Part VIII

What does it mean to be spiritual?⁹

What is spirituality? Spirituality is a divine subject. Anyone can study this subject; this subject is open to all. This subject is at once theoretical and practical. If one wants to see God only in Heaven, then spirituality is theoretical. If one wants to see God not only in Heaven but also on earth and everywhere, then in his case spirituality is practical.

Spirituality is an inner cry for the Source. Spirituality is an inner cry, an inner decision and an inner determination for perfection. Perfection is not a fixed standard. It is continuous progress. Perfection is the seeker’s divinely surrendered self-expansion in God’s illumining Satisfaction and fulfilling Manifestation. Perfection is self-transcendence. Perfection is the act of piloting Eternity’s Boat in Infinity’s Sea towards Immortality’s Shore. Perfection is self-giving. Perfection is the flower which grows into a God-nourishing fruit.

Napoleon says, “Ability is of little account without opportunity.” Surprisingly enough, spirituality is both ability and opportunity. Ability is an inner and outer oneness with God’s Vision. Opportunity is an inner and outer oneness with God’s manifestation.

What does it mean to be spiritual? To be spiritual is to be normal, natural and spontaneous. To be spiritual is to be simple, sincere and pure. To be spiritual is to be a lover and server of truth and light. To be spiritual is to become a chosen and perfect instrument of God. To be spiritual is to become a God-representative on earth. To be spiritual is to become a liberator of humanity.

What does it mean to be spiritual? It means we long for God-discovery. It means we long for perfection in our body, vital, mind and heart. It means our old friend, desire-night, is no longer with us. It means we have a new friend: aspiration-day.

A spiritual person is he who loves God, not because God is great, not because God is good, but because God alone is.

How do we become spiritual? We become spiritual by loving, by serving and by surrendering.

Whom do we love? We love man in God. Whom do we serve? We serve God in man. To whom do we surrender? We surrender to God the transcendental Vision, God the universal Reality and God the eternal Will.

Why do we love? We love because love is life. Why do we serve? We serve because service is perfection. Why do we surrender? We surrender because surrender is satisfaction.

How do we love? We love soulfully. How do we serve? We serve devotedly. How do we surrender? We surrender unconditionally.

A spiritual person sees only one thing: God’s Beauty. A spiritual person feels only one thing: God’s Responsibility. A spiritual person becomes only one thing: God’s Compassion-Light. God tells the spiritual person only one thing: “You are My Satisfaction.”

You are spiritual; that means God comes first in your life. You are spiritual; that means God is the only reality in your life. You are spiritual; that means God is your heart’s constant choice and God is your life’s constant voice.

He is a great seeker who feels that God loves him. He is a greater seeker who knows that he loves God. He is the greatest seeker who knows that God and he love each other. God loves man because man is God’s creation. Man loves God because God is man’s salvation, liberation, illumination and realisation. God is man’s salvation from sin-consciousness. God is man’s liberation from bondage-life. God is the illumination of man’s darkness-existence. God is man’s realisation; and realisation is self-discovery and God-discovery. Let us cry and cry within. Then ours will be self-discovery. Let us smile and smile without. Then ours will be God-discovery.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Sri Chinmoy speaks, part 4, Agni Press, 1976
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/scs_4