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The Responsibility and Path of a Yoga Teacher in the Yoga in Daily Life System

A discourse on the responsibility and conduct of a yoga teacher within the Yoga in Daily Life system.

"A yoga teacher, especially from Yoga in Daily Life, is something very different from a gym or aerobics instructor. It carries a great responsibility."

"We are like that channel... we are this instrument that Gurū Dev, that our paramparā, is using."

Swami Samyagdam shares guidance for yoga teachers, emphasizing the solemn duty to faithfully transmit the system's teachings without alteration. She outlines specific protocols, such as maintaining professional boundaries after class and teaching even a single student, stressing that the role is one of a selfless channel for the lineage's knowledge. The talk warns against using the training for personal gain and underscores the necessity of ongoing devotion through satsang.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Oṁ Bholī Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṁ Bhagavān Kīche. Because we have yoga teacher training, our dear Vivek Purījī is conducting it. A yoga teacher, especially from Yoga in Daily Life, is something very different from a gym or aerobics instructor. It carries a great responsibility. What I see and experience around the world is that often people get a yoga teacher certificate and then start their own studio elsewhere, teaching something different. They use the knowledge from Yoga in Daily Life. I know of some who left and used—or rather, stole—that knowledge to teach elsewhere for their own benefit. I would say such knowledge and teaching will never bear fruit. We, as practitioners and disciples of Swāmījī, teach with our own devotion and, on the other hand, with profound knowledge. We see every person who comes, and we try to guide them onto the spiritual path, not just for physical health. Step by step, we guide them with their whole being, with their entire phenomenon, and this is always done with the blessings of Gurū Dev. This is self-evident and need not be stated extra. But the moment we think, "I am a yoga teacher now, I know everything, and I can teach without this principle of 'naham karta' (I am not the doer)," then we will fail. We will not be successful. There are some teachers who do not take this seriously. In our Yoga in Daily Life, we have a specific system. This is not by chance; Swāmījī created this system because it ensures that when we teach according to it, it will be successful, safe, and sure. When we look at other systems, they often have only beginner, medium, and advanced levels. But we truly start from the first level with Sarvahitā Āsana, and this is practiced for at least three to four months. It doesn't matter who the person is. If someone does not accept this, please do not accept them. There is no excuse. Because it is not only about physical strength or flexibility through counting, but our mind and our consciousness must also be prepared—prepared for the second, third level, and as far as we can go. Most people are not vegetarian when they first come. Perhaps they are now. I remember we do not lecture about vegetarian eating before the third or fourth level. We can mention it, but we do not give a full lecture on it, even though Swāmījī speaks about it. For many of our students, it is not easy; they have families, children, relatives. It has to be prepared slowly, slowly. Every yoga teacher should know this, because if we push too hard, students may feel guilty—a good feeling in a bad way—and they will not return. We do not want that. We want to help and guide them. I have also experienced that when we perform Haṭha Yoga Kriyās like Śaṅkha Prakṣālana, many people become vegetarian afterwards. They then realize what it means to eat or not eat certain things. They do it again and again, and finally they see they do not miss it. Many start with yoga, with the Haṭha Yoga kriyās, and then they begin. As yoga teachers, we should not be afraid to tell them, "Please go to the kriyās. It is not only for the advanced; it is for beginners to undergo the whole purifying process." Their thoughts, feelings, and conscience will change. It is not so terrible. It depends on how we do it, how we think and act. A yoga teacher always has her or his position. I was very sad when I heard that one of our students in Austria went with disciples to a Heurigen—a wine tavern. I was so sad and disappointed. How can this be a yoga teacher from Yoga in Daily Life? And then she said, "Yes, I have to meet them where they are." But this must not be. What do you think? It must not be. Perhaps I am wrong because I am always in the yoga, but it must not be. So we all say no. We should not go with them privately to a coffee house. This is what I learned from Swāmījī. I am not one who pushes people away, but on a certain level, we cannot do certain things with our students, as Swāmījī said. He said in a web talk: the teacher stays in the class for a maximum of five minutes after the yoga class. Then he or she goes out, or waits and lets the students leave, and is the last one to exit the yoga hall. No more discussing afterwards, no more talking. It destroys the whole atmosphere after the yoga class. We have such good energy, and then we start talking and talking again. We in Austria, we destroy everything. Everything is gone. It is better to preserve it. If a student has a question afterwards, yes, we write it down, or we say, "Very good question. Next time we will speak about it. We will not forget." This can become a subject for the whole group, unless someone says it is private. So, a yoga teacher always has his or her place—not in an arrogant or proud way, but with a kind of self-respect, and out of respect for our students. I do not say these are our disciples; they are Swāmījī's disciples, disciples of our paramparā. But we are the ones bringing this knowledge from our masters. We bring this knowledge like the empty bamboo straw from the story—the bamboo story. We know this story; I will not tell it because I would start crying. It was the story of the beautiful garden where all plants, bushes, and trees were growing, including the bamboo. One day, the master cut the bamboo down completely because he wanted to make a long channel from the land with abundant water to the land that was dried out, to bring love, devotion, and bhakti there again. We are like that channel. Perhaps there are some knots inside from ego, perhaps a lack of knowledge or some emptiness. Perhaps there is something that cannot be used for anything else, but we are this instrument that Gurū Dev, that our paramparā, is using. With our devotion and bhakti, we constantly go to satsaṅg. We attend programs that refresh our devotion and knowledge so we can give it further. I am sorry for those yoga teachers from our Yoga in Daily Life who do not come to satsaṅg, who do not attend programs, and who do not even come for darśan to Gurudev very often. Then I ask myself, what mistake did I make? Where is the mistake? Where should I feel guilty? We can ask ourselves this too. This is like the story Swāmījī received from Mahāprabhujī. Mahāprabhujī asked Swāmījī when he had these questions. In India, in Jhadan, Mahāprabhujī asked Swāmījī, "What do you see in the evening when the tree is standing there? What do you see?" Swāmījī said, "Many birds are coming, and they are sitting there, finding a place to sleep." Then Mahāprabhujī asked, "What do you see in the morning?" The birds are all getting ready, making their day, and flying away. Then Mahāprabhujī said, "Is the tree sad or happy? Neither this nor that." So Mahāprabhujī said, "Be like a tree. Give shade to whoever comes. Give fruit to whoever comes." It does not matter who is coming or not. If only one person comes, we do not cancel the class. We conduct the class. I often hear, "Only one person? No, I will cancel." I am nobody. I am nobody, but that one person who is coming... Can you imagine how sad that person is? He or she will not come again. So we have to teach even with only one person, with more awareness, more devotion, and more knowledge. Also, what I see or hear is that some yoga teachers come late, of course, running in at the last minute, thinking, "Who is here? Hopefully nobody will come, then I am free." I have heard this. It is better not to teach, better not to start. Better not to start; stay at home, have your day, keep your certificate, but do not start to teach. Because once we start to teach and take responsibility for our students, we have to continue. Do not leave them somewhere in the middle of the ocean. If you know you will stop, then at the right time, you bring in a new yoga teacher. He or she may do even better than you, but never leave them alone and give up. So, make your decision clear and good before you start to teach. Of course, it can happen that we are ill, or we are away for a long time, but then we have to arrange something so that it continues. And if we die, if we attain mokṣa in the class, like the good husband in the kitchen, then what could be better? So, the yoga teacher... There is no "Rin" yoga teacher. "Rin" the yoga teacher—it is something really special, and I admire all those who are doing selfless Nishkām Karma Yoga, the seva without any expectation of payment, without any expectation of thanks, only to help and to give what we have received, Father. And this is the duty. As it is said in Hindi: "My whole life is a pūjā to Thee. My whole life is a prayer and pūjā to Thee, O God, O Lord, O Gurudev." It is not that we do seva and bring water or chai, as Swāmījī always says. Yes, we would like to do that, but seva is something different. Seva is surrender—complete surrender. Your own life is no longer just your life; you are here to serve. Swāmījī is a great, great example, a mentor. We cannot explain it; even the Vedas cannot explain. How can we explain? It is written in the bhajans: even the Vedas cannot explain. I need not start; I do not know where to start. So, good. This is what Samy says at Omapuri: go there and tell what it means to be a yoga teacher from Yoga in Daily Life. Nostra via. Only once. There are many yoga schools, but what we teach, how we teach, and the depth of our knowledge cannot be compared. We had a meeting before the International Day of Yoga at the Indian Embassy, and many teachers from different yoga groups came. In Vienna, Radishyam was there, Pushpa and others. When we look at them and ask, "Who is your Gurujī? What is your lineage?" there is none. There is nothing. I do not want to mention names or make them look bad. They are very nice people, but the background is empty. There is no basis. As Shri Matajī said, there are no roots; the roots are flat. But our roots are like the neem tree—they go so deep. It cannot be compared. Our roots go to the source. For myself, I am really proud. I am proud to have this lineage. It is so safe. Speaking for myself, I have been teaching for 30 years. The longing to pass it on was within me because I was working in orthopedics and patients kept asking me why I was not teaching these things in classes. They were practically forcing me to start. Otherwise, who was I to teach? At that time, there was no formal yoga teacher certificate or teacher training as we have now. Our teacher was Swāmījī directly. It was quite strict. So I started, and I learned more during teaching than while practicing. This is also the miracle. What I can say from myself is that I never prepare before a class. I have my cloth where I place Swāmījī's picture and the book. I do not use candles and agarbattīs (incense sticks), except when we are in the ashram where there is a candle and light on the altar. I never use agarbattīs; I prefer fresh air. Only for morning and evening prayer do I use a little Agarbatī. That is enough. No candle, and no extra pictures when I am teaching outside. I have the book with Swami Chivit, and we have one round symbol of the Oṁ which I place there during class. I do not want to force or compromise for anyone. I make my praṇām mentally to Gurū Dev before teaching, and then I begin. What comes, comes; what does not, does not. Sometimes we have silence, even if it is glass-silent—no music, nothing. Because when people come, they are mostly coming from the office, working hard all day, from families with children, with big sorrows. They just want to relax. I have one rule or discipline for myself: no private talking during classes. No organizational subjects during regular yoga classes. This must be addressed at another time. Even if there are one or two people who are not involved in the organization, they will feel pushed aside. I do not want that. No private subjects about politics or anything that does not belong to the yoga class. We have to take really careful care of this. Also, as Swāmījī does—he does this because we are students, we are disciples. I am talking mostly for those who are not disciples, who are coming for the first or second time. When they are real disciples, it is different, but that is after the class. So this is actually everything I wanted to tell, what comes to my mind. That we, yoga teachers from Yoga in Daily Life, do not change the exercises, do not practice according to some other school. We try to remain within the levels, and we pass on what we learn, what we hear from Gurū Dev. I was lucky when I started with yoga. I did not know anything before about yoga or spiritual knowledge, nothing. I did not read so many different things, so I have only this knowledge. I cannot mix it because there is nothing to mix. This is very practical also—if you do not know anything else, only what we learn from Swāmījī: about the Rāmāyaṇa, the Bhagavad Gītā, the Mahābhārata, and of course Swāmī Śivānandajī, what Swāmījī always tells, and Mahāprabhujī. Other knowledge I do not have, and I am also not interested. Because with this teaching we learn from Swāmījī, it is so full, so complete; there is nothing missing. And if perhaps one of you is curious and wants to hear someone else in some lecture, and you go there, maybe then you will be disappointed. It can happen. Okay, and I once experienced from Swāmījī... I sometimes ask myself, "Did I learn wrong, or what happened? Why? Swāmījī was always teaching this, and suddenly it is that." But perhaps he is doing this so that we are not too narrow-minded, so that we are a little flexible. So I will finish now; Swāmījī is coming. Thank you. Hari Om.

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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