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It is very important that we practice. What we are doing is not sādhanā for one day, one week, or one month. It is lifelong. And lifelong sādhanā should be done with great confidence. Never let any negative thoughts enter your mind. It doesn't matter what happens. Whatever is happening to us in this life will remain here. It has no permanent significance; it is everyday life. We are not working only for this life. We are working for that future which should remain forever in divine consciousness. Though many of us cannot imagine what that divine consciousness is. What is that, really? And when we realize that divine consciousness, maybe we will be disappointed; we would not like it. What then? Then one will say, "No, I want to have normal human consciousness." But we can only believe or trust the words of the great saints that there is something much better than this life. And this life should not become an obstacle for us to achieve that highest consciousness. Therefore, whatever is happening in life, we shall analyze in a good way. Something is happening as an obstacle, and something is happening as a guidance. The hard thing that comes in life is maybe a guidance. And pleasure, the things we see and experience in life, is maybe an obstacle. The human has lost the spiritual consciousness. Many humans are concentrated on the material. Nowadays, you ask anyone, "What is your target or your aim?" Then: to grow the business, for the business to go better, for money to come, for more development and achievement. But this achievement is just like bubbles on the water, and these bubbles are not permanent. They look nice, beautiful, colourful. But as soon as you touch one, you hardly recognize that it is there, and it's gone. So this life is that bubble, and you never know when suddenly it will explode. So, what we were thinking is ours is not anything physically here in this world. What you think is yours is not yours. It is given to you to utilize in this life, but we would like to be the owner of it. The owner of it is only God, and God doesn't ask us for any taxes to pay. God gave us this world for free. Go and work for your self-realization. But somehow we don't understand, or we've forgotten. So the biggest obstacle which can come is that you lose your motivation. And that is like a chain is broken. There is a story. One person was meditating and practicing for 70 years. Seventy is quite a lot: everyday meditation, everyday prayers, everyday doing āsanas, prāṇāyāmas—70 years—and didn't realize anything. He said nothing happened, and you may think that also. But what should happen? Did you ask yourself what should happen? I would say something great has happened which you don't know. And that is that nothing happened. Otherwise, you would not be here. So it's always wrong expectations that something will happen, that you will feel or see something. Even if you have self-realization, you will not feel that you have self-realization. And if you feel that you have self-realization, and you think you have achieved the supreme consciousness, then it will be so unpleasant. All the time you think, "I am self-realized, I am self-realized." Through this, you will lose your self-realization again. Self-realization is like a diamond. Ask the diamond if the diamond thinks that it's a diamond. But we decide that it's a diamond. And similarly, we see that someone has divine light, spiritual light. And that's happening; you don't realize that it is happening. Therefore, just be. That's it. Just be there and do your sādhanā. So after 70 years, nothing happened. That man was meditating in the garden, sitting under a tree. Suddenly, he stopped doing his mālā meditation. "Nothing happened. These 70 years, I was repeating my mantra and prayers all the time, repeating my mantra constantly. I think for 70 years I was chewing the chewing gum: Om, om, om." And he was thinking of stopping. Then he saw near the trunk of the tree one ant, and in the mouth of the ant was one grain of rice. The ant wanted to take this grain of rice up the tree, somewhere she had a nest. After one meter, she lost her grip. She came back, found it, again went up, and after one and a half meters, again she lost her grip. He observed and thought. It happened several times. But the ant didn't give up. Finally, she brought the rice, and between the branch there was a hole, and she went in backward and took the rice in. Several times, it fell down from her mouth and she couldn't enter the hole. So finally, she decided to go backward and hold it strongly. That practitioner said, "This is the end now." This is how my guru taught me: never give up. Sooner or later, you will be successful. And so it is in our life. We have a lot of expectations. And how, when we hear one's story—one is sitting self-realized and has a divine light and this—what ice cream! I want to have this, I want to have this. But it's good that we are inspired at least in this way, but it has to come, the final divine light, in our consciousness. And that will happen, so don't celebrate the day too early. Wait till the sunset is there, then it will be. In this way, it doesn't matter where we are, here or at home. We should never give up our practice or our confidence, and we should always be aware of our aim, and we should not be greedy. We should sometimes give something away. Also, many qualities which are not good we should give away. Many things that you are doing are disturbances for you. There is one story about a lady, or a young girl. When Buddha left this world, he had one closest disciple. He was the emperor, and his name was Aśoka Samrāṭ. Aśoka Samrāṭ is the emperor. He began to spread the message of Buddha, and he had one daughter only, a child. But Aśoka was not satisfied about his work. His aim was to spread Buddhism throughout the whole world. It takes a long time, but he became old. And the time came that he was going to die. Many people were visiting him, sitting beside him, but still, he couldn't die. Because he himself said, "I can't die unless I have not fulfilled my mission." It means to bring the message of Buddha, the teaching of Buddha, to the world. But at the same time, he was very sad that he was not capable of doing it anymore. And very soon, death is there. He is counting minutes and seconds. His daughter, her name was Saṅghamitrā, came and she said, "Dear father, do you have any last wish? Is there anything which disturbs you and which holds you back so that you can't go?" He said, "Yes, my dear daughter. But, you see, there are many, many people who are ready to take my wealth. They are just waiting for me to die, and they want to inherit. But there is no one ready to take my spiritual heritage, and that's why I'm waiting." She said, "Father, I will do it." Father said, "Yes, my dear daughter. But you belong to somebody else. What do you mean? You will marry, and you will go with your husband. There will be different circumstances." She said, "Father, to carry on and fulfill your mission, let me be the next link in the chain. I will not marry. I will dedicate myself to the teachings of the Buddha." He died peacefully, and he blessed her, that finally someone is ready to take this wealth of spirituality. Every father and mother thinks about their children for their best education, best social position, the best economical situation, and parents, whatever they collect, they always collect thinking it's for my children. And if one has no child, the time comes and one thinks, "For what is this all? Is there someone who will utilize all this in a positive way? Otherwise, with hard work, whatever I created or made or earned will be destroyed." In the same way, the Master is also thinking. And you heard yesterday, the Master thinks more than the parents for the disciples, to make them capable and give them everything. It's not that he doesn't want to give. But there is someone who cannot receive. Though he gives, it doesn't remain there; it disappears. Because they don't know the aim, the mission of the Master's life. There is one stone, it's called Parāś, a precious stone. When you touch iron to the Parāś, that Parāś turns that iron into gold. And then there is a master. So what is the difference between a master and Parāś? What is the difference between the master and the priest? The difference is this: the priest makes the iron gold, but the master makes the disciple a master. The gold which became gold through contact with the priest has no ability to make other metal gold. But the master who makes someone a master has all these qualities to create more masters. And for that, you have to understand the Master, you have to surrender. There is no word in front of the Master, no questions, no "why," and also no "no." These two words from your dictionary should go out, but our ego doesn't allow this. She began to work, and she said, "Father, I promise you, I will not marry. And I will carry this message on." The emperor Aśoka died. And you see in the Indian flag, in the middle, there is one wheel. That's called the Aśoka Cakra, and that is in his name, and that is continuity. Symbol of the sun, the light, the continuity, the victory. That's called the Aśoka Cakra. Well, the king, the emperor, died. And Saṅghamitrā made her journey to preach about Buddha. She moved towards China from the Himalayas and Tibet in this direction. When she used to give lectures, there were so many people, a big crowd. One day she was very unhappy, sitting in her room and thinking very deep. So her minister or her secretary, because still she was a princess, asked her, "What makes you so unhappy today? You don't look happy." She said, "Yes, I am." He said, "Why? What can we do for you?" She said, "You can't do anything. I'm only thinking. What more can I do?" He said, "For what?" "To fulfill the wish of my father, means to bring the message of the Buddha to all mankind." "But you are doing it. Look how many people came to listen. A hundred, fifty, two hundred. Oh, sometimes it was five hundred people." At that time, the population was not so much, you know. For five hundred or a thousand people to come was a great dream. Now, a thousand people you can see in front of the supermarket. Now, the humans are walking on this earth like ants. She said, "I don't see it as a success." "What do you mean? Why don't these people accept my teachings? They don't understand; they don't accept. But still they are coming, that I don't understand." He said, "Your Highness, we will analyze this," and he put about fifty soldiers as a secret police. Some of you are here sitting, you know very well, you are a bhakta, you are playing as a bhakta, and Swāmījī knows very well. So they sent a message. Why don't they accept, but why do they come to her for listening to lectures? So the result came. People are coming to see her beauty. She is the most beautiful woman they ever saw. And that's why they are all coming, these men, to see how beautiful she is. And after, when they go home, they talk about nothing of her subject, what she spoke. Only how beautiful she is, how she smiles, and how she moves. She said, "Uh-huh, so it means my beauty is my obstacle, that is the biggest barrier or a rock on my path." She went in the bathroom, and she put acid on her face, and all her skin was burned. It took her time to get treatment, but she lost beauty on her face. And she continued her mission. And it worked in such a way that all who came to her became Buddhist. So, boys, I don't mean that you should put tomorrow's spirit on your face, or girls. But this is an example of how many things in our life are a support and a help, and also an obstacle. So one way you want to realize something higher; the other way, you put your consciousness to the lower world. Means to make up. For whom do you make up? Because you don't walk in the street all the time with your mirror. You make up for yourself, then walk in the street like this. Then everybody will say, "Oh my God, from which psychiatric clinic did this come back?" So the aim of the makeup means somebody will find me more beautiful. Means that one who will find you more beautiful will become your obstacle, will stand on your path. Then you will be more unhappy. That will make you unhappy. So, boys, when you make yourself nice, when you make up, and mistakenly, some girls come and admire you, it is not her mistake, because when she comes on your path, on your way, even with a bulldozer you can't pull her aside. That's it, because that is your mistake. Therefore, decide once in life in which direction you want to lead your consciousness. But there is something. Thank you. There is something we call respect, self-respect, and ego. The difference between self-respect and ego. Self-respect means to gain the respect that is not ego. In order to gain the respect from others, you have to respect them. And for that reason, you should have proper dress, you should have clean dress, you should have everything in a proper way. So it means that when someone sees you, it is pleasant for them to look. Be sure that everyone is not so crazy that they will look to you. These girls have enough problems with others; they will not look to you. They don't mind if you shave every day or not, because they don't see your beard; they see your heart. So when we are properly behaving, that means we respect the society. And if you don't want to respect, then everybody will be offended or angry and disappointed. It's my case when I eat sometimes spaghetti, and some piece of the spaghetti falls and is hanging here in the beard. Of course, I don't sit in front of the mirror to see my beard, what's happening all the time. And I don't see, but here is a spaghetti hanging. And four or five people who are sitting in front of me, their eyes are always going there. No one there to remove it, because they think it would be impolite. But if I keep the beard, then my duty, after eating from time to time, I should do like this. I should make sure that no spaghetti is hanging. So clean dress, proper dress is a respect. The beauty of the human body is a most beautiful appearance. A human in a proper long dress is called respect, that's moral, and also in this moral is ethic. Nowadays, they are so poor, some people they can't buy cloth. So they have such a small cloth only, and when they walk with some long heels, then you see from these boys who are going with the long heels, buttocks out. So if you think that you have a short skirt, everybody will admire me? No, immediately someone will either make a joke about you or will not be serious towards you, or a person like me will think, "How poor this child." Before giving clothes to the Red Cross, stop that girl and say, "Please, can I give some cloth?" That is not self-respect. Nowadays, all the time, words appear. Words, some sentence. "Sexy look" on the shop on the cloth, but you know, this word doesn't uplift your consciousness; it is putting down your consciousness. And now you said, "When you have such a cloth, you look like a sexy." Then some boy will come and take you away. Don't shout at that boy, poor boy. You said that I have a sexy look, then please go with it. This is psychological, you see. You must think what you are doing. It's you, your body, yourself, and your world. So what would you like to give to the world? Those who will love you will love you even if you go with a long cloth on your face and they don't see even one single eye. And those who will not love you, even if you go without anything, they will say, "Look at the crazy girl." Unnecessarily, you become crazy in the eyes of others. Unnecessarily, you become an ordinary person in the eyes of all. And unnecessarily, you expose yourself negatively. Why should you become an object of their joke and their amusement? That will not help you. So that's why our ancestors, in every culture, think about the past. Beautiful European culture was great, and the way how they dressed was great. You believe in Jesus, but you don't dress like the Holy Mother did. At least you should follow what she did. Did you ever see the Holy Mother in a bikini? Sitting somewhere and eating ice cream with Jesus? No. We adore her. We pray to Holy Mother. We pray to Jesus. And we should follow what they did and how they lived. So this modern world takes the woman only as a symbol, a commercial symbol, nothing else. You should know that for the man, you are only a commercial symbol to make you naked on the poster and hurry home and go home. So it is the responsibility of the woman to keep the dignity of the woman higher and not allow them to play with you like a toy. This is your duty. You should know how you will respect your body, your mind, and your family. So even you don't know how it was before 200 years here. There was no world called FKK, but it was that. Before several thousand years, at that time, they did not know name, mode, or fashion. All were going naturally. Then they were looking beautiful because they didn't put this cream and this and that, but now we call ourselves civilized ones. And is this a condition of a civilized one? Therefore, to see in which direction our consciousness is raising up, I tell you that your grandmother, who is 80 years maybe, or 90 years, or maybe let's say 75 years, she loves you. But how you dress inwardly, she is not so happy. So we old, elderly people don't understand anymore the modern way. And I think the future for the feminist world will be very hard. There will come a time when women will cry and pray, "Is there any man who can marry me?" You know, nowadays man is not afraid of anything in this world, but only of the wife. You should know very well that no one wants to marry you. This is the truth. When a man is going to marry a woman, his heart is saying, "Now be alert." Very soon, she will divide your property, and she will divide your heart, and she will divide your family, and she will fight for her rights to pay her lifelong money, rent, insurance, and this and that. Yes? I mean, I'm not against women, but the situation is like that. And so, men, those who are already married, they pray more than ever that this marriage will be a happy marriage. That she will not ask to get divorced, and will not ask that lifelong I have to pay, and that I have to lose my whole company and everything to give it to her. And very rarely, some men will do this with consciousness. Many girls go to rich countries, to the clubs, and try to fish for the oldest person and get married to him because they know that very soon he will die and they will be the owner of the property. This is happening, and I'm telling you, for someone, this is very unpleasant to listen to, and it does not mean that I support the men. No, I'm not supporting them. I want to support you more than women. I want to protect you, but the reality is this: you become a commercial symbol, and that is a dark future for you. Feminist world, so follow your ancestors, follow their beliefs, the way how they lived, what they gave us. Technology we can have, all what we want. But to have a technology must not mean that we throw away our dress. You have your dignity, you have your respect. Others may do what they want, but I will keep myself. Even for a lifetime, I will not find a boy, a man, a wife, or a husband. And this is very important. Think over. So this is also an obstacle for your spiritual life. And many times this happens, you know, there are two or three sitting in front of me. A name I will not tell. In the beginning, the boys are very nice to the girls, very, very nice. She said, "I like yoga." He said, "Oh, that's my dream. From my school time, I wanted to practice yoga too." Then she said, "I'm vegetarian." "Why didn't you tell me earlier? You know, when my parents gave me meat, I could vomit. Finally, I love vegetarian food." Whatever she said, he said, "Oh, that's my favorite, and my guru. Oh yes, he's such a great man. I never saw in my life such a holy, great man." And then they marry. Next week, after marriage, decide: Swāmījī or me. Means, yoga or me. And probably it's everything. No practicing in my house. No chanting mantra. I don't want this mālā to be seen, and I don't want these Indians sitting on the altar, and in this house there will be only meat. And you, a very pure, gentle, divine woman, fell in that trap, and you promised that you would be a faithful wife and follow them lifelong. Now you are in a dilemma about what to do. And this happened, I see the faces of a few of them. It also happened with some men. But unfortunately, in this way, it happened more with the ladies. And still you are suffering, and therefore we should wait and see if a person is really right for us. So when the Saṅghamitrā did this with her own face, Buddhism spread towards China and Japan and these islands, all Singapore and like this. What I want to say is that was her Saṅkalpa. And in her decision, there was a power. Mahāprabhujī said, "Make your Saṅkalpa with great belief." Success will be yours, so of course it should be something positive. There are some ladies who want to kill themselves because of a man. My boyfriend is gone. I am disappointed. I have no sense anymore to live. I will die. I do not want to live anymore. And loses the appetite, and day by day loses the kilos. That's the best therapy also to lose the kilos, but that I don't wish you. There's another best therapy, so someone who puts you on some conditions, there is no love, and there was never love. Understand that love, and protect yourself so that you day by day develop spiritually. And what happens in this world is just like bubbles. If it was beautiful, then enjoy the memory, and if it was something horrible, then forget it, delete it out from memory. But our aim is to come forward. There are people who gain the honey from the wild bees. And they climb on the tree, and bees attack them. They try to put on nets and gloves and so on, but still, it is not easy to get honey. But they don't give up. The target is to gain or take that honey. So the honey of this God's knowledge we have to go through wild bees.