AvadhootaDatta Peetham

Discourse of HH Sri Datta Vijayananda Teertha Swamiji during Kriya Yoga Conference day 1 and 2 - Nada Mantapam - Mysore
Kriya Yoga Conference day 1 - December 30, 2012

Sri Ganeshaya Namaha
Sri Sarasvatyai Namaha
Sri Pada Vallabha Narasimha Sarasvati,
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha

Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Sadugurbhyo Namha

Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheshwaraha. Guru Saaskhaat Parambrahma, Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha
Akhanda Mandala Kaaram, Vyaaptam Yena Charaacharam. Tatpadam Darsitam Yena, Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha.
Ajnana Timiraandhasya Jnanaajnana Salakaya. Chakshur Unmilitam Yena Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha

There is peace in Ashrama. Peace physically, mentally as well as for the soul. Blessings to everyone present. Blessings to all teachers who requested this conference. The timing of this conference is good – we are welcoming 2013 with Kriya Yoga (KY). One who welcomes his day, his week, his month, his year with KY will have a lot of joy. We end with good, we start with good. We have no idea where we will end our life. Don’t bother about it. We are grateful to Swamiji that He made us start the year with KY. Forget about past, live in present, plan for future. If you don’t plan for future, nothing to worry, it’s fine. But, you have to live in present, make use of present. That is yoga. If you forget present, then you are not a yogi, you are spoiling your life. Yoga gives us many benefits.

Yoga is of 3 types; we have to practice all 3 types of yoga. One is physical - kayaka, second is vachaka, that is through your words, controlling your tongue. Controlling your tongue from bad words is vachaka. Third is manasika yoga. These three are very important. Yoga does not mean only physical yoga. Nowadays, many think yoga is just physical. Yoga is for lifetime. Yoga is not just for only young people or just for old people or just for children. Yoga is for everyone in the world. KY is for everyone in the world. That is why many times Sri Swamiji teaches KY to children. Many wonder, how children at age 10 can learn yoga. But we have to teach. Yoga is a lifetime lesson . If you are not educated, no problem. Education is not required, knowledge is what’s required in KY. No one can master all subjects. You cannot be master in all subjects in the world. Be good at your subject. Our subject in the Ashrama is devotion. Be good in devotion. Because, to get the fruit of Yoga, as is it is said in shastras, is very difficult. In Hindi they say “pahunche hue yogi”. To reach Sahasrara is very difficult. To raise your Kundalini is very difficult. Our 10 minute practice, our 15 minute practice, our 30 minute practice is not enough to raise Kundalini. Let me clear one thing. Kundalini can be raised by the grace of Sathguru, no doubt in it. Even if you are a person who never practiced yoga for 10 minutes in your life, Guru can make you a real yogi. Yoga can be achieved by bhakti, by devotion. Neither shakti, not yukti are required in yoga. With shakti, with power, with energy, you cannot achieve the goal of yoga. Doing yoga with yukti, with intelligence, thinking “Oh if I do like this, I will get results, if I don’t do this, I will get results” won’t work. Logic doesn’t work in yoga. Only bhakti works in yoga. Only devotion works in yoga. Devotion towards whom? Devotion towards yourself. That is yoga. You devote yourself to yourself. That is yoga. That is why we are all here. It’s very difficult to devote ourselves to ourselves. That’s why we devote ourselves to Sathguru. Sathguru then makes us devote ourselves to ourselves. Devotion is nothing but pure faith. Keep faith in yourself. Keep faith in God. “Whoever I’m following, whichever the path I’m following in Yoga, this will definitely lead me to a wonderful goal”. This should be in our hearts always. This will lead us to success.

To develop this bhakti, this devotion, we have to practice KY, we have to practice 3 kinds of KY. Many times Sri Swamiji says that you should make KY your life. KY is your life. Whenever you talk, whenever you see, whenever you think, whatever you do, whenever you sleep, eat, all times, be a yogi. Don’t let the feeling of KY leave your mind, or your heart. That is real KY. I think it is very easy in Ashrama. There is no need to think when you are in the Ashrama. That’s because we are not bothered about worldly things. Some people forget their house, their children when they return from the Ashrama. Some people stay in Ashrama for 10 or 15 days, they even forget their children’s names. They ask their children what their name is. This happens in Ashrama. Our question is, what is the position, the situation in worldly life? It is very difficult. Yes, I agree, it is very difficult in worldly life. But, with practice, anything can happen. Practice makes perfect. KY is nothing but practice. Practice of KY does not mean only pranayam or doing yoga asanas. We cannot do yoga asanas for hours together. We cannot do pranayam for hours together. It’s not even suggested. It’s not good. You are not supposed to do pranayama for more than 48 minutes. This is what the Shastras say. It’s not good for your health. Your body won’t take it. There is a limit to how much even the most gluttonous person can eat. We have some limitations in our life; we have some limitation around the quantity of food we can eat, we have some limitation for everything. Limit. Control. Limitation is Yoga. Not controlling. Controlling is also yoga, but when you control your senses, you have to know about it. You can’t just force it. You have to know and then do KY.

Let us discuss Kayaka Yoga. Kaya means body. There are 3 types of yoga. Can you understand my English? I think my English is poor. Everyone responds saying they can understand Swamiji very well and that His English is good. You should question yourself about whether you are doing good or not. If you are doing something for people, you should find out whether people can understand you or not. Just closing your eyes and saying whatever you want is not good. Ask people. We live in society. We should adapt and lead our life according to society. If you go and live in the Himalayas, no need to bother about society. A Kriya Yogi should not hurt anyone.

Why should we discuss yoga? It’s when we discuss, we understand. God gave me us a tongue to speak good. God gave us ears first and then the mouth. So, listen first and then talk. I like listening more than talking. God gave us two ears, but one tongue. Not 2 tongues, one tongue.

Let us discuss kayaka yoga. Kayaka yoga is physical yoga. All the parts, all the organs in the body can be used for yoga. Then only you become a good yogi. Then only we can become good Kriya Yogis. Always think about “we”, not “I”. When you replace”i” in illness with “we”, it becomes “wellness”. Remove “I” from life and put “we”. Place Sathguru in your life. That is the “we” – “Sathguru and I”. We all try for wellness. Wellness is good heart, good thoughts, good life, good social life – we need everything. Don’t say I don’t want anything. We need everything. But, we have to know where to stop. That is called “Trupti”. Trupti is satisfaction or contentment. Trupti comes from Sathosha or Ananda. And Ananda comes from Trupti. Without Trupti, you are not “Anandi”. If you want happiness, if you want to keep yourself happy, there should be some Trupti. That is why after all the functions here in Nada Mantapa or any other place, Sri Swamiji waves His hand before going inside. He comes to the edge of the state and looks at everyone. He goes inside, comes back again. He sees all devotees once again. Then, He says to everyone “Trupti ga velli andaru tinandi” (everyone be content and go have your prasadam). There is never enough contentment in Sathguru’s darshana. It’s never enough. You keep asking for more. Than Sathguru says that even in Guru Darshana, you have to be content. If you have to be content in Guru Darshana, what can we say about other worldly things? Spending time with Guru is everything to a devotee. But, Sathguru says we should be content.

“When it’s time to leave Ashrama, go to your world and do your worldly duty”. Why does Swamiji say this? Because if there is no contentment, we cannot be happy. To get happiness, you have to be content. This is kayaka yoga. Contentment relates to 3 types of yoga. Contentment should be vaachaka, manasika and kayaka yoga. Kayaka yoga is physical yoga. Let us start with Sahasrara – going from head to toe.

Hair covers your head. After sometime, the hair becomes gray. There’s a lesson in that. It indicates the passage of time. Always think about time. You have to always keep time in your mind. One who forgets time is not a real yogi. There should be time sense in your mind. Time is very much required in KY. Time, time, time. Whatever you do, do it in a timely manner. That is discipline. From there, let’s come down to our brain. Brain is manasika yoga, that is psychic yoga, mind yoga. Think good always. That is psychic yoga. That is mind yoga. When you come down further to forehead, decorate your forehead with gandham (sandalwood paste). Like Swamiji always wears tilaka, just like Lord Krishna does. It’s good to wear something on your forehead, at least vibhuti. Why? Vibhuti is holy ash. I don’t agree. I don’t like the word “ash”. After smoking or burning also, we get ash. Vibhuti is different. It’s ashta aishwaraya. That’s kayaka yoga for forehead. We come to ears. We have to listen to Guru’s words. That’s Karna Yoga. Listen, listen, listen. Listen and keep in your heart. And always think about Guru’s words. Swamiji gives many lectures. Even when he has cough and it’s difficult to talk, He still talks for the benefit of the devotees so you can listen and think about his words.


Then chakshu yoga, netra yoga. See good, seek good, see supreme soul, see Sathguru everywhere. See good in everyone. Good means what? This is a difficult question to answer. A pig sees good in its piglets. Some people hate pigs. Some hate dogs, birds. But for those beings, it is good. What is good? Good means whichever gives happiness without polluting your heart. Whatever it is, whatever it may be, if it pollutes your heart, if it pollutes your thoughts, then it is bad. Now, you know what is good. If it is making changes in your heart, don’t see. If it is good for you, see. When the surgeon operates, he sees things inside the body. He sees things that are not good for the body. He operates and then he’s happy with the result he sees.

Always try to see good, that is netra yoga, chakshu yoga. From there, we come to nose. We cannot smell good always. But, why do we have nose? To do pranayama. That’s Anjaneya shakti. That’s the use of nose. God gave us nose to smell vada or masala dosa? We should choose our path instead of questioning why there are different paths. You take what you want, what’s right for you. That’s what a yogi does.

In Sundarakanda, Hanuman searches intensely for Sita. Hanuman wants to see Sita Mata, but he also is curious about what Ravana is like. He first searched in the palace. After a lot of search in the palace, he couldn’t find Sita Mata. He thought of ending his life since he couldn’t find Sita Mata. He suddenly smelled vadas. Valmiki maharishi describes this in his narrative. The Wind God (Vayu) was drawing him in a particular direction. Vayu Deva was helping Hanuman. We need smell. Where the smell of food was coming from, He saw Ravana. Next to Ravana was lying Mandodari. Why am I mentioning this? Smell. Smell is important. Pranayama. Surya Chandra nadi bhedana, Sahaja pranayama, Sheetali etc are some of the different types. Why do we have a nose? To do pranayam. Humans have this special faculty.

God also gave us a mouth, to smile. The human structure is very special, different from all beings in the world. Our structure is very special. God has given us a special mouth. Why? To smile. While you do Yoga, while you do anything, your duty, do so smilingly. Sometimes, a mechanical smile is also good. Swamiji always says to not sit seriously. Keep smiling, smile is good. Our heart has a great relationship with our smile. Smiling lowers your blood pressure. Smiling is good. Once you start smiling, it becomes a practice. You have to smile with your heart. Practice it. Whatever problems you have, you will win easily. Every word is important. If Swamiji asks you how you are, don’t say, you are not good. Always say you are good even if you are not. Automatically you’ll become good even if you are not . That’s good nature. Develop. Smiling is good. So God gave us this unique structure so we can smile.

We have 5 Jnanedriyas or Sensory organs: Tvak (touch), Chaksu (sight), Shrotra (hearing), Jihva (taste) and Ghrana (smell). It is said that if you can cover the earth with your skin, you can get mukti (libration) without bhakti (devotion). But, since it’s not possible to cover the earth with your skin, it’s not possible to get mukti without bhakti.

Kayaka yoga is hatha yoga. It’s good to practice Asanas. If you are not able to do all the asanas like Garuda Asana, Utthana Asana, Paschimotta Asana – these are difficult – it’s fine. Do some exercises. You have to move your body a little. That reduces your stress. There’s a procedure to move your body. That’s hatha yoga. Hatha yoga comes under Kayaka Yoga.


Kriya Yoga Conference day 2 - December 31, 2012

Om Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Sadguru Namo Namaha
We’ve already received the message that 2013 is going to be a great year because Swamiji is going to bless us with a piano concert this evening in Nada Mantapa. Swamiji is welcoming 2013 with this paino concert. Swamiji says everyone should maintain pin-drop silence, only then will He play the piano. Our responsibility here is to be stay - absolutely silent. Only then can we hear it. There’s no mike, arrangements have been made in this hall for the audience to be able to hear the concert without a mike. Are we ready to maintain silence? Yes. Jaya Guru Datta!

We all know about Omkara. Omkara is shabda (sound) yoga, mantra yoga. Omkara is known as mantra rajam (origin of mantras). Omkara is the birthplace of all the Vedas, all words in this universe. All the letters are from Omkara. But when you are with Sathguru or when you are in a group doing satsang, then you can chant Omkara. If you are at your place, you are not supposed to chant Omakra. That is the condition in shastras. If you join any mantra with Omkara then it is fine. Like Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namo Narayanaya, Om Namo Hanumante Namaha, like that. But, chanting Omkara separately, chanting Omkara alone is not suggested. Because, Omkara is a lot of detachment. You may say, “Yes Swamiji, we need detachment”. But, that is not true. Full detachment is complete vairagya - it’s very difficult to attain. We have some responsibilities. We have to fulfill them. We are worldly people. We have some duties to do. We have some responsibilities to fulfill. Omkara gives detachment by which we cannot keep our worldly nature. That is the reason that without the upadesha or permission of Guru, we are not supposed to chant Omkara. Mantras with Omkara or joining Omkara with mantras is fine, no problem. But, there is no permission to chant Omkara separately. If Sathguru permitted you to chant Omkara by itself, you can, no problem. You have to take Guru’s permission. Permission is Upadesha. Sometimes, Guru doesn’t give Upadesha. He simply instructs you to chant a certain mantra today onwards. That is Upadesha. Don’t fret and bother that you haven’t received Upadesha, that you have listen to mantra from Guru. No. Not required. If Guru says “Yes, you can do this mantra”, that is Upadesha. Permission from Guru is Upadesha. If you are permitted to do Omkara, Pranavanada, you can do it. Without permission, you cannot chant Omkara. But in Satsang, in a group, you can chant Omkara, that too for a brief, limited time. That is the reason we are going to chant Pranava, Omkara for 11 times. Shall we? Let’s pray that our body mind and soul get purified.

We should never give up on our duty because we attained vairagya (renunciation) today. If you are married, you need to take care of your family, it’s your duty. There’s nothing above your duty. You may request to stay in the Ashrama due to temporary vairagya. There may be a lot of functions in the Ashrama and you get to see Swamiji every day. After sometime, you may not be able to see Swamiji, because Swamiji is very busy. You may then start searching for other things questioning your decision to stay in the Ashrama. That’s why Swamiji may ask you to wait for sometime before you move to the Ashrama. You should wait till then, continue chanting the mantras given by Swamiji. It doesn’t have to be Omkara, chant whatever mantra Swamiji gives you. If you are following, follow completely. It can’t be based on your convenience. Whatever He says, you should follow. Because He never wants to give you any discomfort. He doesn’t want to hurt you. In anything. That is why, follow completely. Imitating is not good. Following is good. We teach children, see, you have to become like Him. We teach. That means we have to cultivate their qualities. Not dressing like Him. You cannot become what He is just by dressing like Him. You have to develop qualities, good qualities that you see in Sathguru. That is Anusarana, that is following. Anusarana (following), not anukarana (imitating). You have to follow, not imitate. Let us do Omkara 11 times.

Close your eyes. While we chant Omkara, we concentrate on the nadam, the sound. We concentrate on the tip of the tongue or concentrate on the third eye (in the middle of the eye brows) or concentrate on Sahasrara.
Om…

Jaya Guru Datta! Open your eyes slowly. Harihi Om Tatsat.

Yesterday, we were discussing Trividhya yoga, that is 3 types of yoga. What were they? Kayaka, manasika and vachaka. 3 types of yogas. We discussed about Kayaka yoga yesterday. Kayaka is the dharma for your body, your shareera. There is a wonderful saying, “Your soul is not in your body, your body is in your soul”. It’s a wonderful saying. There’s a lot of discussion on this. We think our soul is in our body. But, the Supreme Soul is everywhere. How can it come and settle in our body. That is why they say your body is in your soul. That means we have constructed a compound, we have limited ourselves. But, this is for good. This limitation is good. After so many births…this is definitely not a first birth for me, I think. You think this is your first birth? Anyone? Does anyone think this is your last birth? The audience said they wish to make this birth their last birth. To reach this goal (of making this your last birth) is yoga. This is definitely not our first birth. We are here with so many karmas. All karmas together joined in this birth. But, we are very much blessed that we got this human birth. We are very much blessed. Definitely all the beings in this world are blessed. All the beings are special. But, humans are more special. To get this human birth, we need to do a lot of good karma. We did a lot of good karma, that is why we got this birth. We have to be thankful to God, to Sathguru to for giving us such a wonderful birth, this human birth. Knowing this understanding this we are special. If you don’t think we are special, then starting thinking you are special. You are special, yes. Whichever body you have, it may be black, white, red, anything, whatever it is, whether it’s a healthy body or diseased. Don’t worry about it. Whichever body you got from Supreme Soul, from Paramatma, from Sathguru, is good. “I have to utilize this. I have to make use of this”. This thought should always be there in your mind. “I have to utilize this”. Utilizing in two ways – one is spiritually, another one is socially. One is Pravrutti, another is Nivrutti. Both are important. You need to balance. Sometimes, we get disturbed. Devotees can be disturbed worldly. We have to balance it. We have to understand the nature. We have to understand the creation. Understanding the nature, understanding the creation is yoga. Understand. Understand creation. Don’t just wonder why something is like this and why something is like that. However creation is, you be right, you do right. That’s why you are doing yoga sadhana for your own good. However the world around you is, it should show no effect on you. In the beginning it will affect you. But with sadhana, you should win over it.

Kayaka yoga is doing sadhana with body, doing good with body. You use the body for good purpose. Protect the body. Don’t neglect the body. Over affection towards the body is not good either. Those who neglect the body cannot be yogis. Don’t neglect your body. Even if mahatmas come from the heavens, even Sri Swamiji doesn’t neglect the body. We misunderstand. Food is important to protect the body. If you take good food, the body gets protection. The food should be right. Body is not just a few kilograms of weight. There are a lot of things in the body. To protect everything in the body, along with food, yoga is very essential. In yoga, we are talking about kayaka yoga. This is shareera (body) yoga. Shareera yoga extends from head to toe. Exercise or yoga is important. We do neck exercise. Starting from there, till we reach the toe, we should exercise all parts every day. What can include all this (all parts of the body)? Surya Namaskara (sun salutations). Do Surya Namaskara everyday. Anybody can do it. Even if someone is really old, exercise in your chair. You can’t do Surya Namaskara in chair. Do other exercises. That way, every part of the body needs exercise. We know but we forget. We give many reasons for not doing yoga. We are busy. We have too much work. That’s very wrong. We should allocate time for ourselves, Yoga stipulates that. Thinking that allocating time for ourselves is selfish is wrong. We should allocate time for ourselves. We should do sadhana. That’s Hatha Yoga. Through Asanas, though Pranayana, we get Prana Shakti. Every 90 minutes, do Pranayana - Sahaja Pranayama wherever you are. Draw out your inhalation and exhalation in a relaxed manner, at least 3 times. Set an alarm if you need to for a month or two. Then, you will get used to it. This is very good and very essential. However stressed you are, whatever tensions you have, you will be able to work coolly. We will be able to concentrate and you will be success. That’s why practice Pranayam. With that, whatever tensions and pressures there are around us, won’t affect us. To reduce the pressure, we take whatever action we need to. Alongside that, we should be relaxed inside. You may say Swamiji looks very relaxed today. Swamiji always looks relaxed. It’s because you are relaxed today that Swamiji looks relaxed to you. He’s Ananda Swaroopa (epitome of happiness). He will appear the way you think. Narasimha Swamy appeared fierce to everybody, but looked pleasing to Prahlada. Even Devas and Narada fled. Prahlalda went close to Narasimha Swamy and prostrated. We should learn from such examples. These are not made-up stories. These are true events. We should listen to these with devotion. Then, we should analyze these for ourselves. We should try to be like Prahlada. Then Prahlada will be born within us. Then we can have darshan of Narasimha Swamy. No need for Narasimha Swamy to take incarnation again. He’s always there.

In Markandeya Purana, there’s a beautiful sloka in the beginning that describes Maha Vishnu. Sage Vyasa is describing Maha Vishnu. Where’s Maha Vishnu? In a big ocean – this creation is an ocean. We keep getting overwhelmed with a small office or a family. This creation is an ocean. In this ocean, Maha Vishnu is being described. The ocean is fierce. There’s a big snake in the ocean, with a thousand hoods. Thousand is a number just for our convenience, the snake has countless hoods. What’s it doing? It’s spitting venom. Why? Vishnu is sleeping on it. It keeps moving. To balance itself in the water, it exhales. So, the venom is automatically part of that exhalation. Adi Sesha is not an ordinary snake. We get scared of a king cobra. Adi Sesha is spitting venom and is enormouns. It is supporting Maha Vishnu’s weight and balancing itself. It’s restraining itself to support Lord Vishnu. In restraining itself, the blood is going to its eyes. Its eyes are so red, there’s smoke emanating from them. The venom is also falling into the ocean. In the midst of this chaos, Maha Vishnu is reclining with one arm under his head. He’s sleeping with a smile on his face. It’s a beautiful smile. Because of that smile, the waves, the snake’s movement and venom seem like a happy dance. This is not the greatness of the ocean or Adi Sesha. It’s the greatness of Maha Vishnu. Because He’s calm and happy, those fierce ocean and waves seem like they are gently rocking the snake. The fierce snakebecomes a bed. This is Maha Vishnu Stuti. This describes Maha Vishnu.
“Shantakaram bhujaga sayanam padmanabham suresham”. We bow to Him. We don’t become a yogi just by bowing to Him. We should pray to Him. Why should we bow or pray to Him? We should think about how we can imbibe His virtues. Then, the world around us, our tensions, our responsiblities, samsara, our family will appear. We should be able to see Maha Vishnu on Adi Sesha in our hearts. He appears as our Sathguru to us in our hearts. Only yogis who pray to their beloved Guru’s feet in their hearts get to have darshan of His feet. Yogis mind should hold the feet of their beloved deity . How should they steady their mind? It’s a big question. Even Arjuna had this question. He looks like he’s in Vishada (sorrow) yoga, but he’s a great Guru. He asked many questions on our behalf. This is one of the questions. “How can you control the mind?” Krishna said it was very hard. True. But, with practice, it’s possible. What’s practice? Keeping the feet of the Lord in the heart. He will come and stay in our heart. Think of the feet. If one has darshan of the feet of the Lord, all obstacles will be gone. That’s why they say Guru Pada darshana is important. Steady it in our your heart. It’ll give you mansika yoga.

Vachaka yoga is yoga through words. Speaking good words…if you read and hear good, you will speak good. You should practice good. Always chant the mantra you are given. Think of God all the time. There’s power and influence in it. That’s yogam. Yogis that don’t do nama sankeertana are not yogis. Doing nama smaran (chanting the Lord’s name) is Nada Yoga, chanting mantra is Nada Yoga. There’s more power in Namam (name) than in form. That’s Vachaka yoga . Kayaka yoga, Manasika yoga, Vachaka yoga should be practiced. Always think of it. Then, you will automatically follow it. Ask yourself, “Is this Kayaka yoga or Manasika Yoga or Vachaka Yoga?” Think about it. Guru will answer within your heart. All of you do this sadhana. May you all get yoga siddhi. Very happy that 2012 is being sent off like this. 2013 is being welcomed. Do Kriya Yoga. I’m very happy. All teachers are serving well. I pray that you can serve more. May Guru Anugraha be completely showered on you. May all your friends, relatives, people in your neighborhood learn yoga. You propagate it. It’s your duty. That seva will give you yoga siddhi. Such seva is also Kayaka yoga. You will get the benefit of such service. That’s also yoga. For Sampoorna (complete)yoga, you need a lot of time. To get it easily, you need the blessings of the Guru. Doing whatever Guru says is yoga. That’s real sadhana. May all of you become even better sadhakas. I’m very happy.



Courtesy: Archana Penukonda