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Your Holiness, yoga has gained worldwide acclaim. How is the system of Yoga in Daily Life different from other systems of yoga? You are right. Yoga is found throughout the whole world. Where there are humans, there is yoga, and where yoga is, there are humans. Yoga is designed for the well-being of humans. It is a very ancient science of body, mind, consciousness, and the soul. Yoga in Daily Life is not different from other yoga. What you call... there is no 'other yoga,' or there is no 'this yoga, that yoga.' Yoga is all the yoga. But it depends on how every teacher experiences and tries to help the people with some knowledge. Life is a science: body, mind, consciousness, and the soul. It is the aim of physical health, mental health, social health, and spiritual health. It has been put in such a complete way, compact with very simple exercises to get gradually to the higher levels of exercise. So, Yoga in Daily Life makes an easy life for people to practice, and it is very easy whether you are young or old, healthy or ill. For everyone, there is a special exercise in Yoga in Daily Life. Life is that, which is why it is a worldwide, very much appreciated and practiced practice, even in hospitals and in many rehabilitation centers. And also, it is a practice in the children's kindergartens, yoga for prisoners, and yoga is also for blind people. So, Yoga in Daily Life is a system which is designed to make it easier for everyone, and everyone can receive this. So, there is absolutely no restriction that the contemporary urban population wouldn't benefit from practicing yoga? Of course, they will benefit very much if they practice. The problem is that these people are struggling for their life, for work. They are working in the farmhouse, they are working in the fields, they are working in construction, and like this. But if they will practice every day for half an hour or one hour, definitely it will benefit them very much. Because it is not designed only for the cities or for the urban areas, but it is designed for the well-being of all. And it is very nice for them. We have great success with that. You see here the participants in our ashram, now where we are. This is Strilky Ashram. It is very beautiful, you see. And we have people here from many, many small villages, so it’s very good. It’s very, very nice. Like you mentioned before, there are many therapeutic effects of yoga. Are there some that you would especially like to stress? Yes. Because since yoga is, in the first place, dealing with good health, and therefore it is for almost every disease—except infections, because sometimes when you have infections, then you have to treat with different things, or there is a mechanical thing where an operation is needed. Otherwise, yoga is a prevention as well as a treatment. If you seriously, every... when you begin to practice yoga, be sure that you can cure many, many diseases. Could you explain one thing to us? Many people are wondering, is yoga a religion, or is it not? Could you help us and explain this? It is very important. To understand what I mean about religion, the religion is something beyond that—spirituality and cosmic consciousness. Every religion is a kind of philosophy, information given by some incarnation or some great, great soul. Okay? I like to believe Mahāprabhujī as a divine incarnation. Or some believe in Kṛṣṇa, or some believe in God, Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Sītā, or some believe in Jesus, and some believe in Buddhas. It’s okay, all right, that’s very good. Some believe the message of the Prophet Muhammad, they’re very good. But though you believe this, yoga is above religion. Because who doesn’t want to be healthy? Who would not like to be happy? Who would not like to live long? And who would not like to have a balanced life? And therefore, yoga is above religion. Everyone can practice; it doesn’t matter if you believe in this religion or that religion. So yoga is appreciable for all people. Today, people struggle very hard in one subject mostly: how to balance career and private life. But what would be your suggestion for them? Well, it’s two things which are completely separated. Your career, you are doing—just let’s say, for your existence—doesn’t matter in which way. You are an artist, scientist, doctor, farmer, driver, politician. This is just an outer part of your life. But your private life, your family life, that you should give more attention, pay more attention to your family and the spiritual growth of your family. After your social work, social duty, be with the family, pray. That’s a very strong power: meditate, practice your mantras. So, Yoga in Daily Life has a very systematic guidance to balance both wings of life: your outer life, as well as your spiritual or family life. So, one question that I think will be interesting for many, especially women, because it seems to be a lot of stress on them. Everybody expects them to be perfect models, perfect mothers, and perfect career women. So what is your view on the role of women today, which seems to be under a lot of stress? Well, women are always perfect, there’s no doubt. Because women, as the mother, they are perfect. Women, as... they are helpers, working perfectly. Women have a very high position in the family, and in every family. And, of course, those women who study and so on, they go out. They don’t need to pay extra attention to be more successful? They are very successful. So it’s the wrong imagination of the people that women should look like this and like that. This is an ambition of the people which is not good, Your Holiness. What would be your message for a modern person today? My message for a modern person is this: while living in this modern world, follow the ancient wisdom, follow the ancient thoughts, spirituality, and practice Yoga in Daily Life. That will definitely balance your life and will give you the contentment of this life. You will be a perfect person in this modern world, having that origin of the wisdom. There is ancient wisdom: Vedas, Upaniṣads, Bhagavad Gītā, Rāmāyaṇa, also Bible, Qur’ān. These are all beautiful holy scriptures and the words of the great sages. So the modern world needs the ancient wisdom again. So please tell us, are there any indications that someone should not practice yoga? Yes, there are many indications that one should not practice yoga. If you are very seriously ill, then you should not practice certain exercises of yoga. But you should practice yoga, or Yoga in Daily Life, therapeutical exercises, so you can practice. Yoga can be for everyone, for everywhere. But there is a precaution, and that’s what in Yoga in Daily Life is especially designed for different illnesses, for different capacity of the person: old, young, or ill in the hospitals or after accidents. So there are different exercises. Of course, there’s indication that all should not practice yoga what they see on the television and in the books. That’s something even more serious. We could also say this is some kind of illness we are facing, not only economic global crisis, but above all, moral global crisis. What do you think are the main things that yoga could offer contemporary people to overcome this moral crisis? Well, the great saint Patañjali and many other yogīs, they speak about discipline. If humans will have discipline, then this will not happen. But the problem is this: the outer world, the media, has given so many temptations and open things. So, for many people, they don’t know what it is and what to do, and they think this is just for them to abuse as it is, and that is a problem. So, discipline and also follow the spiritual literatures. Every religion, if you look into the Hindu religions, books, or Christians, or Jews, or in Islam, in the Qur’ān and so on, there is a lot of respect towards both male and female, and there is no such crisis. So, therefore, people have to think to follow what is said in great literature. So, yoga also tells that: limit your needs, limit your desires, because this is not all. What you think that you should do, and you have a higher aim in life, so this is very important. So, people should follow the discipline, but people should have an education. The parents must have education of the ethic and morals, then the children will also learn. But the problem is with the parents, you know, the grown people. The grown people are making all this, not the children. So we are all responsible for what the coming generation will be and how they will do. So, let me use your answer to further the question. What, in your opinion, is the role of the media in modern society? The role of the media is that they shall try to protect the beautiful human culture, traditions, ethics, and morals. And media should concentrate also on the development of spirituality. Definitely, media can do great things. They can awaken the spiritual consciousness in the people. The media can help the whole globe to come out of this crisis. And there are very few media outlets that talk about spirituality, and if they do, then very little. Because maybe in the media, they don’t have someone who guides them about this, and many people have problems, or many people are fed up with the different dogmas of religions. But the media should give spirituality above the religions. Pure, like yoga, is above all religions, and it is beautiful. So I would say that televisions and newspapers should give such spiritual thoughts to the people, that people again wake up and say, "Yes, we are human. We cannot do this. We should not do this because this is not good for us, neither good for the public," and so on. So I presume it’s also the media that helped many people to know about your many humanitarian projects, one of them is Yoga Science University that is being built in Jadan, and hospital and schools for children. Can you share with us the vision, your vision of this project? Yes, this university, which is going to be finished very soon in one or two years, and my vision is there. It should be education for the elderly people, for the grown people. A spiritual center where they can come and learn tolerance, respect, and understanding for all cultures, religions, traditions, and countries, and to respect fellow men, and to study all these holy scriptures without any differences. Be studied also with the Bible, Qur’ān, Vedas mostly, and Upaniṣads, Vedic cultures, which are very, very important and very, very nice. So, we have to... let’s see, that is a beautiful center in the shape of Om, and all Yoga in Daily Life people around the world, they help so much. And it has many, many beautiful aims and objectives for that. I’m looking forward. So, how do you contact people who want to donate for your project or who want to cooperate with you in this project? Well, when you go to the Yoga in Daily Life website, www.yogaindailylife.org, you find the different humanitarian projects. And when you see the humanitarian projects, there is also about coming about this building of this World Culture Center, you may say World Trade Culture Center.