Question: How do we separate the voice of the soul from the intellect and emotion?

Sri Chinmoy: We can easily separate the voice of the soul from the emotional life and intellectual life. When we do something, the result comes in the form of either success or failure. When we follow the dictates of the voice of the soul, if the result of our actions is success, we do not proclaim ourselves to the skies and forget the world of reality. We do not lose our balance. And if the result comes in the form of failure, we do not become miserable and depressed. Whether we succeed or fail, with equal joy, cheerfulness and perfect equanimity we place the result at the Feet of the Lord Supreme.

But when we do something that has been prompted by our intellectual convictions or emotional feelings, we act in a different way, depending on whether the result of our actions is success or failure. When we act in accordance with the dictates of the intellect or emotions, we expect something in our own way. If the result does not meet with our expectations, we are frustrated and disappointed, and in our disappointment what looms large is destruction. But if it is the message of the soul that we execute, then we will always feel poise, peace and tranquillity in the result. We will see and feel that the result of our actions is nothing but an experience that will elevate our consciousness, deepen our consciousness, widen, illumine and perfect our consciousness.

When we listen to the dictates of the soul, we know that we are not the doer; the doer is God. We are the instrument and God the Doer is having an experience in and through us in His own inimitable way. We just offer our experience to the Inner Pilot and place it at His Feet. If we don’t have the sense of separativity, then we can feel that He is the one who has had the experience in and through us and that He is the experience itself.