Question: Many spiritual people steer clear of world-acceptance because they fear world-bondage. How does one avoid additional attachments while serving God in His creation?
Sri Chinmoy: After climbing up the God-realisation-tree, some spiritual figures feel that if they do not come down to the level of humanity and teach others how to climb, then it will be impossible for others to climb to the highest. So they come down and become spiritual Masters. Again, some spiritual figures of the highest order, after climbing the tallest tree, do not want to climb down. To them God says, "If that is what you want, then you have My Permission. You have worked so hard to climb up the tallest tree. Now if you want to devour most delicious fruits to your heart's content, you may do so."Some do not want to come down out of fear that they will be attacked and caught by world-bondage and ignorance-night. They are afraid that they will again be entangled by the world-snares if they return to the level of humanity. But this theory is wrong. If they come down, they will never be caught; they will never lose their God-realisation. I have not lost and I am not going to lose even an iota of my God-realisation by entering into the field of manifestation. God-realisation is not something that can be taken away by some hostile forces. No! God-realisation will only be strengthened in boundless measure when one enters into God-manifestation.
Nevertheless, one will have a very hard time in God-manifestation. A spiritual Master who is brave enough to climb down the tree may not be very successful in kindling the flame of aspiration in ordinary human beings. Some of his disciples will climb up just a short way and then become tired and want to rest. Others may climb up a little higher and then take rest. Very few seekers want to climb up to the highest. So if humanity is not receptive, the Master may have a very difficult time manifesting God's Light. But as far as his God-realisation is concerned, it will not suffer in the least.
If a God-realised Master pays more attention to some individuals than to others on the outer plane, the human mind thinks it is attachment. But this is a Himalayan blunder. After God-realisation, there cannot be attachment; there is only compassion, or you can call it affection. This kind of compassion or affection is for everybody. In some ways you can see it in the Master's outer activities. Again, if you can at all feel the Master's heart in the inner world, then you are bound to see that it is inundated with affection, love, kindness, fondness and sweetness for each and every human being.
Someone may say to the Master, "Why are you not showing me the same kind of compassion that you are showing to so-and-so?" But you have to know that a spiritual Master has a different way of dealing with each individual. When the Master shows extra concern, extra affection, extra love to certain individuals, there can be many reasons. Perhaps those individuals in their previous incarnations were extremely, extremely close to the Master. In this incarnation they may show tremendous promise to run faster than the fastest. They may have extra receptivity; or if they do not have it, God may want the Master to create receptivity in certain souls.
Again, the Master may see that the divinity in some individuals is either fully blossomed or about to be fully blossomed. So that is why the Master blessingfully offers them extra concern, affection and love. He is only expressing God's Will. He is using his compassion and affection in a divine way that ordinary people can easily misunderstand. If you use your human way of judging or understanding the Master, it can mislead you very, very badly.
Someone may say to the Master, "When I pay attention to someone, you call it attachment. But when you pay attention to someone, you call it something else. What is the difference?" Someone recently said to me, "Is it not attachment when you show so much affection and concern for someone's entire family?"
There are many, many inner reasons why I deal with somebody in a particular way. Definitely it is not attachment to an individual or to his family members. But it is not possible to understand my divine way as it is expressed on the outer plane. An individual may have a very, very, very close connection with me from previous incarnations. Also, each individual in his family may have a very, very deep connection with me.
Sometimes Sri Ramakrishna acted so pitifully towards his dearest son, Vivekananda. Others might have said, "It is his wilder than the wildest attachment." In fact, when Vivekananda got special affection, concern and blessings from Sri Ramakrishna, he himself misunderstood his Master. He said, "What are you doing? I come of an ordinary family. I know how limited and ordinary I am, but you are saying I am this and that. Do you not know about King Bharat in Indian mythology? Because he used to think all the time of his deer, in his future incarnation he became a deer. If you think of me all the time, will not the same thing happen to you?"
Sri Ramakrishna said, "All right, let me ask my Mother Kali." He asked Mother Kali and She said, "Definitely that will not happen. You see the divine in him; you see him as divine. That is why you are so fond of him. Otherwise, you would not pay him any attention." Sri Ramakrishna was not showing attachment; with his affection and fondness he was executing the express Will of Mother Kali. When we execute God's Will in God's own Way, the world is ready to ridicule us and find fault with us. But a spiritual Master listens only to God and not to human beings, who pronounce judgement according to their unimaginably limited light.
