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There is a small story. A king once declared, "In my kingdom, no one will be poor, no one will be hungry, and no one will suffer. I am the king, and I rule my kingdom perfectly." God heard this and was surprised, thinking, "This man has a great deal of ego. I should go and calm his ego a little." One day, as the king was leaving his house, he saw a beggar standing there with a small pot in his hand. The king looked at him in surprise. "In my kingdom? A beggar?" The beggar replied, "Yes, sir. This is your kingdom, and I am within it." "What do you want?" asked the king. "Nothing," said the beggar. What wish could a beggar have? Simply to get a little rice, some food. The king said, "No. Today you will receive so much that you will cease to be a beggar from this day forward." The beggar looked at the king, smiled, and said, "Sir, today I have only one wish." "What is it?" "You see this small pot of mine? Please fill it with rice. That is all." The king said, "Nothing could be easier." He ordered a kilo of rice to be brought. The rice was poured into the pot, but it disappeared; the pot remained empty. The beggar said, "Please, just fill my pot." They brought more rice—more grains, more kilos, even tons—but still the pot was empty. The king was astonished. Finally, he asked, "Please tell me, what is your pot made of?" The beggar replied, "Sir, a beggar's pot is made from the human mind." The human mind knows no satisfaction. Day by day, there are more and more desires; greed resides within. Whatever you give, it is never enough. So the issue lies with humans: humans are not satisfied. They fight for positions and power, and that is why there are world wars and civil wars. If we were to give this up and think of others, then there would be world peace. But this cannot be realized as long as our self lacks inner satisfaction—santoṣa. "Santoṣṇāḥ sadaiva sukhī"—one who is content is ever happy. If you are seeking happiness, then go within yourself in meditation and ask, "My dear friend, enough, please." Whatever you have, be happy with that. That grace is in your destiny. Therefore, human dharma is the dharma of protecting others, giving love, offering forgiveness and mercy, and helping. Help all creatures. Helping hands have more value than folded hands. This means helping is greater than prayer. And that is why God Himself comes to this planet to help everyone. So, how does one attain inner satisfaction? That is the path. And that path is through yoga: practice. We are too far from our real Self. We are always running away from ourselves. Day and night, we are distant in our thoughts. The body sits here, while you are thinking perhaps of Sydney or Tokyo, maybe New York or Paris, or I don't know where else—perhaps New Delhi. You are always thinking: you are at the office, you are shopping, you are with a friend, you are on the beach, you are at a weekend house. How often are you one with yourself? A man was once meditating under a tree, and a farmer watched him. The man meditated, sitting for two, three, four, five hours. The farmer felt very unhappy and took great pity in his heart, thinking that man must be terribly unhappy and lonely. "I should go and speak with him." So the farmer approached the meditating man and began to talk. After a few minutes, he said, "Sir, I came to you because I thought you were very lonely." The man replied, "Yes, sir, I am lonely—since you arrived. Before that, I was one with myself." As soon as our thoughts begin to wander in this outer, external world, we are far from our Self. Therefore, meditation, the practice of yoga, brings you back to yourself, and then you realize your inner qualities. How are you? Are you a positive person? Are you a good person? Are you a negative person? Are you a kind person? A selfish one? Do you have a great heart? Thus, the yogī says that from time to time, you must come back to your inner Self and take control, to see if everything is in order. To see what you are doing, whether it is good or not. This will lead human consciousness further toward unity, for yoga ultimately means union: the union of the individual consciousness with the cosmic consciousness. Recording location: Australia, Melbourne, Australian Tour