Question: When we receive joy from the soul, how can we keep it to the fore?

Sri Chinmoy: Sometimes you get tremendous joy but then you cannot account for it. There is no outer reason for you to be feeling such joy. You are feeling spontaneous joy. You have not outwardly received any good news from your husband or your children or anybody, but you are getting tremendous joy. At that time, feel that your soul has come to the fore and that is why you feel such joy.

If you see that your joy is going away while talking to someone, then immediately try to shorten your conversation with that person. If you are doing something that is taking away your joy, then immediately stop doing it. When you get joy from within, when it is very fresh, do not do anything that takes it away. You have to strengthen and assimilate your joy. If for five or ten minutes you can stop doing whatever is taking away your joy, then that joy will be assimilated inside you.

Always be extremely, extremely careful when your soul comes to the fore and you are getting spontaneous joy. No matter how long it takes you to assimilate this joy — half an hour or an hour or even two hours — you do it. Then you are secure. If you feel that your joy is decreasing, always try to assimilate it. Once it is assimilated, then it is safe. Before that it is not safe. Before you are secure in your joy, even one word from someone can totally take away your joy. So immediately you should go deep within.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Flame-Waves, part 11, Agni Press, 1978
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/fw_11