Question: When we disobey you, how can we get rid of the guilt?

Sri Chinmoy: You can get rid of the guilt only if you can smile at me with your entire being. That is to say, you have to feel that not only your heart but also your eyes, your ears and even your nose is smiling at me. Also, this smile has to contain and embody gratitude. When your body, vital, mind and heart are all smiling at me with soulful gratitude, then you will see that I am smiling back at you most powerfully. At that time guilt goes away. Guilt is something that feels very heavy in the body. It is like garbage. Once you empty the garbage, you feel so light. So when your whole being is smiling at me and I am also smiling most powerfully at you, guilt disappears and you feel very light, very clean, very pure.

I am the last person in God's entire creation to hold anything against anybody. Others can hold things against me to the end of their lives. But I do not want to carry my displeasure and frustration to my grave. Others may carry their anger and frustration with them to their last breath, and even with their last breath they may not forgive humanity. But this is foolish, and I happen to be wise. Again, in my case, if the Supreme wants me to hold my depression, frustration or displeasure, I have to do so. But I do not hold these like ordinary human beings for days and months and years. That is too much. I express my displeasure for a few seconds or a few minutes or a few hours. If the crime is very, very serious, I may hold these things for a few days or weeks, but never for months or years.

Insincere seekers do not suffer if they disobey their Master. After disobeying, they become defiant; then comes betrayal and they are finished! But when disciples who are extremely sincere disobey me, they will suffer deeply unless they can get rid of their guilt by offering me the smile of gratitude. They can offer this smile to me either in the physical, or they can offer it to my transcendental picture. So if you disobey me, then sit in front of my transcendental picture and try to bring forward a smile from your heart, from your mind, from your vital and from your body. Then you will empty the garbage inside you, and also my boundless compassion and boundless affection will come forward. This is how you can get rid of guilt.

If there is sincere gratitude, God takes away all your sins — all the bad things you have done. If there is no sincere gratitude, then you may suffer to the end of your life. If gratitude comes as a most soulful prayer or most soulful meditation, then it embodies everything. But if it is only a casual feeling like saying, "Thank you," then that gratitude is virtually worthless. Sometimes it is only vital pleasure we enjoy and share with others when we say "thank you." That feeling is millions and billions of miles away from real gratitude.