Real Success

It was a warm, sunny, cloudless August afternoon in the most elite part of Hollywood, California. The place? The Bel Air Hotel on Sunset Boulevard. The playground of the ‘smart’ people and the meeting place of who’s who in Society.

Amidst the palm-decked, lush gardens of this, the most elegant of resorts, strolled exquisitely groomed ladies and gentlemen who were gradually making their way into one of the beautifully-decorated reception rooms of this hotel, where there was to be a Celebrity meeting. Such an occasion was quite common at The Bel Air Hotel, where Celebrities are indeed specially catered for. The Celebrity Meeting at the Bel Air Hotel, is a weekly function where everyone from film stars to literary barons come to entertain, expound pet theories and perhaps even give morsels of information regarding their private lives. Indeed the beautiful, and unperturbed surroundings of The Bel Air Hotel is an ideal setting for such revelations of human mysteries.

But on this particular afternoon the Celebrity was by way of being rather an unusual guest, for he had not come along to expound theories but rather – FACTS. As for giving morsels of gossip about his private life – he had no private life of which to speak. Here was a rare jewel among men – a man on a Mission of TRUTH.

One by one the guests sauntered through the archways and pavilions of the charming Spanish architecture which was festooned with the most exotic of flowers, into the Celebrity room. Finally, our Celebrity rose, greeted his audience and commenced to give them the Space People’s Message. Throughout the brilliant exposition that followed, Truth after Truth was laid bare before the audience. The Facts of Re-incarnation, the Truth about the horrors of the H-bomb, the impending catastrophe on this Planet, the Law of Karma and its implications and a reminder of the Missions of such people as Krishna, Buddha and Jesus. Quite often, nods of agreement could be seen coming from the audience. This of course was to be expected. Any reaction to the contrary would have been amiss – to say the least, amidst such peaceful and eloquent surroundings.

Towards the end of the meeting, however, the charming hostess rose and as was her custom on all such occasions asked the most controversial of all questions:

“Mr. Celebrity, what in your opinion is – Success?”

“To give you my opinion of what is Success,” answered the Celebrity, without hesitation, “It will be necessary to tell you all a little story.”

“There was once a very rich and powerful King, who, with his son, lived in a great palace. As was the custom in Eastern countries, where this story takes place, the King bestowed all manner of worldly goods and riches upon his son. The finest silks, the most valuable jewels, a stable of thoroughbred horses, even the most beautiful women chosen from all the lands thereabouts were given freely by the King to his son. Even so, the son took little or no interest in these Worldly things. So that, the King, whose great dream it was that his son should rule the land as he had done, built for him a golden palace which was considered lavish even in those pompous days. The palace was well guarded, for the King forbade his son to travel, as was his wont, among the people. But one night, the guards fell asleep and the young man saddled his favourite horse and rode unnoticed from the palace into the night…

“For ten years he sat in silence. Sometimes, so weakened by his sojourn, he nearly died. But in some strange way, whenever starvation threatened to pluck the Life Force from his body, he was discovered by shepherds and cared for, even though they knew not who he was.

“It was some ten years later when he returned again to the palace gates. He came back, not to the lavish wealth of a whole Empire but in the rags of a beggar. For he had turned away from what the World had to offer, but had discovered the everlasting Jewel – Wisdom!

“His fame spread throughout the World. Not as a powerful King, as a great ruler, but as a wise man and today, thousands of years later, men revere this name, whenever it is mentioned.

“Who was this Great Being, who had forsaken an Empire to take up a begging bowl? No less a person than The LORD BUDDHA.

“That, ladies and gentlemen is my opinion of the strange intangibility of that which constitutes – – – – SUCCESS.”

At this closing remark, an agonising hush fell over the audience as the vast implications of this simple story sank deeply home.

Any security, built upon the foundations of material “success,” relished by some members of that audience was shattered.

Dear readers, need I tell you that the Celebrity on this occasion was George King?

This extract from an article by Keith Robertson in Cosmic Voice Issue No. 22 epitomises Dr. King’s direct, honest approach. Unlike a modern politician, he did not tailor his talk to suit the predilections of his audience – in fact the exact opposite. He chose a gathering which exuded luxury, pampered in the comforts of a hedonistic world, to demonstrate the limitations of materialistic success. As he said in a later talk on how to be really successful:

I think it’s a transient thing, this type of materialistic success, and it means nothing. It just fades like a bubble.

–Dr. George King

The Lord Buddha demonstrated success because he lived the path he taught unconditionally. Typically Dr. King focused upon another great Cosmic Avatar rather than himself, because he too had already demonstrated real success by the time he gave this talk – through unconditional service. In the self-same month of August 1959, he climbed Mount Baldy, California, so that it could be charged by Mars Sector 6, making it forever a holy mountain. This was on top of his many other world-changing achievements since he had received the Command from the Master Aetherius on May 8th 1954 and commenced his mission for the Cosmic Masters.

Real success is not necessarily about making money; doing well in your career; having a great relationship or raising a family, because these things may not make the world a better place. Nor will your physical health and personal happiness (so often cited as the purpose of life) necessarily change the world.

Even the pursuit of your own enlightenment may not have a sufficient impact globally to really make a big difference. When the Lord Buddha taught this so brilliantly two and a half thousand years ago, it was the teaching to follow. But times have changed. The path of detachment through meditative practices has been replaced by the path of transmutation through spiritual service. Significantly one of the prominent instruments of that change is the Lord Buddha himself. For, just three years before Dr. King’s controversial talk at the Bel Air Hotel, the Lord Buddha returned to our Earth to take spiritual control of that mystic temple of light known as Shamballa, which is key to all spiritual expression upon this planet.

Real success means changing the world for the better, and the only thing that is guaranteed to achieve this is service to others. In a TV interview a few years ago, I was once asked whether people should serve in materialistic ways through aid and charitable works or in spiritual ways through healing, prayer and so forth. It was a very good question. The answer of course is that both are essential and they are interrelated because the lower energies are always a reflection of the higher ones. But fewer people are inclined towards spiritual service, so if you are and you follow a genuine teaching, I would recommend that you make this your priority.

The most advanced and effective path that I know of, though not the only one, is King Yoga. Although – in fact because – you practise it for the good of the world, it must be good for you too. That, after all, is the essence of Karma: you have sown so you must reap. Among other things, it can help you to enhance your focus, increase your confidence, energise yourself, improve your health, tap your intuition, gain inner peace and realise your true destiny. And these are only side benefits; the main one is that you will leave this physical world a better place than you found it. And that is real success!

About the author

Richard Lawrence is the Executive Secretary of The Aetherius Society for Europe and a Bishop in The Aetherius Churches. He has devoted his life to the work of his Master and personal friend, Dr. George King (1919-1997), who founded the Society. He is also an international bestselling author of more than 10 books.

How to be really successful – a lecture by Dr. George King

Purchase a copy of Dr. George King’s lecture entitled How to be really successful on CD or as a download.

Success is not measured by material wealth – but by spiritual accomplishment. Be inspired by this refreshing and uplifting lecture which turns conventional values on their head, replacing them with a truly enlightened approach with service to others at its core. This lecture also includes instruction in two powerful mystical practices which are extremely valuable to any spiritual seeker.