Question: What is the easiest way to overcome imperfection in ourselves?

Sri Chinmoy: It is through full, absolute faith in the Master. You will try your best. Then, after trying, you have to surrender. But your surrender will not be tamasic surrender, the surrender of a lazy, idle person. You will do your utmost and you will say, "I have used the capacity that You gave me, O Lord Supreme. I am leaving the rest to You." When you think of imperfection, you should always think of the child and the mother. The child is wallowing in the pleasures of ignorance, but he knows that his mother is always available to lift him up. It is a matter of a minute. If the child had to climb up by himself, he would not be able to climb. He does not have the capacity to find his soul by himself. But he knows that there is someone who is more than willing to help him. He has implicit faith in his mother. He knows how much he loves his mother and how much his mother loves him. Because his mother has claimed him as her very own and he has claimed her as his very own, on the strength of this oneness, he knows that his mother will do everything for him gladly.

When you think of me, you have to feel that you are of me and for me, and that I am of you and for you. Otherwise, if you want to attain perfection on your own, it will be like trying to straighten the tail of a dog for good. As long as you hold the dog's tail it is straight, but the moment you release it, it again becomes crooked. Human nature is like a dog's tail. Only when you have attained spiritual perfection will you be able to keep it straight. Otherwise, you will only hold it for five minutes; then you will become tired and release it, and it will become crooked again. Human nature is like that. But the Master can straighten it for you if you have established your oneness with him, because he loves you.

The child knows that he has established his oneness with the mother. He knows his source, and he runs to the source. This source has infinite capacity to transform, illumine and perfect him. The child does not maintain his own individuality or personality. His individual personality is given to his mother. He runs towards the mother and says, "Take what I have and what I am. What I am is ignorance alone, and what I have is all sand, mud and filth. I will give it up."

Similarly, the disciple feels that his source is the Master. Inside the Master is the Supreme. Now, it is absolutely true that it is only the Supreme in the Master and the Supreme in the seeker who can change human nature. Otherwise, it is simply impossible. But why should the Supreme do it? Why should the Master do it? It is because we have established our oneness with the Supreme in the Master. We are of him and for him, and he is in us and for us. If we establish that kind of oneness with the Master, then he will do everything for us. If we have not established that kind of oneness with him, and if he himself has not established oneness with us, then he has no obligation to purify us, and we will be under no obligation to accept him or to take his help.

Both the Master and the disciple need an inner bond. The Master expects aspiration from the disciple. The disciple expects liberation from the Master. But right from the beginning the disciple has to feel that what he has and what he is is nothing but descending grace. He should feel that only if he is enjoying his Master's grace, is his life meaningful. It is the divine in us, the Supreme in us, the real Reality in us, that can perfect and transform our nature. Otherwise, no matter how hard we try, we may be able to survive for ten days with the greatest difficulty. Then on the eleventh day we will again be attacked by a hostile force.

You have to allow the Master to hold you. I always tell about the father who stands on the edge of a pool with his eldest son and youngest son. The eldest one is holding the hand of his father, whereas the youngest one is being held by his father's hand. Then they look up and see a beautiful kite flying. The eldest brother is fascinated, and he claps his hands and loses his balance and falls into the pool. The youngest son is also thrilled, but since his father is holding his hand, he cannot let go. So the youngest son enjoys the kite, but does not fall into the pool.

When you allow the Master to hold you, you are safe. He is stronger than you. He will hold you so that no temptation can overcome you. But if you try to hold him, then the world of temptation may create problems and literally destroy you. So you should allow the Master to hold you. Only when the Master takes full responsibility for your life does God-realisation become possible. The disciple must always take the Master in that way. He has to feel that his Master will do everything for him, and that once his Master holds him, all his fear, doubt, anxiety, insecurity and all undivine qualities will go away. But first he has to feel that the Master is ready, more than ready, to help him out. Why will he do it? Because he has established an inner connection with the Master.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Opportunity and self-transcendence, Agni Press, 1977
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ost