Question: I always felt it was selfish to look for salvation. I thought that this would come of itself if one did the right thing.

Sri Chinmoy: You are absolutely right. Salvation will come in its own way, at the chosen hour, if you do the right thing. And what is the right thing? The right thing is to pray, to concentrate, to meditate. If you climb up a tree then you get the fruit. But if you don’t climb up, then the fruit will always remain out of reach. In the spiritual life, when we climb up, God’s Grace descends.

Getting salvation is like getting a salary. You work at the United Nations. At a specified time your salary is bound to come. But that is because you also play your part — you come and work here. Similarly, if you do something for God, for mankind, salvation will come. Instead of living in desire, if you live in aspiration, salvation will come. What you are supposed to do is pray, concentrate and meditate, and if you do, naturally you will get salvation. It is not by saying, “Give me salvation, give me salvation,” that you will get it. Salvation doesn’t come that way. But if you do the right thing, which is to live a spiritual life, a life of dedication and devotion, automatically you will get salvation.