As a child, I hadn’t the slightest thought that I would live my life for God, but that proved to be my destiny. For some people this concept of living for God might seem intimidating, or grim, or filled with dour self-sacrifice and denial. But it’s quite the contrary. From my own experience and that of hundreds of others I know, such a life is filled with fulfillment and joy on all levels.
Why? Because God is the source of true happiness that will flow into our experiences if we break down the barriers we’ve built around our heart. When we place Him/Her at the center of our life, all of our activities are enriched by this mighty current of Divine Consciousness.
Here are a few of the ways that living for God is fulfilling:
Achieving Our Goals
When, in meditation, we train our mind to concentrate, we can focus more effectively on whatever task is at hand. Turning our attention to a goal with focused, heightened energy helps us to persevere until we achieve it.
Once, a group of us joined Swami Kriyananda in painting his (then) new dome at Crystal Hermitage. Being around Swamiji’s highly focused energy, we grew unaware of the passage of time, and painted nonstop for seven hours. Finally, at two in the morning, we realized we’d finished the job! On that occasion Swamiji showed us that we can accomplish any task when we forget about ourselves and focus on what we’re doing.
Finding Solutions to Our Problems
Often life seems like a never-ending series of problems—we fix one, only to have two more pop up. But living for God gives us not only strength and resilience, but a powerful, unseen partner to help us along the way. By tapping into a positive flow of energy, we can meet every obstacle with confidence that there is a solution.
In building Ananda, we’ve encountered countless challenges: forest fires, lawsuits, financial crises, to name a few. I remember a community meeting with Swamiji in July 1976, only a few days after the forest fire had burnt the community to the ground. Rallying the “troops,” Swamiji led us all in a solution-oriented discussion about how we could earn money to rebuild, construct simple dwellings to get through the winter, and more. It all seemed very doable, and in fact it all was.
Positive thinking draws solutions. When we live in that spirit, then God also steps in and presents unexpected opportunities to support our efforts.
Loving Others
People may have the misconception that a life in God means cutting oneself off from others, and becoming aloof or cold. It’s not so! God is the source of all love. The more we love Him/Her, the more our love flows out to everyone and everything around us. Our relationships with our friends, family, partners, children, and coworkers all become deeper and more fulfilling.
Fifteen years ago Jyotish and I spoke at a yoga conference held in a large public park in Rome. The next day as we were strolling through the park, we passed a woman we’d never met who’d been at our talk. She immediately came up to us and said, “I have many troubles in my life. I felt so much love coming from you both. Can I write to you for support?” She’s been in touch ever since, studied our teachings, and has taken Kriya initiation at our Assisi community. We’ve also watched her find peace and happiness in her life, and a growing ability to help others.
What happened was not about us, but about the power of God’s love that can flow through each of us to change people’s lives.
Dealing with Change
Swami Kriyananda wrote, “The secret of earthly happiness is to flow gracefully with change. Allow things freely to come and go. All things pass: people, events, time—life itself. Learn to accept every fresh experience joyfully.”
Everything around us will change, but we can train ourselves not to react with fear or sorrow, but to live with calmness and joy under all circumstances. As you may know, at Ananda Village we’ve had two dear friends pass away in the last three months. The way they approached their “final exam” was a powerful testament to the benefits of living for God. Whether by serving to the last moment of life, or by consciously releasing all attachments, they both exited with inner freedom and joy.
Though we feel a sense of loss at their passing, there is very little sorrow. Rather, there is a deep appreciation for the years of loving friendship we shared, and a quiet happiness for the soul freedom of our departed ones.
A saint once said, “Finding God is the end of all sorrow.” When we live only for ourself, we are forever tossed about on the alternating waves of gain and loss, pleasure and pain. A life in God enables us to achieve our goals, solve our problems, love more deeply, and know a joy unaffected by any outward change. It’s truly a life worth living.
Your friend in God,
Nayaswami Devi
Listen to Devi as she reads the blog, then expands on it, often adding special behind-the-inspiration stories and answers to common spiritual questions. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (9:48):
17 Comments
Really a life changing article. Thanks.
Beautiful. I felt the love! Thank you!
Dear Devi💙 I believe all you say because I also live the way you do and love the way you love. It is because of Swami’s love and yours and Jyotish’s for me with Master. I feel I am still in kindergarten but am a very good student and know how how much God loves me and you too. I love you💙💙bhajana💛🎶
beautiful and uplifting – thank you for your words that have injected joy and inspiration into my morning!
Dear Devi,
thank you so much for your service, what you wrote is exactly what I needed to feel in my heart. I’m living a very difficult time, but thanks to the Masters, to Ananda and all gurubais I know that I’m not alone, I know that God is giving me the possibility to get closer to him/her, I feel blessed. God bless you all
Thanks for reminding me about the love of God in our lives.
As with so many of your articles, very insightful and uplifting. Thank you.
Dear Nayaswami Devi
It is always a delightful readings your blog. So much light and love.
I have a question that is surrounding me day after day. Could you please write a blog about it .
What means “ A life in God “ ,
How as a householder is “ A life in God “
How to serve God ?
I know the fulfillment’s we get living for God … but how is exactly living for God .
Thanks 🙏
Blessings
Thanks for the encouraging words. May you have strength to continue this good work.
Namaste
Thank you so much Devi!! I love every word and so inspiring!!
Thank you so much.❤️🙏
In reading this blog, there is so much joy, so much love, so much Presence. Thank you for being such a beautiful channel for Master and Swamiji.
Thank you so much, Devi. The words brought forth so much love from your heart. You show me that living for God still can bring many challenges. You are living proof that grace and dedication has seen you through every one of them.
Know you have many souls sending you love.
Very practical article with useful examples of how to face and cope with challenging situations and life experiences, thank you.
Really enjoyed your thoughts.
Thank you dear soul. Namaste
Dear Nayaswami Devi JI,
Thank you for this inspiring blog and the guidance. Such wonderful advice and it’s very encouraging to read the account from real-life experiences.
Joy,
Prem