TV Channel

In the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, "siddhānāṁ kapilo munih" – among the perfected Siddhas, I am the great sage Kapila. There was no greater Siddha than Kapila Muni, who lived long before the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. Our Akhāḍā, the Mahanirvāṇī Akhāḍā, to which you all belong, has a spiritual lineage older than the incarnations of Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, stretching back many thousands of years. Kapila Muni is the worshipful deity of our Akhāḍā. You can read about him; beautiful śāstras exist about him and his writings. I would say India is an ocean of wisdom. I say this not merely because I was born there; I would say the same about the Czechs. But reality is reality. There is no other country where so many spiritual, holy, and philosophical scriptures exist. One only needs to study Sanskrit to dive into that beauty, glory, immortality, nectar, fountain of joy, and immortal ocean of wisdom. You would be surprised by the vastness of the written work. O man, know thyself. You should know that you are a human. Do not develop animal tendencies. Know the dignity of human life. Lead the noble way of human life. Awaken human qualities. And what is a human? You will realize this only through those scriptures. When you come to know this, you will be very sure of what you did in the past, what you lost, and how little time remains. It is sunsetting time, and you have the whole day in front of you. How to hold the Sun so it will not go down? Perhaps we have to fly with a Concorde to keep the sun there. How many great sages were there? Siddhas, perfect ones, possessed of great knowledge. In the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, God Kṛṣṇa describes this. Therefore, I have often said to you: "Khānā, pīnā, bhogānā, paśubhī, param sujan." O man, eating, drinking, enjoying, creating children, and sleeping—animals are also very active in this. If you are doing only this much, where is the difference between animals and you? You should know that you are a human and understand for what purpose this life is given to you. So, Kapila Muni is a very great Siddha, whom Kṛṣṇa compares Himself with. There is no greater than him. We found an old, old painting of Kapila Muni. I gave it to one of our disciples, a very good painter, who painted it very nicely and sent me a photo by email, which I printed. The original was given to a Czech girl living in Atlanta, as the picture was painted there by an Indian. She was carrying it, and during a security check, she took her other luggage and forgot the picture. After two or three weeks, she realized she had lost it. What to expect? So I told the artist he should repaint it, and I hope he will. But we got a nice email print, so we have a photo of Kapila Muni here. It is said that when he was meditating in his hut, auras appeared above it, like a sun rising, like light. It was so great; you cannot compare. Our sādhanā is a joke compared to his. Self-control—all indriyas are under control. The consciousness is clear. The mind is steady. And at the same time, across all three lokas—past, present, and future—even God does not dare to come and disturb him. Even God, no matter which God, will adore and salute such a yogī. If you are a perfect yogī, even God will adore you. But why are we not perfect yogīs? Our laziness, our desires—I will not elaborate; you know. It can still be realized. Therefore, Holy Gurujī said, "Wake up, my brothers, now wake up." So Kṛṣṇa says, "O Arjuna, if you compare me with the Siddhas, then I am Kapila Muni." If you want to attain Siddhis, do not proclaim your Siddhi. When the sun rises, you need not announce it; everyone knows. Even a blind person knows. But one who says, "I have siddhis, I can see your problem," that person is the problem. That person is your problem. Be careful. A great one will never say, "I am great." "Baḍā na bole bol"—the great do not speak of their glory. The poet Rahim Das wrote: when does a diamond say it is worth a million dollars? It never speaks. We say, "Oh, it's a diamond, such a big diamond." The diamond never told you to take it and declare its value. So, a person who has Siddhi becomes humble, becomes careful, and never speaks of having Siddhi. If one has Siddhi and speaks about it, one will lose it. For when you say you have a Siddhi, a thief comes to take it away. The biggest thief is your ego. Ego is the mafia of spirituality. And who is its close worker? Who will steal everything before you even enter the house? It will steal everything from your very door: anger. So, ego and anger. Then comes laziness, and then the curtain of ignorance descends, and one says, "I am the greatest one. I need no God." What happens to such a person? There is a story. Śiva was walking through the Himālaya. His seat is the holy Mount Kailāśa. Śiva Svāmī was the first to manifest in this universe as a form; no one created him. He appeared, and then creation began. Modern scientists say something similar, that the human race began from the Himalayas, from Tibet. Śiva was walking through the hills, and there was a devil who wanted to attain Siddhi. He was performing severe penance, standing on his toes, going up and down on one leg with hands raised, chanting "Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya." Śiva came and asked, "My devotee, my bhakta, what do you wish, my child?" The devil said, "Lord, give me power in my hands, Siddhi." Śiva replied, "You are torturing your body only for Siddhi? What will you do with this? You will see." The devil insisted, "Either give me Siddhi or go away." Śiva said, "Well, naughty boy. What do you want?" The devil said, "Give me the Siddhi that if I place my hand on anyone's head, it will explode like an atom bomb." Śiva, bound by his promise, granted the boon, though he was not happy. The devil said, "Thank you, my Lord. But how should I know you have truly given me this power? I must test this weapon. I will put my hand on your head, Śiva, and see how it explodes. I am a devil, after all. Thank you, but you have to die for this test." Śiva ran away through the hills. Śiva had a stomach, so the technique of jogging began from there. Suddenly, he saw a beautiful cave among many and disappeared into it. Inside, God Viṣṇu was meditating, chanting "Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya." Śiva entered. Viṣṇu said, "Oh my Lord, Svayambhū Śiva, how gracious you are to come bless me. Come, sit down. Have a cup of nectar." There was Soma, the divine drink. "But you look nervous, my Lord. What happened?" Śiva told the whole story and said, "Be silent, for the Rākṣasa will come. He also has Siddhi; he can stretch his hands long." Viṣṇu said, "Well, my lord, relax and drink the Soma. I will go and solve the problem." Viṣṇu dematerialized and appeared in front of the cave on a beautiful rock, in the form of a beautiful young lady with a nice dress and full makeup. So, makeup began from there. The Rākṣasa was running, jogging, calling, "Śiva, where are you?" He saw the girl dancing and stopped short. "Oh, let poor Śiva go. This is a beautiful lady." He said, "Will you marry me?" That is Rākṣasa Vṛtti. Otherwise, one would say "my sister, mother, daughter," creating a sacred relation. That is why in Indian philosophy we address each other as "dear brothers and sisters." But with this lady, one could do anything—take her to the disco, cinema, or anywhere—with no relation. She said, "Yes, you are a beautiful man." The Rākṣasa had protruding teeth. He said, "Yes, I am beautiful. I like the teeth." She said, "There is one condition to marry me." The Rākṣasa said, "Hurry up, what condition?" "You must learn to dance with me." "I don't know how to dance." "I will teach you." "How long will it take? I want to marry you quickly." In the form of the lady, Viṣṇu said, "Just a few minutes. You stand on that rock so you can see me clearly, and I will stand on this one. I will teach you the dance. You move as I move." The Rākṣasa copied her movements. She placed one hand here, the other there. "Come here, you beautiful one, how nice." The Rākṣasa, imitating, put his hand on his own head and exploded it. Hari Oṁ, Sat Sat. Viṣṇu returned. Śiva asked, "What happened, my lord? I was afraid for you." "It was hard work, but he is done." That Rākṣasa was named Bhasmāsura. Bhasma means ash; everything turns into ash. So, if someone gets a little Siddhi and proclaims it, or tries to give prophesies, it becomes self-destructive. You cannot become like the silent Kapila Muni. Even if people say, "Oh, you are great, you have siddhis," you should say, "No, no, Guru Dev has siddhis, Mā Prabhujī has. I am only the servant of his Lord Spirit." Then the Siddhi increases. This is a very serious instruction for all of you. You pass a yoga license and think, "Oh, I am a yoga teacher now. Come, my disciples, I will teach you better than Swāmījī." No doubt, that's it. Therefore, as Anna said very nicely, what I taught at the Kumbh Melā: your sins may be washed away there, but you still have legs on the earth. Do not try to fly over pink clouds. Therefore, no Siddhis. The only Siddhi you have, that I also have, is two: eating, drinking, and sleeping. We lie down, and we have the Siddhi of sleep.