Question: What causes depression?

Sri Chinmoy: Depression comes because we do not want to live in the truth, but consciously or unconsciously we want to live in ignorance-pleasure. This pleasure is bound to be followed by depression. Depression is caused by our acceptance of ignorance. When we take ignorance as our very own, we become depressed. At that time we cannot go beyond it. We are caught; we are caught in the little self of ignorance.

We want constant success, constant progress, constant achievement and fulfilment, but in our daily life we do not get these things. Each moment is an opportunity to grow into more of God's Light, Peace, Bliss and Power. But if we misuse our time, then immediately the negative forces will enter into us. These negative forces are doubt, fear, anxiety, worry and depression.

If we are depressed, we cannot expect more of God's Grace and God's Love; nor can we expect continuous sympathy from humanity. If we are depressed, then a friend of ours may come and console us or sympathise with us; but his consolation will not cut the root of our depression. The only cure for depression is light.

We have to know what we actually want. If we want only light, then we have to know where light is. Light is in our peace of mind, in the tranquillity of our heart. When we unveil our inner peace, we will see that it is all achievement, all fulfilment: infinite achievement and fulfilment in the process of growing into infinite Realisation. If we don't unveil our inner peace, then we are bound to be princes of depression.

We have to feel that we are not ignorance, we do not represent ignorance, we are not in ignorance and we are not for ignorance. No. We are in light and we want to grow into deepest, all-fulfilling light. If we have that feeling, then there can be no depression. The light which is the result of our aspiration will immediately burn our depression into ashes, or it will transform our depression into constant aspiration. If we can identify with the soul's inner spontaneous joy, then we will always have joy within and without. So let us try to remain in the soul's spontaneous joy.