00:38Hi, everyone. I'm Dr. 00:39Michele Burklund, and this is Untold Medicine. 00:41And today we have a guest, Stephen Knapp. 00:45Stephen Knapp has written books on 00:48Vedic culture, eastern philosophy and spirituality. 00:51Stephen has studied the major Vedic texts of India and 00:54practiced yoga and eastern teachings for over 40 years. 00:59He's traveled extensively throughout India and 01:01has authored over 50 well received books 01:04on Vedic culture and spiritual philosophy. 01:07Today he continues to write books, 01:09articles, and give lectures at various venues. 01:13Welcome, Stephen. 01:14I'm excited to have you today. 01:16Namaste. 01:17Thank you for being...inviting me 01:22To get started... 01:23I wanted you to tell me a little bit about 01:25your background and how you went into studying Vedic culture 01:29and how you went so deeply into it. 01:32So tell us a little bit about 01:33your story of how you found it. 01:35Well, I guess you could say it all started when 01:38I was about seven years old, because I distinctly remember 01:41one time, of course there was many times. 01:44But I was laying in my bed as a child, 01:47seven years old, wondering, how did I get here? 01:52How did I get here? 01:54Not just here in this world, but 01:56how did I get this particular body? 01:58Why didn't I get my neighbor's 02:00body, Jack's body, or Dean's body? 02:03But if I got into that body, 02:06that means I would have his parents. 02:11If I had his parents, maybe I'm 02:13in a better position right now. 02:15Maybe my parents aren't so bad. 02:18But that was talk about how weird I was as a kid. 02:21Those were the kind of questions I was asking. 02:23How did I get here in this body? 02:24Why didn't I get into somebody else's body? 02:26Because I already had a feeling and a 02:29perception that I was more than this body. 02:33I was simply a person, a spirit soul that 02:38got injected, you might say, into this particular body. 02:42But now that I'm in this body, 02:44why do we have to feed it? 02:46Why is it so vulnerable? 02:48You don't breathe for 10 seconds 02:49and you almost die or something. 02:52Or you feed it, and then you've got to take it to the 02:55bathroom, and you got to make sure it gets so much rest. 02:58And all this other stuff, it 03:01just didn't seem natural to me. 03:03I mean, I don't know where I came from before 03:05this level of existence, but this level of existence in 03:09this particular body was not suitable for me. 03:12It wasn't comfortable. 03:13I've never been comfortable in this particular body. 03:16I've never been comfortable in this 03:17particular world, for that matter. 03:19I mean, you get used to it after a while. 03:21But the question still remains, how did I get here? 03:25Where did I come from? 03:26Where am I going, and where should I be going? 03:31In other words, is there a purpose behind all this? 03:34So these were the kind of questions I had. 03:36And of course, being raised a Christian, sometimes you'd ask 03:39people these questions and they didn't have the answer, or 03:42they would say, don't worry, if God meant for us 03:45to know, he would supply the answers. 03:47Well, I want the answers. 03:50I want to know anyway. 03:53You get involved in so many different things 03:55in school and stuff as you're growing up. 03:57But then I was a musician in my late teenage 04:01years, and some of us would get together, some of 04:05us more avant-garde musicians, would get together and wonder, okay, 04:09where do we fit into this world? 04:10And that kicked off that original questioning that I 04:14had was that maybe it's time I should put 04:18my guitar down for a little bit and actually 04:21try to investigate, what am I doing here? 04:24What am I supposed to be doing here? 04:26What's the purpose of all this to begin with? 04:30So that's what I did. 04:31I put my guitar down for a little while, and 04:33I just started looking around, and I guess you could 04:36say I conducted my own comparative religion class where I 04:39studied everything, everything I could get my hands on. 04:42Of course, born and raised a Christian, I figured, 04:44well, might as well start with the Bible. 04:46So I studied the Bible from cover 04:48to cover, read the whole thing. 04:50It took me a whole year to do 04:51that because it's not always the easiest reading. 04:56And I could see where it's got a 04:57lot of wisdom, it's got a lot of 05:00moralistic principles that it teaches, that it presents. 05:04But it still didn't give me the answers as to who 05:08am I as a spiritual being and how to recognize the 05:12existence of God in all creatures and things like that. 05:18So I started looking around. 05:21I checked out Judaism, Egyptology, magic, tarot, 05:27I ching, Eastern mysticism, Buddhism, practically everything. 05:35And then gradually, I had a friend of mine 05:37that was also into this kind of thing. 05:39We'd have these conversations about the 05:41topic that we're speaking about now. 05:43And he went to Toronto. 05:45We are originally from Michigan in a small town 05:47of Buchanan in the southwestern corner of the state. 05:52So he went to Toronto and met some 05:54Hare Krishna devotees on the streets, 05:57and they gave him a little pamphlet of the books they had. 05:59Back then, they only had about six books. 06:02They got a whole bunch of books now. 06:05So he brought that back, and we were going over 06:08this pamphlet, and he was saying, yeah, there's this book. 06:11And, yeah, I'm interested in this one. 06:13This is easy journey to other planets. 06:15And this one here, I said, what's this one? 06:18He said, this is like the Hindu 06:20Bible, and it was the Bhagavad Gita. 06:24So I said, that's what I want, 06:26because that's what I was looking for. 06:27That's what I was studying. 06:29What are the different cultural presentations 06:32on who and what is God? 06:34Who are we? 06:36What is our spiritual identity and so forth? 06:39How we got here, where we should be going? 06:42And so I said, that's what I want. 06:45So I got this... sent for the Bhagavad Gita, 06:48which was a little blue edition at the time, 06:52an abridged edition of what they came out with 06:54later, and by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. 06:59And so once I got that, I looked into it and 07:02started reading it and told me all about what is karma? 07:06What is the soul, what is reincarnation, who or 07:10what is God, how we got here, where we're 07:13going, where we should be going, answered all the 07:15questions, the essential questions I had. 07:17Because the interesting thing, too, is in the Upanishads, 07:19there's a verse that says, until you begin to 07:22ask these questions, you're not even a human being, 07:25because that is the purpose of life, is to 07:27ask these questions and no questions... 07:30That's one of the things that I really 07:32was attracted to about the vedic culture, is 07:34that no question is out of bounds. 07:37Because in some religions, if you ask too 07:38many questions, you're considered a doubting Thomas, or 07:42you lack faith or something like that. 07:44But in the Vedic tradition, it's 07:46all based on questions and answers. 07:49And practically speaking, if you have a 07:51question, it's practically already been answered somewhere. 07:54You just have to find out where it is. 07:56So whether you take the Upanishads, the 07:58Vedanta Sutras, the itihasas, like the Ramayana, 08:01the Mahabharat, and Bhagavad Gita. 08:04Bhagavad Gita is just one chapter of the 08:06Mahabharata, or even further into the Puranas. 08:09It's all based on questions and then answers. 08:13And you can ask practically any question you want. 08:17And through that process, you begin to find out what 08:21is the purpose of life, who or what you are. 08:26Not only that, but it's not just answers, but it's 08:29also the process of yoga that they give you, which 08:33gives you the means by which you can spiritualize your 08:37consciousness so that you actually perceive what the answers mean 08:43and perceive your own identity as a spiritual being, which 08:47is more important than just having the philosophy but it's 08:50when knowledge becomes realized. 08:53Knowledge, or gyana, becomes vigyana, 08:55as they say in Sanskrit. 08:57And this is the difference. 08:58So once I got this Bhagavad Gita, then all 09:01I knew is, I want more of this. 09:04Whatever it is, I want more of it, 09:06because these are the answers I'm looking for. 09:08So then I got into the Upanishads and Manusmriti 09:12and whatever I could get my hands on. 09:15And it was like the one last piece 09:19of the puzzle that I was putting together, 09:21because I could see all this knowledge from 09:23all the studying, all the different cultures. 09:25It's all connected, it's all related. 09:28It all presents various aspects of 09:32what is the spiritual truth. 09:34But this was like the final piece of 09:36the puzzle, which put it all together. 09:38So this is what I really 09:40wanted and continued to pursue. 09:42And then gradually I decided, maybe it's time 09:47I should give up music and take this 09:50spiritual process a little more seriously. 09:53When was it? 09:54So then I started going to temples back in 1972 09:58and started to learn temple etiquette and rituals and seeing 10:04them, at least, and getting used to it, especially the 10:10vegetarianism, which I adopted at that time as well. 10:14I had three things that happened. 10:16I had a book called the Shri Ishopanishad 10:20which explained that one should not kill animals 10:25just to satisfy the taste of the tongue. 10:27Then I had a vegetarian friend who said, yeah, 10:30it's not so difficult to be a vegetarian. 10:32And then the other thing was, 10:33I never liked eating meat anyway. 10:35I didn't care for it. 10:36I didn't like the cruelty that was behind it. 10:39So all of these three things came together, and 10:42I decided, okay, I'm going to be a vegetarian. 10:45I remember I was just starting 10:48to move out of the house. 10:50I'd already lived out of the house for a while, 10:52but I started to move out of the house, and 10:53my mother was saying, oh, you're going to be vegetarian. 10:56So now what am I supposed to make for you? 10:58I said, anything without meat, that's all. 11:01It's not so difficult. 11:02But then shortly after that, I moved out 11:05and practically never lived at home again, except 11:09for very short periods of time. 11:11And so then when I started going to 11:13the temple, they had these massive vegetarian feasts. 11:18That was a whole ’nother trip. 11:20It was like all this delicious food that was 11:24indian based, indian based recipes, but without meat or 11:29any cruelty in it or anything like that. 11:32And, boy, that opened up a whole 11:34’nother door of spirituality for me. 11:42I was still attached to music, 11:43but gradually giving it up. 11:45And so then I finally joined the ashram in 1975. 11:50And then I started getting serious about studying 11:54the process of developing a spiritual connection between 12:00myself and God and all other beings. 12:07I went on with this for about ten years, until 12:111986, I think it was 1985 or 86, when I 12:17decided, you know, I want to try to explain this 12:21process and this knowledge to others, mostly westerners. 12:26I was mostly interested in explaining this to 12:28other westerners, because as many westerners are, when 12:31they see something that they feel is great, 12:33they want to share it with others. 12:34And so that was very typical of me. 12:37And so I came out with my first book at 12:39the time, which was The Secret Teachings of the Vedas. 12:43And what I did was, I tried to make a 12:47point, okay, this is the way that it's presented. 12:51This idea is presented in the 12:53vedic literature in such a way. 12:55Then I would come up with the references. 12:58So in that way, I tried to let the vedic literature 13:01speak as much for itself as possible, because a lot of 13:05new age books, they come out with all this theory, all 13:09these great revelations, but where is it coming from? 13:14They don't give any references to 13:15where it's coming from or anything. 13:16So I wanted to do the exact opposite with that. 13:18I wanted to show that this is where it's coming from. 13:21And basically you could see that the roots of 13:24many of the new age philosophies and ideas were 13:27basically established well within the vedic doctrine. 13:32That's pretty much how I stuck with that process, 13:37presenting an idea, an explanation, and then the references. 13:40Where in the vedic literature this is explained 13:43even more thoroughly than what I was presenting. 13:47And it developed into a bit of a cottage industry. 13:51I remember one time, this was back in the 13:56early nineties, and I got a phone call, 13:59phone call from somebody saying, do you have the 14:03secret teachings of the Vedas for sale? 14:07I says, yes, I do. 14:08What's the wholesale price? 14:09Well, it's $6.72 or whatever it was back then. 14:12Okay, can you send that to us? Yeah. Okay. 14:15What's your company name and address? 14:18We're Amazon. 14:20I'm going like, Amazon? 14:22What the hell is Amazon? 14:26But yeah, sure, I can send it to you. 14:28And so they would order one copy, then they 14:31would order another copy, then another copy, and I'm 14:34going like, wow, this is starting to change things. 14:40It just kind of developed where I wrote one 14:43book, another book, another book, and the vedic prophecies 14:47was another book that came out later on. 14:51And then what was it? 14:52How the universe was created, basically the vedic 14:55version of the creation of the universe. 14:57How everything comes together, how the spiritual 15:00energy is condensed in a way, which 15:02becomes material energy, that kind of thing. 15:06And then basically, I came out with another 15:08book called Proof of Vedic Culture's global existence, 15:12where I came out with a book that 15:14explained the evidence that you can see in 15:16other cultures from all over the world, where 15:20its influence from the vedic tradition can be 15:24recognized with the proper understanding, the proper knowledge. 15:28And I didn't think anybody would 15:30be that interested in that book. 15:32And I have to admit, it's been one of 15:35the dumbest decisions I ever made to think like 15:40that, because it became one of my most popular 15:43books, especially amongst other Indians and even academics, whether 15:48they agree with it all or not. 15:50But to propose the ideas that in this tradition 15:58or in that tradition, you can see that this 16:01is coming from the vedic literature, the vedic tradition, 16:05and presented in this way, in this particular text, 16:10whether it was from Cambodia, you know, even Africa. 16:18Some of the african traditions are very similar. 16:20So you could once again see, on a whole 16:22different level, the connections from the various cultures from 16:26around the world and how they're all intertwined, and 16:30they have a basic root or similarity that can 16:33be connected with the vedic tradition itself. 16:36So once that book came out, it did become one of 16:40my better selling books, which was much to my surprise. 16:43And it also opened the doors for me to become 16:50more accepted in India, where I was getting invitations, invitations 16:55to accept a speaking engagement in a conference. 17:00Or even once I got there, different organizations would set 17:06up lecture tours for a month, maybe at a time. 17:12I remember one lecture tour I did, and it was one of 17:17my more recent ones, when I was starting to get a little 17:19older, and people were wondering if I could do it. 17:22But for a month, I did something like 92 17:27lectures at 70 different organizations, all within 30 days. 17:32And even then, some of the people were saying, 17:35yeah, we weren't sure if you could handle it 17:38at your age, I think anybody handling that, yeah, 17:44it was about three lectures every day, plus oftentimes 17:49an evening program at somebody's house. 17:54And I had usually maybe one day off a week. 18:00But, yeah, I made it through, 18:02and it was an amazing experience. 18:05I met a lot of people, a lot 18:07of people, and impressed a lot of people. 18:10And I was also impressed with them. 18:15But anyway, that was part of a series of 18:18events that opened up only because of that one 18:20book, proof of vedic culture's global existence. 18:23And then I came out with other books after that. 18:25Now I've got over 50 books that 18:27are available, and they're still selling. 18:31And even though I've slowed down quite a bit. 18:34I have to admit that I'll be quite frank about it. 18:37I don't do as much writing and 18:38I don't do as much traveling. 18:40I mean, I have to admit 18:41I don't care for airplanes anymore. 18:43I don't care for airports anymore. 18:46And it's one of those things I can do without. 18:49And I reach a stage of life where, if 18:51it's not fun anymore, should I really do it? 18:55So I've slowed down quite a bit in that regard. 18:58But still, I do some podcasts like this once in 19:02a while, and I'm still very active in other ways. 19:07And people still write to me about my 19:10books and ask questions and things like that. 19:13So that's pretty much how it got started. 19:15And then, of course, the other part of it is 19:18once I was in the ashram back in 75, I 19:22got initiated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1976, and 19:30got a spiritual name called Sri Nandanandana, which can be 19:35a tongue twister for some people. 19:37But basically what it means is it's 19:40a very confidential name of Lord Krishna. 19:43It means Sri, or the beautiful Nanda, which 19:47means Nanda Maharaj, which is Krishna's father. 19:52And nandana means the son of or the son 19:57of Maharaj nanda, the beautiful son of Maharaj Nanda. 20:00And of course, at the end of that, 20:01we always say Das, which means servant. 20:04So I'm the servant of that particular person, 20:07which is another name of Lord Krishna. 20:10And then I became very involved in the process 20:13of Bhakti yoga and studied that very carefully, came 20:19out with a few books on that. 20:20Those books are doing well, too, surprisingly, because 20:23I wrote those books primarily for people that 20:25are interested in Bhakti yoga itself. 20:27And I don't know who's buying them, but some of 20:35my better books are those particular books on Bhakti yoga. 20:39And so now I've kind of gone 20:43through the know, studied Bhagavad Gita very 20:47carefully, studied the puranas very carefully. 20:50And now I'm entering into a new phase of 20:53Bhakti Yoga, which is called Raganuga Bhakti, which is 20:56a different level of Bhakti yoga itself. 20:59Not everybody's ready for that, but it's 21:04what I'm very much happy with right 21:07now and studying that very carefully. 21:10And so that's pretty much how 21:13I've all evolved in this process. 21:17And once in a while, I'll still do a lecture 21:20here and there, maybe at one of the local temples 21:22and stuff, and I'm pretty satisfied with doing it. 21:26I've reached a point of inner contentment where 21:29I'm happy with the work I've done. 21:33I was also the president of what organization 21:37called the Vedic Friends association for 15 years, 21:41and that was able to also break down 21:45some barriers in acceptability, especially to western people 21:52that are interested in vedic culture. 21:56But I've given that the presidency over to somebody else now 22:00and let them do it so I can take more of 22:02a background role in that and considered one of the elders. 22:06So that's interesting. 22:11I've pretty much come to this point now, and 22:14I'm pretty happy with what I've done, of what 22:15I've accomplished, how many books I've gotten out. 22:17And I can honestly say that I'm glad I wrote many 22:20of the books when I did, because my consciousness is on 22:27a different level now, and I probably would not be that 22:32interested in writing many of the books I used to. 22:34For example, proof of vedic culture's global existence 22:38is one book that I'm very proud of. 22:40I'm glad I did it when I did. 22:42And I came out with another book similar to 22:45that, with additional information called Mysteries of the ancient 22:48vedic empire, which took it up to a whole 22:51'nother level, which is more, I guess you could 22:54say, more academically oriented, with a lot of footnotes, 22:58a lot of references, stuff like that. 23:01But at this point in time, I'm 23:03hardly even interested in that topic anymore. 23:06So I'm glad I did it when I did, and now 23:09it's onward and upward to other things and other aspects of 23:13the spiritual tradition of vedic culture and Bhakti yoga. 23:17So that's pretty much in a nutshell 23:21what my background is and my development. 23:25Yeah, it's quite a journey. 23:27And I think all of your books have power, and 23:31that energy will always be there and everybody will find 23:34them who needs them at the right time, too. 23:38You put that out there, and I hope, like with this podcast, 23:42too, introducing more people to these books and how I found you 23:46and how it spoke to me, and I just found your book, 23:49and I'm like, oh my God, this is amazing. 23:51And it really speaks to me on a level I can understand, 23:55but it gives all these great references and I can dig and 23:58go deeper, like if I want to, based on that. 24:03There's a lot of amazing energy there where 24:06you built the foundation and the people have 24:09the opportunity to find them, too. 24:11Yeah, thank you very much. 24:13And that's exactly what I tried to do, is present 24:16the information in a way where you can go deeper. 24:20For example, I've got one book here called, well, two 24:24books called the power of Bhagavad Gita, which, for those 24:30people that want to look into Bhagavad Gita, this is 24:33a book that kind of gives an overview of it 24:35and what you can get out of it. 24:37And so if a person wants to think about 24:40getting into reading Bhagavad Gita, and I suggest 24:43Bhagavad Gita for everybody, you can also read this and 24:46get something more out of it. 24:48And then there's another one called, these are 24:51smaller books because, like, even the one you 24:56got, I think you told me you had 24:58the soul, our understanding of our real identity. 25:00Got it here. Yes. 25:02Got it there. 25:03It's something I wanted to present in a simplified way 25:07and in a short book, so that people don't feel 25:11encumbered with, like 300, 400 pages of something. 25:15Even though I got plenty of those books, too, I wanted 25:18to write something that was short and to the point. 25:21And this other book here is the power of 25:24the Maha-Mantra called what's so special about channing 25:27Hare Krishna, which is also a very powerful mantra 25:31in this day and age, and recommended as an 25:34easy process for spiritual upliftment. 25:36And that's the thing about this age of, well, 25:39it's kali yuga, because people don't have the time. 25:43They barely have the interest in delving deeply 25:47into genuine spiritual knowledge and developing the process 25:53for developing their own spiritual realizations. 25:56So you want to give them something 25:58in a way that they can accept 26:01easily, quickly, and without difficulty in understanding. 26:05And that's one thing I don't do, is I 26:09don't use a lot of Sanskrit in my books. 26:13There are some books you can get, and 26:14they use a lot of Sanskrit and everything. 26:16But I found that for some westerners, especially if 26:21you use too much Sanskrit, they get confused about 26:24the meaning of it or what the purport of 26:28the topic is when there's too much sanskrit words 26:33being used, and then they'll put the book down. 26:36And the point of it is, you don't know if 26:38they're going to pick the book back up again. 26:40So I try to keep it simplified in a way, 26:44and I don't use too much Sanskrit or anything like 26:46that, so that people can simply keep reading it and 26:50get as much out of it as they can without 26:52being encumbered by phrases, language, or even words that is 26:59going to make them stumble or get confused about anything. 27:04Yeah. 27:04And I think it's great. 27:05You apply a lot of real world examples inside your 27:09book, too, or to have it kind of think in 27:11a different way and then cite different sources. 27:14I feel like that helps me too. 27:15And then, yeah, giving people the opportunity, if they want 27:17to go deeper, then they can, but they get the 27:20knowledge and they get the feeling and the essence from 27:23this, which you've done a good job with. Thank you. 27:27Thank you very much. 27:29I have some intense questions for you, 27:31but that's also about this podcast and 27:34going deeper, that's the Purpose. 27:35So the next one is based on your 27:38wisdom that you've acquired throughout your journey. 27:40How do you view the purpose of 27:43life and the reason for suffering? 27:46Okay, that's a two part question. 27:50The first part of the question is the purpose of life. 27:54And I can pretty much summarize that up in 27:56the vedic culture, being the culture of Sanātana Dharma 28:00Sanskrit sanatana means that which is eternal. 28:06Now, eternally means what we do eternally, but 28:12also means our identity as what is eternal. 28:15What is our eternal identity? 28:18Dharma means, there's multiple meanings of dharma. 28:22Dharma also means duty. 28:24Duty to pursue in this life. 28:28What is our eternal duty. 28:29Sanātana Dharma, our eternal duty is basically to find out 28:35who and what we really are as spiritual beings. 28:40Dharma, the root word of dharma, is also dhri 28:43Also means balance. 28:46To reach a stage of life where we understand who and 28:49what we are and can become balanced in that identity and 28:55how we act in this material world for the benefit of 28:59ourselves, but also for the benefit of others. 29:02And so that we can attain that 29:05knowledge which lets us understand what is 29:09our connection with the supreme being. 29:12We're spirit, soul, or Atma, as it's called. 29:15And all Yoga is meant to connect us with the Paramātmā . 29:20Paramātmā means the supersoul. 29:23Supersoul Atma 29:25Paramātmā 29:26And so the connection is part of the duty of life. 29:31Part of the Sanātana Dharma is to establish that 29:34connection and understand who and what is God, what 29:37is our connection and how we not only understand 29:40that, but how then we act on that level. 29:43It's one thing to have the answers, but it's 29:45another thing to realize the answers and then act 29:49on that level so that we attain the proper 29:52balance, the proper attitude towards others, and so on. 29:58Now, suffering, what is the purpose of suffering? 30:00Well, unfortunately, there's three types of sufferings 30:04that are explained in the vedic literature. 30:08That is the Adhibhautik , Adhidaivik and Ādhyātmik. 30:12Ādhyātmik means the suffering which 30:15comes from simply having a body. 30:17You can't ignore it. 30:19That suffering can be toothaches, headaches, 30:23aches, and pains in the body, 30:25or more serious diseases, which happens. 30:28It happens because anything material breaks down. 30:32It goes through six phases. 30:34First of all, birth or creation, growth, 30:38sustenance, deterioration, disease or deterioration in the 30:44sense it begins to fade away or 30:46break down, and then finally death. 30:48Anything material goes through those six 30:51changes, including the material body. 30:54And part of that phase is disease. 30:57You get disease. 30:59The other part of the suffering goes from 31:02Adhidaivik which are natural disasters we've had lately, 31:08a severe winter in crossing over America. 31:12That's something nature gives. 31:14You can't expect a smooth ride all the time. 31:17We want a smooth ride, no doubt about it, 31:20and we're always hoping for a smooth ride. 31:23But then nature comes along and just 31:25crushes our hopes in that regard. 31:27Sometimes, whether it's through vicious winters, hot 31:31summers, drought, other floods, we're having all 31:36this rain come across now. 31:38It's like we're getting hammered 31:40by mother Nature these days. 31:42So it's basically the purpose of that is to 31:47let you know this is not your real home. 31:50It never is your real home. 31:52It never was, never will be your real home. 31:55We have to deal with it as best we can. 31:58But the idea is to search out where we really belong. 32:03And in that regard, we're like fish out of water. 32:06We're spiritual beings in the material world. 32:10Do we belong in this material world? No. 32:13How long does it take before we understand that? 32:16Well, a lot of suffering sometimes. 32:18Or sometimes you're born with 32:20that inquisitiveness, like that. 32:23The other third thing that 32:25I was mentioning is Adhibhautik 32:29The Adhibhautik suffering is sufferings caused by other 32:33living entities, whether it's other people, whether it's 32:37criminals, whether it's your neighbor's barking dog, whether 32:41it's biting insects or things like that. 32:44These are the three types of 32:46sufferings that never go away. 32:48And so sometimes people resort to whatever means necessary 32:52to decrease their suffering, whether it's intoxication, whether it's 32:59maybe getting involved in sports, or whatever it is 33:02to get their mind off the suffering. 33:04So, in many ways, and I don't mean to 33:06be a bringdown about this, but the vedic literature 33:08also explains that many times the freedom from suffering 33:13is simply the forgetfulness, the temporary forgetfulness of the 33:18constant bombardment of suffering that we have to endure. 33:22Of course, the more spiritual you become, the more you're fixed 33:26in the reality of who and what you really are. 33:30And I've often said that suffering only exists within 33:34the illusion, only the illusion that you're this body. 33:38And the whole goal of life is to make, 33:40satisfy and make happy, the mind and the senses, 33:45which is an uphill battle, quite honestly. 33:47So you have to look at yourself from a spiritual 33:51point of view, from the realistic or the reality point 33:54of view, so that you can begin to understand who 33:57and what you really are and how to actually attain 34:00real happiness, real happiness from within, not based on the 34:05externals around you, which are constantly changing and constantly giving 34:10you sources of frustration and problems. 34:14So the more inward you go, the more spiritually you 34:17go, the more free you become from all that. 34:20So it's like a fish being out of water. 34:24You can't do anything for a fish 34:26but bring it back to the water. 34:28Then it's going to be happy to some degree. 34:32And it's the same thing with us. 34:34We can be happy to some degree in this 34:37material world, but we'll never be fully satisfied, fully 34:40happy, until we reach once again our spiritual identity 34:44and regain access to the spiritual dimension, which is 34:49the whole purpose of yoga. 34:51So suffering has the... 34:55It's supposed to give you the impetus 34:58to understand and question your existence. 35:02Why am I suffering? 35:03Why am I going through this? 35:05Why is life so difficult? 35:06It's another way of asking, wait a minute. Who am I? 35:10What am I doing, and how did I get here? 35:12It all goes back to that. 35:14So this is really the purpose of suffering. 35:17But once again, to overcome suffering, we have to 35:22do more than simply resort to the forgetfulness of 35:24it or the intoxication, which is called the river. 35:30Visiting the river of forgetfulness. 35:32You have to do more than that. 35:33You have to go inward and actually 35:35understand your spiritual identity and go into 35:38the world of reality, spiritual reality, to 35:42actually understand who and what you are. 35:44Why am I here? 35:46Who or what brought me here? 35:49And how do I get out, really? 35:52How do I develop myself in a spiritual way where I 35:55can return to the spiritual world and take up real residence, 36:00where things go on in a continually loving basis. 36:05That's one thing we're all looking for. 36:07That's the nature of the spirit soul. 36:09We all want to love. 36:10We all want to love and be loved, but we can 36:14find maybe a glimpse of that in the material world. 36:16But even then, it's very difficult. 36:19It's hard to find someone who truly loves you. 36:22It's hard to find someone that you can truly love. 36:24And the problem with that, too, 36:26is that sometimes it ends prematurely. 36:29The person dies or I die, and then we're 36:32forced to look for another situation or whatever. 36:35I mean, is that fair or not? 36:37Well, it can seem like it's unfair. 36:39But it goes back to the two things. 36:42Suffering is meant to give you a lesson as 36:44to why you should look for your real home. 36:49It also gives you the impetus to 36:52ask, how did I get here? 36:54And why am I going through this? 36:56And if I'm going through this, how do I get out? 36:59That was Buddha's question, too. 37:01He saw there's so much suffering in 37:03the world, he decided, wait a minute. 37:05How do I get out of this? 37:07How did I get here? 37:08But how do I get out? 37:09So this is one of the things that is the 37:13basis of any very philosophical religion or culture, is to 37:18begin to understand, how did I get here? 37:21Where am I going? 37:22Where should I be going, and how do I accomplish that? 37:26So this is the next step. 37:28If you can understand the purpose of suffering, then 37:31you can also begin to understand there's a purpose 37:34that, don't think God created this creation without a 37:37means of getting out of here. 37:39That would be completely unfair. 37:41But the point of Sanātana Dharma, the point of 37:45yoga, is to regain and create or spiritualize your 37:51consciousness so that you can begin to perceive the 37:54spiritual dimension which exists all around you. 37:57It's like a radio. 37:58There's so many radio waves all around us. 38:01Do we see them? No. 38:03Do we taste them? No. 38:05Can we feel them? No. 38:06You have to have the right receiver, and then 38:10with the right receiver, a radio or cell phone. 38:13These days, there's so many things you 38:15can do with those radio waves. 38:17So it's not a question of whether they exist or not. 38:20It's a question of how you utilize them 38:22and how you can gain access to them. 38:24The spiritual dimension is the same way. 38:26It's a matter of how you develop yourself into 38:28being a receiver of understanding and perceiving all that 38:33spiritual dimension, all the different levels of spirituality that 38:36exist all around us all the time. 38:39And we're a part of that. 38:41But we need to develop ourselves so 38:43we can dive back into that dimension. 38:46And then we don't take suffering, we don't take 38:50disease, we don't take all the problems of life 38:53in the same way as we did before, because 38:56we rise up to another dimension. 38:58And as we rise up to 38:59that spiritual dimension, everything looks different. 39:02It makes all the difference in the world 39:05just by rising up to that level. 39:07And that's really part of 39:10the purpose of human existence. 39:13The animals can't do that so well. 39:15They're pretty satisfied with just getting enough 39:17to eat or things like that. 39:20Human nature is that, yeah, sure, we got to have 39:23enough to eat, but there's more to life than that. 39:26We need to understand how to accomplish that. 39:29And that's what the vedic literature is all about. 39:31It explains it from so many different levels. 39:33Anybody can plug into it on any 39:35level they want and proceed from there. 39:39So whatever your background is, 39:41it's perfectly all right. 39:43It doesn't matter. 39:44You can use whatever background you have and begin 39:47to plug into the vedic culture in whatever way 39:50is most suitable for you to begin your progress 39:54in understanding your spiritual dimension and how the spiritual 39:57dimension exists all around us. 40:00It's only a matter of spiritualizing our 40:01consciousness so we can perceive it and 40:03enter into that level of reality. 40:08Yeah, extremely well said. 40:10I think you touched on every point and truly 40:13explained that in a way that I understood too. 40:16I mean, just the real purpose of suffering and how it can, 40:22in a way, be a gift to go deeper in a lot 40:24of ways, although most people won't ever see that at the time. 40:27That'll come a lot later. 40:29Yeah, sometimes it's difficult, because when you're in the 40:31middle of suffering, it's hard to question, well, what 40:34am I supposed to learn from this? 40:37But that's what it is. 40:38Human life is like a classroom, and the suffering is 40:41like a class to motivate you or kick you in 40:43your butt, so to speak, to begin to question, okay, 40:48obviously, I'm not fitting into this world as much as 40:51I'd like to or much as I thought I would. 40:53Where am I supposed to go? 40:54Where am I supposed to fit in? 40:58Because if nobody ever suffered, why 41:00would anybody question their existence? 41:03Why would anybody question, well, how did I get 41:05this body, or whatever the case may be? 41:09So it's supposed to give you that motivation to 41:13question your existence and why am I suffering? 41:17And like I said, according to the vedic literature, 41:20until you ask those basic questions, you haven't even 41:23come up to being a human being yet. 41:26So this is what the purpose of this whole process 41:30of life is all about, is to get you to 41:32come up to the level of being discontent, being discontent, 41:37to the point where you can reach a spiritual dimension, 41:41where you can become content and happy with what your 41:45situation is, knowing full well that just studying this literature, 41:51studying this culture, and participating in the process of vedic 41:55wisdom, you begin to reach a stage of being balanced, 42:00being content, being happy with it, knowing that you're also 42:04making your way out of here, hopefully, once and for 42:08all. 42:09And I don't mean to say that material life 42:11is a real drag all the way around, because 42:13there's plenty of reasons to be happy with it. 42:15There's plenty of good people that 42:17we want to interact with. 42:18There's plenty of nice things that take place, but 42:21at the same time, it doesn't fully satisfy us 42:25on the deepest level, because what really satisfies us 42:29in any degree is whatever aspect of spiritual existence 42:35we can approach and we can develop. 42:37What do we appreciate about each other 42:40is our loving and contributory aspect. 42:46And that comes from the motivation of the spirit soul. 42:49The soul itself exists with that attitude of being loving, 42:53wanting to be loved, and wanting to help others. 42:57That's the nature of the soul. 42:58So the more we come to that nature, the more 43:01we become happy with what we are, with what our 43:06position is, and with our interactions with others. 43:08Without that, who needs material life at all if 43:14it's just filled with suffering without learning from it? 43:19So that's really the point of 43:20it, at least from that aspect. 43:22I mean, there's many more things that could be 43:24said, but we'll let it go at that. 43:26I know, I'm sure. 43:28Yeah, we could probably talk all day just on that 43:30one subject, or probably for a week or longer. 43:34So for the next question. 43:36I've always gone really deep on this question as 43:39a physician and throughout the years, too, and I'm 43:42interested to hear your viewpoint on it. 43:46How do you view illness in 43:47the body from a spiritual perspective? 43:50I think this is a really powerful question on what is 43:54the body and what does illness really mean in it? 44:01Yeah, there's two ways of looking at that. 44:04First of all, many times illness comes from bad 44:09habits, bad diet, the things we put into us. 44:14Maybe a bad atmosphere that we're 44:17working in, which creates negativity. 44:20Maybe we create a bad attitude. 44:24These things all tend to create negativity within the 44:29subtle body, or even the physical body, where we 44:35might smoke cigarettes or something, knowing full well and 44:38having been advised that smoking cigarettes might not be 44:41the best thing for you. 44:43Well, I know, and I'm going to 44:45give it up, but not right now. 44:48Or the fact that I can't give it up. 44:50I'm just too addicted to it. 44:52And then gradually we get 44:53cancer or something like that. 44:55And, oh, man, I knew. 44:56I knew this was going to happen. 44:58I shouldn't have done that. 44:59I should have changed my habits 45:00or should have changed my way. 45:02So these kind of things are illnesses of 45:05the body, which can sometimes be cured by 45:09changing our habits, changing our diet, maybe adding 45:13supplements, exercise, fresh air, things like that. 45:18But sometimes they can first be picked 45:22up or noticed within the subtle body. 45:25The vedic literature explains the subtle body 45:27as the mind, intelligence, and false ego. 45:31And yet it considers the false ego as an element. 45:35The false ego is an element which creates forgetfulness 45:38of our true identity as a spiritual being. 45:41And that's part of the process of 45:42yoga, is to overcome this false ego. 45:45But the mind and intelligence is 45:47also considered two subtle elements. 45:49Which make up the subtle body 45:52which the soul also resides in. 45:55When you have bad attitudes. 45:57One thing is that I remember reading where it was 46:01explained cancer was a person's manifestation of their desire to 46:10get out of this situation, to get out of this 46:12body, to get out of the material world. 46:15And so sometimes there might be 46:18a slight attitude of negativity. 46:21Which then creates symptoms in the body which actually 46:26assist us, although we may not want it that 46:30way, but actually assist us in accommodating the attitude 46:34we've developed by getting out of this body altogether. 46:37And cancer may be one of those ways of doing that. 46:42Cancer also may simply be bad 46:45habits, bad diet, things like that. 46:49But bad desires and bad attitude can 46:52also cultivate within the subtle body. 46:55To then manifest in the physical body, which then creates 46:59problems that we often have to try to overcome. 47:02Sometimes we can overcome the symptoms of disease 47:08by adjusting our attitude along with our diet, 47:12taking proper medication and things like that. 47:15With a proper attitude, we may 47:18be able to overcome these things. 47:19But sometimes, even with a proper attitude, 47:22we still suffer diseases in the body. 47:25Now, the second point of it is 47:28that also may be caused by karma. 47:32Karma is the secondary aspect 47:36of the manifestation of diseases. 47:39Karma usually means action, which develops 47:45into a reaction, like smoking cigarettes. 47:50What is the karma of smoking cigarettes? Well, cancer. 47:53Okay, there's a reaction to the action. 47:55But also karma can be when 47:59you associate it with reincarnation. 48:01And you can't get a proper understanding of 48:03reincarnation without the understanding the law of karma. 48:06Karma may be something from previous lives 48:11that we carry into this life. 48:13Like the fear of drowning, the fear of fire 48:17may be caused by something that happened in a 48:20previous life that we carry into this life. 48:24Or maybe there's something that we 48:26did in a previous life. 48:28Which causes reactions that we have 48:31to suffer in this life. 48:33And it could be the loss of a job. 48:36Maybe a car accident is a part of our 48:39karmic reaction we have to suffer or a disease. 48:43Now, when the disease is because of karma, 48:47then it may not be as simple as 48:50taking medication or changing a diet. 48:53To be free of that, you may have to go deeper. 48:57There's some mantras that can change one's karma. 49:02There's the practice of spirituality can also change 49:06one's karma, which also creates a freedom from 49:11disease or a lessening of the disease. 49:13Now, in the Brahma Samhita, it's explained that 49:18when one engages in spiritual yoga, or like 49:22bhakti yoga explained specifically, that process itself eats 49:28up karmic reactions like fire eats up wood. 49:33So in that regard, if we take up the 49:35process of spiritual advancement, spiritual cultivation, whatever we were 49:43meant to have, maybe like a broken leg, becomes 49:47minimized to maybe a stubbed toe or something like 49:51that, something that was extreme, becomes reduced to something 49:55minor, and it also can act that way. 49:58As far as disease goes as well, if the karma 50:02is too strong, then of course it's going to take 50:05a lot of work spiritually and a lot of chanting 50:09of mantras and stuff to have much of an effect. 50:13And I have to admit one thing. 50:16If I have karma to work out, I'd rather work 50:19it out in this life than to carry it with 50:22me into another life where I have to work it 50:25out all over again in another existence. 50:28That's just my preference. 50:30Nobody else has to follow that, but 50:32that's what I would prefer to do. 50:34And so if I'm suffering in this life, or if I 50:37have to die a particular way in this life because of 50:41my karma, I'd rather work it out knowing full well that 50:46whatever I'm doing is because of some previous action that I'm 50:51suffering from, that I don't have to carry with me in 50:54any new existence or next existence in another lifetime. 51:01So there's different ways of looking at that. 51:03But in essence, that's basically how some disease 51:08is explained within the body as manifesting from 51:14bad habits, subtle attitudes, or from previous karma. 51:22Depending on that, it will depend on how 51:24you want to work at trying to resolve 51:27the disease that you're suffering from. 51:31I think maybe some of other people's battles, too. 51:34Is identifying the origin of it, too, or 51:38figuring out where it could come from. 51:41Yeah, some people use hypnosis as one 51:45of those means of understanding where their 51:48problems, where their disease, or maybe sometimes 51:51to where their fears have come from. 51:53And some people have used that and 51:55have been rather successful as well. 51:57So there's different processes that 51:59can help in that regard. 52:01Yeah. 52:02And I think the next question is going to tie 52:03in really well, because from your book, prayers, mantras, and gayatris 52:11could you share a prayer or a mantra that could 52:14be powerful from those healing with illness? 52:17So people who are listening today that are suffering 52:19from an illness or condition, and they want to 52:21go down this route, or they're trying to figure 52:24out how it all ties in in their life. 52:27What's something you would share with them? 52:30Yeah, I can give you a few mantras, actually. 52:33I mean, of course, my book, prayers, mantras 52:35and Gayatrias has got, what is it? 52:38Something like 650 pages of mantras, prayers and gayatris 52:43that can be used for so many different purposes. 52:45But the famous Sri Gayatri mantra is very 52:50well known and the translation of this Sri 52:54Gayatri is very important and well known Gayatri 52:56mantra because it's chanted silently in the mind. 53:00Of course, I'm going to give it to you 53:02verbally, but it's chanted three times a day, morning 53:06at noon and then in the evening. 53:09And the translation is, Om, let us meditate on 53:14that worshipable effulgence of the divine sun. 53:18Savitri creator of the earth, heaven and 53:22ether, and who enthuses our meditation. 53:29So enthusing our meditation also means uplifting our subtle 53:34body and our subtle mind in that regard. 53:37And we all worship the sun because without the 53:41sun there wouldn't be anything, let's face it. 53:44But the sun also nourishes the body. 53:46In fact, I've heard it said from the 53:49process of ayurveda that morning sun can give. 53:54If you expose yourself to the morning 53:56sun, you can get all the vitamins 53:59you need for nourishment from that process. 54:03I don't limit myself to that specifically, but it's 54:07one of the things that I've heard that said. 54:09But the famous gayatri mantra goes, 54:11Om bhur bhuvaha svah tat savitur varenyam 54:16bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayat 54:21So that's the main gayatri mantra that 54:25many people throughout India and throughout the 54:28world chant when they say that. 54:30Now there's another mantra that is called the 54:33Maha Mrityunjaya mantra to Lord Shiva, and this 54:38is for removing ailments, ill health and fear. 54:43Now, the translation is we worship the three eyed one, 54:47which is Lord Shiva, who is fragrant and who nourishes 54:52well all beings and grants liberation, just as the cucumber 54:58is severed from bondage to the creeper. 55:01In other words, if you want to use 55:03the cucumber for recipes, nourishment or whatever, you 55:08got to chop it away from the creeper. 55:10So in the same way, this mantra helps grant liberation 55:15from fear and illness, just as the cucumber is chopped 55:19away from the creeper, the vine, to become useful. 55:24So this mantra goes, Om Triyambakam Yajamahe 55:28Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanam 55:32Urvarukamiva Bandhanat Mrityor Mukshiya Mamritat 55:42I knew a person who had cancer and he 55:46would chant this mantra over and over again for 55:48maybe an hour or two every day. 55:50And he gives credit to this mantra 55:53for his cancer going into remission. 55:56So this is also a very interesting mantra. 56:00I'll just say it one more time. 56:02Om Triyambakam Yajamahe 56:04Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanam 56:06Urvarukamiva Bandhanat Mrityor Mukshiya Mamritat 56:13And many of the gayatri mantras are all 56:15dedicated to one of the vedic divinities. 56:18So this is to Lord Shiva. 56:19There's another one here. 56:21Now this is, of course, another very well known mantra, 56:26and it simply means, may all be happy, may all 56:32be free from disabilities, may all look for the good 56:37in others, and may none suffer from sorrows. 56:42So this goes, Sarve Bhavantu Sukinah, Sarve Santu Nirmayaah, 56:45Sarve Bhadrani Pasyantu, Ma kaschid-Dukha-Bhag-Bhavet 56:57So that's also another one that they often 56:59chant in, say, different rituals and things like 57:02that to bring about auspiciousness and the good 57:06feeling in yourself, towards ourselves and towards others. 57:09So this is also very helpful. 57:13Another one of the main mantras 57:15that has to be explained. 57:17And that's what I wrote that one book 57:19on chanting the power of the Maha mantra. 57:23This is simply, everybody knows this one. 57:25Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare 57:29Hare Rama, 57:29Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare 57:32And one can chant it or sing it or whatever, but 57:35I have a friend of mine and she says that in 57:37the morning when she gets up, she may not be feeling 57:40that well, she may be lacking energy or whatever. 57:43But after chanting this mantra for an hour or 57:45so every morning, after that, her whole day changes. 57:49She feels more enthusiasm, more energy, more lightheartedness 57:55and a connection, of course, with the divine, 57:58which is the ultimate purpose of that particular 58:00Hare KrIshna Mantra is to create within us 58:03an awakening of our own spirituality, our own 58:07spiritual identity, and what is our connection with 58:10the divine, the supreme spiritual being. 58:13So these are all very important and very 58:17useful and very easy mantras to chant. 58:23I highly recommend them and I use them 58:25in my own spiritual practice every morning, my 58:27own sadhana, and they definitely help me. 58:31They make a big difference in my life. 58:33So I'm sure it can do the same for your viewers 58:36and everybody else who comes in contact with them too. 58:39Yeah. 58:40Thank you for sharing. 58:41I can fill them even when you're 58:43speaking them at that moment too. 58:46I think there's real power. 58:47So I think that's a lot of great 58:49resources for the people who are listening. 58:52And if our readers want to start with one of 58:57your books, and I know this is probably a hard 58:59question to answer, if they want to dig in more 59:03and start learning, what would you advise would be the 59:07first book for them to start reading your book? 59:11Well, it depends on how deep they want to go, 59:13if they want to go in a simplified way. 59:16There's one here called yoga and meditation. 59:19Their real purpose and how to get started. 59:22Of course, the one you mentioned, the soul understanding 59:26our real spiritual identity, is another one, which is 59:31easy to read and not very long. 59:33So that's a good one to get started with. 59:36And you can get deeper into that. 59:37Then there's other ones that I've got called, 59:40one called the secret teachings of the vedas. 59:43And of course, you can go on my website, which is 59:46www.stephen-knapp.com, and you can look over 59:56the books that I've got on my front page. 59:58Just scroll down a little bit, and all 60:0050 books are listed, and you can decide 60:02which one might be best for you. 60:04And I've got another one. 60:05Now, this is a deeper book. 60:08What is this? 60:09This is like 400 pages, one of my long books. 60:13But this is called Bhakti Yoga, the Easy Path 60:17of Devotional Yoga, subtitled from the depths of illusion 60:21to making contact with God, and explains you the 60:24details of how Bhakti Yoga works and the step 60:28by step process in being able to follow that. 60:31But that's another book that's a little deeper. 60:33I have another book called the Bhakti Yoga Handbook, 60:36which is a little simpler and especially meant for 60:39those that want to practice Bhakti Yoga at home. 60:41But this one, Bhakti Yoga, will definitely explain all the 60:45intricacies and the step by step process of engaging in 60:49Bhakti Yoga, which is one of the easiest forms of 60:52yoga in this day and Age of Kali Yuga. 60:54So that's why I present that. 60:58But otherwise, there's so many different levels that 61:04you can get started on, and any of 61:05my books can help you do that. 61:07So hopefully that'll help out. 61:09Yeah, I think that's a lot of great information, and 61:11we'll be sure to put your website on the description. 61:14So wherever this video is, people can find 61:17it easy and take a look for themselves 61:19as well, see what resonates with them. 61:23So the last question we have today, which I 61:25think is pretty important just because especially in America, 61:28what yoga is today and how it's very commercialized. 61:32And it can be very confusing when you 61:34say that word or what it really means. 61:38So how do you feel about the yoga movement of today? 61:41And what do you think the real purpose is of yoga? 61:46Well, in a way, I think any progress in 61:50yoga is a good thing, and any form of 61:54advocating yoga is also a good thing. 61:59And in some ways, it can be used as a 62:01secular means of simply developing the body and the mind 62:05in doing the exercises and things like that. 62:09But it's a step by step process. 62:12The yoga that we see today is primarily Hatha yoga. 62:15Hatha yoga is basically the first step in Yoga, in 62:19preparing the body for what is actually meant to be 62:22long periods of deep meditation, so that the energy flows 62:27nicely through the body, so that you can sit for 62:31long periods of time, if necessary, to meditate. 62:34And meditation itself is as it's described in 62:38some places, where it's a matter of extending 62:42the gap between one thought and another. 62:46Because in that gap of vacancy of the mind, one 62:52becomes able to get a glimpse of your true spiritual 62:56identity without all the internal conversation always disrupting your focus 63:04on who and what you really are. 63:06Because the mind is like that. 63:08Mind is considered the center of the senses. 63:10So you've got all these senses coming at 63:13you, whether it's feeling, hearing, seeing, smelling, touching. 63:19All these different things are constantly coming 63:21at you, and the mind is always 63:22interpreting it, oh, this is agreeable. 63:24Oh, that's not so agreeable. 63:25And then the intelligence kicks in and said, well, 63:27how can I get more of what is agreeable 63:29and avoid more of what is not agreeable? 63:34So this is how the mind is always acting. 63:37So you want to quiet the mind. 63:39And Yoga and breathing exercises, Pranayam is a means of 63:45assisting yourself to quiet the mind and be able to 63:49be less disturbed by the externals so that you can 63:53go more inward and then gradually understand what you really 63:58are as a spiritual being, and what is your connection 64:02with the supreme spirit, the super soul within you, or 64:06Bhagavan, the external aspect of God himself, and what is 64:14your relationship with God in this regard, and then how 64:17to act on that relationship. 64:20So Yoga is meant to bring yourself up to a 64:23level where you can begin to focus on that and 64:27meditate on it, and then eventually, even if you're able 64:32to, which is very hard to do in this day 64:33and age, reach a state of Samādhi. 64:36Samādhi means a constant flow of continual thought 64:42on the supreme object of meditation, which, of 64:45course, is the supreme spirit or God. 64:48And the more you meditate on God, the more you reach 64:51God, the more you can reach God in your next existence. 64:54The Bhagavad Gita explains that that which occupies the 64:59consciousness of a person at the time of death 65:02is where he takes up his next life. 65:06So the whole point of meditation is to reach 65:09the point of Samādhi, where you're constantly thinking of 65:12your ultimate goal, which is how to reach God, 65:16how to enter into the spiritual dimension, where you 65:19no longer come back to this material world. 65:22You've become spiritualized enough, where you no longer 65:26are interested in the material world anymore. 65:28You're no longer interested in 65:29satisfying the mind and senses. 65:31You're only interested in acquiring 65:34that which satisfies the soul. 65:36And as you reach that more and more and deeper 65:39and deeper, then that's the level of consciousness you develop. 65:44So that as you give up the body, you attain 65:49a particular level of consciousness and focus Samādhi, so that 65:53you are simply focused on the ultimate goal of life, 65:57which is to reach God in the spiritual dimension. 66:00That's really what Yoga is meant for. 66:03And we have different types of yoga 66:05that all help you do that. 66:06We have bhakti yoga, which is yoga of 66:10love and devotion towards the supreme being. 66:12We have karma yoga, yoga of action, 66:16Gyana yoga, yoga of knowledge and meditation. 66:22And we have Rāja yoga, or Ashtanga yoga, which is 66:25the ultimate goal of meditation, the meditative process, simply sitting 66:32and avoiding the senses, the sensory dictation that we always 66:37have, and being able to avoid that. 66:40Whereas Rāja yoga is based on emptying 66:44the mind of the sensory activities so 66:48that you can focus on the supreme. 66:52Bhakti yoga or even Mantra yoga is 66:55a process where we don't empty the 66:57mind, but we fill the mind with 67:00transcendental knowledge, transcendental activity, mental activity. 67:06In focusing on the pastimes of Krishna, 67:10the loving aspect of Krishna, the personality 67:13of Krishna, these kind of things. 67:15And we fill the mind with the transcendental 67:18sound vibration of the Hare Krishna mantra or 67:21other mantras, so that we can absorb ourselves 67:25in that which is much easier. 67:27It's much easier to fill the mind 67:29with transcendence than it is to empty 67:31the mind, to hopefully perceive transcendence. 67:36So this is the goal. 67:38And the point of this process in this day and 67:41age in Kali Yuga, is to fill the mind with that 67:44which is our ultimate object of meditation, rather than trying 67:47to relieve our mind of any sensory activity, so that 67:51we can focus on the ultimate object of meditation. 67:54Just meditate on it. 67:56Just chant Hare Krishna. 67:57Krishna is in his name. 67:58So just chant Hare Krishna. 67:59Just meditate on the puranas, especially the Bhagavat-purana 68:03which describes Krishna's pastimes and his activities and his 68:08different avatars, so that you're automatically focused on him 68:12without any, what should I say? 68:14Unnecessary austerity or difficulty or tapasya or practice, 68:22and just get to the point of it. 68:24Focus on Krishna, focus on the supreme Being. 68:27Everything is solved, simple as that. 68:30So that may sound easier than it 68:33is, but that's how you get started. 68:35And that's practically, as I've said in this kali yuga, 68:40it is the recommended process for this age. 68:45Yeah. 68:45And it seems as though everything is a building block. 68:48So starting at whatever stage in yoga and going 68:51to reach that point of clearing the mind. 68:56And that's a beautiful thing about the vedic process. 68:58Whatever level you want to investigate, it's all open. 69:01There's nothing that is said to be contradictory. 69:07There's nothing said to be unapproachable. 69:11You follow whatever process that works for you, 69:14because we're not dealing with just one lifetime. 69:19I mean, I know some of the monotheistic 69:20religions believe in, you got just one lifetime 69:22and you're going to heaven or hell. 69:24But in the vedic culture, that's not the system. 69:27The system is, we've already 69:28been through many lifetimes. 69:30We can take as many lifetimes as we 69:32need to investigate whatever part of the process 69:35of spiritualizing our lives that we want. 69:37It's recommended, of course, that if you want 69:40to speed things up, there are certain things 69:42that you can do and certain processes to 69:44follow, but it's completely up to you. 69:47So you're not restricted in that sense, as in, say, 69:52some other religions that might impose that on you. 69:55So that's one of the things I 69:56also like about the vedic culture. Yeah. 69:59It seems that as much as you want to question 70:01it, it has answers, and you can kind of start 70:04anywhere you want and you can find the information. 70:07Right. 70:09Well, thank you so much for coming 70:12today and sharing all of your knowledge. 70:14I feel like we could pretty much talk about each one 70:16of those subjects all day long, and maybe you, again, to 70:20go a little deeper just on one of those subjects. 70:22But thank you for your time today, and 70:24it was super amazing to get all of 70:26your wisdom and knowledge on vedic culture. 70:29Okay, well, thank you very much for having me 70:31and Namaste and Jai Shri Krishna, thank you very much.