TV Channel

Respected Vishwagurujī, dear Swāmīs and Sādhīs, dear brothers and sisters, and all who are following us through the internet, welcome. It has been only 24 hours since we gathered here yesterday evening, yet it feels as though we have been together for many days. While attending satsaṅg and listening to discourses on mantras and gurus, one loses the feeling of time—and time is very precious. So, I will stop now and ask our dear Viśvagurujī to take over. Good evening, dear ones, sisters, brothers. Welcome to you all. Today is a beautiful day. It is a new moon day. Yesterday was a dark night, a dark moon, and today is the new moon. Tomorrow, the crescent moon will be visible for darśana. To see the first moon is the symbol of the darśana of Śiva, for that moon is a reflecting ornament upon Śiva's forehead, within his jaṭā. To see the new moon carries a great blessing. If one can see the twelve crescent moons, one will attain a siddhi. But unfortunately, it is sometimes cloudy, so it is not easy to see the new moon for twelve consecutive months. Yet, every third year there are thirteen full moons, which also means thirteen new moons. Where this occurs, there is definitely prosperity. Of course, do not try to see it on a telephone; it should be up there in the space. The moon is nectar. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said the moonlight brings nectar into the vegetation. The sun, of course, has a great effect on vegetation and fruits, but the proper taste of those fruits or vegetables comes from the moonlight. In meditation, you should try to see first the new moon. In Islam, there are great meanings attached to seeing the new moon; they have certain festivals and only eat after sighting the moon. We must observe every day what changes come in our life. This is also a siddhi of many yogīs. Our left nostril represents the new moon, or the moon—Śiva. Śiva is the creator of yoga. He gave all the techniques, kriyās, yantras, and mantras; everything comes from Śiva. Śiva has many, many meanings. It must not be only in the form of a human body, but it manifests in many ways: in the moon, in the sun, in the clouds, in the water, in the wind, and so on. When you wake up early in the morning, you should first say, "Oṁ Śiv, Śiv, Śiv." When you wake up, you must first greet Śiva. Oṁ, Śiv, Śiv, Śiv. In this way, you remove the obstacles that await you that day. Repeat Śiva's name five times. That is all. And when you touch water for the first time in the morning, you should also say, "Oṁ Śiv Śiv…" Water is very soft and gentle, yet it has the power to break rock. Yes, water has great power. When we first touch water—in the bathroom or anywhere—it is as if new life comes. We take water in our hands and thank God: "Thank you, God, for this gentle water that can come and touch my skin." When we put this water on our face, it awakens our awareness, our consciousness, and our circulation. So water is something great for us. Every one of the five elements is very, very important for us. Fire is our life. If our temperature goes down, we are in danger; if the temperature goes too high, our life is in danger. The same is true for earth and space. Prāṇa comes through the air; if there is no air, we cannot live. Within these five elements are two strong powers: the sun and the moon. They are in our Iḍā and Piṅgalā, and this is called Svara Yoga. There is a book written about Svara Yoga, about 200 pages or more in Sanskrit, though I have forgotten its name. In Svara Yoga, there are two meanings. 'Svara' is also resonance, melody, like what we call a rāga. When we touch a key on the harmonium or piano, that is a svara. Inhalation and exhalation are also svara. We know that for a certain time the left nostril flows, and then it changes to the right nostril—Iḍā and Piṅgalā, Moon and Sun. This is the life energy in Svara Yoga. With the practice of Svara Yoga, the flow of your svara, your prāṇa through your nostrils, will give you instructions: what to do, what not to do, when to go, when not to go. There are many techniques in this science, this knowledge. Thus, yoga is a science of body, mind, soul, and our ātmā. It must not be that you do only physical yoga exercises; there are many, many other techniques. There is also a sādhanā in eating. When you eat your two or three meals—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—we call this the Annadevatā, the food god. This food god is the grains, seeds, vegetation, milk, water, and salt. When we eat, it is a ceremony. We should look at the food, hold our hands, and say the mantra. This Brahman is coming from Brahman, giving is Brahman, eating is Brahman, and offering is Brahman. This is your everyday worship, for this nourishment is the source of our life. Many sādhakas, practitioners, yogīs, and people keep mauna, silence, while eating. It is a great sādhanā, a great practice, an anuṣṭhāna. You make a kalpa to fulfill something. In life, we have many different wishes. We have as many wishes as we have indriyas, as many desires as we have. We desire wealth, health, a nice house, good health, a good husband, a good wife, a good child, good studies for our child, or spiritual energy—many, many things. For that, you make a saṅkalpa. You have to offer something. Simply, a man might say, "You give me money, and I will work for you. I will repair your bathroom." But he will ask for a certain amount of money. For these wishes, you also have to offer something. Nothing can be given for free. God said, "I gave you everything: good hands, good legs, a good brain, good language, etc. Now you should do it. Don't depend on me. I will bless you, but you have to work yourself." Similarly, for our wishes, we have to give something. Respect the food. We pray before eating, thanking God for giving us this. There are many, many things one can do. It sounds very easy, but it is not easy. When you get food on your plate, you should have water nearby. Water is Jal Devatā, the water god. Then you will say your mantra loudly or mentally. This is to attain a siddhi. Then we perform gau-grās: you set aside a piece of chapati or something. In our Hindu dharma, this is for the cow, but it doesn't matter—you leave some food for any creature, for ants. It means you give first, and then you eat. It is said the real yogī always goes for bhikṣā, for given food. One should see how to do this properly. For example, the people hanging the curtain should lower it half a meter. The people doing the curtain for the video, and those sitting down there, should move away. Just as you do in your ceremony, make everything exact. Those sitting near the curtain should move to the other side, and the curtain should be hung a little lower, so that when you eat, you give more to the animals. Everything must be proper. Then also offer the water; water is also an offering. So what do we do? I look to myself, you see? If the people hanging the curtain do not understand, they should open their minds. Yes, tilt it down. I am giving you a lecture. So, when food is served, it is a siddhi. If you want to have a siddhi, it is very easy, but you have to do it properly. There is no compromise. There should be no gaps in the curtain. Or, just as there must be air in your car's tire, when the food is served, we take water in the right hand. If you do not have a right hand, of course, you can use the left. It is not that it must be the right hand. Some people tell their children, when they write with their left hand, "No, write with the right hand." You are disturbing the brain waves if you change writing from the left hand to the right. It is said the most intelligent and good are left-hand writers, but it is a matter of social behavior. They always eat with the right hand. When you are sitting at a dining table and your hands are down, it is not good character. Therefore, hands should be on the table; otherwise, someone could strike you. So, in the same way, they say to eat with the right hand, and so on. In some traditions, they will not marry a man if he is left-handed. Girls will say, "I don't want to marry this man." But I have deleted this law and protocol regarding left and right. Not under the table. So we take some drops of water in the right hand, hold it, and say the mantra once. That is enough. Then we move our hand over the food like this, drink the water first, and then eat. Annadevatā, the food is life. Now it is blessed. It is offered to God. Now, no more talking. Also, do not ask, "Please, can I have one more chapati?" You can give an indication for water or more food. Until you finish eating, do not talk. Concentrate on your food. Some people take food only once and will not take a second time, even if they are hungry. This looks easy, but it is principle, discipline; it is very hard. Even if you are on an aeroplane, you should not speak then. There are so many principles for a human, not for animals. And animals are also doing their techniques; we do not know. We had one dog that fasted once a week. On that day, when we gave him chapati, he would take it, put it somewhere, and eat it the next day. Really. So animals also have certain feelings in their life. This practice is very easy and good; your wish can be fulfilled. There is also one anuṣṭhāna, a sādhanā, that girls perform. In a certain month, they go to a certain kind of tree, perform pradakṣiṇā, and offer a little water. A few girls go together, singing a nice song, but inside they hold the wish for a good husband. Do not look at the outer beauty of a wife or husband, but see the beauty of the inner feelings. Nowadays, people look only at how beautiful someone is, and then they make themselves more beautiful. But when evening comes and water washes it away, they look completely different. So beauty is the heart. Beauty is your attitude, your behavior, your quality. God gave you so much beauty that is within, not outside. Does any animal choose a partner based on beauty? Animals also have partners and are very faithful, but they do not look in that way; they look the inner way. These girls do not talk, of course. They are saying, "Beautiful husband," but they mean a person who is faithful, merciful, and possesses many good qualities—what women wish for. Similarly is the attitude of the man. They will have a lifelong happy life; others will be disappointed. For that, the great sages and the śāstras, the scriptures, have written what to do and what not to do to avoid complications in life. It says that in your eye, the right partner does not appear at any random time. Your husband or wife is already inside you. Wait, it will come. The curtain is getting better. That is called māla, vikṣepa, and āvaraṇa. Māla is impurity, vikṣepa is projection. It is like a veil on cloth, a curtain. That is āvaraṇa. When the curtain is there, we cannot see further. But it can be a beautiful, transparent, nice curtain through which we can see both sides. Some ideas: in yoga, there are many techniques. Today is the new moon. Make a saṅkalpa. Or make one very simple yet powerful saṅkalpa every morning at sunrise. Take water in a pot, like a neti pot, fill it, go to a plant—a tulsī plant or any plant or tree is okay—and pour the water at the plant. Face Sūrya Nārāyaṇa, looking toward the sun. If there are clouds, it does not matter; you should know the sun has risen. Chant the Gāyatrī Mantra once or five times. That is all. Mostly, you see, women are more spiritual. Mostly, women are doing all of this. For good health, for good families, for peaceful families, and so on. The female heart is softer. When a man is angry, his heart is more like a rock. But a woman's heart is like butter. When it is frozen, it is very hard, but very soon it melts. That is why "Mātṛdevo Bhava"—first, God is the mother. So do this pūjā, these things. That is very important. There are many, many different anuṣṭhānas. For one wish, or if you made a mistake, you tell God, "Please, it was my mistake. I will not do it anymore, forgive me," or pray for someone's health. Choose any one fruit. There are many fruits, but choose one to offer for someone or something. Declare that you will not eat this particular fruit anymore in your life. It is very easy, and yet not so easy. When you make a saṅkalpa that you will not eat a certain fruit, that fruit always seems to come to you. It appears in your basket. That is a task for you; that is how your willpower is tested. These are all yogic practices. Yogīs have brought this science; it is a science. But when you have promised, you should not break the promise. Otherwise, double trouble will come. So think it over. Choose a fruit that is only in season for a short time. What more can I tell you? Therefore, this is the new moon, Śiva's day. Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ… Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Har Har Gaṅgī Namaḥ. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya,… Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Har Har Gaṅgī Namaḥ. Oṁ Har Har Gaṅgī Namaḥ. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya,… Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Śaṅkar Bhagavān kī Devadhī Devalak Purījī, Mahādevak Devadhī Dev Dev Purīṣa, Mahādevak Haradī Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī kī Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandjī Bhagavān kī Satya Sanātana Dharma.