Podcast details
The precious does not praise itself
A spiritual practitioner's ego obscures true attainment. A man meditated for decades, lamenting he gained no powers. A bird's dropping angered him; his glance coincided with its death, inflating his pride. He journeyed to a village to proclaim his greatness. A girl drawing water repeatedly asked his name, Sitalpurī, meaning 'the cool, peaceful one.' After he drank, she stated he was not cool but a 'hot purī,' consumed by anger. She revealed she knew of the bird, saying, "I practiced." He collapsed, realizing his ego was visible to one who practiced yoga in daily life. We do not see our own ego, just as eyes see everything but themselves. By looking within through meditation, one sees both beautiful qualities and negative ones like jealousy and anger. The great are those who master ego, not destroy it. This mastery is the key to genuine spiritual attainment.
"Why don't you get siddhi or samādhi now that you have been practicing for so many years?"
"I practiced yoga in daily life."
Filming location: Vép, Hungary
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:
- Yoga in Daily Life - The System
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda. Ibera Verlag, Vienna, 2000. ISBN 978-3-85052-000-3 - The Hidden Power in Humans - Chakras and Kundalini
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda. Ibera Verlag, Vienna, 2004. ISBN 978-3-85052-197-0 - Lila Amrit - The Divine Life of Sri Mahaprabhuji
Paramhans Swami Madhavananda. Int. Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashram Fellowship, Vienna, 1998. ISBN 3-85052-104-4
