Paramahansa Yogananda Answers the Question, “What is real success?”

From the talks and writings of Paramahansa Yogananda:

What is real success?...Success is not a simple matter; it cannot be determined merely by the amount of money and material possessions you have. The meaning of success goes far deeper. It can only be measured by the extent to which your inner peace and mental control enable you to be happy under all circumstances. That is real success.

It is only by developing both pure reason and pure feeling that you can reach God and truth….By successful meditation one attains this balance within himself, or herself, for it is already there, hidden in the soul.

Four times a day sit quietly in meditation and think with all the love and longing of your heart: “I am with the Infinite now. ‘Father, reveal Thyself, reveal Thyself.’” Strive to feel the peace of His presence. Bathe your mind and body in that peace, and you will be much more successful in life….You must be calm to be successful.

God does help those who help themselves. When your mind is calm and filled with faith after praying to God in meditation, you are able to see various answers to your problems; and because your mind is calm, you are capable of picking out the best solution. Follow that solution, and you will meet with success. This is applying the science of religion in your daily life.

Success in Self-realization depends on whole-souled effort….Yoga should not be practiced mechanically or from an oppressive sense of duty, but with joy and perpetual zeal, thus causing each day’s meditation to yield a deeper bliss than that of the previous day.

True success is when you have so expanded your consciousness that your life is a glory and happiness to yourself and to others.

As the vital rays of the sun nurture all, so should you spread rays of hope in the hearts of the poor and forsaken, kindle courage in the hearts of the despondent, and light a new strength in the hearts of those who think that they are failures. When you realize that life is a joyous battle of duty and at the same time a passing dream, and when you become filled with the joy of making others happy by giving them kindness and peace, in God’s eyes your life is a success.

For further insights into the nature of true success and how to attain it, we invite you to read an excerpt from an interview with SRF/YSS President Brother Chidananda that appears in the latest issue of Self-Realization magazine.

Read "Defining Success From the Perspective of the Soul"