Question: Your main Centre is in Jamaica, New York, but can you tell us something about your old Centre in Jamaica, West Indies?

Sri Chinmoy: At one time we had a very good Centre in Jamaica, West Indies. I used to call the leader my mother, because she was full of compassion and affection for me. She was a black lady, very stout.

Alas, after some time this lady felt that I was starting to give all importance to young boys and young girls in the Centre, and that I would have no time to pay any attention to elderly people. She did not wait to see what was going to happen. Unfortunately, the disciples believed her, and then they left our Centre.

The very first time I spoke most seriously to about forty disciples in my house, this lady was there. She came up to me and put her hand on my head. She said, “Son, I think you have got a very high fever. That is why you have scolded us.” This was one of my “mothers”!

I was also in a spiritual community. I did not have my physical mother at that time, but I had four or five other “mothers.” The Ashramites were very kind and affectionate to me. My sisters and brothers and I were quite close to the Divine Mother, and inwardly we were very close to Sri Aurobindo. When I did something good or great, my sisters and brothers were infinitely, infinitely happier than I was, believe me. I could not equal their happiness. When I competed in the long jump or high jump, my brother Mantu took care of my worries and anxieties. I was not at all worried or anxious, but he was worried. The moment he heard that I had stood first in running or jumping or some other event, you cannot imagine his joy! In this lifetime there is no match for the happiness that I witnessed in my dear ones, my brothers and sisters, when I did well.

You have asked a question and I have answered it in my own way!