SUCCESS.
What is meant here by success is the achievement of something worth
while, that shall make the world better and richer, and add something
to the common good. Our sphere in life may be very humble, but if
we overcome our own weaknesses, help others along life's pathway,
and do our daily work better than we need, our life cannot be other
than successful. If, at the end of our life, we can be thankful for
it, realizing that we have made the best possible use of it, we have
achieved real success.
Success, to the unillumined, may mean the accumulation of wealth and
the winning of fame. Yet those who give up their lives to the
acquirement of these things are the greatest failures in life. They
gain wealth, it is true, but they find that their money can buy only
those things that bring no satisfaction: that it cannot purchase for
them any of the things which are really worth having. Success of this
hollow kind, can be won, but at too great a price. The greatest
Teacher of all once said: "For what shall it profit man, if he shall
gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" What _does_ it profit
a man if he "gets on" at the cost of happiness, health, joy of living,
domestic life, and the ability to appreciate Nature's beauties and
simple pleasures?
Yet man must be a striver. He must be for ever seeking better things
and to express himself more perfectly. One who drifts through life,
making no effort to rise to better things, is not worthy of the name
of citizen. Man, if he is to be worthy of the name, must be for ever
striving, overcoming, rising. Failure in life is always due to
weakness of character. It is only strong characters who can resist
the buffetings of life and overcome its difficulties. The man who
would make his life worthy of respect and who would rise to high
achievement and service, will be confronted by difficulty at every
turn. This is as it should be, for it weeds out the weaklings and
unworthy aspirants, and awards the spoils to those who exhibit faith,
courage, steadfastness, patience, perseverance, persistence,
cheerfulness, and strength of character, generally. Success,
especially material success, is not, in itself, of much benefit to
the one who wins it. It does not satisfy for long, but it is valuable
in other ways. For instance, success, based on service, is a benefit
to the community. If, it were not for successful people of this type
the ordinary man in the rut would have a bad time. Also, the winning
of success builds up character. One who would be successful in the
battle of life, must be prepared to be tested and tried in every
possible way. One who survives them all is built up in character in
almost every direction. Even in his success, however, he will be
tempted and tried. One who is engaged in the harsh struggle of
business, or who takes part in public life, may, if he does not watch
himself very carefully, become hard and callous. Of all failures this
is probably the worst. One who succeeds in other directions and
becomes a "hard man," is, after all, a sorry failure.
Again, people of the successful, striving, climbing type, are tempted
far more than those who are afraid to venture and who remain in the
valley of mediocrity. This is true, not only of those who seek to
climb the steep path of spiritual attainment, but also of those who
are successful in mundane affairs. In each case, they have placed
in their keeping great powers and influence such as the ordinary man
little dreams of. This is a grave responsibility, for if these powers
are used for self-aggrandisement the results are disastrous. Thus,
those who climb, are beset on all sides by temptations of a very
subtle kind, which, if yielded to, will ruin the life and do grave
injury to the soul.
Life is a continual battle. To the ordinary person it is generally
a fight with circumstances and the ordinary difficulties of life
which are very important in his eyes. The more advanced soul is not
troubled much by these things--he rises above them--but he is tempted
and tried to a much greater degree, and in a far more subtle manner.
Those who think that by following a certain "cult" or "ism," they
will be able to have an uneventful walk through life are merely
deluding themselves. As he learns to overcome the difficulties of
life which baffle the ordinary individual, he will be tempted and
tried in other and more subtle ways. This is because life is not for
mere passing pleasure, but is for the building up of character,
through experience. Therefore, one who would succeed must be strong,
and wise and patient. Those who aspire to make their lives really
worth while: who desire to serve their fellows more perfectly: who
want to build up character through experience and overcome all their
weaknesses, inherited or otherwise, must look within for power and
wisdom.
It must be pointed out, however, that man must not use his spiritual
powers for selfish purposes and self-aggrandisement. There is an
immutable law, which has been known to the inner teaching all through
the ages, that forbids the use of spiritual powers for the creation
of wealth or even of daily bread. Jesus was subject to the same
spiritual law, and was tempted exactly in the same way as we. The
tempter said: "Command this stone that it be made bread." If Christ
had turned the stone into bread, He would have failed in His great
mission, but He knew the law. There are thousands of people to-day
who are trying, not only to turn, by the mis-use of their spiritual
powers, stones into bread, but also into motor cars, fat bank balances
and lands and houses. Such are heading to disaster, for they are
working _against_ the combined Spiritual Power of the Universe. The
Enemy of Souls offers those who have learned to tap the inexhaustible
Power of the Universe, and who have discovered that they are sons
of God, wealth, power, pomp, the applause of men--the glittering
things that perish--if only they will mis-use their God-given power.
Like Jesus, they must refuse. They must put service before self, and
give instead of grasping.
Thousands are being taught to-day to force their human will upon life
and to use occult powers for the acquisition of wealth and power.
They are taught to enter the Silence and demand "what they want."
"How to get what you want" is the slogan of these modern teachers.
Not merit, not service, not giving, but demanding, compelling by human
will-power and by the use of occult forces. This is another device
of the Enemy of Souls, and it is taking tens of thousands of seekers
for Truth out of the Path. This subject is dealt with more fully in
a separate chapter.
If, however, man's ambition is to serve and to give, instead of to
grasp and to grab: if, also, he seeks success through merit and not
through the mis-use of his spiritual powers, he can go forward and
the Power will go with him and will help him. When once the Power
has been aroused, man must cease all purely selfish striving,
although, of course, there will still be much selfishness in his
motive. He must seek his success through service and through following
noble aims: through merit and a fair exchange, instead of trying to
wring success from life, no matter who may suffer thereby.
Further, when this Power has been brought into expression it must
only be used in love, for if it used otherwise it will destroy the
user. Again, the Power must not be used by the finite human will,
but an endeavour must be made to find what the Will of the Whole is,
and to work in harmony with it.
Behind each life is the Divine Will and Purpose. Each life is perfect
as it is imaged in the Universal Mind. The highest success, indeed,
the only true success, is to live the life according to the great
Cosmic Purpose, or, in other words, as it is imaged in the One Mind.
Do not imagine, however, that it is the Will of the Universal Mind
that man should be a failure or lacking in achievement. Far from it,
for we have only to contemplate the Universe to see that the Infinite
Mind is for ever achieving and that it never fails. Man, too, must
succeed, but let him mix wisdom with his ambition, and work for the
benefit of the Whole, rather than for any purely selfish purpose.
It is natural for man to "get on" in life, to a moderate extent. [6]
In order to "get on" he must become more efficient, and thus serve
life and his fellows better. Therefore, there is no harm in success
of this kind. It is natural and laudable also for one in poor and
unlovely surroundings to have an ambition to raise himself to better
circumstances. It is only right that he should desire to make life
brighter and better for his wife and family. So long as he indulges
in ambition wisely, and if he seeks success through _better service_
to his fellows, his is a laudable purpose. If, however, he does not
curb and control his ambition but allows it to "run away" with him,
he will lose all real joy in life, and, at the last, when it is too
late, learn, to his sorrow, that his life, through too much "success,"
has been a failure.
[6] It must not be deduced from this that the author deprecates
large achievement. There must always be the few who have to
bear huge responsibilities. The real success of the lives of
these great ones depends entirely upon their MOTIVE. If they
seek merely power, fame and self-aggrandisement, then their
life, no matter how it may APPEAR otherwise, can be only a
failure. If, however, their motive is SERVICE, then their life
is truly successful, no matter how it may appear to be
otherwise.
The writer's experience has been that it is necessary that we should
always be progressing, achieving, overcoming and endeavouring to
succeed. One of the greatest laws of the Universe is progress,
therefore it is fatal to stand still. We must go forward, we must
achieve, we must accomplish things. If we do so, we may find that
many things which cost us much effort, and hard work are not worth
the having, yet all the time we are learning, through experience,
and are being strengthened and prepared for greater things. Through
repeated failure to find true satisfaction we arrive finally at true
knowledge, wisdom and understanding. We are wise then, if, with the
world at our feet, we can be satisfied with a very moderate material
success, and turn our attention and aspirations to higher and better
things.
In concluding this chapter let it be pointed out that success and
achievement will not drop ready made from heaven into your lap. All
who succeed are gluttons for work, toiling whilst others play and
sleep. All teaching to the contrary is erroneous. To think that
success is going to come to you when it is unmerited, simply because
you make use of "affirmations" or employ mental "treatments," is folly
of the first water. On the other hand, to use the inner forces in
an occult way, so as to compel material things or "success,"
so-called, in any shape or form, to come to you, is black magic. One
who stoops to such practices becomes a black magician, earning for
himself a terrible retribution. There is only one way to succeed in
the affairs of life, and that is by raising oneself to greater
usefulness and service. By doing things better than they have been
done before, by bearing greater responsibility, you serve humanity
better, and therefore merit success. "It is more blessed to give than
to receive," said the Master, and this is true even in the practical
and material affairs of life. First, you must give better and more
valuable service: in other words, deserve and merit before you expect
to see it materialize. You must sow before you can reap: you must
become too big for your present position before you are capable of
occupying a larger one. You must grow and expand in every possible
way, and as you grow so will your success increase. Outward success
is only a reflection, so to speak, of what you really are, and a
result of greater and more valuable service to humanity. It requires
great effort and determination to get out of the rut, but so long
as your ambition is not ignoble or selfish, there will be found within
you power sufficient for all your needs.
To win success, either in the hurly-burly of life, or the more
difficult path of spiritual progress, demands imagination, vision,
courage, faith, determination, persistence, perseverance, hope,
cheerfulness and other qualities. These are all to be found within.
All these qualities lie more or less dormant within, and can be called
into expression if we believe that Infinite Power is ours.
Again, however, must the warning be repeated that this Power must
not be used for selfish self-aggrandisement, still less may it be
used, or, rather, mis-used, either to influence or dominate others.
If this Power is mis-used the results are terrible and disastrous.
Therefore, use the Power only for the achievement of good and noble
aims and in service which shall enrich the life of your fellows,
adding to the common good. Having arrived at this stage you must go
forward. There can be no holding back. Ever onward, the Divine Urge
is sending you, to greater achievement and accomplishment. Just as
surely as the planets must revolve round the sun and fulfil their
destiny, so also must you go forward. See to it, then, that your aims
and ambitions are based upon eternal wisdom, for upon this does your
whole future depend.