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Part 1: The World as One Family: An Address on Yoga, Peace, and Spirituality Hari Om. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m really very happy to be here in Vape, in the august company of Vishwagurujī, Swāmī Purījī, and the company of so many of you divine devotees. Since several of you are probably already following what we do in the Embassy in trying to promote bilateral relations by looking at our website, Facebook page, Twitter, and all that, I will not dwell on that subject this morning. I have heard a lot about the wonderful work being done by Swāmījī and Yoga in Daily Life, and I would like to congratulate Swāmījī for bringing this ancient knowledge from India to this and other parts of the world. Yoga, as you know, is a very ancient Indian discipline. I am very happy that this ancient discipline is being practised and propagated by all of you here. It is institutions like Yoga in Daily Life which are responsible for bringing the knowledge of yoga and spirituality to the remotest parts of the world. Prime Minister Modi is a great yoga enthusiast and practitioner. He had proposed the idea of an International Day of Yoga in his address to the United Nations in September 2014. While proposing the International Day of Yoga, Prime Minister Modi had said that yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise, but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world, and nature. The declaration was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in record time in December 2014. Decemberében. In fact, this resolution for the International Day of Yoga was co-sponsored, not just supported, but actually co-sponsored by 175 countries. 175 countries co-sponsored, so not only supported, the decision to do so. And I’m happy to say these countries included, of course, Hungary, the United States, Canada, and China. And I’m very happy to say that among the co-sponsoring countries there were Hungary, the United States, Canada, and China. In fact, it actually had the highest number of co-sponsors for any UNGA resolution of such a nature. In fact, he received the largest ENS co-sponsorship among all the departments. Many of you are aware that the first International Day of Yoga was celebrated in Budapest with great enthusiasm. Yoga in Daily Life contributed in a great manner to the success of the first International Day of Yoga, and we are very grateful for that. We plan to organize the second International Day of Yoga in a number of cities in Hungary now. Last time it was only Budapest, now we will do many more cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Hungary, we are planning for the 18th and 19th of June, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 25th and 26th of June. So, in case any of you are there, do participate in any of these events. We are open to suggestions from all of you in this regard, and we seek your active collaboration and cooperation. Our ancestors had, ages ago, proclaimed that the world is one family: Vasudhaiva Kuṭumbakam. We cannot live in isolation. Let me share with you a small story. Being on the spiritual path, you are probably already familiar with this story. There was a hardworking peasant who would till his land thoroughly, sow the seeds at the right time, give proper manure, irrigate the land, and his crop would always be adjudged the best in the region. However, at the start of the season, he would give the seeds free of cost to his neighbors, the farmers in the neighborhood. Some people who were surprised asked him the reason for this. The farmer replied that if his neighbor’s crops are inferior, gradually his crop would also become inferior through cross-pollination. It was therefore important that not only did he plant the best seeds, but also that his neighbors planted the best seeds. I don’t know how many of you have heard this story. Maybe you can have a show of hands to see whether I repeated a story that all of you knew. Ah, not many people, so that’s nice. You are aware of the turmoil that this world has been facing. We are all aware of the wars going on in many parts of the world. The war in the Middle East has directly affected life in Europe here. Whatever solutions we have applied have failed to solve the problem, and they have really come to naught. We need fresh thinking. We need humanism. We need to reach out and give a message of peace to everyone. Unless there is peace around us, we ourselves cannot be peaceful. Until there is poverty around us, we cannot be rich and enjoy the riches. Until there are souls around us that are not peaceful, we cannot be peaceful. If there is peace, it spreads to other parts, and if there is disturbance, that also spreads and affects us. In fact, the power of good is far stronger than the power of evil, and that is why there is relative peace and prosperity in this world. We all look for ways to increase our security. However, in whatsoever manner we try to increase our security, we end up actually increasing insecurity. All of you here on the spiritual path are aware that security cannot come by just locking your doors, or having more arms and ammunition. In the last four or five hundred years, we have made weapons of mass destruction. Have they brought about more security? I am not advocating that we should be oblivious to physical security. However, this is still a secondary thing. Primary security is having a peaceful mind and a loving and caring disposition. The world is suffering from innumerable problems: poverty, malnutrition, pollution. Pollution, whether air, water, or sound, has reached enormous and threatening proportions. There are some types of pollution which we can directly feel through our senses, but there are other types of pollution which we cannot even see or feel. We can see the garbage dumps, we can see polluted water, and we can feel when the air is polluted. In fact, in all major cities of the world, air pollution is a big issue. At the same time, there are different types of pollution that we cannot see or feel. We are aware that we are nowadays surrounded by invisible waves, whether radio, television, or cell phones. Human beings have never had to deal with so many types of waves as we do now. While all these have brought physical progress and brought the world closer, they have also added to tension and stress and caused certain types of diseases. And, more threatening and dangerous of all, is the pollution of our convoluted and negative thoughts. This is really the root cause of many problems in this world. As Mahatma Gandhi had said, the earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed. It is our greed which is really causing many of these problems in the world. Even in a spiritually advanced country like India, corruption has been a major issue. We see surplus in one part of the world and deficiency in the other part. Some people who feel deprived then take the law into their own hands. Even when everyone has enough, there is jealousy. We have also seen people taking their near and dear ones to court because someone got a bigger share in the property. If there is disease in one part of the world, it takes no time to reach the other part. We have actually managed to globalize our problems also. We therefore need to think big in terms of global solutions. We have started adding the word “global” to all our problems, because it is global warming, global financial meltdown. The collapse of the bank Lehman Brothers, as many of you may have followed in 2008 in the US, affected the entire global financial architecture. It started such a crisis that we are still struggling, and we have not yet fully recovered from that. Similarly, global warming has reached such alarming proportions that we cannot think of postponing affirmative action. It is not a question of who will take action. Unless the entire humanity and all countries join and take action, there is little hope for mankind. We will have to revert to sustainable lifestyles. India is a land of peace. Our aim is to live in peace and spread peace and love. We have not waged war on any country in our history. There may have been aberrations in terms of internal wars or disturbances, but we have not tried to conquer any country through force. The only way we have tried to conquer other countries is through the power of love. From time immemorial, we have sent missions to spread dharma, righteousness. Quoting from one of our ancient ślokas: “Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ, sarve santu nirāmayāḥ, sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu, mā kaścid duḥkha bhāgbhavet, Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.” You are probably aware of the meaning, which is: may all be happy, may all be free from illness, may all see what is auspicious. May no one suffer. Senkine szenvedjen. Om peace, peace, peace. We no longer have to officially send these missions, because of the presence of spiritual gurus and masters like Swāmī Maheśvarānandajī. Mert spiritulais guruk mesterek, mint Swami Maheśvarānandajī. You are all on the spiritual path and know that the value of spirituality in the modern world cannot be overemphasized. When Buddha attained enlightenment, he was asked, “What did he gain?” Lord Buddha smiled and said that he did not gain anything, but he had actually lost everything. It is only when we lose all our preconceived notions, prejudices, hatred, and our negative tendencies that we attain peace and are able to spread peace. It is only then we feel oneness. We feel yoga, the union. Az egységet. It is only then that we do not become greedy and are not jealous of others; don’t fight with others, or send jihadists to kill innocent people; do not look at women with disrespect. It is only then that we are able to take care of our environment. We develop respect for Mother Earth, for the air and the rivers. It is only then that we are not feverish for enjoying the material world, and we develop sustainable lifestyles. This is what is the need of the hour. And this is what is being done by spiritual masters like Viśvagurū Māheśvarānanda. As they say, there is no formula for peace and happiness, except that if you do something for others. If you help with someone’s problems, you will automatically feel happy and be peaceful with yourself. Swamiji and all of you are the ambassadors of India. You are not just representing or propagating Indian culture; you are living examples of how to lead a life of service and selflessness. I would like to congratulate all of you for choosing such a beautiful path to bring peace to the world. Hari Om. Thank you. And now, bhajan. Anjuman Chalīsā, sing bhajan, “Āpaye Dūplek Āge.” You came, brought the sun with us. Light, light comes from the east. Kī Jaya, Kī Jaya,... Kī Jaya. Oṁ Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Śrī Śrī Devī Svarma Deva Kī Jaya, Śrī Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvarānanda, Viśvaguru Deva Kī Jaya. How are you, everybody? Good. There is someone from New York. Who is that? I smell the New Yorkers. Hari Om, and Vancouver also? And Vancouver too. Who is Vancouver here? Who is Vancouver here? They don’t like chocolate? They don’t like chocolate in Vancouver? Okay. Welcome. Ānandī, come. Children. So, Bhakti, sing one nice bhajan, yeah? We old people are retired, you know. Shanti would also sing very well, but we are retired children. I have no more value. Old is gold. So gold is only good when the war comes. We give the chance to the young children. Yes, come. Yes, there are other children also. They can come, and you sing. So, first of all, I would like to welcome His Excellency and his dear wife from India to Hungary, Budapest. And today, our Śivarātri festival is completed. It’s the same if Śiva comes himself or the ambassador comes. So Śiva sent his messenger, his ambassador here, and not alone. Shiva and Parvati, you know our dear Arjun Purī? We have known him from birth onwards. And Maṅgal Purī and Mantra Purī, they had a hard time carrying him all the time. So, last year, in November, Mangalpurī wanted to take Arjuna Purī again somewhere for a treatment. In Israel, in Russia, in many countries. So it came to my mind, why don’t you take it to Udaipur in the Nārāyaṇa Seva Institution? And the owner of that is my best friend, and we began together in 1977. In Udaipur, we were together and made this organization. Thousands and thousands of people got healthy from this polio. Unbelievable. And now it’s a very big organization. Every day, hundreds of children undergo operations. And there’s a waiting list. But of course, Arjuna didn’t want to wait immediately. So I telephoned there, and they got them immediately. And immediately, the next day was the operation. Now you see how it is, he looks like this. It’s been three months. And now, after two months, he has to go again. It will take one and a half years before he can walk independently. So we congratulate our dear Arjuna. Good. Thank you. It is a free treatment. Only if you want to give a donation, you can give some. And from around the world, donations are coming. There is advertising from time to time on some channels. So it is a very beautiful and very good place. So, because Arjuna is now healthy and good, he has to pay us something. A token of the singing or chanting of the Bhagavad Gītā. Arjuna, okay? Okay, give him the mic, please. Okay. Hello, I’m chanting the Bhagavad Gītā. Part 2: Śiva's Purifying Grace: From Poison to Nectar Chapter 9, Rāja Yoga. Śrī Bhagavān uvāca. Śubhāśubha-phalair evaṁ mokṣyase karma-bandhanaiḥ; sannyāsa-yoga-yuktātmā vimukto mām upaiṣyasi. Samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ; ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham. Api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk; sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ. Kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati; kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ; striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim. Anityam asukhaṁ lokam imaṁ prāpya bhajasva mām. Anityam asukhaṁ lokam imaṁ prāpya bhajasva mām. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān kī jaya, Śrī Arjuna Bhagavān kī jaya, Nātha Aṣṭakam Bhagavān kī jaya, Gurujī kī jaya, Viśvagurujī Bhagavān kī jaya. Thank you for everything. Yes, balance, of course. Thank you, Arjuna. Kāśī namah, Arjuna. And congratulations to you, so, Śiva Rātri. Śiva is the only one who was not born. It was easy for him not to suffer with a nappy. He manifested himself. Śiva is liberation. Śiva means the truth, the beauty of the universe, Satyam Śivam Sundaram. In this world, there were two who drank the poison, and nothing happened. One was Śiva. From the time of the churning of the ocean by Asuras and Devas, as they searched for nectar—and you know this story—first came the poison. If that poison had been thrown on the earth, the whole earth would be destroyed. All creatures would die. So Devas and Asuras went to Śiva, and Śiva drank all the poison. Śiva is a yogī. Śiva gave the science of yoga. Yantra, Mantra, Tantra, Yoga, all came from Śiva. All the Vidyā, the knowledge, and the controlling of the negative and positive powers, Asuras and Devas, are balanced by Śiva. When he drank the poison, he kept it in his throat, and that is the place we call the Viśuddhi Cakra. Viṣ means poison, Śuddhi means purification. So Śiva, through the practice of the Viśuddhi Cakra, with which prāṇāyāma? Ujjāyī. And which bandha? Jālandhara Bandha. He purified the poison, but the blue spots remained on his body. So from that time onwards, we call him Nīlakaṇṭha Mahādeva. There is only one God who is given the name Mahādev. And he is Mahādevo ke Deva—he is the Deva, the God of the Gods. So only Mahāvīra, Mahādev is only Śiva. Second, who drank the poison? Mīrābāī. From where? Rajasthan. So Mīrābāī also: her father-in-law, Rāṇā, sent poison in a beautiful golden bowl and sent it with the servants to Mīrā. Mīrā said, “This is the holy charaṇāmṛta of my Gurudeva’s holy feet.” When she declared it, she heard, “It is charaṇāmṛta of my Gurudeva, which makes me immortal.” Though it was poison, and we know poison kills, she drank it with that faith, and so the poison turned into nectar. She drank, she became happy, very high, and she wrote a bhajan. Which one? “Paga ghuṅgrū bāndh Mīrā nācī re.” Yes, she began to dance. I will not translate the whole bhajan now. So she didn’t die. And she purified so much of this poison that she didn’t get any blue spots. Because Pārvatī has no blue spots. Only Śiva has a blue spot. Kṛṣṇa was blue, not Rukmiṇī. So, Kṛṣṇa… so there were two who drank the poison, and a third one, I hope nobody will be, because that’s enough. Śivarātri—well, there are many stories. Generally they speak about one hunter, and the hunter went to bring some food for the family, children, but he didn’t find any animal. And his wife was angry, and so on. That’s the whole family story. I’m not going to tell you. But Śiva appears there, and there is a Jyotirliṅga. Another Jyotirliṅga is in Ujjain, Mahākāleśvara. And you know why Mahākāleśvara? Because the king of the day, Yamarāja, wants to kill the bhakta of Śiva. So they said, “The Kāla has come, Yamarāja.” So Śivjī came. Śivjī said, “You cannot kill this, my bhakta.” He said, “What do you say, Śiva? I am the Kāla.” Śiva said, “You are Kāla, I am Mahākāla.” And with his trident—he opened his trident—and this Mahākāla burned into ash. So Śiva, just to give a little respect to the Kāla, put his ash on the body. And there became this Jyotirliṅga, where we are going next month to India. You may come for one bath, you may come for two baths, you can come for all three baths, that was it. But especially this time, I will organize for you to come directly to that spot, that Śivaliṅga, where it was ages before. Generally it’s not allowed for foreigners, and it’s not allowed to take photos. I was there now. Umāpurī was with me. And, of course, they thought they don’t allow foreigners. So I went into the temple. My Akhāṛā is there in the temple. All the pūjārīs, all the priests—of course, they have nothing to say. They were looking at Umāpurī. I said, “She is Umā.” They said, “Yes, please, Gurudev, let her welcome inside.” I said, “Make photo.” Yes, it’s not a joke. And all the priests who were sitting there came close, and like a photo, they wanted to have a photo with Umāpurī. Because they saw it is not that kind of foreigner—the one that eats meat. And, especially, beef is not allowed. Second, those who use only toilet paper are not allowed. And who doesn’t wash their hands after eating? And who doesn’t clean the mouth after eating? So these three things, if you are not doing them, are not allowed. So make practice already now. Then you will have access, you will have time to touch that Śiva Liṅga. And take your mantra mālā, and you touch through that Śiva Liṅga. Mahākāleśvara—you know, what will happen then? When you touch your mālā in your hand to Mahākāleśvara, what will happen? You will come out as a Mahākālī. Yes, you know Mahākālī in Kolkata. Yes, Divine Mother: no one has the power or strength to go against her. So it means your energy will be completely different. But you have to preserve this energy. You should have the value for that. You come with devotion. That will, day by day, month by month, and year by year, develop that energy power in you. If you think, “No, after I didn’t get anything”—a small seed takes time to grow into a huge tree. So when the people say, “No, Swāmījī, I didn’t get anything, no seed from you, no miracle, nothing happens,” thanks to God that nothing happened. If something would have happened, you know what will happen in the whole family. So spiritual development, the process is slow but sure, because these three are too strong. Now, His Excellency was talking about the environment and lying in garbage and dirt. It takes time to clean. So similarly, in our antaḥkaraṇa—manas, buddhi, and citta—there is an immense amount of garbage. You will say, “I have no garbage in me.” Then I will take you to the operating theater. I will open your body. Then I will show you the garbage. You know, all of us, we have impurities—physical, mental, emotional impurities. I told you many, many times: when you have one relation with a man and a woman, okay, this is enough. As you change, and however many times you change, it is ages and ages of work for you to purify that energy. But you don’t understand. Therefore, Mahākāla has to come. You have no strength or energy to clean all this. When everything is pure, it becomes ash. That’s why Agnideva, the fire, is the only one that can purify, that can burn it. Agnideva doesn’t see if it’s a newspaper or money. Iron or gold, it burns into ash. That is Mahākāla and Mahākālī. So, my dear, there is a lot of pollution, a lot of vṛttis. If you think something, there is already a layer on your consciousness: positive, positive; negative, negative. Positivity, negativity, negativity. Therefore, a great saint, Surdāsajī, said, “Prabhujī, mere avaguṇa cita na dharo, samadarśī hai nāma tihāro, cāhe to pāra karo.” O Prabhu, O Bhagavān, O God, please don’t notice my mistakes. Because I am full of vikāra—this vikāra, physical and mental vikāra, is very strong. “Samadarśī hai nāma tihāro”—O Bhagavān, You are known as equal vision. I don’t say “Lord.” To say “the Lord” for God is a lower position: a house lord, a house master. Who has a little bit of land, call who is the Lord of this land. So the Lord is not for one part of the universe. Therefore, God is for the whole universe. So Lord, Lord… it is too little. “O my Bhagavān, God, you are known as samadarśī, equal vision. Cāhe to pāra karo”—if you wish, you can let me cross the ocean of this ignorance. The iron: one iron is a knife at a butcher’s house, and the other is on the altar of God. And Parās—there is one beautiful, precious stone. That Parās stone, if you touch it to iron, immediately, without any delay, iron becomes gold. If you touch this little stone, Parās, go to the railway track, and touch that iron—my God, from the web to Budapest, all becomes gold. That’s why I don’t carry with me that Parās; otherwise, the car in which I’m driving becomes a golden car. So that Parās stone doesn’t see the difference: if this knife was at the butcher’s house, or this other iron for the God’s worship ceremonies, Parās has its own dharma, and so it makes both into gold. That is samadarśī, equal vision, and so the Master sees everyone as equal. But it should be the Parās and the iron. But there is a difference between a master and a Parās: Parās makes only iron into gold, but the Master makes the disciple a Master. That is the knowledge. So this energy with the water—what kind of water you drink comes into you. Anything you take, it has energy. And it’s very different. Peculiar things are there. You know the story between the cow and the milk? The cow is made out of skin. We are also made out of skin. “Camḍe kī gāy hai, aur kāla jo bachḍā detī hai, vah kāla jo camḍā hai. Hām̐ yā nā? Aur kaun dūh rahā hai? Gāy, vah bhī camḍā hai. Aur kaun pī rahā hai? Vah bhī camḍā hai. Camḍe kā bachḍā, camḍe kī gāy, aur camḍā hī dohnevālā, aur camḍā hī pīnevālā.” What is there? Yes? So in that quality changing in us, when you think something, it comes in your consciousness, in your awareness—a wrong message. So many people, yogīs, they don’t touch anyone. Yes, because it takes the energy. But now we are in this whole hall. We have now one energy, because everyone has got this energy now. Now, I don’t know which is the stronger energy here—your energy or my energy, or His Excellency’s energy? We are all now one. Ocean. Endless ocean. That’s called Śiva. And one drop—you, me, we are one, one drop. So one drop in our palm, in the whole of our palm, there is one drop of water. And below our hands, a few centimeters down, is the ocean. This is different. Śiva is very near, and Jīva is just here as a drop. Śiva and Jīva have a desire; Jīva has a desire to become one with Śiva again. So this one drop, as a Jīva, falls in the water, becomes Śiva. That’s union. And the same drop, which is a few centimeters close to the ocean, if you drink it and go to the Sahara—we don’t know what happens with this drop. So we are at the door, but we have stolen ourselves. We couldn’t come to Śiva. Human life is a milestone, the last milestone, the last step to come to Brahmaloka. But due to our doubts and our negative energies, without thinking about what kind of energy you are taking, you will lose this human life. You don’t eat meat, but your partner is eating. No difference. This energy is in your body already. So don’t be proud of it, that you are vegetarian. Life of the human is beautiful, very pure. Nar se Nārāyaṇa—from human to God. But because we just said, with this, you fall down from everything. If you want to develop, then it’s okay. Otherwise, you come again in a different life. So develop the Śiva consciousness. So Śiva Rātri, for me, it is Tamaso Mā Jyotir Gamaya. Rātri means darkness. O Śiva, lead us from the darkness to the light. Śiva is light, and night is darkness. So when we chant the mantra, the Mahāmṛtyuṃjaya Mantra, our own phenomenon, our own consciousness expands. Tensions disappear. Negative energy disappears. You feel relaxed and meditative. So close your eyes—close your eyes so that I can drink water. Relax. Think of the Śivaliṅga. The Śivaliṅga represents the entire universe. Within is that consciousness. In that consciousness is awareness. In that awareness is the intellect. In that intellect is the jīva, in that is the mind, in that is the emotion, in that are the indriyas, in that is the body. So Śiva is the entire blue universe, completely. And within is called the golden embryo—Hiraṇya Garbha, golden embryo. So you are in that universe. And we will chant the Mahāmṛtyuṃjaya Mantra and try to expand your consciousness. We will chant very slowly. First I will chant, then you will chant. So one or two times I will chant. After, we will chant all together. Relax. Relax. Relax, be aware of your being here, be aware of your Ātmā, which is one with Śiva, the light, Satyam Śivam Sundaram. I will chant the Mahāmṛtyuṃjaya Mantra, and you will chant after me, two or three times, and then we will chant all together. Oṃ Tryambakaṃ Yajāmahe Sugandhiṃ Puṣṭivardhanam | Urvārukamiva Bandhanān Mṛtyormukṣīya Mā’mṛtāt || Oṃ Tryambakaṃ Yajāmahe Sugandhiṃ Puṣṭivardhanam | Urvārukamiva Bandhanān Mṛtyormukṣīya Mā’mṛtāt || Tryambakaṃ Yajāmahe Sugandhiṃ Puṣṭivardhanam | Urvārukamiva Bandhanān Mṛtyormukṣīya Mā’mṛtāt || Now let’s send it all together, Om. Just feel your being in the universe. Divine space. Feel peace and harmony, light and purity. Feel the presence of Swayambhu. Relax. The whole universe is expanding and contracting with your breath. Fold your palms and rub them, place your hands on your face, open your eyes, warm your face muscles, and move your hands. Hari Om.