The book, Secret, is a wonderful book offering the process of vision manifestation. This book says, ‘Be in alignment’, which means that it is ONLY when you are happy that your visions come true.

So, we need to be in a state of ‘okayness’ or, better still, happiness, or gratitude, for a vision to come true. Yes, we want something, we write it down, we have it in our mind, we visualise it; but, if we are craving it desperately, it becomes a desire. If it is in your mind, you really want it, AND, if you are ‘okay’ even if you don’t have it, you are as happy with it or without it; this is what leads to effortless manifestation.

What do you mean by ‘being in alignment’? It means ‘being happy’, but how do we get the feeling of being happy? Let us take the example of a king: How does a king live? If we recollect the stories we have read and the movies we have seen, then we will notice that all the kings have treasures, and, when ever people come to them, they are given lots of gifts from the treasury.

Kings and queens live in the state of abundance. They not only speak of abundance, they actually experience abundance in giving generously to everyone around. So, if you as a person start giving to others in kind, that is, in dhana (wealth), then you will also experience the same feeling!

It doesn’t matter how much you are earning. Let us say you are earning ` 5,000, but you convince yourself that you are earning only ` 4,500. Now, keep ` 500 as the amount to be given back to society. You can do anything with that ` 500: You can help a street child to go to school; you can buy a meal for that old lady at the traffic signal; or you can do a small cleanliness drive in your neighbourhood.

You can do anything with that ` 500; it is there to be given back to the society. Of course, I personally would say that one should give 5% of that to an NGO, as they are engaged in that particular work in a more organized way to bring lasting effects. So, when you start feeling great, you start feeling like a king, or a queen. It is not the amount, but the feeling of giving that gives you the feeling of happiness.

In that state of happiness, you write down your vision, read it and hold it in your mind, and remain ‘okay’ even if it does not happen. This is called effortless manifestation.

So, my plea to everyone can be summed up thus: Live like a king, or a queen! What you earn does not matter; what you share with the society is what matters.

A person who is earning ` 5,000 and shares ` 500 has the same amount of courage as a person who is earning a lakh of rupees and shares ` 10,000, or a person who is earning a crore of rupees and shares 10 lakhs of rupees. The courage required is the same, the feeling is the same – everyone experiences the same emotion regardless of what their earnings are; they can be living like a king, or a queen, regardless of their income! It is the feeling of ‘living like a king’ that is important, not the one we feel when we consider the quantum in terms of rupees.

One of our meditators, Gopalbhai, gave me a beautiful example of what his father used to share with him. He related it to the participants of the Peace Village project we were doing, and asked me, “Suppose the chief minister were to come and say that he wanted a 10% partnership in this project, which I have taken up (we have 135 acres of land in which we are developing a peace village), would you give it to him?”

I said, “Of course, I would.” If the chief minister visits, and he expresses his wish to be a 10% partner, I would give it to him because with that 10%, so many things would turn for the better. The roads would be constructed perfectly, there would be electricity connections done overnight, the water problem would be resolved quickly, and so on and so forth. Also, all the issues in the whole of the village would get resolved, and the village would become economically self-sufficient.

So, I said, “Of course, I would give it.” Then he remarked that in that case, the 10% is not for the chief minister, it is for God! God is your ‘10% partner.’

Similarly, I am also sharing that thought with you: when you allow the partaking of 10% from what is yours, God becomes your partner.

It’s not your money. Don’t, for a moment, think it is your money; it is not your money, it is money that has to be given back to society as a gesture of gratitude to this world. Start doing this and see what miracles happen in your life!

Out of the 10%, I suggest you give 5% to an NGO, and keep aside 1% for your friends, 1% for your relatives, 1% for your society, 1% to contribute to natural disaster relief funds, whenever any disaster occurs, and 1% for miscellaneous, that is, wherever you feel like giving, it could be to a beggar on the road. This way, you will always have a budget to share with others. And, you will feel very, very rich whenever you are asked to help or contribute to a cause.

Follow the way of the philanthropic Tatas, Bill Gates or Warren Buffet and you will be a very happy soul throughout your life!