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Paras

Human life is a priceless opportunity for liberation through five principles: renunciation, austerity, detachment, meditation, and devotion. This human body is like the Philosopher's Stone, given for a limited time to transform base material into the gold of wisdom. A parable tells of a poor man lent the stone for a week to turn iron to gold. He kept waiting for iron to become cheaper, failing to act even once. When the master reclaimed the stone, the man had wasted his chance. Similarly, we delay our spiritual work, preoccupied with trivial matters until our time runs out. This body is our instrument for realizing the immortal Self. Do not waste life in gossip, slander, criticism, or foolishness. Utilize this precious time for genuine spiritual progress.

"This human body is Pāras, and God has given us time. As much gold as you want, you can do it with this body."

"Utilize this value to realize that indescribable, immortal, everlasting, the divine, the Self, the Ātmā."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Tyāga, tapasyā, vairāgya, dhyāna, and bhakti: these are the five. These five principles can liberate us. Therefore, the value of human life is that diamond which you cannot pay for. You cannot borrow it from someone, nor can you buy it from somewhere for yourself. This body is given to you, only and only for you. You can utilize it as much as you like. There is one stone, Pāras. When you touch the Pāras to iron, the iron becomes gold. So one master gave this Pāras stone to a poor man for one week only; in one week you can make as much gold as you like. So he went to the market and asked, "How expensive is iron?" They said, "100 crowns per kilo." "Do you think it will be cheaper?" "Yes, it seems it will be cheaper. Now the Americans have stopped the war, so it will be cheaper." Then, "I am a poor man, I will buy it later." After five days, he went again to the market. "How expensive is iron?" "25 crowns per kilo." "Wow, 75 crowns less." "Do you think it still will become cheaper?" "Definitely." Because they are preparing some other war. Well, he went the next day again. "How expensive is iron today?" "Five crowns." "How God is helpful to the poor people." "Do you think it still will be cheaper?" "Yes, definitely." "So I will buy iron when it's cheaper." It was already the seventh day. The master came. He said, "Give me the Pāras." He said, "What? Is the time over?" The master said, "What do you mean, time over? Have you done nothing?" "No, master, because iron is so expensive." The master said, "Oh God. If he would have taken only one nail and touched it to this Pāras, this nail would bring so many kilos of gold again. You didn't utilize it." He said, "No, master, please leave it one week more for me, one more." The master said, "No, time is over." He took the Pāras and went away. So this human body is Pāras, and God has given us time. As much gold as you want, you can do it with this body. That gold symbolizes here wisdom, knowledge. And one day, the last day will come, and you will say to God, "What? You came too early. Please, God, please give me one month more, one day more. I must phone my mother-in-law." He will say, "No. You can phone from the sky." Not God will take this body away. This body is for us that kind of Pāras, that we can make as much gold as we want. Understand human life, the value of human life, and protect the life. Utilize this value to realize that indescribable, immortal, everlasting, the divine, the Self, the Ātmā. Don't waste your time in gossiping. Don't waste time with slander and unnecessary talk. Don't waste time criticizing. Don't waste time on foolishness. Do something useful.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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