There is a Sanskrit word, sankalpa. The word can be translated as follows:

• sam (सम्) – together, completely, fully
• kalpa (कल्प) – idea, plan, rule, or arrangement

An interpretive translation is a resolve in which the whole mind is aligned toward a goal.

A sankalpa is more than a simple goal. It has determination behind it.

That determination is essential on the path of yoga and, really, on the path of life itself, because it produces the power—the shakti—necessary to reach the goal. Swami Rama says simply: without it, you won’t reach the goal. That’s not meant to be dramatic. It’s just the way things work.

People often think of sankalpa as a vow, and that’s true. But a vow doesn’t magically make something happen. You have to be determined. You must choose and put energy into it. It’s one thing to say, “I will do this,” but we can say that all day long, and nothing will happen if we don’t mean it.

Swami Rama says you have to say: “I will do this. I can do this. I have to do it.”

There are many times when determination is essential.

Take the simple example of cutting down on foods you love that aren’t good for you, like junk foods. Without determination, forget it. It’s not easy to cut down on what we eat. With determination, you can do it.

Similarly, meditating every day takes determination because many things will come up. Some days you won’t want to do it. This is where determination is necessary.

Determination has a profound effect on the mind. We think we’re just setting a goal, but the mind reacts to that. Swami Veda once told me that once you decide, your mind changes.

I experienced this very directly during a forty-day silence retreat. After about ten days, my mind went into total rebellion and said, “Enough of this silence practice. I’m going to quit.” I had a big argument with myself—the part that wanted to quit and the part that said, “Wait a minute, I’m doing this practice.”

What finally made up my mind was a memory from years earlier.

I had set an intention to take a retreat for ten days, but discomfort arose and I abandoned my plan. When I told Dr. Arya what I had done, he looked at me, shook his head, and said, “You missed something by not staying.”

I felt so bad seeing his disappointment and knowing he was disappointed not for himself but for me.

So, years later, during that forty-day silence, when I was in the midst of that crisis, thinking, “I’ve got to leave this retreat,” I remembered that look on his face. I thought, “I don’t want to see that again because of something I’ve done. I must stay and complete this.”

At that moment, I developed determination. I decided: I will do it. I am going to stay here and finish it, no matter what.

With that determination, my whole mind changed. All the complaining and whining stopped, and the resistance went away. For the remaining thirty days of the silence, I was in a state of joy.

Once I made that determination—once I made that sankalpa—everything changed.

True determination means your whole mind is aligned. If something pushes you down, you stand up and keep going.

Gandhi was like that. No matter what they did to him, he kept getting back up. Such was the power of his determination.

Determination means having a strong will.

Eknath Easwaran says our will is like a beaten-up fellow lying in the corner, while our desires are strong and energetic. But the will is what gets you to your goal. So you must strengthen it.

You do that in small ways.

When your alarm rings in the morning, get up. Don’t lie there another half hour.

When you want one extra cookie, pass on it.

Small things like that build the will.

That is what determination is: the focusing of the will so you can reach your goal. Without it, the mind’s resistances will keep coming, and you’ll never get there.

So ask yourself:

What am I here for? What is my goal? What is my sankalpa? What am I determined to do?

Even a simple one—“I will meditate at the same time daily”—can be enough to begin.