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Strengthen Your immune system

A morning satsang on discipline, health, and spiritual practice in the modern age.

"In this Kali Yuga, in this time, Kusaṅga also means pesticide, unhealthy food, unhealthy drink—all damaging our health and our psyche."

"In this Kali Yuga, there is only one protection, only one thing, and that is God's name—your mantra. O human, repeat and repeat your mantra, which will help you to cross this worldly ocean."

The lecturer addresses disciples, focusing on the challenges of spiritual and physical health in Kali Yuga. He explains how modern toxins and undisciplined living weaken the immune system, advocating for daily Hatha Yoga kriyas and asanas as the primary internal remedy. He emphasizes that true spiritual progress now rests on bhakti (devotion) and mantra repetition, supported by the foundational pillars of tapas (endurance), tyaga (renunciation), vairagya (detachment), and jnana (knowledge).

Filming location: Strilky, Cz.

DVD 249

I was reflecting this morning on your personal development. Parents constantly think of their children—their education, profession, job, family, and so on. Similarly, a master always thinks of the disciples: what more they should do, and how to make their spiritual development easier. Often, parents are surprised because they do not know what their children are doing; they receive pleasant or unpleasant surprises at home. The same happens with disciples. In any case, we are living in the age of Kali Yuga, and there is more Kusaṅga—association with little spirituality. Where someone calls it spirituality or religion, it is misunderstood and abused. Imagine what you would do if Jesus were still living. He would not be as famous as he is now. If he were to come back, what would you do? You would say, "It is not Jesus; he is some crazy man, a sect." This is Kali Yuga: we lack the knowledge to realize God as He is. We lack discipline, and our lives are very short. In the old days, people lived long and had happy lives. They enjoyed more than we do. But what does it mean to enjoy life? It was different for them and for us. We enjoy in the wrong way and destroy our body, like driving a car without putting oil in the engine. What will be the condition of your motor? Similarly, we lead a life where we do not put in the needed oil; we abuse the motor, and the result is a very short life. Now, the chance for an individual is very little because the entire system has changed. Everywhere there are pesticides and chemicals. Cows and milk animals get artificial feed; they are given injections like cortisone so they give more milk. This milk is processed in the dairy. Butter, milk, yogurt—all milk products are manipulated. All the grains you eat, the bread, it is the same grain you see in summer. Consider how much pesticide is applied with tractors. Whether the weeds are cleaned or not, the grain is ground and goes to the bread factories. Fruits and vegetables are also chemically treated. We mostly buy fruits that look big and shining, which have been sprayed many times and given chemical fertilizer. Then there is the water. Whatever you put on the surface of the earth, with rain and snow, goes into the earth. Also, washing powders and cloth: we always want clothes that are nicely ironed. Because we do not want to iron every hour and want them nice and shining, we use synthetic fabrics. Finally, the air we inhale. All this harms our health. Many people live for years as vegetarians and suddenly get cancer. How is that possible? It is in the systems, in the air. But still, we can try to protect ourselves if we work consciously on ourselves. If you remember, the day before yesterday I gave you one discipline, a task for a day: before and after eating, wash your hands. Be honest—who did not do it yesterday and this morning? You see? It is not that you did not want to do it, but you simply forgot or thought, "My hands are clean; I ate bread only like this; my fingers were clean." We simply did not think. But it is not about whether they are clean or not. Sit one day and watch from outside the operation theatre. Before entering, the nurses and doctors have very clean hands, but still they clean again with disinfectant liquid. Even then, they do not touch their green cloth; they hold their hands like this, and others have to close the gown. Then they put on gloves. Why? Because bacteria are even in the air. They develop so quickly and are everywhere. Under our nails, if seen through a microscope, many, many Rākṣasas are sitting. Thanks to God that He made a very nice system in the body: the immunity system, which fights constantly against the enemy. I think there is no better architect in this world that we know than God. There is nothing greater than God. God means Mother Nature. Whether you look at fruits, trees, grass, animals, or humans, it has its recycling system. Nature controls nature. There is a question about bird flu. Why does it happen? Because animals are kept in a very unnatural way. The second biggest problem is that pesticides and all these chemicals destroy nature. Nature does not have a natural enemy. Those birds that clean the forest or live from dead animals are dead. Many other animals in the forest, like the fox and the lynx, have died. Many animals are killed by humans, either directly or indirectly with pesticides. Now nature has lost its balance. Similarly, when we lead an unnatural daily life, we damage our immune system. Then it does not have enough power to fight against illness and bacteria. They develop in the body what we call cancer, flu, pneumonia, digestive problems, gland problems, hormone problems—we all know this. This is because our immune system is not strong enough. Can we improve? Can we support our immune system? Yes, 100%. In this way, I must tell you that Haṭha Yoga is hiding us. Because your body does not have enough power to clean itself, we have to support it to clean out all the toxins through Haṭha Yoga Kriyā: Netī, Dhautī, Bastī, Naulī, Kapālabhātī, Trāṭak. Then, to support our gland systems to produce hormones again, we have āsanas and prāṇāyāmas. We have powerful tools to fight, but we suffer because we do not utilize them or do not see that yet. There was one yogī who got a kind of cancer or a leprosy-like disease inside the body, not visible outside. It was a kind of leprosy developing from inside; you could call it a kind of cancer. He was like a Siddha. He suffered for 24 years. He tried many herbs, naturopathic treatments, and other things, but it could not be cured. He did prāṇāyāmas, all kriyās, all possible therapies, and had his fireplace. One day, sitting near his fireplace and thinking what more he could do to get rid of this illness, he saw some natural growing plants and herbs near his dune. One herb spoke to him: "Why don't you use me? In seven days you will be cured." He immediately took the leaves and blossoms, made tea, and drank it. And it told him, "Why did you keep mauna for twenty-four years? Now the time has come for this karma to be finished and for this illness to be cured, and now you speak." We have everything in yoga and daily life, but we do not utilize it. We always look for different things, running here and there, thinking perhaps that is better. It is like we say: in the neighbor's plate you see more, or in the neighbor's plate you see a better piece of apple strudel. Therefore, we can still do something, thanks to God. There are health food stores and something that uses less chemical fertilizer—what we call organic food. Practice every day Agnisar Kriyā, Kapālabhāti, and if you can, Naulī. Agnisāra kriyā, Naulī, Kapālabhāti, and Bastrika and Netī—these five. It is very good if you can do them every day; five will take about ten minutes and will support your body very much. But the problem is this: you are always looking somewhere else for what can be more. Then you go to the bookstore, buy a new book, and see what is written inside, and compare. There are two prāṇāyāmas written with holding like this—this is the prāṇāyāma mudrā with the index finger and the little finger. And Swāmījī says we should work with every finger and the middle finger. This is easier; that is not. Then you ask Swāmījī, "The books mostly talk about different prāṇāyamudrā." That is confusing. Therefore, too much reading and too much intellectual thought can cause a lot of confusion. Those of you who do not practice discipline every day, the root of the problem is there because you are confused. One minister was sitting in a car, and the driver was driving. They came to a narrow road, and there was a rabbit. The rabbit ran in front of the car, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right, sometimes in the middle. The driver tried to save the rabbit's life, but it came under the car and was killed. Afterward, the minister asked the driver why the rabbit was killed. He said, "Sir, I tried to save him, but I couldn't." The minister said, "Not that you couldn't; the cause was this: the rabbit was confused. It did not know where to run—left, right, or middle. The cause of its death was its confusion." The cause of your illness, of not being treated, is that you cannot find it; you are confused. Should I practice more yoga exercises, or take Āyurveda, or go for a massage, or just take medicine and finish, or only go walking, or go see some guru who will give siddhi and blessing? "You are healthy, go. Next one." So there are still many of you here, 30% of people, in such confusion. Though I tell you not to do this, they cannot give up. That is a problem. In this Kali Yuga, in this time, Kusaṅga also means pesticide, unhealthy food, unhealthy drink—all damaging our health and our psyche. So we shall try to practice more of our yoga exercises. Finally, you will realize that yes, that was the best remedy for you. Those herbs are no longer existing, and if there are some, they are completely poisoned. If you take Āyurveda, naturopathic, or organic, all are poisoned because it is in the air, like what you call now the bird flu is in the air. There is only one way to strengthen your immune system, and that you cannot do from the outside, only from inside. The inner system has to change. Sometimes medicine is only a support, a help so that it should not get rapidly worse, but some mistake is somewhere in the body. So keep practicing āsanas and prāṇāyāmas. If you feel ill or have symptoms of illness, then you should prolong your practicing program. This will support your health. You should be known as healthy people, but that is not the case. Many of us, 98% or 99% who are sitting here, do not work enough with the body—only something very gentle like yoganidrā, marjārī, and half butterfly, and that is all. You should work on the body. For two hours, tell your body, "Now I dedicate time for you." In the beginning, the body will be angry, but after one week, the body will ask you, "Come on, when should we begin?" This is the only way for us. You are sitting here, so many yoga teachers. And what is the condition of a yoga teacher? The yoga students cannot understand. To be a good teacher, you have to practice every day for four hours: āsanas, prāṇāyāmas, and meditation. Every day, two hours of āsanas. Your body should be like rubber. Then you will be a successful yoga teacher. I have a special karma with Austrians. Mostly, throughout the whole world, in every country, all yoga teachers are very successful yoga and daily life teachers. Many people in some places are on waiting lists to come to the yoga class. But in Austria, the teachers are on a waiting list if a student comes. In Austria, there are instructors on the list waiting to see if there will be an instructor. The problem is that they do not practice themselves. My Austrian, especially Vienna, yoga teachers talk more and teach little. They talk in their yoga program: "Next week is your birthday, and where should we go to eat pizza, and where should we go to walk?" Of course, out of ten students, nine may be your best friends, but one is going to phone me and tell Swāmījī, "It's impossible." What is spoken in the class or after the class, and what is demanded from the people by the teacher, is not possible. That is why Austrians are suffering—because they have no discipline. The teacher has to be strict, practice, and be an example. This is what in India we say: the technique of the mother-in-law. When the mother-in-law wants to say some unpleasant words to the daughter-in-law, psychologically she does not tell her directly. She tells her daughter, "Stupid! When you will be married and you will do like this, then you will be the most stupid person in the world." She speaks louder so the daughter-in-law should listen. So when I tell about Austrians, you must know to whom I am telling. This is that. Discipline. Patañjali said the first instruction is that yoga needs a discipline. You can have a profession for teaching yoga; you can teach yoga as a profession, but you should be professional to have a profession. Professional means perfect. And never talk to your pupils about your personal problems and personal plans. Do not ask them to do karma yoga and seva. That is it. My Austrian yoga teachers teach little and ask more students to come and help: "I'm moving from this apartment to the other apartment. My shoes are broken; if you can bring them to be repaired. My toothpaste is not good; if you can find me the best one. I have no time for ironing my clothes; can you come tomorrow and iron?" That is the condition of these Austrian teachers. That is it. So, please, be disciplined and practice yourself, and be an example, a model for your students. Those who are not a teacher yet should first practice and be disciplined, make the yoga examinations, and then become a teacher. Then you should have the classes. You should have a balance over your body, mind, and emotions. Your intellect should be very clear. Your consciousness should be very clear. You are confused, and you want to lead yoga classes? Then the confused rabbit will be a victim. So do not be a confused rabbit. In the material world, in this time, to keep our body healthy at a certain level is only possible if you work with your body, for your body, within the body. Try to take a little less help from outside. It does not matter what kind of liquid you drink or what naturopathic powder you take. I think it has no sense. I have one glass which is not here today. The glass is very clean. If I put clean water, it will also be very clean. But if the glass is clean and I put dirty water, the glass will be dirty. Or if the water is clean but the glass is dirty... All these liquids—aloe vera and many veras sitting here, or fruit juice, vegetable juice—are very good, but your body is not good. So when you take this, it will help only a little. Clean water in a dirty glass: when you see it, you do not want to drink. Or, in a glass, you wrap a lemon inside and put milk on it; the milk will be spoiled. These are all external remedies you want to take—whether naturopathic, homeopathic, āyurvedic, or allopathic. They have very little effect on your body if you do not work for your body, with your body, within the body. That is how we can survive and be healthy. I am not against naturopathy; I like it. I am not against homeopathy; I like it, but it has no effect on my body. I do not know why; I tried to take so much homeopathy, but that is another subject. I am born in the country where Āyurveda is born; I like it, but now those herbs are not alive anymore. Many things are completely polluted by the air, if not in the ground. Long term, you cannot preserve these powders or anything; it should be fresh. I like Āyurveda; I would like to promote Āyurveda, but it is very good for a healthy person. In certain cases, it does not help you; in certain cases, it is good. Prevention is better than treatment. Allopathic science, medicine, has also done immense work. It is not a joy for a doctor to write you some chemical medicine, but they know, even if temporary, this is a release for you. But also, we should not take it unnecessarily. So, naturopathy, homeopathy, allopathy, āyurvedic—these are good, but best would be not to use them. When it is very necessary, use it. But Āyurveda can help where allopathy cannot, and allopathy can help where Āyurveda cannot. We should not discriminate; we should not be one-sided. My concern is your health. Again I tell you: you should work with your body, for the body, within the body. Only with the body. You do not need any instrument for it. You do not need any remedy for it. If you do not want, do not use the blanket. Do your āsanas, do your prāṇāyāma. You do not need anything for it. How nice it is. When you make discipline in the morning, wake up earlier and do it for two to three hours, it will be beautiful. Now, second, for your spiritual development. It is said in different yugas there were different kinds of sādhanās: Jñāna Yoga, or karamkāṇḍ, yajñas, fire ceremonies, and so on. But now in this yuga it is called bhakti. It is said: "Kaliyuga keval nām ādhāra, sumara sumara nara hoī bhava pāra." In this Kali Yuga, there is only one protection, only one thing, and that is God's name—your mantra. O human, repeat and repeat your mantra, which will help you to cross this worldly ocean. Mantra practicing also has different techniques. According to yoga, we have five different techniques, and all these techniques mean that they become one with you, that you do not forget your mantra. Many times, people have mālās—two-hand mālās, neck mālās—and tilak, and they say, "I am your disciple; I have a mantra." But can you tell me, "I have forgotten my mantra; how is it?" Can you tell me how my mantra is going? I forgot it. Many times, people come to me and ask if I can give them a mantra. They had a guru, but that guru died. "He gave me a mantra, but I do not remember." And what was the name of your master? "That's all, I do not remember." Yes, really, it happened; it is not a joke. So what kind of spiritual seeker, student, or disciple are you that you do not even remember the name of your master or the mantra he gave you? You did not practice. So, five techniques: first is writing, second is chanting loudly, third is chanting inwardly, fourth is mental repetition during meditation, during prāṇāyāma, during āsanas, during a walk, and so on, and fifth is spontaneously. Spontaneously is the final level. Then it is said: through mantra you will purify your antaḥkaraṇa. Antaḥkaraṇa is the body within your body: your mind, intellect, consciousness, and ego or pride—mana, buddhi, citta, ahaṁkāra. These are the four; if they are not pure, they cause a lot of problems. Every human, every creature, has an enemy called Tri-tāpa. Tri-tāpa means fire or heat. Here, tāpa also means troubles, problems, pain, unhappiness. These are the three heats, or three kinds of fire, which constantly disturb us, like you are in the fire. You know, when we touch a little fire, it is burning. So what happens when you fall into the fire? These are the three tapas which constantly cause us pain. To become free from these three tapas—which are Ādhibhautik, Ādhidaivik, and Ādhyātmik—nicely described in your Chakra Book. Holy Gurujī said: "Śrī Dīpa Nirañjana Sabadokabhaya Prabhu Dīpa Nirañjana Sabadokabhaya Iṣi Mantras Ehave Manamañjana Iṣi Mantras Prabhu Dīpa Nirañjana Sabadokabhaya Pravadīpa nirañjana sabhā, nirañjana sabhā, pravaḍīpa nirañjana sabhā, pravaḍīpa nirañjana sabhā,..." The happiness everlasting, avicchal, which is not changeable, not moveable. Sukha is happiness; sukha is harmony. Avicchal sukha pave paramānanda. There is ānanda and parama ānanda. Ānanda is temporary joy. When you are sitting in the car and it is very cold, and you put on heating—oh, thanks to God, now it is nice. Or good eating: "Oh, mmm, very nice." But the Germans say leka; actually, leka is a word coming from the cat. The cat is licking, you know? That is why there are some chocolates called cat tongue. People who love cats buy this chocolate. Who love cats, buy those chocolates. Do you see how cats help in sales? Some people are unfriendly towards dogs. In Austria, they made a political party called the Dog Party. Do you know that? Austrians can say yes or no. Śānti. The Hunde Partei. Yeah. You see? It means all the dog owners become members of that party. And you know what percentage that is? Throughout all of Austria, they were nearly the winners: the Christian Democratic and Dog Party. That is it. So now in the world, the majority is... unfortunately, minority suffering. Manjina pati. So, "tinoi tap, pāpam itjave." All these three tapas, the sin which we did, goes away. Paramananda. Avichal sukha pave paramanandam. Avichal sukha. Avichal is unshakable happiness. Neprolazna, nepromenjiva sreća je dostignuta. And param-ānanda is everlasting bliss. So joy is changeable, and bliss is unchangeable. Ānanda is just temporary, and paramānanda is everlasting. While repeating the name of God, your mantra, your prayers, you will achieve that paramānanda, which is the aim of all spiritual seekers and holy saints. That param-ānanda you cannot buy outside; you cannot get it from outside. This param-ānanda is hidden within you. So you have to search for it. But there are many obstacles. The three tapas—ādhibhautik, ādhidaivik, ādhyātmik—are the biggest obstacles. These mean obstacles from the external world: enemy, not good neighbor, animals, mosquitoes, bacteria, accidents, and so on. Or astral beings, spirits, ancestors, ghosts—external forces that disturb us, and then illnesses. Different kinds of illnesses: ādhibhautik, ādhidaivik, ādhyātmik. Ādi bodhik, ādi devik, ādi ātmik—these three tapas. Lucky are they who can become free from these three tapas. We have these three bodies: physical, mental, and subtle body, or these five kośas: anamaya, prāṇamaya, manomaya, ānandamaya, and vijñānamaya. These are influenced by our way of living, thinking, and behavior. The Ānandamaya and Prāṇamaya Kośa—the physical body and energy body—are balanced and purified through the practice of āsanas, prāṇāyāmas, and Haṭha Yoga kriyā. Manomaya, vijñānamaya, and ānandamaya kośas are purified and balanced through prayers, devotions, and mantras. Therefore, in Kali Yuga, spirituality is the first: Bhakti. Bhakti and jñāna. Bhakti and jñāna. Tyāga, Vairāgya, and Tapas. These are the five mighty principles which will protect you. A building with a solid foundation—even a strong earthquake cannot pull it down—and this is Tapa. Tapasyā: enduring, the ability to endure circumstances; tyāga: the ability to renounce, to give up; vairāgya: detachment; jñāna: knowledge; and bhakti: devotion. These are the five strong pillars which will keep you healthy and strong, and you will be able to come to where you want to be. Then there are five pillars which are very weak, and if the building is based on them, it will collapse: anger, jealousy, hate, greediness, desires. These five principles: kāma, krodha, madha, lobha, and moha. If that is more in you, the building will collapse. So begin and take saṅkalpa today. Create saṅkalpa today that you will really begin to practice yoga in daily life: āsanas and prāṇāyāmas. This principle you must keep. First we took this before and after eating; I have forgotten, what was it? Okay, now you take one saṅkalpa: that every day you will practice Agnisar Kriyā and Netī, which is not very demanding of time. If you forget one day or two days, it does not matter. And after Netī, Kapālabhāti. So, Agnisar Kriyā, Netī, and Kapālabhāti. Besides your prayers, meditations, kriyās, and mantras, you should add these three. It is good for you.

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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