Question: If we find that certain situations disturb us, should we avoid the situations or try to face them and cope with them?

Sri Chinmoy: Avoiding a situation is not the right answer. We have to face the situation with our soul’s light. Today you will avoid a circumstance and, just because you have avoided it, the wrong forces of this circumstance will get more strength. Either they will think that you are avoiding them because you are weak, or they will think that you are avoiding them because it is beneath your dignity to deal with them. And in that case, they will come against you with more power.

If you try to escape you may escape here, but there you will be caught. So it is best to face a problem when it arises, and not try to escape. But you should not face the situation in a military way: somebody is challenging you, so you will strike him. No, that is silly. Try instead to bring the divinity of the circumstance forward. If some undivine quality is inside an individual, it is not by striking or hitting him that you will overcome it, but by becoming more friendly. With more confidence in your approach to God you have to bring forward the divine qualities in the human being or the incident that is causing the problem. Accept the situation with compassion and love, and eventually these unpleasant circumstances are bound to become pleasant, soulful and fruitful.