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Salutations to the cosmic light. Dear sisters and brothers, good evening. It is nice to see you. I welcome you to this evening. The subject is Yoga and Āyurveda. Your country is well known to India. You know the many philosophies, yogas, and spiritual traditions that come from India. Your country is also a very historical one. I have heard that Prague is known as a mystic city and that the Czech Republic is called the land of milk and honey. Yet, with too many pesticides, we are all looking for health. Yoga is the most ancient science of body, mind, and soul. "Yoga in Daily Life" is designed for physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. I am happy to be here, with the respected director of this hotel, respected Professor Karuṇā, and all other dignitaries present. Life is life. But do we understand what life is? Yogic philosophy and thought come from the very beginning of time. That is why we speak of yugas—billions and trillions of yugas: Satya Yuga, Tretā Yuga, Dvāpara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. We are now in Kali Yuga, an age marked by much suffering, sin, fighting, restlessness, and unhappiness. Kali Yuga is the last yuga; afterwards, a new cycle will begin. Thus, everything is in constant change. The Vedas are the first written scriptures. They were given in the Satya Yuga by the god Brahmā, who is part of the trinity: Śiva, Viṣṇu, and Brahmā. The beginning is one, and that is called Śiva. Śiva means consciousness; Śiva means the universe; Śiva means the creator; Śiva means our ātmā. We have a physical body, a mind, emotions, intellect, awareness, and consciousness. There are many layers to our life, and within all these, the ātmā resides. In between comes what is called the soul, the jīvātmā. Jīvātmā means the mixture of jīva and ātmā... Well, we will come to this point again. The Vedas, the yogīs, and the Siddhas speak of śūnyakāśa—the endless void. We do not know where it begins or ends. Śūnyakāśa is a void space, nothing and nothing and nothing, only a dark blue light, with not even stars or a sun. This state persisted for trillions of yugas. It is said in the Upaniṣads, and through the great practice of yoga, one attains self-realization. One asks: "Ko’ham? Katham idaṁ jātaṁ? Ko vā kartasya vidyate?" Ādi Guru Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya said: "Ko’ham? Katham idaṁ jātaṁ? Ko vā kartasya vidyate?" Who am I? Who are you? Not a human. Not an animal. Not a body. Not a mind. Not thoughts. Not emotions. Not desires. But "I am." Not even the soul. I am that Nirākār Ātmā. Ātmā means thy Self. It has no form, no karma, no suffering. It is pure light and oneness in the entire universe. That is what you are. What I am telling you is that you are that. But it is covered by so many layers of the physical, mental, and emotional. Let me jump back to the beginning. It is said that God had a wish. Does God have a wish? My God. If even God has a desire at the very origin, then what about us? We have many wishes. Well, it is consciousness, space, and energy—these three. Space is called the cosmic mother. Space is the form of the mother, the mother’s body. Within her, consciousness exists. It is not that space is within consciousness, but that consciousness is within space. This makes one thing clear: we are all in this hall; the hall is not within us. Where are you? I am in the conference hall. That is it. Then comes energy. That is also called mother, Śakti. It is the energy that unites space and consciousness, like cement uniting two bricks. That energy unites, harmonizes, and balances. This uniting is yoga. It is that cosmic energy that unites our ātmā to Paramātmā, the Supreme. It does not matter if it is a human or an animal; each and every entity is a creation of the Supreme. When creation begins, the creator makes 8.4 million different creations, divided into three categories: creatures in the water, creatures on the earth, and creatures in the space. We are somewhere among these. Let us go further. That Brahman, the Supreme, does not have desire—or we can say it does, but not desire as we know it: desire to eat ice cream, to drink juice, to eat good food. Its desire is "Eko’haṁ bahusyāmi": I am one, and now I will multiply. How will He do this? Who is that? He has no form, nothing. But there is that tendency. The first beginning is sound. The Vedas say the form of the Supreme is resonance. If you want to know or understand God, it is through that resonance, which awakens the light called jyoti. This is the light of life, the flame of life within us. That is Ātmā. From that flame manifests Svayambhū. Svayambhū means "He who manifested Himself." Only that one who has no mother, no father, who manifested from Himself. That is called Svāyambhū Śiva. That is the first beginning. Over trillions, millions of years, as many yugas change, suns come into being, stars become visible, different planets form, and creation begins. Where, who, how? Still, nothing tangible has happened; there are only the plans. Out of that sound, through the light, vibration begins—like lightning in the clouds. From that supreme light, many manifestations are manipulated. It multiplies. And we are that light. Many times we go back, and we come back. Then that beautiful earth is created for our sake. Because how will we come back to our origin? We have to go through a physical form. This journey culminates in ātmā jñāna, self-realization: "Ko’ham?" Who am I? "Ko’ham, katham": From where am I coming? Where am I going? What is my aim in coming here? The answer comes through meditation and yoga. Humans were created as the representatives of God. God gave them all powers. But then God realized, "This human, my son, I gave authority, but he began to act against me." So God made all those energies, abilities, and miracles dormant—like a combination lock. Because if we had that power, we would destroy everything. We know how humans can be so reckless. Only one who practices deep meditation and sādhanā yoga may achieve and enter into the kingdom of the Lord. There is much written on this. It is said, health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health. If you want to achieve realization, first comes health. So the first wealth is good health. The question is how to keep good health. There are two key things: nourishment and movement. We survive through nourishment, solid and liquid. But what kind of food do we eat? Will it keep our body healthy or not? That is the question. Then, movement—what kind of movement? Yogic postures and exercises balance our body, mind, and emotions. There are many other movements, but if you practice real, authentic, first-hand yoga given by the masters through a lineage, that is different. It is not you who gives that spirituality and light; it is the great realized masters. You have seen the beautiful picture of Bhagavān Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī. For me, he is that which one can imagine: what God can do, Mahāprabhujī could have done. By looking at his picture for just one or two minutes, you will realize something. And his master is like Śiva himself. This is the lineage of our spirituality and Yoga in Daily Life. It is authentic authority. So do not torture your body. You need not put your legs behind your head. You need not stand on your hands. You can do such things for your contentment or muscles, but a yoga posture is different. It is what unites body, mind, energy, consciousness, our soul, and ātmā. From where I came, why I came, where I will go, and what is my duty—this is the aim of yoga. Now, because the subject is Āyurveda and yoga, let me speak on Āyurveda. It is a very clear word: the knowledge of life. "Āyu" means life. You say, "I am 75 years old." It means your āyu is 75 years—that is the length of life. Whether you believe it or not, belief does not change anything. Reality, evidence, never dies. Life is life. In our holy books and the Upaniṣads, it is written that the ṛṣis lived for thousands of years. For what? To realize self-realization. Dear friends, it is not easy. You cannot practice two weeks of yoga and say, "I am self-realized." Or practice for ten years and say, "I am a master, I am self-realized, I have no fear," and then suddenly a snake comes and claws at your thigh—will you remain peaceful? You will run away. Why is the ātmā running away? So it is not easy, my dear, to attain self-realization, to come to that point of origin. Āyurveda: "Veda" means knowledge. The first mantra in Āyurveda speaks of the valuable herbs we have, but we do not know them. We walk on them, we destroy them. Those herbs are there; they can save our life, but we do not know. There was a yogī named Gauraknāth, many thousands of years ago. He had cancer on his back, and many things were tried but it would not heal. After 25 years, he was thinking, "What kind of bad karma do I have? What have I done? Why can’t this cancer go away?" Beside him, where he had his fireplace and always sat, a plant had been growing for many years. That herb said to Gauraknāth, "Gurujī, why don’t you use me? In ten days, your cancer will go away." He smiled. "Where have you been before? For twenty-five years you were silent. Now this disease is going away, and you say you will cure it?" But alright. He took a little branch, made a paste, applied it to his back, and in ten days the cancer was completely gone. In Kali Yuga, cancer is one of the most terrible diseases. Many great, strong people suddenly lose the joy of their life. But there are herbs. One thing I must tell you: I am not an Āyurvedic doctor. You must search for a qualified Āyurvedic doctor; we have many in India. To become an Āyurvedic doctor, one must study for twelve years. First, you must learn Sanskrit, just as in allopathic medicine you learn Latin. After learning Sanskrit, you study the science. There is a story, a real one, of a student who came to a master of Āyurveda. The student said, "Master, I want to learn Āyurveda. Can you accept me as your student?" The master said, "Okay, I give you one duty. Go and bring me some plant—anything from vegetation, trees, bushes, herbs, roots, leaves—that has no value at all, that is not valuable." So the student traveled everywhere: to cacti, carnivorous plants, plants in water, in the desert. He asked local people, "What is this plant good for?" Someone would say, "For this disease, for that disease." There was one plant that was very poisonous; it could kill you. But for a certain disease, you had to apply it on your skin, and skin cancer would disappear. He wrote, drew, and noted the names of the plants. After six years, he returned to the master and said, "Master, I failed. I was not successful." The master asked, "Why?" He said, "I traveled in all four continents, but I could not find any herb, any vegetation, which is not useful. Master, if you do not trust me, here is my work." He showed the names and pictures of the plants. The master said, "You have finished your Āyurveda course. You have become an Āyurvedic doctor." That student’s name was Charak Ṛṣi. The Charak Saṁhitā is the main book for Āyurveda. So if you go to India, buy a few books and bring back two bags full of medicines, and then say you are an Āyurvedic practitioner, it is dangerous. If any wrong doctor practices medicine, they will land in jail. Similarly, there are strict rules for Āyurveda—twelve years of study, my dear. Āyurveda is now very famous in Europe and everywhere, but we do not have many such doctors. However, there are now professors in universities of Āyurveda. If you have an interest to learn, we can provide you, through the embassy of India, an authentic Āyurvedic doctor. Āyurveda is a kind of diet. We should eat for living, not live for eating. But now we are living for eating. We eat without thinking, becoming slaves to our taste, to our mouth. Once we swallow, past the vocal cords, we do not know what taste it is. We do not know how it will affect our glands, organs, circulation, brain, and many other things. Therefore, we should first know what we eat and how it will affect us. This means you wake up. You were sleeping before. Now you love your body, you respect your body. Then, through practice, you awaken the dormant energies within our body—our nervous system, glands, organs, joints, etc. Truly, yoga can give you the best health and long life. Yoga in Daily Life has been here since 1973. I have been in this city many times. That time I had a black beard, not so white; only that is the difference. Millions of Czechoslovakians have been practicing yoga in their life, and they continue to practice and teach. But one thing we should know: tons of theory are nothing compared to a gram of practice. About an hour ago, I met a gentleman, a very young one—very young, 96 years old. He told me a story. Professor Karuṇā brought him to me, and he told me he is evidence of what I am talking about. So maybe he will tell us something, because second-hand is not good; first-hand is good. If you allow me to take a little more time, perhaps we can invite this gentleman to speak for a few minutes. [The gentleman speaks:] "I am very happy. I hope I can be heard. I am very happy that I could talk to Swāmījī, because for me it is a great event in my life. I was always very interested because in our family there has always been an interest that the world should be a better place. After the terrible war and all the difficult times my generation had in this world, meeting Swāmījī was like the opening of a new journey. I was over 60 years old; now I am almost 95 years old, and I still feel very happy about the life around me. Though there are many things which are not suitable, not human—the things which are happening are not human. But I believe that the people who have a new perspective in their life, thanks to Swāmījī, those will be the people who will keep the world, who will save the world. Because the world is beautiful, we belong to the sunlight of the world, no matter winter or summer, and I would wish that this beauty of the world would go on. And I would like to wish Swāmījī long life, so that he can bring love all over the globe. He overcame some disease that he should have... No, I have some hereditary illness. My blood pressure is insufficient. And yoga has helped me very much. I practice every day. My whole morning is about yoga and what yoga has brought to me concerning my lifestyle. Also, the physical exercises so that my body is flexible, but also being able to face life’s problems. I am of the older generation, but I am also a member of a nation which has brought something to the world. And I would like to continue this. Because our civilization is very interesting, very historical, and also the lesson of history, the message from history. To all of you, I would like to wish you good health and the ability to face life and to struggle for a better life. And to Swāmījī, I would like to say, I’m looking forward to meeting you again. Thank you." This is the work of 35 years. Comparing his life when he was sixty-six and now, as he said, he practices every day—abhyāsa, abhyāsa, kaunteya, abhyāsa. God Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna, who was learning archery, "Practice, practice, practice makes perfect." It is not only about teaching others; you have to teach yourself also. So be aware of your nourishment. Nowadays, people consume lots of meat. It is said that per day, billions of animals are killed, including fish. Many animals are kept in small rooms, and we do not know what disease an animal has. They have mental diseases too, infections too, and when they are slaughtered, these remain in the meat and enter the body of the one who eats it. Before an animal is killed, the animal knows. In 1977, one of my disciples, a doctor who passed away last year named Vera Dolezalová—she was a translator for me—told me a story. In Russia, they made an experiment with animals. One rabbit gave birth to three babies. After 10 days, they took the babies to different areas, about 50-100 km away. They killed one baby while it was eating grass. That mother rabbit jumped, put the grass out of her mouth, and did not eat for two days. After 20 days, they killed the second one. The same thing happened; the mother rabbit was looking in different directions. A mother is a mother. You know the pain of a mother. The father also shares it, but it is said blood is thicker than water. The mother is the creator; she gave her body to the child. Then they killed the mother rabbit, and the small baby, which was about one month or one and a half months old, was jumping, falling down, and very nervous, its heartbeat racing. This was an experiment published in a Russian magazine. So any animal knows beforehand through its instinct. We do not know when an earthquake will come, but dogs, cats, cows, and birds know. So when an animal knows it will be killed, a kind of fear appears throughout its body—in the flesh, muscles, blood, and nerves—and then it is killed. If we know a family member is killed somewhere, how sad and angry we are; we go to the police. But these innocent creatures, to whom should they complain? Where should they go? They feel the pain. It is said, "My mother’s will can’t do anything against it, but her heart will curse you." That curse affects our body, emotions, mind, and soul. Earlier I spoke about creation. There was, let us say, a cosmic parliament. So many jīvas, souls, had developed. Where should they go? How do they come to this earth? If they just lie like a stone, the souls would only have heaviness for the earth. They must do something. How will they come back without performing some karma, some action? You cannot go forward or backward. Good karmas lead you to liberation; bad karmas lead to hell. God cannot always clean your karmas. So they said, "Okay, what should we do?" Agnidev, the fire god, said, "I will enter their body as fire." What does that mean? Jāṭharāgni—digestive fire. What will they digest? Such a burning in the stomach that they will eat anything. When you are very, very hungry, even one-week-old bread without butter or cheese tastes wonderful because of that jāṭharāgni fire. They said, "Very good." But some asked, "What will they eat?" Then it was said, "Jīva jīva bhakṣate"—life will eat life. That is sin. That is why they will go and come back, go and come back. Then how will they get liberation? So we create one more rule: a human should not eat other creatures. Therefore, grains, nuts, milk, honey, fruits, etc.—vegans, now the vegans begin. This is how we cannot compare human food with animals’ food. Āyurveda has many treatments. Unfortunately, some Āyurvedic texts also suggest some fish, but this subject we will take up next time. So yoga is for you. About 22 years ago, I was in Washington and New York. Yoga in Daily Life is there also, everywhere. One of the persons sitting here was with me then. We went to an old age home. There was a 102-year-old lady there, and she was teaching yoga. She showed me a picture of her master, who was in New York teaching yoga. She was 102 years old, active like him. She said her master told her, "You have yoga. Use it or lose it." So you have yoga. It does not cost you anything, except one or two hours of your time. You will enjoy your life—a long life, a healthy life, a happy life. I wish you all the best. Please practice Yoga in Daily Life. There is no competition, no challenge; it is just for your well-being. And you can give this to your people for the well-being of the Czech people, to protect other creations and vegetation. You know, bees are dying. Your country, as I said, is a land of milk and honey. Milk is manipulated with pesticides. Honeybees are also dying. To this day, no scientist has been born who can make honey like a honey bee makes honey. And no scientist can make even one drop of milk or blood that can compare with your blood. And in our blood, from generation to generation, over hundreds of years, it finds its way into your body. So God is God. We cannot become God, but we can become devotees of God. And God will liberate us. I wish you all the best. God bless you. Thank you for coming and listening. If there was something you did not like, forgive me. God bless you. Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. Ādi Om. Thank you.