Radhanath Swami on Finding Fulfillment

Creation is constituted on the principles of dualities (pleasure/pain, honor/dishonor). The nature of this world is that we are always grabbing for the positive side and clinging to it when we have it. But the negative side is inevitable. You really can’t have one without the other. So how to find real fulfillment in a world that is ever changing? The fulfillment that comes from enlightenment can be found in the most ordinary situations. Yet, actually, nothing is ordinary. Because we take things for granted and become dull to the beauty of the present moment, things seem ordinary. But just the fact that we are breathing, that the sun rises and we are able to walk and talk are all amazing things. Throughout our day there are so many lessons to learn and to grow from if we just have the right perception – to be grateful to God for all that he provides, seeing endless opportunities to go deeper, to be present and see the beauty of the world and remember the artist (God), to see each living being as a child of God, as a brother and sister, and to act compassionately and lovingly towards them all, to connect everything to God and to see our relationship to each other as a loving family.

As long as we are living our lives on a superficial level we are so affected by what happens on a superficial level. Yet, if we go deep into who we are, into our own relationship with God and into the depths of our consciousness we can find a place where we are connected to a current of truth. We see what happens on the surface and deal with it, but we are not affected by it.

Happiness is not to the degree we take things from the outside but about accessing what is within us. That is the real satisfaction and love which we are all looking for. The fundamental need of every living being is pleasure and the only pleasure that can really give us fulfillment is that of love. But for love to really satisfy the heart and not just the mind and senses, it must be without selfishness –...