Question: In your talk you said that man has received from God more than he deserves. Can you explain this?

Sri Chinmoy: Certainly. You see, I can justify it on the strength of my own inner experience. If a man is sincere, if he is really sincere and if he goes deep within even for five minutes, then he will see how many things he has done wrong consciously, not to speak of unconsciously. Unconsciously we have done millions of things wrong. Even during one day, we do hundreds of wrong things unconsciously. But consciously and deliberately, how many things have we done wrong? How many times do we cherish in our minds jealousy and hypocrisy? We belittle others constantly. When others are doing something right, good or divine, immediately jealousy enters into us. We cherish all kinds of undivine thoughts and ideas. We do not want to allow our fellow-brothers to be above us. We try all the time to lord it over others. We want to be the best. We want to be the highest. We always try to keep others under our feet. Now, these are the things we see in our day-to-day experience. Consciously and deliberately we are doing these things.

We sometimes act like animals. We justify it. How? Because we feel that everybody is doing it. “Everybody is doing it. That is why I can also do this and I am in no way inferior.” But, if I am really sincere, if I really care for Truth and Light in my life, then I see the difference between what I want to be and what I am now. I want to be a divine child and I am really an animal. Now, at this animal stage, I am doing everything wrong, destructive. But look, even then I am not punished in the way I deserve. In our outer life, if somebody tells a lie, if he is caught he gets a slap; if somebody steals something, immediately he is put into a prison cell. Now, how many times in my mind, in your mind, how many times during the day do we consciously and deliberately commit a crime? Now, what happens? God knows everything within us, whatever is happening. If He wants to punish us for all our misbehaviour, for all the wrong actions that we have committed in the mind, in our inner life, then where do we stand?

What has God done? He has given us a nice mind. He has given us a sound body. He has given us a strong vital. He has given us many things to appreciate. He has given us receptivity. Let us fill our vessel full to the brim with good thoughts, divine thoughts. He has given us the potentiality, the possibility plus the opportunity to develop our good qualities. So then, do we deserve it? If one is really sincere, one will feel that God has given him Blessings beyond his capacity — not only beyond his capacity, but beyond his necessity.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Earth’s Cry Meets Heaven’s Smile, part 2, Aum Press, Puerto Rico, 1974
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