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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—living a natural life just as we are sitting here now, among trees… but we lack a few 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 to listen to the teaching of Maharṣi Patañjali. Though he spoke in Sanskrit, these animals could feel it. There was no fear. Where there is no fear, there is love and oneness. Unfortunately, we don’t have tigers here, or lions. If lions and tigers were to come, we would scramble up the trees and quickly phone the police and ambulance. But 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 is radiating from the human? When a bird flies near, when a rabbit comes and goes, deer are not frightened. But even if you walk slowly, the deer smells that a stinky human has come, covered in artificial sprays, and they all 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 for other creatures. We can understand that they do not trust us. So when love comes… Patañjali also spoke of ahiṃsā. Therefore, in Rāja Yoga, Patañjali placed ahiṃsā first among the yamas. Ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ—the highest principle, the highest religion, is non‑violence. When you are angry, when you are jealous, there is violence in you. When you have negative thoughts, conflict—that conflict is a very subtle form of violence toward yourself and others. How many times do you commit violence against yourself and others? A bird comes to a tree full of ripe fruits. The bird will eat only as much as its stomach can hold, then fly away. But we—we eat as much as we can and are sorry we only have a small bag with us. That is the difference. So ahiṃsā—when complete non‑violence appears in your heart, in your feelings, then animals will do nothing to you. There have been rare people who possessed this quality. I have not seen it myself, but I heard that the great saint Prabhupāda Siddhi—animals were not afraid of him. Devpurījī could speak with animals; they could understand him and loved him. He was always surrounded by animals. When one has fear, or guilt, or aggression, then that person is more afraid than the other. 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 could make an experiment—because we are the ones who are afraid. Hiṃsā… So total surrendering. Hiṃsā, manasā, vācā, karmanā—through the mind, through speech, and through action. If you follow this principle of ahiṃsā, your life will become more and more comfortable and disciplined. Shape your entire life in 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, Swāmījī, very nice, I cannot kill you.” The mosquito is biting you, you look at it and say, “Swāmījī, you are a beautiful mosquito”—yet how quickly our hands move to harm! How quickly our hands move to harm. I know mosquitoes can kill you, and I know you can kill mosquitoes. In ancient times there was no malaria, no epidemics like these. 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—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 enough to become one with the cosmic Self. And for that we have yoga. This yoga and this dedicated life in the āśrama… Patañjali wrote many things; he spoke about much. But this one booklet begins: Atha yogānuśāsanam. Anuśāsanam 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. A seasonal fruit gives fruit only when its season comes—but not humans. Humans do not know when to have a child and when not to. Similarly, Patañjali compares with the word “discipline.” In one way he said yoga is a discipline—yoga itself is discipline. If you are disciplined, you are a yogī. But on the other hand, without discipline your yoga life cannot be successful. So, atha yogānuśāsanam: yoga practice begins with discipline. Not for one month, not for twenty days, not for one year, not for twenty years—but lifelong. 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.” Nečekej, jestli přijdou nebo ne. Karma kīje, jā phala dega bhagavān, yehī hai Gītā kā jñāna. Go ahead, do your duties. God will give the fruits. Pokračuj, konej svou povinnost a Bůh ti dá plody. To je učení Bhagavad Gītā. But if you think, “I will meditate and next year I will attain a siddhi,” I doubt you will attain it even in the next life. Expectation leads to disappointment because expectation is selfish. Therefore, just give yourself into the hands of God. --- Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar