These are the most
crazy questions! Will the practice
of yoga, as it is being done
in Europe and America, help to bring about
a spiritual awakening? Is it true that yoga
will awaken deeper energy, which is called
kundalini? May I read it
once more? It's not necessary? Q:No.
K:Right? From the sublime
to the ridiculous. The so-called yoga, which the West,
and part of the East in India, was invented about
the 17th and 18th century, the exercises, in order not only
to have a very good body, healthy body, through force
- you understand? - through discipline,
through control, in order to awaken
so-called higher energy. 17th, 18th century. The real Yoga,
which is called Raja Yoga, King of Yogas, is to lead
a highly moral life, not morality according
to circumstances, according to culture, but true ethical
activity in life - not to hurt, not to drink,
not to drug yourself, right amount of sleep,
right amount of food, clear thinking, and acting morally, doing the right thing. I won't go into all that,
what is right and wrong. They never mentioned,
as far as I understand, after talking
with a great many scholars, they never mentioned
about exercise. They say exercise normally -
walk, swim, all that, but their emphasis was
a very moral life, a mind which is active. And modern yoga... The meaning of the word
you all know, you probably know. I have talked to the scholars
too and they say it doesn't quite mean that,
which is to join. The meaning of the word
'yoga' is to join, join the higher
with the lower, or the lower
with the higher. You understand? And modern yoga... I don't know why I am talking
about all this nonsense! I don't know
why they call it yoga, it should be called
just exercise, but that wouldn't
appeal to you! You have to pay money
to learn yoga, to breathe properly,
and all that. You can practise yoga, the exercises
of different kinds. The speaker has done
some of it, for years, taught by the experts; fortunately,
they didn't charge, because they also thought
I was an expert. Sorry!
(Laughter) I am not an expert, and so they soon
deserted me! Or I deserted them,
whichever way... Sirs, you can do
this kind of yoga, exercise for the rest
of your life - you won't awaken
spiritual insight, nor will the awakening of a higher energy
come into being. You know, in the East they have
a word for this called kundalini. Some of you
probably have read or been caught
in that word. But most of the people, as far
as I have discussed with them, who have gone into
this matter very deeply, they are always quoting
somebody else, back to the original
mischief-maker. Sorry.
(Laughter) And none of them
- please, believe me - none of them
have awakened this thing. They talk about it. They feel certain
experiences, which they call
by this name. I have discussed with them
very seriously, and what they
are talking about is a certain form of increasing
energy to do more mischief. I mean that. By eating the right food,
by control, by breathing properly,
etc., etc., etc., you have more energy,
naturally. And that gives you
a sense of superiority, and you are enlightened,
and so on. But there is a different
form of... I won't go into it
because you are all eager, I am not touching it. That can only happen
when the self is not. Then there is a totally
different kind of energy to keep the mind
fresh, young, alive, and that can only come
when there is absolutely no sense of the self. Right?
Obviously. Because the self,
the 'me,' the centre, is in constant conflict. Right? Wanting, not wanting,
creating dualities, opposing desires, this constant struggle
that's going on. As long as that struggle
is going on there is a wastage of energy,
obviously. When that struggle
is not, there is a totally different
kind of energy taking place. Right? There is the story
of a man, a philosopher,
or a patriarch, who was a well-known
teacher. And a disciple
came to him and said, 'Master, teach me
how to meditate.' So he sat up in the right
position, you know, and closed his eyes, and began to breathe
very deeply trying to capture
the higher webs, and vibrations,
and all the rest of it. So the Master picks up
two pieces of stone and rubs them,
keeps on rubbing them. And the disciple
opens his eyes and says, 'Master, what are
you doing?' He said, 'I am trying to make
out of these stones a mirror so that
I can look at myself,' and the disciple says, 'Master, you can
never do that.' He said, 'In the same way,
my friend, you can sit like that
and breathe like that forever, but you will never...'
Got it?
