TV Channel

Part 1: From the Cradle to the Grave: Attention, Love and Spiritual Discipline Nice to see you. It is always a very divine, beautiful, relaxing environment here—good air, oxygen, everything. It is beautiful for us to be here, to recover on all levels: physical, mental, spiritual, and social. Sometimes we are overfilled with a lot of energy, which is very good. But how can we utilize this beautiful energy, and everything else, for our spiritual progress? This beautiful energy is within us. So, look through the camera—this thing, what do we call it, the webcast—and let me see more people’s faces. Yes, just look at them. You have been looking too much towards me. Now let me see you. Very good. You can see who is sitting nice and straight. Sometimes I also see it on the screen. For example, I see one of them is called Swāmī Vivek Purī, and he is sitting like this. Now you can see he is not straight. Yes. When I see someone who is sitting, I make myself straight. When you go to school and they have P.T. training, then your master, the P.T. teacher, what did he say? Don’t look at me. Of course, your language is different. Hey, cameraman, you show me for ten seconds and then go away. Yes. So what will our pitājī say? In English, they say it will. Or Hindi? Both. Sāvadhān—that means very attentive. So what do you say to the teachers, to the students? Sāvadhān, or? What was the next second? Attention. So, let’s all do today this way: Attention. So, attention. Relax. Uvolnjete se. Pohov. Yes. I think from the beginning of our life, we should, from time to time, remember—and not only remember, but try to become alert and healthy and know the whole body, how it is. So, when you say “Attention,” then even the hands are like this. And then relax, walking with one stick. So, it is life from the cradle to the grave. The cradle is made from wood. Nowadays, plastic, but otherwise, a beautiful cradle is made from wood, which is very natural. So, life from the cradle to the grave. Who is with us all the time? Our spine, our stick. Attention, alert, careful. Otherwise, sometimes it can happen that we fall down and break something, okay? Of course, I’m not teaching you as children, and you are not children. You are very alert, knowledgeable, everything, more than me. But still, I should tell my cameraman, “Don’t look at me, yes,” because everybody says, “What happens to him? What happens to him?” Or you say, “The tension.” Then I take the camera away and I will sit like this. So please don’t check this mafia. They will say, “Oh God, sitting here today in Chicago.” You know what that is? He was Austrian, but he was in Chicago. He was making many films. What was it? No, no... that man who made the films. Who? No, no... this was... this is a young boy. I am in the old time, and it was in Chicago, and he was in Mexico, and others said, “No, no...” I will tell you one day because I was learning German. It was black-and-white televisions. So anyhow, okay, you people watch me, you people watch me... I was not born at that time. Yes. Anyhow, let’s go further. I am so happy to be with you. One day I was missing, so that’s why I’m making you more happy. That one day was, but I am always with you. Mīrābāī said to Tulsīdās in her bhajan, “My body is here, but my self is with you.” She said to her gurujī. So, we all know, there is sitting one young lady, about 25–30 years old, and she is here. And she has a two-year-old or one-and-a-half-year-old child at home. Her husband said, “Yes, you can go. I will take care.” Grandparents are also there, but still, there is the feeling, the heart of this young woman towards her child. Are you more towards your child or your husband? Tell me. I don’t know. I’m not on both sides. So, are you more inclined toward your husband, or in feeling, for care? Husband or the wife, or the child? Yes, the child. But you feel exactly also your husband not as husband, but like a child. Yes. That is a very beautiful couple. In the beginning, they were in love and married. They always had the feeling that if one was in the office, the other was in college, but they are all the time with the feeling there. And when you get a child, now you are both in the child. Yes, there is more love, warm love towards the child. And if anything happens, the husband loves the child and the mother loves the child. When such a love—that is not a physical love, what you are talking about—it is a real love, a feeling: “What can I give? How is my child?” Everything from both sides. That means it’s a real husband and wife, and that child is happy. I know, unfortunately, many times there is a difference between husband and wife. And the child, they both say they love the child. Now, how is it like a melon? You cut it into two parts, and when the melon is very—not lemon there, melon—when you open it, it is in two parts. And what is the color of it? Red. And both parts are the same: seed, ripe, not ripe. Very red, like blood. But we are separate. So, it means that these two parts are this little child. Which part should I take, or this? Therefore, when your child is about 25 years old, finished study, all your academy, everything, then you can say, “My wife and my husband.” I would like to separate. The child will say, “Father, why?” or “Mother, why?” But this child is grown in such a... Love means to care and protect in every aspect. So let us begin in our society. This will be a new subject for our yoga in daily life, that we should know: a couple, a boy and a girl, should think it over and not turn towards sexual feelings. When the husband and wife realize who they really are, then it touches their heart. So now the heart has two parts. And you both became this one part of the heart. And we should give them whatever we can. It must not be that we are rich, but that we are rich in love. There is a problem between parents and friends, and between both couples too. That is a very hard point, and we should not give too many toys. But even I can’t keep my hands away; when I see something, then I say, “Ah, this is good for this child.” So, the little toys and more education—not education of the school or college, but education that brings harmony between learning something and not doing less. Well, one way, the toy shops are getting locked. We like it before something, then with other toys, and then with other toys. And now we have these toys. An eight-month-old child cries, and you give this one. All the time, looking, doesn’t care about mother and father. Until the death of the old people. We are all having separate, and we are looking in. In the train, in the aeroplane, in the office, everywhere, we cannot stop. So when we cannot, why should we not give to the children? And children are now full with the toys, the one toy. So gurujī said very nicely, “One in all and all in one.” For children also, not many toys, only this one. Now, there are three points: how should we manage the father, mother, and child? So, okay, we all have, and this is a good thing and also not a good thing. And technology is really, in some way, very, very good. The cities are getting bigger. And, for example, in Vivek Purī’s city, Zagreb, when I first came there, while walking we could cross it, Zagreb. We can say the address, and very quickly we are there. Now it’s beyond the airport, touching the other side of the other city, but we have a navigator; it brings us so comfortably, like somebody is guiding us. This is very good, but some things are not good. So, what can we do now? How can we make family time and give the family half an hour one day without this instrument, this tool, or one hour, including sitting at the dining table? And every day you should be together for a bite and talk, and give your child good. And we know the biggest drug in the world is alcohol. And we know that alcohol is the biggest non-prescribed drug in the world. But that we offer to everyone, everyone. In the airport we go, mostly there are only shops full of alcohol. But they are called duty-free shops, but duty is not so much. But really, really, whenever I go to any aeroplane in India or airport, anywhere, anywhere, and they come and offer the alcohol more and more. “Please, sir, sir, you would like to drink?” Where was the aeroplane? And always they said to me, “Someone, sir, you drink something?” I said, “Yes, please, mineral water.” “Sir, only water, nothing different?” I said, “Okay, soda water.” After that, “Sir, anything more?” I said, “Well, it’s orange juice.” “Sir, do you want to drink a little wine? Wine, not alcohol, wine.” I said, “Well, my wine is still in my field, in my farm. When they arrive, I will eat them. Then you can bring it.” Anyhow, the things in life, can we make some, a kind of saṅkalpa in our society, in your country, in your street, with your friends? Try something that lets us come together, go once a month for a picnic. So let’s come, really, nothing is impossible. You see that when I came to Europe, it was 1970. And since that time, I told people, “No eggs, no meat, no alcohol.” Animals are suffering, animals are suffering. Don’t kill them, no fish. And the people said, “No, we don’t want vegetarian, we don’t want vegetarian.” And suddenly, it came in the minds of the people that we should not torture the animals. Animals are suffering. The cows are suffering. The outer part of the cow is so big that the cow probably cannot walk. I saw myself with my eyes many times in Australia, near our yoga center, which is very big. It’s called Dangong, and about one kilometer away is the Malkari. And that person has the cows, a few hundred, so they cannot sit, and if they sit or fall down, their one leg is like this, and they cannot sit up. Someone has to bring her to get up. And that farmer said, “There are some naughty people, young... boys, they go into their farm and pull the cows down.” So they are suffering. And when, if they are not milked at the right time, it is like a big pain in there. Now, what is this? I thought, why is one cow coming after another? Like when you go to the bus, you are in line, one after the other. So, there is a... taking the milk from the cow, how is it called, the milking cow, there. So the cow is coming from itself. And when one cow is there, the machine is washing. Automatically, it comes to the auto and sucks the milk. When it’s finished, you know that machine goes down, and the cow goes away. The next cow is coming. I was looking at how disciplined these cows are. I want to teach my citizens of India. Sorry, they can’t and can’t. Yeah, truth is the truth. Oh God. But when they come to Europe, they are disciplined. They come to Singapore, they are very clean and very nice. I’m splitting this and putting it in. And as soon as the Indian lands at the airport, that is called India is free. You have freedom, but you need discipline. Many things, similarly like here, they are not difficult to learn. Sometimes people, for 43 years, I taught many persons because they want to learn how to make chapati. And chapati, you make first on the hot pan, only half a minute, one minute, then you turn the other side, and just move it, that’s all, till it is nicely puffed, how to call it, fried. Then you turn again to the other side, and it will pop up. Here, they cannot pop up, and they are eating and eating. What is popping up? From the chapati? How? What is pop-up? Their stomach. They eat so many chapatis, that’s why in India everyone is popping up. Part 2: The King of Your Inner Kingdom Now, this is the second point. Number two: we put a little ghee on one side of the chapati. But where the fine part puffs up, that side should be up and the other down. When folding, fold it inward like this. When someone dies, we make a thick chapati, place something on it, and then it is put on the left side of the chest. This is a custom for the departed. But if I am still not dead, please do not place chapati on my heart in this way. Forty-three years, that person is already old, and I say, “It doesn’t matter, I am still alive.” So how can you not learn? Not just that one person, but indeed, Indians cannot learn spitting either. They can; they do learn. Nowadays, Indians are very learned, respected, and disciplined. Yet for my disciples, making a chapati seems impossible. I hope one day, before I depart, they will bring me chapati in the right way. And what was his name—Vivek Purī? I don’t know if he can make chapati. But Anand Purī, she does not cook. Only he can make them. I have not seen it myself. Sorry, I don’t wish to blame her, but I can sense the fingers. He can make them, or he might say, “Let’s have chocolate. Better chocolate than this.” Anyway, my dear, discipline. And if we are not disciplined, how will we achieve that? In this regard, over the last ten or maybe fifteen years, some people have had a good idea. What Swāmī said about no meat, no torturing of animals, and yet it doesn’t matter to some; they will eat meat, because some people do not know that the animal is killed. In Washington, at the Catholic University, I gave a lecture in their hall—Divya Purījī was sitting here. Is Divya Purī here? From Washington? There is not a cow. Can you stand up and say yes or no? You are observing mauna today, yes? So, were we in the conference, or in the hall? Yes. Don’t be afraid; I am talking, not you. So, it was a yoga lecture, and I spoke about the torture of animals. Then a lady—about forty-five years old—began to cry and said, “Swāmījī, I thought meat was simply available in the supermarket. I did not know they kill them like this.” So, many people still do not know; even children do not know that animals are killed. And you are giving meat to innocent children. Your children’s toys—how much they love a rabbit, a cow, or a tiger—but they do not know these are killed. She said, “I will never eat animal meat again.” I said, “Not even fish, and no human meat either.” Then she said, “I will think about my husband.” I asked, “What do you mean?” “That I will tell him also: you should not eat meat.” Well, sometimes when you repeat your mantra, one day success will come, your spirituality will blossom. And suddenly, something sprouted—that is called veganism. People became vegan; now they start vegan restaurants, and even on airplanes you get vegan food. I was surprised that in Prague, Czech Republic, last time I was there two months ago, when I asked, “How many vegan restaurants are there?” what answer did the Prague people give me? Can someone tell me? Eighty, eighty—please speak clearly! Eighty, no? Eight-zero, eighty vegan restaurants in Prague. Now, we have an ashram with a beautiful kitchen, and we are also going to make a vegan restaurant. So, this is something people can offer to bring change. So, it doesn’t matter how they become; they know that this Swami kept talking about no meat, no meat. In the communist system, some yogīs—not against me—said, “We are communists, we will eat meat, you cannot stop us.” They said, “We are communists, we will eat meat, you will not forbid us.” So I said, being communist does not mean you must not eat meat. So, my dear, let us create an arrangement where we give children good parents and a good society. More friends come together, more and more. Go on a picnic together—your children, your parents together. We love our house pet, and we also love our carpet. We should respect both. The carpet should be clean, too. Since when does the car need a pet? See the joke. Similarly, the subject I was thinking about yesterday before sleeping... This morning, while practicing, I can tell you: I practice one and a half hours of āsanas every day. And this is your—how do you call it—you are disciplined. And you make me disciplined: “Swāmījī, please practice again.” Yes, a disciple can also make the master. If not, then there are good chapatis. So, I am coming to a point, but before that we can change something. Śrī Pūjya Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, this bhajan composed by our Gurudev, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān, begins: Śrī Pūjya Dīpa Dayālu Dātā, Lākho Praṇām. “Lākho” means millions of times—my salutation, my salutation to you, Gurudev, because when something went wrong, you brought it together again. The soul, the individual soul—as long as we are in our body, we are in this body. Like a drop of water in one bottle and another drop in another bottle. One drop is in one bottle, another in another, but it is the same water in different bottles. These different bottles of water will eventually come together; they will merge into oneness. So, the ātmā is one. The jīvātmā comes from the One as the many. Imagine a beautiful cherry seed. Plant that one seed in the earth, and it grows into a tree. The fruits have the same color, same form, same sweetness—everything is identical. If we let them grow wild, they will develop the same branches and everything, just like the parent tree. Similarly, with our parents: if your father had a spinal problem, your child as it grows may develop the same spinal problem, and another child again the same. So, it is many, yet one. Thus, while the jīva appears separate, the ātmā is one. And ātmā, jīvātmā, is Paramātmā. Now, the soul embarks on a journey, and we do not know how far or to where. This means the soul has a destiny. It is not that it must be born in the Czech Republic or Mexico; we simply do not know. Destiny guides it. Consider this: a tree now sheds its leaves; it is the autumn season. The wind blows from south to north, and the leaves drift in that direction. After a while, the wind shifts from east to west, and the leaves flow westward. So it depends on the wind. Similarly, when we leave our body, we do not know where we go. Do not think, “Oh, this is like my grandmother. Look, even a cat—my grandmother was exactly this, my cat.” That is our attachment, our love. It is fine. But that individual form is gone. You can imagine it like a star falling—how swiftly it goes. We glance at the evening sky, and it passes in a second. Or picture a flame from an oil lamp, moving away at high speed, farther and farther. There is no attachment. We cannot expect that our parents will be reborn as the same persons again. Maybe, maybe not. There is no guarantee we will return exactly as before. Imagine a drop of water in the ocean. How will you separate it and say, “This is my grandmother”? The drop has merged there. Grandmother has become the ocean. Therefore, however much we wish to let go, it is not easy for our soul, as ātmā, to enter Paramātmā. It is not easy, my dear. We try hard, but it lies in His destiny. Secondly, in your body, there is not only one jīva. Do not think, “I am my soul, my jīva.” Millions of bacteria live in our body—yes, my goodness. If you truly investigate and study the scientific literature, you will see they are working for you, and you are working for them. Without bacteria, we would... die? We would become very ill. In each drop of blood, if you could look through a microscope, doctors and scientists see countless lives within. Oh, we are so happy! So many things exist in our body. It means this body is your city, or your whole universe, and you are the king of all that, and they are working for you, my dear. Indeed, there is a very beautiful bhajan: “O my friend, be alert, be aware. You are the king of this kingdom; do not be too naive. Do not think everything is just okay. No, you are the king.” If you are not the king, then they will give you alcohol. They will give you drugs. Yes. Not your jīva—your jīva is not giving you anything. Your jīvātmā, your jīva, does not take care of your body; it allows this and that, and you fall completely into the hands of others, not in the hands of the king of your ātmā. And then they give you this and that, and you are neither in the hands of those people nor in the hands of the king. I will look in the book today for the bhajan from India, from Jaipur, Jodhpur, by Achala Rāmjī: “Onsi arre na bandhe...” and then two more words I forgot; I will search for it. And you are that. You are the king, and this is your kingdom. Do not be innocent; keep them under control. Then we can progress. And do you know how many souls dwell within you? They also have a soul, but you are the king. However, when negative bacteria arise, they may take you, the kingdom, out of this body. So, nothing is outside; it is all within ourselves. This endless universe is within us. Beyond that, there is nothing. We do not know where, what, or why. At the very least, when you die, all the bacteria are very sad: “Oh God, our king was so good. He brought us ice cream. He gave us some good alcohol.” That is it. So, control your entire body. Your kingdom should become the divine world. And that is precisely what we are doing through Yoga in Daily Life. Sivanandjī Mahārāj, Kī Jaya. Now you can show me how I am, yes. Śrī Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Kī Jaya. Devādideva, Deveśvara Mahādeva, Kī Jaya. Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandjī Bhagavān, Kī Jaya. Satsaṅgāt Dharma, Kī Jaya. So, through these words, bhajans, four poems, everything—that is yoga. What you are learning is yoga. Writing such bhajans or poems should carry a sense, a sense of our ātmā moving toward Paramātmā. You should know how we always translate for you. And when you sing in Hindi, yet the translation is there, you feel it in your heart. So, this jīva in our body is not alone. Not alone; you have a kingdom, a vast kingdom, like a great country, like the whole of our earth. The whole earth is within us: the five elements—earth, water, air, fire, and space—all this, you are. Your ātmā is in that. Everything is one, and it is all within you. Therefore, take care of your kingdom. Do not let any enemy enter your kingdom. No mafia comes into your kingdom, no terrorist enters. And what are they? Illness, drugs, alcohol, bad habits. Do not allow them into your kingdom. Check, check carefully, like security screening. What is security? It is our good health, good nourishment, good satsaṅg, good people, good words. What can we do? Then we will not be so ill. That’s it. We will continue this again. So, once somebody said to Kṛṣṇa—it is said—“Le Therī Mālā, He Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān, He Kṛṣṇa, take this, your mālā. I am hungry.” So, Nabī, you know the Nabī? You see, this is your kingdom. One station after another, one vast country after another: Mūlādhāra, Svādhiṣṭhāna, Maṇipūra, Anāhata, Viśuddhi, Ājñā, Bindu, and so on. Then you are in Brahman. We will come to that again. I wish you all the best. Oh yes, I forgot to say hello to you. Āryo. Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān. Āryo.