Question: In one of your prayers, you say, "If I love You just because You love me, then I am worse than the worst." I feel that if I love the Supreme, it is only because the Supreme has brought forward that capacity in me.

Sri Chinmoy: That is what you are saying now, but next moment are you going to say the same thing? When we are in a cheerful frame of mind, or when we have an iota of gratitude in our hearts, we say, “All our good qualities have come from God.” Then the next moment we say to God, “I have prayed and meditated for twenty years. You have given me some good qualities, but You could have given me much more.” Not only that, but we will say, “God, You have given me less than I deserve. I have prayed and meditated for so many years with no jealousy, no insecurity, no impurity. Now what have You given me in return?”

When we want to flatter God, we say in a tricky way, “You have given me everything.” But this is more of a mental philosophy than a psychic realisation. Do we really feel it or is it only that we have studied a few books on philosophy? Usually, what comes to us spontaneously is the feeling, “I have done so much for You, God. In return, You have not given me enough.”

If we really love God, we have to say, “I am doing everything for You unconditionally.” When the word ‘unconditional’ becomes part and parcel of our life, then whatever we say is sincere. But if that unconditional feeling is not in the picture, then we are all liars, and it is very difficult for us to separate our falsehood from truth.