After all the prizes had been awarded, the Master spoke briefly about the significance of this event. His remarks appear below.
“I shall remember this day, not only as long as I am on earth, but also when I am on the other shore of the life-river. To those who have over one hundred books I offer my unprecedented love. To those who have over two hundred I offer my unprecedented pride. And to those who have over three hundred I offer my unprecedented love, unprecedented pride and unprecedented gratitude.
“Each book has countless words, and each of you has shown over one hundred books. That means Infinity multiplied by Infinity. This Infinity multiplied by Infinity is your aspiration-flowers which you are offering to the Supreme, and for that the Supreme in me is all gratitude to you. There are very few days on earth when I have been really happy, but today my name is happiness, for my dear children have proven their loving concern and loving oneness with my creation, which I most sincerely want them to claim as their own, very own. Each book is a most powerful aspiration-flame. May these flames illumine you and immortalise you in the Heart of our Beloved Supreme.
“When four hundred books have been published, we shall again have our oneness with the knowledge-sun. The human in us may say that this is meaningless and useless, but this is not a childish game. It is something that can be treasured and cherished only by the divine in us, the real in us.
“My dear children, you have truly pleased the Supreme in me, the Real in me, in His own way, and for that my heart of infinite gratitude I offer to each of you. Please feel that each book is my living breath, and this living breath is all yours for your aspiration, for your realisation, for your revelation and for your manifestation of what you truly are. You are the unmanifested God.”
[Sri Chinmoy has often spoken about the inner importance of reading the writings of a true spiritual Master, and he has requested his own disciples to read his writings every day. Following is a brief compilation of the Master’s words on this subject.]
I have written considerably for my disciples. On every aspect of the spiritual life, on every level, I have written. Now I feel that my disciples should read my writings, not because I am proud, but because it will help them to be in my consciousness. My writings are not bottled thought. Some philosophers, professors and scholars borrow their ideas from others. What they write is not their own wisdom. But mine is the expression of my own experience. In my case the consciousness that goes into my writings is a divine consciousness. It is a realised consciousness; therefore, it carries tremendous spiritual strength, spiritual power. The writings of all true spiritual Masters have this power.
Since I have written considerably, I wish my disciples to read my writings. See how many years it takes for you to read my writings soulfully. Then, you do not have to read everything twice. When you read, mark the things that appeal to you most, then read those again. They will be like mantras. An Indian mantra is the repetition of a spiritual phrase or word which you like. If you like a particular poem of mine, you can read that one every day if you want to.
If you read my writings, you will be able to remain in my consciousness. Then naturally you will make the fastest progress. I will be extremely pleased and proud of you if you read my writings at least half an hour a day. If you can read for half an hour, at least you will be able to say that you have pleased Guru in one way. Just think that this is another form of nourishment. In the morning you have a special hour for meditation, but you can read my writings anytime — early in the morning, at noon, in the evening or before you go to bed. I will really be pleased if you can read my writings for half an hour. If it happens to fall short of half an hour by five minutes or so I am not going to sue you. But you will know whether you have read five minutes or twenty-five minutes. The other day at the United Nations when the General Assembly began, the president stood up and said, “Let us meditate for a minute.” We all stood up, but his minute was only ten or twelve seconds. So you will know the difference between one minute and ten seconds.
If you do not want to buy all my books, or if you are not in a position to buy all my books, no harm. But I am sure that you have a few books of mine — two or three, or let us say only one. So, please read them over and over again if you do not have the money or you do not want to buy new ones. I shall be extremely happy, most sincerely happy, if you read the books that you already have for half an hour every day. If you have quite a few books, then please mark the places, the paragraphs, the lines, that you like most, and read them over and over again. That will help you tremendously in your inner aspiration. My writings reveal my consciousness, so naturally if you read them your aspiration will increase. They will help you to enter into my consciousness and also to remain in my consciousness.
When you read my writings, do not feel that these are just words, feel that they are mantras. A day will come when lines from my poetry, meditations and soulful writings will be quoted like Indian mantras. They have that power within them. I am not boasting. English people do not give value to English words. They think that only some esoteric Sanskrit words can be real mantras. But even in English there are pure lines, very powerful lines and phrases, which are like mantras. There are many in Paramahansa Yogananda’s writings, in Swami Vivekananda’s writings, in the Bible. Even when the worldly poet Keats said, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever,” that particular line is like a mantra, too. By repeating Sanskrit mantras we can expedite our progress or even get realisation, so what is wrong with English mantras? The English language is also created by God, not by somebody else. If you can mentally repeat my poem “The Absolute” soulfully every day, by repeating that poem you can make the fastest progress toward God-realisation.
I wish to tell you a secret; believe it or not. If you believe it, then you will gain something. If you do not believe it, then you will not gain anything. The secret is that when you read my spiritual writings, my soulful writings, since you are my disciples, immediately you are bound to feel your oneness with my writings. And the next moment you will feel that you yourself have written them. I have concentrated on some of the disciples, and I have seen that they are totally one with my writings. At that time they do not feel that Guru has written; they feel that it is they who have written those inspiring words. This has happened to many, and it is a great achievement. When you claim that particular passage or thought or idea as your own, then you have the capacity to expand it in a soulful, dynamic, divine and supreme way. It becomes your own creation, your own possession.
As I said before, you do not have to read all my writings. Pick anything that you like. But when you read, you have to be most sincere, soulful, and worthy of repeating those lines. Then only will you get something from it. If you read my writings as you would read something for school, you will only get mental recognition of the thoughts and ideas. But if you can identify yourself with my consciousness when you read my writings, then you will get everything you need, all the spiritual wealth that is inside.Disciples who have over 100 books stand with their awards.
Awards for those with over 200 books were a different shape and colour.
Above: Disciples with over 300 books received a plaque with a picture of Sri Chinmoy standing next to a tower of 300 of his books. Below: Dulal receives his prize.
I was extremely delighted to learn that the other day some of you were meditating in front of my picture and you saw green light around the picture. At that time you did not know that we were going to call your group the Green Centre. Your minds did not know, but your souls definitely knew. That is why you saw the green light.
Now I wish to say a few words about the colour green. Green, from the spiritual point of view, signifies newness. It is newness in life, in action, in speech, in everything that we do or grow into that eventually will lead us to the Absolute, to inseparable oneness with the Absolute Supreme. Newness at every moment must dawn in our devoted head and our aspiring heart. Newness is the only way to make continuous progress. It is by virtue of newness that we grow into the ever-transcending satisfaction and perfection. Newness welcomes, invites, challenges and, at the same time, promises the seeker in us that at every moment we can make considerable progress. We can achieve satisfaction and perfection on the strength of our conscious oneness with newness.
Perhaps you have not yet heard that our philosophy is the philosophy of constant, continuous and soulful progress. Progress means a forward, upward and inward movement. Our philosophy declares: ‘The past is dust.’ The past has not given us what we actually want — that is to say, God-realisation, conscious and inseparable oneness with our Beloved Supreme. We can expect to get it from today or from the tomorrow that is growing into the immediacy of today. The past has not offered us what we are longing for. Yes, the quintessence of the past we shall keep. If we have done something divine, soulful, loving or self-giving, then the quintessence of that past we shall try to embody. But the millions of mistakes we have made, the many undivine things we have done, we have to totally obliterate from our minds. The past is dust. It is the golden future which is growing and glowing in the heart of today. This golden future we shall welcome.
Green is newness. This newness will carry us to the Golden Shores of the ever-transcending Beyond. A child’s philosophy is the philosophy of newness. It is the child who grows, progresses, achieves and fulfils. A child is he who remains in the heart and who acts in and through the heart. We are all God’s children. From His universal and transcendental Vision we have all come into existence. We are His divine and chosen children.
Green signifies a childlike heart that continuously makes progress. Progress is our satisfaction, and inside satisfaction will always be our perfection of nature, perfection of life, perfection of realisation. So from now on, all of you kindly feel the importance of what you are. When you ask yourself what you are, immediately try to feel that you are newness. Tomorrow’s golden dawn is your name. Your soul-reality, your very existence is the newness which is the golden dawn.
All of you will kindly come to the meetings every week. Your regularity and punctuality are of paramount importance. Most of you are students. You know the difference between good students and bad students. If you are good students, which I am sure you are, then you become all joy to your teacher. 1 happen to be your spiritual teacher, but I am not like an ordinary teacher. I am like your private tutor. A teacher examines you and if you do well, you pass; if you do not do well, then you fail. But a private tutor gives you special help so that you will pass the examination. So I am your private tutor to teach you, to help you so that you can transform the ignorance-sea into the sea of wisdom-light. Our mutual cooperation and confidence will bring about your fastest progress, and it will definitely give infinite joy to the Real in you. The Supreme is my Guru and your Guru. The Supreme is the eternal Teacher.
With a soulful hope I am inaugurating our Green Centre today. It is my fervent wish and prayer to the Absolute Supreme that our sincere self-giving efforts, our inner cry and our soulful life on earth will be crowned with divine success and progress. This divine success and supreme progress we shall place soulfully, unreservedly and unconditionally at the Feet of our Beloved Supreme.Now, I have done my task by realising and manifesting my name. How? By crying inwardly, sincerely and constantly for years and years. If you also cry like that, you will also become fully conscious. If you are not fully conscious, then it is impossible for you to realise the significance of your name.
Consciousness pervades the entire universe. How many times a day or a week or even a month are you aware of the significance of this momentous name? Sometimes months pass by and Chetana is not aware of her name. Like that many — almost all — of the disciples do not try to remember or become conscious of the meaning of the soul’s name that they have been given. They forget that it is not just a name.
Previously you had one name, and now you have another. But there is no difference unless you consciously remember the meaning of that new name. Previously your name was Loren. But there is no difference between Loren and Chetana unless you constantly feel that Chetana is not just another name. You have to give importance to your soul’s name; otherwise it does not help you.
If you give importance to the form, then one day you will be able to give full importance to the essence. Your soul’s name and your soul are like the temple and the shrine. If the temple is not properly honoured and attended, then the shrine will fall into disrepair. The shrine is the significance of the name Chetana, which is the predominant quality of your soul. And the word ‘Chetana’ is the temple. If you do not think of the temple, then how will you think of the shrine inside the temple? So when you say “Chetana,” or when somebody else says it, immediately think of the temple. The essence of the soulful word is the shrine. We cannot have a shrine without a temple. It will be destroyed by the hostile forces. But if you remember that you have a temple which is Chetana, then you will also remember that there is a shrine inside it, which is the essence, the quintessence, of the word. The form and the spirit go together in this way.In your case that problem does not arise at all. You are not destructive or disobedient. In your case it is only the friendship with ignorance that is delaying you. When that friendship goes away, then you will enter into the soul.
There are three types of disciples. One type prays to the Supreme to please me or to please the Supreme in me at every moment in the Supreme’s own way. Another type prays or meditates to please the Supreme in me fifty per cent of the time, and fifty per cent they expect me to please them in their own way. They pray to the Supreme so that they can fulfil the Supreme in the Supreme’s way fifty per cent of the time, and the other fifty per cent the Supreme has to please them in their own way. The third category is praying to the Supreme only to please them one hundred per cent of the time in their own way.
Now you select the category which you want to belong to. Can you say, “I try in my own way to be in the first category, to become a first class disciple of the Supreme, to please Him all the time in His own way. That is my prayer.” If you cannot say it, then learn to say it. Everybody try to please the Supreme in His own way. Then you become a first class disciple.But when you feel that you have made progress, you have to know that this progress has not been lost overnight. There comes a time when in order to make faster progress you may have to go one step backward, not stay where you are. Suppose you are a good long-jumper. What do you do? Suppose you have taken five steps to cover a distance. You are very happy because you have made some progress. But from there if you want to jump, then you will be able to jump much farther if you go a few steps backward first and then, instead of standing still before you jump, you run a few steps and then jump. You will see that if you go a few steps backward and come running, then the distance that you can jump increases. The calculating human mind will say, “But look, she has gone so far back.” It will not see how far and how fast you will be able to go forward now.
So when you have discouraging, unpleasant dreams, or when you feel that you have gone backward during your sleep, a few days later you will have a very significant illumining and fulfilling dream. The physical mind will feel that you have gone backward, that you have fallen. But the spiritual heart will feel that perhaps it was necessary.
This is all on the human level — to go a few steps back so that we can get a good start. On the spiritual level it does not apply. On the spiritual level, wherever you are, you go forward from there. But since the physical mind is operating, I am saying to use the physical method. In the spiritual method the mind does not work at all. There you have to go forward from where you are. If you see that you are unable to go one step further, you ask yourself what is preventing you. Then, I will say, conscious awareness of what you are doing and what you are not doing. If you are consciously aware of what you do during the day, you will able to go faster.
Sometimes we get the experiences or dreams of ten years ago. You may dream about something you did ten years ago. A spiritual Master in his early years used to eat one full chicken every day. After the age of forty he gave it up. But even when he was sixty or seventy years old, in the subconscious mind that experience came to him in dreams. So do not be afraid. These things happen. But if you have an unpleasant experience or dream, immediately you should ask yourself, “Do I really want this experience?” If the answer is no, then all its power is gone. But if you give it importance and say, “Oh, this is something unpleasant which will destroy all my progress,” then it will definitely destroy.
Do not be afraid of any dream. If you are afraid of any dream, then that particular dream will bring to you all its undivine friends. If today you are afraid of one particular dream, that undivine dream will invite many more undivine dreams to capture you. But if you are not afraid, that dream will not bother you anymore. At that time it will not be able to affect you.
The following questions were asked by disciples on Chetana's birthday.↩
Real progress in the spiritual life starts only when the seeker sees, feels and is convinced of the truth that he or she wants the Supreme one hundred per cent and not ninety-nine per cent. Before that time we may feel that we are making progress when we see that we have less desires, less insecurities, less impurities than we had before. But this progress is no progress at all. As long as we live on earth in human form, if we have not realised God, then we will always have these dark forces. If we had ten thousand desires before, and now if we have only one, then we may feel that we have made progress. We may say, “I had thousands of desires and now I have only one. Have I not made progress?” But I wish to say that real progress is not there. Inside that one drop of desire all the other thousands of desires are looming large.
If one drop of desire remains, you may think that you do not have countless other drops. But thousands and millions of desiring forces are inside that one drop. So where is the progress? All you can say is that previously you had something on a large scale, and now you have a small amount, but very concentrated. Your one drop is so powerful that it can expand into a very large quantity. That one drop, one iota, of desire can be as powerful as hundreds of desires, because it is concentrated.
The progress that we make in terms of earthly capacity is no progress at all. The only progress we can make is when we feel that our existence is one hundred per cent for the Supreme. On that day our spiritual progress starts. Then the Supreme grants us His Peace, His Bliss, His Light, and we receive His divine qualities consciously. Real inner progress starts only on the day when we consciously feel that we want God alone, and for everything we will depend on God only. If we depend on Him for every little thought and action at every second, then only can we feel that we need Him alone.Mr. Robert Müller: Dear Sri Chinmoy, as a small token of my deep appreciation for all you have done for the memory of our beloved U Thant, I have commissioned sculptor Domenico Mazzone, another great friend of U Thant, to make for you a bust of the late Secretary-General. It is my pleasure to offer it to you in memory of him.
Sri Chinmoy: Dear Mr. Müller, esteemed brother, I am accepting this with my heart’s infinite gratitude. My heart will always treasure this soulful and blessingful gift of yours. This contains the living presence of our beloved U Thant. Each member of the United Nations Meditation Group will treasure this living presence which I have just received from you both. The memory of this blessingful gift will be written and will always remain written on the tablet of our gratitude-hearts. On behalf of all the members of the United Nations Meditation Group, to you I offer our ever-growing gratitude.
You have received in abundant measure aspiration in the inner world and inspiration in the outer world from our beloved U Thant. Today you are blessing us with that inspiration and aspiration. We shall try our best to be more devoted to the cause of the United Nations and to be more worthy instruments of the soul of the United Nations.
You have the same vision as our Secretary-General had. Your oneness-vision with him, with his soul, will be a beacon of light pointing the way to our journey’s ever-transcending goal. U Thant was an extraordinary leader of the world. He was not only a pilot of the United Nations-Boat but also a supremely able pilot of the World-Boat. His was a colossal moral strength. His was an indomitable inner courage which sought to change the face of the world and transform human ignorance into divine wisdom-light.
Now I am holding not a mere bust, but a blessingful personality that guided and still guides humanity’s destiny. U Thant’s illumining soul, his soul of illumination, will always remain within us, and his life of dedication will always remain for us. We are sailing in his boat of dedication, which is bound to reach the Golden Shore, the Shore that has boundless Peace, boundless Light, boundless Harmony and boundless Satisfaction.
Again, to you I offer my heart of infinite gratitude, and this I offer not only on my behalf but on behalf of all the members of our Meditation Group. This we shall cherish as an invaluable treasure in our heart of aspiration and dedication.
(Sri Chinmoy presented Mr. Mazzone with a copy of his book, U Thant: Divinity’s Smile and Humanity’s Cry.) As a token of our deepest appreciation and admiration to the master sculptor in you, I wish to offer you this book.
Mr. Mazzone: Thank you, thank you very much. I am deeply touched by your words. I feel like crying inside, so beautiful is this ceremony. What you said of U Thant is so true: he is the real light of the world. I have met many celebrities, but U Thant is really unique, so unique that I cannot find the right words. All I can say is that in my view he was very, very close to God. Thank you very much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.Mr. Domenico Mazzone with his bust of U Thant.
Sculptor Domenico Mazzone presents his bust of U Thant to Sri Chinmoy . . -
. . . and receives Sri Chinmoy’s book in return. Deputy Under-Secretary-General Robert Müller is at right.
— photos by LloydThat is your business.
I not only believe in God but also want to become another God. Indeed, this is my only business.After all, you are not the doer.
I wish to tell you that if you really believe in what you say, then how can you remain on earth even for a fleeting second without remembering God consciously and praying to Him devotedly, for is not He alone all to you?If you can do that, then you will not only enjoy God’s supreme Presence but also enjoy one hundred times more the material object.
See God first in everything. Then yours will be the enjoyment-happiness unparalleled.Why do I allow my worry and anxiety enemies to stay inside me when I know perfectly well that they are two real culprits?
Is it not they who invite sorrow to darken my heart’s door? [to be continued in the next issue.]Beginningless
As divinity’s satisfaction is beginningless and endless, even so humanity’s frustration is also beginningless and endless.The soundless sound
To hear the soundless sound in the aspiring heart is not only to feel boundless delight but also to offer boundless delight to God.Infinite
A chosen instrument of God is he who transforms life’s infinite possibilities into infinite fulfilling reality.Non-attachment
Non-attachment is spontaneous fulfilment of God the one in God the Many.Subtlety
True, subtlety is not perfection, but subtlety paves the way to an illumining perfection.Not the master of
Since you are not the master of your life, how can you drink nectar-delight? Impossible.
[to be continued in the next issue.]When Troilanga Swami left the palace to go back to his cottage, some of the palace guards watched him from a distance. When he was practically out of sight, three hooligans attacked him and took away all the expensive robes that had been given to him by the King. The guards came running and arrested the hooligans. Then they begged Troilanga Swami to come to the King’s palace once again, and he agreed.
When the King heard what had happened, he was about to punish the hooligans and put them in jail. But Troilanga Swami said, “No, don’t do that. To me there is no difference whether I have the clothes or not. My soul is not affected at all when I don’t have any clothes. Long before you gave me the clothes, I had my soul inside my body, and this is the only real thing. What shall I do with the things that do not fulfil any need of my soul?” So the hooligans were allowed to go free and the Master peacefully went on his way.
Commentary:
The body-reality needs decoration, ornamentation and embellishment for its satisfaction. The soul-reality needs only its oneness with Infinity’s Immortality for its eternal satisfaction.The King had a sword hanging around his waist. Troilanga Swami took it from him and examined it and played with it like a child. Then he suddenly threw it into the Ganges. The King was furious. He had received this sword for his valour and for his merit, so he felt miserable that he had lost such a precious thing. He wanted to punish the man but everybody protested: “Oh no, he is a saint; you can’t do that. It will be a terrible thing if you touch him.”
The King said, “If you people are not willing to punish him, then once we land I will get other people who will gladly listen to me and punish this man.”
When they were about to reach the shore, Troilanga Swami, who was seated in the boat, placed his hand in the water. All of a sudden two shining swords appeared in his hand. They were identical, and both looked exactly like the one he had thrown into the Ganges. Everybody was astonished. The Master said to the King, “O King, now find the one that belonged to you.”
The King was totally nonplussed. He did not know which one was actually his. Then Troilanga Swami said to him, “You fool, you don’t know which one belongs to you? You don’t know your own possession?” Then he threw away the one that was not the King’s, and said, “In this world nothing will remain with you. When you die, everything you have will have to remain here. To the Real in you I say, ‘Don’t live in the world of enjoyment. Remain in the world of aspiration. Remain in the world of Light, Peace and Bliss. You are a King, but you are a fool as well. Be wise. Then only will you have true happiness in life. Be spiritually wise!’”
Commentary:
Unless and until we become spiritually wise, we shall never know what our true possession is. Our true possession, our eternal possession, our only possession, is our love of God. There cannot be anything else here on earth or there in Heaven for us to claim as our own. Only our love of God — our constant, soulful and self-giving love of God — can be our eternal possession. This possession will always remain safe, and we ourselves will also be safe only when we claim this possession as our own, very own.
Once we know that we have love of God in abundant, boundless and infinite measure, then God’s possession, which is His entire creation, immediately becomes our possession as well. Our love of God claims God, and the moment we offer our love to God, God’s creation immediately becomes ours as well. His entire creation comes from His Vision, and He and His Vision are inseparable. When we claim God with our love, God’s Concern and God’s creation immediately claim us; for the sole possessor is God and nobody else.
Here on earth everything that we can see, we try to claim. Everything that is around us also wants to claim us. But we cannot claim others and they cannot claim us, for we see that something is missing in them and they see that the same thing is missing in us. What is missing is love of God. This is the seed, the possibility-seed, which eventually grows into the inevitability-fruit.Meditation is acceptance. It is the acceptance of life within us, without us, all around us. Acceptance is the beginning of human satisfaction. Transformation of human life is the culmination of divine satisfaction.
Meditation is self-giving. We give what we have and what we are. To the finite reality we give what we have. To the infinite Reality we give what we are. What we have is concern. This concern we offer to the finite. What we are is willingness. This willingness we offer to the Infinite.
Assurance we offer to the earth-reality. Acknowledgement we offer to the Heaven-Reality. To the earth-reality we offer our constant assurance that we are undoubtedly and unmistakably for the earth-reality, for the transformation and illumination of the earth-reality. To the Heaven-Reality we offer our acknowledgement, our most sincere acknowledgement of the supreme fact that we are of the Heaven-Reality, that our source is the Heaven-Reality.
Meditation and prayer in a soulful sense are one and the same thing. The Eastern world is fond of meditation. The Western world is fond of prayer. Both prayer and meditation lead us to the self-same goal. Meditation and prayer are brother and sister. They are two divine twins. We can say that prayer is the female and meditation is the male. Prayer says to meditation, “Look, brother, there is something high above. Let us cry and fly, fly and cry, and there above we shall get everything that we have been longing for.” Meditation says to prayer, “Look, sister, there is something deep within us. Let us dive deep within and we are sure to get everything that we have been longing for from time immemorial. Let us dive deep within.”
Sri Krishna meditated. His meditation-power has taught us many things, but the most important thing it has taught us is this: that the truth will ultimately prevail, the justice-light of truth will one day inundate the entire earth-consciousness.
Lord Buddha meditated. His meditation has taught us that this human life of suffering will without fail one day come to an end. The excruciating pangs that each human being undergoes will one day be terminated, and human suffering will be transformed into divine ecstasy.
The Saviour Christ prayed. His prayer has taught us many sublime, esoteric, soulful and fruitful lessons. It has offered the message of Divinity in its tangible form. But the most essential teaching of his, according to me, is that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. This Kingdom of Heaven is God’s creation, God’s Vision, God’s Reality. God’s transcendental Vision and God’s universal Reality are within this Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us meditate devotedly, soulfully, unreservedly and unconditionally. From our meditation we shall discover a supreme truth. This supreme truth is that as we need God, even so God needs us. We need Him constantly to reach our own highest height. He needs us constantly to manifest His own deepest Depth.
The seeker in us meditates and prays consciously, continuously, devotedly and at the same time confidently to establish friendship with the freedom-sky, with the ecstasy-sea, with life’s service-tree and illumination-fruit. Our mind enjoys the freedom-sky when we soulfully meditate. Our heart enjoys the ecstasy-sea when we soulfully meditate. Our body-consciousness enjoys the service-tree, life’s all-loving service-tree. Our vital, the dynamic vital, enjoys the life-tree’s illumining fruits, nourishing fruits and immortalising fruits.
Let us now meditate. Let us now pray. We shall offer the fruits of our prayer and the fruits of our meditation to our Inner Pilot, our Beloved Supreme.
This is how we can pray. (Sri Chinmoy prays with folded hands.)
This is how we can meditate. (Sri Chinmoy meditates.)From the spiritual point of view the full moon has two aspects. One aspect is connected with the Mother Earth. Another aspect is connected with the Father Sun. The one that is connected with Mother Earth very often gives a sad feeling. It shows depression or frustration. The sadness, frustration and destruction which we get from earth we will see in that aspect of the moon. Sometimes you will see the consciousness of a grandmother who is very disturbed when the grandchildren are all unruly. This earth aspect of the moon is like that.
The aspect that is connected with the Father Sun is dynamic and brilliant. The potentiality of the sun is hiding there. We know that the moon actually has no existence of its own. The sun’s dynamic aspect the moon captures or embodies; because of the sun it shines. When you see occultly, you will see that the dynamic aspect of the moon offers beauty to the whole world.
In the Bahamas I once saw the full moon very low, as if it were touching the sea. You cannot imagine how sad it looked! The world’s worst sad woman would not have as sad a face as the moon had. This was the full moon identifying itself with Mother Earth to such an extent that all the sorrows and sufferings of earth entered into it.
Then again, the moon can be a victim to some forces which are not divine. Some forces get malicious pleasure from creating wrong movements in the moon. The moon is very beautiful to look at, so what do these forces do? When some spiritual seekers have reached a very high stage of consciousness, if they have conquered worldly temptation and lower vital forces and they are going beyond the earth consciousness, at that time some stupid cosmic gods or some hostile forces create most beautiful, tangible women who dance upon the moon in a most undivine way. Some of these women come from the celestial worlds. Some come from the lower vital. You can say they are nymphs. We call them apsaras. When they dance, many aspirants fall, but some do not. While they are seeing all these undivine dances, some people are well protected, and some have already gone far beyond. The moon becomes a victim to these forces. To the sun they cannot do this, for the sun will immediately burn them to ashes. But the moon is not strong enough. They capture the moon.
When I was 13 years old one night I was meditating at 2:30 in a garden in front of my house, going far beyond the moon. All of a sudden the most beautiful women appeared. They were about to start dancing when I saw my family deity, Mother Kali, appear and cut them into pieces with her sword. A very radiant sword cut them at the throat. Then she said to me, “I know, my son, that you won’t be tempted, but I don’t want these forces to appear in your life.” A mother is a mother. A mother does not want any kind of temptation-force to attack her son. And my Mother Kali was so kind to this son that she wanted her son to go far beyond her. That shows that she is a good mother. A bad mother will be jealous of her daughter, or a bad father jealous of his son.
This was my experience with the undivine forces in the moon world, but I have seen that many, many seekers have fallen because of this experience. They have been conquered by the temptation-forces in the moon world. Temptation is not as strong here in the ordinary world as it is in the moon world, when hostile forces or jealous cosmic gods do not want the seekers to go beyond that world.We will also be affected because when we go there, we will not go with aspiration. Earth’s technology is highly developed; that is why we will be able to go to the moon. But we will not go with any aspiration. Once we are there what will happen is that we will not find any link between the earth and the moon. Here on earth at least we are solid. We have a firm foundation. Today we can pray and meditate or we can sleep, but there we will not be able to. In the moon world for centuries and centuries we will have no foundation at all. If the cosmic forces that have already attacked the moon spontaneously attack us, at that time we will be baseless.
On earth at least we have a base. Earth was made for human beings to live on, but it has taken millions of years to develop. For human beings to live in the moon world will be a new adventure. And as we will create problems for the moon, even so the moon will create problems for us. No matter how much we attack the moon with our own forces, it will be able to escape somehow. But when the moon creates problems for us, we will be helpless and hopeless because we will be strangers there. If I come and attack you at your place, it will be difficult for me to defeat you because you know that particular area well. And once I am there if you decide to attack me, I will be totally lost because I will not have any footing there. So when we are on the moon, if the forces from the moon attack us, we will be totally lost. But if we attack the moon, the moon will somehow survive.He was born in Bengal, India in 1931. Sri Chinmoy entered an ashram or spiritual community at about the age of 12 and spent the next 20 years practicing intense spiritual disciplines. During this period he achieved a rare state of knowledge which later formed the basis for his various creative achievements. Sri Chinmoy has expressed his inner realisations not only through painting, but also through literature and music. Since coming to the West in 1964 he has written nearly 300 books of spiritual poems and essays, short stories, plays, aphorisms and questions and answers. He also serves as Director of the United Nations Meditation Group, conducting meditations twice a week for UN delegates and staff.
I’m going to welcome Sri Chinmoy to our microphones by asking him to play a little of the music that he composes and plays, and then we will be talking with him.
Sri Chinmoy: Thank you. (Sri Chinmoy played the esraj for a few minutes.)
Andre Bernard: That was Sri Chinmoy, who is going to be in concert playing music for meditation on Saturday, October 30. Sri Chinmoy, will you come closer to the microphone?
Sri Chinmoy: I am extremely happy to be here with you.
Andre Bernard: Thank you. I wanted to ask you about the instrument upon which you were playing. What is that called?
Sri Chinmoy: It is an Indian instrument called an ‘esraj’.
Andre Bernard: And is that a traditional instrument, or modern? It looks almost like a combination of a violin and guitar.
Sri Chinmoy: This is a traditional instrument, and it is played mostly in Bengal, West Bengal.
Andre Bernard: I couldn’t help but think, as I heard the lovely, restful music that you were making, of the difference in taste in music among at least the older generation in this country and in the East. It seems that we are very noisy people and our music reflects that. It is very noisy, loud, boisterous. Do you have any idea why this is? Is this a difference in temperament or in the people’s needs? Have you thought about that at all?
Sri Chinmoy: According to me it is a matter of personal preference. Whether it is actually a need is another question. When I prefer something, I try to do it. Whether I actually need it is a different matter. There are many things in life which we do just because we like them. But when it is a matter of need, the story may be totally different.
Andre Bernard: So we couldn’t say it was necessarily a need, but just a preference. That clarifies it, certainly. A man with your background, who is learned in all the arts practically, and who brings spirituality to the United Nations, (I mentioned that you conduct meditations there also, and I know you have been to many universities) have you noted any differences between the people you see in England, for instance, and in this country or in other countries, or do you see people as basically all the same?
Sri Chinmoy: People are basically all the same no matter where they are, for we are all children of God. We may say that God has many, many houses, countless houses and countless children. But just because we are all God’s children, we are all basically the same.
Andre Bernard: You were born in India and you’ve been all over the world. Now it seems that you spend most of your time in the West. Why have you chosen to do your work in the West in general and in New York in particular?
Sri Chinmoy: It was not left up to me. It was not my decision. My inner guide, whom I call the Supreme, commanded me to come to the West and to serve Him in the aspiring seekers here. It was not my personal choice.
Andre Bernard: We have a poet and writer — I’m sure you must be familiar with the English poet Rudyard Kipling — and he once said that, “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.” Yet it seems that East and West are meeting now. I would like to get your opinion on that.
Sri Chinmoy: Well, I have read that poem many many times. As a child I learned it by heart. But this is also an individual experience. According to my own inner experience the West and the East have already met, precisely because both the East and the West are inside the Heart of the Supreme. We notice two significant qualities in the East and in the West. The East has inner poise, and the West has dynamism, illumining dynamism. These two divine qualities are already spreading and combining; therefore, I feel that in the outer world also, both the East and the West are already becoming one. The inner poise of the East and the illumining dynamism of the West are combining and synthesising in a proper manner.
Andre Bernard: And you are suggesting then, if I infer correctly from your comments, that each complements the other.
Sri Chinmoy: Absolutely true. They are like two complementary souls. What we have to offer, we are offering to you. What you have to offer, you are offering to us.
Andre Bernard: Let’s talk for just a moment, before we have to conclude our conversation, about the concert that you will be giving on Saturday, 30 October at St. Thomas Church. It is listed as ‘Sri Chinmoy in concert playing music for meditation.’ Would you like to say what is going to happen at that time? What do you do? Do you simply play and people meditate, or do you lead a meditation group?
Sri Chinmoy: I shall play, and at the same time I shall be in a meditative, contemplative mood. I expect the audience to be seekers, and these seekers will be supporting me with their own aspiration and meditation. When I play, when I meditate, I have only one objective in mind and that is to be of inner service to the aspirants. So when I play, I shall do it with the spirit of dedication and in the consciousness of soulful meditation which I always offer to the aspiring seekers.
Andre Bernard: Does your meditation technique have any special procedure or quality which differs from the meditation we are generally exposed to now? There are many people in our audience who are into meditation techniques. Does yours differ from the others, or does it have any special quality that you would like to mention?
Sri Chinmoy: I have no idea as regards other methods or procedures, but our method I can tell you briefly. Our path is the path of the heart. We meditate on the heart and try to offer divine love, divine devotion and divine surrender to the Supreme. Human love is all possession, human devotion is nothing short of attachment, and human surrender is either compromise or compulsion. When a slave surrenders to his master out of fear, he gets no joy. But when a seeker surrenders his whole existence to the Supreme, he does it cheerfully and unconditionally; therefore, he derives abundant joy. So it is divine love, divine devotion and divine surrender which we are trying to attain through our soulful meditation.
Andre Bernard: One final question. Not only have you traveled throughout the world but, as I have said, you lead a meditation group at the United Nations here in New York, so you come into contact with people who control the nations and guide the destinies of our various nations. We are living in a very exciting time, a time of change, a time of tremendous technological development. But it is also, at the same time, a very dangerous period. For the first time in the history of mankind we possess the technology to destroy ourselves. What do you see? Are you optimistic about the future? Do you think man will destroy himself, or will he achieve the true brotherhood which you espouse and which would eliminate that catastrophe?
Sri Chinmoy: It is my inner conviction that man will have a better future. Man will not be so destructive. The power that man has discovered will eventually be used for constructive purposes, not to destroy. God has created the world for satisfaction and not for destruction, so eventually there must be brotherhood. Brotherhood will reign supreme on earth. It is only a matter of time. As more people begin to pray and meditate sincerely, the life of faith and the life of love will come to the fore. Then a divine harmony, peace and light will flow throughout the length and breadth of the world.
Andre Bernard: Thank you, Sri Chinmoy. We have been speaking to Sri Chinmoy, who is a composer, painter, writer and spiritual leader. He leads meditation groups at the United Nations and all over the world, and he is going to be in concert on Saturday, 30 October, that’s a week from tomorrow, at St. Thomas Church at 5th Avenue and 53rd Street. The public is invited to attend and the concert is free. Thank you again, Sri Chinmoy, for being here.
Sri Chinmoy: Thank you./He sevak he sevika/
/He premik he premika//Eso mor hiya duare/
/Daki aji bare bare//Mamo puto abahan/
/Tomader darashan//Bidhatar sanatan/
/Amarata jagaran/O my dedication-son and dedication-daughter,
O my love-son and love-daughter,
Come and stand at my heart-door.Today I call you incessantly.
With my heart of purityI invoke your presence-love.
Indeed, you are my Lord’sEternal and immortal awakening.
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Problem, problem!How to purify earth-impurity?
Problem, problem!
How to illumine earth-obscurity?Problem, problem!
How to strengthen earth-insecurity?Problem, problem!
How to enlighten earth-futility?```
From:Sri Chinmoy,AUM — Vol.II-4, No. 2, 27 February 1977, Vishma Press, 1977
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/aum_117
