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The Axe and the Tree: A Lesson on Desire and Destruction

A morning satsang on discerning technology use and the inner causes of suffering, inspired by a forest walk.

"Use it, but don’t abuse it. If you have such discernment, you will be happy and are a yogī."

"The misfortune was that some of our relatives befriended and joined that axe, and that was the handle... that was the cause of our damage."

The lecturer addresses retreat participants and webcast viewers, discussing the wise use of technology and modern comforts. He shares a parable about an ancient forest destroyed by an axe, whose wooden handle represents our own desires and senses joining with ambition to cause self-destruction. The talk explores themes of inner enemies like desire and attachment, advocating for discernment, renunciation, and finding contentment in simple family and spiritual life.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Good morning to everybody, and good morning and good evening to all our dear bhaktas, friends, practitioners, spiritual seekers, and those who are with us through the webcast. This blessing is coming to you from Śrī Mahāprabhujī, Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī’s āśram in Strylky, Czech Republic, during a three-week retreat. We have just returned from a beautiful walk through the Strelky forest. Today, while walking, an inspiration came for the message to share. This retreat is for self-development, self-mastery, achievement, and God-realization, or Ātmā-jñāna. Of course, we all have knowledge. All humans are knowledgeable, especially about material life, which is also an important part of our existence. We should not deny or be against modern technology and development. Those who invented these things did so with good intentions, to make them available to everyone, rich or poor. Life today is more comfortable and technologically equipped than the life of a king a century ago. We should be thankful to those who work to develop new technology. You are not forced to have it; you are free. There is no law that you must have a mobile phone, computer, or television. This equipment is for your comfort and use, not for abuse. As yogīs, especially as Yoga in Daily Life practitioners, we do not neglect or oppose technology, but we know how to use it wisely. If you were against it, why would you use a webcasting camera, microphone, or videos? Use it, but don’t abuse it. If you have such discernment, you will be happy and are a yogī. If you don’t have a mobile phone, you don’t lose anything; in an emergency, you can find phones everywhere. Make a list of what you utilize. Are you using or abusing? Tick what you need and what you don’t. Sixty percent you may find unnecessary. To tell a friend, "I’m coming by train at 4 o’clock," takes 18 seconds, yet people talk for fourteen minutes about the weather and other trivialities. Many of my disciples have no mobile phone. They say, "If it’s urgent, come to my home." Technology is there for your use, and you are free. But it requires inner strength to digest your ego. A simple phone costs 20 euros, but people want one for 2000 euros with many features. It’s a matter of discernment. Similarly, there are inner feelings. If you think you will fulfill all your desires in this life, you are mistaken. Never. A lady wrote to me today; she is about 40 years old. She wrote that she wants to experience real love with someone. I must write back: How many men or friends have you had in your life? Were they not real? Love was real, but you didn’t recognize it. There is only one real love that will never disappoint us: God’s love. But you must know how to fall in love with God. That is the art. Everything else will destroy you. While walking, a beautiful thought came to mind: how a little thing can destroy us. A little desire can lead to destruction. There was a beautiful forest with ancient trees, some 300 years old. They have survived many wars and storms. A sādhu, a yogī about 250 years old, was walking through the forest. He stopped among the big old trees, looked around, held his hands, and expressed sadness. The oldest tree asked, "Swāmījī, you are so wise, a great yogī who teaches people not to be sad. What makes you sad today?" Swāmījī said, "I am sorry for you. Your destruction has come." The tree asked, "How? Who is our enemy?" Swāmījī replied, "Your enemy is still not born but is at the Creator’s house, in the hands of the Creator." The 800-year-old tree said, "We are at home, born here. No one has the strength to destroy us." Swāmījī said, "Yes, my friend. The creator is a blacksmith. And what kind of enemy is he creating? An axe." The tree asked, "What is an axe? How big is it?" Swāmījī said, "One side is very sharp. It is not meters long; it is perhaps seven centimeters long, fifty centimeters wide, and about half a kilo." The wise oak tree spoke to the yogī: "Please go and meditate. This small thing will chip us? My trunk is so large that twenty people holding hands can encircle it. Please, Swāmījī, go and meditate." Swāmījī put his hand on the tree and said, "Okay, my friend, as destiny wills," and went away. After two years, Swāmījī returned. He saw all the trees lying on the ground as big logs, including the 800-year-old oak. Swāmījī stood there, and the oak spoke: "Master, you were right." The Master asked, "Old friend, can you tell me one thing? How did your enemies, which are so small, manage to cut you down?" The wise oak replied: "Master, that axe, made of iron, did not have the strength to destroy us so quickly. The misfortune was that some of our relatives befriended and joined that axe, and that was the handle. The blade alone couldn’t handle it, but by adding the wooden handle to it, our relative gave it strength, and that was the cause of our damage." The master said, "Yes, a good lesson," and went away. This story means that since your birth, you are here in the jungle of life. You have strong senses, muscles, bones, joints, and intellect. Someone tells you, "Don’t do this," and you go and meditate. But the world doesn’t listen. How does distraction take place? Whether you are a yoga practitioner or not, a small axe is created by your ambition. That ambition is the blacksmith. The desire, like "I want to enjoy real love," is the axe. And your own senses, your desires—that is the piece of wood. Very soon, it will destroy you. You are only 40 years old; let that age increase in wisdom. If a man comes to you and says, "I want to experience real love," you will smile and say, "Go away, crazy man." But now it’s too late. Therefore, the enemies are within us, and the supporters of the enemies are also within us. Kāma, krodha, mada, lobha, moha, ahaṅkāra, ajñāna—these are all our enemies, and we are caught by them. We are surrounded by them. We are that. The tree cannot run away. The enemy is approaching, but you cannot run away from your desires. You can fly in airplanes or rockets, but you cannot fly away from your desires; they are constantly there. Small, but they are stronger than you. A big, strong cobra can be killed by ants. If a snake has an injury and a little blood comes, hundreds of ants come, enter the skin, and in one or two days, it is finished. These are the ants of our negative energy, negative thinking, and negative desires. There is only one remedy: renounce and enjoy. Give up. There is another story Gurujī told as an example from Vedānta teaching: A big hawk caught a rabbit and flew. Three or four other hawks chased him. The hawk, exhausted, said to God, "God, protect me from this enemy. What have I done to them? Why do they disturb me?" God said, "Drop it. They are not interested in you; they are interested in what you have." So he dropped the piece of meat, and all the hawks flew to it. The other hawk flew peacefully and sat on a beautiful branch of a tree and relaxed. So, moha, attachment—we keep it. Everyone is behind those things, not you. People love your money, not you. That’s why rich people stay away. When a rich man goes into a pub, twenty girls may approach. He is not afraid for himself but for his money or riches. It can be a man or a woman. Often, people love your work or your money. Therefore, renounce and enjoy. Don’t give the chance. Don’t project yourself. Stay home with your family. Be happy with your husband, wife, children. In the evening, be together as a happy family, eat, work together, have a nice satsaṅg, and sleep. In the morning, get up, have a nice breakfast together, go to work, and come back. If you go out at 3:30 in the morning on a dark street, someone may slap you or show a knife. He is not the only one guilty; you are also guilty. 3:30 at night is sleeping time, not for running in the streets. We invite troubles and then blame others. So stay with your private family or with your guru brothers and sisters, and enjoy your life. Practice āsanas, meditation, mantras, read nice books, see what problems your children or parents have, and consider how you can help them. What a beautiful life. Humans must understand what life is. Therefore, be careful of your enemy. Do not give that enemy a chance to create a tool and have your desires join it. That was the inspiration that came while walking today. Walking is beautiful. When you need an answer, go into the forest, a park, your garden, sit near your flowers, light a candle, or sit near your husband. Your husband will be so happy. He will say, "What happened to you today? You are so calm, peaceful, happy, relaxed, sitting here with me." After 45 years, he was missing this. Now we are happy. That’s a family. Your guru brothers, your satsaṅgs, and your family—good thoughts and inspiration come from there. So for today, is that all? This afternoon, there will be a special exercise for a kind of therapy: self-healing therapy, what we can do for ourselves. Of course, we should never deny medicine either. Medicine is made for your good health. You are not forced to take it if you are healthy. But if you are not healthy, taking it is not a sin. Thanks to God, in this modern technology and science, we have many paths to good health: Āyurveda, naturopathy, homeopathy, yoga, allopathy, and many others. We have it, so use it or lose it. A 104-year-old lady in a New York old-age home proudly told me, "Swāmījī, my master from India said, 'You have yoga, use it or lose it.' So I use it every day, and it has brought me a happy, healthy life." When she said this, she was 102 or 104, and she remembers everything. We have trouble remembering our own birthdays; that’s why we write down passwords. The next webcast will be at 5:30 p.m.

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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