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The essence is always the same

The essence of satsaṅg is transformation through timeless presence. Stories from the past contain profound teachings to be digested. Time and place dictate appropriate behavior, yet the essence of pure yoga remains constant, adapting through different eras. The teacher is always in accordance with time, yet also ahead of it. This foresight is demonstrated through precise predictions that later manifest. The required flexibility is not merely physical but of the heart and mind. Constant change transforms the disciple, akin to a worm becoming a bee, which is a necessary but difficult process. Being present in the satsaṅg's energy is a blessing, requiring no other duties. One must decide to absorb this transformative energy fully, like a wooden spoon retains honey. This energy changes individuals, society, and the environment. Physical presence is paramount; watching remotely is an incomplete experience. The teacher provides the essential current, like electricity to lighthouses or the thread in a mālā. Each disciple is given precisely what is needed to grow, whether in good soil or on stone.

"Your money will be better than a shilling. Two shillings will be one kuna."

"If you have a beautiful picture of a rose, it has no fragrance."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Praṇām Gurudev. Hari Om, dear brothers and sisters. The last two days we listened to many stories—nice stories from the past. It was truly good because every story contains something within, some profound teachings. If you listen carefully and then digest them, you can learn a great deal. We had a Guru Pūrṇimā satsaṅg, which for us is the holiest festival, the holiest day of the year, spent with Gurudev. I will return once more to the stories we hear here. I joke that the former Czechoslovakia was a secret society, even more secretive than the Masons. I heard about the secret satsaṅg forty or fifty years ago. But, thanks to God, time changes, and we have changed along with it. In yoga, it is very important to understand the concepts of Kāla and Deśa. This means that every time period has its own appropriate way of behavior, and so does every place. You will see Viśva Gurujī differently in every country. If you remember the past—fifty years ago, forty years ago, and now—it is slightly different. But what is the essence? The essence is always the same: pure yoga. From what I know, from forty years ago until now, there is always a little change. That is the beauty of Satsaṅg and Nāthadharma. The knowledge is always the same; the essence remains constant, but it adapts through time and environment. Remember when computers first appeared. At that time, Swāmījī was explaining spiritual concepts using the analogy of a computer. He did not remain stuck in the old, old times. Viśva Gurujī is always in accordance with the time—yet also ahead of it. That is the point. Swāmījī is always ahead of time. I recall one instance. There was a period of great, rapid inflation in Croatia. At that moment, during a walk, Viśva Gurujī turned to us and said, "Why do you complain? Your money will be better than a shilling. Two shillings will be one kuna." We started to laugh. It seemed impossible. "Your currency will be better than a shilling. It will be one shilling; for two shillings, it will be one kuna." We laughed, thinking it a good joke. But with Viśva Gurujī, it is never a joke. If you laugh and think something is impossible, you will soon realize it is true. In less than two months, Viśva Gurujī's words came to pass. It is a nice story illustrating how Viśva Gurujī is ahead of time. Viśva Gurujī is not so young in years, and we often think that young people are the ones who change and innovate. But we realize that Viśva Gurujī is always young and always changing. In the beginning, you might think, "Oh my God, this change is not..." but in the end, you see it is a good change. What we learn from Viśva Gurujī is not only āsanas—the need for physical flexibility—but the need to be flexible in the heart and in the mind. We must be flexible and open. Every seminar, even hour by hour, brings something new. What was almost impossible fifty or forty years ago is normal today, and who knows what tomorrow will bring? But thank God we are here in Střílky. Consider also Viśva Gurujī’s vision for the Jadan ashram. When I first visited Jadan, I thought, "Oh my God, why build a big ashram in the desert? No water, no trees." But now Jadan is completely different. Imagine the struggle in the beginning and how it looks now. All the time, Viśva Gurujī is changing—not only the ashrams, but he is changing us. A few days ago, I spoke about the bee and the worm. I said it is not a romantic story; it is painful for the worm. It is not easy to transform from a worm into a bee. That is also the transformation of every disciple. In the beginning, yes, I want to change. In the middle, I am unsure, but change must be constant. Just as Viśva Gurujī changed the ashrams—from the beginning of Střílky to how it looks now, from the desert of Jadan to the oasis, the paradise it is now—we know, we are not merely hoping, we know that Viśva Gurujī will change us all. We only need to stay on the path. For this opportunity to change, thanks to God, thanks to Mahāprabhujī, thanks to Viśva Gurujī, we now have six weeks here in Střílky. The energy will be here all that time. Our maṇḍala is the same as when you go on pilgrimage and enter that sacred energy; that energy changes you. But you know from the bhajans, and it is written in all holy books, that the feet of the Gurudev are more holy than any pilgrimage place. We have the opportunity to be here in Střílky, on this meadow or in that hall, and I must say, this is the holiest place. This energy, and all of you—all of us sitting here—creates a great energy. That energy is changing not only us. I must say that the energy of the satsaṅg, the energy of these six-plus weeks, followed by the webcast and ten more days—almost two months of intensive sādhanā, anuṣṭhān, and satsaṅg with Viśva Gurujī—is not only changing the people present in the seminar. That energy is changing the environment. It is changing the whole atmosphere, not only here in Střílky. If we have good energy, good thoughts—and in satsaṅg we have good thoughts, we sing bhajans and understand their meaning—thanks to God and Viśva Gurujī, we have the opportunity to understand what is in the bhajan. That energy has the potential to change the whole world. For that, it needs our dedication. When we are here, I remember once—I think it was yesterday—I heard mention of Reichenau. I remember Reichenau. For those of us from the former Yugoslavia, it was not so easy; we were in tents. It was a little cold at night and hot during the day. Someone complained a little, and I remember what Viśva Gurujī said: "What do you want? You are here on an Anuṣṭhāna. Someone is cleaning for you, someone is cooking for you. You need only to eat and to practice." In that moment, I realized, yes, it's true. But I was young. Twenty, thirty years later, I realized, oh, that is really luck. You don't need to do anything. Everyone here who takes care of a family, a home, and everything else knows that this is a blessing. You need only to sit and repeat your mantra. That is the blessing. We are here as if in paradise. You don't need to think about anything. It would also be good if we turned off our mobiles. No news, no such nonsense. Let us withdraw into this energy. There is one picture, only this: What Viśva Gurujī said—you have two spoons. One is a wooden spoon, and one is a metal spoon. If you put a wooden spoon in honey and keep it there for one week, afterwards you can clean it and taste it; you will still feel the honey. If you have an iron spoon, even left in the honey for one year, after washing it under water without any detergent, you will not have any taste. We are in this divine honey. It is only our decision whether we will be a wooden spoon or a metal spoon. Let us truly try to utilize this time, this summer retreat in Střílky and elsewhere, to take in this honey, this nectar. It will change our life. It will change our family, our society, our ashram, and finally, the whole planet will be changed for the good. Thank you for this opportunity to be in such a good place, which means satsaṅg—good company. In this good society, we will give the best of ourselves to change, to become better humans. You know that in yoga and daily life—as we hear almost every day now—we have many aspects of health: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. Our spiritual development will become visible, very nicely visible, in our social life. You hear a lot about this from Viśva Gurujī. Praṇām Gurudev. Hari Om, dear brothers and sisters. Now, Viśva Gurujī told us to speak something. Mahāmaṇḍaleśvarī Śāstrījī and Veṅkaṭpūrījī took so much time, so I will be very short. Don't worry. He said everything. It is really hard to say what more we should add, but still, I would like to say: You are all here, but to the dear brothers and sisters who are watching us on Swāmījī TV—just come. That is all I need to say. You know, we often say how lucky we are, and we really are lucky. Perhaps we sound a little boring to you who are here physically, but I would like to address those watching on Swāmījī TV: Come here. That is my only message for you: come here, be here physically. You know, Viśva Gurujī has said so many times: If you have a beautiful picture of the best horse, you cannot ride it. If you have a beautiful picture of a rose, it has no fragrance. If you are thirsty and have a beautiful picture of a spring, you cannot drink from it. Of course, we all enjoy modern times and the ability to watch satsaṅg over Swāmījī TV. But that is not the complete experience. Everyone here knows how they are feeling now, and you know how you feel when you are sitting at home, perhaps drinking tea and watching Swāmījī TV along with some cat cam, or your dog, or children, or whatever. It is not the same. So please, do not fall into that trap, thinking it is the same. It is not the same. Consider Darśan. In previous times, people walked miles and miles for Darśan. Now we say, "It is 600 kilometers from Croatia to Střílky, so far." No. And you know what? Many people came saying, "I will come only for the weekend." Now they say, "No, I want to stay longer. What can I do? I have to go to the office." This is what they feel here. The same applies to all our programs around the world. After Corona, it seems more people are staying home, thinking, "It is the same; I can pray at home." No, an ashram is an ashram. So, do not relegate this experience to a screen, big or small. Through a screen, a rose does not smell; you cannot feel things fully. This is a very beautiful place, and we are really, truly so lucky. I know I am boring by repeating that we are lucky, but we are lucky. So please, yes, know that you are lucky. I never attended programs by other teachers or spiritual leaders—only Viśva Gurujī’s programs. But due to circumstances a few months ago, we attended some other programs. What can I say? We just looked at each other and said, "Oh my God, we are so lucky." Yoga in Daily Life is perfect. Viśva Gurujī is perfect. And so, again, we are lucky. This knowledge, this vast, huge world of knowledge that Viśva Gurujī has given us, is something extraordinary. It is not usual; it is not normal. This program we have is not usual; it is special. Do not lose it. Our ashrams are lighthouses in the world. Some lighthouses are big, like Om Āśram—very big, you can see it from space. Some are small, like in some small centers. But every one of these ashrams is very important in this world of darkness. Sometimes, without this light, we would be lost. And you know, lighthouses are nothing without electricity. This electricity is our Gurudev. He provides the electricity to every ashram. Do not be mistaken; every ashram has its electricity from him. Also, he is the thread. You all have mālās. Every bead is very important, of course, but the thread that holds them all together—what is this? It is Viśva Gurujī. So be thankful. I am thankful, and I am very thankful because I know that Yoga in Daily Life is the only way I can practice my spirituality, because our Gurudev is so patient with us. Can you imagine? I know I am not easy, and without his patience, it would not be possible. In our new ashram in Croatia, we have his little house. We planted some beautiful flowers for him, of course. One of our sisters brought some flowers as well. We put them in good soil, watered them, took care of them, but somehow something was not right, and those flowers died. The next year, the same flowers grew again—but on a stone, not in the good soil. They grew on the stone. Then I realized: we are all so different. Some of us will grow in good soil with water. Some of us can grow only on stone. So I am really, truly happy and thankful to my Gurudev, our Gurudev, because he knew that. He gave each one of us what we need to grow. This is the difference between our school, our Gurudev, and many others. So do not lose it. Use it. Yoga in Daily Life is perfect. Our Gurudev is perfect. He is here. To waste that time is really, truly a loss. Do not do that. Do not substitute Darśan with a screen if you do not have to. Of course, if you cannot come, it is good to watch, but if you can come, Darśan is something really, truly special. Maintain our lighthouses; they are very important. Do not think, "I am in a small village, nobody is here." For someone, that light is perfect and in the right place. Thank you. It was very good. First was the bhajan, then very nice lectures. Everything was drawn out from something—good or bad—and it was very good for all of us. Now we will have the prayer. In order? We are all here for three nights. And how many of our old friends, our old yogīs, are here? You also. I see you, many of my disciples. All is for me; all is with me. Even if we wear different colors and you wear other colors, we are one. You have learned very much, and you have learned very much. You know, consider how many people are here from very different times and other Yugas. You see also they come from different countries. Here you can see from which diverse countries they came. Yes, this Māṭājī, yes. And she came from where? From a distance, no? And someone else from living there, and then comes here; others come from elsewhere. So first, we will have the prayer.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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