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The essence is always the same

A satsang talk reflecting on spiritual transformation and the grace of the Guru.

"In yoga, it is very important to understand the concepts of Kāla and Deśa. This means that each era has its own appropriate way of behavior, and each place is different."

"What we learn from Viśva Gurujī is not only āsanas... but that we need to be flexible in our hearts and minds."

A speaker addresses the gathering after a Guru Purnima celebration, exploring how the essence of yoga remains constant while adapting across time and place. He shares stories illustrating the Guru's foresight, like predicting currency changes in Croatia, and emphasizes the transformative power of dedicated practice and being physically present in the ashram's energy. The talk uses metaphors like a spoon in honey to describe receptivity to grace and lighthouses for the role of ashrams.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Praṇām Gurudev. Hari Om, dear brothers and sisters. The last two days we have been listening to many stories—wonderful tales from the past. It has been truly good, for every story contains something within, something profound. If you listen carefully and then digest it, you can learn a great deal. We had a Guru Pūrṇimā satsaṅg, which for us is the holiest festival, the most sacred day of the year, spent with Gurudev. I will return once more to the stories we hear here. I often joke that the former Czechoslovakia was a secret society, even more secretive than the Freemasons. I heard about the secret satsaṅg forty, fifty years ago. But, thanks to God, time changes, and we have changed with it. In yoga, it is very important to understand the concepts of Kāla and Deśa. This means that each era has its own appropriate way of behavior, and each place is different. You will also see Viśva Gurujī differently in every country. If you remember the past—fifty years ago, forty years ago, and now—it is slightly different. But what is the essence? The essence is always the same: pure yoga. From what I know, from forty years ago until now, there is always a little change. That is the beauty of Satsaṅg and Nāthadharma. The knowledge is always the same; the essence is constant, yet it adapts through time and environment. You know when computers first appeared. At that time, Swāmījī would explain concepts using the knowledge of computers. He did not remain stuck in the old, old times. Viśva Gurujī is always in accordance with the time—but not merely in accordance with it. That is the point. Swāmījī is always ahead of time. I remember one incident. Swāmījī was in Zagreb, Croatia, during a period of severe hyperinflation. It was truly extreme. At that moment, during a walk, Viśva Gurujī turned to us and said, "What are you complaining about? Your currency will become stronger than the schilling. Two schillings will equal one kuna." We all started to laugh. It seemed impossible. "Your money will be better than a schilling. It will be one schilling; for two schillings, you will get one kuna." We laughed, thinking it was a good joke. But with Viśva Gurujī, it is never a joke. If you laugh and think something is impossible, you will soon realize it is true. In less than two months, Viśva Gurujī had changed the situation. It is a nice story illustrating how Viśva Gurujī is ahead of time. Viśva Gurujī is not so young in years, and we always think that young people are the ones who change and innovate. But we realize that Viśva Gurujī is always young and always changing. At the beginning of a change, you might think, "Oh my God, this is not..." but in the end, you see it is a good change. What we learn from Viśva Gurujī is not only āsanas—that we need to be physically flexible—but that we need to be flexible in our hearts and minds. We need to be flexible and open. Every seminar is also a little new. What was almost impossible fifty or forty years ago is normal today, and who knows what tomorrow will bring? But thank God we are here in Střílky. Consider also Viśva Gurujī's vision for the Jadan ashram. When I first went to the Jadan ashram, I thought, "Oh my God, why build a big ashram in the desert? There is no water, no trees." But now Jadan is completely different. Imagine the struggle in the beginning and how it looks now. All the time, Viśva Gurujī is changing—not only the ashrams, but he is changing us. A few days ago, I spoke about the bee and the worm, and I said it is not a romantic story. That story is painful for the worm. It is not easy to transform from a worm into a bee. That is also the transformation of every disciple. In the beginning, yes, I want to change. In the middle, I am unsure, but change must be constant. Just as Viśva Gurujī changed the ashrams—from the beginning of Střílky to how it looks now, from Jadan as a desert to how it looks now, like an oasis, like a paradise—we know, we do not merely hope, we know that Viśva Gurujī will change us all. We only need to stay on the path. For that change, thanks to God, thanks to Mahāprabhujī, thanks to Viśva Gurujī, we now have six weeks in Střílky. The energy here will be present all that time. Our maṇḍala is the same as when you go on pilgrimage and enter that energy; that energy changes you. But you know from the bhajans, and it is written in all holy books, that the feet of the Gurudev are more holy than any pilgrimage place. We have the opportunity to be here in Střílky, on this meadow or in that hall, and I must say, this is the holiest place. This energy, and all of you—all of us sitting here—that is a great energy. That energy is changing not only us. I must say that the energy of the satsaṅg, the energy of these six-plus weeks, and after that the webcast for ten days—almost two months of intensive sādhanā, anuṣṭhān, and satsaṅg with Viśva Gurujī—that energy is not only changing the people who are in the satsaṅg, in this seminar. That energy is changing the environment. It is changing the whole atmosphere, not only here in Střílky. If we have good energy, good thoughts—and in satsaṅg we have good thoughts, we have bhajans, and we understand these bhajans (thanks to God, to Viśva Gurujī, we have the opportunity to understand what is in the bhajan)—that energy can change the whole world. For that, it needs our dedication. When we are here, I remember once—I think it was yesterday I heard about Reichenau—I remember Reichenau. For us from the former Yugoslavia, it was not so easy because we were in tents. It was a little cold at night and hot during the day. Someone was complaining a little, and I remember what Viśva Gurujī said: "What do you want? You are here on an Anuṣṭhāna. Someone is cleaning for you, someone is cooking for you. You only need to eat and to practice." In that moment, I realized, yes, it's true. But I was young. Twenty, thirty years later, I realized, oh, that is really luck. You don't need to do anything. All of you who take care of a family, a home, everything else, you know that this is a blessing. You don't need to do anything. You only need to sit and repeat your mantra. That is the blessing. We here have such great fortune, the opportunity to do something for ourselves. Střílky Ashram has everything. We are here as in paradise. You don't need to think about anything. It would also be good if we turned off our mobiles—no news, no such nonsense—and withdrew into this energy. There is one picture, only this: What Viśva Gurujī said: You have two spoons. One is a wooden spoon, and one is a metal spoon. If you put a wooden spoon in honey and keep it there for one week, afterwards you can clean it and taste it a little; you will still feel the honey. If you have an iron spoon, even if you leave it in the honey for a year, then wash it under water without any detergent, you will not have any taste. We are in this divine honey. It is only our decision whether we will be a wooden spoon or a metal spoon. Really try to utilize this time, this summer retreat in Střílky and Veveří, to take this honey, this nectar. It will change our lives. It will change our family, our society, our ashram, and finally the whole planet will be changed for the good. Thank you for this opportunity to be in such a good place, which means satsaṅg, good company. In this good company, we will give the best of ourselves to change, to become better humans. You know that in yoga and daily life—what we hear almost every day now—we have many aspects of health: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. Our spiritual development will become visible, very nicely visible, in our social life. You hear a lot about this from Viśva Gurujī. Praṇām Gurudev. Hari Om, dear brothers and sisters. Now, Viśva Gurujī told us to speak something. Mahāmaṇḍaleśvarī Śāstrījī and Vevekpurījī took so much time, so I will be very short. Don't worry. He said everything. It is really hard to say what more we should say, but still, I would like to say: You are all here, but to the dear brothers and sisters who are watching us on Swāmījī TV—just come. This is all I need to say. You know, we often say how lucky we are, and really we are lucky. Maybe we are a little bit boring to you who are here physically, but I would like to turn to those watching on Swāmījī TV: Come here. That is my only message for you: come here, be here physically. You know, Viśva Gurujī has said so many times: If you have a beautiful picture of the best horse, you cannot ride it. If you have a beautiful picture of a rose, it has no fragrance. If you are thirsty and have a beautiful picture of a spring, you cannot drink from it. Of course, we all enjoy modern times and that we can watch satsaṅg over Swāmījī TV. But that is not the complete experience. Everybody here knows how they are feeling now, and you know how you feel when you are sitting at home, maybe drinking tea and watching Swāmījī TV, and some cat cam, or your dog, or children, or whatever. It is not the same. So please, do not fall into that trap, thinking it is the same. It is not the same. You know Darśan. In previous times, people would walk miles and miles for Darśan. Now someone might say, "Well, it's 600 kilometers from Croatia to Střílky, that's terribly far." And you know what? Many people came saying, "I will come only for the weekend." And now they say, "No, I want to stay longer here. What can I do? I have to go to the office." This is what they feel here. It is the same with all our programs around the world. After Corona, it seems more people are staying home. They think, "It is the same; I can pray at home." No, an ashram is an ashram. So, do not reduce it to the small or bigger screen. Through a screen, a rose does not smell good; you cannot feel things. This is a very beautiful place. This Střílecký āśram, so many programs with Viśva Gurujī—we are really, truly so lucky. I know I am boring by saying we are lucky, but we are lucky. So please, yes, you know you are lucky. You know, I never went to programs other than Viśva Gurujī's programs—I mean programs of other teachers or spiritual guides. But due to some circumstances a few months ago, we attended some other programs. What can I say? We just looked at each other and said, "Oh my God, we are so lucky." Yoga in Daily Life is perfect. Viśva Gurujī is perfect. And then again, we are lucky. It is really something, this knowledge. This big, huge, huge world of knowledge that Viśva Gurujī has given us—this is not usual. This is not normal. This program that we have is not usual; it is special. Do not lose it. Our ashrams are lighthouses in the world. Some lighthouses are big, like Om Āśram, very big—you can see it from space. Some are small, like in some small centers. But every one of these ashrams is very important in this world of darkness. Sometimes, without this light, we would be lost. And you know, lighthouses are nothing without electricity. And this electricity is our Gurudev. He gives electricity to every ashram. Do not be mistaken; every ashram has its electricity from him. Also, he is the thread. You all have mālās. Every bead is very important, of course, but the thread that holds them all together—what is it? It is Viśva Gurujī. So be thankful. I am thankful, and I am very thankful because I know that Yoga in Daily Life is the only way I can practice my spirituality, because our Gurudev is so patient with us. Can you imagine? Because I know I am not easy, and without his patience, it would not be possible. In our new ashram in Croatia, we have his house, his little house. We planted some beautiful flowers for him, of course. One of our sisters also brought some flowers. We put them in good soil, watered them, took care of them, but somehow something was not right, and those flowers died. The next year, the same flowers grew again, but on a stone—not in the good soil, but on a stone. Then I realized: we are all so different. Some of us will grow in good soil with water. And some of us can grow only on a stone. So I am really, truly happy and thankful to my Gurudev, our Gurudev, because he knew that. He knew that and he gives to every one of us what we need to grow. Really, this is the difference between our school, our Gurudev, and many others. So do not lose it. Use it. Yoga in Daily Life is perfect. Our Gurudev is perfect. He is here. To lose that time is really, truly a pity. Do not do that. Do not exchange Darśan for a screen if you do not have to. Of course, if you cannot come, it is good. But if you can come, Darśan is something really, truly special. And maintain our lighthouses; they are very important. Do not think, "I am in some small village, nobody is here." For someone, that light is perfect and in the right place. Thank you. It was very good. First was the bhajan, then he was giving very nice lectures. Everything he pulled out from something—good or bad—and she also, so it was very good for all of us. But now we will have the prayer. Then we will continue. In order? We are all three nights. And how many of our old friends, our old yogīs, you also. I see you, many of my disciples. All is for me, all is with me. If we have other colors and you have other colors, we are one. You have learned very much, and you have learned very much. You know, everybody, how many of these people from very, very different times and other Yugas. And you see also, they come from other countries. Here you can see from which different countries they came. Yes, this Matajī, yes. And she came from where? From a distance, no? And someone, another one from living there, and then comes here, this comes from others. So first we will have prayer.

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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