Question: How can we increase our need for God?

Sri Chinmoy: How can you increase your need for God? It is very easy. Start by imagining your personal needs. There are millions of things that you need from earth. Just try to minimise them. The more you can minimise your personal needs, the sooner you will feel the increase of your need for God. If you have ten desires, then reduce the number to nine or eight. Then immediately you will see that your need for God has increased. Then, some time later, bring it to seven desires. Then immediately you will see that just because you have decreased your desires, your love for God and your need for God are increasing.

Again, one thing we have to know. Sometimes we make ourselves feel that we don't need the world but the world needs us. We don't need anything from the world but the world needs us. That kind of feeling is also equally bad. As we need many things from earth, we try to fulfil the needs of earth; but we find that it is simply impossible. Today we have one need, tomorrow we have another need. There will be an endless series of needs. Our expectation from the world is endless. That is also equally bad in the spiritual life.

The world does not need us and we don't need the world as such. We need the Divine, the Supreme in the world. We do need the Supreme in the world. You need the Supreme in your father, in your mother, in your relatives and in humanity. But if you feel that you need human beings as such, then it is simply absurd. You are not going to get anything that you need from humanity.

So, to come back to your question, your need for God will increase immediately when your need to fulfil your desires decreases. Just count daily, early in the morning, how many desires you have. If you can count eight desires today, then the moment you have counted eight desires, start minimising them. Say to yourself, "Perhaps I can easily go on without that desire." Then, a few hours later, try to make yourself feel, "I can go on without fulfilling this desire, either. This desire is not very powerful in my life. I can live without it." Like that you go on, go on. Make yourself feel, convince yourself, that this desire is unimportant, unnecessary, only you have been staying with it or allowing it to stay with you. Like that, each time you can discard a desire, you will see that your love-power and your need for God will increase.