In January I published my memoir, From Brooklyn to Benares and Back, and wrote about my experiences in the 1960s when I first came in contact with Eastern spirituality. I also wrote about the social upheavals of that colorful era.

One friend who read the book remarked “I wished I was born earlier so I, too, could experience what Dada describes.” A few other people said the same thing. While they may wish to have been born earlier, I feel that this younger generation is more fortunate than me.

“Why,”you may ask. I believe that the world is going to change in profound ways in the coming years. I am nearing the end of my life and may not be around to see how it all turns out, but the millennials (people in their 30s) will be around for another forty or fifty years. The world that they will see at the end of their lives will be a vastly different place. I think that it will be an improved world where humanity learns how to live as one human race and share the bounty of this earth just like a family. I would love to be around to see it, but human biology will not allow me to go on for another forty years.

How do I know that things will be better in 2055 than they are today? I take my cue from my guru Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. He once stated “Under no circumstances should human beings be pessimistic. That is why I am always an incorrigible optimist, because I know that optimism is life.” In his writings he gave a blueprint for the society of the future, and predicted that the prevailing defective social systems of today will give way to a more ideal society. For example in 1979 he wrote “Marxism is like a house of cards that will fall apart after a light hammering. It will leave no impact in this practical world.” This came to pass in 1990, and for those people who lived through the fears of the Cold War, it came as a big relief.

Anandamurti said that even greater changes will come in the years ahead and institutions and belief systems which seem like a solid part of our world today will crumble and give way to newer and better ideas and institutions. The immediate future, which is already upon us in the form of war and terrorism, will no doubt be a challenging period and it may be so terrible that you will think I am crazy to say that good things are just around the corner. However, our current upheavals will not last forever and they will be instrumental in shaping the brilliant future that Anandamurti described as follows: “Human beings want to channelize the full range of their vision towards the bright future – a future which will transcend all individual or group interests, all territorial limits of countries and states, and transform the individual fates of many people into one destiny.”

I would sure like to be around to see it!