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Yoga Gives Happiness To Body Mind And Soul

Honesty in yoga practice requires confronting our lack of progress. You came seeking harmony for body, mind, and soul. Yet after years of seminars, that goal remains unfulfilled. The problem is not with yoga, which is a divine science of balance. The problem lies within us. We hold onto desires, attachments, and illnesses while neglecting the practices that dispel them. Culture guides us toward a healthy life, but we have lost our direction. We search everywhere for the flower to offer, failing to recognize it is our own sincere effort. Examine how honestly you practice. Very few complete essential cleansing techniques. You must begin the actual work of Haṭha Yoga and meditation. Perform your service without ego or jealousy, as a blessed opportunity. Support this work as devoted siblings, turning all negativity into wisdom.

"Either yoga is not that which can give you harmony, or you didn’t understand it; it didn’t touch your heart."

"Therefore, the purpose of my telling this is: how honestly are you practicing? Do not tell me anything; only ask yourself."

Filming location: Vép, Hungary

DVD 203B

Yesterday, we heard a beautiful translation of a bhajan written by Gurujī to Mahāprabhujī. It seems the message did not fully penetrate. Many did not understand, or perhaps did not want to understand. My question is this: who was not present at this morning's program? Please raise your hand honestly. Thank you. So, those who were not at the morning program did not understand at all. And those who were there, misunderstood. It is better to attend the program. Last weekend, we were at the Strylki Ashram, Mahāprabhujī's Ashram in the Czech Republic, and I had a very serious talk with everyone. Today, I have the same for you. Please listen very carefully. You know very well what brought you to yoga. Why did you come? I know why I came. You also know: perhaps for health, for philosophy, for spirituality, for concentration, and so on—many reasons. Our slogan, written as a subtitle in our yoga books, is "Yoga in Daily Life: Harmony for Body, Mind, and Soul." Many of you read this and were deeply inspired. "Yes, that is what I am searching for. That is what I want to realize. That is what I want to have." We are civilized, educated, academic people. None of us has come directly from the jungle. You know what harmony means. You know what body, mind, and soul mean. Harmony in family, in the environment, in society, in relationships, and within oneself. This was your question, the reason you came to yoga. That inspired you; that was the catching point. And now you are here. Now, how many years, months, or days have you been here? A person with a toothache knows what a toothache is. A hungry person knows what food is. What I want to say is that the reality about oneself, only one knows. The question now is: how far have you realized this goal for which you came to yoga? Mahāprabhujī said in a beautiful poem: "Paras saṅg loha kia firbin palta loha." (I brought the iron together with the paras stone.) "Takno sam kamenom paras zhelzu." (And that paras stone has the ability to turn iron into gold.) But he said, "I brought the iron and the fire together, but still the iron didn’t change." The answer is written there: "Jato paras asli nahi." (Either the paras is not real.) "Ili paras nije pravi paras. Jara ha bisova or between remain distance." (Or the paras is not the true paras. Or there remains a distance, a gap; they didn’t come together.) So the answer is there. Mahāprabhujī posed the question and also gave the answer. Either yoga is not that which can give you harmony, or you didn’t understand it; it didn’t touch your heart. There is still doubt, laziness. Why is it like this? I would not say that yoga is not real. Yoga is divine. Yoga is the science of body, mind, and consciousness. Yoga is the balancing and harmonizing principle for the entire universe, not only for the individual. Then the problem is in us. We constantly complain about illnesses—so many illnesses—and yoga challenges us: if you practice yoga, you will be far away from roga (illness). There is yoga, roga, bhoga, and rāga. Where there is bhoga (desires, indulgence), there is roga. Where there is rāga (attachment, quarreling, jealousy, dualities, dveṣa), there is also roga. Bhoga, rāga, and roga—these three go together. But yoga is separate. If you practice yoga, these three will automatically disappear. I give you a simple example. It is winter, and you drive a car. Constantly, your windows fog up; you cannot see through. There is only one button: you can put on the external air circulation. Immediately, the windows will become clear. You must put the button on. If you only circulate the inner air, you will always have problems—no clear vision, and the heating will be less effective. When you let the external air in, the windows clear and the heating works better; the air becomes clean, warm, and humid. When the sun rises, darkness automatically disappears. So, when you begin with yoga, then rāga, bhoga, and roga all go away. But we do not let them go away. We do not want to miss our yoga exercises, but we do not miss the exercises of the rāga and bhoga. And the result, the cause of rāga and bhoga, is disease. If you want to reduce your roga, you have to take more yoga. Otherwise, this roga comes to the mental level. Therefore, in Āyurveda—Veda is knowledge, knowledge about life, the expansion of life—there is a concept called Arogya. Rogī is the ill one, and Arogya is the healthy one. In Hindi or Sanskrit, when you eat, we do not say "good appetite"; we say "Arogie" (for your good health). We do not say just "eat." Modern language has become "khaije" (please eat). "Khaije" or "khānā" (food) is from the Urdu language. Or we say "bhog lagāje" (offer to thyself). Or "pa je" (receive health). If you say to a person, "Take health." Culture is connected to language. Language is a picture of the culture. Culture is the leading principle; it leads us. That culture which gives us the right direction through language. There is food culture, art culture, music, dance, singing, painting, carving, writing—many branches. Culture is a leading power for humans. When humans lose their culture, they lose their direction. You go into a forest for a walk and lose your way. You go into a cave with many passages and become lost. When you are lost in the forest, there are signs on the trees. And for whom are these signs? For one of the most intellectual creatures on this world, the most wise and intelligent: humans. Birds do not need signs. Deer do not need them. Dogs and cats do not need them. They are not confused. So culture leads us. One culture is the culture of a healthy way of life, and that concerns not only the body, but also mind, emotion, consciousness, and intellect. The Arogya program is a health program for good health. This Arogya is a subject of our dining table—not eating just what you like, but what is very healthy for you, which is mostly vegetation that Mother Nature gives us. Now, look at yourself in the mirror. Feel your body, feel your mind, feel your life situation. How does it look? If you think of this, you will say it is a disaster. So where is the mistake? A few years ago, Gurujī sent me an audio cassette. On Indian radio, every morning during the Brahmamūhurta, beautiful bhajans from different saints are broadcast, along with uplifting teachings from holy scriptures—the Bible, Quran, Rāmāyaṇa, Gītā, Mahātmā Gāndhī, and many great personalities. One Western philosopher said that India is the cradle of all cultures. Gurujī, during his morning meditation, used to listen to these bhajans. At 3:30 a.m., he had already bathed, finished his exercises, and by 5 o'clock, he was ready. Whenever I came to his room, he would say he was up at 4:30, had bathed, walked, practiced, had tea. I asked him, "Why? You need not go anywhere; you are not missing an airplane. You could do it at six, seven, or eight o'clock." Gurujī smiled and said, "Yes. Yes, I am going for a long journey." It is preparation. He said, "Brahma Muhūrta—those who have tasted the nectar, only they know what it is, how sweet it is." I said, sincerely, I went to sleep. So Gurujī said, "Well, you are a Yogīrāj, at least." These are his words, not mine. Gurujī wanted to be nice to me. Gurujī used to record all the bhajans from the radio. When the tape was full, he made a copy and sent it to me in Vienna. Sometimes he wrote on the cassette: "Maestro, I have selected these bhajans for you from the radio." Like a gardener selects beautiful flowers for a garland. I have those cassettes with his handwritten words. Well, in one of those bhajans it said: "Lord, I want to offer to you one flower, a blossom. But I couldn’t find that flower. I was searching continent to continent, shore to shore, in forests, meadows, and mountains. But I couldn’t find that flower which I want to give you. And why couldn’t I find it? Why didn’t I find it? Definitely, it was my mistake—that I couldn’t find that flower, or I couldn’t recognize that flower." This is the answer to our question today. With which intention did we come to yoga? And still, we have not fulfilled that aim. So many seminars, so many weekends, so much traveling, and so much quarreling. Day by day, something grows parallel inside: ego, pride, longing for power, jealousy, hate, complexes, crudeness, sadness, and laziness. One holy man said, "Laziness is a shark for the dead body, a coffin for humans." If laziness governs you, then you are in the coffin. Therefore, the purpose of my telling this is: how honestly are you practicing? Do not tell me anything; only ask yourself. This year, who has finished Śaṅkha Prakṣālana four times? Please raise your hand. Out of 1,060 people, two have finished it four times this year. What percentage is that? How can you be healthy? How many practice Jalaneti every day? Thank you—about thirty people. And how many practice Kuñjalī every week? For six people, thank you. I also do kunjal when I eat too much, and it automatically goes out. What can I do? This year still has 26–27 days. I would not say you must do it four times, but you can do it at least once. At this time, do it at least once. Neti, dhauti, basti, nauli, trāṭak, kapālabhāti should be your everyday program. You do not look like a yogī or a yoga practitioner. You do not look healthy. We are rogī here, all of us, not yogī. There may be one, two, three sitting there who practice, but they do not want to come to the front. Therefore, I ask you seriously to begin with yoga. You will have contentment and happiness. You will have joy with your body, mind, and soul. It is a pity you had breakfast already today; otherwise, we could do Śaṅkha Prakṣālana now. I said the same in Śrīla Kriyā Āśram, in Mahāprabhujī's Ashram. And people seriously took it and are already organizing Śaṅkha Prakṣālana. I am not happy to have too many people around me, but I am happy to have people who are honestly practicing, doing sādhanā. You remember, if you have read Līlā Amṛt, when Śrī Devapurījī's ashram in Kailash was full of people coming for satsaṅg on the Rāmāyaṇa—because every day there was very good eating. One day he said, "You are all coming only for eating, not for satsaṅg." From that day, he changed his attitude. He made a tratak, and the building fell down. He said, "Now my best bhaktas will come." And all the snakes came. You see, Śiva has more snakes than people. That should not happen to us, so we shall practice. Whenever I come to Vienna, 65% of my time is gone for consultation and complaints—problems between organizers. Then, 25% is personal complaints. And 15% remains for my eating and resting. Where is the time for teaching? The program should be that at 6 o'clock in the morning, everybody has to be in the practice hall. Why were you not here? And if you are not able to come, why did you come here? In the future, no seminars will take place where people are not 100% attending all programs. We need two persons: a yogī and a rogī (the ill one)—to cure, to help. But two we do not need: bogī and ragī (the indulgent and the attached). They disturb all of our virāgī (detachment). Therefore, next year, seminars will be strictly controlled, and diet will be strictly controlled—all raw diet and boiled food, that is all. You have to become the representatives of Yoga in Daily Life. You should realize this is what you came for. Otherwise, one person disturbs all. So now, seriously, begin your practices. All Haṭha Yoga techniques: āsanas, prāṇāyāmas, mudrās, bandhas, kriyās, meditations, mantras. And working. I surrender. Work—8 hours in the office. Many people write, "Swāmījī, I have a money problem, a financial problem." Why? You cannot have a financial problem. Why do you have what others don’t have? Because others are working. That is it. So, I want to tell you that we should have a practical life. We should show that yoga can truly grant us this harmony for body, mind, and soul. This jealousy and complaining against each other—"It’s not my job, it’s his job, it’s his duty, not my duty. Why not this person? Why should I?" Why are you always saying this? When God Rāma came back to Ayodhyā, all were very happy. Rāma was sitting, also happy. Where the Lord comes, even the whole season changes; trees give blossoms, fruits, and good weather. Hanumānjī was sitting in the garden under a tree, chanting his mantra: "Rām, Rām, Śrī Rām, Śrī Rām, Śrī Rām, Śrī Rām..." He thought, "It was me who could fly, jump from India to Sri Lanka, and find Vālmīkī Sītā. It was me who brought the Sanjīvanī to save the life of Lakṣmaṇa; otherwise, Lakṣmaṇa would have died. It was me who brought Garuḍa from Vaikuṇṭha; otherwise, Rāma would have also died." His ego went up. "I have done this, I have done this. Without me, he would not be successful; he can’t do it." God Rāma read the mind of Hanumān. So Rāma said, "Today is the time to put Hanumān's ego into cold water." But in a nice, diplomatic way, gently, without his notice. So God Rāma called Hanumānjī. "Hanumān, come here." Hanumān came running, jumping. "Oh Lord, you remember me, you called me. What can I do? Please, this servant is ready to give his life. Today is my greatest day that you call me." God Rāma said to Hanumānjī, "Hanumān, I want to tell you something in confidence." "Yes, Lord, what? Should I bring the whole Himalaya?" He said, "No, no... If you had not brought the mountain from the Himalayas, the whole hill, Lakṣmaṇa would have died. If you had not brought Garuḍa, I would have died." Systematically, Rāma was repeating what Hanumān was thinking. And Hanumān was thinking and becoming uneasy inside. "But Hanumān, I give you one last duty. No one can do this. I’m sure you will be successful." "Yes, Lord, tell me. Nothing is impossible. For your devotees, if you are with me, should I bring heaven on earth, or bring the whole earth into heaven?" Rāma said, "No, no, no. Hanumān, in the Himalaya, on certain hills very high up—rarely any human can reach that point—there is a beautiful snow ice cave. There lives one great ṛṣi, a great saint. Please go and give him this ring." Rāma gave him a ring. "Be careful. It’s a very dangerous way." Hanumānjī said, "Lord, when you are with me, nothing is dangerous." He put the ring in his mouth, kept it in his gums, made praṇām, and left. It was truly very difficult to get there. Hanumānjī was completely exhausted, cold, hungry, tired, and lacking oxygen. Suddenly, he saw a ṛṣi meditating. Hanumānjī went and made praṇām. The ṛṣi smiled and said, "Yes, Hanumān. It was difficult to come here." Hanumān said, "Yes, my Lord, I came here by your blessing." "What brought you here?" "My Lord Rāma sent you this ring." A beautiful ring with brilliant stones. The ṛṣi took the ring and threw it into a little lake. Hanumānjī was so angry. "What a proud ṛṣi! He didn’t even say thank you or look at the ring. He threw it in the water. How hard it was for me to come here. I will tell Rāma. Please don’t send me to such people. Rāma didn’t allow me, otherwise I would catch him and bring him." The ṛṣi smiled. He knew all that Hanumānjī was thinking. The ṛṣi said, "Hanumān, can you get this ring back, please?" Hanumānjī put his hand into the little pond. He took out a handful of rings—same quality, same design. With both hands, Hanumānjī offered the rings to the ṛṣi. The ṛṣi said, "You know what this means?" Hanumān said, "No, I don’t know. I only know there are many rings." He said, "Whenever God Viṣṇu incarnates on this planet, he needs the permission of the saints. And he has to pay the tax. Viṣṇu has to pay the tax to come to this planet. At the end of his mission, he sends me, as tax, one ring that I bless them, so they can be successful. As many rings as are inside, that many times Viṣṇu has already incarnated here. And I am still here. Hanumān, don’t think it is you who helped Rāma to win. It is the blessing of the saints. Put these rings back, and tell Rāma that your mission is completed." Hanumānjī made praṇām. He came back to Ayodhyā, walking tired. God Rāma was waiting. He came and said, "Praṇām, Lord." "Oh Hanumānjī, how was it?" "Thank you, Lord, that you sent me there. My being in this world is now successful, that I have had darśan of such a saint whom even Lord Viṣṇu has to pay tax. And Lord, he told me something, and I want to ask for forgiveness for my thoughts." Rāma said, "Alright. I am going back, but you will remain here on this mortal planet and take care of my bhaktas. Serve them. Don’t punish them. Help them." And therefore, Hanumānjī is here to help us. So, do not think that you are doing, you are organizing, you are helping. Many people thought like that. They are gone. Many kings wanted to govern the whole world, and you cannot find even a small piece of their bone here. The world continues. So take it as a blessing. Take it as your divine chance. You are the fortunate one that you got the seva, service to do, work in Yoga in Daily Life. This honor goes to you. You are a blessed one. This privilege goes to you. Therefore, if you work and organize as a seva, you will be uplifting, and the fruits will be good. But if you have dirty, stinky, thorny thoughts—jealousy, hate, "I don’t like them, I don’t want this"—then I am sorry for you. So, it does not matter who is who, what they are telling. You should do your seva and support this beautiful work, which is for Mahāprabhujī. Do not be against anyone. You are guru brothers and sisters. This wonderful Yoga in Daily Life is your service. And if you do this as a seva, no matter who is preaching, it will be for Mahāprabhujī, for Yoga in Daily Life. And you are all guru brothers and sisters. There is quarreling in Zagreb, quarreling in Maribor, quarreling in Ljubljana, quarreling in Budapest, quarreling in Hungary, quarreling in Debrecen, quarreling in Vienna, quarreling in Prague. What is this? You are not jungle people. You are educated, civilized people. So be the bhakta like Hanumānjī. We often say, "Lord, I am not that Hanumān who can open his heart and show that you are within me." But there is no difference between him and me. Only a little difference: he has a long tail. So it does not matter who says what. Forget it, neglect it. Be paras. Be that precious stone which turns iron into gold. Be that wise one. If anyone tells you something bad or negative, turn it into wisdom, into something beautiful.

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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