One has to go beyond one’s personal will and only then can one be attuned to the divine will.
Because of our personal will, we grapple with the cosmic will. In this fight we become like rocks and lose the inner softness of our beings. With this rock like presence, any amount of sermon will be like throwing seeds on infertile soil. One can win only with the whole, not against the whole.
A successful man, walking very elegantly, approached me once and said, ‘I am successful and still 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 see me as a happy individual and that is the only happiness I have. That happiness is more like a dress on me; but not the real me. Therefore, how do I face success and failure as well?’
The love to serve people will allow another force to flow in us. This force will make us feel that we are instruments or channels to help others. It is said in Hassidism ‘When God gives something he doesn’t give to you but through you.’
There is an interesting insight in the esoteric teachings - ‘The Law of Pendulum.’ It states how a pendulum swings from one point to another, life is a swing of opposite; 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 your pendulum swings to success, the natural force is to be dragged to the other end which means either you will have greed for more success or the fear of failure. When the pendulum swings to failure, the natural pull will be to worry about failure or greed for success.
Swami Sukhabodhananda is the founder and chairman of Prasanna Trust. He is a respected spiritual leader who is often referred to as the ‘Corporate Guru.’