NAC: From the point of view of a lot of people, the world is a very cruel and negative place and their consciousness is not in a position to absorb the negativity. What can you say, or what service can we perform ("we" in the largest sense of the word) to help with that situation?

Sri Chinmoy: I fully agree with you. What we should do is to cultivate more soulful patience. Right now the world is far from perfection. It is an almost half-animal world that we are living in. We are constantly quarrelling and fighting. But again, there is an inner cry in us to do something, to become something, to grow into something that will give us abiding satisfaction. This inner cry is something that wants to transcend what we have now and what we are now. But perfection does not come into existence overnight. It takes time.

What you need, what I need, what others need, is one thing: soulful patience. We have to know that patience is not something weak. If we are patient, it does not mean that we are forced to surrender to the hard reality of life. No, it is inner wisdom. Our inner wisdom needs patience, a length of time. It is like a seed. As soon as we see a seed, we expect the seed to grow into a plant and become a tree, a huge banyan tree. But the seed takes time to germinate and gradually become a plant and then a tree. If we have the vision of our patience, then one day we will see that truth will manifest and grow into Reality. So what the entire world needs is soulful patience. Then the truth can grow in its own way.