February 13, 2026
3 min
Once there was an educated young man who decided that he would become a swami. He observed how swamis spoke and conducted themselves. On his own, without treading the path or following any disciplines, he set himself up as a swami with the proper attire and external behavior.
One day he came to my ashram at Uttarkashi in the Himalayas and asked if he could stay awhile. Whenever he spoke with me his gaze would always settle on my wristwatch. Someone had given me an Omega chronometer as a gift. I didn’t care whether the watch was a simple watch or the expensive item that fascinated this young man. Each time we talked he would bring up the watch in conversation. He would say, “Oh, what a striking watch; how attractive the design; it must keep excellent time.”
After three days of this I said, “Young man, I’m leaving for Gangotri for a while. Would you take care of this watch for me?” As I picked up my blanket and sandals and waved goodbye to my guest, I knew that before long my ashram would be empty of this man and my watch. I was not really intending to go to Gangotri; I just wanted to see what would happen. I returned shortly and, sure enough, the young man and the watch had departed. In the days that followed, my acquaintances asked about my missing watch. I told them it was being used. I was not concerned.
By chance six months later I ran into this same young man at the Haridwar railway station. He was so embarrassed he wanted to run away. He said, “Sir, what I did was terrible.” I replied, “You have done nothing to me; if you think it is wrong, don’t do it again.”
With someone, somewhere, in some relationship, we should completely expose ourselves and not keep these embarrassing seeds repressed inside.
Then I noticed that he was not wearing the watch, so I asked him where it was and how it was running. He said, “I have sold it. I needed the money.”
A short time later the watch was with me again. The buyer was my student, who recognized the watch and returned it to me. So I found the young man again and gave him the watch once more. I said, “If this watch can help you, then you should have it.” At first he could not understand and accept the way I related to him, but gradually he came to see that it is possible to have a completely different attitude toward the things of the world than he had known. This incident affected him so much that he later went back to an ashram that I recommended for self-discipline, and today he is a completely transformed person.
Many people are unable to face certain things in themselves. They refuse to confront those conflicts, desires, and habits that they may not like in themselves but can’t get rid of. They don’t allow others to know their real selves and continue to put forward defenses and pretenses. With someone, somewhere, in some relationship, we should completely expose ourselves and not keep these embarrassing seeds repressed inside. These hidden secrets only delay our progress. We project onto others the very things we won’t face. During meditation one allows all these embarrassing thoughts and desires to come up gently, where one can just observe them without becoming involved. In this way meditation serves as an effective tool to recover and live a balanced life.
Those who renounce their homes and duties still carry with them the deep-rooted samskaras (mental impressions created by past actions) sown in earlier lives. It takes a long time to get free of these samskaras. It requires the constant mental ingestion of creative impressions and seeds of spirituality. This cleansing and replacement of mental content is possible if one follows a path of self-discipline. Too many modern teachers profess to teach spirituality and meditation without discipline. They may introduce sound techniques—but without training the students to become disciplined, it is like sowing seeds in the soil that was never tilled.
Self-discipline is very important in the path of spirituality. Becoming a swami or a monk is not so important. What is important is to accept a self-disciplined life. There needs to be a bridge between life within and without. Discipline is the foundation of that bridge. People should not be tempted by mere techniques, but learn to cultivate discipline within themselves.
