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The Treasure in Your Hands: Mudrās, Stories, and the State of Yoga

A satsang on the preservation of yoga, the significance of mudrās, and a teaching story.

"In Europe, we call this a rehabilitation center. So when you say 'yoga retreat center'... it is not for yoga or for healthy people."

"The real yogic science is in your hands now, in your hands. And your hand is—Indians cannot understand—because now yoga is in your hands."

Swami Ji addresses the global state of yoga, lamenting that India has lost its treasure of authentic practice while Western practitioners now hold it. He critiques superficial approaches, teaches specific hand mudrās for healing, and narrates an extended allegorical tale about a shepherd who becomes the poet Kālidāsa to illustrate awakening latent knowledge. The talk emphasizes proper, holistic practice.

Filming location: Auckland, New Zealand

Now, sit in a yoga posture for a while. Afterwards, you can do the other leg, but for now sit like this. Place your hands on your knees, thumbs up, and touch your middle thumb—this point here. Not like that, like this. Keep the three fingers separate. This is not like that; it's like this. These are the mudrās. Regarding these mudrās, I don't know about in India, but in Europe—in Czech, Slovak, and Hungary—we have retreat centers. Our retreat centers are not like the retreat centers you have, where you make them here and there. We do not have those. We have a retreat center only for those who are ill: people with problems in the shoulders, elbows, legs, stomach, mental problems, stress, and many other things. In Europe, we call this a rehabilitation center. So when you say "yoga retreat center" to a yoga center, it is not for yoga or for healthy people; it is not. We should try to change this, and we can make a nice world. This is mostly in Australia, America, and here. Otherwise, no. We could offer very nice, other techniques and words; people would be happy and ask, "What is this new technology?" But what I am talking about is this retreat, the rehabilitation center, for those who have stress, restlessness, sleeping problems, and many other issues. Now, in the last 25 years, or maybe already 30 years, many of our yoga centers—not only Yoga in Daily Life centers, but many other yoga centers in New Zealand and elsewhere—are very, very good. Yogīs are practicing seriously, very seriously. Now, India is beginning again. Why? Because they lost the treasure. Now they are searching for the treasure, but they are lost. So why? Where are they getting it from? They are getting it back from the West. Yes. And also, Indians are doing what Europeans are not doing anymore. But Indians have taken all this, yet Westerners do not like it. If you go to your office in New Zealand—perhaps a government office or any office—how many people will wear a tie? How many people will not go without a tie in a company or somewhere? Who wears ties more, and who goes without? Do you know? Thank you. In Croatia, New Zealand, Australia, they even go in T-shirts. Now in America, also not. But Indians, my dear India, that is India. India is very good, great. That is judged by God. So now they have the judgment of this. This is what I am saying: people are making what others like to do, but others do not do it. So now Indians are learning from Europeans. I know the government will be very angry with me now. My ambassador will be very angry. I tell them, now they are teaching yoga in the wrong direction, learning yoga from Europeans. Now Indians think that Westerners, even Indian yoga practitioners, are good. But we would like to teach them Indian yoga. Who said? India. Of course, in India there are many yoga schools, very, very good schools. They have better techniques also, but they are suppressed, pushed down. The government wanted to have them, but someone, by not being in the hands of God properly—the ministers. Anyhow, more or less, now the day will come which is coming: International Yoga Day. Our government is giving for the ambassadors, and they are bringing yoga teachers from India to here. They are employed in the embassy of India. But the teachers who came from here are my disciples here, or other yoga teachers here. They all know a little āsana and prāṇāyāma, but they also do not know properly what āsanas are. It has already been a few years that we have had these embassies. Now, nobody is coming. That means again, it is lost. The knowledge is lost. India is losing its knowledge. We have it, but Indians themselves are destroying it due to some "I don't like this, I don't like that." Now, you people here, in the whole world in Europe and Western countries, I would say: Sūrya Namaskār. I will ask you, who knows the Sūrya Namaskār? Who does not know the Sūrya Namaskār? Two. Okay, thank you. So you know. Good. This sister knows, but when I tell you how it is, you say, "Yes, yes, I know." Okay, good. Can you look at that poster there? Yes, you know. So this is the Sūrya Namaskār, okay? This is Sūrya Namaskār because the government does not take it; therefore, this is our Yoga in Daily Life, Khaṭṭu Praṇām. So this is a Khaṭṭu Praṇām; this is not a Sūrya Namaskār. Sūrya Namaskār is only 12 postures, and ours has 27 postures, 28 postures, and that is more complete and perfect. But it does not matter. They said no, number one. Number two, the chanting of Oṁ. People think Oṁ is religious, number one, and if it is religion, it is not bad. If it is religion, it is not a crime. But they said, the Muslims, the Christians, they said, "We do not worship the sun, so we do not want to do Sūrya Namaskār. Why should we give salutation to the sun?" Okay, but if one day the sun does not rise, on the third day, the second and third day, you will be frozen. God is not that moon or the sun, but this light and energy—this is our life. But, okay, they said no. Second, Oṁ, they said it is a Hindu religion. It is not only the Hindu religion. You should know what that means. And so, of course, the Indians begin again. They are making Sūrya Namaskār and everything, doing good. No problem. But I say that the real yogic science is in your hands now, in your hands. And your hand is—Indians cannot understand—because now yoga is in your hands. You have that personal good yoga; it is in your hands now. Because people in America, in Afghanistan, in Europe, in Mexico, and everywhere else, they are practicing very, very scientifically: making prāṇāyāma, āsanas, meditations, prayers, Oṁ, books, etc. And India has life like this. Ask the yoga teacher in our embassy questions. The teacher does not know anything, only these āsanas, prāṇāyāmas, and this. And someone is in between, that master is that, and they said, "Only do this and not that." Lost. Science, but that cannot be lost. They have lost. Not that science and this yoga have not gone. They are, we are there everywhere. This is what I want to say: it has to be practiced properly and well, physically, mentally, socially, spiritually, and cosmically, thus becoming one with the cosmic self. So, Yoga in Daily Life—that is why we call it the physical, health, mental, social, and spiritual. These are all under Yoga in Daily Life, but you are rereading that. So, what can we do now? Where am I? I have not lost where I was. In our European schools, in America and here and everywhere, but no one is systematically teaching yoga in Europe. Maybe Yoga in Daily Life, Swami Sivananda's, there was another one—no, that is Sivananda's, and this other one is that of Iyengar. But Iyengar has only body postures, not that eternal, and therefore Swami Vivekananda. There was spiritual talk also in Yogananda. So there are many, many people there, different. And now, others, they want to suppress them, but they will not. That is why people are not going more to the embassies organizing yoga there. This is that. So lost in India, again. Therefore, my bhaktas, how many they are in India, and they are learning and teaching yoga exactly how it should be. Yoga is not postures, not exercises. That is okay, but this has to be done properly then. In those rehabilitation centers and retreat centers—we call them also—when we have problems, psychic problems, restlessness problems, and no sleeping problems, then these three, five fingers in our hand—this is five fingers. There is a story about five fingers. Someone is very, very good. Very, very good. That little jockey—how to say? A jockey. And yoga is that one king. There was a king. Sometimes they were stupid, but what to do? So, that king had one daughter, and she was studying. The king wanted to marry his daughter, but it should be very, very spiritual and good, and like this. Some king, and that she wanted to marry. The king sent five people searching for a prince here, there, whatever. They bring one, she does not like. Again they bring, again she says, "I do not like." Again they bring from other parts. "I like him." I learned this, I learned. There is no fun time either. Her father does not like it, or the daughter does not like them, but she wanted to give questions. And the question, you should be that. Give my answer, then I will say, "Yes, that is my husband, Prabhupāda." She asked the question, and they could not answer the questions, or something like this. Now, the five people are going here, there, here, and there. After a few years, they were fed up. But of course, order is the order of the king. So they went, and they wanted one man, a young man. And what? They were going somewhere, and that man was a shepherd. There were goats and sheep. He was, and people were going tired all the time, sometimes with the horse and sometimes walking. They see that a few of these animals are there, the goat and sheep. And there is one man, a young man, very nice, strong. Oh my God, that is good. But no one is like him here. Yes, so I am sorry, I will not choose you. I will not choose you. He was sitting on the branch of the tree and cutting some pieces of the branch of the tree for the goat and sheep. They said, "Oh, there is somebody." And Dev was looking, and what is happening? Such an intelligent, he said, that can be. But he did not study anything. And that one we will choose, but we will not choose that one. There is no one here like that. And why are you not like that? After, I will tell you, okay? This man was sitting on the branch from the, what we call, the trunk. So he is sitting on the branch and cutting from here, where is the trunk? All five said, "This is a stupid one, and I think we give him knowledge. Please do not sit on that side to cut the branch, but cut from the other side." He said, "You do not know, go out of the way." They said, "Please." He said, "No, no, it is okay." They said again, waiting, and he cut. The branch fell first, and then he had a problem with his back. That is why he said, "Oh, this is a good prince for mine, and we will make it. We will make some kind of game so the king will also accept it, and she will accept it." They are, he is a stupid of the stupid, and that is why you are not that one, okay? Now, you okay? So, you are not that. And they, he was some, and he anyhow gave him the water and this and that. They said, "Did you marry?" He said, "What is a marriage? Oh, you are the shepherd. Yes, yes, yes. Would you like to marry?" "Nobody wants to marry me, I do not know." I said, because they are waiting for you. It will be great by the kings. Prince is in. So, really, yes. Now, this is, but they said, "We will give you a beautiful, beautiful wife, but do not speak, do not speak. I will answer everything when they are talking. Or when we said, then you can say yes. That is all." Now he said, "I am boring." I am boring. They gave him good dress, everything. Hair was cut nicely, not till here, but complete, nice anyhow. But do not go one step further, then we do not, okay? One messenger again, your highness, we brought that young man, very nice, very beautiful, strong, everything. He said, "Can I see?" He said, "If you want to see, he will go away." He will say, "What do you think? Is my face not good?" And he is very intelligent. The king said, "Okay, then we prepare this." But the prince said, "First answer my questions." Also, he will give a concert. She is sitting there. He is sitting there, nicely dressed and everything. And five people are sitting there. She asked the question, and he is asking about the five fingers' knowledge. This finger is for the tilaka, and this is best. So she said, "What is this finger?" And this boy became so angry because, you know, mostly we said like this, no? And when she said this, he said, "I will cut your finger," he said, "Finish, finish." What did he say? He said, "This is the first thumb, thumb strong, the consciousness awakening." He said, "Ah, really?" He said, "Yes." Now, what is this? This man said, "You are telling me like this?" So she said, "What did he answer?" He said, "What are you doing? Eko brahmaduttyā naṣṭrī. All you want is the Brahma." She said yes. She accepted them. She accepted this finger, number five, the third finger. And he said, "And this? This finger?" She said, "Yes, this finger is a balancing of the both part to our... our camel can walk like..." What he said? No, no... He said, "This is that power of all the fingers. Oh, very good. But what is this?" He said, "Yes, this is... you will get a ring." He said, "Really?" He said, "Yes. And this finger, that is the eternal. God Kṛṣṇa, he will, from this finger, whole mountain, how to say, lift up. Oh, and he said, "What is this?" And he said, "You saw me this? I will." He said, "No, moment, moment." Always, they pulled him back. He said, "Pāda Parameśvara, Pāda finger. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, Vaiśya, this." Oh, great. You are great. But now, only one more. If I want to marry you, then I will play with you, sack. Okay? So all evening there will be the game, at about 10 o'clock in the evening. I will sit there, the prince said, and he should also sit in front of me. And we will play. If you win, I will marry you. And if I win, then I will not let you. No problem. Now, there is one person who is very clever, like our Madhurām. You know Madhurām? And you know what mother has this? Flute, but she had one cat. The cat plays the game. Very curry. And that she puts one light, a lamp with oil. And it is said, if the cat moves away, I lose. And therefore, I put the lamp here, this, and my cat is there. And my cat will all the time concentrate on this flame. And what is that? Trāṭaka, yogic trāṭaka. If my cat looks left and right somewhere, I am lost. I said, "Okay, so these five people: one was Madhurām, one was Dayālpuri, there was Lakṣmaṇpuri, and two are there. They are five." Now, look how they are very clever. She is clever, the cat is clever, but the other five, they are more clever than this. And the other one is stupid, but they said, "Do not move." So what did he say? When the five fingers are given, then these are the five Parameśvara, the five points, everything, this. So he said, she said, "What is this? What does this mean, the fingers?" He said. He became angry. He wanted to go to these goats and sheep. So he said, "What is this, Parameśvara?" And he said, "You want to give me cheap?" He showed like this. What do you mean by like this? God, they called his name back, and she said, "What is that?" She said, "This is the five Parameśvara." But it cannot; each cannot do anything. But when they all come together, then there is a power there. She said, "Oh, this husband will be very good." So now the cat. And now, the cat will, if she will say, the marriage will be, because her game will be only depending on the cat. So the cat is looking there. But they made the form. There is a, in Australia, there is a very big wood. You know what that is? That is it. So he said, "If she will make problems, I will take her and shave her hair away." So stupid was that man. But anyhow, they put this flute inside, and he brought a mouse and they tied the mouse inside and put it in the flute in the middle, and nobody knows this is his flute. The Prince has his flute, and so... It was inside now. When she came to wean the princess, they little, they will lose the rope of the mouse. And the mouse was coming little. In the cat said, she lost one, lost second again, slowly, slowly, when. Comes, again the mouse is moving. This is a cat. You know, sir, the game of the cat is very, very critical, very much. Do not, yes, you see how the cats are all the time? They do not know what a cat can do. Again, slowly comes, and again, all the five times game, she lost. She sat up and said to her father, the king, "I want to marry her. She is perfect, very intelligent." And these old people said, "God," but that is their problem. After we go, we will not come here anymore. So they married and they took her. Now she came into the beautiful palace of the princess, and he was sleeping. And he was like, "What is this? And how is this? And what is this?" She said, "My dear, all is yours and mine." Yes, I am tired. Yes, you can have a nice bed and so. And he sleeps. He sleeps. And she is sitting there beside him. And he said, she said, "Oh, my husband is perhaps tired." And at four o'clock in the morning, he said, "Where are my goats?" And, oh God, she said, "Who are you?" You know, "I am a shepherd, I have to go to my goats and sheep." And she kicked her from the... window. Who? The princess. And throw him down. He is down. His back was a little bit hurt. But from this nerve, that is called Vajranāḍī. The Vajranāḍī is from here till the end of our spine. That brings, that awakes the knowledge from there to here. And so he woke up. He became wise, all knowledge, and he went there. And after he became a great, a great, a great Sanskrit, and 2,300 years before was that Kavi Kālidāsa. Did you hear the name of Kālidāsa? Some of you. In all the best libraries in the universities, there you can find a book from Kālidāsa. Kavikālī Dās. What time? Mound wave tells one, two story or two, three words about Kavikālī Dās? Yes? Come. Otherwise, they say, "Swamiji makes such jokes and finishes." Yes. Haan? Śloka. His śloka of Sanskrit. My god. And then it is not a joke. It is a reality, and I want to make you all like that. Kavikālī Dāsa received his grace from Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning. And because he learned, he got the full grace from Sarasvatī, and he became a master poet. I will recite one śloka from Kavikālī Dās, who talks about Sarasvatī. Sanskrit is a very, very precise and very structured language, and Kālidāsa had the ability to write a śloka which actually followed all the rules, and he could write it in such a way that there were no propositions. To my above, he just paints it like a broad-brushed picture. You will have the rest; everything will come into picture, and the whole picture will come into you. This is the śloka he wrote about Sarasvatī. The meaning is: she who has a face like a crescent moon. Kunda in Hindu, there is the, the words that I am using in English, that connects the words are not there in Sanskrit. She with she small moon face, and she is wearing a flower, a mālā with a whole lot of flowers, and the flowers, when you look at... Then you get a cool feeling: the one who is actually holding a vīṇā by its stalk, and the one who is wearing white clothes representing purity, and his or her clothes are so bright. And this is the way Kālidāsa described Sarasvatī. He wrote a complete epic on a love story between a king and a queen, and his style of writing was so precise and had such great knowledge, it is still considered a difficult subject to study in a master's. Of course, Kavikālī Dās. So now you are a little bit like my stories, good, or it was only a... no? Yes. So, Alakpurījī's, Alakpurījī's stories there, the glaciers of the glory of the Alakpurījī's there, and there Kavikālī Dās, he is writing a poem, and that whole story I will not tell you, otherwise different. We call God, the treasure of God is who? Kubera, and the Kubera who is the Kubera, Rāvaṇa's brother, and Rāvaṇa and Kubera is the treasurer of the gods. All gods have his treasure with him, which he gave him after. So, about Rāmaṇa, you do not know many. You should know the story of God Rāma and this. And all of Sri Lanka, and so that Rāvaṇa's brother... And King Rāvaṇa was very perfect, and Śiva's devotion very much, and no one can beat Rāvaṇa. And his kingdom there is called the gold. Sri Lanka is gold, the gold Sri Lanka. And his brother, he was a little bit angry, and one day the crown of Rāvaṇa was billions and billions of treasure of that one. And he took it and he ran. Brother Rāvaṇa was angry, and he sent his people. But he ran and ran and... somewhere in the Himalayas, and there. Then Alakpurījī, he said, go on this mountain. Nobody will come. Rāvaṇa also cannot come here. And that mountain, with its big glaciers, is called Kubera Hill or Kubera Mountain. Who was in the Alagpurījī? We told that. Yes, who was? Hand up. One, two, three, four, five, six, they all saw that mountain. No one can enter there on the hill. And if one is interested in the night only, but if you go at night, there will be like a completely different other world, but they will not let you come back. Or just go, do not tell anybody back, otherwise you will die. He is a mystic, such a mystic there, where Alāgpurījī is. So Rāvaṇa's brother Kubera, and he had come with him, Kubera's servant, powerful, which even the gods, they are all. So his servant was there, and Kubera said, "Every morning before sunrise from the Himalaya, from the mountain," which mountain? Kailāśa. And there is one lake, and in that lake is a golden flower, which is called, these flowers which are the lotus. You have to come before sunrise for my pūjā, the worshipping of God. So always he was coming and going. Then Kubera, who was that? So Kubera was married. So, okay, no problem. But Kubera, you must always come. My puja, he said, at that time should be golden flowers; you have to have them. One day, young marriage, he forgot. Or he slept until sunrise, one hour, one and a half hours. And Kubera was so angry, he wanted to walk up. Oh God, he ran to bring the flowers, but what to do? So the treasurer of the gods, Kubera, he said to his servant, "You will not see your wife for so many years anymore. You will disappear, and she will disappear." So, that Kavi Kālidāsa, he writes a book, a book you can see. So he was talking with his wife through the clouds. So he was telling the cloud, the message to his wife, and he said, "Megha means clouds, and Dūta is a messenger." So that was a messenger through the clouds coming this. So Kālidāsa, a great person, and this book you have, you can buy somewhere. They are all changing. Very, very ancient books, they are a little bit different, and everybody is writing them. But that story is very, very big. So what I am telling you, you think it is not a joke, that I put in your life, you may be about it for a whole life. This story is what I am telling. Similarly, in that, what I am talking, you know where? Retreat center. And that is why the Australians are going to a retreat center somewhere, and this is to know that. And so, in the brain we have mostly the tension, the anger, the hate, the many, many mental problems. You cannot sleep. In that, then it is said in yoga, if you are in yoga, and Patañjali and further other yogīs. So, when you are coming, what yoga are you doing in Western countries? Zero. What you are learning is zero. It is not. Zero also means perfect. Perfect. And that is why, you know, one of the Indian great scholars long, long ago, he gave, solved the problems of the science in what? With zero, and if there is no zero, we cannot count any further. Then we had one goat, two goats, three goats, and then like this. But one zero made all perfect, and he gave from one to nine. After nine, there is no more counting. There is a zero. And so we can do billions, trillions, but the zero is that. And that is the brain of that yogī who was giving us this. And so it is said, this way, first, is bringing that energy into the whole body. And this is three, it took away. And then we can see in yoga, these three, which are three? The guṇas: rajas, tamas, and sattva. So these three, this energy is flowing. When we go to the meditation, if... You are a yogī, you are learning yogic, then all these five fingers are great. Just touch this finger like this. Touch just how things are going up. Yes? Wow! And when your husband will not wake up, your wife will gently do like this, and you say, "Oh, no!" Energy, energy. Either this side or that side. And so these are all three: good, bad, and this—all three. But then this is Ekabrahma, only Ekabrahma, Dutyanāsti. Dutyanāsti means all is bad. And so this finger has to be touched to the thumb. And the thumb, it is said, this is a thumb. This thumb is holding the whole ceiling. Similarly, it is that the whole earth is balanced on one. That will be afternoon, evening will come, if you remind me, because I have so many things, from where to where I will go. So again, in retreat centers, rehab centers, etc., when you are here, then we are giving them, those who have problems, we let them sit down. And really, it is coming: the happiness, joy, relaxation, but not like that. If you go like this, it is only for a picture. Make a picture, and then you say, "So be like this, relax." And so this is for this, all this stress, everything, stress releasing. Tell anybody, do not tell there is a yoga technique, this technique. Just let the person sigh down, lie down, and hold your hand down, but with this index finger and thumb touching, and then you will see how the energy is going through. Or we can touch in a different way, like this. But they should be together. This is a mudrā. It is a yogic mudrā, and these are mudrās. How many mudrās? If you go to India, and I did not already know about how many years, five years, 20 years, or 15 years, it would be like they made a new Indian airport. And when you go to the airport, there are all the main, main mudrās, yes, beautiful, this and you... You should take a photo, and there is a write-up about everyone, about each mudrā, what it means. It is not only that you make a photo. It is very, very useful, our knowledge for our yoga class, for yoga and for the giving to people through the mudrās. We can create, make a healthy person through the whole body because there are enough systems. And these systems are 72,000 nerve systems, and more are mirrored in this picture. You know, have this? We will make a big picture, and then we will see everywhere. And so now, without skin, you see how the nerves are running there. And so, all is... So do yoga, but not today this and today that. No, we have to be, we have to be properly. What the teacher will tell you, okay? Hanging in the window, do not take it out. Master did not say to take it out. So is that. Always we are doing that. That is the problem. Yoga practice is for students who are making progress in other directions. So this mudrā is like this. And then another thing: if you have more anger or stress, very much stress, now you can do it immediately. It awakens very quickly. And so, the thumbs and index finger, and very gently rotate your fingers like this. How is it? Wow. Or then this index finger in the palm. Ah, already, already, what a power. What a power, yes? And if we take the four, this is again all. These four are all the five directions of this, and four is for Vedas, for all these prāṇas, body, mind, etc. And so go here. Now, this hand, not touch. This hand does not touch like this. It should be like this. Then these fingers, do you feel it? But the fingers are close, not like that, not like that, and gently, go ahead. That is called that awakes; the hairs are standing. All the centers of the nerves are awakening. Just sit there and meditate. Dīpa Nirañjana Sabhā Dukkha Vajra. Dīpa Nirañjana Sabhā Dukkha Vajra. Look, the tip of the fingers, this is okay. There is also, but this touch, because it is that in the pair. So there, all these centers awake all kinds of energy in the body. Yes, it will awake. What do you want to awake in your body? And so, but you have to have this. These are pañca parameśvara. We call pañca parameśvara. And who is pañca parameśvara? Pañca Parameśvara is Śiva, Pārvatī, Gajānanjī, Kārtikeya, and Nandeśvara, Nandi. These are Pañca Parameśvara. You know what is a Parameśvara? The highest god, the highest god. And where is the highest god? In your five figures, this is that you are within you. And similarly, there are so many. We have perhaps one month; I will be here, okay? And then, does not matter. Now I have Siddhi. Do not tell anybody, okay? I have the Siddhi, and that is, the whole world will listen and look as one. But that is it. There is no battery. Yes?

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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