Question: Is it possible for spirits speaking through mediums to falsely claim that they are this or that spiritual figure? Are spirits speaking through mediums genuine, false or mixed?

Sri Chinmoy: At times they are genuine. At times they are just a mixture of human feelings. Sometimes our imagination is very strong. Sometimes we are drinking pure milk and sometimes we put powder in water and it looks so white that we feel it is real milk.

There are good spirits and evil spirits. Sometimes good spirits may not be as strong as the bad spirits. So we have to be careful. Suppose there are two sisters. One is very pure, always tells the truth and does the right thing. The other one is very naughty and destructive. The parents have given the same freedom to both daughters, but they exercise their freedom in different ways. One is ready to go to church, to pray and to do the right thing to please the parents. The other one consciously does everything wrong. The ignorant one tries to punish or destroy the good one. So what will the parents do? They will consciously try to help the good sister. As soon as the good sister does something, they will give her a powerful smile which will strengthen her good qualities. The bad one will say, "Am I not also your daughter? Am I not her sister?" The parents will say, "No, what you are doing is wrong." Then the bad one will feel helpless. She will say, "If I don't act the way my sister is acting, I will be nowhere." The negative forces have to be taught by making the good forces stronger. You have to always consciously take the side of the good forces.

But sometimes our very human nature enjoys destruction. It takes two or three years or even more to build a house. Then we get joy in destroying that house or in seeing that house be destroyed. We have a special festival in Chittagong, in India. The villagers gather together and spend the whole day building a house. Then, in the evening, they set fire to the house and enjoy its destruction. They give the spiritual reason that creation and destruction must go together. That is the village way of thinking.

But we believe in the positive approach. From beauty we will try to get more beauty. From purity we will try to get more purity. From divinity we will try to get more divinity. If we take this approach, our bad qualities will eventually come to feel that they are not being appreciated and will go away. In the beginning it may be painful for us to separate our good qualities from our bad qualities. But if we walk only towards our goal, gradually all the wrong qualities or the burdens that we have been carrying will drop off because those heavy loads do not care for the destination that we have in mind.

So there are many spirits operating that are not at all divine. They are misleading and misguiding people. You have to be very, very careful when you go to mediums and pray to God, to the Saviour or to Mother Mary only to be connected with the good spirits. If you go there with the intention of being blessed and of increasing your divine qualities, then you have to be in touch only with the good spirits. Consciously pray to the good spirits to keep you under their guidance and protection so that you will not in any way be in touch with the evil spirits.

From:Sri Chinmoy,My heart shall give a oneness-feast, Agni Press, 1993
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