Bringing the East & the West Together

In the 21st Century, the East & the West seem to be living in two almost opposite worlds. If you go to the western world, You’ll see the most beautiful *external* environment. Expensive supercars, Tall Buildings, Gucci & Louis Vuitton clothes, Pioneers of technological advancement. However, If you go to the eastern world, You’ll see none of what you see in the western world (with some exceptions of course). You’ll see homeless people here, wearing torn clothes. People eking out their living. 

What’s really strange is, If you take the time to actually be with these poor people. You’ll find out that they are also some of the happiest people on the earth.
As I was driving somewhere one time. I was stuck in traffic. I looked to the car on my right and saw a very young girl, leaning her head on the window with a frown on her face. She seemed very upset.
What happened next was fascinating. Just by chance I tilted my head to the left. I saw a few children sitting on the footpath. They weren’t even wearing proper clothes but guess what? They seemed the most joyful people ever. They were playing around with each other and their faces were lit with pure joy. Joy that’s contagious
It really got me thinking, “What is it in life that gives us real joy?”
All our life we have been taught that the answer to that question is in the following manner.
If I get the next thing, I’ll finally be joyful.
The next thing can be a new phone, a new car, the amount of zeros in your bank account, getting married, traveling or ticking off everything from your bucket list.
You have been around long enough to know that the next thing never ends.
You get married, then you think if you have a perfect child you’ll be happy. Sometime later, you think only if the child moves out of your house you’ll be happy (No pun intended)
The cycle of the next thing is a trap.
A trap that most of the western society is stuck in. Don’t get me wrong here. I am all for the scientific, technological and economical advancements they have produced in the world. I am a big fan of entrepreneurs and scientists like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Neil Degrass Tyson, Stephen Hawking. I deeply respect them.
What I want to say here is that if you go to New York, You can go to the economical capital of the world. See some of the most beautiful buildings. Businesses who are at the top of their game.
Also, What you’ll see is that most of the people there (again, with exceptions) are stressed. We are living in the most abundant time in the history of humanity. Still, Things like Suicide, Depression, Anxiety and Stress continue to grow over the years.
The western society seems to be a master of revolutionizing the world with their innovative ideas. We have entered an era where every year is equivalent to 25 years of innovation and disruption as the previous century.
The thing is, If you go to India. Just as we mentioned, You can find extremely poor people, homeless, barely surviving yet the lit with joy.
This seems like a paradox.
People who are apparently successful aren’t fulfilled.
People who are  apparently a failure are fulfilled and joyous.
The reason for this is,
Just like there is a science which explains the laws of the physical world. There also happens to be a science which explains the world we carry inside ourselves.
The easterns happen to be a master of this inner science.
For centuries, Ancient Yogis, Rishis, Swamis, Sufis, Buddhist Monks have passed this science onto generations.
It turns out that joy is independent of external circumstances.
Joy is an inner game.
You can have no money and be the happiest person. You can be a billionaire and be the most miserable person
AND
What’s most important is,
You can be a billionaire and the happiest person.
What this requires is, You master both the Science of Achievement and the Art of Fulfillment. You learn to bring the east & the west together.
Tony Robbins explains that Achievement is a science, but Fulfillment is an Art. Practicing both is not only possible but rewarding in both the inner and outer worlds.
We are at a stage where this merging of the east and west is very much needed. What if without making any one of the worlds wrong, we bring both of them together and enjoy the fruits of both of them.
The world needs people who are deeply rooted in peace and love within themselves, but who also move out to make the world a much better place. Saints like Yogananda. Peace makers like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi. Entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Vishen Lakhiani.
This merging of Science & Spirituality, of West & East, of Success & Fulfillment, of Buddha & the Badass is necessary in this day & age.
To quote Martin Luther King Jr.
“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”