Table of Contents
Part I — Supernatural phenomena
- Supernatural phenomena
- Question: Could you please tell about any experience you had where the paranormal played an obvious and undeniable role?
- Question: Do you think that precognition can restrict man's free will? Knowing the future, will he no longer be able to decide freely any more?
- Question: You have been able to predict many events, such as Carl Lewis' victory at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. How do you obtain these premonitions or visions of the future? Do you search for them? Do you always feel the need to communicate your findings?
- Question: Are there spiritual methods for communicating with those who have passed away?
- Question: Is there life after death? Will there be a judgement of what has been done in this life? Will there be punishment, reward or a sentence? If so, will it be eternal?
- Question: Do you believe in reincarnation? Who were you before and who will you be in your next life? Can a spiritual man decipher the mysteries of life?
- Question: You have devoted yourself to sports and the arts and have achieved exceptional results. What is the basis of your success? You have said that it is natural, that it is sufficient to "open yourself to the Source of divine inspiration." What does this mean? You have also stated that, "Men themselves set their limits, but they also decide when to surpass those limits." Is man omnipotent? You lifted 7,000 pounds, a virtual miracle. If you wanted to, could you surpass other world-class performances?
- Question: Does each individual have a predisposition for using divine inspiration to achieve greatness in one specific athletic event?
- Question: You have written hundreds of books and thousands of songs, and have painted tens of thousands of paintings. When you are at work, do you function 'automatically'? Are you like a medium, working in an unconscious and passive state, or are you fully conscious of your actions? When you are at work, do you consider yourself more of an artist or more of a medium?
Part II — The spiritual life
- The spiritual life
- Question: In your writings you say that there are different levels of consciousness: the inanimate one of stones, the plant world, the animal kingdom and the human state of existence. They are all progressing towards the divine state. Spiritual seekers try to climb up the progress-tree with spiritual methods such as meditation, but sometimes they fail. What happens to them? What do you advise for those who have difficulty meditating and cannot set aside fifteen minutes per day for their spiritual disciplines?
- Question: You are a vegetarian. Is being a vegetarian essential in the spiritual life?
- Question: Why does man use archaic sounds in his prayer, such as Aum, Amen, Halleluiah, etc.?
- Question: What do you say while you are praying? To whom are you speaking? Have you ever prayed for others, for the world, for peace? How have you done this?
- Question: In calling on God, should we use the pronoun 'You'? If not, what kind of language should we use?
- Question: What techniques do you use in your meditation to achieve inner awareness, an opening up to spiritual strength and the creation of a 'new consciousness'? What do you do and what method do your disciples follow?
- Question: What is the difference between the meditation of the heart, spiritual concentration and contemplation of God?
Part III — Personal views
- Personal views
- Question: You are able to combine the spirituality of India with Western dynamism. This is quite unheard of for a teacher of Indian spirituality. Do you follow a prearranged plan? Do you feel suited for today's world, or do you try to conform to the world while bringing good into it?
- Question: Does God need man? Did you choose your life-role? Can we draw a parallel between your life and that of the Biblical prophet Samuel and also with the Little Shepherd of Fatima?
- Question: You have said that from a very young age you knew that your mission would develop in the West. Was it an inner message you received during your first thirteen years, or was it a suggestion of your Guru? How did your knowledge of coming to the West develop?
- Question: Your name, Chinmoy (“full of divine consciousness”), seems to tell it all. Why did your parents give you this name? Were they thinking about your future spiritual vocation?
- Question: In your writings, you describe an episode in your life where you met or talked to the King of the Universe. Was it a subtle inner vision or could you see Him with your physical eyes? Were you in a meditative trance, or were you in an ordinary consciousness? What did the King look like?
- Question: What do you experience while you are producing your works at a tremendous speed? What do you do to reach the proper consciousness? Can you create or compose whenever you want to, or only when you feel a call from within?
- Question: Why is there an abundance of gardens with exotic flowers and wonderful birds in your paintings? The inner garden or garden of the Beyond is a very happy state, but it contrasts with the problems of everyday life. It seems almost to evade them. Is this the case? What are you saying through your colourful gardens?
- Question: Your weightlifting achievements are unparalleled in this world. Which mental processes do you use to concentrate your physical and mental energies?
- Question: Is God Father or Mother to you?
