Question: Is it possible for a person to become unintentionally involved in the vibrations of someone who is impure?

Sri Chinmoy: Yes, it is quite possible. In spite of being absolutely pure oneself, one can become a victim of others’ impurity. What actually happens is that the person who has purity does not have enough inner strength to prevent others’ impurity from entering into his system. That is why spiritual teachers very often tell aspirants not to mix with the outside world, with people who are not pure. The aspirants may be absolutely pure themselves, but if they are not also very strong, then they are helpless. Their purity can be torn to pieces like a rose. The rose is beautiful to look at, for it is the embodiment of purity. But if someone wants to, he can easily tear the rose to pieces.

In our day-to-day life we very often come across people and places that are very impure. While walking along the street a spiritual person may sense tremendous impurity at a particular spot where an ordinary person may not notice anything at all. To an ordinary person all places are practically the same. But a spiritual person knows that purity and impurity vary tremendously from place to place and from person to person. So what you are saying is absolutely true. One can easily be attacked by the impurity of others. The only way to prevent this is by energising ourselves with the soul’s power. The soul’s power is always alert and can easily come to our aid.