Part III — Talks

Philosophy, religion and yoga¹⁷

I wish to offer my heart’s deepest gratitude to the professor of Eastern philosophy who has so kindly given me the opportunity to be of service to the students and seekers of his school. Nothing gives me greater joy, nothing has greater value in my life than to be of dedicated service to those who love the truth and who need the truth.

I wish to give a very, very short talk on philosophy, religion and Yoga.

Your professor has told me that you are studying Eastern philosophy. Here I think it will be appropriate on my part to invoke the presence of the Lord Buddha, to bring down peace, light and bliss in abundant measure. The main reason is that your teacher is, I understand, a follower of the Lord Buddha. So, with your most kind permission, I would like to recite the most soulful and fruitful chant for the followers of the Lord Buddha. [Sri Chinmoy chants:]

Buddham sharanam gacchami
Dhammam sharanam gacchami
Sangham sharanam gacchami

I go to the Buddha for refuge.
I go to the Dharma for refuge.
I go to the Order for refuge.

Philosophy sees the truth. Religion feels the Truth. Yoga becomes the Truth. God-Perfection is the Truth.

Philosophy is in the searching mind. Religion is in the loving heart. Yoga is in the aspiring entire being.

A real philosophy teacher teaches the outer world. A real religion teacher loves the inner world. A real Yoga teacher discovers his inseparable oneness with both the inner world and the outer world.

The inner world achieves.
The outer world reveals.
The inner world achieves God-Height.
The outer world reveals God-Depth.
God-Height is soulfully beautiful.
God-Depth is beautifully soulful.

When a seeker becomes soulfully beautiful, he embodies the cry of continuous self-transcendence. When a seeker becomes beautifully soulful, he reveals constantly the smile of self-transformation and self-perfection.

The human philosophy ignores the animal in us and belittles the human in us. The divine philosophy accepts the challenges of life, braves the buffets of life and finally, offers life a conscious awareness of the purpose of life.

Human religion is the song of the unfulfilling and unfulfilled many and the marked and isolated many. Divine religion is the dance of the liberating and liberated, fulfilling and fulfilled One in the aspiring many and of the many in the immortalising and immortal One.

The human Yoga needs God because God is great, absolutely great and because He is powerful, eternally powerful. The divine Yoga needs God because God is good, in the sound life of the finite and in the silence-life of the Infinite.