TV Channel

The greatest obstacle and cause of our suffering is our destiny. Destiny is individually caused; no one else is responsible for it. Destiny is a product of your karmas. The karmas performed in human life are especially potent. Not following or understanding the Guru Vākyas—denying the Guru's words—causes three tapas to fall upon you. Therefore, the first step is to remove obstacles. For this, there are ceremonies known as karma-kāṇḍa. Karmakāṇḍa includes ceremonies, pūjās, yajñas, fastings, and so on, or anuṣṭhāna—making a saṅkalpa, a resolve. To achieve something you desire, you must offer something in return. You work all day in the field to earn that much money. To fulfill your aim, you must do something and renounce something. This is tyāga, renunciation. Mahātmā Gāndhī said, "Renounce and enjoy." Gurujī said, "Always enter the kingdom of the Lord through the gate of sacrifice." We have to renounce many, many things. For understanding, you must renounce something: you must renounce your time; you may have to renounce one or two meals through fasting. You have to practice, and mantra is the most powerful tool of your sādhanā. Without mantra, there is no anuṣṭhāna. Without mantra, there is no sādhanā, no meditation. Without mantra, meditation is like a body without a soul. You have all mantras. Anuṣṭhāna can be for only a weekend. For ten days, we have Navratrīs, the nine nights of the Divine Mother. Or anuṣṭhāna can be for twelve years. There is a call for Anuṣṭhāna to Lord Śiva: for twelve years you fast every Monday, and after twelve years, on your last fasting day, you celebrate a large satsaṅg with Abhiṣeka, Pūjā, Tuṣīvā, and it fulfills your wish. If you eat one spoon, your fasting is broken. Even half a piece of corn, if you lick your finger from the cake, your fasting is broken. For ladies, it is very hard because they have these techniques in the kitchen—finger-cleaning techniques. When you do this, your fasting is broken, and others' fasting is also broken. Juta is a sin. You lick your finger and touch others' food; in Indian tradition, this is called a bigger sin, except for your small child. But this doesn't enter European consciousness. I have been teaching for the last 35 years, but no one understands. They don't understand. They even taught me to lick the finger sometimes in the kitchen. So sometimes I lick the finger, and I say, "Oh my God, what have I done?" Saṅgha, tasarā, aneka, phala. In the satsaṅg, you get many kinds of fruits, habits—many fruits, many habits. So fasting for 12 years, 3 years, 1 year—I mean not continuously, only once a week. Don't misunderstand, please. Otherwise you will say, "Swamijī said fast 12 years, oh my God." Or, every day you will make five mālās. Or you make a saṅkalpa that in satsaṅg you will never eat chewing gum. There are so many people sitting in satsaṅg; many nervous girls are like this. So for twelve years, I will not eat chewing gum. Something to follow: disciplined with pure thinking, pure body, mind and consciousness, and pure actions. That is anuṣṭhāna. The key to success is self-discipline. Patañjali said this. If you have discipline, yoga can be successful; you can be successful in yoga. So let us say that you want to achieve something, and you make a saṅkalpa. That is your aim, and you will work day by day, slowly, slowly. Many obstacles will come, and obstacles are there to be removed. Problems are there to face them, and the best school of life is the problem. Don't give up your aim. Holy Franz from Assisi said, when he built his church day by day, stone by stone, they said... There is one song I don't know, maybe it's true or not, only I know the song from the film. Last week, a few people were sitting with me, and we were talking. How was it in the beginning, before 35 years, Swami? And how is it now? So, the way from 35 years, from the beginning till today, definitely there were many obstacles. But not to give up. Continuous work—that is also saṅkalpa, that is also anuṣṭhāna. That is that. Very important. So let's say you will make every day 12 mālās, or 5 mālās, or 1 mālā, or every morning when you get up, first before getting out of the bed, 5 times you will say, "Oṁ Bhūr Bhuvaḥ Svaḥ Tat Savitur Vareṇyaṁ Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi Dhiyo Yo Naḥ Pracodayāt," the Gāyatrī Mantra. Gayatri Mantra, this is the name of the first ray of the sun. And then, Sāvitrī Mantras. So make a saṅkalpa. Your health condition will improve, but before getting off from the bed. And if you one day forget and you put your foot on the floor, your anuṣṭhāna is broken. Now again from that day you have to begin anew. Therefore, be alert, be conscious. Like how alert? Like your breath. Now you will take many kinds of examinations; many tests you have to go through. But then, finally, you are the winner, not God. Always, the winner is the child, not the parents. Because the child is so gentle, so innocent, so pure, so clean. So the parents' hearts have to be melted. So finally, the bhaktas are the winners. So Anuṣṭhāna is also a kind of haṭha, so that God will grant you something. But never utilize that power, which you gain through Anuṣṭhāna, for bad things. Never abuse your position or see what you get. Then anuṣṭhāna will be successful.