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Do not forget your destination

A spiritual discourse using a parable about the Kalpavṛkṣa, the wish-fulfilling tree, to illustrate the dangers of desire and the mind.

"Under this tree, whatever you wish or whatever you think comes true."

"We are all slaves of the mind, and this mind will destroy us one day."

The speaker narrates a detailed story of a desert traveler who encounters a magical tree that grants his every thought, leading from comfort to his demise. He explains the tree symbolizes the human body and the temporary fulfillment of worldly desires, warning that the mind, like a ghost in the tree, can kill one's spiritual progress. The key theme is to use the body wisely without forgetting the ultimate spiritual destination, reinforced by a second story about a king who is a slave to a yogi's mind.

Filming location: Szeged, HU.

DVD 398

Shall I tell you a story? It is a very beautiful one, connected to our subject of harmony for body, mind, and spirit. In ancient times, there were no proper roads, only muddy paths. In desert areas, there was only sand. If you go to Pusta, it is only grass and sand. If you go to Algeria, there is only the sand desert. There, you may see a hill, a big hill. In the morning, you get up, and the hill is gone; the wind has shipped it somewhere else. There is only sand, and the wind blows it away. That is life. Every day, a different view—it is not boring, but life is hard. So, at night, people walked by looking at the stars to find their path. In the daytime, they navigated by the Sun and the side of the body. You know where east and west are: in the morning, which direction does your body's shadow go? To the west. The sun is in the east, and your shadow is in the west. And in the evening, when the sun is setting, where does the shadow go? There was one man. Early in the morning, at 3 o'clock, he started his journey. He had to walk about 50 kilometers, and between here and there was no village—a 50- to 60-kilometer distance with no trees, only small thorny bushes. I was in Algeria once, wanting to go to a town called Boussada. On the way, from a village called Alvet or something, we started at 4:30 early morning by car. The roads in Algeria are so straight. I said, "We shall take something to make a picnic, and we will eat somewhere under a tree." We drove from 4:30 in the morning until one o'clock in the afternoon without seeing a single tree—only small bushes in the desert. It was hot. We were hungry and wanted to sit and eat, but where? We stopped the car and wanted to sit in the shade of the car. But at midday, where is the shade? That is it. So, this man went early in the morning, and his wife gave him some lunch in a pocket. He was walking. To walk on sand is like walking on snow. Walking 50 kilometers on sand requires strong thighs and legs; you must be an Olympic champion. That is why the camel exists—because the camel has a wide foot, so it does not sink deep into the sand and can walk nicely. But we, with our high heels... if you go with high heels, girls, the heels will remain somewhere. At eleven o'clock, the man saw one beautiful tree and was surprised. The tree was about 20 meters high, big, with nice shade. He said, "Here I will rest and have my meal." He sat under the tree. Outside, it was 45 degrees hot. Under the tree, it was 44 degrees. One degree makes a big difference. He said, "Ah, I'm thirsty. First, I should drink water." Suddenly, a nice, cool glass of water came. He took the glass and drank. He was surprised. It came from nowhere. Then he opened his lunch pocket. The food was cold. He thought, "It would be nice if there were some fresh food." And a tray came: lecho, rice, roti, chutney, so many things. He said, "Wow, that's just hot yoghurt." A big cup of yogurt came. "Ah, now I need cool water." And cool water came again. Surprised, he said, "After eating, I'm tired. Now would be a good time to have a nice bed under the tree." This is human ambition. Desire grows more and more. And what did he see beside him? A very nice bed, a snow-white bedsheet, and nice pillows. Now he was thinking, "There is no one here, no village, only one tree. From where does this come?" He became nervous. "Oh God, maybe in this tree there is a ghost. He will open his eyes, the ghost will be there, and he will kill me!" And the ghost came and killed him. The name of the tree was Kalpavṛkṣa. Kalpa means your saṅkalpa, vikalpa—your wishes—and vṛkṣa is a tree. Under this tree, whatever you wish or whatever you think comes true. It does not matter what. If you think the ghost came and it will kill you, it kills you. So, this story means we are on a long journey without knowing any direction, following the desert which takes our destiny throughout the universe. That universe is a desert—nothing. To suddenly see a beautiful body given to us—this is the tree, and you are under the tree. Now you rest. Whatever you wish comes true. "I want to eat a mandarin. I want a chocolate." If I am in the astral body, it cannot happen. It is my physical body. Through work and the help of the physical body, I can have all. "One more, oh, one more, oh, one more." My ambition, my desires, my greediness do not let me go out from under this tree. In the tree is sitting a ghost: the mind. And this mind will kill you one day. There was another story, which I will make very short. One master came to a village. That master was like an ascetic sādhu. No dress, only ashes on the body and a little cloth here. Everybody said, "This is a great sādhu." All went to see him, and the king was also going there. The king asked him a question: "Mahārāj Swāmījī, you have nothing—not even one blanket, only a small cloth, no money, no house. And I am the king. You are in my kingdom. I have the palace, I have everything. But my question is this: why do I come to you? Why did I come to you?" The sādhu smiled. He said, "Yes, king, you have to come." "Why? Why do I have to come?" "Because you are the slave of my slave." "What? I'm the slave of your slave? I told you, I'm the king. I'm not a slave." The yogi said, "That is your ignorance. You think you are a king, but you are not even worthy to be my slave. You are the slave of my slave." "Then tell me, who is your slave? You don't know? Who is your boss?" "No, I don't know. My mind is my slave, and you are the slave of the mind." So, we are all slaves of the mind, and this mind will destroy us one day. Therefore, while being under this tree, give up all ambitions. And do not forget your destination. He started his journey from home to visit someone 50 kilometers far, but on the way he met this Māyā Kalpavṛkṣa and forgot his destination. He fell into desires, and these desires killed him. Therefore, this body is given to you only temporarily to realize whatever you want carefully, but do not forget you have to go further. Do not get stuck in this body and say, "This is everything." This was a story of ambitions, of the mind which can kill us. And I wish you now good night, sweet sleep, and honey dreams.

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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