What More Could We Ask For?

No one is happy in this world. How could we be? Everything that we consider to be valuable or attractive is temporary. Everything in this world is in a state of flux. Nothing is stable here. Where can we go in order to find a happy, peaceful and fulfilling life? Certainly, we are not encouraged by our experience in this world.

Logically, then, since we cannot find peace and fulfilment here, we should be looking elsewhere, but for most that presents a significant problem. This world is all that we know. Where then should we look? The mystics have a simple answer; they tell us to seek contentment within.

They say this because, from their own experience, they know that this world is an illusion, a passing shadow-show that can never provide us with the stable, dependable solution that we seek. The very things we pursue for our happiness turn out to be the cause of so much pain and suffering. So the mystics bring to us the benefit of their inner experience and say that all the answers lie within us.

But we have never been within; we do not know this inner domain that the Masters are pointing to. The reason is that we have become so habituated to directing our attention downward and outward to the world around us that we know no other way. In addition, we have also become attached to the places, faces and things of this world, and this attachment prevents us from going within.

So how are we to address this dilemma in which we find ourselves? The Master explains that whatever takes you towards the Lord is good, and whatever takes you away from him is bad. That’s all we need to know.

The Masters tell us that the Lord is not separate from us – in fact it is we who are separated from him. The reason is not hard to find. We identify so much with our perceived self that we have become ego-obsessed. Believing ourselves to be this ego, we act, and the consequences of our actions bind us here, and, together with our attachments, prevent us from turning within.

So the solution is fairly simple – we need to detach ourselves from the external objects that fascinate us so and redirect our attention to the eye centre, which is the gateway to the inner worlds. This ideal is not so easy to implement, but nevertheless, if we keep the Master’s instructions to us as our rule for life, then every day takes us closer to our goal. By our lifestyle we avoid the pitfalls of the world that previously occupied so much of our attention and got us into so much trouble, and by our meditation we slowly and slowly withdraw our attention from without and direct it within.

So we don’t need to go anywhere to seek the Lord. We just need to recognize the things that are standing in our way and eliminate them. He is not in some distant location on the other side of the universe; he is right here within us. There is a well-known saying: “Closer than hands and feet, closer than thy very breath is He.”

This path was never going to be a quick and easy solution; rather, it guarantees slow and steady progress. Every effort generates a result. It might not be obvious or apparent, but it is there nevertheless. All that is required is perseverance. In addition, we are under the Master’s constant guidance and care. He has initiated us and he has guaranteed our return to Sach Khand. Could we ask for anything more?