Part II — Questions and answers

Question: If Nag Mahashay was so devoted, why did he not realise God?

Sri Chinmoy: Nag Mahashay was like a runner who is running very, very fast. He was running infinitely faster than many others. Next to him, others were crawling by comparison. But the distance to God-realisation is very long. It is not a fixed distance, like the marathon. After 26 miles, the marathon will be over. But the distance to God-realisation is so far, so far. Only by God's Grace can you go there.

Again, Nag Mahashay will reach the goal long before others because of his speed. When Bill Rodgers is finishing a marathon, I am only at the halfway mark. Similarly, Nag Mahashay will arrive at the goal with his lightning speed.

Each spiritual Master has a few extremely devoted disciples. But the Master will never say, "If you can make unconditional surrender for five years or ten years, you will realise God." It is a matter of God's choice Hour. We can prepare the ground, like a farmer who ploughs the paddy field and plants the seeds. But only at God's choice Hour will He come and stand in front of us in Person to offer us our God-realisation.

From:Sri Chinmoy,A God-intoxicated man: Nag Mahashay, Agni Press, 1997
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/gnm