Part V — Heaven

Question: In your poetry you speak about the indifference of Heaven, but the Supreme is anything but indifferent. Can you explain this?

Sri Chinmoy: Let us take Heaven as the elder brother, the Supreme as the Father and the seeker as the younger brother. So, there are two brothers and a Father. The younger one is crying. He needs help from above, from the Father or from the brother. The Father, in His Heart, is all concern for the younger one, but He is not always available. He is at the office. The elder brother is available, although he is busy with his studies and has many things of his own to do. So he is indifferent to his poor little brother on earth who needs help. The Father is all affection, all concern. As soon as He comes home, He will show all affection to the younger one.

It is very difficult for the younger one to approach the Father without going through the elder brother. But some of the cosmic gods and goddesses are divinely jealous. Most of the spiritual Masters have encountered this experience. The cosmic gods and goddesses help the seeker climb up, but they do not encourage him when he gets near to the highest. On the contrary, they try to prevent him from going beyond them. This happens countless times.

Someone has climbed up a tree and you are at the foot of the tree. You don’t know how to climb, so the one in the tree comes down and teaches you and then you start climbing. Before you have reached a certain height, the one who has taught you goes back to his original seat and waits for you. Then, when you get there, he won’t help you go any further. That person hasn’t touched the highest height and he is insecure. Yesterday you were on earth and you didn’t know how to climb, so he taught you. Now you are going to surpass him, so why should he allow it? But if he is wise, on the strength of his oneness he will say, “He is my little brother, so let him go higher. His achievement is also my achievement.”

There is a saying: “Everyone wants to gain victory, but not over one’s son and daughter.” How far it is true, God knows. In America I have learned something that in India I never knew. America has taught me that mothers can be really jealous of their daughters and fathers can be really jealous of their sons. Not all mothers and fathers, but many, many who have come into our Centre, directly or indirectly have been very jealous of their children. It is apparent that they have taught the children how to study, how to act devotedly. They will tell the world, “My daughter has done this, my son has done that.” Then, when the world is appreciating their children, at times they may be sincerely pleased. But at times their hearts are burning because they themselves have not got the highest degree or done what their children have done. This is because of the feeling of separativity.

If you want to separate your fingers one from another, how will you perform the shot put well? The little finger has very little strength, whereas the other fingers have tremendous strength. But all the fingers have to cooperate for the shot put. If you feel that it is better not to have that little finger, if you feel that it is useless, then you will soon discover that you are helpless without it. If the stronger one doesn’t want to mix with the weaker ones, then all will suffer.

In the beginning, the stronger one shows off. When the weaker one begins to get some capacity, the superior is frightened that the weaker one will surpass him. But the real superior, who is always superior, is the Supreme. He never feels or acts superior. He knows that what He is, I am also that. He never differentiates. His Heart is my heart. He knows who He is; He knows who I am. He is the Creator and the Creator never separates Himself from the creation. Heaven is not the actual Creator, so always there is a problem. But the Supreme identifies with His creation, so for Him, His creation is not something apart from His Reality.