Question: Can one be forced to accept a spiritual path?
Sri Chinmoy: An aspirant accepts the spiritual life on his own. There is no compulsion. Nobody can compel any human being on earth to follow a spiritual life. An aspirant accepts the spiritual life voluntarily. Either he has to follow the spiritual path in the way that path has to be followed, or he has to leave that spiritual path because it is not meant for him. Spirituality is meant for those who feel the necessity of God-realisation, who feel the necessity of Infinity, Eternity and Immortality.
Sri Chinmoy, Realisation-Soul and Manifestation-Goal, Agni Press, 1974