Sri Chinmoy Speaks To The Puerto Rican Centre

When we arrived in India, my sisters and brothers were overwhelmed with joy when they saw me, when they saw us. At the same time, the parting scene was unbearable. My sisters, especially, cried bitterly, as if I were already dead. I told my eldest sister, Arpita, "When I actually die, there will be no tears since you've used them all up here. There will be nothing left in your eyes. So you'd better stop crying now since you'll have to cry again when I die." Then my sister Lily tried her best to control her tears, but finally she again burst out crying. This is Indian family life!

We shall come in May, both Alo and I together, for our regular visit. At that time we shall show our slides of India, the Himalayas, the spiritual pilgrimage places and other spots. Yesterday we showed those slides at our Centre in New York. The New York disciples liked them immensely. Here I am sure you will also enjoy them. We will also speak elaborately about India, our Mother India, Bharat Mata.

I come here with my heart's deepest love, joy and concern for each of you. You who have already come close to my heart and soul feel me at every moment of your existence, no matter where I am, whether I am in India, or in the West Indies, or in some other corner of the globe. I assure you, the closest and dearest ones, who have made themselves close to my heart, are bound to feel me, no matter where I am or what I do on the outer level. Here, on Thursdays and Sundays, when you actually start your meditation, no matter where I am, whether I am in a car, or in the street, or in a restaurant, as soon as the first disciple arrives here in this Puerto Rican Centre, there will be a tremendous knock at my heart's door. At that moment, I start my very special meditation on each one of you. That is what Alo and I have been doing.

But if you want to be my disciples, you have to be regular. Here, aspiration you have; on the strength of your aspiration, you have pleased me. Regularity, however, is another matter. I am asking you and telling you that you can come to the Centre but you have to be regular. You have to pay attention to regularity. When someone comes regularly, faithfully and devotedly every Sunday and Thursday for four months, then I give that person an interview that lasts for forty-five minutes. Before that, I do not give interviews to newcomers. They have to complete at least four months in the AUM Centre.

Already four or five persons have been asked by me not to come to the Centre because of their irregularity. Yesterday I asked another lady not to come to the Centre. She then created such a scene, such a pathetic scene. But I cannot go against the Law of the Supreme. During our absence, while we were in India, not even once did she get the inspiration to come to the Centre. So I have asked her not to come anymore.

In May, when we come back to Puerto Rico, we have to make the same kind of decision here. The time has come to be precise and strict. Those who really care for the Supreme have to be regular. At home they eat regularly; here they must feed their soul regularly. They feed the body at home; here is the place to feed the soul.

I beg to be excused. I come here not to scold you but to love you, to be one with each of you in your aspiration. All of you have sincere, true love for God, but that love has to be dynamic. It must be dynamic love, not inactive love.

In New York, since I have become strict, the result is most satisfactory. During our absence, only one particular lady did not come. Otherwise forty-eight or forty-nine members come regularly, without fail, on Sundays and Thursdays.

Here in Puerto Rico, I do expect you to come at least once a week. If you want Sunday or if you want Thursday, you are welcome to choose either day. But if you can come on both days, Thursday and Sunday, I will be so happy, delighted and grateful.

I do not know if you understand (or do not want to understand) that I have consciously taken responsibility for each of you who have sincerely, consciously and soulfully accepted me. You gave me your promise but, unfortunately, some of you have eaten up your promise. And I gave the same promise to the Supreme inside you, that I would guide your aspiration, the inner aspiration in you. So please give me the opportunity to fulfil the Supreme's Will inside you.

There can be no greater joy than regularity. Aspiration you have, but that is not enough. Along with aspiration, if you have regularity, then only will you achieve the Highest. When you are irregular, when you don't come to the Centre regularly during our absence, whom do you insult? Not the physical body, not the mind, not the soul in me, but the Supreme inside you, because the Supreme inside you has awakened and inspired you to lead an inner life. There are millions and billions of persons in life who are not awake, but you have awakened.

A few days ago, a young disciple of mine named Maureen Nestor, who is just eighteen years old and recently joined the Centre in New York, sang our "Invocation." First Dulal taught her, then Alo taught her. Of all our disciples in New York, Puerto Rico, Kingston, Jamaica, or Miami, Florida—she happens to be the best singer of our "Invocation to the Supreme." The other day—it was a Sunday afternoon, at our regular meditation—she sang it. You cannot imagine how soulfully, sweetly and divinely this young, delicate girl sang that song. I wish all of you could sing, individually, "The Invocation" as soulfully as Maureen sang it. Next time, we shall bring a tape of her singing and you will hear it for yourself.

Dearest spiritual children, please try to feel my heart's deepest love and purest concern for each of you. I come here with my heart's abundant love and my soul's deepest blessings. Each time I come here, I get profound joy and, at the same time, I get a few minor shocks. I wish to tell you that even though I receive unexpected shocks from you, you can rest assured that my love for you, my concern for you and my blessings for you will remain for Eternity.

There is a higher Truth, there is a higher Life, and we must, each one of us, attain to the spiritual perfection where this high, higher, highest Truth abides. Your imperfection is my imperfection. Your incapacity is my incapacity. This I say not out of sheer emotion but on the strength of my total oneness with you. I have become totally one with you in my heart. I am trying to give my realisation to each of you. Those who are crying for realisation are really climbing the ladder of the highest consciousness in me. They are getting an inner realisation in and through me. The road is arduous, but that does not mean that you will not reach the Goal. No, the Goal is destined; the Goal is ready; the Boatman is ready. You have to come and take your respective seats in the Boat and then see the capacity of the Boatman, whether he is capable of taking you to the Golden Shore of the Beyond. I pray to you: give me the opportunity and give me a trial. I wish to tell you that I shall not fail you. The only things I need from you are aspiration and regularity. The rest will be done by me.

If you have anything to ask, please do so. For your ultimate realisation, I feel that if I am strict with you, I am doing a good service to the Supreme in you. In New York, I have done it and it has been most successful. In Jamaica, West Indies, I am happy to tell you that not even one person has been irregular. There our number is twenty-three ... I think it is twenty-four now. If you go through their attendance list, you will see how devotedly they have come to the Centre without me being there. I have come to Puerto Rico, I think, about twelve times, and there I have gone only twice—to Kingston, Jamaica. Of course, their Centre was established only last year but they are doing well, and I am going there on the 28th of March to see them. No demand in Jamaica: It is all love and concern and dedication that we get from them.

Here also in Puerto Rico we get love, dedication and devotion in infinite measure from some of you, but not from all of you. So you have to forgive me. Those who feel that they don't have to offer anything to the Supreme within themselves are really lucky! Please do not take this as a personal insult or as a scolding. I have come here neither to scold you nor to insult you. I have come here to love you and become one with you in your sufferings and also in your aspiration. After six months, I don't know what is going to happen here. If I have to become strict as I am in New York, I am sure that the situation here will become deplorable from the ordinary point of view, but not from the spiritual point of view. From the spiritual point of view, those who stick to the Centre in spite of the strict rules will be the real pillars of the Centre. Those who cannot do it will unfortunately create sorrow in their own lives.

So my inner being, my spirit, is all the time with you, with all my dearest disciples, no matter where I am. This feat I can do; your Guru is, after all, a realised soul. In this world, there are very few realised souls, especially in today's world. This I wish to tell you. Many people claim to have God-realisation, but God alone knows what calibre it represents. But a real spiritual Master, a true realised soul, is very, very rare on earth.

All sadhus and spiritual teachers proclaim that they are realised souls. Well, they have every right to tell people this; they also have every right to deceive people. But I wish to tell my disciples that if they have felt in me what I truly represent and what I stand for, they will be under no illusion. For inside me, the Supreme is living vividly, to guide each one of you. He has given me more capacity than I need to guide you.