bear that heat. But, this will be unbearable
for someone else.
So, tapas makes you strong in some areas.
If a Californian goes to Switzerland, he may
need to wear two sweaters and a coat. But,
if somebody from Quebec goes there, the
cold will seem insignificant. He may not
even need a sweater, because his body is
used to harsher conditions. Tapas is ‘willingly
doing something that is not very easy’. This
strengthens you. But, people can stretch
this beyond proportions. They can become
masochists and torture themselves. And
here too, there are three types of tapas: tapas
for the body, tapas for speech and tapas in
the mind.
Fire sustains life. There are five types of fire:
- Bhoota Agni is the fire with which you
heat your Homes and keep yourselves warm.
This physical fire sustains life. It may not
be so obvious in Tropical countries. They
don’t give much importance to fire. But, it
is very important in cold countries. Without
physical fire, life gets extinguished. And this
physical fire is present in the body to
some extent.
To keep the bhoota agni alive, your body has its
own air-conditioning system. If you turn on
the external air-conditioners all the time, you
are destroying the self-modulating system
of the body. The air-conditioner is kept
switched on all the time in hot and tropical
countries. There is no prana, or freshness in
such an environment. When it is hot, you
sweat and this cools you down - the same
way you feel when there is a cool breeze. The
body has its own air-conditioning system.
But, you need to get used to this early in life.
If you have been used to air-conditioners
since childhood, you may find it difficult
to change. Nevertheless, you can still try. I
have nothing against air-conditioners but
allowing fresh prana to come in and adjusting
the body temperature with the environment,
makes a difference. Then you gain the ability
to be in a cold place without having to wear
too many warm clothes. Or, be in a hot place
without feeling suffocated.- Kaama Agni This is the fire of desire,
lust or passion. This fire will engulf you. Life
continues on this planet because of this fire.
The fire of passion is present in all species of
Creation. Now, you do not even allow this fire
of passion to come up in you. The moment
a desire arises, you fulfill it. Then that desire
does not stay in you, it doesn’t burn you
up. People who are very promiscuous have
no kaama agni. This is because they do not
even allow the fire to come up to burn and
bake them a little. The moment there is a
desire for sex, they fulfill it immediately.
Then the kaama agni does not get awakened
in them. Sex is one of the oldest samskaras,
next to eating. In all your lifetimes, you have
certainly done two things – eating and sex.
These two acts have been there, be it a cow,
a monkey, a donkey, a horse or an ox. When
this passion arises, observe it. It is in every
Tapas is ‘willingly doing something that is not very easy’.