Swamiji TV

Other links



Video details

Our soul is one

A spiritual discourse on the nature of life, non-violence, and the soul's journey, using the metaphor of a flame.

"God has given something special to the humans... a true human is the only one who does not say, 'I will live here, I will eat food, but I will not act in a way that causes pain to any humans, or animals, or birds, or anything.'"

"This life is yours, everyone's, and mine. My lamp is, I don't know how far it is, but I also have this lamp, and one day my lamp will be gone."

A swami addresses a gathering, explaining the preciousness of human life and the principle of non-violence (ahimsā) as the key to spiritual progress. He describes the soul (ātmā) as a flame that ultimately unites with the divine, contrasting it with the ego and the physical body. He concludes with practical guidance, urging daily maintenance of a lamp in one's home or ashram as a form of seva (service) and sādhanā (practice) to honor this inner light.

Filming location: Slovenia

Our practices are of different kinds, which we can use and understand. The first is for the body. The body is very important; it is always with us. When a baby comes, we see its state. In one or two years, the child begins to speak and do things. Then come the years—ten, twenty-five. We all say, "I want to become better and go further. I want to have this, I want to have big things." We work, yet our life slowly goes backward. Sometimes we don't know it, but through our body we cannot go further; we cannot do certain things. God has brought us to this earth. On this earth, in this ocean, we have been given a place to live. Why? Every creature has a life. Even a tiny ant—it is living. Every little animal may die in a day or two, but there is a life in it. And we—how long are we living? It is the same living. Take a big elephant, for example. I always say, "Big ocean, big ocean." In India, we say this, and my father said it, and now you will also know. I can see something like this: this is one thing. What is this? A little pot. We all know everything. This Earth, all our countries, and beyond that, all is the ocean. This is only for this Earth, but the ocean is vast. On a little earth, or in our pot, there is water. You may have a little pot; others have a big one. So do not think, "I am great and that other is little." It is only our body, our things. But our ātmā, that living essence, will always come together in the ocean and also above in space. In this way, it is said that all living beings—how many animals and everything—the 18.5 million kinds of living beings, they all come and they all die. Then it was said, "God has given something special to the humans." There are big stories about that, but you know, my dears, I am just telling you. We are that which says, "Now all creatures are living." It is said: "Jīva jīva bhakṣate." Jīva jīva bhakṣate. Jīva is living—anything, including the earth, flowers, and everything. So all animals, waters, and all that—jīva means living. So jīva to jīva, eating each other. One animal eats another, and you can eat this. Every time there is life in the water, above the water, above water itself. Jal Jagadīśa, Jal Jagadīśa—that is what we call it. Water is God. It is said; somebody in your country also said water is God. In all of this, they come, they go, they feel. All people, animals eating us, and others eating, killing—there is a lot of pain, a lot of pain. But it is said, then comes the human. And the human should not come into the eating of jīva. Jīva jīva bhakṣyate, but others... you see, in all of India—and India now remains very little, otherwise very many places or lands had it; it was India, you know that—there, people began to eat animals as humans. Now, a true human is the only one who does not say, "I will live here, I will eat food, but I will not act in a way that causes pain to any humans, or animals, or birds, or anything." For example, you are sitting here. I think I know, maybe some of you, but maybe all of you have not eaten living animals anymore—no killing or eating. I always say, when we wake up, our eyes open, and what we say is: "I am human. I am human." When we say "I am a human," many things it will tell: I cannot do this, I am a human. Anything that happens within my dharma, I cannot do this for you, sorry. Yes, jīva jīva bhakṣate, but not the other jīva of you. So that is that in our ātmā, in our soul, our body, everything, we are also eating and living. But we want to go again to the Parabrahman, Paramātmā. Otherwise, on the earth, in space, and again in the animals, in ava, hava, to bring back tan-man-bacchan. Tan-man-bacchan: tan is body, tan-man is mind, tan-man-jīvet. This all—our body, all these three—and jala-jagadīśa, Bhagavān. In this is now our ātmā. And in this ātmā, if we will do torturing others, then we will again fall into that. And where we are not torturing anything, I am telling you 100%, my dears, we will come to the Parabrahma, Brahmātmā. We live happy, joy, everything. This is just a body, and this will not remain forever. Many times you have seen. Many times, the Indian in the Śiva or the Brahmā or the Kṛṣṇas, every one time tells. They all came and they go again with the good. So she said, "Please, please, now your life is at its end." And end last means that now you are humans. And there, you should not torture anything. Now we said, "Okay, now we will do," and nothing will be happening in this. No. You got it now? You are living. Living how? Good things? But maybe after 20 years, you say, "No, I will not do anything." Again, I will eat meat and this and that. Again. So it is said, when any creature dies, including humans, very little time remains, and our body goes and the ātmā comes. And then in ātmās, there are two. One is who is torturing animals and meat, and eating, and this and this. Then, after, they will again go back. And those who have not given any torturing to anyone, and everyone is to give respect, and this, and we come on the door. So on the door, all we go in. Not that I go there and I go on. Yes, we said, "I am in India, in Croatia, America, Australia, their language, their names, etc." That all, that is. But they said, "No, I am good, and my religion is good." Others said, "Not mine, it is." That we are looking, but when that ātmā goes out of our body, then we are all one, coming in one place. And from that, it will be that the dirt, which is heavy, goes down, and the very pure goes up. Then you cannot say that I am a yogī, or I am Hindu, or I am Christian, or I am everything. You are everything, but after that, his body is gone. Now we cannot say it is God who has shown where you are. At that time, we will say, "Now I am there." So, you know, I am telling you here, many people are saying, "I'm great. I'm a professor, I'm this, I'm that." And some said, "I'm a good guru, and I'm with a lot of money or something. I'm great. Don't speak with me." Oh, my boy. I always said, "You come first." I will come behind you. I never have said in so many years, "I am that, and I am good." I think maybe you said, "Maybe I did something, God, that I am this and that." I hope I did not say, "I am this, and you are not God." First, I want to... I might... You have, you know, what I'm telling, not little things. Now I'm my ego, okay? And my ego is like this. I'm a mother, and my children are drinking my milk. Yes? Mother is giving this. And the children are giving milk, and the little child's legs are moving to the mother's here and this and here. And mother don't say no, like this, like this. I am like that mother. For this little, you are great, and children are very much very clean and very nice. Let us become like that also, yes. But as much as we come, "I am like this," it means, yes, you are right and great, but it means you will go down. Tuck, this is that. So, in our practice, how can we practice? What can we do? For example, I tell you, this is a flame. Many of you were not here, and many you know, yesterday I told, in this is all our self. This pot, liquid, this, what is that inside? The wet, wet. What is that? Weak. And fire, five elements inside. Inside, and in these five, one is that which is the fire. And in the fire inside is the ātmā. Which ātmā? You. You have this. And this is our life. We are now this light. The lamp is this, the light. I have that much liquid inside. That one has that much, the other has that much. Some die earlier, some go there, but all have to go. We have to go. And when there is nothing inside the earth, no oil or anything, then slowly, slowly the fire will also go. So this life is yours, everyone's, and mine. My lamp is, I don't know how far it is, but I also have this lamp, and one day my lamp will be gone. This pure, you are all very pure, my dears, you are very great, very great. And it will come sometimes, like all the problems and this and that. O God, O Mahāprabhujī, O my mother, my father, give me life, healthy, and I go back. Where has this flame gone? Flame kahā gayī? Wo flame kidhar gayī? All this inside, and the flame was... this is life. And how we are taking care of our flame and all this. And so, what we eat, what we drink, what this—we are humans, we know that. No fighting, people. No killing humans by humans. Yeah, we can say, "Why are you not this? Why are you not good?" This, this we can tell, okay. We are fighting a little bit, but not killing us. We are all. So, in that light, it is coming. That will remain all, and that will go to Parabrahma, Paramātmā, everywhere. This flame is for you. This is your life, and we should protect it above all. So, we practice for everything. Our body also, very much, everything. But all space, we said, "Please, I want to leave." He said, "No, I will die." Please don't do something for me. A flame is for us; we are talking. Very pure, very clear, everything. In this way, all these flames here, all these flames, beautiful. And where all will come together is also very big. We become one, and this. So let us allow ourselves to be this flame, this beautiful flame. And when there is wind and these animals, then what should we do? Because we are running this and that and fighting and this and that, then they're going like this. But when I am peaceful and healthy, this is it. So this you are, you are, my dear, you are. I am just telling, but it is that on my palm, on my palm, you are all on that. You are all on this, and I am below you, under you. I am holding myself, I am protecting, I am holding you. And God said that I can hold. That was energy. Oh my Lord, let me hold that. And before, we used to say if it is something like this, and down is the dark. This is the dark, and up is, you know, light. There is a down. But now, you all, me and you also, I think I also do. Such a, you are all pure people. You are all good persons, every good person very pure, pure, clean. So not only that your flame is light going up, but you see also from down yourself that you are, and where there is not, there is dark again, dark. Nothing we can see, we have to become like that. That which is everywhere is a light, up and down, everything. We have to become pure, and that purity means you are pure. I can only say that I'm holding on my palm yours, but the rest is all you. Have to do this. It is a very important day. So, in this, when I work, I do it as my seva. I am making a seva. You are saving also to others. So we, to make the seva, seva hai. And so in this, this light, this everything. So that's why, for example, I tell you, in ashrams, everywhere should have the light. If you have an ashram, then morning and evening you should come and make your this. Like in church, in church morning and evening they are making pūjā also in their way, and there may be the flame or something, agarbattis or something like this, and when they close the church and after one week. They have come for puja, that is not good. So in our ashrams, where we have, anywhere in your country, for example, you have many ashrams, and we should come and don't say, "One week we will," or, "One, two days." We have every day coming, yes. Exercise you can do after. Maybe, but this is your ashram, your light, but not only the ashram or church or something. In the house also, so in the house also, we should have even a little like this, like there was here, like this, yes. You see this: Mahāprabhujī, Devapurījī, Holy Gurujī, Alagpurījī. And there, if we do morning and evening, this means that twenty-five whole days, morning and evening, whole—this is your sādhanā, your heart, your love, your respect. You can do that, and it will be. You are there. So this, and the temple where it is, the ashram. To have the seva, seva is a good, and this is a light. You are living, you are living; this is a life, living. So in that, it's, of course, it is you. I only can tell me. So every morning and evening, you have a little āśram or big āśram; it must not be. There, all go. If only one person can come, only to have this, or you can come more and this, that is then you all, my dear, my love. Again we will come. Why? What? Because we practice āsanas, prāṇāyāms, this all, many things all the times. But now this flame we have got it, and we will go more and Brahmrī. For example, Brahmrī allow there. There are many other techniques. Why? To make my whole body say, "My God," it doesn't matter which God you believe, but you have to give, but not with alcohol and meat. Tomorrow we will continue again, because your time is going. I wish you all the best. Thank you. Do you have any questions, please? Not only about what I spoke, but something, a few words, if you have. So, it is very... Good, so I am a Swami, I am Amandeśwar, I am everything, but you are more than me. I will first for you, and then I will, of course. You are saying, "No, no, Swamijī, you," but then it's like I'm sitting all there. Otherwise, I will say, "Okay, you go, okay." No, this then it's why, why the mother and the child is coming. So my mother, guru, or holy person is the mother, and all children, they are. So please take care of the children very nicely. It is only the holding me down. I'm holding under you. And you take me like this, then I will be. My time coming, I go. Then what Mahāprabhujī will tell my śaraṇans, what have you done? Come here at this time. Now is my working. I am my working, and I want telling only this is good, my person, and this is okay, and that is gone. That I don't want to escape. No, no,... no. When the ocean goes up and clouds come and water is dripping, who is that? All of you and me, we are all equals. Be equal, and where we will come, in which place and how, that's it. This is the, that is a guru, that's a yogī, that's a great person who is like that, who can live life. So, help, help. When somebody comes, say, "Thank you," but, oh, moment, moment... prasāda, that is. Okay? And not that you are coming and giving me chocolate, okay? Thank you, go. You know, all chocolate is coming to me where I am, but I am always giving, always giving. So prasāda we got it two times: prasāda when I came, and then after prasāda we make it from here, okay? So everything, thank you. Tomorrow I will also take. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa. Amma Śabdhaśa Prabhu Śaraṇāpārāyaṇam. Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa Nārāyaṇasabhādāsa Prabhu Śaraṇāpārāyaṇamayoṁ Śaraṇāpārāyaṇamayoṁ Rāmaṇa.

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:

Email Notifications

You are welcome to subscribe to the Swamiji.tv Live Webcast announcements.

Contact Us

If you have any comments or technical problems with swamiji.tv website, please send us an email.

Download App

YouTube Channel