Freedom does not come so automatically. Just like you are diseased. You are under the control of fever or some other painful condition, under some disease. So you have to undergo some penance. Just like you are suffering from some boil on the body. It is very painful. Then, in order to cure it, you have to undergo the surgical operation if you want to be cured. Therefore tapasā. That is tapasā. Tapa means painful condition, tapa. Just like temperature. If you are put into high temperature, 110 degree, then it is very intolerable for you. It is very painful. Even for us Indians—we are born in India, tropical climate—still, when the temperature is more than hundred, it becomes intolerable. And what to speak of you? You are born in a different temperature. Similarly, we cannot tolerate lower temperature. If it is below fifty degree, it is intolerable for us. So there are different climates, different temperature. And in Canada they tolerate forty degree less than zero. So it is a question of different condition of life. But we are conditioned: high grade temperature, less temperature, high grade cold. But we can we trained up to any kind of conditional life. That capacity we have got. There is a Bengali proverb, śarīre na mahāśaya ya sahabe taya saya,(?) means "This body is," means, "it can tolerate any condition, provided you practice it." It is not that, that you are under certain condition, and if you are changed, it becomes so intolerable that you cannot live. No. If you practice...
Just like nowadays nobody is going. Formerly they are going to the Himalayan mountain, and there is very cold. And the tapasya... There is practice, method: in high scorching heat the saintly person or sages, they will ignite fire all round. Already there is high temperature, and still they will get fire all round and go on, meditation. This is tapasya. These are the items of tapasya. There is scorching heat and they will arrange that. There is pinching, chilly cold, less than hundred degree, and they will go under water and put the body up to this and meditate. These are the items of tapasya. Tapasya. So for God realization formerly people used to undergo such severe type of penances, and at the present moment we are so fallen, we cannot tolerate these four principles? Is it very difficult? We are imposing some tapasya, that "Don't indulge in these things. No illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling." These are the items of tapasya for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So is it very difficult? It is not difficult. If one can practice, go within the water up to the neck in chilly pinching cold, is it more difficult to give up illicit sex and meat-eating and intoxication? We are not advising, "No sex." Illicit sex. So where is the difficulty? But the age is so fallen that even these primary tapasya we cannot execute. That is the difficulty.
But if you want to realize God, as it is said here, tapasaiva, only by tapasya, only by penance, one can realize. Otherwise not. Otherwise it is not possible. Therefore this word is used, tapasaiva. Tapasā eva: "only by tapasya." There is no other means. Tapasā eva param. Param means the Supreme. If you want to realize the Supreme, the Absolute, then you must agree to certain type of tapasya. Otherwise it is not possible. The preliminary little tapasya. Just like ekādaśī. That is also item of the tapasya. Actually on the ekādaśī days we shall not take any food, even drink water. But in our society we are not doing so much strictly. We say, "Ekādaśī, you don't take food grains. Take little fruit, milk." This is tapasya. So we cannot execute this tapasya? So if we are not prepared to undertake even this very, very easily executable tapasya, then how we can expect go back to home, back to Godhead? No, that is not possible. Therefore here it is said, tapasaiva, tapasā eva. Eva means certainly. You have to. Now, executing this tapasya, penances, are you loser? You are not loser. Now, anyone who will come from outside, they will see in our society, our members, boys and girls. They say, "bright-faced." Do they not? They see distinction. One priest in plain cloth... I was going from Los Angeles to Hawaii. One priest, he came to me in the plane. So he asked my permission, "Can I talk with you?" "Yes, why not?" So his first question was that "I see your disciples very bright-faced. How it has been done?" He's sincere. So where is the loss? By undergoing, by denying all these things, sinful activities, we are not loser. We can live very simple life. We can sit down on the floor, we can lie down on the floor. We don't require much furniture, neither large amount of gorgeous dress. So tapasya required. If we want advancement in spiritual life, we must accept some sort of tapasya. In the Kali-yuga we cannot accept such severe type of tapasya as in the cold, we go underneath, under water, sometimes drowning or sometimes up to this, and then meditate or chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible. The minimum. So tapasya must be there. So we should note it by this verse that some sort of tapasya must be done if we are serious about God realization. That is wanted.