Question: In a country which is predominantly intellectual, what is the best way of inspiring soulful patriotism?

Sri Chinmoy: In a country which is predominantly intellectual, there can be and there always are some soulful seekers. These seekers must make it a point to consider the so-called intellectual giants as their little brothers, their younger brothers. The seekers must realise that they have some higher knowledge, superior knowledge, which the little brothers don't have. In the ordinary life when an individual is intellectual and has, let us say, a brilliant mind, we appreciate that person. In the ordinary life we see the height of mind. Mental achievement is much more appreciated than physical achievement. A labourer will work for hours, but he is not appreciated as much as a mental giant. A boxer will fight or a wrestler will wrestle for hours on the vital plane, but he is not as appreciated as a philosopher or professor. As soon as a mental giant stands in front of him, the wrestler will see his shortcomings. Those who are in the body or the vital, if they are sincere, feel that what they have achieved is not as important as the achievements of those who are in the mind. Because of their sincerity, they have surrendered their limited capacity to the mental capacity of others. But in the spiritual life, we have to know that the power of the heart is much more important than the power of the mind. The mind should be as sincere as the little members of its family. The mind should also feel that it has a superior, and that its superior is the heart. "If my younger brothers, my subordinates, listen to me, then I am obliged to listen to my superior." The seeker who is in the heart, whose knowledge comes directly from the soul through the heart, should be listened to by those who are predominantly intellectual. For those in the mind, it is their sincerity that will save them and illumine them. As the physical and vital people come to the intellectual people for guidance and do get considerable help, so also should mental people come to those who have established light in the heart and are crying for oneness with them.

From:Sri Chinmoy,I love my country: Purity's Body, Agni Press, 1975
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