspect, very poor. With the thoughts you are poor, with the words you are poor, with the actions you are poor. All these Mūlādhāra and Svādhiṣṭhāna chakras, which we spoke about this morning and yesterday, they are all very poor. So, only the financially someone is poor or physically disabled, that is nothing compared with the Dāridrya. In the Rāmāyaṇa, the holy book Rāmāyaṇa, Tulsīdājī said, "Dalidarsam nai dukh," there is no trouble and pain and suffering than Dalidarta. And there is no more joy or happiness than the satsaṅg of a saint. So Kṛṣṇa had a very good friend, Sudāmā. But Sudhāma’s kiśmat was the lidratā, though he was with God. So when God Kṛṣṇa went to Dvārakā, Sudhama’s wife sent Sudhama to Krishna so that he might give her something. He didn’t want to go, but his wife said, "Please go." So he managed to go. They had nothing, but Sudhāma’s wife said, "You should take something for Kṛṣṇa. He was your best friend, someone present." He said, "I have nothing. I don’t want to bring anything." She said, "Okay." From my side, she took a little handful of rice, put it in one cloth, she tied it, and said, "Please give this to Kṛṣṇa." He looked at his wife and said, "I am sad, tired, everything. Please don’t do this to me again. Something bad. What? Krishna will think that he is a beggar, I bring him little rice?" She said, "No, please. It doesn’t matter what it is. Tell him that this is your sister-in-law. She sent you a little present." He did it. He took it. It was a month’s journey walking. Then he came to the door where Krishna was living. A palace came out of the earth, an ocean, a beautiful palace. He is standing there days and days. He didn’t dare to go in. He said, "What will I do there? I know he is my best friend, Krishna, but I am the beggar. And he is like a king now. Here, nobody will allow me to go in," but he tried to stay, stay. One guard came and said, "Who are you, friend? So many days you are sitting here. No eating, no drinking." He said, "Please go and say to Krishna, Sudhama is waiting for you." Well, the guard said, "You are the Sudhama? Krishna talks always about you?" "Yes, I am." The guard goes and tells Krishna, "Lord, there is one Sudhāma waiting at the door." "Sudhāma? My friend Sudhāma?" Krishna ran barefoot, and he hugged him. He gave the hug to Sudhāma, my friend, friend from childhood. "Sit, please, on my chair." Look, greatness, the great has a greatness. God sits down. Kṛṣṇa put Sudāmā on his chair and ordered the bowl of water. And Kṛṣṇa was washing the feet of Sudāmā, you see. And while washing his feet, he said, "Sudāmā, how is my sister-in-law?" He said, "Yes, she is okay." He said, "I miss her. Why didn’t you bring her with you?" He said, "It’s a long way. What did she send for me?" God knew everything. He was looking other side again. He said, "Did she send something for me? I know she must do something. She will never forget me." And Sudāmā was feeling very shy, feeling very small to give him this rice. He hid the rice under his armpit, and Kṛṣṇa tickled him here, and it fell down. He paused. "Oh, I feel the handprint and smell of my sister-in-law. This is for me." He said, "Yes." "Why didn’t you give me, friend?" He opens it, and it was a little rice. Krishna gave to his bhaktas. "This put it personally on my table, where my best things are." Well, this is a friend. And now Krishna said to Sudhama, "Sudhama, in your kismet, in your destiny, is written daridratā. I will take away and give you the good luck, the fortune." Krishna asked his bhaktas to bring a plate with ceremony, tilak. So when you come to an Indian temple or are with some Indian people, they will give you a tilak here. Yes, this tilak means blessing. And when that someone who will do this is through this thumb and index finger or the ring finger, destiny is written, and that will give the point, so it will separate the poorness away, and fortune will appear like that. So they make the tilak, nice, and then the rice, white rice, that’s called akṣa. And akṣa means everlasting, immortal blessings. And Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa makes the tilaka and suddhama. Thoughts change, feelings change, happiness comes, wise words come. And that’s why in Indian tradition, it is not only tradition, it is not only culture, but it is the reality to remove the darkness from our destiny and to have a tilak, which means the blessings, the light, the fortune, the happiness. Well, Sudāma was staying with Kṛṣṇa for a few days or weeks. Then he said to Krishna, "Friend, I am going." So Krishna said, "Okay, it was nice that you came. Please come again and bring my sister-in-law." And he gave to Sudama a little bag, also a little rice. "Give this." To my sister, Krishna gave him nothing. Sudama was disappointed. "I thought he will give me some new dress. My dress is torn off. I have nothing. He just sent me away. I will not come anymore here." Still, ego, anger. He comes home, and where his house was is a palace like Krishna had. All kinds of prosperity, everything. And he looked at himself, Sudhāma. He didn’t realize suddenly he had a very good dress. And his luck, his bhāgya, his kismet, awoken so that you never know how God will fulfill a bhakta’s wish. Sudāmā’s wife, she appeared with beautiful dress, jewelry. You know, now in the modern world, ladies don’t have so... much jewelry, but at all times they had so many blim-blam here and here and then here, you know, on their fingers, necklaces, many, many things. At that time, if the woman will have no jewelry on her hands and arms and fingers... no, it means she’s a widow, you know. She’s a widow. When she’s a widow, then she renounced all this. She’s not going to marry again, only one, that’s it. So, widow and sad. This is a symbol of the sadness and widow, and when she’s married. Then she has all kinds of colors and henna and this and that. That was the joy of the human life. Of course, the husband also had a little bit something. She doesn’t let her husband go out of the door without having something nice. The husband’s duty is to go and work, bring the money home, and hand everything over to his wife. That’s all. All the money. And don’t ask her anytime, "What have you done with the money?" The best husband will only give money and doesn’t ask what happened. But the wife is more positive and generous than he is. She will never let him go out without pocket money. She will always buy something good. Sometimes he is angry. "Why do you spend so much money?" So there is one bird flying, and this bird has two wings. With one wing, a bird cannot fly. And so the best husband and wife, which are blessed by good constellations and with astrology and sixteen saṃskāras according to the Vedic science, will have a happy marriage. And these are the souls chosen. They are couples from many, many lives, coming back, and they will together get self-realization and fly to the Brahmaloka. But many don’t know which one is my husband. No, the first one when I was 10, 20 years, and then it went away, and then another one came, and this, and then finally after I married someone, and that also left me confused. I don’t know where he is. We can see this Kali Yuga has destroyed the birth of human life. They have nothing. To do that, you are forcing someone. No, never force. And in the time of those yugas, the choice was the girls’, not the boys’. If the girl chooses, then she gives the garland first, otherwise not. First Sītā and then Rāma, no? Sitaram. Lakshmi, then Narayan. Gauri and then Sankara. So first, her name, first is divine Shakti. So in this part of our body, the Vidhātā is writing. And only Vidhātā’s writing can be divorced with the blessings. When the blessing and real love are there, she can’t do anything. And so, always blessing: parents’ blessing, brothers’ blessing, sisters’ blessings, neighbors’ blessing. Let’s get blessings. Only blessings can change our future. And every one of us has in our hands a blessing. So don’t do like this. Do like that. Like this is that the leader, the beggar. And like that is the giver. So in the Holy Rāmāyaṇa, Tulsīdājī said, "Tulsī, in which Tulsī dās. Tulsī kar par kar na kar." Never put your hand below as a beggar to other hands like this. "Tulsi kar par kar, na kar. Tulsi kar par kar kar. Tāḍ in par kar kar marā na kar." On that day, when you become a beggar, it’s like a death. Jeef, Jeef, Jeef. Give means not only money, give the rights, give them forgiveness, give them knowledge, give them blessings, give them support, give them guidance, give them food, give, give whatever you can give. It must not be only money or food or cloth. We can give so many things; we are very rich. And this was this morning, you missed it. I can’t repeat again the same subject, this Svādhiṣṭhāna cakra between Mūlādhāra and Svādhiṣṭhāna. That was a very precious minute, how to come to the further. These both chakras, Svādhiṣṭhāna and Mūlādhāra—Mūlādhāra is a base, a foundation between the animal kingdom and the human kingdom. But there is our destiny, which is a reflection from Mūlādhāra, is in the third eye here in Kismat. If from here you delete, you can delete from Mūlādhāra. Or if you delete from Mūlādhāra, you delete it here. So in Mūlādhāra Chakra, there are five negative energies and five positive energies. Negative: kāma, krodha, mada, lobha, moha, and ahaṅkāra. Kāma, krodha, mada, lobha, moha, ahaṅkāras. Passion, anger, attachment, and pride. These are the five: kāma, krodha, mada, lobha, greed, and ahaṃkāra, ego. Opposite to this, the positive: bhakti, vairāgya, jñāna, tyāga, bhakti. These are the best qualities which can delete all the negative energies. Vairāgya, stay above everything, renounce, renunciation, tyāga, bhakti, the devotion, jñāna, the knowledge, and dayā, mercy. "Dayā dharm kā mūl hai, pāp mūl abhimān, Tulsī dayā na chhoḍīye, jab lag ghaṭme prāṇa." The foundation of the dharma is mercy. Tulsīdājī said, "Do not give up your mercy as long as you have life in your heart." After that, you don’t know what will happen. So, these ten tendencies, which are dormant in Svādhiṣṭhāna, Maṇipūra, and Mūlādhāra Cakra, are hard to bring up. But the technique which we had this morning, that was just to pull out, like you pull the carrot out from the garden, but the carrot will bring some earth with it. So some qualities will come, and that will get stuck in the Svādhiṣṭhāna, and in Svādhiṣṭhāna it becomes softer, but it can run away from our hands. So, meditation of the Svādhiṣṭhāna we will do tomorrow again. Today again I came to talk, because a speaker’s problem is only that students are changing in every relation. And when I will tell you something about meditation, only about this, you will say, "What does he talk about? What is that to concentrate?" So, next time, please, if you have an interest, then register and come. After, if you are not registered, we will not take you, because we have to go forward. Understand me? It means not that I don’t want to give you something, but I would like that you get all this that I’m talking about, but it cannot be in little pieces, that’s it. Anyhow, so this was a good subject of our destiny, and destiny is in the past karmas in the mūlādhāra. It is active, reflecting in this life from the forehead, from the ājñā cakra. Yes, I will finish with one nice story. You like this story? There was one man living in Vancouver. His name was Prem Prakash. And Prem Prakash was going everywhere searching for God. "Can you tell me how to get God realization?" He went to another master. "Can you tell me how to?" And every master gave the answer. Of course, good answers. But he had no time to think over and realize, to go to another master. Years. But he didn’t get God realization. One day he went for a walk. There is in Vancouver one park called Stanley Park. And he met there another master. His name was Mr. Dean, a tall man, working in the forest. I asked him one day, "In the forest, there are many bears." And I asked him, because I saw the bear one day, 7 o’clock in the morning, and the bear was on the rock looking at me, to tell the truth. I was afraid. I say that I am Ātmā in lectures, but the reality is... So there was a storm in the night, and a big tree fell down on the way. So with great effort, I climbed over the trunk of the tree and went to the other side. When I came to the other side, I saw a bear with a little baby looking at me from 50 meters away. Less than 48 seconds, I crossed the trunk of the tree, which took me before five minutes to come through, you know. So life is dear to everybody, so that, Mr. Dean, I asked him, "I saw the bear." He said, "It’s okay, no problem." I said, "No problem was for me, not for you." I asked him, "What should you do when you see the bear?" He said, "Make yourself big." This Siddhi I don’t have. I said, "How should I make myself big? I’m that small. I can’t grow immediately again." He showed me the technique, how to be the big. Thank you. So I learned that Siddhi. So when the time comes, I will teach you how to become big, okay? He himself is very big. Yes, he’s six and a half feet tall, or nearly seven feet. And then Prakash, Prem Prakash was asking, "Gentleman, can you tell me how, where is the God I can see?" This is a real story. He said, "Here in Vancouver, you will not see God." "I am in the wrong place," he said, "yes. If you want to see God, then go into the Rocky Mountains. There you will see God." So he went to the Rocky Mountains. It was summer, warm, nothing to eat there. Little water somewhere to drink, and he said, Dean said, "You will see God, but don’t close your eyes. If God comes and you close your eyes, then He’s gone. You don’t see." So people who always sit and close their eyes and meditate, and God is waiting in front of... you are waiting and waiting, then God gives up, he goes. So, you should know when to close the eyes, but we don’t know when he will come, so again he is misunderstood. In the destiny of the Prem Prakāś, there is always disappointment. I have to make a tilak on him so he will be better again. He is a great man, full of love, very kind, a seeker, an aspirant. So he is waiting for God day and night, eyes opened, waiting for God. "Will thou come? Will thou come just for once? Come to me. Will thou come? Will thou come just for once? Come to me. Door of my heart, open wide, I keep for thee. Door of my heart, open wide, I keep for thee. Night and day, night and day, I look for thee, night and day. Night and day, night and day, I look for thee, night and day." So, no eating. Love is stronger than anything. Even Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa has to surrender to the love, devotion, bhakti. Days are passing, he’s becoming thinner and thinner, weaker and weaker, not eating, not drinking, and there’s a big crow, a big black crow. He sees this person, this man, is going to die. "How happy am I," the crow said, "many, many days I will have something to eat." But he doesn’t die. He’s lying there, sitting, lying. Time came, he just fell down, and his face was up, looking, and very weak, very weak, can’t move any hands, but desire that, "I will see my beloved." This is, this crow couldn’t wait anymore, he wanted to eat, so the crow came, he flew and sat on his ribs. Looking to the man again, looking, and with a very sharp peak, he bit on his stomach and pulled out the skin. And he said to the man, "Is it painful?" The man said, "No, go ahead." Again he bit, and he said, "No pain?" He said, "No." He said, "Are you crazy?" The crow said, "What happened to you?" The crow said, "Go ahead, enjoy. Eat my whole body, each and every piece of the flesh. Feel free. But, oh my friend, still you don’t say, 'My enemy.' Oh, my friend, please don’t eat two things, my eyeball. Still, I have the hope to see my beloved." Crow said, "Are you crazy? Where is your beloved? Why did he let you suffer so much? Give up. There are many other beloved. I will help you. I will not bite you anymore. Who is that? For what are you suffering?" The man said to the crow, "You don’t understand the love. What is that love? Show me. What do you mean?" He said, "If the piece of paper is written, I can read it for you. But I can’t read my kismet to you. My dear, if it is a piece of paper, I can read. Kismet, I can’t read to you. If it is a piece of wood, I can break it in two parts, but love, I can’t break. Don’t delay, go ahead, eat." The crow flew away, five meters far away from him. And man is looking at the crow with tears. And crow changes, with the four hands and Sudarśana Cakra, Kamal, Gadā, and blessings. Bhagavān, Viṣṇu. God appeared and blessed him. Within no time, his body became very normal again. And God said, "My dear one, come." He hugged the Bhakta and said, "I wanted to test you, how strong your willpower is and how strong your love is." And so, it is the love which wins, it is the love which can melt the rocks, and it is the love where God will come barefoot, running, and stand in front of you. So, destiny we have from the past, and we get from here, from the words of the Master. And those techniques, practice, and awakening of the divine within us, we will be in that realization, what we all search for. Wish you all the best. Tomorrow morning, 10 o’clock. Those who want to come, come on time, please. And we will have the invitation for Svādhiṣṭhāna Cakra to proceed further to Maṇipūra. That will be in San Francisco the day after tomorrow. So book your ticket. All the best. God bless you. Madhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān Satya Sanātandhara.