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Good evening, sisters and brothers. Welcome. The subject we will explore over the next few days is called Kuṇḍalinī, Cakras, and the Higher Consciousness. We will learn more about what Kuṇḍalinī and chakras are, and about the awakening of the Kuṇḍalinī within ourselves. However, many practitioners around the world have somehow misunderstood Kuṇḍalinī and the cakras. The science of Kuṇḍalinī, the science of the chakras, and the science of the development of our consciousness toward the Supreme must first be understood. If we cannot understand, then we may go the wrong way. We need to understand our whole being. For that, we need the masters. We need to practice, and then we need to realize the Self. Who am I? Many we know, all we know: I am myself. Who are you? I. We say, "I am going." Where are you going? Who is going? We must understand this step by step, and then with deep concentration go deep within our self, our sādhanā. There are different kinds of meditation: silent meditations, extroverted meditation, outer meditations, many different kinds. But for what? And how far can we come? The best meditation is to come within thyself. And do you know our self? In which way? One should have a very open heart, with great humility and kindness. When we want to come to that path of meditation or realization, our aim is one. It doesn’t matter which religion. Finally, we will become one, and at that time, there are no dualities. We are in the cycle of the many yugas: Satyugas, Dvāpara Yugas, Tretā Yugas, and this is now Kali Yuga, where we are. After these four yugas, the ages, the circle begins again. We are there, and very rare persons can achieve the highest light consciousness, the aim. The subject we are talking about in these days will be our different chakras, which we have here, many different ones. And you are this, that is yourself. But how? This is according to, let’s say, Indian methodologies. Maybe someone else will understand differently. We humans, through our knowledge and our culture, paint different kinds of pictures. So that is a surface, but it is there. So in that, which we have spoken about many times, it comes in that way to become self-realized. First, we have to understand life. And life is a life. Life means life; it doesn’t die. And life, how we understand life, there are five elements. These five elements are living elements. The space, Ākāśa, is endless, endless, endless. We don’t know. We can look. We are looking at the sky. We see in the far distance, so-called, the horizon. And we want to see there, go and see the origin, it is said. How is the origin we want to go and see? You can’t see it. Why not? Because the origin is that, as far as you go, try to cross to the origin. As far as you go, that far the origin goes further. And so is that endless space. We are within, and that is within us. After that comes the prāṇa. Prāṇa means life, prāṇa means the energy. And so we take as the fire. Fire is our life. Without fire, we cannot live. And so, that is also fire, everywhere, everywhere. When we take stone to stone and scratch, there is a coming fire in the irons, in the water. And it is said, the fire cannot remain without water. Only in the water can fire survive. What we understand about the fire, not this flame, but we have here, is a more different kind of fire. Our anger is a fire. When you are very angry, oh God, that’s also fire. How many kinds of fires are there? All is one. And then it comes, what we call the air. And without air, we can’t live at all. And for that, we have in the body the space. We need the space. If we don’t have an open mouth, we can’t talk inside. And so, also the prāṇa, the air, inhalation and exhalation. And with this, movements in the body are that prāṇa, the air. And similarly, the solid is earth, the bones, the flesh, etc. So these are the five elements, and these five elements should be balanced. And one of these elements gone, life is gone, dead. So, understand in yoga, what is your life? What is your life? Touching your body is also life, but this is not only the body. So these are the five elements. Within that is a more, that is just only, these are the quarters where we are from. We are sitting here in the meditation hall, we go to the sleeping room, we go there, we go to the kitchen, etc. But it becomes illusion. There is no hall. We are sitting in this hall. It is a beautiful hall. There are good windows, good ceilings, the floor, everything, but it is not. Now you will say, "No, stupid Swamiji, we have the hall." And he said, "No, what we have is forever, and this is not forever." And these are only walls; there are no halls. So, is that what we are alive for? This we have to understand. And then let’s come to this, that everything, this building, this house we made, has these five elements. This wall, this wall has exactly the same elements as our body has. And the stone is living, everything. So the solid, concrete, our stones are our bones. We have water. We use this water for making the cement, the earth, or cement and concrete. We need air, and we need space. So everything, this pillar or the wall is the same as we are, and is a living being. But that living is a distance, and we are different, but we are the same. So earth, water, air, fire, everything, and space is within. So where are you going now? Where do you want to go and see and look at yourself? Now, this principle, what we call the elements, is fine. But how we join them? There we come again to the five elements, which we have, and without that, we are not here. And so, the first is called the Annamaya Kośa. Anna means nourishment. Whatever we are eating and drinking, this is our first layer of our body. So this is the Annamaya Kośa, and then within this is Prāṇa. Prāṇa is the energy. Your body is beautiful, your body is strong, your body is big and everything, but there is no more in life. Prāṇa is not there. So we are looking at the prāṇa, and to understand, for example, when you are ill and very tired, you say, "I have no strength, I have no power." Where is that power? So without the power, this physical body, the nourishment, it can’t do anything. Prāṇa is gone. The body is here, but prāṇa is gone. We can hold our fist, and we can close the fist strongly, and muscles are everything, and so here also, it is a me and my hand, you know. What? This is flesh and bones, but what is prāṇa? How is the prāṇa holding us like this to give this strength? So, the Annamaya Kośa, Annamaya means eating, food, whatever we eat, solid food and this. But from that, we are getting energy. This beautiful plant is grown. All we have is the same, but we also have this plant. And so, the strength of this, all these five elements, what we have, we have this. So, annamaya kośa is prāṇa, energy, strength. Then, coming to the manomaya kośa, the mental power, the mind is this strong. And mostly here in America, they say, "If something... oh, I changed my mind, I will not come for the picnic." And after half an hour, he said, "Okay, I change my mind, I will come." How easy you change your mind. Can you change your body also? No, but our mind is so strong. The most powerful thing we have is the mind, and it can also, within no time, achieve that point. We can say, just now, let’s say Jupiter. Now our mind is already there in Jupiter. The physical body, I did not say. So, how quickly you become angry, how quickly you are bringing hate, jealousy, this, that, so quickly. And one person tells something, and you don’t know from where the hate or anger comes. And you just said one point. And this is like an ātambam, ego. Ego is behind. Then the fourth is called Viveka, knowledge. Knowledge, so there are two kinds of knowledge. And it’s called the Jñāna and Viveka. So knowledge, we know, we study this, that, everything. We can change anger, hate, this and what I like, that is good. What I don’t like is not good, so that is our knowledge. But the viveka is that. This is exactly like, you know, there is a very nice cheese, and the cheese we want to cut like this, like that, like that. But viveka is the knife that will just make it two parts, this and this. So viveka is that which makes judgment, pure judgment. But within us we have different opinions, and that is only like your knowledge changing here and there. So, viveka, that is it, viveka, knowledge, the best knowledge coming. And after that, the fifth one is called the bliss. Ānandamaya Kośa: Ānand means bliss, the joy, ānand. I am happy, I am relaxed, I am peaceful. Oh, I am very, very good. So this is joy. But there are two kinds of joy. One is the supreme joy, and the second comes from our ego or our desire. So, we want, what you call, I want joy. So, it is said, there are two joys. One is for the Supreme, God, the spiritual, etc. What is our subject, or what we like, is good; the rest doesn’t matter. So that is called the joy of the joy. You want to enjoy. It is not that joy. One day, there will be that joy which will pull you down nowhere. So the joy is selfish. You want to enjoy. But one day that joy will suffer you. All Vivekananda is the best. Everything. You are so happy. Your mother is good. Your father is good. Your great-grandfather is good. Your children are good. Your home is good. You are everything. You are so happy, and everything is good. All the neighbors are good. Oh, and I know I go to the temple, or to the church, or mosque. I am at my best. No one shouts at me, and I don’t shout. That is something, a very good joy. So, how are we coming? So, these are the five quarters, and these are the one-after-the-other layers. But then it’s nothing again, but that nothing is there. And what you see now is nothing. Sometimes when a scientist says, what we can see and touch is not what you call the science. But what is there? Nothing that we see is that which is a science. So I don’t know, is it science or non-science. But there is someone like this, so how? So in this, when we will achieve, we will come to our own, then we will have nothing. Now, how? So, there are two. This is an example. I brought to you, I give you one onion, or you give me one onion, and I said, "Where is the onion?" You said, "Yes, sir, it is in your hand." Okay. I will peel out one layer. What is this? It is a layer of the onion. The second is the onion part. The part of this, part of this onion, pulling, peeling, peeling, at the end is nothing. Where is the onion? This is on your plate. It is not. So where is your onion? Now, what you are looking for, your soul, your ātmā, your true self, where is it? So, through these prāṇas, what I spoke: the annamaya kośa is the food nourishment, the prāṇamaya kośa is the energy, the manomaya kośa is the mind, the vijñānamaya kośa is the intellect, and the ānandamaya kośa is the joy. But where are you? You have declared yourself. I didn’t say. You said. You said, "This is my body, this is my energy, this is my mind, this is my knowledge, this is my joy." But who is enjoying? Who is enjoying? And for that, if we really want to work and learn the Kuṇḍalinī science, it is that all in this is very, very... and that also you will not find a Kuṇḍalinī here that will also one day... it is said, what will happen with your Kuṇḍalinī or with yourself? It is said, this flower will die, but... The smell, the fragrance, that you cannot catch, you cannot hold, that nice smell of this flower, it was my flower for me, and I got it. But within no time, you all get it, everyone, this becomes one with all. This is only material, it will destroy, or it is in your pocket or so. But this smell, this, what is that, the fragrance, it goes everywhere. And what happens? You open and go further. We said, when you cook in your cooking pot, then have a good lid on. Because you are cooking garlic and onions, and there’s too much smell, so don’t go out. You take the lid out, and then the whole room is full of that. Then he said, "Please don’t open the windows." So when you open the windows, then you can’t control it all. But it will be. So, similarly, our five kośas—what are we going to do? Where is our soul? Where are we? And how many souls do we have? So, there is no soul. Only one, not all. Water is water. Now, it doesn’t matter in which form the water is, but it is water. Also, juice from the flowers, from leaves, from fruits, etc. We get the juice, water. Or from the rain, or from the canals, water. All this, everywhere, pure water or dirty water. But it is that water. Dirt is different. Water is not the dirt, but it is mixed. Fall in. Similarly, we have that divine soul, but we have so many doubts, many doubts and much jealousy. Every day I experience, every day I experience, sometimes he is angry and she doesn’t say anything. And sometimes I tell her something, then she is angry, but he says, "No, don’t say that." All the times we are fighting, come one day to that ānanda, and that ānanda which is not visible. No one can hold you, and no one can cut you. Jise śāstra kāṭe, na agni jalāwe, bujhāwe na pānī, na mṛtyu miṭāwe. No weapon can cut it, fire cannot burn it, and water cannot destroy it. I am that. I am within everyone, and everyone is within me. And so, at this point, we will come tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, to bring this kuṇḍalinī. Now, many people will say, "Oh, there is a kuṇḍalinī that comes in the body, and I feel something. Oh, what is that?" Yes. I said, "Oh, energy, but too strong this, there are spasms, spasms." I said, "No, my kuṇḍalinī, this is not a kuṇḍalinī at all. Your kuṇḍalinī is that you are one of the best persons and a very happy person, and there is nothing, so it presents you as an onion only, but where is the real onion?" Tomorrow morning, buy them and then peel them one after the other. Some is thicker, some is very thin, and there is a smell. And what shall we say? Now we have found it. What is the smell? It’s the smell of onion. So that onion smell is more than this physical, these onions which we have in our hands. And so, this chakra is an onion, but it has in its sense. The nerve systems, then we are going to come to the body. This is what we call in India, in philosophies, it’s called the science which says, "This is not that." And what is that which is not that, and what is not, it is that. And so, in this, we will work on it, and that’s called Vedānta. Vedas, Ved, Vedānta, so Ved means that this, the first, holiest scriptures, were written as the Vedas, the four Vedas, so this is Vedānta, and so after this comes the very end, and where it is not, so this is very beautiful, and this is one more. Don’t think that from this seminar or this retreat, you are already self-realized. I would be so happy that I would say, "Please, you are self-realized. Can I touch you?" So it is lifelong. Therefore, in Vedānta and in Holī, it is said, your self-realization will be the last minutes of your life. If you have self-realization, very good, now also. But who knows what time will come, and you will do something different. And it will be different. It can also be a very beautiful day, a sunny day. Suddenly come the clouds, suddenly come the rains. Purījī, Purījī... One garlic has no end. One garlic smell has no end. So tomorrow we will see about this, about Kuṇḍalinī. We will come further. So these are the first, our body. And this Annamaya Kośa, Anna means the food, the nourishment, what we are, our, this body. Prāṇamaya Kośa, the energy. Manomaya Kośa, our mind. Jñānamaya Kośa is our knowledge, and Ānandamaya Kośa is that from which we enjoy. Enjoyment means not only negative, it can also be the best. That is also Ānanda, and that before that also gives in different ways. The physical body is also our dress, and then strength, and that’s so they are writing. And then come the Prāṇas, these Prāṇas: Annamaya Kośa, Prāṇamaya Kośa, and then comes the Prāṇa divided in ten. This prāṇa, your strength, what we have, divide it into ten. And how are these the ten? So from these ten, and then comes the buddhi, there is a difference. So we will have to work a little bit longer, okay? So thank you for today. It is already getting quarter to nine. Maybe they have their principles for how long one should stay and sleep, and so on. You are tired; you came from different distances. I’m not tired. I was so many days, I don’t know from which distance I came. It’s everywhere. Yes, so thank you. And tomorrow, please program, tell when I will be and what, all program, eating, etc. And please, I saw today that in the dining hall, the people, they have silent disciples. So when they are also silent, they are doing some Buddhist meditation, or I don’t know which meditation, but they are silent. And this will also be learned. I tell my people all of this many times in Europe, but they, I mean, I am sometimes angry too. I say, "No, you must be silent." And they are sitting, and I go, and they begin to talk. And the children come to begin to talk, and everything’s okay. It is good. God has given us a mouth to speak. Why not? But sometimes discipline is needed to have anādevata. So, what I wanted to tell you in the beginning was this point: that Buddha—I think more about Buddhism—so, Buddha was 100% vegetarian, and his meditation was, it’s called the Ujjāyī, not Ujjāyī, Udāśī, Udāśī meditation, and he lived in this. Udāsī means sad, not smiling. I don’t know when they made Buddha now smiling. So he was so silent, and when he was meditating, there are two kinds of meditation called active meditation and passive meditation. And the active meditation, we used to go to get the food. So that’s called a bhikṣuk; give the food. You can say begging, but begging is not such a good word. So we call it giving. And many people, they are moved in China and different ways, and they still have so many monks. And even the children have training, or technique—not training—education until the age of 18, and must have orange dress and learn this, even now. So, this meditation where Buddha was going, that looking on the ground, that he did not step on any creatures, even a little ant. When the little ant was moving, he stopped, then gave her the path first, and did not hurt anyone. And the second point, exactly, he was aware: "I crossed this bush, I crossed this tree, I crossed that stone." That time was his last time when he was born in India. His father was an emperor, and so he became, then Buddha became after. And Buddha means Bodha, and Bodha means knowledge. So when you got this knowledge, that’s called Bodha. Now I realize who I am. That is called Bodha. Otherwise, his name was Siddhartha. So that was Siddhartha. He didn’t say that he was Buddha. But he said this is knowledge, that’s Bodha. And so they all call him a bodha. So, like this, it is, but, oh ho, so, then finally what happens? He said, "It is lost." He went so far, there was nothing. Even he didn’t know; he lost himself too. It means he became one. Then, in one of the books, or he wrote, I did not read it, I have not read it, but someone, there are discussions about monks everywhere in India. So, it is said that I am not, I am not. And he said, "When I gained this knowledge, I went deep into my meditation, from stones, coal, diamonds, then fish, water, plants, animals, humans, and I came above." And when I did not see anything, again I went down. Where should I be, or what am I? That was Buddha’s statement. And so, we call him Buddha. Actually, in Sanskrit, our knowledge is called both. Good night. Hari Om.