Striving towards Excellence

-Swami Sukhabodhananda

One has to go beyond one’s personal will to be attuned to the divine will. Because of personal will, we grapple with the cosmic will. In this fight we become like rocks and lose the softness of our inner being. This rock-like texture prevents the germination of noble ideas just as infertile soil inhibits the burgeoning of buds from the seeds sown in it. One can win only with the whole, not against the whole.

A successful man once approached me and said, "I am successful but I feel unfulfilled, I experience an inner void. Success has not really brought cheer to my life. Neither do I want failure. I am unhappy, but others think I’m happy. That is the only happiness I have. That happiness is more like a dress on me, not the real me. How shall I deal with both success and failure?"

The love to serve people will release another energy in us. This force will make us feel that we are instruments or channels of help to others. It is said in Hasidism: "When God gives something, he doesn’t give it to you but through you."

There is an interesting insight in esoteric teachings – "The Law of the Pendulum". Just as a pendulum swings from one point to another, life swings between opposites; success and failure, pain and pleasure. But what is important is to be centred…being calm.

Be centred in both success and failure. What does it mean?

When the pendulum swings to success, there is a natural tendency to be dragged to the other end, i.e., you will either have greed for more success or fear of failure. When the pendulum swings to failure, the natural pull is to worry about failure or greed for success.

If one is not pushed around by these ordinary energies, but stays centred, then one can experience another sacred force, which makes one see the beauty of both success and failure.

I remember a student who once asked me a question. "I love your workshop. Many people ask questions on interpersonal relationships, on how to be a winner, on how to go about setting goals, on how to deal with stress. My question is a spiritual one. Who was I in my previous birth?"

Why do you want to know about your previous birth? There is enough to know about your present birth. Why burden yourself with the past or the future? But the man persisted.

I told him that I would teach him the technique. I said that in his previous birth he could have been a rat, knowing that it would be extremely difficult to kill a rat for fear it could be his great grandchild.

Why do we complicate life?

Life is simple, but we raise complicated questions.

Lord Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita, "Forgetfulness is also my glory."

Nature in its infinite wisdom has given us the gift of not remembering previous births. Please respect it.