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A common question arises: can we achieve self-realization only as sannyāsīs or swāmīs, or can we realize the Self while leading a normal life, being a good person, and following spiritual disciplines? The answer is clear. Merely wearing an orange cloth or a monastic robe does not signify everything. That is only the first step. One must work for many, many years to become spiritual or realized. Even in that path, the ego can rise up greatly, and when the ego rises, one falls down more than any worldly person. It does not mean that by taking sannyāsa you are instantly liberated or self-realized. It means you begin your sādhana, and you may have to work for many lives. Therefore, to kill the ego and become more humble is very important. If you take sannyāsa so that people will respect you and you can have a monastic order, that is your ego, and it will pull you down further. Liberation or self-realization is not bound to any monastic order. It is not bound to particular postures, like sitting in a lotus pose and meditating for eight hours without movement. That is not difficult at all. You sleep in a comfortable bed for eight hours without moving, sleeping very deeply, for example. It is the same thing. So liberation is not bound to postures, a particular color, or dress, and so on. Liberation comes, realization comes from the purity of actions, purity of thoughts, and purity of behavior—what we speak of as āchār, vichār, āhār, and vihār. Āhār is diet. Vihār is where and with whom you spend your time mostly, and what kind of place it is. Āchār means what kind of behaviors you have, and vichār means what kind of thoughts you have. The first step is purification, where there is love, humbleness, and understanding towards all creatures, every walk of life: old, young, healthy, ill, friends, and enemies. This is what we call a way of life, and that is the yogic way. You can be married and have many children—ten, twenty children. It depends on you and your wife, and depends on how big a flat you have, because every child should have a separate room. Fifty children means fifty rooms. Liberation and realization are neutral and for all. Therefore, while leading a normal life, you can attain self-realization. It is said that when you lead a normal life, you have many family obligations, and problems arise: one time with the husband, one time with the wife, sometimes with the children, sometimes with the house, or economic problems. All day, a husband may not be interested in you anymore, or a wife may not be interested in you anymore. This kind of vikṣepa (distraction) comes, and that is not good. So someone might try in the beginning to avoid these kinds of problems. On the other hand, like all of you who are married and older—many sitting here who are above 50 years, 70 years, more than 50 years married—they have a very happy, beautiful life together. That is understanding. A partner means supporting each other and understanding. Or you are not married. It is not an obligation that you must marry. You must not marry. But then live happily. Do not be unhappy. Do not think that you have missed someone, what we call the midlife crisis. Mostly, midlife crisis is more dangerous and more difficult to overcome than the teenage years. We think we missed everything. We could have done better. Then a husband blames his wife because, due to her, he couldn't do different things, or she blames him. If one is alone, the mind is restless: "I am lonely, I am no one, I need someone to speak to, when I want to come home there is someone waiting for me," and these things. Then you are also not happy. Then it is better to have someone waiting for you at home. If not anybody, at least your dog, or your rabbit, or a small bird, or many house pets. It is like this: everyone has the freedom to decide, but then be happy with that. That is it. So many times people decide on something and then they are unhappy. That is the sign of restlessness, not being satisfied, and not being able to achieve anything in life. Every way of life is very good. It depends on whether you are content with that. And you know mostly which way of life is not good. You cannot be content with it finally, like drugs, alcoholism, or criminal activities, stealing. These things, this kind of life, is not good. So self-realization or liberation is not bound to a particular way of life only. I mean that if you renounce and become a monk, or you just remain a bachelor, or you marry, or you are a farmer, a driver, a doctor, or a politician—it does not matter. Gandhijī was everything. He was married, had children, then he led a bachelor life. He was a politician, and he was a meditator. And now I can say that in this time in the world, Gandhijī is respected internationally because people see and feel what he did and how he did it. So what we call your best idea is your work. What kind of seeds do you put in the ground? In Czechoslovakia they used to say the fruits will show what kind of trees you planted. And that is it. You cannot expect fruits from one day to the next. It takes time. A small seed, a small sprout, grows into this large tree under which we are sitting. It takes time. So ask this tree what kind of situations and seasons, what weather conditions it lived through. How many wars did it live through? Not only the First World War and the Second World War, but many other wars. Every small king or rājā was leading a war. So humans were cruel enough throughout this time. It is not immediately happening. To survive through all this is a blessing. Therefore, Niyama, a disciplined life—do your best. Pray as much as you can. Meditate as long as you can, everything according to your comfort. Never force, never force. Let's say it is your time to meditate, and children come and tell you, "Please come and play football with us." Do not say, "I have to meditate, I will not come." Go and play. That is your meditation. So, you know how to surrender, you offer, and you are not fixed. And if you go to play football, do not feel guilty: "Oh God, I should have meditated." If you feel guilty, then you create tension in life. So self-realization is not bound to a particular religion, or a particular path, or particular renunciation, or particular colors. Mahāprabhujī said this many times. In one case, there was one Maṅgilāljī. Mahāprabhujī asked him, because he wanted to become a swāmī, "Do you want to color your heart or your dress?" He said, "Heart." And you know, Maṅgilāljī was a Jīvan Mukta, a liberated soul. So this is how honestly you will lead and understand, follow your master, understand your master. It is not easy to understand a master, especially when the master is like me, especially when you have teachers like me. --- Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar