The glory of God is great. He is real, and He can be found in this life. In men’s hearts there are many prayers- for money, fame, health- prayers for all manner of things. But the prayer that should be first in every heart is the prayer for God’s presence. Silently and surely, as you walk on the path of life, you must come to the realization that God is the only object, the only goal that will satisfy you; for in God lies the answer to every desire of the heart.
When you have found it impossible to fulfill some urgent wish by your own effort, you turn to God in prayer. Thus every prayer that you utter represents a desire. But when you find God, all desires vanish, and there is no need for prayer. I don’t pray. That may seem a strange thing to say, but when the object of your prayer is with you all the time, you no longer have need to pray. In fulfillment of the wish or prayer for Him lies joy eternal.
Material desires come through certain mistaken conceptions about the purpose of life. This earth is not our home. The scriptures have told us we are children of God, made in His image, and that is the will of the Divine that we return to our Source. What man does not realize is that unless and until he goes back to the Source, back to God, he will have to struggle to fulfill endless desires. Reflect on that. Man cannot help having desires, and it is not a sin to have them; but most human longings hamper fulfilment of the supreme desire to return to God, hence they are detrimental to man’s happiness. Until he wants and has God, man will continue to long for whatever else he believes will make him happy. But to him who has God, instant fulfilment of all desires comes automatically.
There are two classes of desires; those that help us to find God, and those that obstruct our finding Him. For example, if someone hits you, you want to retaliate; but if you overcome that desire by using the superior power of love, you have applied the action that will help you to find God. When you try to satisfy them in an worldly way, you only multiply your difficulties. If you learn to give every desire to God, He will see to it that your good desires are fulfilled and the harmful ones are overcome. There is no protection greater than your conscience, and the divine quality of your good desires. If you but looked at your soul, the all-perfect reflection of God within you, you would find all your desires satisfied! In that divine consciousness, having which, no other gain is greater, you would be unmoved even if the whole world were given to you; neither would praise elate you, nor blame hurt. You would feel only the great joy of God within.
Extract from the book “Man’s Eternal Quest” by Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda