7 Divine Laws To Awaken Your Best Self - The Divine Laws of Success - Summary

We all are naturally eager to improve in every aspect of life, guided by an inner voice that inspires us to grow. Since we are fragments of the divine, we seek to be godlike and strive for perfection. The soul's evolution towards becoming the best self is part of God's divine plan for us. Personal growth is not difficult, but it requires us to harness the power of knowledge and divine laws. Just as there are laws in the world, there are spiritual principles that guide us. We will shed light on 7 Divine Laws to Awaken Your Best Self.

Realisation of Self:
The first and foremost step is to attain true self-knowledge. The greatest misconception we harbour is identifying our material body as our true self. Instead, by recognising our essence as divine souls, we liberate ourselves from the chains that hinder us from realising our infinite potential. We can’t experience our true selves because our understanding is clouded by false knowledge, and only by clearing it can we identify our true nature.

Destiny of Soul:
We are fragments of the divine, and God himself desires us to be perfect like Him.

Infinite Potential Within:
Understanding the concept of infinite potential is crucial. The word "potential" can ignite hope and encourage growth. Embracing infinite growth leads to adopting a growth mindset. The greatest hindrance to growth is a fixed mindset, which traps us in a web of excuses, prevents progress, and wastes human resources.

Growth Mindset:
● Individuals with a growth mindset don’t grow because they are born with talent; instead, they understand that, with proper effort, they can achieve anything. It is also vital to recognise that success for the soul is not measured by worldly possessions but by being and doing the best we can.
● Growth will not occur automatically; it requires effort and commitment. A mediocre attitude results in making excuses, but we must utilise our infinite potential to pursue growth.
● Even with a growth mindset, we must set meaningful goals and move beyond three misconceptions: that material possessions will always be with us, that we are our bodies, and that happiness can be found in satisfying our senses. While sensory satisfaction may provide temporary relief, it ultimately leaves us with deeper, unfulfilled desires. The soul, however, can never be fulfilled by material means.

Desires:
● There are two types of desires: advantageous and unfavourable. Spiritual wisdom helps us identify and pursue beneficial desires, such as the aspiration to master our senses.
● Spiritual perspectives inspire us to cultivate noble aspirations, unlike material desires, which lead to a materialistic viewpoint.

Humbleness:
Spiritual growth naturally instils humility as we realise that even as fragments of God, we cannot stand before His glory. The grace He gives us, compared to our emotions, shows our shortcomings. There's no place for ego or pride.

Golden Opportunity:
This human life is a golden opportunity, granting us the dignity of choice. By deciding the goal of our life, we must use this existence to reach the supreme goal and break free from the cycle of life and death.

What is success? Is it something that will be delivered to our doorstep? Definitely not! We've all heard stories of overnight successes and may think such people just got lucky, but are we seeing the whole picture? The truth is they take small steps every day in the right direction. With years of practice, they achieve the desired results and do so consistently. Their dedicated effort and deliberate practice lead to mastery.

Choices:
Between birth and death, we have choices—we can't control our birth or death, but our choices can lead to good or bad results. These choices can make us champions or failures. We often desire success without requisite effort, but success comes from sacrifice, dedication, and perseverance.

Behavioural momentum:
● As we embark on the journey to become our best selves, the pace of self-transformation gradually accelerates. The initial steps are the hardest, but noble intentions backed by effort become habits as we advance.
● However, if our choices are harmful, they can ruin our lives, leading to issues like addiction, obesity, gossip, and self-inflicted suffering by comparison on social media and in life in general. Therefore, we must be aware of the choices we make.

How to make good choices?
"No pain, No gain": To make good choices, we must be willing to sacrifice and endure discomfort. We can either bear pain now and experience sweet results for the rest of our lives or indulge in sensual pleasures and regret it later. The choice is ours!

Harnessing Willpower for Growth:
● Understanding the importance of willpower is crucial. Recognising the difference between immediate pleasure and long-term benefits is critical to leading a successful life.
● We need to control our senses and make beneficial choices, naturally increasing our willpower.
● Additionally, we must understand the power of Maya, God’s material energy, and not be overconfident or egotistical, thinking that Maya can't affect us. Ultimately, even willpower has its limits.

We make resolutions from time to time, such as New Year's resolutions, but often find ourselves reverting to old habits after a week or so. This demonstrates the limited nature of our willpower. To overcome this, we must take recourse to "why power"!

Power of Why?
If we discover a compelling reason for why we want to accomplish a particular task, we can tap into an inner, hidden energy capable of accomplishing monumental tasks. Our willpower increases by practising mind control, and we can harness "why power" by developing suitable beliefs.

Role of Beliefs in Guiding the Intellect
● Scriptures guide us in understanding that the intellect is superior to the mind and operates according to our beliefs.
● Beliefs strongly influence our emotions and determine the course of our lives. We may have the proper knowledge that we are souls and fragments of God, but without belief in it, the knowledge is ineffective.
Positive vs Negative Beliefs:
Positive beliefs help us become our best selves, while negative beliefs can ruin our lives. If we view the world as cruel, malign and miserable, we won't find happiness, even with all the luxuries. However, if we see the world as benign, full of opportunities for growth and having God's presence, we can achieve true happiness.

Path to Positive Beliefs:
● Proper knowledge is essential for forming the correct beliefs.
● Human knowledge is imperfect. So, our beliefs should be shaped by the perfect knowledge found in the Vedas, which are divinely manifested. Vedas, as elaborated by God-realised saints, provide a foundation for true beliefs.
● The perfect sources of infallible knowledge for creating beliefs are God-realised saints or Gurus and the Scriptures; such beliefs are known as shraddha. This process, called Satsang, helps us develop faith, attachment, and divine love.
Association with such sources leads to positive beliefs and transformative personal growth.

We all seek happiness, though our paths to finding it may differ.
The pursuit of happiness involves three stages: The phase before obtaining an object, while possessing it, and after being separated from it. All three stages are filled with distress: the difficulty of acquisition, the effort of maintenance, and the pain of loss, respectively.
Seeking Happiness in the Wrong Places:
Most people believe happiness lies in material objects and can only be achieved through successive steps. A millionaire thinks he will be happy as a billionaire, but even billionaires often struggle with dissatisfaction, sometimes requiring sleeping pills to rest. Even devtas like Indra are not content with acquiring the seat of Brahma.

Source of Happiness:
● We form desires in our quest for happiness, but seeking joy in the material world leaves us perpetually unfulfilled.
● The soul's nature craves everlasting, ever-fresh, and infinite happiness.
● To attain this happiness, we need not venture to distant places like mountains; instead, we must look within, as the Supreme God resides within us.
● Since God, the ocean of bliss, dwells in our hearts, we must draw closer to Him. This closeness comes through inner purification.

Growth from within:
We often focus more on doing than on being. God desires our purification and provides challenging environments to facilitate this. Instead of changing ourselves, we often attempt to change our external circumstances. However, it is crucial to realise that inner growth is the foundation of true success. We should strive to purify ourselves from within, aiming to be our best and do our best.

We Are Where Our Mind Is:
How do we truly improve ourselves? Is it merely by wearing better clothes or earning more money? The real determinant of self-improvement is our state of mind. We are defined by the state of our mind, not just our physical state.

Intensifying Negative Thoughts- A Common Struggle:
● The mind generates thoughts, which in turn create emotions that lead to joy or misery. There are three gateways to hell: desire, anger, and greed, which contribute to our discomfort.
● We possess two natures: one driven by unwholesome and not-so-productive desires or preya - lower nature and another that desires wholesome and truly satiating happiness, shreya - higher nature.
● Attempts to eliminate these negative thoughts often result in their intensification.
Role of Bhakti in Purifying the Mind:
● Halting negative thoughts is challenging, as the mind cannot remain thoughtless for long. The path of bhakti suggests not stopping thinking but redirecting our thoughts towards God.
● Focusing our minds on God naturally replaces undesirable thoughts with divine ones. God is pure, and by aligning our minds with Him, we achieve mental purity and serenity.
● When we dedicate our actions to pleasing God, even negative traits like desire, anger, and greed can be used to our advantage and transformed into beneficial ones, such as a desire to serve God, anger over ourselves for not making substantial spiritual progress, or greed in seeking His divine presence.
Existence of God:
● This can be explored through the Vedas and teachings of saints. Just as a dish cannot be created merely by putting ingredients together, the universe cannot exist by chance. There are laws of karma and other divine principles that require faith to understand and believe in God.
● According to the Vedas and Upanishads, God embodies countless contradictions simultaneously: He is greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest. Beyond time, He resides in everything, and everything exists within Him.

Relationship with the Supreme:
● Our relationship with God should not be limited to fear but should encompass deep devotion. Bhakti is about loving God as our own and recognising Him as an eternal and selfless relative. Despite forgetting our relationship with God through countless lifetimes, we can rekindle it through bhakti sadhana.
● Love for God knows no bounds; we can perceive Him as our king, master, dearest friend, parent, or beloved soul. By directing our minds towards God, we purify ourselves, our lower nature dissipates, and our work becomes a means to please God.

This shift in intention purifies our actions, reducing stress and anxiety, and fostering humility as we recognise ourselves as fragments of God. Ultimately, by attaching our minds to God, we become Karmyogis, performing our duties with devotion and purpose.

Importance of Relationships:
Relationships are an essential aspect of life. While our eternal relationship is with God, it is also crucial to cultivate healthy relationships with the people around us. These relationships can be fulfilling or stressful, so managing them well is important.

Expectations in Relationships:
● One major factor that can ruin relationships is our expectations of others. When our self-seeking desires are not fulfilled, they lead to disappointment, and relationships suffer.
● This self-centred attitude can even extend to our relationship with God. We expect Him to fulfill every wish and blame Him when He doesn't, as if He were a servant to our commands.

Everyone in this world exhibits selfish tendencies because we are fragments of God, who is the ocean of infinite bliss. We seek happiness from one another, but only by learning the art of selflessness can we experience a glimpse of divine love.

Love, Lust, and Business:
● Most people misunderstand the true meaning of love. Love is about giving and striving to make the other person happy.
● Lust, on the other hand, is characterised by a self-seeking nature.
● Business means a barter system, where relationships involve giving and taking.

True Love:
Our hearts can only be truly satisfied by love. The love we encounter in the world is often fleeting, but how do we recognise true love?
● True love persists even when there are reasons for it to falter.
● The foundation of true love is a service attitude, where we give without expecting anything in return and help others overcome their weaknesses.
● To cultivate the desire to serve, we must develop spiritual intelligence, encompassing self-awareness, universal awareness, self-mastery, and social and professional mastery.

Modern theories highlight multiple types of intelligence, including physical, cognitive, and emotional intelligence, which develop from childhood to adolescence. As we mature, we seek meaning and purpose in life, leading to the development of spiritual skills.

The Nature of Selfless Devotion:
The soul is a tiny part of God, just as our hand faithfully serves our body. Our nature is to serve, and by adopting a service attitude in all our actions, especially in the service of God, we please our beloved Creator.

Transactional Faith vs. True Devotion:
● People often treat their relationship with God as a business transaction, promising pilgrimages or offerings in exchange for favours. However, to truly purify our hearts, we must practice selfless devotion, free from worldly desires. By giving to God, we gain immeasurably.
● Instead of focusing on what God can do for us, we should ask what we can do for God. We should wholeheartedly serve God with our minds, bodies, and wealth.

When the Lord sees us practising this selfless devotion, He gives us His all. Those who live without worldly desires reside in the core of His heart, and he becomes enslaved by His devotees.

Who is a Mentor?
We all need mentors in various fields, as they help us avoid mistakes and illuminate our path forward. Who is a mentor? Different languages have various terms. In India, we call mentors "Guru," where "Gu" signifies darkness and "Ru" means the one who dispels it.

Qualities of Mentor:
A mentor provides rich knowledge from personal experiences, acts as a role model, offers individual coaching, gives hope, supports us, and helps us set and achieve our goals. It is essential to choose the right mentor, an expert, a role model, available for personal guidance, trustworthy and offers friendship and support.

Spiritual Mentor:
● A true guru guides us on the path of self-awakening. Scriptures tell us that we suffer from a lack of proper knowledge, having been ignorant for countless lifetimes.
● Five defects of Maya afflict us: forgetting our spiritual nature, having a false ego from material possessions, attachment to material things, harbouring negative resentments, and fearing death.
● No matter how hard we try, self-analysis cannot dispel ignorance alone. We cannot overcome these without the divine knowledge given by a Guru.
● We must approach a genuine guru with an open heart, setting aside all doubts. The guru then bestows his grace, leading us towards God.

Recognising a True Saint:
● Firstly, we should not focus on external appearances but on the saint's heart, which must be colored with divine love.
● Genuine saints will not lead us towards material possessions or false promises but will provide glimpses of spiritual treasures.
● The real siddhis of a guru are the spiritual miracles of transforming lives, not merely showcasing supernatural abilities.

Signs of a True Guru :
● The guru should be a knower of scriptures and God-realised.
● The spiritual master must have practically realised the truth.
● The guru should be able to solve doubts related to spiritual sadhana.
● There is power in the speech of God-realised saints; their knowledge penetrates deep into our hearts.
● Most importantly, we become attached to true saints, and our minds start detaching from the material world through their company. Our minds are drawn like magnets to a true guru.



How do we find a genuine guru?
● We might find a guru through past-life connections or in this lifetime, but once we find a guru, we should stop searching and begin our sadhana.
● The teachings of a guru may vary because of our level in sadhana, so we should look for a guru whose path suits our sanskars.
● First, God graces us with a guru, and then the guru graces us to achieve God-realisation. It happens when we have a sufficiently deep longing.
● If we cannot find our guru, we should start our journey in sadhana, and then God will automatically grace us with a true guru.

The purpose of creation is to offer opportunities for the soul’s evolution to a state of superconsciousness. The seven divine laws help us toward achieving this:
● The Law of Infinite Potential: We possess infinite potential regardless of our present state.
● The Law of Incremental Growth: Growth can only be achieved through small, consistent steps.
● The Law of Beliefs: Our beliefs determine the trajectory of our lives.
● The Law of Happiness: True happiness comes from inner growth.
● The Law of Sublimation: Directing the mind and intellect towards God purifies them.
● The Law of Love: Only true love can satisfy our hearts.
● The Law of Mentorship: A true guru guides us on the spiritual path, helping us reach our ultimate destination.