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The work of Hatha Yoga

Haṭha Yoga is the purification of body, mind, and soul. This purification permeates the entire human being. Every creature has its own connection to God. A purified yogī attracts animals and birds, as described in ancient songs. This practice also represents cosmic principles. There are two kinds of Haṭha Yoga: one is the inner purification, and the other is the external conflict seen in fighting. The elements and deities are all part of this understanding. The goal is to give up force and join in union. The impermanent self is like a candle flame, but the true light within is Brahman. The living guru embodies the divine principle for guidance.

"Haṭha Yoga is the purification of our body, mind, and ātmā."

"Give up that kind of forceful striving. And this light is not our physical light."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

All yoga teachers, professors, everyone—thank you. I wish you a beautiful day. The sun is shining beautifully here in the Czech Republic. We have been speaking about Haṭha Yoga for nearly two weeks. Many people have said, "Swamiji, now we understand what Haṭha Yoga is." It is the path of Haṭha Yoga. It is the purification of our body, mind, and ātmā. These three together constitute what we call Haṭha Yoga. If everyone practices Haṭha Yoga, then the antahkaraṇa is purified. Antah means inside, karaṇa means purification. Our mind, our thoughts, our feelings, our ātmā, our body—all these are purified. This purification permeates the entire human being. When God created all creatures, He endowed them with an automatic process of purification, which they follow. But when humans came, God said, "I give you, my children, everything. You should use this and be happy in this life, and show love to all creatures." Every creature has its own connection to God, according to its nature. There are tigers, lions, buffaloes, cows, and many animals. Even a tiny ant—if we place it on our palm, it is very afraid and tries to run away. It thinks, "They will kill me. What will happen?" It is crying, but we cannot hear it. That little ant inspired a great yogī, Kabīr Dās, to compose a beautiful bhajan. When Kabīr Dās was sitting in meditation in the forest, writing his poems and bhajans, he described the little ant. He said the ant has beautiful instruments, like bells, in its legs. As it moves and dances, a very nice sound comes forth. He sang, "If you want to meet a yogī, first listen to the sound of the ant's dance and see the elephant find singing." A beautiful elephant swims in the ocean with only its trunk out. It takes in water and creates a water spring. Similarly, the king of the forest, the lion, is majestic. For the yogī who undergoes purification through Haṭha Yoga, every animal and bird wishes to come close. Normally, if we put out a feeder, birds fly away because they fear what humans might do. But for such a yogī, a bird will sit on an elephant's head or near its trunk, taking prasāda. A lion will lie down, and birds will sit on its body. The lion may even open its mouth, and several birds will receive prasāda from it. This great saint described in his bhajans is the essence of Haṭha Yoga. Consider Śiva. His body is adorned with round, poisonous snakes like cobras. They encircle him as he meditates. The moon rests upon his head, on the left side as a half-moon. The moon is very powerful; it balances us. The cycles of the new moon and full moon create balance because the moon is nearest to the earth. In the Muslim religion, they observe the new moon and perform ceremonies and fasting. When the moon appears, they break their fast. This is a great practice. Their Quran contains many great teachings. If some people fight in its name, that is not the true essence of Allāh. All of this is Haṭha Yoga. There are two kinds of Haṭha Yoga. One is the fighting—at home between wife and husband, parents and children, neighbors, even among dogs, cats, and mice. That is Haṭha (force) and Yoga (union) in conflict; we are in the Yoga, and they are in the Haṭha. The purification of humans is what God intended. God said, "My children, I gave you the name 'man,' 'human,' and I gave you everything." Then He rests. Bhagavān Viṣṇu lies upon the ocean. Nāgarāja, the cobra, spreads its many heads like an umbrella over Him. Viṣṇu rests there upon the milky ocean with Lakṣmījī. Lakṣmī is prosperity—everything good that you wish to have. She is dear to Viṣṇu. After a yuga, she says, "My Lord, look at the earth. See how the people and animals are suffering. Please come." Then the next yuga begins. Otherwise, Viṣṇu remains. Every day, gurus are born—great saints. There are two aspects of God: one is from time to time, and the second is the daily appearance of great souls everywhere. Do not think only of those in orange, black, or red robes. In Africa, Australia, America, and many other countries, across different traditions and religions, there are holy saints, good men, and friends. Upon them, Mother Earth is balanced. Sometimes, when Viṣṇu shifts slightly, the serpent (nāga) also adjusts its position. This movement causes an earthquake. In water, there is fire. Fire cannot exist without water, and water cannot be without fire. Consider hot water and very cold water—put your hand in cold water, and it feels like burning. Jal Jagadīś, Jal Mahā Jagadīś. Jagadīś is Viṣṇu, and jal is water. Where there is water, there is Viṣṇu, and where there is Viṣṇu, there is water. And, of course, Brahmā is there too, on the side of the Haṭha Yogī. There are three: the Devas (gods), the humans, and the Rākṣasas. Brahmā balances all this. He is the creator and speaks only truth, though his life is very hard. But he knows he is the creator. Ten je Śiva. A Śiva také Brahmā. Je tam. Je všude. Brahmā. Guru Brahmā. Therefore, that Guru is Guru Brahmā, the creator. Guru Dev is Brahmā. Guru Brahma, Guru Viṣṇu—that Guru is Viṣṇu. Guru Devo Maheśvaraḥ—that Guru is also Śiva. Tasmai Śrī Gurave Namaḥ. All three—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva—and finally the guru, who is the highest among them. Do not misunderstand; I am a little guru. That true Guru is like Alak Purījī, Devpurījī, Mahāprabhujī, our holy gurujīs—Eko, Brahmudu, Tenas, the only one. There are great saints not only in our Guru Paramparā but in many Guru Paramparas worldwide, not only Indian. Everywhere. Consider the life of Jesus, his father, his mother, and all before that. On this earth, all three—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara—exist. This represents the good, the guru, the good man, and the negative man. To control all this are Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and Śiva. All reside within the five elements. First, the sky (space)—you cannot catch it, but we are within it day and night. Then air—without air, nothing can happen. It is said that once Hanumanjī went to kill some Rākṣasas, and a Rākṣasa sucked away the air. With no air left, Hanumanjī fell down; he could not move or breathe. Where is the prāṇa? The whole universe is dead without air. Air without air is nothing. We see this in the Bhagavān Rāmāyaṇa. So we have space, then air, then the fire within water, and then the earth. This is what Haṭha Yogīs understand, and others cannot. Thus, Haṭha Yoga is Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheś, Śiva. They all say, "Yes, Haṭha." I need the Haṭha. Therefore, always keep this in your mind, in your thoughts, in your feelings. Keep it in your movements and feel your words in Haṭha Yoga. In our bhajans, Bhagavān Mahāprabhujī said, "Hata chod." This hata means negative things—all fighting, this and that. Just give it up. Hata chod. Do not fight. Husband and wife, do not fight. Parents and children should not fight. Neighbors should not fight. Villages and countries should not fight. Oh man, why are you fighting? In this life, you are from this country, and when you die, you take nothing with you—not even a drop of water. Everything is finished. It is like a candle burning with a beautiful flame, giving light to the whole room. You are this flame of light, and you are happy (Razi) that you have light in your house. But when there is no more wax or oil, what will you do? The flame burns out. "I am, I am, I am," it says, and then it is gone. Your light is gone. The flame contained so many lives within it, but it is gone. There is much more to understand about Haṭha Yoga. Go to Haṭha Yoga. Therefore, do not say, "I am, and I will do, and I will take everything." How long will your flame remain? If you try to carry the flame to another room or house, you may try to hold it, but a little strong wind will blow it out. So give up that kind of hatter (forceful striving). And this light is not our physical light—not electric, wood fire, or coal fire. When we think we see light and fire, that is not it at all. Close your eyes; it is a block. Perhaps there is some movement in the eyelids. But what we truly see is Brahman. That Brahman is the path. Let us come to Śiva. Therefore, bow down to my Gurudev—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva. We worship them all, but we need a living one at the present time. Otherwise, with dead bodies, we can do nothing. Guruye Sākṣāt, Guruye Viṣṇu, Śiva. Therefore, it is said: Guru Brahmā, Guru Viṣṇu, Guru Devo Maheśvara, Guru Sākṣāt, Parabrahma, Tasmai Śrī Gurave Namaḥ. Then, what should we do? Dhyāna (meditation). After that mantra: Dhyāna-mūlaṁ guru-mūrti, pūjā-mūlaṁ guru-padaṁ, mantra-mūlaṁ guru-vākyaṁ, mokṣa-mūlaṁ gurur-kṛpā. That is it. Oṁ namo śānti. Śānti. My dear ones, hat chhodo (give up force) and yog jhodo (join in Yoga). Hat chhodo, Yoga, Jodo—that you will be great. Therefore, all the best. We will meet again. I wish you all the best. To all my bhaktas, I know many of you are listening in the middle of the night in Australia. In America, it is afternoon. Wherever you are, you see me now in my picture and hear my voice. I cannot see you or hear your voice in that way, but I am within you. There is one need: you have prāṇa in your body, and this is that prāṇa. Therefore, let us continue our practice of Haṭha Yoga, and we will proceed. Oṁ namo śivāya.

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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