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Midlife crisis

Life is an impermanent, flowing illusion, and our dissatisfaction arises from resisting its natural change. We become angry, feeling trapped by circumstances like marriage, believing we have lost our dreams. Yet life is meant to flow like water, which stays fresh only when moving. Imagine sitting on a train, watching landscapes pass; this is the beautiful, transient movie of existence. Do not lament what you could not do. Prepare for the next life to fulfill those wishes, but you still have time here. The essential task is to begin your spiritual path, for a life without remembrance of the divine is profoundly deficient. It is never too late to start.

"Oh my mind, your whole life is gone till now without God's name, without spiritual life, but now at least you begin to remember God and repeat His name."

"Without the name of God, this life is incomplete and not good."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Many questions arise, and a particularly interesting one—the last one—was about not being able to live life as one wished. Modern psychology calls this a mid-life crisis. Nowadays, this crisis comes even earlier. After some years of marriage, one might become very angry with their partner, thinking, "I didn't imagine having such a partner, and I lost my life with you. I had other dreams." These are circumstances, a crisis that arrives. But you know, we always say that this life is māyā. It is an illusion; it has no permanent circumstances. It is constantly changing, and it is very good that it changes—otherwise, it would be boring. Can you imagine being a one-year-old child forever, just saying "mum mum mum mum"? Can you imagine being in kindergarten all the time? On your first day of school, you cried. Then the day came when you were studying and became fed up with it. You threw your books under the bed, didn't even want to see them, and said, "Oh God, when will this study be finished? I want to be free." You see, then you married and started a family, and again there comes a point when you have had enough. Life is like water, constantly flowing. When water flows, it remains clean; when it is stuck, it becomes spoiled. Life is flowing. So just feel as if you are sitting on a train, looking out the window. Different landscapes pass by: mountains, forests, meadows. Deer, rabbits, cows, humans, birds, snow, desert, sky. A changing, beautiful picture. It is the most beautiful movie when seen through the window of a bus or train. We are sitting in the train, passing through. Therefore, do not think you could not do what you wanted to do. Get ready for the next life; you can do there what you couldn't in this one. But you still have time here. The best thing we can do is what Gurū Nānak Sāhib said: "Oh my mind, your whole life is gone till now without God's name, without spiritual life, but now at least you begin to remember God and repeat His name." Without spirituality, without God's name, a person is like a bird without wings, an elephant without teeth, and a body without eyes. Without the name of God, this life is incomplete and not good. So it is never too late; anytime you can begin your spiritual path. That is it.

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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