July 7

You Should Be Happy About That

If everything that comes from outside—money, friends, family, name, fame—were going to make you happy, there wouldn’t be any need for churches, synagogues, spiritual centers or religions. Nobody would need to read the Bible. Why? You would be happy with your money, you would be happy with your friends. Why would you need anything else? Therefore, all these things should make you unhappy. I’m sorry, it’s a little hardhearted to say this. Everything must ultimately cheat you and deceive you, and hit you so hard that you turn back to God. And that’s what will happen to a sincere seeker. That’s God’s Will.

In a way, when people are not ready to realize God, they will even be tempted to go out and chase things. And they will be given that piecemeal happiness here and there. When people find real pleasure in the world outside, it shows that God is not in a hurry to get them. It’s true.

If God is in a hurry to get you, God will make you displeased with everything outside very soon. If you look at the life history of the saints, you will find that the minute they became God-conscious they got into all kinds of problems, suffering after suffering, suffering after suffering. Why? God says, “Ah, you wanted Me, you should come quickly to Me, so I will make everybody hit you so that you come to Me soon.” So don’t feel bad if it happens to you. You should be happy about that.