Question: Why is it that so many Indian spiritual Masters come to America instead of trying to help the people in their own country, where there is so much poverty and hunger?

Sri Chinmoy: Now, dear seeker, you have to know that a real spiritual man is not bound by any geographical or religious boundaries. Once you belong to God, you become universal. If you are a true seeker, you will feel that you are not an American or a Canadian or an Indian, but a citizen of the world. I am a spiritual man, and on the strength of my prayer and meditation I dare to say that I am a cosmopolitan. A spiritual Master is not bound by east or west or north or south; he will go wherever his Inner Pilot commands him. We are all spiritual brothers and sisters, and God is our common Father. If He wants a particular child of His to help His other children, then He will send the child to them.

If there is poverty and hunger in India, then certainly it is God's concern. And it is also God's concern if many people in the West are not living a spiritual life. Since it is God's concern, it is He who asks the spiritual Masters to come to the West. The same God sends Westerners who have scientific and material knowledge to the East.

To confine any human being to his native land is foolishness. It is the mind that creates this problem. The mind gets satisfaction only in separation, whereas the heart gets satisfaction in identification and oneness. If you can remain in the heart, then you will feel the joy of identification with the vast reality. At that time there is no “I” or “you”, but all “we”.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Fifty Freedom-Boats to One Golden Shore, part 1, Sri Chinmoy Centre, New York, 1974
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ffb_1