True comfort dawns when you know that you belong to the Divine, and the Divine belongs to you. Then every commitment is light, every challenge is  play, and every moment of life is a celebration

What you are looking for in life is comfort. Why do you need money? Because you want comfort. The end objective of all your actions boils down to one thing: comfort.

There are many levels of comfort. The first is physical comfort. If you are sitting on the grass you think, "Oh, it would have been better if there was a cushion." Then there is mental comfort, which is even more essential. You may have a comfortable home, but if the mind is disturbed you cannot sleep even on the most luxurious bed, isn't it?

There is also emotional comfort. You may have everything, but if someone close to you withdraws or says something hurtful, your emotional comfort is lost. And finally there is spiritual comfort: the comfort of the soul, which is total peace, an uninterrupted flow of joy and serenity from within.

Comfort really means to be yourself. But where does this comfort lie-in the body or the mind? It is a combination of both. Sometimes when the body is uncomfortable, the mind too becomes restless, and vice versa. You may have a very nice bed to lie on, but if the mind is disturbed, sleep will not come. More than the body, comfort of the mind is important. The mind is three times more powerful than the body.

Comfort and commitment

And your comfort is based on commitment. The commitment of others brings you comfort. For instance, the milkman's commitment to deliver milk gives you comfort. In the same way, your commitment brings comfort to others.

Sometimes people say, "Oh, I am stuck with this commitment, so I am unhappy." Don't expect every commitment to be smooth from the beginning. If you are an aspiring doctor, then you have to be committed to completing your medical course. You will naturally face some difficult periods when you will feel like quitting the course.

Commitment and Convenience

A commitment can only be felt when it oversteps convenience. That which is convenient, you do not call it commitment. If you just go by your convenience, your commitment falls apart causing more inconvenience! If you keep dropping your commitment because it is inconvenient, can you be comfortable? Often, what is convenient does not bring comfort, but gives an illusion of comfort. Also if you are too stuck in commitment, and it is too inconvenient too often, you will be unable to fulfill your commitment and it will only generate frustration. Wisdom is to strike a balance between convenience and commitment because both bring comfort to the body, mind and spirit.

And commitment has the power to take you across all obstacles. The greater the achievement, the greater the commitment.

The more you commit, the more your capacity grows. Commitment always involves doing something beyond what you think you can do. You don't say, "I am committed to drink a glass of water," or "I am committed to walk one kilometer." These are things you do anyway. Real commitment is about stretching your capabilities.

Today we do not instill confidence and commitment in our youth. You will find many young people blaming others: the government, society, or parents. But few take responsibility for themselves. This makes one weak and dependent. Where there is dependence, there can be no happiness or comfort.

So youth need to wake up. They need to have the confidence in their ability to meet their commitments. They need to have faith. And at the same time, keep an open mind. You need not stay stuck. A few minutes of quiet meditation, a few minutes of deep relaxation, a few minutes of breathing practice every day, a few minutes of singing from the heart- these will give you the strength to fulfill your commitments joyfully.

Once a person asked me, "Is there such a thing as a wrong commitment? Yes, and when can you find that out? You will know when Viveka (discrimination) awakens within you, and you realize that whatever commitment or promise you made was wrong and was made out of ignorance. When a commitment made does not bring any benefit or any good result, then you can withdraw from your commitment. But, you do not have the right to change this by yourself alone. This is why you should go to a Guru, or a wise person and tell them about your problem. Tell them that 'I was ignorant when I took up this commitment. Now I feel that this is wrong and futile. I seek your help and opinion on how to overcome this'. A Guru or a wise person can understand and tell you the way to overcome this. They will be able to judge and ascertain whether your commitment was right or not; or whether you are trying to run away from your commitment to keep yourself in your comfort zone. See, if your commitment is going to create problems and bring sorrow to many, then you should drop the commitment. Like a youth told me once, 'I have promised the commander … to do anything possible to spread this principle.' But when he became peaceful he realized that this is not the right commitment he took. 'I don't want to be involved in violence anymore. But what to do? I have promised them, committed to them. What do you do?' I said, 'No, let go of the commitment because you made the commitment in ignorance.' So there is no point in honouring that commitment which you took in ignorance to engage in violence.

Commitment and Success

Achievement follows commitment. When you remain committed you are bound to succeed sooner or later. But we must know what it means to be really successful. Everyone wants to be successful. But have you asked yourself, what is success? Success is simply ignorance about your own capabilities. You assume you can only do so much, and when you cross that self-imposed boundary, you call it success.

You never say, "I successfully ate a banana." When you limit yourself, you reduce the power of your own consciousness. Each time you achieve something, you feel proud. Actually, you should feel sorry because you were capable of far more than what you achieved.

When you succeed, you feel pride. When you fail, you feel guilty and upset. Both pride and guilt can drag you out of your joy and prevent you from realizing your greater potential.

The best way is to surrender to the Divine. If you succeed, so what? It is just another happening, another thing you did and you can do much more. If you fail, so what? You couldn't do it that time, that's all. Now ask yourself "What next?"

Life is a vast field of possibilities. When you rest in your own nature, in that comfort of the spirit, then neither success can make you arrogant nor can failure make you small.

True comfort dawns when you know that you belong to the Divine, and the Divine belongs to you. Then every commitment is light, every challenge is play, and every moment of life is a celebration.