For centuries, many people have searched for the secret to eternal youth. Even today, there are many kinds of products on sale, or health regimes offering us the chance to prolong youth and vitality.

The search for eternal youth goes back a long way. For example, the ancient Greeks expressed their longing by endowing their gods and mythical heroes with eternal youth. Medieval explorers searched for the legendary fountain of youth; alchemists tried to distil an elixir of life. However, we know of none that remained young forever in the literal and physical sense.

Modern civilisation has gone a long way in prolonging the life of humans. Many have better living conditions, better food, and antibiotics have doubled or trebled the average life span in the Western world. Much of the improvement in the human life span can be traced to a reduction in the death rate from infantile diseases. It could be said that we are also living longer, and working for longer.

The question is: how far should we expend a lot of effort and energy in our personal attempt to stay young? There are different schools of thought on this, so perhaps we should look to nature for some inspiration or enlightenment.

From a mystical point of view, life and consciousness are not just human qualities. There is some life in every animal, in every plant, and even in minerals. Many single-cell organisms reproduce by splitting into two cells when they grow too large. Then eventually something happens: after many repetitions of cell division, there seems to occur a kind of family degeneration—a decrease in strength and vitality and size. Things start to retrogress.

 It is as though nature does not care as much for individuals as much as the form, the species and the life process. In plant life, myriads of seeds die for each tree that grows; in animal life, there are a million sperm cells for each fertilised ovum. Among bees, the drones die in the act of mating, and many female insects die as soon as their eggs are laid. In fact, nature seems to let weaklings die before mating and to call on the strong to strengthen and evolve the breed.

However, it is a different matter in the higher categories of the animal kingdom. Mammal parents suckle and protect their offspring. Nature, in the form of family relationships, creates an overlap of the generations and a transmission of skills and experiences as well as of biological traits.

As far as human beings are concerned, evolution has now reached a state where, on average, the normal life span far exceeds the age of puberty. Life increasingly seems to be about more than simple survival of the fittest. Our longer survival rates imply that, even as we age, humans can continue to have something useful to contribute to humanity and to nature as a whole.

Useful Living

We could say that each of us creates our own destiny in the way we conduct our lives. Each of us has a usefulness in some way, big or small. In purely practical terms, each of us fulfils our function in our own way in whichever sphere we find to put our skills, experiences and talents to use. Whatever our age, we could say that all men and women have the potential to increase the material, cultural and spiritual heritage of the species.

As long as we can be useful, our lives can contribute to the whole. With this in mind, we can see the importance of trying to retain physical and mental vitality.

Health and the Mystical Life

Our thoughts can affect our inner equilibrium and our state of mental and physical health. We can contribute to our own regeneration, inner harmony and physical vitality with the application of basic mystical principles.

Mysticism aims to dissolve fear and promote harmony of body, mind and soul, and encourages us to understand the simple laws of cause and effect. We can learn from our experiences, and to apply our knowledge in constructive ways. We can avoid excesses yet still appreciate that a moderate enjoyment of the senses contributes to health, knowledge and survival. We may say that the body is like a sacred temple, the dwelling place of the spirit, and we simply try to keep it fit and healthy.

From a wider perspective, the mystical life embraces the thought that our entire existence is created, permeated, animated and governed by a Universal Mind force. If we consider that each individual mind is unseparated from the Universal Mind and has access to its wisdom and power, then we can align ourselves with the unity and harmony of the Whole.

Focusing Consciousness

Some mystical teachings concentrate on special regions of the spinal column that are identified with particular psychic centres; others teach the use of vowel sounds or mantras to promote overall well-being and rejuvenation.

In most systems, the direction of the consciousness is combined with controlled breathing. This may be understood by regarding the breath as the dynamic source of the life process, and as a link between the realms of matter and consciousness. Focusing our consciousness in this way can soothe the nerves, harmonise the spirit and rejuvenate the body.

Expressing your Inner Light

The youthfulness of a mystic or of any other person is measured by their activity. And therein lies the key to the ultimate secret as well as to the justification of prolonged youthfulness. When mystics direct consciousness through their body, they do not do it merely for the enjoyment of physical fitness or for thought control. Their basic desire is to experience the flow of the Greater Mind and Consciousness through their being. They are not content with merely filling their body and conscious mind with this influx, but they reverse the flow, directing it outwards beyond the confines of their body and thus symbolically dedicating their own being to whatever uses the Greater Mind may inspire.

We have come full circle in finding an answer to our initial question regarding the justification for staying young. All we need do is look around us: whenever you see someone praised for enduring youthfulness, you see a busy person, a worker who loves their work; or you may see an artist, scientist, politician, teacher, or parents who bring up and encourage their family. Always, you will see a creative and outgoing person.

You may keep young by many means mentioned here: pleasant surroundings, good hygiene, diet, and exercise, or by spiritual techniques to maintain inner harmony. But the essential ingredient of all these methods is to forget about your own outer person and to keep creatively busy “according to your light.”

Express your inner light in the outer world. It may be the light of physical betterment, of knowledge, of beauty, of wisdom, or of love. Whatever its expression, it is this light that shines through a mystic’s activities and keeps him or her young.