“Blessed are they who dwell on the deepest purposes of human life, especially in a world tormented by crisis, violence, poverty and despair.”

Yes, the news of the world is oppressive. It erodes confidence in the potential of humanity and our own life. Natural resources are shrinking. Cultures are becoming degraded. Corrupt governments, unwilling to respond to the ills of society, sell the future to the highest bidder. Inhumane crimes and ethnic genocide are commonplace. Suffering and ecological devastation abound.

The Illusion of Success as Defense from Uncertainty

The illusion of success, the possibility of laying claim to the good life beckons, a welcome escape from desperation. In a blind rush, people reach for the golden ring. Hence, it is an understandable defense from chaos and uncertainty.

But what is true success? Success is always a mixed blessing. Look closely at the U.S. in the recent election. Success never comes without tentacles of attachment, eventual crises, or haunting insecurities and fear. Success is never the end.

It is inevitably followed by failure and difficulty. Ups and downs are unavoidable. That is the way of things in a self-balancing, ever-evolving universe. Life painfully brings to light all that is unfit for the next, new level of consciousness.

Truth is Triumphant – Find True Success in Balance

Within struggle the seeds of Truth are hidden. Behind all superficial, transient struggles lies a brilliant reality waiting to be revealed through transcendence. Truth eventually is triumphant!

True success refines harmony and peace in the heart. It confers emotional and psychological balance, profound wisdom. It brings the blessings of health and vitality, not only to oneself but also to the world around us. True success uplifts all life.

Today, humanity is at the threshold of a new evolution of consciousness. The pathologies of the old world are erupting. But consciousness works out its destiny, emerging through crises, moving humanity inevitably toward perfection and realization.

Living with Our Continued Dream State

We are what we think. The need for contemplation of Higher human values and for determined efforts to live up to them shapes our destiny toward the ultimate.

Our dream state continues if we are unconscious, but the moment we become aware of the dream, the dream stops. While we live the life of ego-identification, however high we may rise in the world, fall is inevitable. But one who builds on the rock of self-contemplation and who performs all work as worship to the Divine gradually awakens to the higher energy of the cosmic source. Drawing from the wellsprings of creativity, one is never exhausted, never cheated. The infinite continuously renews us.

The Divine Designer is Truth and Bliss

So, become aware of that infinite fountain within your own soul! Experience the rising sun of eternal illumination in your inner being! You are the builder of your own destiny. Build it on the rock of faith in your true self. It will stand against all odds. Finally, the grace of the divine will bring the highest transformation. For you are “That.”

The divine designer is truth and bliss. Amid deepening darkness, nature takes humans toward the dawn of higher consciousness, leading us from asat to sat, from lower to higher truth. May we all therefore cooperate in our small, humble way with nature to manifest a higher culture of spirit that breaks the shackles of all human bondage.

May we work to usher in an era of conscious love and blessedness. You and I are thus born to achieve this in this birth!! No small effort goes in vain; all good actions must yield fruit of blessedness for all. Om shanti.

About the Author

Shuddhaanandaa Brahmachari (Kolkata, India): Globally acclaimed motivational teacher (mindfulness meditation, stress reduction) author, peacemaker (Man of Peace Award 2012) Visionary social advocate; founded Lokenath Divine Life Mission, 1985. Serves thousands of poverty-stricken individuals in India. (Lifetime Achievement Award, House of Lords, UK, 2015)

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