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Brahma Satya Jagat Mitya

On Guru Pūrṇimā, we reflect on the nature of life and the physical absence of the teacher. Since the teacher left physically, the responsibility to welcome seekers at the Āśram on this day fell upon me. We learn that Brahman is truth and the world is unreal, yet we live in a physical body with its nature of hunger, thirst, and desires. We are attached to this world while in the body. Through endurance and self-inquiry, we ask, "Who am I?" Yet we cannot run from the body. A longing for liberation arises: "Lord, when will I be free from this suffering?" Suffering exists whether in household or monastic life. Life is a mixture; what we want does not happen, and what we don't want does. Everything comes and goes. After 8.4 million lives, we receive human life to step out of this cycle, but it is not easy. Human nature is to not value what we have and to cry for what we lack. I miss the teacher immensely. Their physical presence was a security, like a child playing knowing the mother is there. Now, they are gone, and one feels alone. This is the law of nature; no one can change it. Everyone who comes will go, be they king or beggar. How we go depends on our deeds and the cleanliness of our heart. We must develop consciousness like a small child. After age fifty, life's journey begins counting down; we must prepare for limitations. We cannot act against cosmic law, natural law, or destiny. Even holy persons passed away. We did not realize their value while they were here, and now we miss them. I have everything and am perhaps the happiest person, yet this is ignorance, for I lack the teacher's physical presence. We do not know who will be with us next year. It is precious to be together.

"Who came will go. Rājā raṅg fakīr—king, beggar, and sādhu—āyā so jāyegā."

"I have everything, but I do not have Gurujī with me physically anymore."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

DVD 214

Many, many blessings of Devpurījī, Mahāprabhujī, and Gurujī. This meeting is also, as I said, our Guru Pūrṇimā meeting. Last week, I was at Guru Pūrṇimā in Jāḍaṇ, and there was also a beautiful celebration. You know, when Gurujī was here physically, I did not need to go to India for every Guru Pūrṇimā and for the Mahāsamādhi observances of Mahāprabhujī and Devpurījī. But since our beloved Gurudev, Holy Gurujī, left this world physically, the responsibility somehow fell on our shoulders. Because this is an Indian tradition—on Guru Pūrṇimā, people very much love to come to the Āśram. It is in the Indian tradition that people love to come to the Āśram on Pūrṇimā. If there is no one there to welcome them, where can they go to place the heaviness of their heart at the lotus feet of the Master, or to receive a blessing? They need a teacher there, to whom they can come and at whose feet they can place the burden of their heart and receive a blessing. If there is no one like that, they will be disappointed. That is how you will understand why I have to be there. For Indians, it is not so easy to travel to India, though it is easier for you. Otherwise, one week earlier or one week later, we would always be together for Guru Pūrṇimā. So, I can tell you only one thing. I was thinking the whole day about what I would tell you this evening. We learn, "Brahma satyaṁ, jagat mithyā." Brahman is the truth, and the world is unreality. But still, we live in this physical world. In this physical world, we live with this physical body, and this body has its nature. It has five tattvas. It has hunger, thirst, feelings of cold and heat, anger, jealousy, desires. What you like, what you don’t like—it is there. So we are attached to this world as long as we live in a physical body. Yes, with your strong vivekā and intellect, you can say to yourself "Yes" or "No." Or you can practice Tītikṣā. Practicing Titikṣā, endurance. Titikṣā means to be above everything. Titikṣā means to endure all situations. Titikṣā means to endure all circumstances in life—to endure all life circumstances and practice Ātmācintan. Thoughts about the self mean, "Who am I? Not this body, not this mind, not this desire, not these senses, but I am the Ātmā." But still, thinking like this, you still cannot run away from your body. In Jñāna Yoga, among the last four principles, the fourth practice is to have mokṣa kī icchā—a longing, a desiring for liberation. To je, žudnja, čežnja za oslobodzeniem. Kabhave Jag Duk Chutkara? Lord, when will I be free from this suffering in this world? So, whether you are at home or in the forest, whether living a household life, a family life, or a holy monk’s life, you are not free from these duḥkhas. The troubles of duḥkha are there. But Ātmacintan means here, now. Ātmā Cintan means that we try to put all our concentration, all our energy, towards liberation. There are certain points in life when we feel happy. Certain times we feel unhappy. Many people are longing to get married, and many, after marriage, are very unhappy. Why did they get married? The world situation has changed a lot throughout the whole world. So, this is saṃsāra. This is a mixture of everything. It will happen what you do not want to happen, and it will not happen even what you would like to happen. Everything has its time; everything is coming and going. Everything comes and goes. But after 8.4 million different levels of life, on the path of life, then we are given human life to step out of this circle. But it is not easy. It is not easy. And human nature is this: when we have something, we do not know its value. And when we do not have it, then we cry for it. And that is the human complication. Now, what I want to tell you with all this is, you cannot imagine how much I miss Holy Gurujī. Though I was not always in India—I was here, Gurujī was in India—we could talk on the telephone. I used to go every three or four months, sometimes only once a year. But I knew that Gurujī was there. He would take care. Like a child who is playing in the garden and the mother is sitting there. The child will not sit near the mother; it will just run and play, and do this and that. But the child knows that the mother is there. If the mother goes away, the child will immediately run behind and begin to cry. It is always like this with our parents, with our Master, a dear friend, a dear person. Suddenly when they pass away, you miss them a lot. Then you feel they have left you alone in this field, in this jungle. You feel they left you alone in this jungle. But that is the law of nature. No one can change this. No one can change this. Many try to change. Many have tried to change. But I could not change. I could not change. Āyā so jāyegā rājā raṅk fakīr, ek siṅghāsan chad̩ chale, dūjā bande jañjīr. Who came will go. Rājā raṅg fakīr—king, beggar, and sādhu—āyā so jāyegā. One will go back while sitting on a throne. The other will be taken away by titans, by some chains; the Yamadūtas, the messengers of death, will take them away. We have to go. We will go. But how? That depends on our deeds, our karmas. It depends on our actions, on our karmas. How clean is your heart? How clean is your consciousness? How innocent are you, or how tricky, jealous, angry, greedy are you? How many tricks, anger, lust, hatred, slander are there in you? That decides. So we have to develop our consciousness like a small baby. We say when you are sixty, then you are like an eight-year-old boy. So I feel today, eight years. Someone asked me, "How old are you?" I said six and zero. The person said, "No, forty." Well, I wish I could be like that, but after fifty, it is counting back. It does not count higher. Fifty is the peak; then your journey begins down. So he or she who asked me, "Was it true?" Because already ten years I am back again, so I am forty. So, forty—because from fifty you must count back now. So, people who wanted to enjoy life, do it maximum till fifty. Then, prepare yourself to feel sorry for it. You would like to run, but you cannot. You would like to climb the tree to take the cherries, but you cannot. So, prepare yourself and say to yourself, "Well, you cannot." So, we cannot do anything against nature: the cosmic law and natural law, and between this is destiny—our life, our karmic life. So, even the holy persons, like Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, Jesus, Buddha, Mahāprabhujī, Gurujī—they all passed away. But when they were with us, we did not realize it. While they were with us, we did not understand it enough. And now we miss them. And so it is that, as you all, I miss Gurujī very, very much. You cannot imagine how important and beautiful it is to be together. And such blessed days, unfortunately, are not forever. Is it my ignorance or my ego? My pride? Maybe. But I tell you now, I miss nothing in my life. I have everything. Perhaps I am the happiest person. Maybe I am the happiest person in the world. But you know, it is my ignorance, because we miss Gurujī. You have everything, but you do not have one thing, and that is missing. And so I have everything, but I do not have Gurujī with me physically anymore. I have everything, but we do not have Gurujī physically with us anymore. In the last few years, I have often told you that you do not know what we have. And we do not know who will be with us next year, and who will not. So it is very nice to be together. I wish you a happy, healthy, and long life. I wish you a happy, healthy, and long life. May Mahāprabhujī protect you. May He protect you. May all your wishes come true. May all your wishes come true—especially that your self-realization will be realized. These are the blessings of Mahāprabhujī, Devpurījī, and Gurujī for this Guru Pūrṇimā and also for this meeting of our birthday.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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