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Sant Gyaneshvar

A spiritual discourse on the essence of yoga and the power of saints, contrasting true wisdom with mere scholarship.

"The best translation of the Bhagavad Gītā comes from a great saint named Sant Jñāneśvara."

"You should read the Bhagavad Gītā. Then you will understand what yoga is. But find Sant Jñāneśvara's translation."

The speaker explores the Bhagavad Gītā as the supreme yoga text and emphasizes the need for an authentic translation, specifically that of the child saint Sant Jñāneśvara. He recounts the story of Jñāneśvara's miraculous encounter with the yogi Nāmadeva to illustrate true spiritual power, contrasting it with modern frauds. The talk distinguishes between mere bookish knowledge (Aparā Vidyā) and the realized wisdom (Parā Vidyā) that flows from a true saint or Satguru, who serves as an endless source of divine truth.

Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

Yoga, karma śukauśalam—the practice of yoga is perfected through Karma Yoga. God Kṛṣṇa was known as a Karma Yogī. He was a Yogeśvara, a master of yoga. The best book of yoga is the Bhagavad Gītā. Very clearly, Kṛṣṇa divided and expounded yoga into eighteen chapters. Patañjali presented it in four chapters: karma, bhakti, jñāna, and rāja. But Kṛṣṇa structured it into eighteen chapters, for every chapter's name begins with 'yoga', and it concludes, Atha Yoga Śāstra, with the name of yoga. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Arjuna Saṁvāde, Atha Bhakti Yoga, Dvādaśa Adhyāya—so it is. Yet, it is very difficult to understand. You need a good translation. The best translation of the Bhagavad Gītā comes from a great saint named Sant Jñāneśvara, who was born in Maharashtra. At the time when Sant Jñāneśvara lived, there was a great yogī named Nāmadeva. Nāmadeva possessed many siddhis; he used to ride a living tiger—not like some in this Kali Yuga who put a tiger skin on a donkey and ride at night, leading people to exclaim, "Oh, Bābājī was riding a tiger!" It appears in the news, and everyone says, "I want to see that Bābājī in India." Such a Bābājī signifies hocus-pocus, a gospel theatre. A Bābājī is not an idol, nor a fashionable person. It does not matter how he looks—long hair or no hair, cosmetic or no cosmetic. Everything is automatic, as it comes. It means no ego of the body, no ego of fashion. What comes, comes, and now you cannot tell who is who. So many terrorists and thieves dress like that. In India, everyone respects a sādhu greatly, so now you cannot know if it is a real sādhu. Some people try to advertise themselves. There was one sādhu who would put a tiger skin on his body and sit, and people said, "Oh, that Swāmījī is very great; he can materialize his body into a tiger's body." This is not reality. Therefore, where there is knowledge, there is liberation. Anyway, that Bābājī Nāmadeva used to ride a real tiger. Instead of a stick, he held a big cobra to steer the tiger. If we come near a tiger, you know, each blood cell has a very high resonance. We practice mantra and think, "Ahiṁsā paramo dharma." There is a story: a paṇḍitjī went into the forest for a walk and met a tiger. Paṇḍits are good but often very afraid; that is why they are paṇḍits. Warriors and fighters are different. Paṇḍits are only for declaring, "I am immortal," but merely in speech. In the forest, with no escape, the paṇḍitjī prayed, "O Lord, protect me. Bhavānī Mātā Durgā, protect me. O Holy Durgā," for she rides a tiger. "Hanumānjī, please help me. Gaṇeśa Namaḥ, help me, please. Gaṇeśa, remove this obstacle." The tiger swished its tail. He remembered everyone—Buddha, Jesus, Kṛṣṇa—and the tiger came nearer. What should Paṇḍitjī do? He thought, "I will pray to the tiger. My dear brother tiger, I see in you and in me the same ātmā. I ask your forgiveness. I have done nothing to you, and I mistakenly came to your territory. Dear brother tiger, please forgive me and do nothing to me." The tiger sat down peacefully and lowered its head. Paṇḍitjī said, "Thank you, brother tiger. I see in you the divine. I will never disturb you, my dear tiger." The tiger looked up at Paṇḍitjī with one eye and said, "Paṇḍit, don't disturb me. Brahma, Brahma." That is it. So reality is different. We all love our body. We are afraid, so we try to achieve that immortality. At that time, Sant Jñāneśvara was a very small boy, about five years old. He had a sister named Muktā, and they were playing like little children. But Sant Jñāneśvara was already famous as a great saint. Nāmadeva wanted to see this saint everyone praised. He was riding his tiger with many bhaktas following. Sant Jñāneśvara saw someone coming riding a tiger. The brother and sister were sitting on a small boundary wall. Jñāneśvara said to the wall, "He is riding a living creature, Muktā; we ride dead material." He then said to the wall, "Please walk," and the wall moved towards Nāmadeva like a horse or a tiger. When Nāmadeva saw Sant Jñāneśvara riding a wall, he dismounted from the tiger, greeted him, and bowed down, saying, "You are the great one." So who knows what is inside a person? Such a great saint could walk on water, ride a wall. One day, he brought food to cook, but they had no fuel, no wood. The story is that their parents had died or left them; only he and his young sister remained. She said, "Brother, how to cook? We have no wood or fire." He took off his shirt and said, "Put the chapati on my back." He generated such heat in his body that the chapati was fried as if on a fire, fanned nicely and blown off. That is a great power. We are just zero compared to them. But we are fortunate, you see? We can be proud that we can hear their names and repeat them as a mantra. This entire planet, this earth, survives and exists only because of such saints who incarnated and walked upon it. That is why a great philosopher said of Gandhijī that a time will come when people will think such a great man walked this earth. It is the same with Mahāprabhujī, with Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Many know the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is based on Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, who was born in Bengal. He was a very great saint, as were Paramahaṅsa Rāmakṛṣṇa and many thousands of others. Our great Śaṅkarāchārya, at the age of five or seven years, knew the entire Vedas and all. Śaṅkarāchārya is known as one of the greatest thinkers ever among humans. Sant Jñāneśvara gave a commentary on the Bhagavad Gītā, available in English, Hindi, and other Indian languages. If you read that, you will understand what the Bhagavad Gītā is. Otherwise, many have translated it; that is okay. There is Aparā Vidyā and Parā Vidyā—Vācharṭī and Lakṣharṭī. The Vācharṭī are those who just learn books and only speak the language; this is Aparā Vidyā. Parā Vidyā is Lakṣharṭī, one who knows reality. Trikāla Darśī means the seer of all three worlds—Trikāla: past, present, and future. Brahma Niṣṭha Śrotriya Satguru is one who speaks the truth. When such a one begins to speak, an immense amount of wisdom flows forth—a never-ending source. The difference between Lakṣhaṭī and Vākṣhaṭī is like this: "Dear ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to see you today here. Such a conference is very important for our time. Mahātmā Gandhi said this, and Śaṅkarāchārya told that. I wish you all the best and great success for this conference." This is Vāchaṭī; it is already fixed, written beforehand. That is called a protocol. Protocol means if you talk more, someone will call, "Mr. President, stop." Therefore, Mahāprabhujī said, "Aisā merā Satguru andar bole, aisā merā Satguru andar bole"—like that, my Gurudevjī is speaking within me. "Sab ghaṭ mera sain, yā koī ghaṭ khālī na hai." In every heart there is God. No heart is empty without God. But our adoration is for that heart through which God speaks. That is called Sarasvatī, and it comes through Guru Kṛpā. On the day you think you will speak, it is limited—like stored water in a tank. When we use it all, the tank is empty. But if the tank is connected to a source, to a river, there is no end. Therefore, it is a Prakāś. Puñj Amṛt Kisāg Śrīdīp Harī Mahāprabhujī is the greatest giver. He is the source of giving. Sāgar is the ocean, and the ocean is always full. You can take as much as you like. You should read the Bhagavad Gītā. Then you will understand what yoga is. But find Sant Jñāneśvara's translation. It is called the Jñāneśvarī Gītā by Sant Jñāneśvara. Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

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.

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