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Yoga is harmonizing energy

A spiritual discourse on the cosmology of yoga and the necessity of a true Master.

"From where you enter, from there you go out. You go into a cave that has only one gate to enter... There must be a guide. That guide leaves signs on the street... These are mantras; these are the instructions of different masters."

"Yoga is that science of body, mind, and soul where we must follow the Master... So, always maintain humbleness, kindness, and keep learning."

The speaker delivers a satsang, explaining creation through the principles of Śiva, consciousness, and space, leading to the metaphor of life as a cave with countless paths. He emphasizes that authentic yoga is a serious science requiring a genuine Master's guidance and years of dedicated practice, critiquing modern shortcut teacher certifications. The talk covers self-realization, the roles of divine principles, and concludes with a blessing and a brief Q&A on types of Gods.

Filming location: Brisbane, Australia

Svayambhū Śiva—the word svayambhū means no one created Him or gave Him birth. He has no mother, no father. He manifests from the universe into a human form, and then He begins the creation: Viṣṇu and Brahmā. Viṣṇu as the protector and sustainer, Brahmā as the creator. Śiva, as the liberator, begins the creation on this planet, including the five elements. These five elements are Śiva’s body. The first is space, called ākāśa. That is ananta, endless. We don’t know where it ends. We don’t know its boundary—śīmārahita, without any borders. We are limited beings; how could we know it? But still, the space exists. Symbolically, to understand it, the sky is that space, and that is a mother. It is the embodiment of the mother. The mother gives space. Then there is the embryo, which means consciousness. Consciousness is one but has many different levels or qualities. One can have lower consciousness or higher consciousness. So, this endless space is the mother, and the consciousness within it is the father. Both are within each other. Yet, we speak of consciousness in the space, not space in the consciousness. Between these two principles—space and consciousness—are these two elements. This space is known as Chetan, Chetanya. The word Chetan means consciousness, but Chetan can’t do anything. Consciousness has no desires, nor does space. Then how does creation take place? Between them is called Śakti, the energy, which is also like a mother. That energy which is uniting, balancing, and harmonizing—this is the triad of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva. This is the balancing principle, and that is called yoga. It is that yoga which keeps our three bodies—physical, mental, and subtle—balanced, healthy, and together. Within that lies self-realization, ātmā-jñāna, ātmā-anubhūti. That comes from the creation. How? Ekohaṁ bahusyām: "I am one; I shall become many." But how? There comes the Oṁ, the sound: Oṁkāra bindu saṁyuktaṁ nityaṁ dhyāyanti yoginaḥ, śāntaṁ śivam aśokaṁ mokṣa padaṁ seve oṁkārāya namo namaḥ. Then the elements develop: space (ākāśa), air (vāyu), fire (agni), water (āpaḥ), and earth (pṛthvī). That is the cause of creation and manifestation. There, yoga plays a very great and powerful game, a powerful energy inside. From where you enter, from there you go out. You go into a cave that has only one gate to enter. Inside the cave, there are many, many different paths. Never go longer than ten meters inside as long as you have daylight; otherwise, you won’t know where you entered and where to exit. This cave is this earth. Our jīva, this soul, enters this world and goes into different caves. This cave has so many different paths; there are 8.4 million different paths in that mountain of the huge universe. You are born, you come, you go, but you don’t know where the outlet is. So, you must come out the same way you came in. Who can tell us how to come? There must be a guide. That guide leaves signs on the street, in the underground, in the caves. These are mantras; these are the instructions of different masters, the wise ones, the self-realized ones. It is not easy to find a self-realized one. It is not easy to declare yourself a master. Whenever someone asks me, "Are you a master?" my heart trembles, and I say, "No, my master is here on the altar." Until the last breath of our life, we don’t know when we might miss the way. Only when you come to the gate of the cave can you say, "Oh, I see the sun; I see the outer world." We are circling through these 8.4 million different lives of creatures. The guide is the Master. Follow the Master. The Master will say, "Let one go." If you say, "Yes, I’ll just go to the left side and come back," you will not come back. Keep to your path, to your Master. Do not think that you now know everything and need not follow the Master. This is the principle of spirituality and the path to liberation. Otherwise, you go round and round, round and round... until perhaps the next creation begins again with Śiva. So, yoga is that science of body, mind, and soul where we must follow the Master. Consider a surgeon performing a brain or heart operation. In the beginning, they were in nursery school, then primary school, middle school, high school, college, university, and then specialized faculties. My dear, more than half a life is gone, only studying. And still, that doctor, that surgeon, that professor, comes home and reads the books of other great doctors to learn from them. So who are we to think we can master yoga through practice alone? Now, unfortunately, even Indians make this mistake. They advertise: "A 10-day holiday on a beach in South India, or two weeks, and you get a yoga teacher certificate." Then you come to Australia, teach some postures, and think you are a yoga teacher. No, you are not. That is like giving a child in kindergarten a knife and surgical instruments to open a stomach after two or three weeks. No one can do that. So yoga is very serious, very perfect. Our teachers of yoga in their life, like Śivajyoti and others such as Yamunā, all try to stay on this path. "Authentic" means all the scriptures written by those great saints who received inspiration in their meditation from Śiva Himself. That is called authentic. Many people, many countries, claim they discovered Australia first. Don’t you think the kangaroos discovered it first? Similarly, you may think you are the author of this yoga. No, it is Śiva’s. If you learn for a minimum of five years, then you may dare to give yoga lectures and teach. Then you will know you are doing it correctly, through reading and practice. Then your satsaṅg is good. Otherwise, taking a one-month course and then declaring, "I am the teacher, I am the master," is like this: On the peak of a church tower, a crow is sitting. Inside, people are praying. Other crows come and ask, "Why are you sitting so long on the peak of the church?" He says, "You know, they are all praying to me." I said, "What? They are praying to you?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Okay, fly away." He flies away. Nobody comes out of the church. So he was thinking, "I am now Jesus, and they are praying to me." But Jesus is different, my dear—how many thousands or millions of times is His life far from yours? So, always maintain humbleness, kindness, and keep learning. Whatever you are doing, it must not be only yoga. Also, your studies—do them seriously with concentration and calmness, without nervousness. Yoga is the science of body, mind, and soul; the harmony of body, mind, and soul; the health—physical, mental, social, and spiritual. So, practice at home, and to regenerate your energy and knowledge, come to your yoga centers at least once a week, wherever you are. Your teachers teach with great love, respect, and knowledge, and you feel great energy. Yoga doesn’t need anything—just postures, but scientific postures. Please don’t be angry with me. I was in Oakland or Wellington... I am in a different clinic every two or three days. There are so many clinics—orthopedic or chiropractic. There are so many chiropractic doctors now. Why? Because people are practicing wrongly. Sport has become like torture. Similarly, in yoga, people are taught certain postures without knowing what problems they have or what problems can be created. That is why our yoga teachers in the lab will not do that. You may say you want to learn headstand, but our teacher will not put you in headstand if it will harm you. You think it’s good, but the Mahābhārata teacher will say no. There are many yoga schools in Australia. Many are very good. But more than that, about 80% are just certificate holders from weekly trainings. That is not good. They divide the school by books. You may have a very nice book on yoga in your life, very nicely written. They say, "Okay, this book is my teacher." But still, theory and practice are different. Tons of theory is nothing compared to a gram of practice, as some philosopher said. You can read the books, you can do everything, but you need a blessing. You need physical direction and guidance. In any subject, learn properly, and then you will be successful. We must search for the gate through which we entered in order to come back out. That is the cave of this worldly life on earth. Now every jīva, every creature, starts moving round and round, up and down. Where to go? How to come out? Only that Satguru, Dev, like Mahāprabhujī, like Devapurījī, like Holī Gurujī, will guide us and show us the path. We are the followers. There are three kinds of followers. One is called a flower, one is called a fall over, and the third is following you. The "fall over" is the one who falls and then says, "I’m the master; I don’t need a master." Yes, now you will fail. So, this is the science of yoga: the science of spirituality, the science of self-realization, the science of awareness and consciousness. That is blessings and yoga. Meditation is yoga. Prayer is yoga. Holy book reading is yoga. Everything is yoga, except criminalities and negative things. That is not yoga; that is viparīta. Viparīta means opposite. Everything which goes in a positive way and is harmonizing is yoga. If you fast for a day or two, it is yoga because you are doing good for your body. If you eat good organic food, that is yoga; you are doing good for your body. Do not torture your body with so many junk foods. That is, in my opinion, just like sin. God gave you such a beautiful body, and now you put something in it, and many diseases will come. Then you say, "Oh, I am healing this." So, my dear, practice wherever you are. Follow that Master who is your Master, whom you are following—but correctly. Tomorrow we will continue. I wish you all the best. Practice, practice, practice. God bless you. If our organizer wishes, we can answer two or three questions. Thank you very much. The webcast will be tomorrow again at the given time. All my dear brothers, sisters, and bhaktas around the world, bless you. Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ... Hari Om. Yes, there are two types, three types of Gods. One is called universal, which you cannot see—nirguṇa. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna... Arjuna asked Kṛṣṇa, "What is better?" To worship a personal God or an impersonal God? He said both are okay, but because you are in a physical body and your indriyas, your senses, need a physical object, it is better to worship the personal God, and then you will come to the nirguṇa God. Second is Nityāvatāra and Nimitāvatāra. Nimitāvatāra: yuge yuge, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said, "From time to time I manifest, or I come incarnate, to support the bhaktas, the pure souls, and to destroy all the negative energies." Nityāvatāra is a holy presence, what we call the Master. Let’s chant Om three times. Deep inhale. Om... Śā...

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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