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The Journey of the Soul: From the Ocean to the Drop

A spiritual discourse using the water cycle as a metaphor for the soul's journey.

"This jīvā, the soul, is on the journey of the eternal."

"When this drop falls into the ocean, the Jīva becomes the Ātmā. This drop becomes the ocean."

Swami Avatarpuri gives a satsang, explaining the soul's separation from and longing to return to the divine source through an extended analogy of evaporation and rainfall. He emphasizes the purifying role of satsang and the Guru, shares anecdotes about introducing mantra in Eastern Europe and criticizes modern chemical pollution and vanity as spiritual impediments, concluding with a call for natural living and collective chanting.

Filming location: London, UK

In one way, we call it the living planet. On the other hand, we call it the mortal world. So there is both birth and death. This jīva, now, is on the journey of the soul. This jīvā, the soul, is on the journey of the eternal. When this soul became an individual energy, that time it separated. Otherwise, it was one with that supreme, one without second. But there is a process, like in the ocean. All is one. But through that, the Sūrya, that the Agni Tattva from the ocean, this edge of fog coming up, that is a separation. That is a separation because from this one, I am one, and now I will multiply. It is that all the māyā of the Sūrya Nārāyaṇa, we call Bhagavān Sūrya Nārāyaṇa. Surya is the sun, and Nārāyaṇa is called Viṣṇu. This, the Sūrya Nārāyaṇa’s attraction, is like a magnet and iron. So, from the Surya, this warmth comes, the prāṇa comes up. As soon as that particle separates from the ocean, it has again the desire to come back. I’m separated, but when will I again come to thee? And this parā is going and going, separation from the ocean. It is down, but that part of that ocean that is going up, individual, very fine, very fine drops, just like a gas, it has no more gravity, but it wants to come back to a gravity, to our earth, when we take a stone, anything. We throw it in the sky, it will again come back to the earth because of the gravity. Similarly, this from the ocean, the jīva is in the water, the soul is in the water. Therefore, in nearly every language, it is said: "Jala hai jīvan." Water is life. "Jaha jala, vaha Jagadīśa." Where there is water, there is God. That is so. Don’t go very far beyond the stars and anywhere. Search again here. Where we are on this, our Earth, going traveling the ocean here near London, from here goes that parā up, and maybe it goes till Australia, and in Australia, heat, and in the middle of Australia. This, as it is, humidity comes down in the middle of the Australia salty earth. Yes, the salt. If there is no salt, we all will die. Salt is very important, but that one which is in the form of the humidity again becomes heavy and comes on the earth, but there is no connection to the ocean. When will I again, when will I again come to my that ocean from where my origin? From there, oh, lucky are you just. Going up, cloud and raining, falling again in the ocean. That each drop of the water, it’s like one drop in our whole palm, one drop of it. And below is the ocean. We are sitting in the boat and have one drop of the water, endless ocean. But this one drop is in our hand. There is distance, but this water said, "When will I become one with thee, oh my Lord?" And this drop is called Jīva. And when this drop falls into the ocean, the Jīva becomes the Ātmā. This drop becomes the ocean. Satsaṅg is very close to that ocean. When we are in the satsaṅg, many, many of our negative, bad karmas will be gone away, and we will come, definitely we will come. We are sitting in the boat. The name of the Gurudeva is like a boat. But those who will sit in this boat of the satsaṅg will come across the ocean. We will come again to that mainland, sir. The ferryman saves them with confidence, with devotion, with belief. If you will sit in this boat of the satsaṅg, Gurū Pārak uttāran hai. That Gurū Dev is a captain, he will bring you on the beach of the soul, and you can get out. So the guru namaja haja today. So three par sardaukar shave the guru parā uttāra, the holy grant, holy book, which we call the Holy Granth. Guru Nānak, he wrote this holy book. He gave us this holy book, and it describes, because the Kali Yuga is coming, maybe the disciple is not like that, like this of the gurus. Therefore, he said, "I put in this book as the guru, that for you it will be from sensory to sensory, that will be in that. That will be your guru. You will find your guru in that." So, in the book it is written, in the Guru Granth finally Guru Nānak said, "This book of the Gurudeva is not a book. The book of the Gurudeva is not a book." This holy book, Rāmāyaṇa, Bible, Quran, don’t take it as a book. So how, what should we, how should we understand this book? So Gurū Nānak Sāhib writes about this book, "Gurū Granth ko jānī," no, understand, realize, accept Gurū. Realize, not only just read your book, and this, no, in this book, what you can get? It is the embodiment of the Gurudev, not one Guru. When you understand, you will find your Guru in this. In whose heart is the truth and devotion, love, no doubts, you will search, and in that you will find what is that guru or what is your guru. So, bhajan, what we are singing, there is a kīrtan. Kīrtan is constantly repeating the mantra in the name of the divine, but that is only one way. There is one way, a highway, and that is the highway, and that you are going on this highway. "Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Rām..." Years ago, God Rāma was incarnated in Hanumanjī. Hanumanjī, wherever he was sitting, he was all the time repeating the name of God, Rām, Rām, Rām. Sometimes, what happens? You feel like this, oh! So when you say, oh! Then there is no Rāma, Rāma. So Hanumanjī was thinking, "That’s not good, but what should I do? The gas comes out, but why? I break the continuity of the name of my Bhagavān, my God, my Lord, my Gurudev." So when he was doing like this, that time he was doing like this, it means, "Rāma, Rāma..." He was doing with the finger, "Ram, Ram." Oh, this is now. You go to India, sitting somewhere. There are few people left now, not all, but they are elderly people, many. So what happens? You are sitting in the Satsaṅg, I am giving a lecture or satsaṅg. All are silent, pin silent. Do you know what the pin silent is? Who doesn’t know, hand up. This is nobody, like, like this. What, in what means the pin’s been silent? Not like. This girl, go your hand like this. Yes, it is the voting like in politics. Okay, thank you, Māṭājī. What is a pin? Silent means okay, so all in the satsaṅg should be so silent that if a little, fine, this paper pin falls down, the person can take it outside. Here, some pins fell down. Okay, that’s called pin silence. It is. Wow, oh my God. What? When Swāmījī was giving a lecture to about a thousand people, pins... and if you don’t like the lecture, and somebody then... One is talking, you go to India. Here is a different, you come to India and they are talking, giving such things. Many people are making, so they’re talking now. Are you? I wish I was very good, and one. Goes out, and one comes out, and you know, yeah, it was nice. How was I? I was in the bank, oh god. The Modiji was putting the money there, but we couldn’t get out now. So, India is something special, so the pin silence is like a dead body. Indians said, "We are awakened, we are awakened, we are alive so differently." Okay, so I must give the Indians also good, and to you also very good. Okay, so when people are sitting and listening to satsaṅg, and the old... A person is sitting and making so, like this and again. This man said, "But the Indian will know that he’s not crazy. He is constantly having the name of God, Rāma." Now, everybody, we shall chant, okay? Ram, Ram,... while inhaling Ram, Ram,... exhaling Ram, Ram,... And how many we are, how many thousands already residing in the name of God Rāma, that today is full of this energy. In 1973, on the third month, March, and the third date of March, so 3-3-3, I don’t know what it is. They invited me for the first time in the socialist countries, Czechoslovakia. And I went far near the borders, somehow, a little like the border of Poland and this. That village, beautiful city, and they told me to give them a lecture. And there were people sitting, about 300 or 400 people. And in Austria, I was there. Sometimes there were seven people, sometimes there were ten people, sometimes there were three people. Maximum, sometimes, was 25 people for a retreat. Wow! So that city’s name is called Opawa, so you should know everything. Well, they told me, who invited me, "Please don’t talk about religion." Don’t speak about God and this, because we have a God, and we have, they said we have a God which we believe, Jesus, okay. But this, but we don’t make a propaganda of our God, so no rest. You can do everything now. I was sitting there first time in Europe, in my life, 300 people in this 300 group, minimum, minimum 30 or 50 big brothers watching. Yes, how nice, how nice. I’m so protected. I felt like the president of my country, that so many guards are there. Why should I think negative? No one will attack on me? They are so much, they are taking care of me there. And then one gave the introduction, "And yoga in their life, Yoga Swamiji, so and so." And then I said, with my habit, "Oh, organizers," but I sent three times. Yes, then I said, "Sri Rām Jai Rām Jai Jai Rām, Sri Rām Jai Rām Jai Jai Rām, Sri Rām Jai Rām Jai Jai Rām, Sri Rām Jai Rām Jai Jai Rām, Sri Rām Jai Rām Jai..." Rām gave the lecture. The yoga person got up and said, "Mister..." Yogī, what did you change? You... Said something? Oh no, and I’m the God? And so I said, "Do good." We are beginning with my lecture. That’s very good. Thank you that you remind me. The arms, is it? Look, my yoga book, "Hidden Powers in the..." Human diet chakras: Manipura chakra. The sound of the Manipura chakra, which is called the solar plexus, that’s called "Ram." Awakening of the energy in the body to gain the energies, is that? I said yes. This mantra means this: each alphabet or each letter of the Sanskrit has a vibration, and there begins the yoga. So, from navel to the heart and vocal cords, it comes to the brain to relax and remove the stress from the whole body. Thank you, sir. It’s very, very nice. I thought it’s something different. I said, "Yes, of course, you were thinking your whole life different, but now you think good." So, this go at home, and you should change. And when, after the lecture, I went out, people were... Standing, and there were also some mercy nuns about. A Catholic nurse was there, some Catholic priest was also there. And when I go outside, everybody’s ringing. So, this name, it must not be the God. And if it is a god, there is nothing wrong. Because they, or we, all believe what God is. They don’t believe in that fanaticism, which is making dualities between humans, my religion, your religion, this is the biggest problem. Otherwise, they themselves, when somebody died, when they had the funerals, they, of course, were praying there. So anyhow, we are not going so far in this. So this energy in the form, this, our soul, which is entering on this earth, and when it’s entering, then there is some kind of luck. Is there coming in the very beautiful place and again comes to the horizon? Or one drop came from here, the ocean, thousands and thousands of kilometers was traveling over the oceans and also, the Sahara sand and this one drop fall on the same. Don’t know where it is, where I am, where I am going. Home, cotton with them, go away. So, where am I from? Where do I go? I’m cotton with them. Jatam, go away. Cut this every day. So now, that drop from the ocean water near the London falls in the... New Zealand is not in Australia. Are you? This is a very big desert. There is no one, no humans, nothing. Only leopards and something. There are many, many of what we call the reptilians. Australia is full of the reptilians, yes? So all who go from that, they are surviving there as a reptilian. They have to live so long, till again maybe that drop will raise up as parā again. It falls on the hot sand, and what happened? Again, steam. Then, have a journey to search somewhere. We need some. So, jala jaha jagadīś, boda jīvot. And there were reptilians, even they don’t know what to drink. There is no water, yes? We are lucky. So much water, so much water. We are happy, thanks to God. And, of course, they also have a lot of water on the coast. That’s it. So it looks like, when you see in Australia with your satellite picture in the night, so only there are some on the... Coast some light somewhere, it’s good. It’s like a man, all hairs are gone, all yes. This is beautiful. That’s what is the beauty of God. So again, so this Jīvātmā, this soul, is levitating, coming back, levitating, coming back to the soul enters again in the Upaniṣad state from the astral body, from the astral form. It comes with the clouds, with the water, and this soul comes down and then comes in the vegetations, and it goes in our bodies. And so is the cycle of the jīvātmā. How does the jīvātmā come in? We know how the jīva is coming in the form of the water, from the liquid. And so that’s why it is called the living planet; Earth is a living planet. Maybe on other planets somewhere we are living, maybe somewhere they find something on Mars or somewhere, or on the moon they say, "Oh, there was some water." We just search. Why don’t you search and save the water here on Earth? Why are you... Searching there so far, yeah. So water is our life, you see. We were fighting for different things, but now we are fighting for the water. And many, many countries, they take water from other countries, but on countries’ water, they are... Saving. Many countries, they don’t want that you dig a water well or you drill a water well because this is our property, this water. Without water, we will not survive at all. So save our water. But what happened? That we polluted the water, polluted the water. Are you washing your hands with soap? And when you go to the bathroom, also, you’re washing here and there and everywhere. I wash your clothes with soap. We wash your dishes with these some chemicals. How much chemicals? How many? Grams of the chemical you are using per day, one hour, one household. Now, how many population in London? How many population is there, please? 8 million? A little less? 1 million less than Australia? Austria? Austria, the whole country, and what about the tourists? How many are landing and taking off again? In there, he throws... Coming many months, how much chemicals? How many? So, let’s say you said about eight. Nine million grams of chemicals, how much is that? How many tons? Nine thousand tons? I don’t know. Tons of the kilometer? Naya, so nine tons? Nine tons? One truck. How many tires must be that nine tons can carry the weight? So we made it very minimum, minimum nine ton per day we are putting this poison and earth into the water. How our water is getting poisoned. This we drink again back, yes, and, you know, water creatures, many are dying. It was in an Austrian newspaper. And they said, in the Danube, there were many fish. But now, many fish are dying. Or they said, because women are using so many, some tablets or what you call? No, no, tablets. Yeah. So, from their urine, water goes into the water channels. And in the river, the fish is drinking that water, and she also can’t get a child, maybe. No eggs. Yes? So how much are we poisoning our earth and our water? One day, we will know the biggest, biggest enemy, the biggest disaster, the distractions, whatever we call them, that will be due to our own ignorance. We are using how many? You are changing, putting here this beautiful or for your eyes, and this and that. I’m sorry, but those ladies constantly painting the wall of the body, who are the, who are the responsible for that? From where this? Coming, and some people also said, "How are they making a test on the living animals?" I don’t know what they were saying, that they are testing on the cat alive, but the cat is crying, "Meow, meow." So what do they do? The vocal cord they cut it off, so they can’t hear it. Crying, so they can properly, peacefully, can work on this cat. This is because of your... this one, why don’t you put a lipstick? But it brings a little earth, nice, and put it here. On beautiful, yes, yeah, of course. So many, many things. And when you clean your face, then you yourself are ashamed of how you look like that, yes? For some ladies, after cleaning the whole face, it doesn’t look so good, so they are out of shame. They make a little more again, a little bit back, so... At least when you wake up and go to the toilet and look in, "Where am I?" So this is destroying, you are destroying your skin. Now there is one medicine that’s for the diabetes, and they said that they put one plaster for the diabetes. And there is a coming, there they are getting the insulin through this. If that is true, then whatever we apply to our body goes into our whole body, not only on the skin. So this is no ahiṃsā. In hiṃsā is the ahiṃsā, and hiṃsā. You are saying, "Okay, you are getting everything, very nice organic." But which organ was used? They are true, they are making it the organ, but which organ? Yeah, so this is coming. How many karma is getting on our top? Quit your all this plaster of... The face and everywhere, in three months your skin will recover again, beautiful. Yes, we are putting the pollution in the body. When there was an ex-Yugoslavian civil war, and there was a bombarding, they broke... The bridges, and like this, there was no transport, and like this, and the highways, everything. So what happened? Many industries were destroyed. But what happened that they knew? Recovery again after half a year. So there were more different kinds of fish and shells, and like this. How nice was the water in the Danube. So, this is also we, and who is responsible for that? Not the tiger, not the leopard, not the fox, not all these animals, not the birds, but there is only one. And who is that? We are fighting, we want to save, we want health, health care, etc., etc. But we put so many chemicals and so many things. We are addicted to the chemicals now. So many, many other natural treatments, natural medicines, cannot affect our body anymore. Always, chemical is chemical, caught in. Our bodies, what to do? My fear. So now, if you said, "I am a good person, I am a spiritual person," but at the end of life, God will say, "It boy, come here. How much chemicals you used? How many times you were pushing on your leader, on your..." Yeah, why? How much use this than that? Sit this side, say, "But my Gurujī said to me, ’Go to the mokṣa.’" But Dharmarāja, the justice of God, Dharmarāja said, "Yes, your Gurujī said, but sit out here." Comes ladies, comes there also, they come and... They sit, they said, "I am Bhakta, I am Devī, I am this." He said, "Yes, we will have body, body visit." What like? On the border where you come to them, it’s cow. You come to the airport, and there sometimes, if they... Have some kind of doubt? "Body visit"? There is, you know, "I was not doing anything, I was very sad." Yes, we know that, but your body visit? We will see how much you had this, years and years and years. How many? Colors you are using for your hair, why are you ashamed? I myself am so proud of myself that now I have finally white hair. Finally, oh God, so many years I was struggling, but now I know that I am we. In India, we call the wise. We said when your hair becomes gray or white, then we said, "Now you are the wise person." But if you make some mistake, something, then they said, "Don’t throw the sand, earth." In your white hair, it means don’t do the negative things. It is the... Inka. So, it will say, when you are an old man with white hair and you did some mistakes, it’s a shame. Put in your white hair some black earth inside. Yes. So, it is a pride to be white. After a long, long time, God gave us this. And what happened? God gave us this, some kind of indication. Now, your sins are gone. And now, come further, and we will see if really they are white or not. You know, you know the honey bees, and you know the bees, they don’t go near that. If you have the real, um, artificial color in your hair or kind of perfume which is not... Pure, go and see what the Śiva army will do. Even the bee doesn’t like that. How can you do it, my dear? Many, many things. So mokṣa, liberation, this all came here in this pure human body. This body, in your thinking, you’re talking. To the God, and second one, who knows very clearly, and that is yourself. You cannot hide towards yourself. So there’s one story, a beautiful story. Disciples came, two boys, two men, young men, to one master and said, "I want to master. Can I become your?" Disciple, can you give up my mantra Dīkṣā? How to say it? Master said, "Okay, I will give you mantra Dīkṣā. I will give you this. Come here, I’ll give you Prasāda." Yes, call our back. So he said, "Both of you, catch one, one pigeon, the bird. Take." This pigeon, somewhere nobody sees, no one sees, kill the pigeon, cut the neck, and bring it. So one man went and he cut the neck of the pigeon, with the head and whole body, brought it. "Gurujī, here it is." "Put it." Down here, second, what you said, okay, Gurujī? He went in the room, and he came back. Say, "What happened, Gurujī? You said that no one sees where you can kill this pigeon, but I see my guru." Okay, then tie your eye. So he put his cloth, went in another room, and took the knife. And again he came back. He said, "Gurudev, you said no one can see, but this pigeon himself sees that time killing him." He said, "Okay, I give a piece of cloth. Tie your vision’s eyes." He said, "Okay." He went again in the room. He tied first the vision’s eyes. Then, his eyes... He takes the knife and again he comes back. So, what happened, Gurudev? I think I will... I failed. I will not get mānasā, I think. Why? Because you said, "No one sees there." Okay, I close my eyes. I close the eye of the vision. But can you tell me, Guru Dev, the God sees how to die? The eye of the God said, "You are the good disciple, you will get a mantra." Is it okay? The pigeon flew away and said, "First create in your heart purity and ahiṃsā." Then you will be worthy to get a mantra. So, my dear, how, with what, with our dress, our shoes, what we are using in our body, everything will be counted. Everything will be counted. We have a natural soap, we have a very nice natural Ayurvedic soap, the neem soap, which is very, very good, and there are no chemicals inside. Many of our bhaktas are making nice soap which has no chemicals inside. That’s okay. So try to protect thyself, and you know how much anger you have, how quickly you are offended, how quickly you are sad. You are something like, now you’re going to make a suicide. So offended, oh my God, it’s not like this. Become human, and what humans should do and what humans should not do. We also eat, of course, but we shall eat that fruit, that this, that this, that this. So that’s all. Today is in the name of Bhagavān Rām. We shall, for a few minutes, chant the name of Bhagavān Rām. Ram, Ram,... Ram.

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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