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Oxygen is life, and life is oxygen. Yet disputes arise because no one can reach a common opinion. Looking further, it is said that for every living being, a certain number of breaths are allotted. When the being has breathed that much, it is over. It is like a rechargeable battery; we charge it, and it shows how many minutes or hours it will function, and then it is done. A car has a capacity of 50, 60, 70, or 80 liters of fuel, and when this fuel runs out, the car stops; it does not move forward. Similarly, our oxygen tank, our prāṇa tank, is limited. Once we have used it up, it is gone. On the other hand, it is said that prāṇa is what carries the soul forward in the universe. It is carried through the entire universe by an energy or a vibration, a resonance, and is also guided towards the physical planes or physical bodies. Prāṇa is like a fuel or substance from which the light burns. We are the wick, and the oil or ghee is this prāṇa, and the light is consciousness. Or the light is life. There are several types of explanations on how to represent prāṇa. But in general, prāṇa is throughout the entire universe. The source of prāṇa is God. Therefore, it is said that a name of God is Prāṇāth—Lord of the Prāṇa. For a bhakta, every breath is the prāṇa that comes from their God. And this prāṇa is called love. Love is God, and God is Love. This divine love is what we all nourish ourselves with—divine power, divine love. When any illness comes or any difficult situation arises, we know that our death is very near. As I said, yesterday someone mentioned that a person feels completely panicked, in distress. Then anxiety, nervousness, and various physical and mental states arise because your inner self feels separated or distant from the source from which your life force, your vitality, comes. Thus, we live in prāṇa, through prāṇa, in this world and other realms. Self-realization, samādhi, the highest state of consciousness, clarity, wisdom, and knowledge of the divine Self, only functions when the prāṇa is present. Suprāṇa is that which holds your soul, your consciousness, and your attention together in the astral world. In this world, your prāṇa, your body, your emotions, your consciousness, your memory, and every action are sustained by prāṇa. When the body is weaker, it means there is little prāṇa, but it does not mean there is no prāṇa at all. Prāṇa is there, but our physical system is not in a condition to absorb this power. It is present, but our body absorbs nothing. For example, some people have an iron deficiency, but others do not, even though they eat the same diet. There is enough iron in the food, but the body is unable or incapable of storing or accepting the iron. So, when physical exhaustion or weakness is present, it is a signal that it is high time for you to see your body as a workshop. This workshop would be for you with a mechanic, as Yoga calls it, and Yoga in daily life as the technique, the mechanism, and the spare parts either to obtain or to have repaired. Prāṇa is present throughout the entire universe in the same quantity or measure. A saint says in his bhajan, in his poem: "A fish in water is thirsty. She suffers from thirst. But when I see a fish thirsty in the water, I have to laugh. How foolish is this fish, that the comfort is in the water, but they cannot or do not know how to drink the water." So it is that prāṇa in this world is also sufficient, yet still, our body cannot absorb anything and is incapable. Through āsana body exercises, we activate our energy centers. The energy centers do not mean only cakras, or just the glandular system, circulatory system, mobility, or muscles, but the entire existence, the whole body—from skin and hair to the very tiny fine tissues. Everything is being stimulated. This is the duration of the āsana, and therefore every movement has great significance for the body. But unfortunately, we do not know that. Imagine someone has an accident and now cannot move their arm. They go to a physiotherapist. The person who once played tennis with this arm, played handball, chopped wood—he did many tasks; his hand moved and did everything he wanted. But now, for this person to move 10 cm is a great achievement. A great achievement, because he can move his fingertips. Do you know about our acquaintances and where the people are in the hospital? This very slight movement of the fingertips is a hope that the arm will be restored to health. You should keep moving, you should continue practicing. Today, move only the fingertips, then move half the fingers, then move the whole fingers, then learn to make a fist, then move the wrist, and so on. Every movement, every āsana, is a stimulation for our entire physical existence. It is like a dynamo, which is engaged in motion and turns, and through that, energy is produced. It is the same with the body. Therefore, every āsana means that all energy centers, cakras, whether one likes it or not—the skin, our blood, our joints—everywhere the energies are present. Afterwards comes the breathing exercise, Prāṇāyāma, Prāṇ Viyāyam. Viyāyam means exercise. The body too should breathe freely. As we all know, we do not breathe only through the nose and mouth, but our entire body breathes. So it would be good to keep the body pure, so that all the fine pores in the skin, which breathes, remain clean. These pores must be free. It is like this: some people use too much cream and too much moisture, the cream and the oils. Then they close off, and the body does not breathe to the same extent. We know that almost every type of cream contains a bit of alcohol. There are very few creams without alcohol. Almost none, as far as I know. When the cream is washed off your skin, your skin immediately becomes dry. If you have a quick sensation of dryness, you feel you need to apply cream. Also, too much oil is unhealthy; then your own skin gives up producing moisture, the natural fats, and all of that. That is why Ayurveda says it is very important that before bathing—and I am not speaking about Ayurveda per se, but giving an example of what is said there—you should anoint your body yourself with oil, applying very gentle pressure. Anoint the body and then wait just 5 minutes before washing. Go to the shower and wash up. Because the oil absorbs into all those tissues that expand due to sweat. The oil that soaks in is then drawn out again, but in this case, what happens is that it gets blocked again. The dust, the environmental pollution from outside, constantly comes to the body; the body is warm, it attracts, and thus again these principles of respiration in the body are blocked. But when you wash off the oil, it helps you because this oil gathers all the reduced tissues from the body and then opens everything, and you have a beautiful, pleasant feeling that your skin is breathing. It does not mean you smear half a liter of oil on your body. Some do, but that is not necessary. For the whole body, more than enough is one tablespoon. Some say in Ayurveda, and it is very good if you want to have beautiful, supple skin. Then, you should first rub your skin with the peel of a young orange—one that is neither fully ripe nor completely unripe, and also not too young. Or a lemon. We know that lemon is the best detergent or cleaning agent. If you have lemon in your household, you should not use any other dishwashing detergents. That is a chemical, and lemon is natural. No matter how much grease is on your plate, wash it with lemon and it will be clean immediately. Your plate will shine more than with any detergents, and it is healthier. Those who are environmentally conscious, those who are health-conscious, will eat lemons daily and wash all the dishes only with lemons. Therefore, you can put your washing machine, this dishwasher, in a museum. This is a great laziness that people use the dishwasher. It is the duty of the man and the woman, and when the children are grown, they should help with washing the dishes. Those wearing lemon vests can take a little oil on their hands afterwards; it feels very nice, and the hands are immediately treated with disinfectant. So, squeeze half or about 80% of a lemon, drink it in a glass of water. This is the best remedy against all gas and acid in the stomach and so on. The lemon neutralizes everything. If you happen to have a party or a Satsaṅg at home, and there are several people and you are tired, then you could possibly use your washing machine. Otherwise, you save water, a lot as well. Of course, when you wash dishes, you need more water for individual dishes. But Europe still has plenty of water, and you don't have to keep the water running all the time. There is enough technology. We have the basins where you first wash like this, then place it in other clean water, then wash with lemon, and finally let it rinse very lightly. This is it. So, lemon. Throughout the entire body, the best cleansing agent for our skin is lemon. Afterwards, you should let your body dry for a few minutes and then apply a light oil on it. The whole process takes five minutes. Then you go to the shower and use the neem soap. Neem soap is the best for your skin and is a disinfectant against all bacteria. If you have neem powder, a pure, clean neem powder, then you should drink half a teaspoon daily in water. Once a week, you can indulge in a luxury—if you have a bathtub, add about 10 tablespoons of neem powder into the bathtub. Leave it for ten minutes and then go into the water; you will feel it on your skin, on your hair. Your hair will always shine. This is a natural way, because there is more prāṇa in it. Other chemicals kill the prāṇa, making everything lifeless, without energy. Thus, at the same time, we have helped the environment, we have helped our health, and we live healthily and naturally. Try going a week without detergent, then you will see how it is. Of course, it requires a bit more effort—15 minutes or 10 minutes more. But those 10 minutes more are more comfortable and healthier. One drives a car at 200 kilometers per hour just to get home 20 minutes earlier. And what does 20 minutes really mean? Those 20 minutes disappear with phone calls. Why not drive comfortably and slowly by car? You save fuel, save your nerves, avoid accidents, and enjoy the entire surroundings more, as well as your fellow passengers, with whom you can converse. The driver who drives fast is always nervous and aggressive with the passenger. When the fellow traveler says something, he says, "I already know, you don't need to tell me." Relaxed. So try to slow down your life in a natural way and slow down your activity a little. Not too much, that is stress. Let it develop—your consciousness, your existence, your energy, your power—and feel the prāṇas throughout the entire body. So it is, what we practiced in the morning and the Kathopaniṣad with these mantras from the Veda and the mantras from the Upaniṣads, we have spoken; one feels the prāṇa. If you say three times, "Oṁ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ," it is a beautiful vibration, an atmosphere. But you can speak your language. You do not have to say it in German or in Sanskrit; you can say it in German three times: "Peace, peace, peace." Oh, how beautiful it is, peace. In every language, every word that has been translated peacefully—there is more, I believe, in the Russian languages, all the Slavic languages, more, more. "Béke" is Hungarian, and so on; that is beautiful. But if you say "peace" while we all argue, then you yourself have no peace. Very slowly, let a peace soak into your body, your mind, and your surroundings. It is beautiful. To live, to live, to enjoy life. Be happy, be at peace on this planet through the help of your Prāṇaśakti, through the help of your prāṇa. Now is the highest alarm for climate changes or this whole world that has problems with pollution. As it is said, charity begins at home. The selfless work of benevolence for all living beings begins from your own home. And peace begins from one's own heart. So, every step is accounted for. Every milestone will be counted. Take a step towards contentment and be conscious of the world and the environment, and help again as much as you can. That is why I always say—now it is the fifth or sixth year—I always say, do not use plastic bags. There is enough jute, there are textiles. But it is also clear to us that in this modern age, we cannot progress much further without plastic. Plastic has become a part of our life. All electrical wires are coated with plastic. Much of it is plastic, but there are two kinds of plastic. One is meant to be used only once and then discarded; others to be kept longer, used longer. Efforts have been made to recycle plastic into environmentally friendly plastic material. But still, plastic is plastic. When someone comes to a yoga class with a plastic bag and searches for their phone or looks for nuts or something, everyone feels disturbed. If you have a cotton bag, you can go in very slowly; no one will notice what it is. So cotton has peace, Śānti. And plastic has no peace; it is Aśānti. So, prāṇa throughout entire apartments, throughout entire houses where you live—in your home and in your office. We have two bases. We live 50% in our home and 50% in our office. In your space, your place of residence, as your profession, your office, you should also ensure that it is somehow natural and in accordance with what you create, or equipped according to Feng Shui. And also at home. Sometimes the things that shine are not healthy. Nowadays, people want bling-bling and to shine. It is blim-blam shine, but it is unhealthy. As practitioners of yoga, as followers of yoga in daily life, we should take a step consciously in the direction of health, towards our own Self, and for the environment. This way, everything becomes completely different. Other things constitute a large part of our Prāṇaśakti. The prāṇas that we take into the body come in one way through the breath, which breathes throughout the entire body, and secondly through the food. And the food is healthy food. Back then, when Ayurveda was created and Yoga and such things, there was no question; not even a thought occurred to people that there would be environmental pollution or that chemicals would be produced. Back then, everything was automatically biological, everything. Now we see that people over 50, 70 years old are stronger and healthier than today's 18-year-olds. The vitality that the elderly possess is strong and full of capability. The bones are strong, the thoughts are clear, willpower and perseverance or endurance, the pain and all of that—they are strong. In today's time, these young children sitting here before me already have panic, nervousness, anxiety, weakness, sadness, jealousy. Because it is your food, what you eat, that makes you so sick. Also, eat mindfully and slowly. Some people have the habit of eating quickly and working more. But that is unhealthy. You need your body longer because the slower you can eat in peace and tranquility, the more energy enters your body. Good nourishment, healthy nourishment, whole grain nourishment, whole grain value nourishment—the more you consume, the more taste you develop. All of these buns that are like plastic and so on, the more the skin will develop a bad taste in the body and one begins to break down. So quickly, quickly bite, swallow, and drink something, and then you think, "Oh, I have eaten something." But your stomach and your body say, "The fool, what is he sensing within me, all this stuff?" Eat little but quality. This quality reveals our prāṇa. At home, everyone should create a good atmosphere. Also among family members—your husband, your wife, your children, your grandparents, and so on. When you radiate your joy, you gain the prāṇas. When you are happy, the prāṇas flow into your body. So, it was said for a time in the Austrian newspaper: "Whoever laughs lives long." Laughter does not mean "ha, ha, ha." But if you come with a face like a rotten chatterbox or a sour cucumber, people say, or something like that, then the whole atmosphere becomes sour. So keep on smiling. It doesn't cost you anything. You will gain something; you will not lose anything. So prāṇa, prāṇa is everywhere. If you have a beautiful piece of furniture or something lovely in your house or apartment that you like, it radiates prāṇa to you. When you come home, you have a prāṇa. Just like your pet, your dog. When you come home, your dog jumps and dances more for you than your husband or wife does. Or the cat—oh my god, it goes left and right and on your lower thighs, because it’s not big; you can’t afford the big cat, that’s a lion, the one that comes from above. It comes and wants to sit on your lap. It is the love animals have. It doesn’t matter if it is a cat or a rabbit or a dog or a cow or a pig or any living being—they also radiate a lot of love. And that is prāṇa. Therefore, Prāṇaśakti has a significance. Prāṇa is the Śakti. Śakti is feminine. This divine Śakti, the divine, the universal Mother, is the power Śakti. The mother takes care of the child. So every practice has a powerful effect on the enhancement of our energy. Every tissue of our body is recharged with beautiful, harmonious power. So it is, when you see or hear one of your beloved persons, speak to them, call out to them, you say, "Oh, power flows, energy flows into your heart," immediately like a fountain, a spring, a source. When someone gives you their hand or you come and say, "How are you?" a little caress like that goes all through the body. But if you don’t do it and someone else does and says, "Don’t touch me," oh my God, because that is disharmony. So, prāṇa flows. You can continue to give prāṇa, and that is healing. That is more, because you become conscious of prāṇa and inwardly you trust and are happy, and your own prāṇa awakens. Through this, our glandular system begins to function normally again and produces normal hormones once more. Also the circulatory system, the nervous system, the thought system—everything in the body comes into balance. Therefore, yoga means balance. When there is balance, then there is harmony. When there is harmony, then there is unity. When there is no harmony, then there is no unity. Then everything is broken. Suprāṇa is indeed important—through food, through drink, through company, through thoughts, everything. If we do not enjoy that, if we do not experience it in our life, were you born to always be sad? Were you born to always be angry? Were you born to always be jealous? My God, I always feel sorry; I am very saddened by those persons who torment themselves inwardly. Is it necessary for you to torment yourself like this? You are not very compelled to do so. But still, if you torment yourself all day long, then that is your problem. Free yourself, free yourself. Cultivate, plant beautiful thoughts within your inner Self towards everything. You should be able to forgive your enemy. And that is it. The person who is jealous cannot work or is unable to work for the general welfare. To have general blessings, you must open your heart, my dear. But if you are only selfish, only for yourself, then you have fear, jealousy, greed, sadness, anger, and hatred. Those who torment your inner Self will destroy you. It will destroy you. So, a part of yoga in daily life means: live your life happily. It is all in your hands. Be certain; no one can give you what you can create within yourself. Then you can also be a giver. You can pass it on in the form of your wisdom, wisdom expressed through the way you live, the way you think, how you meet people, how you speak—that is something you can beautifully embody. But as long as everything within you is torment, as long as there is war within you, then it is sorrowful. So, Civil War. Civil War means that even within your own domain, within your own body, there is Civil War. Hatred, suffering, jealousy, and distrust, and so on, all of it. Why? That is why Gandhi said, "Renounce and enjoy." That's it. Simply renounce and enjoy. Say today, "I don't care, I am going to sleep." Then you will sleep well, but if you are jealous, then you cannot sleep. And yet, if you fall asleep at some point, you have nightmares. Then why unnecessary? Prāṇa—try to receive more and more prāṇa, and also through your inner attitude, your good practices, your good breathing exercises, good food, you should also increase the prāṇa within you. This is the prāṇa; this is the link between consciousness and matter. It binds. If the link, the cement, is not of good quality, then the house will fall apart more quickly, and we interrupt or, as one might say, collapse, crumble. So, this is the connecting link, the prāṇa, happiness. And through happiness, we will receive everything.