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Why can't we attain Self-realization? The obstacle lies within us. Ultimately, you are your own greatest obstacle. Vairāgya (dispassion), tyāga (renunciation), tapasyā (austerity)—all are missing. There is a saying: "ek sājé, sab sājé, sab ... jāyé"—if you perfect one thing, you perfect everything. Conversely, if you try to do everything, you will lose everything. Then Holy Gurujī gave an example. Imagine a large tree you wish to water. If you take water in a basket lined with cotton and try to sprinkle it on every single leaf, the tree will not receive water and will die. But if you pour that same water in just one place—at the roots—the entire tree will be nourished: the trunk, the bark, the branches, the leaves, the buds, and the fruits. You will even receive oxygen. Why? Because you gave the water to the right place. Sprinkling it on the leaves is futile; the tree will dry out and die. So, running here and there is a loss of your time and a sign of your inner conflicts. It signifies a lack of self-discipline, no confidence, and doubts toward your master. There was once a master whom everyone believed could give Self-realization. A man went to him and said, "Oh master, you are a great one; may I stay with you? I do not have much money, but I can pay something. Please teach me siddhi and Self-realization." The master said, "Okay, stay in the āshram. Clean the āshram every day. Practice Karma Yoga, come to the morning prayer, attend satsaṅg during the day, come to the evening prayer, practice prāṇāyāma, and then send your earnings home." The disciple thought, "Ah, this master; very soon I will have siddhi." After four years, there was no siddhi. He became confused and concluded, "This master is not perfect." Then some confused yoga practitioner came and said, "You know, there is another master living elsewhere; he has so much power ... " So the disciple went there and stayed for three years. Finally, he became disturbed, thinking, "Oh my God, this master is not good." In this manner, he went to ten or twelve masters. He gained nothing. The result was that he turned against the spiritual path, against masters, against yoga, meditation, religion, and spirituality—dismissing it all as vanity. He decided, "I will go to the first master, then the second, then the third, systematically from senior to junior, and tell them that what they do and say is a lie, to insult them." He did not even remember which master was the first. He came to the first master and began to speak critically. The master said, "Well, the mistake is in you." The man retorted, "This is the policy of every master; they always say the mistake is in the disciple." The master replied, "Well, now in ten days I can show you the real path and help you understand your mistake—why you did not get realization until now. You have lost thirty-six, even forty years, spending two years here, three years there, four years elsewhere." The master continued, "But for these ten days, you must do everything I tell you." The master said, "We have no water to drink. Can you dig a water well in our garden tomorrow?" The man said, "Yes, Master." He worked very hard the whole day and slept soundly that night. (Those who have sleeping problems should not take pills; work hard physically, and you will sleep.) The next morning, for breakfast, the master said, "Oh, where you are digging, I want to make a yagyāśālā, a place for yagya. Dig it in that corner." On the third day, the master said, "I was meditating at night; there is no water there, only rock. But I think this corner has a lot of water. Dig there." So the man dug there the whole day. On the fourth day, the master said, "I was meditating; the water there is very salty. Better dig on the back side of the hut." He began to dig there. On the fifth day, after breakfast, the master said, "I was meditating; there is no water there. Just dig in front of the hut." So he began to dig there. Six days later, the master said, "I was meditating, and it came to my mind that according to Vāstu Śāstra, a water well is not good in front of the house. Dig it in that corner aside." The next morning, the master came again. "Oh, that land does not belong to us; it is the neighbor's land. We cannot do this there." In this way, for nine days, he was sent to a different place each day. On the tenth day, the disciple stood up. "Master, stop. Do not tell me anything more. Why did you not meditate first and then tell me where the good water is? Why didn't you decide first? My days are gone. Time is lost. I am exhausted, the garden is destroyed, and there is no result." The master said, "Yes, this is the result. For thirty-six years, forty years, you wasted time running here and there. You made so many holes in your heart. You destroyed your field of confidence. Whatever different practices you tried, they all went in vain. No result. If you had stayed in one place with one master, today you would have come to me as a wise man, not as a confused and frustrated one who has nothing to do with it." Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Weekend seminar