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Patañjali lived more than two or three thousand years ago. The great Patañjali. When he was sitting outside his hut—a ṛṣi's hermitage—he was living a natural life exactly like the one we are in now, amidst trees. But we lack one, two, or three things they had. It is said that when Ṛṣi Patañjali sat, tigers, lions, deer, cows, peacocks, birds, and goats would come from the forest and sit nearby, listening to the teachings of Mahāṛṣi Patañjali. Though he spoke in Sanskrit, these animals felt a space where there was no fear. Where there is no fear, there is love and oneness. Unfortunately, we don't have tigers here, or lions. And if lions and tigers came, we would search for trees, quickly phone the police, an ambulance, and Joe. Tigers are not so foolish as to come here. Look, a bird will sit on the back of a tiger or a lion, but a bird will not sit on the shoulder of a human. How much aggression, how much negative energy, radiates from the human? When a bird flies by or a rabbit comes and goes, deer are not frightened. But even if you walk slowly, the deer smells a stinky human who came wearing many sprays. All these artificial things make them run away. If you touch a baby deer and leave it, even the mother will not dare come near that baby. What is that? The aggressivity of humans. We are not trustworthy to other creatures, and we can understand that they do not trust us. So when love comes, Patañjali also said, "Ahiṃsā." Therefore, in Rāja Yoga, Patañjali placed ahiṃsā in yama: ahiṃsā parmo dharma—the highest principle or religion is non-violence. When you are angry, when you are jealous, there is violence in you. When you have negative thoughts, conflict arises. Conflict is a very subtle form of violence towards yourself and others. How many times do you commit violence against yourself and others? A bird comes to a tree with many ripe fruits. The bird will eat only as much as its stomach's capacity, then fly away. But we will eat as much as we can, and we are sorry we only have a small bag with us. That is the difference. So, ahiṃsā—when complete non-violence appears in your heart and feelings, then animals will do nothing to you. There were rare people who possessed this quality. I did not see it myself, but I heard that the great saint Prabhupāda Siddhi; animals were not afraid of him. Devpurījī could speak with our grandmaster; he could speak with animals. They could understand him and loved him, always surrounding him. Therefore, when one has fear, guilt, or aggression, one is more afraid than the other. So if a tiger is sitting under a tree and you are walking, you will be more afraid than the tiger. Who will run first? We can make an experiment because we are afraid. Hiṃsā. So, total surrendering. Mānasā, vācā, karmaṇā—through the mind, through words, and through deeds—if you follow this principle of ahiṃsā, your life will become more and more comfortable and disciplined. Put your entire life into that form, not just for two days. Now we all speak very grandly: "Yes, you should not kill." Then a mosquito sits on your upper arm and bites you. "Yes, Swamiji, very nice. I can't kill you." The mosquito is biting you, and you look at it and say, "Swamiji, you're a beautiful mosquito." How quickly our hands move to harm. I know that mosquitoes can kill you, and I know that you can kill mosquitoes. In ancient times, there was no malaria; there were none of these epidemics. Now they have come. Mother God has warned humans many times: foot and mouth disease in cows, bird flu, and now swine flu. And why not? Still, God is very gentle, but the time will come when it is finished, with no treatments. Therefore, we learn to be natural, we learn to be kind, we learn to love all creatures. We love the entire planet, and we love ourselves to be one with the cosmic Self. For that, we have yoga. And this yoga and dedicated life ashram... Patañjali wrote many things, he spoke about many, many topics. But this one booklet states: "Atha yogānuśāsanam." "Anuśāsan" means discipline. It is said discipline is the key to success. One who has no discipline cannot be successful. Even the trees are disciplined. The entire creation is disciplined. The seasons are disciplined. Seasonal fruit comes only when its season arrives, but humans do not. Humans do not know when to have a child and when not to. Similarly, Patañjali compares the word "discipline." In one way, he said yoga is a discipline. Yoga itself is a discipline. If you are disciplined, you are a yogi. But on the other hand, without discipline, your yoga life cannot be successful. So, ataḥ yogānuśāsana: yoga practice begins with discipline. Not for one month, not for twenty days, not for one year, not for twenty years—but for a lifetime. Until this individual self merges into the cosmic Self. Go on, practice, practice, practice. Do not expect the fruits; that is all. God Kṛṣṇa said, "Arjuna, you do your duty, perform your karma. The fruits will come. Do not expect whether they come or not." Karm kije, jā phal dega bhagvān, jehī je gītā kā gyān. Go ahead, do your duties. The fruits will be given by God. Continue to perform your duty, and God will give you the fruits. That is the teaching of the Bhagavad Gītā. But if you think, "I will meditate and next year I will have a siddhi," I doubt you will have it even in the next life. Expectation leads to disappointment because expectation is selfish. Therefore, just give yourself into the hands of God.