Last night I spoke about what yoga is in the realms of physicality, intellectuality and spirituality. Now, this all-pervading spirit of yoga is controlled by three fundamental factors. The yogic approach is all-pervading. Yoga covers everything, anything and everything. But this yoga, this movement of yoga, this progress of yoga, is based on three fundamental factors. What are those fundamental factors? They are prańipáta, pariprashna and sevá. The great yogi Krśńa said about 3500 years ago: Prańipátena pariprashnena sevayá [“By surrender, spiritual questioning, and servicefulness”].

First let us see what the import of sevá is. The root meaning, or the rudimental meaning, of the term sevá is “service”. But service in the field of yoga is not the same as in the commercial sphere. In the commercial sphere sevá means mutual exchange. Give some money, take some article – it is something mutual. You are giving something and you are receiving something. The shopkeepers give you some article, and receive money in exchange. You give money, and receive some article in exchange. So this sort of service is mutual. But in the field of spirituality sevá is not mutual. It is unilateral. You are giving everything to Parama Puruśa, and in return you are taking nothing.

But you know, when you give everything to Him, even your very existence, then what happens? You become one with Parama Puruśa. So when you give Him everything, in exchange you get Parama Puruśa, you get the Lord. Here you are not the loser. You are the winner of everything.

This is the proper import of the term sevá. It is unilateral, and not mutual.

Another factor is pariprashna. Prashna means “question”. The English term “question” comes from the root verb “quest”. “Quest” means “to search for”. You are in search of a reply, you are questing. “Quest” means “to search for”, and the noun of “quest” is “quest” plus the suffix “ion” – “question”. It means “searching”. But here the term is pariprashna, not prashna. Prashna means “question”. Pariprashna means questions concerned with your spiritual practice. You want to know from the ácárya how to practise ásanas [postures], how to withdraw the mind from physical objects and goad it unto Parama Puruśa. You are to learn so many things for the purpose of practising the same – not for the sake of knowing, but for the sake of practice. When something is placed before a scholar or a teacher for the purpose of doing something, for the purpose of doing according to the reply, then that particular nature of question is called pariprashna.

So for a spiritual aspirant the first factor is that he should be engaged in sevá, that is, service, unilateral service. And the second thing is that he should not waste his valuable time in idle questioning, that is, questions that bear no fruit. Your questions should be pariprashna – you are placing the questions just to know something in order to do accordingly.

What is the third item? The third item is prańipáta. Prańipáta means complete surrender at the altar of the Almighty. Now, this complete surrender, complete self-sacrifice, is to be done. But how? What is the secret? All human egos, all egoistic expressions, are based on the vanity moving around the self, moving around the “I” feeling, the first expression of existence. “I am” is the base, is the fundament, of all egos and all vanities. You know, when a man learns much or earns much, his ego, his vanity, gets puffed up. The man gets puffed up with vanity, and under such circumstances he becomes so conscious of his little existence that it becomes very difficult for him to surrender before the Supreme. What to speak of surrender, even if a logical theory is placed before him, he does not like to accept it. He thinks that if he accepts that theory, if he accepts that veracity, it will be humiliating for him. This sort of psychology misguides him under such circumstances. How to surrender? This can be done internally with the help of dhyána [meditation in which the psyche is directed towards Consciousness], and externally by ascribing Godhood to all external entities.

While helping the poor people your vanity may increase. You may think: “I have done this, I have done that. I am not an ordinary man.” This is a psychic disease. Actually, vanity is a psychic disease, a psychic ailment. But if, while helping a man, a poor man, or a diseased person, you ascribe Godhood to him, that is, if you think, “I am not helping a man, I am helping God in human structure,” then vanity will not be encouraged. What will be the reaction within the person? “This body, this mind, this wealth has been given to me by Parama Puruśa, and Parama Puruśa has come before me, God has come before me, as a suffering person, and I am paying back that thing to Him. That is, the actual owner of this body, the actual owner of this mind is He, and His wealth I am paying back to Him.” So there will be no vanity.

And I said that the internal process is meditation. In meditation, Parama Puruśa becomes your object and you become the subject. You become the seer and He becomes the seen. But the inner spirit of meditation is that while looking at Him internally with your inner eye, you should think: “I am not meditating on Him nor am I seeing Him mentally. What is actually happening is that He is seeing me; that is, I am the object and He is the subject. He sees whatever I do, He sees whatever I think, so I am His object and He is my subject.” This idea helps in freeing oneself from the serpentine noose of ego and vanity.

For a devotee you must remember that these are the fundamental factors for spiritual progress – sevá, pariprashna and prańipáta.

The guiding spirit of prańipáta is:

Ratnákarastava grhaḿ grhińii ca padmá;
Deyaḿ kimapi bhavate Puruśottamáya.
Ábhiiravámanayanápahrtamánasáya;
Dattaḿ mana yadupate tvamidaḿ grháńa.

[Your abode is brimming over with gems and jewels. The goddess of fortune is Your housekeeper. What can I offer to You, O Lord? Oh yes, there is one thing You lack, as it has been stolen by Your devotees; it is Your mind. I therefore offer my mind to You. Please accept it.]

“Oh, Lord of the universe, You are the owner of all the wealth of this universe, all the gems and jewels of this universe; so what can I offer at your altar? When You are the owner of everything, what can a poor man like me give You? I cannot give you anything, because You are the owner of everything, and I am the owner of nothing. The second thing is the Cosmic Operative Principle, the mechanical force. All the energies are your servants. Whatever You desire, they will then and there manufacture the same for You, for Your pleasure. That is, all the energies of the universe are Yours. Whatever You desire, then and there, that thing will be prepared. So what can I give you? What can I present? What can I offer just to satisfy You? I cannot give anything. I own nothing.”

Then in the second phase the devotee will think that there is one thing only, one thing, and what is that thing? The thing is that Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Entity, loves His devotees very much. He can do anything and everything for His devotees, and actually He does. Devotees should always be fearless, because Parama Puruśa is always ready to do anything and everything for them. When this small state Israel was created, one man, one Margi, asked me, “Baba, it is such a small state, how can it protect itself?” I said: “You know, for Parama Puruśa there is nothing small or big. If a man has got love for Parama Puruśa, Parama Puruśa will do the needful. The man should only develop love for Him.” And what I said long before has come true, and it will become still more true in the near future. You must remain undaunted, and create a sentiment of love for Parama Puruśa anywhere you go. Now, you should know, remember, that a devotee says: “Oh, Parama Puruśa, You are lacking in a particular object.” What is that object? You boys and you girls, can you say? There is one thing wanting in Parama Puruśa. That is, He loves His devotees very much, and “I am an ordinary devotee, and You have got so many big devotees, and You love Your big devotees very much.” “You love Your devotees very much” means the devotees have taken away Your mind, have stolen Your mind. So, “There is one thing wanting in You, and that thing is mind. Your mind has been taken away by Your devotees. Then, oh, Parama Puruśa, there is a want in You. What is that want? Your mind has been taken away by Your devotees, by Your big devotees. And I am an ordinary devotee. I can do one thing. I offer my mind to You. Please accept it.” It is the concluding factor for a devotee.

[The best devotees say:] “O Supreme Entity, there is one want in You, want of mind, because You love Your devotees very much, and that is why the devotees have taken away Your mind. But You needn’t be in that wanting condition. Fulfil Your entire existence and Your thirst of love for Your entire creation by one thing, by accepting my mind. I am offering it to You, and I want that my mind should satisfy Your demands.” This is the spirit of prańipáta. Prańipátena pariprashnena sevayá – these are the three guiding factors for the spiritual aspirants, for yogis, in all the three strata of human existence.