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One should be merciful to oneself in order to practice. Teri bitti umar hari nāma binā, sumiran karle mere manā — your life is gone without the name of God. But at least now, remember God. Too much reading leads you nowhere; it is only intellectual information. Therefore, practicing is very important. Practice, practice, practice. There is one story: there were two brothers who both became sādhus. One was on the path of bhakti yoga, and one went to jñāna yoga. Bhakti yoga is more devotion and practice, while jñāna yoga is more intellectual training. One day, the brother who was a jñāna yogī came to visit his other brother, the bhakti yogī, who was living in a small Śiva temple. When the elder brother, the jñāna yogī, arrived, the younger brother was performing pūjā to Śiva. The elder brother became very angry. After the pūjā, the jñāna yogī said to the bhakti yogī, "You sang the whole prayer incorrectly. You are chanting the mantras wrong. Everything you are doing is not good. The grammar is missing." The younger brother said, "Okay, then please teach me." So the elder brother taught him some mantras and how to perform the pūjā properly. They spent two days together, and the younger brother tried very hard to learn everything by heart. When the elder brother, the jñāna yogī, was leaving, he said, "I am going now. God knows when we will see each other again. But I tell you, learn something. Study something. Only sitting and meditating and praying will not help you." He went with his brother to say goodbye and stepped into a ferry boat to cross the river. The younger brother sat on the riverbank, trying to remember the mantras. As the elder brother reached the opposite bank and got out of the boat, he waved to his brother. Meanwhile, the bhakti yogī, the younger brother, had forgotten a mantra. He remembered his brother saying, "God knows when we will see again," and thought it better to ask him now. So the bhakti yogī ran over the water, walking on it quickly. The elder brother put his hand over his mouth and exclaimed, "God, what is he doing?" The younger brother approached and said, "Brother, I forgot one mantra." The elder brother then touched the feet of the younger one and said, "Now you don't need any mantras. You don't need any grammar." He continued, "Now I realize that all I was doing was reading in an intellectual way, and I am not able to do anything. Which technique did you use that you can walk on the water?" The younger brother replied, "What? I walked on the water? I thought it was just ground." The elder brother said, "Let's go back." He held his brother's hand, and the younger brother asked, "Are you sure that I will not go under the water?" The elder brother answered, "As long as you hold my shoulder or my hand, you will not go down. But if you let go, you will sink." Did anyone understand? In the middle of the river, the jñāna yogī brother wanted to make an experiment. This is the intellect; no matter what you say, there is always a "but," always a "why" or "how." So he took his hand away from his brother's shoulder. Immediately, he began to drown, drawn by the stream of the water. The bhakti yogī brother took his meditation shawl, held one end, and threw the other end to him. As soon as the jñāna yogī touched the shawl, he rose above the water again, and both walked over the water together. Still, the jñāna yogī questioned the bhakti yogī: "How is this? You are doing this, and I cannot. You don't know how to pray, you don't know how to chant mantras, you don't know how to sing. You have not studied; you don't know about philosophy. You speak a normal mother-tongue dialect." The bhakti yogī said, "You can ask this farmer who didn't study at all. He will give you an answer." So the jñāna yogī went to the farmer. He introduced himself, gave his titles, and said, "I want to solve a problem. Perhaps you can give me an answer. I am an academic. My brother does not do anything, and he does not know the mantras. I have studied for so many years and have been educated academically, yet my brother only sings some mantras and prays to God—and he does it wrong. I cannot understand Sāṅkhya philosophy and all this." The farmer said, "Well, you study so much, but you didn't study farmer philosophy." The jñāna yogī asked, "How is that?" The farmer replied, "Very simple." The jñāna yogī said, "Then explain it to me in a very short sentence, in one word." The farmer said, "Let's go to a microscope." He explained, "It doesn't matter how you throw the seed into the earth; it will grow. Whether you put it right side or wrong side, the seed will grow if the soil is good and the season is right." The jñāna yogī said, "Explain to me; I don't understand this connection between seeds, philosophy, and walking over the water." The farmer replied, "My dear, you study nothing. You study, but you didn't practice your study. When you pray with a pure heart, a good heart, the fruits will be there—whether your mantra is pronounced correctly or incorrectly. God is happier with those who act with a pure heart, not only with a pure intellect. It is like when children begin to speak their first words; parents are very happy." So practice is very important. While standing, you can think that you have crossed five kilometers, then ten, then twenty. But you are still standing there; you didn't cross, you are only thinking. If you walk, you will arrive. A wise man will say: do not waste time. "Should I take this, or should I take that? Should I practice this, or should I believe this?" Do not waste your time in this and that. I was teaching yoga for twenty years during the communist regime in your countries. You know, you had a Mahā Mantra at that time? Whatever you find in the market, take it. You do not know if it will be there tomorrow. So whatever you have, take it. That is all. Do not run here and there. Whatever you have—any master, any god, any saint—what you believe is good, practice it now. That is very important. Do it faithfully. Every technique is good, every master is good, every incarnation is good. Who is not good is ourself. Every technique, every teacher, every incarnation is good; we are the only ones who can be bad. We are always saying, "Only this, only that." Do not waste time. Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Welcome Seminar