Part III — Questions and answers

Question: I feel weak and I would like to know how I can feel stronger and more disciplined.

Sri Chinmoy: If you go to the hospital to visit friends who are sick and if you stay there for a few hours with them, then you will feel that you also are sick, even though you are physically well. If you mix with strong young men, jumping and running for a couple of hours, then you feel energetic. On the physical plane, when you mix with sick people you feel weak and when you mix with strong people you feel strong and dynamic.

In the spiritual life when you want to discipline your life, you have to mix with spiritual people who have disciplined their lives. You are trying to discipline your life and they are also in the same boat. So when two persons are aiming at the same goal, it makes the task very easy. Early in the morning it is very difficult to run because of lethargy and inertia. But if you see that a friend of yours is running, you will go together. At that time, you will energise him and he will energise you. Your strength enters into his strength and his strength enters into your strength.

If you follow a path, whether our path or somebody else’s path, immediately you will get a few friends. On each path there are quite a few seekers, so among these seekers you can easily have some really spiritual friends. Since they are practising the spiritual life they are bound to be spiritual, but you have to know that there are some with whom you have a greater inner affinity. There may be many people standing in front of you, but you will look at one person. Why? Because you have some affinity with that person. Mix only with those who give you a kind of joy, a sense of satisfaction. In this way you can increase your power of discipline and self-control. And if you do not want to follow any spiritual path, then just mix with spiritual people who are your friends. They unconsciously will be able to energise you.

If you follow a spiritual path and you have a Master, you have to accept wholeheartedly the Master’s message. When he meditates with you, you will get strength. You are bound to get power even if he brings down peace, light and bliss. Peace itself is power; light is power. All the divine qualities are power. Again, divine power itself is light. It is not like human power, which can be misused to destroy something or properly used to create something. Spiritual power is always light. Power, light and peace all function together. Each one complements the other; each one represents the other.

The world is unaspiring. According to us, unaspiring people are all sick people and, according to them, we are all insane. In this world, some people cry for material possessions and some cry for spiritual possessions. We are crying for light, which will liberate us, and they are crying for the fulfilment of worldly desire. They think we are doing something absolutely wrong and we feel that they are doing something wrong. So for us, for spiritual people, it is better to mix mainly with those who are spiritual. By mixing with spiritual people we will get inner strength. By mixing with unspiritual people we will never get inner strength. On the contrary, since unspiritual people are weak in their inner life, our association with them will also weaken us inwardly. So let us be wise and associate with those who have the kind of strength and inspiration which we want to have.