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The spiritual path begins with an innate thirst for wisdom, cultivated from childhood observation and shaped by early influences.

Consciousness develops through duality, discerning likes and dislikes. Children observe parents and the world, forming intellect and will. Parental conflicts create subconscious impressions carried into adulthood. Spiritual understanding is often introduced young, but later corrupted by religious fanaticism and discrimination, creating inner conflict. Parents have a duty to provide vegetarian nourishment and free education; their choices create karmic results for themselves. Without right guidance, youth lack direction. Spiritual aim becomes an inner search, making one receptive to all related wisdom. This thirst grows. The path requires collecting scattered spiritual insights into a focused direction. Temptations and negative talk are obstacles like thorns. Spiritual practice becomes a daily, addictive routine leading to self-realization. One begins to seek spiritual atmosphere and teachings constantly. All experiences become nourishment for this hunger. A single moment of profound insight can ignite the journey. The Guru is the transformative force that liberates one from the cycle of karma, birth, and death.

"Everything your inner self tries to swallow, everything you are grasping."

"Now I found happiness at the shelter of the Gurudeva. Like the heavy waves again become calm in the ocean."

Filming location: Vép, Hungary

Good evening to everyone, and welcome again to this beautiful place in Hungary. It is a blessing to be together for a weekend. There are certain subjects on which we shall speak. First is this: when one begins the spiritual life, what is one doing? The question came: what to do? Every human, when they are born and begin to understand the world, sees the parents, sees the friends, sees nature, sees the animals. Slowly, slowly, in our consciousness, duality is developing. Not in a bad way, but we begin to understand what could be good for me. And there begin the feelings and the choices, like and dislike. It is not bad. It is good. I like ice cream. I do not like salty things. I like sweet things. I do not like just vegetables. So feeling develops, and the will power, liking, and disliking. As children, we begin to observe the world and people. What they are doing—children observe their parents very much. What my father likes mostly. And what my mother likes mostly—why does he always drink alcohol? A child does not know if it is bad or good. But the child begins to think, "Alcohol must be something good. That is why, my dear, the father drinks alcohol." But Mother tells him, "Do not drink." So the child begins to think, "Why is mother always saying, 'Do not drink'?" So this begins an inner conversation for a child. You observe grandparents, schoolteachers. This is how our intellect is developing. Then the day comes: what would I like to be? Girls mostly would like to be nurses, or cooking, playing with some dolls, which is not bad. The boys pay their attention toward some techniques. If the father is repairing something in the bathroom, plumbing, or is screwing something, the child observes carefully. So you see, now our intellect is hungry. For what? For wisdom, knowledge. Now, at that time, what parents will tell the child, what the child should become, will overthink. Some others will say what he or she should do. The child begins to think, yes, that is good, because at home there is a conflict. Father drinks alcohol, mother says, "Do not drink alcohol," so I do not know what is good and what is bad. When the father and mother have some conflict or anger, that has a very scary, a very fearful impression on the child. And that child, when they are grown, will also have such aggression. Because the boy who is grown thinks, "I have to be angry and strict with my wife, because my father was also." Or the child thinks he or she, no, I must be very strict with my husband, say, "Do not do," not only for the alcohol, anything the husband does, she says, "Do not do this, I do not like this." That means it is in the subconscious, this reaction of the persons or the parents, which is not explained, which is not answered. And at a very young age, we are not able to even understand the answer. But in some way, our psyche is damaged, and in some way it is helped. It depends on the parents. Then you begin to think what you would like to be in life: doctor, engineer, nurse, mother, father, farmer, taxi driver, locomotive driver. So that develops in you that, yes, I would like to be this. Now, it was a long time to come to this point that you would like to be this. So, there comes a time when your suggestion becomes a guideline for that young person. And now you will work for that, meaning to study, to find a better school, and so on. Similarly, also in spirituality, we learn to know God from very childhood. Parents tell you, "He is a holy person. He is God. Everything is God." In India, we mostly tell the children, say, "Jai, Jai,... Jai." And this word is very easy, Jai. Jai, Jai,... Jai. It does not matter how a child is pronouncing, we are so happy. We do not mind the grammar or the pronunciation, but we are happy that the child is doing it. So, spirituality, actually nowadays, 90% of parents try to teach or explain to children about God. But disappointment comes later. The fanaticism, the discrimination: my religion is better, their religion is not good; our God is good, their God is not good. Now, when I was very small, Father said, "God, God, Jai Jai." And now I try to understand God, and now I get instruction that God is not good. Do not believe that, do not believe this. So we create a conflict in their mind, and such a conflict that we are ready to die for, that we will fight for, that is also very deeply rooted in our consciousness. Therefore, children need free education. And especially, children’s diet should be vegetarian. It is the parents’ duty. When the child is grown, they can decide what they would like to eat. Now, many of you are very sorry and very sad that your parents were feeding you with meat. And that is in your blood, in your tissues. And so many diseases, cancers, and this and that. There was a yogī practicing yoga very strictly, Haṭha yoga. He was practicing for about 50 years. But before that, he was not practicing and eating all things. But then he came to know how harmful it is for the body to eat dead animals. Consume this, that, this. How heavy is it for my karma? And we begin a sāttvic life, full of love and positivity. So, when that man was 75 years old, he was practicing all haṭha yogas and this and that. And he got intense times of cancer. He asked me, he found me. "Swāmījī, I am practicing so many years, living vegetarianly. But how did this come to me?" So there are two things: karmic, and this is in our system from the nourishment from childhood. And these children, when they will begin to understand that eating meat is not good ethically, and according to the dharma, and according to the human’s heart—the mercy—they are very unhappy. Happy. When they are grown and they know what they want to do when they are 18, 20, 30 years old, they can decide what they want. Otherwise, this karma reflects on the parents’ back. Because you did this to the child. If it is good things, it reflects to the parents. So every good thing that we can do for the child, as parents, the karmic credit, the good karmic credit, goes to the parents. This saves what parents put in their subconscious. It will bless them whole life, and he will give the fruits whole life, good or bad. And therefore, to be a parent, it is not easy. And to educate the children, protect the children, it is not easy. We know around the world the youth have no direction. Already at the age of 15 years, 14 years, I do not know what to do now. And they go to some negative activities, what we call kuṣaṅga. Or they are not good in school. And there are the parents, which I heard last year in March, this year in March, that there are the parents that tell the children, "Do not come any more home." Or they sell the house, take everything away, and then the child and the school parents disappear. And such children become members of what they call gangs. And you know, in certain parts of the world, there is the biggest problem with gangs. The young boys and young girls, they have no motivation. They have no direction. They are very good-hearted people. If you can come and touch their heart, they will be ready to do anything. They are like a thirsty plant, which would drink all the water. So I am sorry for them that the parents did not give them the right education, love. And what kind of parents are these? Tell the child, "Do not come home anymore. Go where you want." And such children have such disappointment. They do not understand any relation. They understand, know any ethic, they do what they like. So they need a direction, and so the spirituality which is cultivated from childhood will guide us, and then the time will come, the point will come. You go to the temple or the ashram, to the church or to the synagogue, and you begin to think. Yes, there is God. Anyone can disappoint me. But God will not do. I love Him. Now, I would like to realize that my aim, and there God will help you. Any profession, any relation to find a husband or wife, and you have to treat your partner like your own heart. Hard words, negative situations, negative mood, you do not like. So also, your partner does not like this. And your children do not like this. So similarly, this is the spiritual aim. Aim, then it is a search inside. When someone speaks something and says "God," immediately your ears go in that direction. In books of, you see, spirituality, you take in the hand and look, what is that? Everything your inner self tries to swallow, everything you are grasping, everything. Now, because you have in your subconsciousness that aim, everything which is connected to your aim is very close to your heart. And so, it is the inner motivation and the inspiration from every side that will guide you. There are many people who, after some time, lose their interest. And such students have a big problem passing their examination. In the beginning, you had an interest in or love for that subject. And now you think it is not necessary. I have wasted five years, but I do not want this actually. I want something different. But five years, I have lost it. I do it one year more, and then I am finished. You lost inner motivation. You try very hard to give the examination, but you always fail. If you would have that love, you will not fail. Similarly, the spirituality that love should awaken is nothing more than that. And you would like to be that one, and you will realize. Now the spiritual search begins. As you are searching, it means you become more and more thirsty. The thirst for wisdom. The thirst for spirituality. Mīrābāī said in one of her bhajans, "No one understands me." I become so pale, like the leaves of the tree in the autumn. No one understands me. No doctor. No, the therapist. No one understands. No one understands the pain of my heart. Only my illness can be treated. Oh Lord Kṛṣṇa, if you come to me as a doctor, you are my remedy. Others, nothing can help me. And so this is a thirst for spirituality. Every word that you read is something for you, very similar to you, very known to you. When someone, your beloved, whom you love very much, writes you a few letters, a few lines, with very nice words, you read them again and again. But when it is not your subject, then someone writes, "Hey, you did not pay your bill," and so on. You were parking wrong. You really did not throw your bills. Because that was not your subject. But even these words come from your beloved one, that you did not pay your bills and you did not park your car in a good place. You will not throw immediately. You will feel more love that she or he is taking care of me. Immediately, the relation begins, the connection begins, the oneness begins. Begins. So every spiritual article, every spiritual subject, when you read, you swallow all within you. Like a very hungry person eats the apple till the last, when the little stickiness. And when you are not hungry anymore, then you peel the apple, cut the apple, take out the seeds and the rest of the hard skin from inside, and slowly you eat. And you leave it, staying. Because there was no hunger, there is no longing. And when that one comes, or that thing comes, you swallow it through and through. Like it is said, in this bhajan it is said, even I have to walk on the thorns, or may I agree to be burned in the fire, and so on and so on. But I will not leave you, my Lord, because I know that eternal peace, love, and happiness are near your holy feet or in your center. It begins more and more, the thirst and search. Then you meet someone who can guide you. Now, your situation is that you have one mālā, expensive beads inside, but it is broken. And poles are spread in different directions. So you have very expensive, beautiful spiritual thoughts and different ideas. And these are the pearls. But then someone comes and tells you, "Yes, this is the address. You go." And at that time, he or she is helping you to collect the points. And that becomes your first step toward the right direction of spirituality. That time your inner self asks you, "Enough, do not run here and there." Be peaceful, relax, sit down, meditate. Yes, inwardly you are so tired from everything, but now you have found that way. But you are not there still. That is a beginning. And always, beginning is difficult. And to continue is even harder. Sometimes, the way is thorny, rocky, with big rocks on your path. These terms are negative talks. Gossiping. Thoughts. Negative thoughts. You know what he did? You know that was terrible? And do you know if Swāmījī knows? That we should tell him, and when he knows, he will be so angry. So this is gossiping. Instead of this, have beautiful thoughts, beautiful satsaṅg. So these are the thorns, blood mailings, and then comes the rocky way. These are the temptations. It is so hard to walk. You are sweating, exhausted, tired. Then you see some nice water. You want to go to drink, and you cannot come back. So that is called the temptation of the illusion in this world. You may call it māyā. But this māyā has swollen so many, more than ninety percent. It is said when a snake gives the eggs, a good cobra, it gives a handful of eggs. And when the baby is sprouting out of the egg, then this mother cobra begins to eat them. She does not know it is her babies. And she eats and eats and eats. One or two may remain somewhere, which she did not discover. That escapes. So here and there, sometimes you see the snake. If all eggs will become snakes, you will see a snake on every step. So that temptation, māyā, is eating all, and that temptation said the spiritual people are more tasteful, like chutney and pickles. Because others I can have anytime. This is the special. So when you eat the pizza or your chapati, then you put your chapati on that particular pickle. Therefore, it is said, "Be careful, my friend. Do not be cheated. God, let me cheat it. This city is the city of the cheaters. And they will cheat you. First, they will intoxicate you. Be careful. Always very nice to you, and this and that. But when the chicken is in the box, then it is too late." So we are in the box of the emotion. Emotion means not only man to woman. Many, many different emotions: money, things, that. There are many people who are day and night thinking only of how to become more beautiful. And the surprise is this, that every day becomes different and looks ugly. Every morning, look in the mirror; you are different. And you are consuming every day more and more makeup material. Young children, they do not use makeup. They are beautiful. But it is our ugly thoughts that make us ugly. So every day is changing. Be careful, my friend. Do not let yourself be cheated. So when the way begins, then automatically you find the time to practice or pray. That becomes a daily routine. A daily routine is like a person who is drinking alcohol. Evening between eleven and twelve. So, ten minutes before eleven, the body becomes one vibration. And the whole body becomes loose. And that your mind, your body, pulls you to the alcohol bottle, and you take and you drink. And then you think the world is in order. And in the morning, you think, "How stupid I was." That I drink again. My children are unhappy. My wife is unhappy. My parents are unhappy. My neighbors are unhappy. My colleagues are unhappy. How stupid I am. No more drinking. 10 to 11 p.m. again, I do not care about my neighbors. I do not care what they think, others. I know I need alcohol. Again, you go there. Similarly, a person who is spiritual, no matter where he or she is, has an inner longing to meditate or pray, or think of God, Gurudev, and he begins to repeat his mālā, mantra. So the spiritual addiction, that is called spiritual addiction. The spiritual addiction has good fruits. The result is self-realization. But to be addicted to alcohol has a negative result. So spirituality requires your inner clearance, not that someone will guide you all the time. There is a time when we need a finger of parents to walk, but very soon we do not need the finger; we will walk. But if you still need a finger, then your parents will take you to some orthopedist or to some psychologist. So, in reality, you have to walk. So, we learn walking, and we do it. Similarly, we learn meditation, we learn prayers, we learn the spiritual thoughts and bhajans, and then we do it. And we are searching, where can be a satsaṅg today? An alcoholic comes to some village, a strange village. He thinks, "Where can I buy alcohol?" He does not think where there can be a satsaṅg. So we are searching for where there can be a spiritual atmosphere. And if not, then we take Līlā Amṛta, or Rāmāyaṇa, or Gītā, Upaniṣad, Bible, or a Koran, any holy books where it is about God and God’s glory, we read, and we overthink, and we sleep so good. Before going to sleep, if you read the Līlāmṛt, Mahāprabhujī’s biography, you will have like their dreams. And before going to sleep, if you read some horror books or some horror articles, then in the dream you have such dreams. So when you wake up in the morning, you should have beautiful, spiritual, positive thoughts. The whole day will be beautiful, and before going to sleep, again you should have beautiful thoughts. And if not a book, then at least repeat your mantra. While repeating mantra, you sleep. So, how does the spiritual path begin? From birth till now, and how many people are there? This is very important for us. Parents, neighbors, friends, school teachers, even the animals and flowers and trees. That gives us knowledge. Through this, we can satisfy our hunger, the hunger of spirituality. Then it is said, "Now I am divine, because I drank the nectar of God’s name." Now, everything in the world is tasteless, because now you know that real taste, and when you have tasted that real taste of God’s name, the devotion, bhakti, guruvākyas, then all other kuṣaṅgas are disturbing you. There is a story from the great Tulsīdās, who wrote the Rāmāyaṇa. And when he was young, twenty or something like this, he married. That time, marriage was not like nowadays. That time, it was called marriage. And now it is called love marriage, and love marriage is temporary. And the real marriage is whole life long happy. And that was arranged and concerted with the astrologers and so many things. I will not tell you, because you are not going to marry anyhow. And if you have in the mind to marry, then first consult with me. Not that, Swamiji, I am going to marry; can you bless me? Of course, I will say no. And you will say, "Do you think it is good for me?" You should have asked me first. What do you think, Swamijī, about this girl or that boy? Boy, that time you did not tell me. That time you said, "Do not tell me." So, nowadays marriage is no marriage. Anyhow, everyone is happy. They love their partner, and Tulsīdāsjī was also very happy. The tradition was that after marriage, one month after, or ten days, or five days, or twenty days, the parents or the elderly brother would come to get her back home, respectfully. And after one or two months, again, then her husband comes and takes her away. Not that they take away. But they saw their love, that we love you, my child. We miss you, and do not think that my parents sent me away from home. So, that is it traditionally, you know. You again bring your daughter and give all comfort and everything that she needs, and when she goes, you give her everything that she needs, and that. Social things. So you do not know what your wife brings back from her house. Exactly, I do not know because I did not get it. Still waiting. So after five days, Tulsīdās had such a longing for her. And he was shy and afraid of his parents, and of his parents-in-law also. What will they see in me? What kind of man am I without morals? What kind of weak am I, running behind her? My God, we did not think that our son-in-law would be like this. If we had known before, we would not have married our daughter to him. So there was a social respect. And nowadays, parents tell boys not to go, and he says, "Why?" They tell the girls not to go out at night. Why? Nowadays, children are the parents. And be happy that they come back. You cannot say anything nowadays. Mahāprabhujī said, "Swāmī, deep chupchap raho kene menetant." Mahāprabhujī said, "Be silent." It makes no sense to tell them anything now. Night, nine o’clock evening, Tulsīdāsjī had such a feeling to go and see her. So he was waiting until all family members slept. And he escaped in the night. And between his village and her village flowed the Yamunā River. In the winter, there was not so much water, but ice-cold water. So he jumped in the river, nearly one kilometer. In cold water, without knowing all dangers, what can be in that river? He came to the other side of the river, the other bank of the river, and waited, shivering. He came to the village and made sure if the parents-in-law were all sleeping or not. Where her room was, he was knocking on her window slowly. She said, "Well, she was happy," but she said to him, "Idea: as much as you love this body, me, this mortal being, if one percent that much, if you would have loved God, you would be enlightened." For that young man, it was like a night of life in his heart. He said, "Thank you." Turned back and went away. That was the beginning of his spiritual path, and he became a great saint. And who wrote this epic of the Rāmāyaṇa, Rāma’s beautiful poetry? So, you need some time, some push. Sometimes you need an accident, that you open your eyes and you become aware of your life. Many people become spiritual after a deadly accident. Of course, I do not wish you like this. You are spiritual, and follow the path. Practice, practice. Therefore, it is said. In one bhajan, "Abhaṁ Guru Charaṇa Sukhapāyā," Now I found happiness at the shelter of the Gurudeva. Like the heavy waves again become calm in the ocean. Gurudev is the ocean, and we are the waves. So again, we will become one. Gurudev has brought a heavy cloud of wisdom. "Amṛtā jala barṣaya," and let rain of nectar. "Amṛta nir pīyā mana bharake," so water of that nectar I drank till I quenched my thirst. Now I became fearless, and no more wandering here and there. I found myself within thyself. "Pāras hai Gurudev hamārā." Gurudev is like a pāras stone. And that pāras stone, where we touch it to the iron, the iron becomes gold. It is said the pāras stone has such an energetic power. So, by the way, by chance, if you find somewhere a pāras stone, okay, bring it to me. So we will turn all these windows and everything into gold. So this gold means removing the karma of iron, the black karmas, the negative karmas, and enlightening our consciousness. He gave me the mantra, "Sohaṁ." "I am that, I am that." "Sohaṁ śabda diyā sarvān me." He spoke the mantra in my ear. "Kova Haṁsa Banāyā," and through that mantra, what miracle happened? That the crows became the swan. "Abhaṁ guru charaṇasukh pāyā. Ananta janama chaurāsī bhogī." Many, many lives I suffered in this 8.4 million creatures, different creatures. Cycle of 8.4 million, ananta janama, endless births. I do not know how many births I have had. "Ananta janama chaurāsī bhogī," suffering in this cycle of 8.4 million creatures’ circle. And in every life, I was bitten by the Yamas and tortured by the Yamas. Endless lives, suffering. And in doing the torturing of Yama, the death, "Gurudev Yama daṇḍet śudhāya," but now the Gurudev made me free from Yama’s punishment. But now Gurudev is free from the punishment of the Yama. "Lekha pūrā karāyā." All that was written in my destiny, Gurudev finished it, completed. No more karmic death remains. "Āgye janama aneka gamāyā," many, many lives I lost in the past. "Gurubina bhedana pāyā," without Gurudev, I did not know the meaning of life. Now, my Gurudev gave me the message, the knowledge, the meaning of this human life. All my worries disappeared. All sufferings disappeared, and now in my heart the sun rises. The sun of wisdom, the sun of love, that warmth. Have you a warm heart or a cold heart? Warm? No, my heart is also warm. So, "hṛdaya bhāṇogaya," hṛd means heart, and within my heart the sun rises, the sun of that wisdom. That I am Sohaṁ, Śrīpūjī Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇa, "Dehad Haṁsapathayā," universally worshiped Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī, has liberated endless souls. Liberated. "Kahi mādhava ānanda, ānanda hai." Holy Gurujī said, "Now I can see you since when I met my Gurudeva." "Kahi Mādhavānanda Ānanda he, janma maraṇanda hī āyā." Such a happiness I receive that I will not have to be born again, and when not born, will also not die. Free from birth and death. When you have a court case in the court. The case is not finished. You have to go to the court, and come and go, and come. And one day the judge will tell you, "All finished." Then you are happy. Not only is that case solved, but you do not have to go anymore. You want to go anywhere, you can go. Through the divine blessing of Mahāprabhujī, I believe, now I have no more birth and death. Therefore, "abhaṁ guru saraṁsukhāya." Now, after all this, I found happiness centered at my Gurudeva’s lotus feet. My happiness and the existence of the Guru-Deva.

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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