Illumination

The animal world, the human world and the divine world: the world of destruction, the world of possession and the world of illumination.

Destruction is a very complicated term. In the animal world, destruction is at times necessary for survival. But otherwise, destruction is a negative force, a force of night, which is not at all encouraging, helpful or fruitful. Even the thought-world, which is so helpful in the human life, can be totally destructive. We do not need others to destroy us. One unhealthy, uncomely thought is enough to destroy our mental poise, and when we lose our mental poise, we lose everything.

When we breathe in, we breathe in many tiny creations of God. In order to live we have to breathe in, and they have to be our victims. When they are killed, the kind heart in us, on the strength of its oneness, should feel miserable. But when we enter into the deeper realm we see that this so-called destruction is not destruction at all. In God’s Cosmic Plan this is the only way we can continue our present-day life. At the same time, this so-called destruction is a step ahead for those little creatures of God, for the soul evolves through the process of death and rebirth.

In the world of possession, we possess in order to enjoy. But while possessing we make discriminations. We want this; we do not want that. Because of our sense of separativity, we prefer this thing to that, but we prefer it in our human way. We prefer the things that stimulate us or the things that give us immediate joy and satisfaction. But in the case of God, there is no discrimination. He sees everything as His own, and inside everything He feels tremendous utility and necessity.

We want to possess the world, but our capacity of receptivity is so limited that we have to make a choice between this and that. In God’s case, He does not make a choice, He does not have a preference; He possesses everything. He wants to bring to the fore His own Divinity which He has implanted in each creation of His. Even the destructive forces of ignorance have some light in them. So God wants to bring to the fore the infinitesimal light that even the ignorance-forces have. Like God, we also have to see the divinity in the ignorance-forces. Let us not see the outer world as such; let us not pay all attention to the outer body, which may not be divine. We will not deal with the outer body of the creation; we will deal only with the divinity, the inner reality of the creation, and then transform the body-reality so that it becomes as perfect as the soul-reality.

In the divine world, illumination is perfection. This illumination will never reject the possession-world or the destruction-world. It can easily house the possession-world and the destruction-world inside itself. When it enters into the destruction-world, it brings to the fore energy, for destruction has tremendous energy. It brings to the fore the energy-aspect of God’s creation, and then utilises it for a divine purpose. When it enters into the possession-world, it possesses everything; it does not exclude anything. It brings to the fore the essence of divinity which is in everything. When the Divine comes forward, even the outer body can easily be transformed. The illumination-world does not exclude either the possession-world or the destruction-world. Illumination is the world of acceptance.

God has accepted the whole world for His own Satisfaction. But His Satisfaction is unlike our satisfaction. Our satisfaction is to claim and possess, to say, “This is mine; this is what I have.” In God’s case, He always sees His creation and His own Existence as one. In our case, possession always involves somebody else or something else. We say, “I am the possessor, and you are the possession.” Then we feel that we are superior to our possession, for we can do anything we want with it. But God feels that He and His possessions are one and the same; they are equal.

Sometimes the possession will stand against the possessor or the creator. The parents are the creators of their children. When the children grow older and enter into adolescence, often they rebel. The possession, the creation, can become strong and go beyond the vision of the creator. In God’s case, with His Vision He creates something, and if that creation goes beyond His Vision-Reality, He does not feel sad or miserable. On the contrary, this is what He actually wants. In His Vision-world He sees one Reality, but within this Reality there are many realities fully blossomed. In our case, if we get what we want, we are satisfied for a while. But if we get one cent more than we wanted, we are not satisfied, because that very thing we did not want. We want to possess, but if one thing more or one thing less than what we wanted comes, we are not satisfied, because our desire is such that we want the thing exactly the way our mind has conceived it. In God’s case, even if it is not the same amount, He gets tremendous joy, because as soon as He projects His Vision, He is satisfied. In our case, after we have projected our will, we expect a certain kind of result, and if the result does not come up to our expectation, we feel miserable. In God’s case, His projection itself is more than enough for His Satisfaction.

Destruction is at times necessary not only for survival, but to bring to the fore dynamic energy which is now being utilised in a destructive way. Otherwise, the world of lethargy and somnolence will cover the soul’s indomitable energy. Possession itself is not bad, but we have to know what to possess. We have to know that the things that we really need are duty, beauty, light and delight. These things we have to bring to the fore. We will possess not the things that will possess us even while we are possessing them, but the things that will sing the song of oneness. Illumination is the acceptance of everything — destruction, possession, everything — but only for the sake of transformation. We have to accept, bring to the fore and transform.

The mind is now in the human world, the temptation-world. The eyes see something beautiful and immediately tempt the mind to go and grasp it. The ears hear something beautiful and immediately tempt the mind to go and grasp it. Each part of the body is subject to temptation and is assailed by temptation. Then it requires other parts of the being to come to its rescue and grab what is tempting it.

The illumination-world immediately will come in and grasp everything. Inside the temptation-world there will be a constant battle, a tug-of-war between the temptation itself and the illumination. The temptation wants to expand its own boundary, but even when it expands it is still not satisfied, because temptation is followed by frustration. So it looks around to seek abiding satisfaction here, there, everywhere. Then, when it sees illumination, finally it surrenders, for it sees that illumination is the answer.

Illumination encompasses the destruction-world, the possession-world and the temptation-world. We should always try to aim at illumination to save our earth-bound life from the destruction-world, and to transform our earth-bound life into the Heaven-free world.

Expectation

Expectation is frustration, especially when I want to possess the world. Expectation is frustration, especially when I want to lord it over the world. Expectation is frustration, especially when I want the world to surrender to my will.

Expectation has its justification when I love the world and want the world to offer me a gratitude-heart. Expectation has its justification when I pray to God for the betterment, for the transformation, for the illumination of the world and want the world to offer me a gratitude-heart. Expectation has its justification when I sincerely, devotedly and unreservedly try to elevate the earth-consciousness according to my capacity and want the world to offer me a gratitude-heart.

Expectation is nothing short of satisfaction when I wait devotedly, soulfully and unconditionally for God’s choice Hour to arrive to liberate, illumine, transform, perfect and fulfil me. Expectation is satisfaction when I feel in the inmost recesses of my heart that God is not only my sovereign Lord, the Absolute Supreme, but also my Friend, my eternal Friend and only Friend. Expectation is satisfaction, especially when I know that God has done everything for me in the inner world. This discovery of mine is founded on my faith, my inner faith in Him, not because He is all Love for me, but because I have realised something that is infinitely more significant. My realisation is this: my God, my Lord Supreme, my eternal Friend, does everything in and through me. He is expanding and enlarging His own cosmic Vision in and through me. When I realise my expectation of what He has done for me and what He is to me, my life has its soulful purpose and fruitful delight.

When I use the human in me to serve any purpose, my expectation becomes frustration. When I use the divine in me to serve any purpose, my expectation has its justification. At that time expectation itself is justification. But when I use my Lord Supreme, my eternal Friend, to fulfil something, my expectation is satisfaction, for the expectation is the Vision-Light, the satisfaction is the Reality-Delight. They are one and inseparable.

Obedience was my way of life

Obedience was my way of life. Many, many, many years ago my Beloved Supreme once came to me and said, “My son, pray. You must pray. From now on you must pray to Me regularly.” I obeyed my Beloved Supreme and I started praying.

A few years later my Beloved Supreme came to me and said, “My son, meditate. I want you to meditate. From now on you must meditate regularly every day.” I obeyed my Beloved Supreme.

Then one day He came to me and said, “My son, do you see any change, any improvement, anything new in your life?”

I said, “I do see.”

Then He said, “What is it?”

I told Him, “I will be very glad if You tell me the changes and improvements that I have made, for I may make a mistake. Whatever You say I will gladly accept as absolutely true.”

My Beloved Supreme was very pleased with me. He said, “Since you have started praying, you have been feeling your closeness to Me. Since you have started meditating, you have been feeling My closeness to you. When you pray you feel your closeness to Me, and when you meditate you feel My closeness to you.

“Something more: when you pray you see My Kindness-aspect and My Compassion-aspect, and when you meditate you see My Beauty-aspect and My Fruitfulness-aspect. When you pray I am kind and compassionate to you, and when you meditate I am beautiful and fruitful to you. These four qualities or attributes of Mine are of tremendous importance. Unless I am kind and compassionate to you, why would I show you My Beauty and My Fruitfulness? Why should I show the things that I have, the things that I embody? Because you pray, you see My Kindness-aspect and My Compassion-aspect, and because you meditate you see My Beauty-aspect and My Fruitfulness-aspect.

“Something more you will feel. When you pray, from now on you will feel that you need Me only, and when you meditate you will feel that I need you only. Right now it is impossible for you to believe that I need you only, because in every way I am superior to you. You think that you know who you are and who I am. But a day will come when you will realise that we are one and inseparable. Until then it will be difficult for you to feel that I embody the finite aspect of life and still hold the Infinite aspect. I know that inside the finite aspect is the Infinite, and inside the Infinite aspect is the finite, but still you have not realised that.

“When I say that I need you only, you have to know what I mean. You may say, ‘There are millions and billions and trillions of people on earth, so how is it that He cares only for me and not for others?’ But you have to feel that ‘you’ means your extended, expanded part. Your eyes have become larger than the largest, your arms have become longer than the longest. Your whole existence has expanded and enlarged, and all other human beings are only your extended, expanded reality — part of your own existence. Therefore, when you meditate and feel that I need you only, it means that I need you as a universal Reality.

“If you keep on praying and meditating, then you are obeying Me. And if you obey Me, there is nothing that I shall not do for you. I shall always do everything for you if you pray and meditate. When you pray you will feel that My Life-breath is embodying you, and when you meditate you will feel that your life-breath is embodying Me. Prayer and meditation are of tremendous importance. But there will come a time when you will become inseparably one with My Consciousness, finite and Infinite, universal and transcendental. At that time you may give up the prayer-aspect, for the meditation-aspect will embody everything. In the prayer-aspect there is some feeling of superiority and inferiority. If you regard Me as the Lord Supreme, then it will be difficult for you to accept Me as your only Friend, your Eternity’s Friend. At that time I embody My Absolute aspect, My aspect of sovereignty and lordship. But there may come a time when you will feel that I am your only Friend. At that time you need not approach Me as the Lord Supreme and pray to Me. Your prayer-life may come to an end.

“It is difficult or impossible for the prayer-life to embody the meditation-life, but the meditation-life can easily embody the prayer-life. Right now you should both pray and meditate. But eventually, when you become highly advanced, on the verge of realisation or realised, then you can give up praying, for in meditation you can easily get the fruits of prayer along with the meditation-fruits, which are all-important.”

You and your perfection

You are telling me that you are perfect. Then show me the vitality-flood of your vital. I see you have it. Thank you.

You are telling me that you are perfect. Then show me the serenity-river of your mind. I see you have it. Thank you.

You are telling me that you are perfect. Then show me the divinity-sea of your heart. I see you have it. Thank you.

You are telling me that you are perfect. Then show me a purity-drop of your body. I see you have it. Thank you.

Indeed, you are right. Indeed, you are perfect.

Yoga and oneness

Yoga is conscious oneness.

Yoga is my conscious oneness with what I have and what I am. What I have is God-realisation. What I am is God-Delight.

Yoga is conscious oneness with God’s eternal Duty. Yoga is conscious oneness with God’s infinite Beauty.

Yoga is conscious oneness with earth’s insufficiency-cry. Yoga is conscious oneness with Heaven’s sufficiency-smile.

Yoga is conscious oneness with man’s surrender-perfection. Yoga is conscious oneness with God’s Acceptance-Satisfaction.

Yoga is conscious oneness with God’s Vision-Boat. Yoga is conscious oneness with God’s Reality-Shore.

Hatha yoga

O Yoga of the sun and the moon, I sincerely appreciate you, I unmistakably admire you.

O Ha, O sun, O sun-world, O sun-power, O sun-god, I adore you.

O Tha, O moon, O moon-world, O moon-shower, O moon-goddess, I adore you.

O Hatha Yoga, you are preparing for me a strong body, a sound vital, an illumining mind and a pure heart. From your valuable gifts I shall receive inspiration to take three long strides towards my life’s integral perfection and my Lord’s complete satisfaction: concentration, meditation and contemplation.

Concentration will penetrate the ignorance-world. Meditation will sit on the snow-capped mountain peak. Contemplation will join the divine lover and the Supreme Beloved in their oneness-dance.

Intuition

Intuition, you are great. You run faster than the fastest. You have the lightning speed. You have free access to the past realities and to the present realities. You are great because you have lightning speed. Your lightning speed frightens the weak, encourages the strong, confuses the foolish and pleases the wise.

O intuition, you are really great. You have the capacity to know the world, inner and outer. But alas, you do not have the capacity to change the world. If you want to change the world, then you will have to go to realisation. It will not only fulfil your desire, but will also grant you another boon: satisfaction in God-realisation, satisfaction in God-revelation, satisfaction in God-manifestation.

Perfection

Perfection: what is it? It is an ever-transcending reality. Perfection is to reach Divinity’s feet with humanity’s heart. Perfection is to change the life-style of the finite world and to manifest the life-style of the Infinite.

Perfection is not self-justification. Perfection is not self-proclamation. Perfection is not self-annihilation. Perfection is God-invitation, God-adoration and God-satisfaction.

Perfection is to have sterling faith in God’s constant Compassion. Perfection is to have staunch faith in man’s crying aspiration.

Who says that perfection on earth is self-delusion? Perfection is God-glorification in man.

Who says that perfection is a far cry? No, it is nearer than the heart-beat, nearer than the life-breath.

Something more: perfection embodies God the aspiring, evolving, transcending, illumining and fulfilling man.

If you have, then come to me

If you have a disturbing thought, then come to me. I shall give you my challenging will.

If you have an impure mind, then come to me. I shall give you my pure heart.

If you have an uncomely body, then come to me. I shall give you my beautiful soul.

If you have an unsatisfied life, then come to me. I shall give you my satisfied God.

I am privileged

I am privileged that God has granted me a human incarnation. It is only in the human life that I can realise Him, reveal Him and manifest Him unreservedly and unconditionally.

I am privileged that ignorance-dream does not dare to intimidate me, because it sees God and God’s constant Protection around me.

I am privileged that my heart loves my Lord Supreme infinitely more than my mind can ever imagine.

I am privileged that my Lord Supreme Himself has asked me to offer Him a silent prayer and a soulful meditation early in the morning before I enter into the hustle and bustle of life. My silent prayer is this: “O Lord Supreme, do accept my surrender-life.” My soulful meditation is this: “O Lord Supreme, do enter into my gratitude-heart and remain seated there.”

I am privileged that my Lord Supreme discusses His Cosmic Plans with me in Heaven, and I am privileged that He has made me a faithful representative of His to execute His Will here on earth.

I am privileged that at every moment God loves me more than I deserve, He speaks to me more than I deserve, He gives me more than I deserve. In every way He does things for me, says things to me and dreams in and through me infinitely more than I shall ever deserve.

I am privileged that I fully and soulfully claim Him as my own, very own, my own Eternity’s own.

I am helpless

O Lord Supreme, I am helpless. You have given me the eyes to see and the heart to feel, but You have not given me the arms to do the needful, to change what I see and feel has to be changed.

You have Your sons and daughters. Your sons have made such friendship with impurity that I find it impossible to put an end to their friendship. Your daughters have made such friendship with insecurity that I find it impossible to put an end to their friendship. What is worse, Your sons not only unconsciously, but also consciously, even deliberately, throw their poison, their impurity, into the aspiring hearts and lives of Your daughters. Your daughters consciously and deliberately throw their insecurity-ant into Your sons’ lives. When impurity enters into Your daughters from Your sons, the limited purity of Your daughters disappears. When the insecurity of Your daughters enters into Your sons, Your sons’ limited courage disappears. This does not mean that women have no impurity; they do have impurity, but in comparison to men they have less. And men do have insecurity, but in comparison to women, they have less.

Your sons feel that aggression — physical, vital and mental — is man’s proper role. Your daughters feel that frustration — physical, vital and mental — is woman’s proper role. Man’s aggression destroys the mind before the mind is aware of aggression’s attack. Man’s aggression destroys man’s vital the moment it enters into the vital. Man’s body is destroyed the moment it hears the very name of aggression. Man’s heart is destroyed at the very sight of aggression. Yet Your sons like aggression, love aggression and have become inseparable friends with aggression.

Your daughters enjoy frustration more than anything else in their life. They are frustrated because their teeming desires are not fulfilled; they are frustrated because their desires are fulfilled. When their desires are not fulfilled, they feel that they are beggar-women. When their desires are fulfilled, they feel that God is giving something more important to other human beings, but because they have desired and asked for the wrong things, they are now in the frustration-world. They feel that they should have asked for something else; they should have made a correct choice. Or they should not have had any desire; then there would have been no frustration. Because they asked for the wrong thing, they feel miserable. Because they asked for anything at all, they feel equally miserable. Again, if they had not asked to have their desires fulfilled, they would have felt miserable. So frustration is their lot. When they have their desires fulfilled, they are frustrated. When they do not ask You to fulfil their desires, they are also frustrated.

Everything needs a place, either for its safety or just because everything has a supreme need for a place to rest, to have perfect shelter. Men find a safe place for their aggression inside women; women find a safe place, a resting place, for their frustration inside men. Man offers his aggression-injection to woman’s heart and woman offers her frustration-injection to man’s life.

My Lord Supreme, I am helpless because I see the impurity-flood and the cannon-shot of aggression of Your sons; and I am helpless because I see the insecurity-river and the frustration-panther of Your daughters. These discouraging, destructive and deplorable qualities, nay, capacities, of men and women are destroying Your sons and daughters right in front of my compassion-vision and my realisation-reality.

O Lord Supreme, if I ask You, request You, to give more capacity to the men and women so that they can overcome their shortcomings, You just tell me that You have already given them the necessary capacity to conquer these unaspiring, discouraging, destructive forces. You have already given them the capacity, O Lord Supreme, but do me a favour: give them more capacity, not because they deserve it, not because they themselves feel the need of it, but because I feel that I am unable to help them. I tried with them, I prayed for them, but I could not help them. At that time weakness was their conscious and unconscious strength. But there shall come a time when they will have no weakness whatsoever.

I was the inspirer, I was the server, I was the lover of this new vision that has the power in it to change the face of the world. Vision without power is no vision. What good is it to see when you cannot change? Again, if you don’t see what you have to change, what are you going to change? It is good to see, it is better to change, and it is best, after you have made the change, to prolong this change, this perfection, indefinitely and eternally.

My Lord Supreme, You have given me the vision to see Your creation as it is. But do go one step ahead and give me the capacity and power to change the face of the world and fulfil You in Your own Way.

My Lord Supreme, this is the way one aspect of me has observed Your creation. But the lover in me observes Your creation in a different way. Since You have created the world, since it is Your creation, I am a hundred per cent one with the weaknesses of Your sons and daughters, with my loving concern-heart, serving life-breath and illumining soul-beauty.

Get up!

Get up, O my body, get up! Don’t sleep. You have slept for a long time. Don’t sleep any more. Are you not ashamed of your life? Don’t sleep. The goal is far, very far.

O my vital, stand up, stand up! You have been sitting for a long time. It is high time for you to stand up. Stand up! Are you not ashamed of your life? The goal is far, very far. Don’t sit any more. Stand up.

O my mind, run, run! You have been standing in one place for a long time. The goal is far, very far. You have to run towards the destination. Are you not ashamed of your life, standing in one place when you know perfectly well that the goal is a far cry? Run, run towards the destination! Don’t stand in one place. Run towards the destined goal.

O my heart, run the fastest! Are you not ashamed of your life? You are supposed to run the fastest, but you are running slowly, very slowly. The goal is still a far cry. Are you not ashamed of your life? Slowly you are running. Are you not ashamed of your speed? From now on, you have to run the fastest, O my heart. Then only will you be satisfied when you reach your goal. If you run slowly, it will take you millions of years. Also, while running slowly you may lose your enthusiasm one day and give up on your way to your destination. Therefore, run the fastest, O my heart, and reach the destination. See the face of your goal. Become one, inseparably one, with your goal.

O body of mine, O vital of mine, O mind of mine, O heart of mine, from now on feel that each moment you lose here on earth, each moment you neglect, means a year of delay, a year of frustration, a year of failure, has been added to your life. Therefore, get up, O my body; stand up, O my vital; run, O my mind; run the fastest, O my heart! Each second you can either build a new life of hope, promise, realisation and perfection or you can destroy what you have right now in a very small measure: aspiration. Do not destroy your aspiration; only build the edifice of your hope-light, promise-height, realisation-oneness and perfection-delight.

Don't suffer!

Don’t suffer! O my body, O my vital, O my mind, O my heart, do not suffer. Do not cherish suffering. Don’t act like a fool. Don’t think that your suffering is going to accelerate your spiritual progress. Don’t think that your suffering will bring God closer to you sooner than at once. Don’t think that your suffering is the only way, the sure way, for you to make progress. Never!

Look at the plus and minus factors of your suffering. The plus factors: Your suffering adds to your fear, your uncontrollable fear. Your suffering adds to your disproportionate rebellious attitude in the long run. Your suffering adds to your poisonous frustration. Your suffering adds to your slow and steady destruction. The minus factors: O body, vital, mind and heart of mine, your suffering takes away all that your Beloved Lord Supreme has granted you. Out of His infinite Bounty He has given you joy, He has given you His Concern, He has given you His Compassion, He has given you His Oneness. But you cherished and treasured suffering; therefore, all His gifts have been stolen. By whom? By your own suffering. So suffering is not the way. It takes away from you all the precious gifts that God has given you. One by one the suffering-thief robs you of the most precious, most coveted gifts that God has given you: His own Peace, His own Love, His own Bliss, His own Concern, His own Oneness.

From now on, try to catch the suffering-thief red-handed and bring the thief to your Beloved Supreme. Once the thief is caught, once you have offered the thief to the right person, once the right person, the Beloved Supreme, knows that you do not want to be robbed by anyone either in your inner family or in your outer family, once He knows that you do not want to be robbed either by the members of your own inner existence or by the members of the outer world, at that time your Beloved Supreme grants you once again, out of His infinite Bounty, His Concern, His Love, His Joy, His Oneness, His Compassion and His Pride in boundless measure.

So, O seeker, in body, vital, mind and heart, do not cherish suffering even for a fleeting second. Suffering is not the answer; suffering is only a question mark which will never be satisfied with any answer we give. Suffering is the question mark that defies all answers. Even if God answers the question, even then the mind will not accept the answer as the correct one.

Suffering is not the right way. From now on, only grow in joy and self-confidence. This self-confidence comes from your surrendered oneness-will with your Beloved Supreme. You want confidence and you will get confidence the moment your surrendered oneness with the Will of the Supreme is perfect. Before that, there is no confidence; there can be no confidence in you or in anything else.

So, O seeker, with your body, vital, mind and heart, accept the divine gifts; cherish them, treasure them, increase them. How will you increase them? Through conscious self-giving with utmost gratitude to your Beloved Supreme. If you can smile soulfully, all the divine gifts that you have got from the Supreme are bound to increase. If you can sing in silence soulfully, all the divine gifts that you have already received from the Supreme are bound to increase. If you can dance devotedly and soulfully inside your gratitude-heart, then all the divine gifts that you have received so far are bound to increase. Something more: you will not only get blessingful gifts, fruitful gifts from Him, but you will also get the Creator and the Possessor of the gifts, the Supreme Himself. He who created the gifts for you, He who possessed the gifts for you, will be more than ready and eager to be possessed by you. He wants you to claim His possessions as your own, very own. Then, once you have claimed His possessions as your own, He will come and stand in front of you and say, “My child, you have accepted My gifts, which are My creations. I am so pleased with you. Now accept Me. I am all yours.” So claim all the divine gifts that you have been offered by the Supreme. Claim them individually and collectively as your own, very own. Then the real owner of the gifts will come to you and offer Himself to you to be claimed by you constantly and eternally.

Disciples, followers, admirers and well-wishers

“My Lord Supreme, do tell me the difference between a disciple and a follower.”

“My son, the difference is this: a disciple is he who constantly thinks only of his Master’s need. He feels that his very existence on earth is for his Master alone, only for his Master. When the Master asks him to do something for him, he says, ‘Master, I have already done it.’ As a matter of fact, he has done it, for intuitively he has felt the Master’s need long before the Master has asked him on the outer plane to do something for him.

“A follower is he who wants to do what the Master asks him to do, but he will tell his Master, ‘O Master, I will do it, but please give me some time. You have asked me to do something, so definitely I will do it, but what you have asked is not an easy task; therefore, I may take some time. But I assure you, I shall do it. Have faith in me. I shall not disappoint you, not to speak of deserting you. If I do it immediately, I may not succeed, so give me some time. I shall do it without fail.’”

“My Lord Supreme, please tell me the difference between an admirer and a well-wisher.”

“My son, here is the difference: an admirer is he who admires the Master at a distance. He does not want to be involved with the Master’s practical needs. He does not want to be close to the Master or near the Master, for he thinks that his nearness will be exploited by the Master, or he thinks that if he remains near the Master he will see the Master’s shortcomings and lessen his admiration for his Master. He will admire from a distance, but he will not approach the Master, for the Master may ask him for a favour which he may not be in a position or have the willingness to fulfil. Again, he is afraid that if the Master behaves in a human way, then the little admiration for the Master that he does have may not last. So he is afraid of his own life, of his own security, of his own standard, of his own realisation. He does not want to associate with the Master closely, for he feels that the Master in his dream-world is one thing, whereas the Master in the reality-world will be a different thing.

“A well-wisher is he who knows about a spiritual figure and entertains a good opinion of him. He reads about the Master in the newspaper, or sees him on television or hears about him on the radio, and he thinks that the Master is a good person. But the Master, the spiritual figure, never expects anything from a well-wisher; therefore, he and the well-wisher remain at a distance.”

“My Lord Supreme, do tell me something more about them.”

“My son, when the Master sails his boat towards the Golden Shore, the disciple remains in the boat, fully one with the Master’s will. He looks at the Master’s movements and observes how he is piloting the boat, and all the time he is praying for the Master’s inner and outer success and victory. He is all eagerness to see the Master’s victory. He sleeplessly observes the Master’s way of piloting the boat, and is all the time learning from the Master how the Master pilots the boat.

“The follower sits in the boat. He feels that just because he has told the Master that he is following his path, he has given his fee, so he can remain safe. His promise itself is the fee; therefore, it is the Master’s bounden duty to take him to the Golden Shore. Since he has bought the ticket, since he has got a seat inside the boat, he feels that he does not have to watch; the boat will bring him to his destination. On his own he does not have to remain awake; he does not have to be of any help or service — inner or outer. He can remain asleep, he can enjoy himself, but it is the Master’s bounden duty to do the needful, because he has accepted the disciple.

“An admirer is he who comes right up to the boat but is afraid to enter. He is afraid that if he takes the journey, some water animals may capsize the boat or some doubt-hurricane may blow him out of the boat or destroy the boat. He is afraid that he will not be able to survive the journey.

“The admirer watches the journey from the shore. He watches the Master and the disciples and followers in the boat. The Master is navigating from this shore to another shore. The admirer sees and admires, but he is afraid. He thinks that the boat will capsize, so he does not enter into the boat.

“A well-wisher does not even come to see the boat take off on its journey. He hears from others, or reads in the newspaper, or hears on the radio or television that the Master has embarked on a journey to an unhorizoned land. If the Master succeeds, well and good. If he fails, who cares? A well-wisher is nothing in the outer world but a fair-weather friend. If the Master succeeds, he will say, ‘Oh, I know him. He is so great, so good, so kind.’ If he fails, he will say, ‘Oh, I know him. He is useless; therefore, I did not want to follow his path.’ So this is the difference between a disciple, a follower, an admirer and a well-wisher.”

Reliance

I rely on God’s Promise; I do not rely on my own feelings. I rely only on God’s Promise; I do not rely on my own assessment of myself. Quite often I feel an emptiness inside me. When I feel that I am empty, at that time I feel lonely, I feel miserable, I feel not only helpless and hopeless but also sure that I am going to destruction itself. When I think of myself, I see frustration within and without. Fear and jealousy, insecurity and doubt, disobedience and arrogance play in front of me an undivine game. The name of that game is ingratitude.

If I rely on their assessment of my life, if I rely on them, if I take them as my confidants, if I take them as true members of my family, then I am totally ruined. So I rely only on my God’s Promise that He will teach me how to swim across the ignorance-sea. My Lord’s Promise to me is so clear, vivid, illumining and fulfilling. He told me that I am destined to become a perfect instrument of His. He told me that I am destined to swim in the sea of Light and Delight and eventually teach others — my little brothers and sisters — how to swim in the sea of Light and Delight.

I do not rely on my physical height, on my material or earthly achievement-heights; they are misleading. I see that I am tall, but in comparison to whom? To children. I see clearly that I am so tall, but only when I stand in front of children. When a giant stands in front of me, I become a tiny little ant, a pigmy, in comparison to the giant’s height. So my earthly height is such that it does not give me abiding satisfaction. When I am with children, my height satisfies me because I am much taller than they are. But when I am with grown-ups, giants, I am not aware of my achievements. I can extol myself to the skies for my achievements and feel that I have achieved something great and sublime; but when I look around, I see right in front of my nose that there is someone who has far surpassed me in that very field. So if I rely on my achievements to give me strength, security, confidence and assurance, I am misled and misguided. But when I think of my Lord’s Height in me, when I try to see and feel it, I see that He has not only the tallest Height but also the ever-transcending Height. Here on the physical plane I can reach a certain height and then it is over. On the physical plane, material plane, I attain something; then it comes to an end. But on the inner plane, when I think of my Lord Supreme, everything that He has and everything that He is, is not only measureless, but also ever-transcending. Here in the outer world my height always has a limit, but there in the inner world my Lord’s Height, my Lord’s Achievements, are all unlimited.

What is my Lord’s Promise to me? His Promise to me is that what He has and what He is, is all for me: His Height, His inner Height, His real Height, His real Achievements, are all for me. This is His Promise. So I rely on His Promise and do not rely on my own little capacities and achievements. My own little capacities do not satisfy me. Even if one satisfies me for a second, I see tremendous weakness in that capacity, for there is always somebody else who is endowed with infinitely more of that capacity than I have.

Reliance means satisfaction. When I rely on myself I cannot have total satisfaction. But when I rely on my Lord Supreme, when I rely on His Promise, it is simple. He will make me, like Himself, another God, with Infinity, Eternity and Immortality at my constant disposal. In me He sees the perfect prototype of His own Reality. His Promise is to make of me another Reality exactly like His own, so that He can play with me, sing with me and dance with me throughout Eternity.

When He promises to make me into an exact image of His own Reality, this does not mean that inseparable oneness is lacking. No, inseparable oneness is there, but the One projects Himself into two so that He can enjoy the Cosmic Game. In the outer plane, the human mind will see separativity in spite of inseparable oneness in the inner world. But the heart will feel that the One has divided Himself into two to taste the cosmic Delight. When oneness is divided into two halves, each half brings in newness; each half offers constant newness, ever-illumining, ever-fulfilling newness to the other.

So I shall rely only on my Lord’s Promise, and not on what I have and what I am. I do not trust, I cannot trust myself for I do not trust the members of my inner family: the body, vital, mind and heart. They have deceived me and I have deceived them. But my Lord Supreme has never deceived me and I have never deceived Him. Therefore, I rely on Him only, and He relies on me. I do not rely on the members of my earthly-existence-family; neither will I allow them to rely on me. My reality, my confidence, my assurance, my very existence is founded upon my reliance on my Beloved Supreme alone.

It is not enough

Body, what are you looking for? You are looking for comfort. Don’t you know that comfort is nothing but darkness and blindness in disguise? Vital, what are you looking for? You are looking for pleasure. Don’t you know that pleasure is ignorance-sea in disguise? Mind, what are you looking for? You are looking for a complacent life. Don’t you know that complacency is nothing short of the beginning of self-destruction? O heart, what are you looking for? You are looking for security. But you cherish your feebleness; you cherish your attachment-life. You look here, there and everywhere only to lead a life of attachment. Don’t you know that the life of attachment is nothing short of immediate frustration? Frustration is bound to be followed by destruction, and destruction is death in disguise.

O body, in order to develop more of a sense of responsibility day in and day out, you have to pray for God to shower His choice Compassion on you. O vital, in order to develop more simplicity, you have to pray for God to grant you His constant blessingful Concern. O mind, in order to develop more sincerity, you have to pray for God to grant you His immediate Peace. In peace you will develop and increase your sincerity. O heart, in order to free yourself from attachment, in order to enlarge your vision, in order to have a palace of wideness, a spacious building with a spacious room inside for you to converse with the Lord Supreme, you have to pray to Him.

O my body, your sense of responsibility is not enough. You need more responsibility. O my vital, your sense of simplicity is not enough. You definitely need more simplicity. O my mind, your sense of sincerity is not enough. You need, without fail, more sincerity. O my heart, your sense of purity is not enough. You unmistakably need more purity. O members of my inner family, if you do not have responsibility, simplicity, sincerity and purity in abundant measure, then my life’s journey will end in utter failure. Therefore, I beg of you to have a greater sense of responsibility, simplicity, sincerity and purity.

Unless all of you develop more of a sense of responsibility, simplicity, sincerity and purity, the Supreme in me will remain unfulfilled. And each day that my God remains unfulfilled, I see and feel that my promise to God, my beloved God, is dining with frustration, destruction and death. Each day I feel that I am disappointing my Beloved Supreme; I am even deserting Him. Because of you, O body, vital, mind and heart, I am unable to please the Supreme, my Beloved Supreme.

O body, if you do not abide by my request; O vital, if you do not see eye to eye with me; O mind, if you fail to please me; O heart, if you do not please the Supreme the way I want you to please Him, then there will be no option, no choice. God will, out of His infinite Bounty, give me new instruments, instruments that are more willing, more eager, more obedient to His Will. And if you fail the Supreme in me in this incarnation, then rest assured that you will have to wait for countless years, if not indefinitely, before you will be granted another opportunity. Therefore, O body, vital, mind and heart, do not miss this golden opportunity. The golden day awaits your life, my life and God’s Life every day. You fulfil the Supreme in me and I shall fulfil the Supreme in you. You give me what I need and I shall give you what you need. What you desperately need is satisfaction. You give me obedience-oneness and I shall give you satisfaction-perfection.

Awareness, devotedness, soulfulness and selflessness

Awareness, devotedness, soulfulness and selflessness: these are my lifelong friends. Awareness has transformed my animal life into human life. Devotedness has transformed my human life into divine life. Soulfulness has lengthened my divine life, and selflessness has immortalised my divine life.

Awareness has discovered all the higher worlds. Devotedness has discovered all the inner worlds. Soulfulness has discovered God’s universal Life. Selflessness has discovered God’s transcendental Life.

Awareness has a special connection with God the Creator. Awareness has pleased God the Creator in a special way. Devotedness has a special connection with God the Saviour. Devotedness has pleased God the Saviour in a special way. Soulfulness has a special connection with God the Liberator. Soulfulness has pleased God the Liberator in a special way. Selflessness has a special connection with God the Supreme Singer, God the Supreme Dancer and God the Supreme Lover. Selflessness has pleased God the Supreme Singer, God the Supreme Dancer and God the Supreme Lover in a special way.

On the physical plane my awareness-friend has made me smart, my devotedness-friend has made me bright, my soulfulness-friend has made me pure, my selflessness-friend has made me sure. My awareness-friend stands at my heart’s door and prevents ignorance from entering into my heart-room. My devotedness-friend tells me always to be thankful and grateful to the Supreme Pilot within me for what He has unconditionally done for me. My soulfulness-friend helps me identify myself with God the Creator, God the creation, God the One and God the many, to enjoy supreme oneness with the Beloved Supreme. My selflessness-friend helps me always to become consciously part and parcel of God the creation, and a surrendered instrument of God the Creator. My selflessness-friend tells me that today’s unrealised and unfulfilled man is definitely going to be tomorrow’s realised and fulfilled man.

The consciousness-ladder has four unique rungs: awareness, devotedness, soulfulness and selflessness. The consciousness-ladder that unites earth’s cry and Heaven’s Smile is for the seeker in me. When I step on the first rung, awareness, my ignorance-friend of the hoary past looks at me and is amazed, totally amazed, that I have stepped on the awareness-rung. Finally it disappears in utter frustration and failure. When I step on the second rung of the consciousness-ladder, devotedness, the ignorance-dream that once upon a time tortured my very being and existence is no more. The ignorance-dream cries for transformation. It cries to me to transform it into wisdom-reality. When I step on the soulfulness-rung, the world of frustration, worries, anxieties and utter failure stands before me for its improvement, progress and radical change. When I stand, finally, on the selflessness-rung, I become inseparably one with what the world has and with what the world does not have. What the world has is an inner cry; what the world does not have is a soulful smile from the ever-transcending Heights.

There is only one outer world, and this outer world is my preparation-world, which is founded upon my own awareness, devotedness, soulfulness and selflessness.

I do not imitate; I do not initiate

I do not imitate; I do not initiate. I do not imitate anything, I do not imitate anybody; for if I imitate, then I prevent my Beloved Supreme from revealing His new creation. At every moment He wants to create something new, something meaningful and something fruitful in and through me. I do not initiate anything on any plane, for I may make mistakes; I may commit deplorable blunders. I may mislead others.

I do not imitate; I do not initiate. I just concentrate, meditate and contemplate. I concentrate in order to pierce the ignorance-veil which has enveloped me. I meditate in order to liberate myself from ignorance-dream. I contemplate in order to remember what I did with my Beloved Supreme inside Him, around Him, within Him and without Him, long, long, long ago.

I concentrate in order to run the fastest towards my destined Goal, towards my Beloved Supreme. I meditate so that my Goal, my Beloved Supreme, can come to me sooner than at once. I contemplate so that my Lord Supreme and I will run together to find a place where we can meet and again resume our age-old marathon conversation.

I do not imitate; I do not initiate. I concentrate, I meditate and I contemplate. My concentration gives me the strength to fight against teeming ignorance. My meditation gives me poise amidst the turbulent weather of human life. My contemplation lets me always feel that my Lord Supreme, my Beloved Supreme, is hearing my aspiration-cry, my heart’s inmost cry.

Why do I hide?

“My Lord Supreme, why is it that at times I want to hide from You? Why is it that at times I desperately try to hide my thoughts from You? Why? Why? Is it because I am afraid of You? Or is it because I love You and I feel that it will hurt You if You know my uncomely and impure thoughts on the physical plane? On the inner plane I know I will never be able to deceive You. On the outer plane, because of my clever mind, I feel that in a human way I shall be able to deceive You, because perhaps You are not aware of all the intricacies of human life. Anyway, do tell me why I want to hide myself from You and hide my thoughts from You.”

“My child, to some extent it is true that you are afraid of Me. That is why you hide from Me. Again, to some extent it is true that you are afraid that it will hurt Me — that is to say, the human consciousness in Me — if I see that you are suffering from unhealthy thoughts. Being identified with you, I shall undoubtedly suffer. But the main reason is something else. You unconsciously, if not consciously, cherish the life of ignorance. You want to hide from Me because you know that although you are now consciously for the life of wisdom, still ignorance-life is dominating you and lording it over you. You cherish these thoughts because you feel that these are things that you can have, whereas divine thoughts, illumining thoughts, Heavenly thoughts, perhaps are all mental hallucinations. This is what you think: therefore, you unconsciously, if not consciously, cherish and treasure your undivine thoughts.

“But, My child, I wish to tell you that you must not be afraid of Me or feel that you will hurt Me. The divine in Me will never punish you. The divine in Me will never be hurt by your so-called shortcomings. You can get rid of these ignorant feelings, ideas and notions on the physical plane very easily. If you want to get rid of these forces, just think of Me as a wastepaper basket or a dustbin. On the physical plane, these are the two proper places for you to get rid of anything that is unwanted. If you want to get rid of these unhealthy thoughts on the spiritual plane, then soulfully and devotedly throw them into Me. Throw anything that you are suffering from into me. I am for your illumination, for your perfection, and I shall never remain satisfied unless I see your radical transformation.

“You have to feel that your shortcomings are My shortcomings. You are not afraid of yourself; you don’t try to hide from yourself, because you know that it is you. Similarly, if you can think of Me as your enlarged, expanded reality, if you can feel that your arms are lengthened, that everything you have is expanded, and that in this expanded and enlarged consciousness you and I are one, then you will see that the things that have to be transformed in you are also shortcomings in Me.

“So do not be afraid of Me or fear that you will hurt Me in a human way. Think of Me as a wastepaper basket. Feel that I am that very thing: your universal Life, your transcendental Life. Why should you be afraid of Me? We are one, eternally one, inseparably one. The lesser in us is being illumined with the light of the greater, the more illumined, more fulfilling, more perfect and more divine.”

I am in preparation

I am in preparation. I am in preparation for a new dawn, a new morning and a new day. I shall consciously and forcefully bury my past experiences — experiences of failure, experiences of frustration, experiences of unworthiness. I shall bury them. I shall obliterate from my memory-tablet all the uncomely experiences, the unillumining experiences, that I have had so far in my life. I am in preparation for an ever-new life.

I know why I have failed, why I have disappointed my Beloved Supreme. I have failed because I have neglected my second-life, I have wasted my minute-life, I have ignored my hour-life. From now on, in each second-life of mine I shall see a reality-existence of ten years. In each minute-life of mine I shall see a reality-existence of forty years, and in each hour-life I shall see a reality-existence of a hundred years, countless years. Each time I do not properly use my second-life, minute-life and hour-life, I shall make myself feel that I am far, farther, farthest from my destined Goal. And each time I properly utilise my second-life, minute-life and hour-life, I shall undoubtedly make myself feel that my hour of God-realisation is fast approaching. I shall not have to force myself to feel this; it will be something spontaneous and automatic. I shall no longer ply my boat between hope-evening and frustration-night. I shall ply my boat only between promise-light and satisfaction-delight.

Because of my bondage-life, because of my desire-life, because of my finite life, I have failed my Beloved Supreme, I have failed my reality-existence. And I shall continue to fail my Beloved Supreme and my reality-existence if I go on loving the finite in myself. But if I start loving only the Infinite in myself, then I shall not be compelled to see the face of frustration, the face of failure. I shall only fly in the sky with my Eternity’s beloved friend, my soul-bird. I shall remain inside the Golden Boat of my Eternity’s Pilot Supreme, sailing, sailing towards an unhorizoned Divinity-Land and Immortality-Shore.

My new life will be a life of life-transcending and God-inviting Smile. My old life gave me what it had: fear of God, fear of desire, fear in desire. My new life gives me the message of love of God and the fulfilment of God in God’s own Way. I am preparing for God, to become His supremely chosen instrument, Him to love, Him to please, Him to fulfil always and always, in His own Way.

Humility and compassion

Humility and compassion. What I have is humility, and what God has is Compassion. Humility is my soulful gift to my Lord Supreme. Compassion is my Lord’s fruitful gift to me.

My humility is supported by two significant members of my inner family: softness and tenderness. God’s Compassion is supported by two sublime members of His inner family: Love and Concern.

My hidden treasure is my fully blossomed humility. God’s open treasure is His fully revealed Compassion.

My humility has a free access not only to those who love me and need me, but also to those who do not love me and who do not need me. God’s Compassion is always unconditional. God’s Compassion is for all. It is the seeker in me, on the strength of his receptivity, who receives God’s Compassion. God the Compassion is only for those who try and try, but for whom success still remains a far cry. Just because God the Compassion is for them, ultimately they will not only receive God the Compassion, but they will also become most perfect instruments of God.

I am my humility-tree to please my Lord Supreme in His own Way. God is His Compassion-rain to fulfil me and immortalise me in His own supreme Way.

Obedience

Obedience. I need obedience; I love obedience. I need my superior; I love my superior. My superior is my pathfinder. My superior is all responsibility. He liberates me from worry, anxiety, hesitation, fear and doubt. The uncomely forces that could easily have assailed me are well taken care of or, rather, are under the full control of my superior.

My obedience to my superior is not a forced surrender of mine. It is only my conscious awareness of superior divinity that is above me. But there shall come a time, through my continuous progress, when I shall be able to become one with my superior; I shall be on the same footing as my superior so that we can derive mutual joy. A real superior is he who cries and tries to bring up the inferior to his own standard so that he can play, sing and dance with him.

God is my only superior. Unless and until He can see me standing side by side with Him, His Manifestation-Light will not be able to permeate His entire creation. The human in me wants and needs a superior for protection and guidance. The divine in God wants and needs a partner, a collaborator, and not an inferior creation in order to be divinely cheerful and supremely fruitful.

I need more

I need more. I need more peace. I need more joy. Peace I need in my mind. Joy I need in my heart.

I need more. I need more soulfulness. I need more selflessness. Soulfulness I need in my vital. Selflessness I need in my body.

I need more. I need more determination. I need more perfection. Determination I need in my aspiration. Perfection I need in my dedication.

I need more. I need more Compassion. I need more co-operation. Compassion I need from my Beloved Supreme in my very existence-reality. Co-operation I need from humanity in all that I do, all that I say and all that I grow into.

When I have more peace in my mind, more joy in my heart, more soulfulness in my vital, more selflessness in my body, more determination in my aspiration, more perfection in my dedication, more Compassion from God and more co-operation from humanity, at that time I shall become a most perfect instrument of God in the inner world and a most perfect representative of mankind in the outer world. I need more, I need more.

Salvation, liberation, realisation, perfection and satisfaction

Are you a sinner? Then you definitely need salvation. Are you utterly earth-bound? Then you certainly need liberation. Are you helplessly isolated? Then you surely need realisation. Are you totally dissatisfied with your desire-life? Then you unmistakably need perfection. Are you ready to love God and serve God in God’s own Way? Then you unquestionably need satisfaction.

Pray. Your salvation-problem will be over. Devote yourself to God. Your liberation-problem will be over. Meditate. Your realisation-problem will be over. Cry from within. Your perfection-problem will be over. Feel that you are only of God and only for God. Your satisfaction-problem will be over.

Salvation is in the Christ-world. Liberation is in the Buddha-world. Realisation is in the oneness-world. Perfection is in the Krishna-world. Satisfaction is only in the God-fulfilment-world.

Charity

Charity I do not like. I like concern, true concern. When someone shows me charity, I feel a sense of inferiority, and when I offer charity to someone, I undoubtedly feel a sense of superiority. I want neither a superior feeling nor an inferior feeling: what I want is an equal feeling.

The Christian world believes that charity means an open door to Heaven, but it is totally mistaken, utterly mistaken, hopelessly mistaken. Charity does not mark or determine a sense of true concern and true love, and when true concern and true love are wanting, the door of Heaven can never be open. It will always remain closed. It is not charity, but the feeling of oneness, that opens the door of Heaven. If there is no feeling of oneness, then no matter how much money-power, material wealth or anything I offer to someone, it is bound to take me to the ignorance-world where the dance of superiority and inferiority is going on.

When a part of my existence needs to receive or achieve something and another part comes to its rescue, their sense of oneness immediately opens the door of Heaven for me. If there is something beautiful, and if my mind immediately helps my eye to appreciate its beauty, then there is a oneness-feeling. If my mind wants to study something, and my legs carry me to the school or the library, then there is a oneness-feeling.

Charity cannot give me satisfaction. Charity cannot open the door of Heaven to me. It is only the feeling of oneness that can give me satisfaction, and this feeling of oneness has to be enlarged. When I give someone material wealth, money-power or something else, I have to feel that it is my very necessity to increase my own oneness-feeling for the length and breadth of the world. I have to feel that it is not I who am helping someone. It is I, on the contrary, who am being helped. This charity is not charity; far from it. It is my self-giving in order to realise my higher self totally, integrally, here in the world.

My oneness-offering not only opens the door of Heaven to me, but also opens the doors of Infinity, Eternity and Immortality, for oneness is God’s first Vision-Song and His ultimate, ever-transcending Vision-Reality-Dance. If I want to sing God’s Vision-Song, then my larger part and my smaller part have to be God’s Reality-Dance in this endlessly ever-transcending Reality.

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.