Remember the principle—it’s one of the deepest truths that Paramhansa Yogananda taught: the greater the will, the greater the flow of energy. By putting a great deal of energy into whatever you do, you draw the energy to do it—and to do it well. Now, of course, this is why people pull back. They discover that when you put a certain amount of energy out, yes, energy may come, but then life demands that you put more energy out. You’ve got to keep trying harder and harder and people think, “Oh, no! Not that hard!”
Sooner or later we have to discover that there’s either progress or egress, but never standing still. As devotees we should never complain at having to work hard. We must reach the point where it’s fun to try hard, where we experience this energy as a manifestation of divine joy. We should feel that it is our privilege to work as hard as we possibly can for God, and to be able to look back and say, “I gave my all.” This is victory.
Ultimately you have to reach the point where your energy is the energy of the universe. This is what a master is, and if you want to become a master, you must realize that the self-sacrifice to which you are being called is total.
But the thing is, God doesn’t expect you to do it all at once. There is at least that comfort. Take one step at a time. But always remember that whatever energy you’re now putting out, you’re doing it so that you can develop the strength to put out more, and not so that you can say, “Oh, good, now I’ve done it; now I can retire and sit in my rocking chair.” You are doing this for your Infinite Beloved. Nothing is too hard for that.
