I Shall Not Accept Defeat
A talk by Sri Chinmoy
Christmas Trip in Miami, Florida
Yesterday on the bus we had an intuition contest. I wrote down three lines, and I invited the disciples to use their intuition about what I had written. Three disciples were the winners. They did not say exactly what I had written, but the words were to some extent correct.
Today I wanted to have another intuition contest, but while I was writing down the message, a very short message, it became too important. Since it was such a significant message, I did not want you to enter into an intuition contest. Now I am telling you the message:
I shall not accept defeat, no matter how strong the forces of ignorance are here on earth. I shall not accept defeat, I shall not accept defeat. I shall manifest the Supreme. The Supreme I have realised in the Supreme’s own Way. I will never, never manifest the Supreme in the human way. In the divine way, in the way that I have realised Him, that will be the way that I manifest Him. I have realised Him with utmost sincerity and dedication. In the same way, with my chosen instruments, I shall have to manifest Him before I leave this earth.
Mine is not the way to accept defeat from the ignorance that sometimes captures and conquers my disciples. When I see the so-called good ones or close ones at times enjoying ignorance, I feel that I have every right to become more strict with my life to fulfil my mission on earth. Defeat is not in my life. In the battle against ignorance, I will never accept defeat. When my disciples defeat me in ping-pong or some other game, I accept my defeat with greatest joy because they are my dearest spiritual children. But when it is a matter of ignorance, I will never accept defeat.
Dear ones, some of you say that when I exercise my divine authority and tell you who I am, at that time you believe me. But I wish to tell you that you do not have to know who I am. As a matter of fact, nobody will ever know who I am. No matter how sincerely you try, you will never, never know.
Do not try to know me. It is trying to do the impossible. Only try to do the right thing, the thing that I have always asked you to do both in the inner world and in the outer world. If you can do what I have asked you to do, that is more than enough for you to reach the highest and become one with the highest. But if you want to know me in your own way, with your mind or your vital, then you will know me only as another human being. All the limitations that you have, you will ascribe to me also.
If you want to exercise your imagination, naturally you will discover millions of defects in my inner life and my outer life. Human beings are apt to discover defects. Since you are seeing not with my eyes, but always with your own eyes, naturally you will never, never, never — never is the right word — realise me. But if you do the right thing in the inner world and the outer world, then you will realise the highest that is meant for you.
Your highest and my highest are not the same. When a child jumps up, he reaches a certain height. That is his highest height. Then if somebody who is taller than the tallest jumps up, and if he has the capacity, he will reach the ever-transcending height. His height and the child’s height are not the same. Similarly, you will reach the highest according to your capacity and with my boundless love and compassion, and that is more than enough.
I know in the inner world what I have to do. In the outer world also, when the hour strikes, I will do the needful — if it is not with your help, then it can be with somebody else’s help. You may not be the supremely chosen instrument, but a third person will arrive out of the blue. Instruments are needed. Without instruments, we cannot do anything. Since God gave me a mission and all the necessary instruments may not be in view, out of nowhere they will arrive. I shall achieve the Supreme’s Victory with you, or with new instruments, if needed.
Published in Live in the Eternal Now
Morning Prayer
by Sri Chinmoy
at the Grand Central Hotel, Singapore
My Supreme, my Lord Supreme, my Beloved Supreme, do tell me the names of the things that I have to do without fail during the day.
"My sweet child, My divine child, My perfection-loving child, you have to change your earthly age twice a day. That is the only thing you have to do. First you have to think that you are only a three-year-old child who knows nothing about the ugly existence of doubt-night. Then you have to think that you are a 99-year-old human being who soon will pass behind the curtain of Eternity. Since your days are numbered, it does not become you to make friends with your volcano-vital.
"My perfection-loving child, if you faithfully change your age twice a day and live as an eternal child in the heart-garden of your soul, then your life's perfect perfection and My complete Satisfaction in you will before long dawn. Try, My child; you will succeed! You are bound to succeed, for you are destined to manifest and fulfil My Immortality's Vision-Light here on this planet earth.
Published in Fifty-Four Morning Prayer-Cries and Morning Meditation-Smiles
Christmas Trip Stories
by Sri Chinmoy
in Kuantan, Malaysia
If the mind can be illumined by the heart
There is a disciple who has a most powerful intellectual mind, but luckily it has surrendered to his heart. If his mind had not surrendered to his heart, God knows what kind of disciple he would have been! Because he surrendered his intellect so sincerely to his heart’s wisdom, he is a very, very good disciple. The mind can destroy; again, if one can pull the mind into the heart, it is a tremendous success.
Some disciples were born intellectuals, but I am so happy that they have put the brilliance of the mind inside their heart. Some of my very, very close disciples have had problems because of their powerful intellect. I spoke very seriously to them, and now they do not use that intellectual mind in a wrong way. Sometimes my seriousness works!
If the mind can be illumined by the heart, then the mind and the heart will be able to go together. Right now, inside everybody there is a constant fight going on between the two. At times the mind becomes faithful, like a little puppy following a very big dog. It has happened in some cases, and it is still happening. But if the mind and the heart both remain aloof, then there is a very serious problem. Everything at that time the person sees with a negativity-mind. Negativity comes forward always. When the mind is not under control, immediately we get an attack from negativity. There is no rhyme or reason for it.
Somebody is walking in the street. You have nothing to do with that person, but you immediately form a bad opinion of him. Or let us say that your friends are moving around with very good, compassionate and affectionate feelings. As soon as you see them, all your negative thoughts you inject into them. They will immediately say, “What happened, what happened?” They have not done anything wrong.
If the intellectual mind, the negative mind, is not illumined by the heart, dryness will reign supreme. The intellectual mind loves dryness. In the spiritual life, we never want dryness! Sri Ramakrishna used to say, “Give me juicy stories!” He did not want dryness. At times he wanted to enjoy earthly news, earthly humour, as everybody does. When the intellect is not purified by the heart’s affection and compassion, the intellect becomes a very serious obstacle. It feels that it knows everything. It is all dryness; there is no sweetness.
Intellectual people who cherish dryness create suffering for their dear ones. Again, the dear ones are at times so kind that they understand their intellectual family members and friends. If the two parties have tremendous affection and compassion for each other, then the intellect surrenders to that affection and compassion. When the intellect enters into the heart, it is overwhelmed by the affection, sweetness and concern of the heart. Then intellectual people can become very, very happy.
Sri Aurobindo wrote that the intellect was the helper in the beginning, but then it became an obstruction. Many, many good things we want to have in the beginning of our life. Then we get them, and at times we misuse them or we overuse them. At that time they become veritable obstacles in our life. Those very things become weapons. Then we pray to God for God’s Grace. When God’s Grace descends, at that time the obstruction goes away, because God’s Grace swallows pride, intellect and all other problem-makers. But the heart also has to be fully prepared to save the mind. If the heart is not strict and eager to save the mind, then the mind runs amok.
Again, I am so happy that many so-called intellectual giants on our path have accepted the spiritual life so sincerely. They give full value to the spiritual life, and their intellect is under full control.
When kindness fails
Once upon a time, two disciples of a spiritual Master had a very unfortunate experience. One disciple was not doing well, and the other one was trying so hard to encourage and inspire him. There is perhaps something called being overly kind. One disciple was very, very kind and wanted to help the other one and do the work of the other one. Alas, the second disciple, instead of taking the help of the first one, rejected his help and did something absolutely wrong from the spiritual point of view. This is what happens at times. We try to please someone in our own way, but when our consciousness is not high, no matter how we try to help the person who has become a victim to irritation or some other undivine quality, we cannot be of any service to him.
At times it seems as though nothing works in this world! In one of her books Mother Teresa said, "I thought love could conquer everybody.” But then she said that, from her own experience, she had discovered that it was not true, not true. She said, “I loved, but I could not succeed in certain circumstances.” Sometimes even love cannot succeed. Then what shall we do? We always say that power does not succeed; love succeeds. But there came a time when Mother Teresa, who was all compassion, self-giving and forgiveness, said, “Even love does not work.” What can we do at that time?
In my case, many, many times when my kindness, softness, tenderness, politeness and everything else fails, fails, fails, then I use my powerful scolding, and it works. When I scold someone, inwardly I am so miserable. Outwardly I am pretending that I am very, very angry, but inside my heart I know how much I myself am suffering from the scolding that I am giving to someone.
This kind of thing I do for some good disciples who work very hard. When I appear to be angry with them, I suffer much more than they suffer. Outwardly I do not show them kindness and compassion, but this is only what is visible in the outer world. I become two individuals: one individual to use justice-light, and one individual to take the suffering. Inwardly, I am all kindness, all forgiveness.
The capacity of meditation
Prayer and meditation both are needed, true. But if we can enter into the meditation-world seriously, then we will see the difference between meditation and prayer. Prayer is needed, but prayer only says to God, “Give me, give me, give me!” Good things we are asking for, true. But during our meditation, we dive deep within. At that time we house the Infinite. The finite houses the Infinite. The mind cannot believe it: how can the finite house the Infinite? But it does house the Infinite. That is the capacity of meditation.
When God wants to discuss something, God takes meditation as His eldest son with whom He can discuss anything. When we deal with the prayer-world, we see that prayer is a little child. God can show His Affection, Sweetness and Fondness to the prayer-world, but He is not going to discuss anything serious with the prayer-world. But in the meditation-world, God gives advice to those who do excellent meditation. He even discusses things with them, as a father speaks with the eldest child in the family. The father and mother discuss things with the eldest one. They have such confidence in him.
The prayer-world is good, very good. Instead of breaking things here and there, a little child prays to God to get God’s Attention, Blessings and Love. But if we really want to describe the difference between prayer and meditation, we can say that prayer is like a child asking for something, and meditation is like a grown-up who is at once diving deep within and going up, all the time.
Sometimes one has to be a strict judge of the whole spiritual realm. Spiritual Masters do have the authority to tell the difference between prayer and meditation.
Published in God-Made, God-Moulded, God-Shaped