60. Question: Does a spiritual Master get his creative inspiration in a different way from that of an ordinary person?

Sri Chinmoy: An ordinary person is at the mercy of inspiration. For a fleeting second he will get inspiration, and then for two days he may not get any inspiration at all. When an ordinary seeker, poet or artist cries for inspiration, he must beg the inspiration-bird flying by, “Please, please descend and stay in front of me, or stay within me so that I can compose a wonderful poem or a beautiful tune or paint a masterpiece.” The ordinary artist must pray to the bird to come down and stay in front of him. But a spiritual Master does not have to do that. He just grabs the bird while it is still in flight, not mercilessly but with love and affection, and says, “Where are you going?” It is just like a grown-up grabbing a child who is running by. When we have the child, we do not hurt him but only caress him and show him our fondness, affection, love and concern.

So a real spiritual Master is not subject to the compassion of inspiration. Inspiration he creates. Time itself he creates. When we don’t aspire, time regulates and controls our life. But when we go deep within and follow the spiritual life, at that time we can regulate and control time. At that time we are able to stretch time and expand time in order to complete the multifarious tasks that God, our Inner Pilot, has commanded us to do.