Destiny, Karma, Fate, Success in Life

Swami Sivananda: "COURAGE is Thy birth-right and not fear. PEACE is thy divine heritage, not restlessness. IMMORTALITY but not mortality. STRENGTH but not weakness. HEALTH but not disease. BLISS but not sorrow. KNOWLEDGE but not ignorance. 

"You are the architect of your own fate and fortune. You are the master of your own destiny. You can do and undo things. You can attain Brahmanhood by right thinking, right feeling,, and right acting. You can break old morbid habits by the power of WILL. You can destroy wrong Samskaras, unholy desires, wrong imaginations. You can build new habits. You can change your nature. You can build up beautiful character. You can move the whole world by your spiritual force. You can elevate others also to the status of divinity. You can control the force of nature. You can command the elements.

"Rely on your own Self. Do not be credulous. Believe not in any dogmas. Hear the inner voice of the Soul or promptings of the pure conscience. Be not a slave. Do not sell your liberty. Thou art the Immortal Soul. Destroy the inferiority complex. Draw power, courage, strength from within. Be free. Have no blind faith. Reason out carefully and then accept anything.

"Do not be carried away by blind surging emotions. Subdue them. Do not be intolerant. Expand. There is a vast magazine of power and knowledge within you. It needs ignition. Then the whole mysteries of the Self will be revealed unto thee. The darkness of ignorance will be dispelled by the light of knowledge of the Self. Constant meditation on the Atma is the master-key to open the realms of knowledge. I have given here the gist of Vedanta in a few lines. Taste the Vedantic nectar and attain IMMORTALITY, ETERNAL BLISS, and PERENNIAL JOY. This is the goal of life. This is the end and aim of existence. Karma Yoga and Upasana (worship) will prepare you to realise this highest goal.

"Try to lead a life of non-attachment, discipline your mind gradually. No one is free from pains, diseases, troubles and difficulties. You will have to rest in your own Swaroop, the blissful ATMAN-the source and support for this life. You will have to remember your own divine nature. Then only you will gain inner strength to face the difficulties of life. Then only you will have balanced mind. You will not be affected by external morbid influences and unpleasant discordant vibrations, Regular meditation in the morning will give you new strength and inner life-perennial joy and unalloyed bliss. Practise this. Feel this, despite your adverse, stormy conditions. Gradually you will grow spiritually. You will attain Self- realisation eventually.

"Your present ailment is a Karmic purgation. It has come to make you remember Him more and more, to instill mercy in your heart, to strengthen you and to enable you to develop power of endurance. Kunti prayed to God to give her always adversity so that she could remember Him always. Bhaktas (Devotees) rejoice in suffering more. Disease, pain, scorpion, snake, calamities, etc., are messengers from God. A Bhakta welcomes them with a cheerful countenance. He never grumbles. He says once more: I am Thine, My Lord, Thou dost everything for my own good.

"Where then is the room for lamentation and despair, my dear Niranjan? Thou art dear to the Lord. That is the reason why He gives troubles. If He wants to take anyone to His side, He takes away all money. He removes his dear kith and kin. He destroys all his pleasure-centres, so that his mind may fully rest at His Lotus-Feet. Face everything with a smiling, cheerful countenance. Understand His mysterious ways. See God in everything, in every face-out of sight, but not out of mind. We are closer when we live physically at a distance. Let us dwell in our hearts. Krishna suddenly hides Himself, so that Radha and the Gopis might thirst for Him more eagerly. Sing like Radha. Thirst like Gopis for his vision. Krishna's grace is bound to descend. He is thy Immortal Friend. Forget not the Flute-Bearer of Brindavan, thy Solace and the joy of Devaki."


(pgs. 201 - 202, Yoga Samhita)