Categories: Cosmic Messengers
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!
To all of you who have joined us once again, I must first explain my absence for nearly three months. On November 27, 2025, a severe cyclone struck the area where I reside, causing significant disruption. The aftermath brought many hardships and natural disasters that we had to face.
This led to the second reason for my silence. We felt a deep need to help the people who were left destitute by the storm. For nearly two months, we dedicated our time and energy, working tirelessly to support them. It was a period of immense effort and sacrifice, which made it impossible to record new teachings.
Finally, I want to mention that my last teaching was on November 24, 2025. Before that time, many of you had made a heartfelt request. We have shared around 345 audio teachings, and many asked if it would be possible to provide them in English. The reason given was to make these teachings accessible to people of other nationalities living in foreign countries. Even before this request, we had this idea in mind but lacked the necessary resources. Young people also approached me, hoping to share the teachings with their foreign friends. So, with this inspiration, we began a new project.
New Ways to Access the Dhamma: A Digital Sanctuary
In October, before the cyclone, with the invaluable help of a young gentleman, we started creating a website. I must extend my gratitude to Mr. Chanaka, who helps with all matters related to our YouTube channel, and to another young man, Mr. Chathura, who has been instrumental in building the website.
Together, we have launched two websites to share these teachings as written articles. For Sinhala readers, you can visit adhyathmikabhikshun.lk, and for English readers, please visit adhyathmikabhikshun.org. All our previous audio teachings are now available as articles in both languages. and you can also search for them on Google. This is a wonderful opportunity to share these teachings with your friends abroad, as they can now read them as articles. We have also included an English audio book feature for those who prefer to listen.
These are the preliminary matters I wished to share with you all.
Introducing Our Topic: The Path of the Universal Representatives
After this three-month break, I wanted to offer a teaching that is universally beneficial. I decided to speak on the topic of “Universal Representatives” (Vishwa Niyojithayo). I wish to explain the life path that these individuals are meant to follow.
We have discussed the topic of Universal Representatives at length in previous talks, and many of you are already familiar with it. However, my aim today is to broaden your understanding and clarify the correct path you must take. We hope this teaching will help you realize, “This is the way I must proceed.” All that is required from you is to gain this understanding and act accordingly.
The Common Experience: A Life of Disillusionment and Setbacks
In today’s world, we see these Universal Representatives everywhere, regardless of their race, caste, or religion. As we have explained before, no matter where they are born, they eventually gravitate towards the teachings of the Buddha, towards Sri Lanka, and towards the Sinhala culture. This inclination begins to change their lives.
This process occurs whether they are born Sri Lankan, Sinhala, and Buddhist, or not. However, we have often mentioned that these individuals carry a certain sadness or frustration in their lives. The primary reason for this is their inability to reach the worldly goals they aspire to.
We have spoken of students in school or university, or young professionals, who hope to advance in their education or career but find themselves unable to proceed. Their friends and peers move forward, but for them, the path is blocked. A problem arises, perhaps a family issue, an illness, or even a sudden, deep-seated sense of disillusionment. Some simply lose all interest and feel, “I don’t need this education anymore; I must find another path.” Their educational journey is disrupted, leading to frustration.
Challenges Beyond Education: Family, Business, and Career
If you are new to these teachings, you might wonder what the term ‘Universal Representatives‘ means. I encourage you to explore our earlier teachings on our YouTube channel or Blog, especially the playlist dedicated to this topic, to gain a practical understanding. You can also read the articles on our websites, as mentioned before.
This sense of breakdown or disenchantment is not limited to education. We see it in family life as well. A husband and wife might live together for fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen years, only for their marriage to suddenly fall apart, sometimes even when they have children. Life changes, and they face collapse and despair, feeling that nothing matters without mental peace.
This extends beyond marriage. These individuals often face constant troubles from parents, children, siblings, and even neighbors. It seems they are not allowed to live in peace. The person who wishes only for tranquility is often the one who faces the most disturbances.
We also see this in business. Someone who once enjoyed great profits finds their income gradually diminishing until it reaches a plateau. There’s no significant profit, just enough to get by. They cannot afford the enjoyable things other business people do, starting new ventures, or finding happiness with their family. They are stuck at a certain level, where the business merely provides for basic needs. Sometimes, the business might collapse entirely.
Even in your job, you may face insults and disdain from your boss and colleagues. You might be ignored, or find that others won’t help you when you try to get work done. In all these situations, it’s not a personal failing on your part. It feels like a strange reaction you are receiving from society. People often send me messages saying, “Venerable Sir, every single thing I do fails. Why is this happening to me?”
A Note on Communication and Finding Answers Within
I must mention here that I receive many messages on WhatsApp, and it has become impossible to reply to everyone. I reply when I can, but many messages have piled up. Sometimes I review them and send a link to a relevant video or address the issue in a general teaching. Please do not feel sad or discouraged if I am unable to send a personal reply. Use our teachings, listen to them repeatedly, and practice to move forward. By listening again and again, you will gain a special understanding.
As many have said, there is a recurring pattern of failure, and this causes immense mental pressure for many people, especially the youth, across all ages, races, and religions. They are trapped in the thought, ‘What is happening to me?‘ Today, I want to discuss this, offer you some clarity, and explain how we should proceed.
Why Is This Happening? Your Soul’s Forgotten Purpose
The next question we must address is, “Why is this happening to me?” When we speak of Universal Representatives, we refer to a specific group of beings. In our teachings, we have described them as a group that has come to the human world to perform a special duty. We have also called them a group who have come to attain the fruits of the path, the four stages of enlightenment known as Sotapanna (Stream-enterer), Sakadagami (Once-returner), Anagami (Non-returner), and Arahant (the Fully Awakened).
Furthermore, we have mentioned they are beings who are fulfilling their perfections (pāramitā) to attain high spiritual positions, such as becoming a Buddha, a Paccekabuddha (a silent Buddha), or a great Arahant. Others may be striving for positions like Chief Disciples, or to become great lay supporters like Visakha or Anathapindika. We have explained that Universal Representatives are a collection of these kinds of beings.
Understanding this may help you grasp what is happening in your life. But I feel the need to explain this again from a different angle, to show you the path you must walk.
These special beings come to the human world from time to time. Sometimes many come at once; at other times, only a few. Among them are those who come to protect the Buddha’s teaching, specifically the Theravada Buddhism that exists in Sri Lanka. There are over 150, perhaps close to 200, countries in the world, but the pure teaching of the Buddha, Theravada Buddhism, is not found in all of them. It exists here, in this island of Lanka. And even here, how many truly follow it? Not every Buddhist does. In fact, sometimes non-Buddhists follow it more diligently than those born into the faith.
The Cosmic ‘Nudge’: Getting Back on the Right Track
Now, reflect on your frustration and anxiety. It stems from this recurring pattern of collapse in your life. You see your peers, friends, relatives, acquaintances acquiring vehicles, homes, and enjoying worldly pleasures. They travel, they indulge in the sensual, secular life. But you cannot achieve that. You cannot reach the level they do. There is a breakdown in your career, your business, and your family life. Don’t you see that you are being confined to a certain limit?
I must clarify that some life events happen due to past unskillful actions, or negative kamma. We must remember this. However, when these Universal Representatives are born in the human world (coming from a heavenly realm (deva loka), a brahma realm, or a naga world, from one of the thirty-one planes of existence) they arrive with a purpose. Whether from one of the six sensual heavens or the twenty brahma worlds, when you were reborn here, you had an objective.
But now, having arrived in the human world, that purpose is gone. You don’t even remember why you came. Because you have forgotten, you chase after what the human world values: education, business, entertainment, and sensual pleasures. You try to keep up with what others are doing, chasing new technology, new cars, money, and various forms of sensual gratification.
Do you not see the contradiction between these two things?
You left a celestial realm with one intention, and now in the human world, you are trying to do something completely different. This is what we call ‘jumping the tracks.‘ Think with your intelligent mind, with your wisdom: isn’t this what you are trying to do?
When you are about to jump the tracks, the divine beings who assist you (the brahmas, devas, yakshas, nagas from the realm you came from) are watching. They see you and think, “Ah, this person has forgotten why they came and is now trying to go down a different track, a different path. We must turn them back to the right direction.” They withdraw their support for certain worldly things and, as if hitting you with a stick, they remind you again and again: “You did not come to the human world for this. You came for something else.” This constant reminding is the source of your deep frustration.
Embracing Your True Purpose: The Spiritual Path
Even as you read this, you may feel that frustration. This breakdown in your life is happening for a reason you must remember and understand. So, we need to discuss why you came to the human world. By now, you might have some inkling. You came for spirituality. You came to protect the nation and the culture of Lanka, where spirituality thrives, and to complete your own perfections (pāramitā). That is why you are here.
When you try to do something else instead of your real work, things collapse. The message is: stop trying to follow the rhythm of others. This is what we must understand.
Among the reasons for your coming, if you are to attain the four fruits of the path in this Gautama Buddha’s dispensation, then you must walk that path. You must follow the Noble Eightfold Path. If you are accumulating perfections to become a Buddha, Paccekabuddha, or a great Arahant in a future Buddha’s era, then you must act accordingly. You need to gather those perfections while living in the human world.
If you are meant to be a great disciple or hold a chief position in a Buddha’s dispensation, you must follow that path. If you fail to do so, you will face increasing mental anguish and affliction day by day. When you are not on the right path, this is what you will encounter. You do not have the same destiny as others to enjoy endless worldly pleasures. By now, some Universal Representatives have indulged in worldly pleasures to the absolute maximum, only to find themselves suffering immensely.
Having learned their lesson through that suffering, some are now on the right path. Others are still trying to indulge, but no matter how hard they try, they cannot; they only fall. There are also those who, with wisdom, understand this from the beginning and do not chase sensual pleasures, knowing they must walk the correct path.
The Message Within Every Challenge
You are like them. By now, you may or may not have understood this. Hopefully, this teaching is bringing you clarity. The only thing for you to do is to walk this path. There is no other refuge or protection for you.
Every one of these events is giving you a message. We discussed breakdowns in education, family life, career, and business. A Universal Representative must remember that in every collapse, there is a message. If someone says something hurtful to you, if you experience a setback in life, if a loved one leaves you, if a relationship breaks, if your family life collapses, if your business fails, whatever your age or race, the task is not to keep asking, “Why did it collapse?“
Of course, there is nothing wrong with trying again and again to improve things, to see what happens. There is no harm in wondering why things failed. But there is something you are not thinking about: “What is the message for me in this collapse?“ That is the one thing you are not considering. By all means, think about the other things, but also ask with wisdom and intelligence, “What message can I take from this frustration, this sadness, this failure?“
The more you contemplate this, the wisdom and insight from your previous lives, from the place you came from, will begin to awaken. That wisdom will start to emerge. Little by little, you will begin to remember the reason you came. Gradually, your wisdom will start to grasp it. This is not something you understand all at once. It is something we realize over time, over many years, as we grow older. You will start to understand why you came to the human world. As you keep asking, “What is the message?” you will get on the right path, the right line, the right track. After that, you will be able to manage your affairs.
A Warning Against Spiritual Fantasies and the Path of Wisdom
Here, I must specifically warn you: do not get lost in dreams of being past figures like Ravana, Diyasena, or Mandodari. Do not become intoxicated by these past characters or ancient kingdoms, thinking, “I did this in the past,” “I have come to be a king,” or “I will do this for the Buddha’s dispensation.” Do not create grand fantasies. This will only become another source of mental anguish and great pressure for you. Don’t think about them. Release everything that burdens the mind. Use our teachings on mindfulness to let go of such things and do only what needs to be done in this present moment.
If you are a Universal Representative, your arrival in the human world was certainly planned. It is unfolding according to that plan, and you cannot do anything outside of it. However, do not fall into the extreme view that everything is predetermined. This planned journey is specific to Universal Representatives who come with a mission.
There are others wandering in samsara, the cycle of rebirth, perhaps with wrong views, who don’t believe in any of this. Their journey is aimless. Their lives are not unfolding according to a plan because they have not yet understood samsara or cultivated their perfections. They are often reborn in lower realms of suffering. So, the key is to repeatedly contemplate what I said earlier: “What is the message for me in this?“
Finding Joy in the Present: The Art of Contentment
Once you receive the message, try to see everything that comes into your life not as something bad, but as something good. See every collapse as something that happened for your well-being, for the better. Rejoice, thinking, “This is the benefit I gained from this; by contemplating it with wisdom, my mind has started to elevate.“
Find contentment with what you have, the money you possess, the worldly comforts, your spouse, your vehicle. Be happy with what you have, not in comparison to others. Be content with your current state. Why? Because you already tried to reach the level of others, and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t. This isn’t about giving up. You should be happy with your effort as well.
We have always encouraged you to try, because it is through trying that you understand. You can’t just sit idly saying, “I’m content with what I have.” It is only after trying your best and failing that you reach this state of acceptance.
Some people try and succeed. Others can’t. Those without a specific spiritual plan might advance very high based on their past merit. But those who were born in the human world for a specific purpose according to a plan cannot simply follow that worldly path. The only path available is the spiritual path.
Therefore, Universal Representatives must accept every setback and negative event as something good and be genuinely happy with their current situation. You must contemplate these things with wisdom. Without it, you cannot walk this path steadily.
The Way Forward: Practice, Patience, and Self-Awareness
It is through this kind of wise contemplation that we offer you this understanding. We too have contemplated with wisdom and gained many experiences throughout our journey in samsara. What we share with you from these vast experiences is still only a small amount, just enough to guide you on the right path.
Do not misunderstand this to mean you should remain only in the aspect of material offerings. No. You should offer flowers and light lamps, chant protective suttas, and pay homage to sacred places like Ruwanwelisaya and the sixteen holy sites. Engage in these acts of devotion. However, more than material practice (āmisa pūjā), you must engage in the practice of the path (patipatti pūjā). Gather your perfections. Cultivate the wisdom needed to realize the fruits of the path, study the deep Dhamma, and practically train your mind again and again.
In the future, we will provide teachings on various aspects of the mind and different facets of tranquility meditation (samatha bhāvanā), and how to practice them.
Similarly, you must constantly strive to understand your own mind. Nature is always giving you a message. Try to understand it. We will certainly give future teachings on how to think wisely, how to expand your wisdom, and how to proceed. If you listen to our past teachings again and read the articles on our websites, you will be able to grasp these things very well. You will see your wisdom broadening and your understanding growing.
Your Path, Your Pace, Your Peace
These are the matters I wanted to help you understand today. If you have grasped this knowledge, this understanding of the path you must now walk, and if you act accordingly, your mind will begin to feel free and light from this very moment. You will start to think differently, and your life’s journey will change. When your path changes, you will stop trying to follow the crowd. You will think and act in a completely different way. As you train yourself in these new ways, your mind will become lighter.
Remember this: when you are walking correctly on the right path, your mind is light, equanimous, neutral, patient, and wise. You will receive these qualities. That is what we call lightness. The time it takes to realize this is relative to each person. The time to gain understanding and experience varies. A middle-aged person may gain understanding faster than an older person. A young person may understand it faster than a middle-aged person. This can also vary according to race, caste, and religion. So do not worry about that. Each person’s timeline and level of understanding is different.
Simply put, do not try to dance to the tune that the rest of the world is dancing to. Instead of dancing to their tune, act in this way. Then you will begin to understand who you are, why you came to the human world, which perfections you are here to fulfill, and whether you are here to finish your work in this very Gautama Buddha’s dispensation by attaining the fruits of the path and realizing Nibbana. These things will become clear little by little, not all at once.
You have the ability to bring your mind to that state. Today, I have shared the necessary points in this teaching. After a long period of three months, we have been able to offer you this guidance.
A Final Invitation to Explore and Share
Before I conclude, I would like to remind you again that our articles are available in English and Sinhala. You can read all our past teachings at adhyathmikabhikshun.lk (Sinhala) and adhyathmikabhikshun.org (English). If you have foreign friends, please share this with them, as there are people like this among them too. Today, there are foreign monks who have ordained in Sri Lanka and are meditating in forests. Once they receive this understanding, their lives can also change. Please try to share this message with them. You will gain merit from this act.
Please explore the website and share your thoughts, ideas, or any criticisms you may have. We accept all feedback on our YouTube channel with equanimity, and we will do the same for the website. With that, I will conclude today’s teaching.
May the power of the Triple Gem (the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha) give you the ability to understand these matters well and act accordingly. I now conclude the topic, ‘The Life Path that Universal Representatives Should Follow.‘
We invite you to walk this path with us. Read our teachings, and most importantly, apply them practically in your own life. as you practice, questions will naturally arise. Please feel free to share your experiences and questions in the comments below, via email or contact form. I will do my best to offer guidance in future talks based on your progress. For now, begin this practice with an open heart and a mind free from expectation. Cultivate it correctly, and may you find the clarity and peace you seek.
Thank you for joining us. We hope this blog will be of great benefit to your spiritual journey.
May you all be well and happy.
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!.
