Question: Several times I've heard the boy disciples say it is easier for the girls because they can kind of fall in love with you, Guru. Is there any truth in this way of thinking?

Sri Chinmoy: This is only a silly way of thinking. Through physical love, through human love, nobody will be able to bind me. At that time I am millions of miles away. It is only through spiritual love, surrendered love that I am caught. With spiritual love if you give me a blade of grass, with spiritual love if you give me a pure smile, at that time I feel that you have given me the whole universe.

Why do you have to think of love, devotion and surrender? If you come to me and just give me a soulful smile, you have given me the entire universe. When you give me a really soulful smile, you have given me the same kind of happiness I got the day I achieved my realisation. If you can make me happy in the way I want to be, that to me is as good as my God-realisation.

Each individual has to feel how much he can work for the mission unappreciated and unnoticed. Unappreciated and unnoticed! If you can do this, all your problems and everybody’s problems will be solved today. How many days, how many months, or let us say even, how many hours you can work without being appreciated by me: this is the test. Others may appreciate you or they may not appreciate you. But you can rest assured that even if nobody appreciates you, even if I give no outer recognition to you, still my inner appreciation is immediate. Immediate, I tell you! You people give me love-offering: five dollars or ten dollars or whatever. The moment I touch the envelope, my blessingful gratitude goes to you. The moment I ask you to do something, my blessingful gratitude goes. I have not seen the results yet; I don’t know whether you will bring success or failure. Perhaps you will bring me zero. Even then, my gratitude goes to the utmost extent.

Just because I have asked you to do something, I have also given you the capacity. Without giving you the capacity, I will never ask you to go and do something for me. Because I have given you the capacity, I have told you to do such and such a thing. Then, the moment I ask you, my inner gratitude flows.

So, if you really want to please me, the most effective way is to work unnoticed.

You are being inwardly appreciated the moment I ask you. X waters the garden and then he goes away. When he comes, when he goes, nobody knows. On some rare occasion perhaps I will see him through the window. He doesn’t knock at the door. That should be the attitude. I am speaking not only about working here at the Centre, but at other places also. Suppose I ask you to work in Manhattan or somewhere else. You will do the job, but then you will wait for appreciation or ask others if Guru has heard about it. Or through someone else you will inform me that you have done the work. Although you want the appreciation, admiration and glory, you are feeling shy, and you do not want to ask directly. So you ask your intimate friends in some way to tell me. At that time I will smile and bless you, but I wish to say that you are not getting the same mark. You may get practically zero. So in answer to your question, I am saying that one of the best ways to please me is to work unnoticed and unappreciated.