Part X — Jamaica
Spirituality: what it is and what it is not72
Spirituality is man’s boundless freedom in his life-boat: the freedom of his life-journey, the freedom from his life-pangs and the freedom beyond his life-achievements.In spirituality is man’s farthest vision. In spirituality is man’s nearest reality. God has Compassion. Man has aspiration. Spirituality is the consciousness-light that unites man’s aspiration and God’s Compassion. Spirituality tells man that he is God veiled and that God is man revealed.
Spirituality is not an escape from the world of reality. Spirituality tells us what the true reality is and how we can discover it here on earth. Spirituality is not the denial of life, but the purest acceptance of life. Life is to be accepted unreservedly. Life is to be realised soulfully. Life is to be transformed totally. Life is to be lived eternally.
Spirituality is not the song of ignorance. It is the mother of concentration, meditation and realisation. Concentration takes me dynamically to God. Meditation silently brings God to me. Realisation neither takes me to God nor brings God to me. Realisation reveals to me that God is the Bluebird of Infinity’s Reality and I am the Golden Wings of Divinity’s Truth.
Spirituality has taught me the difference between my speech and my silence, between my mind and my heart. In speech I try to become. In silence I am. When I open my mouth, God closes my heart. When I close my mouth, God opens my heart. My mind says, “God needs me.” My heart says, “I need God.” My mind wants to possess God’s Creation while negating it. My heart wants to embrace God’s Creation while serving it. My mind says it does not know whether it thinks of God or of itself. At times my mind feels that since it does not think of God, neither does God think of it. My heart sees and feels that God thinks of it even if it does not care to think of God.
Spirituality has told me secretly what my supreme necessity is and how I can have it. What is my supreme necessity? God’s Blessing. How can I have it? By simply borrowing it from God’s Bank.
How can I pay off my debt? Easily! Just by borrowing once again from God’s Bank. But I must borrow wisdom and nothing else. Wisdom possessed, debt nullified. Verily, this wisdom is the breath of spirituality.
I am God’s experiment. He has given me my name: Science. I am God’s experience. He has given me my name: Spirituality. I am God’s Realisation. He has given me my name: Oneness — Oneness within, Oneness without.
God is my Reality.
Heaven is my Immortality.
Earth is my Divinity.
On earth I grow.
With Heaven I become.
In God I am.
OEH 76. University of the West Indies; Kingston, Jamaica, 10 January 1968. This is Sri Chinmoy's first university lecture.↩
