Prakrti - The mother nature
A remedy for joint health and the duty of a teacher to connect with nature.
A yearly treatment for joints involves a specific food preparation. Combine roasted fenugreek and whole wheat flour with ghee, almonds, jaggery, and spices to form laddūs. Consume one each morning for about a month during the cold season, avoiding other oils and specific foods like tomatoes, yogurt, and sour fruits. This regimen strengthens knees, back, and joints, and is beneficial post-childbirth. Nature provides incomparable peace and is essential for practice. A teacher must guide students into natural settings for silent retreats, fostering harmony and equal vision. Avoid gossip and personal complaints; create an atmosphere where all feel respected and leave happy. Like a tree, offer shelter and sustenance without retaliation, serving selflessly.
"Eat one laddū every morning... do not consume any other kind of oil."
"Oh my mind, be like a tree... I endure their nastiness. I give them my fruit instead of a stone."
Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic
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The Essence of Satsaṅg and the Inner Path
This is a spiritual discourse on the essence of satsaṅg and the path to inner peace, delivered by a speaker from a guru lineage. The speaker explores the nature of true happiness, the importance of discernment (vivekā), and the integration of spiritual principles like the Yamas and Niyamas into daily life. Key themes include the choice between satsaṅg (gathering in truth) and kusaṅg, the role of a guru as a guide, and the practice of contentment and self-inquiry to overcome inner enemies like anger and jealousy. The talk emphasizes personal responsibility, the impermanent nature of problems, and the ultimate goal of liberation (mokṣa) through practices like mantra and meditation.
Filming location: Raumati Beach, New Zealand
Realisation of the Atma
The Non-Dual Reality and Self-Realization: Cintan over Cintā
Advaita means non-duality; what is visible and touchable changes, but reality remains unchanged. Self-realization, ātmā anubhūti, is the direct experience of the Ātmā, witnessed once and forever. It stands as the witness of all worldly changes. Modern human cintan, thinking, is directed entirely outward into technology. This outward focus makes humans lonely, separated, and like technique itself, lacking ethics and spirituality. The purpose for which God sent humans is self-realization, and that inner ability is wasted. Ancient ṛṣis possessed durdarśan, distant vision, and durśravaṇ, distant hearing, through guru kṛpā. Sañjaya received such a blessing from Kṛṣṇa to see the Kurukṣetra war; when grace withdrew, the vision vanished. Thus, mokṣa mūlaṁ guru kṛpā—the root of liberation is guru's grace. The body itself illustrates the four castes: Brahmana is the head, Kshatriya the arms, Vaishya the trunk, Shudra the legs—all four in one body. The ātmā is immortal, everywhere, unlimited, whereas the body and its technologies are limited and dependent. True meditation is ātmā cintan, thinking on the Self, not just any visualization. Without proper cintan, one falls into cintā—worry, fear, nervousness, anger, hate, and jealousy. Cintā creates cracks in faith and dissipates bhakti, like a termite destroying a tree. Therefore, never be worried; take things as they are, for what will happen will happen. The first step of self-realization is to see thyself in each and every entity, bringing reconciliation and oneness.
"Cintā kabhī mat karanā."
"To see thyself in each and every entity — this is the first step of self-realization."
Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic
Help for Nepal
Compassion and selfless service are the supreme spiritual practice. A devastating calamity has struck Nepal, causing immense suffering. The global community, especially India, has provided immediate relief through funds, personnel, and rescue operations. True spirituality manifests as active compassion, seeing all beings as one family. Service to others cleanses the heart and brings profound inner peace, connecting the individual soul to the Supreme. The physical practice of yoga is valuable, but its essence is the union of body, mind, and spirit, symbolized by the sacred sound Om. This universal science of harmonization transcends all religious boundaries.
"Helping hands have more value than folded hands."
"Seva is the supreme Dharma. There is nothing greater than Seva."
Filming locations: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Calming down the vrittis
Yoga is the stilling of the mind's modifications. Discipline in all aspects of life is the foundation. The mind's thoughts are like waves in a pond; a single ripple obscures clarity. As long as thoughts are unpeaceful, meditation is not present. To calm the vṛttis, one must practice and seek solitude. A retreat to a peaceful natural place allows the system to recharge and quiet. The practice of Brahmari Pranayama specifically calms the brain and sharpens the senses through sound vibration. This sound connects to the primordial Om, the formless source of all creation. Everything visible and invisible arises from this sound.
"Yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ: through the practice of yoga, you can calm down all your thoughts, your vṛttis."
"Everything—all that is visible, invisible, hearing, tasting, feeling—all this is only from one source: from the Aum, the sound."
