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Questions & Answers with Swamiji - Tantra, the 3 Gunas, Yoga & God

A discourse clarifying Tantra, Haṭha Yoga, the three guṇas, and the purpose of yoga.

"Tantra means: 'tan' signifies expanding, and 'tra' signifies liberation. Expand your consciousness and liberate yourself."

"Regarding whether you have to believe in God to practice yoga: yes and no. It depends on how you understand yoga, number one. Number two, what is your aim in practicing?"

The speaker addresses common misunderstandings, defining Tantra as consciousness expansion and distinguishing classical Haṭha Yoga from modern postural practice. He explains the interplay of the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas) and discusses yoga's purpose, relating it to self-knowledge and the understanding of God, referencing the Bhagavad Gītā.

Recording location: Australia, Melbourne, World Peace Tour 2005

Tantra means: "tan" signifies expanding, and "tra" signifies liberation. Expand your consciousness and liberate yourself. Expand your consciousness toward the science of higher things. There are many different Tantras, which are found mostly in Buddhism. But in Western countries, Tantra is totally, totally, totally, totally, and totally misunderstood. When you speak about Tantra, people speak about male and female relations, and this is total nonsense. Similarly, with Haṭha Yoga, you all say, "I practice Haṭha Yoga," but I think very few are actually practicing Haṭha Yoga. You understand Haṭha Yoga as āsanas and prāṇāyāmas—physical exercises. That is not Haṭha Yoga. Haṭha Yoga consists of six techniques: ṣaṭkarma—neti, dhautī, basti, naulī, trāṭaka, and kapālabhātī. So very few people practice Haṭha Yoga. What you are doing is Rājayoga: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi. But people call the yoga center and ask, "Do you teach Haṭha Yoga?" We also say yes, because we know it means physical exercise and relaxation to them. In short, Tantra means to expand your consciousness and receive the knowledge to liberate thyself. You asked about how the three guṇas relate to the practice of yoga and what effect they have. These are the three guṇas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. Each guṇa has its own qualities. Sattva is pure and balanced. Rajas is imbalanced, and tamas is laziness and darkness. We need to awaken and purify the tamas guṇa through the rajas guṇa. And we need to balance the rajas guṇa through the sattva guṇa. This all depends very much on nourishment. Of course, one should also work on their emotions. There are some pure vegetarians taking very sāttvic, balanced food; they even say, "We don't take onion and garlic." But when something happens, they explode like corn on a hot fan, then it becomes popcorn. So one has to master the thinking and develop knowledge on that. Regarding whether you have to believe in God to practice yoga: yes and no. It depends on how you understand yoga, number one. Number two, what is your aim in practicing? If you practice just for your good health and relaxation, then you are okay. To understand yourself—well, when you will understand yourself, then you will understand God also. And when you can't understand thyself, you can't understand God. Ātmā, paramātmā. The ātmā is the supreme one. That was the very beginning of my lecture, I told you. From the cosmic self, we are originated there. Sanātana. Sanātana means relation. Dharma, duty. So realize your relation, become religion. Religion means relation—the relation of the individual to the cosmic self. There are two forms of God: nirguṇa and saguṇa, the formless and with form. In the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, God Kṛṣṇa is explaining—did you read the Bhagavad Gītā? Look at it. Then read the twelfth chapter. Arjuna asks a question: "What is better, to have a personal God, an embodiment of God, or a formless nirguṇa God?" He said both are good. For your human conscience, for human intellect, it's better to go through some media. The first is yoga, and all these divine principles are yogic principles. All the religions which exist in this world now contain those divine principles which yoga has. But yoga is very, very old. The holy man didn't create yoga; rather, yoga made the holy man. Recording location: Australia, Melbourne, World Peace Tour 2005

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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