Question: How can we transform doubt?

Sri Chinmoy: By doubting someone else, what do we gain? Let us say somebody claims he is a perfect saint. Why do I have to waste my time saying he is a saint or a sinner? It is up to him whether he is a good person or a bad person. If he is bad, he will pay the penalty. It is God’s job we are taking away. God’s job is to act in and through every individual. But when we doubt someone, we are judging him in our own way.

Anything that takes away our joy, we should stop doing. By doubting someone, we will never be happy. We will only enter into that person’s obscure, impure existence. Again, by having faith in that person, we are creating positive qualities inside ourselves. So when doubt comes, just say to yourself: “It is not my job to doubt him. If he is a bad person, he has to pray and meditate to make progress.”

If you have self-doubt, if you feel that you cannot become an excellent disciple or you cannot be excellent in a particular field, immediately pray to God, “I have no idea what I am supposed to be, but if You want me to excel in something, then do give me the capacity. You know what is best for me.” Always give the responsibility to God, to your Inner Pilot. If we take responsibility for our life, we will be completely, totally helpless. A child gives his responsibility to his father and his father shows him the way, holds his hand and takes him or carries him to the destination.

Instead of doubting whether we have the capacity to do something special or important in our inner life, we should always bring God into the picture. He is our inner Guide. Just pray to Him, “Please show me the way. I shall follow You.” How can you enjoy self-doubt when you are asking Someone who is all illumination to show you the way to the Destination? Always feel the supreme necessity of begging the Supreme to show you the way. If He shows you the way, then there can be no self-doubt and no wish or will to doubt others.

Doubt is nothing but darkness in ourselves that enjoys seeing darkness in others. Faith is something blossoming beautifully inside our hearts. Once we see faith in our own hearts, we are bound to see the same beautiful faith inside the rest of the world. If we are smelling the fragrance of a flower, we try to see the same kind of flowers inside others. But if we are smelling something else, then we will be apt to see or smell that same thing inside others. Faith is the beauty, faith is the purity, faith is the divinity inside us. Once we cherish our own divinity, which comes in the form of faith, we are bound to have faith in others.