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Part 1: The Essence of Yoga and Common Questions This is your first time here. Thank you for coming. My primary concern is that you feel good and benefit from yoga. You now have a picture of yoga that you can affirm as good. People have many different visions, but yoga is designed for human well-being. A journalist recently asked me, "Some people say we are Christian and should not practice yoga." I replied, "Well, Christians are also human." Who wouldn't like to be healthy? Happiness matters equally, whether you are Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, or an artist. The body is the same for everyone. Water is equal for everyone, fire is equal for everyone, earth is also. All five elements have equal value for every creature. You cannot say, "I am Christian, so I will not drink any more water, only alcohol." What you call wine in the church is actually not wine; it is fresh grape juice, which in Israel they call wine. Certain things we don't understand. Therefore, good health is for everyone, equally. This is the main thing. If you have some conflict, you suffer. That's it. We began today half an hour earlier and will end half an hour earlier. We have been together nearly 48 hours from the lecture until now, from Spišská Nová Ves until now. You likely have some questions. Please ask if you have any, of course, about yoga. Don't ask me about computers. I have an answer for computers also, but you would not understand it; I would need a translator, a computer expert. Question 1: A participant has had both hip joints replaced and cannot sit in a meditation posture. She asks what influence this has on yoga practice in general if she cannot sit or perform certain āsanas. First, thanks to the medical system that you can live a comfortable, painless life with new knees. You definitely had many problems with pain, and it was hard to make decisions. Can you imagine they turn both legs apart and then put them together? It’s like a car workshop: old part out, new part in. I am not against modern medicine. It has made much progress and can save our lives in an emergency. I congratulate you, and thanks to God that it went well and you are well. Now, there are certain postures you cannot do. It doesn’t matter; we will survive without them. If someone is allergic to strawberries, they cannot eat strawberries, but they will survive without them. The benefit of yoga can be gained through different exercises or meditation. We do not get liberation from postures; we get liberation from knowledge and our devotion. So it is okay. You should use a chair to sit, or sit as much as you can bend your knees. It’s okay. Thank you. Question 2: Is it correct to use "Marjari" or "Marjari Āsana"? Which is better? Both terms are correct. "Marjari" refers to a more dynamic movement; it is not a static posture. You can use it. We will practice the Marjari exercise. Question 3: A young girl’s hands are trembling. What exercises should she do to improve that? There must be something with the brain centers or nervous system. She can do exercises like holding onto a tree or something iron and hanging on. Also, exercises with a ball, like a tennis ball, and exercises like Marjari where she has to put weight on the hands. But you should also ask a doctor. She says she has already asked a doctor who didn’t know what to say. There are different doctors; you can ask another specialist for a proper diagnosis. That is better to do. Question 4: During relaxation, she sees violet or yellow light. Is this good or bad? What should she think about it, immediately or later? Does it happen during relaxation or when she just lies down? It is difficult to say when it happens, but she can influence it. Is there artificial light in the room? She says there is no artificial light. Has she been to an eye doctor? Sometimes there are what we call air bubbles in the eyes that move and reflect like light. Also, when reading, do you sometimes miss a letter? She says she has no eyesight problems, but make sure. First, we must address the physical part before thinking it is spiritual. Then we come to the spiritual. Okay? Normally, everyone sees light when they close their eyes. Immediately, you have something. Some see more, and some see light that comes and disappears. These are the movements of the cells. First, we must ensure what it is and if it can be corrected by an eye doctor. If not, then we will discuss it more. There was a student hostel where lights were off at 9 PM for sleep. At midnight, automatically all lights went on. The students were frightened. They decided not to touch anything and observed. Always, a few minutes different, the light went on. Their hairs stood on end, and they all left the hostel, thinking it was a joke. Again, at midnight, the lights went on. The newspaper wrote about it. Teachers and directors said, "My God, there must be a ghost." The young students refused to sleep there. A man came and asked, "Why is the light going on at midnight?" He thought logically. In nearly every country, there are different power lines. In India, we call it single phase for normal lights and three-phase for strong power for farmers and water cultivation. That strong power came at midnight. In the student hostel, there was a loose connection. When the strong power came, all lights went on automatically. They repaired it, and the next night at midnight, everyone waited, and the ghost disappeared. Until today, there is no ghost. Many times, we think it is something, but it is not. Spiritual light is not like physical light or sunlight. It is completely different. That light, for our physical eyes, is darkness. That light is the light of wisdom, spiritual light. Dobre? But I wish that were also spiritual, okay? Thank you. Regarding hip joints and knees, again, you must get a complete diagnosis: the acid in the body and if there is something more. Utilize different kinds of medicine; it will be okay. But first, we must check. Do not wait. Yoga exercises are enough, but if we do them without knowing something, they can harm us. Question 5: Sometimes in the morning, she feels a kind of electricity in the area of the tailbone and a bow at the top of the head. Should she consult a doctor? It happens sometimes, half-conscious, half-asleep, or half-awake. What is her profession? A bookshop keeper. I think you must check some energy under your bed. Put a bioprotector. We live in the modern world, and you don’t know? Slovaks are more natural people. Everyone has this bioprotector to protect from certain radiations. A large bioprotector will protect you from negative radiations. But it could be your spiritual energy; it’s not negative. Question 6: What do you think about acupuncture? Very good. I always think positively. Whether it will help or not, I can only tell you afterward. But it is very good. It activates energy centers again. In some cases, it doesn’t last long; in others, we must repeat it often. Then that energy center continues. Question 7: When new people come to a seminar or retreat, they enjoy the exercises, but they have a little problem seeing morning and evening prayers. As a yoga teacher, what should he tell them? When he was in the same situation, he had no problem, and his heart was singing. Does anyone have a problem? The question is this: In the seminar, everything is very good, but during morning and evening prayer, some people don’t understand what it is. Maybe you don’t know the word "prayer," perhaps due to long communism. This word went out of the dictionary: what is prayer? Prayer means to pray, to request God for something. That’s called prayer. If someone has a problem, you can ask, or if you don’t understand. The prayer is not an official program; also, satsaṅg is not an official program. With the prayer we are doing here, does anyone have a problem? No? Okay, thank you. So it was your question only? Is there someone who doesn’t understand the word "prayer"? Do you have the word "prayer" in Slovak? Yes, we do. Now, before, not? Yes, we did, all the time. But nobody was praying. Slovak language is beautiful, with much poetry and beautiful songs. Good writers have written in Slovak. Slovak people have deep spiritual feelings. I tell you this not just because I am in Slovakia. People who understand me and Indian culture find it very easy; there are some connections. Slovaks, and we call this the eastern part of Europe—Czech, Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavians, Romanians, Bulgarians—have a lot of emotion and spirituality, but guidance is missing. Prayers have been a part of Slovak life. During the communist era, it was not proper to pray, but it was not prohibited. Everyone prayed, even if not officially, at home and in the car. It doesn’t matter how deep a communist he or she was, even if they didn’t believe in God at all. I proved that person believes. How? When something terrible happened, they said, "Jesus, Maria." That was clear to me that in the heart, there is God’s name. Like Gandhījī was a very spiritual man and a great devotee of God Rāma, and the last sentence from his mouth was "Hey Rām." So, what is in your heart? Reality comes out at that time. One problem could be language. But when we say we will pray, everyone knows the word. You will be surprised, or you know, many of you have been with me during communist times; we also had prayer in class. We sang prayers. In certain situations, we sang Czechoslovakian folk songs and then said, "Now we will sing Indian folk songs," and we sang "Dīp Nābhāgava, Nikki Jayā," a prayer. After I explained, there was no problem, never. There is never a problem with the name of God or prayers. I have deep, deep respect for your nation and people. One thing could be a religious or cultural conflict, and that is not a part of yoga. That’s it. Do you agree with me? Why? Please. Question 8: Do you know that in Bratislava this week there is a conference with Slovak government and Indian government representatives? She is going there on Tuesday and believes it is very new for Slovakia, involving Indian culture and everything. Very good, but I don’t know what kind of political conference it is. It is more of a business conference looking for possibilities for cooperation between Slovakia and India: that we shall buy more Ayurveda and Indian cycles, and we will tell them to buy Tatra mineral water. Okay? So it’s good. There has always been a very good relation between Indian and Slovakian politics in every aspect, but I will find out. If it is for the general public, the Indian ambassador will inform our yoga people. If it is a political and business delegation, then it is not for that. She has her own business, so she just does business. Everything is clear. I wish you very good business, that your skill and talent bring good economy for Slovakia. Be good with the negotiation; Indians are not easy to negotiate with. I am happy. Thank you. Yoga is one word, and it’s a wonderful thing. In every language, what is the most important thing which cannot be replaced by different things? It has only one word, no titles. God. Do we say Dr. God or Engineer God? Of course, you say in your language, Panie Boże. Otherwise, there is no title. Water—does water have a title? Jīvā, the soul—there is no title. Because that is so perfect, it doesn’t need a title. Does Jesus have a title? Director so-and-so, or engineer so-and-so? Does Kṛṣṇa have a title? Does Buddha have a title? No. These things are perfect in themselves. The sun itself is the sun. Our explanation of the sun is like showing someone the sun with a finger: "Look, there is the sun." Masti. Or you need not show the master to the sun, like, "Look, this is light, sun." So yoga is yoga. Part 2: The Seed of Sound: Yoga, the Navel, and the Resonance of Being So many times, journalists ask me a question: "Swāmījī, what is yoga?" So, yoga is yoga, and we learn about it in the Vedas. The Vedas are the ultimate science. It is very clearly said in the Vedas that the sun itself is completely dark. It is that light which is the gas burning around it. And now scientists, through many, many telescopes, are saying there are some dark points. So, till today, no instrument, no science, no experiment has achieved that point of the highest level of knowledge which the ṛṣis had. And they were yogīs, but their way of life was 90.8% completely different from how we are living now. Different thinking, different feeling, different nourishment. I don’t think that, again, it will be for humans to be like that. Some may, otherwise not. So, yoga is yoga. But then we say something. Then somebody said, "Water from somewhere else." Niṣka tatra, or from this country or that country, that’s it. So we say haṭha yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga, rāja yoga, and so on. We know, and in every religion it is said, what is said in the Vedas: everything came out of the sound, and everything is united by that sound. It is that sound which is uniting the elements and our bodies there. It is that sound which keeps our consciousness, our emotion, our intellect, all in balance. And we call that Nāḍī Yoga, the yoga of sound. Now, that sound is in our navel. The navel is the central point of our life. The navel is the central point of creation. The mythological picture about Indian religions or mythology shows that God Viṣṇu is residing in the ocean. And out of his navel comes the lotus. And on that lotus, Brahmā, the creator, is manifesting. Brahma means the knowledge, and he who brought the signs of the Vedas had four hands, and in each hand, one Veda, and so on. Now, life on this planet begins with the water principle. Life itself is representing fire. Fire can only be under control through water. Water and fire can only exist in the water. So that Viṣṇu principle, that consciousness, is the fire. And this water, the liquid, through which our body is also made out—more than 80% liquid in our body. So when this comes together, mother and father, and when the soul comes in, at the beginning of the embryo, first develops that water. And in that water is that light, the life. And then the embryo begins to develop, which is connected again with the mother’s body. And the embryo is connected with the navel to the mother’s body, where our intestine, spine, head, and then limbs begin to develop. So that liquid is the ocean, and that life force inside is Viṣṇu. And new life, which is lotus, is embryo, and so on. So in every religion, there are certain symbols we don’t understand sometimes. But these symbols represent everything. Like a Slovakian emblem. There are hundreds of flags in front of the United Nations building. But there is one flag, and inside the flag is the Slovak emblem. And I said, "Oh, the Slovak emblem." And when you say Slovakia, the emblem, you understand the entire map of the country. People, culture, mentality, history, and so on. Similarly, in one symbol, one word, you understand everything. There is a concentrated energy inside. And so nāda is sound. Without sound, you cannot even give someone a hand. There will be a resistance of energy, but there is an air principle. The space principle, and between is the sound. Which balances and brings together, and that’s called yoga, or the union. Like a magnet. If you turn it the other direction, you cannot bring them together. There is a resistance. And when you turn it to the right direction, without your trying, it will come together. So it is that very subtle vibration, which our ears cannot hear, and as far as you go in the universe, a beautiful resonance, but you have to go through meditation; there is no other way. If you go in an aeroplane, you will hear a beautiful resonance, but that is the engine of the aeroplane. It’s also very nice, 10-12,000 meters high up, 10 to 12 kilometers. You don’t feel lonely. Still, you are connected to this planet. So, the sound is located in the navel, in the Maṇipūra cakra. The original sound, which was billions of years before, somewhere in the universe, or from your individual beginning. You are nothing but only that sound. You are only that resonance, and that is in the navel. And nectar, immortality is in the navel. And many imbalances of health are also from here. Unbelievable, how the navel is related to the body. Recently in Ayurveda, someone told me something. I had sunburn on my lips in Australia, in New Zealand. They invited me to see what they call the cricket game. So I went and I was sitting, looking at how they play cricket. I don’t understand. It’s the most boring game. Tennis, golf, and cricket are boring. Like some people say yoga is boring. They should come to me. But all the media told me, "Please, Master, sit that side." Because there were media huts on the opposite side. And just ten minutes, and the sun was so sharp and hot, my lips burned. So it was plastered, somehow put some cream and so on, and it got a little better. Then I was in Australia. Are you interested or not? And we have in Australia also yoga and dead life, big land, about seven, eight hundred hectares, nearly a thousand hectares, the hill, mountain. And sometimes we have camp there with the tents. This December, I will be there. And morning, by sunrise, Monica told me, "Look, Swamiji, kangaroo is there." So I came from my caravan. Out, and I said, "Where?" And again, sun rising, and again, chick. Again, attacked my lips. Ozone problem. Ozone. The ozone. Thin layer of ozone. And that’s why many people now get cancer. And yogīs always told, boys and girls, wear long dresses to protect yourself from this. But now in summer, especially, ladies have no clothes. They are so poor that they cannot buy a two-meter cloth. I’m sorry, such a bad economy. Otherwise, you see the Slovakian costumes, cultural costumes. You all Slovaks who are sitting here, you lost your culture. The way you live, dress, eat, and negotiate is not according to Slovak culture. Slovak culture is locked in a museum. And some are walking with a stick. That’s called babička. Anyhow, when I came to India, and I told that I have a problem with the lips, one said, "Swamiji, put ghee on your navel, melted butter." So I said, "How many liters?" He said, "No, no, just make your finger with a little bit of ghee and then put it on the navel." I said, "I can put directly here." He said, "No." And you can’t imagine, in a few hours it disappeared. How our lips are connected with the navel. So many, many organs of our body are connected with the navel. And so in Ayurveda there is a therapy with the navel. I will not talk more about it. So the seed of the sound is here. When we speak, it goes from here, ascending sound from the Maṇipūra cakra, from the pancreas or solar plexus, what they call it. So let’s say Maṇipūra Cakra. This is the best. It comes to the Viśuddhi Cakra, what we call vocal cords, so the sound is manifested in the vocal cords, then comes to the tip of the tongue and lips, which formulate the sound into words. So parā, paśyantī, vaikharī, these are three levels of the sounds. When we chant, this sound goes up through the suṣumnā nāḍī, touches our bindu cakra, which I spoke about yesterday regarding nectar, and begins to vibrate and resonate here on the top of the head. Head. You can put your hand here sometimes, not now, and when you speak, it is vibrating. Please put the hand here. Don’t miss a chance. Not like this, please, like this. Not like that. So, but this looks to me. Don’t put it in the wrong place. Don’t put it here, but there. They are very small babies, you see? A very soft part here, the fontanel. Sahasrāra chakra. Now, deep inhale and make a humming sound. Fast, like, is that right? So, now, place your hand on the navel. And, I mean, you can put it on the dress, but it must not go in. So, where the navel is. And I will tell you one word. So you will tell that word afterward. But find out, when you say this word, is there a kind of boxing on the navel? Pressure. Sucking. So sit straight. Put your hand, don’t press it too much, just... and I will say one word... when I finished... after five seconds... you say, "Okay?" And the word, you know, is very good. You know it much better than me, that word. Okay? So... Take. You feel here? Now. Feel on the navel. Ano. Prosím. Yes? Now, on the navel and on the head. Say. No, it goes vibration here. Mantra, the real resonance of the navel, is called Rām. Now say, Rām. Now, that’s it, finished. Now, when we chant or speak, prāṇa and apāna hit together. They come together like two wings of the bird. When a bird wants to fly, she doesn’t activate only one wing first, then the next one. No. At the same time, similarly, apāna means exhalation power. Everything from the body pushes out, rejecting. If there is no apāna prāṇa in the body, you cannot speak. You cannot go to the toilet, you can’t pass urine, you cannot exhale. Apāna is that which constantly pushes out all used energies. Then there is prāṇa, which sucks in. If there is no prāṇa śakti, you cannot inhale. Your lungs cannot expand. Our heart cannot pump. The function of the heart is from āpāna and prāṇa. When the āpāna is weaker, then your heart, the blood pressure, becomes higher. So, and when there is a balance between prāṇa and apāna, then the heartbeat is in balance, which depends on our blood pressure. So the prāṇāyāma, which influences our entire body with that information of the sound between, so there are three channels, Iḍā, Piṅgalā and Suṣumṇā. And this Iḍā nāḍī we connect with our left nostril. Pingala with the right nostril, and Suṣumnā is the center nāḍī. These three come to the navel. According to medical science and anatomy, doctors do not believe that these three nāḍīs still come to Mūlādhāra. They somewhere disappear after the navel. Well, that will always be. They are right, and they are right. Then, who is not right? We. We don’t know. So, when we speak, this Suṣumnā Nāḍī takes the strength, the resonance up and joins here on Sahasrāra, sound. Where our palate is, you see the tonsil hanging. After that, there are very fine holes, and the best singer who is singing is like a flute’s holes or the flute. So the resonance goes through these three nāḍīs up through our sinuses, which are connected to the Agñyā cakra, and sends the vibration to the top of the head. The sun divides into three parts, which immediately, through the right nostril, brings this resonance into the heart. The sun nadi is actually Piṅgalā. Brings the sound from here into the heart. The second, Iḍā nāḍī, sends the message of the sound as a vibration into the whole body, every blood cell is charging energy. Like we charge the battery, every cell is vibrating. And the Suṣumnā brings the sound, which we can hear with our ears, into this space. Fifty percent of sound goes out, and fifty percent turns back to the body. So 50%, which we take back, is acting in our body, or utilized. 50% is taxes we have given. So, pay your government tax, okay? But your government is so nice, they don’t take fifty percent. And if you earn a lot, then they will take more, no problem. That’s it. So now we will chant, and you will observe the sound exactly as I described. And this sound will recharge all the cells in the body, and it will create a healthy vibration. You will be healthy. So, the word which you know, Ānandoham. I am happy. I am bliss. I am bliss. Has anybody objected to being happy? No one. Is anybody against that? One doesn’t want to be happy? Then I also have a technique to make you unhappy. That is easier. So, in Sanskrit, happy means ānanda. And "ham" means "I." I am happy. Happy I am. Okay? So, concentrate on your navel, close your eyes. And concentrate on the vibration, and you will chant like I will do. Not too loud, not too slow. I will first chant two or three times, then you join. But the main thing is that you analyze sound, resonance, within and outside of your body. Relax. Relax your body, inhale deeply and exhale. Feel the time of inhalation; your navel or stomach is expanding, and when you exhale, it’s contracting. So first I will chant, everyone. Very good. You can open your eyes. So, for example, if you have pain somewhere, put your hand there. It doesn’t matter, left or right. Both hands are very good. If the left hand is not good, then ask God why He gave the left hand. God will say, "Spare part." In case the right hand is cut off, then you still have the left hand. So all limbs of the body are good. It’s only mentally we said, "Oh, eat with the right hand." Right with the right hand. And you know, many very good persons, very intelligent persons, many also journalists, and I found the writing with the left hand. If I’m not wrong, or if I didn’t see it wrong, I saw the President of America, Mr. Obama, in the Middle East somewhere, he signed some things also with the left hand. Why not? Very good. So if your child is writing with the left or right hand, don’t worry. That’s it. So, of course, sometimes the right and left side is very important, especially when you drive a car. Then you should drive on that direction which is according to countries. You will say, "I am Slovakian, and I used to drive always left side, right side, and now you come to England and say, 'No, we are Slovak, I will not drive this side, I will drive this side.'" Then you can drive twice, first and last. So, you put your hand somewhere, wherever you have pain in the body. First, you do like this, or put a little oil, warm it, and then you put your hand on someone’s body or your body, touch palm to palm, palm to the skin. After some minutes, the palm skin and your body skin are different. They will harmonize and accept each other. It begins between, like a pulsing. Now you have contact. Now accepted by your body, then you concentrate on your navel, and then you can see your mantra or any holy word or Ānandoham. And transfer this resonance of your sound, the sound resonance of mantra, though it is your own body, it will be like a biofeed energy. So we can do many things ourselves. And so when we practice particular postures, then that organ is activated. And the resonance is directed in that direction. If you do a sport quickly, then the organs have no capacity to direct the resonance. Then there is a communication gap. So, through the postures, concentrated, we have better communication with our own energy, own body. If something is not clear, come tomorrow to Strelka. Or go today. I will come tomorrow, so we will communicate. Don’t be late. Wish you all the best, and I hope you understand now.