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We know that all our troubles begin in the mind. Our mind is our friend as well as our enemy. When under control, it is our friend. When it gets the better of us, it is our enemy. Those who have control over their minds are at peace. They are truly happy.

It is with the most profound emotion that I find myself in this position in which for many years I had the great joy in seeing Swami Prabhavananda.

Buddhism, in all its branches, sects, and subsects prevalent in different countries of the world, is a vast subject. This article will therefore be confined to the study of the ideal of service in the early Buddhist scriptures.

Those who seek God are often frustrated in various ways; they do not understand whether or not it is possible for their search to be fruitful. Some seekers complain, "I have tried meditation. I have tried concentration and prayer for two years, or three years, or four years, but illumination has not come." Others complain that they have tried to meditate upon God in different ways and are confused about what God really is.

I once met a lady in Paris who as soon as we were introduced asked me to draw a picture of a horse—which I did, somewhat mystified. She then explained that she asked everybody she met to do this because it was amazing the different ways in which people draw pictures of horses. Some people only draw the head, some the whole body. Some draw the horse in one position, some in another. She had worked out a system by which she could judge people by knowing what kind of a horse or portion of a horse they would draw.