Many times we wonder why success eludes us. The success we seek may be monetary or name and fame or professional or in personal life or may be the highest: viz. realisation of God. However, few realise that the seed of success is really the deepest desire of our heart. Whatever is this deepest desire in that we shall be successful. If the deepest desire of our heart is material success or money, we will get money. If it is the ‘name and fame’, we will achieve ‘name and fame’. If it is God we desire, sooner or later we will reach God. Once we are possessed by a deep and intense desire, the desire will manifest in our thoughts and actions and then success is only a matter of time. Once this happens, the universe will provide conducive surroundings for our success. On the spiritual path, this intense desire makes a Guru appear before the aspirant to lead him to the realisation of God. The whole universe has come into existence by manifestation of God’s will, and we being a small spark of God will have the same potential to manifest the object of our will.
Every person has some deep desire whether he knows it or not. The key is to know what that ‘deep desire’ is and then manifest that desire in our personality and actions. However, intense desire is not enough to achieve and attain, it has to be backed by action — dedicated action. Desire motivates us to set a goal and ceaselessly work to achieve it. Know for sure that if our deepest desire is one and we pursue some other goal, we may have limited success but the success will not be phenomenal. So to know the thing one really wants in life is very important and whether we know it or not today, life will go on taking shape in that direction and one day, we will know it. To know our deepest desire and consciously pursue the same with patience and perseverance shall advance us rapidly in achieving our goal.
How can one know what is his or her deepest desire? It requires some amount of purity and a lot of concentration of mind. If one sits regularly in meditation and daily spends some time with oneself in solitude, one day one shall know what is it that one ‘deeply desires’.
Pursuing our deepest desire determines our destiny. Hence, having the right desire is cardinal. If money for money’s sake is what we want, money will come but with its negative aspects. This is what we are witnessing today. The same is true for name and fame. Desire is the seed, Karma or action is the plant and it will bear fruit according to the quality of the desire and the action. So one needs to be wise in choosing the right desire and also the right means to fulfil the desire. Fortunate are those who know what they desire because they shall get it. But most fortunate are those who have the right desire in their heart and know it. The choice of desire is relevant to achieving a satisfying success.
Ultimately, what everyone desires is happiness and tries to find the same in various objects like money, name and fame, etc. However, true happiness can be only found in God. All other desires should be a stepping stone to realise God. The key is: Don’t get attached to stepping stones. In reality, every one of us is on the spiritual path and knowingly or unknowingly desires only God. Let us always remember that life after all is a series of small awakening steps till we realise God — that is — self realisation.
Ultimately every pursuit is for happiness and the objective is to know where our real happiness lies and ceaselessly strive for the same. I would conclude by quoting Swami Vivekananda: “Take up one idea, make that one idea your life — think of it, dream of it, live on that idea, let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”
“He is the wisest who seeks God. He is the most successful who has found God.”
— Paramhansa Yogananda
