Willpower

Preface
In pursuit of worldly goals as well as spiritual goals, one thing that is absolutely important is
willpower. The role that willpower plays in our lives does not need to be defined.
But more often than not, we find ourselves doing what we decide against. Or not doing
something we decided on. Even if we know the end result, we are unable to instruct
ourselves to do the right thing. We fall in the same pit over and over, and naturally are
overcome by guilt.
It's a vicious circle. But these life-changing talks on what willpower is and how to cultivate it
will come handy and you will notice your life has taken a U-turn. Extremely simple real life
examples and easy techniques will help you regain control over yourself and will give you
the confidence to pursue worldly as well as spiritual goals.
Please note, this eBook is a compilation of spontaneous live talks delivered by Shreee to his
disciples. These talks are meant for the modern man with examples from the real world.
YouTube links are available for each talk.
Visit School of Life at www.schooloflife.co.in
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Contents
Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Willpower ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Cultivation of Willpower ......................................................................................................................... 8
Importance of Focus in Life................................................................................................................... 13
Rational Animal ..................................................................................................................................... 17
Surrender The Ultimate Willpower .................................................................................................... 19

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Willpower
Godly Morning,
Let us begin this journey. Lets contemplate whether in the journey called life, have we
really chosen our path or have we just stumbled upon it accidently? Has anybody pushed us
for the same or is it our own conscious decision?
We may walk in any direction, and being alive also means that we are walking along some
path or the other. Not walking in any direction is in itself a direction. Now just try to think
and answer, whether our life is a result of our intelligence or is it running unconsciously?
There is a famous couplet by Nida Fazli:
Apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain,
Rukh hawaon ke jidhar ka hai, udhar ke hum hain...
Our life is bound by circumstances. We have no conscious control over our lives; and we go
on living like this. Human being is not yet a human being in the true sense. He is supposed to
become one. Let me refer to a famous couplet by a famous poet, Ghalib,
Bas ke dushwar hai har ek baat ka asaan hona,
Aadmi ko bhi mayassar nahi insaan hona
So, one has to learn to be a true human being.
I can relate to Gurdjieff when he states that human being is soul-less and one has to
cultivate the soul. Actually one does not exist. You must be wondering why I am saying this.
Just try to contemplate, do you really exist or are you defined by your desires, impulses
and moods? Are you someone who is just dragging behind desires? Are you a slave of your
desires? Arent you continuously being dragged by one desire or the other? Try to look
within. Is your life any more than your desires?
Life is ordinarily like this. You just keep following your desires; and as your desire changes,
the direction of your journey changes too. You are divided into various directions and
eventually end up nowhere. Ordinarily this is the journey of life. Neither you reach
anywhere nor do you stick to one direction. You simply keep swinging. If you are still not
convinced, try to think once again. Are you powerful enough to stick to a single decision? Do
you stick to decisions that are against your desires, impulses, moods and addiction? If this is
not the case, then what exist is not YOU but your desires. You are continuously controlled
by your overpowering desires. Actually you are nothing but your reaction to a situation. You
are controlled by your lust and emotions. You are just a state where a few desires are to be
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fulfilled. Therefore, if that state defines you then where exactly is your existence? You as a
power do not exist. You are powerless.
You can see from your own life that you wish to do something but you end up doing
something else. There are times you wish to avoid doing something but still end up doing it.
Do you call it existence; is this how we are supposed to exist? You are unconscious, as if you
are in coma. Thats why I say that a human being is actually soul-less. By soul I mean, are
YOU there? Or are you just an impulse? You are absent in the true sense only impulses
are. Only your moods and desires exist. They define you. If you are hungry, you become
hunger. Can you order your body not to be hungry? When youre hungry, can you instruct
your body to do something else? If you cant order, you do not exist. Only hunger exists. On
the other hand if you can instruct yourself, then you do exist. But this is not the case
because your desire is your master. You are merely a slave to these desires. You are actually
a robot controlled by impulses and desires. There are thousands of examples which can
prove that you dont do what you actually want to do. And at the same time, there are
hundreds of things you do without wanting to do them. These actions make you guilty. It
goes on. The journey to bliss and the journey of being a human being begin with Willpower.
It is the power of mind. Do we have that power? Although the journey is to go beyond the
mind but it begins with the mind. The mind is aware of what is essential and what is not.
The mind is aware of the recipe of a blissful life. Despite this knowledge, are you able to do
only what you want to do? Or does your mind help you move towards the right direction
even if you dont feel like it? We often meet people who do not feel like doing some things.
Like children dont feel like studying. Why would someone enjoy studying anyway? But it is
necessary. Who will send you pay-checks without going to work? So there are certain basic
needs of life for which one should do certain actions. But the moment one opens a
textbook, one feels sleepy. This is because you lack the power of mind which instructs your
sleep to go away at that point of time. You have never practiced it. You never cultivated
willpower. If the mind instructs you with totality, your sleep would disappear at once. This
power is asleep in us. The soul needs to be awakened. After all, what is this life if it lacks
your control? One is just moving with the flow of the wind. Such life reaches nowhere. That
is why such an individual is bound to become frustrated as there is no directive control.
The mind can thus be classified into two. One that doesnt feel like doing a particular thing;
and the other that tells you to do it because it is the right thing to do. So in order to give
power to the latter, one needs willpower, determination and commitment. Without these
powers, there is no journey. Whether it is spiritual journey or worldly, only willpower makes
you reach heights. Life is meaningless if there is no willpower. What kind of life it is if we
ourselves are absent? Desires are never ending. We should thank god that as human beings,
we at least have some amount of willpower which doesnt let us go haywire every now and
then. For example, if you happen to see a more luxurious car than yours, then at least you
will not start following it. At least you have that little willpower. But let me tell you that this
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little willpower would not take you far. You will not be able to reach heights. Life will end up
in frustration because the actions which we consider are right; we are not able to follow
those. We are just dragging ourselves against our willpower. For instance, we all understand
that meditation important, but if we feel like sleeping, we will not be able to meditate. It
doesnt matter how many spiritual books you have read. You need to have the willpower to
implement what you learn. Be it the eight fold path of Buddha or Patanjali, you will
understand it all, as you are intelligent. But is there any implementation? Even though you
know what you have learnt is important to implement; but still you are not able to do justice
to it. The reason for not implementing them is nothing but your powerful impulses, desires,
urges and cravings. You are not the master of your own decision making. You become a
channel to fulfil your desires and cravings. That means your desires use you for their
fulfilment. Always remember that the satisfaction after the fulfilment of desires is
momentary. As soon as you re done enjoying your momentary satisfaction, there is another
desire waiting to be fulfilled. Life is a complete mess and we cannot call it a journey. A
journey cannot be so pointless. You are moving in a zig-zag pattern. We can compare this
journey with the journey of a caged monkey. If measured in terms of the energy spent or
movement inside the cage, you may calculate it around 2000km or 3000km. But where
would it reach? It will remain in the cage. Similarly your age is not the criteria of how far you
have travelled in the journey of your life.
We need to cultivate, awaken and strengthen willpower in order to exist in the true sense.
Then only we will be soulful. If we are absent and only the desires exist then who will walk
in the journey of life? We truly take birth when willpower takes birth inside us. We have to
give birth to our own self in order to make life beautiful. I am reminded of an inspirational
incident from the life of Dalai Lama (not sure which Dalai Lama). I read it somewhere. Dalai
Lama had been chosen in an esoteric way. The monks went to take this five year old boy
from his parents. They were taking him to the monastery for his spiritual journey. The
monks took him on a horse. All the monks were strangers to him. The boy cried and cried
and kept hugging his parents. The moment when the child was about to leave, his parents
instructed him that once he sits on the horse, he should not look behind at all. He was
warned that if at all he turns around to see them; he will see them dead. The little boy who
was in so much pain because of leaving his parents wanted to turn and take a last look at
their faces. But he didnt. He controlled the storming emotions and kept looking ahead. This
is willpower. That is not it. After reaching the monastery, a monk asked him to sit on the
stairs and instructed him not to move from there till the monk returns. He sat on the stairs
and waited for the monk to return. There were many distractions. He saw children playing
on the street, there were hawkers passing by. Some children even tried to bully him. But
this little boy did not move. It grew dark, but he just sat there and waited. Do you think it
was easy? It was very difficult. But it is possible with willpower.

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To take life on the right path, the path which is blissful, it is said that always begin with the
end in mind. When we know that something will end in a disaster and still continue to do it,
we lack willpower. We are slaves of our desires. Before beginning the journey of life, we
need to be born. Only then we will be able to walk on the path. Once willpower is cultivated,
life becomes beautiful and human being lives a better life.
If a person just lives to follows his desires, I call him a Shudra. I am not talking about the
ancient discrimination of the four castes. I am associating the caste system with a persons
actions, not lineage. If someone only lives to fulfil his desires, he is a Shudra the lowest
rung in the ladder. We have to grow and create ourselves. We will have to give birth to our
mind and soul. We will have to be determined with purpose. How can I talk about the state
of surrender if the one who has to surrender does not exist yet? The destination is the
surrender of mind. It is the highest determination but first one should learn to be
determined at least. The determination to kill ones own mind is possible afterwards. If
surrender is the last stage, then determination is the initial stage to discuss and
acknowledge. The journey of all journeys begins with the cultivation of willpower. Once you
have the willpower, then you can decide to choose your journey. Create this willpower and
life will become beautiful.
A human being is like a seed which sprouts and becomes a plant and bears flowers. Do not
stop till you blossom like a flower. For this seed to sprout, one needs willpower and
determination. With this determination, the seed would grow into a plant and then into a
tree on which flowers would bloom. Do not restrict your life to a seed only. A seed lives in
darkness. To come out of this cage of darkness, one needs strength. Determination is
needed to come out of ones own boundaries. A seed is very vulnerable. It can be destroyed
easily. There are a few that overcome natural forces. Even Newton did not talk about a plant
growing against the gravitational force. It needs huge determination and strength to rise.
This is possible for every human being too. But a human being should be determined to
walk at least. This life is an opportunity to flower. Lets use this opportunity and give birth to
the willpower within us and eventually we would blossom. Now, how to give birth to
Willpower? I will share my understanding on how to create, cultivate and strengthen
willpower in the upcoming talks.
Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.

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Cultivation of Willpower
In general life, human being has an impression that he exists; but actually he does not. It
would be better to say that his existence is minimum. What really exists is his desires, lust,
moods, excitement, impulses. So a person lives his entire life being attached to these and
crawls behind these. The word pashu(animal) comes from paash, which means being
attached. So man is just a slave of his own desires. He is a pashu, animal-like. He is not
completely human. There is potential, a possibility, capability, but that has not been
actualized yet. And without actualizing these, life will remain miserable. There will be no
possibility of bliss in such a mans life, a man who is not able to cultivate willpower. Life
becomes a mad race, an endless race of frustration and emptiness. Everyone is on a journey
to get rid of miseries, be it a spiritual journey or worldly journey. The intention behind both
is to get rid of miseries and attain to bliss. This is the target and to achieve this target,
willpower is needed. Life should be such that these desires should follow us; and not vice
versa. I am not against desires, I am against slavery. Be a master of your desires. Choose
what desires you want to fulfil. The world is beautiful too and nothing is meaningless. But
the at least decisions about when to take action, when to stop, where to go, etc. should be
our own. And if we are not in charge of making these decisions about our lives, then how
come we exist? Our existence is actually like non-existence. This is why willpower is needed.
So what should we do to cultivate willpower?
We are in the habit of thinking in extremes. I am saying that without willpower, man is living
on the lowest level and is psychologically deficient. So when a thought comes in the mind,
or an inspiration takes birth that from now I will start doing this or I will stop doing that,
whatever thought comes to your mind, you immediately take a resolution. But all these
routes are in extremes. And the right path is always the one in the middle. The process of
cultivating willpower that will strengthen us and help us grow is not very difficult. It only
seems difficult when someone elses willpower is talked about; when decorated examples
are given about a person that he/she has an amazing willpower. Yes, it is difficult, but the
process to reach that level is not difficult, provided you know the process. And here, I am
going to share my understanding on that process. How to begin the cultivation of
willpower? Begin with small things, like very tiny projects, determinations. For example, I
will keep my fingers like this for 15 seconds, no matter what happens. I will not put it down,
just for 15 seconds. So, of course, it is not a big deal. But if you start with something very
big, then it is a big deal. Then you are bound to fail. So whatever determination is fulfilled, it
leaves us in a better position than before and those that are not fulfilled; leave us in a worse
position than before. To win, a faith is required that you will win. So to give birth to this faith
within is also our responsibility. But if you are hesitant within, whether you would be able to
do it or not, if you dont have the confidence, then half the battle is lost. So build up the
confidence; and that can be built by taking small determinations. In the beginning, choose
easy actions. Something like, I will not pick up my phone for 1 minute, no matter what
happens. So create your own tiny determinations, your own tiny things to simplify. Say to
yourself that you will not move your body and then you will see that these tiny
accomplishments would bring confidence in you and you would be able to do big things.
This is the process.
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First thing, dont simply jump into big tasks. Start with small, interesting determinations. So I
leave this to your creativity. But the sutra is, begin with small things. For example, while
having food, grab a morsel and bring it your mouth and stop for 30 seconds before eating it.
This is a little bigger than 15 second determination. You can achieve higher determinations
but begin with smaller things first. Gurdjieff, an enlightened master, used amazing and
unique techniques on his disciples. Anywhere, anytime, in the middle of anything, he would
just say STOP and the condition was to freeze immediately, no matter in what position
your hands and legs are in. The disciples would just pause, even if they fell down, they will
not adjust their positions. But pause, like you dont exist. So he used only this technique for
3 months on his disciples. At any given time, he used to say STOP. So even for a second, if
person was lost in thoughts, he would say STOP.
Bhagwaan Mahavir, the name itself is Maha + Veer and his determinations were big and
tough. And the technique was to choose anything. Like, I will not drink water until I see a
white man milking a black cow sitting on the right side. Now, even if you could spot a black
cow, it is not necessary that you would find a white man, that too milking that cow and that
too sitting on the right side. So his determinations were very tough. But one can start with
small determinations. And Mahavirs determinations were so odd and tough, that even God
would be forced to arrange for that situation, lest he would die of hunger and thirst. Even
God was helpless before him. God also had to think about how to fulfil such conditions. So
imagine, Mahavirs willpower was such that the entire existence had to make those
arrangements available for him. Start with something easy. Like, raise a finger and be
determined to keep it like that for a minute. One minute sounds really easy. But what if
your father entered the room and he asked you to put it down? What will you do? But if you
still manage to spend a minute without putting your finger down, then you have achieved,
then you wouldnt care if people call you insane or crazy. Because you know that you are
not crazy, you have achieved something. Start with small things but do not stop there. This
will feed your ego and the ego will be satisfied that Im not soulless, that I have willpower.
But, this is just the beginning. Move beyond small determinations; choose little bigger
things, slightly less easier. Dont practice directly on big determinations or you will get
demoralized. The loss will be huge if you take big determinations at the start. At the very
start, if you decide you will quit smoking today, you will be tempted to smoke in a while.
You might give in to the temptation. That will do huge harm to your confidence. You could
have accomplished it, but since you failed at such a massive task, you will not even attempt
anything else. On the other hand, try this. If you feel like smoking, postpone it for a minute.
This would be enough for a start. Dont start with your fight against addiction. Addiction is a
big thing. But have at least this much willpower that if you are not addicted to something
and you think it can be addictive, stay away from it from the very beginning.
Secondly, dont fight with nature. To begin with, dont fight with natural instincts like
hunger, thirst, sexual desires. Dont take big decisions related to these. Keep in mind that it
is important is not to lose. So be a little biased towards yourself. You have to win, simple. So
take determinations according to your calibre. Isnt it right? First I said, take small
determinations. Second, dont fight with nature. Thirdly, take determinations that are
positive. What do I mean by positive determinations? For example, in order to practice
willpower, you might decide that you will not get angry from today. This is negative
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determination. Human psychology says that whatever you focus on, grows. Now if someone
says that he will not get angry, their focus remains on anger. He will be conscious about
anger all the time. You can try it. Just find a peaceful normal person and ask him, What is
the matter? You look angry. Just by repeating this 3-4 times, the other person will prove
that you are right. He will even start fighting with you that you are lying and he is not at all
angry. So dont take negative determinations, that involve not doing something. You will
give a lot of energy to that, and it will grow. This is what people are doing all around.
Whatever people decide against surrounds them from all over. Its simple, like I say that for
a few days you should not think about a monkey. Your time starts now. You are not thinking
of a monkey, are you? If you are sincere and your willpower is above average then in the
night you will dream of monkeys dancing around your bed. Because your entire focus is on
monkeys. Therefore, no negative determination. Find out the positive aspect of the same
thing. Like for anger, say, I would become loving, forgiving. That is the positive side. Now
your attention is on love, compassion and forgiveness, so these will grow. Same way, find
out the solution for the disease. Put your energy on that. Take the determination for the
positive one. Always have a positive determination.
Then next thing is some activities in Yoga increase your willpower. The chakra that
increases your willpower is Aagya Chakra, the third eye centre. There are techniques that
activate the third eye centre and increase its power, making it healthier. Raj yog belongs to
third eye centre, so practice techniques for third eye. But it is very important to remember
that never practice any third eye centre techniques without a mentor. These techniques are
for cultivation of willpower but dont practice without a living spiritual guide. Apart from
this, I am about to say something no one else will. For willpower, activate Manipur chakra
also. This is the navel centre, the Solar Plexus. First chakra is Mooladhaar or the
Rootchakra, located at the tail bone and related to physical strength. This chakra is quite
active in males in comparison to females. The next is Swadhishthan chakra (also known as
the sacral chakra), slightly above the tail bone and is related to senses. This is more active in
females than males. A males Swadhishthanchakra is weaker and that is why he can
identify only a few prominent colours like red, yellow, green, blue etc. For a female, there
can be multiple shades of each colour, so she is more inclined towards beauty and
sensitivity, generally. There are no fixed rules. So if a female performs any act related to
senses, she will derive much more pleasure and bliss than a male. The male, generally, is not
much concerned about sensitivity and is more centralized. The next is the Manipur chakra,
and is related to breathing and fear. If you suddenly see some danger ahead, it hits this
chakra; you will feel something on your navel. Its like when people say my stomach turned
this is an expression of fear. If you sense a risk to your life, suddenly, you will feel a
sensation at your navel. If you experience a free fall ride, nothing will happen at the heart,
but at the navel.
Aur bhi gham hain zamane mein mohabbat ke siva
(There are other miseries in this world, apart from just love)
If you are tied to a rope and thrown from a height, nothing will happen on heart chakra.
Then you will understand why the famous poet, Ghalib, had said these lines,
Aur bhi gham hain zamane mein mohobbat ke siva,
Raahatein aur bhi hain vasl ki raahat ke siva
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(There are other miseries in this world apart from just love. There are other comforts other
than the comfort of being with the beloved)
So this sacral chakra is related to courage, and if it is weak then one will remain fearful.
Therefore, its important to activate this chakra too. This is more active in males than
females. Thats why females are more fearful even at the slightest things. Of course there
are times when, despite being fearful women are able to do bigger things because their
aagya chakra and heart chakra are more active.
After this, there is heart chakra, related to love and feelings. This is more healthy and active
in females, as they hold more love and feelings, as compared to men. So even in spirituality,
when the journey is of love, the focus is that everyones heart chakra should be activated.
When the journey is of love and surrender, then the females can relate to it easily. Men
dont understand why women cry out of love. The fools dont know that depth in life,
meaning in life comes from the heart, not from the mind. But even to understand this, the
male uses his mind.
Next is Vishuddh chakra, the chakra of knowledge. This is more active in males. He is
capable of holding discussions on why can we see different form of God if God is actually
omni-present and formless? Adwait means not two, just one. What is the significance of
this? And the male can think so much about spirituality, he can collect so much knowledge
that one day he will conclude that he has found the God particle. He will discuss quantum
physics, about atoms and particles smaller than even an atom. He will conclude that these
small particles while travelling, pass through a hole and get accumulated at a place, and this
is God. This is sheer knowledge, and despite knowing all this, the theory of quantum physics,
no transformation takes place in life. His story remains the same - full of jealousy, miseries,
irritation, and frustration. He knows he has found God particle. So gyaan or Vishuddh
chakra is more active in males, generally. So its different for everybody. When I said that
the navel chakra is weaker in a female, some might be thinking that it is not true for them.
But most females are so scared of even a cockroach that they scream like they have
witnessed a murder. Then aagya chakra is more active in a female, willpower is more
active comparatively. Thats why a female, despite having abundant opportunities around,
can resist herself. And the man, despite having no opportunity around, is always available,
because his aagya chakrais weak. He has no control, no willpower, comparatively and this
is not the ultimate truth. Exceptions are always there.
Then the seventh chakra is of sakshi, witnessing consciousness, Sankhya, that is more
active in males. Females talks about surrender, about whole. Male will talk about sakshi
(witnessing) and shunya (nothingness). So these are the chakras. Having said that, all of
them are not very active. A balance is needed. So to cultivate willpower, we need to work
on manipur chakra and aagya chakra. Because if one is fearful, then the person will not
take any determined decisions. Use of willpower will be right if decisions are not made out
of fear. So a balance between the two is required. For this, there are techniques that work
on both these chakras. Dasam Dwaar, Raj yog and many other techniques work on both
thesechakras. These are suggestive techniques in which you give self-suggestions, and are
related to aagyachakra. And for navel chakra, Brahma breathing and Kundalini techniques
are there. These are some techniques that help strengthen our willpower.

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Lastly, your determination should be positive because if it is not then the willpower would
be used incorrectly. For your own sake, use this power correctly. And how would you judge
whether our determination is right or not? Simple, if it takes you towards bliss, happiness,
peace, then it is positive. And if it takes you towards the lower realm, towards anger,
frustration, then it is negative. You can take a decision to take revenge on someone. But its
not loving, its not positive. Take decisions that are beautiful, positive, compassionate, those
that make life beautiful. Be proactive. If someone makes enemies with you, then say I will
make sure love awakens within you. But not so quick, start with small. A positive
determination will bring bliss, peace, and love in life. Dont let your energy go waste; use
your energy in something meaningful.
So these are some ways to awaken willpower within, and they are easy as well. The first
thing I said that when you see some big task, it looks difficult. But to reach that stage, the
path is easy. Like you see a temple at the top of a hill, but there are stairs. The speed
depends on every individual and so does the strength and capability, but reaching there is
not difficult. If stairs are not there and you have to make your own way through, then it is
difficult and arduous. But what I told you is simple. All you need is a beginning; and that is
the only tough thing in this process.
Bhagwaan Mahavir says, one who has started has already reached. Because beginning and
the destination are two ends of the same event. They are a part of one event so the
question is only of the beginning. If you have started then you will reach. So walk, whatever
you have learnt must come into practice as well.
Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.

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Importance of Focus in Life

Yesterday we talked about Willpower. Further to this, would like to share my understanding about a
few more points. Human being has many possibilities, a lot of potential. For example, when a kid is
small, his parents want him to become a doctor, an engineer, a good person, a musician, a scientist,
a lawyer or a charted accountant depending on their situation. That indicates that the child has the
potential to take up one of these careers. We cannot deny the possibility. Same way, all of us have a
lot of possibilities. But it is not possible to actualise all of these possibilities. You would either try to
become a doctor or an engineer. Its not like you would study to become a doctor and also study law
on the side. That way you would neither be able to become a doctor nor a lawyer or worse, you
will make a very bad doctor or a very bad lawyer. As they say A rolling stone gathers no moss. The
person who runs here and there in every direction will actually reach nowhere.
Apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain,
Rukh hawaon ka jidhar ka hai udhar ke hum hain
(My path and my journey are not my decision. I just go where the flow of the wind takes me)
Like you have no choice, no decision of your own. You just get carried away with the flow of the
wind. People have started changing their mind like the fashion changes. The person that is
unfocussed cannot achieve anything meaningful.
Meri karamaat-e-zindagi nakaam hasraton ke siwa kuch bhi nahi,
Mujhe mila nahi usse mil gaya, ye kiya nahi who hua nahi
(My magical life is nothing but a compilation of failed desires. I couldnt achieve what he did,
because some things I couldnt do and some I didnt do)
So if you are not focussed, this is what life will turn out to be. When you look back at your life, youd
think:
Kaise beeti ye zindagani na poochiye,
Ye haadsa mere zubaani na poochiye
(Dont ask how I spent my life. At least dont make me talk about this tragedy)
But even if we have the willpower, we do not walk the right path. Ill share a small story. Once upon
a time someone decided to dig a well for water. After digging for a while, he changed his mind and
started digging in another place. He changed his mind again and changed the place once again, and
then once again. A wise man then told him that if he would have spent his time and energy digging
the first place deeper, he would have found water by now. So, an unfocussed life which is based on
the direction of the wind will not take you anywhere. However, even if you have willpower but with
no focus in life, you will still not get anywhere. That is why there is a need to be focussed. Only
willpower will not help. According to me, financial independence is most important to be focussed in
life. This is basic. There is no question on this. Because we have our basic needs food, home,
clothes, etc. Males as well as females need to be financially independent because it is non-dignified
to be dependent on someone else. If two people mutually decide that one will earn and the other
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will look after the house it is alright. But in that case what matters is whether the financial provider
gives equal respect to the other for taking care of the house or not. The financial provider should not
start ruling the homemaker. That is what matters. Encourage your kids to be financially independent
sons and daughters alike. But financial independence and ambition are not synonyms. Dont forget
we need money and funds for life. Our life is not for money and funds. Dont forget you need money
to live life comfortably. Dont seek money because it brings power. Dont put money on the highest
pedestal because then, youd end up on an ego trip. You just need funds to lead a comfortable life
and also some savings to keep going in case youre not able to work for some time. Your purpose
shouldnt be to show-off that you have more. No comparison at all. That is not required and it is
better not to be on that level.
In order to make your life comfortable, is there a need to make other people look small? Where is
the need for competition? I love luxury. There is no problem in having comforts and luxury but for
our own comfort, for our own happiness, not to show-off. No competition, no ambition - just a
simple target. This is very basic, hence one need to be focussed towards it. One should not take it for
granted. If you want a good life, if you want a life with dignity, you have to earn it; you have to do
something about it. Other than that, what should you focus on? As per my understanding, you
should focus on two things: the first one being financial independence and the second that which
makes life worth living. Being spiritual is what makes life worth living. And when I say being spiritual,
dont get me wrong. I am not at all against worldly pleasures. No! I mean we keep on trying to
remove misery from life. Someone asked Lord Buddha - What is enlightenment? He responded, it is
the end of misery. So if you are pursuing the right path towards the end of misery, it means you are
spiritual. What is the right path? Obviously the right path is not the path which has been given by the
society because the society is not happy at all. You can see for yourself. Despite having all the
luxuries and comforts, people are not happy. They are frustrated. Theyre full of anger and
frustration. They have an endless list of impossible targets. They want to be powerful, they want to
control others. And as a result, there is frustration. They want to be at the top of the society, to be
the richest of all - but there is always someone else who will be ahead of them. That brings
frustration. That is why the sooner you see the pointlessness of this race, the better for you.
Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye toh kya hai?
(Even if you do win the world, what does it matter?)
What will happen if you become the biggest politician or the most powerful industrialist? In my
understanding, you must have a direction which leads you towards peace and eliminates misery
from your life. That needs to be our next focus. And especially you people - you already have the
path. You just need to focus on this path. Ordinary people with willpower with either focus on
something that has the capacity to bring happiness or sadness. Not everyone has the path and the
direction to move towards the end of suffering. So ordinarily, some people focus on being a
millionaire, some focus on becoming the prime minister, some can even focus on defeating someone
or to murder someone. There are many dimensions. But if someone thinks maturely or becomes
more human, he might be more sensitive towards other people and their suffering. They say that an
animal can also feel its own pain, but a real human being is someone who can feel others pain. We
call it compassion. Some people can have their focus on these things too. For example someone
focuses on ending corruption or to teach poor kids, or someone focuses on women empowerment.
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Someone can focus on rape victims, or on stray dogs. This is all beautiful, full of compassion. And
there is nothing wrong if you do something good for the society, for living beings in need. But you
will need to understand some basic things. If you dig deeper into the root cause of a problem, you
will find that some person is wrong. Basically most of the human race is wrong. Human beings are
scared and out of fear comes greed, etc. Fear, greed etc. are some diseases that need to be cured.
Until these are cured, these problems will not be solved permanently. Only the intensity will change.
Its like if you stuff a bag with wheat grains and close the mouth of the bag, the grains will find other
outlets to come out of the bag. The bag is over stuffed so the grains make their way by finding other
outlets. Similarly, when a law is implemented, it infuses fear in people. Just imagine what will
happen if you hear an announcement that today is no-law festival and you are free to do whatever
you want. Thank God this kind of stuff doesnt happen for real because I would have been killed by
now. So the lawless situation will be extremely chaotic. This is what humanity works. People are
stuck; they feel helpless because of the law. If there is no law, nobody will survive. Situations like
these create a lot of chaos and confusion. People might masquerade their fights in the name of
religion but they would have fought anyway. Religion, or no religion. Human being from inside is
diseased. He needs to be treated. Thats why they say power corrupts. It isnt power that brings
corruption. Corruption always existed; it was always there. Power only makes it possible to exhibit
corruption. What does spirituality say? When I talk about spirituality, I talk about saints whove
attained to the truth Nanak, Buddha, Mahavir; not the so-called saints today. Saints who have
attained to the real truth agree that charity will not help. They know that in order to change the
world, you will first need to change yourself. And when you change, the world changes too. That is
why it is very important that the transformation happens at a grass root level; on an individual level.
Spirituality works on grass-root level. It works on the change within. Even though we know greed
brings nothing but misery, we are not able to change old habits.
All saints have taken up this extremely difficult task of spreading meditation. How will a seeker who
meditates ever be violent? If he is committed to meditation, he cannot afford to be violent. He will
identify the hell in violence, in anger. If he does get angry, he will become more committed towards
meditation to get rid of anger and madness. He will be willing to grow. In my understanding, people
who understand the worth of this path should divert all their focus towards it. Changing yourself is
the first step! Work on yourself. Meditate. Be watchful towards every thought. Give labels to your
thoughts. You will see that if you give label to every thought with greed, ambition, anger,
expectations, possession, you will understand yourself, you will know yourself better. Then you can
work on it. You will know that these things bring misery and youve chosen the path to eliminate
misery from life. But I will again like to remind you again of financial independence. I have already
talked about comfort and luxury. It is a misconception that having all the comfort and luxury will
make you happy. Havent you met people who already possess all the comfort and luxury you desire
for? You will find these people to be even more frustrated because they know there is nothing left
for them to desire they already have everything and are still not happy. Thats why depression
(also known as Raj Rog) is so common. They have what they wanted; they can buy what they wish.
That causes frustration. So if you have the path that brings real contentment, focus on it. Not for the
entire society. Society is just a term. All transformation happens on an individual level. You
Meditate, love yourself and if you have other people in your life, help them with this ultimate
medicine as well. This is the focus. And let the other person also get the taste of this path. Its just
like henna. If you paint other peoples hands, your hands will get coloured too. All the old saints
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have encourages their disciples to spread their message. To share, also known as Seva is also a
technique in itself which brings results. The one who starts spreading the message first has to live
the message. Its difficult to spread without having tasting it. When you tell others that meditation
eliminates anger, other people will always keep a watch on you to check if you still have traces of
anger within you. You will be ashamed if you are still angry so you will be more aware and watchful
of your thoughts. So you will have to change. Changing yourself is the real religion. Trying to change
others is politics. You will notice that people who try to change the society end up getting corrupted
themselves. Because at the root level, there are many diseases present in their own selves. Thats
because there are no roots of meditation within. We need to be focussed. Let me sum up We first
need to focus on our basic financial needs. After that, as we are spiritual people, so the focus should
be on the spiritual path. On the spiritual path also, its important that you choose one path at a time.
90 out of 100 paths of spirituality are false or take you to wrong directions. It is a spiritual industry.
Be focused. At one time, only focus on one path and trust me, more than the path, the person who
is on the path is of utmost importance. If the person is right, wrong paths can also lead to the
ultimate path. And if the person is wrong, the right paths will also lead nowhere. Everything depends
on the person. There can be two things either you are not able to understand or the path itself is
wrong. The person who has the commitment to reach the right path will somehow manage to take
that path. Sometimes when you leave your house for a destination and you dont know the way, you
still manage to reach the destination. Even if you take the longer route, you reach the destination.
So, to be focussed is the ultimate rule. If you ask someone to direct you towards your destination
and he tells you 4 different ways to get there, what will you do? Will you look for a person who tells
you that this one path is the best? You can also choose to walk all the paths for a while. This is called
spiritual entertainment, which will lead nowhere. Spirituality is not entertainment. I have made it
simple for you all, enjoy troubles while singing, dancing and laughing. Its difficult to change within
but I have made it simple for you. So it is important to know that having too many paths is wrong.
If you find two paths that lead to the same destination, choose one. I recall an episode Lord Buddha
& Lord Mahavir happened to stay in the same dharamshala once. They were spreading the message
of spirituality to different people at the same time. But neither Lord Buddha nor Lord Mahavir spoke
with the other. They were following their own path. It must have happened that people must have
asked questions one about the teachings of the other. You tell me, will Lord Mahavir ever say that
my oath is also right and the other path is also right? If he said this, then it means that he doesnt
have compassion. Because they had compassion, they know that if they say so, then you will attend
different session in the morning and different one in the evening. If you find more than one paths,
know that it is the Masters compassion if you are told that the other path is wrong. Dont forget,
people reach nowhere if theyre told all the paths are right. Somewhere down the line, they will find
something or the other wrong in all the paths. The best way is to follow your heart and follow one
path. If your life doesnt change, then choose the other path. But at the same time, following more
than one path is like wasting your precious time. You wont get such opportunities again and again in
life. Thats why, be responsible for your own life. Focus on the path of spirituality. Only then you can
reach the ultimate destination. Dont be a rolling stone, be focussed, only then you will gather the
moss.

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Rational Animal
First of all, let us understand the human being, and how he works. Why is human being
called a human being? Because he has a mind. Because he has a mind, hes called rational.
But I would like to dig a little deeper. I want you think about it a little deeply; are human
beings really rational? If an animal feels impulsive for a desire, he takes an action to fulfil the
desire. Correct? And when a human being feels impulsive for a desire, he starts to
rationalize. And with continuous rationalization, he moves towards action. So, if you try to
understand the difference between human beings and animals, it may seem apparent that a
man thinks, understands, and proceeds to do what looks rational, logical, right. On the other
hand, when the animal feels like doing something, he just jumps into it. But does a man
really think and understand before jumping into an action? Or is the case opposite where
man starts to look for reasons to justify what he wants to do. It is fake rationalization. A
crafted, diplomatic way of proving oneself right. So, desire comes first, rationalization comes
later. This is a trick of mind. We have to be aware of it. Whenever you justify something,
first just ask yourself are you taking the decision because something feels right, or you are
justifying your desire? Profanity usually comes covered in the veil of purity. In the name of
purity, profanity rises. A person steals, becomes violent and kills too and he has got his own
reasons. He never says Im a violent person, he always says the other person was bad, thats
why I killed him. Otherwise it is difficult for a thief to steal or a murderer to kill. Justification!
But justification comes later; after the action. The point is that your mind can justify
anything. You can use all the good and fancy names. You want to be a vagabond, you start
calling it freedom and space. Good, appealing names!
Ive seen it numerous times that if you tell a non-vegetarian about the fact that youre a
vegetarian, he starts getting defensive. He will give you thousands of reasons like - if I stop
eating chicken, how will the ecological balance be maintained? This is for ecological balance.
Just ask them what else are they doing in life to maintain this balance? So, firstly they are
consuming non-veg, they like it, but now they are even justifying it. Justification comes later,
to satisfy that Im not a violent person. Im not insensitive. Im doing the bigger task of
global balancing. You see the trick of the mind? Be aware of this. If youre cultivating
willpower, you will go against some of your desires to do what is right. But the mind will
play a trick here and will convince you that you are giving in to the desires because theyre
more important. The mind will give you justifications to give in to the desires. That is why
awareness is needed. Sit down when youre peaceful, when theres no urge for the desire,
and then introspect. You will find a lot of things in retrospect that were not right, that you
shouldnt have done. There are things you want to move on from. But we lack courage, it is
scary to let go. Were scared of the society, scared of people around, scared of our own self.
Hence the justifications! I saw someone fasting during Navaratras. I told her, its been a year
youve been coming here and then also, youre fasting in Navaratras! Actually, fasting is a
technique to cultivate willpower. That you can understand because when I shared
techniques for willpower, fasting was one of them. But fasting otherwise has no connection
to spirituality. When you are in a deep meditative state, you will automatically not feel
hungry, that is fasting. But that comes naturally; its spontaneous. This fasting is enforced.
Enforced fasting is good for cultivating willpower. But nobody fasts for that. People do it for
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blind faith. They are scared that if they stop fasting, it might bring misfortune. They lack the
courage to stop.
This is funny. People go to temples and worship deities, and meditate as well. Who knows,
what might work? What if meditation doesnt work, at least they will have a back-up in the
name of religion. What if going to the temple and seeking blessings actually works? What if
these Gods from the temple come to take my soul with them when I die? Why take risk?
Fear and lack of courage brings justification to a mans mind. He will look for justifications
from anywhere and start presenting them. Oh! We fast during Navaratras because it is the
time of full-moon and we have heard that during full-moon, we feel impulsive! So, to reduce
impulses, we should fast! Now, youve brought a scientific reasoning; but full moon is there
is the sky apart from Navaratras too. And dont you feel impulsive when theres no full
moon? So, fear is there at the outset, there is lack of courage for letting go of some things
and thats why you reason so much. I call such people Modern Orthodox. Modern
Orthodox will have reasons for everything. A little bit of Google is all that they need! They
will find reasons for everything. So, justifications are found even for superstitions and rituals
that they have been practising for long. Just a small question to them did you start
practicing these superstitions because of the reasons, or you found out the reasons for your
rituals later so that you could justify them?
Heres the point - human being is actually not a rational animal, hes irrational. He does
what he wants to do and finds the logic to justify it later. Animal is much more free in this
sense, he wants to do something, he goes ahead with it. When man feels like doing
something, he brings logic. That is the reason most people find it easy to follow scriptures.
They cant walk with a living Sadguru even for two days. Because scriptures give you the
freedom to search whatever you want to. You can justify your actions through scriptures.
You can justify anything. You know very well that beautiful and divine books are being used
to do the ugliest things. Innocent people are being killed; and all this is being justified
through holy books. So, justification can be picked from the books. That is why; the real
religion exists only with a living Sadguru; a living Master. Everything else is just spiritual
industry.
So, rise above, have willpower and use it the right way. Im simply telling you to be aware of
your mind. Be aware of its justifications. It would be great if we actually know something to
be right and then we go for it. Im not against desires because you will have them; we live in
the world. There are so many things that can make you happy, that can give you pleasure,
but it should be your decision, and then you are the master. Decide which desires are worth
giving in to. When you know that you should not go on a particular path, then be aware,
mind may bring some fake rationalization to convince you to do it.
So, friends! This was the whole journey to reach the peak of willpower. First, we understood that we
need to know our true self, then we came to know how to walk the path, and then we learnt about
distractions that might affect your journey. Even a little trick can destroy an entire journey. Now
start walking. All the best!

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Surrender The Ultimate Willpower

In the ancient time, saint Manu gave the caste system to the society. In the caste system,
the hierarchy consisted of Shudra, Vaishya,Kshtriya and Brahaman in this order. I also
present a hierarchy to you. I will use the same terms Shudra, Vaishya, Kshtriya and
Brahaman but they bear no relation to the old caste system. For me, it denotes state of a
human being. The level at at which a human being is leading his life defines whether hes a
shudra, Vaishya, Kshtriya or Brahaman. Since this has no similarity to the old caste system,
it is quite possible for a Brahman to give birth to a shudra, vaishya or khsatriya. The one
whose life is governed by his desires, lust, impulses, and excitement, someone who has no
control over himself, no willpower; that person is Shudra in my definition.
Moving ahead, the one who has reached the pinnacle of willpower and has achieved the
highest level of determination, which is called Surrender, is a Brahman. Surrender is the
ultimate willpower: when you give yourself at the feet of the highest, God. In symbolism, we
offer a coconut at Gods feet. It is symbolic of giving away your mind, your ego, your own
self at Gods feet. The one who has achieved the height wherein he surrenders himself to a
point that he no longer exists, is a Brahman. He belongs to the Brahman category
because when he surrendered himself, only Brahm remained. That is why Brahman.
Another category of people who are practising this willpower, trying to cultivate it, are
seekers. Those trying to achieve this state are Kshtriyas. The category between Shudra
and Kshtriya is Vaishya. Vaishya though is guided by his impulses right now,
understands his state, and trying to walk on the path. His determination is weak. He might
deceive himself anytime. How? Through logic, his mind may trick him, he may have
justifications. He is in the lukewarm state right now. He wants to leave the path yet wants to
go ahead. He wants to grow on the path but is yet to gather commitment and sincerity. So,
right now hes on the path but the moment he faces a little challenge, he shifts to the other
side. Similar to doing business, Vaishya goes to the side he sees gains. So, we can think of
these four categories in this manner.
This is how I classify people in this world. Shudra is neck-deep in his desires, moods and
impulses. Vaishya, who is beginning to wake up, sometimes he walks the path, sometimes
he leaves. Sometimes hes this side, sometimes that side. Sometimes hes asleep,
sometimes hes lost. Then there is the Kshtriya, the one who has realized; and a
commitment has taken birth inside him. He has started to practice. He has started to judge
himself. He now points finger at himself. He has started to find his mistakes and grow and
learn though them. Hes a seeker. And then the highest level Brahman, the one who
surrendered himself at the feet of the God. First, he gave birth to himself because at the
Shudras level, only reactions and desires exist, the person doesnt. Shudra is like the rider
who has the horses reins in his hands but is totally intoxicated in marijuana-ganja. Hes lost
and has absolutely no idea of where the horse is taking him.
The one who awakens talks about the soul, which means I doesnt exist. So, even if you
want to surrender yourself to God, self doesnt exist. And you talk about giving yourself to
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God? So, what will you give? A handful of desires, impulses, and expectations? You dont
even exist. Who will surrender? Think about the person who is tied in the horses chariot,
what will he surrender? He doesnt exist; hes totally unconscious and lost. Brahman is the
one who first gave birth to himself and then did the most difficult; he surrendered his own
existence. It would have been easier if someone else had to do it for him.
Spirituality becomes difficult since the journey starts from the mind. We give birth to the
mind, understand how it works, mind makes us see the need for the path, mind makes us
impulsive to walk, mind also makes us go astray.
Man hi le jaata mandir hai,
Man hi le jaata madhushaala

(Mind takes us to the temple, mind takes us to the drinking bar).

So, the mind starts to take birth and mind itself tells us that you have to go beyond mind.
Mind tells us to meditate. Mind tells us to bring commitment. So, it is the mind that tells us
to go beyond it. So, to let go ones existence is a challenge. What can be a bigger challenge
than to wipe oneself out, by oneself? That is why surrender is the highest willpower. It is not
for the weak. We think that it is for the weak to surrender. Anyone may bow down his head
like the way we teach kids to bow head before God. And then he gets used to bowing down
his head, but is this bowing down anywhere close to surrender? No. Surrender is neither a
habit nor a weakness. There are some weak people who are ready to bow down their heads
in surrender but their surrender doesnt have any dignity.
If you look around, people bow down in temples etc. But do they surrender? They dont.
Because they have already surrendered to their desires. When they bow down, they only
beg for their wishes to be fulfilled. Is it surrender to God or to their own desires? So,
according to the hierarchy that I spoke about, these people are Shudras, who are just
begging and telling God what all they want from him and what all God needs to do for them.
They are giving God a list of things to do. Look at it deeply. It is not surrender. It is surrender
to the desires. If you surrender to God, then who are you to tell him what should he do?
Who are you to tell God he shouldnt have done this, and should have done something else?
Surrender is not for weaklings, surrender is for powerful people. That is why I said it is
ultimate. Begin with willpower; give birth to yourself and then surrender. Surrender is
ultimate.
Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.

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