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It is a divine blessing to be together, especially for those humans who share the same aim in life and the same spiritual energy. Of course, spiritual energy pervades the entire universe; everything created on this planet is spiritual by its very nature. Consider the Dejāvan mantra: pūrṇam adaḥ, pūrṇam idam, pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate. That is completeness. What comes from that completeness is also complete. And what we take from the complete, the complete still remains complete. Today, I am very happy and feel myself blessed by the Supreme to be here at this expo, where so many lovely, beautiful people—with their heart, mind, and intellect—are working for the body, mind, and soul in different ways. There are so many activities: yoga, a healthy way of living, organic food, healthy dressing, cloth, and many, many other things. I think I would need two days to go through every corner and every store here. It is a beautiful energy in this hall, brought by all of you and the others. Yoga, my dear brothers and sisters, is such that every master has their own realization. If you come to Sydney from Tokyo, you have a different view and different experiences. When you come from San Francisco, the view and experiences are different. And when you come from New Delhi, it is different again. But the destiny, the destination, is that we are all in Sydney. How wonderful. Someone had a long flight, someone a short one; someone slept well, and someone watched too many videos and could not sleep. Some flights have turbulence, and some are very smooth. That is life—turbulence, up and down. We individuals flutter on the waves of time through the endless universe, experiencing pleasant and unpleasant, light and darkness. And now we are here in this beautiful world, on this beautiful planet, as humans practicing yoga. Therefore, every master has a different approach to yoga, and every practitioner has different experiences. With my limited knowledge—and perhaps you know much better than I—I always try to learn from everywhere. There is a saying in the Vedas and scriptures: Ananta Brahmāṇḍa Śāstra Sūrya—endless universe and thousands of solar systems. We are limited, and the universe is limitless; we do not know where it begins or ends. This universe is what we call the cosmic mother; the universe is like the body of a mother. The cosmic consciousness is like a golden embryo, called Hiraṇya Garbha. The universe is the mother, cosmic consciousness is the father. Between both, there is a uniting, balancing, harmonizing principle—that which unites and harmonizes both principles, universe and universal consciousness. This balancing is yoga. Where there is balance, there is harmony, and that is why harmony is created throughout the whole universe. This harmony, which is the second step, is called yoga. And where there is harmony, there is understanding, union, unity, or oneness. Therefore, it is simply written in every book: yoga means the union of the individual consciousness with the cosmic consciousness. That is yoga. In Haṭha Yoga, the union of the Iḍā and Piṅgalā begins to awaken the Suṣumṇā according to Kuṇḍalinī Yoga. The moon and Sūrya become Haṭha, and the balance is called yoga. Haṭha Yoga means the harmony, balance, and unity of these three principles: sympathetic, parasympathetic, and the sentient. In that endless universe, in universal consciousness, the Veda says again that there are thousands of solar systems. Somebody should answer anybody: thousands of solar systems, an endless universe, all created from one. That is called Cosmic Nāda: Nāda Rūpa Parabrahma, Nāda Yoga, the yoga of the mantra, the yoga of sound. You know Nāda with its different parts, the resonance. In German, we call it Klang; I think Klang is a resonance. I live in Vienna, Austria, so perhaps my pronunciation is not proper, but you understand. That cosmic sound was Oṃ. The explicit of the sound is in the navel; the awakening of the sound is in the navel. You know, yoga teachers—and there are many here—when small children cannot speak properly, they give them exercises like Naukāsana, the boat pose. It affects the pancreas and solar plexus, and the child's language is corrected. So the seat of the sound, Śabda Rūpa Parabrahma—the form of the supreme is sound—is in the navel. The sound ascends from the navel to the Sahasrāra Chakra, and from there it divides into two streams. One stream is transmitted back to the body, and the second goes to the universe. The resonance flowing through the body nourishes, balances, harmonizes, and unites the body system. We can chant; that is called Oṃ if you wish—it is not compulsory. Everything visible and invisible in the universe is created from this cosmic awakening. So Oṃ means the cosmic awakening. Through this sound, the first element was created: fire; second, air; third, water; and fifth, earth. The space was, is, and will be. From these five elements, our planet was established and created. On this planet, the creator has made 8.4 million different creatures, divided into three categories: jalaja, sthālaja, and khecaraja—creatures in the water, on the earth, and in the sky or space. These three kinds of creatures total 8.4 million, caturāśīti lakṣa. Of course, some people do not believe this. You can begin to count and tell me next time if there are more or fewer; some things we must simply accept. These 8.4 million creatures come to this planet, which is declared a mortal world: Mṛtyu Loka, Karma Bhūmi, the world of death and action, or karma. Out of 8.4 million, one is human. The human is special because of intellect, which can be developed and raised. Human intellect needs education. The kind of education one receives shapes them. If one receives the education of a terrorist, they become known as a terrorist. If someone learns how to steal from a pocket, that is also an education, and you call them a thief. People like you all are yogīs; you have a yogic education. This human intellect is given to achieve one aim: unity. Unity with the divine, where individual consciousness merges into cosmic consciousness. But between individual consciousness and cosmic consciousness, there is a layer of qualities. Due to these karmic qualities, we remain individual. When this veil, this covering of āvaraṇa, these qualities are purified, then there is no problem. It does not take long. We are one with the cosmic, one without a second, beyond time and space. Then time is not for you anymore. Time is a protection for the human. There is no time. We speak of time, time, ... but there is no time. There is only this process. So our body, mind, intellect, emotion, memory, thoughts, and consciousness—everything is balanced again. This balancing principle is yoga. If this balance is absent, we are known as ill. To recreate balance, we need to come to yoga; that is called yoga. Therefore, in Āyurveda, the ancient system of medicine and healthy living, it is said the first happiness in life is a healthy body. Health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health. So for most of you and all yoga practitioners, the main aim in coming to yoga is to be healthy: physically, mentally, socially, and intellectually. Life promises us four kinds of health: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. Any yoga you practice will benefit your health and inner peace. If we are realized, we can give peace to others. If we are not in good condition and not at peace, we cannot give peace. Therefore, yoga makes a better human, a better human creates a better family, that family creates a better society, and that society creates a better world. Now we need an edifice of brotherhood. You see, I am in an orange dress; I am a Hindu monk, a Hari-svāmī. There are many religions in the world. But I tell you, all the wars ongoing in the world, unfortunately, are directly or indirectly caused by religion, because religious people are fighting. If we accept the world as it is ... A Sufi saint in Turkey, in the city of Konya, said, "Come to me as you are, I welcome you." For world peace, we need three things: tolerance, respect, and understanding. Tolerance for every religion, respect for every culture, and understanding the situation of countries and people, and giving to them. Practicing yoga does not mean only twisting the body; it is not about torturing it. If you stress too much, it may seem good now, but when you are above 80 or 90 years old, it will become a little difficult. Therefore, know your limitations. Be sure, my brothers and sisters, postures alone will not give us liberation. If only postures gave liberation, what about handicapped people? What about others incapable of doing them? Liberation comes from knowledge and from our way of life and heart. So yoga is a principle of balancing, harmonizing, and uniting—ultimately, uniting human to human, heart to heart, the individual to God. It does not matter which way you go; all these are principles of yoga: God, prayer, meditation, being good, helping, sharing. Any religion in this world that holds these principles is linked to yoga. Yoga is not part of some religion; all religions are part of yoga because yoga is a universal principle. No one has a copyright. India does not have a copyright for it. You practice yoga, you are happy, and you give happiness. The copyright of yoga belongs to Lord Śiva. And Śiva is a God for all. We are all children of that God. He does not mind. Only sometimes he is surprised how you manipulate things—doing Śīrṣāsana that way. Śiva said, "I did not teach like this. I was teaching differently." So I consulted with him and said, "My Lord, we are living in this civilized modern world. Relax. Do not be tense. We will manage, and when we cannot, we will come to you, Lord." So yoga is something beautiful for your body, mind, consciousness, and soul. This is the future of mankind. You will be happy to know that every fifth person in the world practices yoga. And if we include the beautiful ancient science of China, Qigong, and Tai Chi, then every third person in the world practices a spiritual, healthy way of life. How beautiful it is. Australia has very health-conscious people. I wish you all the best. Before they come and say it is time, better I stop. But before I stop, let us unite in one name. It does not matter which religion you belong to or believe in, which yoga group you belong to or practice, or which master you have. We are human. We were not born with a stamp on the ear declaring I am Hindu, you are Muslim, or I am a disciple of this or that. We are simply human. We have our human weaknesses, but we try to be the best and to serve. So the uniting energy force will be Oṃ śānti. You can do it with open eyes or closed eyes. We will chant Oṃ three times and then say śānti, śānti, śānti three times. Relax. Sorry. --- Recording location: Australia, Sydney, Australian Tour