Question: Guru, are you bothered by noise and other disturbances when you meditate?

Sri Chinmoy: In silence we possess the highest. If I enter into my own highest trance, at that time nothing will bother me. But the moment we talk, we come down one level. There we see that the earthbound consciousness, the noise and everything else there, is affecting us. If I want to remain in my highest and if I don't want to care about what is happening all around, I can do that. But if I am to be of service to my disciples, then how can I all the time stay there? If somebody is drowning in the water, then naturally the person who is on the shore has to also enter into the water if he wants to be of help. So here also, if a spiritual Master wants to remain in his highest, he has the capacity to do so. But from the highest he cannot help humanity. The students cannot come up to his height, so he has to come down to the level of the students. So I come down to the level of my disciples and teach them how to meditate. If I want to remain in my highest, ignoring them, or if I don't want to be perturbed by the earthly circumstances, noise and so forth, I can easily remain in my highest. But that will not help my fellow beings and my disciples.