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Selfless action and bhajans

The spiritual path integrates worldly duties and inner practice without division. A sacred place amplifies one's inner state, bringing peace or agitation based on inner purity. The system of practice is designed for moment-to-moment connection. Work and devotion purify the mind through selfless action and spiritual study. These are not separate paths; one must balance both practical and spiritual knowledge. Following only worldly knowledge leads to darkness, and following only spiritual knowledge leads to greater darkness. The duty is to perform actions while surrendering the fruits.

"Karma Yoga is something you do selflessly from inside; there is no 'I will gain this and that.'"

"If you follow only physical knowledge, you will end in darkness. But if you follow only spiritual knowledge, you will end in even worse darkness."

Filming locations: Jadan, Rajasthan, India.

Śrī Śrī Alakh Purījī, Mahādeva, Kī Jaya. Devādhideva, Deveśvara, Mahādeva, Kī Jaya. Ārādhya Bhagavān, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa, Mahāprabhujī, Kī Jaya. Hindu Dharma Samrāj, Mādhavānandajī, Bhagavān, Kī Jaya. Viśvaguru, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, Paramāśvarānandajī, Gurudeva, Kī Jaya. I have been living in India for some time already, but it is always, always very nice when I can be with Swāmījī. We had Mahāprabhujī’s Mahāsamādhi celebration in Jaipur Ashram, as in every ashram around the world. After this, Swamiji allowed me to come here to be with him and with all of you, for which I am very thankful to Guru Dev. This time in India coincides with the wedding season. The whole winter is here, with a little gap of 30 days, and then the wedding season continues. It means everybody travels everywhere, and spiritual things are not the priority. But for us, this does not mean we should not practice. We are here in this āśram. Yesterday and today, around 20 to 30 people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia left. They did two months of seva at Om Ashram. The work at Om Ashram is going on. Yogājī, Ramanājī, and everybody are trying their best to finish it for the opening next year. This all depends on Mahāprabhujī’s blessings and the work of all of us. When you come to Jadan from Jaipur, it is so peaceful. Although we have the highway in front where many trucks are passing, this place somehow puts you inside. To go out, you have to really plan your day, as many people like Niranjan Purījī and Premanānjī are doing. Otherwise, it is very easy not to do anything. This is not only because of this place where Swāmījī made the āśram; it is because Swāmījī and our beloved Hindu Dharma Samrāṭ Mādhavānandajī were living here. Holy Gurujī was here till 2003; he was in this place for 13 years, and Swāmījī has been here for the last 30 years. It is not only the place; it is like when you go to Kailāś Āśram, you can feel that this is really something special. How do you know that many people want to run away from Kailāsh Āśram at the first sunset? Because the inner calling is too much. If we are pure inside, then we feel good. But if we are not pure inside, if we have some problems, then depression and all these negative emotions come up. And, of course, what we want to do, we want to avoid. In Jadan, especially when you are with Swamiji, after all the seminars in Europe and everywhere, it is very hard to go away. I was going to Jaipur today, and then Swamiji said he was supposed to go to Rupavas. Swāmījī changed the plan. I asked Swāmījī, "Can I also change my plan?" Swāmījī said, "Yes." So I got a one-day extension in Jadan. Thank you for that. Swamiji purposely made our system "Yoga in Daily Life" so that every day we are doing yoga or are connected to that spirituality. Here in ashrams, after some time, it is not even in daily life; it is not daily, but from every moment to moment. In every hour you are somehow connected to this place, connected to Swāmījī. Jadan is getting more and more prominent; just now, three buses full of people came. You can imagine what will happen when we open the ashram. We always have two parts: one is spiritual, and the other is normal living. In India, starting from the Vedas and the Upaniṣads, they do not believe in division. In India, ṛṣis and munis do not believe there is a spiritual path separate from the worldly path. Parāvidyā and Aparāvidyā go hand in hand. Spiritual knowledge and physical, earthly knowledge go hand in hand. We learn from Swāmījī the simplest of simple ways through Karma Yoga and bhajans. What is Karma Yoga? Karma Yoga is something you do selflessly from inside; there is no "I will gain this and that." At Om Ashram, it is amazing because it does not matter if you made the tiles in five rooms or ten rooms; there are still more rooms to be done. No matter how much cement work you do, there is always something more. Ultimately, there is no other way for you to continue the work than through surrender. You do the work because the work is there and because you can do it. You do samarpaṇa; you dedicate yourself to doing. That is actually Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga is what creates niṣkāma karma. Niṣkāma karma is selfless karma. We are not doing this because we will get something. All of us, in the beginning, want to have something. We want to achieve something. "I am doing this because I will get that. If I get sannyāsa, people will bow down to me, and I will give āśīrvād," and so on. But after these waves pass, then reality starts. It is very hard to stay afloat. It is much easier just to go to your room, meditate, lock yourself in, and do whatever you want. This happens in the West now more and more because people have enough money and are completely isolated. So when they come to the ashram, when they come in big groups, there are always conflicts because we are used to being on our own. So, the first thing is Karma Yoga: you do things because you can do them, not because you will get something from it, though you will always get something. Ultimately, you get food and sleep, but you will also get inner satisfaction. The second one is bhajans. The word "bhajan" is very tricky; it covers so many things. It covers our singing of bhajans, kīrtans, mālā, mantra repeating. It covers any study of the holy scriptures. Bhajan is like the emotional background for Karma Yoga. Both Karma Yoga and bhajans are meant to purify our mind. We have only five things we have to purify: kāma (passion), krodha (anger), lobha (greed). These alligators from the Svādhiṣṭhāna Chakra are always there. With time, if we are progressing on the spiritual path, their power lessens. We get less attached, less angry, but that does not mean they are dead. With Karma Yoga and Bhakti, that is why we have satsaṅg here. If we only have Karma Yoga in the ashram, then basically we are just workers. The spiritual part, after some time, detaches. Then, instead of spiritual knowledge, you have only physical knowledge. Swamiji told me last time we were here to go and make the tiles in the bathroom because some workers did not come. I still had to call Yogājī to find out how much cement to put, where the tiles are, how to put them, and so on. Luckily, Yogājī came and took over the job. So physical knowledge is endless. But from Swamījī’s point of view, there is no difference between moving sand from one place to another, putting tiles in bathrooms, or writing a book. It is the same because ultimately this is only karma; it is only work. Here in Jadan, we who can stay here, or you who are here for a long time, are actually very blessed. Although many things are happening everywhere in the world, the Ashram, especially when Swamijī is here, is ten times or one hundred times more active. When I am in Jaipur, I get maybe five or ten calls a day: "Swamiji is coming, Swamiji is coming. Swamiji is in Europe; he has not come yet." From five calls a day it becomes fifty, then a hundred calls a day. Then Swamījī comes, and somehow this is balanced to only fifty calls a day. Then Swamījī goes, and again it is five or ten a day. So it just does not matter that I am not in Jadan. The whole thing is somehow moving with our Gurudev. To return: physical knowledge and spiritual knowledge go hand in hand. In the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad, it is said that if you follow only physical knowledge, you will end in darkness. But if you follow only spiritual knowledge, you will end in even worse darkness. The solution is to balance both. Because we live in this world, we should do the work. As Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad Gītā, our job is to do the work. The consequences of that work, the fruits of our labor, are not our problem. Our job is to do. Haripurījī’s job and Siddhājī’s job is to ensure proper eating. If you keep bad company, your future will be bad. If it is good company, your future will be good. So, here in Jadan Ashram, we have Karma Yoga, we have bhajans, we have satsaṅg, we have good company. And that is only possible by the blessing of Gurudev. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, Kī Jaya. Devaśvara Mahādeva, Kī Jaya. Alakhpurījī Mahādeva, Kī Jaya.

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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