At the age of fifteen, a Western youth read a book of Eastern religion. It was about Vedanta that speaks of the Spirit. The Transcendent Spirit was a complete reality to the young mind. It was a concrete Reality. At that tender age to the Mind that is fresh and open, it powerfully struck him that he must realise the Spirit, not realising that it was a goal attained only by the Vedic and Vedantic Rishis of the past. In later days in India a great many have realised that goal. It was impossible for one of fifteen years to conceive that he was setting his sights too high. To him, life would be insupportable without that Transcendent. In the innate goodness of a young fresh heart, there arose a powerful urge.
He was not a naïve person, as many of his age are. He had a powerful insight into the hidden secrets of life. Invariably, he would know the other man's motives. Never once in his life of fifty years has he been deceived. This stark realism and that lofty idealism were at loggerheads. He saw around him men and women getting ahead in life. Such people honestly believed that dishonesty was always stronger than honesty. Today, in India, we see that truth of life. "Life is hard, God is great. He is in heaven. We are living here on earth among men who are crooks. After all, I am human. I have to take care of myself and my family. There are a million things to be accomplished at once. I know the value of honesty. But what can honesty do if I have to get my licence at the RTO's office or the ration card at the taluq office. Why that? What about my brothers and sisters? Will honesty pay with them? Well, how many can trust me in important affairs? We have to be practical," is a ruling thought in most of us.
This youth believed that it was a MUST for him to be honest. His aspiration was to demonstrate to the world that GOOD is stronger than its opposite. He came to Pondicherry, saw the Mother, heard of the Psychic, and wanted to realise it. He saw in it his dream coming true. He became a success in life, a financial success. His success came to him through his ideals. It made him happy, happier than all the people around him in his own country. His ideal constantly inspired him. In his visits to Pondicherry, for the best part of his stay he simply sits, does not even attempt to mediate. Meditation often comes to him on its own. Once during such a meditative mood he was asked, "What has happened to you? Your face is bathed in light." He replied, "Time is fleeting. The last four hours passed as half an hour. I still think it will be insupportable NOT to realise the Transcendent, as the passionate lover Darcy in Pride and Prejudice said in his proposal to Elizabeth, that to marry her in spite of his burning love would be insupportable due to her mother's behaviour and sisters' exhibition."