Question: There are times when my ego makes me feel that I am uniquely good, and times when it makes me feel that I am uniquely bad.
Sri Chinmoy: Swami Vivekananda used to say, “If you can’t get the holy Ganges water, if you can’t get pure, distilled water, will you drink filthy water from the ditch or from the canal?”If I cannot drink nectar, that doesn’t mean that I will drink poison. Nectar will immortalise me, but poison will kill me; therefore, since I can’t drink the best possible thing, I will try, at least, to drink something better than the worst. It may take years for me to get a drop of nectar but I will wait for nectar because I know that nectar will immortalise me. Meanwhile, if I have to drink something, I will not drink poison. So when you do not feel that you are uniquely good, do not allow your ego to take you to the opposite extreme. You can easily remain in the middle ground.
Sri Chinmoy, Two devouring brothers: doubt and ego, Agni Press, 1974
