The seeker's duty34
The seeker’s duty is complete non-cooperation with the desire-world. The seeker’s duty is constant co-operation with the aspiration-world.The seeker at times gets success from the desire-world but, to his wide surprise, he eventually sees that inside his desire what looms large is frustration. Desire itself is a dissatisfied hunger: when this hunger is fulfilled, it only increases.
In the aspiration-world when the seeker makes progress, he sees that in his progress itself there is satisfaction, abiding satisfaction. The aspiration-world and progress go together; progress and satisfaction go together.
The human duty is to love, serve and become the height of Truth. The divine duty is to sing the song of oneness, to dance the dance of perfection and to live the life of fulness. The human duty is to discover God-Reality within and without. The divine duty is to uncover God-Beauty here, there and all-where.
Not to feed the doubting mind is the supreme duty of the seeker. To feed the loving and aspiring heart is the supreme duty of the seeker. To live in the soul and for the soul is the supreme duty of the seeker.
The seeker’s duty is to have inner courage. This courage is an act of inner faith. Faith is an act of self-giving love, and love is an act of God-becoming life. The seeker’s ultimate duty is to offer his soulful cry from the inmost recesses of his heart. When the seeker offers God his soulful cry from the inmost recesses of his heart, at that time God, out of His infinite Bounty, tells the seeker that He also has a Duty of His own. And that Duty is to grant the seeker, His chosen instrument, a blessingful and fruitful Smile.
34. St. Lawrence University; Canton, New York, USA, 19 March 1978↩