 Jaya jaya jaya jaya jaya jaya jaya. Sri Vasyankar Adi Anant success. Sri Vasyankar Adi Anant success. Jaya jaya jaya jaya. You got the greetings to all of you This is the Chandramana Ugadi today. This means according to the Lunar calendar, this is the New Year's Day. For Telugu and Karnataka people, I hope at least you got your name flower and jaggery today. Well, it's a tradition of starting off the New Year, a very wise tradition where we mix neem flowers and jaggery together, little more jaggery, not in equal proportions. They are supposed to be equal proportion, but slowly people have moved little more towards sweetness. The choice has moved that way and first thing in the morning today, you should have eaten that, but you're everyday neem ball people, so it doesn't matter for you. The idea is the coming year, we are not asking only for good things, only for sweet things. Let them be at least in equal proportion, because what we consider as bitter is not necessarily wrong, nor bad. Everybody knows today that neem is not bad, it's bitter. Most bitter things in your life or what you think is bitter is essentially because every time life tries to push you into a larger possibility, you resist. So it becomes bitter. Something new happens, people suffer, right now corona, well it is out there, but it's given as a possibility to withdraw and be by ourselves. Well we can go on giving a whole dissertation about the economic, they're not able to share. I think it's the audio is not going across well please. So one can always talk about the negative impacts on the economy and how our lives will be. At the worst, I'm saying at the worst, our lives may become as it was ten years ago, at the worst. Or maybe it'll go back by a few months or a year. In terms of economic possibilities, comforts, conveniences, we may step back, it's possible. I'm saying if it, if it rages across the world. But we have seen already certain nations conducting it in a responsible and systemic way. They've managed to see that it doesn't go that way. At least here in India, we are stamping it down quite hard. If everybody cooperates and behaves responsibly, I think it will not go that way. But definitely some loss is going to be there in everybody's lives, irrespective of who you are, the rich, poor, middle class, everybody. But the sparrows as you can hear, they seem to be very happy. I'm sure many other creatures are very happy. People are sending me videos of dolphins have come to Mumbai coast, this happened, that happened. Well, it's very much possible because human footprint is not strong in these three weeks of lockdown. I'm sure other creatures will enjoy the planet a little more, which is also good. And maybe these three weeks of practice will make people initially they're struggling, but maybe they will learn to step back and enjoy their life by simply closing their eyes. There are many good possibilities. So I'm saying what you consider as bitterness is only because of your resistance. Otherwise, bitterness is also good. So the wisdom of this tradition, on a New Year's day we are not just eating sweets. We are eating equal proportion of bitterness and sweetness because we understand life comes in its many possibilities. If you do not accept what you think is bitter, then you will rule out all the possibilities of life and just stay with what you know. So today's Ugadi, all the Kannada and Telugu people particularly, I think for Tamil culture, the New Year's Day comes after a few days. This New Year's Day is kind of related and around the spring equinox. This means the position of the sun in relation to the northern hemisphere, particularly the tropics. It changes dramatically and this is the time sunlight is at its best. Sunlight at its best means life should be at its best. But unfortunately, because we've ripped the planet off, because there is no shade anywhere and water is a serious concern, extra sunlight or summer means a whole lot of people are terrified. It is not by coincidence that they fixed 22nd of March as World Water Day, which most people this year forgot because everybody is on World Corona Day. 22nd of March was World Water Day and 23rd we were supposed to have soil, water and climate change conference here, which now we have indefinitely postponed. Well, post-Ugadi means generally it rains, one or two rains will happen, one or two showers will happen in the next few days. But water crisis also begins because it starts getting hotter and water, the need for water goes up, but the availability of water goes down. Well, with this corona, water crisis can be quite disastrous. It may force people to come out of their homes and do desperate things as if the water doesn't come in their taps, which can happen in many places in southern India. Well, they will come out and nobody can stop them from coming out. You can't forcefully keep them in when there is no water. These chances are there. Contingency plans, I think are being made, but to what extent can we service such a large population is always a question mark. So anyway, this is the beginning of a year in terms of lunar calendar. This year, I think normally Ugadi means people visit each other and it's a big celebration. It's the… in southern India it's one of the most important festivals. I think temples are all closed down, communities cannot meet, families cannot meet. Right now, people are sitting back and maybe they didn't even get the neem flower. Jayagiri, I'm sure they had at home, but maybe they could not procure the neem flower also. I understand their distress, but the important aspect of consuming neem flower on the first day of the year is that we will be able to handle anything that comes our way. To make ourselves in such a way that we are not victims of what comes our way. Whatever comes our way, we will make the best out of it. That is the thing about life. So right now it's a virus, tomorrow it can be a dinosaur, who knows? Whatever comes, how to make the best out of it? Because a year passing or a new year means time is rolling away. Time is rolling away means our life is getting over. That's what it means. Most people are celebrating their new year's days and birthdays without understanding, without being conscious that actually these are milestones to tell you that your life is getting over. You need to get into a little more urgency about what is it that you want to do with this life. Everybody needs to get into little more urgency. Today is new year, this means what? One year went by. Today is your birthday, what does it mean? One year gone by. This means you must get into little more urgency, it's a reminder. And now being alone, being by yourself, you know, when we do Samyama programs and intensive programs, we ask you to be silent, be alone by yourself. Government of India is doing this for you, a very spiritual nation. Well, it's happening across the world. Most nations have lockdown for seven days, fifteen days, twenty-one days, whatever. I think they're only coming in installments, probably the lockdown will be much longer. It is also hope and a belief, we're not sure about this. But most people are hoping, and it is possible that the ability of the virus to transmit itself may come down as temperatures rise. As the sun's position in relation with the planet changes, its ability to transmit may go down. Above all, with the solar energy powered up, our bodies will function with little more zest. Because of that, our immune systems definitely function better. So, we may go through corona in a much milder way than some nations, unfortunately, are going through. I got, you know, people are sending all kinds of messages. Somebody that we know very well, a volunteer family from New York City, they said last ten days, somebody in the office tested positive. But now, all four of them, the whole family, two of them young boys, maybe sixteen and thirteen or something like that. All four of them went through all the symptoms. Miley had some breathing difficulties, but they did not go to the hospital, they took care of themselves at home. Now after ten, this is eleventh or twelfth day, they're saying they're feeling much better and they're okay. The temperature is gone, breathing difficulty is gone. Little cough is there, but they're recovering by themselves. So this is what could happen if one... definitely we are under the influence of sun, our immune systems will function better. If this happens, the twenty-one day lockdown may serve the purpose. But if the virus gets smarter, who knows? If they have come with their own air conditioning or something, who knows? Who knows what tricks they have? These are all tricks of creation. If they manage to go about the same way, then twenty-one day may not be enough. One may have to stretch it further. So this is a spiritual summer, that's all I'm saying. A long retreat, wherever you are. So as a part of this, I was just thinking in the next week, for the meditators, those who have done in engineering and at least you're practicing, Shambhavi Mahamudra, at least that much practice is there, then we thought we will have a lap of the master kind of event online, maybe half a day. So for this, I would like to see how many of you in different parts of the world are interested in committing at least five hours of time, committed time. This is not like you turn on your computer or your phone and go all over the place, walking around, talking around and listening. No. If you're willing to sit down by yourself in a room connected and for five hours, you're fully dedicated to that, we could see how to lead a process which will be definitely useful. I'm not thinking of corona, I'm thinking of you. Now, I know people will abuse me for this, but now you have become a captive spiritual seeker, a guru's dream. So staying healthy and safe is very important, but let's make use of this time the best possible way. So those of you, wherever you are in the world, if you register yourself and commit for minimum five hours, we will fix a date in the next week that we can have a five-hour session where we will guide you to certain things, but this is only for those of you who are already having at least Shambhavi Mahamudra going in your life. Otherwise, don't do it. It's important because then I will be restricted as to what I can do and cannot do. I'm hearing the Yoga Yoga chant. Well, the chant is going on all over the yoga center on the microphone. You must listen to that how it is done, but I hear many of you chanting and walking on the street, sitting here and there chanting. Those of you who are in other places, I don't know how you're doing. I'm seeing that the mantra is for many of you just in the mouth. That's not the way to do it. The mantra is designed in such a way, if you utter it, naturally the reverberation starts from the base of your belly. This is very important. This is your Manipuraka. This is very your maintenance centeries and right now, because everything is virus-oriented, activating your Manipura, which is the maintenance center is very important. So when you utter the mantra, unless you become very habitually chanting, not consciously chanting, then mantra is naturally starting from the base of the belly. You are chanting habitually because you know and blah, blah, blah, blah. It could be abuse. Why mantra? But I think when you abuse somebody, it comes right from here. I don't think anybody can abuse like this. When you abuse, it comes from here. So do the mantra like it's abuse. That is your involved. The mantra, the sounds are geometrically designed in such a way, naturally they touch the deepest point within you. Only then it energizes you. Only then it activates your samadprana. If you start chanting the mantra, if I say this because we are an open platform, certain people will go crazy, but let them. You will see that you will start sweating from certain parts of the body. I'm stressing on this, you will start sweating from certain parts of the body. Well, it's summer time, you may be sweating all the time, that's a different matter. But you will see that you will start sweating some certain parts of the body if you do it intensely. And that's important, you must notice that I don't have to tell you from where you will sweat, but you will notice that certain parts of the body will sweat more than the rest of the body which may be sweating because of the atmospheric temperatures. Whichever way, if you chant for ten, fifteen minutes, you must turn. Your clothes at least must be wet to some extent in this weather. Otherwise, you must perspire a little bit, if the weather is cool, you must have little perspiration going somewhere in your system. That will naturally happen. So please be conscious of this when you chant the mantra, we will do it right now. And as you do it because I just reminded, you know, another year has gone by and life is getting briefer, you don't have to run away because I am seeing people are trying to get more and more fast. This is the idea, this is the teaching from the virus, slow down. A machine which runs slow but functions at its peak is a good machine. A machine which is hyper will expand itself, which runs easy. But still at low rpm it functions at very high quality, that's what is needed. So don't run away with the mantra, there is a pace we have set, just go with that. Wherever you are, if you can sit with yoga mudra, with eyes closed, with a slightly upturned face. Sit still, just simply sit still, unmoving. Sit still, unmoving. Just be with me. Sivashankar Adi Ananth Sivashankar Adi Ananth Jaya Jaya Jaya When you utter the mantra, it's important that it comes from your Manipura or deeper down. At least the last part of it, when you say Shambho, you must say it like it's the last thing you want to say in your life. You want to throw out everything. This is the last thing you're going to do. That's how you must say it. Well, I hope that will be the last thing you will say in your life too. Anyway, happy Ugarthi once again. And with this cleansing and withdrawal, the virus guru is teaching us. Virus has become a guru, how to stay by yourself, be by yourself. Well, too much social contact is a contigion anyway. So virus is teaching your lesson. It doesn't matter how small a creature something is. A creature something is. We must learn. This is why this culture, man, woman, child, god, cow, donkey, because every one of them have a lesson for us. Here we are, learning from microorganisms. Wonderful. So if you're ready for a five-hour commitment, please all of you register. We will fix a date.