151 Ribald

Madal: Chinmoy, I am sorry to tell you that many athletes enjoy ribald jokes. Needless to say, you do not sail in their boat.

Chinmoy: Madal, it is true that I do not indulge in coarse and vulgar jokes, but I do indulge in sports, and I am always proud to be called an athlete.

152 Salacious

Madal: Chinmoy, should teenagers read salacious novels?

Chinmoy: Madal, even parents should not read obscene novels, not to speak of teenagers, if they really want their children to lead a pure and divine life.

153 Sanguine

Madal: Chinmoy, how can I be always sanguine?

Chinmoy: Madal, you can be always hopeful and cheerful if you allow God’s Will to replace your countless desires.

154 Sapient

Madal: Chinmoy, how I wish to be a sapient helper of mankind.

Chinmoy: Madal, what you should wish is to be a wise servant of mankind.

155 Saturnine

Madal: Chinmoy, can a saturnine man progress as fast as a cheerful man in the spiritual life?

Chinmoy: No, Madal, never! A gloomy, taciturn man can never progress as fast as a cheerful and happy man.

156 Sententious

Madal: Chinmoy, how can I know if a man is merely sententious, or if he is a man of inner wisdom?

Chinmoy: Madal, it is very easy to know. A man who is merely full of old sayings and maxims will surprise your curious mind. A man who is full of inner wisdom will feed your hungry heart.

157 Signification

Madal: Chinmoy, what is the spiritual signification of the word ‘love’?

Chinmoy: Madal, the spiritual meaning of ‘love’ is an unconditional self-giving to God’s Will.

158 Somnolent

Madal: Chinmoy, I always feel somnolent when I try to meditate at night, say around eleven o’clock.

Chinmoy: Madal, in that case you should try to meditate early in the evening, perhaps around eight o’clock. Then you will not feel drowsy. Be clever.

159 Splenetic

Madal: Chinmoy, what shall I do when I feel rather splenetic?

Chinmoy: Madal, when you are peevish and irritable, just throw your irritation into its source: Ignorance, and then throw yourself into your Source: Light.

160 Spurious

Madal: Chinmoy, how long can a spurious Master deceive his disciples?

Chinmoy: Madal, a Master who is not genuine can deceive his disciples as long as God tolerates him and his disciples do not find fault with him.

161 Stoic

Madal: Chinmoy, how can I always be stoic?

Chinmoy: Madal, you can always be calm and impassive if you don’t expect anything from the world whatsoever.

162 Succour

Madal: Chinmoy, it is very strange that when I bring succour to the needy, they immediately misunderstand me.

Chinmoy: Madal, when you devotedly bring relief to the needy, they may misunderstand you. But rest assured that God will shower His choicest Blessings upon your devoted head.

153 Supercilious

Madal: Chinmoy, my aunt is unthinkably supercilious, but my uncle is extremely simple and kind. Is there anything that I can do for her?

Chinmoy: Madal, if your aunt is haughtily disdainful or contemptuous to the extreme, and your uncle has a divine nature, then she and her husband have formed a good combination! My personal feeling is that you should pay more attention to perfecting your own nature and let God take care of your brilliant aunt.

164 Sybarites

Madal: Chinmoy, I think all Americans are sybarites. How do you live with them?

Chinmoy: Madal, I am sorry. The world will call you a great fool unless you immediately change your opinion. All Americans are not lovers of luxury. Far from it! And even if they are so, they deserve it. They work hard, very hard, unlike some lazy Indians.

165 Sycophants

Madal: Chinmoy, do you have any sycophants in your spiritual community?

Chinmoy: Madal, unfortunately I have had a few self-seeking flatterers. But in the course of time they came to realise that their flattery did not have the desired effect. Now, to my great joy and utter pride, they have totally given up their profession.

166 Synthesis

Madal: Chinmoy, I wish my life to be a synthesis of devotion and action.

Chinmoy: Madal, I wish my life to remain a combination of constant surrender to God’s Will and cheerful oneness with mankind.

167 Tacit

Madal: Chinmoy, how I wish that between God and me there existed the tacit knowledge that I am His dearest son.

Chinmoy: Madal, meditate. Then, like me, you will have the unexpressed but understood awareness that you are His dearest son.

168 Tenuous

Madal: Chinmoy, although their arguments are tenuous, some disciples do argue with their Masters. What is your fate in this respect?

Chinmoy: Madal, my fate is great. My disciples are fully conscious that their arguments are weak and unsubstantial. Further, they are wise enough to know that their devoted surrender to my knowledge, will and dispensation will lead them much faster to their goal than any mental arguments, no matter how well-founded.

169 Turgid

Madal: Chinmoy, in my next incarnation I would like to be a lecturer and use turgid words in order to draw appreciation and admiration from my audience.

Chinmoy: Madal, first of all do not be so concerned about your next incarnation. You need not even think of tomorrow, for tomorrow can and will take care of itself. In any case, pompous and bombastic words will not draw appreciation and admiration from your audience. Your audience will embrace you either with roaring laughter or a snoring concert.

170 Tutelage

Madal: Chinmoy, I have been told that Americans want freedom from everything, and they want freedom in everything they do. In that case, I wonder how so many Americans, especially teenagers, stay under your tutelage.

Chinmoy: Madal, my American students know perfectly well what earthly freedom is. Now what they are discovering from within is the Heavenly freedom under my concerned guidance and instruction.

171 Tyro

Madal: Chinmoy, do you have special concern for a tyro at your Centre?

Chinmoy: Madal, I have special concern for each and every one, whether he is a beginner or an advanced seeker.

172 Ubiquitous

Madal: Chinmoy, if God is omnipresent, how is it that His Love is not ubiquitous?

Chinmoy: Madal, my God is present everywhere, as is His Love. But unfortunately we deny His Presence and suspect His Love.

173 Unctuous

Madal: Chinmoy, do you have any disciple whose unctuous manner bothers you?

Chinmoy: Madal, to my deepest sorrow, I have more than one. The oily and smug manner of those particular disciples tortures my heart of sincerity and humility. But I must say that they are improving. Humility, sincerity and spontaneity are slowly invading them!

174 Upbraid

Madal: Chinmoy, do you get joy when you upbraid your disciples?

Chinmoy: Madal, I don’t get any joy whatsoever when I scold my disciples. I scold them because their inner divinity commands me to do so for their perfection.

175 Urbane

Madal: Chinmoy, does your spirituality demand urbane manners?

Chinmoy: No, Madal, my spirituality does not demand polished and sophisticated manners. But it does demand courteous and civil manners.

176 Uxorious

Madal: Chinmoy, is it possible, even among sincere seekers, that there are some men who are quite uxorious?

Chinmoy: Madal, it is not only possible, but a glaring reality, that there are seekers on earth who are foolishly fond of and devoted to their wives.

177 Vagaries

Madal: Chinmoy, how can I be totally free from the vagaries of my mind?

Chinmoy: Madal, you can be totally free from the whims of your mind if you can constantly feel that you are the child of your heart, and that your heart is the child of God’s Love-Light.

178 Vapid

Madal: Chinmoy, like some illustrious philosophers, do you not think that human life is a vapid experience?

Chinmoy: Madal, I do not agree with those great philosophers. To those unfortunate human beings who are not aspiring, life may seem a dull, flat and flavourless routine. But to the fortunate souls who are consciously striving to reach the supreme Goal, human life is a challenging and fulfilling reality. If you look at the world with God’s Eyes and in God’s Way, then in no time you will come to realise that the ever-fulfilling world is the Reality of the ever-growing Divinity.

179 Vegetate

Madal: Chinmoy, my uncle always stays home and vegetates. Is there anything that I can do for the poor man?

Chinmoy: Yes, Madal, there is. After your daily prayers and meditations, you should go and talk to your uncle for ten minutes at least. He will get much inspiration from you, and then he will not want to lead an unthinking and inactive life.

180 Venial

Madal: Chinmoy, is there anything that is not venial?

Chinmoy: Madal, self-indulgence is not pardonable.

181 Verboten

Madal: Chinmoy, what is totally verboten in your philosophy?

Chinmoy: Madal, in my philosophy self-doubt is totally forbidden.

182 Verity

Madal: Chinmoy, is it a verity that human life is a frustration-boat heading toward destruction-rocks?

Chinmoy: Madal, I will tell you something that is true: human life is God’s Dream-Boat sailing toward the Golden Shore of Perfection.

183 Vicissitudes

Madal: Chinmoy, since I started practising meditation, the vicissitudes in my outer life have taken a rather drastic form.

Chinmoy: But, Madal, I must also add that the changes in your inner life are most fulfilling.

184 Vindictive

Madal: Chinmoy, can a spiritual Master tolerate a disciple who is extremely vindictive in his outer life?

Chinmoy: Madal, if a spiritual Master has consciously accepted a vengeful disciple, then he has the capacity to tolerate that particular disciple. Moreover, the Master has the capacity to transform the disciple’s nature.

185 Vociferous

Madal: Chinmoy, I have a friend whose son is vociferous in his absurd statements with regard to the spiritual life. Please tell me, Chinmoy, if my poor friend can do something to change his son’s attitude?

Chinmoy: Madal, if your friend’s son is excessively loud and vocal in his silly statements about the spiritual life, then tell your friend that he has to be either more compassionate or more forceful in dealing with his son. One of the two medicines will surely bring peace to your friend.

186 Voluptuous

Madal: Chinmoy, am I right in thinking that spirituality means that one has to immediately give up the voluptuous life?

Chinmoy: Madal, spirituality means the transformation of the sensuous and pleasure-loving life into purity’s flood.

187 Wry

Madal: Chinmoy, it seems to me that sometimes you enjoy wry humour.

Chinmoy: Madal, you are perfectly right. It is my ironic sense of humour that has allowed me to keep my sanity.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

In this charming and enlightening book, Sri Chinmoy combines humour, wisdom and the highest illumination. In a lively dialogue with his older brother, young Madal expresses the joy and, occasionally, the bombast of one who has just discovered the magic of language. In his wise and gentle responses, Chinmoy offers his spiritually younger brother an illumining lesson not only in vocabulary but in spirituality as well.