Question: Can one meditate any place, even if one is walking or driving?

Sri Chinmoy: Certainly one can meditate anywhere when one has acquired the capacity. When you become like me you can meditate any time — while driving, while running, while cooking. But right now you are only a beginner. You can meditate in your highest only when you are alone in your room or here at the Centre. You do not have the mastery over your meditation in other places. If you want to do your highest meditation while driving or doing some other serious, important job, you may have an accident because you are not yet an expert or an advanced seeker. While walking, if you try to remain in the higher world, you will jaywalk and then someone will come and take your life away. So I do not advise you to do it.

I would like you to meditate as much as possible, but you have to know your capacity. In the car you may do japa. For a short while repeat the name of the Supreme, who is my Guru, your Guru, everybody's Guru. Then wait a few minutes and do it again. In this way you are helping yourself spiritually, and not putting yourself in any danger. But when you become an expert in your meditation, you can do it anywhere. In the beginning, a dancer always makes mistakes. But once he becomes an expert, he can dance anywhere he wants to.

Right now it is advisable to see what kind of capacity you have. You have to learn how to do the highest meditation and, at the same time, know what is happening on the earth plane. That is why I ask people during meditation to keep their eyes a little open, so that they can go to the highest while they are retaining their conscious oneness with Mother Earth. Otherwise, they will go up and forget all about this world, and then they are useless here.

I want everybody to become an expert climber. Everybody has to learn how to climb up the tree and bring down the mangoes and share them. If you have the capacity only to go up but not to come down, then you will be stuck there. The best thing is to learn to climb up and climb down. Gradually, gradually you will develop your capacity and then you will be able to do your best meditation anywhere.