Sir, when did you come upon the thought that there is an inner Self within yourself? And after you discovered that you had an inner Self, how did you make a connection with other people who were not aware that they had an inner Self?

I have known intuitively, since my early childhood, that there is a deeper Self within me. Each one of us has an inner Self. Some are conscious of this inner Self and some are not. Those who are conscious of it are, according to us, spiritually developed. What they do in order to create a bridge between the outer world and the inner world, between the outer being and the inner being, is keep a burning flame of aspiration. This aspiration is based on self-sacrifice, outer and inner.

Suppose you have found your inner Self and inner life and discovered the solutions to your inner problems. But the person next door is utterly unconscious of the inner life and the inner world. Now it would be extremely difficult for you to have any kind of inner understanding with him. He cannot come and enter into your consciousness, for it is very difficult for an ordinary person to do this. But if you want to establish a bridge with him, what you can do during your meditation or concentration is this. First go deep within and bring forward all your sweet and subtle and harmonious feelings from within you. And then consciously, during your meditation, throw them into him: into his mind, into his body, into his heart. Then you have created a bridge between yourself and him.

Within your inner world you are secure. Your connection with the inner world has given you enormous confidence to cope with the outer world. Now you can go and speak to him about the spiritual life, the inner life, the life that gives you true happiness. He can then try it for himself.

So first within yourself, just like watering a plant every day, feed your inner being by meditation. Then come to the outer world with your creative manifestation to form a bridge between your inner achievements and the outer world, where your future fulfilment will take place.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Yoga and the spiritual life. The journey of India's Soul., Tower Publications, Inc., New York, 1971
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