I pray, I meditate

I pray to God and meditate on God.

I pray to God because God is my Lord, my Sovereign Lord, my Lord Supreme.

I meditate on God because God is my Friend, my eternal Friend, my only Friend.

I pray to God because He is powerful and thoughtful.

I meditate on God because He is beautiful and fruitful.

I pray to God to see His Face of Height.

I meditate on God to feel His Heart of Delight.

I pray to God to grant me what He is.

I meditate on God to regain what I have lost.

I pray to God to show me the way.

I meditate on God to transform my life of ignorance-night into a life of wisdom-light.

I pray to God to become the sound-sky in my human life.

I meditate on God to become the silence-sun in my divine life.

In my desire-life I pray to God because I am my necessity’s slave.

In my aspiration-life I meditate on God because God and I have become our necessity’s mutual satisfaction.

My prayer breathlessly loves God’s Compassion-Power.

My meditation unconditionally loves God’s Justice-Light.

Salvation-gift I have received from my prayer.

Perfection-gift I have received from my meditation.

I pray to God and meditate on God.

Gratitude

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.

Gratitude is a miracle-action in us. This miracle-action strengthens our physical body, purifies our vital energy, widens our mental vision and intensifies our psychic delight.

The seeker in us tries to be simple, pure, humble, sincere. Every spiritual seeker tries to cultivate these qualities in abundant measure. The easiest and most effective way to cultivate these qualities is to open the gratitude-flower and let it blossom inside our heart petal by petal. How can we do this? Not only do we have to give more importance to what we have, but we also must give all importance to what we do not have.

What we have is wishful thinking, wishful seeking, wishful becoming. Wishful thinking: We think that we shall be great or successful in some way. Wishful seeking: We seek the truth and light in our own way, in the place where we think truth and light must abide. Wishful becoming: This is the most deplorable mistake we make. We want to become something that pleases us. If we want to please ourselves in our own way, then consciously or unconsciously we bring the vital-wolf to the fore.

What we do not have is the breathless inner cry and the measureless outer smile. If we can develop the breathless inner cry, then automatically we develop the measureless outer smile.

Either from within we come without, or from without we dive deep within. We can start our journey either from the soul’s capacity or from the body’s capacity. Ultimately these two capacities have to be united. Needless to say, the soul’s capacity is infinitely greater than the body’s capacity. But the little capacity that the body has, has to be united with the soul’s capacity. The body’s greatest capacity is the acceptance of the soul’s leadership. If the soul is accepted as the supreme leader, if the soul gets the opportunity to guide, mould and shape our destiny, then we get what we do not have right now: the sweet, pure, breathless, intense inner cry and the sure, measureless outer smile.

I do not know

“I do not know.” This is indeed an answer. This answer satisfies the sincere seeker in us, for the sincere seeker does not stoop to insincerity. But we have to know how far this answer can lead us. Can it lead us to our destined Goal? No, never! We have to be able to say, “I know.”

In order to find the answer, first we look around us. But the outside world laughs at us, ridicules us and sometimes looks down upon us. It considers us to be the worst possible fools. Then we dive deep within in order to get the answer. At that time something deep within tells us that what we think of ourselves is what we truly are. What we feel ourselves to be is what we truly are. What we shall ultimately become consciously is what we truly are.

What do we think we are? We think that we are devoted instruments and thoughtful seekers. What do we feel ourselves to be? We feel ourselves to be soulful lovers. And what shall we ultimately become? We shall become fruitful servers. Devoted instruments, thoughtful seekers, soulful lovers and fruitful servers of the Supreme: If we can think of ourselves in this way, if we can feel that we are all these things, then there can be no other answer for us either here on earth or there in Heaven.

This is the answer: we are the devoted instruments, the thoughtful seekers, the soulful lovers and the fruitful servers of the Supreme. “I do not know” is now transformed into “I do know.” What do I know? I know that I have all along been seeking for the birthless Vision and the ever-transcending Reality of my experience-realisation, my realisation-revelation and my revelation-manifestation.

Dream

What is dream? Dream is creation. Creation is either division or union. “Division” is a complicated word. When we use division to divide the existence-reality, we enter into the world of ego and “I”-ness. But again, when we use it to divide work, labour, capacities, at that time it is a veritable blessing. If we divide and, through our division, get the result in a solid, concrete way to form one truth and one reality, then that division is good. But when we divide the reality into pieces and give supremacy to one piece and do not appreciate or value the other pieces, then we sing the song of separativity. This kind of division ends in destruction, the destruction of the little world that we claim to be ours.

“Union” is also a complicated word. When we work together, it is a great blessing. When we mix together, it is a great blessing. But when it is the union of darkness and light, when it is the union of desire and aspiration, then it is a deplorable mistake. The aspiration-life must not mix with the desire-life. If it is to mix, always it must mix with the renunciation-life — the renunciation of unnecessary possessions, of the things that are not divine, illumining and perfect.

With the aspiration-life we have to start our journey. But then there comes a time when we feel that our aspiration-life has blossomed considerably, and is ready to enter into the desire-life to transform it. The aspiration-life has to play the role of the bridge between the desire-life and the realisation-life. The seeker’s aspiration-life will enter into the desire-life for the immediate and total transformation of the desire-life. The seeker’s realisation-life will enter into the aspiration-life for the perfection of the aspiration-life and for the manifestation of the Absolute Supreme.

Each dream is a creation. Each creation is either conscious aspiration or unconscious aspiration. Our aspiration enters into the desire-life, the little brother, and helps him clean his body, purify his mind and illumine his earthly existence. Each iota of aspiration also expedites the arrival of realisation. Our aspiration enters into the realisation-life or brings the realisation-life into the aspiration-life in order to make the aspiration-life completely perfect for the awakening of our physical reality, and for the blossoming of the soul-reality, which is within us and for us.

A dream is God’s creation in the inner world. From the inner world we enter into the realisation-world. Creation and dream, aspiration and realisation — they are all members of the same family. If we can become aware of one, then automatically we can have the other three; for our dream is, after all, a disguised reality, and a disguised reality does not remain always in disguise. It purifies our mind. It offers dynamism to our vital and it offers an inner awakening in our physical reality.

I bow to dream because it is sweet and pure. I bow to reality because it not only has possibility and potentiality but it also has inevitability in boundless measure. I bow to aspiration, for it has love for us inside its boundless existence. But I love realisation, for realisation is the only thing that I need to make my Inner Pilot constantly and supremely happy.

Security

Security is life. Insecurity is death. When one is secure in one’s life, one sees an hour inside a second. When one is insecure in one’s life, one does not see even a second inside an hour.

Secure people smile, not because they have something but because they are something. Secure people belong to an ever-transcending creative force. Insecure people unconsciously and deplorably have made friends with self-doubt, which is the worst possible poison. Once they have made friends with self-doubt, they are forced to make friends with somebody else, and that somebody else is self-destruction.

When one is secure, one guards what one has and what one is. What one has is simplicity, sincerity, serenity, purity and many more divine qualities. These divine qualities have to be guarded. When one is secure, only then is one in a position to guard them. When they are well protected, they can play their respective roles most satisfactorily inside the physical consciousness, vital consciousness and mental consciousness.

Security is an honour that one gives and one gets. When one becomes a security guard, one serves a superior.

The superior is being honoured because he is being guarded by others. The security guard shows the utmost respect, love and adoration to the superior; therefore, the world may think that only the superior is being honoured. But I wish to say that it is a mutual honour.

This is a public park, and undivine people are all around. I am sitting here, and you are around me with folded hands. With your aspiration and devotion you are guarding me from the wrong forces. You are guarding me; therefore, you are honouring me. You are honouring me, true, but I am also honouring you. Out of 140 people I have requested you to come here.

It is the same thing when we pray to God. We think that we are honouring Him. We are honouring Him, true, but God has already honoured us by choosing us to be His Instruments. We are honouring Him with our aspiration and devotion. But by His acceptance of us, God is also honouring us. When we serve Him, love Him and cry to Him, at that time we honour Him. But it is He who has given us the opportunity to serve Him and aspire for Him. So the security guard, when he helps or protects the superior in any way, is not at all inferior. He is only honouring and being honoured.

God has given us the capacity, the aspiration, to pray to Him and meditate on Him. By praying and meditating we are honouring Him. Again, using us as His chosen instruments, He is honouring us. When we give our security to Him, we get back His Security. By honouring God through prayer and meditation, we also honour ourselves.

God is secure in us because He dreams in and through us. He is the eternal Life-Tree; we are His projecting branches. We are not aware of our own reality; we are not aware that we are part and parcel of the Life-Tree which is God; therefore, we are insecure. But by praying and meditating we come to realise that the branches, leaves and flowers are part and parcel of the Tree itself. When we realise this, we become secure in the Source and secure in the flow. When the flow realises its absolute Source, it becomes secure. The Source is always secure in the flow, for the Source knows that its own capacity is always boundless.

Theoretical surrender and practical surrender

Aspiration, my aspiration, long, long ago you told me that the animal life is no good, that it is all destruction. I believed you; therefore, I gave up the animal life. Then you told me that the human life is no good, that it is all bondage. I believed you; therefore, I gave up the human life. Then you told me that there is something infinitely higher than the divine life, and that life is the life of perfect oneness with my Beloved Supreme. I believed you; therefore, I became one with my Beloved Supreme.

Now I am one with my Beloved Supreme and I shall forever remain one, inseparably one, unconditionally one, with my Beloved Supreme. And now you tell me, my aspiration, that just remaining inside my Beloved Supreme and being inseparably one with Him is not enough. I have to be a practical exponent of the Supreme; I have to reveal and manifest what my Beloved Supreme has and is. Theoretical oneness is of no avail. It is the practical oneness with Him that counts. This practical oneness is the constant cheerful execution of His Will.

My theoretical surrendered oneness says: “Lord, let Thy Will be done.” But as soon as I am buffeted by the blows of earthly life, I withdraw my so-called surrendered oneness with my Beloved Supreme. I curse myself for having been eager to become one with Him. This is theoretical surrendered oneness.

My practical surrendered oneness is totally different. In my practical oneness I experience what He experiences in and through me: life’s failure and life’s success, life’s sorrow and life’s joy, life in the process of recoiling and withdrawing and life in the process of becoming and transcending. All I accept with cheerful, devoted, unconditional and surrendered oneness. On the physical plane, the practical plane, if I can establish my surrendered oneness with my Beloved Supreme, then only do I become not only what He has but also what He is. What He is, I eternally and truly am: Eternity’s Oneness-Soul and Infinity’s Oneness-Goal.

My sweet children, a few of you have made a theoretical surrender. But practical surrender nobody, nobody, nobody has made. And there are many here who have not made even the theoretical surrender. So where do I stand with you? Those who have not made the theoretical surrender, kindly from today make this theoretical surrender. And those who have made the theoretical surrender, please try from today to become at every moment a practically surrendered disciple of the Supreme. Those who are now theoretical please try to become practical, and those who have not made even the theoretical surrender please make it a point to come to the level of theoretical oneness with the Supreme.

Satisfaction

Each human life is a song. A seeker sings a new song every day. He sings and he discovers. What does he discover? He discovers a body full of enthusiasm, a vital full of determination, a mind full of peace, a heart full of bliss and, finally, a life full of satisfaction.

Satisfaction is needed in the animal life, the human life and the divine life. But the satisfaction that we get in the animal life is not true satisfaction. In the human life also we do not get true satisfaction. Only in the divine life do we get true satisfaction.

In the animal life we try to get satisfaction through destruction. In the human life we try to acquire satisfaction through possession. In the divine life we try to receive satisfaction from illumination. Through destruction the satisfaction that we get is not and cannot be the real satisfaction. Through possession the satisfaction that we get is not and cannot be the real satisfaction. Through illumination the satisfaction that we get is undoubtedly the true satisfaction.

We are all seekers here; we pray and meditate. Inside our prayer, inside our meditation, we always try to see the face of satisfaction. When we pray, we try to go up and achieve satisfaction. When we meditate, we try to bring Light and Delight to the fore from within ourselves, and enjoy satisfaction here inside our body, vital, mind and heart. When we pray, we try and cry to receive something from Above so that our thirst can be quenched. When we meditate, we invoke our own higher realities to manifest in and through us.

Meditation is preceded by concentration and followed by contemplation. Concentration, meditation and contemplation go together. Concentration is the speed, meditation is the confidence and contemplation is the victory. We can safely say that concentration has and is the deer-speed, meditation has and is the elephant-confidence and contemplation has and is the lion-victory.

It is always advisable for us to have speed, for we have to value the goal. The goal is not stationary. Today’s goal will be tomorrow’s starting point. We are in the process of going towards an ever-transcending, ever-illumining and ever-fulfilling goal, so we have to pay all attention to our speed, to how fast we can go.

Confidence is also of paramount importance. If we have confidence in ourselves and confidence in God, then definitely we can make fast progress. If we have confidence only in God and not in ourselves, we will not be able to go very fast. If we have confidence only in ourselves and not in God, then we will not be able to make any progress, either. We have to feel our confidence in God and God’s confidence in us. Our confidence in God we shall feel on the strength of our own dedication, and God’s confidence in us we can feel in and through the Compassion-Light which He bestows upon us constantly and unconditionally.

Like us, the soul also deals with life. In the case of the soul, there is the universal life and the transcendental Life. When the soul-bird comes down into the world-arena, it spreads its wings and becomes inseparably one with the universal life. At the end of its earthly sojourn, when the soul returns to its own region, it enters into the transcendental Life. Life is nothing short of God’s Dream, and this Dream is birthless and deathless. This birthless and deathless Dream God fulfils in and through His all-embracing and all-fulfilling reality: man.

Compassion-Height and Justice-Light

“My Lord Supreme, You are at once Compassion-Height and Justice-Light. Do tell me which of the two You consider to be better.”

“My son, if you are brave, then Justice-Light is infinitely better. If you are weak, then Compassion-Height is infinitely better. But I wish to tell you that in the long run both Compassion-Height and Justice-Light reach the same destination. They both fulfil the same purpose.

“In the Cosmic Game sometimes it is obligatory for Me to use Justice-Light. Otherwise, if I use always Compassion-Height, then the progress of the seeker in you will be delayed indefinitely. If the seeker in you can brave Justice-Light, then you are bound to make the fastest progress. But this Justice-Light has to be taken cheerfully, devotedly and soulfully; then only will it serve its purpose. If Justice-Light is taken with reluctance, with fear or just out of necessity’s demand, and if there is an inner resistance and rebellious attitude, then Justice-Light will fail in its purpose.

“When I show Justice-Light, My son, you have to feel that it is My Concern in disguise; My Concern for your perfection is coming to the fore. When I show Compassion-Height, it is undoubtedly a slower process. But again, if the seeker in you does not forgive you, although I have forgiven you, if you feel remorse and resolve with your adamantine will not to commit the same mistake, then with My Compassion-Height you can also run the fastest. You can run the fastest by becoming infinitely more conscious and aware and by becoming brutally sincere with yourself and fully charged with divine determination.

“Compassion-Height I use more than Justice-Light, My son, because I know each individual human being on earth is weak. Therefore, I take the slow process. If Justice-Light I could use all the time, then progress would be the fastest. But there is a risk here. The vessel may give way; therefore, I am reluctant to use My Justice-Light as often as I use My Compassion-Height. But when I use Compassion-Height, make it a point to be extremely strict, mercilessly strict, with yourself. It is you who have to be strict with your life so that you can be a better, more illumining, more fulfilling instrument of Mine.

“When I use Justice-Light, take it cheerfully, devotedly and soulfully. When I use Compassion-Height, take it with your gratitude-sea and gratitude-sky and, at the same time, dive deep within and become infinitely more strict with yourself than you have already been. Then there is no blunder that you can commit. Justice-Light and Compassion-Height are one, inseparably one. But according to necessity’s demands, My son, I use either Justice-Light or Compassion-Height.

“You, as a divine seeker, a genuine seeker, an unconditional seeker, must remain always happy, whether I use Compassion-Height or Justice-Light with you. If it is Justice-Light, use your happiness in a very constructive way; and if it is Compassion-Height, dive deep within and bring to the fore your gratitude-heart. Then charge your body, vital, mind and heart with adamantine will so that you do not repeat the same deplorable mistake.

“Compassion-Height is the shower, the blessing-shower from Above; it is a torrential rain. Justice-Light is the brilliant sunlight, the scorching heat. Both we need equally in order to collect the bumper crop of realisation from the aspiration-seed which germinates slowly, steadily and unerringly according to the Will of My inner Vision and outer Reality.”

My desire

Desire, my desire, my lifelong friend, I always stay with you. Since I call you my friend, my lifelong friend, may I ask you for a favour? It is a simple request. I am sure you can grant it if you want to. This is my soulful and breathless request: Three times a day will you just allow me to remain all by myself? Each time I will need only three seconds. That means only nine seconds during the entire day I wish to be alone, without you.

Early in the morning at five o’clock I wish to utter a soulful message to my Beloved Supreme for three seconds. This message is: “O my Beloved Supreme, I love You and nobody else. I love You and nobody else. I love You and nobody else.” At twelve o’clock noon, I wish to utter another soulful message to my Beloved Supreme three times: “O my Beloved Supreme, I need You and nobody else. I need You and nobody else. I need You and nobody else.” At seven o’clock, when the evening sets in, I wish to utter my third soulful message to my Beloved Supreme: “O my Beloved Supreme, I belong to You and to nobody else. I belong to You and to nobody else. I belong to You and to nobody else.”

Only nine seconds a day I wish to have from you, O my lifelong friend, O my desire. If you grant me this boon, then there shall come a time when I shall, in return, give you something that you never imagined and never deserved. I shall give you what I shall acquire: my heart’s boundless joy to feed you, my soul’s boundless light to please you and my God’s eternal, infinite and immortal Beauty. O my desire-friend, my lifelong friend, I wish only nine seconds a day to be all by myself. If you fulfil my request, I shall give you things that you will otherwise never be able to receive either in this incarnation or in any incarnation. So, my dear desire-friend, just grant my request: three seconds, three seconds, three seconds — nine seconds a day allow me to be with myself, in myself and for myself. For the Real in me and with the Real in me I wish to remain for nine seconds a day.

The short cut, the shorter cut, the shortest cut

“My sweet Lord Supreme, I am truly tired of this long road. The road that divides us is very long. Please, please grant me a short cut. I shall be eternally grateful to You if You grant me a short cut to reach You.”

“My son, I am surprised to hear that you want to have a short cut, for I thought that someday you would ask Me for the shortest cut. You are ready to be satisfied with only a short cut, but I shall give you a short cut, and I shall also tell you the shorter cut and the shortest cut, in case you need them in the near future.

“The short cut is belief; you must believe in Me. You must believe in Me constantly. Just repeat to yourself: ‘I believe in God, I believe in God.’ This is undoubtedly an excellent short cut.

“The shorter cut is to repeat to yourself: ‘My Lord Supreme loves me infinitely more than I love myself. My Lord Supreme loves me infinitely more than I love myself.’ How can it be possible? It is possible because when you see your shortcomings in teeming measure, you get frustrated and you want to destroy yourself. But I see you as a projection of My own Reality; therefore, I do not get frustrated. I am ready to go on with infinite Patience, and this Patience is undoubtedly your salvation. So you can see that I do love you infinitely more than you love yourself.

“The shortest cut is this: You have to tell yourself that you need Me breathlessly. In My case, I will tell you that I need you unmistakably. You need Me breathlessly and I need you unmistakably. This has to be your constant, sincere prayer.

“If you can repeat to yourself that you believe in Me, this is the short cut. If you can say that I love you infinitely more than you love yourself, this is the shorter cut. And the shortest cut is to feel that you need Me breathlessly and I need you unmistakably. If you can do all these, then the short, shorter and shortest cuts will be open to you.

“For Me also there is a short cut, a shorter cut and a shortest cut to reach you. The short cut is when I tell Myself that in you I shall discover the most perfect instrument of Mine. The shorter cut is when I tell Myself that I always love you unconditionally, no matter what you do, no matter what you think of Me, no matter what you tell Me, no matter what happens to you, no matter what you want to do with your life’s vision and your life’s reality. And the shortest cut is when I see in you My Eternity’s Soul and keep for you My Infinity’s Goal.”

Happiness and unhappiness

Happiness and unhappiness. We all know that happiness and unhappiness are two opposite realities. They are diametrically opposite realities. But there are some people who unfortunately feel that unhappiness is the true happiness. What we call happiness, according to them that very thing is unhappiness; and what we call unhappiness, they call happiness. They are never, never satisfied unless and until they are unhappy, frustrated and miserable. When they are in a melancholy state, they feel that this is the true satisfaction.

To us this is the height of absurdity. We look around and see that unhappiness is singing, dancing, flying everywhere. Unhappiness, in a sense, is running riot. But as if this unhappiness were not enough for these people, they want to add more unhappiness to their system. The unhappiness that they already have they do not try to get rid of. Instead, they want to add more unhappiness in order to derive satisfaction.

Sometimes there are minor calamities, accidents and crises in life that make us unhappy. But we should not think that God sends us these calamities in order to make us pure, or to make our progress fast. No. On very rare occasions we see that saintly people, good people, spiritual people, suffer. When they do, they suffer for various reasons. If they are spiritual Masters of a very high calibre, they suffer on the strength of their oneness with their disciples, their followers, their intimate ones. Again, sometimes God wants to show the world at large that even the great seekers and Masters go through suffering, so people will see that suffering is not something uncommon. He wants to show the world that suffering is inherent in human nature. But in no way does God want to punish us so that He can make us close to Him.

Some people go one step farther. They think that if they can suffer severely and then pray to God, at that time God will listen to their prayers; therefore, deliberately they do something wrong. They know the penalty and they are ready to pay the penalty because they feel that when they suffer God will listen to their prayers. But this is absurd. It is like cutting off your legs and then asking yourself to walk. It is impossible. It is like blinding your eyes and then asking yourself to see. It is impossible. In order to please God, no seeker should deliberately welcome suffering, which is the cause of unhappiness or the same thing as unhappiness.

When you are frustrated or disappointed, at that time if you pray, do not think that the Supreme in me or the Supreme in you will be more pleased. Far from it. When you are frustrated, you are only blocking the road between you and God. At that time you have built a solid wall, an adamantine wall, between yourself and me.

Just be happy and keep your heart open to light and bliss. If you are happy and cheerful, then you can run the fastest. Even if you are not happy, when you come to me you have to force yourself to be happy. By forcing yourself to be happy you can create a kind of receptivity for a few seconds. Then I will be in a position to pour my compassion, light and blessings into you. But if you come to me with a sad face, making me feel that you are dead or that you are about to die right now, then inwardly I can only tell you, “Die, then. I will be there to watch you.”

Do not come to me with a sad and frustrated face. If you come to me with an unhappy face, you are only digging your own grave. Even if you have been unhappy the whole day, when you come to me keep a cheerful face. Force yourself to smile. If a child does not want to eat and his mother forces him to eat, then he will be nourished; he will get strength. If a naughty boy does not want to wash, when his mother forces him to wash, he becomes clean in spite of himself. The mind and vital are like naughty boys. So wash them, cleanse them with your soul’s light, with your heart’s inner cry.

So, my children, always come to me with a cheerful face. Then you will be able to receive whatever I want to give. If you feel that by being unhappy you will become closer to me, or if you feel that your unhappiness itself is happiness, then you will be able to receive nothing. Happiness is happiness. Unhappiness is unhappiness. Night is night.

Let us not make fools of ourselves. Always we have to see the truth in its proper aspect. If it is unhappiness, it is unhappiness. If it is happiness, it is happiness. We have to conquer unhappiness through happiness. This is the only way to run the fastest and create immediate and boundless receptivity. This is the only way to please the Supreme in His own Way.

Human reality and divine reality

“My sweet Beloved Supreme, I know that You have two realities, two aspects — a human reality or human aspect and a divine reality or divine aspect. Please tell me which aspect of Yours is the better of the two, or which aspect of Yours I must choose in order to make the fastest progress, or if it is obligatory on my part to choose one of the aspects in order to arrive at the highest Goal deep within You.”

“O seeker-son, I wish to tell you that it is supremely necessary for you to approach both aspects of Me, the human and the divine. It is better to start with the human aspect, for in the human aspect you get encouragement and inspiration sooner than in the divine aspect. In the divine aspect sometimes you may see some austerity in Me, some very hard and fast rules, some strict discipline. But in the human aspect you will see that there are quite a few things which you do that I do in the same manner; therefore, you will get tremendous encouragement. You can sing, you can talk, you can play, you can do sports just as I do. Only when it is a matter of meditation, you cannot do it right now the way I do. That is the only place where you are badly lacking. I do infinitely better meditation than you do. But there are quite a few things which you do as well as I do, and sometimes you may even far surpass Me. Because you have the same capacity that I have in so many things, you are bound to feel that you can arrive at the same footing on the spiritual plane as well. So you get encouragement.

“You have to think of the human aspect and the divine aspect as the flower and the fruit of the tree. I am the Life-Tree, and I bear flowers and fruits. A flower is beautiful. It inspires you, and when you are surcharged with inspiration you run, dive and fly. But there is something more than inspiration; it is called hunger. You are inspired to do something, but you need the inner hunger to strengthen you. That inner hunger is aspiration. When you are hungry, only then do you get the fruits and eat them. My Life-Tree holds the divine aspect in the fruit-form. When you eat the fruit, you get nourishment.

“Again, at times you have to take both the human aspect and the divine aspect together. You have to think of Me as the ocean and yourself as a tiny drop or wave. If you want to see Me or play with Me, you have to feel that I am the ocean and you are inside the ocean as a drop or a surge. If you are wise, then you will see that no matter what you are, you have to remain inside the ocean, inside the vast expanse. The surge cannot contain the ocean, the drop cannot contain the ocean, whereas the ocean can contain the drop and the surge. In fact, they are inseparable. The human aspect you embody, and the divine aspect I embody, but they are inseparably one. Now you have taken the form of a tiny drop and I have taken the form of the ocean. But when you grow up in spiritual matters, at that time you will see that sometimes I become the tiny drop or wave, and you become the ocean. In this way we play hide-and-seek with each other.

“If you want to go from the human to the divine aspect, this is very good. You can also go from the divine to the human aspect. Again, you can accept the human and the divine together. The human aspect is sweet, sweeter, sweetest. The divine aspect is intimate, more intimate, most intimate. This is how the seeker approaches the human aspect and the divine aspect. I am your Beloved Lord Supreme, and you are the seeker in Me, for Me.”

I am grateful

I am grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for out of His infinite Bounty He has given me the capacity to love Him more than I love myself.

I am grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for out of His infinite Bounty He has given me the capacity to feel His Need more than my own need.

I am grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for out of His infinite Bounty He has given me the capacity not to drag Him into my desire-world, but to implore His Presence in my aspiration-world, and also to offer Him my earth-bound will and desire-life, and soulfully declare, “Let Thy Will be done.”

I shall be extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme the day He makes me a chosen instrument of His.

I shall be extremely, extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme the day I can feel that my soul-bird lives only for Him inside my body-cage here on earth and there in Heaven.

I shall be extremely, extremely and extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme the day I can declare to the world within and to the world without that I am what He has and I have what He is.

Austerity

“My Lord Supreme, I have heard so much from so many people about austerity. Do enlighten me. I wish to hear from You, from Your Lips, what austerity actually means. Is austerity a kind of self-torture, or is austerity a kind of severe self-discipline?”

“O seeker, discipline and austerity are two different things. They are like the North Pole and the South Pole. You discipline yourself so that you do not get attacks from temptation. You discipline yourself so that the world of the immediate future will come to you with its gifts: happiness and peace of mind. These two gifts are of paramount importance. Even while you are disciplining yourself you get tremendous joy, and the after-effect of discipline is also joy and achievement, veritable achievement.

“But austerity is self-torture. You torture yourself, thinking that I will be highly pleased with you. But that notion is absurd. I am all Love. In order to reach Me, what you need is also love.

“Why do you want to go through austerity? You have the body, the vital, the mind and the heart. These are the members of your immediate family, and you are putting up with them. To put up with your lethargic body, to put up with your aggressive vital, to put up with your doubtful mind, to put up with your impure heart — is that not a form of self-torture? If you are so fond of austerity, then you have to know that already you are performing the most difficult type of austerity by having patience with your impossible body, vital, mind and heart. You do not need any further austerities.

“Just go through discipline. From discipline you will get peace of mind, and in peace of mind I have kept everything for you: peace, love, light and delight in abundant measure. If you are fond of austerity, then I wish to say, abstain from ignorance-food. Austerity is not and cannot be the achievement of any seeker. Discipline is and has to be always, always the achievement of the seeker in you and in everyone. Discipline is your constant opening, constant receptivity to a higher light. Through discipline you have to feel that you are invoking a higher light. When you do sports, when you sing, when you do anything, always feel that you are disciplining the physical consciousness, the vital consciousness, the mental consciousness and the psychic consciousness. Through this discipline not only will you eventually arrive at the Perfection-Goal, but you will become the Goal itself.

“Each thought properly regulated, each action properly regulated, is discipline. Inside discipline, all that I have is for you, O seeker, for you. Love, Peace, Light and Delight in measureless measure: all these I have kept for you inside discipline. For you is the path of discipline, never the path of austerity or self-mortification.”

Smile, love and claim

Smile, my friends, my soulful friends, smile. Let us smile. True, this world of ours is full of suffering and excruciating pangs, but that is no reason why we should not smile. We must smile in order to unburden the world’s suffering-burden. We must smile in order to diminish its untold pangs.

Love, my friends, my soulful friends, love. Let us love. True, this world of ours is full of hatred and disbelief, but that is no reason why we should not love and why we should not believe. We must love and believe in order to empty the hatred-sea. We must love and believe in order to break asunder the cliffs and peaks of disbelief-mountain.

Claim, my friends, my soulful friends, claim. Let us claim. True, this world of ours has deceived us and betrayed us. Nevertheless, we must claim the world, for it is our bounden duty to change the face of the world. Unless and until we claim the world, we can never transform this world; therefore, we must claim this world as our own, very own, with a view to transforming it.

Finally, we must not forget to smile at our Beloved Supreme, to love our Beloved Supreme and to claim our Beloved Supreme, for He is our Eternity’s own, and we are His Eternity’s own.

We shall smile at our Beloved Supreme precisely because He is divinely great. We shall love our Beloved Supreme precisely because He is supremely good. We shall claim our Beloved Supreme precisely because we are His Eternity’s chosen instruments. Him to please in His own Way, Him to fulfil in His own Way — it is for this we all saw the light of day. He is our Source. In Him we see, in Him we feel, in Him we fulfil our journey’s course.

Smile, love and claim. This world of ours is undoubtedly a projection of our Beloved Supreme, although it is far from perfection. But there will come a time when we shall be able to radically transform the face of this world and turn it into Perfection-Reality.

Let us smile at God, love Him and claim Him, for He is all-where only for us, unconditionally for us.

Imagination

Imagination, O imagination! How do I use my imagination?

I use my imagination to forget my past failures.

I use my imagination to brave my present challenges.

I use my imagination to welcome my future dawn.

I use my imagination to touch and feel my Lord’s Compassion-Feet.

I use my imagination to drink deep my Lord’s Nectar-Heart.

I use my imagination to see my Lord’s Vision-Eye.

I use my imagination to touch my Lord’s Assurance-Arms.

I use my imagination to become an exact prototype of my Lord’s Heaven-Beauty.

I use my imagination to become a co-sharer of my Lord’s earth-responsibility.

What is my imagination? My imagination is the harbinger of my aspiration-tree.

What is my aspiration? My aspiration is the builder of my realisation-palace.

What is my realisation? My realisation is my Lord’s and my oneness-song.

My lifelong friends

Simplicity is my lifelong friend. My simplicity-friend has cut down my desire-tree.

Sincerity is my lifelong friend. My sincerity-friend has snapped my guilt-conscience-chain.

Purity is my lifelong friend. My purity-friend has secretly told me that love is the only force, the illumining force, the fulfilling force, the supreme force.

Divinity is my lifelong friend. My friend divinity teaches me how to live always inside the Source and how to live only for the Source, the perennial Source.

Immortality is my lifelong friend. My friend Immortality tells me that here on earth my heart’s inner cry is the only thing immortal, and there in Heaven my soul’s smile is the only thing immortal.

My Beloved Supreme is my lifelong Friend. My Friend, my Beloved Supreme, tells me that here on earth His Grace is my only salvation, and there in Heaven His Face is my only satisfaction.

O my simplicity, sincerity, purity, divinity, Immortality and Beloved Supreme friends, to each of you I offer my own Eternity’s gratitude-heart, my own Infinity’s oneness-source, my own Immortality’s perfection-delight.

Aspiration

How do I use my aspiration?

I use my aspiration to unite my earth’s ascending cry and my Heaven’s descending smile.

I use my aspiration to transform my world’s desire-night into my world’s illumination-height. I use my aspiration to feed my hungry Beloved Supreme; Him I feed with my aspiration’s gratitude-flames.

I use my aspiration to unlearn everything that my earth-bound mind has taught me, and right from the beginning to learn everything from my Heaven-free soul.

I use my aspiration to be the most intimate friend of my sweet, kind and beautiful oneness-heart.

I use my aspiration for success in the outer world and for progress in the inner world. When I succeed, the outer world smiles at me, appreciates me, adores me and extols me to the skies. When I progress soulfully, devotedly and unconditionally, my Beloved Supreme smiles at me, blesses me and embraces me.

What is aspiration? Aspiration is my self-giving.

What is self-giving? Self-giving is a supreme art. From this art I come to realise that I have to fathom my unknown realities and I have to know my higher self which abides deep in the inmost recesses of my heart. I have to become consciously and inseparably one with my higher self, which is in perfect tune with my Beloved Supreme constantly, and I have to manifest my yet-unmanifested realities.

My aspiration embodies concentration, meditation and contemplation.

Concentration is my speed. With this speed I run fast, faster and fastest towards my Beloved Supreme.

Meditation is my depth, my silence-depth. With this silence-depth I invoke my sweet Lord Supreme and place Him deep inside my gratitude-heart.

Contemplation is my ecstasy. With this ecstasy I sing my oneness-song with my Eternity’s Father Supreme. With my contemplation-ecstasy I dance my satisfaction-dance with my Lord, who is my Eternity’s Friend and Companion. With my Lord the Father I sing. With my Lord the Friend I dance.

Realisation

How do I use my realisation?

I use my realisation to taste humanity’s poverty.

I use my realisation to taste divinity’s prosperity.

I use my realisation to love humanity’s tears.

I use my realisation to love divinity’s smiles.

I use my realisation to give humanity what I have: hope, hope, hope.

I use my realisation to give divinity what I am: promise, promise, promise.

I use my realisation to free and also to bind. I use my realisation to free the finite, to liberate the finite inside the heart-vision of the Infinite. I use my realisation to bind the Infinite inside the manifestation-body-mission of the finite.

What is realisation? Realisation is my sweet remembrance of my forgotten past.

What is realisation? Realisation is my recovery from my ignorance-disease which has troubled me for millennia.

What is realisation? Realisation is my conscious and constant sailing with my Inner Pilot in His Golden Boat towards the uncharted land, where sooner than at once beauty, divinity and Immortality seeds grow into the richest harvest.

A fleeting life

A fleeting life is all we have. So why do we boast, why do we disproportionately exaggerate our earthly, mortal and brittle achievements? The physical in us, no matter how strong, fails us when the Prince of Gloom appears. When death appears, the physical deserts us no matter how strong it is, the vital deserts us no matter how enthusiastic it is, the mind deserts us no matter how brilliant it is, the heart deserts us no matter how kind and pure it is.

A fleeting life is all we have. Why then do we listen to the dictates of the physical world, the temptation-world? Why? Why? Why do we not listen to the dictates of the all-illumining and all-fulfilling soul? Why? Why? Why do we dine each night, all night long, with ignorance-sea? Why do we sport with darkness-dragon every day, all day long? Why? Why? Why do we not love God even conditionally, if it is impossible for us to love God unconditionally? Why? Why?

A fleeting life is all we have. Why do we not please God partially, if it is not within our capacity to please God totally and unreservedly? Why? Why? Can we not say to God once and for all that, although we have given all of our previous lives, even to the previous second, to ignorance-night, from now on we shall give this fleeting life of ours to Him alone? Can we not give God the full authority to guide us, mould us and shape us in His own Way? Since we have failed in the hands of ignorance, can we not give God a chance to direct our life? If God too fails, then we shall see what we ourselves can do with our life. But is it not fair on our part at least to give God a chance, as countless times we have given chances to ignorance-night? Let this short incarnation of ours be offered to God and God alone. If we offer our life to God, then ours will be the life short in years but long in achievements.

God says to us, “Children, I have promised you that I shall not misuse you, I shall not misguide you. I shall prove to you that I can make new personalities, new realities and new divinities out of you; only give Me a chance. As you have time and again given chances to ignorance, even so, for this short, fleeting time give Me the chance and see what I can do for you, since you cannot see what I have already done for you.

“Children, give Me a chance and see what I can do in this fleeting life of yours. This fleeting life can be expanded and extended, My children, if you care to envision My Divinity with your surrendered heart and with your oneness-soul. A fleeting life need not and cannot be the last word of the earth-arena. An endless life, a birthless and deathless life, can alone satisfy man, the future God.”

I wish to be free

I wish to be free from restlessness, fear and doubt. Restlessness slows down my speed, my inner speed. Fear unnerves me. Doubt poisons me. I need quietude to replace my restlessness. I need courage to replace my fear. I need faith to replace my doubt. My quietude is my confidence, my Lord’s assurance. My courage shall serve God the man throughout the length and breadth of the world. My courage shall love man the God in the inner world and in the outer world. My faith shall expedite not only my journey, but the journey of all sincere seekers; for we are one, inseparably one. The strength of my faith will strengthen them and the strength of their faith will strengthen me.

I wish to be free from insincerity, insecurity and impurity. Insincerity separates me from my Lord’s greatness. Insecurity separates me from my Lord’s vastness. Impurity separates me from my Lord’s closeness. Sincerity will replace my insincerity. Security will replace my insecurity. Purity will replace my impurity. My sincerity from now on will be my safeguard; it will always save me from inner and outer destruction. My security will make me feel that my Source, my Beloved Supreme, is always for me, for me, for me, for me. No matter what I do or what I say, He is eternally for me. My purity will enable me to speak to Him, sing with Him and sport with Him here, there and all-where at every moment.

I wish to be free from self-imposition, self-exposition and self-exploitation. I shall not impose any more severe, ruthless austerity on my life, for that is not the right way. I shall not expose my ignorance-dream to the world at large any more. I shall not exploit myself any more. I have already exploited my Supreme’s Compassion infinite. I have already exploited the world’s abundant patience. I have already exploited my weak helplessness. But I shall not exploit God, I shall not exploit the world and I shall not exploit myself any more.

I wish to be free from what I am in the outer world and from what I am in the inner world. Right now in the outer world I am a hopeless hope, and in the inner world I am a fruitless promise. I want to transform my hope-world into a reality-world, the reality which is fulfilment itself. I want to transform my fruitless promise into fruitful action. This I can do only on the strength of my sleepless inner cry. I can cultivate my inner cry only when I offer to my Beloved Supreme the most precious thing that He has granted me out of His infinite Bounty, and this most precious thing is the tiny flame of my gratitude-heart.

Experience and realisation

Experience prepares; realisation shares. Experience prepares the seeker for God’s choice Hour. Realisation shares God with the seeker. Experience tirelessly tries and cries to find the goal. Realisation effortlessly lives in the goal and eventually grows into the goal itself. Experience secretly tells the seeker what he will ultimately become; he will become God’s most perfect instrument. Realisation smilingly tells the seeker what he eternally is here on earth and there in Heaven. On earth he is God the aspiring and evolving man. In Heaven he is man the illumining and fulfilling God.

Experience is convinced of the fact that this world of ours is a battlefield. Here, bad and good, divine and undivine forces are constantly at war. Realisation knows that this world of ours is not a battlefield. It spontaneously knows that this world of ours is God’s all-transcending Vision-Tree and God’s all-nourishing Reality-Fruit.

Experience moves from the finite to the Infinite. It feels its presence in the finite first and then in the Infinite. It feels its sole identity with the finite drop and then with the infinite sea. Realisation swims right from the beginning inside the infinite sea with God the eternal Swimmer.

Each experience is an added strength in the process of our evolving life. While we are marching along Eternity’s road, each experience is an added strength. Each realisation is a transcending triumph. While we are running fast, faster, fastest along Eternity’s road, each realisation is a transcending triumph.

Experience is exceedingly fond of God the Compassion-Father. Realisation is exceedingly fond of God the Oneness-Lover.

Experience is our journey’s birth. Realisation is our ever-transcending, ever-illumining and ever-fulfilling journey itself.

I am a born prayer

I am a born prayer. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the prayer-capacity to become one with the Christ consciousness.

I am a born concentration. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the concentration-capacity to become one with the Brahma consciousness.

I am a born meditation. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the meditation-capacity to become one with the Vishnu consciousness.

I am a born contemplation. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the contemplation-capacity to become one with the Shiva consciousness.

I am a born aspiration. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the aspiration-capacity to become one with the Ramakrishna consciousness.

I am a born dedication. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the dedication-capacity to become one with the Buddha consciousness.

I am a born realisation. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the realisation-capacity to become one with the Chinmoy consciousness.

I am a born manifestation. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the manifestation-capacity to become one with the Shankara and Vivekananda consciousness.

I am a born perfection. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the perfection-capacity to become one with the Krishna consciousness.

I am a born satisfaction. I am extremely grateful to my Beloved Supreme, for He has given me the satisfaction-capacity to become one with Him, with His Consciousness that is already manifested and with His Consciousness that is yet to be manifested.

You are spiritual

You are spiritual. That means you have only a few desires, very, very few desires. One day you will come to the point where you will have only one desire: God. God-realisation will be your only desire. Only one desire will be left you, and that desire will be fulfilled by God Himself with the deepest Love, Joy and Pride.

You are spiritual. That means you are sincere. There are two types of sincerity. One is human sincerity, the mind’s sincerity. The other is divine sincerity, the heart’s sincerity. The human sincerity that you speak of comes from the most developed member of your human family, the mind. The mind tells you that this is sincerity, this is insincerity. The mind inspires or commands you to say the right thing, the sincere thing. But there is also something called the heart’s sincerity. The heart’s sincerity is a different matter. Heart’s sincerity is oneness with the Will of the Supreme. Sometimes the mind is sincere, but only when the mind can get some profit or benefit from sincerity. Sometimes the mind is sincere because it feels an inner compulsion; it feels inwardly obliged. But in the heart’s sincerity, which is oneness with the Supreme’s Will, there is an inner, special purpose which the human mind cannot fathom. If you are spiritual, you will be ready eventually to unite your will with the Supreme’s Will. That kind of sincerity you are aiming at.

You are spiritual. That means you are humble. Here humility means the acceptance of the world’s burden according to your capacity. God is all Humility. He has accepted as His own lot the entire weight of the world. So you also accept the burden around you, according to your limited capacity. You are like a tree. The tree carries leaves, flowers, fruits and everything. You also can bear the burden of the world around you on your head and shoulders. This is your humility.

You are spiritual. That means you are secure. Security means that you feel the living Presence of God inside you, and you feel your living presence inside God. Also, you tell yourself that you are for God and that God is for you. When you tell yourself that God is for you and you are for God, and when you feel your presence inside God and God’s Presence inside you, that is your security.

You are spiritual. That means you are pure. What kind of purity are you aiming at? You are aiming at the purity that will satisfy God and capture Him inside your heart, inside your mind, inside your vital and inside your body. All your impurity will leave you when God comes to live inside your body-room, vital-room, mind-room and heart-room. If you can feel that God is living inside you, then only can you develop real purity.

You are spiritual. That means you are divine. At first your divinity will say that there is no adamantine wall between you and God. You are facing God and God is facing you. Your divinity will make you feel that two Gods are facing each other and conversing. But eventually you will merge into the God that you are now facing. You will know there is only one God and that the entire world is His projection. Then there will come a time when God will ask you to play His role. He will make you feel that you are God and He is your projection. Then He will hide Himself and play the role of the universe, while you play the role of God. He becomes the creation and you become the Creator. You are God’s creation according to His Vision, Mission and Necessity. But when He is fully satisfied with your spirituality, He says, “My son, I am changing the game. I shall become the creation and you become the Creator.” This is how you become inseparably one with the Source who conceived of you and created you.

Spirituality

Spirituality. Spirituality is man’s conscious longing for God. Spirituality tells us that God, who is unknowable today, will tomorrow become knowable and, the day after, will become totally known.

We must need God for God’s sake. God can fulfil us in our own way, but it is we who will not be truly fulfilled when God satisfies us in our own way. Our crying heart, our aspiring heart, our illumining heart, will never be satisfied unless and until it pleases God in God’s own Way; therefore, our God-realisation is for God’s sake. Man’s perfection lies in God-satisfaction.

A beginningless beginning tells us that spirituality is an aspiration-plant. This plant grows and grows; eternally it grows. An endless end tells us that spirituality is a surrender-tree. This tree bears divine fruits, and these fruits come to us on the strength of our constant, conscious and surrendered oneness with our Beloved Supreme.

True spirituality is our conscious acceptance of life, not the annulment, not the negation, not the annihilation of life. We must needs accept life and radically change the face of life into the very image of our Beloved Supreme.

Spirituality says to the heart, “O heart, why do you remain insecure? Do you not feel that inside you the Almighty, the Lord Supreme, abides? You must not feel insecure, for it is you who can proclaim to the world at large that inside you is the living Presence of the Beloved Supreme. Of all the parts of the being, you have been chosen to be the first and foremost instrument to guide the mind, the vital and the body to the soul. The soul eventually will bring them to me.”

Spirituality tells the mind to remain silent. It says to the mind, “O mind, do not think any more. Your thinking power is nothing short of confusion. You confuse the other members of your family — body, vital and heart — and, at the same time, you are yourself confused when you indulge in the thought-world.”

Spirituality says to the vital, “O vital, do not crave. Do not crave for name and fame. Do not crave for anything, for even if you possess the things that you crave, these possessions will not satisfy you. Even inside these possessions there will be a cry for more possessions. You will always act like a beggar if you crave for anything. No matter what you get, you will remain dissatisfied and unfulfilled. So do not walk along that path. Your craving must come to an end. Do not crave anything.”

Finally, spirituality says to the body, “O body, how long will you sleep? Don’t you know that you have been sleeping from time immemorial? It is because of your ignorance-sleep that the rest of the members of your family are not able to reach the Golden Shore, the destined Goal. O body, sleep not! The Goal is only for those who are awakened. Awake, arise! The rest of the members of your family will run faster than the fastest the moment you become active and dynamic and cast aside the shackles of ignorance-sleep.”

Spirituality tells the seeker not to live in the hoary past, not to live in the remote future, but to live in the immediacy of today, in the eternal Now. This eternal Now embodies man the aspiring seed and God the all-nourishing Fruit.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

During the first twenty days of July 1977, Sri Chinmoy delivered one hundred short talks. These talks were given at his public esraj performances, at picnics, even at a local high school playground after morning sports practice. In very few ways, though, can these pieces really be called talks. They contain a rhythmic, almost musical quality more like blank verse than prose. More important, they express a flow of ideas so subtle and melodic that they cry out to be felt and assimilated on an intuitive plane. Before speaking, Sri Chinmoy would enter into a high meditative state and then speak extemporaneously. These talks, then, are expressions of a state of consciousness far beyond the mind’s reach: short, illumining bursts of light from the Master’s boundless Realisation-Sun. This particular volume is the first of a four-part series.