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Part 1: Katha Pranam: A Dynamic Yogic Practice Katha Pranam is a practice which many of you know, but some may not. It is one of the very specific exercises within the system of Yoga in Daily Life. It is one of many yoga exercises that can be practiced dynamically. This means it is a practice that trains the cardiovascular system. Simply put, it is possible to sweat during this practice. Katha Pranam is a complex of exercises that influences the whole body. We will speak about the benefits or effects of the exercise, and we will also speak about the various positions. If one learns the exercise and practices it every day, even a few rounds, one gains great benefit. It is an exercise through which you can move and practice all the muscles in the body, all the joints, and, of course, the spinal column. There are also parts where you are strengthening the spinal column. During Katha Pranam, we are also influencing the inner organs and, as I said, especially the heart and blood circulation. Through Katha Pranam, we also influence the system of hormones and the endocrine system, and it has a deep effect on the subtle parts of our being, especially the cakras, training the psychosomatic part of our being. We will now go to the positions. We begin from Vajrāsana. It is a very stable position which naturally forces us to have a straight back. It is a position which relaxes the organs of the digestive system and supports digestion. So the beginning position is Vajrāsana. Now we go to the first position. The hands are in the area of the ears and are as high as possible, and the look is up on the hands. From the first position, we are going to Śaśāṅkāsana with a straight back. It is a position where the body is bent down. People who have glaucoma, which means higher pressure in the eyes, or have high blood pressure, must be careful in this position. It is a position in which we are relaxing the lower back part of the spinal column. Of course, the whole spinal column is being relaxed, but the maximum focus is on the lower back part. We are going to another position. It is a little bit more difficult, where the most pressure or focus is on the shoulder blades and the muscles in between them. We are focusing on that, trying to force and put the shoulder blades together or close to each other. We are going to another position. In this position, we are careful that we are not bent back too much, so that the hyperlordosis being created now in the lower back part is not excessive. The lower abdomen should be on the floor. It is not necessary to straighten the elbows; they can be bent. It is a very good position for compensation, because in normal life we are usually bending forward, either in the car or at a table. So this is a good compensation, but we should not go too far back. Another position. In this position, the elbows and knees must be straightened because the backside muscles of the thighs are now stretched. One should also focus on the abdominal muscles. Especially when the look is on the abdomen, the abdominal muscles are strengthened. This is another position. Hips down, more down. Chest up, shoulders up. More. Looking up to the ceiling. More. So this is an ideal position now. This position is quite difficult for the strength of the muscles in the legs, and it is, of course, a balancing position. Another position, a little bit more difficult. In this position, the muscles which bend the hip joints are now strengthened and stretched. These muscles have a tendency to get shorter. So, as I said, it is especially for strengthening the muscles of the legs and also the spinal column, and it is a particularly balancing position. We go to another one. In this position, we have to be careful because it is also a position where we are bent down, the head is down. This means that in this position the blood goes very much towards the head and the organs in the head, which is on one side good because it helps improve circulation in the brain, eyes, and ears. But those who have glaucoma and high blood pressure should be careful, especially when staying longer in this position. And, of course, we are stretching in this position the muscles on the back side of the thighs and the lower part of the legs. Another position. The bending back should be more in the thoracic, meaning the middle part of the spinal column, not so much in the lower back. It is also a balancing position, but it beautifully stretches the muscles of the spine. We continue, and now we are doing these ten positions backwards. So the complex of these exercises—and the word "complex" in this context means it includes positions which strengthen muscles, stretch muscles, and provide balance—can be used as a practice when we repeat many rounds. Or you can use it before you start your exercises, just to warm up, and also before other activities where you are moving. This was from the point of view of the joints and muscles. If we do many repetitions in a dynamic way, it becomes a practice in which we are supporting the heart and the flow of the blood. It is a cardiovascular exercise. This is an example that yoga is not just a static practice, but this is one of the practices which can be practiced very dynamically. Many people do not follow the discipline. When it is said 7 o'clock, the program begins. Why do you come at 7:30? You have nothing to do. Even for you, it will be cooked and served on time. Next time, we can tolerate five minutes. If you are later than this, then you have to go to the vegetable garden to do karma yoga. If it is late and dark, then you have to hunt away the mosquitoes, but not to come in. People thought that it was half past seven, but I was informed at seven o'clock. Then I am sorry, I asked just now, and they all said seven o'clock. That’s why I was angry, but still they were late. So you have been practicing for many years, months, or weeks: Katha Pranam. Well, every movement, every posture is according to ancient yoga literature: Āsanas, prāṇāyāmas, mudrās, bandhas, concentration, meditation, pratyāhāra, and so on. But sometimes we combine something, and it is right that in many ancient books it isn’t written so systematically, but the general rules are there. And there we have to put something together. Yoga in Daily Life is nothing other than just yoga. But to know, there is something systematically practiced, so just to know, we call it Yoga in Daily Life. It means practice yoga in everyday life. Lead your yogic life 24 hours. When the program begins at seven o'clock, why do you come at three past seven? If the airplane or train leaves at seven o'clock, you will not come ten minutes late. There will be no one to tell you to go back, but your inner self will tell you, "Go back." Then why do we delay here? Atha yoga anuśāsanam. Yoga is successful through discipline. Discipline makes the country great. Discipline makes the man successful. Discipline is a key to success. So those who always come late—I mean those who were participating here the whole last week—people who came from a far distance just for satsaṅg, that’s an exception because of weather conditions and traffic, the road conditions. So if we lead life according to the yogic principles, then you will be happy, and you will be a yogī. Otherwise, I told you, and you heard. Since you know me, I’m talking and talking and... You are that one, like a rock, unmovable. Pushing and pushing, that’s not good. It means you don’t have that love. That’s it. If someone pushes you under the water, you will fight for your life to come out as soon as possible. Similarly, you should be in the program as soon as possible. Next time, not only will we not allow you in the door, but we will tell you kindly, "Leave the satsaṅg, go, hurry home." We will not give you a refund, but punishment: twenty thousand dollars, because you broke the discipline. So, when you come next time... keep in your pocket $20,000 so that you can go. That’s it. So yoga is, first of all, a universal principle, balancing the entire universe, the space consciousness creation through that yoga śakti prāṇa. We spoke this morning a little bit about prāṇa and Prāṇa Sañcāraṇ Kriyā. But when you don’t follow discipline, then I will also not follow the sequences of the Prāṇa Sañcāraṇ. It will take maybe 12 years to come to the Prāṇa Sañcāraṇ Kriyā. I will speak a lot. I will show you chocolates, ice creams, but I will not give you. That’s it, because you are not disciplined and you are not good. The author of yoga is God Śiva. Śiva is one of the first manifestations of form in this universe. And through Śiva, all manifestations took place. It is called Svayam Bhū. No one has created him. He manifested himself, and so he creates Viṣṇu. He creates Viṣṇu out of the third eye and fire, and he tells Viṣṇu to go and do tapasyā, and then creates the water. So that fire is in the water, and that’s why Viṣṇu is residing in the elements fire and water. He also creates Brahmā through the navel of Viṣṇu. So it is billions of years the creation took place through Lord Śiva. Then, after this planet was created, He is the Lord who blessed this planet with yoga vidyā, meaning the knowledge of yoga. All mantras, yantras, the spirituality, everything came through Śiva. We have 52 alphabets, and these 52 Sanskrit alphabets are called Devanāgarī. And these 52 are the protectors, the guards in the universe, as a resonance, sound. So language is coming from resonance, and the seed of that resonance is in our navel. After that, many ṛṣis came. It’s a long story. You should read the Purāṇas and very ancient Indian literatures. You will know that India is that holy country, that holy land where thousands or millions of holy incarnations took place. That’s it. One man said, "In his garden, one fruit of cherry came in my tree." No trees can give. A neighbor said, "Look in my garden." Like in Strelka, one tree has five thousand trees, so India is that tree where there are millions of holy incarnations. Every village has a history; in the past, there have been some holy saints. So, read those ancient literatures. It is wondrous. Our mind will not function anymore. We will say, what? A poor man opens one lid of a big pot, and inside are kilos and kilos of jewelry, diamonds. He will say what? One man was playing the lottery—it’s about the country which was behind the curtains from Czechoslovakia; we were inside, they were behind—and he was a poor man. And can you imagine? He won 150 million DM. And when he got the message, he had a heart attack. He didn’t see the money, so much. Out of happiness, he died. At least for the good that he died out of happiness. So that holy land, India, which at present is not that one. Now the Indians are hungry towards the materialistic life, which the West has rejected and India has accepted. That’s it. When you practice yoga, Indians say, what? You say, "I’m vegetarian." They say, "What? You’re vegetarian?" But you are European, you don’t eat meat, no alcohol. They think that Europeans are only sitting in the tank of alcohol and only they have meat, nothing else, and they think that’s best. So they will pay back, and they are already suffering. And unfortunately, the Indian government also has such a constitution; they don’t support the religion or the ancient wisdoms. That’s it, but still there is a possibility to read and go to the libraries and see those literatures. If you will read or you will hear about that, only from listening, you will become young, and you wish to live long, and you will feel that till today you were in kindergarten. That wisdom, you know, the Slovakians have a very... and cheese, what they call brinza, and then you go to Rajasthan and make something dahlia and put yoghurt and say, "This is halushki and brinja." A Slovakian will smile. A Slovakian will say, "One day, I should show this person real halushki and brinja." So when we speak about creation, incarnations, spirituality, siddhis, God, sometimes I have to smile. So yoga is universal, but many, many yoga masters, teachers, gurus in India, in the West, many doctors, they put certain exercises for a particular purpose together, and that’s it, and they gave the name. Now, to have a hot and cold water treatment, this is from the time of Dhanvantari in Satya Yuga. It is an Āyurveda treatment: hot water, cold water, hot water, cold water. Now, it is known after some other’s name; I have forgotten, Knive. And knives were somewhere, persons, no? A priest, so how the Āyurveda technique became known, and that’s how yoga became a physiotherapy or a sport. So that’s changing. Humans try to change something, therefore every yoga teacher... around the world, it doesn’t matter in which country or which kind of yoga they are teaching, they are good. Every yoga teacher in the world works for health and for world peace. So it doesn’t matter which school they follow or which teacher they follow, it’s good. Some have therapeutical progress, some have only spiritual, and so on. But Yoga in Daily Life is unique. It has many, many techniques, so it is spiritual, physical, mental, social, and so on. So there is also developed one exercise called Sūrya Namaskār, and this means salutation to the sun. This was developed in Banaras, and the time of the sun rising is beautiful there. Part 2: The Living Tradition of Yoga This practice was then accepted, developed, and practiced by Swami Sivananda in Ṛṣikeśa, and he wrote about it in a book named Sūrya Namaskār. But in Benares, there was also the adoration of the sun, which involves very beautiful dynamic movements. Similarly, we now have Khatu Pranam. Khatu is the holy place where Mahāprabhujī incarnated and lived. There is a beautiful, large banyan tree that is many, many years old—I think more than five or six hundred years. Mahāprabhujī lived there under this tree and had a small room. Unfortunately, it is very pitiful. Out of my ignorance, when I reconstructed this ashram, I removed that room of Mahāprabhujī because it was in the middle. After Mahāprabhujī left this world, many people did not take care. People were just sitting there playing cards and similar things; they spoiled the atmosphere. They carved some bad words on the stones inside, so I said, "Now, better to remove it." But now, for many days and times, I think I made a mistake. We could have replaced some stones but kept that room. So I understand why the Czech authority would like to preserve this castle. Though we are a little unhappy that we cannot change the rooms or make an extra toilet and so on, the origin is origin. A first-hand message is better. So what I am teaching you, yoga, is called first-hand yoga, and you will be the second hand. Or one of my left hand and one of my right hand. So you will say, "No, I am also the right hand, the first hand," because I am Swamiji’s right hand, and I am Swamiji’s left hand. If you represent and will teach yoga further, this is the quality of yoga and a dedicated life. But as long as you do not follow the discipline and Guruvākya... My situation is different. Rabindranath Tagore, the winner of the Nobel Prize in poetry, was looking at the sunset and was sad because the sun was very sad. The sun said, "My time is gone. I gave so much light and prāṇa to this creation, but now my time to go has come. Sunset—who will take my place?" Then there was a little lamp lit on the altar, and a bell was ringing. He looked to the temple and saw a small, tiny flame in the temple making Āratī. The flame said to the sun, "I will try. I cannot be like you, but I will try to give light to these creatures." So sometimes I am also thinking, when you do not follow the discipline or understand the Guruvākya, what will be better? I should not die for so long a time. I will screw. So, Khatu—where Mahāprabhujī also dictated these bhajans, where Mahāprabhujī dictated his bhajans. Ninety-eight percent of the bhajans of Mahāprabhujī were dictated by him, and Gurujī was writing. And holy—Gurujī’s memory was so good. Gurujī said that sometimes he could learn by heart 25 bhajans. Prabhu Bhīma—that was his memory. We even cannot remember one telephone number; they are only six or seven numbers, yes? Prashim, what is your number? 36,984? Once more: three, three, nine... no, no. That is our memory. Gurujī said Mahāprabhujī would say, "Bhajan complete," and then say, "Go and write down." That was the most, most joyful work for Gurujī. Gurujī said, "When Mahāprabhujī gave me a duty and told me to do this work, there was nothing more joyful than this. It does not matter—sweeping the whole āśram yard, cleaning, washing, cooking." And he said, "The most beautiful was the most divine." Sometimes, because they had no bathroom, they had to sit somewhere on a stone and wash with a bucket. Sometimes, Mahāprabhujī said to Gurujī, "Come and wash my back." Oh, Gurujī said that was for him. I was somewhere else. That is seva. At least in memory and in honor to our Bhagavānśrī Deep Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī, we salute through this name, that holy place. When you think "Khatu Pranām," it is accepted by Mahāprabhujī immediately. And, of course, every posture is explained by our doctors also, and physiotherapists and yoga teachers—how beautiful is also the dynamic movement, stretching and influencing our energy centers, and developing the immunity in the body. So just imagine: Khatu Pranam, and you are there. Through this name, you receive the energy. Only through the name can it happen. When God Rāma had to go for 14 years in the forest, before that, there was a saint called Viśvāmitra who wanted to perform a yajña, but the negative energies, the devils, did not let it succeed. The principle was that if you become angry, then your yajña will not be successful. So if you become angry, your sādhanā will not be successful. The devils were coming; they were throwing the bones of animals into the yajña fire. They were pouring the blood of animals and humans into the fire. They disrupted it, and Viśvāmitra should not become angry. Otherwise, he was one of the angriest ones, and you know how many thousands of years of tapasyā he had. He just gave a donation of his 72,000 years of tapasyā’s power. So, 72,000 years—who is meditating and thinking of God? Can you imagine how much power is there? We also meditate half an hour. And when Swamiji makes like this... then many things... oh, now he will sing Aum. So I am making this purposely, you know. And now feel the whole body and prāṇa together. Again, no. So that is the condition of a few minutes of meditation when we are doing it. Seventy-two thousand years. He just gave it. Like you have many cherry trees, and you pick one basket full of cherries and just give it to the neighbors. That was the ṛṣis. Only through his look, he could burn them all, the rākṣasas. But they know you should not be angry. Do not use your temperament and anger against anyone; otherwise, your sādhanā is not successful. So Viśvāmitra went to ask King Daśaratha to send his two sons, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, to guard that yajña. The king was very sad, but also he could not refuse. First, when the guest comes, the guest is God. But when the saint asked, then you cannot refuse. Now, okay, he can ask anything; we will do it, give it. But Viśvāmitra asked Daśaratha to send his two sons, very young boys. Daśaratha was afraid. They were 17- or 18-year-old young boys. "I cannot feel that I should send them with you," he said. Viśvāmitra said, "Okay, I go." That also he did not want, because when he sees anger or dissatisfaction, it is like a curse. So he sent Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. You know, God does not incarnate for one thing, but for many, many. So some hundreds of years before, there was one ṛṣi living in a hut with his wife. One day, the ṛṣi went for bathing somewhere in a lake or river, and the king of heaven, Indra, came to his hut to his wife. He changed his form to look like the ṛṣi, but at the same time, the ṛṣi came. So Indra came out of the door and ran away. He had a fear of the ṛṣi. But you know, sometimes men cannot endure jealousy. Women may suffer, but they will wait. That is why they are women. So the ṛṣi was angry, and he cursed his wife. She became a rock. But thanks to God, no man has such power now. So, girls, you need not be afraid. Those men were different. When someone becomes angry at you, you can just say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, yes, yes." That is it. Neither he has power, nor you. Now she is there as a rock, and it is said God Rāma will incarnate when he will bless her; then she will wake up from the rock again as a human. So they were passing through this ashram, and Viśvāmitra said to Rāma, "This is the poor lady Ahalyā." Her name was Ahalyā, and Rāma was so sad, and he touched his feet to the rock. And see, again from the rock, she got up as a woman, and he liberated her. So, what can happen through such a great sense? In their name, there is a lot of power. So now Rāma has to cross the river. Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, and Sītā, the three of them, when they had to go to the forest—of course, Rāma protected the yajña. The yajña was successful, everything was happy, happy end. Now they have to cross the river, so there was one boat seller, and he asked Rāma, "Brother, can you let us cross this river with your boat?" And he asked, "Who are you?" So he said, "I am the son of Daśaratha, Rāma, my brother Lakṣmaṇa, and my wife Sītā." He said, "No." Sorry. Rāma said, "Why?" You know, I heard that you touch a rock and the rock became a woman. You touch my boat, and it will become a woman. One I have at home. What will I do with the second one? No, no, no. So Rāma said it will not happen. He said, "What security do you give me?" He said, "I tell you," but the bhakta, he knew it is God. He said, "First I will wash your feet, then I will drink this water. I will see if I become a woman. If nothing happens to me, then of course you can sit in my boat." So now happily he is washing the feet of Rāma and drinking; he knew what he was doing. And now they sit in the boat; they had nothing to pay. Now for Rāma, it was a very unpleasant situation. You should pay the fare. Looking left, looking right, Sītā had one ring. She took the ring and said, "Brother, this ring we pay you as a fare." Rāma said, "Please take it." Then he said with folded hands, "No, that is too little. What do you think? But I have one wish: I will let you cross this river. Please let me cross the ocean of ignorance to come to you." Deep Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, what a great thought. So even in the name there is a lot of power. So when we remember Mahāprabhujī Khaṭū, the bhaktas’ hair stands on end. But only a bhakta can understand who is who. Therefore, Khatupranām. Alone, while practicing khatupranām, you think of Khatu or Mahāprabhujī. Half of disease will disappear by itself. That is why I gave the name Khatu Pranam. Many of you have been there; many were not there. Mahāprabhujī met Devpurījī in Khatu Hills, and Devpurījī was residing in Khatu sometimes. That was one bhakta’s house. Even still today, there is a fireplace where Devpurījī used to sit and live in that small room. It is on the rock up in the village, and down was this field, sand. And there was a banyan tree. So Devpurījī said, "Here is your tapasyā." And so Mahāprabhujī stayed there. Also Holī Gurujī stayed with him. Then Devpurījī said to Mahāprabhujī, "Go and reside on that other place we call Devdungrī." It was a small sandy hill. Because people were afraid, they were thinking there is a ghost. So Devpurījī said, "If there is a rākṣasa, now you go and make it Devas." And that is why the ashram is called Devdungri. So, khatuprāṇām and the yoga in daily life has a special divine blessing. You try, you practice, and accept. Do not say no. It is beautiful. So Gurujī said for him it was the nectar, the amṛta, and from the big toe of Mahāprabhujī’s nails, every day Gurujī would wash and drink. And many, many bhaktas have got the nails of Śrī Mahāprabhujī’s toes and fingers. Every day before they drink anything, water in the morning, they dip in the nail of Mahāprabhujī and then they drink. Jako nektar. Ostatní ne. Only a baby knows what is mother’s milk; others do not know. And therefore, this entire system—I have been thinking for so many years what to put in, what not to put in—all prāṇāyāmas, āsanas, meditations, lectures, everything. And you are the fortunate ones, that you can get this. And I am sure that we know each other from many lives. Otherwise, you will not survive in front of my temperament. Therefore, sometimes it is said, when a master is not angry, then he is not a master. If a master is not strict, then he is not a master, like the story of that snake. Outside, it is frightening, but inside, it does not want to bite. The ocean on the surface has many waves, and the bottom is motionless. That is it. Therefore, it is said—what is that? You have definitely read in Līlā Amṛt. One story is beautiful. Often Mahāprabhujī was invited to give a satsaṅg and stay in Jodhpur at the Mahārāja’s. At that time, this palace, Umedvavan, was not there. It was built after. And in the service of the Mahārāja, there was one man who was taking care of the kitchen management and so on. His name was Devī Siṅghjī—an old man, living still—and he was in sevā to Mahāprabhujī. So one day Mahāprabhujī said, "Well, today I should have a bath." So there was a bathtub, a mobile bathtub. One could sit inside. So he filled the water and told Mahāprabhujī, "Please, bath is ready." Mahāprabhujī came, he took his shirt off, and so on, and now that man begins to think. Mahāprabhujī’s body was heavy, and when he would sit, the water would flow all out. He is thinking. And Mahāprabhujī smiled and held his hand and stepped with one foot in the bathtub and told him, "Hold the towel." And what he sees—he was paralyzed. Mahāprabhujī changed his body like a three- or four-year-old boy. He takes a deep in, out, playing with the water, washing. He was fixed, and then Mahāprabhujī stood up as a normal body and stepped one foot out. "Give me a towel. You have no trust. You should have trust in Gurudeva." How much water is split out? He said, "Mahāprabhujī, your līlā, you know." So, like that, many things happened. Now, as evidence, Chidānand made a video interview with that man, and he tells the same story that I say. So we will collect all the stories, and as we have evidence, we will give the CD with Līlā Amṛt. Good idea? So, Deepan Bhagwan, unfortunately tomorrow is the end of the seminar. The program begins tomorrow at nine o’clock. You have breakfast from eight to nine o’clock. At eight o’clock, begin to pack your things, and we will be here about quarter to ten for a one-hour program to say goodbye. People who would like to stay longer are welcome. Enjoy the garden, fresh air, evening satsaṅg. If you have long holidays, no problem. Stay here. That is it. The next webcasting will be on Guru Pūrṇimā. There will be many, many hours, and according to the hour—nine o’clock time—I will send a message of Guru Pūrṇimā in English, so it means it is 12:30 in India. So from 12:30 to 1:00 in the night, the message for Guru Pūrṇimā will be for this part of the world. And for Australia and New Zealand, another part of Japan, China, and Korea, it will be a different time. So it will be two times Guru Pūrṇimā message for you in English. And in all of August we will be here. How nice. Beautiful. So now we will have prayer, and all dear brothers and sisters around the world who are with us through webcast, I wish you all the best: good health, healthy, happy, long life.