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Kriya Anusthana

A spiritual discourse on the prerequisites for successful Kriyānuṣṭhāna practice.

"To practice Kriyānuṣṭhāna, you must first purify your antaḥkaraṇa: mana, buddhi, citta, and ahaṅkāra."

"Destiny is purely a product of your actions, your karma. Good karmas yield good results; bad karmas yield bad results."

A teacher explains that advanced yogic practice requires first purifying the fourfold inner instrument: the mind, intellect, consciousness, and ego. He details each component and challenges the audience on subtle forms of ego and discrimination, asserting that such purification is essential. He further connects this inner clarity to understanding human destiny through karma and the ultimate human mission of God-realization.

Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

Anuṣṭhāna means that you have a particular aim, what we call the saṅkalpa, and then you make a mental offering. You begin your sādhanā, renouncing something at least for this period of practice. Then there will be more success. The Kriyānuṣṭhāna we are doing is very beautiful and contains many kriyās for highly developed yoga students. But it is like this: if you give a very expensive car to someone who is not a driver, or to a driver who is very nervous and hysterical with phobias about driving, he cannot do it. Similarly, to practice Kriyānuṣṭhāna, you must first purify your antaḥkaraṇa: mana, buddhi, citta, and ahaṅkāra. Mana means the mind. Purifying the mind means that no negative thoughts arise and no negative words are spoken. Whatever happens through your mind should be good, for you and for the world. There is buddhi, the intellect. If something negative arises through your mind, your intellect should be capable of protecting you. The decision is yours; it is a great protection to avoid negative things. Then comes citta, the inner space where all your desires, wishes, and inner activities take place. Imagine a very big, dark hall where five cyclists must ride. There is a high chance of accidents because they cannot see. Similarly, when your citta has the darkness of ignorance and no light of wisdom, your mind and intellect can easily make mistakes. The fourth is ahaṅkāra, the ego. There are many kinds of ego: ego of age, beauty, position, social status, education, physical strength, knowledge, or family status, like thinking, "I am from that family." In this modern time of democracy, all humans are equal. The old duality, like between kings and farmers, is gone. Thanks to God, even a former king is now a normal citizen. That is the beauty of humanity. But ego still exists; the caste system is very strong, even here. You think you do not make differences, but you do. You are educated, clear-hearted people, and you believe you do not make a caste system. Am I right or wrong? Who does not make differences? For you, there is no caste, unlike in India where they speak of lower and higher castes. So, who does not make distinctions? Thank you. Now, those who raised their hands, are you ready to marry a black African or a Slovakian Gypsy? You see, very few hands go up. So you do make differences; you do have caste problems. It is very easy to blame other countries. It will take many generations to overcome these things. Unless this ego is purified, you cannot be successful in your Kriyānuṣṭhāna. Mana, buddhi, citta, ahaṅkāra—these four antaḥkaraṇas must be purified. Then you will feel the thick fogs disappearing and your road becoming clear. Otherwise, your Kriyānuṣṭhāna will not have much influence. When your antaḥkaraṇa becomes pure, you must then strive to purify the three tapas: Ādhibhautik, Ādhidaivik, and Ādhyātmik. These three tapas are linked to our destiny. Destiny: your parents can give you birth, but not your destiny. No one is to blame for your destiny. Destiny is purely a product of your actions, your karma. Good karmas yield good results; bad karmas yield bad results. Our destiny is according to our past deeds, some from this life and some from past lives. This life is given according to past life karmas. We are fortunate that God gave us this beautiful human body through which we can serve all creatures, understand the meaning of life, and decide upon God-realization. Never think God loves only humans; God loves His entire creation equally. He does not love humans too much. In some cases, God may be angry at what humans are doing. Therefore, understanding the human mission is very important. If you remember, four days ago I mentioned five points. We should contemplate: What is human life? What is its meaning? What makes us human? What qualities accompany human life? How do we develop such qualities and rid ourselves of bad ones? Thank you, very good. Always be aware: "I am a human." In anything you do, remember you are a human. Always keep human dignity. But this does not mean you discriminate against other creatures. You have no right to discriminate. Humans are created as protectors, not destroyers. So be aware: I am human. What makes me human? What are the human qualities? How do I improve them? And what is the human mission? God-realization. When all these points are clear, your Kriyānuṣṭhāna will be more successful. 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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