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Part 1: An Evening on Mantra, Time, and Anti-Stress Meditation Good evening, all dear sisters and brothers. Welcome, and nice to see you. I will begin with a mantra. Who doesn’t know about mantra? Can you raise your hand? Well, the Slovaks are advanced spiritually. The mantra which I will chant means, "O Lord, lead us from unreality to reality." These mantras are from the Vedas. Now, who doesn’t know what the Vedas are? Raise your hand. The Vedas are the most ancient literature, or the first written, in mankind. It is the science of life, the science of creation, everything about science, nature, humans, spirituality, and God—God not with a name or a form. All incarnations came after. So the Vedas are the most ancient and first ones, which are written in the Sanskrit language. Sanskrit is the mother of all languages. After the Vedas comes the essence of that as the Upaniṣads. These were also written a long, long time ago, so there are written mantras. And what do mantras mean? What do they give us? How can they help? Now, in your country, you follow Christianity. So, there is also mantra. For example, "A merciful Holy Mother, Maria, bless me." So we pray for her mercy. Similarly, God is the one, but which is incarnated, they have this knowledge from the Vedas. Nothing you will find beyond the Vedas. So, "Merciful Lord, lead us from unreality to reality. Lead us from the darkness to the light. Lead us from mortality to immortality. Bless us with good health." Also, in our natures and in the herbs, there is good health. "Peace be in the whole world. May we all live in harmony. May we achieve our aims. Bless the whole world. I am not the doer, You are the doer, O merciful Lord, only You are the doer. Lead us from mortality to immortality. Oṃ Śānti, Śānti, Śāntiḥ..." Peace, Peace, Peace. The word Oṃ is the first resonance in this universe. Ages and ages past, in Sanskrit we call them yugas. One yuga is many millions of years. So there were many, many yugas. The creation begins from the sound. For sound, light, and manifestation, and so, with that sound, the Sanskrit language appears, and it’s called the Swayambhū, that God which manifested Himself, which has no mother, no father, just He who manifests Himself, He manifests Himself, and then everything began. Okay, so many of you here know the mantras because you did not raise your hands, so you know the mantras. You chant with me. If you don’t know, you listen. And all of us, we shall feel the vibration of these mantras. Be sure, this will give you immense peace and harmony. Harmony. When you come home, you will bring the vibration. In your sleep, you will have some experiences. In the morning, you will wake up very happy, with a positive vibration. If you listen and feel now, the exact translation I did: "Lead us from unreality to reality. Lead us from darkness to light, from mortality to immortality. Peace, harmony, oneness, fulfillment. The whole world should be in peace and harmony. Merciful Lord, lead us. You are the doer, we are not. Only you are the doer." So, sit straight. We will chant Aum three times for the trinities. Once inhale and exhale. Deep inhale, deep inhale. Feel this mantra. Asato mā sadgamaya, tamaso mā jyotirgamaya, mṛtyormā amṛtaṁ gamaya. Sarveśāṁ svastir bhavatu, sarveśāṁ śāntir bhavatu, sarveśāṁ maṅgalaṁ bhavatu, sarveśāṁ pūrṇaṁ bhavatu. Naḥam Karatā Prabhu Dīp Karatā Prabhu Dīp Karatā He Kevalam. Oṃ Tryambakaṃ Yajāmahe Sugandhiṃ Puṣṭi Vardhanam. Urvārukamiva Bandhanān Mṛtyormukṣīya Mā’mṛtāt. Oṃ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ... With this mantra, I bless you all. Again, once more, welcome you. This evening’s subject is anti-stress meditation. Definitely, many of you know and you are meditating; many may not know. So, what we can achieve through meditation and how we should meditate in this modern life—we are all workaholics. We are working nearly 18 or 20 hours. Lot of work, lot of work, lot of work. No one has any time. So, workaholic means now we have the tension in our mind. It’s overloaded work on our brain. Is this the aim of our life? Are we born for this? Do you think that you will solve the problem of the world? Do you think you will solve the problems of all creatures? We have sorrow about this, and do you think after you, nothing will be there? This is not a reality. We are born for different things. And we are not born to do those things which we are doing. Humans are born as protectors, not distractors. We don’t protect our forests. We don’t protect our rivers, the ponds, the lakes, and the ocean. We are also destroying our mountains. How much concrete we take out of our mountains, how many highways we are building—the whole earth under the highway is suffering. We create more and more pollution, an immense amount of pesticides. And we think now very much about global warming. Are we born for this? What are we doing? What are we working for? What are we doing? We will not solve the problems. Many of our ancestors were also thinking to solve the problems. Around the whole world, there were wars. They were fighting one kingdom to another to achieve something good. We couldn’t achieve anything, and the problem is continuing because man became very selfish, and one thinks, "I will be the best one." Nowadays, everyone is running to become a billionaire. Yes, there are some, but they are not billionaires, they are the slaves of the billionaires, who are enjoying their money. Others, they can’t enjoy, night and day they can’t sleep. They have sleeping tablets, they have guns under their pillows, they have good big dogs, because now they can’t trust humans; dogs are still trustable. Is that life? No. Mahatma Gandhi said, "Mother Earth has enough for our need, but not for our greed." Day by day we experience, and we are victims of stress. Many diseases are coming out of this stress, and still we don’t have time. Why don’t you have time? So today I will give you the time. Good idea? In 24 hours, we count one day. And night, yes, 24 hours. When you have to sit in the train for a long journey, for 24 hours, how many times will you look at the watch? How many times will you lie down and sit up, and lie down and sit up? Boring, tiring, exhausted, come at home, oh my God, long journey, 24 hours, and in normal time, our 24 hours is very little. Because we do not respect our time. You are sleeping for eight hours. Who is the lucky one that can sleep eight hours? If you can sleep eight hours, you don’t need the anti-stress meditation. Okay, eight hours of sleep. Sixteen hours we have still. Well, work eight hours. If we honestly work eight hours, our country will have a very good economy. Oh, our money will raise up, but we don’t work honestly. In past times, under socialism, they had to work eight hours; they were working symbolically. They were going to the office, drinking coffee, telephoning somewhere, then said, "I have to go to the doctor," etc. Because they were not fighting for the billionaires. Anyhow, I give you time for eight hours. Now, you have eight more hours out of twenty-four. What are you doing every day with your eight hours? You fly from here to India in eight hours. And how many times do you look in the sky and look down? Little sleeping, again standing up. So, what do we do every eight hours? One hour shopping, one hour cooking, one hour eating. So, how much is left? Five hours. You drive from here to Vienna, five hours, my God, very good. Okay, one hour for your bedroom, with your families. These children are lucky that parents can spend one hour with their children to give nice knowledge. That’s why children are suffering nowadays. Now, from these five hours, one hour is for children, etc. Four hours I donate to you, so one hour for your television to watch the news, three hours per day for yoga practice. You will have no stress, you will be healthy, you will enjoy your life. Life, whatever you do, so it is said, if you don’t respect the time, it’s a sin. To ignore the time is a sin. God gave us life to enjoy, to be happy, and to help others. But we have mentioned we are in a place of stress, and that meditation can help us. Yoga is one of the most ancient sciences. Yoga in life is 45 years in your country. I came to your country for the first time 45 years ago. Many of you were not here; you were in some divine world. And I came here. Now you came into this world. So yoga in daily life is designed for physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. So for more than 20 years, I was teaching Yoga in Daily Life in your countries here. There are some sitting for thirty-five years, practicing with me. And many others, they were old, so they are somewhere in heaven. So, yoga in daily life is harmony of body, mind, and soul. So, harmony of the body by particular exercises, āsanas. Yoga is everywhere. Nowadays, wherever there are humans, there is yoga, and they practice, but many do not have proper yoga training. In your country, four times they had scientific proof that yoga in life is a scientific system. In your country, there are many spas, and they are practicing and teaching yoga in their life. Here in your city, Poprad, I had five lectures in your college for the nurses. So practice this yoga in daily life. What does that mean? Practice every day. Don’t practice occasionally, but I will agree if you practice occasionally, then eat also only occasionally. So if you eat every day to live life, then practice also every day to live healthy. Yoga means balancing, harmonizing, and uniting body, mind, and soul. So, yoga has many different techniques, many, many branches, many, many. Haṭha Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jñāna Yoga, Rāja Yoga, Nātha Yoga, Sahaja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, many yogas, nothing is without yoga. Even your cooking, that is the science of cooking. So cooking is not just to fill your stomach. Your cooking should have such a taste that if it is best cooked and best food, you have the good food as long as you chew in your mouth. The taste is developing, and the whole day... You have a good smell from your mouth; you yourself feel the taste and the smell, and your neighbors or your colleagues sitting beside you, when you speak, then you have a good aroma from your mouth, and if the food is not good, if you chew longer, you will feel vomiting. And when you talk to your neighbors beside you, go to the neighbor and talk, and the neighbor will say, "Yes, yes, I know." So, the first step is good health. And where does good health come from? From movements, exercises, and sattvic nourishment. Now, what is sattvic? Of course, it’s not a Slovakian word, but we know. Sattvic food means a balanced diet, which gives us health, peace, harmony, and good energy in the body, and a peaceful mind without stress. This is healthy food. Then second, rājasik food. You become angry, and this anger develops. From such food, sometimes even you can’t coordinate properly with your partner. Whatever your wife tells you, you do not agree. You are angry. Part 2: The Three Guṇas of Food and the Path to Peace You know better than to speak too much. Consider your relationship with your spouse. Why? It is a matter of food. There are the three guṇas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. The tāmasika guṇa is laziness, tiredness, drowsiness, and illness—stomach aches, constant fatigue, and no energy. These are the rājasika, tāmasika, and sāttvika guṇas. Thus, food has three qualities. Tamas brings laziness. Rajas brings aggression. Sattva brings happiness, balance, and health. Where does this come from? From good food. When I first came to your country, hardly anyone spoke of organic food. Yours is a blessed land, rich with herbs, good nature, and good water. Yet now we must search for organic food. That is the problem, and it attacks our health. Everyone now fears cancer. Why? Because of stress and unhealthy food—junk food. You love your children, definitely. Who does not love their children? We love them very much. We feel love even for a neighbor's child, for children from other countries, even for baby animals. That love is so pure; it is sāttvika love. If you love your children, then give them healthy food. Give them time to talk and play, at least half an hour or one hour a day. In that time, you will become stress-free and enjoy family life. Where are the joint families now? When parents die leaving four children, everyone fights over the inheritance. All four siblings hire four lawyers, and you happily give half of your parents' property to them. Is this harmony? Such stress also creates disease. If we return to our family, we should love all our uncles and aunts. Love our friends and neighbors; that will bring better health and good food into the world again. Now, meditation. When we meditate, we come to ourselves. We realize that nonsense thoughts, unnecessary thoughts, are reducing, and we come to ourself. So today we shall meditate. Meditation is a way to peace, to harmony, and to the spiritual path. If you love or believe in God, then meditation is a way. In your country, there are many monasteries, and others exist in Greece, Spain, and many nations. They have so-called monks and nuns. How long do they meditate? They practice mantra with this mālā. They bless the country and pray for everyone. Shall we do a little meditation? You will enjoy it. Now, do you have a mantra? Who does not have a mantra? Raise your hands. If you don't have one, don't worry; just raise your hand and say, "God, give me." Thank you. I will give you a mantra temporarily; afterward, you can get one from your yoga master. There are principles God has given us without any money. God does not ask for anything. God gave us happiness. Why are you unhappy? God said, "I gave you." Use it or lose it. God gave us happiness because it is inside. Peace, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, understanding—all these beautiful principles God gave us, we already have. Just look within thyself. Within you is an ocean of immortality, a fountain of joy, and the Divine Soul. Just lead a joyful life. I give you one mantra today that will make you very happy. You can use it forever. This mantra is in your language—how nice! You can sing it while driving, working alone, or walking. It is your language. So, can you tell them? "Ya mām rados," and we sing that. When you sing this, peace enters your heart. When disturbances or tensions come, take a deep inhale and mentally say "Oṁ Śānti." If someone is angry with you—if your wife is angry—then men, do not be angry. Mentally say "Oṁ Śānti," and your wife will relax. This is the best mantra; it is not a joke. So many men have become happy using this mantra, Oṁ Śānti. All dear ones, we will do a little meditation. First, I will lead you in a few movements. Please stand up. Raise your hands up and interlock your fingers, palms towards the ceiling. Stretch your body. Stand on your toes. One, two, back. One, the hands, fingers. One, two... Slightly stretch and separate your legs. Interlock the fingers, palms towards the ceiling, and rest here. Now again, hands up. One, bend to the left side. Left side, middle, right side, middle. Left, middle, right, middle. Hands on the head, and hands down. If someone touches your body with their fingers, do not mind. Forgive them. Stretch your hands. One, bend left side and look to your other hand. Two, hands down. Three, right side. Three in the middle. Four, hands down. Legs together. Now, from this side, turn to that side. Face this side. This row, this side. Now we have two teams. Who will win? Good. Slowly raise your hands up, and slowly bend forward, knees straight, as if leaning toward or catching something from the floor. Slowly come up, hands up, and hands down. One, hands up. Two, bend forward, touch the ground or your toes. Three, up. Four, hands down. Very good. Interlock your arms. Not on the real chair, okay? But sit now on the chair. Sit straight; do not lean on the table. This will help you if you go skiing. Remember, I tell you a nice story about the High Tatras. When I went for a walk there, there was a beautiful lake with very nice, clean water. Come up. Sit on your chair, please. Thank you. That was just warming up. Now comes the meditation. Place both feet on the ground. Do not cross your legs. Put your hands on your thighs, index fingers and thumbs together. There is a center on both the thumb and finger, and that releases your tension. Many in your country, even in hospitals and spas, give you techniques from Yoga Daily Life—this mudrā. So, either palms are like this or like this on your thighs; you will feel very good. Hands like this, sit straight. You know this hall; you see whatever is here. Nothing will change now. Nothing will be new to see, so it means close your eyes and remain with closed eyes. Nothing will happen; no new things here. I will not get up and go away, so relax. Close your eyes. Once the eyes are closed, nothing will be new to see. Take a deep inhale and chant Oṁ as we did in the beginning. Do not open your eyes. If you open them, you will lose your meditation technique. When we chant Oṁ, the vibration ascends from the navel and rises into the brain. Half the sound goes into space, and half, as a positive vibration, descends back into the body. We will chant once only. Deep inhale, or normal breath. Withdraw thyself from the external world. Be aware of your being in this hall. Relax each and every limb of the body. Relax your legs, relax your fingers, relax your wrists, relax your stomach muscles, relax your elbows, relax your shoulders, relax your neck. Relax your face muscles. Relax the eyelids. Feel the whole body from the toes to the top of the head. Just relax. Be aware of your being here. No concentration, no imagination, no expectations. Just be one with thyself. Once, deep inhale and exhale. Tell thyself, "Relax, my friend, relax." Just for the time being, be one with thyself. Feel the motionlessness of the body. Relax. Feel the motionlessness of the body. When you feel your body relaxed and motionless, you will feel energy circulating throughout. Now, feel your breath. I know that I am inhaling, and I know that I am exhaling. Coordinate your body and breath together. Relax. During inhalation, the trunk of the body expands; during exhalation, it contracts. Feel these gentle movements of expansion and contraction with the breath. While inhaling, mentally say "Oṁ," and while exhaling say "Śānti"—Oṁ, peace. No concentration; let it be spontaneous. I am happy. Imagine the happiest minutes, moments, or days of your life. Recall that happiness back into your awareness, into your heart. Relax, just relax. Try to have only these two thoughts: peace and joy, or happiness. If other thoughts come, let them come; if they go, let them go. You must be the observer. Peace, happiness. Imagine and look with closed eyes at the eyebrow center behind the forehead wall. What you see with closed eyes is space at the eyebrow center. Relax. Relax in this dark space, the dark blue space at the center of the eyebrows. Try to imagine a beautiful, tiny candle flame. Even just imagine the tiny flame. Relax, be one with thyself, peace and happiness. I know that I am inhaling. I know that I am exhaling. Meditation is a path to the destination. Mantra is the light for clarity. Our life is a journey, not a destination. And this destiny is a meditation. Relax in happiness and peace. A beautiful, clear, bright, peaceful, tiny flame is thy soul. Just look in this space. You are the light, you are the peace, and you are the divine light. Peace, happiness, and light are thyself; feel it in your whole being. Now, with your mental imagination, touch your heart. Come to your heart and feel the mercy in your heart. You have divine mercy in your heart. Bless all creatures and our earth with thy mercy—the blessing from your heart for all happiness, peace, and joy. Peace, mercy, and non-violence, for that is your heart. With this, let our journey return to the external world. Let your mercy, your kindness, your peace, and your joy spread throughout the whole world. Share with all. With chanting Aum, let your blessings spread throughout the whole world. Once, deep inhale and exhale. Now, deep inhale. Normal breath. Keep your eyes closed. Slowly move your fingers. Close your fist. Open your palms. Close the fist. Open the palms. Close the fist and rotate your wrists. Fold your hands, rub your palms, and place your palms on your face. Now open your eyes in your hands, and slowly move your hands. Bless you. I wish you happiness, peace, joy, and much success. My mantra is "Oṁ Śānti," or "I am happy." That is all. All the best. Hari Om.