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Smile

A spiritual talk on the body as a temple and the power of joy.

"The more restless you are, the shorter your lifespan becomes. When you are happy and smiling, the healthy cells in your body increase."

"When you smile, only four muscles have to work, and all the rest are relaxed. But if you do not smile... 64 muscles become tense."

The speaker explains how restlessness, tension, and negative emotions harm the body, while relaxation, happiness, and smiling promote health. He shares anecdotes about laughter workshops and a talk at a World Religious Parliament in Spain to illustrate the transformative physical effects of joy. The talk advocates for mindful connection with the body through practices like yoga and smiling meditation, concluding with advice to accept illness to facilitate treatment.

Recording location: Slovakia, Trencin, Weekend seminar

The body is not made of plastic, iron, or machinery; it is a natural entity. It requires its own rest and peace. The more restless you are, the shorter your lifespan becomes. The more physical tension and fear you harbor, the less your life will be. When you are happy and smiling, the healthy cells in your body increase. When you are sad, jealous, or angry, those healthy cells die very quickly. There exists a technique, practiced by people all over the world. It is a whole weekend program dedicated to laughter. You simply laugh and laugh and laugh. Sometimes they laugh so much their stomachs become sore. They tell jokes to make you laugh, and if they have nothing to say, they simply announce, "Now we will all laugh together." Of course, when this is filmed and shown on television, it looks funny—as if everyone has gone crazy. But observe: after just one weekend, the expression on their faces, the color of their complexion, the look in their eyes, and their voices are completely transformed. We were once in Spain for a World Religious Parliament program. A Swāmī was giving a short lecture—we were invited by the Indian contingent, and everyone was asked to speak for just a few minutes. In his brief talk, he said: "When you smile, only four muscles have to work, and all the rest are relaxed. But if you do not smile, you are like this ... "—and then 64 muscles become tense. So he said, "You can decide now. Do you want 64 different muscles and parts of your body in tension, or only four, with the rest relaxed?" That is the essence: when you smile, only those few muscles work; all others are at ease. Therefore, keep smiling. When you look at someone with a happy face, it expresses your inner feeling of harmony. Of course, there are different kinds of smiles, so be discerning. You should know where and when to smile, but never be tense. Never be angry. All our bodily organs—the liver, heart, kidneys, gallbladder, digestive system, nervous system, and circulatory system—have been tested. When you are relaxed and happy, the body's functions operate beautifully. When you are tense and under stress, every organ becomes tense and its function is impaired. This is why yoga exercises are called psychosomatic movements. These are postures without challenge or competition. They have a natural, rhythmic, harmonious effect on the entire physical being. Therefore, practice slowly, but be one with your body. Concentrate on the body; feel that you exist within it. Take notice of the temperature, of how you feel. We often do not feel many parts of our body; we only feel the stomach and mouth—whether we need to put something in it, if we are hungry, or at most, the need to go to the toilet. But what about the rest of the body? So once a day, check everything; go through every limb. As in Yoga Nidrā or in meditation, smile. Visit your body and smile. How beautiful is your knee, your toes. How beautiful are your nails, even if you are not happy with them—they are nature's creation. So accept illness. If you accept the illness, it becomes easier to treat. Recording location: Slovakia, Trencin, Weekend 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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