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The answer is within you

Follow your inner calling in work, not force. Initial interest in a subject often fades, leaving no love for the work; you must not continue but discover different talents. High qualifications do not prevent one from finding simple work beautiful, as with a doctor who found happiness as a babysitter. If you do not know your calling, take time to relax and contemplate. New talents may awaken in fields like astrology or music, even if prior training becomes burdensome. Remember, the one who gave the peak will provide the food; God assumes the destiny of devotees. When scared or without direction, go inside and pray to find the answer within, for you alone must face your destiny. The soul is a weary traveler, like a bird on a ferry in a vast ocean, finding no shelter except in returning to the divine, which never refuses.

"Lord, give me just enough that I can feed my family. May I not remain hungry, and may whoever comes to my door not go hungry. That is enough."

"I am that bird on that ferry. Often I want to run away from you, but I can find no shelter, my Lord. Finally, you are my shelter again."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Engage in work that you genuinely love. Do not force yourself. What you study is not the most important matter. Young people sometimes have visions and think, "I want to study this subject; it holds great interest for me." They begin with much eagerness, but slowly, slowly, that interest fades. They somehow pass their examinations, but the love is lost. Then you ask, "Must I work like this?" You must not. Work on something different; in doing so, you will discover more talents. Many people attain very high educational qualifications and professions, yet finally, they become something like a babysitter. How beautiful. There was one doctor who suffered great stress. A friend who is a psychologist told him, "I think for one year you should work as a babysitter. You will be happy." And that became a truly effective anti-stress therapy. So, follow your inner feelings regarding what you would like to do. If you do not know what that is, then take a holiday for one or two years. Do not worry; your parents have a lot of money. You have the birthright to that money. Sooner or later, Father, Mother, either you give it to me now, or I will receive it through the testament. So, go somewhere for two or three years and relax. See the beauty of the world and its people. Contemplate what you would like to do, and then do it. Perhaps you would like to learn astrology. Perhaps you would like to learn acupressure. You may like to be a yoga teacher. Or you may wish to be a physiotherapist. Or you might like to learn music or painting. New talents are awakening within you. Many people who study music reach a point where they no longer wish to play. There was a great love for learning music from childhood. They passed their examinations and began to teach. Every day, the same put, put; every day it was the same thing, repeating it for little children. Suddenly, one day, you say, "Come home. Put your instrument in the temple." And do something else. Remember from yesterday: He who gave the peak will provide the food. God takes upon Himself the destiny of the devotees. As it is said: sajjanā, itanā dījī, jisme kuṭumb samāy — "Lord, give me just enough that I can feed my family. May I not remain hungry, and may whoever comes to my door not go hungry. That is enough." Work more spiritually; try. When you do not know what to do, then go inside yourself. Whenever you are scared, when you cannot see a way out, pray. Mahātmā Gandhījī said, "Physically, I can fast, but mentally I cannot fast. My mental tonic, my mental tonic, is my prayer." Whenever he faced a difficult decision, on the bank of the river Sabarmatī in his ashram—you can still see a little platform there—he would sit facing east, where the river flows, and withdraw into himself. There he would receive an answer, intuitions, energy. Then he would return, write in his diary, and accomplish things many of us could not. Therefore, the answer is within you. We may make mistakes out of ignorance, out of weakness, out of temptations, or due to circumstances, but ultimately we must find clarity within ourselves. Parents can give you birth; parents can give you money; but parents cannot give you your destiny. You are the one who must face destiny. Often, the waves of destiny push you here and there, like a boat on the beach. Every wave comes and pushes the boat in another direction. Then it becomes boring, so you want to come in again. So, we come and go, but we are the observer. This soul, this jīvā, this jīvātmā, is tired. It has traveled throughout the entire universe. There was a great saint named Sūradāsa. He was blind from birth, but he was very great. Kṛṣṇa appeared to him many times. When Sūradāsa sang bhajans, Kṛṣṇa would sit and listen. Sūradāsa said, "My Lord, I am that bird sitting on the big ferry in the middle of the ocean. Many times, I decide to fly away. After flying a hundred kilometers, I see no place to land. You know, oceans are thousands of kilometers wide. I often think about the ocean. We take off in an aeroplane from Los Angeles and land 12 or 13 hours later in Auckland, Wellington, in Auckland, New Zealand, landing near the ocean, 50 meters from the ocean, and taking off also just 50 meters from the ocean. All the time, there is ocean. Sky above, ocean below, nothing visible to the left or right. From time to time, an island appears: Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji—but mostly ocean, Lord. I am that bird on that ferry. Often I want to run away from you, but I can find no shelter, my Lord. Finally, you are my shelter again." Again, that bird flies back to the ferry and rests there. Children run here and there but finally return to their mother. Similarly, we are all bhaktas, devotees of God, devotees of Gurudev. Sometimes, a wind of destiny blows us away, and we search for some other, beautiful shelter. Nowhere. That bird cannot sit on the water. If it tries to land on the water, it can land only twice: the first time and the last time. There is a fish waiting. See, you have another shelter inside. Therefore, Lord, me us jahāzkā pakṣī hūm̐. Udne kī kośiś kartā hūm̐, lekin kāj sarn nahīm̐ miltā he. So I try to fly away. I find no shelter, so I come back. You are my shelter, Lord, in this entire universe. And your greatness is that you never refuse me. That is the greatness of God. That ferry will never say to this bird, "The..." The bird will say, "Where shall I go, my Lord?" Therefore, it is said: "Guru, give me your grace." Give me your love. Guru, give me your grace.

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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