Question: Can you tell us the place of the will?

Sri Chinmoy: Yes. Will-power is of paramount importance. But we have to know which will-power we are discussing. The soul’s will-power is here, deep within. We also think of will in an aggressive sense, in an aggressive way; we use our undivine vital power to destroy. We make a mistake if we take the undivine vital power and the soul’s will-power as one. That vital power does not come from the real will-power. Real will-power we get directly from the soul, here within, and this soul’s will-power we all truly need. If we do not have the power from within, the soul’s power, we will not succeed in achieving anything in the spiritual life. In the outer life also it is of great importance if we can bring to the fore the soul’s will-power, soul-power. Now, how can we do it? How can we develop it? How can we cultivate this will-power?

One takes exercise every day if one wants to be an athlete. If one day he takes exercise and then for ten days he doesn’t take any exercise, then he cannot be a good athlete. In the spiritual life also, we are all divine soldiers. At every moment we are fighting against our inner enemies. Our inner enemies are our doubt, fear, suspicions, worries, anxieties and so forth. At every moment, we have to hunt these inner animals, and here, what is our weapon? Aspiration. With our aspiration, we can hunt, we can kill all these animals, the animal qualities, animal propensities in us. Along with aspiration, we have to have will-power also. It has to be cultivated and developed. One cannot have abundant will-power or adamantine will-power overnight. If one is wanting in will-power, then you can be sure that that particular person will not be able to realise the Highest. He can make progress in the inner life, but this progress is of no great value. Will-power means immediate progress, immediate success and immediate achievement and fulfilment. This we can and we will get directly from the soul. The soul’s Light, when manifested in a dynamic way, is called will-power.