The Divine Chambers of Being
Lecture of Vishwaguruji from Jsdan Ashram, Pali, Rajasthan. The annamaya kośa, the food sheath, is the first of five chambers of being. Its purity determines the mind's state.
Vedic philosophy describes five sheaths, not the dietary laws of kosher or halal. True religion is based on non-violence, a principle declared millennia ago. Most who claim a faith do not follow its core tenets, lost in materialism. The physical body is born, grows, and dies, but must be purified for the soul. Food influences this through the three guṇas. Rajas brings restlessness; tamas brings laziness and ignorance. Tāmasik food includes meat, fish, eggs, and stale items. Consuming such food directly affects the mind's clarity and one's spiritual progress. A story illustrates this: a saint ate food procured by a thief and was overcome by a desire to steal a golden idol. His intellect was corrupted until the impure food was sweated out. The teaching is clear: as you eat, so your mind becomes. Therefore, one m
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Around the World - A Journey of Remembrance and Reverence
I recently traveled to pay respects at the samādhi of a revered female ascetic. She was the first female Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara in our tradition, renowned for memorizing sacred texts from a very young age and receiving a title for it. She had a large spiritual family of disciples managing various ashrams. We shared a good connection from past meetings at gatherings and when she visited our Guru. Upon learning of her passing, I journeyed through the night to attend the funeral procession in Ahmedabad, which culminated in her burial at a chosen site outside the city alongside other senior ascetics. It was a full 24-hour journey of remembrance.
"She was the first female Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara in our Akhāṛā."
"Her wish was to have her samādhi in Hargośālā."
Filming location: Jadan, Rajasthan, India
The Ocean and the Drop
The individual soul is a drop from the divine ocean.
We are all that divine essence, like a drop from the ocean. Modern science can be used for good or harm, but the ancient yogic science guides only toward good. Our true nature is divine; each cell in the body is God. We are the drop that has temporarily separated. This drop may land in a barren place, but it will inevitably return to the ocean. We are very close to that unity now. All names and forms are of the one God. The soul does not die; it merges. Our prayers should extend kindness to all life. Among billions of life forms, only humans possess the understanding to realize this truth. The path is within, through the heart and meditation, using practices like mantra to return focus inward. External roles are just garments; the inner realization is what matters.
"All animals, all, but humans more, we know that. And we are the drop of that."
"Only life, the soul, the life have only one door."
Filming location: Vienna, Austria
Balancing Heart and Intellect
The human being is a balance of heart and intellect. Emotion and intelligence are both essential. Ego is necessary for survival, but it must be refined into self-respect, which means respecting others through our actions and cleanliness. Uncontrolled emotions like anger are destructive. The Upaniṣads teach that within the physical heart is a cave holding the blue light of the soul, the seat of the jīvātmā. The brain connects the chakras, but when this soul departs, bodily functions cease. Fire, Agni, is a divine element present in many forms: as digestive fire creating hunger, as the fire of desire and anger, and as the sacred fire of love and longing for God. Modern life severs our connection to ancestors and the natural elements, leading to suffering and a loss of roots. Our intellect can be polluted by selfish senses, but viveka, the discerning intelligence between truth and falsehood, remains pure. Practice develops viveka and vairāgya, renunciation. The five elements support the body, and through spiritual practice like Kuṇḍalinī Yoga, prāṇa nourishes the soul. True love is surrender and coordination between heart and intellect, creating better humans and a better world.
"Brahmārpaṇaṃ brahmahavir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam."
"Brahma Satya, Jagat Mithyā."
Filming location: Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Influence Of The Full Moon
The moon's influence connects nature, human consciousness, and spiritual practice. The full moon profoundly affects our emotions and the natural world. In scripture, moonlight is a nectar entering vegetation, linked to the idea of a honeymoon, where honey symbolizes health and immortality. We must protect bees, crucial for this nectar, as their decline is an ecological disaster. A practitioner should be like a bee, extracting only the good from the world without causing harm. The bee's hum is its mantra. To balance the moon's strong energy, one may fast on a full moon day. The moon symbolizes emotion; like ocean waves, high emotions obscure clarity, so important decisions should wait for calm. Our journey involves consciousness moving through energy centers, from the root, which holds past karma, to higher states. We must purify subconscious desires in this life to avoid future suffering. True practice involves healthy living, compassion, and meditation to perceive the divine beauty in all existence, living purely like a lotus in a polluted world.
"Arjuna, I enter into the vegetation as a nectar through the moonlight."
"If you would like to have all as your friends, then give up harsh words."
Filming location: New York, USA
