Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – welcome evening – Mauna 2025 – Lenzerheide, Switzerland – March 4, 2025
Harihi Om Tatsat. Gam Ganapataye Namaha.
Welcome to the Mauna course. It’s a four-day journey in this beautiful place, that is like Kailasa.
It is like the Himalayas. There’s beautiful snow, beautiful weather, and powerful vibrations. The people that live here are very lucky—it’s like they are living in the Himalayas. Yogis always select cold places like the Himalayas for their Tapas (penance). Their meditation produces heat in all the chakras. That controls the body temperature. That is why, in the Himalayas, it gives good energy, health, good buddhi, strength, and siddhi.
I think you have heard about Kumbha Mela. It is very powerful and occurs once in 144 years. You have heard about Naga Sadhus and Siddha Purushas. There are millions of sadhus and siddha purushas. Their longevity goes to 200–300 years too. They are very powerful. Some sadhus live in various Akhadas. 75% of the sadhus live in the Himalayan caves. It is a wonder what they eat, how they live, how they control their body and their sense organs… they follow different kinds of sadhana. They have great love for the Lord.
We are all dependent on our sense organs. The sadhus forget the body, sense organs, and the vices that come from them. They have conquered the six enemies, but we are always defeated because we constantly think about the body—about kama and karma. That is why we are suffering; we have no happiness. We think the body is the Atman. We need all kinds of facilities and comforts. We look for heating or cooling. We have diseases, confusions, and quarrels. Our mind is in a mess. But Naga Sadhus have attachment only to Lord Shiva. It is very difficult to achieve such a status. We are all humans in this world, attached to this world—maybe those sadhus have greater attachment to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.
We want great status, but we do no sadhana. We want facilities… heat, cold, sleep, food, quarrels, and body attachments. Okay, that is also fine, I am not complaining. But we yearn to go higher, yet cannot let go of this world.
We have very strong feelings of kama, krodha, lobha, jealousy, and unhappiness. We are weeping; we have no satisfaction. We must practice satisfaction. Very few experience true happiness, and even that lasts only for a few days. Maybe we are all just playing a role in this maya. A Maya Play. Yet, we speak grandly, using Vedanta words, but without practice.
We speak like intellectuals about Vedanta, but our practice is very poor. We practice for a few hours or minutes, for a few days, and then fall again. That is why we must pray to the Naga Sadhus, to Shiva and Vishnu, to give us strength to practice. But the first step is Mauna. It is a powerful step in meditation. We need Mauna.
Silence of the mind is real Mauna. Those sadhus do not eat or talk; they have no connections with the world. But we need all the connections—always. We are very dependent on all these maya things. We need relationships, children, money, heat, cold, disease, mess, and confusion. Yet, we talk Vedanta and meditation. We study big books, research, visit different ashramas, and aim higher and higher. It is all drama. It barely lasts a few minutes or a few days before we fall again and weep. There is a lot of confusion because we read too many books and listen to too many lectures. This leads to more confusion. Our mind and body are in a mess. The first medicine is Mauna.
Mauna gives strength to the body. Keep practicing in every birth. People always ask for Salvation. No. Practice in this birth. Slowly, you will get purified. It takes many lifetimes to reach the state of the Naga Sadhus. Not one life, not one course, not one million courses—nothing much will come out of it. But if you practice, you are searching and exploring along these lines.
We are all very interested in this Mauna course. This is only practice. It is like a bath. We need this kind of meditation. Practice not just for four days but every day. This is a natural practice. Mauna cannot be taught to people. You can teach yoga or music and receive certificates, but Mauna is not easy. It is a personal endeavor. Mauna cannot be taught—it is not a course, it is penance. We sacrifice our ambitions, wishes, and thoughts. We surrender them to God. Atma-arpana = wholesale surrender.
It also leads to practical vairagya. Vairagya means detachment within, not for show. Leaving everything is not vairagya. Leave bad thoughts, kama, krodha, and the rest of the six vices. Have no other thought except God. You can have Pranava Nada—the sound of Om within.
When you practice Mauna, you can experience Pranava Nada within.
We are practicing four days of Mauna here. Slowly, as you practice, you will purify the mind. The heart is always pure. We need to purify the buddhi (intellect).
Nada is also Omkara. On the concluding day, we will have Nada Chikitsa. I bless you—join with the Atman, with the mind, with the senses. Concentrate, and you will receive good blessings from Lord Shiva.