NAC: When one is engaged in a way of life which is not satisfactory to the person and one feels the first tug to begin seeking (I am asking this question because a great many people who will be reading this interview will be in that position), one has the impulse to do something. The philosophy and the ideals and so on make some sense, but here in the West people have the impulse to do something and make it happen. Is there anything practical, direct, that you can suggest for someone to do?

Sri Chinmoy: Here I wish to say that the best policy is to first become something and then do something. First achieve, then give what you have. This is the golden rule. First you become the fruit, the most delicious fruit, and then you offer yourself for everybody to eat. But in cases where one is being guided by a higher force, a special rule applies. If the higher force says, "I need you as my instrument," or "I have accepted you as my instrument, so you please me in my own way," at that time the process is reversed. In that case, if the Inner Pilot or spiritual Master tells you, "Do this," then in the process of doing you are becoming. When this happens, then you have to listen to the dictates of your Master, for the Master is representing God for you. When Krishna says to Arjuna, "Surrender to me, I will do everything for you," at that time Arjuna is only an instrument. Here Arjuna has obtained free access to the Inner Pilot. The Inner Pilot says, "Do this, and in the process of doing, you will become what I want you to become." But you have to know whether you really have free access to the Inner Pilot or not.