How Do We Determine Our Destined Role in the World? -- Part 3

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Today's world provides people
with both an obstacle and an

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opportunity when they try to
follow their chosen or cherished

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path in life.
The obstacle is based on

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societal requirement that
individuals take up a productive

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form of work in the world to
earn enough money to support

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their needs for basic
necessities of life.

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In many cases, the skill set and
education or training simply is

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not available to them for the
jobs that are accessible to them

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or else to obtain the necessary
skills and certifications.

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The time and cost of acquisition
are beyond their means.

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Thus, many people bemoan the
fact that they are stuck in a

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dead end job which they do not
want, but have no choice in the

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matter if they have to survive
or in some cases pay off their

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bills or loans or maintain their
health insurance etcetera.

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In other cases they get limited
support from their family or

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their society, but only if they
agree to follow a predestined

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path that may not actually suit
them.

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This occurs frequently in what
may be called a family business.

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The individual has no talent OR
interest in taking up the reins

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of the business, but is expected
to do so as the next generation

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carries on what the previous
generation started.

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Or the family puts pressure on
the individual to follow a

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career path that is at odds with
the natural interests, passions

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and skills of the individual and
only provides any support if the

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person suppresses his natural
inclinations and takes up the

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assigned role.
In some cases, the individual is

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able to pursue their vision or
dream concurrently with making

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their way on society.
They may find an educational

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path or career path that
supports what they are inwardly

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driven to undertake, and thus
they can combine their deepest

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aspirations with a systematic
approach within the societal

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framework.
At the same time, there are

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opportunities for individuals
who are willing or able to focus

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on their driving motivation to
find a way to create that future

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despite the obstacles.
They may temporarily take jobs

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while they prepare themselves
and position their future

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activities.
They may find alternative

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arrangements for living that
gives them the freedom to pursue

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their dreams.
They may join like minded people

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if the goals and developmental
freedom align with their

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seeking.
Monasteries, ashrams, and

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spiritual communities tend to
accept people who have a

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religious or spiritual aspect to
their seeking, although the

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seeker must ordinarily align
with the lifestyle that goes

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along with that.
In some cultures, if an

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individual is willing to
sacrifice everything for a

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spiritual objective, they can
take up the life of a wandering

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mendicant and live a subsistence
life.

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An interesting case occurred in
the life of Paramount's

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Yogananda, as related in his
book Autobiography of a Yogi.

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He was driven from an early age
to take up the spiritual life

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and tried to escape several
times from his family and school

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commitments to find his guru and
live in the Himalayas.

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Devoted to spiritual
realization.

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He eventually came in contact
with his guru, who insisted he

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complete his university studies.
He neglected the courses, but

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the guru insisted he sit for the
exams.

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His guide suggested he work with
a friend of his who was a solid

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student and that individual
tutored him so perfectly on the

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likely exam questions that he
was able to pass the exams and

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satisfy the demands of his
family and his guru that he get

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the benefit of both the
education and the degree which

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stood him in good stead in his
later life.

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Activities.
There are others who have a

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dream or vision and who are
willing to sacrifice outer

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comforts and security for
bringing that dream to life.

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In many cases, they get little
or no support until they have

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created something the society
finds valuable.

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This may take many years or even
decades.

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In some cases this catapults
them into the upper echelons of

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financial well-being.
In other cases, they become

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leaders, founders, researchers,
inventors, explorers,

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innovators, artists, or
musicians.

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They may gain recognition or
not, but they are able to

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develop the line of life that
they were clearly destined to

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follow.
In many cases, we see that their

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work is valued long after their
death.

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Many people feel unfulfilled
because either fear or ambition

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causes them to hold back or
overreach, and thus they wind up

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neither accomplishing their
cherished goal nor being

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satisfied with what they wind up
accepting in lieu of taking the

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chance and living their passion.
In some cases, they simply do

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not prepare the ground if their
vital nature is impatient and

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does not want to work out the
steps needed along the way.

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And then there is the Divine
grace.

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In some instances, an individual
with a deep aspiration can find

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doors opening, pathways laid out
before him, opportunities arise

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and circumstances favour a
direction that speaks to his

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deepest aspirations and allows
him to live a life that is both

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fulfilling and fulfilled in the
service of a greater purpose

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than his own personal needs or
desires.

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The mother notes quote, people
are often blamed for choosing an

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action for themselves which does
not correspond to their

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abilities.
There is a slight confusion

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here.
Those who freely set out to

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accomplish their own favorite
work cannot, in my opinion, be

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on the wrong track.
This work must surely be the

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expression of their own
particular tendency.

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But their mistake lies in
wanting to accomplish this work

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all at once, in its entirety, in
its integrality, in depth, and

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above all on the surface.
Forgetting that the very

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conception of the work is
imperfect as they are imperfect,

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and that to be wise they should
add to the knowledge of what

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they wish to do the more
immediate and practical

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knowledge of what they are
capable of doing at the present

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time.
By taking both these factors

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into account, they can employ
themselves with a minimum waste

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of time and energy.
But few people act with so much

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insight and wisdom, and it very
often happens that one who is

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seeking his way falls into one
of these two possible errors.

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Either he takes his desires for
realities, that is, he

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overestimates his present
strength and capacity and

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imagines that he is capable of
immediate assuming a role and a

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place which he can honorably
fulfill only after many years of

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methodical and persevering
effort.

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Or he underestimates his latent
powers and deliberately confines

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himself, in spite of his deeper
aspirations, to a task which is

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far beneath his abilities and
which will gradually extinguish

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within him the light that could
have shone for others.

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It seemed difficult at first to
steer clear of these pitfalls

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and find the balanced way, the
middle way.

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End Quote.
Reference.

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Sri Orovindo and the Mother,
Looking from within, Chapter 3.

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Action and Work, pages 58 to 61.