Human birth, higher aspirations and the inspiration to contact great ones and to imbibe their stirring spiritual messages—all these constitute your wealth. All these constitute your good fortune. All these constitute your special unique blessings when compared to those who do not have these things.

Having been born as human beings, countless millions of people lead a life where their human potential is never fully recognised, never fully tapped and utilised. It is frittered and wasted away in miscellaneous petty pursuits and occupations. Thus, even though rich, they are poor. Even though most fortunate, they are the most unfortunate of beings. For they fail to recognise their good fortune and fail to put this great good fortune to proper use, wisely.

I have four or five things which, as a Hindu, I wish to tell you. Where elders are respectfully honoured, there prosperity prevails; and where elders - father and mother, grandfather and grandmother, uncles and aunts - are treated with contempt, with harshness, with scant respect, there is no prosperity.

These things are not known. So when people are miserable, when people are unhappy, when people lack prosperity, it is not known why it comes about that way. It is brought about by oneself by a total breaking of these laws. And then you try find out the consequences of the bad situation by looking at the diary, or statistics, or expenditure and income account. Perhaps you blame economic conditions. But, no - you create your bad conditions by breaking the spiritual laws. Where elders are treated with respect and honour, are treated with reverence, there, in that family, in that house, prosperity will abide. In the life of that person who honours his elders, prosperity will always rest.

Om

"But for awareness, nothing can be cognised. But for awareness, no knowledge is possible. Knowledge itself has as its basis the knower. The knower can be the knower only if It is a centre of luminous awareness, knowing all things.

Worshipful homage to the supreme, eternal, primal Being, the universal Spirit Divine, who is auspicious, beautiful, good, elevating, illuminating and liberating! To that Being, worshipful homage!

When we speak of the destiny of man we don’t speak of a special human being or a historical person, but we speak very much of ourselves—today—here—in this world of the fourth quarter of our very troubled yet eventful 20th century. What is our destiny? Man wants to know and scans the newspapers, he listens to the radio, he views occurrences all over the globe on the television screen. He wants to know what is going on in this world, what is happening to man, what man is doing to man and where this world is heading. He tries to look ahead and to have a glimpse of what is in stall for man.

Swamiji says: "The grandeur of life is in dedicating it to a noble cause. If you do not win, it does not matter. It is a small mind that is always thinking of winning. Let the mind think greatly, grandly. Life should be lived nobly, based upon lofty sublime principles, with a wide vision." He elaborates on some of these lofty principles, such as perseverance and determination, and how to achieve success; and also defines Yoga.

Kind courtesy of "Tapovan Prasad." This is an interview with our Most Revered President Swamiji Maharaj, published in two parts in November and December, 2003.

The faculty of the mind is the greatest gift that God has bestowed upon the individual soul. There is no gift greater than this. Human nature consists of the mind, but unfortunately, the mind can be the greatest single curse as well. This paradox is one of the greatest mysteries of life. Man is all too unconscious and ignorant of this inner marvel of his own mind. There is, therefore, a great and serious purpose in trying to understand the mind and in making proper use of it.

You are not this body, this cage of flesh and bones. You are not the five karma indriyas or the five jnana indriyas. You are not this mind, emotion, sentiment, imagination and various moods such as anger, passion, greed, envy, jealousy. You are not even this little "I" that you are identifying yourself with when you look in a mirror. All these are not you. You are a centre of radiant consciousness, shining consciousness—eternal, imperishable, unborn, beyond time, beyond space, infinite. This is a golden chance to lift yourself up from this confined consciousness to your real dimension of infinite consciousness, universal consciousness. That is why we are here.