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For a yogī seeking to increase mental and physical energy, one must reduce a certain kind of nourishment and instead consume food that is rich in energy. Therefore, a yogī who desires energy should decrease the type of food that merely increases bulk. The principle is to eat less, but of a stronger quality. Practice this by giving up one spoon of cooked rice each day. Not uncooked, but cooked. Then one spoon, two spoons, three spoons, four spoons. The number of spoons you reduce from your diet will correspond to the amount reduced from your body. There are two outcomes. In one year, the total bill for your food stock will be reduced; a six-month supply will account for a full year. Thus, you save food for six months. In four years, you will have saved food for two years, and your life will be extended to six years. In eight years, your life will be increased to twelve years. This is why yogīs lived long lives. Food is our killer. As they say in German, "Selbstmord mit Gabel und Messer"—suicide with a knife and fork. Because we are slaves to our taste, even after delivering a nice lecture, if good food is served outside, one thinks, "Today I will eat two spoons more, but not two spoons of this." I understand very well why Mahāprabhujī said that eating less and forgiving is not an easy task. I do not know for certain, but they say Mahāprabhujī's diet was very minimal. Therefore, fasting is advised in our techniques. But not extreme fasting—not abstaining for three weeks and then beginning to eat again. This is mostly done by people who want to lose weight. In three weeks, everything becomes loose, they buy a new dress and new trousers and are very happy, using more makeup. Then they begin to eat, and after five days, to their surprise, everything gets tighter. It is like a dried chickpea, chana; you put it in water, and in the morning your surprise is that it has doubled in size. Thus, intensive fasting is not advised. Fast only for a maximum of 8 hours, 12 hours, or in some cases 24 hours, but consume liquids. Drink a glass of milk with sugar. Immediately your weakness and longing—the longing for eating—will go away. Then you will be able to meditate. Otherwise, after a while, when your instructor tells you to imagine this or that, you will just say, "Yes," and then whisper to your neighbors, "You imagine it too." This is tamas guṇa. Sleep comes mostly from eating. If you are very tired, your body needs two and a half hours to regenerate and relax completely. But if you have eaten more—more breads, grains, rice, and such—then it needs eight hours. And after eight hours, you are tired from sleeping. Being tired of sleeping, you feel you need to sleep again. --- Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Summer seminar