Question: What does it mean to "express" the light or other qualities that you have received from meditation? Does it mean to offer these qualities to others?

Sri Chinmoy: It can be to others, it can be to the atmosphere or it can be to the Universal Consciousness. Some people say, "Let me learn first. Then I will give." Others say, "No, let me give while learning." But from the spiritual point of view, when it is a matter of constant giving, it is always better to realise and assimilate first and then to give. Realise God, assimilate your realisation and then give to mankind. Otherwise, if you try to give before you realise God, all you have to give is partial light and partial truth. You may say, "Oh, I have got one dollar, let me give it." But you are spending your time giving that one dollar instead of getting the one hundred dollars, which is your goal. Then, you may be giving to an undeserving person, and he will just grab it. He will act like a dacoit, a thief, a robber. He will say, "No, you have more money. You are not giving me all your money." Then he will beat and strike you. In the inner world also, when one wants to give and he only has a dollar's worth of inner wealth, these forces will be tempted. They will feel that he has more wealth to give, which he is not giving. So they will strike the seeker and try to destroy his potentiality and possibility. Let us say you have only one dollar, and you want to give it to somebody who is very strong on the vital plane, very impure and obscure. This person may feel, "No, he is telling a lie; he has more money than one dollar," and he will try to grab you and get more money. But you won't be able to give him more than one dollar, so you will be destroyed.