I was conducting a meditation class with my co-teachers a few weeks ago. As I talked about how meditation helps one find inner joy, peace, and contentment, one lady raised her hand and asked,

“But then, why would I want to do anything in life if I have all the joy within me? I will have no ambition left.”

Though not commonly voiced, this is a hidden apprehension in the hearts of many spiritual seekers. This is more evident when I go to companies to train their employees in meditation. People who are driven and ambitious suddenly find themselves stumped when they realize that happiness can be found only in the present moment — that they don’t need to do anything or go anywhere to find it!

Once they taste that unconditional happiness, it’s as if the world slips from under their feet. Everything they thought was the purpose of life suddenly doesn’t seem so real anymore.

For most people, the journey to success draws them toward an ever-fleeting goal. Their ever-fed but never-satisfied desires are the source of their suffering because they make them believe that no matter what they possess or achieve, there’s always “one more thing” that will make them happy.

These false notions fall away like ripe fruit from a tree when we start to find inner contentment through meditation and deeper spiritual understanding. All that is left is the realization of a simple truth — joy is within you.

Does This Mean I Will Have No Ambition Left?

When I was in college, I somehow realized that life, as others were asking me to live it, is just an endless series of mirages. Therefore, even though I worked hard to get to a good college, I never applied to any of the high-paying companies that came to hire us.

Starting my own business seemed to be a better idea for greater freedom and autonomy. At the end of the first semester, I taught myself how to code, started a business in retail technology, and worked hard to make it successful.

Like every other college founder, I wanted to have a billion-dollar startup. I wanted to be funded by the top investors. And more importantly, I thought ambition was one of my most helpful qualities.

At the same time, the seed of spirituality was germinating within me. I began following the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda and started meditating every single day.

Within a few months, I found a growing sense of dissatisfaction with what I was doing. I felt increasingly detached from my business. I couldn’t see what good the business was doing for me or the world. Yes, it was helping my clients make more money. But is that what life is all about? Money? Investors? Fame? Recognition?

At that time I could not understand why I was having a sudden change of heart. But looking back, I understand exactly what was happening.

Through my meditation practice and newfound yearning for higher realities, I was gradually losing the motivation to work for myself. I wanted to do something for the greater good.

It’s not that I packed my bags to go to the Himalayas. I still worked hard. I still had a purpose — but it had shifted. It was no longer self-aggrandizement. It was service.

This is what happens with most people on the spiritual path. They start on a career path the sole aim of which is material success. Soon, through their deepening spiritual perceptions, they begin to see the futility of their endless striving. They start questioning the path they had chosen in the first place.

In that sense, yes, spirituality kills ambition. But it would be more appropriate to say that it kills ambition to work for your ego. It kills the ambition to work for “I, me, and myself.”

Now back to my story. Slowly, over two years, I changed my line of work. I stopped working in the retail technology industry and started doing things where I felt I could make a difference.

For me, the best way to make a difference in the world was to share the teachings of meditation and spirituality that have changed my life. I started doing that through writing, teaching in various settings like companies, schools, universities, and individuals, serving at the meditation center where I learned these practices, and much more.

Today, I feel more ambitious than ever. But my “ambition” is more expansive. It includes the needs of others. It gives me a way to make a difference in people’s lives. And it aligns with my spiritual values.

To Each His Own

If you are a spiritual person and find yourself in a similar situation of increasing detachment and decreasing motivation to pursue materialistic goals, should you, too, leave everything and do something different? No, not at all!

The spiritual path is different for everyone. There are many successful people I know who are also highly spiritual but feel no need to change their line of work.

They share their inner joy born of meditation with everyone around them. They make their work more uplifting, even if it has nothing to do with spirituality. They work with an attitude of service rather than selfishness. They work with joy and calmness rather than gloom and anxiety. As a result, they achieve high levels of success and fulfillment.

Most importantly, they know fully that their happiness comes from within. They know that success doesn’t lead to happiness, but rather, happiness leads to success.

As long as we understand where our true happiness lies, our decisions will always be guided by wisdom and will bring us greater freedom and joy.