The Power That is Youth

Youth has little to do with age. That capacity for continuous growth and forward movement—that is what youth truly means. To harness it is to keep fulfilling the dormant powers within oneself. Old age doesn't come from advanced years. It comes from the inability or unwillingness to grow and move forward.

We have all seen twenty-year-olds who are old and seventy-year-olds who are young. Whenever someone in life's journey wants to settle everything and withdraw into themselves, wants to enjoy the fruits of their past efforts; whenever someone thinks that what they had to do has been done... in short, when they cease to progress, no longer wish to advance along the path of fulfillment, and retire from the field of action—that's when they fall behind, become old.

Speaking of the body too, one could say it can be trained in such a way that its growth and progress would know no bounds. But in attempting this, many have subjected themselves to extreme hardship and left this world at a young age. Excess is not right. Longevity matters more than beauty. Therefore, in undertaking any endeavor, one must discover the true method and proper conditions. Moving alone isn't enough—moving on the right path is what movement truly means.

There is a source of power which, once discovered, ensures that the mind's strength will never be exhausted—whatever may happen in life, whatever the physical condition might be. This power is called spiritual strength. Its source lies not in the depths of unconsciousness; therefore, it must be received by opening one's consciousness upward, where lies the great meeting place of humanity and the universe. This power must be drawn from that omnipotent and eternal realm of light in consciousness.

This power surrounds us, penetrating everything around us. To come into contact with it, to receive it, one need only surrender oneself sincerely and openly toward it with reverence and faith, becoming heartfelt and devoted to it.

At first, this work will seem very difficult. New paths always seem difficult at the start—a path seems easy only to one who hasn't yet begun to walk it. The world seems simple to the lazy person. If one observes the matter closely with patience, one sees that spirituality is simply the highest level of ordinary human consciousness, which exists within humans themselves—one need only search for it, practice to find it. This is not something foreign or alien existing outside one's own soul.