Swamiji TV

Other links



Video details

The Inner Lamp and the Nature of Being

A spiritual discourse on inner illumination, ritual, and the nature of being.

"Inside, there is a lamp, but that sun is the same—within your home, within your body, within your mind, in everything."

"We are human beings, and because we are human, all our communities, all those places where people go to offer their salutations."

The speaker delivers a contemplative talk, weaving together the symbolism of the inner lamp and the sun with observations on animal life, human conduct, and spiritual identity. He recounts an anecdote about disciples and a cow to illustrate themes of non-violence and sin, and discusses the connection between humans, Bhagavān Śiva, and the land of India, emphasizing the underlying oneness of existence.

Filming location: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

There is the state of uṇṇāḍa and syāvaṛ. At that time, you are inside. Even then, yes, the sun is about to rise. Before that, lighting a lamp, offering water, and so on—if someone offers prasāda or water during the prakāśa (illumination) inside, all this is subscribed to as if saying, "I will sleep, and that is fine with me." Become that. But after doing this, bow down again and then go to sleep. And in the evening, as soon as the sun sets, they would light the lamp beside it. It was as if they were a great king, a very noble person. Whether it was Udara Divālī or any other occasion. So he was walking along the river, and he saw that the sun was setting. Then he looked back and saw that a temple was coming up, and a lamp was lit there. He said that this is the matter. So, what we do—Muslims may not light a lamp, I don't know, I was not there—but when I saw there, I saw that a lamp was lit and placed, then I realized that otherwise, they saw the lamp, and during the day the sun had already set in the ashram. So, look here, there is a lamp, but that sun is the same—within your home, within your body, within your mind, in everything. For humans, if they are humans—whether animals, cows, wolves, buffaloes, donkeys, dogs, or any other form of life—they do not know what to do. But still, you will see that the birds rise from there even before the day breaks. What happens if they do not? When the sun sets, all those birds and others come to the same place, and all those birds gather together on one tree. Many people who come and go talk a lot. This Janār, you see, is very much like that. Now sometimes it is like this: there is only one, and that one is a bird. That bird has another bird near it; both are there. And one of them leaves, meaning it has gone, died somehow. So, one bird... He is the son, and he left yesterday, so you observe that he does not go to others very quickly; he does go to everyone, though. What is, is one; that one will remain the same. Even animals are for this purpose. After that, there is the cow—there are many cows, but what can be done now? The cow has accumulated much sin, and many people have sinned. I live abroad; four years ago, I went there and saw that people had—people had all... Everyone should keep the cows, but not all cows; keep them in a distant place in the forest. And when this matter came up, a little over a hundred years ago, my disciples from abroad said, "Bābājī, where are your cows? We want to come and see them." I said, "Go ahead, show them the cows," but they... When those people went to hit the cows, there were about four or five men, and there was one cow standing there with her calf. One man was sitting apart, watching, and seeing that the cow had a calf. The people sitting there then went to the cow and her calf... Who took it and threw the cow away because it was a calf, it was not yet strong. If it had been strong, the cow would have been taken along by hand, and at that very moment, it happened. Even now, they do the same—they eat them. So at this time, our disciples came back to me and asked, "Swāmījī, what do you do?" I said, "No, I have said everything. If they are animals, do good to all, do this." So those people said, "Gurujī, if you say, we will forgive." But from today onwards, no matter what kind of animal it is, we will not take its flesh, milk, or curd. Just as a mother gives birth to a child, similarly, this work is in the hands of the children. She gives milk to drink, and they give a little, then they take water, but not that; for so many days, it is the cow’s milk, her daughter, or her son—that is what should be fed. So, doing that, they came after me one year later. For a whole year, people told me, "Bring many things, son, thank you." Then my Maddu, Maddu, you know, Maddu Maki, right? Maddu, Maddu Maki is very good, she knows everything, she also experiences it, but now what do we do? Yes, they do it in India as well, they do it there too. When the honeybee comes, it takes from the stomach, and by licking inside, it imparts some special quality, not water, but something else, and then it moves on from there. Just see for yourself, if you look here, it was right here that it went, so we took everything, but then where is it? It is said to be nearby, so then it goes and stays somewhere else—what does it do? Then it was said, it is maddū, maddū of the corn people; do not eat theirs, it belongs to them and only them. Who is God? We can do it, we will do it, but He will not accept theirs. That poor soul goes from here, going far away, thinking he will go inside, then he comes back and does it again. And now, little by little, by doing this repeatedly, he takes it. That is sin, that is sin. So how much sin accumulates! Such a person is not truly human when he is like that. If that being is not truly human, then it is like a calf that is milked, and another is a cow that separates it by doing so. Among so many creatures, including all these types of subscribers and many others, their birth is such that we, as humans, have a connection with Bhagavān Śiva. Shiva became Shiva, and only after that did He create humans. And then He said to them, "Now you live peacefully, do this, take care of your mothers and children, take care of them as well, and do this." But their eating and drinking—that was not as it should be. Now just see, everyone has started eating meat. This is our Bhārat, isn’t it? How much is our Bhārat? The fifth place is occupied by great personalities, many of them, very prominent indeed. So, while doing this, the fifth is about our India. Look directly here at the canal from here over the water, and our water from here—our water from here reaches all the way to Australia. You go, I will show you, indeed. Inside, there are those who are like animals—they take, they eat, they do this and that. But when it comes to this, it belongs to our India. It comes from India, and Australia, as they say, those who have come from other places, our people—they were like that. So, after doing this and that, now it has been shown that yes... These are our Hindu people, not others. Similarly, those people, who knows whose flesh they eat or what they show, that is unknown to them, but for us, see, if you say now who is whose Bhagavān, just observe who is taking from whom as Bhagavān. If someone is a Muslim, then they are not truly so; they have taken it from our India and gone elsewhere, so they are not genuine. And others, the great ones, belong to them, but where is it given to take the human being from? It is from within India, from there it has come. We are human beings, and because we are human, all our communities, all those places where people go to offer their salutations, whether they are eating or playing, there are so many of these in India. There are many kinds, and everyone goes there to have a darśana of their Bhagavān. Now, someone... It acts, it acts—there is no difference; all is one. But when the body moves, then many thoughts arise—some say there is a crow, some say a goat is sitting, some say it is dead, and this one is dead, that one is not Baba, no, not Baba. But what is within it? So, in the Himalayas, something like this... There is so much water, so much water. Now, together, take a few drops of water—this is it, that is it—and if we do this, then it will be entirely in that water. It will settle on it, whether it breaks or not, whether it settles fully or partially, it will remain so. So that is why they say, they say that in our India, earlier in foreign lands, what do they know about all this? So it was said that inside the home, when you come to sleep at home, then what about your... inside that, a dog, a man, or any animal, you... You keep those who criticize you, and do not take what they say to heart. Sit them down, have them do things properly. If a dog comes, that is fine; if a goat comes, that is also fine. But when the house belongs to him, it belongs to the human. That is why he comes, so that after all this effort, a person opens his eyes and says, "I am a human." What do I say? I am simply a human being, nothing more. It was clear that I was a human being. Now, whether that human is a buffalo, a goat, or a dog—who knows? We have merely become humans. Once we become humans, Bhagavān's presence will always be there. But if this is not done, then it is not right. We are on the path of rejection, and it is said that I am human... They say, "I am the mother, stay close to me." Why should I stay? That is not the mother. Right now, it is just a bark, a wild animal wearing a skin. What do they say? This world is the mother, the earth is the mother, the earth itself is the mother. That is the mother, the true mother. She is the mother to all, she was mine, that is why she is so. Now that it is complete, place both feet down and say, "Hema, protect me." After this, go to drink water. When we go there, we take water, and as soon as a little water comes into the hand, that water enters throughout the entire body. When the power begins to come, then see, the water is like this, but the water is very subtle, very subtle. But how is it flowing within us? Then from there it goes, and upon going there, it gives this. And further about this, it is the same with humans, so for Hindus, for us... Sitniyam is Hindu and belongs to us, and I bring it from them. But now, even when I come here, it didn’t happen in the earlier gatherings. But the intensity of the hangover was so strong, even Muslims don’t do this much. And those coming from abroad, they come by airplane from there to here. They have come by airplane from the west to America, and in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Canada—alone, they come from all these places. But it is not that we lack anything; our people in India are all there. After coming from here, they become better there. Coming here, they do not take this ātman with them. Otherwise, what did they bring? They were allowed to eat, but what is the point now, brother? So... He is, this is—that is why within our India, and within this India, here in our Rajasthan, within Rajasthan itself, and now within all of this, I have been residing, and you too should go home and attend to your work; whoever drinks water will indeed study.

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