If you choose to lose weight and get in shape, you pay the price by giving up desserts and fried foods. I chose to be a vegetarian out of the compassion in my heart. I paid the price by giving up my favorite dish, my dear friend Lobster Thermidor. If you choose to have income from a clean source, then you cannot make money from meat products, liquor, or gambling. If you choose to experience God, you pay the price of losing the fun of separation and the longing for the Lord. The Devil and God are the same, opposite sides of the same coin. If you choose to discover the truth, the desire for heaven and the fear of hell are gone. You get equanimity and, then, the highs and lows of winning and losing, profit and loss, disappear. If you desire to be humble, the fun of attaining name and fame is gone. If you choose to surrender everything to God, the joy of enjoying the fruit of your labor is no longer there. If you choose to settle down, get married, and have children, you cannot go to nightclubs to choose new partners. Every choice has a price. Even to become a saint, you have to have patience to put up with everyone’s complaints. If you choose to always speak the truth, it becomes hard to pull someone’s leg. — Satish Daryanani
