The Inner Path to Fulfilment

A man once consulted a fortune-teller seeking to know the time and place of his death. He explained that such information would help him plan the rest of his life more effectively. The fortune-teller replied that none was granted that knowledge, for it was withheld by the Creator.

The man pleaded: ‘Can’t you give me an approximate idea.’ She said: ‘I will do my best’, then spent a few minutes in inner communion. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the man and said: ‘I can give you a choice. You can either die here and now, or then and there.’ Naturally the man chose the latter. The logic was infallible but he was no wiser than before.

The same restrictions to our knowledge seem to apply not just to life’s duration, but also to its purpose. The title of this article suggests that life has a purpose, which it calls ‘fulfilment’. This means lasting fulfilment—fulfilment that is the foundation of our being, not some transient upliftment.

Many would argue that such completeness of human experience is not possible. Human life is full of difficulties and dangers. It is hard enough to live safely, let alone to achieve some kind of fulfilment.

Paradoxically, it is the experience of the unreliable nature of our worldly situation that may eventually prompt us to reflect more deeply. This can be a turning point, because we may be inspired to investigate another field of experience that has so far been more or less overlooked—the inner world of our mind.

We will learn that our mind itself is the realm where we can uncover the highest goal of all. For there is a dimension of our mind that is more precious than the world’s wealth, more worthwhile than any intellectual brilliance. This is a hidden faculty related to our inmost centre, which, when awakened, can lead us to liberation and final satisfaction. This higher principle, which is sometimes called our intuitive faculty, is closest to the ultimate source of our experience, our true Self—that peak of being which transcends all limitations and is one in all. Even now this underlying perfection and freedom can be uncovered and verified, if we make certain adjustments to the life of the mind.

The main adjustment is to cultivate inner peace and one-pointedness, and to rise above those tendencies that hinder this endeavour. For such peace of mind has a progressive, transformative power that leads to fulfilment. We may thirst for excitement, but the teaching is that it is a serene mind that is truly beneficial in the deepest sense.

This is because a serene mind is a revealing mind. What does it reveal? Something more than serenity, that has its source in our own depth. We will find that a new knowledge dawns within us—a knowledge that satisfies forever. Our thirst for ever-expanding knowledge is relieved in the deep inner peace.