Swami Tejomayananda

Suppose I get the object of my desire at the cost of another person’s prosperity, would it be considered a great success? No! Because success is not about becoming richer and more knowledgeable while keeping everybody else ignorant and poor. Real success lies in helping everybody rise higher and higher.
Now, how do we become victorious? If we have firm policies in life, that alone will take us to success. Otherwise, we may win in the short run, but without values it will soon disappear. Extending this logic a bit further, unless a country has firm policies — economic or foreign — there cannot be any prosperity.
True abiding victory is not just obtaining the thing that we desire, but it is that in which lies the welfare and well-being of all. When we look out only for our happiness, we may make many people around us miserable. Victory is that in which there is prosperity, steady growth and firm abidance in spiritual values. Otherwise, when people gain wealth without values they become lazy or indigent and whatever they may have gained is lost. If we relax once we have gained freedom for the nation, it will become an ideal situation for enemies to attack. So, continuous vigil and attention is required.
Having understood victory, the next logical topic is — how to gain victory? How to attain success and an inspiring one at that? The most important thing is to have a holistic vision in life. Even though we have to live life day-to-day, event-to-event and project-to-project, we must never lose sight of this total vision.
Each one of us has, whether we know it or not, a vision in life. The majority think that life is simply to “eat, drink and be merry” and they do not think beyond this. All our actions, reactions and our responses to things, beings and happenings in life around us depend upon our vision of life. The nobler the vision, the more mature will be our response. If our vision is very low, then we go on acting impulsively. Some people act impulsively, only with their instincts. They have no mature response to anything.
Our actions and reactions depend upon our vision. As is our vision, so will this world and life appear to us. Some people have a very faulty vision and they feel everything is miserable here. They get angry with everything and become very bitter with certain unpleasant experiences in life. But people with the right vision realise that the world is the best teacher! To them the world is wonderful! There is a quotation that reads, “Life is that teacher which gives you tests first, lessons afterwards”. Life is a wonderful teacher, complete with tests and experiences. Life allows you to learn the lessons. With the right vision, you will learn the right lessons. And there are teachers who guide you to look at life with the right attitude and draw the proper lessons from it which will help you grow in life.
Vision falls into three categories: Sattvic vision (pure and noble), rajasic vision (mediocre) and tamasic vision (faulty and dark). In Gita, Sri Krishna refers to the that knowledge in the light of which a person is able to see the one undivided truth present in all things and beings — the vision of unity in diversity; to see the oneness of all human beings even though they are outwardly different. This is sattvic vision.
Each one of us is different — physically, emotionally and intellectually. But there is one thing in common, and that is that we are all human beings. Still further, all of us are living beings. Existence is the attribute of man, animals, plants, stones and so on. Thus, the attribute of existence is the same and is present everywhere. If you look at life from this standpoint, are we not one with all? The same truth is present everywhere. The sattvic vision is that by which a person is able to see the one truth that is common to all things and beings and also see the oneness of all beings.
This alone leads to true and lasting prosperity.

— Swami Tejomayananda, head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, is an orator, poet, singer, composer and storyteller. To find out more about Chinmaya Mission and Swamiji, visit www.chinmayamission.com.
© Central Chinmaya Mission Trust.