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The Path of Discipline: Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna and the Inner Chariot

A discourse on the Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna discipline and mastering the senses.

"You are lucky to be able to practice it. Firstly, it develops your spirituality, bringing peace and balance to body and mind."

"Patañjali said, 'Atha yoga anuśāsanam'—the discipline. Out of a hundred people, perhaps thirty percent will be successful."

The lecturer addresses practitioners, detailing the rigorous three-month Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna involving silence, isolation, and specific dietary rules. He explains that the current practice is a reduced version, emphasizing the need for bodily control (kāya-sthairya) and discipline over the ten indriyas (senses), which he metaphorically describes as horses pulling the chariot of the body. He discusses obstacles like vāsanā (latent desires), shares personal anecdotes about sensory perception, and concludes by encouraging focused practice for the remaining days of the program.

Filming location: Vép, Hungary

Oṁ Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī. Blessings of the Alagpurījī Siddhāpīṭha Paramparā. You have much information about Alagpurījī, and we have spoken a lot about it. I would like to give you more, but first, let me know: who does not know about Ālak Purījī? Please raise your hand. I see; since everyone knows, we can continue. We speak about the Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna. You are lucky to be able to practice it. Firstly, it develops your spirituality, bringing peace and balance to body and mind. It awakens in our consciousness; it awakens our awareness of who am I and what is the aim of my life. Arra ébreszti fel a tudatunkat, hogy ki vagyok, és mi az életem célja. In this sādhanā, which we call such, there are physical, mental, social, and spiritual benefits. Fizikai, mentális, spirituális és társadalmi hatásai vannak annak, amit sādhanának hívunk. This technique involves many, many kriyās within this anuṣṭhāna. It is designed for three months, but hardly any sādhaka can dedicate that time. We have duties in daily life, though some renounce and wish to do it for the full period. That sādhanā is very powerful, effective, and useful. There is also a 24-hour program for one or two weeks, which is not so easy. For many, it can feel like ages. In this sādhanā, we observe complete mauna (silence). For the last 45 years, I have tried to encourage people to keep mauna. I am sorry to say I have failed. People cannot keep mauna, not even half a day. The full practice entails: three months of no mauna, no telephone, no television, no newspapers, no reading any books, not talking to anybody, not touching each other, and sleeping on kuśa grass. It is a beautiful anuṣṭhāna involving many kriyās, where you have good experiences. However, you must have a health certificate stating you are not psychically ill, too emotional, angry, jealous, or moody, as you would disturb others. It is a very beautiful sādhanā, and one day we will do it. I tried to reduce that technique. What you are practicing now is 10% of that sādhanā, and even this 10% is too much for you. This indicates you have not practiced consistently throughout the year. You must first practice to control your body. In our self-inquiry meditation, we call this kāya-sthairya. Kāya-sthairya means the body should not move. You must sit comfortably for one to two hours with no movement and without sleeping. You should sit normally, straight, and relaxed. This is Kāya-sthairya. It requires, first, a very sāttvic diet. No beans except mung or green soy, and no food that creates gas in the stomach. You reduce your meal by 50% and practice half and full butterfly every day for 10 to 15 minutes. It takes time to prepare yourself. That is the beautiful Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna. We will do that sādhanā when our Om Ashram is finished. In a 20-square-meter room, we can keep a maximum of six persons. It will be a beautiful experience. What we can do here also must be disciplined. Patañjali said, "Atha yoga anuśāsanam"—the discipline. Out of a hundred people, perhaps thirty percent will be successful. Seventy percent, sooner or later—within 15 or 25 days—will step out because they did not prepare properly. It is like going to the Himalayas; you must prepare yourself physically well. At that time, you will definitely hear a different nāda, sound. As the Vedas say, nāda rūpa para brahma: that resonance is Brahman, the highest. It awakens in our brain and mind. You will hear ten sounds, which correspond to the ten indriyas: the jñāna-indriyas (senses of perception) and karma-indriyas (senses of action). You will hear a sound inside; you will hear every organ of the body. This means you are dwelling within yourself, in the body. Yes, we are in the body, but we are not aware of it. When you are trained and practiced, the nādas awake. You have so many vṛttis (mental modifications), and it may take years to get rid of them. There are desires in thinking, longing, doing, hiding, etc. These will not let you go inward. This is called vāsanā. Vāsanā is one of the biggest obstacles on our spiritual path. It means different desires. As I spoke yesterday, you should have your own space to sit. If you practice only āsanas in a yoga class without touching, and then you do touch, you have no chance to develop yourself. When you hold someone's hand, the energy or sweat of the person goes into your body and vice-versa. If you are both practicing the same technique, then maybe it can function. But how do you know what I think? And how do I know what you are thinking? Someone may be doing it with you, but in reality, not. This is vāsanā, and energy moves very strongly and quickly. Yesterday, our Yogananda from Maribor—he is not here now—told me something as we talked about fish and how to bring them from a pond to a big lake. He said that if you take a fish and put it immediately in other water, our touch to the body of the fish is like a very hot iron on its skin. Merely touching them in open air causes suffering. So, I learned something. I hope it is true. I have never touched a fish, nor has one touched me—perhaps mistakenly in a swimming pool, but that is different. We should purposely not touch fish. Their skin is different, and our skin is different. Similarly, your sādhanā is not easy. It is like walking through a coal mine for ten kilometers while wearing a completely beautiful white dress. The challenge is to come out without a single black spot. As we walk in the street, talk to someone, shake hands, or hold someone, our spiritual energy is as sensitive as the skin of the fish. How can we develop and progress further? How lucky are those who can at least keep that principle and guard against those vāsanās. The first obstacles are these five jñāna-indriyas and five karma-indriyas. These are called the ten horses. These ten horses are in the chariot of Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes it is said there are five, but the complete set is ten. These five horses in Kṛṣṇa's chariot represent the five karma indriyas. Kṛṣṇa is the mind that controls them, but the mind itself is often not under control. Gurujī wrote a beautiful bhajan: "Oh, my brothers, sādhus. I sat in the chariot, which is a beautiful chariot. Sādhvai, ajab raṭ hamārā." Ajab means wonderful. We cannot value it; we only wonder. That chariot in which I sit—Holī Gurujī said—and we are also sitting in that chariot. Is everybody? Our body is our coach. "Many times I have sat in this chariot. There are ten horses in this chariot. And what a wonderful movement of this chariot. It's beautiful." What is that? That is our life. How gentle and beautiful the life we are leading is. Gentleness. There are no vāsanās. "Thus, Ghoda chales ratme"—those ten horses pull this chariot. "Thus, Ghoda chales ratme, ajab chal apara," and what a wonderful walk, or run, of these horses. This bhajan written by Holī Gurujī is beautiful. Finally, it is said that Gurujī describes many things. Finally comes the viveka (discernment). The Ātmā Rāja Vethiratmai: that King Ātmā is the ruler, and Viveka is his secretary, his advisor. He also puts the light in this chariot—the light of knowledge. So in this chariot, we light that light of knowledge and wisdom: Anadbhaya ujala—endless is the light. Similarly, if we go to this anuṣṭhāna practice and kriyānuṣṭhāna, we must first discover our chariot. But sometimes our chariot is so dirty, dusty, and completely broken. It is stinky; we dare not go in. At that time, what happens? The soul leaves the body and dies. It is said: "How many years I tried to ask my mind, oh my mind, oh myself. I tried for so many years. Finally, I cannot resist, and I cannot hold on further. I leave this chariot, and I am going." I will search for another chariot. I hope I will find something clean, or I will clean it. So, you do so many sādhanās, but why can't you develop? I try a lot, many times, but it always turns in the other direction. For a while, you play at being very spiritual, clean, and fine, but your vṛttis, your thoughts, are different. Our thoughts, which awaken that vāsanā, are invisible, but they are there. If a beautiful flower has a nice smell, you don't see the fragrance, but you sense the beautiful aroma. If it comes with a stink, you know it—like a stink bomb. Some people make a joke and throw it through a window, and within no time there is an unbearable smell. There is a beautiful flower in the forest—in the East, or in Vancouver's Stanley Park. My issue is that I do not smell anything, so do not tempt me. If you bring a good flower or oil and say, "Swāmījī, it's a beautiful smell, look Swāmījī," I say, "Oh yes, but it is like a blind person, born blind, and you tell them, 'How nice is this yellow?'" My yoga dress color is so beautiful, and he said, "Yes, that's all one can't see." One day I asked Holī Gurujī, "Why can't I smell anything? I can smell only one thing, something like camphor." You know, like Tiger Balm headache cream—that strong smell I can feel, that's all. So Gurujī said, "Mahāprabhujī has given you this, so now you have only seven indriyas." I said, "Why not this?" Because you will have to sit many times where there is no good smell—like in airplanes with alcohol, fish, meat, and many things. Many people are happy to get off the airplane because of the smells. I don't feel anything. So Holī Gurujī said it was for my comfort. Don't miss anything. Well, it is what it is. This is what happens with the indriyas; subtle energies come in. You don't see good air or a good smell, but our nose, the indriyas, are very sensitive. So it is said in one bhajan, "Rājā Antaryāmī"—you are the king in this body, your ātmā. "Use kāya nagar kā rājā." Kāya means the body. Nagar means the city. So your body is that city, that big city, and you are the king of this kingdom. You are the king of kings. King of Tukhaya (mind), the senses are your subjects—your mind and ten senses. In certain contexts, we count the mind also as a sense. So, king of mind and senses, these are your subjects. These indriyas are your people, your folk. "Mat kar iskī gulāmī"—do not be the slave of that. "Mat kar iskī gulāmī, yo rājā antaryāmī. Is tāṁme indriyaj das hai"—there are ten senses in this body. Perhaps a perfect yogī can control them, but two you cannot trust: one is passion, and the other is taste. These two are very difficult to control. This is a beautiful bhajan of Swāmī Ācārya Rāmajī Mahārāj. Now, this is a different person, and you are a different person. You have to live with these realities. Otherwise, your husband will not let you in the house. Your wife will not let you come home. The spouse will say, "Go to the forest, search for mushrooms, and cook your own food." So we have to make certain compromises. But in compromise, says Patañjali, there must be discipline. We must have discipline with our indriyas, discipline with everything. Then your achievement is there. Otherwise, we are not capable of sitting for 40 minutes or half an hour without movement. Because you go to sleep late and get up early, after 10 minutes Umapurījī says, "Relax the whole body and your breath." You feel relaxed, but they don't understand what she is talking about. Her voice is soothing, so you say yes. "You like this? Yes. You are relaxed? Yes." We must be aware that certain kinds of food make us "slippery," and that is mostly the case if you eat grains or meat. Any grain, after digestion, produces gas. After drinking half a glass of water, within half an hour this gas rises, and you feel sleepy. If you lean on your chair for ten minutes and sleep, you release the gas. So try to avoid grains as much as you can. A person who eats only vegetables has no bad smell. Animals fed with grains—like pigs—have a bad smell from their coats. But rabbits and deer, which have very efficient digestion, have no bad smell. Their droppings are like mala beads; when dry, you can make a mala, and they are uniform in size. There are many such observations. So, if you wish, you can use milk, butter, and nuts, but not grains and not meat. About 80% of our diseases would not come to us if we ate very natural food. Anuṣṭhāna is very good. If you can follow a two-week anuṣṭhāna, it is like a cleaning. If you do it for one month, it is like what we call kāya kalpa (body rejuvenation). Then you can meditate. There are ten senses in this body, and these senses have ten different sounds within you that you will hear during meditation. When you hear a sound now, it is your body's sounds, your senses, your indriyas. But the eleventh sound—that is from the brahma-randhra—is called Roopaparabrahma. When that sound awakens within us, there is no tiredness, and it is something beautiful. At the last Kumbh Melā, there was one Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara from Avakara. I have known him for a long time. He can perform the perfect Ujjāyī Mudrā, which is called the Khecarī Mudrā. He showed me and said he can do it for even ten hours. He had developed a different taste; now he has only a sweet taste, like amṛta, sweet like honey. He said he could teach me. I said I had to go to Europe. He speaks very well. Our Haripurī, Swāmī Haripurī, was asking me, "Swāmījī, can I learn this?" I said, "Not now." But that mudrā, Khecarī Mudrā—I have written a big book about Khecarī Mudrā. At least with our Ujjāyī Prāṇāyāma and an imitation of Khecarī Mudrā, we can awaken something. It is that which brings about the real kāya kalpa. He said that after doing this Khecarī Mudrā, he has to drink milk with ghee and a lot of sugar or honey. He is strong; he has no diabetes. He said this Khecarī Mudrā needs lots of energy. These are all kriyās of yogīs. When a ṛṣi composed a bhajan: "Suno kechari mudre ki bāte"—Listen about Kecharī Mudrā. "Yogī Janakī Bātre"—She is the mother of yogīs. Like a little baby drinking from the mother, the yogī drinks from the Khecarī Mudrā. You need nothing to eat. Nothing has to be expelled; everything applies to your body. All organs function perfectly. But again, discipline is key. Your vṛtti disconnects you from everything. So control your vṛtti. It will take you years or lives to remove that energy which is not your true energy from your body. What we did here is Yajña or Havan. At present, we are doing it primarily for the ancestors. There are other beautiful things which will come—many good things. So, I wish that your sādhanā will be very good. Now, only five days are left. Please concentrate and practice. Keep distance from bodily touch, at least for these five days. After that, it is your karma, but if you want to achieve something, then think it over. Śrī Divinān Bhagavān, Alak Purījī Mahādeva, Dev Purīṣya Mahādeva, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandī Bhagavān, Kī Jaya. Viśva Guru Paramahaṁsa Svāmī Maestro Ānandhī Guru Deva, Kī Jai.

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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