58. Question: How can one determine whether his poetry comes from the soul's inspiration rather than from the workings of the ordinary mind?

Sri Chinmoy: If anything comes from the soul’s inspiration, you will get such a thrill that every nerve, every part of your being, inner and outer, will dance with joy. Your little finger, your nose, your eyes, your consciousness, will all dance with joy. If something has come as an expression of the soul, then there will not be any part of your body which will not respond with delight and become delight itself. You will swim in joy from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet.

But if your creation comes from the searching mind or from the brilliant mind through much labour and hard work, then you will feel only a certain amount of joy. You will not feel joy like a wave sweeping you from head to foot. Anything that comes through the mind, any mental creation, will never give you satisfaction in your entire being. But if it is the soul’s creation, then there will be no portion of your body, your vital or your mind which is not touched and illumined, which does not respond to the inner thrill that you will have.