My age according to my human father and according to my Divine Father
Inside the elevatorthe cashier of the hotel and I
were stuck on the seventh floor.
Both of us were generous enough
to exchange smiles.
"Mr.
Ghose, how old are you?"
   he asked.
"My human father says I am
thirty-eight years old.
My Divine Father says I am
older than Heaven and Earth combined."
"Who is your human father?
Who is your Divine Father?"
"My human father is aspiration.
My Divine Father is realisation.
My cashier friend continued:
"What is realisation?
What is aspiration?"
"Realisation is my room
on the tenth floor.
Aspiration is the Chinese restaurant
in the basement."
My hotel friend
became my aspiration and
realised my realisation.
Lo, the elevator did not want
to lag behind.
It displayed its proud velocity:
its soul-ascending
and
soul-descending
capacity!
Sri Chinmoy, My salutation to Japan, Vishma Press, 1973