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Gurudev Sivanandaji used to say that we should watch our thoughts because they create habits. Once you develop a habit, it becomes your character. And then your character becomes your destiny. So, it all originates with your thinking.
That is why it is so important to develop the right thoughts. As the right thoughts become strong, the wrong thoughts will go away. You don’t have to worry about the old grease. It’s like a lube job for your car: inject fresh, new grease and the old grease is pushed out. You can develop a habit in doing that.
You can start to practice this with small things. By that, slowly, you develop willpower. When you develop enough willpower, nothing becomes impossible for you. You can achieve anything you want. But even though you can achieve anything you want, where is the guarantee that what you want is right for you? That is why the scriptures say to leave it to God: “God, I’m putting it in Your hands.”
Your trust in God, your faith in God, can make you strong and transform your life as you wish. Nothing is impossible. For those who don’t like the word “God,” it doesn’t matter. Even without thinking of God, if you want to do it with your own mind, you work with the mind and make your mind your servant, instead of becoming a slave to your mind.
Mostly, we are habituated to do whatever the mind wants us to do. You can slowly change that. Pick up something the mind wants to do and say: “No, I’m not going to do that now. I want to do it another way, something different.” And if you are able to do that, you are developing good discipline over your mind. If you can have control over little things, then you can develop the willpower needed to do bigger things. Once you become the total master of your own mind, nothing is impossible for you to achieve in this world.
I always say that the greatest victory ever won over anything is the victory over your own mind. That’s what Yoga is all about. You begin with small things. Begin with the body by learning to work with it. The Yoga poses help you gain mastery over the body. Next, we work with the breath and regulate it through pranayama, yogic breathing. The next step is pratyahara, disciplining the senses. Your eyes should see what you choose to see—not simply whatever your eyes fall upon. Your tongue should taste what you decide to taste, not whatever it craves. So, gradually, you can gain control over the senses.
Begin with the body, then the breath, then the senses: asana, pranayama, pratyahara. Next comes dharana—making the mind one-pointed—and then stabilizing that one-pointed mind. That is what you call meditation, or dhyana. See how gradually it progresses? I love that order: asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana. And then once you have balanced your mind by proper meditation, you rest in the peace of your true nature: samadhi. This is the supreme peace—the peace that passes all understanding.
