View source for Summer season, they blaze fire all round and sit down in the midst and meditate. I am giving you some of the examples, how severely they accept tapasya

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[[Category:During Summer Season]]
[[Category:Blazing Fire]]
[[Category:All Around]]
[[Category:Sit Down]]
[[Category:In The Midst Of...]]
[[Category:Meditation]]
[[Category:I Am (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Give]]
[[Category:Some Of]]
[[Category:Example]]
[[Category:Severe]]
[[Category:Accepting Tapasya]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SHARMISTHA]]
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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
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To stand within water in winter, severe cold, is not very comfortable business, but they voluntarily accept it. This is called tapasya. And summer season, they blaze fire all round and sit down in the midst and meditate. I am giving you some of the examples, how severely they accept tapasya.
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[[Vanisource:710725 - Lecture SB 06.01.11 - New York|710725 - Lecture SB 06.01.11 - New York]]
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Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that this material sinful life, we are acting in a way, we are forced to commit some sins, and you are suffering as a resultant action. This is going on. But if you want to stop this business—one suffering and one again becomes victim—then you have to become advanced in knowledge. Karmī-jñānī. Ordinary people, they are karmīs, or fruitive actors. Fruitive actors. They're working whole day and night, and getting some result, enjoying, again suffering, again there is problem. This is going on. They are called karmīs.

So this will not solve the question, problem. He suggests that you have to elevate yourself to the platform of knowledge. How it is done? That is prescribed herein. The first thing is tapasya. The first . . . tapasya means you have to accept some austerity. The same example can be given that the doctor says . . . suppose a diabetic patient.

So doctor prohibits him that, "You cannot eat. You have to starve for some days." So I do not like to starve; nobody likes to starve. But because doctor says you have to starve, if you want to cure a disease, then I have to voluntarily accept, accept starving. This is called tapasya: voluntarily accept some miserable condition of life. That is good. And human life is meant for that purpose.

When Ṛṣabhadeva, the father of Mahārāja Bharata, after whose name this planet is called Bhārata-varṣa . . . the name Bhārata-varṣa is not only the name for India, but it is the name for this planet. Formerly, five thousand years ago, the whole planet was known as Bhārata-varṣa. The Vedic culture was all over the world. These Europeans and Americans, they are coming of the same stock, Indo-Āryan stock.

There is a great history behind this, how some of the kṣatriyas, they left India during the time of Paraśurāma. He declared war against the kṣatriyas and he was incarnation of God. He was killing the kṣatriyas like anything, and some of the kṣatriyas fled from India and came to this part of the world.

So from historical point of view you Europeans and Americans, you belong to the kṣatriya stock of old India, and somehow or other you have forgotten this Vedic culture. Originally you belonged to this Vedic culture. The Vedic culture was all over the world, even in America—different types of worship or concept of God. The Red Indians also had some religion.

So apart from that historical point of view, the Vedic culture prescribes tapasya. Tapasya. Tapasya means voluntarily accept some bodily inconvenience. That is called tapasya. There are many tapasvī undergoing austerity. They meditate in winter in water up to . . . up to the neck, standing within water, meditate.

To stand within water in winter, severe cold, is not very comfortable business, but they voluntarily accept it. This is called tapasya. And summer season, they blaze fire all round and sit down in the midst and meditate. I am giving you some of the examples, how severely they accept tapasya.

So tapasya is required. Without tapasya you cannot make advancement in spiritual life, or life of knowledge. If you simply give away in the animal propensities of life—eating, sleeping, mating and defending—and don't accept the process of tapasya, then your human life is failure. You have to accept some tapasya if you want to make solution of the problems of life. Śukadeva Gosvāmī first recommends tapasya.

Just like here, in our institution, whoever comes and becomes an initiated member, we first of all ask them to undergo tapasya. Tapasya. Especially in your country, it is a great tapasya to give up illicit sex life, to give up intoxication up to the point of smoking and tea drinking, and to give up meat-eating and to give up gambling. Although they're only four, but it is very difficult to give up these four items.

Even Lord Zetland, in England, when he was asked to do this . . . one of my Godbrothers . . . Lord Zetland, Marquis of Zetland, he inquired from my Godbrother, "Swāmījī, whether you can make us brāhmin?" So he said, "Yes, why not? You have to give up these four principles of life, prohibited: no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling and no meat-eating."

The Lord Zetland replied: "Impossible." Yes, it is impossible. Because in Europe and America, this is the way of life from the very beginning. And from India, our Indian gentlemen come here to learn this art, how to do it nicely. And they think it is advancement. India is automatically taught this tapasya by their culture, but they come here to forget that culture and accept another type of life.

But real . . . real fact is if you want to advance in spiritual understanding, if you want to make a solution of all the problems of your life, then you have to accept this life of austerity, tapasya. Restriction. Restriction is meant for human being, not for the animals. Just like in our common dealing, when you drive your car, you have got some restriction.
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