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Oṃ tu sukhinaḥ sarve santu nirāmayāḥ, sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu, mā kaścid duḥkha bhāgbhavet, oṃ śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ. Salutation to the cosmic light, Lord of our hearts, omniscient and omnipresent. In his divine presence, good evening, dear brothers and sisters, Your Excellency, Ambassador of India, and all other dignitaries. I am very happy to be again here with you in this beautiful hall, which represents the beauty of human thought. We have had many talks here, always on the same subject: yoga. Many know what yoga is, and many may not. Every third person in the world practices yoga in some way, which is great. But there are different opinions and information. Every yoga teacher or master has their own experiences. When an Indian master comes, it is first-hand information. I have been in this country for many years, more than in India, but I still possess the knowledge of yoga from India. Yoga is not only physical and breath exercises; it is something more. Yoga is that principle which balances, harmonizes, and unites space and consciousness. When did yoga begin as a technique or philosophy? Who is its author? It is said the author is Lord Śiva. According to Hindu mythology and Vedic dharma, there is a trinity: Brahmā the creator, Viṣṇu the protector, and Śiva the liberator. In this endless universe, the first was Śiva, the manifestation of the Śiva principle. That is called Swayambhū. No one created Him; He manifested Himself. His manifestation came through the nāda, the first sound, the cosmic sound called Oṁ. Through that resonance, Svayambhū appears. Of course, there have been many incarnations, but the first is Śiva, then Brahmā and Viṣṇu. All other creatures came after. Long ago in the Himalayan hills, at the peak of Mount Kailāśa, Śiva and Śaktī resided. Śaktī asked Śiva, "Lord, what is the purpose of this life? What is the purpose of this human life?" It was Śiva who brought the wisdom, the science of yoga, which we call Yoga Vidyā. Vidyā means knowledge. From this one Yoga Vidyā came all different kinds of knowledge, science, mantras, yantras, tantras, languages—everything. When Śiva was bestowing this divine science to Śakti (Pārvatī), there was a beautiful waterfall and a small lake. There were no creatures, but in the pond there was a fish. The fish looked to Śiva and received this resonance, this sound, this knowledge. Śiva spoke, Śakti received the blessing, and so did the fish. Afterwards, Śiva looked at the pond. The fish was smiling. Śiva looked through his third eye and said, "I liberate you from this body," and the fish died. That fish later incarnated as the great yogī Matsya Ṛṣi, who again brought the science of yoga. Śiva asked Śakti, "My dear, did you understand? This is so complicated." Śakti replied, "Why are you so complicated, always? Lord, tell me something very simple." Then Śiva said to Śakti, O Umā, "I tell you my own experiences. After all this, Hari Bhajan Ek Satya—the name of God, meditation on God—is the only truth. Jagat sab sapnā—this world is a dream. What was yesterday? For us, it is just like a dream. What was this morning, noon, afternoon, a few minutes ago? It is gone, it is a dream. Consciousness is constantly changing. But to come to reality, Haribhajan, God's name—that you may call spirituality or devotion—that is the truth." Therefore, if you practice yoga without spirituality, it is like a plastic apple. This is a mistake many Western people make. They say, "We only want to practice yoga, no spirituality, no vegetarian life, and so-called we don't want a guru." Okay, then you jump here and there like a kangaroo. We need spirituality; it is within us and also outside. So, the author of yoga is Lord Śiva. The wisdom, the vidyās, the knowledge—you may call it signs, mantras, meditations, devotions, language—everything is a creation of Śiva. He is the first. Since that time, this divine science concerning body, mind, consciousness, and soul has been preserved and given from master to disciple. That is why it is called a living spirituality, a living religion, a living tradition. The day there is no master, you have only theory. And what will you do with theory? A ton of theory is nothing compared to a gram of practice. Therefore, practice. Practice according to your abilities and the techniques you know, but do so with love. Today we have a beautiful subject: chakra, specifically the anāhata chakra. So let's come to this point. The creator has created 8.4 million different creatures on this planet. Every one of them represents the light of God. Sabī prāṇī merī ātmā hai. All creatures are myself. Ātmā sohī paramātmā. That self is the supreme one. God gave this human body. Out of 8.4 million, one is the human. There is no racism. Only one is called human. It doesn't matter your skin color, your height, or your language. We are all made of five elements. We all have the same elements in our body; there is no difference. This life began with three things: resonance, energy, and light. This is the subject of Kuṇḍalinī Yoga, as well as what we call Nāda Yoga. Energy is that Śakti which unites and balances space and consciousness. That resonance comes out of that Śakti. And consciousness is the knowledge. Every creature is connected to that cosmic energy, cosmic Śakti. Let's have an example. We all have mobile telephones; they are automatically connected to a tower. You don't see it, but it's connected. Similarly, we are all connected to the one consciousness, one energy. That range, that resonance—the human body has immense energy and immense talents, but it needs education. Humans can also be very narrow-minded; we need education full of tolerance, respect, understanding, love, and non-violence. But there is education which is one-sided: my religion, my country, my culture. The human mind can be manipulated very easily. Lucky are they who have wide thinking, free thinking. This is especially, I would say, in Hinduism—it's not that I am born a Hindu, but it is true—no other religion has the tolerance that Hinduism has. That understanding allows every religion to grow and have a home in India. Unfortunately, there are different elements, you may call them political or otherwise, that create conflict between two beliefs. Humans were not born with conflicts. Humans were not born with a stamp on the shoulder or arm saying you are Hindu, you are Muslim, you are Jewish, or you are Christian. We are human, and we need that education. In our body, there are numerous functions and what we call the nāḍī system, or nerves. The nāḍīs are connected with the cosmic energy, the life force that brings and lets flow the cosmic energy through the body. This is what we call prāṇa. Prāṇa is not oxygen. Prāṇa has no translation in English. And nāḍīs also have no translation; they are different from nerves but closely connected to them, so we use the word "nerve." There are 72,000 nerves, meaning 72,000 cosmic channels through which cosmic energy is directed to this one human. Each channel, when it enters our body, becomes an energy center. So there are 72,000 chakras. Now, if you see yourself, you are only light on the day you get enlightenment, self-realization. You will look at your body from above with your astral body and see only Prakāś Puñj, only light. You will not see this material body anymore; it disappears because in reality, nothing is existing. Eko Brahma Dvitīya Nāsti. Only one is the reality: that is Brahman. The self-realized Master says, "All this is nothing existing." And we say, "Yes, Master." But then we add, "Yes, Master, but I am hungry. Can I go and eat, Master?" So we are still deeply connected to our body. Please be one with your body. From this, the main channels are three, representing sound, resonance, and energy: Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumnā. These three are the main governing channels in the whole body. All the nāḍīs are connected and concentrated into these three principles. They begin from our ājñā cakra. The ājñā cakra begins from the small of the brain, or it's called Bṛkuṭī, our Īśvara center, Trikuṭī. There are many names. Trikūṭī means where the three forces meet together. When you go to Prayāgraj, you see the Saṅgam: Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī—Triveṇī Saṅgam. For the yogī, this is the Trivenī Saṅgam. We still have two more lectures on Viśuddhi and then Ājñā, so I will not speak about these now, nor about Viśuddhi, but come to the heart. This Suṣumnā goes straight and creates one energy center we call Mūlādhāra Chakra. Mūlādhāra is the main principle, the foundation, the root on which the entire tree exists. The other sympathetic and parasympathetic channels, Iḍā and Piṅgalā, move in a winding pattern because they are attracted by Suṣumṇā. Where they cross, the yogī says, is the most powerful center in the body. Our body is divided into many parts. I come to another point. Whenever we speak about India, one speaks about the caste system. Mostly, this kind of caste system, what you call untouchability, began when the Englishmen entered the Indian territory. According to Hinduism and Vedic culture, these four castes are divided within this body. The head, where the jñānendriyas (senses of knowledge: smelling, tasting, seeing, hearing) are located, is called Brahmin. Brahmin means brahma-jana-te-brahmaṇa: who knows Brahman? How to know Brahman? Through this part, through the centers of the brain. Brahmajānate brāhmaṇa—it is not a human caste. Then comes the Vajra Pāṇi. Pāṇi means hands. Vajra means power. Your arms protect you; they are your helpers. So these arms are known as Kṣatriya, the helper, the protector. Then the trunk of the body is called veśa, meaning the farmer who supplies food. This part supplies nourishment to the whole body. When you eat, where does the food go? It goes here. Thanks to... God is not here, so this is the veśa. Then the legs are called śūdra, meaning servant. Your legs, your feet, will never tell you, "I will not walk here." They are ever ready for you, anywhere you want to go. So brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaishya, and shudra are all forecast in your body. So whom do you say is untouchable? In Vedic religion, it was not divided like this. Unfortunately, when the scriptures began to be written, selfish people, so-called Brahmins, made these changes and created conflict among the people. That conflict, which they created, is something India suffers from till today. There were no Muslims at all. Why did Muslims begin to become Muslims? Because of the conflict the Brahmins created with the caste system. I stop the subject here. In our body, everything is there. On the foot soles till the ankle joints are chakras belonging to the earth. From the ankle joints till the knees belongs to vegetation. From the knees till the hip joints belongs to the animal kingdom. From the hip joints till the end of the neck, the spine, belongs to human consciousness. And above this belongs to divine consciousness—all in one human. Each chakra represents certain qualities. I have spoken about this, and you can read in the books. Now we come to the anāhata cakra. Anāhata means without borders. Where there is a border, there is limitation. But where there is no border, that is called love. Love is without boundaries—universal love, not individual love. Ātmā is the universal one, and the soul is individual. The seat of the Ātmā is in the Anāhata cakra, Anāhada Nāda, the endless resonance in our body. There are many different kinds of sounds. Without Nāda Yoga practice, your Kuṇḍalinī cannot awaken. If something awakens without mastery, it can become destructive. Therefore, we must understand the Nāda. The form of the Supreme is the Resonance. That sound, that word you speak, that sound is Brahman. The seat of the sound, the seat of the light, and the seat of the Śakti is in our Maṇipūra Cakra, the Nabhi Kamala. Kamala means lotus; Nabhi is the navel. When the consciousness, that Kuṇḍalinī, begins to awake from Mūlādhāra, they are beautiful feelings, never unpleasant, and not physical feelings. They are inner feelings: happiness, contentment, love. This morning I spoke on the same subject. The wise people gave us very beautiful words, like pearls or jewels on a crown. These words have no title—no "doctor" or "professor." Love. They researched the heart, anāhata, of all creatures, not only humans. Every living being, each entity, day and night, searches for love. They did not mean only for humans. The entire creation needs love. This microphone needs love. Flowers need love. This table needs love. Living beings need love. We humans need love. Love is love, only one, no title before or after. Love is God's love, universal love, and that one the Creator placed in our heart. Then happiness. Happiness also has no subtitles; it doesn't matter who. Everyone would like to be happy, and that too God placed in our heart: love, happiness, contentment, mercy, compassion. All these beautiful qualities He put in our anāhata cakra. But at the same time, there are other negative words which He also put in our body: hate, jealousy, greediness, complexes. All these negative qualities He put in the lower chakra, svādhiṣṭhāna. Now, when you go towards material love—for money, a house, a hobby, a person, your dog, your horse—any material love, automatically your consciousness is pulled into the Svādhiṣṭhāna cakra, because that kind of love is limited, human, selfish love. And when disturbance comes between your love and you, then Svādhiṣṭhāna explodes. Jealousy, greediness, anger, "private property, don't enter," a dog on guard, an arm response—where does this feeling come from? That kind of love is temporary, only the lower level of love. When divine love awakes, you are in the heart. In the heart, that love is anāhata, without boundary. I always used to make one experiment; many of you know. Why not repeat it? Suppose I ask, "Whom does this book belong to?" The answer might be, "My book," or you indicate with your hand somewhere on your body. I need the last answer: not raising a hand up, not speaking, no verbal answer, but touching your finger to your body, indicating it is mine. But we are all clever at imitation. Therefore, if you don't mind, first raise your index finger up. Nothing will happen; it's not an election. Now, close your eyes because we are clever at imitation. I ask now, to whom belongs this book? Don't open your eyes. Touch your finger to that part of your body and leave it there. "It's my book," I said. "It's me. Here I am." Now, please open your eyes and look at your finger. Now look at your neighbors' hands. I didn't manipulate you. You automatically went to your heart. "I am here. It's mine." We write greetings: "I bless you from my heart," heartfelt greetings. Did you ever get a letter with greetings saying, "I bless you from my brain"? On the day you get brain greetings, war begins. So Anāhata is here, and here are the beautiful qualities of a human. Now, when the energy begins to awake from Mūlādhāra, it is a border between animal consciousness and human consciousness. It brings up the Mūla Prakṛti. What does that mean? That is your past reality—your destiny, the fruits of your past deeds, karma. Whatever you do, good or bad, will not get lost. You carry everything through the entire universe like a backpack, flying the endless universe with that destiny. God doesn't have a big book writing everyone's destiny. He made it self-sustainable; that is the sustainable system, that circle of coming and going through destiny. Each unfoldment of the petals of the mūlādhāra, because of human consciousness, awakens happiness, love, wisdom, resonance. But with this, it opens your destiny's door and enters into the second layer, Svādhiṣṭhāna, where there is also contentment and happiness, but mostly negative desires are there too. This body also needs negative desires. You need ego; otherwise, you can't live. You need a little anger; otherwise, you will have a very difficult life. We need a certain tendency, but when it goes beyond borders, it becomes problematic. So the energy which comes from Svādhiṣṭhāna and Mūlādhāra is colored by the quality of Svādhiṣṭhāna. It can be good or bad. Your destiny becomes intensive. Then comes the water, which is desire, and then comes Maṇipūra, the fire. It purifies everything. You have the possibilities to purify all negative desires in Maṇipūra, and you come up as a beautiful light. Or you are not capable of purifying in Maṇipūra because there is again the fire of anger, the fire of jealousy. Which color do you take up? Then you come to the Anāhata. According to your Maṇipūra Chakra, you either have limited knowledge, limited feelings; your heart has no more mercy, and what we call Ahiṃsā feeling is gone. If you manage to purify in Mūlādhāra and Maṇipūra, your heart chakra will be very happy. What happens? Your consciousness becomes brighter, your negative destiny gets lost, and you come to the viśuddhi cakra, the space where you receive nectar from the bindu cakra. But viśuddhi cakra is mostly involved in our past life, where psychic problems are stuck. When the anāhata is pure, automatically the psychic problems disappear. You enter into the ājñā cakra light. Now, what happens? This energy awakening of the kuṇḍalinī takes three different forms: energy, resonance, and light. The Iḍā Nāḍī takes the part of energy, Piṅgalā Nāḍī takes the part of light, and Suṣumnā takes the resonance, because the reality, the beginning, the middle point is resonance. So resonance from Mūlādhāra touches the Sahasrāra Chakra. The energy which leads your consciousness, the light which develops your wisdom, and the resonance go through the Suṣumnā Nāḍī. Maṇipūra Chakra is the door where Prāṇa and Apāna, both Śaktis, come together and open the navel—I mean not the physical one, but the Suṣumnā Nāḍī. Then the prāṇa goes up. You come to samādhi, where knowledge, knower, and object—three—merge into oneness. Energy, resonance, and light merge into oneness, cosmic consciousness. To realize this, there is Kriyā Yoga. There are many different kinds of kriyās; every master has their own techniques. Finally, it is said, "Mokṣa mūlaṁ guru kṛpā." Only the blessing of the guru will lead you to liberation. But the kriyās... First, to master the mūla bandha, which means the contraction of the anus muscle. When you contract the anus muscle, you will feel a very pleasant sensation go up through the spine to the head. You can try now: contract and relax your anus muscle. When you contract, sensation goes up; when you relax, sensation goes. But you cannot hold this longer than half a second. If you can hold it for 10-15 minutes, it is great. You can hold the muscles, but not that awakening. Mastery over mūlbandha means you contract this perineum muscle, and constantly this awakening goes up. Just from time to time is called Śaktipāt; continuously is awakening. At the same time, you make Jālandhara Bandha. If you don't know how, you should learn from your yoga teacher. I can tell you how it is, but exactly the teacher will explain. It involves pressing the chin towards the chest, but if done wrong, it's self-murder. Don't do this. When Mūla Bandha and Jālandhara Bandha take place, if you do it with exhalation and perform Uḍḍīyāna Bandha, at that time there is a vacuum. Apāna from Mūlādhāra and Prāṇa from Viśuddhi open the door of Suṣumnā in the navel. The result? Consciousness begins to flow through the Suṣumnā Nāḍī, entering the heart and being colored in universal love, forgiveness, mercy, ahiṃsā, no fear, oneness. That consciousness comes to Sahasrāra Chakra, and now your Kuṇḍalinī is awakened. Without doing these kriyās, your chakras cannot be opened. The kriyā I told you is not complete because there is also the mantra. The mantra means the sound, resonance, light, and energy that your teacher will tell you. So, Kuṇḍalinī science will make you healthy, make your life happy, and create harmony within you and outside of you. Then, what we call peace begins from the heart. Happiness begins from the heart. When you are happy, you can make others happy. When you can make others happy, your inner happiness multiplies. This way we can create a happy family, a happy society. So the science of Kuṇḍalinī Yoga and chakras is the real yoga which can introduce you to real yoga, and you will come to your real destination, your aim. That's called self-realization, pure consciousness—from unconscious to subconscious, conscious, higher conscious, and cosmic consciousness. Our aim is to enter cosmic consciousness. With this consciousness, we know we are there, not in a dream. The difference between sleep and meditation is this: from sleep, you come as you were. From real meditation, you come full of intuitions and wisdom. So, what is meditation? Āsanas and prānāyāmas are good for health, but yoga is different. We should practice yoga. Yoga in daily life means 24 hours. Lead your life positively. Lead your life full of ahiṃsā, full of tolerance, forgiveness, and respect. Your love should be love for all creatures. Your happiness should be the happiness of all. And your wisdom should be the wisdom of all. Then you are a real yogī. Otherwise, I have told, and you have heard—that's all. I pray to the Almighty that you will get this consciousness. Keep on practicing yoga in daily life, not only āsanas and prānāyāmas, but put your life in positive thinking. I can't promise about others, but I can tell about myself: I will not hate anyone. I will not be jealous. I will not be angry, even if my wife shouts at me. Thanks to your wife, she is angry with you to empty your anger out. But when you will not be angry, she will be sorry, and her anger will disappear. So, I will not be angry. I will not be greedy. I will not be jealous. Let me be full of love and understanding. You become a saintly soul, a holy person, and you will come to liberation. You will come out of the cycle of rebirth and death. The Anāhata Chakra has many different qualities, but I need not tell you; you will find out what is there—colors, different goddess principles. All these mantras are the resonance of each petal and opening of the chakra. You can find this information in books, like The Hidden Powers in Humans. But I have told you the main points. So let us speak from our heart. For one minute, close your eyes. Speak to yourself from your heart, whatever you want to speak. That is a matter of your heart. So go to your heart and speak with your heart.