Satisfaction
A talk by Sri Chinmoy
at La Grande Salle, Federation Internationale d’Acceuil de Paris, 30 rue Cabanis, Paris, France
Dear seekers, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to give a short talk on satisfaction. Earth needs satisfaction, Heaven needs satisfaction, man needs satisfaction; even God needs satisfaction. Where is satisfaction found? Satisfaction is found in being, in achieving and in becoming. What are we? We are God veiled and unmanifested. What do we achieve? We achieve God-realisation. What do we become? We become God revealed and manifested.
What is satisfaction? Satisfaction is perfection. Yesterday our perfection was God-realisation. Today our perfection is God-revelation. Tomorrow our perfection shall be God-manifestation.
Who is satisfied? Not he who has material wealth in boundless measure. Who is satisfied? Not he who rules a country. Who is satisfied? Not he who performs constant miracles. He alone is satisfied who is in constant communion with his Inner Pilot. He alone is satisfied who loves God unconditionally. He alone is satisfied who serves God in God’s own Way. In order to commune with God inwardly, love God unconditionally and serve God in His own Way, we need aspiration. Aspiration is the inner cry that rises from the very depths of our heart. It climbs high, higher, highest and touches the pinnacle of Light and Truth. Aspiration is the creation of God’s Compassion. Compassion is God’s highest and best divine quality. God has infinite divine qualities, but His Compassion far surpasses all His other divine qualities. God’s Compassion and man’s salvation are inseparable.
Satisfaction lies in our self-giving. Through self-giving we enter into the universal Consciousness and the limited human consciousness grows into the boundless divine Consciousness. Self-giving precedes God-becoming. God-becoming experiences the universal Consciousness in both its static and its dynamic forms. In His static form God enjoys His supreme Silence. In His dynamic form God enjoys His all-manifesting Sound.
On the physical plane we try to get satisfaction at every moment, but we try to get satisfaction by fulfilling our desires. We feel that each time we fulfil a desire we shall see the face of satisfaction. But unfortunately, each time a desire is fulfilled we feel tremendous dissatisfaction. We feel that something higher, something more powerful, exists; yet that very thing we have not yet achieved. We blame our circumstances. We blame others. We blame the world. We blame God. We blame circumstances because we feel that circumstances could have been on our side, but were not. We blame others because we feel that they could have been of considerable help to us, but were not. We blame the world because we feel that the world did not encourage us enough to win the victory. We blame God because we feel that God was indifferent to us and did not play His part. We feel that God did not give us the tremendous will-power we needed to achieve victory in life. We feel that He did not show us the Compassion we needed. But if we are sincere, we will see that it is we ourselves who have to be blamed; for no matter what we do or achieve, we will always have a sense of dissatisfaction unless and until we have realised the highest Truth, the Lord Supreme.
There are a few enemies we have within us that do not allow us to be satisfied. They are doubt, jealousy and despair. Doubt-power is contagious. It starts in the mind and then spreads to the vital and the physical. Gradually it poisons the whole of our physical existence. Jealousy acts like a ferocious animal. If it gets the opportunity it will not hesitate to devour the whole world. Despair is a destructive power, a negative power that feels that everything is lost and there is only darkness. Despair invokes frustration and frustration invokes destruction. In a negative way despair obtains satisfaction, but this satisfaction is nothing but self-destruction.
Divine satisfaction lies in renunciation. What do we renounce? We do not renounce the body. We renounce the things in us that are not aspiring — qualities like fear, doubt, anxiety and worry. After we have renounced these, we bring faith, joy, love, devotion and confidence into our life. These divine qualities give us real satisfaction. If we want to be satisfied in our spiritual life we have to cultivate devotion. Devotion can give us considerable joy and satisfaction. If we kneel down before our Lord Supreme, He blesses us and gives us joy. If we cry like a child, He embraces us, and in His embrace we get satisfaction. If we pray soulfully to Him, He employs us to serve Him in aspiring humanity, and through our soulful service we get satisfaction.
As ordinary human beings want satisfaction, spiritual Masters also want satisfaction. While they are here on earth they serve God. This is their satisfaction. They also make a solemn promise to the world at large that they will come back again and again to serve God in mankind and to fight the evil forces and help the divine forces.
“Whenever the undivine qualities prevail and the divine qualities decline, I embody myself for the protection of the good and for the destruction of the wicked.” This is the message that Lord Krishna offered to mankind. He also taught us that if we really want satisfaction, we have to live in the consciousness of the soul and not in the physical consciousness. The soul is the divine representative of God on earth. This is Lord Krishna’s description of the soul: “Weapons cannot cleave it; fire cannot burn it; water cannot drench it; wind cannot dry it. Eternal and immutable is the soul.” If we can remain inside the soul, we cannot be affected by the buffets of life, for we become immortal. It is in Immortality that we will find eternal satisfaction. In the finite there can be no satisfaction because the finite always wants to possess. In possession there can be no satisfaction. But in the Infinite there is all satisfaction.
The modern world is getting satisfaction from new scientific discoveries. What is God’s latest discovery? If we say that God’s latest discovery is man, then we are mistaken. If we say that God’s latest discovery is human aspiration, we are mistaken. If we say that God’s latest discovery is man’s dedication, we are mistaken. If we say that God’s latest discovery is man’s surrender to God’s Will, we are also mistaken. What, then, is God’s latest discovery? It is man’s gratitude, which is absolutely the rarest thing on earth. Each time God discovers it, He feels that it is really His latest discovery. When man offers gratitude to the Supreme, his power of receptivity increases in infinite measure. As his receptivity increases, his satisfaction-power also increases. The supreme Satisfaction lies in man’s constant offering of gratitude to God.
Published in My Rose Petals, part 4
We Learn
A lecture by Sri Chinmoy
at Southampton College Theatre, Southampton, New York
We learn. We learn from sorrow. We learn from sorrow how to purify our emotional vital. We learn from sorrow how to be watchful, careful and soulful. We learn from sorrow how to widen our hearts and how to heighten our lives.
Our emotional vital is unlit, obscure, impure and unaspiring. When we live in our emotional vital, there comes a time when sorrow and suffering knock at our door. Then we try to purify, sanctify and illumine the vital and make it a perfect instrument of God.
When we are watchful, we do not allow the world around us with its teeming imperfections to enter into our being. When we are careful, we do not allow anything undivine to grow within us. When we are soulful, we are safe both in the outer world and in the inner world precisely because the divine in us takes full care of us. The divine in us protects us, perfects us and immortalises us. When we are soulful, in the inner world we can sing the song of perfection and in the outer world we can dance the dance of satisfaction.
When we widen our hearts, we enter into the Universal Consciousness. When we widen our hearts, we expand ourselves. The finite in us grows into Infinity and the Universal Consciousness becomes part and parcel of our aspiring existence. When we heighten our lives, we grow into the Transcendental Consciousness. This Consciousness constantly transcends its own height. The Transcendental Consciousness is not and cannot be a static consciousness. It is always proceeding, climbing high, higher, highest. It is always transcending its own supernal heights.
We learn. We learn from joy. We learn from joy how to love God, how to serve God, how to fulfil God unconditionally in God's own Way. When we are happy, we give everything that we have and everything that we are. It is in our soulful self-giving that we eventually become perfect prototypes of our Inner Pilot, the Absolute Supreme. From joy we come to discover what we eternally are: God's Golden Dream. We are His Dream; we are His Dream-Boat. Again, it is in and through us that He will manifest His Reality-Shore. Either He will carry us to the Golden Shore of the Beyond or He will carry the Golden Shore to us. From joy we learn how to become God-seeds and God-fruits. When we become God-seeds, Heaven treasures us. When we become God-fruits, earth treasures us.
We learn from Heaven; we learn from earth. From Heaven we learn how to smile divinely and compassionately. From earth we learn how to cry ceaselessly and soulfully. From Heaven we learn that God is all Beauty. From earth we learn that God is all Duty. From Heaven we learn why God is, where God is. From earth we learn who God is, how God is.
Why is God? God exists to satisfy Himself divinely and supremely. His divine Satisfaction is far beyond the domain of our mind; the mind will be sadly baffled by it. But the heart, on the strength of its identification with God, can and will realise what God-Satisfaction is. God-Satisfaction is the Nectar-Life in God's Silence-World, in God's Sound-World.
Where is God? God is where His children are. God is all-where in His creation. God is the Creator; again, He is creation itself. In Silence-Life He is the Creator. In Sound-Life He is the creation. He is at once the Creator and the creation.
Who is God? God is eternally our Beloved Supreme and our Lover Supreme. When we aspire, when we cry from the inmost recesses of our hearts, when we grow into the burning flame that climbs high, higher, highest, at that time God becomes our Beloved Supreme. When we consciously, devotedly and unconditionally participate in God's cosmic Drama, Him to satisfy, Him to fulfil, Him to manifest in His own Way, at that time God becomes our Lover Supreme.
How is God? God is fine; God is happy. He tells the seeker in us that He is eternally happy because He feels that it is through His happiness and His happiness-life that He can create, preserve and immortalise His creation. There is no other way. He cannot be otherwise. Only through joy can He create, preserve and immortalise His creation.
We learn from the unreal in us. The unreal in us tells us that we were nothing, we are nothing and we will be nothing. We came from ignorance, in ignorance we dwell and, at the end of our journey's close, to ignorance we shall return. We learn from the real in us that we are everything. Not only are we everything to ourselves, but we are everything to the Supreme Pilot. The real in us tells us that we came from Delight, in Delight we grow and, at the end of our journey's close, into Delight we shall retire.
Then the real in us goes one step ahead. It tells us that our life has no end, our life-march knows no halt. It tells us that life is an eternal journey. There is no final destination. The real in us tells us something more. It tells us that when we reach any destination, that destination becomes the starting point for the next day's journey. Today we are at the starting point. Tomorrow we reach our destination. The day after tomorrow that destination becomes the starting point for a higher goal, a more fulfilling goal. There is no absolute Goal. The Goal is always transcending its own supernal heights.
We learn from man; we learn from God. Man has only one message to offer us: "The future is all darkness. The future is ruthlessly frightening. There is no certainty, there is no reality in the heart of the future. Stick to the past, live in the past, for you know about the past. No matter how deplorable the past was, the past is the only reality. Don't look ahead. If you look ahead, you are bound to notice the dance of destruction. Stick to the past." God has a different message, and this message we must try to learn from God. God tells us: "There is no such thing as future, children. My sweet children, there is only here, there is only now, there is only here and now. Try to grow in the immediacy of today. Try to live in My Vision-Boat and My Reality-Shore. Like Me, try to remain always in the Eternal Now. Grow in Me, glow in Me, flow in Me. The Eternal Now is the only reality. He who aspires discovers the reality of the Eternal Now."
Published in Sri Chinmoy Speaks, part 2
Everest-Aspiration Talks
by Sri Chinmoy
Illumination
8:15 a.m.
Jamaica High School Track,
Jamaica, New York
The animal world, the human world and the divine world: the world of destruction, the world of possession and the world of illumination.
Destruction is a very complicated term. In the animal world, destruction is at times necessary for survival. But otherwise, destruction is a negative force, a force of night, which is not at all encouraging, helpful or fruitful. Even the thought-world, which is so helpful in the human life, can be totally destructive. We do not need others to destroy us. One unhealthy, uncomely thought is enough to destroy our mental poise, and when we lose our mental poise, we lose everything.
When we breathe in, we breathe in many tiny creations of God. In order to live we have to breathe in, and they have to be our victims. When they are killed, the kind heart in us, on the strength of its oneness, should feel miserable. But when we enter into the deeper realm we see that this so-called destruction is not destruction at all. In God’s Cosmic Plan this is the only way we can continue our present-day life. At the same time, this so-called destruction is a step ahead for those little creatures of God, for the soul evolves through the process of death and rebirth.
In the world of possession, we possess in order to enjoy. But while possessing we make discriminations. We want this; we do not want that. Because of our sense of separativity, we prefer this thing to that, but we prefer it in our human way. We prefer the things that stimulate us or the things that give us immediate joy and satisfaction. But in the case of God, there is no discrimination. He sees everything as His own, and inside everything He feels tremendous utility and necessity.
We want to possess the world, but our capacity of receptivity is so limited that we have to make a choice between this and that. In God’s case, He does not make a choice, He does not have a preference; He possesses everything. He wants to bring to the fore His own Divinity which He has implanted in each creation of His. Even the destructive forces of ignorance have some light in them. So God wants to bring to the fore the infinitesimal light that even the ignorance-forces have. Like God, we also have to see the divinity in the ignorance-forces. Let us not see the outer world as such; let us not pay all attention to the outer body, which may not be divine. We will not deal with the outer body of the creation; we will deal only with the divinity, the inner reality of the creation, and then transform the body-reality so that it becomes as perfect as the soul-reality.
In the divine world, illumination is perfection. This illumination will never reject the possession-world or the destruction-world. It can easily house the possession-world and the destruction-world inside itself. When it enters into the destruction-world, it brings to the fore energy, for destruction has tremendous energy. It brings to the fore the energy-aspect of God’s creation, and then utilises it for a divine purpose. When it enters into the possession-world, it possesses everything; it does not exclude anything. It brings to the fore the essence of divinity which is in everything. When the Divine comes forward, even the outer body can easily be transformed. The illumination-world does not exclude either the possession-world or the destruction-world. Illumination is the world of acceptance.
God has accepted the whole world for His own Satisfaction. But His Satisfaction is unlike our satisfaction. Our satisfaction is to claim and possess, to say, “This is mine; this is what I have.” In God’s case, He always sees His creation and His own Existence as one. In our case, possession always involves somebody else or something else. We say, “I am the possessor, and you are the possession.” Then we feel that we are superior to our possession, for we can do anything we want with it. But God feels that He and His possessions are one and the same; they are equal.
Sometimes the possession will stand against the possessor or the creator. The parents are the creators of their children. When the children grow older and enter into adolescence, often they rebel. The possession, the creation, can become strong and go beyond the vision of the creator. In God’s case, with His Vision He creates something, and if that creation goes beyond His Vision-Reality, He does not feel sad or miserable. On the contrary, this is what He actually wants. In His Vision-world He sees one Reality, but within this Reality there are many realities fully blossomed. In our case, if we get what we want, we are satisfied for a while. But if we get one cent more than we wanted, we are not satisfied, because that very thing we did not want. We want to possess, but if one thing more or one thing less than what we wanted comes, we are not satisfied, because our desire is such that we want the thing exactly the way our mind has conceived it. In God’s case, even if it is not the same amount, He gets tremendous joy, because as soon as He projects His Vision, He is satisfied. In our case, after we have projected our will, we expect a certain kind of result, and if the result does not come up to our expectation, we feel miserable. In God’s case, His projection itself is more than enough for His Satisfaction.
Destruction is at times necessary not only for survival, but to bring to the fore dynamic energy which is now being utilised in a destructive way. Otherwise, the world of lethargy and somnolence will cover the soul’s indomitable energy. Possession itself is not bad, but we have to know what to possess. We have to know that the things that we really need are duty, beauty, light and delight. These things we have to bring to the fore. We will possess not the things that will possess us even while we are possessing them, but the things that will sing the song of oneness. Illumination is the acceptance of everything — destruction, possession, everything — but only for the sake of transformation. We have to accept, bring to the fore and transform.
The mind is now in the human world, the temptation-world. The eyes see something beautiful and immediately tempt the mind to go and grasp it. The ears hear something beautiful and immediately tempt the mind to go and grasp it. Each part of the body is subject to temptation and is assailed by temptation. Then it requires other parts of the being to come to its rescue and grab what is tempting it.
The illumination-world immediately will come in and grasp everything. Inside the temptation-world there will be a constant battle, a tug-of-war between the temptation itself and the illumination. The temptation wants to expand its own boundary, but even when it expands it is still not satisfied, because temptation is followed by frustration. So it looks around to seek abiding satisfaction here, there, everywhere. Then, when it sees illumination, finally it surrenders, for it sees that illumination is the answer.
Illumination encompasses the destruction-world, the possession-world and the temptation-world. We should always try to aim at illumination to save our earth-bound life from the destruction-world, and to transform our earth-bound life into the Heaven-free world.
Expectation
1:50 p.m.
Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium,
United Nations, New York
Expectation is frustration, especially when I want to possess the world. Expectation is frustration, especially when I want to lord it over the world. Expectation is frustration, especially when I want the world to surrender to my will.
Expectation has its justification when I love the world and want the world to offer me a gratitude-heart. Expectation has its justification when I pray to God for the betterment, for the transformation, for the illumination of the world and want the world to offer me a gratitude-heart. Expectation has its justification when I sincerely, devotedly and unreservedly try to elevate the earth-consciousness according to my capacity and want the world to offer me a gratitude-heart.
Expectation is nothing short of satisfaction when I wait devotedly, soulfully and unconditionally for God’s choice Hour to arrive to liberate, illumine, transform, perfect and fulfil me. Expectation is satisfaction when I feel in the inmost recesses of my heart that God is not only my sovereign Lord, the Absolute Supreme, but also my Friend, my eternal Friend and only Friend. Expectation is satisfaction, especially when I know that God has done everything for me in the inner world. This discovery of mine is founded on my faith, my inner faith in Him, not because He is all Love for me, but because I have realised something that is infinitely more significant. My realisation is this: my God, my Lord Supreme, my eternal Friend, does everything in and through me. He is expanding and enlarging His own cosmic Vision in and through me. When I realise my expectation of what He has done for me and what He is to me, my life has its soulful purpose and fruitful delight.
When I use the human in me to serve any purpose, my expectation becomes frustration. When I use the divine in me to serve any purpose, my expectation has its justification. At that time expectation itself is justification. But when I use my Lord Supreme, my eternal Friend, to fulfil something, my expectation is satisfaction, for the expectation is the Vision-Light, the satisfaction is the Reality-Delight. They are one and inseparable.
Published in Everest-Aspiration, part 2