Question: Which comes first, the mind's clarity or the heart's purity?

Sri Chinmoy: Sometimes they can come together. The mind walks ten steps and the heart walks ten steps and they come together. Or it can happen that the heart takes nine steps and the mind takes one step. Still, the mind is willing to be one with the heart. But sometimes the heart will come right up to the mind, but the mind hides. Then they can’t be together.

Very often only the heart’s purity can give the mind clarity, because the heart’s purity has much more power in it. It is like mother and child. The child can only crawl; he can only take one step. But the mother can take nine steps to meet the child. The heart is much more spiritual and powerful in every way in the inner world. But in the outer world the mind is stronger; it is defeating the heart. The earthly mind, limited mind, doubtful mind, sophisticated mind, intellectual mind — these things are all creating problems. But in the inner world, the heart is much stronger. Therefore, the heart has to come closer to the mind. Either they can both come to each other, or one has to come to save the other. Here, the heart has to come to save the mind. Most of the time, it is the heart’s purity that has to come first to bring clarity to the mind.