"Yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā." If one serves well, and if our body functions well in the service of God, that is considered appropriate for oneself. Sleeping for only five hours does not apply to everyone. Young children need more sleep, about eight hours. And even eight hours is barely enough. If one is young, it is five to seven hours. If one is elderly, it becomes just five to six hours. So if they sleep for five to six hours, they feel refreshed. Therefore, "yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu yukta-svapnāvabodhasya" means that one's body functions in a completely refreshed state in devotion to God, and one's mind is fully and freshly focused on God; that is what is called appropriate. Then, even if it is more or less, a person can gradually reduce it. Someone's sleep might be of eight hours, so they can reduce it to six hours. That is over a long period; they cannot do it in a single day. And some people get only two or three hours of sleep and then toss and turn in bed at night, so they can increase their sleep. And they can decrease it. They can do that by taking measures, by visiting a doctor, or on their own, they can increase or decrease it. So, if one feels in their mind that they are falling a bit short of time in the service of God, then they can reduce their sleep. And still remain fit. That much sleep becomes sufficient for them. The body gets accustomed; it adapts to it. Shastriji Maharaj used to say that all these wealthy people eat dried fruits, sweets, and spices, and a poor person gets to eat carrots. Yet, this person gets as much nourishment from carrots as the other gets. The nourishment that the other gets from almonds, cashews, and walnuts, this person gets from carrots. The body has its capacity; it extracts everything from whatever is available. It extracts whatever is to be extracted and as much as is needed. And even from the other, it extracts only what is needed, even if it is walnuts, and the rest goes to the toilet. If you put in excess, where else would it go? So that is the nature of the body. Thus, it makes adjustments. If a person feels that their food intake is high and they are not fit, they can reduce it, but not in a single day. If someone feels that their sleep is excessive, they can reduce it, but not in a single day. Therefore, "yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā." For us, appropriate is only that where if we serve God for 24 hours, we do not get tired. Our mind never gets tired, and we never feel bored while performing devotion. We never get tired and never feel bored while serving God. Not feeling bored is the fitness of the inner self, and not getting tired is the fitness of the body. Boredom is a product of the inner self, and tiredness is a physical product. So if we do not get tired at all, then the body is said to be fit. If boredom sets in, the body is often fit, but our mind does not work; the mind wanders elsewhere but does not turn the mālā. What happens then? So, their inner self is not fit. So, the fitness of the inner self is when one never feels bored in devotion to God, in being absorbed in God, but feels joy and pleasure. As one continues, they enjoy it even more; then they are said to be fit from the inner self. What? If we change our activity or service based on the time, then the boredom that was about to set in does not occur. Suppose we are doing a single service continuously, and we know that if it continues at this time, it might lead to some boredom, and we change it, so is that weakness or fitness? It is a weakness of the inner self, but Maharaj said not to stop because of it. Gunatitanand Swami and everyone, Maharaj said to perform varied devotion. If one feels bored in one form of devotion, perform another form of devotion. That is finding a way; it is called managing it. That means we managed our boredom. Real fitness is when one does not get tired at all, even if it is just one activity, they do not get tired. That is when fitness is achieved, because devotion to God is such that one should never feel satiated. Even if only one thing is in hand. When a person gets their favorite subject, do they ever get tired of it? No matter how much overtime they work, they do not get tired. So, it means they have interest. So, that is finding a way. It is sustaining through our boredom, and it is also sustaining the devotion, meaning the devotion continues. There is no problem with that; it is not that it is wrong, one can do that. If one feels bored in one activity, if one feels bored in one type of devotion, then perform the other devotion which is our second choice. And when one feels bored even in the second choice, then perform the third choice. First, do the first choice as much as you can to your heart's content. And then, choose accordingly. There is no problem with that, but it is called a weakness. It is not called fitness. Fitness is when one does not get tired at all. Nanjibhagat used to observe fasts of 30 days each. He was a resident of Gadhada, a parshād of Gopinathji Maharaj. Then, for some time, he had great affection for Swami. So he would observe fasts of 30 days each. Yes. And then at night, he would sit on a large horse and read the Vachanamrut. He would not feel sleepy or doze off. If he dozed off, he would tumble and fall down. He would never feel sleepy at night; while reading the Vachanamrut, he would never feel sleepy at all. So he would not get tired. Our Muljibhagat of Gundasara, he was ill and had a constant temperature. And when some devotee came, young devotees who had great respect for Bhagat, when they came, he would say, "Read this." He would have them read a chapter of Bhaktachintamani or read the Vachanamrut, saying, "Read." And before they started reading, he would say, "Look at my hand, see how much fever I have." And then, after they read for about an hour, the temperature would have gone down. How extraordinary is that? So, the reason for that extraordinariness is his interest. He has such an intense interest; it is not just fitness, it is wellness. That is called wellness, not just fitness. In devotion to God, call it wellness rather than fitness. So all those physical pains disappear; the pain of the mind might go away, but how does the pain of the body go? How does the fever go down? If one feels bored in the mind, they might feel, "Come on, now I am enjoying it," that can happen. But such extraordinary devotees exist in the Sampraday. So, he is said to have achieved fitness. Now, his body was not fit, but he achieved mental fitness, so mental fitness is indeed more important. If the body is fit but there is no mental fitness, one might wander around but devotion will not happen. In Surat, we see all that, where they sit inside sewer pipes and play cards, but they will not go to the temple. AI translation of the Gujarati transcript above, produced in the same pass that transcribed the audio, one English segment per Gujarati segment. Devotional and technical terms with no precise English equivalent (kirtan, satsang, vasana, samskara, and similar) are kept as their plain transliteration rather than force-translated. Not human-proofread., AI-translated, unverified · Source details