Question: On the path to God, what is purity and what is realisation?

Sri Chinmoy: On the path to God, purity is the fragrance of a flower and realisation is the flower. Both are equally important. If you don't have fragrance, then the flower is useless. If you do not have a flower, how can you have fragrance? So both flower and fragrance are of equal importance. If you feel the presence of a flower inside your heart and if you also smell the fragrance, then you will be able to reach your destined goal without fail.