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ANNA PURNE SADAPURNE

The Anna Mantra reveals the sacred nature of food as life itself. The sun's energy descends through the elements into seeds, which contain the animating life force. This grain is your sustenance; it is what keeps you alive. Where there is enough nourishment, there is completeness and happiness. The goddess Annapūrṇā represents this principle of abundance. The highest universal principle is the Mother, who provides the nourishment containing the inner life force. All devotees are family, and the entire universe is home.

"Please give me the food for jñāna, so that I may realize and achieve ātma-jñāna in this life."

"Annapūrṇe sadāpūrṇe śaṅkara prāṇa vallabhī."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

There is a mantra regarding eating that I was asked to translate. It is called the Anna Mantra. "Anna" is written like the name Anna, but here it means grains: rice, wheat, corn, barley—the seeds of various plants that we eat. It is said that the sun, from the astral world, returns to this world and makes contact with the five elements. Space is already present. Air is also there. Then comes water, and through the water, it descends to this planet into the vegetation, especially taking the form of seeds. That form is already the earth element. The process of living proceeds through the fire element. Thus, the soul wanders through the seeds. This means that within the seeds, there is already a soul, there is already life. You place a seed in the ground, and it will grow into a beautiful plant. But if you put a seedless seed—what you might call a stone—into the earth, nothing will grow. Nowadays, however, seeds are manipulated. You can grow them only once, and then you must buy them again. This is marketing. It is very hard to find original seeds. All the ancient grains have been manipulated and have lost their original taste and qualities. Regardless, "aṇa" means the seeds, the grains, the corns. This is nourishment, your sustenance. Therefore, do not regard your food merely as something you are eating. You should know that this food is your life. There is no other God who will keep you alive; it is the food that keeps you alive. May God not come to you halfway through your life—you would be able to wait. But if you do not eat for just a few months, you will quickly go to God. So it is your nourishment that sustains you. Annapūrṇā means completeness, that there is enough—anapūrṇā, sampūrṇā. Where there is enough food, everything is sufficient. If there is no food, there is no happiness. This is what we all strive for; we work for our bread. No one says they are working for their clothes. In India, we say, "Bhagavān dāl rotī dete haiṅ"—God gives us lentils and bread. This is a very old saying. If you eat only dāl and rotī (chapātī) every day, you have all the nutrition you need. You require nothing more. The dal was very easy to grow, and these grains were also easy to cultivate and were very cheap. Now, dal has become more expensive because people do not grow as much. Annapūrṇe sadaapūrṇe: where there is enough food (anna), there is everlasting happiness. In that house where grain is preserved, the goddess Annapūrṇā resides. She is the goddess Annapūrṇā. Even God Himself goes to her for bhikṣā (alms). She is the Mother. You must understand that the highest principle in the universe is the Mother. Those who can comprehend what a mother is can understand what God is, what the Father is. And those who understand what a mother is will always help and serve the mother. A mother can never be a bad mother, except in cases of some psychic illnesses. Annapūrṇe sadāpūrṇe śaṅkara prāṇa vallabhī. Śiva is the prāṇa (life force) inside. That is God. Shiva is the prāṇa within. "Please give me the food for jñāna, so that I may realize and achieve ātma-jñāna (self-knowledge) in this life. Grant that I may maintain my vairāgya (dispassion) to attain ātma-jñāna. To gain the siddhi (perfection) for Self-realization, O Mother Pārvatī, please give me food." Mātācā Pārvatī Devī. Pārvatī Devī is the mother, Śiva’s faithful consort. She was first a Shakti, then she passed away and returned as Pārvatī. One must read the Śiva Purāṇa to understand this fully. Mata Cha Parvati Devi—Devi is a goddess once more. Pitā Devo Maheśvara—and the father is the Lord Śiva, Maheśvara. Prāṇa, the nourishment, and within the nourishment, the prāṇa. Where there is no prāṇa, it is dead: prāṇa, body, food. Bandhava Śiva Bhaktācha: all my relatives are the devotees of Lord Śiva, and my home is the entire universe. This is the translation for these two lines I was asked to interpret. If they had asked for more, I would have translated more. If you ask for more, I will add more.

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:

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