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30 Years of Divine Light

A speech celebrating the 30th anniversary of an eternal flame and the spiritual organization "Yoga in Daily Life."

"To keep an eternal light burning for 30 years, you need a caretaker 24 hours a day. It is not easy."

"It is better to light a candle than to stand in the darkness. And so the light of hope is the light of God."

Swami Maheshwarananda addresses an audience including dignitaries and students, reflecting on three decades of maintaining a divine light in Vienna. He shares a parable from Tagore about a lamp offering to replace the setting sun, and discusses themes of spiritual light, self-inquiry, and the universal divine presence in all beings. He recounts the humble beginnings of the center and emphasizes the importance of health, wisdom from ancient scriptures, and positive wishes.

Filming locations: Vienna, Austria.

DVD 309

Om shāntiḥ, shāntiḥ... May it bring auspiciousness, well-being, and wealth. The lamp of the Supreme Brahman, the lamp that enchants all, the lamp that adorns everything, the evening lamp, the lamp of all truth. Om shāntiḥ, shāntiḥ... Deepa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān. Your Excellency, Ambassador of India, Dr. Shilkaṇṭjī Śarmājī, respected head of the 3rd District, Mr. and Mrs. Hochberger, respected Dr. Sittel, Sarmādjī, Rosetta, and all friends, seekers, practitioners, aspirants, and so on. Everything that needed to be said has been said today on this beautiful evening, on the occasion of 30 years of the divine light we have kindled. To keep an eternal light burning for 30 years, you need a caretaker 24 hours a day. It is not easy. Every time you open a window, you must be careful that the flame is not blown out. When you put in a new wick, you must carefully first light it from the other candle, then insert the new wick, and light this wick again. It is a beautiful, artistic work and requires devotion, love, and understanding. Those who keep the light must not sleep more than four hours; they must wake and check if the light is still burning. And so, we have carefully kindled the light in Schikanedergasse for the whole world, and it still burns, growing stronger day by day. Just an hour and a half ago, the light increased again through our revered Vice President, Mr. Hoffmann, who lit this eternal light. And so the light travels throughout the entire world. Everywhere. I remember a little story, and I believe it resonates with all of us. It is a letter or a poetic form by the Nobel laureate Tagore, who is Gurudeva Tagore. Artists, poets, writers—they have their own world, their own imagination. Sometimes they are also like commentators, but they are in their own world. But Tagore was very conscious, a living person, very wise, a philosopher. It was evening time at sunset, what one might call dusk. Tagore, because he was older and had practiced a little yoga, had some back pain and always held his hand on his back while walking. He had waited a long time, just like I have. Tagore observes the sunset, the beautiful light. The artist, the poet, now speaks to you. He speaks with the sun and wonders what the sun is thinking. The situation is that it is setting, and soon darkness will swallow the sun again. Everything becomes dark, a dark night. The first quarter of the sun had already set; three quarters were still outside. At that moment, a bell rings in a Śiva temple. The bell draws his attention away from the sun; he turns around and sees in the Śiva temple that the priest, Pujārī, Paṇḍita, has lit a small oil lamp. Now, the sage Tagore receives an answer to his worries and the question he had for himself about what the sun thinks. The sun thinks: "For so many hours, all day long, I have given light to the world. But now my downfall has come. Who will take my place? Who will take my place now? My time has come, and I am departing." The bell rings in the temple, he turns around and sees a beautiful little oil lamp. And the lamp gives an answer: "I will try. I will try." The lamp responds to the sun: "I cannot be the sun, but I will try to take your place so that I can show your path or shine your light." And so Confucius says in a beautiful song: "When the day is dark and bravery, and the way is hard to find, do not let your heart be troubled; simply hold one thought in your mind: It is better to light a candle than to stand in the darkness." And so the light of hope is the light of God. We are all this beautiful, little, tiny light, this flame. Each one of us has this ability, the power to bring light into this dark world. Light represents God Himself. Light is life, and life is light. Therefore, in the Upaniṣads, the ancient scriptures of India several thousand years old, it is said: "Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya." Lord, lead us from darkness to light. "Tamas" means ignorance, darkness. Lord, lead us from ignorance to knowledge. As Dr. Śānti has said, and also His Excellency Dr. Śilkaṇṭa Śarmā has mentioned, from the great, holy, incarnate Śiva, Śaṅkarācārya, who spoke of this Ātmajñāna, the light of knowledge. Śaṅkarācārya said: "Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here? And where will I go?" Just as someone mentioned earlier—that was Mr. Mehra—"Life is over; what are you doing now for the future?" I read that written on a house gate, one of the oldest houses in Prague, for about 3000 years or so. I don't know, how old is Prague, please? How old is Prag? You check, people. On this oldest house, outside it still says: "We build the fortress where we are only guests. We do not build where we will be forever." I forgot one word in between. So: "We do not build our house there where we will remain forever." We are here in this world only as guests. The Creator, the creation, has created 8.4 million different living beings on this planet. He has divided them into three categories: Jalacara, Sthalacara, and Nabhascara—the beings in the water, beings on the earth, and beings in the space. They are all 8.4 million. Whoever believes nothing should start counting today and tell me next time that one is missing. The one who lacks that is the one who has forgotten to count themselves. So, 8.4 million different species of living beings exist, one of which is the human. The difference between humans and other living beings is that humans have a mind, intellect, Buddhi. A human mind, intellect needs education. And education—not just school, college, and university—but first and foremost the best education one can have comes from mother and father. Those who have not received proper upbringing, love from mother and father, and wisdom from mother and father are lost in the world. If one receives the best upbringing from their parents, then be certain, there will be no more terrorism in this world. There will be a heart for all and understanding of everyone: love, devotion towards all living beings. Ātman, Paramātmā. Ātman is the highest Self, which is in me and in others, is the highest Self, the divine Self. All living beings are my soul. Therefore, all living beings are my Self. The light that is within me is also in all other living beings. And so, the light represents divine consciousness on our planet, in all living beings, in all hearts. Therefore, in the Guru Gītā, a beautifully sung: "Entzünde dein Licht in mein Herzen. Sadguru, ignite your light in my heart. Your light shall dispel the darkness. Sadguru, ignite your light in my heart." Very good. And so it is the light of knowledge: "Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya." For several years now, I have been conducting scientific work with people who suffer from depression, those who live under stress, those who experience fear and have lost their joy of life, those who lack motivation. And I have the certainty, the spoken, the ancient, where ancient scriptures are studied. Those who study the ancient literatures, the holy books, the spiritual texts—because in ancient times, almost everything was sacred. Everything was filled with wisdom. Since the beginning of the last century, humanity has lost its morals and ethics in this world, and therefore writing contains no wisdom within. So the ancient literature states that it is one of the best therapies to overcome depression, tensions, anxiety, phobias, and all such conditions as we know. That is why "Yoga in Daily Life" means the ancient wisdom for modern times. We do care about all, including the environment, all living beings, humans, and so forth. And "Yoga in Daily Life" aims at physical health, mental health, social health, spiritual health. Later we will talk or speak about God, spiritual development, and God-realization. This way, you may never see God as you wish. And you have already seen God. You will be surprised. Yes, He was with me. Our situation is like this: a young lady, she was a bit confused, and she was holding her own child in her hand, and suddenly she says, "My God, where is my child?" And the child sleeps on the shoulder. And she goes to the neighbor and asks, "Do you know where my child is?" "What do you have in your hand?" "Oh yes, excuse me, thank you." So, God is here in our heart. He does not come separately and say, "Hi, I am God." Then we will say, "So what? What are we supposed to do with them? If you are God, then please go to the church." That is how the situation will be. And therefore, God does not dare to come before us. In what form should He come? He lives, exists in all living beings. In every leaf of trees and blade of grass, in every flower, in every stone, everywhere: "Oh God, beautiful, oh God, beautiful, oh God, beautiful." In the mountains, in the forest, in the desert, in the river, in the ocean: "Oh God, beautiful, oh God, beautiful." So God is there, but we do not yet have the eyes to see Him. So if you want to see God, first try to see yourself—physically as well, mentally as well, and your thoughts too. Try to illuminate your thoughts with wisdom. So with all these thoughts for a long 30 years—I had already been in Austria five years earlier and had done a lot of hiking in the communist world back then: Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Hungary, and so on. And "Yoga in Daily Life" has been there since '73, and now there are very, very many thousands and thousands of students and practitioners there, and centers, and we have kindled the light. One thing I want to say is that back then I did not have so many friends and students. We were only three or four. We ourselves designed everything, the building and the apartment. I believe no one lived there for 20 years. On the first day, when we lit the light, you will laugh or wonder how it was. At 5 p.m. in the afternoon, I went to the wet market where they throw away the wooden crates from the vegetable market, because we had no furniture, no table, no chair. So I brought in this box that we broke off and immediately the old newspapers. I placed a table there, put a newspaper on it, and placed a candle which I then lit. With this thought: "May the light illuminate the whole world," as they say, in light. That very evening, I made a request there, in pairs. It was just Katharina and me. Katharina lived in the Eighth District. Of course, there we asked and had everything, but not at the center. We stayed there overnight with a light blanket, and I used newspapers as bedding. And so my life began in Vienna. Today I am always surprised when I get such a beautiful seat, so soft and so on. So that means: work, work, work. Day by day and stone by stone. Saint Francis of Assisi said... Assisi did not have an easier life. People portrayed him as completely mad and so on. And now we pray and remember how sacred he was. And so, Grasrut—that is what is called Grasrut. "Grass" means to plant a small blade of grass, and it will grow to fill the entire garden. It will take a little time, but the whole garden will be full of that grass. And that is the grass root. For 30 years, every day, twice daily, prayers were offered before the light. 30 years. So that means, twice, at least 60 times prayer was performed there. Therefore, the light has a power, a potency, a Siddhi. Siddhi means the place where you go and repeat your desires, and they come true. Similarly, there are two towers in Gurktal in Carinthia, and there you go to the church. What is the name of this church? In Gurken, right? Gurukulam, exactly. And there you go, you walk around once, and there is a stone, you see it there, and you repeat your wish, and they say it will come true. Every time I was in Carinthia, I specifically took the path, sat on the stone, and made my wish—but which wish, I will not tell you. And so throughout the entire world. Everywhere there is the same culture, the same spirituality. Everyone has the same heart, and every heart has the same divine light, and everyone has the same goal. Perhaps the language is different and a bit of culture. Customs are different. Customs, yes. Customs are different, perhaps in one country, in another country, also according to the climate and so on. I am pleased that we have all come here to greet the divine light, and I am especially glad that our honored guests are present. Jan Rosetta, of course, she is also our longtime, much older student, and she was always in Kanadagasse. We had always VIP Diplomatic Ladies Yoga Courses, and one of those was also Rosetta, and it was very, very nice. Now much has been spoken. I do not want to take up too much of your time. Tomorrow I will be speaking again, in the morning. I wish for you with all my heart, in the presence of this divine light, that your wishes come true. But I have spoken with the divine light—please only have positive wishes when I have lit it, not that you say... "Today it should be my lottery number," and then you go home and say, "Why didn’t my lottery number come?" I have still kept the light somewhat under control and with such positive wishes. God knows that positive desires will come more easily, and negative desires are not good for you yourself. Therefore, God does not want to let them be fulfilled, just as parents know when and how much ice cream to give their children. When a child is sick and cries for ice cream, still the parents do not give the ice cream. Dr. Schittel spoke very, very beautifully and extensively, and we have known each other since the beginning, '75 or how should I say, '74. He was in Graz, and I am also accustomed to Graz, and we had very beautiful times together. He had very, very many spiritual experiences, and that is written in the "Lille am Ritz," authored by him. Everyone can read. In this sense, I would also like to congratulate the students from Vienna and thank you for holding and taking care of divine light, eternal light, in your hands here. The Vienna center is a world center, where all parts of the earth, all continents, concentrate every day when they meditate; they come to Schikanedergasse in their thoughts, because from there the light radiates—of course also from India, but especially from here. I wish you all the best, a safe journey back home, no matter from which part of Austria or outside Austria you have come. And much happiness, much joy, and above all, like Dr. Śānti and also Dr. Rādhā said, health. An Austrian scientist said: "Health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health." God as Reality will be present even when we are healthy, and thank God that we are completely healthy—my head, and we are so healthy. In Āyurveda, the first mantra, the very first mantra: "Prathamaṃ sukhaṃ nirāmayatvaṃ kāyasya." The first happiness and prosperity is health: a healthy body, a healthy mind, healthy family relationships, environment, and so on. With this spirit, I wish everyone, all, all, all the best and God's blessings. Hari Om.

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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