INTERVIEW BY GERMAN MAGAZINE

Swamiji: My mentors, both the mentors have trained me; at the age of 12 they made me realize one of the important concept of Hinduism - we are more than body - our life does not end as body.

Interviewer: when did you realize that you decided to spend ….

Swamiji: you see I realized for myself at the age of 12 but the decision to share this knowledge with others I took after 22. See at the age of 12, I realized that this is the truth for me; but 10 years it took for me to learn the technique to give that experience to others. So that 12 to 22 is my training period how I can transmit this experience to others.

Interviewer: How important is television as means to spread ……

Swamiji: You are asking how important the television is for me.

See it’s like, there is no such thing as this is important that is important. Whatever way we can reach out to human beings we reach out; that’s all.

Interviewer: What role did television play, did you feel that it helped to spread your message.

Swamiji: I can say naturally the media helps. See media is a way to reach out to the people.

Interviewer: So it wouldn’t be enough to have this ashram, you need also television to spread your thoughts to other countries to people who are not here.

Swamiji: See television is a medium. So we use all possible mediums to reach out to people and share this experience of enlightenment and Hinduism to everyone; that’s all.

Interviewer: So on television now in Bharat there are lot of different religious figures who also preach your faith. So do you see yourself in competition with them?

Swamiji: No no no I feel, see in Hinduism the one thing is that we are not a possessive organized religion. Anybody who experiences the truth, he comes out and starts sharing and anybody who can take us one step deeper we are ready to learn from them. Still I learn from people. If somebody is able to help me to learn one step deeper one step further I will be happy to sit at his feet.

Interviewer: Is there anybody else where you would be happy to sit at his feet, any other figure or you would say basically there is none, nobody above you?

Swamiji: No I don’t want to say there is nobody above me or anything. But as on now I do not feel any requirement to learn from anybody but if I find somebody surely I will not bother to learn.

Interviewer: I mean on television just now there are lot of ………………. other gurus is there anybody where you would say that you respect them …..

Swamiji: I do not want to name anybody and there is no such thing. I do not have any disrespect for anybody but I do not have any names now.

Interviewer: I see. All right. Do you feel that you get response from people who have seen you only on television and who haven’t seen you in person; they are so impressed and moved

Swamiji: About being impressed and moved I do not, we don’t have statistics. Hindus are not the type we do surveys, statistics and all that. Our tradition is not based on the survey or statistics. I have to speak every morning is a ritual. This is called sarvajna peetha – the seat of omniscience. It’s a tradition. So I have to, it’s called nithya satsang. See 5 things I have to do every day – Nithya yoga, Nithya puja, Nithya homa, Nithya satsang and Nithya kriya. This five I have to perform every day. So this satsang is my ritual. And my disciples feel if it can be relayed, live relayed to people, all over the world people can see. So I have centers all over the world, so all temples, all of them assemble in the morning maybe it will be, sometime for some countries it is evening, for some countries it is late night, today morning I had people gathering in London, France. London what would have been the time? 2:30 and France. Every day, everyday people all over the world gather exactly at this time, around two to two and a half hours they spend with me. It’s more like a religious ritual.

Interviewer: I see. And what’s your personal aim when you sit down, you want to make the world happy about this

Swamiji: I can say that my personal aim is to help people to achieve more health and more mental wellness and more happy relationships and more peaceful beings. Today morning you heard I was speaking about completion. It’s a, completion which leads to better health and better relationships. When people are happy naturally they will be more productive to the country they are living, more settled people in the society they are living. I can say that in one word happy people; I am trying to create happy and people who are more productive and settled in the society.

Interviewer: This morning you talked about your responsibility; that you have responsibility because you talked in front of television. You are broadcast on international television so…