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Śrī Śrīdeva Puruṣa Mahādeva Kī Jai. Dharma Samrāṭ Paramahaṁsī Svāmī Madhavānanda Purījī Mahārāja Kī Jai. Viśva Guru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṁsī Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Purījī Satguru Deva Kī Jai. Hari Om. We are beginning some short daily lectures. I do not know for how long—until Swāmījī recommences webcasting—but let us see. Today, I was reading about an American man, Mr. Deming, whom some of you may know. He worked in Japan after the Second World War. He is a fascinating person, and reflecting on him set my mind in motion. I had read about him before, but today I felt compelled to revisit his story. He arrived just after the war when the Japanese economy was in disarray. Their manufacturing sector produced goods of very poor quality; they could not reliably make anything that functioned. This was frustrating even for the Americans present, which is ironic given what we now associate with Japan: supreme quality. Mr. Deming was originally there to conduct a census, being a statistician, but he was also deeply knowledgeable about industry. He began lecturing on the concept of quality—the principle that in industry, producing something of excellence is more important than profit. The true sign of a good company is that it creates something special. Japan was not renowned for this at the time. Yet, as we know, over the years Japanese production became synonymous with quality. It was a complete transformation. To this day, the highest industrial award in Japan is not for the best profit or the largest gains, but for creating the best quality product of the year. That award is named after Mr. Deming. He was not widely recognized in America until decades later, when the Ford company sought to understand Toyota's success and enlisted his advice. This entire concept of quality resonates profoundly with our sādhanā. Improving our practice is not merely a matter of investing more time—though that may help—but about the quality of the time we spend with ourselves. It is about the quality of every āsana we perform, the quality of our prāṇāyāma: whether we are completely in that moment and fully aware of what we are doing. There are so many practices in yoga, and we can all become stuck. We have all been stuck at different stages, trying this and that, thinking, "This will help me, that will help me." We end up doing many things but not one thing well. This is what Mr. Deming emphasized: take one thing and do it perfectly. Success follows from that. Within the system Swāmījī has given us, there are eight parts. I have practiced the same one for about six years and still do not consider myself very good at it, because it has so many phases. Physically, you can do the āsana—that is good. Then you can coordinate it with your breathing—that is another level. But mentally, to enter into that āsana, to become one with it, to sustain that unity mentally and physically over time—such a practice requires immense quality. That is the kind of quality we must strive to bring to each practice. Another inspiring aspect of this story, which I return to often, is that when he first presented these ideas, Japanese industry was not oriented that way. It was not their prevailing mindset. Yet they changed. The entire industrial culture transformed. They understood the principle and implemented it. Tremendous economic success, employment, and production followed. I am not particularly interested in building a good factory, but this story inspires me to think: if they could so profoundly change their culture of production, then we too can change our internal culture towards our practice. We can bring that quality within and observe the results it yields. I also reflected today on a small question posed to me ten years ago by Govind Purī, in Gurujī's presence. He asked, "If Gurujī asked you what you want and offered to grant that blessing right now, would you know what to ask for? Do you know what blessing you would request?" That question has circled in my mind because, in truth, I did not know. If you do not know your answer in such a moment, then what is the direction of your practice? We must find the answer to that question. We must ask it of ourselves. Consider the design of the Om Āśram. It is entirely conceived around a central concept, a direction given by Swāmījī—the shape of the building and its intended purpose. Yogīṣṭhī then applied his design principles to that vision. It is not a matter of haphazardly adding elements from here and there each day, with every room designed differently. There is an overarching direction, which brings harmony and structure to the whole. Similarly, the entire structure of our practice, the very basis from which we draw energy, is to know what we want from it. We must know why we are doing yoga. This is not about worldly desire or attachment, but about having a clear direction. This direction almost purifies your practice, because it leads you to evaluate: "No, why should I do that? That does not align with where I want to go. That is not what I am seeking." With a clear direction, you begin to seek out the practices that can take you there. When the āśram plans were ready, the search began for the correct materials to build it and for solutions to the structural problems. Kriyā Śaktījī began the RCC design, but you cannot do that until the plan exists, until the direction and basic concept are firmly in place. I find it very tricky, personally, not to get stuck merely doing practices because I think, "Oh, that might be nice; I will try that, and then that." In doing so, you are just constructing random structures without contemplating the purpose of your practice. This decreases the quality and reduces the efficiency of your sādhanā. We all know our time is limited. We have time to practice, but we do not have time to waste on our practice. From every moment we have—and from every moment we have with Swāmījī—we must strive to extract the utmost possible value, to imbue it with the highest possible quality. Reflect on this. I constantly return to that question: If Swāmījī asked me today what blessing I desire, would I know? Could I answer immediately? Once you have the answer, consider this: If a person thinks, "I want a million dollars," they do not simply keep buying lottery tickets, thinking, "One day it will come." There are two approaches. One is that lazy way. The other is to actively work towards that goal. If you desire a certain blessing from Swāmījī, one way is to wait and think, "One day he will give it to me." The other way is to work towards it, thinking, "Perhaps I can attain it before he has to give it to me." In reality, the blessing he ultimately gives is to reveal something that is already within you. So we can try to take what he gives us, practice diligently, and reveal that truth ourselves first. Or we can wait until he must remind us and grant that blessing. Perhaps if we discover it first, we can then think of something else to ask for. Om Bhole Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai. Śrī Śrī Deva Puruṣa Mahādeva Kī Jai. Dharma Samrāṭ Paramahaṁsa Śrī Svāmī Madhavānanda Purījī Mahārāja Kī Jai. Viśva Guru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Paramahaṁsa Śrī Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Purījī Satguru Deva Kī Jai. Bhajan: Om Bhole Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai. Śrī Satguru Deva Kī Jai. Cetanaka Chilaka Svāmīne, Nikhelariyā Deva Pariṣaṇe Upare Sambhājanā Kade Karake Chedariyāre Vapurīṣaṇe Deva Pāka Paṇḍata, Deva Pāka Paṇḍata Mika, Deva Pāka Paṇḍata Mika... Sunatatariyadevurishachariyadevakushakachilakasvariyadevurichetanakasvariyatanakachilakachetanakachilakasvajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanakadeshavajanak.