Diary Entry
by Sri Chinmoy
while in residence at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India
16 March
Before he read out one of his articles in his room, Nolini-da said: "Bonne fête à Tapati, bonne fête à Madhuri. Today I shall read out something of mine and something of Amrita's. Mine is not serious but Amrita's is."
The audience burst into laughter because it was always just the opposite.
After reading out his article, Nolini-da said: "We love our country dearly and our country has also loved us dearly and it always will. India's independence is nothing short of our soul's triumphant smile."
After he had read out Amrita-da's writing, he said: "Like last time, this time also Amrita's ending is abrupt. Amrita's writing is excellent but his conclusions are abrupt. It seems to me that this is Amrita's special speciality."
Amrita-da said: "Who else can or will bless me with a special speciality if not you, Nolini?"
Published in A Service-Flame and a Service-Sun
Where is God?
A talk by Sri Chinmoy
in Conference Room 8, at the United Nations, New York
“Where is God?”
“There is no God.”
If one says that there is no God, that means he is asserting his conception of God in a negative way. A real seeker takes the view of an atheist as sincerely and seriously as he does his own positive conception of God. A real seeker knows and feels that an atheist’s conception of nothingness and the non-existence of God contains the seeker’s own conception of God.
“Where is God?”
“No God. Even if God exists, who needs Him? Who wants Him? One can get along without God. One can remain satisfied with what he has.”
When one is satisfied with what little he has, that means that God the Happiness in him is making him satisfied, even with his little achievement. One can never be happy if one does not consciously or unconsciously meet with God the Happiness in each thing he sees, does and grows into.
“Where is God?”
“I am not even sure that He exists.”
If one says that he is doubtful about God’s existence, that means he has at least fifty per cent faith in God’s existence. Each human being has a friend and an enemy. His enemy, doubt, negates the living inner truth in him. His friend, faith, feeds and strengthens his inner conception of truth. Finally, it immortalises the truth in his heart, mind, vital and body.
“Where is God?”
“I do not know where God is, but I would like to know.”
If someone is just curious to know about God, but has no real need for God, from the strict spiritual point of view he is not a seeker. But if one enlarges his spiritual heart, then he embraces even that curious person and includes him in his spiritual life. He feels that today’s man of curiosity can become tomorrow’s man of genuine spirituality, provided he is given sincere concern, compassion, encouragement and love.
“Where is God?”
“God is all around me. Now I must learn how to see Him.”
If the seeker has genuine aspiration and not mere curiosity, he is undoubtedly on the correct path, for this is the only way to reach God. This seeker is like a child who feels his father’s presence everywhere. As a human child feels his father’s presence when he is in the living room and his father is in some other room, so also a spiritual child feels that no matter where he is, his Father is there somewhere in the same universal house.
At the end of knowing and feeling, we come to seeing and becoming. The spiritual child knows what God is and feels what God is. Then he goes deep within and sees God face-to-face and eventually becomes God Himself. At this point he answers the question, “Where is God?” with the question, “Where is He not?” He also answers another question, “Who is God?” with the question, “Who is not God?”
Published in The Tears of Nation-Hearts
Realisation
A lecture by Sri Chinmoy
at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
My dear Canadian brothers and sisters, I am your Indian brother. I have come to Canada several times before, but this time I have come with a special task: to be of devoted service to the soul of Canada. I shall be offering about sixteen talks; that is to say, I shall share with my Canadian brothers and sisters my inner experiences. Today marks the beginning of our journey.
I see here quite a few sincere seekers. With your good wishes, your hearts' love and your souls' blessings, I launch into this divine task. But before I begin my talk, I wish to offer my blessingful gratitude to my Canadian disciples who have made this divine journey in every way divine.
Since we are all seekers here, our ultimate Goal is God-realisation. As ordinary human beings we have realised one thing: ignorance. But when we aspire, we realise that there is one person who embodies Infinity, Eternity and Immortality, and that person is God. He is at once personal and impersonal. We can see Him face to face right in front of our nose as a most illumined being, infinitely more illumined than the most beautiful child on earth. Again, we can see God as an infinite expanse of Energy, Light and Bliss. We see ourselves as ignorance-sea, but God sees us as another God. This is the difference between our realisation of our earthly existence and God's realisation of our divine potentiality.
Realisation has its stages; it is always in the process of evolution. Realisation is self-awakening, realisation is life-revelation, realisation is love-manifestation and realisation is God-becoming. Self-awakening, life-revelation, love-manifestation and God-becoming: these are four principal stages in the evolving process of eternal time.
Human realisation is the fulfilment of our teeming desires; divine realisation is our perfection, our perfection within and without. Human realisation is constant success; divine realisation is soulful progress. Success moves from a greater bondage to a lesser bondage; whereas progress moves from one peak to another — from a high peak, to a higher peak, to the highest peak. Limited fulfilment we notice in the world of desire. Once a desire is fulfilled, another desire dawns, and then we try to fulfil that particular desire. There is no end to our desires and, at the same time, there is no end to our earthbound satisfaction. When we stay in the desire-world, we come to realise that we are living in a prison-house. But when we live in the aspiration-world, we discover that we are flying in the firmament of the freedom-sky.
Realisation is the self-unfoldment of the Eternal and the Infinite within us. The Eternal beckons us to reach the highest peak of consciousness; the Infinite constantly reminds us of our Source. The Eternal is the silence of our God-Light; the Infinite is the reality of our God-sufficiency.
Infinity is our source. The Upanishadic seers have given us a most soulful and meaningful mantra. Purnam adah purnam idam. . . — "Infinity is that. Infinity is this. From Infinity, Infinity has come into existence. From Infinity, when Infinity is taken away, Infinity remains."
No human being can remain unrealised. Today we are consciously aspiring, and tomorrow others will aspire. For on the strength of His cosmic Vision, God has made it a supreme law that no human being on earth will forever remain unrealised. Divinity has descended into the heart of humanity, and it will in time regain its normal consciousness. It will reach its Transcendental Height after it has established Immortality here in the aspiring heart of Mother Earth. Realisation is the expansion of our consciousness. The individual becomes the universal. The one becomes the many, and the many become the Whole, the Absolute. The cry of the finite will grow into the smile of the Infinite. This is what realisation is. We can realise the Highest Truth in the light of the soul, in the love of the heart, in the silence of the mind, in the dynamic energy of the vital, in the dedicated service of the body.
The light of the soul whispers in the ear of the sleeping world, /Uttisthata jagrata,/ "Arise, awake, run towards the Goal. The road is arduous and as sharp as the edge of a razor, but you have to travel it. Stop not until you have attained your highest Goal."
The love of the heart tells the binding world, "If you want to bind, you will be bound. To your wide surprise, the world will bind you long before you have bound the world. So do not bind."
The silence of the mind tells the doubting world, "Do not doubt. Doubt is detrimental to your inner health, your inner life. Doubt is poison. If you want to run fast, faster, fastest toward your Goal, then do not doubt."
The dynamic energy of the vital tells the weak, impotent world, "Dive deep within. Your inner being is surcharged with an indomitable will. Bring to the fore your adamantine will!"
The dedicated service of the body tells the idle, lethargic world, Charai veti — "Move on!"
Here we are all seekers, we are all students of the inner life. We study the inner books of faith, love, devotion and surrender. When we are assiduous in our outer studies, we acquire world-knowledge and world-wisdom. Similarly, when we soulfully and devotedly study our inner lessons, we get abundant Peace, Light and Bliss. It we are sincere, nothing can deter us from diving deep within and discovering our inner wealth.
Realisation is self-discovery, and self-discovery and God-discovery are one and the same. Realisation is self-mastery and self-transcendence: our mastery over the lower nature of the lower world, and our transcendence to the higher nature of the higher world. The lower world embodies two bosom friends: darkness and ignorance. The higher world embodies two intimate friends: Light and Delight. Ignorance devours our outer existence, and darkness envelops our outer existence. Light illumines our existence here on earth, and Delight immortalises our existence within and without. Delight is our permanent Source.
Anandadd hy eva khalv imani bhutani jayante...
"From Delight we came into existence.
In Delight we grow.
At the end of our journey's close, into
Delight we retire."
Published in My Maple Tree
Peace Concert Poems
Recited by Sri Chinmoy
during the Peace Concert at Cornell University Ithaca, New York
Only a heart of gratitude
And
A life of surrender
Can offer the seeker
Peace, abundant peace.
Peace I feel
In the depths of my heart
The moment my dedication-life
Rings the oneness-bell.
No resentment within,
No resentment without
If I want peace.
Enlightenment
In my heart of aspiration
And
In my life of dedication
Is what I eternally need.
I can have abundant peace
Only when my heart,
My mind, my vital
And my body
Are loving, faithful
And self-giving
To one another.
Published in A Heart of Oneness-Peace