Question: If somebody were to develop a very close, conscious oneness with you, would it hurt you in any way or would you be giving anything up?

Sri Chinmoy: Once I was a seeker. Then I was on the verge of God-realisation. Then I realised God. Each time I made progress, was God not happy and proud that He could put some of His heavy load on my shoulders? When a son is growing up, he becomes more and more in tune with his father’s consciousness, his father’s capacity. If you are going higher and higher and establishing an inner connection with me, then naturally I will have more confidence that you can share some of my responsibility.

In my own family, my brother Chitta was learning and learning. Eventually my father gave all the responsibility for our family to him. Similarly, God-realised souls accept God’s responsibility. Will it hurt God? On the contrary, God is so happy, so proud of those God-realised souls and so proud of Himself that He has given them the capacity. He has moulded them, He has shaped them. That is why they have come here to earth. They are going to help Him fulfil His Cosmic Dream. In which way are they going to hurt Him? Are they going to take away some of God’s capacities? God is infinite. By becoming one with Him, do you think you are drawing away all His Cosmic Energy, Light or Power, and that He is now becoming bankrupt? On the contrary, God will have more confidence that He can entrust you with some of His responsibility.

When I ask you to do something for me, you are taking some of my responsibility. When disciples work on manifestation projects, I have confidence in them. In which way are they hurting me? They are hurting me only if they are jealous or insecure, or if there is rivalry. But here that is not the question. If somebody is able to raise their consciousness and establish a close inner communication with the Master, with the Inner Pilot or with the Supreme, that person will only be appreciated and admired by the soul, by the Master, by the Supreme, because that person is now getting ready to take some responsibility from the Master, the way I am taking responsibility from the Supreme. If somebody develops oneness with me, it will only help me.

But while that person is establishing oneness with the Master, that person has to be so grateful, so grateful. If, for any reason, on a particular day he suffers, always he has to say, “It is for my good.” If somebody has been making progress in the spiritual life and then for four months or six months that person feels that he is not making progress, that person has to accept it in a spiritual way.

There are two attitudes one can take. You may say, “Oh, hostile forces are attacking me. That is why I am not making any progress, and my Master is fast asleep. It is clear that he does not care for me.” That is one answer. The other way is to say, “My Master knows everything. If I am determined to remain really close to my Master, my Master will not allow hostile forces to attack me. But if I deliberately go away from my Master, my Master will say to the hostile forces, ‘Do anything you like.’”

If the Master sees that somebody has been good for three or four years and is making progress because every day the Master has been giving that person a special kind of food, which is the Master’s affection and love, then the Master may say, “Now, by not giving that food, let me see how much love, devotion and surrender he has, how much oneness he has established.” The Master is the one to give you the mango, and he is the one not to give you the mango. If he gives you the mango, then you think that he is pleased with you, and you are pleased with him. If he does not give you the mango, you may feel that means that he is disgusted with you, that you have done something wrong. No. The Master may do this to increase your surrender and oneness.

At that time, you have to feel, “He is training me. Yesterday he gave me a smile. Today he may frown at me. I must continue with my daily prayers, my meditation, my love, devotion and surrender. I know that whatever he gives me is for my own good.” If you have come to a certain high standard, then you will be able to say, “It is for my good.” Otherwise, if your standard is very low, you will never be able to say it. You have to come to a certain standard in the spiritual life. Then you will be able to say, “Yesterday my Master gave me something special. Today he is not giving me this for my own good. Always my Master knows best.”

So if one can communicate inwardly with the Master, one will never hurt the Master. On the contrary, one is helping the Master. In a family, the father is training and training his children. Then, when the children take responsibility, the father is so happy. His love they feel.