Question: How can we experience the sweetness and purity of Mother Nature when we live in a place like New York?

Sri Chinmoy: It is true that the aspiring Mother Nature helps us spiritually. But when we dive deep within, we see that real aspiration comes from a higher and deeper source. People who live in a beautiful place like Woodstock are not more aspiring than people who live in New York City. Mother Nature is ready and eager to help, but where is the receptivity?

Many people go to church, but their mind and heart are somewhere else. You may come to meditate with me, but your mind may be thinking of this person or that person. The temple is ready, but the seeker is not. Let us say that Mother Nature is the temple. Are you going to the temple to realise God or to watch who else goes there? If your enemy is going there, you may say, “I do not need this temple.” Again, if your friend is going there, you may say, “Now I shall talk to my friend.” So where is your prayer and meditation? People live in a place of natural beauty more often for mental pleasure than out of a real psychic inner urge. It is true that Mother Nature can help us spiritually. But when we go to Mother Nature, does our aspiration increase or do we get lost doing something else?