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Spiritual development is a lifelong process. One practices spiritual exercises, mantra repetition, meditation, concentration, devotion, and reads beautiful, sacred books. There, development is continuous, but one cannot feel it oneself. Whoever wants to feel it personally is acting from greed and ego, which indicates they are not yet far advanced. Whether you perceive your own mental or spiritual development is not what matters. What is important is that you remain on your spiritual path. There is an example of a diamond. A diamond goes around the market, from one jeweler to another, and starts asking other people, "Do you think I am a diamond?" It says, "I might be." No—you are a diamond. A diamond does not go around asking whether it is a diamond or not. We are the ones who say, "This is a diamond." A knower can discern whether it is a piece of diamond, crystal, or glass. Others cannot say. The diamond itself never declares what it is or how much it is worth. We assign the value and price. Therefore, do not think about how valuable you are. Do not wonder if you are a diamond. Just think and be a diamond. Whether others recognize or understand you should be of no concern. Your task is to be a diamond. This means: be a spiritual person. Be a Bhakta, a Karma-Yogī, a Jñāna-Yogī, or a Bhakti-Yogī. Deliberation does not help at all. Whether one throws a diamond into the trash bin or places it in a safe does not matter to the diamond. Wherever it is, it remains a diamond. Whether it is placed on the crown of a king—though we say nowadays there are no more kings, yet everyone is a king; here sit all princesses and princes, all are kings and queens—or whether it is set in a beautiful ornament, perhaps on a woman’s earlobes (I have not seen such women yet, but it is possible), for the diamond, it does not matter. There is a beautiful bhajan that says: What do we have to do with others? We have nothing to give and nothing to take. We should live as God wills. In whatever state God has placed us, in whatever life situation—perhaps God has decided it. Once happy, once sad. One day a beautiful, soft bed; the next day, you sit on a train and fall asleep. That can happen too. Sometimes you lie comfortably in bed yet cannot sleep, and another day someone travels by car from Vienna to Hamburg and sleeps there. Sleep needs no bed, and hunger needs no cakes. When one is hungry, even dry nuts or dry bread taste very good. When one is not hungry, even bread with butter and cheese can feel like too much. Sleep does not seek a bed, and hunger does not seek cakes. That is the consciousness of a yogī. What comes has come, and what goes has gone. Our attachment, our clinging—our mind always wanders to where we have had a relationship, perhaps something pleasant. That is called attachment. When one is freed from this attachment, it is like rubber: you stretch it longer and longer, and it comes back together. You try to create some distance, and suddenly thoughts arise, and you find yourself crying again. "It was beautiful. It would be beautiful to have that, to keep that." That is attachment. But death is so cruel; it cuts everything away. Separation through death is indeed painful. The wise say it is better to decide before death—to decide for yourself. Voluntarily give back, voluntarily renounce, voluntarily pass on. We have nothing to do with others; we have nothing to give or take. "Rāmjī, Rākhe, Jure, Heno, Āpore." As God, as Amma, wishes it. This is how we should live—in accordance with God’s will. Or like our destiny, our Saṃskāra. As our Saṃskāra is, so shall our life be. So simply be there and make the effort. Why do we make the effort? So that we may be pleased, so that God may liberate us from the things we ourselves cannot free ourselves from—our karma, our destiny. We all strive. All of us sitting here have consciously done good things. Perhaps it was bad, but we thought it was good. Through our selfishness, ego, pride, anger, hatred, envy, greed, or jealousy, we acted thinking it was good for us. Afterwards, it became a problem. What are we to do? We are not meant for that. During the actions, we had very clear feelings; afterwards, it became complicated. That is God’s problem, not ours. He is supposed to resolve it now. Yet suffering and pain come upon us. A spiritual Bhakta who has decided to walk the spiritual path to realize something in life does not count every day their practices and progress. Those who have very little money count every day how much they have spent and how much remains, wondering if they will make it through the month. But one who has a daily cash flow—thousands or millions in income and thousands or millions in expenses—does not tally every day. They give it to their bookkeeper or accountant. "Please take care of this," and it will be done. The self matters little. You are all so rich, spiritually. You have repeated your mantras millions of times. I cannot count how many times you have repeated them. Can anyone here say, from the day you received your mantra until now, how many thousands or millions of times you have repeated it? You have no idea. And from these repetitions, you have also received a lot of interest—no idea either. Give it to Providence’s accountant. He already knows. You are rich, very rich in your heart, on your spiritual path. You have made many, many advances. Therefore, do not give up on your feelings, and do not lose your inspiration, courage, and will. Practice, practice, practice. Our task is to be present and to practice. So simply be a diamond. Do not think that you are a diamond; do not ask whether you are a diamond or not. The question will change nothing. You are, and be that. Then your realization will come. Then you will know it for sure. And when you know you are a diamond, you no longer need to ask. The most precious diamond God has given us is, first and foremost, our human body. Through this body, we work mentally and spiritually. This is not given to us again and again; it is very, very precious. We cannot lend this body to someone, saying, "Okay, you have it for a few days; I’ll stay in the radiant body at home and relax." Nothing like that has happened yet—perhaps in individual cases, but not always. Or you cannot say, "My body is tired and sick; I will put it in the washing machine. Can you give me your body?" That is not possible either. It is unique. It is the only chance where we can learn something and apply it—this diamond. The second true diamond is your own Self, the Ātman. Indescribable, immortal, eternal, imperishable. Immortal, everlasting, indescribable—that is the diamond. We are to realize this knowledge in this very life. Everything else is dust over the diamond; we must polish that away. Thus, Śaṅkarācārya, in his sacred work Aparokṣānubhūti, tries to guide his disciples. Ātmajñāna—there are many kinds of knowledge, but the highest knowledge is Self-realization. Who am I? Ātman. We will continue tomorrow and the day after with what Śaṅkarācārya says. But before that, Śaṅkarācārya says that to understand his work and to continue practice according to his teaching, we need help from Patañjali. Once again, I would like to come to Patañjali. Patañjali said the same thing. The human body is an important tool for you. Do not waste your time; pay attention. You should do everything that comes into your life: eating, drinking, sleeping, living with family, working—leading a completely normal life, but according to the yogī, positive, spiritual, and healthy. This attitude towards our life is very, very important. First and foremost, he says discipline. Discipline exists in animals and in nature as well. There is discipline in the seasons. Animals follow discipline more in accordance with nature, but humans have intellect and try to go beyond nature, attempting to measure everything with their intellect. Some things that are according to nature, they want to distract from, discard, and do something else. Some things are good; some may not be so good. But still, a disciplined life is a healthy and happy life. Discipline in thought, discipline in speech. For example, sometimes one speaks to someone in such a way that it deeply hurts, and that is harmful. It stems from your problems, your envy, your despair, your brittleness, your thoughts, your jealousy, your hatred, your envy, or your ignorance. You ask a question about others that, as they say in Austria, is mean—with malice. When you ask someone such a question, that is not a disciplined word. A woman suffers from the death of her husband and finds a new man. Someone comes and asks, "What would you do if your husband, who passed away, suddenly came back home?" This question is a crime; it tears the person into two parts. Perhaps it is your ignorance, or you did it for pleasure or as a joke. But Patañjali said you have harmed other people and thereby harmed yourself. You have violated the law of discipline. Your spiritual development depends on your words, on what you speak. In another sūtra, Patañjali himself said: Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ. You should use Yoga—which means clear thinking, clear Buddhi—to consider. Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. You should control your vṛttis through your yoga. Be certain: your vṛttis, your thoughts, will soon become your word. True? Whatever you are thinking will very soon become the word you speak. Therefore, it is said: beforehand, when the tree is still a sprout—especially a thorny, dangerous tree—you should uproot it. That means Nirodha—before it grows large, uproot it. That is discipline in thought. When such thoughts arise, your inner state is currently unwell. Something is not right. Physical illness is easier to heal. Mental-spiritual illness, the disturbances, can perhaps also be healed. But this other illness—what happens in your spiritual and mental planes—is very difficult to heal. It is a very thin, delicate veil; you touch a little and there is a hole inside. The tension is so great the hole becomes larger and larger; you cannot put anything together. It is very difficult to heal that again. Healing is only possible when we purify the vṛttis: Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ. If you have no discipline and have not controlled your vṛttis, Patañjali said, what is your state of love? How shall I describe what you are? Then it is said: tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe 'vasthānam. When you cannot control your discipline and your vṛttis, tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe 'vasthānam. Patañjali is laughing because the magicians say, "Master, what happens if I cannot control the vṛttis and have no discipline? What is it then?" He said, "This is your reality. You will be as you think." If there is no discipline in your thinking and these problems are present in your mind, then you are like that. When you have disciplined your thoughts and have complete control over them, then there is the observer. Who is the observer? Your own Self, your true Self, your divine Self. Then he attains his state, his form, his condition, his existence. His existence is exactly as he is. When everything is truly controlled, then he is Ātman. This is the Ātman that Śaṅkarācārya will continue to discuss tomorrow. Therefore, a master can only ever give us a hint. I will not say a warning—perhaps a master does not give a warning, but if necessary, sometimes he may also give a warning. His words can be a warning; his words can be a sign. Through these indications, through this warning, he teaches and helps us. But in reality, it is we who should help ourselves. A person who cannot stand up needs help from others. One or two people lift a person up, but if that person will not extend their knee, they cannot stand. They must extend the knee and properly support their legs and feet on the ground. Then our help will assist them. We cannot stand still all day long. The master cannot always keep us going like that. You have your life; the master has his life. The master can only help us to rise, but then we must use our own power and continue to take steps forward. Knowledge and spirituality are immeasurable. Nothing can be measured. When you go to school and come home, and your mother asks, "My child, how many kilos did you learn today? Or how many meters long have you learned?" The child knows nothing because kilos and meters—that is, knowledge—are immeasurable. Spiritual development cannot be measured. It is a lifelong, daily duty of practice. Everything is decided at the end—the end of this life. Then it will become clear whether you have truly become the diamond or another diamond. Before that, some try to know: "Have I made spiritual progress? How long have I been practicing Kriyā-Yoga? How long have I been doing āsanas and my mantras? Why have I not yet developed spiritually to that extent?" There is a wise saying: do not praise the day before the evening. Do not celebrate the day too early; wait until the sun has set. Then you can say today was a successful day. We can also make a mistake in the last seconds. Some people become mountaineers; when they want to climb to the summit and finally arrive, they are so happy and say, "I have reached it!" And there they become a bit careless and have an accident. Thus, the spiritual path is a path where we walk slowly but make progress every day, never stopping, never falling into doubt. Then there were our own mistakes—nothing on your spiritual path. Not that you say, "My path has led me nowhere; this is not the right path for me." All paths are right, but the question is: where do you want to go? You want to go to Graz, but you are heading towards Salzburg. Well, then that is obviously not the right path. Turn around. If you will not turn back, then the path will surely bring you to Graz as well, but it is a bit of a detour—via Salzburg, then Villach, Klagenfurt, and then you come back to Graz. So, all paths are good. The problem lies within us. We thought that way; we had false expectations; we have led false lives; we have neglected our practices. It is us. Nobody is here to blame. No one is to be blamed—only the Self. And the Self should be as Patañjali said: discipline, control of your vṛttis, and control of your words. Your thoughts will soon become your word, or your thought will soon become your action. Word is also an action, and physical action is also a deed, and thought is also a deed. These are the four ways in which one can create their karma. I wish you all the best, much success, much patience, and much strength. Above all, that you remain on your spiritual path without comparing. One should never compare. Think: there are millions of people in this world who are much better off than you, who are much more spiritually advanced and wise than you. And there are millions of people in this world who are much worse off than you, who are far behind in development. No one should compare themselves with anyone at any time. Wherever comparison arises, either despair or pride or ego follows. If one loses their willpower again, it diminishes and ultimately destroys itself. Therefore: no comparison, no question of whether you are a diamond or nothing, whether one should compare oneself to a ruby or not. A diamond can never become a ruby, and a ruby will never become a diamond. So why? The diamond has its price, and the ruby has its price. Both are beautiful; both are good. The difference lies in where one begins to compare. There is no need to compare. Let it be as it is.