The Master's Manifestation
Question: Could You Speak About The Mutual...
Question: If I Don't Know What God...
Question: If I don't know what God wants me to do, but I want to serve God, then how do I get an idea about what to do?
Sri Chinmoy: You will get the proper idea, but first you must pray to God for inspiration. There is nothing wrong in doing this. Inspiration is the first step. If you are not inspired, then you won't budge an inch; you won't do anything. So there is nothing wrong if you first pray to God to give you inspiration. As you cry for God to give you more aspiration, most intense aspiration, you can also pray to God to give you inspiration. People are inspired; that is why they become scientists or they become great in other fields. If they are not inspired, then they cannot do anything. So you can pray to God to give you inspiration. Then, from inspiration you go one step ahead: aspiration. Finally, from aspiration you go another step further: realisation.
Question: As Your Disciples, What Can We...
Question: As your disciples, what can we offer you?
Sri Chinmoy: The disciples should try to go deep within and see what I actually want from them. "Disciple" is a very, very important word. If the Guru is important, so also is the disciple. In India they say that Gurus grow like mushrooms here, there and everywhere. But in order to get a true disciple, one has to cross the length and breadth of the world. Everybody can find many, many Gurus. But a true disciple is something very, very rare in God's entire creation.
Question: What Happens If A Soul Fails...
Question: What happens if a soul fails to manifest on earth?
Sri Chinmoy: In the inner tug-of-war, if one can go high, higher, highest, then one gets the opportunity to manifest at every moment. When good souls see that somebody has died untimely without revealing or manifesting God, they feel sad because of their oneness. They feel that if this person had remained on earth, then he could have completed his game. He could have revealed God and manifested God. But bad souls are happy. They say, "He could not score the goal, so he has failed like us. Now we have a new member in our family."
Question: Should Disciples Offer Advice From Your...
Question: Should disciples offer advice from your writings?
Sri Chinmoy: Do not offer advice, but make it clear that this is what you think my meaning is. Explain it in your own way and say that this is based on your understanding, your inner experience. Since the other person doesn't understand, he can try your interpretation; but he is under no obligation to see eye to eye with you. Just because you have an understanding you can say that you want to share it with him. If he feels that your understanding is right, well and good. But if not, he can arrive at his own interpretation.
Question: What Should I Do When I...
Question: What should I do when I am in the position of giving advice to someone?
Sri Chinmoy: If you feel compelled from within to give advice to someone, you will do it. However, it may happen that my advice will be more direct or may work more quickly than yours. Your advice, I assure you, will not be as high or divine or spiritual or, let us say, as fruitful as mine. But your advice is bound to be helpful and fruitful if you feel my presence and have tremendous devotion for me while you are giving advice to your spiritual brothers and sisters. If you have tremendous devotion when you are giving advice, at that time I tell you, you will not be able to make a mistake.
When some of my disciples give advice, they immediately consider themselves equal to me. They totally forget that they are my disciples and that I know a little more than they do. They are getting the utmost opportunity to reveal themselves. At that time, they negate my existence in their life.
Let us say that somebody needs advice from you or, even if he does not need advice, you feel that it is your bounden duty to give him advice. He has been your friend for a long time, and now he is under a cloud. Doubt or some other wrong force has entered into him. While you are advising the person out of your necessity, if you are full of devotion for me, then like a magnet you are pulling my wisdom and light. This will go to the person to whom you want to offer it. People make mistakes because they totally forget me. For a few minutes they become the Master of the particular seeker that they are speaking to. And then they make mistakes.
Sometimes when people don't ask us for advice, they will misunderstand us if we advise them. Still, we have to try. A daughter won't ask advice from her mother. But if she is doing something wrong, then will her mother just wait? Will her mother say, "Let her ask for my guidance, for my advice; until then I will be silent. Let her burn her fingers; then she will learn." No, the mother's heart will not allow the daughter to burn her fingers. The mother may be misunderstood if she tries to interfere and the child may get angry, but the mother's duty is to save the child. So, when you give advice, feel that the other person is a child, totally lost. Many times it has happened and many times it will happen that the Supreme wants a particular person to have an experience, so that in the future he will be more careful in his spiritual life. By giving advice to him you may make a mistake. Your heart is there because you know that he is doing something wrong. But how do you know if it is God's Will to help that person at that moment? How do you know if your advice is timely? Help he needs, but your best help you can offer during your meditation. Then you are going to the right person, to the Supreme. "Supreme, I feel that this person needs help. But who am I to help? It is only You who can help him." The Supreme is bound to hear your prayer, and then He will do it in His own way.
Very often spiritual Masters work in this way. They always offer their good will, even if disciples have left their path. If those people are having difficulties, at that time they pray to the Supreme to illumine them. This way is the most effective because the Supreme Himself is accepting your request.
But if you find it difficult at that time to surrender your will to the Supreme, and if you have a very good heart and you feel that the person does need your help, then the other way is to have tremendous devotion while you are giving advice. You have to have devotion for the Supreme or for the Master. If you offer your devotion to the Master, immediately he will take your devotion and put it in the right place, at the Feet of the Supreme. Devotion is like a flower. Either you yourself can place the flower on the shrine, or you can leave it at the door and the person who is there will put it on the shrine. But the flower will be put at the right place.
Question: There Have Been Many Times That...
Question: There have been many times that people have called me to work at the printing press and do other things, but I always do homework instead. Should I stop doing all my homework?
Sri Chinmoy: No. No. No. I have repeatedly told you that your student life comes first. Regularly you come to the Centre. Regularly you have to meditate early in the morning. Then comes your school life and then comes the press. Otherwise, if you fail in your studies, your parents will be upset.
In the case of students, I always say that it is necessary to study. Your parents have allowed you to go to school and they meet with your expenses. So you have to please them. As long as I ask you to study, please study. First comes regular morning meditation, then Centre meditation, then your studies; then comes the press or some other selfless service. Otherwise, if you fail in your studies, you will be in serious trouble. For students, school life comes first. There are many who do nothing after work. They are not students; they just work six or seven hours at their job and then they go home and wallow in the pleasures of ignorance. They have to make a choice between serving the Supreme, and sleeping at home or just wasting time. In these cases, if they are good disciples, the Centre activities count. The divine manifestation comes first. For some disciples, there is no Sunday, Monday or Tuesday; seven days a week they are active. In this way they will make the fastest progress.
