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Part 1: A Gathering of Practice and Perspective All are good? Very good. Yesterday was good. Yes, very good. And today they will open? Oh, they will again. We were all very happy to see Viśvagurujī’s smile during the performance yesterday. Many of you were also giving us feedback that you liked it. So we thought that today we could perhaps include you in a game that we like to play. We have a sheet of paper here. So first I’ll show it to you, and each line means one letter. So it’s a word game, and we will see if you can manage to solve it. So children will run to someone, and you and the person they will choose will say one letter. Since we don’t have an S in our word game, so Philip will paint an āsana. We’ll start painting an āsana, and then you will have to practice it. So we started with a head, and now another letter, another try. A. Even several A’s are there. Four A’s. M. K. There is no P there. N. N. H. H. K. We already have K. We already have Nāham, Ka. T. T.... You were in perfect guessing. You were really perfect in guessing, so we didn’t manage to actually complete the picture of Anāsana—Ekapāda Praṇāma Āsana, which we will all do now. But if you didn’t manage, you would have to practice Ekapāda Praṇāma Āsana now with us. So if you would like to join us, you can join us. And on the other side. So, thank you all very much, and especially to our Vishwagurujī. So our children are better than we are. Yes, they are going in there, and they should sit like this and out of the way like this. So, how long can you sit like this? From you. How can you sit like this, let’s say, for 20 minutes? No, show me. So, your master, you should tell them how they are doing. Yes. So you can stand up, and you, and you, and tell them how, what they are doing already. No, yes, how they are sitting. They are sitting, maybe a few minutes. Don’t worry, I will not embarrass you. So what we do, of course, for those that don’t perhaps know: When Swāmījī points to this side of the field, we are talking about the participants of what we call Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna. Anuṣṭhāna means intensive, really intensive. And Kriyā, although the word simply means "create" or "activity," it refers to really advanced yogic techniques. So it’s really intensive. Some participants for weeks and weeks. During every summer, year after year, and every week that people attend, they do several hours of sitting and concentrating every day. It’s a really wonderful experience. So don’t imagine this just to be a discipline, although that’s a prerequisite. Which is why there are several years before one can attend Anuṣṭhāna. But after a while, if you, through that discipline, managed to awaken those hidden capabilities that we all have, these satsaṅgs are something really, really indescribable, a joyful experience. And that’s what makes it easy to sit, and then you understand that while not moving, while controlling your senses and breathing, you get to such a calm place that enables this peace, this joy to rise. And it brings you such a joy, such an experience that you would have never thought possible before. Of course it starts with difficulties; it’s not easy. You have to train yourself physically, of course, and then, of course, mentally, you have to be able to concentrate. And that’s also not easy. It requires training. I remember, like Vivek Purījī told once, really brilliantly, I think, what this looks like. It’s like when you say to a well-trained dog, "Stay," it will stay. But when the dog is not trained, you know what will happen. So it’s the same with us. After years of training, when we tell our minds to stay on that object, it will just stay. And then sitting is much easier. It’s not anymore so troublesome. It becomes easy. And since I have followed many who have participated in Anuṣṭhāna for many years—as you know, leading the Anuṣṭhāna also means sometimes I have to open my eyes—and I can see this development. I think probably Swamiji would agree that there’s lots of development in all of us. I think I’m happy to say, really, that there’s such a peaceful atmosphere every time you enter that hall. Even if you haven’t practiced yoga, if you haven’t developed a sense for that atmosphere, that prāṇa, you will understand. Some of you might have the experience when you enter a church, and it has that atmosphere where people are praying and praying. So multiply that by a thousand. That’s the experience. What you told is good, but I did not tell you like this. I want that how you are sitting, what you have today, how you are, and that all, so how they were coming after three days. Okay, this is. But further, it is this, and he cannot like this and like this. Then you have to put outside. So when you come next year from your house, you should train for one month. This is the one. And when we come here, one, two, three—these three days we can do it, and then we will be good. This is the number one. So when all your disciples, then I give you one for all of you, for you. And what I give you every year, one day, all this practice, one day. Okay? Monday, okay, today is Monday. Next Monday you will do this practice at home, yes. At home, yes. Because when we are making it here, and for so many years we were not there, then we are like this. And the barrier of practice is this. Some we will leave it out, but a very good one thing is that practice: morning, a little afternoon, and evening time. Thank you. Then you all will be, yes, very good. And practice, and this everything, okay? Yes, thank you. So this is it. So you’re speaking very good, but I only tell them how they speak today. Yes, true. Yeah, there were some people, they came from. From this country, from Georgia, so there are many here, and they have been practicing everything like this. So if they want, please take them with you. You can tell them that yes, will you do like this and this, and they are doing very much okay, yes. So that all also go, and you should one day really very exercise, but whatever is good. But one day you should practice so that we always be good. Well, I know how many people we have from other countries everywhere. And I have told them, many people, and there is something not in control. They are practicing, coming, etc. But inside, they are eating something. They are from the water, you know. There is from the water going. What is that? Fish. Fish. And to kill that and give you to eat this and that is not good. Or some other animals, a little bit, and the cows and these others. Sometimes, then it is not. Then it’s not okay, even if it’s only once. I worked on it for many years. And when we will go, we will go the other way. Otherwise, it will go down, so we go up, but otherwise we go down. So these ones don’t eat anything like that. And then you actually lose it. I will not tell you that you said, "Yes, I do," because you will think it is not good, and so I will not tell you. "I know you," he said to me, "and this, I will not tell you others." Otherwise, my programs, my Gurudev, Mahāprabhujī, and this and that, how long I was there, and we brought you very good. And you know how you are very good, you are very everything, not like... And do you know how well you are physically, how healthy you are, how you are not obese, and so on? There is some that is like this, a little like this, but no eating, no meeting, nothing like this. But this is like this, this is the one who has done something, who is a little bigger. So, this is what I was thinking today. I saw something for about ten days already. Another time, when I was also like this, I was in Europe. Also, when our people there, one day, had gone somewhere and they were eating or something. Who went somewhere and ate such things? And if we are Swamis, or we are not Swamis, then for me they are all equal, because they clean good, they don’t eat this and this, and in the morning they have prātaḥ. And OK, go with them already. You can go when anybody is this and that and this. But we don’t go to eat somewhere, eating for a few people, and some are eating, and you eat not this, not go inside. So I know there is, but I don’t tell, because the people will not, I would say it is a little bit not good. So I don’t tell him, he or she, but they have, from time to time, beginnings of eating. So, no animals, and this and that, all please. People, they are this, they are great. And in many ashrams, where somewhere our people in Australia, and there they are coming to Varama Ashram, but they are only like this and going and eating. So, did you eat? Did you eat nothing? Did you eat now? You, meat, nothing. Not at all. OK. From how many years? And how long have you not eaten any meat? About 30 years. 30 years, then stand up. Yes. And when you see me for the first time, so he has learned very much, and so he tells you how and what you are doing and did and further. And then you should bring the people now in your country and listen. You can come further. So tell us something about yourself, about your story, and you should also bring people from your country. For me, it wasn’t easy to decide to become a vegetarian. I was actually quite surprised when all the other speeches were happening for just about everybody. It was a very easy decision. Swamiji says one or two words, and suddenly they’re vegetarians. I grew up on a sheep farm, and it’s just accepted that you’re breeding sheep for wool and for eating, but eating is just a normal thing. I didn’t enjoy the process of killing the sheep. My father used to have to do it, and he’d hold it down and pull back its throat and get out a butcher knife and cut it, and then it was struggling away and blood was pouring out everywhere, and it’s a fairly horrific sort of process, really. But so I stayed away from that, but I managed to make this division between... yeah, I made a division between the actual process of the killing and the actual eating of the meat. When it was cooked and eaten, it was quite separate from the process of the killing. And so, you know, well, actually, first I met another—I did Transcendental Meditation first, and they didn’t really talk that much about vegetarianism; I mean, they didn’t mention it. As Swamiji said, a lot of organizations don’t worry too much about that. But a few minutes ago, I was watching a lecture from Gurujī, and he was very explicit about eating meat. I mean, he was Mahāprabhujī’s disciple, so obviously Mahāprabhujī also was very explicit, and Swāmījī is very explicit. And recently, I watched the lecture of Holī Gurujī, in which he was very explicit about how it is not good to eat meat. And of course, he was a student of Mahāprabhujī, and similarly Viśwa Gurujī speaks about it quite clearly and openly. And if he told me that I couldn’t eat meat, I would have gone somewhere else. But it happened that I had a daughter, and we both came to see Swāmījī in Europe. And she was quite different. She was quite ready to become a vegetarian, and so she promised Swamiji that she would be a vegetarian. Much to my annoyance, actually, because then I had to become a vegetarian, because she had to keep her promise. So I learned to cook because I was a single parent. And now my perspective has changed quite a lot. Somebody else spoke briefly when all those stories were being told and said that being vegetarian changes your perspective, changes the way that you view the world, and changes the way you act towards it. And that is the way that it is. We come to Swāmījī, and Swāmījī gives us a lot. But we can’t just take what we get and try to overlay the life that we’ve got and keep the life that we’ve got. If we want to grow, we have to change, and there is no other way. And so we actually have to accept that Swāmījī is giving us—I mean, if we accept him as our guru, we have to accept that what he is trying to tell us is for our sake and for the sake of the world. I can understand the people who are still caught up in their previous perceptions, and they’re not just accepting that. If they want to grow, they have to change. I mean, we make this division between animals and humans, but, um, there’s a couple, there’s like, there’s a video on, um, uh, on YouTube. If you look up a psychic parrot, it’s actually a very good video. This woman came to one of the scientists and said, "Look, I think my parrot can read my mind." And this woman had this grey parrot, I think one of the African grey parrots that can be taught to talk. And the scientist didn’t just rubbish it; he thought, "OK, I’ll check this." And so they did it very scientifically. They got a separate group to select 100 photos. And then they left the parrot in the room that it was used to being in, actually, and took the woman downstairs and through a corridor, and then they set up two synchronized clocks. They took the parrot, and the woman walked according to the synchronized hours. And they actually recorded what the parrot said, and they found that the parrot was very much talking about what she was looking at in the photos. It’s better to watch the video, actually. It’s actually quite funny as well. And there was another case where a woman taught a grey parrot to talk. And she was trying to prove that the parrot was intelligent. And the book that I read was called "Alex and I." And she would set up trays of different objects, and because the parrot could talk, it had a hundred and five, a hundred and ten words or something. And she would ask it, you know, "What’s in the tray?" And there would be groups of three or four different things in different colors, because the parrot could recognize the colors. And she would have to repeat the tests, because it was a science test, three or four times, and the parrot would get a bit bored with this process, actually. And one day she was doing it, and the parrot had been through this selection process three times, and she was doing a final run. And then the parrot, instead of this object being green, which I knew it was green because she had already been through this process three times, it started to say, "Oh no, it’s red," or, "Oh, it’s orange." She knew that the thing was green, so she said it was orange. But because she had to complete the experiment, she threatened him that she would lock him up in a cage, and he would be locked up all night. And she said, "No, no, it’s red, it’s red." But she basically proved that animals are intelligent. I mean, it would make jokes. She’d come in in the morning and make jokes. We don’t really think of a parrot making jokes. And really, the only difference between the parrots and all the other animals is that they actually have the ability to mimic the sounds and to talk. And we thought that they run around and randomly gather in the herd. Part 2: The Maze of Consciousness and the Grace of the Path Scientists once designed a test using the instinct of sheep to flock together. They placed a group of sheep on one side of a maze and a single sheep on the other. In time, the lone sheep worked its way through the maze to reach the others. The surprising result came a year later when they repeated the test with the same sheep. It simply ran through the maze; it remembered the way. Scientists, and certainly religions like Christianity, often divide animals and people as quite separate. But scientific tests have proven otherwise. I was also contemplating consciousness. As a child, with a brain half its future size, you still have consciousness. As you grow, your identification with "I am my consciousness" does not change. Through all stages of life—from a small child to a teenager, a young adult, to an old person—your consciousness remains the same. This implies that everyone possesses that consciousness. A strong argument for vegetarianism, as propagated by Swāmījī, makes profound sense. People have their consciousness, their values, their lives. Your compassion can change quite significantly, and that is very important. For those who are not vegetarian, the best thing is to conduct an experiment: decide to become vegetarian and observe the changes it brings. Does anyone wish to say something? You may extend. Yes, he will tell. I would like to refer to Svāmī Ānandī, who spoke about our experiences and the different yogic groups or spiritual directions. I wish to build on what Svāmī Ānandī said the day before yesterday about us leaving other groups behind and being placed into the Gurudeva's arms, accepting it in that moment. Listening to your stories, it seemed as if a divine crane lifted you from ordinary life and deposited you with Viśva Gurujī. Those were stories from the 1980s or the turning point of a revolution. But we younger people, the younger generation in yoga, came of age in the 1990s when the supply of spiritual paths was richer. For people who came to Swāmījī in our country in the 1980s or early 1990s, it was one experience. For those like me, slightly more junior, it was different. In the 1990s, there was already a wide offering of different spiritual paths. Even then, many experienced being delivered directly into the Gurudeva's arms. My journey was slightly different, and I would like to share it. How does it work elsewhere? What kind of foundation do we have in the person of Viśva Gurujī? Perhaps by telling my story, you will see how fortunate we are. At the end of the millennium, I was earnestly searching for God, not specifically for yoga. I tried various directions, including Buddhism of the Diamond Path. They have a technique practiced in large groups very often: a practice of conscious dying. It is popular because you see an immediate physical impact. It is a complex of spiritual exercises involving repeating mantras, invoking Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, to create a certain state. The result is meant to be a drop of blood appearing on the crown of your head, signifying that a physical channel has opened to allow you to fly after death to where Buddhists aim to go. It really worked; 99% of people had that drop. There was even a story that a film crew in Russia experienced it just by filming the exercise. The idea is that after death, you fly to some vaguely described pure land. Furthermore, you could perform this technique for someone else to expedite them to that Pure Land. At that time, I had an older friend, Alena. I told her it was great because my parents were nearing the end of their lives, and I could guide them to that clean land. She said to me, "You are completely stupid. You will send them somewhere you don't understand, a place they don't belong." Now, imagine if someone close to you died and you came to Viśva Gurujī. Imagine if Swāmījī said, "I'm sorry, but shoot them to that clean land." Compare that to the reality here, where the humility, originating from Mahāprabhujī, guides a soul into His own light, to where she truly belongs. It is completely different and, of course, much better. The techniques different groups possess are powerful. Everything works, of course, but it's all a matter of authorization. The individual doesn't have that; only the Gurudeva does. Only Viśva Gurujī holds that permit. A year later, I was involved with Dzogchen, which is something between Bon and Buddhism. Again, someone brought instructions from a master to practice a technique involving mantras. I practiced it intensively, and it worked, but it awakened the animal chakras in my body—those chakras one is not supposed to focus on or awaken. I felt relatively okay, though I joke that I would occasionally make a clicking sound. In reality, my friend, who was a masseuse, had to try to close those chakras for me because I didn't know what I was doing. This is another example of advanced techniques, likely meant only for transmission from master to a qualified disciple. When disseminated among people without proper guidance, it can lead to adverse outcomes. If a technique is advanced, Viśva Gurujī maintains personal control over it, ensuring it is performed correctly and at the right time. That is the huge difference, the foundation we have in Viśva Gurujī. You can see it in the anuṣṭhāna—very advanced techniques, but Viśva Gurujī provides personal supervision over the entire program, giving concrete instructions adapted to place and time. You can see how precious our connection with Viśva Gurujī is. My last story takes place a year later. I was already in yoga. At that time, a Czech yogī, Dr. Tomáš, was departing. Knowing his time was near, he gave away various things, including what he called "spiritual shortcuts." In short, the manuals stated in small print that these were taught only to highly advanced, completely purified yogīs. But who reads the small print? In a way, this knowledge remained within me. In 2002, at a seminar in Prague, I sat with my wife a few meters in front of Swāmījī. He was speaking about the spiritual path and its difficulties. Sitting there with an ego as large as a steamboat, I thought to myself, "This isn't an issue at all; I can use one of those shortcuts, and it will work." As I had those thoughts, my eyes started moving independently, creating a vision disparity of about one and a half meters between them. I couldn't even leave the room. So I sat there, with plenty of time to think about the cause. It was obvious this was due to some supernatural power. Later, I realized that if I sought shortcuts to shorten my way, I wouldn't be able to progress even a little. As that realization dawned, my vision slowly returned to normal. Today we all know there are no spiritual shortcuts. The only true spiritual shortcut is the mercy of the Gurudeva. And I thank him for that. So, I will tell you once more. After you stop eating meat and such things, it can affect the body. But for those who eat meat and other things, see how it happens here. It all comes to the stomach. So please practice. Practice, practice. Clean your body. Clean your whole body. That will be very good. If you can, one day drink only water, nothing else, or eat some fruit. You will see how much your body is. It means you will live many, many times longer; you will have a long life. So, those who have been eating this and that, they still are not [clean]. But you have to take out everything. Look, we are sitting here, and we are not so dark, and see how you all are. This is what I wanted to tell. Since early morning, I was thinking deeply, and I'm sorry if somewhere people are eating certain things; I am very sorry. The best we can do is become as one. Yes, all together as one. And that is the bhajan. Yes, what they will also do with this, then we are all very happy, healthy, like this, okay? We are all happy and healthy. So, just two or three [more things]? Okay. Kanna Kanna Vibhrakāṣa Prabhu kā Janatā He Brahma Gyānī Amdara Amka Kuñja Amṛta Ke Sāgar Śrī Dīpa Hari Mahādānī Amṛta Ke Sāgar Śrī Dīpa Sāle Viśvame Guñjarahī Sāśvame jārātā ke sāgar śrīdhī pārī mahādānī Kāndṛtā ke sāgar śrīdhī pārī mahādānī Chhillilā āndṛt samarat bhakt ke manābhānī. Chhillilā āndṛt kīnī samarat bhakton ke manābhānī. Swāmījī was translating this bhajan two years ago, and he said we cannot even imagine what Holy Gurujī gave with this bhajan, what He told us, and what this bhajan contains. In the whole universe, this light of Mahāprabhujī is vibrating. He is such a huge amount of light. He is the ocean of Amṛt, and He is immortal. Above us now are clouds that arose from that ocean—clouds of nectar. This rain of nectar, full of blessings, is falling upon us. This rain is falling throughout the entire universe. Whoever receives this rain upon themselves never returns to this cycle. In every grain of sand, there is this layer of rain, the light of Brahman, of Mahāprabhujī. But only one with open inner sight can see this. Then they travel to the immortal destination. People who repeat their mantra or the divine name with devotion have no problem. The power of Mahāprabhujī is in His bhaktas. Śrī Madhavānanda Jī says His glory is so immense that He cannot even explain or express this dignity of His. Śrīdhar Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai. Kare, kare, tharase Prem kā pyālā hari kava merā bārase, Prem kā pyālā hari kava merā bārase. Tere dār bār me kum sī kamī he, tere dār bār me kum sī kamī he. Hama kyō buke jāvete rese? Hama kyo buke javete rese, Premam kapyā lahari kaba mera baarase. Premam kapyā lahari kaba mera baarase. Adhānā bhikkārī ammā kade kade, Adhānā bhikkārī ammā kade kade. Jyotere Darā Āyā Sabhā Kuchapāyā. Kalī Gayā Koī Kalī Premā Kapyālā Harī Gabā Merā Varā Se Premā Kapyālā Harī Gabā Merā Varā Se Premā Kapyālā Harī Gabā Merā Varā Se Is par mehar kī na jarā bhāī he. Prem kā pyālā harī kābā merā bārā se kare, kare, karī, kare, kare,... kare. God bless you. Thank you. God bless you. Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jai, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai. Śrī Dībhnē Rāya and Bhagavān Jayā. Śrī Gurū Nānak Bhagavān Jayā.