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Karma and destiny

A satsang featuring a personal testimony followed by a discourse on divine justice and karma.

"My life has been connected with spirituality since I was 21. At that point, my life changed a lot. I caused an accident while driving to work and ran over a person."

"It is the justice of God. When the soul goes, there are two ways: Svarga or Naraka, heaven or hell. Hell is presided over by Yama, the god of death."

A seeker named Janez shares his spiritual journey, beginning with a traumatic accident that led him to spirituality. Swāmījī then responds by giving him the spiritual name Dharmadrasa and launches into an extensive teaching on the afterlife. He describes the roles of Yamarāja (the lord of death) and Dharmarāja (the lord of righteousness) in judging souls based on their karma, emphasizing the consequences of actions like meat-eating and the importance of kindness. He illustrates these principles with stories, including one from the Mahāśivapurāṇa about Śiva protecting a devotee from Yama.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Thank you, Swāmījī, for this opportunity to share something about my life. My life has been connected with spirituality since I was 21. At that point, my life changed a lot. I caused an accident while driving to work and ran over a person. My career as a policeman had just started, so my whole life was turned upside down. If God hadn’t brought spirituality to me at that point, I would have probably committed suicide or been buried under a tremendous feeling of guilt. But as you all know, as seekers of truth and seekers of God, how hard it is to walk this path in life. I did my best to get over it. I read many books and kept the company of people inclined toward spirituality. Yet, all the time, one thing was missing; there was no completeness, no perfection. I was very happy to meet my friend, who is here with me today at the satsaṅg; he is my best friend. His name is Janez, like my name, and I’m so happy that Janez is with me. In the same way, when I tried to live the truth, I met two women. They were my wives, and I tried to do my best, but I had to separate from both. When I accepted within myself the decision to never marry again, I then met my second half, whose name is Amrit. I am so thankful I met her and that I got to meet Swāmījī through her, and all the people from the satsaṅg. Each of you probably has your own experiences and feelings when you meet people from the satsaṅg and what they mean for your life. So, this is how the story starts and how it ends. Thank you so much, Swāmījī, again, for your love, so that you are our ideal, and it helps us in our lives. I’m not a big speaker, so I will just conclude this and thank you all. Swāmījī's Response: Much thank you. You know what his yoga name is, everybody? He wanted a name for a year or two, or some months. I asked, "What is his name?" Then I closed my eyes and looked at his soul, his honesty. I think Amrit is very, very lucky. She helped him, and he helped her. Anyhow, he told everything. Then I said I should choose a name for him. Spontaneously, I closed my eyes and said, "Dharmadrasa." Do you know what Dharmadrasa is? It is the justice of God. When the soul goes, there are two ways: Svarga or Naraka, heaven or hell. Hell is presided over by Yama, the god of death, who takes souls in that direction. The justice of God is Dharmarāja. So there are two: Yamarāja and Dharmarāja. Yamarāja has the duty of bringing all people after death. Every creature—death comes, and no one is immortal on this earth. It doesn’t matter if you live five million or five trillion years; in the end, you must be in the hands of Yama. Yamarāja is the king of the Yamas, the king of the dead. His workers are called the Yamas. In the German language, they say, "Alles Yama." Some think there is a connection. When the soul has to depart, Yama comes and says, "Please come." Sometimes the soul doesn’t want to go. There is also much conversation when it comes to the court, the high court. That high court—then you can come to this side and look at me. There are judges. The highest or supreme judges are two: Yamarāja and Dharmarāja. Both are very, very clear, exact, and accurate. Yamarāja will give the judgment, and Dharmarāja will give the judgment. But the order desk always gives to Yamarāja: "Which should be brought today?" Billions, trillions of souls go every day. Animals also. There is a punishment from the beginning when death begins. Then there can be torturing. How they kill animals, how they kill criminals, humans—and those who do not have very negative, sinful karma die smoothly. Lucky are they; they just die. There must be one cause, either a heart attack, brain attack, or the soul just goes. But they have good karma, and they go to Dharmarāja. Nowadays, we human scientists try to keep the soul back. That means a person is dying, and the soul is really out. But through modern medicine, instruments, and tools, they know how to survive, how to keep it. So again, the soul is surrounding until the blood is warm, until there is life active in the brain. We think one has died, but still the jīvā, the soul, the life, is surrounding. The first thing they do is touch the heart, pumping the heart. Again, the heartbeat comes. The blood that goes to the body, to the brain, is connected with the soul. And again, then the heart beats, and it says, "OK, life is here." Then there are different operations and medicines, and so on. So we can prolong life, but this is also our destiny. Some will live again, long and healthy, happy, and comfortable. Some will suffer still, lying many months, days, years in bed. It is said that this karma, the Sajīva, has the karma to suffer in this body, and it has its reason. But we living beings do not want our family members or friends to die. When your dog or cat or house pet is ill, you will get medicine. We know a dog will not live more than so many years. There is a limitation of the capacity of this body—the bones and all the organs like the liver, kidneys, and heart. One after the other in the body, what we call the organs fall down. Then we ask doctors, and the patients are hanging on machines. This is a punishment from the Yamas. While living in this body is suffering. Sometimes, thanks to doctors' medicines, they give some kind of medicine, and you are in a deep sleep. At that time, you are already in this space. Awareness is there, consciousness is there, but the suffering is not. Then that soul is ultimately giving up. There are messengers talking with them: "Look, your future, how beautiful. You are the same. You have everything the same in the future. So why don’t you just come? They are yours, they are yours. Even when you die, you are there. You are connected as ancestors." But as soon as it detaches completely from the physical body, you have to go through that karmic situation. So, what will Yama do? You can say Yama, the devils, or the messengers of death. They are like butchers. It doesn’t matter if your leg is broken; the Yamas will hold you through there. And good karmas—kindness, humbleness, friendliness, not killing any animals—humans should not eat and kill animals. They come to Dharmarāja, and Dharmarāja brings them to Brahmā. And Brahmā says, "Give him all that he wants." And it comes to a higher and higher level, to which God you believe. But in reality, there is only one God. You see, we call Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, England, Afghanistan, and so on. This all is one Earth. This is this Earth. So if you are in Slovakia or the Czech Republic, for the Creator, this Earth is one. We divide the borders. This is my territory, and this is my territory. So within this territory, we are suffering. We are fighting for it, and not only for your land, your country, but also for the neighbors. "Why are your trees hanging in my garden? I have my fruits on your side. But why did you take my fruits?" There is a big fight. There was a time the wars went to a place. It’s a very famous story, a real one. Long ago, that time kings were governing. The kings, you know, were also not good. Thanks to God we are now democratic. Otherwise, forever, one after another generation, they are kings, only they are rulers. But now, in four years, politics will change. Our prime minister, our president—if they don’t rise, we will not choose them, not give them our votes. So everyone has a chance. That’s it. But for that, how much human blood was flowing? And then again came different systems, what is called socialism. The theory is very good; they made humans as free. This is not one’s land, but all’s. But again, human nature is this: money, power. Again, the power. Kings had power and money, and they also have this now. But still, we can have a choice. In that case, there was a story in Rajasthan. It is said that one farmer’s and the other farmer’s farms were connected. There is a sign that this side is your land, and this side is his land. A big, beautiful watermelon plant went to the neighbor’s side, about two or three meters inside. Then the fruit was there. One said, "It’s mine." The other said, "It’s mine. It’s in my land." And so there were kings, there were wars. "Yeah, it is mine. It is my territory." For that, people were fighting. Sometimes there is a problem between husband and wife. The husband says, "My child," but she says, "It is my womb. I will go." He says, "I will not let you go. You must first give my child." You know, there was so much cruelty. So, Dharmarāja gives that kind of judgment: the good karmas, good deeds, humbleness, kindness, etc. To free them from the prison of hell, the judgment is in the hands of Dharmarāja. There is a story in the Mahāśivapurāṇa. Now, we know in Kumbh Melā we were in Ujjain. It was called Mahākāleśvara. There was this story about one bhakta. He had bad karma, but he was a devotee of Śiva. When death came, like a Rākṣasa, he came and held the Śiva Liṅga. He wrapped his body around the Śiva Liṅga, and there the Yamas cannot come. Yamarāja is punishing his soldiers, the messengers: "Bring that!" Again they said, "We can’t come." When they come close to the Śiva Liṅga, it is like they are burning, and they are waiting. They say, "Please come, please come. It is beautiful, you will come." But he said no. So Yamarāja came himself. Yamarāja is always riding on a buffalo. Yes, that is the chariot of Yamarāja. And Śiva has Nandi. Anyhow, again Yamarāja came himself to take that person, and Śiva came, and Śiva said no. There was a big fight between both. Finally, Śiva opened his third eye and burned Yamarāja, and everything burned. Then Śiva said, "But you will be mine, you are mine." What he did was take all the ash which was burned, and Śiva put it on his body. He said, "Yamarāja, you are mine like my skin." But it was so much burned. When you go to Ujjain, in certain places if you dig, it comes only as ash, and from that ash... Every day there is a pūjā at the Mahākāleśvara Śiva Mandir. This is not a fairy tale. It was, it is, and it will be. So don’t think this is nothing. It is. So if you are eating meat from killing, it doesn’t matter how good you are or how much you meditate; that will be counted. Yes? So counting is there. How much money you put in your bank account, only that they can give you. Even when you have good karmas, you get interest in the bank. But when they are bankrupt, you have no money, then it’s gone. They can’t give you. So ultimately, if you have good karma, if you have spiritual realization or not, on the last minute... Therefore, some people say, "I was with my Master for twenty years, and I didn’t get anything." Nothing happened. Be happy that nothing happened. That’s it. So it is said: "Karma kīye jā, phala dega bhagavān." Ye hain Gītāvānī kā jñāna. You should go ahead and do your good karma. And the fruits of that will be given by God. So don’t cry for that. It will be given to you, and that is at the last breath of your life. That will say how you have the karmas. There, Dharmarāja has long arms to hug you. And Yamarāja has the fire, burning the iron rod in his stomach, and hanging you on the burning. You see what they are doing, the grilling? It’s not an animal. It was someone who was doing it; now it is his chance. So you are on the grill, and you say, "Oh God, this animal, yes." So you became an animal, and you were grilling that animal. Now is your chance. If you eat nectar, you have nectar in your stomach. If you put poison, you have poison inside. So Karmarāja, Dharmarāja, and Yamarāja—they can’t do anything. They have only one duty, and that they must follow. And that is the truth. And what is the truth for them? The karma, and that karma will be accounted for. After your death, your testament will say, "Now you can’t make back and head." That is finished. Hari Om. The testament goes to the lawyer, that’s it. Now the testament cannot be rewritten. That’s going into another life. Similarly, anything we are doing is counted. What we count, what we do—we should be kind with love. We don’t hate, we protect, we don’t kill. And we feed, we don’t kill and eat. Also, to make humans happy, give them love, kindness, etc. This is our spirituality. You have a lot of knowledge about Jesus, and you know what Jesus did. In all other religions, Christianity is coming, if I am not wrong, from Judaism, because Jesus was also born there. At that time, it was only these people. After, you say, "This is Christians, Protestants, Muslims, etc." In Satya Yuga, there was only Sanātana Dharma. In Kali Yuga, there are now many, many dharmas. Is it okay? Why not? Yes, but it should be that we don’t harm anyone, not any creature. You see, so now you know, last days in Islam they were slaughtering goats. I don’t know when they said, "When you kill and blood goes to Allah, then he’s happy." They believe, but you know what it is. I heard from someone: there was one sādhu who had a goat baby and was feeding him with love and everything. Then on this day, on this Eid, they call. This sādhu said, "Now I will offer." So he brought him to his ashram and said, "I offer to God. Now, let you do what you like. Eat in my garden, be free, happy, and so on." Not killing. Eat free. That goat, he doesn’t want to slaughter him. But he said, "I give you now to God. Now it’s not my duty." So it means in my whole park and garden, this is yours and God’s. Enjoy, eat, sit, everything. So that is the freedom that we give to God, and not that you cut the head and throw it there. Unfortunately, also in Hinduism, there was something like slaughtering in the name of God. In Nepal, on one day, thousands of buffaloes are slaughtered. They land about this whole area, so big like our area or more, and they bring thousands and thousands of buffaloes. The people are like rākṣasas. They kill them, and sometimes buffaloes fall down and only half the neck is cut, only half bleeding. It is everywhere, blood on the earth. Some places, so much blood till your legs or ankle joints, and they are Hindu. So that is not correct. It doesn’t matter if you are Hindu or Christian, etc. Also, the Buddha. Buddha never, never, and never killed one animal. He tried to save even a little ant, not to step on it. The Buddha was very pure and vegetarian. But in certain countries, they eat everything that is moving, except Buddha. And Buddha is also, they will eat him, but he is only a statue. So we are in that Dharmarāja’s kingdom. So follow, please. Do it well. I know that your parents have to go through this slaughtering. It doesn’t matter if it’s my mother or my father. You are the father, and you are the mother. You cannot say, "God, please forgive." There is no forgiveness. That is this. Like a cheese, half this side and half that side. And there, thanks to God, that you don’t know what your father is now suffering, where he is hanged, and where your mother is hanged—your father, your mother, or anyone. I don’t talk about religion. I only talk. We know that we see, we kill. That’s it. So there are many things which we are not going to talk about. And please, lead a life of only one love for each and every entity. If not more, then as much love as thyself. Each and every entity, love them. If not more, then at least as much as you love thyself. Well, everything will be counted, what you think is your thinking. But I always say that there are two people who know what you are thinking: one is yourself, and the other is God. Between us, we are, so we try to save as much as we can. Sometimes it is said that protection is in protection. Sometimes you have to protect yourself. That’s it. So protection is in protection. If you protect others, you are protecting thyself. That’s it. Náš svět je velice velký. Ta správa jde až za Mexiko a zpátky do Ruska a Číny. Ten zvuk pak jde všude kolem a chvilku to trvá. A i když to jde jenom támhle tudy. But it takes 40 seconds for it to come back to me here from the bottom. But it’s a good technology, just like how fast we are.

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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