Question: On my job as a tour guide I find it difficult to stay in my best consciousness. I listen to what people are saying and I am affected by what they say. How can I keep my consciousness high in a situation like this?

Sri Chinmoy: Your actual meditation needs to be stronger and more solid so that your consciousness will not be affected. When you are in deep meditation at the Centre, people are not talking; yet if you look at somebody near you who has a low consciousness, your consciousness drops also. At work you cannot make others keep quiet, but you can tell your mind not to pay attention to them. Tell your mind, "I will not allow you to act like a magnet." If you are vigilant, your mind need not be affected.

When you are with people who are not aspiring, feel that they are doing the right thing for them, according to their standard. Do not think that they are inferior and you are superior. Just pay attention to your own life, which is right for you, as theirs is right for them. When you have respect for someone, your own consciousness will not be affected by theirs.

The best thing is to think of your consciousness as an ocean full of waves. When people swim in the ocean, although they move their arms and legs, the water is not affected. If you can feel this way, there will be no problem.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Problems! Problems! Are they really problems? part 1, Agni Press, 1974
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/pat_1