Flame-Waves, part 6

Part I: A few questions on patriotism

Question: What is patriotism?

Question: How can we be patriotic without separating ourselves from other countries?

According to my experience and my capacity, I have built a house. According to your capacity, your talent, your aspiration and your determination, you have also built a house. Now our aspiration, capacity and ability have become one. We will come together, but your home will remain your home and my home will remain my home. While staying in my own home and loving my own home, I shall not criticise or belittle yours. I won’t say that my home is far superior to yours. I will feel that mine is good for me and yours is good for you. When the time comes, you will visit my house and see what it looks like and I will visit yours. This means we shall accept each other and derive benefit from each other’s experience.

When I love my country first, then my real power of love never becomes stagnant; it always runs, runs towards the Source, which is all-pervading. It is like a river flowing towards the sea. If I really love my country, then I will be able to love other countries, because by loving my own country I will learn to know what a country is to its children.

If I really love one thing, then I have the capacity to love something else. If I really love my body, I will some day have the capacity to love my soul or to love my vital or to love some other part of my being. But if I do not have love for myself, then I won’t be able to love anybody. I won’t even love God. Patriotism is a kind of expanding capacity. Today I love my mother, tomorrow I love my father, the day after tomorrow I love my brothers and sisters. Then, when I go to school, I love my teachers. Gradually I learn to love my town, then my province, then my country, then the whole world. But I start by loving one thing which is very close to me. From there my vision increases. From my mother I go to my father, then to my brothers and sisters and so on. But if I don’t love my own country, how will I be able to love somebody else’s country? If I really love my country, then gradually, gradually I will be able to expand my consciousness until finally I love the whole world.

Divine love, true love expands and expands. It has the power of constant expansion. If I really love my country divinely, then I will have a cosmopolitan view; I will love other countries as well. But if I constantly and deliberately try to find fault with my country, then gradually I will try to find fault with my city and with the members of my family, with myself and everything I have. I will find that my nose is not beautiful, my eyes are not beautiful, my hands are not beautiful and so on.

Question: If we love our country but live elsewhere, how can we serve our country?

If you really love your country as a son loves his mother, geographically you may remain far away, but spiritually your mother-country can be inside you and you can be inside your mother-country. This feeling is not an illusion or a product of the imagination. Far from it. From the inner world you have come to the outer world. When you cherish a divine thought, the world is divine. When you cherish an undivine thought, the world is undivine. The moment you cherish a divine thought you are bound to feel your existence inside that world. The moment you think of your mother’s love and concern for you, immediately you create a divine world of your own. And inside that world you feel the existence of your dearest mother. And when your mother thinks of you with all her affection, love, concern and blessings, she immediately creates a world of her own for you to exist inside her heart.

Question: Is not patriotism restrictive even at its highest level?

Some people have tremendous feeling for their country, but it is all on the physical level or on the vital level or on the mental level; it is not on the psychic level. In the psychic there is always oneness, constant oneness, and it is the nature of oneness to expand, if I love my country, I have become one with my country. Then, if I feel the inner urge to expand my oneness, to embrace other countries, I will find no inner restriction in my patriotism. But if I keep my love and oneness only for my country, naturally I will be restricted. This kind of patriotism will not allow me to go to the Highest, the Absolute, the Universal.

We have to know that oneness is not enough. From oneness we have to grow into vastness, I can have oneness with one finger, but I want to have oneness with all my fingers. If I love my eyes, I can establish oneness only with my eyes. But my poor nose, my poor ears — what will they do? I have to establish my oneness with them too. The moment I establish oneness with everything within me and around me, I enter into universality. There God is omnipresent. While I am for all, I am also in all. At that time I am in God, I am with God and I am for God. The real reality in me is the omnipresence of God — inside me, inside you, inside everything. If I consider the omnipresence of God as the only reality, then patriotism is a true blessing.

So our patriotism has to be based in our psychic consciousness. If it is in our psychic consciousness, it is constantly expanding its oneness and entering into the Infinite. This kind of patriotism will never limit our God-realisation. On the contrary, it will teach us the process of growing from the one to the many. As I expand my consciousness, gradually, gradually the whole world becomes mine. If we accept our country for the fulfilment of the real reality in us, and not for the pleasure of our physical or the fulfilment of our vital or mind, then patriotism is a gift, a real gift, the highest gift from Above which will illumine and liberate the human in us.

Question: When a person who doesn't belong to the chosen few is faced with a decision in life, how does he or she know what is God's Will in matters like marriage, studies, professions and things like that?

Question: How does spirituality help one decide between what is right and what is wrong?

Question: Could you please explain why you give your followers spiritual names?

Question: Why should spiritual people accept life around them?

You may say that other paths are easier than mine because there the seeker escapes from the world. But in the ordinary world only a culprit wants to escape. If one has done something wrong, he tries to escape. Some spiritual Masters do want to escape even though they are not thieves. They are sick of the world and sick of the world’s ingratitude. Constantly they try to help humanity, but humanity ignores them, misunderstands them, criticises them, abuses them. They become disgusted and feel that the thing to do is to escape from the world. Again, there are some who are real heroes. They say, “Let humanity insult us, speak ill of us; still we shall give humanity what we have to offer.”

Our path is the path of acceptance. If we do not accept something, how are we going to transform it? If the potter does not touch clay, how is he going to shape and mould the pot? If his ultimate aim is to make a pot or pitcher, he has to touch the clay. This clay is the world. A spiritual Master enters into the inconscience and ignorance of the seekers and throws light into them. Then he moulds, shapes and gives strength to their inner being. Our path is undoubtedly the heroic path. Those who follow our path are playing the role of divine warriors. Divine warriors are those who fight against doubt, worry, fear, obstruction, limitation, imperfection, bondage and death. Our path is a path for the brave.

At the same time, the results one gets from following our path come in infinite measure, because our path has accepted humanity. If you have a large plot of ground and if you have the capacity to cultivate it, then you are bound to get a bumper crop of realisation for humanity. But if your plot of land is very tiny, then what are you going to get? Our path is difficult because it has accepted the outer life. If you don’t love God, everything is difficult. But nothing is really difficult when you have true love for God. If you really love God, our path does not seem difficult at all; it seems very safe, secure, easy.

Question: How can I be more soulful and devoted in my work at the United Nations?

Question: How can we have more feeling of oneness with our fellow workers?

Question: How can I illumine my mind?

Question: If we find that certain situations disturb us, should we avoid the situations or try to face them and cope with them?

Question: How can I develop and maintain a feeling of worthiness and self-respect?

Question: How can I be more selfless?

Question: If someone comes to me and speaks sharply in a negative way, is it undivine on my part to ask that person not to speak to me in that way or should I be more compassionate?

Question: How can we not bother about other people's opinions of us?

Question: How can we keep our awareness?

Question: How can we conquer the dark forces in us?

Question: What is meditation?

Question: How can one increase one's purity?

Question: What Is God? Where is He?

Now, what is God? God is both formless and with form. He is pure energy and, at the same time, He is the most luminous form. He is endless energy and beginningless energy; and He is also the most luminous form. God is both water and ice. Some people like water, while others like ice. Again, some people at times like to drink water and at times like to have ice.

Question: How can one maintain inner tranquillity at work when he is in an atmosphere with a great deal of pressure?

Let us take an attack as a force of darkness. When you are in the office you are constantly attacked by the force of doubt, which is the representative of darkness. If you feel that you have nothing to break these forces, then you are totally lost. You have to feel that inside your heart there is something called Light — boundless Light — and that this boundless luminosity is definitely more powerful than the attacker. This Light that you have inside you can easily transform these forces. When darkness consciously or unconsciously enters into Light, it is bound to be transformed. You will be able to feel this just because you pray, just because you meditate, just because you want to increase your love of God every day, every hour, every minute, every second. Each second you are aware of God’s Presence inside your heart, so you can rest assured that you definitely embody Light and that this Light is constantly increasing in you. And if you see a constant increase of divine Light inside your heart, that means there is something immortal inside you which will never surrender to the wrong forces.

Question: How can spiritual seekers working at the United Nations make other workers feel that prayer and meditation are a tangible way of dealing with world problems?

Here on earth oneness is not established. Oneness you cannot establish on the ordinary human level where there is anxiety, worry, fear and doubt — unless you aspire. If you aspire, then your inner being tries to act all the time like a magnet. It tries to see whether there is someone whom it can call its own. So, if somebody is sitting beside you with divine joy, divine love, divine peace, then naturally the magnet that you have inside you will draw these divine qualities from that person. Again, if an unaspiring person sits beside you, who is given to worldly life and worldly temptation, immediately you will find a kind of restlessness inside your own being.

Question: Is meditation for everybody regardless of whether a person is consciously seeking God?

Question: Can you tell us the place of good character in the spiritual life?

If one is a seeker, then he has to be a man of character; otherwise, his life will be contradictory. God is all purity. It is through purity that one realises God. If one wants to realise God as fast as possible, then purity must come first. To make real, solid, tangible progress, purity is indispensable. Now, if one does not have a good character, then how can that person have purity? And if one does not have purity inside the heart and inside the physical then how can he make progress?

Question: What does it mean to be a spiritual Master?

Question: How can we as individuals encourage a world-wide recognition of the basic unity of all major religions?

Question: How can the different religions best respect and value each other?

Question: I was brought up as a Roman Catholic, but when I grew up I stopped attending church. Now that I am again interested in the spiritual life, my mother cannot understand why I don't want to attend church again. How should I explain this to her?

Question: Can we transcend our religion for a more vast spirituality?

Question: Is it possible to reach the state of God-realisation by devotedly practising one's religion?

Question: Why does reference to God or religion embarrass so many people?

Also, many people who claim to follow a religion at times do not lead even an ordinary, simple human life. In the name of religious life, in the name of spiritual life, they do quite a few unthinkable, unbelievable, unimaginable things. So people who feel and think that they are normal, feel that this kind of life is all abnormality. But I wish to say that the strange behaviour of some so-called spiritual people is in no way an indication of their inner progress or illumination. Some people are fanatic; some people are not sincere in their approach or they approach religion in a very aggressive way. Some people are at times embarrassed when they happen to mix with those individuals.

Question: Please explain the difference between "religious fervour" and "Delight". Can the two complement each other?

Question: Is religion indispensable for our Self-realisation?

Question: How does religious discipline differ from spiritual discipline?

Question: How can self-offering be distinguished from other kinds of actions?

Question: Sometimes when I am meditating I fall asleep, not because I am tired, but because I feel that I am somehow trapped in my mind. I try to get into my heart, but I do not succeed; thoughts keep racing through my mind, and then I fall asleep.

How can you prevent yourself from sleeping? There are various ways. The simplest way is to repeat the name of the Supreme or any other word you like, as fast as possible. Imagine that you are an express train with only one destination. The driver of that train is constantly repeating God’s name to derive energy, strength, stamina, encouragement, concern and all divine qualities. Now, an express train stops only at the end of its journey, the goal; on the way it does not stop at all. Your goal will be to reach or achieve a profound meditation. Always try to feel inside you a dynamic and progressive movement, but not an aggressive one. This movement undoubtedly will take you to your destination. If there is a dynamic and progressive movement, then you cannot fall asleep. Inside you, feel that the train is running, running towards the destination; feel that you yourself are this very train. Then you cannot fall asleep.

Appendix: these quotes, from other writings of Sri Chinmoy, were included in the first editions.

> Pray with fear. God sheds bitter tears.

> Pray with all that you have. God wings towards you to clasp you.

> Life and death. These are the two Blessings that I have received from God.

> Death wants me to wake up and hurry up.

> I have realised my error. I shall no longer stay with ignorance.

> I say to ignorance: “You have tortured me.”

> Love the world. You will be suspected.

> Love the world with the feeling that the world is God. You will revive the truth.

> I look upward. I earn time.

> I look inward. I save time.

> I stayed with death. Death offered me its life: Ignorance. Death told me that I could never see the Face of God.

> YES speaks through my heart: “Since there is only God, I am sure to see Him one day. Although I see Him not, I feel Him all-where.”

> God gave me the happiest news that He loves me even if I don’t care to love Him.

> When the power of love replaces the love of power, man will have a new name: God.

> When I desire, impossibility frowns at me. When I aspire, possibility beckons me. When I will, I smash the pride of impossibility and transform possibility into inevitability.

> Knowledge says that this is right and that is wrong.

> Spirituality embodies the journey of knowledge and the goal of wisdom.

> To help humanity is to see Unity.

> To possess humanity is to welcome Multiplicity.

> Never underestimate your soul’s potentiality.

> Man’s cry is the ascending soul.

> Good promises keep ever.

Editor's preface to the first edition

Sri Chinmoy also delivers the continuing Dag Hammarskjold monthly lecture series at the U.N. It is Sri Chinmoy who best sums up the credo to which the Group adheres:

> WE BELIEVE...