Question: In meditation, is it more important to aspire upwards or to become receptive?

Sri Chinmoy: It entirely depends on the seeker. When one is going up, one has to feel that it is the intensity of the prayer that is going up. When it goes up, usually it is the hidden prayer of the seeker that is going up. You may be repeating 'Supreme,' 'Supreme,' or something else. No words are necessary, but in a subtle way prayer is going up. This is a subtle form of prayer. Most of the time, it is the prayer aspect hidden in our meditation that takes us up. Meditation, however, is expansion. Meditation receives from above. True, God's Consciousness is everywhere, but when we meditate we feel that God's Consciousness is descending into us; and when we pray, we feel we are climbing up and entering into God's Consciousness. So when we meditate, if we are going up we have to see if there is a subtle prayer inside our meditation. Otherwise, if there is no prayer, we are like a bird spreading his wings. At that time we try to cover the length and breadth of the Universal Consciousness. That is receptivity. Only we have to know what gives us greater joy. If it is climbing, then we will do that, and if it is spreading the wings of our being, we have to try to do that. Both are equally important, but it is a matter of inner joy. If you get more joy in going up, do that; if you get more joy in expanding, then please do that.