Question: How can we treat our brothers and sisters with a more spiritually encompassing heart?

Sri Chinmoy: Let us simplify this question. How can we show our affection, love, concern and become one with our spiritual brothers and sisters? We have to know at this point that we are all students and at the same time, we are aiming at teaching. While we are learning, we are also planning or thinking of teaching. Each day we pray and meditate we are learning from the Supreme. He is teaching us every day, every hour, every minute how to become kind, affectionate, loving, illumining and fulfilling.

Then immediately our inner beings try to share this knowledge with others. We call them “others” because we have not yet established our oneness with them. When we pray and meditate, we gain something. If we share that very thing with others, then it immediately increases. The more we share our earthly knowledge, the more we gain. And heavenly knowledge, which is wisdom and oneness, increases in infinite measure when we share it. With one light, with one lamp, we can ignite another lamp. With one flame, we can ignite two flames or three flames. This is one way.

Another way is to bring to the fore the entire knowledge-sun. If we can bring to the fore the entire knowledge-sun, or wisdom-sun, from within, then automatically we will see the flames inside that sun. Each spiritual brother and sister we can see as a flame from the sun. Again, each flame embodies another sun. The sun itself embodies countless flames and, at the same time, inside each flame a new sun is dawning.

When you look at your spiritual brothers and sisters, try to see them as an exact prototype of your life, of your reality. Try to feel that there are two bodies but only one goal and one Source. Remind yourself at every moment of the goal and of the Source, where you came from and where you will return. If you can remember that, then automatically you will be kinder, more loving, more affectionate, more illumining and more fulfilling.

You play the viola; you also play other instruments. While playing, if you see that one string is not functioning well, what do you do? You fix it. Your concentration is not only on one string, but on all the strings. If one string creates problems for you, then you cannot play well. So, try to feel that each of your spiritual brothers and sisters is a string inside your heart. The viola that you play is the outer reality. But there is also an inner reality, an inner viola which you are playing every day, every hour, every minute. The strings of this instrument are sincerity, simplicity, humility, purity and divinity. If sincerity goes away, if sincerity is not functioning, then the whole instrument is useless. If the purity-string is not functioning, then your whole music will be ruined.

When you think of yourself, think of your own instrument. You are that particular instrument, and your strings are sincerity, humility, purity, divinity and so forth. You have to keep all the strings in perfect order. If you can keep them in perfect order, then only will you have satisfaction. If you can keep them in proper shape, you can have one family, one consciousness, one reality, one soul and one goal.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Blue light of discipline-waves, Agni Press, 1977
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/bdw