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Part 1: The Living Tradition: Meditation, Culture, and the Human Heart Naḥaṁ Karatā Prabhudīp Karatā Mahāprabhudīp Karatā He Kevalaṁ Oṁ Tryambakaṁ Yajāmahe Sugandhiṁ Puṣṭivardhanaṁ, Urvārukam Iva Bandhanāt, Mṛtyor Mukṣīya Mā’mṛtāt, Oṁ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ Rabhavato. With salutations to the cosmic light and adoration to our spiritual lineages, a good evening, dear brothers and sisters. Welcome. Today is a special constellation. Do you know why? Because we are together. It is said to be a great fortune, a divine grace, the best constellation for the Jīvātmā, the soul, to come into a Satsaṅg or to a place where God, spirituality, and life are spoken of. We have our world and positive thoughts. Yes, that is true. Yet, unfortunately, we are not conscious of it. Therefore, when one takes time for oneself, alone or in a group, to relax and come back to oneself, it is the same regardless of the technique or path, because the reality is that we must find our inner Self. There are many paths to this "Wifi-centre" in Salzburg. Hence, it is very important that we humans learn to have tolerance and to accept the knowledge, culture, and spirituality of all persons, spiritual groups, or religions that teach meditation, yoga, or any other spiritual path. We should meet them with positive thoughts, without forming factions, as that brings nothing but disharmony. Everyone strives to do something beautiful in life, and it is not necessary for every person to do what we want. That is wrong, whether in politics, religion, society, or even within families. To give tolerance, free thought, and freedom, to accept and acknowledge, is the greatest wisdom. Doubt, jealousy, intolerance, and negative criticism are ignorance. Through this ignorance, not only people but our entire planet suffers from human ignorance. We speak of many types of pollution, but the most dangerous is the pollution of the human mind. When a person is polluted by greed, desires, hatred, and scorn, they bring this mental pollution into the world. Mahatma Gandhi said, "Mother Earth has enough for everyone’s need, but not for their greed." And so, the time has come for us all to reflect and to save what remains. Even wisdom, spirituality, perfection, knowledge, miracles, or powers can be lost very easily. A person may possess vast knowledge, but if no one is ready to understand or receive it, and that person passes away, what remains is only their picture, and that picture cannot give us what the person possessed. And so, from that time, over several thousands or millions of years, from the Satya Yuga, Dvāpara Yuga, and now we are in Tretā Yuga and Kali Yuga, the great saints and sages have always tried to pass on this knowledge. This is called a Living Tradition, a Life Lineage. A Living Lineage means from master to disciple, from parent to child. Why does our youth suffer so much now? Because so-called parents were not capable of passing on what they received from their ancestors to their children. And so, looking at the whole world, young people have no goal in life. Then come drugs, drinking, and going into closed rooms full of smoke and confusing lights, returning home completely exhausted. That is the goal. Our theme is meditation, theory and practice. So, what I say, I prepare, is for our topic today. Every master has only one wish: to know or have a true successor. And there is nothing more difficult, unfortunately. We can have millions of students, but a true successor is not there. There are enough pebbles, they say, pebbles on the riverbank, but unfortunately, it is very, very rare to find a diamond among these pebbles. And so it is said, the master's own perfect union with Brahman is achieved when the master has fulfilled his mission positively, when he has such a successor. It is the same in a family. It was. Now there is a question mark. There is a family. And for parents in the family, it was about having a child so that the child, whether girl or boy, could preserve the culture of my family, of my ancestors, and transmit it to the next generation. Many of us do not even know our grandfather's name. What was the tradition? What did they believe? We have lost it. Lost. A pity. It has all gone with them. Yes, must I say, unfortunately, or must I not say unfortunately? It was such that when a girl was born, they said, "We have gotten a child." Why not? But when a boy was there, they, shall we say, rejoiced. Why? This is a very, very important point. And it was only because the girl will or must fit into and go to another family, another culture. Very few girls were those who brought boys home. And when they came home, they were still considered outsiders. It was not proper; they did not belong to this culture. But the responsibility of a boy is to stay 100% at home. Firstly, when the parents are sick or old, he must be there for them, not sitting in a hospital or nursing home. And he must carry on the family, culture, name, and so forth. It is not that we say we now have emancipation. Perhaps we had more emancipation earlier than today. But unfortunately, much has been lost. What? Human quality, characteristics, ethics and morality, love, wisdom. No matter how much one has studied, academic titles help not at all. One can be a doctor, doctor,... engineer, engineer,... doctor, professor, professor, so what? Because the core point is lost. The intellect is slowly, slowly drying up, like in a desert. The riverbed is slowly, slowly drying out. And an intellect without heart means culture, spirituality—I do not wish to say religion, but spirituality—and human qualities are lost. A dry intellect is like a plastic apple. And that intellect which has the brain, heart, and human qualities... Therefore, it is important that one returns to oneself through meditation. Every country, well, speaking of Austria, a cultural country, had a rich culture in every respect. But now, so many of us sitting here, it is very hard for me to say who is Austrian, who comes from Greece, who from Belgium, and so on. We have practiced so much emancipation that we have lost where we began our emancipations. In short, where people are, there is culture. And where culture is, there are people. Culture also migrates with people. And no matter where a person is, you should preserve well the beautiful culture they have brought and also accept other cultures. This is very important for all of us. It is like this garland with many flowers; all the flowers are connected by a wire or thread. And this thread is spirituality, God. Different cultures, but the one that holds them together is spirituality. India, holy land, where numerous incarnations were, from Śiva to Brahmā to Viṣṇu and so many holy spiritual saints. And India is known as the cradle of culture. A cradle. But now the path wobbles very strongly. It is losing its own footing. But we are not talking about India; let us leave that aside. Therefore, it is my concern that everywhere in the world I go—this was my 37th round-the-world trip, completed in Salzburg—my message everywhere is: Accept nature, the environment, all religions, spirituality, and cultures with tolerance and respect. Be a good neighbour. Do not try to take away your neighbour with your money or your power. That is it. But now it happens that through political power or monetary power, people take the path from one faith to another and bring unrest into the world. This is the main cause in the world for so much crime, unrest, and wars. So, meditation is the way. Well, as you all wish, of course, now again in freedom, no compulsion. We will sing Om three times, feel the sound throughout the whole body, and then say peace, Śānti, Śānti three times. Om is the primordial sound. So, if you wish, please make yourselves comfortable, relax. Yes, this is an intermission, right? Because I have talked too much and you are tired of it. So, please relax and breathe deeply in and out a few times. Now breathe in deeply and sing Om with me. We will sing three times. Breathe in deeply, relax. And breathe in deeply. And relax. Breathe in deeply. Very nice. Thank you. You can open your eyes, please. Meditation comes from the saints who have realized the science of yoga, spirituality, and the whole universe and have given it to us. From Sat-Yoga, thousands of years, they meditated, and they lived that long. According to Rāja-Yoga, also called Aṣṭāṅga-Yoga, the eightfold yoga, or royal yoga, or some say integral yoga or meditation yoga. Rāja-Yoga, Bhakti-Yoga, Karma-Yoga, Haṭha-Yoga, and Jñāna-Yoga. These are the five main paths mentioned in yoga. Then come Mantra-Yoga, Kriyā-Yoga, Nāda-Yoga, and so on. But the main paths are five: Haṭha Yoga, a purification technique for health and to develop concentration and meditation. Karma Yoga, service, help, love thy neighbour, means helping all living beings. Bhakti Yoga, devotion. Devotion also has many, many forms. Raja Yoga, Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, and Jñāna Yoga, the yoga of knowledge. The great saint Patañjali—and in the market there is certainly a book in German called "Patañjali Yoga Sūtra". Please pay attention, look; the book should be written or translated by an Indian, meaning first-hand. There are some who have mixed everything up according to modern psychology. We want to know what the original is. I do not know if it exists, but I believe it must. It is called Patañjali Yoga Sūtra. In Yoga in Daily Life centres, there are also some translations by myself from Patañjali, but not all, unfortunately. Patañjali lived approximately 1500 years before Christ, and he modified various paths of yoga. Patañjali says, first of all, in his Patañjali Yoga Sūtra, yoga begins with discipline, and yoga is practiced with discipline. This self-discipline is the key to your self-realization. Without discipline, you cannot be successful. If you practice for two and a half years and then do nothing for a while, you have lost everything. If you practice for five years and then do not practice for a week, it is broken, and the pearls have rolled in different directions. Discipline, yes, for example, our heart has good discipline. No matter where we are or what we do—running, cycling, driving, flying, swimming, diving, dancing, sleeping, eating, and so on—our heart always beats with discipline. It is one of our true friends or servants or helpers. And once, the heart said to me, perhaps to you as well: "You, the heart does not know what my name is." It just said: "You, do you know that I am constantly there for you? And my heart, my beat or beats, as we say, is always there for you." But you have never told me, "Rest for a while." I said, no, I will not do that. If you rest for one minute, then there is eternal peace. And so, take care of your heart where possible. Discipline. Breaths are also a discipline. When the whole body, all organs work in a disciplined manner, we are healthy. If they do not work in a disciplined manner, then we are sick. And yoga exercises are so scientific; even now it is again proven that yoga exercises, and especially our way of practicing, the so-called system of yoga in daily life, keeps all our organs, the system, the circulation, and so on in good balance and healthy, but disciplined. Simple, but powerful. Powerful, but harmful. That is it. Some try to stand on their head right away. One of my students from the Czech Republic, now almost 25 years ago, tried because he had read how good the headstand is, and he wanted to do a headstand for half an hour. After 25 minutes, he fainted. The rescue came, took him to a hospital, and after three days the doctor asked: "Sir, what did you do?" He said, of course, a headstand. The doctor said, yes, good. But now you should know, the head is not for standing. We have two legs for standing, and that is that. Never, never overdo it. We are making a demonstration, and mostly young people. And they have a very flexible body anyway. And then we make beautiful pictures, a very handsome young man or girl or boy, or whoever. And both lean backwards and touch their feet here. Very beautiful. But we, who are over 50, 60, 70 years sitting here, we can only do it twice. The first time and the last time. Part 2: The Gentle Path of Yoga: A Practical Guide Unfortunately, I must say, such consequences, such photos, frighten people who want to begin or practice yoga. Therefore, Yoga in Daily Life offers such beautiful practices, and everyone can have very good benefit from them. Aṣṭāṅga Yoga begins with the Niyamāḥ, the first Niyama. Discipline will make you a master. "Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ." Through yoga practice, you can bring your restless thoughts under control so that you can relax at any time. You can reduce your stress at any time, whether you are a workaholic or an alcoholic. Patañjali proposed or created the eight-limbed system: Yama and Niyama. Yama and Niyama are the rules and disciplines in life. There are five Yamas and five Niyamas. Patañjali said: Nonviolence (you shall not kill), truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, and non-possessiveness. And so on. This is what we also read in the Testament or the Bible—the Ten Commandments. They are from Patañjali. Then come the Āsanas, physical exercises; this is called Yoga Vyāyām, yoga exercise. Āsana means a comfortable seat. Next is Prāṇāyāma, breath control, the control of Prāṇa—our life quality, our energy. We all suffer, including myself, I must always admit. We often forget and are not careful, so our life quality suffers from our certain actions, be it drinking, eating, running about, and so on. There are many things. A yogi is constantly aware of life energy, its quality. Just as in Āyurveda, it is about correct Prāṇa. This life quality keeps us healthy and alive. Therefore, it is also very important that one takes sāttvic food. But Mother Nature has created three qualities (Guṇas): Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. And it must be so; there must be Tamas Guṇa, Sattva Guṇa, and Rajas Guṇa as well. Perhaps someone can better explain what Āyurveda is, because today Āyurveda is not the topic. Prāṇa. Prāṇa is life; life is Prāṇa. For example, my microphone is active. A hundred years ago, if I had done this and said, "Hey look, I will do something here and there will be a 'tak tak' sound," people would say, "Oh, he has so many magical powers!" But as long as it is connected to electricity, and if the power fails, I can do as much as I want—no sound will come. But if one has power and I can tap it here, it's good, right? Prāṇa is life quality. Our body needs Prāṇa, our thoughts need Prāṇa, our actions and our work need Prāṇa, our thinking needs Prāṇa, and breathing needs Prāṇa. Everything at all needs Prāṇa. And so Patañjali speaks of Prāṇa, purification, and pillars. It is about keeping the glands and the system in the whole body so healthy that our Prāṇa is generated by the body itself—entirely fresh Prāṇāyāma. It is beautiful. Yes, for example, today is Sunday, or Monday, or Thursday, or Wednesday—a free day—and we go for a walk in the park or the forest. We say, "So good is the Prāṇa, so good is the air." That is the Prāṇa. And we can generate this Prāṇa in our body if we do breathing exercises systematically and with discipline. In the book Yoga in Daily Life, it is written very clearly and systematically: a technique for how to begin and how long one should practice a technique to progress. So, there are many, many beautiful techniques. Prāṇāyāma, Āsanas, Prāṇāyāma, then comes Dhāraṇā, concentration. And what we need today is a lot of concentration. But concentration should not cause stress. It should be relaxed. Where there is stress, concentration is lost. Our memory is lost. Concentration is that which constantly refills our subconscious with information and also teaches it to let go of unnecessary thoughts. Yes, unfortunately, we have very little concentration, very, very little. And our memory, I believe, suffers greatly. Very few of us sitting here know 25 phone numbers by heart. Who knows 25 phone numbers by heart, no matter whose? Thank you, you respect my lecture very much; that's why you didn't raise your hands. Thank you. And so it is. Fifty years ago, eighty years ago, when we had no cameras, tape recorders, and such things, we had a great memory. So, breath exercises and physical exercises will increase our concentration technique. The increase in concentration means our memory will become much, much better. Our two hemispheres, both parts of the brain, are in imbalance, and that is why our memory is not there. I was in Australia a month ago; we had a conference on Āyurveda and Yoga. A yoga teacher from Australia, who is a psychologist and a scientist, has done a lot of scientific work on yoga and Prāṇāyāma technique. He said, for example, in Prāṇāyāma we have Anuloma-Viloma Prāṇāyāma or, more simply put, what Austrians or Germans mostly call alternate nostril breathing. Inhaling left, exhaling right; inhaling right, exhaling left means bringing both parts of our brain into balance. And that is very important. The rest you can read in our book, or I will bring his lecture sometime. Beautifully presented, breathing exercises, and nice, and very, very many wonders, so that Western people can better understand why. After concentration, after Dhāraṇā, comes Dhyāna, meditation. So: Yama, Niyama, Āsana, Prāṇāyāma—yes, and Pratyāhāra, which I forgot to mention. Pratyāhāra means withdrawal from the outer world, withdrawal from restless thoughts. God Kṛṣṇa speaks in the Bhagavad Gītā: a yogi should be like a turtle. At any time, it can stretch its body parts outward, and whenever it wants, it can draw them back into its shell at any time. Extrovert and introvert... Well, I don't need so much advertising. That is self-promotion, which I do not want. Okay, thank you. I sleep on, dear. So, Ātmābhyāsa and Dhyāna Pratyāhāra—withdrawal. Yes, in nature too, in October, November, autumn, the whole nature withdraws, and everything that nature has had, it gives back to us, gives us freely: fruit, leaves, everything, and withdraws for a while, three months as wintertime. But in Austria, it is several months. Yes, I was in the Waldviertel, and we spoke about how beautiful it is in India, warm and cold, and one has certain months, then monsoon begins, and so on. He said, "Yes, we also have four months of winter and eight months of cold." And so it is. Eight months is cold and winter, so here it is a bit different. Good, Pratyāhāra: when I want, I close my eyes, breathe deeply in, exhale, all thoughts away. I relax. I am one with myself. But that does not mean I am unconscious. I am fully aware of the whole world and everything happening everywhere. But I am one with myself. That is very important for all of us: to learn to relax, to withdraw, and to become active again at any time. And this is the technique. The theory we speak about should inspire us to begin practicing. Then comes Dhāraṇā, concentration. And now, how much concentration we have is individual. And I do not want to practice that with you today because I do not want to say who has much concentration and who has very little. But tomorrow we will do it. Tomorrow we will do a test to find out if I have good concentration or less. And if the test is... I am always on the side; I do not participate. So, concentration. Now, what is concentration? There is a large white bird, perhaps called a stork. It was completely white, beautiful, and it goes in the water and practices its concentration exercise: one foot up, standing on only one foot for so long and very beautifully concentrated. Its eyes move a little, like a fish that moves, but it is motionless. That is called concentration. And why does it lift one foot? Why does it stand on one foot? Because it is ready, at any time, if a fish comes, to take a step. And if it wants to take a step when a fish comes and takes the foot out, then the fish runs away. And therefore... but concentration—motionless concentration. A tightrope walker hangs on a rope, and the rope wobbles, and he or she goes slowly from one side to the other side, and we laugh, we say "Bravo," and so on, everything. And she smiles too, looks at us, and so on. But her complete concentration is on her balance, on the rope. And that is concentration. Then comes meditation. Meditation means to be with oneself. When I pray, then I have a personal connection with God. But when I meditate, then I am one with Him. And so, during meditation, one is one with oneself. And there only flows what one has—one's Mantra. Meditation without a Mantra is a body without a soul, or a body without Prāṇa. It means a dead body, a corpse. And so meditation requires years of practice. I often read in an advertisement—what is advertising? In a brochure or a magazine, written almost in one part of the world: "Weekend seminar with the masters. In one weekend, self-realization." One weekend, self-realization. Free—well, no, free... but the donation minimum is 500 dollars. It is free, but the donation minimum is 500 dollars. "Book as soon as possible. Limited space, now or never." Really. And so, if someone says that in one weekend or in ten days you will achieve self-realization, then please, we all go there. I will come along—it is not so. In Austria, there are also enough monasteries. In Europe, there are enough monasteries of various religions, mostly Christian, Catholic, or Protestant, and so on. There are several, how do you say, the Greeks, the Orthodox. And so the monks—how many hours daily do they stand on the chair like this and pray? Well, they eat meat and drink alcohol, and therefore it is a slowed development. But still, I tell you, they have not achieved self-realization. They are very disciplined, get up very early, pray, meditate, pray again, work. It is a life completely with God, in God-consciousness, but they have not yet realized what they are supposed to realize. So, please, no temptations. When someone tells you, "One weekend or a fortnight's holiday on the beach, and you will get a yoga teacher certificate and self-realization," then stay home with your family and spend two weeks beautifully plastering everything, cleaning, painting, and so on. Meditation is the path to oneself, but it is a years-long, day-by-day, daily practice without expectation. Be there. That is it. Meditation, and then comes Samādhi, the highest consciousness. There are two types of Samādhi: Sabīja Samādhi and Nirbīja Samādhi, or Savikalpa Samādhi and Nirvikalpa Samādhi. Sabīja, Bīja means seed—that you enter your higher consciousness, but your individual self still exists, your desires exist, your feelings exist. Nirbīja Samādhi, Nirvikalpa Samādhi is the highest state, Turīya. It means your consciousness unites with the past, present, and future. You are the knower, simultaneously your past of several thousand lives, the now, and what will be in the future. Knowledge, Knower, and Object—the three unite in oneness. And that is complete liberation or God-realization. And it means freedom from Karma and freedom from rebirth. And that follows through meditation. Now, there are two types of meditation: active meditation and passive meditation. In the West, much was practiced earlier: active meditation as service. And so many monasteries and many have had, what are called, humanitarian projects, slowly developed as hospitals and so on. The nuns and the priests and so on, very many who work in the hospital. And for them, that is prayer or meditation. So, there are many active meditations in two days: tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. We will practice both, passive and active meditation. In India and in Buddhism, or in Tibet, far away in the Himalayas, they have more passive meditation. But both need a guide, a master. Without a master, those who have practiced... their bones are still lying somewhere in mountain caves. So it is. We need a master, a living master. The master who has departed from the world is good; his energy is there, his teachings are there, but we need someone to speak with us, give answers, and guide us further. Meditation is very important. Without meditation, we will not progress further. But meditation with a Mantra. So, the theory for meditation means it is very important for people to realize and preserve human qualities through culture, and also to pass on the knowledge we have received from our ancestors to people. Children are the culture of tomorrow, and children are the future of the nation. Our children do not need money; they need our knowledge. And our children do not need toys; they need our love. And the child needs both parents. It is a painful point when I speak in my lecture. Unfortunately, so many sitting here also have the fate that has separated them from children, from both parts, from parents. So, we will do a beautiful little meditation, 15 minutes, a kind of meditation and relaxation. But before that, we should have a little break.