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The Search for Happiness
Today, all over the world there are more and more people looking for a spiritual path adapted to their own needs or way of thinking. Modern man looks at what is happening around him and wonders where God is and what role He plays when so many things go wrong. They would like clear answers to their many questions about spirituality.
For modern man, the search for Wisdom and Light does not become a conscious activity until after many, many incarnations. In fact, at first, man is more interested in taking care of his well-being and getting ahead socially; he first of all takes care of the outer man or lower-self. This is the natural path of evolution. Many follow a religion, usually the one they were born in, with varying degrees of assiduity. However, sooner or later for most, there is this feeling that there is “something missing” in life, and one is not completely happy. One may be rich or poor, happiness is just as elusive for so many people. The permanent desire for “something else” makes man dissatisfied, and he is constantly in search of this “something” which will make him happy.
Modern man is now realizing more and more that happiness has to do with true spirituality, and not just superficially praying from time to time to a divinity Who we see as being separate from us, and so far away. It does not depend on the amount of riches we possess. It has to do first of all with allowing the heart to express itself, thus creating harmony in our lives. But how to do so? What is the secret which enables one to connect with one’s heart while living an ordinary life, in the midst of modern society? Forty years ago the hippies told us “Make love, not war”, and spoke of the beauty around us. This “flower power” greatly contributed to opening our minds to the fact that more living spirituality is needed in everyday life, and that each individual can personalize his life much more in order to become happy instead of just being a rubber stamp copy of other individuals in society.
While many may wonder what to do to find happiness, few are they who will seek the path to take with determination and will not rest until they find it. Although there are many paths to this goal the starting point for all is to follow the light we already have. Shri Hans Raj Maharajji tells us, “Listen to your inner voice. It will guide you always. Your ego and habits will prevent you from listening to as well as following it, but you must overcome your ego.” Everyone has some idea of what is good and bad. It may differ slightly from what others think, but deep down, in one’s conscience, one knows and only needs the courage to act. If one follows this little light which is already there, then more and more wisdom from the soul rises to the surface and guides our daily actions. In following the voice of the soul, which expresses itself through the heart, then little by little, one becomes more spiritual.
A Change of Direction
Then comes the time in a particular incarnation when one consciously decides to fully live out one’s spirituality. One consciously decides that whatever it may cost, one will find out who one is, where he is going, and how to get there. Thus begins the golden path. Everybody necessarily goes through this stage, but not at the same time — some in this incarnation, others in other incarnations. This need to “know” becomes stronger and stronger. When one has followed all the spiritual truths one has in one’s heart and the desire to know the Self becomes very strong, then one is led to meet a person or people who can bring more light, or else one comes upon a particular book etc., which gives very helpful information.
When the Disciple is Ready, the Master Appears
The Bible tells us in Matthiew 7.7,
“ Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.”
We have also been told through different sources that once one is consciously on the spiritual path, it is only when one is ready that one gets a Master to lead the seeker from darkness to light. In the West, it is said “When the disciple is ready, the Master appears.”
Shri Hans Raj Maharajji tells us that it is only when one has an intense desire to become one with God that one gets a Master, and not before. This is so because when a certain level of spirituality has been attained, it is then necessary to be consciously guided by someone who knows the path ahead, i.e. a realized Master. Indeed, there are so many pitfalls on the path, many of which the seeker knows nothing about, and will not be able to avoid. At this stage, the path is like a high mountain where one needs a guide to lead the way and lend a helping hand in certain situations; one is then undertaking a voyage within the depths of one’s being.
No one can attain realization without the help of a realized Master in one lifetime. The meaning of the word guru is “one who leads from darkness to light”. It is understandable that when the light of one’s soul is not yet able to shine through the thick layers of maya (illusion), one cannot clearly see the path on which one treads through this forest of illusion. And when one is not guided by this light, one often goes in the wrong direction. That is one of the reasons why it is necessary to have a true guide. A realized Master not only gives this spiritual guidance and nourishment, but among other things, he also clears away obstacles which are not necessary for the disciple’s experience.
The seeker is therefore rewarded according the the diligence shown in searching for more light. As we have already said in the articles before, at the present time it is very necessary to follow a spiritual path of one’s choice in order to be in harmony with the new cosmic energies coming down on the Earth and pushing man towards more spirituality. These new energies which will speed up man’s spiritual development, will lead him to more and more experience the influence of the soul, as he continues his upward march. The soul's influence will progressively increase, then end man’s perpetual insatisfaction, thus leading to true happiness.
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