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.

However, recognising our good fortune, let us try to see what we can do upon the constructive, positive side in order to build up a source of energy that will constitute an asset to ourselves and a fort out of which we can trap the living waters of a dynamic, progressive life, and what we can do in order to build up such a reserve of energy. It will not be possible to dwell upon all the things that we can do, but even dwelling upon a few of them will be, as it were, a finger pointing in the direction to follow.

A great deal of good will accrue to that human individual who makes up one’s mind that henceforward I will always look upon the brighter side of things and never for a moment continue the habit of looking on the darker side of things. In short, be optimistic. Never say, I cannot do it. Never say, this is not possible. Never say, this is never meant to happen to a wretched person like me.

Who are you to say what is meant to happen to you, what is not meant to happen to you, when there is some higher Power that looks after and governs the life of all beings? Who are you to jump to conclusions as though you have made a window into His omniscience? You are trying to take a higher position: "He knows everything. I know what He knows."

This is a sort of mentality by which we become our own enemy. Instead of that, why not be positive? Why not say, "Everything is happening for my evolution. I am sure that only good can come out of it. Why? Because I know that the Supreme Being is all-goodness. How do I know? All the saints have said so. All the wise people have said it. All the scriptures of the world say that. He is all-auspicious, all-blessed, the Supreme One, the great and glorious One. There is nothing negative in Him."

In that way, hundreds and thousands of saints that have come and blessed the earth by their life and teachings through millennia have sung His praises, sung His glories. These great ones have lauded the Supreme Being in unmistakable terms, and this not merely through sentiment or emotion. They have lauded the Supreme Being out of their own personal experience of that Being. Therefore, we can be absolutely sure that that Being is the most blessed one, all-auspicious, all-good. "Therefore, I would be perfectly right and safe if I base my life upon that assumption and proceed with living my life on that assumption."

The wise person gets rid of the past. They do not allow the past to be iron shackles and chains connected to a great ball of iron: "So what hope is there for me to move forward even one inch? I am cursed to be where I am and to languish and die." This is the view of the self-defeating, negative-thinking pessimist, who sees only problems everywhere, not knowing that the problem is here. We have transformed ourselves into one great big problem, the problem of the self.

Therefore, shatter this self-created dungeon of darkness and soar high into the brilliant, bright light of the sun of optimism. Hope is one of the things prized by the Christian faith—faith, hope and love. Hope springs from faith also. And you will be abundantly benefited by this alchemy of transferring your base from pessimism to optimism, transforming yourself from a negative-thinking, despairing pessimist to a positive-thinking, hopeful optimist, by which you throw the doors wide open for your ascent, success, progress and highest attainment.

Pranayama

also gives abundant energy. Deep breathing and pranayama give abundant energy to the physical system. Go out into the sun and let the breeze play upon your face. Every day, without fail, breathe deeply and let the sun and breeze play upon you. You can thus draw great energy and benefit yourself physically and mentally. When you go out into the bright sun, into the open, your mood no longer can be negative. Your mood changes. The mind becomes converted from a narrow limited state into an unlimited, vast, expanded state when you go out into the expanded open with nothing to obstruct your view in all four directions. Lift up and look up into the lofty imperium. You will be abundantly rewarded.

Likewise, with unfailing regularity, practise pranayama every day. Pranayama fills the body cells and nerve currents with abundant energy by drawing from the endless, immeasurable, infinite, infallible cosmic prana surrounding you. There is boundless cosmic energy all around us.

We are living in a field of great cosmic energy for it is all the manifestation of Mother Sakti. Prakriti or nature is a manifestation of sakti, so everywhere there is a plentiful, perennial, inexhaustible supply of sakti in which we live, move and have our being. Recognising this, through pranayama, create positive suggestions and feel that from the top of your head to the tip of your toenails every cell is being renewed, rejuvenated, transformed, energised and vitalised.

In this way, day by day you will be a new being filled with that radiant life force, the sakti that is not of the created phenomenon, but the uncreated noumenon. Sakti is uncreated, eternal, inexhaustible. It can renew you physically, mentally, psychically, nervously. In every way it can rejuvenate you—lungs, heart, circulation, respiration, the whole of the metabolism. We are rolling in an abundant, inexhaustible wealth that you do not have to lift your little finger to touch. It is so close—an inexhaustible wealth of energy, of light, of life.

Therefore, let us not be rich and be beggars. Let us not be most blessed and fortunate and imagine misfortune. We are heirs to all this abundance, all this great storehouse and treasure of abundance and energy. We are heirs; we have a claim; it is our birthright. This is a fact. This is the reality of your situation at this moment. Realise this and become blessed. May the Supreme Being and Holy Master enable us to do it and never stop doing it. So help me God. Be it so!