Wheeling College; Wheeling, West Virginia, USA

The Chapel
28 February 1974

Dear seekers of the Transcendental Truth, I wish to give a talk on the subject of
problems.
Problems within, problems without, problems everywhere. True, we do have
some problems; but unfortunately we multiply them into countless problems.
How do we multiply our problems? There are two ways. First, we invite the past
and the future to come and stay with us in the heart of today. And second, we try
to solve all our problems in the twinkling of an eye.
Let us consider the past—the unfulfilled past, the sad past, the past that has
not given us what we actually wanted—as an enemy or a useless friend. And let
us take the unmanifested future as a perfect stranger. If we know that somebody
is useless, that he has not encouraged, inspired or liberated us, then let us not
invite that particular friend to stay with us. Again, let us not invite a stranger,
either. A stranger may not please us. He may do something harmful and hurtful.
Let us not have faith in a stranger; let us have all faith only in today. Today is our
friend, our only friend. Let us take morning as a dream-boat and evening as the
reality-shore. Right now we are all in the sea of aspiration. Once we cross the sea,
we will reach our Destined Goal.
Each human being, from a child to an octogenarian, has problems. A child has
a problem when he wants to learn the alphabet. But he studies, and there comes
a time when he not only learns the alphabet, but can easily read any book he
wants. Similarly, a beginner in the spiritual life finds it extremely difficult to get
even an iota of peace, light and bliss no matter how bitterly he cries for it. But
this beginner does not remain always a beginner. After a while he becomes an
advanced seeker and finally, at God’s choice Hour, he realises the Ultimate Truth.
At that time, his inner being becomes flooded with Light and Delight. But this
cannot take place overnight. If we try to pull down God’s Hour prematurely, we
will only be frustrated.
We have the body, the vital, the mind, the heart and the soul. The problem of
the body is impurity. The problem of the vital is aggression. The problem of the
mind is doubt. The problem of the heart is insecurity. And the problem of the
soul is that it has not yet manifested its inner divinity here on earth.
The body’s problem can be solved only when purity dawns. The vital’s
problem can be solved only when dynamism enters into the vital and energises
it. The mind’s problem is solved when the mind is illumined by divine faith. The
heart’s problem is solved when the heart becomes flooded with the light of love.
And the soul’s problem is solved when the soul becomes the breath of supreme
confidence.
In order to achieve purity, dynamism, faith, security and confidence, we must
listen constantly to the dictates of the Inner Pilot, and consciously surrender to
the Will of the Supreme. Now what is the Will of the Supreme? The Will of the
Supreme is our conscious acceptance of the divine Light within us and our
acceptance of earth as the field for the divine manifestation. We have to bring to
the fore our inner Light in order to offer it to the world at large for its salvation
and illumination. And we have to accept earth for the manifestation of God’s
Divinity.
In each individual there are two beings. One being wants material success; the
other wants the life of inner solitude. Now, when the individual achieves material
success, he feels that something is lacking, something is missing. His life is still
filled with problems. What is he missing? He is missing peace and tranquillity.
The material life has not given him Peace, Light and Bliss. He feels that if he can
achieve Peace, Light and Bliss, then all his problems will be over, and he will be
able to rest for good. The other being within him wants only the life of inner
peace. Only the inner life is real for that being. The outer life it discards or
negates; it feels the outer life is of no use. Then the individual goes deep within
and realises Peace, Light and Bliss. But when this Peace, Light and Bliss remain
unmanifested, the individual again feels miserable. He feels that the things that
he has or has grown into must be manifested in the outer life, the outer world.
The first being cried for material wealth, but material wealth did not satisfy
it because inner realisation was lacking. And the second being had inner
realisation, but the outer manifestation was missing. So the second also had a
problem. Before we realise God, our problem is ignorance; we ourselves are the
problem. After we realise God, our problem is manifestation. It is like earth’s
problem and Heaven’s problem. Earth’s problem is realisation; Heaven’s problem
is manifestation. Even God has problems. God’s problem is to make us feel that
we are His children, His chosen children, that we are of Him and for Him. His
problem is to make us feel that He is the root and we are the branches of the selfsame
tree.
How do we solve our problems? We solve our problems by going deep within.
The Christ said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” The Kingdom of
Heaven means the Kingdom of Light and Bliss. Only if we go deep within, will
we see the face of the Kingdom of Heaven. And once we have free access to the
Kingdom of Heaven, all our problems are solved once and for all.
There are two types of people: desiring people and aspiring people. A desiring
man takes a problem as a shattering experience, but an aspiring man considers a
problem as a strengthening experience. Whenever a problem arises, a desiring
man feels that this problem is going to shatter his hopes. Then he is doomed to
disappointment. This disappointment gives birth to frustration and, in frustration,
looms large his destruction. But an aspiring man sees a problem as a
foundation stone. He accepts the problem as a challenge. He seeks to get a firm
footing on the problem and use it as an opportunity to progress. In each
experience, the Compassion of the Highest, the Beyond, is there to guide us and
help us, first to surmount the problem and then to transform it into a radiant
opportunity to grow into the very Image of our Lord Supreme.
There is a Zen saying that before one studies Zen, mountains are mountains.
But after one enters into Zen practice, mountains no longer remain mountains.
And finally, when one gets illumination, mountains become mountains again. We
can say that mountains are the difficulties that we encounter when we enter into
the spiritual life. After a while, we see that these mountains of difficulties can
easily be surmounted. They are like passing clouds, and the inner sun is bound
to reappear. Finally, when we realise the Highest, we see that the mountains of
difficulties that we previously encountered have been transformed into mountains
of opportunities—opportunities for progress, achievement and greater awakening
in the ever-transcending experience of the highest Reality. The difficulties have
become opportunities carrying us to the ever-transcending Beyond.
The motto of the State of West Virginia is “Mountaineers are always free.”
This is a significant motto from the inner point of view because mountaineers are
climbers. We aspirants, too, are all climbers, trying to climb up to the highest
Height, the Pinnacle, on the strength of our inner cry. The higher we go, the more
freedom we enjoy. The higher we go, the more the freedom of the Absolute is
bound to inundate our existence, inner and outer. This freedom is the freedom of
the Divinity within us, the freedom of the Infinity that belongs to us, the freedom
of the Immortality of which we are made.