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The greatest obstacle and cause of our suffering is our destiny. Destiny is created individually; no one else is responsible for it. Destiny is a product of your karmas, and those karmas performed in human life are particularly potent. A primary cause of suffering is not following or understanding Gurū Vākyas. Denying the words of the Guru invites the threefold tapas to fall upon you. Therefore, the first step is to remove these obstacles. For this purpose, there are ceremonies and rituals known as karmakāṇḍa. Karmakāṇḍa includes ceremonies, pūjās, yajñas, fastings, and so on—or anuṣṭhāna. You make a saṅkalpa, a resolve. But to fulfill a wish, you must offer something in return. Just as you work a whole day in a field to earn payment, to achieve 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." What we must renounce is 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 must practice, and mantra is the most powerful tool of your sādhanā. Without mantra, there is no anuṣṭhāna; without mantra, there is no sādhanā. There is no meditation; without mantra, meditation is like a body without a soul. You have all mantras. Anuṣṭhāna can be for a weekend, for ten days—we have Navarātrīs for 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, tuṣṭi, and it fulfills your wish. Then your wish will be granted, but you must be very conscious. It is not like this: for example, today you are fasting and have a great hunger, and someone brings a nice dessert or cake, so you take a piece. That is not it. If you eat one spoon, your fast is broken. Even half a piece of corn, if you lick your finger from the cake, your fast is broken. For ladies, this is very hard because they have these techniques in the kitchen—finger-cleaning techniques. When you do this, your fast is broken, and others' fasts are also broken. Jūṭhā is a sin; you lick your finger and touch others' food. In Indian tradition, this is considered a greater sin, except perhaps for your small child. But this concept does not enter European consciousness. I have been teaching for 35 years, but no one understands; they do not understand. They even taught me to lick my finger sometimes in the kitchen. So sometimes I lick my finger and say, "Oh my God, what have I done?" Saṅgha, tasara, aneka, phala. In satsaṅg, you receive many kinds of fruits, many habits. So fasting for twelve years, three years, one year—I do not mean continuously, but perhaps once a week. Please do not misunderstand; otherwise you will say, "Swāmījī said fast for twelve years, oh my God." Or you may resolve to chant five mālās every day. 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 like this. So resolve, "For twelve years, I will not eat chewing gum in satsaṅg"—something to follow, disciplined with pure thinking, a pure body, mind, 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 you want to achieve something, and you make a saṅkalpa. That is your aim, and you will work day by day, slowly. Many obstacles will come, and obstacles are there to be removed; problems are there to be faced. The best school of life is the problem. Do not give up your aim. Holy Francis of Assisi said, when he built his church day by day, stone by stone ... There is a song; I do not know if it is true or not, I only 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, 35 years ago, Swāmī? And how is it now?" So the journey from 35 years ago, from the beginning until today, definitely had many obstacles. But do not give up; continuous work. That is also saṅkalpa, that is also anuṣṭhāna. That is very important. So, let's say you resolve to chant twelve mālās, or five mālās, or one mālā every day. Or every morning when you get up, first before getting out of bed, you will say five times: "Oṃ Bhūr Bhuvaḥ Svaḥ Tat Savitur Vareṇyaṃ Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi Dhiyo Yo Naḥ Pracodayāt"—the Gāyatrī Mantra. The Gāyatrī Mantra is the name of the first ray of the sun, and then the Sāvitrī Mantra. So make a saṅkalpa. Your health condition will improve, but it must be done before getting off the bed. If you one day forget and put your foot on the floor, your anuṣṭhāna is broken. You must then begin anew from that day. Therefore, be alert, be conscious. How alert? Like your breath. It does not matter what you do, but your body never forgets to breathe, nor does your heart ever forget to beat. That is the level of commitment in saṅkalpa. Finally, the very last step: God will administer many kinds of examinations; many tests must be gone 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' heart has to be melted. Ultimately, the bhaktas are the winners. Thus, anuṣṭhāna is also a kind of haṭha, a discipline, so that God may grant you something. But never utilize the power you gain through anuṣṭhāna for bad purposes. Never abuse your position or misuse what you attain. Then your anuṣṭhāna will be successful. Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Mantra anusthan seminar