Interviewer: In one of your pamphlets you say, "Our path is basically the path of the heart and not that of the mind." And every time I hear this kind of thing, I must admit I have very mixed emotions, because I am rather fearful of all the forces pushing us toward the heart and away from the mind. I always thought of the mind as very useful, whereas feelings might be a very difficult barometer of conduct. Feelings lead some people to kill other people. Why do you say that the path of the heart is better than the path of the mind?

Sri Chinmoy: Please allow me to make it clear. The mind that you are referring to is the physical mind, the doubting mind, the sophisticated mind. The sophisticated mind: what has it learned? It hasn’t learned anything. And what do we get from the doubting mind? By doubting, we don’t get anything substantial; only we weaken our inner strength. Then, if the mind is all the time in the gross physical, all the time in the body-consciousness, thinking of the physical demands and vital demands, then we don’t make any progress.

When we think of the heart, unfortunately we make a mistake. We think of the emotions that are around the heart or inside the heart. But the real heart is not like that. The real heart is the reality in us that constantly listens to the soul, and the soul is the direct representative of God. When we use the term ‘heart,’ let us think of something within us that has the capacity to identify itself with the reality.

We do not neglect the mind; we have nothing to say against the mind. But the mind will perhaps say to you, “He is a very good man.” Then, before I leave the radio station, your mind will say, “No. He is very bad.” Then again, before I enter into the car, your mind will say, “How do I know whether he is a good man or a bad man?”

I will be here for another half an hour or so and you will be observing me. If you feel that I am a good man, then I will remain a good man for you. And if you feel that I am a bad man, then the moment I go you will still feel that I am a bad man. This feeling you get on the strength of your identification with something within me and my identification with something within you. When you use the heart, you become confident in the heart’s assessment. If you feel that I am bad, then you are confident that I am really bad. If you feel that I am good, then you are certain that I am really good. When you use the heart, you don’t all the time contradict yourself. With contradiction you only weaken yourself; and once you are really weak, then what are you going to do? If you want to achieve or create something on earth, you have to be strong — physically, vitally, mentally, in every way. When you do something which weakens yourself, you destroy yourself. So always try to use the heart.