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Śrī Rām Jayā Rām. Good evening. We are all entering a new month. According to the astrological calendar, what we call Jyotiṣa, this month is known as Bhādarvā. This is the month in which God Kṛṣṇa incarnates. In seven days, it will be Janmāṣṭamī—janma means birth, and aṣṭamī is the day. The date system we commonly use began, I think, after Jesus. In that system, the days are fixed regardless of the month. But in Jyotiṣa, this date system does not function; it is not correct. Jyotiṣa follows the lunar calendar, whereas in Europe they use the solar calendar. The constellations are determined according to the moon. The movements of the moon are accurate because the Moon is the closest celestial body to Earth, balancing and monitoring it. The constellations are based on the movement of the Earth and Moon. There are nine important planets in this system. In the sun-based astrology, you have only eight planets, or seven—from Monday to Sunday. The lunar cycle begins from the full moon; the next day is already counted as the dark part of the month. From the full moon, the light decreases for fourteen days until the dark night, Amāvasyā. The next day begins the light part of the month, with the crescent moon increasing for another fourteen days to become full again. Thus, there are thirty days, but sometimes a month has only twenty-seven days; a day is completely gone. In the Western calendar, a day is never missing. In Jyotiṣa, the day changes at sunrise, not at midnight. The constellations are also divided into day and night constellations, determined by sunset. If you want to know your future accurately, or understand your current situation and which graha (planet) influences you, you must follow the lunar calendar. Your birthday should not be counted by the fixed Western dates but by the moon. For example, Holy Gurujī’s Mahāsamādhi was on the 31st of October, but it is observed on a different date each year. The fixed Western date is a formality, convenient for international travelers but not accurate for constellations. Jyotiṣa is connected with nature and is very precise. If you doubt it, consider this: Jyotiṣa can predict a solar eclipse fifty years in advance, specifying the exact second, hour, minute, and where on Earth it will be visible. When it occurs exactly as predicted, it proves Jyotiṣa is correct. Jyotiṣa is mathematics; it is the third eye of God. Jyotiṣa means the light of thirty days, the light of wisdom of the month. Similarly, for Āyurveda, some people do not believe it is effective. To prove it, take two tablets of Saṅkha Prakṣālana, also called Julāb Sonāmukhi, and you will see if Āyurveda works or not. This is Bhādarvā. Last month was dedicated to Śiva, and Śiva is still present. Now we are preparing for the coming of God Kṛṣṇa, with only one week left. Mother Devakī has to wait only one week more. After that comes the light, and also Holy Gurujī’s birthday. According to the date, it is the 11th of September. This is a very rich month—everywhere there is water, greenery, and fruits. All the birds and wildlife are happy with abundant berries. Mother Nature begins to provide for us. This bounty continues for two or three months, through November, when we harvest. Then we prepare for family gatherings in winter, where families sit near the fire in the evening: mother, father, children singing songs, and grandparents telling stories. If they don’t tell a story, the children won’t sleep. This keeps the family together. Nowadays, people rush home from work, change clothes, put on makeup, take a small bag, say goodbye, and leave. They return at three in the morning, completely exhausted, sometimes trying to open the neighbor’s door by mistake. What can we expect from a young generation spending time in a stranger’s atmosphere? We cannot tell them; times have changed. This month and the next two are for harvesting. Winter is for families and eating well to gain weight, because spring is coming and you must practice more yoga. Then in summer, you can go to the beach in a swimsuit and look at others—their stomachs. Some with big stomachs walk proudly, holding it with their hand. Why not? It depends on the angle and thoughts with which you see. These are the games of life. It is the prāṇa that is dancing. Mostly, it is the prāṇa in our eating. It is said that the food is dancing, singing, and making jokes—creating happiness. But today, the food is not here; no one is dancing. That energy is the prāṇa. This morning we spoke a little about prāṇa, and last week as well. There are five prāṇas and five upa-prāṇas. [Sound of a bell] Nice bell, no? Better than "bum, bum, bum." Can you imagine? In India now, there is a big problem: they call it DJ. Even in a small village like Kailash, someone has bought equipment to rent for weddings, and the sound is heard kilometers away all night. People with heart problems suffer, pregnant cows and buffaloes lose their babies, and no one dares to stop it. The government has rules—no music after ten—but for a wedding, they give permission. It is terrible. If the music were harmonious, it would be good, but this noise is new. New things last nine days, maximum thirteen or eighteen days, and then it is Black Night again. We have one boy from Croatia, Prempurī, who also lived in Dnipro. He loves it when they play DJ music so loud he cannot sleep; he dances out of anger. Prāṇa is life. It is the prāṇa that makes us happy or unhappy, that lets us laugh or feel pleasant. It is also that prāṇa which makes us feel ill when it is low, due to unexpected energy, food, or a virus entering the body. There are ten prāṇas: Prāṇa, Apāna, Samāna, Udāna, and Vyāna are the five main prāṇas. The five sub-prāṇas (upa-prāṇas) are Nāga, Kūrma, Devadatta, Kṛkala, and Dhananjaya. They function in the subtle parts of the body like the heart, brain, and eyes. We shall learn about these ten prāṇas through this seminar. The rest of the time will be for āsanas. I want at least thirty people this week to manage to perform Paścimottānāsana. Some say people in their life are too much into Bhakti Yoga—no movement, just comfort. In Bhakti Yoga, you should not dance; if you dance, it is not Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti Yoga is comfortable: listening to bhajans, attending satsaṅg, eating prasād, more prasād, and more prasād. Now we have to come a little further. There will be three classes. The first and best is āsanas. We will focus from the fifth part onward; parts one, two, three, and four—forget them. So, six, seven, eight, and five. Your teacher will begin with the fifth, then the second, and from four to one. For those who cannot practice āsanas, they can do anuṣṭhāna. Those who have kriyā should do it in their free time. You should practice something at home. I have two windows, and on both are fixed two pinnacles—binoculars. Yes, really. Anuman Purī? Yes, so I will see. The teacher must also practice, moving without looking at me, ensuring there is a binocular. So, please, physical training and condition. We will have a lecture one day about movements, glands, nerve systems, muscles, ligaments, and joints. This is the program. Perfect—it keeps my water warm. So, the prāṇa. What does prāṇa tell us? Prāṇa is a special function of the cosmic prāṇa, the energy that supplies every living body with essential oxygen and vitality. It flows through the nostrils to the level of the heart. The practice of yoga and daily life strengthens our vitality. Certain techniques activate the prāṇa and śakti. Sometimes we say "strength"—he has strong śakti. Others say prāṇa. Prāṇa and śakti are different. As long as we have prāṇa in the body, we are living. When the prāṇa is gone, the body is declared dead. Or, as long as the soul is in the body, you are living; when the soul leaves, the body is dead. Now the question: Is the soul different from prāṇa? Is prāṇa different from the soul? What is the function of prāṇa, and what is the function of the soul? We have to answer this in the coming days. Certain techniques activate the prāṇa-śakti, and prāṇāyāmas like Bhastrikā Prāṇāyāma, Nāḍī Śodhana, and Ujjāyī Prāṇāyāma. We call it prāṇāyāma. Here, prāṇa is involved, but breath is air. Where does the breath come from? It is different. Air and prāṇa are two distinct things. Prāṇāyāma means prāṇa-vyāyāma—vyāyāma means exercise. Yoga practice is what we call yoga āsana. If you practice classical yoga with perfect postures, you are doing yoga āsana. Āsana is kāya-sthairyam—motionlessness of the body. In that posture, you can stay for five minutes, ten minutes, one minute, or one hour. That is yoga āsana. When you take it as movement, it is called yoga vyāyāma—yoga exercise. So, yoga āsana, yoga vyāyāma, and prāṇāyāma. In prāṇāyāma, we exercise to strengthen the prāṇa. This prāṇa is in everything; it is the very essence of life. Prāṇa is life. The second is Apāna. This governs the lower part of the body, from the navel to the soles of the feet, regulating the elimination process. This is the strong function of apāna. When you vomit and feel bad, it is apāna that helps expel the substance. Apāna is a cleaning process, while prāṇa brings in the new, fresh energy. Our body is mal, mutra, and vikāra—full of impurities, urine, and waste. It begins to stink very quickly because the human diet is different. Animals have a natural diet, though nowadays their nourishment is manipulated. When a wild deer dies, it does not smell quickly, but a human body does immediately. That is why we remove a human body quickly and bring an animal body into the house quickly. Humans are phonetic. There is a bhajan: "O human, your skin is useful for nothing. It will just burn and become ash. The skin of animals even becomes a drum for singing bhajans. So, oh human, your body is for just nothing. Why are you so proud? Why do you expose your secrets?" When you use a lot of makeup, it is evidence you are not beautiful, so you try to become beautiful. Have you ever seen a deer, rabbit, or bird applying makeup? We subconsciously know we are not beautiful, so we try with good dresses, makeup, and hairdressers. Gorillas do not do that. Prāṇa influences the lower part of the body. Apāna, from the navel to the soles, regulates elimination. Disturbed apāna prāṇa causes diseases of the lower abdomen, kidneys, legs, and intestines. Strengthening and purifying techniques include Nauli, Agniṣāra, Kriyā, Aśvinī Mudrā, and Mūlabandha. Also, Garuḍāsana in our Yoga and Daylight book. Many postures are good for the lower body. We need purification—to clean, move the muscles, keep them active so they reject used energy and produce fresh, good energy. We know that most diseases occur in the trunk of the body. That is why we need to practice more āsanas and respiratory prāṇāyāma. This is about Prāṇa and Apāna. Samāna and Vyāna we will cover tomorrow. I wish you a very good night. Sleep well. Tomorrow the program begins. Anuṣṭhāna is not so important in this condition now because in anuṣṭhāna you are suffering; many have knee problems sitting like this. My binoculars are facing the Jardin Hall and the Sangam Hall. You will not believe, even behind the Tilak restaurant, on the other side, there are binoculars. You cannot buy them anywhere. Only one can give them to us: Guru Dev, Siddhipāda, and Bhagavān. Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ... Siddhipāda and Bhagavān. Devī Śiva Mahādeva. Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān, Satya Sanātana Dharma. Om, Om.