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All dear sisters, brothers, yogīs, and all bhaktas and practitioners of yoga. There are many, many different kinds of techniques. As I always say, and as Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa tells in the Bhagavad Gītā across its eighteen chapters, yoga is not only āsanas and prāṇāyāma. You should go forward towards that yoga. Please, you should go there. There is a lot of good yoga. In yoga, we are learning, and there are many, many yogīs. India had many, many ṛṣis and yogīs, even householders. It is very important to know and learn what yoga is. Now, you ask me a question. The question was: "Gurudev, you spoke in the last months about Haṭha Yoga techniques, and we especially have questions about the Trāṭaka technique. We don’t know when it’s good to start with it, how to practice correctly so it’s beneficial but not harmful, and also, if somebody has some eye problems or problems with the sight, then how should we practice?" Thank you very much, sister. It is very nice that you ask about our eyes and Trāṭakāsana. Generally, people who have good eyes can practice, both young and elderly. It is good that we are doing. But every organ in our body has different kinds of functions; every organ is very, very important. That is Trāṭak, and it is for our eyes. If the eyes are gone, it is said life is gone. In Haṭha Yoga, there are techniques for the eyes, the Trāṭak. Trāṭak means gazing towards something with our eyes. Thanks to God that we all have good eyes. God has given them. Unfortunately, some brothers or sisters are blind by birth. They might think, "I will practice Trāṭak, and it’s good, why not?" But without a real, good yoga teacher who knows about your eyes from birth till the end—what is in these eyes—we should know. We cannot simply say, "Okay, looking, gazing on the flame, or using some Āyurvedic water on the side," as it may cause more harm. Some people think, "My eyes will be very good, but why should I do the Trāṭak?" Some yoga people, myself included, would say that we would like to clean the eyes nicely by looking, by Trāṭak, so it will be good. But how should we look? Into the eyes, at the flame, at some point, or at a fruit, etc.? In the yogic books, it is said that from this Trāṭak we will awaken or open our third eye. We gaze on the flame or on one spot, mostly black. When we gaze on a black point, then it appears white. When we gaze at a flame and then close our eyes, we see something light—some see stars, or something like a flame. Some feel only a blinking for a while, and then no more. My dear all sisters and brothers, if you are practicing this Trāṭak with your guru, your yoga teacher, or by yourself, it is good you want to do it. But it is not that we will say, "Oh, I see the light in my forehead and in my head." That is not God. He has given in the eyes some kind of lights. In the eyes, there are very fine nerves. But it is okay because you see something and you are doing it. The beginning is only about five seconds, and then remain with the eyes closed for five minutes. But before you want to do Trāṭak, I am sorry to say—please forgive me, all great yogīs—but I give you from my side one advice: first speak with a good eye doctor. These eye doctors have learned a lot over many years, and they know everything about eyes. Just as many yogīs practice yoga, āsanas, and prāṇāyāma every day, the doctors, from primary school to university and through different faculties, learn about the eyes for many years. They are not making a joke; day and night they are studying because it is an eye. We should take very good care. We tell some doctors, "Good doctors, they are very good doctors." Many yogīs practice yoga. Myself also, I have been practicing for about 64 years now. From my father, when I was about one and a half to two years old, I was sitting with him while he made a mālā. I was learning the headstand. My father was doing many āsanas, and from two, three, four, five years till now, I am learning. I am not perfect, please. But I give you as much knowledge as I have. The eye is a very sensitive part of the body. So I also tell people how to do yoga and what we are doing in Trāṭak. I don’t want to say that some people became blind or something. I don’t want to say anything, and there I always go to the doctor. Even when a child is born, the doctor sees how the eyes are. After one month, how are they? They are taking care. The doctor knows; they look with a loop in the eyes, everything in the eyelid. They have so many instruments now. They look from outside to inside, the back side, every nerve, how blood is going. That is that doctor. I have many others, very good yoga teachers and yogīs, great yogīs. Maybe they said, "That’s not good. A doctor cannot." I will do my love, doctor, and my friend. Yogis, please do, but I will take both sides. I respect you all, swamis and yogis, and all doctors also, but I would come to the doctor first. It is said there are village people or some yoga practitioners, yogīs, who do very well. I dare not say they are not good. In certain things, we can also do better immediately. For example, if someone has heat in the eyes and the eyes become red, but no blood is coming, then what yogis or we do is take a cotton cloth, soak it in cold water, and put it on the eye for ten minutes. Definitely, you will feel better, and it will draw the blood back. But doctors have different things. They will look at it and give some tablets or prescriptions. Many times, myself and for others, my parents and so on, we use cold water and put it on the eyes. Sometimes they put something when you have a red side here because it is hidden. What we do? The doctors will put something cold, so it will be calm, but the blood will be there. But what will we do? We take hot water with a little water, hot water in the cloth, and put it there. You will see it will not make a big boil, and the blood will go away. This was my experiment, but not only mine. All my people, in different countries, and there was no swelling or falling out. So certain things are like grandmother’s kitchen remedies. But if there is blood coming, then we will not put hot or cold. That we leave to the doctor, or we cool it a little bit so the blood will not come. Like this, there are many techniques, yoga techniques, and Āyurvedic things. My dear, I’m coming again to the eyes. We should do Trāṭak every morning where there are no problems with the eyes, but you would like to have good eyes. In Āyurveda, there is a powder called triphalā. Triphala means three (tri) fruits (phala). These three fruits are dried and made into a powder. In the evening, we put half a teaspoon of this powder in a half glass of cold water. Then you filter that water through nice cotton with three to four layers, so only water comes out, no seeds. In Āyurveda and also in allopathy, they have an eye cup, like a little teacup. We put this Āyurvedic water in it. The glass is different, a high glass. We put this water here a little, and this edge lid we put in the eye like this. Yes, it fixes. Then you open your eyes and look there. You move your eyeball left, right, up, and down, and the water takes it away. Then the glass is cleaned, and for the other eye we do it again. We make this eye here so that when we look up, the water is in the eyes. We move the eye up, down, left, right a little bit, two or three times. Then we take it out and just take the water away. We should not clean with other water. It is so nicely cleaned in the whole eyes from Triphalā. You can get Triphalā a lot in India. That Āyurveda is where all medicines come from. Everything in this medicine now comes from the names of many herbs. Every day we should do it with cold water, a little half teaspoon, triple-churned. Cūrṇa means ground everything together. Every day it takes you 3-4 minutes or 1 minute. All day you will feel so good in your eyes, very clean; everything is cleaned. That is the yoga we are doing. Many yogīs and also Āyurvedic practitioners use this. But there are different things, also doctors. The doctor gives drops in the eyes, left, right. These drops are from the triphalā extracts like that. So that is also in Trāṭak. Similarly, when we look at some subject or the object of the flame, if your eyes are okay, then you should do it. If eyes are not good, the yoga teachers will also give you instruction on how to do Trāṭak, but not immediately. First, really look at your eyes and how to do it. We yogis are, Āyurvedics are, Āyuṣ also, and, my dear, the doctors also. This is what we are saying about yoga, Haṭha Yoga, and that one is called the eyes. Those eyes are because of the Trāṭak. Many people go in some pond, a big pond, or a little lake. They are swimming and dipping inside. Sometimes they open their eyes and see. In my opinion, please, no. Also in the ocean, many people open their eyes. Please, I don’t know; you should have this glass, etc. So this Trāṭak, what you are doing, everyone, myself also, we know. But it is said even sometimes, slowly, slowly, your eyelids will become weak. Nowadays, all doctors say that after about 40 years, you must have glasses. Yes, what do you say? Yes. Many, many people ask in their 40s. "You are working, and many people say to me it’s better that you should take them." Because the whole day they are working on computers and this and that, you know, their eyes become very tired, not weak, tired. When you come home from work, all day you have to work, take good cotton cloth, or what we call the triphalā cūrṇa in that. Let us say, what is that I can, like this? This is cotton, and we stick it in cold water. And then, in the Mahābhārata? You put it for five minutes. Relax and put it on you. You will feel so good at home. That whole day you were working, the tension on the eyes will completely relax. Therefore, this Trāṭak is powerful, very good. But again, please, I tell you, if there is something not good in your eyes, go to the doctor. And when there’s a perfect yoga teacher, then it’s okay. The yoga practitioner should have at least five years of practice; then you are just like a first step of the doctor. You know that in our Yoga in Daily Life, we have five years to give the yoga teacher the best profession. Some people do it for two weeks and give a certificate. What is that? That’s why many people are not happy. Therefore, my dear, we have many in India: good, good doctors, good, good yogīs, many great yogīs. Outside also, many, many good yogīs. So we have to have those good yogīs, not only theory, but practical, my dear. Theory can be good, but what is only talking? The practice is inside the body. So the Trāṭak is great, very great. And this Trāṭak continues. I will give further more, because the eyes, this is not only for humans; animals also have eyes. We have two animals, the cows: one blue bull and the other one is blind from birth. Well, please don’t be angry or tell somebody, but it was not nice. In our ashram, we got a very nice black cow, but he was blind. We were taking medicine, this or that. Doctors said by birth he’s blind. Long story, about 15 years. Yes, and there is still there Sūradāsa. So I asked one of our Austrian persons, and his sister is a veterinary doctor. Maybe because Europe is very high in technology and doctors, the person gave me the answer back in a letter: "In Europe, we don’t know, we don’t make anything. If it’s blind, we will kill it and eat it." It happened, they said. I asked two other doctors, and they said we can’t do anything. There are many, many of these little cats. Cat? Yes. There are some cats that are also blind. So, my dears, we have our destiny. In destiny, we should not kill them. But children, they are blind from birth, we take care. God has given them some kind of feelings, so they are feeling, walking, and something. So, my dear, let’s see. We will think more tomorrow about the Trāṭak. How many blind are there? Tomorrow I will talk. And if I told something wrong, please forgive me, especially first, that we will kill and eat, and all other yoga teachers and yogis and great ones. If I have told something not good, please forgive me, but I balance Āyurveda and allopathic medicine. Let’s go further. We will do. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Hare Hare Vole Namaḥ Śivāya, Namaḥ Śivāya.