Spiritual Guidelines

First, when you talk about 'energy flows,' exactly what kind of energy are you referring to? Emotional, kinesthetic, prana, kundalini?

All of the above. Actually, at this stage, it doesn't matter. They all travel along pretty much the same routes, in the same pattern.

The important thing is that pattern. The direction of the energy flows, where they begin and end, etc. Most of them begin at the base of the spine and travel up to the top of the spine. They need to travel centrally, vertically, instead of leaking out horizontally.

This is something that will apply to everybody, whatever their situation or whatever kind of 'energy' they are working with.

Could you just give an example of how it feels?

You have all had the experience of 'holding back your words.' You have an emotional reaction, you want to burst out with some hasty, emotional words. You want to say 'In that case I'm leaving,' or something. The energy wants to burst out immediately, through speech, through the throat.

But really, you know it is not a good decision to make, you know you should not say it. You know that if you do say it, then after you have 'blown off steam,' you will feel just the opposite!

This is just one example of what I mean by 'energy.'

Read more: Energy and the Channels

The vegetarian lifestyle is gaining recognition worldwide.

In the United States of America alone, over ten million people have adopted vegetarianism. All major world nations have vegetarian societies, which are actively engaged in the promotion of vegetarianism: the United Kingdom; Switzerland, West Germany, Israel, Mexico; Japan, Russia, and many others.

In UK, the Rt. Honorable Bernard Weatherill, M.P., has stated that there would be tremendous economic savings of food and energy resources if more people began eating vegetables and grain instead of feeding it to meat animals.

Animal Protection / Ecological Basis

When animals are raised for meat, large amounts of land are needed to support them. Meat animals such as cattle and goats cause great destruction of public lands by overgrazing. This is not a problem with wild animals in a diverse ecosystem.

Animals who appear 'useless' are in fact necessary for maintaining the fertility of land and preventing erosion. Vegetarianism promotes the preservation of animals and, thus, the conservation of forests.

Economic Basis

The growing requirement for food energy resources has caused scientists to seek alternatives to present practices.

To produce a pound of meat, many pounds of grain (50 or 100) must be fed to the animal. Just to support one meat animal takes many acres of land. But if that same land were used for growing food for humans, it could grow large amounts of vegetables, fruits, grains, etc.

By vegetarianism, we can both protect the land and grow more food.

Commercial production of meat is very costly. The conversion rate of plant protein to animal protein is too low. It is, therefore, better to utilise vegetable food directly as human food rather than animal protein.

Not only is the conversion of plant protein to animal protein too low, but also the caloric conversion is even lower. It has been estimated that 7 vegetable calories are required for production of one animal calorie.

It is, therefore, evident that the plant-to-animal food conversion is not only too costly but also too wasteful in the present day, when all efforts have to be directed to relieve caloric malnutrition throughout the world. At a time when millions are dying of starvation, it is morally indefensible that over half the world's grain is fed to animals instead of to people.

Read more: Vegetarianism

Feel oneness with all living beings.

All living beings have equal right to live; all enjoy living and dislike dying. Killing any living being amounts to killing oneself. Do not kill, injure, enslave, torture, or exploit any living being. Befriend all living beings.

Ahimsa means

1. Not to kill any creature
2. Not to hire or pay anyone else to kill them
3. Not to praise or support anyone else who kills them

You are the master of your own fate. You are the fountainhead of boundless energy. It is you and only you who is responsible for each of your actions and its results. Use the energy of your own soul to get yourself free from bad habits and bondage.

Soul is a reality. Soul is different from body. Every soul exists in the world form beginning-less time, passing through the cycles of birth and death.
Existence in the world is full of sufferings. One who transcends birth and death becomes free from all sufferings forever.

Indulging in reactions such as anger, pride, deceit, lust, etc, (often called 'passions') is the cause of bondage of soul with karma (sort of tiny particles), which results in sufferings.

Freedom from such reactions leads one to Liberation and Bliss.

Truth is multifaceted. One statement is true from one point of view, while the opposite statement is also true from another point of view. Therefore reconciliation is always possible betweeen two opposite views.

Discard absolutistic attitudes and remain in peaceful co-existence with all.

Once you said, "The astral body is like a cordless telephone." What does that mean?

The physical body (sharira) is like the base of the telephone, which has to stay plugged into the wall. The astral body is like the handset, which can travel anywhere and exchange information. But sooner or later it has to come back to the base to recharge.

Many people experience this in dreams. When we dream of flying, it means the astral body is flying out of the physical body. It is still connected (people call this connection 'the silver cord'), so it can come back.

What if the astral body doesn't come back?

Occasionally the cord gets broken, and the person dies in their sleep.

Why does the astral body need a base?

It becomes very uncomfortable without a physical home to come back to. It needs the base, the nest, for security. Otherwise it feels very irritated and frustrated.

What about "astral beings?"

They have a different base, made out of more subtle matter. They do not need gross food. They inhale the fragrance of flowers, food, fruit, wine, etc. In the temple, sometimes there are some astral beings who take the fragrance out of the food. Their bodies are invisible to us, and they can float in the air, effortlessly, like a fish floating in water. So their base is more subtle than ours, but otherwise it is the same.

What happens to the astral body when a human dies?

The astral body is our real body. It is what we feel and experience in, all the time. At death, you don't feel like, "My astral body is leaving me." You feel like, "My physical body has dropped away." When we die, we fly away in the astral body, which accompanies the soul.

Read more: Astral Bodies and Lost Souls

Is your teaching a religion or a philosophy?

Neither one. It is a way of life.

What I teach is, how to improve your own self. How to know yourself. How to get rid of all the barriers of ignorance, the veils of ignorance.

This way, one day you will reach that state of consciousness in which everything will be clear to you.

My teaching is not another religion, which would conflict with whatever religion the student already has. Whether he or she is Hindu, Christian, Muslim, or whatever, they can still use these guidelines.

It is not a philosophy because philosophy means just logic and argument. This is a way of life. It will teach you who you really are. Then you will know what is best for you.

"To deny, ignore, and suppress your emotions, this is the root of all evil." What is your understanding about this?

Yes. Neglecting your emotions creates evil.

If you deny your anger, if you ignore your desires, if you suppress your feelings -- then they become evil.

They become evil in the individual. And when many individuals do this, the society becomes sick.

No wonder society doesn't seem to be happy. So many rules, disciplines, laws. It all represents suppression.

The more you deny or ignore your emotions, or suppress them, the more you are divided from yourself. You need to be familiar with your emotions. You don't need to suppress them. Just have understanding. Each time you feel anger, just understand it, then it will probably dissolve.

To me, anger is not originally a bad energy, an evil energy. It is just energy that is not flowing through the right channel. It is exploding out here and there, causing disturbance.

But you can correct the flow. You can reopen the natural channel. Let the anger flow in the channel that leads to meditation.

Some people would say, transform it into meditation. Or transcend it. Make it divine.

Anger is just energy. You have to know how to transform it. Until you know your emotions, you can't transform them.

You cannot transform them by ignoring them. Emotions are like children. If you ignore a child, he will go on and on demanding your attention. You have to take a moment to listen to him, to understand his feelings. Then he will stop bothering you. He just needs a little attention, that is enough.

Understanding is the way of transformation.