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Part 1: Yoga, Purity, and the Power of Satsaṅga: A Śivarātri Discourse You know what is Śambhu? Come on, tell. But do you know what is Śambhu? Swayambhu. Śambhu is a little dialect. Swayambhu. Swayambhū means? Self-made. Self-made. That could also be. He who manifested himself, who has no mother, no father, he is the first one. Oṁkāra bindu saṁyuktaṁ. He is that Oṁkāra, nādarūpa parabrahma. The Vedas say it: nādarūpa parabrahma. If you want to know Parabrahma, is that resonance? Akāra, Ukāra, Makāra. These three: A, U, M, Oṁ. That Nāda Bindu. That Bindu means dot. It begins, or it resonates, from the center of the universe. There, out of that sound comes the light, Jīvan Jyoti, Jīvan Jyoti, the Light of life, the flame of life, then appears Śiva, Svayaṃbhū. Bhajans, whatever we sing, are the essence of the Vedas and Upaniṣads, and the knowledge, the wisdom of the Ṛṣis. Yoga is good. But what we do, āsanas and prāṇāyāmas, concentration—this is more on the physical level. It keeps the body healthy, the mind concentrated, relaxed; these are anti-stress techniques. But finally, we have to go through that science of spirituality, in which we can learn something—we have to surrender. And we have to achieve that level of our consciousness, awareness. What Śūradājī said: “Oh God, please, don’t notice my mistakes. Samadṛṣṭi He Nāmatī Āro, because you are the equal-vision one.” Gandhiji said, “We hate the sin, but not the sinner.” This is coming from Surdas. “Sam drasṭī he nām tī āro, cāhe tū pār karo, O Lord. If it is your will, you will let me cross the ocean of ignorance. If you want, I will go through the ocean of unconsciousness.” Moment. First he sings, then you, or he will be silent and you sing. So he will repeat always twice. So first he will chant alone, and then we will chant together. Then he will sing again alone, and then we will sing; we will follow him. So be a follower, okay? Don’t fall over. Praśam. So, practicing the āsanas, practicing the prāṇāyāma, and practicing relaxation, this balances our body, mind, and our concentration. It is true. It is said, health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health. So if we want to achieve mokṣa, then this jīvātmā, this soul, has to be in the human body. There is no difference in the jīva between humans and other creatures. But fortunate, blessed, is that jīva which manifests in a human body. Though this body is also mortal, naśvara śarīra, the mortal body. But still, the jīva could achieve that mokṣa through the qualities of the humans, to work on their past karmas. It is not easy to complete or purify the karmas in one life. In the spot of the impurities, the impurities of what we call the negative activities, karma, and it is on the level of the consciousness that affects the jīva. There is another layer of the action, the karmas. Where there is action, there is a reaction. And a reaction has an action. So we take both kinds of karma upon us: our action and our reaction. How long will we work to purify our karma? In just these few decades, our life is not enough. And now, in this modern world, in this kind of culture which is developing, day by day, we take in more pollution, different kinds of pollution. But the pollution of the desires, many different kinds of desires—many, many desires, which are physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, etc. Therefore, the ṛṣi surrenders to... Śūrdhajī. Now, I can’t manage myself. Self, only if by Thy mercy, O Lord, You can liberate me. But in this human body, we have to come and do something. So, āsanas and prāṇāyāmas balance our body and balance the five tattvas, but then, where we need again the discipline. That’s why Patañjali puts right first in the Patañjali Yoga Sūtra. Athaḥ Yoga Anuśāsanam. Yoga begins with discipline, Anuśāsanam. Why didn’t he say yoga begins with Anuśāsanam? Why did he say “Athaḥ”? And “Athaḥ” means “just now.” So don’t think, “Tomorrow I will begin my yoga exercise.” Tomorrow I will do my sādhanā. Who has sinned tomorrow? In India, sometimes people write in a small village shop, “Today, pay cash; tomorrow, you can borrow.” So, what comes the next day? Again, he said, “Today.” So there are only two days of life, only today. One day was yesterday, and the second is today. No one can or has seen tomorrow. Tomorrow is like a horizon. The closer you go, the farther the horizon moves. Therefore, this mortal body and human thoughts cannot achieve that level of higher consciousness. So, purity. Spirituality means purity, crystal clear. Physical, mental, social, and spiritual purities. So, the second point comes: the nourishment. Sāttvic nourishment according to Āyurveda. Every word which is given in the Vedas or in Sanskrit is very scientific. And so, Veda. What is Veda? Just that knowledge. Āyurveda, so the knowledge of life. What is the meaning of the knowledge of life? It is to balance and maintain a healthy life. A táplálék, a mozgás, these three can balance our life, can keep our body healthy, and we can prolong our life. But it doesn’t matter how long your life will be. Have you worked spiritually on something inside? So, Patañjali said first, “Atha yoga anuśāsanam”—not tomorrow, just now. But further, he said, though you will have a discipline in everything, you have to have control of the mind and thoughts. Citta vṛtti nirodha. The vṛtti, the vṛtti is something that makes us happy or unhappy. Now we are sitting, and everyone has a different vṛtti. Maybe someone is talking mentally with someone, imagining someone, remembering someone, or thinking about business, family, etc. Or more other vṛttis. So vṛtti is a mighty energy in our body. That vṛtti can change our entire way of life. So, citta vṛtti nirodha—therefore citta is the consciousness. In our awareness, in our consciousness, which kind of waves of thoughts are moving? That will be effective in our life. Therefore, Śuddha Vṛtti, Sāttvika Vṛtti. So in Āyurveda, this is the sāttvic nourishment. So, Yoga and Āyurveda, these are the two wings to fly for this Jīvātmā to the Brahmaloka. So our great ancestors, the ṛṣis and saints, put the essence of knowledge and sādhanā in the form of poems, or what we call bhajans. And the poem we call Doha. Doha means two. Do, where there is a question and answer, both. And sometimes the answer is in yogic language. Often we don’t understand. But for that we need a Brahmajñānī. All who understand who sit near the master. What we call the Upaniṣad. “Up” means near, and “ṣad” means a disciple. Those disciples who are sitting near the holy feet of the Master. And then, learning that Brahmajñāna, then it is said, that Vairāgya comes. So God, it is said, Abuhamma has got that taste, that experience. So, we have no appetite for worldly things. So these bhajans, what we sing, they are giving us inspiration. Inspire us, give us clarity, and we begin to do our sādhanā. But again, without yoga. But yoga is not āsanas and prāṇāyāmas. Yoga is divine. Therefore, it is said, “Yoga Karma Sukhoshalam,” as the Bhagavad Gītā says. Yoga Karma Sukhauśālam, so your yoga sādhanā will be successful while doing seva, niṣkāma, the selfless service. If you give someone a gift, if you give your friend a present, that is a selfless gift. But after a few years, that friend is not your friend, and you will say, “Remember, I gave you something, and you were not thankful at all.” That means your gift was not selfless. When you give, you have no more right to take back. And if you ask for taking back, that karma will be very hard for you. So, renunciation. Enter the kingdom of the Lord through the gate of sacrifice. So we shall learn to sacrifice. Gurujī said, “Enter the kingdom of the Lord through the gate of sacrifice.” So, then, peace and bliss, the result of the satsaṅga, these are Holy Gurujī’s words. Peace and bliss, that we can only get through the satsaṅga. There are two paths, two directions in human life: Utthāna and Patana. Utthāna means achievement, development, progress. And Patañjali is disaster, destruction. If someone begins to have the company of people who are using or abusing a lot of drugs, then you see, maybe that person has a good heart, there is nothing to do, but life is destroyed. And Patana and Utthāna, these are two leaves of one seed, when the seed is sprouting. So the root is in one. And that is called Saṅgha, with whom you are living, the society, the kind of people you are living with. So, that saṅgha, it is, jaisā kare saṅgh vaisā lage raṅg—what kind of community you will have, that kind of habit, a color you will take. As you eat, so shall your mind be; the kind of food you eat, like that will be your thinking. Jaisī bole bānī, vaisā pīye pānī. What kind of liquid you drink, like that you will speak. So Āyurveda says sāttvic. Now, the Saṅgha, there is only one point, one place. So if we put one word before the Saṅgha, it is written “Ku,” “Ku Saṅgha”—bad society, that will destroy your whole life. Or we write before Saṅgha a Sat, Sat means the truth, so it becomes satsaṅga. So through the satsaṅga, we achieve that highest level of consciousness. And maybe this is the last life. We will come to the Brahmaloka. So yoga is the essence, the knowledge in the words and teaching of the masters. So today is Śivarātri, we are celebrating. We will have an evening talk again, something, bhajans, translations of Alakhpurījī, and Śiva’s bhajan and āratīs, but as Kṛṣṇānandjī... But we will have a very dear guest, he’s representing India, you know, according to now this modern politic. So when someone comes from the embassy, it means the whole of India is here today. So may it come, our Excellency the Ambassador, and the whole Embassy family. So today we have here with us our very dear friend and brother, Vijaya Khanduja. And we welcome him. So our new ambassador was here. Cultural Secretary was here last time. And this time is our first secretary. He took his precious life at that time and came. So, I think the floor is his. Now he will give us some good ideas and good messages about India, yoga, and their life. So, Vijayjī, the floor is yours. Vijay Khanduja then spoke: Good morning. I wish you a good day. Thank you very much, Swāmījī, Pūjya Gurudevjī. It’s a pleasure for me to be here to represent the embassy. Ambassador Mr. Rahul Chhabra sends his greetings. He personally could not be here. He had been with you last year, I believe. But it’s a pleasure to be amongst all these divine souls. And on a day which is being celebrated, which is an auspicious day according to India, the Mahāśivarātri. You know, Lord Śiva is also known as Lord Maheśvara. Part 2: Embracing Unity and Light: Reflections on Cultural Exchange and Spiritual Wisdom To be personally here amongst these celebrations is like celebrating with divinity himself. Guru Maheśvarānandajī, Guru Mahāśvarānanda Jī, to be honest, I am in a quandary. I don’t know what to speak to you. You are all so divine, having followed and remained close to Gurujī. This is the first time I am meeting him. You have an encyclopedia of knowledge actually in front of you, and I am impressed you are making good use of it. Frankly, I should have come and sat there to receive knowledge. But now that I represent the embassy, the honorable ambassador, and the government of India, it is my duty to offer some musings, some thoughts, and exchanges with you. So let me begin with something mundane, what we do in our everyday life. Of course, you are more elevated; you are doing much more. The job of the embassy is to foster good exchanges at all political levels and to ensure there is no friction in the relationship, so the relationship stays friendly. Those of you who have been following developments will know that last year was a very important year. We had a very high-level visit: the honorable Vice President of India visited Hungary. We also had the visit of a culture minister from India, and the foreign minister from here went to India. In the economic and commercial field, we have a great deal of investment here and a strong trading relationship. We have good educational exchanges: the Government of India gives scholarships to Hungarian nationals, and Hungary gives scholarships to Indian nationals. But I think one of the most important aspects of the relationship is the people-to-people contact, the cultural part. As Krishnanandajī mentioned, we celebrated the International Day of Yoga over the last two years. We celebrated it in ten cities, not just the International Day of Yoga, but also the cultural festival. We named it the Ganga Danube Cultural Festival, and we hope to continue celebrating it in many more cities. These events provide an idea to people who have not come into contact with Indian culture as to what Indian culture truly is. It is organizations like Yoga in Daily Life and other present groups, which work day in and day out to represent Indian culture, that make the difference. So, to that extent, Parampūjī, Gurujī, all of you—you represent Indian culture, you are the ambassadors of India more than what we represent in the Indian embassy. Parampurujā, Gurujī, and all of you represent India better than we do in the Great Monastery. In India, in ancient days, knowledge used to be imparted in the same way it is being imparted here. It was called Guru-Śiṣya Paramparā. As a small child, the child would be sent, and he or she would attain knowledge not just in spiritual matters but also in worldly matters. All subjects—whether mathematics, sciences, or chemistry—would also be taught. It would begin with “What is this? What is external?” But it would also include “Who am I?”—the journey inside. So it was a very holistic arrangement, not just education devoid of morality. No wonder India was at its glory at that time. Gradually, of course, we had the Middle Ages when civilization declined a little. We had governments represented by different religions that did not respect and value the traditional knowledge we had. So the prestigious universities that had come into being in India—Takṣilā University, Nālandā University—all faced decline. Our holy books were destroyed. Knowledge declined. We also had the period when the British ruled us. This too didn’t help, because the focus was only on education about the outside world. So while we produced engineers and doctors, this education has been continuing since that time. The disastrous effects became visible: the division of education from morality, the basis of values, led to corruption and all sorts of negative tendencies. However, this knowledge could never be completely destroyed. Many religious and spiritual organizations kept working. And this was centuries-old knowledge that had come down to us, so it was ingrained in our psyche. After independence, it came out into the open again. Gradually, there has been more and more awareness about it. The present government is doing a great deal to revive all this traditional, ancient knowledge. You are aware that the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Śrī Narendra Modi, in his very first address to the United Nations General Assembly in 2014, proposed that there should be an International Day of Yoga. That is how it came about, and it was very enthusiastically adopted by the world community. I think it was a resolution adopted in a record number of days and supported by a record number of countries. This means the world itself had been seeking this. There has been awareness all over the world about Indian knowledge and culture. And again, thanks to the efforts of organizations such as Yoga in Daily Life and Swamiji. Hungary itself has something like two hundred yoga schools, which makes our task much easier. It is because of this awareness about Indian culture that we enjoy a good friendship with Hungary. We are working with the government of Hungary to secure recognition of Ayurveda at an early date. During the visit of the Vice President of India, the matter was taken up at the highest level, and there was an immediate positive response from the government, from the Prime Minister of Hungary himself. I am also glad to announce that just about a month ago, the University of Miskolc announced it is starting a two-year program in Ayurveda for doctors and other medical practitioners. We have created a chair of Āyurveda at the University of Debrecen, and there is a proposal to establish a European Institute of Ayurvedic Sciences, very much in Hungary. All these, as far as we in the government are concerned, are the little efforts that we can make. Some of you may be aware that in India we have created a separate ministry called the Ministry of Āyush. AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy. So all those traditional systems that we had in India are being actively revived. There is a great deal of support for all these programs, not just in India, but all over the world. The government of Switzerland has also recognized Ayurveda, in fact, in its complete entirety in Europe, and we hope this will be an example for other European countries to also recognize it. So the effort must go both ways. One is the worldly effort, and one is the internal spiritual effort—the message that Gurujī is propagating. The message has to reach everybody. People are waiting for it. They want to get rid of negative tendencies, but they don’t know how. You would be aware that the word Guru itself consists of two basic root words in Sanskrit: Gu means darkness, and Ru means light. So the guru is the one who brings you from darkness to light. You know, the sun is shining beautifully today. Even if the sun were not shining, suppose there were walls all around us—would we know whether there is sun or not? We wouldn’t know. It’s only through glass, through a window, through a door that the light comes in. That is the role the Guru plays. The Guru makes us aware of the innate unity, the divinity that exists all around us. Otherwise, we don’t treat anybody as a human being. Not just others, we don’t even have respect for ourselves. But when the divinity dawns, when the awareness comes, then we elevate even a stone to the level of God. This is what all of you have to do. You have to become a guru to somebody, bring someone to the path so that this awareness dawns and negativity goes. We develop respect for each other and for each country. Unless everybody is happy in society, we cannot be happy. It is one individual who does not have peace inside who creates violence in the entire society. We think we are separate; we take care only of those things we consider our own, personal. If we have one family, one child, we think “he is my child,” and we take care of him. We take care of our brothers and sisters because we add that “my” to it: my brother, my sister—my parents, my organization. When we expand that “my” to include the whole world, then we take care of the whole world. In India, in ancient days, there was a beautiful saying: Vasudhaiva Kuṭumbakam. India always treated the whole world as one family. And it was not just a concept, not something devoid of reality. This is the reality. When we wake up, we know this is the reality. A disturbance in one part of the world creates a disturbance in another part. If there is an economic downturn in one part, there is an economic downturn in the other. So we cannot simply seal our borders, lock our houses, and think we are secure. If we really want to be secure and happy, we have to spread this peace and happiness to everybody around us. In fact, the Śiva Tattva—today we are celebrating Mahāśivarātri—the Śiva Tattva itself means the eternal energy that has been present, that is present, in all of us. So we just have to make others become aware of this Śiva Tattva, so that we all treat each other as one family, and there is no duality, no two. Once again, my greetings to all of you, and obeisance on this happy occasion of the celebration of Mahāśivarātri. Thank you very much, Gurujī, for giving me this opportunity. I am honored to be here. I would like to share a few brief remarks. One is about our dear sister, whose name is Odil. She is Viśvagurujī’s disciple, an Ayurveda student with the support of the Indian government in India, and she might be following us through the webcast in Gujarat. The other thing I would like to mention is that Vishwagurujī, our dearest Gurujī, has established the Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda World Peace Council, which holds special consultative status with the UN ECOSOC. We should thank Swamiji that yoga can reach humanity and individuals through the means of the World Peace Council. I would also like to thank our dear guest, and I would like to convey the chocolates to his wife and the children of the family. Pūṣṭi vātanām urvaru kāmya vandanāt mṛtyur mukṣīr māmṛtāt. Oṃ tryambakam yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam. Urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt.