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The Importance of the Anāmaya Kośa

The body, the food sheath, is our primary concern. Without a healthy body, nothing is present. Health allows energy to flow, elevating consciousness toward cosmic consciousness, termed Nirvāṇa. Yet, even after this realization, one returns to work. The body is a vehicle; health is attained, not bought. Life is destiny. We are like leaves on the tree of life, carried by the wind of destiny. Our duty, our Dharma, is to act according to our responsibility. Protect your Dharma, and it will protect you. There is individual, human, and universal Dharma. Karma is action; Dharma is duty; destiny is the result. A healthy body and mind are essential. The five prāṇas must flow freely for health. Yoga is one, a blessing from Śiva, though taught through various systems. The core truth is to hold firmly to meditation, prayer, or the name of God; all else is transient. Specific postures like Halāsana, Matsyāsana, and Sarvāṅgāsana affect the glands and energy. Practice must be correct and individual, guided by a knowledgeable teacher.

"Health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health."

"The leaf has fallen from the branch. The wind has blown it away... When will we come together again?"

Filming location: Hamburg, Germany

For us, at this moment, the Anāmaya Kośa is very important. What is the Anāmaya Kośa? The body of food. It does not matter what it is. It is said the body is nothing; the soul is consciousness and is the Ātman itself. But without the body, there is nothing at all. When our body is here, everything is present. If the body is not here, absolutely nothing is there. First and foremost, our primary concern—not our worry—is our health. When we are healthy, energy flows freely, and this is an upliftment, an elevation: the elevation of consciousness to cosmic consciousness. The cosmic consciousness one attains is called Nirvāṇa. But Nirvāṇa does not mean one is free from the wheel of rebirth and death. After the highest realization of consciousness, one continues to work, and then the Highest Himself is realized. Whoever has attained Nirvāṇa returns again as a Bodhisattva or an incarnation—a spiritual soul, a spiritual personality who has the highest consciousness returns again. So, our body is very important for us. Health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health. Health cannot be bought; health can only be attained. And so it is with our body as well; we cannot buy or sell anything. This is unique. And so it is with life; one cannot have a human life dictated to them. "In my next life, I would like to be a hamburger again, whether a man or a woman"—it is not possible. It is destiny. I am often fond of repeating a beautiful poem by a yogi, a poet who went into the forest and wrote many, many poems while observing nature. Then he wanted to write something about the future—destiny. To what extent can I influence my future? He had a piece of paper in his hand and was contemplating. It was November, and there was a beautiful large tree. Is there an earthquake? No. I love automatons; you don't need to do that at all. That supports my laziness. Is it okay, are you learning? It's also okay if someone cleans the kitchen or something like that. That is a beautiful sound. No sound is discordant; sound is sound. The Rūpa Parabrahma, the form of the Highest Self, is sound. But according to our quality, our guṇas—Sattva, Rajas, Tamas—we like certain sounds and are disturbed by others. When we sing beautiful bhajans and sit here singing in churches, there are some people who are bored. Some like to go into a dark room where clouds of smoke hang, with green and red and yellow light, and bam bam bam, and all of this is completely confused. But they would like to have it. This is the tattva, the nature. There is a beautiful poem on this theme. A fly is sitting on sandalwood paste, which has a good fragrance, a scent, very fresh and beautiful. A fly comes and sits there. Suddenly, a child went to the bathroom, to the toilet pot. Look at the pot. The fly has flown away from the sandalwood paste to the foul smell, the stinking odor. And so, one is a fool who does not appreciate the spiritual atmosphere. Where there is such an atmosphere, there you feel at ease. And what happens? Either he falls asleep during the Satsaṅg. Often it was the speech of one, and so on. That is so. Be vigilant. So, someone sits with a piece of paper and wants to write their poem. It was November, and a beautiful, large tree. How tall was the tree? Thirty meters tall. On the highest branch of the tree, one leaf remained. Because it’s November, all the leaves have fallen. Then came the wind, the November wind. The tree stands right on top of the hill, and the leaf has fallen. A strong wind has blown the leaf far away, from one hill to another hill. He observes and says, now he is writing a poem: "The leaf has fallen from the branch. The wind has blown it away. Now this separation. When will we come together again? Leaf and branch from the tree. The leaf has fallen. Will this leaf return again and come back to the same place?" Life on this planet is a tree. This planet is a tree, and we are the leaves. In the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā, Kṛṣṇa writes about the Banyan tree and compares the human body to a Banyan tree. Chapter 15, Mantras 1 and 2. What is the wind? The wind of destiny carries us away. We will fall very far away; we do not know when we will return. Therefore, it is your ignorance, your disappointment, your lack of clarity that makes you think you will be born here again. You would like to have the same father and mother again. You want to have the same partner right away in the next life. For that, you must create a soteriological karma. Do you love your wife? Do you love your husband? Do you love your children? Do you love your parents? Then follow your Dharma. Dharma Rakṣita Rakṣitaḥ. It is Dharma—your task, your duty, your responsibility. This is Dharma. Dharma is to see with the eyes. That you can see everything, it possesses you. Now, your Dharma is to possess your eyes. If you can possess your eyes, they will also possess you. Own your ears; they will also help you to own yourself. What is protected by dharma is protected. If you have dharma, if you protect your dharma, if you possess your dharma, then dharma will possess you. This is the eternal law. And so, in your hand or in my hand, there is nothing at all. Only one thing: that according to our dharma we must act. But what is my dharma? There is individual dharma, and there is a natural, human dharma, and there is a universal dharma. Thus, there are three Dharmas, three laws. General Dharma is the law of your country. What law does our country have? We should not go against this country or Dharma. Secondly, as a human being. A human is born as an owner. So be the protector, not the distractor. If you are a distractor, then you will be destroyed. So what is a human being? Dharma is its master for the entire nature, for this planet, for living beings, and also for yourself. Kāna, Pīna, Bhogana, Paśubhi, Paramsujan, Oṁ—human beings: eating, drinking, sleeping, and procreating children. Animals are also very active and intelligent. If a person does only that, then there is no great difference between an animal and a human being. Afterwards comes personal Dharma. Personal Dharma is such a relationship: parents, children, partner, our actions, our thoughts, our influence, everything. And that will act as karma upon us. And therefore Karma and Dharma. Karma is actions; Dharma is according to duty, responsibility. And then comes fate, Bhagya, destiny. That is a fruit or result of our deeds or existence. So, at this moment, it is very important for us to have a healthy body, a healthy mind, healthy emotions, a healthy intellect, healthy decisions, and wholesome goodness. The five prāṇas are very subtle energies—Prāṇa, Apāna, Samāna, Udāna, Vyāna—they reside in the eyes, in the heart, throughout the entire body, and they have different effects on our body. Cleansing all five prāṇas means a perfect state of your health. If one of the prāṇas is blocked, then the cleansing process in the body is blocked. Then the dead energy remains in the body, and it can cause a serious illness: cancer, various types of other diseases, mental illness, physical illness, affecting our thoughts, causing memory loss, constant loss of energy, and so on. Yoga is yoga. There is no "your Yoga" and "my Yoga" and "his Yoga"—it is only one Yoga. But sometimes we say, "What did Swami Maheśvarānanda do? A system." And how does he call Yoga in daily life? So it is not about my name, it is not about his name, it is never a name, but rather general, a very neutral name. But it doesn’t matter. Everyone says, "We have Sivananda Yoga." All the disciples of Swami Sivananda from Rishikesh—a great saint, a saint, very white—has had thousands, or even millions, of students. Among them were some good Swamis, and they have brought this yoga extensively to the West. Thanks to Swami Sivananda and his disciples, who introduced yoga practices in the West. In the past, there were also some, of course many as well, but not like Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh. And so his students will call it Sivananda Yoga. And my students will say Maheśvarānanda Yoga. But Yoga is not Maheśvarānanda, and Maheśvarānanda is not Yoga. So school is school; the auditorium is the auditorium. But where and who exactly is the director? So Yoga is Yoga. Copyright belongs to Śiva. And so he gives the copyright to everybody. The wisdom of Yoga is a blessing from Śiva, the first on this planet. Śiva brought Yoga, and he transmitted it to Pārvatī very scientifically. Once Pārvatī asked Śiva, "It is so complicated, Lord, my Lord. Once Prāṇāyāma, once Paścimatānāsana, once Kapālabhāti, once Anuloma Viloma, Sūrya prayer, once Candra prayer, once Ujjāyī Prāṇāyāma. And then this āsana, then Kriyā Yoga and Meditation Yoga, and this Yoga and Eating Yoga and Cooking Yoga. Please, God Śiva, do not be so complicated. Tell me very simply." Yes, that is what we want as well. That’s it. Eat and drink, drive your car, forget everything, that’s all. So we want. You will attain Mokṣa. Being a yoga teacher is not for a 15-day course or one year or two years. I have been practicing yoga since I remember how old I was—four years, five years, three years. But I always say, when I say I am a yoga teacher, my inner self asks, "Are you sure that you are a yoga teacher?" That’s how it is. You need at least five years to complete your studies, then you can say you are a yoga teacher—at least. Complete total knowledge about anatomy, psyche, mind, consciousness, Kuṇḍalinī, Cakras, energies, and nothing theoretical. To gain a bit of experience. A yoga teacher should know that when I say to my students, "Lie down, relax, and close your eyes," we will do that. Now, the question is, when you say, "Now open your eyes and move," but he can no longer open his eyes and he can no longer move anything. What will you do now, dear teacher? Yes, quickly choose the number for rescue. And salvation. Then the doctor will ask, "What have you done?" "I was into yoga." Ah, I see. That’s how people think about yoga. Therefore, if I must close my eyes before you, then I must have great trust. And now, what you tell me, when I lie down and relax, I will absorb everything into my mind. This is the mailing and how this mailing will work. And that is where many people make mistakes when they take meditation instruction. When you see that sometimes the teacher sits and gives instructions: "Relax, you are in the clouds, oh, it is beautiful." These are your feelings that you give to others. How could they have my feelings? They have their own feelings. So, let us move on. Otherwise, dear one, you will become the cakra, and nothing will change anymore. So Pārvatī said, "Lord, give me a much, much simpler path. And please tell me the truth, what your opinion is. Everything is good, but where is the core point?" So Śiva said, he anoints and looks at Pārvatī and says, "Umā, Pārvatī, Śakti, Gaurī, and so on. Umā, I am sharing with you my own experiences." Everyone says from their own experience that devotion to Hari is the truth; the whole world is a dream. Only God’s Name, your mantra, is a truth. The world of the pulpit is only an illusion; therefore Brahmā says: Satyaṁ Brahma, Jagan Mithyā. Brahma, the highest Self, who has no form, no name. But He is. Brahma Satya, the truth, is Brahman. Jagan Mithyā. Mithyā means unreality. Yes, this world is an unreality. This world is a dream. What was last night has remained for us today like a dream. No matter what you did last night, what I spoke, what we saw, it was. So day by day, Tag für Tag, hour by hour, every minute and second, my mind absorbs the effects, influences of this world, and it constantly flows, changes. I cannot hold. It is like when you go into the Sahara and take fine sand in your hand. Hold. You cannot hold sand in your hand. Within a few seconds or minutes, no matter how tightly you hold the sand in your hand, it will all slip away. You see, our hand, the palm. And now you fill water in your hand. How long will it stay? As the water drips, tap tap, one after another will drop away, everything will be spoken out. So day by day everything passes away. It was and it is gone. It is like a treadmill; it is constantly moving. That is circulation. Now, with this transient, illusory world, yet we are here. At this moment for us, this truth is that. No matter what you say, when you get an injection, there is pain. So no matter what, if the body is burned one day, you don’t feel anything at all. But at the moment, it is alive. And so we live, and we gather our experiences, and we practice. We try to direct our consciousness in the direction that one day we will succeed in awakening in reality. So, I have told you from my own experience: meditation, the name of God, or prayer, that is the truth; everything else is not. Hold on. Do not lose it from your hands, from your eyes. Hold firmly. Then you will get through. And so, after Halāsana, it is very important that we do Matsyāsana. Matsya, Matsya is the fish, the fish pose. There is a saint whose name is Matsyendranāth. He meditated and had God as reality and placed everything in this position and meditated. Śiva said to Pārvatī, "I will reveal to you the secret of Yoga. But you know, it is not meant for everyone. People will misuse it. They will misuse it, and it will become impure. The quality will be lost." And Śiva and Pārvatī sat in the mountains of Kailāśa, by a beautiful waterfall, a beautiful pond, perhaps it was a man’s scrubland, a lake. And Śiva said, "Is there no one here?" Pārvatī said, "Lord, there is nobody, no other creatures there." And he expressed the scientific aspects of Yoga. Afterwards, when it was finished, at the end it was said, "That is all." And suddenly a big fish jumps out of the water and says, "Thank you, Lord." And Śiva looks, "Oh, the fish has stolen it." He said, "Now your Mokṣa is here, but one more life remains, dear. You are dying now." And the fish died and incarnated as the great saint Matsyendranāth. And from that comes Matsyendranāth, and Matsyendranāth is another yogi. We should know the origin. We should know the whole history of yoga, who said what and when. And I hope that what I am telling you is truly first-hand—perhaps secondhand, because I have heard it from the main master and from the Śāstras. Alright, so, Halāsana, then immediately Matsyāsana, and then immediately Viparīta Karaṇī Mudrā. Because the adrenal glands have a very strong connection together with the pineal gland. There are many people who have everything: their blood values are very good, all minerals are there, vitamins, everything. But still, one is always tired. No Tamas guṇa. This person eats only vegetables and fruits and a little yogurt and honey and nuts, but is still tired. That means the adrenal glands have slipped down. And because the adrenal glands are overburdened, your energy is lost. Your car is good, your battery is good, but somewhere there is a wire, it has a connection, and in two or three days your battery is empty—constantly losing strength. And just as Viparīta Karaṇī Mudrā helps you, very nicely, gently bringing our adrenal glands back to their proper place, and thereby balancing our pineal gland. In five days you will feel that you have so much strength, so much energy, from where it comes. Well, the cable might be repaired. But still nothing. He should continue further. After the Viparīta Karaṇī Mudrā, immediately Supta Vajrāsana. In your Yoga in Daily Life book, all these exercises and names are there, and everything I say is written down. Supta Vajrāsana. Vajrāsana, everyone knows what it is. In the starting position, we sit in Vajrāsana, and then lean backward in Vajrāsana until the crown of our head touches the ground. This again creates a stretch in the neck muscles and the nerves and everything, and it strongly affects our glands again, especially the pineal gland. Not two and a half minutes, not ten seconds—at least three minutes. And what do we do? We go there. Very good. Okay, back. That is too little. Let it have a little more effect. Now, it has a strong influence or a strong effect on our thyroids. And then immediately come back and do Sarvāṅgāsana. This is for the Viśuddhi Cakra and for the thyroid, for the adrenal glands, and also for our solar plexus. Sarvāṅgāsana. Sarva means everything; Aṅga means the parts of the body. It is for every single limb of the body. And so remain again in Sarvāṅgāsana for two, three minutes, five minutes—it is very pleasant, very beautiful. But it should not be done by pregnant women. The baby may turn in other directions. If someone is pregnant, then definitely speak with the yoga teacher after two or three months about which practices you should do and which you should avoid. Attention: teachers who have no knowledge about the condition, the state, or about pregnancy should not give false instructions. In this case, better as protection for the mother and the child and for yourself, say it would be good to ask a doctor or a therapist or someone else. So, after the Sarvāṅgāsana, we come back, namely Yoga Mudrā or Śaśāṅkāsana. And so it is always a counter-posture. These postures are stretching and dynamic; these three movements are combined together, and the result we will clearly and well see in three weeks. It is not like that people say, "Yoga doesn’t help much, okay, I practice." But what do you practice? Do you know your bodies? Do you know your problems within your body? Have you truly done this correct practice? Do you know what each practice is good for and what it is not good for? And when, how, and for how long? So, the name, the technique, the breath, the duration, benefit, and caution. We should practice all of these: name, practice, breathing, effect, and versus nothing. And well, what is all this for, we should know. Then someone says, "Now you can do this exercise." One has thyroid problems, and another has a herniated disc problem. And now your yoga class comes, and you say, "Now we all practice this." My God, the one who has a slipped disc problem will be taken to a hospital by ambulance. So yoga is individual. And the Dharma—now comes the teacher’s Dharma. The Dharma of the teacher is to ask and understand why someone has come to practice Yoga, if they have any difficulties, physical, mental, or otherwise, and then give instructions. Then, I am 100% sure, if you practice regularly a block of the exercises for a special purpose, 100% it will help you. It is not simply written that this is good and that is good. Yoga has a powerful effect. The psychosomatic movements are not merely physical movements. Yoga affects all five bodies: Anāmaya Kośa, Prāṇamaya Kośa, Manomaya Kośa, Vijñānamaya Kośa, and Ānandamaya Kośa. We spoke before the day, right? And so, after Yoga Mudrā, Uḍḍīyāna Śaṅkarṣaṇa, you come up and now perform Jālandhara Bandha. Jālandhara Bandha with Ujjāyī Prāṇāyāma. And we will continue this in the evening. Now it is straight. The cockerel is carried away by the fire, and perhaps it waits for us. So, this evening, we will continue further. Our beloved Viśuddhi Cakra—this is a very important center. One might just think, "Kehlkopf, what is Kehlkopf?" But it is very, very important. If someone strangles you, then you will give up the cakras. Quickly, carefully on this cakra. And many emotions, emotional problems, so much outburst, cause, anger, hatred, fear, all of it then manifests from here. Good evening. All love, all the best. And I wish you a good appetite for your servant. Hari Om. Beloved Bhagavān. Om Guru Brahmā Guru Viṣṇu Guru Devo Maheśvara, Guru Sākṣāt Paraṁ Brahma Tasmai Śrī Gurave Namaḥ, Dhyāna Mūlaṁ Gurur Mūrtiḥ, Pūjā Mūlaṁ Gurur Padam, Mantra Mūlaṁ Gurur Vākyaṁ, Mokṣa Mūlaṁ Gurur Kṛpā, Om Śāntiḥ.

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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