Interviewer: Do you believe that if a few would pray and meditate regularly in a community, they could alter — through subtle changes — the actual community itself?

Sri Chinmoy: Definitely. If regularly we can pray and meditate in a soulful way in a society, the face and fate of that society is bound to change. Right now you, my students and I are in a spiritual consciousness. We are feeling love inside us, peace inside us, joy inside us. Who has created this atmosphere? We have created this atmosphere, this spiritual vibration. So if we have one common goal, peace, easily we can achieve it through meditation. While we are meditating, energy from Above — which you can call peace or light or bliss — is descending and percolating through our entire body and also spreading through the atmosphere.

We believe in vibration. If somebody sits at the foot of a tree praying and meditating for half an hour, then an ordinary man — if he is sensitive — all of a sudden may get such a good and sacred feeling when he passes by the tree, whereas in other places he will not get the same feeling. If somebody is sensitive, when he passes by that tree he will feel something because somebody has created peace and joy there.

Suppose we are with Carl Lewis, who is the fastest man on earth. Immediately we get a vibration of speed. If we stand in front of him, immediately we feel speed, speed. I am very old and cannot run 100 metres in 20 seconds even, whereas he does it in nine point something. But as soon as I go near him, speed enters into my mind. This is not my imagination. True, on the outer plane, you and I will not be able to run at his speed. But in the inner plane, just by being near him, we actually have created speed. Speed has entered into our system. Then, when we go home, we will try to do something faster than usual. This is what being around Carl Lewis has done.

Similarly, if we go to a spiritual person and see him praying and meditating, then even if we ourselves do not pray and meditate, still we get such a peaceful vibration. This is because a spiritual person lives this peace — in the same way that Carl Lewis is living the fastest speed. Since a spiritual person is living a life of peace, joy and light, this is the kind of vibration that people will get from him. Then, when those people go home, automatically they will transmit this vibration of peace to the members of their families. This is how divine qualities such as peace, love, light and speed are always spreading.