Question: As one's being becomes more pure, do the forces that test it become stronger?

Sri Chinmoy: In some cases when one is becoming pure, purer, purest, the hostile forces attack more vehemently. They think that the person is going to surrender and that they will win the fight. In other cases the hostile forces see that a particular seeker is so strong that he is going to win. Then they see that the best thing is to surrender. There is no hard and fast rule. In some cases the forces feel that they still have some time to operate and that they will be able to ruin the seeker. So in these cases, as the seeker progresses, the hostile forces attack more vehemently. The hostile forces say, “Where are you going? What are you doing? I have helped you and served you according to my capacity. Why are you going to leave me?” But the seeker will say, “Just because I stayed with you by mistake for forty years, that doesn’t mean that I have to stay with you for my forty-first year.” Then there will be a fight. If the forces see that you are weaker, then they will strike you most vehemently so that once again they can enter into you. If the opponents see that there is every possibility of winning, then they will muster all kinds of strength. But if they feel that you are stronger, then sometimes they surrender to you before completing the game.

Wrong forces play their role in their own way and good forces play their role in their own way. You cannot say that a person has done such wonderful things and that is why the forces attack him, or that a person is not divine at all and that is why the hostile forces do not bother him. The forces are like monkeys. Forces come and pinch the seeker and if he is not affected, then they go some place else. They also have their own pride. If they see that you will not open your door, then they will say that it is beneath their dignity to knock. But if they see and feel from within that you are going to open the door, then they will continue knocking. The forces do not attack because people are doing good things; it is just that they are roaming here and there, waiting for an opportunity to attack.