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Any kind of sādhanā requires perfect technique and its discipline; one should follow the principles. Our engine—the motor of the car—is very good, in excellent condition. But if the engine is a diesel engine and you put petrol inside, it will not function. Or if you put water instead of petrol, it will not work. Similarly, this human motor requires sāttvic nourishment and spiritual nourishment, not the nourishment of worldly and material things. The principle is very simple: it is to follow the instructions. When you drive a car, you must follow the road instructions. If you do not, an accident will happen, or you will be punished. Similarly, if you do not follow the spiritual principles, your sādhanā will not be successful. Understand what you are doing. Consider also the other group which is doing only āsana, prāṇāyāma, and relaxation. This is also anuṣṭhāna for them, because they too try their best to perform all exercises and follow all the principles. So it is also Anuṣṭhāna. Now, in our Anuṣṭhāna Kriyā, we have one practice called Śabda Sañjālan, the "bakery" practice, where you are chanting Aum. I suppose it is the afternoon practice, and that is especially a very, very powerful technique. "Vekrī" means speaking loud or chanting. We spoke about Vajrāsana and Vajrā Nāḍī. Finally, that comes to the Maṇipūra Chakra. The Maṇipūra chakra is a very important chakra in our body. The manifestation of our body begins first from the Maṇipūra chakra. First, the Maṇipūra chakra developed; then the intestinal tract developed, then the spinal column, and then the head, and then the other limbs of the body. So, the Maṇipūra cakra is actually where the soul is coming in. It is the center where prāṇa and apāna unite. Now, mythological history according to Hinduism speaks of three deities: Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva. Brahmā is the creator, Viṣṇu is the sustainer, and Śiva is the liberator. Viṣṇu symbolizes the cosmic Ātmā, the universal consciousness. And Viṣṇu also means fire—the fire tattva. At the same time, Viṣṇu is residing in the ocean. This means fire cannot exist without water. If fire separates from the water, then it becomes an individual element, which can be a dominating element. In the water, there is also fire. That is the Viṣṇu Śakti. It is said that from the navel of Viṣṇu, Brahmā is born or created. Viṣṇu is lying in the ocean on the thousand-headed snake. Life begins with water. In the mother’s womb, it enters like a drop of water. And that water is the ocean, within which is the Ātmā, the soul. The first development, the intestinal tract, symbolizes a coiled snake. Then develops the spinal column with the head, symbolizing the spinal column, Iḍā, Piṅgalā, Suṣumnā Nāḍī. The Suṣumnā Nāḍī comes and unites to the Sahasrāra Cakra. Sahasrāra Cakra means the thousand-petaled Cakra. These thousand petals you can see as a thousand-headed snake. The central nerve is a snake, coiled at the Maṇipūra Chakra, where the ātmā is residing. This is a mythological picture. When you go according to the yoga, the science of yoga, again, that lotus is this because it is uniting with the mother body. And this is connected with the navel again. So this developing embryo is Brahmā. The Maṇipūra is the lotus chakra, and on this, what is developing—that embryo—is the lotus or Brahmā. All children, mothers under five years, please go out of the room. And so is that Viṣṇu Śakti. Śiva-Śakti is the liberator, the destroyer of the negative elements, and the liberator of our individual self. The Maṇipūra chakra, which has an immense amount of energy, is what can control—only that can control these two forces, prāṇa and apāna. Both forces have to be kept in balance, and that only the Maṇipūra Chakra can do. So that energy, which is in the Maṇipūra Chakra, is creating and is located in the Maṇipūra Chakra. That’s called Hāra Śakti. That is a life force, that energy which keeps you moving. If the hara-śakti is weak, then the immune system goes down. If the hara-śakti is strong, then the immune system develops well. That is the hara-śakti or hara-prāṇa, which fights against all illnesses. If any strange body comes in, then the hara-śakti helps our body to reject that which came into the body. Also, what we call infections—these are also strangers. When these infections enter the body, hara-śakti is capable of fighting against and destroying them. So it is like a guard or a warrior protecting the border. When hara-śakti is not enough, immunity is not enough, then you will feel very tired. We have developed one special exercise called Khāṭū Praṇām. And khaṭuprāṇam is the exercise which will help you to improve your hara-śakti, or also the immunity. So, there are some people who feel very tired always. That means the maṇipūra chakra doesn’t function properly. So we have kapālabhāti, and you shall make an experiment during your stay here, collectively or individually. Three times a day, make ten rounds anywhere you can do, and you will realize great changes in your body. So the seed of Viṣṇu is there. It is said in the Vedas, "nāda rūpa para brahma"—the form of the Supreme is the resonance. From this empty space, when the creation took place, the first was the sound, the resonance. And that resonance is still in the entire universe, in every atom. Now, that sound is centered in our navel. The seed of the sound is in the navel. The sound has three levels: parā, paśyantī, and vaikharī. The parā is deepest, dormant. Paśyantī is in the middle, and Vaikharī is loud. So the parā is in the Maṇipūra. Paśyantī is in the Viśuddhi, and Vaikharī is on the lips and the tongue. So, "bakery" is on the lips. So, whenever you speak, it doesn’t matter what—fast, it heats or creates pressure on the navel. That sound comes from there, so the seed of the sound is Maṇipūra. And because Maṇipūra is the junction of the prāṇa and apāna, Maṇipūra is the center where the seed of Viṣṇu is. Maṇipūra is the center of the fire. That is Jāṭharāgni, connected also with that fire—the digestive fire. So, through the help of yoga practice and through the help of the Hara Shakti—meaning the Maṇipūra Chakra—it is said, "Yoga agni kāraṁ dagdhāni." Through the fire of yoga, you can burn all the seeds of your karmas. What is Yoga Agni? Yoga Agni is your tapasyā, your sādhanā, that you are doing with discipline. You are following the master’s instructions, Guruvākyam, and that you have devotion. Without bhakti, without devotion, you cannot cross this ocean of ignorance. Where there are doubts or complexes, then the bhakti cannot be perfect. Bhakti is unconditional. And then your yoga agni will become strong. So it means disciplined practicing. Every day, a sādhaka, a practitioner, makes the resolution. He sits down and thinks over: for what is this life given to me? What is the purpose of this life? Khānā, pīnā, bhogānā, paśubhiḥ param sujaḥ, sahodara—eating, drinking, sleeping, and creating children. Animals are also very active. Is that all my aim? Or something more? Then you make your resolution: yes, through this sādhanā, I will come to my aim. It should be authentic sādhanā. And we must have the blessing of that spiritual lineage, not that someone just begins, and one, what we call the Swayambhu, the self-made guru that has no roots—those seeds cannot grow. When the seeds are manipulated, they cannot grow. So many modern people, what they call themselves, experts of yoga, and they want to have their own yoga and own system and teachings—their seeds will not grow. It means they will have no success, only a time being, a little kind of joy. That means you will get money, and you think, "Oh, I am on my own, and I got the money." But this is not the aim. This is not the aim of human life. We are not born for this. And if we still do something, then our work should have some fruits. Therefore, that sādhanā can lead us nowhere. If a real spiritual master tells us only one sentence, that will change our entire life. Someone who speaks only from intellect can give day and night lectures; nothing will happen. You can touch a wall as much as you like; you can hit your head to the wall; except this pain, you will feel nothing. But if you touch a little electricity, just a small nail in the… the whole body… so that is the spiritual lineage, that is Gurudev’s touch. "Aṅga si aṅga milai." In this bhajan yesterday we were singing, "Aṅga si aṅga milai." Aṅga means body, or aṅga means the limbs. So you have to unite limbs to limbs, that’s it. So the seed of the sound is in the Maṇipūra Chakra. Now, these three nāḍīs—Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumṇā—according to modern medical science, they come only till Maṇipūra and then they disappear down. Like a river flows, and then comes the desert, and that river just disappears in the desert. So Maṇipūra is there where the Iḍā, Piṅgalā, Suṣumnā, these three nāḍīs… Maṇipūra is the chakra where the three nāḍīs, Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumnā, are in safety. And this nāda, the sound, is constantly resonating, penetrating the whole body. It means it keeps our body awakened. It keeps our blood cells healthy, and it supplies that energy and nourishment to the whole body. So when we chant Aum, this Vekrī Japa, in the evening or afternoon, then we are doing like this: the sound rises, awakes from the navel, immediately rises up to the Sahasrāra Cakra, and from there one stream of the sound transfers back to the heart. And the second sound just dissolves in the space, in the form of an echo; it goes out. So that in the soul, ātmā, in the heart—the individual ātmā, not the soul; the ātmā is residing here, but his presence is everywhere. Like you have some spray from the rose, and you just spray, and then the whole room will have this smell. Now you don’t know where the smell is coming from. Where is this smell? It’s hard to find. Similarly, where is the ātmā in the body? In the entire body. Our small toe has the same sensitivity and feelings of pain as our ear. Or the same pain we have in the tooth, also, which we have on the knee. So the entire body is a temple of the Ātmā. But still, the yogīs in Hinduism, they say my self is here in the heart. About 10,000 years ago, Hanumānjī, the bhakta of God Rāma, proved that. He opened his chest to show that in his heart is God Rāma. He opened it, and you could see Rāma and Sītā sitting inside. So in India we used to say, please believe me, my love is so pure to you, my devotion is so deep and pure, only I can’t do one thing. I wish I would be Hanumanjī, that I can open my chest and show you that you are in my heart, and the same thing. Later, before 2000 years, it seems that Jesus also took his heart and saw in his heart and gave it for others. That I am this one, what we call the holy heart. So every heart is holy because in that heart the ātmā is living. So that is the seed of the self. Therefore, the sound of the self, which is dormant in the navel, the Maṇipūra Cakra, awakes and comes to the conscious level to the Sahasrāra Cakra, and then through the Sūrya Nāḍī, it enters into the heart. And the Chandra Nāḍī prepares the heart for love, to be receptive—accepting, feeling happiness—and then the happiness comes. So the Sūrya Nāḍī goes into the heart. That stream, not the Nāḍī itself, but the channel of that resonance. And the second goes into the niche of the universe. So from the Sahasrāra, these two streams divide. And now, all the three nāḍīs are influenced. Suṣumnā, when you chant Aum, it goes through the Suṣumnā Nāḍī, then the Sūrya Nāḍī brings the resonance to the heart, and the Chandra Nāḍī becomes very alert and receptive. Now, while doing this Kriyā, you will notice that your Ājñā Chakra is awakened. Ājñā Cakra is a very important center. It is the seed of clarity, the knowledge, the third eye. And then you hear the sound, like a heartbeat. And that means now the three nāḍīs are united, and that’s called Trikuṭī. Trikūṭī means the beach where the three rivers meet. That’s also called Bhrūkūṭī, the center of the eyebrows. And that’s called Prayāgrāj, where Kumbh Melā is and where these three rivers come together: Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and Sarasvatī. That’s called Prayāg. Prayāg means milana, the uniting. Prayāg Rāj is like a meeting of the king, a unity of the kingdom of the Gaṅgā, Yamunā and Sarasvatī. And there, this yogī’s body is bathed, meaning that it resonates the sound, and then all the sins are washed away—meaning you become free from the karmas. And that’s a real bathing in the Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī. And to bathe in this Trikūṭī, yogīs come from the high mountains down. High mountain means the high level of meditation or samādhi near the Sahasrāra, and when any obstacles come, they come to the Ājñā Chakra to wash themselves. Cleaning chitta vṛtti nirodha, again they feel themselves calm and clean, pure, and then again go to the higher mountains or go deep into the… so this is just one kriyā. We can talk and talk about this, and this is just one. The technique of your whole Anuṣṭhāna: the lucky are they who can do, lucky are they who follow the disciplines. As soon as you will lose the discipline, devotion is gone, like milk is spoiled with a lemon—finished. You will experience something. And that is that your knees are hurting, your back is hurting, and the breath becomes restless, and you look to the watch: "Mālā, how many mālās?" And looking to the person who is leading, perhaps he is not sleeping. Why? Why? Balance is lost. Now it’s imbalanced because devotion is gone. And now the vṛttis are coming. Then your world becomes like your mind. Therefore, before you do your Kriyā, or before you do your Sādhanā, then, with great devotion, you should bow down and say, "Please, merciful Lord," Guru Dev, lead me from darkness to the light, and you enter into the richness of your inner kingdom. And then awakening takes place. Then kuṇḍalinī awakens. Happiness is there, fearlessness is there, unity is there, joy is there. Then you are beyond time and space. These are the result of your anuṣṭhāna and your kriyās. So this sub-kriyā is bhakti, where you change your OM. So it goes like a wave: Aum. Coming from here, up, down here, and then ends here. Aum.