Question: Once they have looked within, then what do your people do socially for the world?

Sri Chinmoy: When we go deep within, we feel peace, joy and love. Then, when we mix with the world, people see and feel these things in us. Before we meditate, people will see something in us, and right after meditation they will see something else. Inwardly they will see and feel something; they can’t name it but they can see it. And that very thing, is it not our dedicated service? Before we entered into meditation, we were absolutely unaspiring, useless people. But afterwards, others will look and look and look. They will see something pure, divine, illumining. Is that not our dedicated service offered through our prayer and meditation?

You can go to the United Nations Church Centre on Tuesdays. Before we enter the chapel to pray and meditate, you can look at us; or you can even take a picture. Then, when we come out, you can look at us or you can take another picture. Then you will see and feel the difference. You are inwardly seeing something in us, and that seeing is nothing but becoming. When you compare the feeling you get from an individual before prayer and right after prayer, you will see that right after prayer he will give you more joy. Before your secretary enters into the chapel, look at her. When she comes out, you will see that she is a totally different person. The peace, the joy, the light that she receives from her prayer and meditation will inspire you inwardly or outwardly.

If we see a saint, immediately his face gives us inspiration. If we see a good person, his very presence gives us inspiration. Since we are all trying to be good people, each of us is offering inspiration to others. If we mix with bad people, with thieves or hooligans, immediately our consciousness descends. Even when we mix with ordinary unaspiring people, our consciousness descends. But the very presence of a seeker who is aspiring to become good and do good will elevate our consciousness. Nobody has to convert us; we are automatically transformed.

So after we have prayed and meditated, people see something in us. It is like a divinely contagious disease. This is just the beginning of our service to mankind.