_Question:_ What are the first outer signs that our inner progress is slowing down?

Sri Chinmoy: When enthusiasm goes away, that is the first sign that your progress is decreasing. When enthusiasm goes away, your inner progress has gone to sleep. If you want to delay doing something, knowing perfectly well that you can do it immediately, that is another sign of your decreasing inner progress. If you see that something has to be done, but you feel that you can do it tomorrow, then your inner progress has slowed down. If you decide that you will do it in two hours, then your inner progress has slowed down a little. But if you say, “I am doing it immediately,” then your progress has increased. A third sign is that when your brother and sister disciples have accomplished something, you cannot feel joy or oneness, either with the achievement or with the performer. Suppose your best friend Shraddha has taken a very beautiful picture, and everybody has appreciated it and him. If you say, “Oh, how I wish I could have become a photographer like Shraddha, only I could not,” then separativity has started. But if you say, “Oh, my friend Shraddha has done it. He is so nice to me, so kind to me. I am so glad that he has done it. That means I have done it.” When somebody achieves something, you should become one with the achievement and with the doer. The actual Doer is the Supreme, but on the material plane there is an instrument. So if you can become one with both the action and the doer, then your progress will increase. If you cannot establish your oneness with the action and the doer, then progress diminishes.

In your case, fortunately, this problem does not arise. You work very hard for the Supreme in me. You do not suffer from lack of enthusiasm; you don’t have that disease. I only wish you to get more hands, more helpers, more sincere people to help you. But in answering your question, I wish to say that lack of enthusiasm is the first outer sign when a seeker’s progress is not satisfactory. And the desire to delay doing anything is another sure sign. You do not know what is going to happen at the next moment in life; therefore, if you have decided to do something, that thing should be done immediately, sooner than at once. You should not allow the hostile forces to hear what you have inside your mind. If you start thinking, thinking, thinking about what you are going to do, immediately the hostile forces will hear it. They are always looking around; they are always curious to see what is happening in your life, in his life, in her life, in my life. So before they get a chance to see what is going on, before they are able to catch us, we must accomplish the thing. Once we have accomplished it, it cannot feed their malicious nature. But before we have accomplished it, while it is still in the planning stage, they have a chance to throw every possible obstacle in our way.

So when you have decided to do something, do it immediately. The theory that slow and steady wins the race is not for us. That is for ordinary human beings. Because we are chosen by the Supreme, we must run the fastest. When the command has come from the Supreme, He will take care of us. The command has come from the Supreme that the boat has to sail the fastest, so we do not have to worry. He will guide us. He has given us the necessary capacity.

From:Sri Chinmoy,AUM — Vol.II-5, No. 1, 27 January 1978, Vishma Press, 1978
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/aum_128