TV Channel

Everything originates from the cosmic sound. I often explain yoga and creation. Yoga is the balancing principle between space and consciousness—ākāśa and cetana. When balance occurs, there is harmony. Harmony implies unity. Harmony means there is no opposing force. Balance means there are no disturbances. Unity means there is oneness. Thus, there is space, consciousness, and the yoga—māyā, yoga śakti. Consciousness can do nothing. The chetan, the conscious, has no desires. Matter can do nothing; the material is inert. Consciousness has no desires, and matter cannot act. It is capable of doing, but it cannot initiate. Therefore, between this Brahma and Māyā, between these two—matter and consciousness—exists what is called Icchā Śakti. That is willpower. Willpower does not mean the kind of will we typically think of. It is as we say, "Thy will will be seen." Thus, there is the desire of the Icchā-Śakti. Icchā is another name for desire. If you have icchā to do something, you will do it. If you have no icchā, you will not. For example, if someone asks you, "Would you like to eat something?" you may say, "No, I have no desire to eat." This icchā śakti balances and harmonizes the three: consciousness, space, and yoga śakti. Everything happening in the entire universe occurs through Icchā Śakti. Yet, all icchā cannot exist if the other two are not present. You may desire to eat, but if there is nothing to eat, the desire alone is insufficient. This interplay is between what we call Puruṣa and Prakṛti, Śiva and Śakti. Śiva means consciousness, and śakti means energy. From this icchā, the first resonance that awoke is what we call OM, the sound. That resonance fills the entire universe; every atom is filled with it. Because it is a śakti—energy, power—it can be formed and used in different ways. That first sound, from which everything is created, is AUM. That sound is also within our body. It is the basis of what we call human language or animal language—our communication system. Animals have greater abilities to communicate over long distances, while humans cannot do so without a telephone. Between two entities, it is that resonance, that sound, which unites. When I speak and you hear, this is that energy. This energy requires two things: space to expand or move, and the air element. It is the air element that allows the energy to move swiftly. Not the wind we see, but the air element is like a very fine film. When our voice touches one corner, it immediately transfers to the other. It is like the skin over our body; if you touch even your small toe, the information spreads throughout the whole body. We take in through sound or words, and we give out through words. This same energy, this resonance, flows through different filters. If it passes through a negative filter, it becomes negative energy; if through a positive filter, it becomes positive energy. Thus, through the manipulation of sound, you can create a friend or an enemy. If you say to someone, "I love you," you create harmony. If you tell someone, "I hate you," you create disharmony. This energy emanating from you—this resonance—how will you formulate or manipulate it through your tongue and lips with the help of your vocal cords? When you say "God," you create one energy; when you call upon the devil, you create another. In ancient times, people spoke in poetic language, as in mantras. That is how they influenced the environment, nature, people, and spiritual energies. Ultimately, they declared, "What you speak, that you will realize." Thus, it is said: madhur bāṇī, sweet words; sweet language. Madhur bani, the sweet words, or amrit bani; amrit means the nectar. Your words are like nectar for others. Preah śabda, the dear words, words which are very dear. Upadeśa: upadeśa means preaching. 'Up' means near. When your disciples sit before you as an audience and you speak, that is upadeśa. Upaniṣad derives from upadeśa. One should avoid words and language called kūkar-sūkar, like that of pigs, dogs, and donkeys. When you talk too much, it is a dog's brain. So madhurbanī, amṛtbanī—this creates within you love, harmony, and understanding. Thus, the name of God is Madhurbanī or Amṛtbanī. Through different words, we try to remember God. In one sense, it is the human who creates God, not God who creates the human. If a human did not introduce God, no one would know who He is. Yet, it is God who appears in human consciousness, in the human mind, in human knowledge, and it is He who gives this knowledge: what God means, what the Self means. God is the one who appears in human consciousness, in the human mind, in human knowledge, and reveals that knowledge of what God is. Therefore, God is nameless; He has no name. If He has a name, it is humans who give it. God is formless. But if we perceive form, then through human understanding we say every living being is a form or a representative of God. People understand that every form of existence is a divine form. Every spiritual song, every spiritual chanting, prayer, and remembrance of God means to surrender ourselves and request God to fulfill our needs. Surrendering to God means to accept your mistakes. Accepting your mistakes means you realize you made a mistake. Realizing you made a mistake means you are asking for forgiveness. Here, forgiveness means you tell yourself you will not repeat this mistake again. This is the best way of self-analysis. It is prayer. Repeat your mantra or sing the name of God in bhajans. The mantra contains something positive within, because according to human experience and knowledge, God is something positive. The names of those who realized God, who became one with God, whose consciousness merged into cosmic consciousness, are also positive for us. Repeating your mantra means to purify your consciousness, to purify your mind, to purify your antaḥkaraṇas from negative thoughts, feelings, and activities. The mantra is the seed of prayer. A mantra is concentrated prayer. Therefore, repeat your mantra whenever you can, with or without a mala. That will bring you to your aim, your goal, or realization. If you meditate using only your intellect, thinking that in meditation you do not need any mantra—just because a mantra is also a kind of vṛtti and you want nothing—then your meditation is like a body without a soul. Whenever you feel scared, pray. Whenever you do not see a way out, pray. Clear. So, a mantra consists of words with the capacity or ability to purify energy and direct it toward what you wish to realize. Therefore, during the practice of vāsanās and prāṇāyāmas, you should repeat your mantra. The human mind possesses great strength and possibilities to make your wish come true. Because we humans know there is a God, we pray to God to give peace, harmony, balance, and health. If the trees are healthy, we will also be healthy. If the water is clean, good, and healthy, we will also be healthy. If the air is clean—meaning healthy—we will also be healthy. Thus, to gain good health means to take care of the surrounding environment. If you want to be happy, make the people around you happy. If your wife is not happy, be sure you will not be happy either. If your husband is not happy, you cannot be happy. You might be happy just with your cat or dog, but that is all. To create happiness or peace within you also means to create happiness outside of you. The cause of unhappiness and restlessness is a person's selfishness. What God has created is all for use in our life. So use it; do not abuse it. Be sure that we humans are not the lords or gods of this planet. For God, humans are the same as other animals on this planet. But humans possess a powerful intellect. It is meant for understanding, expressing, and realizing. Therefore, humans should use their intellect for the well-being of the entire planet. As soon as a human becomes greedy, their intellect becomes like a plastic apple. Kind words, proper behavior, prayers, and a positive way of living will make a human great. Otherwise, we know we came into this world only for a little time, and we will die. Death is quicker than we think. We do not know who among us will be next. Therefore, madhur vahār—sweet behavior. Practicing your mantra will help you understand yourself and understand others. Thus, it is said: "Asato mā sad gamaya"—merciful Lord, lead us from unreality to reality. But do we understand or know what is unreality and what is reality? Reality is something: what is reality for me may not be for you, so we can only trust in the śāstras, the scriptures. Ultimately, God is the reality. Brahman is the final truth or reality, and this world is changeable reality. Mano Matra Jagata: as you think and behave, so will be your world, inside and outside. Draṣṭṛ, jñeṣṭṛ, śreṣṭhī—through which desires you look, so the world will appear to you. Your eyes move according to your desires, and you try to see through your eyes what you desire to see. But in our eyes, there should be purity. Mahāprabhujī said in a bhajan: "The eyes are so pure, innocent. A small child, when it looks at you, looks so purely, innocently, with no desires. And when we see ice cream, we constantly look at the ice cream." So, draṣṭi versus sṛṣṭi: how you see is how you perceive the world. And that will create more desires within you; the reflection will generate further desires. Therefore, yoga in daily life means we try to live all 24 hours in a positive way. It is not merely practicing some exercises and that is all. That is why our summer programs and seminars are very important for you. And give the chance to others as well.