Cardinal Sin: It is good that you have come because this is the day of peace, and we are trying our best to unite the country. We are divided because of political reasons, but today we are asking the people all over the country to unite.
Sri Chinmoy: I read your New Year's Message and I was so deeply impressed.
Cardinal Sin: Maybe some of the rebels will come to the Cathedral tonight, and this will further the peace process.
Sri Chinmoy: I am so happy to learn that you offer your wisdom-light to politicians. Many people are afraid of dealing with politics and politicians. In your case, you are very kind to shed your light on the political field.
Cardinal Sin: If spiritual people do not help them, they might go wrong. Many times politicians have come to my house and we have talked. We talk with them and tell them that this is wrong and this is right. If they listen, well and good; if they do not listen, what can we do? But at least we are able to proclaim the truth.
Sri Chinmoy: If you tell them to do the right thing and they do not listen to you, what can you do?
Cardinal Sin: Many times they do listen. I feel we are doing our duty in the world: we should be the salt of the earth; we should be the light of the world. Of course, one cannot force somebody to go to Heaven if he prefers to go to hell.
Sri Chinmoy: We cannot force anybody, but we can inspire people to do the right thing. We can bring the food right up to their mouth. But if they keep their mouth closed, how can we put it in?
Cardinal Sin: That is what St. Augustine said: "God, Who created you without asking you, will not save you without consulting you." So our salvation and our cooperation go together. It is difficult to listen to God. We have to listen to Him in the silence and the stillness of peace. For me, prayer is not talking; prayer is listening to the Voice of God, who speaks to us.
Sri Chinmoy: It is like a flame climbing up from the heart. The flame climbs up and the Grace descends in the form of a Message. God's Message descends and quenches the thirst of our aspiring heart.
It is so good to know your wisdom-light. You are so great, Father, to deal with politics. Usually spiritual people are afraid of dealing with politicians because they don't take spiritual people seriously. But in your case, you are not only spiritually but also psychically and mentally so powerful! That is why they are bound to listen to you.
Cardinal Sin: We saved the country because of what we did. We call it a non-violent revolution.
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, the Father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi, taught us that non-violence is the greatest weapon.
Cardinal Sin: And then we were able to drive the dictator away through non-violence. We were just praying and praying, fasting and fasting — imitating Mahatma Gandhi.
Sri Chinmoy: Mahatma Gandhi used to say that nonviolence is the power of the soul, the power of our inner existence. The power of the inner existence is much greater than any man-made problems which we have created for ourselves.
Cardinal Sin: God's greatest gift to humankind is freedom. So man is always praying to be free.
Sri Chinmoy: Inwardly man is already free. Man is like a bird that can fly away at any moment. But we put the bird in a cage and then we say that the bird cannot fly. Who put the bird inside the cage? It is we human beings who have put the bird inside the cage, and then we blame the bird. Our ignorance is a cage. We have allowed ignorance to bind us, and then we say, “We can't be free, we can't be free!" But it is we who have allowed ignorance to bind us; it is we who have bound ourselves.
Cardinal Sin: There are also people who are outwardly free, but who are still enslaved by their own greed and vices. So they are not really free because they are controlled by their vices.
Sri Chinmoy: They are possessed by their own possessions. The possessor is possessed by his possessions — as you mentioned, Father, by his material greed.
Cardinal Sin: Money is a necessary evil, but we cannot allow money to control us. We should be the ones to control money. What happens, however, is that money becomes the enslaver of humankind; it becomes our God. That is wrong. There are so many things to reflect on in this world. People should reflect and meditate.
I wish to thank you for your presence tonight.
Sri Chinmoy: I am most grateful to you. I have come here to be blessed by you and to be in your blessingful presence.
Cardinal Sin: We should bless one another. You bless me and I will bless you.
Sri Chinmoy: The first time I met with Pope Paul VI...
Cardinal Sin: You met him?
Sri Chinmoy: Three times! I have met with the present Pope, John Paul II, three times and his predecessor also I met three times. When I met Pope Paul VI, he was blessingfully appreciating my activities at the United Nations and elsewhere. He said to me, "Your Hindu philosophy and my Christian philosophy are absolutely the same." Then he said to me, "When you and I leave this body, we shall be together."
Cardinal Sin: What a beautiful prediction!
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, he made that prediction. Both the present Pope and his predecessor have been extremely, extremely kind to me.
Cardinal Sin: We had a meeting in Japan and the one who represented the Hindu religion was the nephew of Mahatma Gandhi. And there was someone from the Muslim faith — the Executive General Secretary, who is living in Sri Lanka. The Dalai Lama was also there. We were talking about peace. In our talks there were no differences.
Sri Chinmoy: All roads lead to God's House. That is our destination. Although we may live in different houses, because we were born into different religions, our destination is the same.
Cardinal Sin: I said, "We are all saying the same thing. Only your terminology is different." They said, "Yes, there is nothing different. We will all go to Heaven because we are all seeking peace."
Sri Chinmoy: Peace-dreamers, peace-lovers and peace-promoters are all in the same boat. So we are all in the same boat.
Cardinal Sin: "Blessed are the peace-makers because they will see the Face of God." It is one of the Beatitudes. May God bless you and please bless me!From:Sri Chinmoy,Meetings with luminaries in the Philippines, Agni Press, 1993
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