There is no possibility of one becoming a yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough. He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practising the yoga system.
(Bhagavad-gita 6.16–17)

And by doing so sets the tone for the lifestyle of someone on the path of yoga. The key words are regulation and moderation. When eating, sleeping, recreation and work are involved there will always be some enjoyment available. The spirit of yoga is not one of flagrant sense gratification. It is rather one of self-monitored restraint according to realisation.

Sense gratification is just like salt; we should not take too much or too little. Saltless food is bland and so we must add some salt for health and in order to make the food palatable. It would be foolishness to therefore think: 'Salt is very good, let me add the whole salt pot'. Because that would spoil the entire preparation. Conversely, if we taste over-salted food, or read about hardened arteries and conclude that any salt is a bad thing, and that we should consume no salt whatsoever — that could also lead to disaster. The body craves salt because it needs salt, thus the senses also crave and need some gratification, but rather than be dragged by our senses, we can make conscious decisions about how much and what forms of sense gratification we accept into our lives.

The question of finding a balance of sense gratification, is a real and decisive practical application of the principle of taking the broader spiritual picture into perspective when making decisions. Whenever I make the choice about the level and type of sense gratification I accept, I can ask: 'Is this decision consistent with my real identity as a spiritual being on a journey of self-discovery?' and 'Are the long reaching consequences of this decision for the general good of me and my spiritual brothers and sisters?'

Attempting to give up sense gratification completely has often proven counterproductive, because strength of will is not sufficient to maintain such an extraordinary level of renunciation. When those trying to give up 'cold turkey' suffer a set-back or relapse they are prone to dive into sense gratification as an extreme reaction to the self denial they have been artificially maintaining.

The key to controlling the senses is spiritual realisation, one of the characteristics of the soul is that it is attracted to enjoyment, thus sense enjoyment must be replaced by another type of enjoyment. When a small child wants to play with something harmful such as a sharp implement, the best way to take the dangerous implement away from the child is to simply offer the child something else to play with, it will have to relinquish the objectionable object to accept the safe one. Forms of sense enjoyment can be accepted that are congruous with the spiritual ideals and truths you have chosen to accept and honour within your life. As a traveller on the path of self-realisation it is very helpful to regulate your daily activities to maintain the consistent level of self-discipline that is right for you.

Practical application

There are times in our devotional practice when chanting and following the regulative principles is very easy; there are also times when these practices become very difficult and seem impossible. In fact, it has often been found that in the beginning these practices are easy, but with the passing of time it becomes more difficult to maintain them. What to do?

Remember Krishna’s words in the Bhagavad-gita:

Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.

My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.

If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage.

If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated.

If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.

(Bhagavad-gita 12.8–12)

Things to do

• Pray to Krishna for strength and direction.
• Learn to take shelter in chanting, this will help to transform your heart.
• Find your own maintainable level of devotional practice, one which will gradually enable you to reach the ideal rather than an unrealistic and unachievable end which will only frustrate you.
• Associate with those who have a slightly higher level of practice than you do (those who are also struggling but maintaining higher standards).
• Practice some level of self discipline, it is the genuine path to higher enjoyment.

Things to avoid

• Getting negative to the point that you feel like abandoning your self discipline and devotional service.
• Feeling remorse when you keep tripping up in your practices is healthy; however, beware of a guilt complex, which leads to deceptive unhealthy habits such as hiding behind masks.
• Imposing your set of standards on other members of your family, especially spouses. Inspire them by your example.
• Don't be too hard on yourself, ask for help from another Vaisnava.
• Rupa Goswami teaches us in the Nectar of Instruction to accept those things favourable for devotional service and reject those things that are unfavourable.
• Become responsible for your own spiritual life rather than feeling you must compete with others.
• Endeavour to come to the mode of goodnees before striving for 'transcendence', evaluate ypour lifestyle, what things help you and what things act as obstacles.

Chanting a few rounds and adhering to only one or two regulative principles does not exclude you from being a devotee. We are living beings in fallible human bodies. It's okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them (rather than become lax as a result of them).

The regulative principles minimise the risk of you becoming a victim of advertising campaigns, marketing psychologists and therapy gurus.

The Lord helps those who help themselves. If you approach the Lord with sincerity and depend upon him, then the Lord Himself will clean your heart from within.

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