25. Dark Nights

“Before the divine fire is introduced into the substance of the soul and united with it through perfect and complete purgation and purity, its flame, which is the Holy Spirit, wounds the soul by destroying and consuming the imperfections of its bad habits. And this is the work of the Holy Spirit, in which he disposes it for divine union and transformation in God through love. The very fire of love that afterward is united with the soul, glorifying it, is what previously assailed it by purging it, just as the fire that penetrates a log of wood is the same that first makes an assault on the wood, wounding it with the flame, drying it out, and stripping it of its unsightly qualities until it is so disposed that it can be penetrated and transformed into the fire. Spiritual writers call this activity the purgative way.” ~ St. John of the Cross

At the end of each day the sun sets. Is it gone?

In the same way on our spiritual journey, as we evolve and grow as souls and wend our way home in the eternal heart, night comes. Day comes again after the night. There is no day without night and there is no night without day.

For us to know what we are in toto, to truly plumb our depths and find Truth, all that we thought that we were must be destroyed. We must offer our very self on a silver platter to our highest Self, the eternal Truth.

Our offering is always accepted. Grace exists always, but we become naturally concerned and impatient. God always accepts our offering to Her on Her terms and in Her time. Regardless of how long it may take our offering is always lovingly accepted. When our offering is accepted God gives us Her very Self in return and in exchange we become not separate from Her.

For this union to be complete our house must be shaken to its very foundation. A great earthquake must come and we must endure it. A fire must burn down all that we know, all that we think we are, and we must light the match and start the fire. In fact we must use a flamethrower as much of what we carry is so deeply rooted only a massive fire will do.

Lest we miss this point, here we’ll also note that the earthquake is God, the match is God, the flamethrower is God and our very desire to find our highest Self is God. Our desire to seek shelter is God; for this world exists that me may take shelter in God. All is God’s grace alone, and yet we often feel completely alone as we go. No friends or family take this journey with us, though all support us in various ways seen or unseen, known or unknown. This journey to find Truth is one we must take alone, and at times we feel so alone that we weep, we scream, we feel great pain and emptiness such as we have never experienced. We do not know what to do.

Literally everything must crash down, for our attachment to the false images of this world must finally be broken in order to find what we have come here searching for. We are, though, honestly never alone. It just seems that way.

So as we go at times we will experience this dark night. As we go deeper the nights will get darker, and at the same time we may say that the days will become brighter and more full. The nights are what will shake us, the days will give us strength and this strength must be spent to endure the night.

Endure it. There is nothing in this world that lasts, there is nothing that can provide you with what you want. Serve, love, give completely of yourself. Go deeply and then go deeper still. You can be assured that your dark nights will be so dark that you will feel you must die, you must give up. When this happens take it all for union and offer it all to God. Take it, bear it, accept it gratefully. Embrace the dark night, for the dark night represents your pending liberation and the brightest light which cannot even be imagined. All shadows and all darkness will finally be eradicated in this bright light of Truth.

Empty your cup, empty it completely, brave it, be patient, and your cup will be filled to overflowing.

In this way will the dark nights come and then pass away forever.

33. "In Reflection", Individual Will versus Divine Will and Surrender

“I have only one desire now: to do God’s will for me. There is no conflict. When God guides me to walk a pilgrimage I do it gladly. When God guides me to do other things I do them just as gladly. If what I do brings criticism upon me I take it with head unbowed. If what I do brings me praise I pass it immediately along to God, for I am only the instrument through which God does the work. When God guides me to do something I am given strength, I am given supply, I am shown the way. I am given the words to speak. Whether the path is easy or hard I walk in the light of God’s love and peace and joy, and I turn to God with psalms of thanksgiving and praise. This it is to know God. And knowing God is not reserved for the great ones. It is for little folks like you and me. God is always seeking you—every one of you."
~Peace Pilgrim

Not my will but Thy will my Lord, not my will but Thine. Please help me to accept Thy will completely, to merge myself into Thy will, for in this world it is Thy will which is ever done, not mine.

In the chapter entitled “Making Choices” we talked about self-effort, free will, and now I write here that in this world it is always God’s will that is done. How can this be? Truly this is straightforward although it may seem paradoxical.

Our individual effort, our will, is not separate from God’s will; it is rather a subset of God’s will. We think that we are alone; we think that we need to do everything, and as long as we think this… we do. We think we do that is; but ultimately it is God who is directing this world play and we cannot be separate from God’s will. God is the puppet master expertly twirling the strings and we (what we think ourselves to be) are the wooden puppets gyrating upon the stage. Inexorably the strings are pulled in order to call us back, to provide us with the unique experiences that we need in order to desire ultimate Truth instead of falsehood, to see through our conditioned worldview and to seek the “Kingdom of God” inside. We are invariably given what we strive for, whatever it is, but this attainment is of dual purpose. It is a fulfillment of our will and of God’s. It fulfills ours because we strove for it and now we have it; it fulfills God’s will because once we have it we are on our way to learning it is not what we really wanted after all. In this way we are led inward.

As long as we do not see the one Truth behind the play self-effort is required. Until we surrender fully we must exert. Without self-effort nothing is possible; with self-effort anything is possible. The ultimate success is assured with continuous properly focused self-effort. We may choose to sleep; but nothing is accomplished in sleep. We may pray to a “God” to do our bidding for us but that “God” that we visualize as doing our bidding does not exist. We are the ones that must come around, not God. We must self exert in order to purify and prepare a proper instrument; we must come in to alignment with the highest light which is in us. We must surrender “me”. Then, and only then, can we find home.

In this surrender lies complete freedom. This is what Peace Pilgrim knew. She walked 28 years with only a comb, a toothbrush and a pen. She did this because she knew that she needed carry nothing; this was her understanding and her faith. Many would call her crazy and others brave, yet she knew that she needed nothing and this knowledge gave her not just peace but it also made her free. She was free to walk, to pray, to advise. Free to do God’s will, free to be her Self, free of any cares or worries, free of all of the baggage that we carry with us in this world.

This is what God wants for us, it is always about this. Through attachment to God we know absolute and complete freedom from all of the worldly cycles. When we drop all that we carry we are carried by God alone. 

Many of us ask, “what is God’s will for me?” “Does God want me to be married, to have children, to be wealthy and successful?” “Is God’s will for me to live here, or some other place?” The answer is simply that God’s will for us is to know God! God’s will is for us to know of our union with God, to know ourselves as Spirit, to know that all is fine. God wants us to be home. The material things are all fool’s gold; there is nothing permanent, nothing of value in them. Nothing. This life is and has always been about finding (remembering) our great Self and being That. All that matters is spiritual pursuit. The spiritual life is the only real life; it leads to the only reality and the only happiness that lasts.

Once we have come into alignment and our surrender is complete there is no longer a question of difference between God’s will and our will. With perfect surrender comes life as a perfect instrument of the Love Divine.

The great teachers inspire us to cultivate the divine qualities and to drop the negative qualities centered around the ego self and our personal desires for this reason. When we cultivate and exhibit the divine qualities in our thoughts, words and deeds we are walking towards union; when we cultivate the selfish qualities we are walking away from union. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is truly the Golden Rule, for in applying it we come to know the real gold that has never been apart from us.

You can find God if you will only seek—by obeying divine laws, by loving people, by relinquishing self-will, attachments, negative thoughts and feelings. And when you find God it will be in the stillness. You will find God within.”
~Peace Pilgrim

If you want to be happy work to make others happy. Be a peacemaker. Bring a smile, bring a beneficial thought, word and deed. Bring kindness. If the mind does not want to do so then redouble your effort and do it anyway. If you need to force a smile in order to smile then by all means force it. In time the smile will come naturally with no obvious effort.

This I can share from my own experience. My mind was in the gutter and this is no longer the case. My actions were self-serving and now I walk for peace for all. I was always stressed and worried, now I have neither a care nor a worry. I had constant dis-ease, now I am at complete peace. I didn’t know happiness then, now I live it. I do not say this as puffery; I share the example to state the power of aligned, focused and continuous self-effort. In both cases I was still “me”, but the character was changed from the inside out and destiny changed with it. Even the concept of “me” changed.

For inspiration of the change that we can effect through self-effort, let us listen to these words of Lord Krishna as He describes a Brahmana, one who knows the highest Truth. The exquisite “Amrita”, or the “Nectar” of the Bhagavad Gita starts in the 12th discourse, sloka 13 and continues through the 19th sloka.

Here it begins:
adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāḿ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca nirmamo nirahańkāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī
santuṣṭaḥ satataḿ yogī yatātmā dṛḍha-niścayaḥ mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ

One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me — such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.

This is our work in this world. We are here to find how to Love. Yes, it is a fight to learn this, but this fight is inside, not out. We are equipped for the fight; we have what it takes. We are here to know and live the Truth; we are here to unwrap our glorious birthright as Spirit and to let our brilliant light shine throughout the universe.

That which is called the process of “awakening”, “union” or “Self-Realization” is (apparently) of three parts. 

First the aspirant seems to be an apparent whole, separate from others but in union inside. From our perspective we are aligned with our thoughts and ego and we mistakenly take our thoughts to be “me”. From here we also think our senses and body to be “me”. Our position seems secure, our identification with this body and mind is strong and we attach also to objects, suffering horribly. It may seem to us that some external power or perhaps fate alone got us into whatever situation in which we find ourselves and that the cause for our dilemma is outside. It further seems that self-effort will go for naught; perhaps we will feel powerless against the great forces of the world. This is a kind of blindness; we took our birth in this world afflicted by this blindness.

Next, something happens and we inexplicably perceive “two” inside. We then “see” our thoughts. This is a sudden shift that is not necessarily accompanied by anything else. This shift is amazing grace. How it comes is mysterious, though clearly it comes from both self-effort and grace. Once we see our thoughts the process of untangling our identification with them can begin in earnest. When we see our thoughts we are no longer completely beholden to them and we can change them. Yes, initially the thoughts still have much apparent power, but when they are seen we intuitively know that we can change them. This, the knowing that we can change thoughts, is of course correct, and this very fact has changed the game for us completely. 

Of course it is possible for us to see our thoughts and to choose to let them remain in charge of us. We can sit back, still identified with an individual “me”, and not take advantage of this opportunity for union. We may even choose to continue behaving terribly while justifying our actions with words such as “oh, that was just my character, that’s not really me. I’m the observer, I’m free”. At every step on our paths it is possible to step backwards, even here. These choices can be made, but none of them are beneficial.

From the point in which we become an apparent “two” an unfolding process will begin if we choose it. Self-effort is paramount now; it is all that counts until the end. The unfolding is the process to “manage” or “control” the mind. For those who take objection to the term “control”; well I can say that control is a proper concept and it is required. It is popularly taught today to watch the mind, over and over this is told to us in the various spiritual paths. Why? Because we can do nothing of note, nothing that will directly lead us to freedom, until we see our thoughts. We must constantly hear this guidance and constantly strive to “watch the mind” until we do.

Once we see our thoughts we can do anything; it is as if our higher power has been enabled. Watching the mind is not the end, but it is the beginning of the end for the motivated and dispassionate student.

Self-effort applies before and after this shift of perception, of course. Before the shift self-effort is all about acquiring what needs to be acquired so that grace is revealed to cause the shift. After it is all about control and perfecting one’s surrender to the Absolute.

The next step is exerting supremacy over one’s mind. This must happen. Negative and selfish thoughts are to be banished, there is no place for them in one who wishes to know God. Thoughts must finally be brought to God alone (the same God that is in all with no reduction or separation!) Perfection of surrender has then begun. We can talk of surrender all that we want, yet it is only possible when one’s thoughts are seen and the mind is controlled; when you are finally the master of your mind instead of it being your master.

This, then, results finally in the end of the process. Perfect Surrender is the end of the “I” concept. It is the death of the “individual personage” yet at the same time it is birth in spirit; the real Life.

No person becomes enlightened in fact; there is finally no Self-Realization. There is, instead, surrender. In surrender the small and limited is first controlled and then given away; through a final grace the unlimited replaces it. The drop of water is never anything but water; for it reunion is the end of its identification as a drop. The person does not become anything; attachment to the personage ends and only Life remains. There is no longer a thought of “one” or “two”, there is instead silence and the understanding that pervades and co-exists with the silence. And, from this point, Life goes on. From the outside most do not know that something has changed but from the inside peace alone reigns supreme.

When we see the truth of us we know that there is no question of separation. We are no more separate from each other than rays of light are separate from the sun. Just as all of the waves of light, visible and invisible, emanate from the one sun so to do we emanate from the one Truth. Just as the rays have never existed without their source and can have no existence separate from it so also we, this entire universe, exist not without its one source. The rays are simply a beautiful expression of the sun and are never anything but the sun. In this same way are we. Never separate, never alone, never anything but Truth. Eternal Spirit, not flesh, not bound by limitations other than in our own mind.

We started our discussion here talking about the four steps of our Pilgrimage Home. Let us close in the same way by talking of acceptance.

What is the difference between belief and acceptance?

A belief is to be fought for and defended. Acceptance simply accepts.

Belief speaks loudly for all of the world to hear. Acceptance listens to comprehend.

Belief is the fullness of ideas, acceptance is silence of mind.

Belief is bold yet must finally surrender. Acceptance meek yet abides any storm.

Belief finds conflict as its home. Acceptance finds peace as its own.

One thinks acceptance to be easy and weak. And yet when we try it we know that it is the hardest thing we could ever do. This, then, clearly is the struggle to be exerted; for we know by now that no other struggle we have fought has come to beneficial fruit. We further know that it is this; acceptance and love of all as our own self, which all of the great teachers have guided us towards.

Perfect acceptance does not mean being passive; it is a great mistake to think this. It means to love and serve all, to always be kind and considerate to all, regardless of one’s beliefs, and to always do the good deed in front of us. It means to always think the kind and loving thought and always speak the considered and sweet truth. To practice acceptance no one else need do anything or behave in any particular way. In fact the more varied the experiences that we have, the more our acceptance is tested, the more we are given the opportunity to perfect it. Perfect acceptance is perfect service and perfect love. It is not separate from you; you are not incapable of it. It is in your very heart now; it is the heart's beat behind the beat. It is the goal that each of us may step towards, we have every tool we need with which to practice it.

"Father, I am within you, and you are within me. What a great mystery."
~Padre Pio

“The abolition of the conceit ‘I am’—that is truly the supreme bliss.”
~Gautama the Buddha

“Die before you die.”
~The Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.)

"Dost thou reckon thyself only a puny form when within thee the whole universe is folded?"
~Baha'u'llah

28. "Making Choices"; Destiny and the Power of Free Will

"Lovely days don't come to you, you should walk to them."
~Rumi

On this path you will invariably be exposed to statements about free will (or “self effort”) and destiny. You will no doubt contemplate this as you observe more and more of your experiences to have been predetermined or synchronous instead of random and unrelated. Perhaps this is already the case.

Some who state that they know the Truth and claim to teach it will say that every experience is predestined and that there is nothing that you can do to change it. They will say that all you have thought or done is merely conditioning, a program, and that you have no effect on the program. 

Under this line of thought what then is an “enlightened” one, such as them? They will say “awakening” comes through pure chance or pure grace, with no "personal" intervention or role in the awakening. The logic is that in this infinite world there is every thing and every thought, and this then must include one who is enlightened, who has awakened from the dream and knows the Truth. Even this, they say, was predetermined. They just happened to be the one who was destined to wake up.

A purely materialistic scientific view leads us to this same place. We may say that we believe in science but the top scientists have come to string theory and hologram theory as the "unifying theories" of the universe. These views leave precious little room for the concept of free will. We have discussed these early on, if we revisit for just a moment we see that in both theories the universe is thought to be part of vast and infinite multiverse, with an infinite number of parallel universes, each of which are also infinite just as is our universe. According to the theories in this multiverse anything that can happen does happen somewhere.

Again this means that every individual event or person that we observe is an infinitesimal part of the infinite universe(s) of countless names and forms. According to the philosophy that accompanies string theory your form and predisposition are random; not only this but there are infinite “you(s)”, each perhaps just a little different from the other. Under a popular (amongst quantum physicists and cosmologists) concept of this there is a new universe and a new “you” with every single choice. No choice is really made, it just appears to be and both possible results happen (one in this universe, one in another). Playing out hologram theory leads us to a similar place, except that the names and forms are images only and the information defining them is the only reality. 

These ideas seem quite far-fetched but with a purely materialistic view they will appear to be the only logical explanations for what we observe. From this view life seems to be random and unfair.

As a practical matter you may consider something like this. You think that you have free will. How do you exercise your free will? Let's say that you think that your choice of a meal is free will. You order a Greek salad. How is it that this choice is free will? Have you considered that the choice of Greek salad is already in your subconscious mind? You think it's free will, but that thought is part of your program. From inside us, in our subconscious mind, comes the thought, "I have not had Greek salad in some time and I hear that they have a great one here", and we follow it. We are following what our mind tells us, is this choice free will? When we pick red shoes and a red purse, isn't it because we like it and think that we will look good with it? If we are hungry and are offered beans but turn them down isn't it because we don't like beans? Aren't we just following our likes and dislikes then? How is this free? 

What we tend to call free will is the following our own mental view, our own conditioned program, and this is not really freedom. We are, instead, just following our program. Through introspection and analysis of all of our thoughts and actions in this same way we’ll see that substantially every thought we have and most every decision we take is a low level programmed decision. We made the choice because we were destined to; it was not a choice.

This argument is so eminently logical that the great Saint Augustine fell for it many years ago. Before he Self realized he played the role of a bad boy and was quite caught up in it, as he tells in his book “Confessions”. He was drawn into a cult in which the belief was that every thought and every action in the world was predestined. With this line of logic there is no sin and everyone is simply acting out their own nature. According to the logic there is nothing wrong and all is to be accepted, including all of your own thoughts and actions. Not so many years later, however, he did see inside at a deeper level and he found Christ in his heart. From there he taught of choice and free will although with a deep understanding of what the term "free will" actually means.

So many want to know their fate. “Will I be married, will I have children?” “Will I be a millionaire?” “When will I die?” We turn to astrology, palm reading, tarot, etc. in order to know our destiny.

On the other side of the spectrum is the concept that all have complete free will. Under this concept any action is chosen of one’s own free will and through self-effort. If one sins they should know better, therefore they own full responsibility for their action.

Based upon deep objective analysis of our experience this argument does not stand up in the same way that the predestination argument does. It is not, for example, consistent with what materialistic science observes and this concept should also be considered against what we see in our own mind.

Our mind is not a blank slate. It is clearly predisposed to certain desires, thoughts and beliefs that are unique from the desires, thoughts and beliefs of others. We like some things and dislike others. Others like what we don't and don't like what we do. Taking the time to understand the actions of a murderer we see that there was repetitive thought about murder prior to the act. In society this is called premeditated murder. The thoughts may have originated many years prior. Another person has no such thought and therefore does not commit murder. Thoughts, then, are the culprit and the cause of the act. One has such thoughts and another does not. Both persons act out their thoughts; the difference between them is in the nature of their thoughts.

Why does one have murderous thoughts and the other not? This has to do with their character, and again character comes from our thoughts, conditioned by past experience. 

Clearly, then, there is some aspect of predestination, or at least a strong predilection towards a particular thought or action. The question about the murderer, for example, can move from “why did he/she commit murder?” to “why did he/she have recurring thoughts about committing murder?” This line of inquiry is fruitful, although in our rush to judgment it is rarely pursued.

Those who perpetrate heinous acts do so because they are locked in a prison of heinous thoughts. From the outside it is not so clear how these thoughts became prevalent, in fact it typically does not appear that the perpetrator intentionally brought them in to their mind. The predisposition existed prior to the thought. Certainly, at a minimum, the tables are turned towards some predetermined fate.

So, is there really self-effort or does there just seem to be? 

As I write this I note that for the past four days the topic of Swami Premananda Ji’s Yoga Vasishta class has been destiny and self-effort. I share his teaching now and share that this is completely consistent with my own experience and observation. I view it as being as true as anything in the world can be.

First, clearly there is destiny, and it is a powerful force. The entire universal show is a play of destiny. Everything and every force has its direction set and will continue on its course unless and until the course is changed by an even more powerful force. The course continues through apparent birth and death; both being apparent doorways through which all of these infinite characters in the world make their entrances and exits. Destiny is cause and effect playing out. Every action has a cause and there is nothing “random” in the world.

Thought, word and deed are the forces that set actions in motion. A persistent thought becomes word, then action, and then an action has repercussions (reaction). From the action comes again thought, and from the new thought action once again. The two dance continuously intertwined, first one moves and then the other, never separate.

We see this, and we have talked about it above in the example of the murderer. If you look at your own thoughts and actions you will see the same. You think that you will look better with a certain hairstyle. You look in the mirror, you imagine yourself with the new hairstyle, and the thought is reinforced. It continues in this way until the thought manifests as action, and then you have your new hairstyle. Diet is the same. You think you are fat, or skinny, or need to work on a particular aspect of your body. The desire for a new job is the same. You think you need a new job for such and such a reason, the mind continues to bring the idea back and re-enforces it with thoughts about your current job making you unhappy for this or that reason. You don’t have enough money, or enough respect, whatever. Finally the thought fructifies and you take action on it. Thoughts are all powerful; they are the creator of the actions we observe and participate in.

The force of destiny, then, is seated inside your mind and all minds including the cosmic mind, from which your mind is not separate. The seed of destiny is the tendency that exists within your mind. Tendency is a preset reaction towards a certain experience when circumstances call the tendency forward. An example of this is that you walk past a Greek restaurant and a tendency within your mind calls forth a thought. The thought may be, “I got sick the last time I went to a Greek restaurant”, in which case you will then think, “I’m going to keep walking”, or you may think, “that’s the only time I’ve gotten sick from eating Greek food and I love it, I should go again”. Whatever thought comes next is as a result of the tendency in the mind only. It comes, it plays out as action.

Where did the tendency come from? This is a wonderful question, for this leads us back to the concept of self-effort. It came from your memory; habits that are deeply engrained. It came from past actions and choices that you made. Scientists will say “DNA”, psychologists will say “childhood” and Vedantins will say, “your repeated choices, thoughts and actions over countless births including this one”. All of these thoughts come from previous experience, going back to sources long past. To think that someone else is the cause of pain, or that someone else punishes us, is misunderstanding. Whatever happens to us we ourselves caused in time past.

We can change destiny by changing our thoughts. You see, you have the ability to catch the thoughts as they come, to recognize them, and to take a different course of action. It is not easy, but your intellect gives you this power. The subconscious mind will bring forth ideas as per your program; it is simply a storehouse of "Vasanas", or tendencies. On the other hand the intellect allows one to analyze and through analysis it is possible to “see” the acting out of tendencies, from here one can make changes. Change the thought and the act changes. Change the diet the mind is fed and the thought is bound to change. This last, regulation of the diet of the mind, is known as the practice of Yoga. Once the thought is changed the action is also changed and a new destiny plays out.

We can of course ride the wave of destiny. It carries us; it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Every thought carries us to the next thought; the thoughts carry us to the next action. This is the world that we see, it is made up of these thoughts fructifying (becoming action) and continuing on as a wave. This is called the wheel of Samsara, or birth-and-death. It goes on and on, it is never ending. Father time (destiny itself) carries it.

But, as it relates to you and to each individual, destiny can be changed. We spoke earlier of Swami Sivananda’s saying about tendency becoming thought, thought habit, habit character and character destiny. Through self-effort, applying our effort at the very root of the tendencies, we can change our destiny. We must start at the root, the cause of the particular thoughts that we have, if we wish to change our character and our destiny. In this way we can do it, we can also say that this is the only way to do it. Here we speak of taking control of ones life, which is to be done by taking control of one’s own mind.

Destiny and self-effort, then, are opposing forces. Destiny is the force of the past and self-effort is the force of the present. Prior self-effort is what brought you to this moment; current self-effort is what will carry you forward. Choosing to follow only the thoughts of the mind, to “ride with destiny” is a choice, and choosing to change your course is a choice. Choosing whether to exert and exercise free will is a choice. Make no mistake though; following the river of destiny is a bumpy and terrible ride. You have much evidence of this already. It is far better to exert, to strive to awaken and to find our source for in our source there is rest and joy. Our source is heaven, attachment to the terror filled road of Samsara is hell.

Here I share a lovely quote from yesterday’s class; “A man is measured by his thought process.”

In the battle between destiny and self-effort whichever is stronger will win over the other. It is important to note that fate, or destiny, is not constant. Sometimes it is strong and sometimes it is weak. This is what we see in the world; continuous change. First hot then cold, first good then bad, first strength then weakness. Our minds are the same; they are the source for what we see. In turns we feel happy then sad, aggressive then passive, angry then apologetic. We all see this restlessness; a turning from one state to another. Our minds are this way and the world is this way. A continuous force applied to a discontinuous object always wins, and this is the key for employing self-effort.

Our own effort must be continuous. It must be regular, every day. If one is to practice meditation it is far better to sit for even ten minutes every morning than it is to sit one day for four hours and then not again for a few days or a week. Pranayama practice, if it is taken on, should be every day. A yogic diet will help to bring the mind to a more controllable state (Sattva, or purity), but for it to work it needs to be maintained. Abidance with scriptural injunction, such as Yamas (Ahimsa, as an example) and Niyamas is incredibly beneficial, but it must be continuous. If one does take a day off from their practice one must immediately come back to it. If we do not do so destiny wins this particular round of the battle and our challenge becomes steeper.

Continuous self-effort works wonders and there is no impossibility with continuous self-effort. Jesus Christ tells us that the one of steady faith (which is gained only through continuous self-effort) can say to the mountain “move” and it will move. This same concept is taught in all of the traditions.

Swami Premananda Ji again; “If one does continuous self effort there is nothing in this world which cannot be done. Even if you do very little but do it every day it will have effect. Continuation is a greater force than effort which is strong one day and weak the next. With continuous effort you will achieve. If one fails to achieve their goal discontinuity is the cause for failure. Continuity is the cause for success. Do not stop for even one day.” If one’s goal is to know Truth, to be with God, to be forever happy and balanced, the way is the same. The paths are many, but the gate narrow at the end of the path. To make it through the gate one must finally be continuously focused on the Divine. In the Christian tradition this is called “prayer unceasing”, in the eastern tradition there is continuous mental repetition of Mantra (“Japa”).

Whatever you wish to do you may accomplish through applying this method. If you want to change, if you want true happiness, if you want to know God, you may do so. Self-effort is the way. It will be a battle though; do not be surprised about this. Old thoughts and old patterns will crop up and old behaviors will continue because of them unless subverted in the subconscious mind. In your life there have been so many seeds sown and these seeds sprout and grow, manifesting with great power. Do not fall in to the belief that nothing can be changed however; all can be changed through the one’s self-effort.

Since self-effort is harder than riding the wave of destiny, why not wait for some time until circumstances are better? Time marches on, our bodies get frail and the longer we wait the steeper our challenge becomes.

On the grand road to union, to happiness or heaven, it is best to start beneficial self-effort even from childhood if possible, from the earliest that we know of proper behavior and the power of positive thinking. The earlier the better lest destiny continue to become more solid and be harder to change. It is of course never too late to start or to come in to alignment with the Love Divine told of by the scriptures and the great teachers. The only way to walk through the desert is to get up every morning and take more steps. If we don’t take our necessary steps suffering continues, it is this simple.

Is there no end to self-effort? Will we always have to work in this way? Yes, there is an end to self-effort. When the end goal is reached self-effort is complete. Action continues, but the self-effort spoken of here is over and relief is known.

There are four keys to success that apply to any situation, to any challenge faced and to any goal one has:

1. Patience. Do your absolute best, then wait as long as is required.
2. Renunciation. Absolve yourself of the results and accept what comes.
3. Self-confidence. Know that you can do whatever you choose. Keep in mind the sayings of the great teachers.
4. Regularity. Be continuously engaged towards the goal.

Self-effort, then, is quite literally the reprogramming of one’s own mind. There is a program in it from birth and we have continued to add to the program since we took this birth, typically in unintended ways. We do not know what will be the impact of what we think, say and do. It is the program that is acting out on the world stage; to change actions, reactions, patterns and destiny our sole recourse is to change the program. If we want positive results (happiness) we must exert intentionally with full understanding of what we are feeding our mind and why we do so. We must do it with full awareness and beneficial intent (for ourselves and for others).

In this way you can do anything, this is the consistent message of this and of all of the great teachers. It is not easy, this is so, and you will be tested along the way. You can do it; there is nothing outside of you that will stop you. Set your goal high; choose peace, choose love, choose happiness. Then, through your own self-effort, walk towards it. Be consistent, be patient, and you shall have what you desire. If you want to know peace and you strive for peace then you shall know peace. Destiny need not stand in your way.

In the words of Sri Swami Sivananda Ji Maharaj, in this way “March forward hero, nil desperandum”.