Svetlost nesebičnog služenja
Deo I — Joga i meditacija
Pitanje: Šta je joga?1
Šri Činmoj: Joga znači čovekovo svesno jedinstvo sa Bogom. U ovom trenutku mi imamo nejasan osećaj da je Bog u nama. Ali, ako praktikujemo jogu, Bog postaje praktična stvarnost.
Da li joga znači više od jedinstva sa Bogom? Da li ona znači da mi treba da postupamo na određeni način?
Šri Činmoj: Joga ne znači da treba da budemo ravnodušni ili hladni prema svetu. Ne! Naprotiv, onaj ko upražnjava jogu biće izuzetno ljubazan, društven i uljudan prema drugima.Pitanje: Neki ljudi koji kažu da praktikuju jogu često su grubi prema drugima. Zašto?
Šri Činmoj: Ja ne znam zašto su oni grubi prema drugima. Ali, oni ne postupaju ispravno. Joga znači svesno jedinstvo sa Bogom. To znači da treba da vidimo i osetimo Prisustvo Boga u drugima. Dakle, ako vidimo i osetimo Prisustvo Boga u drugima, kako možemo da budemo grubi prema njima?Pitanje: Guru, kako se meditira?
Šri Činmoj: Postoji dva načina da se meditira. Jedan je da se utiša um. Ako ne dopustimo nikakvoj misli da uđe u um, možemo da primimo Božije Prisustvo. Kada nam Bog dođe, moći ćemo da Ga rado primimo. Drugi način je da u naše srce prizovemo Prisustvo Boga i da osetimo da u nama nema ničega osim srca, čistog srca. U srcu je duša, pa je srce onaj deo u nama koji može da primi i pozdravi Boga, koji je sav Lepota i Radost.Pitanje: Da li moramo da sednemo u određeni položaj ili da sklopimo oči da bismo meditirali?
Šri Činmoj: Ne, ne moramo da sednemo u neki poseban položaj. To nije neophodno. Jedino moramo da držimo kičmu pravo. Treba da sedimo uspravno da bismo mogli da pravilno dišemo. Ali, ne moramo da sedimo sa prekrštenim nogama da bismo praktikovali jogu. Joga ne zahteva toliku striktnost. Jedino treba da držimo kičmu sasvim uspravno da bi disanje moglo da se odvija ispravno.Pitanje: Da li svako može da nauči da meditira?
Šri Činmoj: Svako može da nauči da meditira. Pošto je Bog već u nama, On će nam sigurno pomoći. Meditacija je kao jedna lekcija. Ako čovek uči, svakako će naučiti lekciju.Pitanje: Koji je najbolji način da počne da se uči joga i meditacija?
Šri Činmoj: Najbolji način je da se čitaju duhovne knjige i da se druži sa duhovnim ljudima. Potom, možete potražiti pomoć duhovnog Učitelja. Ako imate duhovnog Učitelja, on će moći da vam kaže šta da radite. Ali ako nemate duhovnog Učitelja, bolje je da počnete tako što ćete čitati duhovne knjigePitanje: Ako je neko čitao knjige o jogi i meditirao samostalno, treba li da potraži Gurua?
Šri Činmoj: Da, treba da potraži Gurua, jer je Guru onaj ko može da ubrza njegovo sticanje duhovnog znanja, duhovne mudrosti, da ubrza njegovo duhovno putovanje. Ako neko čita knjige, to će mu biti od koristi. Ali, samo čitanje neće čoveku doneti ostvarenje. A opet, ako neko čita duhovne knjige a ima Učitelja, to čitanje će uvećati njegovu inspiraciju i težnju.Pitanje: Šta Guru traži od svojih učenika i šta učenici treba da očekuju od njihovog Gurua?
Šri Činmoj: Svaki Guru očekuje od svojih učenika iskrenost, čistotu i redovnost u meditaciji. Ako učenik nema iskrenosti i čistote i ne meditira redovno, on ne može da dobro napreduje. Težnju taj učenik već ima; inače ne bi ostao sa Guruom.
Svaki Učitelj ima svoje zahteve. Međutim, izraz „zahtev“ je potpuno pogrešan. Guru naprosto kaže učenicima šta je najbolje za njih. U duhovnom životu, zahtevi ne postoje; Guru jedino nastoji da svoje učenike učini svesnim toga šta treba da rade.Pitanje: Kako Gurui pomažu svojim učenicima u svakodnevnom spoljašnjem životu?
Šri Činmoj: U svakodnevnom životu, Guru može da pomogne učeniku tako što mu daje božanski savet ili sugestiju. Guru je onaj ko ima mudrost u unutrašnjem svetu. Iz unutrašnjeg sveta on dobija poruke o tome šta učenici treba da čine u spoljašnjem životu. Spoljašnji život nema svrhu, nije stvaran, bez unutrašnjeg života. Unutrašnji život je izvor. Većina od nas ne dobija poruke od unutrašnjeg života. Mi nastojimo da izvršimo sve što nam kaže um. Guru, međutim, učenicima donosi poruke iz unutrašnjeg sveta. On ulazi u dušu učenika i kaže učeniku šta njegova duša želi da on učini. Guru radi u tajnosti, kao neki lopov. On ulazi u srce i dušu učenika i iznosi na površinu poruke ili unutrašnje blago koje se tamo nalazi, a onda ih nudi učeniku.Pitanje: Spoznaja Boga zvuči kao veoma težak cilj. Zašto se ljudi trude da ga postignu?
Šri Činmoj: U ovom svetu ljudi se trude da postignu nešto zato što osećaju da će im ta stvar doneti zadovoljstvo. Meni je veoma lako da popijem čašu vode. Međutim, ako popijem čašu vode, niko me neće ceniti, niko mi se neće diviti. U duhovnom životu, meni nije potrebno uvažavanje ili divljenje. Ipak, ja sam neću biti zadovoljan ako samo pijem vodu. Biću zadovoljan jedino ako učinim nešto što ima više smisla, nešto značajnije. Spoznaja Boga je najteži zadatak. Ali, mi ćemo biti potpuno zadovoljni jedino ako spoznamo Boga. Mi hoćemo da spoznamo Boga da bismo postigli trajno zadovoljstvo, večno zadovoljstvo.Pitanje: Da li su svi Gurui isti, ili ima i dobrih i loših, kao i u slučaju običnih ljudi?
Šri Činmoj: To je veoma teško pitanje. Gurui kažu da su oni spoznali nešto što drugi nisu spoznali. Neki Gurui su zaista spoznali Istinu, dok neki drugi možda nisu. Ako nisu spoznali Istinu, naravno da su onda loši Gurui. Da su svi Gurui ostvarili Boga, onda bih mogao da kažem da su svi oni dobri. Na nesreću, ima nekih Gurua koji nisu ostvarili Boga, pa kako onda možemo da od njih očekujemo dobre stvari, božanske stvari?
Ako neko ko nije studirao medicinu pokuša da nekog operiše, naravno da neće izlečiti tu osobu. Naprotiv, verovatno će ubiti tog pacijenta. I u ovom slučaju ima nekih Gurua koji nisu duhovni, već upražnjavaju nazoviduhovnost i daju savete svojim učenicima i celom svetu. Naravno da oni ne mogu da budu onako dobri i božanski kao oni koji su zaista ostvarili Boga i koje je Bog ovlastio da pomažu čovečanstvu.Pitanje: Guru, kako čovek može da zna da li sledi dobrog ili lošeg Gurua?
Šri Činmoj: On lako može da zna da li sledi dobrog Gurua ili lošeg Gurua. Pretpostavimo da taj Guru kaže: „Ako mi daš dvadeset hiljada dolara, učiniću da ostvariš Boga, ili ću ti dati neko visoko iskustvo“. U tom slučaju učenik treba da smesta napusti takvog Učitelja.
A opet, Guru može da kaže: „Ostani sa mnom godinu ili dve, a potom ću ti tog i tog dana podariti ostvarenje Boga“. Ako je taj tragalac izuzetno napredan i ako dođe duhovnom Učitelju samo nekoliko meseci ili nekoliko godina pre nego što mu je vreme da postigne ostvarenje, tada Učitelj može da kaže tako nešto. A ako nije tako, onda je to besmislica. Ostvarenje Boga je dug put i svaki Guru koji kaže da se ono može postići dok trepneš okom je loš Guru.Pitanje: Kakva je zaista ljudska duša?
Šri Činmoj: Ljudska duša je deo božanskog. Može se reći da duša predstavlja Boga, svemogućeg Oca unutar nas. Prema indijskoj filozofiji, duša nije ni muška ni ženska. A opet, duša se može videti u fizičkom obliku – u suptilnom fizičkom. Ona je najlepša, beskrajno lepša od bilo kog ljudskog bića. Duša se ne može definisati; a opet, ako praktikujemo jogu, ako se molimo i meditiramo, onda možemo da osetimo prisustvo duše i da konačno vidimo dušu čak i golim okom.Pitanje: Može li pravi Učitelj da pomogne duši učenika?
Šri Činmoj: Svakako! Pravi duhovni Učitelj mora da bude u stanju da pomogne dušama svojih učenika. Zapravo, ako je on pravi Učitelj, tada on svakog dana, bilo ujutru bilo uveče, mora da nahrani duše svojih učenika. Ako imate decu, prva stvar koju radite ujutru je da ih nahranite. To vam je dužnost. Kad neki duhovni Učitelj prihvati učenike, oni postaju njegova duhovna deca. U toj duhovnoj deci je prava glad, a to je glad duše. Zato duhovni Učitelj mora da nahrani duše svojih učenika svakog dana.Pitanje: Mogu li učenici da osete to hranjenje?
Šri Činmoj: Učenici ga zaista osećaju ako su u skladu sa svojim Učiteljem. U suprotnom, oni toga neće biti svesni. Učitelj meditira na njih, a oni možda spavaju. Ali, ako oni sami meditiraju, oni će to moći da osete čak i ako ne meditiraju u isto vreme kad Učitelj meditira. Pretpostavimo da Učitelj na vas meditira u dva ujutru, dok čvrsto spavate. Ako vi meditirate u šest ujutru, ono što vam je Učitelj dao još uvek je očuvano u vašem biću i tada ćete to sigurno osetiti.Pitanje: Postoji li život nakon smrti?
Šri Činmoj: Život nakon smrti je neophodan. Kad bi postojao samo jedan život na Zemlji, ne bismo mogli da postignemo stvari koje treba da postignemo. Pošto je Bog Zadovoljstvo sāmo, On nam neće dopustiti da ostanemo nezadovoljni. On uvek želi da mi budemo potpuno zadovoljni. U jednoj inkarnaciji ne možemo da ispunimo našu težnju: ne možemo da dosegnemo Najviše. Zato živimo ovde, a potom prolazimo kroz tunel koji nazivamo smrću. Onda se malo odmorimo, a potom se opet vraćamo nazad. Kad ne bi bilo reinkarnacije, nijedna duša ne bi mogla da ispolji krajnju Istinu. U jednoj inkarnaciji to nije moguće.Pitanje: Guru, zašto se ne sećamo nijednog od naših prošlih života?
Šri Činmoj: Da li se mi sećamo šta smo jeli jutros? Ako bih te pitao šta si jeo prošlog petka ili subote, bio bi potpuno zbunjen. Zašto? Zato što tome nisi pridavao nikakav značaj. Isto je i sa našim prošlim životima. U ovom trenutku nije nam potrebno da ih se sećamo.Pitanje: Može li meditacija da pomogne ljudima da prevaziđu strah od smrti?
Šri Činmoj: Naravno! Meditacija lako može da nam pomogne da prevaziđemo strah od smrti. Meditacija znači svesnu komunikaciju sa Bogom. Ako smo u stanju da uspostavimo svesno jedinstvo sa Bogom, koji je sam Život, onda ne može biti straha od smrti. Tada ne samo da ćemo pobediti naš strah od smrti, već i našu sumnju u Božije postojanje u našem sopstvenom životu i u životima drugih. Nama je veoma lako da poverujemo da Bog postoji samo u nama ili samo u duhovnim ljudima. Ali, ako meditiramo, postaje nam jasno da Bog ne postoji samo u nama, već i u ljudima koje ne volimo ili ne cenimo.Pitanje: Šezdesetih godina dvadesetog veka mnogi inteligentni ljudi govorili su da su uz pomoć droga imali intenzivna duhovna iskustva, a i sada to tvrdi priličan broj ljudi. Kako gledaš na odnos između droga i duhovnog života?
Šri Činmoj: Droge i duhovni život ne idu zajedno. Oni su kao Južni i Severni pol. Jedno je pravi novčić, a drugo je lažni ili falsifikovani novčić. Ako koristiš falsifikovani novac, jednog dana bićeš otkriven: bićeš uhvaćen. To što studiraš istoriju ne znači da možeš da kažeš da si dobro naučio matematiku; to je besmisleno. Ako si studirao istoriju dvadeset godina, naravno da ćeš znati sve o istorijskim činjenicama. Ali, o matematici nećeš znati ništa, zato što je nisi studirao.Ostvarenje Boga je stvar unutrašnje discipline, unutrašnjeg buđenja. To je drugačiji metod, drugačiji proces nego uzimanje droga. Ovde je odredište Bog. Bog nam je već rekao kako možemo da Ga dosegnemo. On nam je rekao da možemo da stignemo do našeg cilja pomoću molitve i meditacije. Ako Ga ne slušamo i činimo nešto drugo, zar mislite da će On biti zadovoljan nama?
Neki ljudi koji su uzimali droge osećaju da su stekli visoka iskustva. Ja ću vam reći kakva su iskustva stekli. Dovedite nekog do bazena, pa mu iz nestašluka zagnjurite glavu u vodu. Onda ga posle dva minuta pustite. On će vam reći da je video sve belo. Takva iskustva ljudi imaju kad uzimaju droge. Ali prava unutrašnja iskustva, pravo ostvarenje, nikad ne možemo dobiti od droga, jer Bog ne želi da Mu dođemo na taj način. On nam je već rekao da se molimo i meditiramo. On nikad neće reći da ćemo ostvariti Njega ukoliko budemo uzimali drogu.Pitanje: Guru pretpostavimo da neko dođe k tebi i kaže: „Ja uzimam droge. Možeš li da mi pomogneš da ostavim drogu?“ Da li bi mogao da mu pomogneš?
Šri Činmoj: Takve osobe moraju da mi oproste. Na nesreću, pre šest ili sedam godina imao sam popriličan broj žalosnih iskustava kada sam prihvatao učenike koji su uzimali drogu. Zato sam odlučio da ljudi mogu da mi dođu samo ako ostave drogu. To ne znači da ja ne bih mogao da im pomognem; stvar je u tome što mi ovde imamo nešto kao porodicu, duhovnu zajednicu. Ako oni koji dođu k nama i dalje uzimaju drogu, oni će zatrovati našu zajednicu. Da nemam nikakvih drugih učenika, ja bih im rekao: „Da, možete da dođete k meni. Moći ću da vam pomognem“. Ali, u ovom trenutku ja im kažem da prvo treba da se izbore sa drogom; treba da potpuno ostave drogu. Tek potom mogu da uđu u našu porodicu.Pitanje: Gospodine, zbog čega tako mnogo Amerikanaca sledi indijske Gurue?
Šri Činmoj: Razlog je veoma jednostavan. Oni ne dobijaju od svojih sveštenika i rabina one stvari koje dobijaju od indijskih Gurua. To što Amerikanci dobijaju od indijskih Gurua, a to na nesreću ne dobijaju u svojim crkvama i sinagogama, jeste ljubav i brižnost. Ovde moram da branim indijske Gurue. Neki od njih su možda iskreni, a neki su prave varalice i prevaranti. Ipak, svi oni pokazuju svoje srce, a to je ono što Amerikancima treba. Američki roditelji optužuju svoju decu da nisu srdačna. Roditelji se žale da im deca ne ukazuju ljubav i pažnju. Ali, i deca imaju isti problem. Ona ne dobijaju dovoljno ljubavi, pažnje i brige od svojih roditelja.
Amerikanci su odlazili u svoje crkve i sinagoge; sada oni vide nešto novo u indijskim Guruima. Pravi indijski Guru nikad neće govoriti loše o bilo kom Učitelju ili bilo kom putu ili religiji. Ako odete u crkvu, hrišćanska religija vas odmah prisvaja ili vas prima u svoje okrilje. Ako sledite judaizam, judaizam vas smesta prisvoji. Ali, ako sledite jogu, vi niste prisvojeni; naprotiv, stičete neizmeran osećaj oslobođenja i slobode. Joga vam neće reći da ne možete da idete u crkvu ili da ne možete da razgovarate sa sveštenikom. Ne, ne. Joga će reći da ona uopšte nije religija; ona je samo jedan put.
Religija je kao kuća. Vi ćete odmah tvrditi da je vaša kuća daleko bolja od moje kuće i našim raspravama neće biti kraja. Joga je, za razliku od toga, samo put. Svi mogu da idu putem. U kući može da boravi samo ograničen broj ljudi, recimo deset ili dvanaest. Ali, na hiljade ljudi može da ide putem svakog dana. U hrišćanstvu ili judaizmu ili hinduizmu može da ostane samo određen broj ljudi. Joga je za sve. Zato su Amerikanci uvideli: ako žele slobodu, ako im je potrebna sloboda, onda je odgovor joga, a ne neka posebna religija.Pitanje: Guru, da li je joga zaista za svakoga?
Šri Činmoj: Joga je za svakoga, za svakoga. Ali, ako je čovek iskren, bolje će napredovati pomoću joge. Ako nije iskren, trebaće mu puno vremena da stigne do cilja čak i ako praktikuje jogu.Pitanje: Kako neko može da odredi kog Gurua treba da sledi?
Šri Činmoj: Svaka osoba ima svoje naklonosti i nenaklonosti. Ako vam se neko dopada, vi razgovarate i družite se sa tom osobom i ona postaje vaš prijatelj. Slično tome, u duhovnom životu, kad vidite nekog Gurua, ako osetite određenu unutrašnju naklonost, ako osetite da je on neko kome možete verovati ili ko ima one stvari koje vi želite ili koje su vam potrebne, znaćete da je on namenjen vama. Istog trenutka kada ga ugledate, ako osetite neku vrstu poverenja u njega, kao i neku vrstu poverenja u sebe, osećanje da ćete moći da ga slušate, onda je to pravi Učitelj za vas.Pitanje: Ipak, kako da znamo da li se vezujemo za nekog prevaranta ili ne?
Šri Činmoj: To ćete znati iz ličnog iskustva. Prevarant može da vas obmanjuje dva dana, ili dva meseca ili dve godine; međutim, ako ste iskreni, on ne može večno da vas obmanjuje. Obično se dešava da osobe koje su iskrene, veoma iskrene, krajnje iskrene, odlaze pravom Učitelju. Ali, ako je neki tragalac veoma iskren, pa ode pogrešnoj osobi, iskustvo koje stekne mu ipak na određeni način pomaže. Nijedno iskustvo nije potpuno beskorisno.Lažni Guru može da na godinu ili dve odloži nečiji napredak, ali takvo iskustvo će tragaoca iznutra učiniti veoma jakim i on neće opet načiniti istu grešku. Osim toga, ta greška će mu pružiti dodatno iskustvo. Narednog puta biće pažljiv i oprezan kad bude hteo da učini nešto za svet, ili da potraži pomoć od ljudskih bića. To će ga učiniti veoma opreznim u pogledu procenjivanja ljudi ili u pogledu druženja sa ljudima u ovom svetu.Pitanje: Da ne pominjemo imena, da li je istina da mnogi ljudi slede prevarante?
Šri Činmoj: „Mnogi“ je neodređen izraz. Jedino se može reći da ima više neiskrenih nego iskrenih Učitelja. Ovo izričito tvrdim. Ako hoćete da koristite brojeve, ako hoćete da načinite poređenje, onda izričito mogu da tvrdim da ima više neiskrenih Učitelja – ne samo u Americi, već i u čitavom svetu.Pitanje: Kako sve Bogoostvareni Učitelj može da pomogne svojim učenicima da ostvare Boga?
Šri Činmoj: Bogoostvareni Učitelj će meditirati na svoje učenike i izneti njihove duše na površinu. To je najvažnija stvar koju čini jedan duhovni Učitelj. On ulazi u dušu, u unutrašnje biće učenika, i hrani ga; on pomaže tragaocu da iznese na površinu sve svoje božanske osobine. Da bi se to desilo, učenik mora čvrsto da veruje Učitelju. Ako to nije slučaj, Učitelj će izneti na površinu učenikove božanske osobine, ali učenik neće moći da ih upotrebi. I tako, to je jedan način na koji Učitelj pomaže svojim učenicima – pomoću svoje meditacije.
Drugi način je tako što ukazuje učenicima stalnu spoljašnju pažnju i unutrašnje ohrabrenje. On govori učenicima da li čine ispravne ili pogrešne stvari. Ako činite nešto dobro, on će reći: „Nastavi! Nema kraja tvojim dostignućima!“ Ako učinite nešto pogrešno, on će smesta pokušati da vas spreči da to ne učinite ponovo. Dakle, on može da pomogne pomoću svoje unutrašnje meditacije i svoje spoljašnje brižnosti.Pitanje: Šri Činmoj, kakva ja Vaša filozofija o seksu?
Šri Činmoj: Ona se razlikuje u zavisnosti od pojedinca. To će reći, ako neki pojedinac vodi životinjski život, onda ću reći: „Molim te, uzdigni se do ljudskog života“. Ako je neki pojedinac u ljudskom životu, onda ću reći: „Pokušaj da prevaziđeš seks i dođeš do božanskog života“. Drugim rečima, ostvarenje Boga i seksualni život ne idu i ne mogu ići zajedno. Ali, ako neki pojedinac pokuša da preko noći pobedi sve svoje emocionalne probleme, niže vitalne probleme, doživeće neuspeh. Samo će skrenuti s uma. Zato mojim učenicima kažem da budu mudri. Polako, postojano i pouzdano oni treba da uz pomoć svog unutrašnjeg buđenja ukrote svoje niže vitalne potrebe. Ako nešto osuđujemo, onda nećemo biti u stanju da to pobedimo. Ako nekog mrzimo, ta osoba će nam naprosto prići i udariti nas. Mi možemo jedino da kažemo da u određenoj tački u životu seks postaje nepotreban. Ima mnogo stvari koje su nepotrebne. Danas neko dete jede mulj, zemlju, pesak, sve što može da nađe. Ali isto to dete, kad poraste, ne prilazi mulju, zemlji i pesku: ono zna da će se jedino uprljati. Ono tada jede normalnu hranu. Slično tome, kad neko postane tragalac, on uzima pravu hranu; a to je njegovo unutrašnje iskustvo – njegovo božansko, ispunjujuće iskustvo. Međutim, mora da se ide polako i postepeno.
Parovima koji su u braku kažem: „Budite verni jedno drugom“. Ako su ljudi u braku, oni treba da idu svojim putem i polako ali sigurno pokušaju da prevaziđu vitalni život. Ali, ako ljudi nisu u braku, onda moraju da vode život potpunog celibata - ne samo na fizičkom, već i na mentalnom nivou. U suprotnom neće uopšte moći da napreduju.Pitanje: Guru, Amerika je prilično preokupirana seksom. Da li je ljudima danas teže da vode duhovni život nego pre, recimo, dvadeset godina?
Šri Činmoj: U određenoj meri je to tačno. Ako je neko više zainteresovan za vitalni život, naravno da će mu biti teže da vodi duhovni život. A opet, nedavno su u Ameriku došli i mnogi iskreni Učitelji. Tako, sa jedne strane, vi činite nešto loše; sa druge strane, imate sreće da vam je dostupna pomoć ljudi koji mogu da vam pomognu. Na taj način, postoji ravnoteža.Pitanje: Šta je to ostvarenje Boga i kako se može prepoznati u nekoj osobi?
Šri Činmoj: Ako neko kaže da je ostvario Boga, kako da to dokaže? On to neće dokazati time što ima dva velika roga i druge fizičke karakteristike. On će moći da dokaže drugima da je ostvario Boga tako što odozgo donosi obilje Mira, Svetlosti i Blaženstva. Kad vidite nekog duhovnog Učitelja, on može da ima svakakve fizičke mane. Ali, morate da pokušate da vidite i osetite svest u njemu. Ako u njegovom prisustvu osećate da vam se svest uzdiže, znaćete da je on ostvario visoku Istinu, Svetlost, Mir.
Ostvarenje Boga znači svesno jedinstvo sa Bogom, a u takvoj svesti čovek oseća potpuno zadovoljenje. Ostvarenje Boga je potpuno unutrašnje zadovoljenje. Međutim, postoji i potreba za potpunim zadovoljenjem i u spoljašnjem životu, a ono dolazi jedino od ispoljavanja Boga. Ako je neki Učitelj ostvario Boga, onda je njegov unutrašnji život savršen. Ipak, on treba da postane savršen i u svom spoljašnjem životu. Pošto je prihvatio nesavršene, nečiste ljude kao svoje učenike, kao članove svoje porodice, onda njegovo spoljašnje savršenstvo zavisi od savršenstva njegovih učenika. Zato ostvarenje Boga služi konstantnom zadovoljenju u čovekovom unutrašnjem životu, a ispoljavanje Boga služi konstantnom savršenstvu i zadovoljenju u čovekovom spoljašnjem životu.
outer life.Pitanje: Kako se postiže ostvarenje Boga?
Šri Činmoj: Postiže se molitvom i meditacijom.Question: Guru, možeš li da kažeš šta se dešava kada pevaš _Om?_
Šri Činmoj: Kad pevamo Om, mi ulazimo u viši nivo svesti. Om (Aum) otelovljuje Boga u Njegova tri aspekta: Bog Tvorac, Bog Održavalac i Bog Preobrazitelj. Ima mnogih koji osećaju da je Bog uništitelj, a ne preobrazitelj. Ali, naša filozofija kaže da Bog ne uništava. On jedino preobražava nebožanske stvari u nama. Bog ima nešto mudrosti. On neće stvoriti nešto samo radi zabave, a onda to i uništiti radi zabave. Ne! On nas ne uništava. On jedino preobražava ono što je nebožansko u nama.
Om je majka svih mantri. "Mantra" znači priziv. Možete ostvariti Boga i samo tako što krajnje duševno pojete Om. To je dovoljno, jer tom mantrom vi prizivate Boga.
[Šri Činmoj peva Om.]Pitanje: Šta se dešava u tebi dok to radiš?
Šri Činmoj: Kada pevam Om, smesta u svom srcu osećam prisustvo kosmičkih bogova i Svevišnjeg. Kada pevamo, mi hranimo naše mile i drage. Oni su gladni, a mi treba da ih nahranimo. To je iskustvo koje ja imam. A opet, ponekad imam suprotno iskustvo: ja sam gladan, a oni hrane mene. Ponekad su oni gladni i tada ih ja hranim. Ponekad sam ja gladan, pa oni dolaze i hrane mene. Mi moramo da hranimo jedni druge.Pitanje: Zašto su tvoje oči često napola zatvorene?
Šri Činmoj: Ja držim oči napola zatvorene jer osećam da je to najefikasniji način da steknem potpunu kontrolu i nad fizičkim i nad duhovnim svetom. Ako držim oči širom otvorene, tada mi se oči veoma naprežu i ja vidim samo ono što se dešava u ovom svetu. Ali, ako držim oči poluotvorene, ja komuniciram sa mojim unutrašnjim bićima dok istovremeno vidim ljudska bića koja su oko mene. Tako postižem dve stvari istovremeno. Dobijam blago iz unutrašnjeg sveta i delim ga spoljašnjem svetu. Kad tako činim, sa jedne strane dobijam, a sa druge strane dajem.Pitanje: Izgleda da mnogi ljudi smatraju da duhovni Učitelj ne treba da ima nikakve naklonosti ni odbojnosti. On nikad ne treba da se oseća srećno ni tužno. Nikad ne treba da bude bolestan ni umoran, ni da ima neko omiljeno jelo. Ali, zašto duhovni Učitelj ne bi bio normalan?
Šri Činmoj: Pošto duhovni Učitelj postigne ostvarenje Boga, on može da zadrži svoje naklonosti i odbojnosti na fizičkom nivou. Naklonosti i nenaklonosti na fizičkom nivou ne treba da umanje, niti mogu da umanje, Učiteljevo ostvarenje niti da ga spreče da ispoljava Istinu.
Ti pitaš zašto se duhovni Učitelj ne bi ponašao na normalan način. Ali, ko je ovde normalan? Za mene su jedino duhovni ljudi normalni. Nakon ostvarenja Boga, mi osećamo da je jedino onaj ko je ostvario Boga normalan. Svi mi nismo normalni ako ne učinimo ono što je najvažnije. U duhovnom životu, ostvarenje Boga je najvažnija stvar i apsolutno normalna stvar koju treba učiniti.Pitanje: Guru, kad zapadneš u trans i uđeš u samadi, kako to zapravo izgleda? Da li tamo vidiš Boga, ili osećaš neku vrstu iskustva?
Šri Činmoj: Ja tada vidim Boga i komuniciram sa Bogom. Osećaj odvojenosti nestaje i zaljubljenik i Voljeni postaju nerazdvojno jedno. Ja uživam u beskrajnom Miru, Svetlosti i Blaženstvu. U samadiju, mi ne vidimo Boga kao nešto što treba postići ili nešto što nam je strano. Celokupna Njegova svest nas u tolikoj meri prožima da ne osećamo da je Bog nešto različito od nas. Tada osećamo da smo postali potpuno jedno sa Bogom i da smo On i mi apsolutno jedno. Dakle, kad uđem u samadi, ja uživam u beskrajnom Miru i Radosti i Ljubavi u unutrašnjem svetu.Pitanje: Guru, kako bi opisao ljude koji su postali tvoji učenici?
Sri Chinmoy: I will describe them as my own spiritual children. My love for them is boundless and infinite. But I will not say that my children are by far superior to others. In an ordinary family, the parents will always extol their children to the skies. They will say, "My children are all divine. They are absolutely perfect perfection." But in my case I will say, "My children have imperfections, they have limitations, but they are trying. As other spiritual Masters have their spiritual children and are teaching them in a particular way, so also I have my disciples and I am teaching these children of mine in my own way." When it is a matter of comparison, I will not say that my children are superior to others. Only I will say that my children are eating the food that I have in my refrigerator. They like my food; so I am giving them this food. Others who do not like my food go to other Masters and eat their food.
I always tell my children not to make any comparison. I say, "You love me and I love you; that is enough." It is our mutual love that has compelled us to stay together in the same boat. Otherwise they would go to some other boat, to some other Master. It is the love-aspect of our inner life that has made me very close to them and made them very close to me. Our path is the path of love. We feel that love is the greatest knowledge, the greatest wisdom, the greatest treasure.
We are offering divine love, the love of oneness. When this oneness is manifested totally, the Universal Heart becomes ours. Right now each of us has a limited heart. But when you are one with me, when he is one with me, when she is one with me, at that time we become universal.
When we have the Universal Consciousness at our disposal, we feel that we are perfect.Part II — Progress and spirituality
Question: How can I make the fastest progress?
Sri Chinmoy: First pray for gratitude. Pray to the Supreme for gratitude and offer gratitude to the Supreme. This is the first lesson. There are millions of people on earth who are not praying and meditating, but you have been given the inspiration to pray to the Supreme. So naturally you are grateful.
In some cases the disciples feel that they are not sincere, that they are not pure. But this only hinders their progress. When you think of sincerity, think of it in such a way that your mind does not get a chance to bring forward your insincerity. When you repeat, "I want to be sincere, I want to be sincere," this does not mean that all the insincere actions that you did yesterday must come forward. Use the positive side, "I want to be sincere, I want to be sincere," and offer your sincerity to the Supreme. Don't consciously think of insincerity or cherish insincere thoughts. While you are praying for sincerity, if they come, well and good. You will offer them to the Supreme. Otherwise, your prayer for sincerity has to become one with the light, since prayer itself is light, and that light will enter into you in the form of sincerity. Prayer is like a magnet bringing light, and that light will illumine your insincerity. But consciously if you think of your impurity and insincerity, then purity and sincerity will never visit you. If they come, they will be totally lost. Your prayer for purity, your prayer for sincerity is enough. Your prayer is bringing down light and that light will enter into your obscure vital and illumine you.Question: Guru, how is it possible to tell whether you are ascending or descending when the movement takes place in such small steps?
Sri Chinmoy: Anybody can know whether he is ascending or descending. When you are descending, immediately your inner joy, your inner satisfaction goes away. You can fool others, but you can't fool yourself if you are sincere. You can try to fool yourself or deceive yourself by grasping some divine quality with your mind or your vital. But when your inner world becomes barren, you really feel miserable if you are sincere. If you don't feel miserable when your inner life is barren, that means that you are trying to convince yourself that nothing is wrong, when actually everything is wrong. Your house is totally burnt down, destroyed, but you say, "Oh no, my house is not burnt. This is not my house. My home is somewhere else." But you definitely know that it is destroyed. Or if you have one dollar and then you don't see it again, you know that you have lost it. How can you say that you have not lost it? It is just a dollar, but you know that it is gone.Question: Guru, how do we get so fooled that we don't know exactly when we lose some divine qualities?
Sri Chinmoy: When you lose something, for a few days you feel a little sad. Then, afterwards, the thing that you lost does not come to your physical mind. You feel that you did not have that very thing or that the thing which you lost was not important.
In this world people are so clever in deceiving themselves. They achieve something today and they are satisfied. Then they lose that thing and still they are satisfied. We think this means that we are perfect. But here we have to know that it is not true. It means that we don't have aspiration, that we are like absolutely ordinary human beings. They say, "If you get something, well and good; if you don't get something, well and good." This is the attitude on the lowest plane, where there is no aspiration. When there is no aspiration, people lead a very ordinary life. If one day they get a morsel of food, they are satisfied; another day, if they don't get food, again they will accept this.
But spiritual people aspire to go high, higher, highest, and then they surrender to God's Will. If God feels that they should wait at one point for a few days before climbing up still higher, then they wait. But there is a great difference between these people and absolutely undivine people who are not aspiring at all. The undivine people are happy; but their happiness is the happiness of inconscience, where there is no light. Your happiness will come when you go up high, higher, highest and then surrender yourself to God's Will. When you surrender to God's Will, God Himself will take care of your life.
Just think of where you were six months ago, eight months ago, one year ago. Immediately you will see that you have lost the intense feeling that you had for the inner life when you first began. But the spiritual life should not be like that. You have to feel that every day means new hope, new life. The journey is eternal. Every day you have to feel that there is something new to achieve, something new to grow into. Every day, when morning dawns, feel that you have something new to accomplish. You are running and every day you are advancing one step ahead. You are always in the process of running in the inner life. Each day please feel that you have to cover one metre more.Question: How can I regain the spiritual height that I once achieved?
Sri Chinmoy: You have to feel that what you have lost is really something worth having. If you have lost something and you feel, "Oh, that thing that I have lost is not worth anything," then you will never get it back. Some people are so clever. They try to be happy by forgetting about what they have lost. But that is no good. If you forget about what you have lost, then you will not try to regain it. Only by running for it will you get it again. Again, it is not good to feel miserable all the time because you have lost something. But you do have to feel that the thing you have lost is very valuable.
If just for twenty-four hours you are repentant, then you will not get it back. You will only say, "I have lost it, I have lost it, I have lost it." You have lost it, that is true; but what are you doing to gain it back? It is easy for me to say that I have lost ten thousand dollars. But by repeating, "I have lost ten thousand dollars," I am not going to get back one cent. I have to work hard again in order to make ten thousand dollars.
Now I have lost my inner wealth, which to me was very significant, very important, very valuable. That very thing I want to get back again. And how do I get it? It is through aspiration. I have to work hard. If I work hard, my work itself is my aspiration. If I again aspire then I will get back my inner wealth and reach my highest standard.Question: Is suffering necessary for spiritual progress?
Sri Chinmoy: According to my personal belief, according to my own realisation, suffering is not to be glorified. No! We suffer because we identify ourselves with ignorance. When we are in the vital world, we suffer. When we are in the emotional world, we suffer. When we do something wrong, we suffer. God is not imposing suffering on us; far from it. But if we have done something wrong and the Cosmic Law offers us suffering, then we have to feel that this is something that we need for our own progress. When we do something right, even then sometimes we suffer. The world does not understand us; the world finds it difficult to see the truth in us, and we suffer.
We have to know that we have come into the world to fulfil God's Will. If it is God's Will that we undergo suffering, then we shall have to accept it. But by praying to God and meditating on God, we can change His Will. If we do the right thing, if we act divinely, then He will minimise our suffering or He may eliminate it altogether.
If suffering comes, we have to face it; we have to accept it as an experience on our way. But we do not have to add to our suffering in order to make further progress. We do not have to glorify suffering in order to make higher progress. I don't have to cut off my arms or my nose in order to go to my Eternal Father. I don't have to prove to Him how much I have suffered in order to reach Him. He is my all-loving Father and I have to approach Him with all my love.
Why do we suffer? We suffer because we do not identify ourselves with our inner joy. There is abundant joy in our inner being, but we do not consciously or even unconsciously identify ourselves with the joy that we have within. Many times we consciously and deliberately identify ourselves with outer suffering. Then we are caught in the prison cell of suffering and we don't want to come out. At that time suffering enters into us and plays its role and we cherish it. Then we are helpless.
In the spiritual life, there are many undivine qualities that add to our suffering: fear, doubt, anxiety, worry, depression, jealousy and so forth. When we are a victim to doubt or fear, we suffer mercilessly. But for this suffering we ourselves are responsible. God has given us the necessary faith to know that He loves us and thinks of us and meditates on us. So why should we doubt either God or our own existence?
An aspirant has to feel that God is all the time thinking of us, whether we think of Him or not. But if we are not seekers, then we can never have that feeling. We will think that since we are not thinking of God, then naturally God is also not thinking of us. That is our realisation. But when we follow the spiritual life we come to know that God thinks of us infinitely more than we think of ourselves. Such being the case, we must not be victims to fear, doubt and anxiety, which all contribute to our suffering.
Our philosophy is this: from light we shall grow into more light, abundant light, infinite Light. From joy we shall grow into more joy, infinite Joy. We shall go ahead and not go backwards. We shall not stay in the dark room of suffering. We shall only move forward to the room that is light.Question: How can we avoid tension in our aspiration?
Sri Chinmoy: We can avoid tension in our aspiration if we know how to observe our life properly and wisely. On the one hand, we have to say that every moment is a golden opportunity. We have to feel that if we lose this moment, if we lose this golden opportunity, then we are going to lose everything in God's creation; there will be nothing left for us. We will be totally lost. That is why we won't waste any time. We have today, here and now, or nothing. We have to fight for the light immediately.
God-realisation is such a difficult thing. God-revelation is more difficult and God-manifestation is even more difficult. So the best thing is to be sincere and dedicated and to do everything unconditionally so that we can realise God. We have so many things to do. If we don't do the first thing first, then how shall we reveal God and manifest God?
But there is also another approach. We will do whatever we feel is best for our body, vital, mind, heart and soul. But at the same time we will keep in mind that Eternity is at our disposal. Our source is God, the Infinite, the Eternal. If God is eternal, then naturally we also are. Whatever God is, we also are. If God is dealing with Eternity, then we also have every right to deal with Eternity. If we are aware of our inner life, which is eternal, then there can be no tension. If we can't do something today, then we can do it tomorrow. Ours is not the eternal time of an idle fellow. We are seekers; we are praying, meditating and devoting our lives to God. We are doing our best. But we have to keep in mind that while we will do our very best, it is God who will fix the hour for us. This is the wise way to avoid tension. Every day we are doing our prayer and meditation, so now it is up to God to grant us realisation in His own Way. Let God fix the hour for us. On our part, we shall do our very best every day.Question: If something wrong happens or if I miss some good opportunity, I just pray for surrender, but I don't achieve it.
Sri Chinmoy: You have to feel that you are in a running race. When it is over, you will offer the result to the Supreme. But in your case, when you have lost or done poorly, you suffer and you curse the Supreme. Right before the action takes place, it is easy to offer the action to the Supreme. But afterwards, you blame Him to whom you offered your most soulful surrender.
Again, when we win the race, when the result is most satisfactory, very often the result does not go to the Supreme; it goes to our pride and vanity. We say, "Because of my personal effort, I have achieved this victory. I have worked very hard. That is why I deserve it." Outwardly we say that the result must go to the Supreme, but inwardly we don't offer it.
We have to keep the attitude of surrender and it has to be a living attitude in our life, whether we win or lose. We may fail hundreds of times, but we will keep offering our failure to the Supreme. We shall offer the result either in the form of failure or success with the same cheerfulness. It is a very difficult task and a long process; but this is the only way we can be really happy.Question: Why do we still experience anger and irritation?
Sri Chinmoy: We are in the process of evolution and continually we are making progress. But perfection does not dawn overnight. Once upon a time, we know how many desires we had. If we become sincere to ourselves, then we know that previously our anger was of the quickest. We used to become furious when anything happened contrary to our volition. Now we don't experience that kind of animal anger. We may become angry when we see undivine things in ourselves or in others, but we are progressing. It may not be continuous progress, but it is continual progress. Slowly and steadily we are freeing ourselves from anger, from doubt and from other undivine qualities that obstruct our path. Just because we have these shortcomings today, we cannot say that these undivine forces will never leave us. Only we have to see whether these undivine forces are increasing or decreasing. We have to look back into the past and see how many hours a day we lived in ignorance and desire-life, and how many hours a day we now live in aspiration-life. If we do this, then we will definitely see that we are progressing.Part III — Selfless service
Question: When you ask us to do selfless service, sometimes we seem to have things to do on the outside. Are we consciously creating burdens on the outside so that we don't have to work for the Centre?
Sri Chinmoy: It entirely depends on your sincerity. If you are one hundred per cent sincere, then God gives you the opportunity to work for Him and takes away your worldly problems. If we want to cry for Him and to please Him every second of our life, is it not His bounden duty at that time to keep our path clear? But we are not so desperately in need of God. We feel that there should be a compromise between God and the earthly life.
But there can be no compromise in the spiritual life. In the beginning of your spiritual life you may want to go very slowly, like an Indian bullock cart. Because you are afraid of your mother or your father or somebody else in your family, you go slowly, slowly, slowly. But a day comes when you are no longer afraid of the members of your family and then there should be no compromise. You are not afraid of the world; only you are afraid of your own self. At that time if you don't do the right thing, if God does not come first in life, then you are doomed.
If you can do the right thing, then you will run very fast. But it entirely depends on how sincerely you need God. Worldly problems arise because your necessity for God is not strong enough. Today you see problems, real problems, in your family. But tomorrow, when your own aspiration increases, you will just laugh at these so-called problems. The same difficulties may arise and will arise, but you will laugh at them. The deeper you go and the more intense your aspiration becomes, the easier it becomes to solve your worldly problems. When you become one hundred per cent spiritual, I tell you, no matter how many problems you have — even ten or twenty problems a day — you will laugh at them. You will think that solving them is just like drinking water. You just have to get a glass and turn on the water in the sink. It is so easy! Why? Because you have a tremendous thirst which you have to quench. Just because you are extremely thirsty, your thirst compels you to go immediately and get water.
Very often among some of the disciples, I have seen that their worldly life comes first. Many of them are busy with their own achievement or with their own work. Think of what you would say if I were to ask you what you have done for our mission. But even if you don't care for the mission, at least care for your own aspiration. Actually you cannot separate your aspiration from the mission, for I am in both aspiration and manifestation. If you don't care for the manifestation, I won't find fault with you. But I shall find fault with you if you do not have aspiration, because that should come first. And if you really aspire, then you won't be able to separate manifestation from aspiration. But if you do want to separate aspiration from manifestation, and unfortunately some disciples do, then I wish to say that you can stay here with your aspiration, but you must prove to me that you are aspiring. Your face will be the proof of your aspiration.Question: Should we do selfless service if we cannot do it in a good consciousness, with surrender? Should we go ahead and do this service even though we can't do away with our negative feelings about it?
Sri Chinmoy: If an individual finds it extremely difficult to do selfless service devotedly and soulfully all the time, then that individual should pray and meditate in order to develop soulful qualities. Suppose you cannot do selfless service soulfully. Each time you are asked to do it, inwardly you feel reluctance, but you do it because you want other people to feel that you are a very devoted seeker, or you don't want to be criticised. Outwardly you are trying to draw their admiration, but inwardly you are finding it difficult to work. While working, your inner bitterness and animosity towards the Master is coming out. If this happens every time, then the best thing is for you to think of your inner sincerity. It is better to develop some sincerity before doing selfless service. Try to develop a kind of oneness with the Master and the Master's path.
These negative feelings are like enemies that attack us. If they are outside us, then we can accept the challenge and fight and conquer them, even though it is a very difficult task. But if animosity and bitter feelings against the Master come from within, then it is better for the individual not to do selfless service.
This is not the case for disciples who usually do selfless service soulfully and devotedly, and who have been doing it this way for years. They are basically good disciples who feel the necessity of selfless service, but occasionally they are attacked by negative forces from the world of suspicion or jealousy. They quarrel with an individual, or jealousy, insecurity or some other undivine quality attacks them, and their consciousness falls. At that time, it is advisable for them to go and do selfless service. This is the only way for them to get rid of their problem. If an individual has done selfless service hundreds of times with real devotion and dedication, and then once or twice he is attacked by wrong forces, the best thing for him is to do selfless service. For others who are constantly rejecting the idea of selfless service, it is best to fight the inner enemies and conquer the wrong forces in their inner being first. Otherwise, there is every possibility that they will attack others who are doing selfless service. The disease is contagious; it takes a long time to conquer.Part IV — Questions on science
Question: Do people today have more confidence in what they know because of science?
Sri Chinmoy: Science has made human beings consciously confident. Science is progressing through the mind and intellect, and even through intuition. When human beings on earth achieve something, it immediately becomes more or less humanity's mental, vital or physical possession. Even if something is achieved on the scientific plane, it immediately becomes established on the physical, vital and mental planes. Now people are confident about everything. These days people don't care to speak of God; they know everything. Even a child knows everything. A few hundred years ago, when people did not know something, they said they didn't know. They would never say that they did know. But now people don't say, "I don't know." No, they won't confess that they don't know something. People often have such disproportionate confidence in their realisation, which is completely undivine.
The problem is that people are insincere. We tell a lie ten times and then we believe it. Ten times we say that we know all about God. Once we are convinced that we have realised God, we feel that we are giving realisation to everybody. So a kind of confidence has entered that is founded on nothing. It is false confidence. Even some of the disciples have the feeling that they know everything. Some people don't touch my books. Why? They know my philosophy: love, devotion and surrender. Out of a thousand disciples, on some days only twenty read my writings. Some read only five minutes or ten minutes; others don't have even that much time. Many watch television or read newspapers. But if they read my writings for even five minutes, they would enter into my world as well as into their meditation-world.Question: What is the supreme goal of the scientist?
Sri Chinmoy: You are a biologist. As a scientist, you should know that the supreme goal of the scientist is to discover life in everything. What a Yogi calls life, a scientist should also call life. The Yogi has discovered the truth that there is life in everything. When a machine is operating, there is a cosmic life-force operating in and through it. Science also sees life in everything, but it does not want to give life the credit. Science gets malicious pleasure by refusing to acknowledge this force as life. With its fertile brain science has created the machine, and inside the machine is the life-force. The scientist sees this force operating within the machine, he sees that the machine is working, but he does not want to call it life.
So, if the scientist wants to become the real son of God, then he has to find life in everything. This life is God's real Dream that is trying to manifest itself in everything. When the scientist discovers this force, he will enter into God's real Dream. At that time he will see that he has not actually discovered anything. Although the scientist may at first think that he is the discoverer of life, in truth, life itself is the discoverer of the scientist. Man's science is trying to create life, but that life is not the life we are talking about. The life we are talking about is the hidden cosmic force that the Yogi embodies in his inner life. The scientist has to discover that inner life-force. When he discovers it, he has to feel that this life is nothing but his own realisation. This should be the scientist's ultimate goal. In my translation of Lotus-Petals by Nolini, the great Indian savant, there is an article written many years ago, entitled “God and the Scientist”. If you read that article, then you will get much information about the scientist's approach to the spiritual life and God.Question: Scientists say that the physical universe is expanding all the time. Some of them say that it is going to keep expanding forever and others say that it is going to contract again. What is your view?
Sri Chinmoy: Anything that expands is not going to contract. The only thing is, after expansion you can play a different type of game. Expansion itself is a game. Once this game ends, another game takes place. It is like the manifestation of a spiritual mission, let us say. A mission is expanding and expanding. But a time may come when people are no longer inspired by it; they are not doing anything. So naturally there will no longer be expansion. But that doesn't mean that the mission will come back to the state it was in before it started expanding. No! Only it is dead, lifeless. The river was flowing, flowing, but now all of a sudden there is no impetus, no energy, no life. The river is no longer flowing. But we cannot say that it has come back to the same state. Once we leave our starting point, we can't come back. We may not run, we may walk or stumble but the starting point is gone. Once evolution starts on any plane, we don't come back to the initial stage.
Only on very rare occasions in human life, when people have not satisfied their lowest vital desires, do they go back to the animal world. The soul actually enters into the animal life there, but that is only for a few months. Otherwise, once we leave the starting point, we don't go back there. So nobody here is going back to stone-life or plant-life or animal-life. Once something has happened, it is done, it is finished. It will not again become the starting point, because evolution is always taking place.Question: How does giving your body to science affect you spiritually?
Sri Chinmoy: It is neither noble nor ignoble. It is only an individual choice. As you know, sometimes the body is cremated, sometimes it is buried. Once the soul leaves the body, the soul does not care what happens to the body. Once the bird flies away, only the cage remains. At that time we can do anything we want with the cage. One individual gets satisfaction by saying, "After I die I want to give my body to a hospital so that medical science can make some experiments which will be of great help in the future." But another person says, "Only let God's Will operate in and through my relatives. Let my relatives bury me if they want to; if they want to cremate me let them cremate me." So he leaves it entirely up to the wishes of the relatives. Or an individual may say, "No, I want tradition to be carried on. I want my body to be buried or cremated in the normal way." But no particular way will necessarily please God more. God has given us the freedom to make an individual choice. If we want cremation, God will say, "Wonderful!" If we want burial, God will say, "Wonderful!" If we want our body to be taken to a hospital for experimentation after the soul leaves, God will in no way be displeased or dissatisfied with us.Part V — Attachment and devotion
Attachment and devotion
Our personal life is usually a life of emotion, a life of attachment — attachment to our own name and fame, attachment to our own physical needs or attachment to somebody else. But let us be frank. Is there anything divine in this kind of life? If I am attached to my physical body, I am useless. If I am attached to my emotional life, I am useless. If I am attached to somebody else, I am useless. So what shall I do? Shall I remain useless? No, let me accept the life of dedication. If I dedicate myself to the mission, to the Centre, to the Supreme, then only I am useful. A moment ago I was useless because I was attached to something. Now I am devoted to something infinitely higher. So the difference between attachment and devotion we can easily see.
When we devote our life, we offer it to a higher cause, a higher reality. But when we are attached to something, we are either on the same level as that thing or on a lower level, even the lowest level. Attachment will bind us either to the same standard as the object of our attachment or to a lower standard. But devotion, like a river, will carry us to the ocean. Devotion is like a river flowing into the ocean. Like a magnet, devotion is pulling us towards the goal.
If you are devoted to something higher and deeper within yourself, then you have a life of aspiration, a life of manifestation, and this life becomes your higher reality. Then, if you are devoted to a higher reality, at that time you can't be attached to a lower reality. It is impossible. If this moment you think of God, then you can't think of somebody else. The next moment if you think of somebody else, then you can't think of God. Right now you must only think of God. If you think of someone else, then you are thinking only of that person and of no one else. But if you devote most of your time to thinking of God or our spiritual mission, then you will be successful.
Is there anybody who does not know that by doing one thing he will gain and by doing something else he will lose? If a child places his finger in a flame, his finger will be burnt; so immediately he will learn to stay away from fire. The child does not have a developed brain, but immediately his instinct tells him that if he touches fire his finger will be burnt. When you enter into the lower vital life, the life of desire, it is just like touching fire. Constantly you burn yourself, but again and again you go back. The child does not go back to fire a second time, but you do it. Once children are punished for doing something wrong, they don't do it again, because they know that they will again receive punishment. But you do the wrong thing again and again by repeatedly entering into the life of attachment, so you are worse than children at that time.From:Sri Chinmoy,Svetlost nesebičnog služenja, Agni Press, 1977
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