A person’s body usually goes quite out of control. If he wishes to hold up one foot, his foot will not obey him; for one moment it will go up, but after that it will not obey any more. If he goes to the photographer who says, "Steady", he begins to move at once. The word "steady" alone makes him shake, because it reminds him of his helplessness. Without the word "steady" he was all right, but his word brought his weakness before him, and weakness of the body expresses weakness of mind.

In India you will see people standing upon their heads, walking upon their hands, standing on one foot for hours. A person may say, "What a crazy practice! Of what use can this be? They must be mad." No, they have seen the madness of the whole world, and they try another madness. Their "madness" is knowledge. They remain in the same posture for hours and hours. If one of them folds his arms, he remains for hours with his arms folded. If he holds up his hand, he remains holding up his hand for hours. If he closes his eyes, he remains with his eyes closed for hours. If he does not speak, he does not speak for days and days.

When a person has been alone for some time, he begins to move. He moves his foot or his hand, or he drums on the table. He wants to feel that he is alive, and the consciousness realizes that it is alive by its activity, the activity of the body and of the mind. When the activity of the body is made to cease and the activity of the mind is stopped, then the consciousness has a chance of realizing that it is alive without the life of the body and of the mind. When the body is brought under control, and when the mind is controlled so that we can keep it on one thought as long as we like and make it blank as long as we like, then the soul, which is imprisoned in the body, is set free; it is not bound to mind and body. The whole world is open for it.

Then we realize that we are not this limited self, that we are not separate from God, not different, but that we are the same as God, that we have the same existence, the same immortal, unchanging life beyond all the changes of this material world. In this way we can become perfect, as the Father in heaven is perfect.