When the New Year dawns

On the eve of the New Year, a new consciousness dawns on earth. God once again inspires each human being, each creature, with new hope, new light, new peace and new joy. God says, "The New Year dawns and a new consciousness dawns within you. Run towards the destined Goal." We listen to God, to the dictates of our Inner Pilot, and we run towards the ultimate Reality. The New Year energises us, encourages us and inspires us to run towards that ultimate Goal.

When the New Year dawns, we have to make ourselves conscious of the fact that we have to transcend ourselves this year. We have to go beyond our present capacity, beyond our present achievement. When we have that kind of firm determination, God showers His choicest Blessings upon us.

God always wants us to move ahead; He does not want us to look back. We know that while a runner is running fast, if he looks back, he will stumble. Similarly, if we are constantly looking behind at the year that we are leaving aside, we will think of our sorrow, misery, frustration, failure and so forth. But if we look forward, we will see hope dawning deep within us. Every day in this New Year is equally important. Suppose the runner has to run one hundred metres to reach the goal. After covering twenty metres at top speed, he feels that since he is running so fast, he is going to reach the goal in a second. So, relaxation comes. But once the starter has fired the gun, if the runner from the beginning to the end maintains top speed, then only is he able to win the race. Or, let us say, only then will he really be pleased with his speed, proud of his speed.

When we aspire to achieve a life-goal, we progress gradually. But during this gradual process, we have to maintain the same type of aspiration. Suppose a runner is going to run five miles. When the starter fires the gun, the runner is inspired and he begins running very fast. But after two or three miles, he becomes very tired. Running becomes tedious and difficult. If the runner gives up running just because he is tired and because his inspiration is gone, he does not reach his goal. But if he continues running, he will finally reach the goal. Then he will definitely feel that it was worth the struggle and suffering of the body.

Every day, when morning dawns, we should feel that we have something new to accomplish. We are running and every day we are advancing. If we are aspiring, we are always in the process of running. When we start our journey in the morning, we should feel that today is the continuation of yesterday's journey; we should not take it as a totally new beginning. And tomorrow we should feel that we have travelled still another mile. Every day we should feel that we have travelled another mile. Then, we know one day that we will reach our Goal. Even if our speed decreases, we have to continue running and not give up on the way. When we reach our Goal we will see that it was worth the struggle.