I still remember the first time a friend told me about this new book that had just come out. The two of us had spent several years together as members of an Ashram, but by this time, we were living in different parts of the country - she is New York and I in Texas. We were in the midst of a telephone conversation when she asked in a mysterious tone, almost a whisper, "Have you heard yet about The Secret?" "The Secret?" I said, "What secret is that?" She explained, with great enthusiasm, the great "Secret" revealed in this book that she had just finished reading. I listened intently to everything she had to say about it, and then when she had finished, I said, "But that's not a secret - that's the same truth we spent six years studying in the Ashram. That's exactly the same thing that SwamiJi always taught us - 'You are the architect of your destiny' - remember?" She obviously didn't seem to see the similarity, the repetition, as to her this was apparently a wholly new teaching - a true "secret" revealed to the world for the first time in history.

The way I see it is that these essential truths, such as this, take shape as the need and the readiness to hear and understand them arises in the heart of humankind. This "Secret" is not a new truth by any means, but at this point in time, because humanity is ready to hear it, it has taken this particular form in this book called "The Secret." Because this book is not some esoteric teaching reserved for a few who have seated themselves at the feet of some guru - because it has taken popular form as a book widely available to millions - it will now be more widely disseminated and absorbed into our popular culture than ever. In essence, the time has come for this so called "Secret" to come out, to be made available and easily accessible by a broader audience. I think, in this process, the author and publishers are just instruments of a larger Divine Plan. Therefore, it is rather irrelevant how great or how small their financial gain. They are still instruments of God's plan to make this truth known world-wide at this particular time.

"Learning how to subtract" - maybe that's what we all need to do. Perhaps this is the big lesson that the human race (certainly the one-third that is at the top of the heap) needs to learn in this century: that, indeed, less can be more. We need to turn our gaze away from the shop window of material excess and back toward the faces of our fellow human beings. Subtract a little from the bottom line of our financial portfolios - throw a little excess baggage overboard - if that is what is needed to force us to refocus our ambitions and add a little more love and compassion to our hearts.

Paulo:
Just wanted to let you know that your video is not coming through. When I click on it, a message pops up that says "This video is no longer available."