Question: You are able to combine the spirituality of India with Western dynamism. This is quite unheard of for a teacher of Indian spirituality. Do you follow a prearranged plan, or do you try to conform to the world while bringing good into it?

Sri Chinmoy: As the inner life is fruitless and useless without peace, even so the outer life is fruitless and useless without dynamism. According to me, India's spirituality lies in its inner peace, just as the Western world's progress lies in its outer dynamism. The dynamism of the West and the inner peace of the East must go together in order to bring about a world of perfect harmony and satisfaction.

I owe my aspiration-heart to India; I owe my dedication-life to America. I feel that the inner life of aspiration and the outer life of dedication are both needed in order to manifest the divine Light of our Heavenly Father here on earth.

I do not follow a prearranged plan. I just obey devotedly, soulfully and unconditionally the express Command of my Lord Beloved Supreme. In the beginning, I was absolutely puzzled and confused by the West. But, over the years, I have been able to accept the Western world with all its good and bad qualities as my own.

Now, with my aspiration-heart, I am praying to God to inundate both the Eastern world and the Western world with His absolute Love, Peace and Delight. And, with my dedication-life, I am trying to inspire the world to cry for a better, purer and higher life.