Question: A neighbour of mine often swears very loudly to the Supreme against Him and when he does that, I always say, "Dios te bendiga." ("May God bless you.") Is this the right thing to do?

Sri Chinmoy: The thing is — in such cases — I wish to tell you that the best thing will be on your part not to say anything to him. If you feel that you really want to help him, then you can spend five minutes of your most precious time in inner prayer to the Supreme, asking the Supreme to give him some illumination. He is ignorant, but if you tell him that he is ignorant, he will be your worst enemy and he will make no progress. But you can pray to the Supreme if you want to, if you feel from within that it is your duty. First you should feel inwardly that it is your duty. If so, then do it.

But you have to know one thing: whether basically that man is good or not. If basically he is not good, then I do not want you to spend even five minutes on him. Let him, at God’s own Hour, come to some basic understanding of his behaviour towards God. So if basically he is poor quality, then you don’t have to waste any time on him because you are not doing him any favour. But if he is basically good, you can offer five minutes of your prayer to the Supreme to change his mind towards God. He is, after all, God’s child and God Himself is hearing him. Just as God is hearing your prayer and observing your meditation, so also He is listening to this man’s curse. God has enough strength to bear his insult just as He has enormous capacity to observe your meditation and listen to your prayers. But you have to see whether he is a fine man, basically, or whether he is basically of poor quality. If he is bad by nature, then forget about him. If he has many good qualities and just for an immediate shock he is cursing, then if you feel from within that you would like to help him, then from the very depths of your heart offer your prayer to the Supreme for five minutes, in order to change his heart and mind.