Question: Does it matter to the soul whether we meditate every day at the same time?

Sri Chinmoy: Those who are awakened, those who are no longer in the world of ignorance, should make it a point to be sincere, regular and punctual in their spiritual discipline. Their very regularity and punctuality will dispel the darkness which comes in the form of sloth and inertia. Try to be regular always in your meditation and try to be punctual as well. You will see that regularity and punctuality have abundant power. Each day when you meditate punctually you go one step closer to your goal.

Some individuals do not give enough importance to regularity in their aspiration. You may think that you have meditated for three months and made so much progress in your spiritual life that you can take rest for a few days before starting again. But unfortunately it is not like that. As soon as you begin to take rest on your spiritual journey, you start running backwards; you go right back to your old life. Doubt, fear, suspicion and all kinds of negative forces enter into you and begin to destroy your inner progress. The potentiality for you to realise God remains; naturally one day you will realise God. But previously you ran forward continuously with your possibility; that golden opportunity you have now lost. The progress that you have made will be totally lost if you take rest.

Of course, the essence of the progress remains inside the soul and is never destroyed, but your past progress will not be manifested in your outer life. You won’t be able to speak the truth, you won’t be able to give your soul’s smile, you won’t maintain a good vibration or give inspiration. No one will have faith in you.

After falling off the spiritual ladder, it is extremely difficult to climb up again. But because the quintessence of your spiritual development will remain inside your heart, in your next incarnation or whenever you want to meditate again, that quintessence will come to the fore. It will gradually, gradually loom large again if you most sincerely pray to God to help you return to the spiritual life. But you will delay your progress beyond your imagination if you take rest.

This is why I always say regularity must be maintained. Once you have reached your goal you are safe. But before that even if you are only an inch from the goal, there is no certainty. Ignorance can pull you back. Many people on the verge of realisation have been attacked by hostile forces that have prevented them from realising God. These unfortunate seekers will get their realisation, but it will take them much longer. So until you have reached the ultimate Goal, there is no security, there is no fulfilment, there is no continuous delight. You must always be on the alert and run as fast as you can toward your ultimate Goal. Until the Goal is won, do not stop, because ignorance will pull you back again to your starting point.