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Today is the eighth day of the Divine Mother’s celebration, and tomorrow is the final day. We will receive many blessings as we worship the goddesses, the Śaktis. They are all our protectors. If we are always with our great mothers—the mothers of our gods and of everyone—we are safe. You know that Bhagavān Śrī Rām will come very soon, and we will see all this unfold further. Oṁ namaḥ śrī prabhu dīpa nārāyaṇam. Oṁ namaḥ śrī prabhu dīpa nārāyaṇam. Haṁsabhādas prabhu śaraṇaparāyaṇam... Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhudeep Nārāyaṇam... Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jai, Devādī Dev Deveśvar Śrī Mahāprabhū Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jai, Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandjī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Devādī Dev Deveśvar Mahādev Alag Purījī Mahādev. My dear sisters, brothers, all yoga practitioners, all masters of yoga in the whole world—wherever you are—I say to all of you, Namaste. Namaste means salutation. I know many people are already writing and sending messages, and they are very happy with Yoga in Daily Life, both the practice and the theory. This is Haṭha Yoga. We have a Haṭha Yoga tradition with great masters, and now we come to Trāṭaka. In this Haṭha Yoga, we have many techniques, including Trāṭaka. How many different kinds of Trāṭaka are there? After our exercises, we practice some with wax, with a lamp, and so on, because we want to understand our eyes. We spoke in recent days about how to practice Trāṭaka externally. Those with good eyes can practice and clean their eyes with Triphalā Cūrṇa from the Vedas. Triphalā means three different fruits, and with it we clean our eyes. In the morning, we take cool water—about one glass—and put in this Triphalā Cūrṇa powder. We filter it through a cotton cloth folded two or three times. I told you before that there is something called an eye-cup for cleaning. You can get it from a medical store. We put the water in the cup, look into it, look up, open the eyes, and move the eyelids. Do this twice: clean nicely the first time and throw that water away. Then take the same water and clean the same eye again. Then do the same with the left eye, washing twice with the cup. It is said, especially by Āyurvedic Vaidyas, that if we clean our eyes with this Triphalā, our eyes will become very clean, good, and brilliant-looking. Many people do not do this always, but we should do it at least once a week. Doing it every day is best. This is the cleaning of our eyes for Trāṭaka. I have told many about Trāṭaka and what kind we do. Then, our Gurudev Bhagavān Siddip Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī and our Sadguru Swāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān speak about the inner eyes. With our outer eyes, we can see everything; we can walk and perceive the world. But there are two or three things we can understand. There was a person blind from birth. He was in a big hall where people had gathered to listen to songs or bhajans. Everyone was sitting on the floor. When all the people left, the blind man remained sitting. People said, "Come, let's go." He said, "No, you go. I want to feel the good atmosphere in this hall a little longer." After half an hour, he wanted to leave, but being blind, he did not know where the door was. Blind people have their own techniques. He had a nice walking stick in one hand, and with his other hand he touched the wall, moving slowly. After about three or four meters, there was a door. The blind person took his hand away from the wall to scratch his head but kept walking. After a step or two, he put his hand back on the wall; the door was gone, and he continued. When he came to a second door, he again came near and scratched his body but kept walking constantly. He put his hand back on the wall and walked further. This happened two or three times. Then the blind person called out, "Is there anybody here?" A cleaner was there and replied, "Yes, friend, what can I do?" The blind man asked, "How big is this hall? Where is the door?" The cleaner said, "My friend, you have crossed the door many times." The blind man said, "We blind people are not stupid. We know how to go out. I only asked how far the door is." The cleaner said, "Yes, but I saw how many times you missed it." The blind man insisted, "No, no, I'm not stupid. I know with my knowledge." The cleaner explained, "My friend, when you came close to the door, you took your hand from the wall away and scratched your head, your back, your chest. You did not stop; you went ahead and lost that door." Then the blind man said, "My friend, my brother, you are right. Please, can you bring me out?" The cleaner said, "You should use the same technique. I am with you. If you cannot, I will help you. But my friend, if you need to scratch your body or something, then stand there. Then, from the same place where you put your hand, you will soon find the gate to go out." Similarly, that is called Trāṭaka for the inner eyes. We know the outer eyes, but what about the inner eyes? Almost all yoga practitioners do inner Trāṭaka without knowing it. There are many, many different techniques. When we practice our yoga, we have āsanas, prāṇāyāma, Haṭha-yoga kriyās, then outer Trāṭaka. Then we go to meditation, but nobody speaks of this inner Trāṭaka. People sit and say, "Now we do meditation." In meditation, what are you doing? When we say to practice meditation, everyone closes their eyes. But then they do not know where to go. Someone may give instructions: "Sun rising, the waves of the ocean, a beautiful forest, a nice river, many birds." But you cannot see that because you have not opened your inner eye. We try, but we do not ask our teacher how to open our meditation. How will I practice my meditation? Externally, everyone can do it; everyone can read a book. But how will you do it internally? This Trāṭaka is connected to Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumnā, because of the Sun, the Moon, and the Sahasrāra Cakra. We speak of these two nāḍīs: Iḍā on the left side, Piṅgalā on the right side, and the third one, Suṣumnā. Those who know how to guide disciples, practitioners with their guru, yogī, or master, should have complete practical knowledge, not only theoretical. Many people practice yoga and then say, "Now we do meditation." They close their eyes and only think about the sunrise, the moon, rivers, and many things. But your inner eye cannot realize it. We think we know how the sun rises, but the object you are focusing on is not clear. We do not see. Then it means we are blind again. In Trāṭaka here, at the trikuṭī, there are many, many Sanskrit names in yoga. We say Netī, Ḍoṭī, Bastī, Trāṭaka, Kapālabhātī, etc. Then we say Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumṇā. There is another thing we call the trikuṇḍ. This trikūṭī—where is it? This trikuṭī is where all three nerves connect at the eye, above the eyelids. Trikūṭī. Where is the trikūṭī? Did your yoga teacher train you in trikuṭī? And where is the bhrūkūṭī? Then there is a second, called bhrūkūṭī. Trikūṭīs, Bhrūkūṭīs, and Divyakūṭīs. These are techniques which yogīs have given after many, many years of training. Then, immediately when you close your eyes, you are straight—like when the captain of an aeroplane is learning to fly, they blind the front window but see everything through inner instruments. In front, the skin [of the window] is closed, but we look through these techniques. The pilot knows exactly and takes off comfortably. The aeroplane itself indicates how high it goes, where it goes, etc., because it has been programmed with a picture. The first time a pilot is learning and flying alone, his heart is anxious. So, the inner Trāṭak. There are very beautiful bhajans of Mahāprabhujī and Holī Gurujī, beautiful. Lalanandajī’s are beautiful. Brahmanandaji’s were very nice. How are you going to learn this inner Trāṭaka? It is not one day, not one month, not one year. We learn from a book; we say he said yes, and this and that. But when in the darkness of the aeroplane, you can land it, fly up, and land it exactly on the same place, then you are the best captain. Therefore, that teacher, that master who gives us training in flying—that Trāṭaka of Trikuṭī, Bhrūkūṭī, and Bindu Cakra. These are three trainings. After that, we come to the Nābhi. Where is the nābhi? We know it is on our stomach, but where exactly? Your teachers should bring you to that guru. That is the Guru; he will reveal it. There was a great saint and his disciple. Both were learning deeply. The guru and disciple were in their ashram, which is now a beautiful big temple with a nice little house beside it, about 15 by 15 meters, with four other disciples. This is the truth, and it is written in a book—a very big book containing the teachings of many great ṛṣis, gurus, and yogīs. One day, around 10 o'clock, the disciples and Gurujī were sitting under a tree outside their room, which was like a cave. Suddenly, Gurujī said to his disciple, "I am going into my cave. Close the door, and nobody should come; do not disturb me. You should stay here outside." The disciple said, "Yes, Gurudev, but what happens?" Gurujī said, "My son"—we call everyone son, whether devotees, students, or brothers. A guru always gives as to his child. We call even small children son and daughter. Any children we should take as our own, so they feel, "Yes, this is my best friend, or father-like, mother-like." And like this, all grown people should know that in our village, city, or anywhere, we also take care of children so they are happy, good, healthy, always flying and jumping. No one should take children away from somewhere. Similarly, great ṛṣis, great masters, great gurus, great holy saints—from which religion? I do not want to talk about religions, but it is that one. It does not matter from which city, country, or village. Every country, we should take all as our people. It is said that whole villages should not leave a child alone. A mother should not leave her children alone. A father should never leave away the child and his wife, the mother of the child. Then you are truly human. We are all humans, but you know that a child is the very skin of the parents. And that is how also the teacher, guru, or masters—even school masters—will act respectfully and gratefully. They are always happy, and children should be very happy, with jokes and everything. A teacher or professor takes all students like his sons. So, there should also be lessons in schools, universities, and colleges. We should teach students that when you are in the gross state and have marriage, a husband, a wife, you should be in oneness forever. All children are under one teacher. If there are about 200 children in a college, the teacher will say, "They are all my students, all my children." All teachers, of course, everywhere are teaching and giving training with their heart and brain. When you are in school or college, and there are, let's say, 20 children in one class, and the teacher's own child is among them, that teacher will not specially concentrate and give training only to his own child. At that time, that teacher or professor treats all as one. He says, "All my students are like my children." Similarly, a yoga teacher or guru, no matter if there are thousands of disciples or only one or two, should treat them equally, and they should also understand that it is equal. That is why that eye is Trāṭaka. So, there are two kinds of Trāṭaka now: the Trāṭaka of the master or teachers on the students from two eyes, and the inner Trāṭaka from the brain. These twenty students all have eyes—forty eyes—and they are all making Trāṭaka on the master, teacher, or guru. They are not two standing beside them; there is one teacher. Twenty students, one blackboard with one dot on it. All twenty students have two eyes—forty eyes—and they are all focused on that one dot. That is called Trāṭaka. This Trāṭaka goes to all disciples or students; they are all in one knowledge. My dear, you cannot become a professor in a university in one or two days, or one year. My dears, you all from colleges and universities have learned everything. From kindergarten, then primary school, middle school, high school, college, university—you know what happens? Do not ask me; I ask you. How hard your buttocks were, how many years and how long sitting on the hard stone chair. So there are two things: two eyes (some have only one eye, sorry), and of course, for blind people, they are also taught very nicely. But our eyes know, and our buttocks know. You sit there, very hot, very hot. So ask your buttocks: how many years did it take for me to become a professor? Because of my Trāṭaka. Like in the Mahābhārata, they wanted to test vision. They put up a picture of a fish, and below was water in a pot—a big pot. They said, "Who can hit the eye of the fish with an arrow?" You have to aim at the fish's eye. The picture of the fish is moving slowly. You should not look at the fish, but at the water. If you can shoot your arrow, then you are perfect in your Trāṭaka, my dear. If you have not practiced, your Trāṭaka will not be peaceful. So Arjuna looked into the water and shot through the water, and the arrow hit the eye of the fish picture. There, my seer, my dear, now you have achieved the perfection of Trāṭaka. Then, with closed eyes, they will shoot and send the arrow exactly where it needs to go. Close your eyes and shoot. Trāṭaka. Trāṭaka. Haṭha Yoga. Haṭha Yoga, my dear. Practice, practice, practice. Oh my dear, practice, practice, practice. So the inner Trāṭaka develops from the eyes outside. From our eyes, we close them and go exactly to that point. There are two eyes: one is the master, and the other is the student. Both of them should become one. Then our Trāṭaka begins perfectly. The inner Trāṭaka, my dear: Iḍā, Piṅgalā, Suṣumnā, and then there are many other centers. There is a call, one strong, strong power, and that I will tell you tomorrow. So Haṭha Yoga is not just this little bit that people give: Neti, Dhauti, Basti, Nauli, Kapālabhāti, Trāṭaka—now you are a yoga teacher. It is not only talking, but also inside. There are two eyes. One eye is what you are talking, learning, and giving many lectures about. We learn everything; it is in our brain and heart. But then, afterward, how will you go? Blind? It is blind. Therefore: Guru kṛpāhi kevalaṁ, śiṣyeko ānanda maṅgalaṁ. Namah Śivāya, Oṁ Namah Śivāya, Oṁ... Namah Śivāya. Har Har Bhole Namah Shivay, Har Har Bhole Namah Shivay.