Question: Is there any way to prevent bad thoughts from attacking us when we want to send happiness to someone else?

Sri Chinmoy: First of all, you have to know to whom you are offering good thoughts. It is true that you should offer good thoughts to everyone in a general way. Early in the morning or in the evening you can offer your divine love to the world at large in your silent meditation. When you enter into the spiritual life, you should offer divine love to everyone, not just to a particular individual. It should not be directed towards one person in order to conquer him.

Sometimes you may offer love to an individual with the idea that it is divine love, but you have no idea whether you are offering divine love or just vital and emotional love. If it is undivine love, then the situation becomes worse. Your undivine love will fight with his undivine love. And even if it is divine love that you are offering, perhaps that particular individual does not want or need or care for your love. So he is the wrong person for you to concentrate on. It will be a serious mistake for you to offer your love to him, because he may not want your divine love at this moment. It is like asking someone who is fast asleep to get up. He will say, "Leave me alone. It is time for me to sleep, and I will sleep as long as I want to. I do not want you."

If you feel that somebody is offering you undivine love and that you have to offer divine love in order to conquer him, then that is also a mistake. Offer your divine love to the Supreme in everybody. When you offer it to an individual, you will have problems, because it is like asking someone to do something untimely. You will give something and you will expect something in return. But if you expect something in return, you will be frustrated. So the best thing right now is to offer divine love to everybody.