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Only Guru Kripa can liberate us

A spiritual discourse and yoga session beginning with a parable about Guru's grace.

"Spiritual development exists everywhere, in every country, and yet it also does not. Therefore, we must know where we stand."

"Guru Kṛpāhi Kevalam—only the blessing of the Gurudeva. Disciples will be very peaceful, heavy with knowledge, and everything."

Swami Madhavananda opens with prayers and a teaching on the necessity of the Guru's grace for liberation. He narrates a detailed parable about three Gujarati pilgrims who, after a long journey, learn that the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati themselves seek purification at the feet of a true saint. The discourse emphasizes that ultimate cleansing comes from the Guru. The session then transitions into a gentle Sarvahita Asana practice led by Swami Umapuri, focusing on active relaxation and joint-nourishing cycling movements for all abilities.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai. Devādhī Dev Devī Svar Mahādeva Kī Jai. Satguru Svāmī Mahādevānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai. Alak Puridhī Mahādeva Kī Jai. Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jai. Good evening, all my dear sisters, brothers, children, all yogīs, yoginīs, and all people in the world. I offer my prayers for your good health, long life, harmony, peace, light, and oneness with God. Spiritual development exists everywhere, in every country, and yet it also does not. Therefore, we must know where we stand. In life, one turns to one side, another to the other side. But the time will come when all will come to the Cosmic Self. It is a cycle of coming and going. Everywhere, there are said to be two things: good and bad. We do not know, perhaps, which is good and which is bad. But we humans know we are trying, and we think we do good things. For that, we have to work. There are two aspects: one is Guru Kṛpā, which will be completed with the grace of the Guru. Kṛpā means blessing. Others who have no Guru will wait long and often go the wrong way, but sooner or later they will also come. We do not know how or when. There are many, many paths. We humans are very humble and have much fear. Without fear, no one will proceed further on the good path. You can go to any holy place, to any holy river, you can say any path may be good, but still you are not there. So, where and how do we make the path, and when will we reach our destination—where we are in the Cosmic Self, where there is neither holy place, nor Heaven (Svarga), nor Hell (Naraka)? We are always traveling between Svarga and Naraka. Very humble people do not study too much, nor do they chase money. They have their father and mother, who are very humble, kind, and spiritual. That is why the children also become spiritual. It is said the apple tree will give apple fruit, and the cherry fruit will come from the cherry tree. A thorny bush will only give thorns. Therefore, we have to know and go through this. Once, Gurujī told a story. There are many very nice stories and poems in the holy Gurujī's books. India is a very big country, from this ocean to that ocean, till Australia, is the Indian Ocean. We have one part called Gujarat, where there are very spiritual people—old, young, students, fathers, mothers, grandparents, uncles, friends. They have spirituality in their blood, I say. There were three Gujarati Bhaktas. They decided to go to the holy river Gaṅgā to see it and offer praṇām. They were two very nice young people, about 40 or 50 years old. At that time, 50 years was nothing; now, 50 is already old because of our nutrition and way of living. These three Gujarati Bhaktas told the whole village, offered praṇām to all, and prayed to their village. They took the earth of that village because it is their village, their earth. You know, when Bhagavān Rāma went to the forest for 14 years, he took two kilos of stone from his village earth. From Ayodhyā, he took the earth and said, "That is my mother." Wherever he was, he took a nice cloth, placed this earth on a step, put some flowers, and Bhagavān Rāma said, "My dear mother," worshipping this earth. He said, "This is my mother." We also say, "Our mother country," not father country—mother country. The Bhaktas went to the next village at sunset. They came to some people and said, "We are travelers going to Gaṅgā, and we would like to have prasāda and stay here tonight." It was getting dark, so they said to someone, "We are pilgrims heading to Gaṅgā and would like to spend the night with you." In that village, there was one sādhu. The sādhu said, "Do you want to see the Gaṅgā? Will you achieve the Gaṅgā? Where is that? How to get liberation like that?" The three bhaktas said, "Svāmījī, thank you very much. Give us some knowledge." The sādhu advised, "Wherever you stay overnight, in a village, city, or forest, you should eat and drink only in the house of those who have gone to the Gaṅgā. In some villages, maybe not; then do not eat or drink." Every day, because it was a long way—about a thousand kilometers or more—they walked slowly, keeping to a straight path. They kept their thinking and their wish firm: they wanted to see the Gaṅgā. They constantly held in mind that they were doing all this to see the real Gaṅgā. After some months, nearly two thousand kilometers on foot, people said, "Now Gaṅgā is very near." There was a sādhu who had a cottage made of grass. The three Gujarati bhaktas went to this āśrama and said, "Can we stay the night, Svāmījī?" They offered praṇām. The sādhu spoke nicely, led bhajan and satsaṅg. They thought, "We should not ask the Svāmī or yogī near the Gaṅgā if he has been there." The distance was only one or one and a half kilometers. They sat there, and the yogī or Svāmījī made some nice food—kichrī, rice, seeds—and gave them prasāda after a lecture. One Gujarati Bhakta asked, "Gurudev, how far is the Gaṅgā River?" The sādhu said, "I do not know. I was never at Gaṅgā, Svāmījī. Have you ever been there? Why should I go? I have very nice, clean water near my cottage. I see God only." All three were very disappointed after nearly two thousand kilometers. They thought, "We came to the bank of the Gaṅgā and broke our vow." Gujaratis are sometimes very straightforward. Svāmījī said, "There is a little cottage. You three can sleep there. In the morning, get up before sunrise. Here is water to wash. The gomata will have milk." Then Svāmījī went into his cottage. The distance between the cottages was only about 100 meters. All three Gujaratis were very tired from walking but could not sleep. They talked slowly to each other. "Oh my God! We thought the sādhu would be at the Gaṅgā River. We should have asked him. If he had said he had not seen the Gaṅgā, we would not have eaten from him. Just one and a half kilometers, we will go to the bank." They talked about how they had eaten and drunk water from him. That day was a full moon, and their aim was to go to the Gaṅgā on the full moon day. They were sitting in the cottage with the door open. Around 11 or 12 at night, they saw three black cows. They said, "What is this?" When these black cows came within about 20 meters, they became black ladies. Gujaratis can be very superstitious, so they thought they would die. They were afraid. They took their cloth. "Tomorrow we will tell this Swami. Give him his eating and everything, please. Why? Is this some ghost? First was a black cow, now black ladies. Is this magic?" These three ladies: one went to clean the whole area of the cottage, one was cleaning all the pots they had eaten from, and the third was cleaning the water pot and filling it with nice water. While working, they became white ladies, wearing white cloth. The Gujaratis were so afraid. One person who was a little strong said, "Sisters, who are you? Are you a ghost? Are you holy? What is it? You were a black cow, then black ladies, and now you become white. We do not know what you will do now. We were eating Gurujī's food. We will give him some money. Please do not do anything to us. Who are you?" The three ladies stood there and said, "My dear brothers, we are not ghosts, and there is no magic. We are all three: Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and Sarasvatī." Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and Sarasvatī, into which all humans put all their dirt every day. From morning, they put their own sins into the water, so we take all this dust, everything negative; it comes upon us. They put all dust on us: Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī. But how to clean ourselves? Therefore, when all are gone, at night, we go to the Gurujī's cottage, the āśrama. We are full of dirt—like black cows, sometimes buffaloes, goats. Then we become human, but we are dirty, black. So we do the seva, we do all this work. We become very white, beautiful, and we take dust from Gurujī's feet because Gurujī walks here. Then they go back. "Oh brothers, you are lucky. You are with that Gurujī. He is God." So we all, Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, we are also getting the dust, but from the holy saints and gurus, they remove all our dirt and negative things, and it all goes to the negative things. Then the bhaktas said, "Hey, Divine Mother Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, thank you very much. We came 2,000 km distance. But here, you took all our dirt away. We are not anymore like animals. We will be here, and then Gurujī comes." The three sisters went, and the three bhaktas offered daṇḍavat praṇām to the good waves, spreading God's sense in front of that. You know, in Christianity also, when they give the children and make sādhus or ministers, they also sprinkle water in the presence of Jesus. But now they can only say so, like this. Many do not say, that is why they have lost. They become like iron. But those who are in bhakti and good, they are like butter—soft, good. This is the story Gurujī was telling, and Gurujī wrote it very nicely in his book. So, my dear, you see there is that bhajan, many nice bhajans Gurujī has said: "Satguru Darśan" and many others, "Guru Kṛpāhi Kevalam." So all Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, everything, we are. All going, all sādhus, we are going there, we are also getting clean, but when Guru Bhakti makes it clear, then it is all. So, my dears, Guru Kṛpāhi Kevalam. Holy Gurujī said, "Guru Kṛpāhi Kevalam"—only the blessing of the Gurudeva. Guru kṛpā hi kevalaṁ śiṣye ke ānanda maṅgalam. Disciples will be very peaceful, heavy with knowledge, and everything. So are the pilgrims. There are holy places; we get a lot of blessings, but finally, even if you were there, you have to have the guru. There is one bhajan we will do next time. Now we have very nice things for disabled people, young or old, who need not move too much or cannot move. We will do some postures from the Sarva-hita-āsana, which is very great. So, Svāmī Umapurījī, she is very nice, a learned person. She knows about the physical and mental body, and everything. She will be here. Very good. All the best. Siddhipradā Bhagavānakī Devpurī Samādhi Vāhegī Satguru Svāmī Madhvanājī Bhagavānakī. Now you will hear and see the programs of Umapurījī. She said that if we give exercises in different postures for too long, one will not understand because many people forget. So she said better is a maximum of five exercises or three movements. But it will take Nīlā also three and a half hours. So, enjoy yourself. Those who are disabled but able should also practice. That is very good. I wish you all the best, all my dear bhaktas. See you tomorrow again with Svāmījī Television. Om Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. Hari Om, dear friends around the world who are with us on Swamiji TV. We continue again with our Sarvahita Āsana, Level 1, Part 4. We start today with some active relaxation. This means we prepare ourselves on the back in a comfortable position. Try to lie not too soft. The legs are a little bit apart. This kind of relaxation makes our muscles feel the difference between relaxation and tension, so they can better relax. First, take a deep breath and feel your whole being, aware of where you are lying. With your right hand, make a fist, thumb inside, and while inhaling, try to press down your whole arm, make a strong fist. Press down your whole arm with the shoulder towards the floor. Keep the tension. While exhaling, slowly relax your arm and open your fist. When you practice at home, do it two times. Now we do it only once. The same with your left hand. Make a fist, thumb inside. While inhaling, press the whole arm down towards the floor. Keep the tension, and exhale slowly, release. Now with the right leg. Bring your toes towards your shin, bending your toes. While inhaling, press the back of your knee down towards the floor. The whole leg is in tension, also your hip, buttock, stomach. Exhale and relax the foot. With the left leg, toes towards the shin, bend your toes. Inhale slowly, press down the back of your knee, the whole leg. Keep the tension. And relax. Now with the lower back. Press the stomach and lower back towards the floor. Keep the tension. Exhale, relax. Make your neck long. Your chin goes downwards toward your collarbones. Deep inhale, and a little bit press down your neck, shoulders. And relax. Exhale. Inhale, take one deep breath. Now with the whole body, including face muscles: forehead, nose, lips. Everything in tension. Make fists, curl toes up. Deep inhale. Press down arms, shoulders, neck, lower back, legs, face muscles. And relax. Deep inhale. Exhale. Once, bring your arms above your head and stretch your whole body. This stretches especially the flexor muscles. Exhale, relax. If we want, we can keep our eyes closed. Today, we come to cycling. There are many variations. The bicycling movements in this lying position are very good for nourishing our joints, especially the cartilage. It is only a few words: every joint, especially the knee, hip, ankle joint, has a joint capsule covered nicely. Inside is a special skin, the synovial membrane (synovia). This whole capsule reacts only to stretching and bending, or pressure and relaxing, to produce synovial fluid which nourishes our cartilage. So, movement without weight on it is very helpful and healthy for all our joints, keeping them flexible. Before we start cycling, bring legs into a parallel position, not apart. Stabilize your pelvis toward the ground. Press with your stomach muscles down onto your lower back. Start to move with the right leg, making a big circle: pulling towards the chest, stretching up, heel going towards the ceiling. Make a big circle. Do not forget to move your ankle joint; your foot should describe the circle. The main thing is that the left leg is completely relaxed. The whole work is on the right leg, right buttock, and right back muscles. The worst thing would be not to stretch the leg completely, keeping it half-bent. This movement is done for 10 rounds. Now we only show. Put down your leg. Those with back pain who cannot do it can bring their arms under the buttock, beside it, to support the movement. Also, when starting with the left leg, first stabilize the pelvis, press down with stomach muscles, then start to move with normal breath. There are quick variations in gymnastics, but we do it slowly to become aware of which muscles move the leg. The knee, hip, and ankle joint are the three big joints in our leg. Relax your leg. This is one variation. We show one more variation today: backward cycling. Again, stabilize your lower back. Press down with stomach and lower back. Go with the right leg backward. Normal breath. Left leg is relaxed. Left buttock is relaxed. When we practice this way with normal breath, our heart rate should not go higher; it should remain the same. Breath should be normal; we do not increase our breaths. Relax the leg and continue with the left one. Backward cycling. Right leg, be careful that it is relaxed. In this way, we also strengthen leg muscles, buttocks, back muscles (especially lower back), and stomach muscles. Do not forget to move your ankle joint. Very good. Thank you. If you cannot do this pose lying on the back, you can also sit on a chair. Please sit on the chair. Slowly get up. You can bring your chair nearer. Thank you. Sit comfortably with a straight back. Hands and shoulders relaxed, elbows relaxed. Start with the right leg. Stretch your right leg in front, lift up a little, and bring it down, bend again. You need not lift the leg high, just stretch it in front, toes towards the shin. Stretch it a bit more, and relax again. Once more, stretch in front, but you have to bend the knee afterwards and bring it back. In the standing position, like this, stretch up so you feel tension in the thigh, shin, and foot muscles, and bring it into the standing position. Sit a little to the back so your whole thighs are supported. If possible, a little back with your buttocks. With the left leg, stretch a little up. Toes towards the shin, and again, back standing. Once more. Stretch up. And standing. Once more. Hold a little and stand. So those who cannot get up from the chair or have to sit can also do this exercise: stretching and bending the knee and moving the ankle joint. Thank you very much. Close your eyes. One deep breath. Deep inhale. Fold your palms in Praṇāmamudrā in the middle of your chest. Nahaṁ karatā prabhutīp karatā, Mahāprabhujī karatā hi kevalam. OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI... Mentally bend forward to your Gurudev. Offer your praṇām. Then, rub your palms together and bring your warm hands, your warm palms, on your eyes and forehead. And open your eyes. Hari Om. Hari Om. Thank you. Thank you.

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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