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World Peace through the awakening of Spirituality

Spirituality is the pure consciousness of the universal Ātmā within all beings. The individual soul, Jīvātmā, is a mixture of this Ātmā, the non-self, and karma, giving each creature its own destiny. Humans possess the unique instrument of intellect, which can be educated limitlessly. To develop spirituality and achieve world peace, practice daily awareness. First, consciously affirm, "I am a human," recognizing our role as protectors, not destroyers. Second, remember what it means to be human. Third, identify the qualities that make you human: forgiveness, love, and protection, not jealousy or anger. Fourth, develop these qualities through practice; any action leading to a result is Yoga. Fifth, contemplate your life's mission, which is not mere survival but God-realization. Our nature is to unite, love, and protect, not to fight.

"Ātmā is universal, while Jīvātmā, the soul, is individual."

"The mission of life is God-realization. Be a protector."

Filming location: Sydney, Australia

First, we must understand spirituality. For me, spirituality means that which is pure, crystal clear, and transparent. That is our Ātmā—everyone's Ātmā, which is within us. It is known as pure consciousness. Ātmā is universal, while Jīvātmā, the soul, is individual. Thus, it does not matter which creature; all are pure consciousness. The creation on this planet consists of 8.4 million different kinds of creatures created by one Creator. He is the father of all creatures, not only humans. All are the children of God. They are divided into three categories: Jalchara (creatures in the water), Sthalchara (creatures on the ground), and Nabhachara (creatures in the sky). Out of these 8.4 million, only one is a human. Therefore, 8.4 million minus one—all are the sons and daughters of God. This is the realization of the Supreme. All represent that cosmic light, Ātmā; then comes individuality. That is called Jīvātmā, the Jīva. Jīva is the individual; Jīva is the mixture of Ātmā, Anātmā, and Karma. Every form of life in which the Jīvātmā resides also has its own destiny. Everyone has a different destiny. This clearly means the Jīvātmā is an individual, but Ātmā is beyond destiny. It is immortal, everlasting, bliss, truth, the universal one, the cosmic, pure consciousness. That resides in everyone and in us. Humans possess certain advantages, and the most powerful instrument humans have is their Buddhi, intellect. Human intellect needs education. Every creature can be educated, but not to the same extent. Humans can be educated limitlessly. Therefore, before stepping into the subject of achieving world peace through spirituality, there are five key practices we can implement daily to develop spirituality. They are very simple, yet very powerful. The first step is to become aware, and every day become aware that you are a human. "I am a human." This does not imply discrimination toward other creatures. No. It is like being on an airplane with a few hundred people where there is one pilot. The pilot says, "I am the pilot, the first officer." This does not mean he is discriminating against the other passengers. If someone feels offended—"How can he say he is the first officer?"—then please go and take off the plane. You cannot. Those students are missing education. So, in this universe, the human is a driving force. Humans are here on this planet as protectors, not destroyers. Humans are capable, and to be capable means to help. As a human, which actions should I do and which should I not do? "I am a human; should I do this? No." This awareness will protect us from many negative deeds and decisions in our life and will make us aware of our spiritual power, which is God-consciousness within us. Second, to develop spirituality within you, remember what it means to be a human. There are many women sitting here, and they know they are women. When a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child, she knows what it means to be a mother, right? The Master is both mother and father—that I will explain next time. It does not matter if it is a human mother or another creature's mother. The father also, yes—don't be jealous. I have a very good story about the father too. But here I am speaking of feelings. "I am a human, and what does it mean to be a human?" Then the third point: What makes me human? What makes me a mother? Your child makes you a mother, not your husband. Those are different things. If your body does not accept, if your nature does not accept, the father can jump from up to down, and nothing will happen. So, what makes me human? There are human qualities: forgive, understand, love, protect, be content, do good, and realize God. Jealousy, anger, hate, doubts, greediness—these are negative animal qualities. So, "I am a human. What does it mean for me to be a human? What makes me a human?" These are the qualities. This leads to the fourth point: Which qualities make me human, and how do I develop those qualities? There are thousands of different ways to develop qualities. Whatever you do is Yoga. It does not matter what you are doing. If you do wrong, you will suffer; if you do good, you will be free from suffering. It is like having one mouth: if you eat good food, you will be healthy; if you eat poison, you will die. Doing something which brings you to a result, to a point—that is Yoga: union, to unite, to meet. So, which qualities and how to develop those qualities through practice? Finally, what I contemplate every day—all these points lead to the last point, which is the mission of my life. The Dharma, the mission, the principle of this body is to be born, grow, and die. I will not die; my body will die. The mind has two tendencies: Saṅkalpa and Vikalpa—deciding and again dissolving. I am not the mind. Buddhi, intellect, gives judgment but is not responsible. Buddhi will only tell you, "This is this," that's all. So, I am not this intellect. Emotion is constantly changing; you are in the motion of changes. Therefore, I am not emotion. I am that pure consciousness, the Ātmā, God. This is the realization. What is my mission? Not to earn money. Not only to create children. Eating, sleeping, creating children—animals are also very expert at this. O man, if you are doing only this much, then where is the difference between you and the animals? So, these are points which we should repeat and become aware of every morning. The mission of life is God-realization. Be a protector. In Brisbane, one Indian—actually he was from Fiji—sang a very nice song, a Bhajan. In this Bhajan he said, "Who was that foolish one, who was the foolish one who taught us to fight?" Our nature is not fighting. Our nature is uniting, loving, understanding, harmonizing, and protecting. These are the first steps toward world peace and spirituality. Nothing is impossible. Everything is possible.

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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