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Kuṇḍalinī is a vast and profound subject, as is Yoga. Last night, we spoke of the 8.4 million kinds of living beings, one of which is human. What distinguishes humans is the intellect. Through intellect, humans are more civilized, possess greater knowledge, have certain freedoms, and can also drink more. This does not render other living beings superfluous on Earth; we should love and respect all beings. Yoga, too, is a comprehensive subject present throughout the entire universe. The empty space is called Ākāśa. This Ākāśa, meaning space, is divided into different parts. First is Ghaṭākāśa. This means the space within a vessel, like a water well (ghaṭa). By extension, it refers to the space inside a bottle, glass, bowl, or beaker. Then comes Mathākāśa. Matha means a house or monastery. When you buy an apartment, you ask about its square meters—the living space for the bedroom, kitchen, and so on. This is Mathākāśa. Next is Hṛdayākāśa: the space within the heart. We have five elements: space (ākāśa), air (vāyu), water (jala), fire (agni), and earth (pṛthvī). All hollow parts of our body through which something flows constitute the Ākāśa element. Without this spatial aspect, we could not live; we would die immediately. The nostrils, sinuses, esophagus, lungs, heart, and intestines—all empty spaces in the body—are the Ākāśa-tattva. The liquid parts, about 80% of the body, are the water element. Where there is space, there is air inside, so the air element is present. The warmth in our body comes from the Maṇipūra-cakra and the heart, which pumps and warms the blood, maintaining balance. The rest is the earth element. All five elements must be in balance; when they are not, we become unwell. Thus, Hṛdayākāśa, the space in our heart, also implies the space throughout our entire body. Then comes Cittākāśa: the space within our consciousness, imagination, fantasy, and what we see with closed eyes. Next is Ākāśa: the external space we can see with our eyes—our solar system, all nine planets, stars, and everything within it. As it is said: Mithyā Yoga, Ananta Brahmāṇḍa, Sūrya Saṃhitā. Finally, there is Mahākāśa: the cosmos encompassing a thousand solar systems. So we have: Ghaṭākāśa, Mathākāśa, Hṛdayākāśa, Cittākāśa, Ākāśa, and Mahākāśa. Once, this Mahākāśa—where thousands of solar systems exist—was completely empty. Absolutely nothing: no suns, no planets, no stars. This is called Śūnyākāśa. Śūnya means empty, without atmosphere; it can also mean inert, dead space. The origin of everything began in Śūnyākāśa. Śūnyākāśa, an endless space, is like a womb. Within this womb of infinity is consciousness, what is called divine consciousness, the ultimate truth. This divine consciousness is Hiraṇya-Garbha—a golden embryo in the womb. The mother is space, and the embryo is consciousness, cosmic consciousness. You may call it God, Truth, the Light, the Self, and so on. Between these two, there is a balance, an equilibrium. The force that holds the two together is Yoga. Where there is balance, there is harmony. Where there is harmony, there is union and unity. Thus, harmony means Yoga—the union of the individual self with the divine self. This is Yoga. Therefore, Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad Gītā: "Arjuna, from time to time, I manifest myself through my Yogamāyā, my Yoga Śakti." It is this Yoga Śakti that maintains the entire universe in balance. This Śakti is the Divine Mother. As soon as we speak of the Divine Mother, this Divine Śakti is the space itself. A mother has room in her heart for all her children; in her heart, there is space for everyone. Thus, the Divine Mother is this space, and within the space is divine consciousness. He who rests does not sleep, is not unconscious, but is conscious in a perfect way, without any motion. It is within this Śakti that Icchā-Śakti begins. Icchā-Śakti is the will, the divine will. Which divine being has no body, no indriyas (senses), no manas (mind), no buddhi (intellect)? It has absolutely nothing. It is only the Absolute One. This Śakti exists because Caitanya, the witness consciousness, has no desire; it is in absolute contentment. Matter can do nothing at all. There must be something between the two, and that is called Icchā—desire or feeling. This desire is expressed as: Eko'haṃ bahusyāmi — "I am one, and now I shall multiply myself into infinity." Thus, through this Icchā-Śakti—the Divine Mother, the divine power, Yoga Śakti—originated the first subtle movement, called Nāda, sound. The very first was sound. This sound was such that, being one without a second, it immediately pervaded the entire universe, the Mahākāśa, the Śūnyākāśa. In the Śūnya, awakening took place. This was the sound Oṃ. Some scriptures write that perhaps once there was an earthquake, a huge Big Bang into the sky, and everything originated from that. Yes, that is what in Yoga and the Vedas is called the sound Oṃ, upon which yogis meditate. So in the Vedas it is said: the form of the highest Self, Parabrahman, is a sound, nothing else. First, only pure consciousness; second, the sound. This sound was felt throughout the entire universe immediately, without a second's delay. It did not take long. How? If someone pricks a needle anywhere in your body, you feel it immediately throughout your body. The signal is everywhere instantly. Or do you feel it after an hour? Sometimes when you are asleep, mosquitoes bite you. You wake up and itch, realizing, "Oh my God, so many mosquitoes were there." But that means you were unconscious. The sound is still everywhere now—in every blade of grass, in the wind, in the water, in matter, in fire, in all the elements, just beyond them, as Parabrahman. Thus, its existence in this world and throughout the entire universe is like a sound. Through this sound originate all the elements, all planets, stars, and living beings. It is said that all systems in the entire universe exist within your body, and what exists in your body exists in the entire universe as well. You are your own phenomenon; you are your own universe. Thus, from Śūnyākāśa emerged Caitanyākāśa—a living, vigilant light, which is wisdom. In our human body, all kinds of functions exist that are present throughout the entire universe. Now, this Śakti which awakened the entire universe—the Śūnyākāśa, the Caitanyākāśa—that is the Kuṇḍalinī. When the Kuṇḍalinī is awakened, it is not a sensation or feeling like a snake rising. My God, I am even afraid to hold a snake. Can you imagine guiding your spine like a snake upwards and then always meditating calmly, thinking, "Oh, I am not the body, I am the supreme"? No. Immediately you would feel such fear, or your body would tremble, or there would be a crease somewhere, or pressure in the body here or there. And you might say, "Oh, my Kuṇḍalinī is stuck here," thinking you need a bamboo from the Master to make it move further. It is not like that. The awakening of Kuṇḍalinī means every blood cell, every soul, becomes filled with energy and light—light that is love, devotion, joy, bliss, wisdom, and reason. Not selfishness, greed, jealousy, and all that. These are the qualities of Śūnyākāśa; they return again to the world of the inert, like the Dead Sea slowly, slowly sinking until it one day disappears. Thus, in your Cittākāśa, you begin moving towards Ākāśa and Mahākāśa, towards the Divine Light (Divya Jyoti). We have all these abilities within us, but unfortunately, we do not know how or what. Often people are confused. Today, there are so many offerings, so many books, and so many stories created in a psychological manner. You read them and say, "Yes, this is good." Then you say, "Yes, I need a master." There you go—that is the very first thing. People think, "I need a Guru." There you go. If you feel you need a Guru, then you do not have one. You may hop back and forth in the next life. Everyone needs guidance. On the spiritual path, you also need guidance. If you enter military service, you need training. If you join the police, you need training. If you want to become an athlete, you need training. If you want to be a bodybuilder, you need training. If you want to be an electrician, you need training. Everything requires training. So, if you wish, within yourself, in a comfortable manner, to awaken all your powers and for your Cittākāśa to one day merge into Mahākāśa and into Brahman, then you need the Gurudeva. Otherwise, you might experience a Samādhi, enter deep meditation, or perhaps think a little about what could be, but not achieve what we need and what we humans are born for. Thus, Kuṇḍalinī Śakti is a cosmic power, cosmic Śakti. It is also within our body, and through our countless nervous systems—the 72,000 nāḍīs—and through our glands and the cakras, through our breath and every particle of the body, this energy awakens. It is not dormant only in the Mūlādhāra Cakra. The Mūlādhāra Cakra is the starting point, but a true awakening is in the Maṇipūra Cakra. In the womb, our formation begins through our Maṇipūra-cakra, the navel center. There, our intestines, spine, head, hands, legs, and bones originate. This is the starting point of our navel center, the Maṇipūra-cakra. Maṇi means jewels, and pura means city: the city where only jewels exist. In our Maṇipūra-cakra, all these jewels exist—beautiful, wonderful, and of the highest quality, the best qualities. The prāṇa and apāna come, cleanse themselves, and go deep into the path through the Suṣumnā. The path to enter Suṣumnā is only through the Maṇipūra Cakra. From the Maṇipūra Cakra, consciousness then rises upward. For the contemplation of Kuṇḍalinī, there are many types of exercises and kriyās. Among these, the first exercises are Sūrya-vedana and Chandra-vedana nāḍī Prāṇāyāma, and then Agnisāra Kriyā. I hope you practiced this earlier this morning. Have you done it? No? So it will be demonstrated tomorrow; you shall learn. Regarding Agnisāra Kriyā, there is a small capsule program. Do you know about a capsule program? Who knows nothing? Hands up. Alright. There is a beautiful capsule program of Yoga in Daily Life. It is very small, like an ID card—this big. You can carry it with you everywhere. Agnisāra Kriyā, Nāḍī-śodhana, Sūrya-bhedana, Chandra-bhedana, then comes Brahmārī Prāṇāyāma. Brahmārī Prāṇāyāma is listed in our Yoga book as if it were in our Cakra book. After Brahmārī Prāṇāyāma comes Jālandhara Bandha. Not just for three days, but after one year—that is all I say; this is a one-year program. Nāḍī-śodhana Prāṇāyāma for one year. Agnisāra and Nāḍī-śodhana together for one year. Then Brahmārī alone for one year. How much is that? Three years. Then Ujjāyī Prāṇāyāma with Brahmārī Prāṇāyāma for another year. And then the three Bandhas: Mahābandha, Mūlabandha, Jālandhara Bandha, Uḍḍīyāna Bandha. And then, in this bandha, again Brahmārī. And then Unmanī Mudrā. In Unmanī Mudrā, you perform Mahābandha, and your prāṇa-apāna śakti moves through your Suṣumnā nāḍī, Brahma nāḍī. It is not as if I attended a seminar for a week and now know everything about cakras, and now my Kuṇḍalinī will also soon awaken. To where? In which direction? This way is nothing, my dear, yes? These seminars are for information only. You must practice on your own at home, and that requires a lot of time, much patience, and leading a beautiful life. But one thing I can tell you: life becomes calmer, balanced, harmonized. And the Hara-Śakti in the stomach, the belly in Maṇipūra, the Hara-Śakti awakens—Prāṇa-Śakti. When the Maṇipūra cakra releases this prāṇa-śakti or hara-śakti, then you receive a beautiful radiance throughout your entire body. One might call it a kind of charisma. So, in your entire radiance—yes, but as soon as you lose your Guru-Bhakti, you are like a squeezed lemon, or better yet, dry chatter. Do you know what chitchat means? Flowers, I believe, right? That’s how it is. So, as long as you have Guru Bhakti, you have Vairāgya (dispassion). And you have such Vairāgya that your energy becomes more and more purified and preserved. But as soon as conflict or doubt arises, all worldly problems fall back upon you again, and you lose your prāṇa. It disappears quickly, like a rainbow. Suddenly, there is a beautiful rainbow, and within seconds or minutes, it has disappeared. Thus, whoever has this devotion—an absolute devotion—and also to the Mother, the Divine Mother, the Brahmāṇḍa Śakti, then within you, Śūnyākāśa becomes Caitanyākāśa. And this is an awakening of your Kuṇḍalinī. Would you like to have a little warm sip? That is the goal of our existence: that we bring forth everything that is hidden or exists within us; we should awaken and use it. Otherwise, it will be lost, and that would be a pity. It is a pity. One day you are beneath the earth or upon the flames of fire; your body is lost. It would be so wonderful for us to practice and preserve this prāṇa-śakti, the indescribable power within us. Through this, Bhakti-Yoga is very important. The people who practice Bhakti-Yoga have this radiance. But those who practice only Karma-Yoga or only Jñāna-Yoga think, "I need a Guru for myself. I am a human being, and that is enough for me." Then you look like a tense person, a dried-up prune. Whoever has this Jñāna-Yoga, Bhakti, Jñāna-Bhakti, and Rāja together, then love is active. And love means love for all living beings, for everyone, and for God. And that is beautiful. Since Kuṇḍalinī contemplation is spontaneous, comes spontaneously, your Mokṣa is certain; your liberation is certain.