Question: Why?

Sri Chinmoy: Unmilan's question is 'Why?' Why was I born? Why did my soul take the trouble of entering into the earth arena? Why did I become a seeker? Why should I live the spiritual life? These questions each and every human being will have to answer either today or tomorrow, either in the near future or in the distant future.

These questions can be answered only by asking another question: Why did God create this world? God created this world to feel His own Capacity. Until we exercise our capacity, we do not know how much or what kind of capacity we have. God's Vision wanted to know God's Reality; Vision-Power wanted to know the actual Reality-Power. It is true that God the Omniscient knows everything, but that kind of knowing does not satisfy God. He wants to know in a practical way — not intellectually or in any other way — how much capacity He has and He is.

You embarked on your spiritual journey at a tender age. When you did so, your mind was not operating at all and your heart was operating only a little. What was operating most powerfully at that time was your soul. Your soul opened its all-illumining eyes inside your heart to awaken the heart and enable it to see the soul's beauty and divinity. The soul awakened the heart to the highest Reality and to the brightest Light.

Once you see the Light, the question is whether you are going to serve the Light or just watch the Light and appreciate its beauty and power. There are many, many, many people on earth who are satisfied just to see the beauty and the power of Light. But there are some who feel that this is not enough. They also want to feel the Light inside themselves; they want to grow into the effulgence and beauty of the Light.

Once they are part and parcel of the Light, once they are inside the Light, why do they have to do anything else? You are inside the boat, so even if you are fast asleep the boat will carry you to your destination. But if you are fast asleep, you will be able to accomplish nothing. Although you are inside the Light, there is still much you can do by moving around. You can help the Light and inspire the Light to increase its own Infinity.

At every moment you have to do something for the highest in yourself which is the absolute Highest. Whatever you feel as the highest inside you is the real Highest. Every day you have to be in touch with the real Highest and serve it; you have to pray to it for its own victory. Outwardly it may sound ridiculous to pray to the Highest for its own victory. What can prevent the Highest from going from glory to glory? What can prevent the Highest from achieving success every time? But that is not the question. The Highest needs our appreciation, admiration, adoration and love. Or we can say that it needs our oneness-willingness — our oneness with its Will and our willingness to see that it is always satisfied in and through us and able to manifest its own Divinity in and through us.

Many times it happens that only when the immortal gods and goddesses are appreciated and adored do they exercise their power. Otherwise, they remain dormant. Sri Aurobindo's poem Savitri starts, "It was the hour before the gods awaken." His critics said, "What kind of hour is it when the gods are sleeping?" The gods are not sleeping; only they are working in a silent way. Similarly, God is not sleeping inside us. But if we try to please and fulfil Him consciously, at that time He is able to do so much more in and through us.

So when we are carrying out our multifarious day-to-day activities, we have to feel that it is not enough to be part and parcel of the Highest. We also have to be ready at every moment to please and fulfil the Highest. There are many who mistakenly think that seeing is becoming. No, first we have to see and then we have to help and serve the vision. Soulfully and devotedly, at every moment we have to serve the Vision and the Reality that we have taken to be the Highest. To fulfil all these things you saw the light of day.