Question: I would like to know if having pets necessarily slows down your spiritual progress.

Sri Chinmoy: It depends on your capacity. If you see that your pets are standing in your way, then you naturally should get rid of them. In India we have a traditional story about a king who used to think of his pet deer so much that when he took another incarnation, he himself became a deer.

If you focus your attention on your pet all the time, you will be making a mistake. The time, attention, love and devotion that you spend on your pets you could easily offer to God instead.

You may feel that you are indispensable to your pets, that if you do not look after them, then they will have no place on earth. But there are many people on earth who will gladly accept them. These people do not have an aspiring consciousness like you have, so the animals will not interfere with their present state of consciousness and development. They will be by far the best people to look after your pets. But if you would like to have one pet, and if you feel that it will not take much of your time, then you can do it. But if you keep three or four cats and a dog, how are you going to have time to pray and meditate?

From:Sri Chinmoy,Aspiration-Glow and Dedication-Flow, part 2, Agni Press, 1977
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