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Our sādhanā is here for us to learn, to know, and to practice. Learn the techniques carefully; do not make mistakes in them. Practice according to that learning; do not make any mistakes in practice and learning. Learning is technical; practice is more about our awareness. Our practice, our sādhanā, should be successful. Gurujī used to tell a story about one aspirant. He was searching for gurus because he wanted to attain self-realization. What we read in the scriptures, in newspapers, in some books, and what we hear in some talks—self-realization, freedom from karmas, becoming Siddhas, achieving everything—it sounds very good. But to attain this is not easy. You know the little story of the fox that went to eat grapes. The grapes were a little too high, so he couldn’t jump far enough to catch them. They were very nice, ripe, sweet grapes. You see them exactly, very clearly, but he cannot reach them. So he goes away and, at the same time, leaves a negative comment that the grapes are too sour. The mistake is in him. He can’t jump high enough to catch and eat these grapes. Similarly, people cannot practice; they cannot give up many habits and desires. They can’t achieve that goal, and they think, "This is nothing, it’s not good, don’t go there," and they search for something different. So, that practitioner was very curious and full of imagination and ambitions. He went to one master, and the master told him what he could achieve. He said, "Practice, and you will achieve. Do the seva." After five years, one day he was thinking, "Five years... I lost five years. I didn’t get anything. I cannot even levitate my hand in sleep." So he was looking here and there, and he left and went to another master. Another master said, "Yeah, of course, samādhi, levitations, kuṇḍalinī awakening, third eye open, all of that. I will give you techniques, and you will practice." Three years gone, nothing. He didn’t even get knowledge of the chakras, so he left for somewhere else. Likewise, he went through seven, eight, or ten masters. Nowhere did he get anything other than just some theories. He turned negative against all masters. He said this is not true, don’t practice anything, etc. He left behind a negative commentary about every master. He decided, "First, I will go to the first master and tell him that what you said is wrong, it is nothing," and so on. The master was listening and listening. Then the disciple said, "Well, then I went to that master, and that master, and the Siddha master, and that one. All have nothing. I need nothing. So, I will humiliate everyone." The master said, "There is a mistake. The mistake is in you, not in the masters." The disciple said, "I don’t believe it, because I tried everything. I gave up everything. I worked very hard, but nothing happened." The master said, "Yes, that I know. Every master was giving me feedback. So everyone knows how you are, but the mistake is in you, my son. Now the time has come for you to learn. Where is the mistake? I will tell you the mistakes. Practically, stay here and follow me. You have to do whatever I tell you to do." The disciple asked, "How long? Is it ten days?" The master replied, "In ten days, I will open your eyes so that you will know who is guilty." It was a practical lesson. That evening they were sitting together, and the master said, "We have a beautiful garden and ashram, but there is no water. From a far distance, we have to bring water. You are strong and young. Can you dig a water well?" He said, "Yes." So the next day, he got the tools from the master and began to dig the water well. The master said, "In that corner." The whole day he worked very hard. He dug nearly two meters in soft soil. He ate double every day, and he was so tired that he slept soundly. The next day, they were sitting together having breakfast. The master said, "The corner where you are digging, there will be a rock underneath. So please do it in that other corner." "Okay, Master." So he was digging the whole day in the other corner. He was tired and slept. On the third day morning, the master said, "There is salty water there. Dig in the other corner." So he was digging another corner the whole day. He was very tired. On the fourth day, the master said, "There is no water in that corner. Please do it in the middle there." So he dug there. Again, in the same way, the master said in the morning, "I meditated in the night. Where you are digging, there is no good water." Likewise, for ten days, he was digging ten wells—ten holes. On the eleventh day, when they came for breakfast, the disciple said, "Master, why don’t you first meditate to find where the good water is? Why ten days? In these ten days, today at breakfast, I would have brought you nice, good water from our own water well. It’s not my mistake. You don’t meditate properly, Master." The master said, "Yes, that’s right." The disciple said, "You destroyed the whole garden now, Master." The master said, "Yes, I’m sorry for that. That was you. Every time you went to another master, you tried to dig a hole there. Then you gave up and went somewhere else. My dear, you lost 50 years, and you got nothing. My son, for 50 years, if you had stayed faithful and practiced exactly, today you would have gained some knowledge or some siddhis." He fell in front of the master, standing on his knees with folded hands, and he said, "Master, forgive me. It was my ignorance and my ambition. What to do now, Master?" The master said, "Well, next life?" He said, "No, no, please, no, thank you. Master, please meditate properly and give me some techniques." Similarly, it is the habit of many people. They think they will get liberation, they will get siddhis, they will become masters, and when they get nothing, they become fact-masters. They can’t give up their habits, and they are just on the surface talking. Therefore, one should not change the master, one should not change the mother, one should not change the father, one should not change the husband and wife, one should not give up children, and similarly, one should not give up the master. There are many, many beautiful stories, but they are hard stories. We sing the bhajans of Mīrābāī, many, many bhajans. And her bhajans are so full of pain. But she didn’t leave Kṛṣṇa, and she did not leave her Guru. So, when we begin our sādhanā, first, don’t do too much. Like he was digging the wells and had sore muscles. Have faith, faith, and practice that. Never, never go to kuśaṅga (bad company); never listen to bad sentences, bad words, bad criticism. That is called infection. That infection will destroy everything, like lemon in the milk. The milk will spoil. And so it is said: ācār, vicār, āhār, and vihār. So, what kind of behaviors do you have? And what kind of people have this behavior? What are their thoughts and what are your thoughts? Their negative thoughts will very soon destroy your good thoughts. Your thought is like milk, and kuśaṅga’s thought is like lemon, or an explosive. Ācār, vicār, āhār. And what kind of nourishment do you have? Don’t try to take anything as an experiment. Whatever you touch to your body, whatever you give into your body—maybe eating, or drinking, or smoking, etc., injections, everything. What you put in your body, will this help you or destroy you? So, what you touch, what energy goes to your body, what energy you get from your touch, what energy you get from your husband or from your wife. Therefore, you should have a very good constellation, whom you can consult, and she is a proper Jyotiṣ. That wife will be yours forever, and that wife who comes to your house, your house will become full of prosperity. Our husband also, when he comes... So, you should know what is fit, what is the exact nature they have. When you eat, and something remains between the teeth, your tongue always goes there, but it doesn’t go out, and that creates infections. So, when the bit—but it’s a very small piece of the spices—gets in the angle between the teeth. Similarly, a little misunderstanding can destroy your marriage. He or she will say, "Yes, I was waiting for this point." But when you have such a partner who has understanding, then there are no more quarrels. And quarreling together in a family, is it natural? When I have these two or three malas, it’s always nice. But when there is only one, there is no noise. So you have children, you have your grandparents, your husband, your wife, all together in a household, like in the kitchen. Even if you are very careful, you always make some noise when the pots are together. And similarly, you should understand, think, and not only from intellectual lectures. But you should know the paramparā, the spiritual lineage, the master lineage, everything. It is said that when you drink water, you should drink filtered water. Yes, always, you should know what is clean. And when you get the relatives, the parents of the husband or the parents of the wife, don’t look only at the girl or the boy. But see the parents, how is their culture, their house culture. How are traditions, and how are the children educated? And you can hear the word from your child. So yesterday His Excellency was telling about children’s education, eating, behaviors, etc. Such children make a good reputation for their parents. And such parents, they make their children like gold. But there is teaching, not to spoil them, but you have to love, you should do everything, but certain things you said, "No means no," and when the child doesn’t understand "no," then you should say, "N-O is no." So, then similarly, Master and Disciple is like this. Nowadays, there are so many, what you call, the Facebook, the textbook, the head book, and everything. Very soon will come the beard, moustache, and face. This is also a pride of a man. And the ladies will bring the hair, dress, and face. So, anyhow, you must think very much and then decide that, yes, this is my master or my mantra. This is number one. Second: you found a good master. You adore the master. You decided your whole life to be there, and you will practice everything. But you should never, never talk negatively about other masters. If you do, then you lose everything, and you make a bad name for your master. Because of the bad smell, they spread the stench throughout the whole room. And this is how many things are happening, especially in the western countries. And they go to the Himalayas. Don’t think that all are the Siddhas in the Himalayas. You never know who went there and is just staying there in the caves because the police are searching for them. So many things you should know. Drink the water, first filter it—filtered water. And to know first your relations, and then you should decide. So, in sādhanā, understand what we do. Everything about your kuṇḍalinī, about your thoughts, many things—it will not awaken. Forget it. Forget that your kuṇḍalinī will awaken like this, as you read in many books. Ask the author of that book: "Sir, did you experience the awakening? Have you awakened?" He will say, "Of course. What do you mean? Awakening? Do you wake up? Of course, every morning I wake up. Every morning I am awakened." So, that is the other energy, other consciousness, awareness. So intellectual talk, intellectual words, and a behavior in different ways, artificial behavior—that is not a master. So neither that one is in perfection, nor will you be in perfection. But you cannot say there is no master somewhere. There are many, many masters. Many, many masters are there, but you don’t like them. You don’t realize. The fake gold is more shining, but not for too long. Therefore, practice and take care of your thoughts. Ācāra, your behavior; vicāra, your thoughts; and other thoughts, don’t cross them. Vihāra, where are you going? Where do you sit? Ācār, vicār, vihār, and āhār—what you eat. There is an energy channel in the body. And when we concentrate and meditate, we have all these programs. And that’s why we are doing the Anuṣṭhāna. Come home, be a very normal, back-to-normal person. Don’t do this: when you come home and sit on the sofa and tell your wife, "It was a super anuṣṭhāna, and you know, all ancestors are free. So, this afternoon I will not be here, and I’ll see you again. I wish you a good appetite, have a nice walk, and come on time for practice." That’s very important. This is very important. Satguru Swami Śrī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī, Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī, Bhārata Mātā Kī.