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Good evening to everyone. I congratulate you on the successful youth conference today. We learned many things from the young generation: their opinions, their expectations, their suggestions, their difficulties, and the difficulties which local society is facing, including the problems of minorities. It was excellent; a great deal of information and knowledge was shared. Once more, I would like to welcome our friends from Spain, from our Spanish yoga group, as well as the representative of UNESCO and many other friends. We have here many yoga brothers and sisters—you may call them seniors. You know that in this beautiful country, I have been traveling for the last 34 years, nearly 35. Since that time, I have come to know many good-hearted sisters and brothers, or may I call them my disciples. In the last four decades, I have learned many things and have witnessed nearly three generations: the time in the so-called previous Czechoslovakia, and now the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. There have been many valuable experiences connected with difficulties as well as with many beautiful moments. Minutes, hours, and days—life is flowing like a river, and many things flow together. Suddenly, a small island appears, and the river is divided. But after some time, when the island ends, the separated streams merge again into one lake and ultimately into the ocean. So it is with Masters and disciples: consciousness merges into oneness, flowing together. Suddenly, the island of obstacles appears—social, family, different situations—but again it brings us together. The unity between Master and disciples continues through many, many lives. Just as a river has a long way from its beginning until the ocean, similarly, spiritual aspirants have a long path, but they do not lose this connection. In every life, it comes again; it brings them together automatically. It is like this: when we receive a beautiful rose—when someone brings and gives you rose flowers—roses have many thorns. Sometimes it happens when they hand you the flower: you catch it, and the thorns go into your finger. But you don’t see those thorns; you see only the flower. And you don’t see that flower either; you see the respect, you see the love, you appreciate this. Similarly, on the spiritual path, there are sometimes thorns, but the core point of it is like a beautiful flower. So from the thorns, after a long way, suddenly the blood comes, and it develops into the beautiful rose. That is how disciples, after a long journey, develop into the beauty of the cosmic, into God’s beauty. Some have a long way, and some do not; it depends on their past life. Life continues. Life doesn’t stop. Life means life; there is no death. The body has a death, and also the body doesn’t die in that sense. The body doesn’t die. If the function stops, the elements merge into their origin. The consciousness merges into the consciousness. Memory, emotion, all functions—there is a change. So even if the body doesn’t die, but within the body, what we have is called life. And life is life. Where there’s life, there’s no death, and where there’s death, there’s no life. So life is a light. Where there is light, darkness will not come, and where there is darkness, it means there is no light. So we have to look within our self: we are the light of God, we are the light of the universe, we are the eternal light, we are the immortal one. Within us is the fountain of joy, and within us is the ocean of bliss. But we can’t experience this because of our individual ego. Our problem is we make the same mistake, but we don’t see it. When this mistake is done by someone else, then you see it, and it disturbs you. But we are so selfish and have so much ego, we don’t see our own mistakes. Therefore, it is said, “Look within your own mirror,” which we call in yoga and daily life the self-inquiry meditation. Not only “Who am I?” but “How am I?” Just look to your inner self, then you will see how many islands you have. Life you can compare to a bamboo: inside is empty. If you rub a little bit, it becomes fire. And there are many, many knots inside; that is mostly our self. It is like that. Emptiness is something where you are lost; the knot of the bamboo is where you are blocked. So don’t look to others; look to thyself. It is said: I went to see bad things, but I didn’t find anyone bad. When I searched myself, my heart, there was no one better than me. So the spiritual path is that one which leads us to purification. Nothing will go with us in this life. You know, we had a wonderful, successful World Peace Conference in Bratislava just two months ago. There were many speakers, very wise people, and there was one Swāmījī, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Nirañjanānandajī—you know him, you saw him there. Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Nirañjanānanda, whom you have seen—do you know him? He said something very beautiful: What should we achieve? We should achieve the state of being where there is no jealousy, no anger, no attachment, no greediness, and no ambition. That is the essence of the Vedānta, or that is the aim of yoga. What we call Nirbīja Samādhi, or Nirvikalpa Samādhi, or Turīya, is above all three levels of consciousness and three worlds. He said: When we are awakened, then we see, we identify ourselves: my parents, relatives, my house, my beautiful dresses, jewelry, my richness, my age, I am beautiful, I am strong. Now you identify yourself with all these objects, meaning “I” and “mine.” You are happy, you are unhappy; you are rich, you are poor; you are a beggar, you are ill, you are healthy; you are a champion, you are a loser. All this disruption happens when you are awakened. Now you sleep and dream. Again, the same thing in the dream: in the dream, you are happy, unhappy, this, that, all. Again, the same thing. But you go to the deep sleep where you are not aware of your richness, your money, your age, your nationality—nothing. There is no difference between the poor and the rich, no difference between pain and pleasure. How beautiful, most happiest. So when you would like to be very happy, or if you are at all happy, then you are in that beautiful state of being in the deep sleep: no pain, no pleasure. And that you can develop. Meditate. Every day meditate. It’s a long way, but sooner or later you will come to that point where there is neither he nor you. When I was here, he was not here. Now he is here, but I am not here, because the street of love is so narrow that two cannot go together. Two have to become one, so ultimately that state of your being comes there: happiness. And I can tell you, even two minutes of happiness is much more than twenty-four hours of these troubles. When you are tired, you go to sleep, and you wake up happy. What was it? Your self was one with it. So sleep and meditation are a little different. From the sleep you come back as it is, but when you are in the high level of consciousness in samādhi, then you bring some wisdom with you. That’s the difference. There is one river flowing, and you go to the river—two people. One is going as it is, and the other one goes with one bottle, an empty bottle. So who has no part or vessel comes without any water, and who has the bottle will come with the water. That’s different. So yoga is very ancient, above every religion. You know, where are the roots of the human? All these modern religions, they were not. When the Vedas were spoken—the Vedas are the first scriptures in the world—everything is originated from the Vedic knowledge. In some way, we don’t say holy Vedas; Vedas are just science. The Vedas are just giving you the knowledge about the universe. Vedas don’t speak about any incarnation but tell you how to live life in harmony with nature and with the universe. Immense wisdom. And at that time, when the Vedas were only spoken, they were not even written. Where we are sitting now, it was covered with ice; there were no humans. So our roots are somewhere else. The Vedas were written nearly 8,000 years ago. And at that time, which religion was existing? All religions which we know by name were not in existence at all. Now, what should I declare myself? Am I Hindu? Or am I a Jew? Am I a Christian? Or am I a Muslim? This all came after. I am a human. That’s it. And I do believe in the religion, which is a universal principle, which unites us with all. V náboženství vesmírného principu, který mě sjednocuje se vším. My human, learn to be very, very loyal and faithful to our ancestors. Like the original Native Americans: they are so loyal, dedicated to their ancestors—the spirit of the ancestors, the power, the energy, the guidance. Also, if you go to Australia, the native Australian Aborigines still live by their ancestors’ instructions. Every family is that dynasty, and the gate passes through the dreams, meditations, and trance. The same thing we had also—I mean, here we mean now Europeans. My gray hair began in the Czech Republic. So, more than my age, I am here, but we lost the roots. We lost the origins because we lost the relation with our ancestors. And if I think of my ancestors, then the question comes: what should I believe? That’s it. So every religion is a good religion. There is nothing bad. Bad is when one becomes fanatic and one begins to have greediness to get power, position. The greedy one is a blind one. The greedy one is capable of doing anything, and that’s the problem now in modern times. Gandhījī said, “Mother Earth has enough for everyone’s needs, but not for their greed.” Greed is that kind of fire which is out of control; it will burn everything. There is no help. So, at the present, the situation is like that: burning. But there is hope: yoga, meditation, prayer, mantra. Be good. Vegetarian. You heard today what our youth spoke—Santos from the United Kingdom—she gave a very scientific explanation, and the only way to a sustainable world is if you become vegetarian. The Nobel Prize this time for the environment went to the ex-vice-president of America, Al Gore, and his team. And in his team, there is also an Indian, and one Indian said: Sustainable development will only come if all become vegetarian. The problem with water. If I’m not wrong, 60% less rain the last two years in the Czech Republic. 60 or 40. Who spoke this morning? Pokud se nemýlím, tak dneska dopoledne mluvil někdo o tom, že o 60, o 60, o 60% míň je dešťů tady u nás. And it is said: to grow one kilo of wheat, or corn, or potatoes, we need 16 liters… Why don’t you come here? Quickly. Yes, you can speak. Say, yes, once more, yes. To grow one kilogram of potatoes, we need 160 liters of water, and to grow one kilogram of beef, we need 16,000 liters of water. Thank you. For the production of one kilogram of potatoes, we need 160 liters of water, and for the production of one kilogram of beef, we need 16,000 liters of water. Thank you. Those who were not here in the youth conference have missed a lot. Well, another reason to become a vegetarian. Let’s come to Christianity. You are more here who believe in Christianity. It is said in the Old Testament: you should not eat anything which has eyes. I was very surprised this morning; there was a question about a healthy way of life and healthy food in the schools. Many, many young children don’t want to eat meat anymore, but they are forced in the school, so they want to have two kinds of meals: non-vegetarian and vegetarian. So, if I’m not wrong, the Czech ministry said, “We have two meals now. One is meat, and second, chicken.” Now you see how you can manipulate the people. In an aeroplane, often I said, “Well, I order vegetarian.” Yes, but it’s only fish. I ask them, “On which tree is fish growing?” So we don’t think what we are doing. Let’s say chicken, a beautiful small baby—all babies are beautiful—either a pig or a tiger. I remember something about pig. Should I tell you? It’s a very interesting story. In America, somewhere in California, in one zoo, one tiger mother gave birth to three or four little cubs. And the second day, they died. And mother was so sad, and she got depression. She didn’t eat, and she didn’t walk. Her children, they all died; she was missing them. So, one animal psychologist came and made an experiment. He brought four small pig babies and put some cloth, dressed the skin of the dead babies of that tiger, and put it near the mother tiger. And they began to drink, and she was so relaxed and so happy. And the pig babies, they are playing with her, and she is so happy. It came in the news. The pictures show how this pig baby is climbing on her and playing with her. This means every mother loves her children. No mother would like, or father would like, their children to be killed. Well, it is said that life will eat life. But, oh human, you are above this. God gave you intellect. Therefore, you should know what you do and what you eat. The chicken is grown. Beautiful. Beautiful pink eyes. Very nice neck. The feathers, what a beauty of God. O cruel human, you cut the neck, you cut off the neck of one creature. The pain which that animal feels is the same as a human will feel after death. It doesn’t matter what will happen, but the question is how the process of the death is. A cow, a pig, or any animal, when it’s brought into the slaughterhouse, the slaughterhouse there—they don’t die once; they die a thousand times. That situation, that pain is unbearable, but that animal cannot speak with you in your language. Is there someone to listen to them? Yes. The creator, the God. And that’s called karma, which comes back to the humans now. Therefore, Mahatma Gandhi said, to be vegetarian means to lead a noble way of life. Non-violence. Ahiṃsā paramodharma. If you are consuming meat, you are not killing the animal, but you know you are responsible for that. It is said the person who is selling the animal will have more sin than the one who is killing, and who will eat has more sin than who kills. No consumers, no killings. No bamboo, no flute, no noise. That’s it. So humans have to realize this, to come back to the natural way of life. In Europe, meat was never consumed so much. It came after the Second World War, between the First and Second World Wars, and the Second World War. Only the rich could afford to eat meat. The poor people were not able to afford the meat. This went to the subconscious of the people, that we also would like to eat this. And so, slowly, slowly, that much meat which is consumed now in the whole world was never before, 100 years. And we know, in the last century, from the beginning of the last century till now, how much we have destroyed this planet. For one bottle of drinking water, you would have to fight. And for one bottle of oxygen, which you had to carry with you—when that bottle will be getting empty, the oxygen bottle, you will be frightened, searching, “Where can I take my oxygen bottle again?” Like when the petrol is finished, you are searching, “Where is the next petrol station?” That situation will come when you have to carry your oxygen bottles. And if there is no available, you have to die, finished. Therefore, there are two things. For the sake of the protection of this planet, the life on this planet, and for our children, we shall come to the natural way of life. Never use the things that you call “just use and throw.” I was in Hamburg. I had a seminar once a year, twice a year, and once I read on the invitation letter. Generally, I don’t read; they invite me and I go, that’s all. On the invitation was written, “Bring your plate and spoons with you,” because we don’t want to use the throw-away plates. I was surprised, the Germans. Generally, you know, Germans have a nose a little high up. I’m sorry. There are many Germans, and I have many great friends of German, and I am not an enemy of German. But they will say it does not come into question: why should I bring my own plate? No one said anything. Everyone had their plates, spoons, and glasses with them. I said, again we can learn something from German. Then I went to Australia. They invited me to the television station for a live interview. And after that, they said, “Well, Swāmījī, it’s lunchtime. You can have lunch with us.” I said, “Well, nice of you, but I’m vegetarian.” You will be surprised what they said: “We are about 60 people working in this office. Maybe three get meat. After all, we are vegetarians.” Then I said, okay, I will eat. And they said, okay, then come outside. And again, I was surprised. They took their meal and were sitting on the meadow. They took their tile, hung somewhere, and sat eating like this. No table, no chair. They were all dressed, what you call, with a tie and suit and like this. But this young generation doesn’t care about its position. They would like to be very simple and natural. Here in Prague, lunch time, you go to a friend from your office and sit in the street and eat. My God! They will dismiss you from the job. So far behind we are. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, spirituality means not only meditation, but it is a way of life. That is what we call yoga in daily life. Do not use the plastic bags. Don’t use the plastic cups. Don’t use something which you throw away. You are invited somewhere to some party, and there is a throw-away plate. Say, thank you. I will not eat because I don’t want to throw this plate away, or I will eat and take with me a hoe. Use for one or two months, then I will dispose. Also with the paper tissues. You know, we all have, like, these paper tissues. Throat. Get the textile one. Use it. Wash it. Use it again. That’s it. So we have forgotten the consciousness about this planet. You know, ocean life is suffering. So many plastic bags go into the ocean, and so many fish come into the plastic bags, and many shells, they die. So it is said the ocean is threatened by human’s actions of use and throw. So, use all your old clothes to make some bags to buy vegetables and things like that. Try to become an example. And that is spirituality. Yoga in daily life has been warning you long ago. When I used to come to Czechoslovakia, the so-called secret police came to me and said, “Swāmījī, excuse us, but must you come with this orange dress? Or can you have a normal, civil dress?” I said, “Well, this is my uniform. Like Czechoslovakia has its uniform. There is a Czechoslovakian embassy in New Delhi. And now I put a question: can we put this flag down and have an Indian flag on the Czech embassy? No, that’s impossible. So I said, “That’s all. That’s my uniform.” This orange dress is not an orange cloth only; it’s my skin. He said, “Okay, okay, we understand. It’s okay, Mr. Maheshwarananda.” They said very gently, “We understand.” That time I used to say, “Leave vegetarian.” And so-called some yoga, other yoga groups, they were against yoga and daily life and Swāmī Maheśvarānanda. They wanted, they tried their best to block my coming to the Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia. Orange cloth. The answer was there, okay. Then they said, “He is a drug for the people. When Swāmījī comes, everybody is running; they are addicted.” I say, ask them why they come to me. Interview them. And the third thing: we are communist yogīs. We don’t believe in non-vegetarian food, or vegetarian food, sorry. We are a socialist country. We consume meat. We don’t want an Indian guru here. But I always spoke about vegetarianism and ahiṃsā. And now I speak the same thing, and that time was accepted. They knew what was happening. And so vegetarianism means to be a high society, a noble way of life, a healthy way of life, and leading life according to God’s will. Beautiful nature surrounding you. All animals are the beauty of this planet. They used to say the Czech country is a country where milk and honey is flowing, but now what’s flowing are the chemicals. Where are these old butterflies? Where are all these beautiful bugs, lady bugs? Where are these beautiful birds and herbs? You could walk along the bank of this river and find many, many good herbs, but now you can’t touch. This is because the human begins to lead an unnatural life. So the question is: how to help this planet, and how to achieve God-realization? Simple way of life. Natural life. Then you have done many things. You are the messengers, thousands. You are sitting here every year. If you inspire ten people, then we have ten thousand, and these ten thousand will inspire ten people more. How many? So dare to act, dare to speak, reject the meat. That’s it. Even we don’t eat in that kitchen where meat is cooked. You have to become strict to help our planet and help the poor animals. A fish, when you take it out of the water, her mouth is opening; it means she is crying. Calling you, she is suffering, and you take her beautiful pink eyes of a fish looking to you. Oh man, what have I done to you? Please let me be in my world, in water. Can you swallow this? I can’t. I can tell you I accept to die, but I will never accept to swallow even a piece of meat. Because of my life, someone has to be killed? Never. That is called a very strong saṅkalpa. So this is not connected to realism. It’s a fact. It’s a reality. Animals have a soul. It’s alive. It’s a beauty. Without education, a human is also called an animal. It is that education which made you like this, knowledge.