Question: How can I stop worrying about what people think of me and start being myself?

Sri Chinmoy: First of all, you have to know who is dearest to you in this world — God is the dearest. You have to feel that if He is displeased with you, if He speaks ill of you, then you have to pay attention, because you don’t want to hurt your dearest One. But if the world is displeased with you or speaks ill of you, then let the world play its role. If the world is going to bark, that does not mean you have to bark back.

If you can see God as your only existence, then God will give you a sea of tranquillity, a sea of inner peace. There you will see that the criticism of the rest of the world appears as a tiny bubble. Then the play of the bubble will immediately dissolve. It will end when it enters into the sea of your own consciousness, your vast consciousness-light.

In your case, do not pay attention to other’s criticism, but pay all your attention to the One whom you should consciously feel is your dearest. Please approach Him in this way. It is He who has the power to keep others’ mouths shut. In your case, in everybody’s case, you have to feel that the All-loving, the All-mighty is God, the Inner Pilot.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Transformation of the ego, Agni Press, 1977
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/te