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Lead a conscious life

A spiritual discourse on ancient wisdom and modern living.

"Between this planet and the Brahman world, what holds that space is called Satya (Truth)."

"The best thing you can do for someone is to help them come to the path of spiritual development, and not to interfere in other people's lives."

The lecturer addresses a large gathering, contrasting the profound foresight of ancient Vedic sages (Ṛṣis) with contemporary materialism. He explains the eternal struggle between positive (Devī) and negative (Āsurī) forces, using the metaphor of millstones to describe the world's crushing pressures and the path of truth (Satya) as the way to remain whole. He urges a return to a conscious, natural lifestyle, offering practical advice like using neem for cleaning and conserving water, emphasizing sustainability and spiritual purpose over consumption.

Filming location: Vép, Hu.

DVD 268

All these Ṛṣis were wise people. They must have been thinking deeply about the future, and they definitely knew what would happen. Perhaps they were not as "civilized" as we are now—meaning they did not build roads, make buildings, skyscrapers, or possess our technology. Also, the human population was not so large. They had little communication; for them, 50 or 100 kilometers was a very great distance. Can you imagine walking 100 kilometers to visit someone and then walking back? It was a work of days, weeks, or even months. They very rarely had visitors, and that is why they called a guest "God." Because they so rarely had guests, they concluded that a guest is God. Now, you can have dinner in Europe, lunch in America, and breakfast in Australia. Today we have breakfast in New York and the next dinner in Australia. Everything is getting faster. The faster you are, the smaller you are, the closer you are. But those saints knew what was going to happen in the future. Therefore, they were thinking about future creatures, future generations, and the atmosphere. Under other atmospheres, we see other planets and the visible and invisible forces in space. From the very beginning, there have always been two strong forces: the Devī Śakti and the Āsurī Śakti. The Devī Śakti means the positive, protecting, constructive forces. The Āsurī Śakti means the negative, destructive, distracting forces. This means illnesses are also āsurī śaktis. All the problems we are facing nowadays are due to the Āsurī Śakti—many illnesses, epidemics, flus like bird flu, and all these diseases from the past; these are all Āsurī Śakti's reactions. And nowadays, knowingly or unknowingly, humans are supporting the Āsurī Śaktis. A person thinks his action is for good, but he does not know the result will be negative in the long run. He starts something with good intention, not knowing that time will show it was not good. A great saint, Kabīrdās Mahārāj, expressed this in a beautiful poem. He said: When I saw a flour mill grinding grains to make flour, I was crying. Because between those two grinding stones, no corn remained complete. Everything was broken, crushed. Symbolically, these two millstones are called Māyā and Brahmā—this material world and the negative and positive powers. If it is like this, then do we have a chance to remain complete? Can we remain pūrṇa? Yes, we can. We have a chance if we follow the teachings of those Ṛṣis. These two stones, which are crushing the grains, lie upon each other. In between, there is a support made of wood—like a jack system—so the upper stone can be raised a little. This wooden axis determines the distance between the stones. Then the grains are crushed, but not completely into powder. If the two stones are separated, the grains are not completely ground; they remain as grit. But if the pressure is lowered and the stones are very close, then everything becomes a fine powder. The grains which remain near this piece of wood, this wooden support, are not crushed because they are very close to it. Those who are close, nearer—meaning those following the teachings, the Guruvākyās—they will remain complete as Pūrṇa. They will come to Pūrṇa again. Others who run away, who separate, will be crushed. So, between this planet and Brahman, there is that which is supporting them, which is called Satya. What holds that space between this planet and the Brahman world is called Satya. It is like in mathematics: when you are subtracting, after making all subtractions, what remains is called the result. And that result is the truth, the Satya. When you subtract everything you can subtract, then what remains is called the remainder. Only one Satya. Therefore, they said: "Brahma Satya, Jagat Mithyā." Only Satya is the truth, the eternal truth; that is Brahman. All of this prapañca—all these activities, botherings, sorrows—this is not the reality. It means complications. So that is called the last, the highest, the ultimate truth. That truth is God; that is the Supreme. Not this truth and lie of everyday life, where we say this person is lying and that person is telling the truth. That is all part of this prapañca. We have to come to that real truth. We have to feel that truth. What is the sense of this life? What is the meaning? When you go to someone's funeral, you finally ask: what was the purpose? Everything is finished. This person left everything here—his fighting, his jealousy, his complexes, his doubts, his money, his house, his jobs. Whether he was good or bad, everything is finished. Then for what are we fighting and quarreling? For what are we trying so hard? It is like soap bubbles; they will very soon burst, and that is it. So the Ṛṣis of India, those wise ones, were searching for these grains. They were searching for possibilities and the way for us all to remain complete, without being crushed, without loss. They told us the way. The way for all of us is to remain as a grain of wheat, to remain whole. Therefore, in one bhajan, Gurujī said: "Walk on the path of the truth." And that path of truth means the path to God. Therefore, truth is God, and God is truth. "Satyam eva jayate"—truth alone triumphs—is written under the Indian emblem with the three lions. With all this kept in mind, the Ṛṣis created these Śāstras and mantras. And that is why I told you this morning: your best work, what you can do, is to bring someone to the spiritual path towards God. Not chatting, gossiping, phoning, sending emails, and telling someone, "Do what you like; it is your feeling and your life. You are young, and you should do this, and Swāmījī will understand." By doing this, you have confused many people. You have done a very bad thing for your own self; this will come back to you. Do not do things that will only come back to you. That is why I told you the best thing you can do for someone is to help them come to the path of spiritual development, and not to interfere in other people's lives with instructions that will not be good for that person nor for you. This is the Ṛṣi culture, the Ṛṣi teachings, the Ṛṣi vākyas. As I told you yesterday and this morning, there are so many beautiful Śāstras. You cannot imagine what treasure and wisdom are hidden in them. Our knowledge now, what we all in the Western world are sitting on, is not even one percent compared to that of these Ṛṣis. If we compare the knowledge of Western people with the knowledge of the Ṛṣis and the Śāstrīs, it is only 1%. I would say modern man—not just Europeans, but modern man—has become too extroverted, materialistic, and selfish, and has lost the bhakti, the belief, and the spirituality. The modern man is too materialistic, too selfish, and he has lost devotion and faith. What else? In modern times, people have begun to play with money again. Now, money is God. As Jesus said to the people who traded gold in the temple: that is not God, even if you think so. But what has man done today? Today we have made God again from money. Humans have imprisoned themselves with technology. We have developed technologies we cannot now survive without; we are imprisoned by them. We talk about sustainable development, but these technologies will not give sustainable development. For me, it is destructive development. Since I came to Europe, in all my lectures from that time until now, you will hear I was always warning about water—to understand and save water. I tell you now that very soon, a time will come when people will search for water like you now search for petrol. There are so many people here for this summer seminar. It is nice, warm weather, and everyone likes to go under the shower, first hot then cold. But did you think how much water you are using? How many liters per day if you shower three or four times? How much water for toilet flushing? It does not matter where you are—in your village, town, hotel, or here—anywhere on this planet, think of the water and try to save it. It will help. Be sure the source of the water is not in your tap, but somewhere else. What you flush down, with all the cream, soap, and samples, does not just disappear in your bathroom; it goes somewhere into the earth and water. Try to wash your body with natural things. People used to wash themselves not with soap, but with mud, and that gave a nice feeling and cleaning. I remember in India, when I was little, we would take a little earth, a little water, and wash with it. Our hands became very clean and nicely smelling. We took a little soil and purified ourselves with it. From some corner, we took a little mud and cleaned our teeth with our fingers. The best way to clean pots and plates was with earth, mud, or sand. They cleaned their dishes with a little water and gave that to the animals to drink. The ants were happy; they did not come into the kitchen because there was enough for them outside. We put a little water in pots for the animals. But now, the whole world is so polluted with chemical things. If you wash with these, you get allergies. Mother Nature is to forgive and digest everything. The nature of the mother is to suffer herself but not let the children suffer. So our real mother is this beautiful planet, Earth. She is suffering, and now we are grown; we should think carefully to help our mother, not to damage or destroy her body. Everything we do should be very conscious now. This should be a slogan of yoga and daily life: to lead a conscious life and a natural way of life. We use many kinds of artificial and chemical sprays for hair, armpits, ears, and so many things we can avoid. Try to clean your body with neem powder. It is very nice. Take two or three teaspoons, or one tablespoon, of neem powder in one liter of water. Let it stand overnight. Every family member should get one glass of this water. Take a little shower, and like you put oil on your body, put this neem water everywhere and rub it nicely. Then take a shower. It will be easier to remove this little bitterness of the neem than the shampoo or soap residue, for which you need much more water to clean again. Put one glass of this neem water in the toilet; it will act like a disinfectant. With one glass, you can clean your kitchen floor. You do not need chemical things to clean. Spray it on unhealthy plants; they will become healthy. In modern times, neem is the solution for sustainability. When you come to India, to Jordan, or any of our ashrams, there are many neem trees. Take as much neem powder or leaves as you like, gratis. Put a small branch of neem in the room, and many flies, bugs, and mosquitoes will keep away. You must try, Gajananjī. This is one example. You also have many nice things in the vegetation of this part of the world. Mother Nature offers us everything. If you lead a more natural life, you will have a very strong immune system. We suffer from many allergies—to flower dust and other things—because we do not have strong immunity, because we live a very unnatural life. So, again, we should make a step towards nature. We must say to ourselves, "Sorry, Mother Earth. Sorry, Mother Nature." Now, so many hundreds of people are sitting in front of me and listening. I am one person who inspires you, so many hundreds of thousands of people. Can you also try to inspire at least a hundred persons? And when these hundred people inspire another hundred, that is called chain work. If not a hundred, at least one is also something. Because if there are only 99, it cannot make 100. One is very important. So try to inspire. Try to lead a natural life. You may think everything in your house is shining, sparkling, and beautiful, but it is all plastic. Many people throw old furniture away. "I have to buy new, I must have this." Why? Your body is now old; will you throw it away? Your husband is now old; will you send him away? No, you should not do this. Why are you doing this with other things? In your house, you have so many things that you do not need to buy anything for a lifetime except food. If there are no consumers, there will be no manufacturers. Therefore, consume natural things, healthy things. We are sitting under these trees. They are not plastic. These are living beings. This tree listens to what I am saying. It feels that you are sitting under it. It feels proud that it can donate, that it can give you its oxygen and shade, so you can sit under it. When all children come to the mother and father, they are so happy. When all birds, ants, bugs, animals, and humans come and sit under the tree, the tree feels: "Now my life has some value, for what I am living here and existing for them." So, whatever it is, utilize what you have at home. If you have one chair that is broken, why throw all the furniture away and buy new? Just repair the small part. The main thing is that you are sitting on the chair. Because it is a little old and broken, you throw it away? How many trees have to be cut down to make your furniture? Think it over. And all this gold? After four generations, this chair will have great value. As the European saying goes: "Don't throw away the child with the bathwater." So don't throw away furniture that is a little broken. If someone says, "Oh, these people have broken furniture," why not? Okay, yes, broken is broken. They will not kill you, be sure. But it is your ego that will kill you if you think, "Oh God, people will think we are poor." Please do not misunderstand; this is just one example. There are many others in our life. Last year, Gajānand and I were speaking, and Gajānand said that even using paper tissues is against the protection of trees. How many trees have to be cut down for this? So, have textile, cotton tissues. It is again very modern and elegant. If you give your guests textile handkerchiefs or use a tablecloth, they will say, "Oh, it is very nice." Clean them with neem powder, and they will have a nice smell. Or there are washing nuts; they look like Hungarian walnuts. You need just two nuts; they cleanse more than washing powders. For all this, the Ṛṣis were creating mantras to get additional help for humans. That is why they created the mantras—to help people. Because they knew animals do not need mantras; they are clever enough. But people need them, because humans will go against nature, change their nature, change their opinion. Humans will suffer, and they will not suffer only themselves; they will cause suffering to all others and to the entire nature. Because people will change their own nature, and they will cause suffering to others and themselves.

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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