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Part 1: The Unwavering Path: Discipline, Devotion, and Self-Realization Good evening, dear brothers and sisters. And to our dear brothers and sisters around the world in different time zones, good evening or good morning. Those of you who are with us now through this webcast, I welcome you all, with a special blessing coming to you again from the beautiful Czech Republic, Śrī Mahāprabhujī Āśram Foundation, Strilky. This weekend is dedicated once more to physical, mental, and spiritual health for the well-being of humanity and for the protection of our beautiful planet – achieving freedom: physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, political, as well as karmic. Yoga has a great deal to offer us. Especially, Yoga in Daily Life has been striving very hard for the last 40 years to contribute the best things one needs: physical health, mental health, social health, spiritual health, spiritual development, and self-realization. Yoga is not dogmatic; it is a practical path. Thousands of yoga practitioners around the world who have practiced honestly, or I would say with discipline, have gained these benefits in their lives. As for those who did not follow instructions and had no discipline, I cannot speak of them. We know that yoga is a practical path. It is not only theory, it is not only dogma, it is not only dreaming. Yoga in Daily Life puts the dream into reality, and that reality comes if you follow the discipline strictly. There is no compromise. There is no tolerance in quality. There is no compromise for truth or knowledge. And likewise, there is no compromise in achieving your life goals without discipline and without following the guidance of the master for a long, long time. There was a very great spiritual leader in Hawaii; unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago, Śubramanyam Swāmī, and he used to say at the end of his lectures, "Obey, obey, obey your master." You never know why your master gives you various instructions. There is a beautiful bhajan that I often repeat in my thoughts and in my practice. Of course, I have never had a doubt on my path – not even in a dream or a fleeting feeling have I doubted our spiritual lineage: Devpurījī, Mahāprabhujī, Gurujī, Alakhpurījī, and so on. When doubt begins, your mind starts to play cunning tricks. It is said that a minor crack appears in a new building, and minor cracks are more difficult to repair than a major crack. If you speak with an orthopedic surgeon, a tiny crack in a bone is very hard to address: should we break it further and then repair it, or should we leave it as it is? So, a little doubt is a minor disturbance or distraction which, one day, creates very big problems. There is a bhajan that always reminds me – I don’t know if it does the same for you. This bhajan is for a person who had been searching for a long, long time and then found. When you find it, your inner self tells you, "Yes, that is it." The bhajan teaches us to become one with that certainty. Yet, to remain steadfast is not easy for many people because of temptations. Temptations can be emotional, intellectual, physical, or economic – money, positions, and so on. Temptation is known as Māyā. Māyā means illusion; Māyā is a vision that has no foundation, a vision that gives no indication for the future. Temptation is like a huge boulder on your path, one that mostly you cannot remove by yourself. You might need a big tanker or a JCB machine to move it. And when you need such help, there may be many minor cracks appearing in other things. May God protect us from these minor cracks. Ego and attachment to position are also obstacles in our daily practice. It is not easy to be a human. There is a little story. I know you are wondering which bhajan it is, but I will not serve you that so easily. In a dry land, in a desert, it is very hot. There was a businessman in a market – a supermarket – and he had three or four employees. They all went for lunch between 1 and 2:30, but the owner of the shop stayed inside. The owner does not take breaks; only the employees do. He sat comfortably in his rich man's chair. As is the tradition, they had some beautiful water pots and a glass. When you are thirsty, you can drink, but some people dare not drink without asking. One man came by, extremely thirsty. He could hardly walk; he was nearly collapsing. Passing by the shop, he saw the water pot – a lovely clay pot with a glass resting on top. But this man, a worker dying of thirst, did not dare to walk in and take water. So he sat at the shop’s entrance, a little inside, and asked the owner, "Sir, I am so thirsty. Can you give me water to drink?" The owner replied, "Of course, yes, but wait. Some person will come. Wait, and we will give you water." Thirsty and waiting, his tongue was dry, his lips parched. After five minutes, he pleaded, "Please, can you give me water? I am dying." Again the owner said, "Just wait a minute. Someone will come." As he leaned against the wall, suffering, he cried, "Sir, please, I am suffering so much; I need water." The owner repeated, "Yes, some person will come." Then the man said, "Sir, for a while, you can become a person. You can become a human to give me water." There are many human beings, but few have human qualities. It is not easy to become a person. A true person is one who dedicates their life without changing their inner vision. Whatever aim you are practicing for, you must hold to that aim and not change. And when you find it, you know it is that. Then you do not need, and you should not seek, something different. Trying something different means that inside you are not sure. That bhajan is so beautiful. I should translate it, but I don't know all the bhajans by heart, only the first line. So I will ask the singers to sing it. Let the cameraman focus on the singer, our dear Saṅgītā and the others, and they will sing this bhajan. So, dear brothers and sisters and friends around the world, I have to teach them even this. Please do not think Swāmījī is always angry. I am not angry; I am simply teaching. So, sing the bhajan. "Guru Deva Mere Jab Pās Khaḍe, Main Ās Karun Kisakī?" Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait. You are not a singer. They will sing. They will sing one line, and then the second time you may sing with them. I know you are a good singer, but I have to train them. Thank you very much. You need patience to wait. This is very, very important, and it is a training as well. It is not easy to wait. Waiting is very hard. Those who can wait can achieve everything, and those who cannot wait can lose everything. So do not hurry. There are so many streams of water, and the source of every stream is the ocean. Similarly, there are many saints and wise men in this world. A saint or a wise person cannot be defined merely by a uniform or robe, but by inner purification, realization, and knowledge – both practical and theoretical. Putting practice into theory is what makes a saint. All of us sitting here together possess so much knowledge, so much wisdom – unbelievable. But the problem is that we do not put our own knowledge into practice for ourselves. There was a shepherd who used to roam with his goats and sheep in the forest. He had no high school, no higher education. One day, he saw a man sitting sadly by the road. The shepherd approached him and said, "Hello, friend, how are you? You look a little sad." The man replied, "Yes, unfortunately, I am very unhappy." The shepherd asked, "What is your profession?" He answered, "I am a professor at the university." "Very good," said the shepherd. "What does the university look like? Can you tell me the definition of the university?" The professor began to think, "Universal knowledge in the university, no?" "Yes," the shepherd said. "Then why are you depressed? You have all the knowledge, and still you are depressed." The shepherd then gave him so much advice that the professor emerged from his depression and became very happy. The next day, the professor went searching for that shepherd and found that the shepherd had lost two of his sheep. His wife was very angry, so he did not dare go home. The goats and sheep returned to their yard on their own, but he remained outside, afraid. (I can congratulate a man who respects his wife so much.) He sat there, very sad. The professor came to him and said, "Friend, you look sad today." He replied, "Yes, I am." The professor said, "My dear friend, you have so much knowledge. I came specially to thank you because you removed my depression yesterday. Even the doctor, psychologists, psychiatrists, and many friends had advised me to take tranquilizers and such things, but you gave me no tranquilizer. Your knowledge helped me immensely, yet now you are in depression. Why don’t you use your knowledge for yourself too?" And the shepherd said, "Yes, true." This story means that we are all very wise, but we do not use this knowledge for ourselves. That is the problem. Every one of us here has advice for the president of the Czech Republic on what he should and should not do. We all have advice for the Prime Minister. We have ideas about the American president’s actions. Everyone has some advice – which means you are very wise, you have many good ideas, and you possess knowledge. But we do not apply it to ourselves. We are not capable of putting our theory into practice. On the day we put our theory into practice, I think we will not need to practice anything else. The door to self-realization will be wide open for you. But we keep searching, still searching. Our cup is full of tea, yet we try to pour more in. Even as everything overflows, we fail to realize the cup is full. That is our problem. We are blind to the fact that the cup is full and all the tea is spilling out. That is why we possess, yet we keep searching – and searching for the wrong things, not for what we should truly seek. And you never know when someone will set a test for you. You must pass the test. Mahāprabhujī, our Grandmaster, Devpurījī, Gurujī – they all had certain divine qualities. For Mahāprabhujī, nothing was impossible. Anything you asked of Devpurījī was possible – just like that, you would have it. My God, I wish they would come to Strilky! Then I can tell you we would have a queue stretching all the way to Warsaw. Yet Mahāprabhujī and Devpurījī strictly, very strictly, followed discipline, with no demonstration of siddhis or powers. Because that is an obstacle; if you demonstrate one siddhi, forget your peaceful time – nobody will leave you in peace. One day around 11 o’clock, Gurujī was sitting outside in the yard of the āśram, and Mahāprabhujī was in his room. Many of us know the story of Paramahaṁsa Rāmakṛṣṇa – a very great saint, self-realized, divine. He had thousands, millions of disciples, but one of them is especially well known because he traveled to Europe and was greatly respected even by the Indian government. He is a national figure for India: Swami Vivekānanda. In his books, Vivekananda relates his experiences, and we have all read again and again how the young Swami Vivekānanda asked Paramahaṁsa Rāmakṛṣṇa, "I would like to accept you as my Guru. Have you seen God?" Suppose you come to me and ask, "Did you see Mahāmaṇḍaleśvar, Svāmī Maheśvarānanda?" What would I say? What will I say? Can you answer me? So if you ask Jesus, "Did you see Jesus?" or Krishna, "Did you see Krishna?" or ask God, "God, did you see God?" – then God only smiles at our own stupidity. It means the questioner still does not know who you are. That is the first step. So Vivekānanda asked Paramahaṁsa Rāmakṛṣṇa, "Did you see God?" And he was very direct; he said, "Yes, maybe in the mirror." Then Vivekananda said, "Then I want to become your disciple. Can you bless me for God consciousness?" Vivekananda writes that Ramakrishna placed his hand on him, and he entered into a trance, samādhi, some higher experience. You may call it Śaktipāt or something similar. Many disciples have such experiences when I give them mantra – many of them. Afterwards, it depends on how they describe their feelings. So Vivekananda had higher consciousness experiences. Very good, no problem, very, very nice. And many people were inspired by this, longing for similar experiences like Swami Vivekānanda had. Part 2: When God Stands Before You: The Wish of a True Devotee And many came to me and said, “Swāmījī, can you bless me like Paramahaṁsa Rāmakṛṣṇa blessed Vivekānanda so that he had samādhi?” He replied, “Yes, of course, but you have to become Vivekānanda first.” That is it. So Rāmakṛṣṇa blessed many people. Why did they not have experiences, and why does someone else have them? I give the initiation mantra, dīkṣā, to many. Why do they not experience it, and why does someone else? Someone has their entire body vibrating inside—energy, light, emotions, awareness, and the divine. So it depends from person to person, how far one is developed, how much one can digest or accept. At 11 o’clock, Mahāprabhujī came from his room and suddenly called Gurujī’s name, “Mādhavānanda, Mādhavānanda.” And holy Gurujī was surprised, and with folded hands replied, “Yes, yes, my lord, Mahāprabhujī, yes, what can I do?” Mahāprabhujī said, “Wish anything. What is your wish? Right now, I will fulfill it.” Perhaps this was a test. Now what do you wish when God is in front of you? What will you wish? God is here telling you, wish what you wish. Do you have a wish? Do you have any wish? Okay, now it is too late. He is gone. It could have been fulfilled, my God. So he could have wished, like Vivekānanda said, “Can you bless me with samādhi?” That would mean for Vivekānanda, samādhi was higher than his Guru. True? Chidānanda? Or, for Vivekānanda it was more than God, more than his Master. It is said, Gurū Govind Douṅ Khaṛe, Kiske Lāgūṅ Pāy? in the holy Guru Granth Sahib. Suddenly, my Gurudev and Govinda, God, are both standing in front of me. Now, whom should I greet first? If I greet my master first, then God will say, “All his whole life he was longing to see me, and now he neglects me and first greets Gurudev.” And if I bow down first to God, then my Guru will say, “Look how selfish he is. Now he left me and went that side.” So that was a kind of dilemma. So it is said again, Gurū Govind Deo Khade, Kiske Lagu Pāye? To whom should I greet first? Then, I think it is said that Dhanak Dās Jī said this: Balihārī Gurudev Kī, Govind Deo Batāy — I am grateful to my master; he showed me God, and therefore my Gurudev is first. Gurujī is standing in front of Mahāprabhujī, looking and smiling. Gurujī said, “Ask.” Mahāprabhujī said, “Ask. The entire universe is ready for you.” And Gurujī smiled, and said one thing: “If I have more lives, then in every life, bless me to be your devotee.” Mahāprabhujī looked down and went into his room without saying anything. And Gurujī waited for a while and then also went. Mahāprabhujī said, “I would have given you anything you wished—samādhi, knowledge, money, kingdom, this, that.” And Gurujī said, “Lord, all this you count for me has no value. For me, everything is you. And when you are mine and with me, what more should I wish for?” Guru Deva, mere jab pās khaṛe, meṁ ās karūṁ kiskī? — When my Guru Deva, Mahāprabhujī, is standing with me, in front of me, what more should I expect? Even Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva will incarnate on this planet. For them, such a darśan of the Gurudeva is also rare. Therefore, Mahāprabhujī himself said, Gurudeva darśana dhanavo. Only they can understand. Chetan ānand ghan ho. At that time, all your samādhi, super consciousness, or lower consciousness, or higher consciousness, or unconsciousness—there is no more consciousness, because there is no non-consciousness there. Everything is divine, one. So Gurudev, mere pās khaṛe, main ās karū kis kī? Now, for whom should I wish more, or have someone wish for me? Jab bāhaṅ gaye Guru Dev mere, tab bāhaṅ gahu kisakī kisakī? When Guru Dev has held my arm or my hand, now whose hand should I need more? If Mahāprabhujī holds your hand, you are the luckiest of the luckiest. Do you want to have somebody more to hold your hand? So, when holding hands means that Gurudev takes upon himself the destiny of the devotees, Devpurījī said. Gurudev takes upon himself, on his own shoulders, destiny. He suffers for you. And that was also said, Jesus said, “I suffer on the cross because of your sins. I take away from you. Better I suffer than you suffer.” That is it. A mother may feel very cold, but she will give all the cloth to keep the baby warm. You understand this? Yes, then it is okay. If you do not understand, go in the garden and cultivate the vegetables, which is very good too. It is not bad. Because now, slowly, slowly, the whole world has to become vegetarian to solve the global problem of global warming. So when He held my hand, it means He took responsibility; He blessed me. Everything is now in His hands. Why should I worry? Jab nātā mere dil dara mile, when the Lord whom I met is the Lord of my heart, now for whom should I wait more or expect someone more? So when Mahāprabhujī is there, Devpurījī is there, Gurudeva is there, or Kṛṣṇa is there, what are you expecting—someone more? No, nothing; nothing is finished. Everything is there. No more learning, no more of this thing. Everything you got in one. One in all and all in one. But you have to be inside, sure. Not every day change the picture on your altar of the heart. Not sure. If you are sure, then it will be. If you are not sure, there are minor cracks, and that is very dangerous. It can break at any time. A minor crack can, at any time, break the whole building or everything. So, a solid foundation means solid confidence, solid belief, solid trust, solid devotion. Śrī Śrī... Rūpa anūpa, jab rūpa anūpa chhāṭā unakī sabhī aur lakhō, kiskī kiskī? Rūpa means form. Anūpa means the formless. It has form, but it has no form—the most beautiful. Like Anūpa, the tattva in Ājñā Chakra, the highest of the highest. So when I realise his highest form in me, now what kind of picture should I imagine? Sabhi, sabhi means form, the visions. Now we have a sabhā of Mahāprabhujī, and this altar. This is a sabhā. But when all this is dissolved in oneness, in the supreme, then what kind of picture do we need more? Jab roop anoop chhata unki atma, He is Ātmā, He is Brahman. His form is that formless, most beautiful, Anūpa. That is His śata. Śata means universal. Sabbī aur lakhu kiski kiski. Now, whose picture should I keep more beside? Understand? When you love your wife, you put a picture of your wife near your night table, no? If someone brings another lady’s picture, will you keep that? You can, but when your wife comes home, then you have to put it under the pillow. That is it. That is it. So, similarly, when you realise anupā, the universal cosmic form of the ātmā, the Brahman, now which pictures should you collect more and more? Many pictures, many confusions. It means you belong to no one, but to everyone—the street person. I will not tell more of the word. Therefore, again, Gurujī’s words we have to realise: one in all and all in one. That oneness we have to get, that is important, the reality, the truth. And until that we have, we will have many, many minor cracks. Guru Dev mere jab pās khaṛe. Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī, you have to make a little correction in your bhajan book. When love is attached to them, not to them, to them or theirs, but “to” is the correct. When love is attached to them, both are correct, “unse” or “unki”, so right, please, “unse”. Now, prīti means love, prīti means devotion. Prīti means confidence, prīti means faith, and prīti means trust. We have now two things in this. One, unconditional love that goes toward spirituality. Now, it does not mean that everyone will go home and get divorced. No. You should love your husband, you should love your wife, you should love your children, you should love your parents. As it is, or more than before, that is your gṛhastha āśrama dharma, your obligation as a householder, as a family member. You must love your family, you should love your children, you should love your neighbours, you should love your colleagues, you should love everyone. So you should know what kind of love to give to someone. So it is the confidence, it is the love. So it does not mean that now you will not marry. Or it does not mean that you will not have children. Or you will tell your wife today, “Finished, we can be together, but finished.” Then your wife will phone me tomorrow and say, “Swāmījī, what should I do?” I will ask your husband, she will ask her husband, what should I do? He will say, “Do the same as I did.” That is it. So, often we misunderstand the word love, often we misunderstand the word devotion, the word trust, the word confidence. So you should be able to make oneness, and you should be able to differentiate what is what. Okay? Therefore, when unconditional love is attached to my God, my Gurudev, then whose grace should I ask for now? Now, in this connection, His mercy, His grace, His kindness, His blessing. So now, whose blessing, whose prīti, chahun kisakī kisakī. As much as you love Gurū Dev, that much he loves you. As much as you will have love, that much you will have mercy. That is it. So to understand. Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān kī vādā, vādā means promise. Vāda means the words. Vāda means the vākya. Jab Vāda Ādā Hai Sadā Unke, when Gurudev’s Vākya is eternal. Hari Gurujī said, “Chand tale, sūraj tale, mahāpuruṣa ke vākya kabhī nahīṁ tale.” The sun and moon may change their direction, always rising from the east and going to the west; may they rise in the west and go east. The sun and moon may change their direction, but the words of a holy saint will not change. It will be eternal, final truth, Vākya, Guru Vākya. Whatever he or she says will come true. So, a bhakta, a śiṣya should know that this is final for me. Guru Dev said this, I accept and it will be. So our benefit is when Mahāprabhujī says, “Don’t go this side, go that side.” Our benefit is in that way. And sometimes it is hard to understand. When a thorn goes into the palm or into the foot, you cannot take this thorn out with a flower. You need another thorn to dig it out. True? Similarly, when some obstacle comes, goes into you, you think, “Oh, it is nice.” But the Guru has to take another thorn to take this thorn out. Sometimes it is painful, but it is a permanent treatment. No, Cidānanda? We need permanent treatment, where we do not need any more ointment. There is only one ointment. Do you know which ointment? Which one? Hṛde Kamala Kī Āṅkheṅ Khul Jāṅ, Jo Dāle Nitya. So Gurujī said, “The eye of our heart will open.” Only if we put the ointment on every day, disciplined systematically, the ointment of His name, the mantra, every day. Then the eye of the heart. It means opening, realising the self-realisation, and ignorance and darkness will disappear. Therefore, Guru Vākya, when there is a promise, there is always His promise. Vāda means promise also. When His promise is ever and always true, then whose promise of the world should I require more? He said he will come, and he will come. It does not matter when—in this life, next life, next next life. Do not worry, this creation will continue still for some yugas, but it will come. And when you have such firm belief, it will come. When this devotee, this servant, has taken shelter in him, now whose shelter should I require more? That is it. So when we surrendered to Mahāprabhujī, we took shelter at Mahāprabhujī’s holy feet. Now whom should we search for more? When God is here and we are sheltered at God’s feet, do you think anyone in this universe can be more protective than God? So, confidence. In every atom, in every grain of sand, is Śiva, the consciousness of Śiva, but you have to see. And it may come when your realisation dawns: wherever you walk, you see everywhere the reflection, the light, the Śiva light, or Brahman. That is it. It is not schizophrenia, okay? Some people describe this kind of experience as schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is different. Self-realisation is completely different. When I got shelter at the lotus feet of the Gurudev… Now, whose shelter should I require more? When Gurudev is standing beside me, what more should I wish for? What should I accept more? What should I expect to be different? When such a love, trust, and confidence decision takes place, then the realisation takes place. And therefore, to put theory into practice, that is very important. Rest for tomorrow. And another thing, I have good news for you: tomorrow, and especially for our dear brothers and sisters on the webcast, tomorrow will be a practical demonstration of the Haṭha Yoga Kriyās. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Many people misunderstand Haṭha Yoga. In the West, they think Haṭha Yoga is these āsanas and prāṇāyāms, what they are doing. That is not Haṭha Yoga. This is a part of Rāja Yoga. Haṭha Yoga is completely different. And so, when you come to know Haṭha Yoga, you will be happy. Haṭha Yoga is for the purification of the body. Haṭha Yoga is a kind of therapy against many, many diseases, and Haṭha Yoga is the best prevention against many, many diseases. If you cannot practice Haṭha Yoga or you have not practiced Haṭha Yoga, it means you practice nothing. All who practice āsanas, prāṇāyāmas, meditations, relaxations, and kriyā yogas—all others—if you have not been practicing or you are not practicing haṭha yoga, then the other part of your yoga is half, not completed. Haṭha Yoga is not very difficult; it is very easy, and everyone can do it. Of course, in the beginning, you need an expert, a learned Yoga-in-Daily-Life teacher or a yoga teacher, a good yoga teacher. Unfortunately, nowadays people offer you a ten-day yoga course and give you a certificate that you are a yoga teacher. For ten days you work at the university cleaning the tables, and you come out with the diploma of an engineer or a doctor. What a joke. But that is happening nowadays. People think yoga is only movement, āsanas, and, you know, they ask you questions. Then many say, “Buy the ‘Yoga and Daily Life’ book,” because that is complete. You can teach according to that. So, ten days of yoga practice, even if you do not know the definition of yoga, even if you do not know the names of the yogas, even if you do not know the different techniques of yoga and the paths of yoga—how can you say that you are a yoga teacher? So it means a blind leads a blind, and therefore it does not mean that in the world there are no good yoga teachers. There are many, many good yoga schools, serious yoga schools, and they give a complete three-year course until one becomes a yoga instructor. Mahāprabhujī kī jaya! Mahāprabhujī kī jaya! … I have some Haṭha Yoga exercises, practical, and then we will speak further. So, theory put into practice is a way to the self, or the way to freedom. I wish you a very nice, good night. It is a little cool, so please, they say you should heat yourself so you can warm yourself in the night like this. And where it is colder, make this exercise and put it here. Okay? Yes. Or tell your neighbour to come a little closer. Warm up yourself, please. So, thank you, and see you tomorrow. Dīp Nayan Bhagwān kī, Devīśwar Mahādev kī, Dharm Samrāṭ, Satguru Swāmī Madhavānandjī Bhagwān kī, Satya Sanātana Dharma kī.