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Human mission is to realize God

The mission of human life is to realize our true nature and unite with the divine.

Being born human is not merely for eating and sleeping; animals do that. True humanity is defined by qualities like kindness, forgiveness, and protection. We require three educations. First, ethical education from parents and community, which builds trust and relation, vital for a better society. Second, intellectual education from school to develop the mind and learn to help others. Third, spiritual education, parā vidyā, the knowledge of the Self, God, and love. Our actions reflect on our parents and our homeland. We must not be selfish, especially in caring for the elderly, who need care as much as children. Learn to forgive and never be the cause of another's tears. Work is worship; we are born to do good. Everything material is left behind at death. Only the fragrance of our good deeds remains. Therefore, build for your eternal home, not just your temporary one.

"Rahiman dhāgā prem kā, mat todo chitkāya, toḍā phir jūḍe nahīṁ, jūḍe gāṁṭ paḍ jāya." (The thread of love, do not break it out of some doubt or anger. Once broken, it cannot be joined again. If joined, there will be a knot.)

"Kya leke āye the aur kya leke jāyeṅge? Bandi muthi āyethe." (What did we bring, and what will we take? When born, your fist was closed.)

Filming location: London, UK

First, I warmly welcome our dear friends, the parents of our beloved Madhurām. Pratāśānt Brāno and Maria, welcome to our center. We are very proud of your son and love him dearly. Welcome also to everyone gathered this evening from around the world for this weekend's seminar. I see we must soon have a new center, as this one is already too small. Madhurām has gone to Edinburgh, a beautiful city. Since he went there, even Draupadī has found liberation. Your positive presence, your light, and your spiritual thinking are like that: where light comes, darkness disappears. Such spirits, if they existed, are now in eternal peace. He wishes to reside there and teach Yoga in Daily Life. Some people are born with their own luck. The first great luck is to have such good parents—parents who love their children, understand them, and are tolerant. I recall a Slovakian who wanted to go to India; his parents took him to a psychiatrist to check if he was normal. You see what people sometimes think. So it is very good that you came today, and we met personally. We wish your son all the best, good health, and a long life. He has further luck: Chetan and Nadia from India are devotees who run a very nice hotel. They have offered him a space for 10-15 people to practice and have provided him a room with minimal charge. Madhurām wished for a new carpet and some repairs for that space. As we know he does not earn much—he travels widely to teach yoga—this evening's satsaṅg is dedicated to helping the Edinburgh Yoga Center. There is a box outside; whatever you can offer will be utilized to give him a start. Chetan is also giving him gardening work. He has good accommodation, and Nadia and Chetan keep him like family. Thank you, Chetan and Nadia. Now, satsaṅg is where we gather to speak of what is good for our life, for nature, for all creatures, for the environment, for human society, and for oneself. To be born, eat, drink, sleep, and procreate is not the sole aim of human life; other creatures are also expert at this. This weekend was dedicated to spiritual awakening for world peace and the hidden powers in humans. First, are we aware and do we remember that we are human? This awareness is a great protection for our life. It protects us from actions that are not good. One will immediately think, "I am human; I cannot do this." It is good for self-protection and inner development. But what makes me human? We are all made of five elements and have the same systems as other life. Every life represents God's light. What makes us human are human qualities: to be kind, to forgive, to understand, to protect. Education is the most powerful tool for the human intellect. We need the right education and society. If you are with people who abuse drugs, you may become addicted. If you are with criminals, you may go in that direction. Terrorists think they are right; they believe they have the correct education. We need an education that thinks of all, not only oneself. There are three kinds of education we need. The first is the education of parents. Lucky are those who have their parents' education and love. The whole world can be against you, but not your parents. The śāstras say: Mātā bhavati na kumātā—a mother can never be a bad mother, except due to illness. Every mother, human or animal, protects her child with love. In the modern way of living, one system is not good. He asked me to speak about devotion. I said: Which devotion? If you lose devotion, then you get devotion. As long as you have love, you are one. If that love is lost, you are confused and suffering. Everything in life is easy to keep, but not love. There is a beautiful poem in the language of Kāśī. A bell or pot made of brass has a beautiful resonance. But if there is a crack, the resonance is gone. You have beautiful love and happiness, then doubt comes—a kuśaṅga, a bug in your brain—and it creates a crack. When milk is spoiled, where has the butter gone? You may make paneer, but you cannot gain butter. When a flame is blown out, where has it disappeared? You can search the entire room; it is gone. When your heart is broken, where has love gone? You may search for lives. Therefore, it is said by Rahim Das: Rahiman dhāgā prem kā, mat todo chitkāya, toḍā phir jūḍe nahīṁ, jūḍe gāṁṭ paḍ jāya. "The thread of love, do not break it out of some doubt or anger. Once broken, it cannot be joined again. If joined, there will be a knot." You may tell your spouse "sorry" a thousand times. They may forgive, but the knot remains inside. We forgive, but we do not forget. Evidence never dies. That memory will come back and disturb you, torturing you lifelong. We do not know what is in others' hearts. But you should know two persons know: yourself and God. You cannot hide from yourself or from God. These two are always witnesses. To create a better society and fight for world peace, we need education—not from school, but from parents. Parents are the example for children, even when children are 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years old. Who taught children to quarrel or be angry? Perhaps the parents quarreled. If you have a child, it is your duty to be together, nice, and protect that life. Nowadays, a husband may go to the office not knowing if his wife will be home. She may leave a note or a message and disappear. That is cold blood, cruel blood without feelings. I call that a camel brain—a camel goes through the forest looking only for the next tree to eat from, not looking back. But a human is aware and looks in every direction. We are taught: first, your deeds reflect on your parents. People will say, "Their children..." Second, they reflect on your village or town. When you go outside, you carry the flag of your nation. We should act so that people do not point fingers at our country. There is always such teaching to protect the country, parents, humans, and animals equally. If someone helps you when you are in need, at least say "thank you." It costs no money. Release the energy, harmony, and beauty of life. So, education from parents, grandparents, and neighbors is vital. A child from one village is a child of the whole village. All elders should see them as their own. We were taught to address any elderly woman about 10-20 years older as "mother," creating a relation so you will never do bad to her, and she will see you as her child. Address an elderly man as "father." Address peers as brother or sister. This builds a relation in the whole village. If you only say "madam," it is a respectful term, but you have built no positive relation inside. This is one reason humans do not trust each other, fight, and kill. This is ethical and moral education. In European culture one or two centuries ago, relationships were beautiful. Now, in big cities, neighbors do not know each other. I have lived in Vienna for nearly 37 years and have never been inside my neighbors' doors. In the old traditions, farmers never locked their doors. There is a story of a farmer family that leaves food and money on the table with a note: "Dear guest, feel at home. If something is missing, buy what you need." That is trust. I hope such a time comes again. Now, even at airports, luggage is stolen. We need to restore trust. The second education is school education, which develops intellect. We have done great research in medicine and other fields. Learn to do good for others. The greatest thing is to remove the pain of others. A good karma is what a doctor does. Anesthesia allows surgery without pain. We are not afraid of death but of how we will die, the pain. The third education is parā vidyā—the knowledge about the Self, spirituality, God, love, unity. We need to learn this too. So, what quality makes me human? How to develop those qualities? What is the mission of human life? Not to always change relations. The mission is to become one with God. Whether you believe it or not, there is God. God is light, but not material light like this. Divine light is different. The darkness is not this darkness; suffering and happiness are light and darkness. Humans have hidden talents to realize, understand, and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death. For that, yoga is one of the most ancient systems. No other religion is as old as yoga. Yoga tells us: believe, pray, love, help, be kind, be good, serve. Helping hands have more value than folded hands. How long will you be selfish, saying "I want this, I don't like that"? In the next life or world, you will have no choice to say "I don't like." You must answer. Once at an American border, an officer asked me questions sharply. She asked how much money I had. I said I had a credit card. She asked about withdrawal limits. I said Austria has no ceilings. She did not believe me and took my passport. People watched how she spoke to me. She returned and asked why I had so much money. I said my father was rich. So it is like that. The creation president always tells me, "Swāmījī, it is easy to deal with terrorists, but not with protocol." Karma is like that. There is no "I don't like." Karma will come to you. There was a king who made strict laws and asked if they applied to him. His master beat him on the head three times, saying dharma daṇḍ—righteousness will punish you. We should know what to do and what to avoid. Look behind. Do not be selfish. Your parents are old in the hospital, and you say, "I have no time this Christmas." But what if your parents had said at your birth, "We have no time; the nurse will look after you"? Elderly people have the same need for care as young children. We need that education to make society better and balanced. Learn to forgive. Never think to punish anybody if you cannot dry the tears of others. Do not be the cause of tears. In this way, Yoga in Daily Life works around the world—not only physical exercises, prāṇāyāma, and meditation. Sometimes meditation is not so good; you have to work. If everyone sits and meditates, who will work? When you are hungry, you need butter and bread. Work is worship. We are born here to help and do something good. We need a devotion that remains equal, not one that fluctuates like an ECG. The doctor says the ECG is okay, but I would like it to be steady. He says, "You still have time." God is almighty. We all believe in one God. There are not two gods. There is only Īśvara. Some call Allah, some call Holy Father. From time to time, grave souls incarnate; we call them God because they represent the divine light. We all belong to that one God, so we should not fight over religion or culture. Everyone has traditions according to climate and experience. Satsaṅg means to speak what is good for us and others. Finally, the human mission is to realize God. Everything will remain here. Your hard-earned money in the bank will stay. Your jewelry in the safe will stay. Even this body will not go with us. Kya leke āye the aur kya leke jāyeṅge? What did we bring, and what will we take? Bandi muthi āyethe—when born, your fist was closed. When you go, your palms will be open, saying to the world, "Look, I took nothing." So why do we fight? The flower will die, but the fragrance remains. One day, we will also go. But the good we did for this world, for others, will remain as a fragrance, a beauty, an aim. So always think: What is my aim? What will I take with me? In Prague, there is a very old house. On the door, carved in stone in German, it is written: "We are bound here, making big buildings where we are only guests. But we do not build any buildings there where we will be forever." If you believe in heaven or svarga, believe. Build for that eternal home.

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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