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What looks gloomy, actually contains promises of sustained growth and fruition. Be prepared for it, and start going ahead with the new outlook at the earliest.

Respected Swamiji,

I am giving you my personal details below:

With a brilliant academic career, having completed my Ph.D thesis from I.I.T. Kharagpur, recently I have joined this Plant and am posted at the mines. I am a native of Bankura district of West Bengal. I am of 28 years age and unmarried. By nature, I am simple, soft, sober with high ideals and moral values. During my academic life I maintained high hopes, guided by reason and ethical values, was isolated when I grew as an individual. I always dream high, above average (premature thinking).

Now, after coming to this industrial life, I feel insecure. I feel all my ambitions and dreams are going to fail. I am gradually entering a mechanized, routine life like the other millions. This environment and society is not going to be accepted by my mind. I am unhappy and mentally worried, uncomfortable.

Please advise me.
With due regards,
Yours faithfully,…

*  *  *

Dear and blessed Soul …,

Harih Om Tat Sat. Your letter of 18th to hand. Your ambitious life, following which you say you are in an incompatible industrially oriented society, and hence the consequent depressing notes your mind is driven to – all are noted. And now, you seek a valid, practical redress.

O.K. My dear boy, this is nothing new or unwelcome. Nor is it anything extraordinary, taking into account the mental structure you have portrayed about yourself. Academic career is only to equip you with the right knowledge and insight to meet and pursue the actual life-situations that follow. If the insight or ambition fostered earlier does not fit in with the present situation, all that is called for is a patient re-examination of your own mind and its outlook, and then a timely correction and re-orientation, by which your mind will survive with what is the best and outstanding in it.

In fact, dear boy, does not actual life-pursuit mean this growth and promotion? If the previous phase of yours was academic in nature, the present is professional in nature. That is all the difference.

The right and progressive thinking for you now, will be:

The situation before me being what it is, my mind and upbringing being what they were, they are, how best can I be effective, and yet fulfill my objectives? The situation I am not going to alter, nor is it needed. By my mind, I shall build, rebuild, nourish, strengthen and improve to fuse into itself the past and the present harmoniously and well. Am I prevented from this in any way? Well, what more is to be learnt by me now, by which this new challenge will be met, and effectiveness now and success later can be achieved?

Dear boy, never lose heart. There will be no loss for you at all. What looks gloomy, actually contains promises of sustained growth and fruition. Be prepared for it, and start going ahead with the new outlook at the earliest. Let me know, what further you need from me for this venture.

With love and āśis,

yours in Truth & Beauty,

Swamiji

–  From the book–“Be what you are”.