Real wisdom comes from the heart

Sri Chinmoy: I am so proud of you. You have no idea how grateful I am to you and also how proud I am of you. Each time you help someone, his heart's tears enter into you and your soul's smiles enter into him. He gives you what he has, his tears, and you give him what you have, your smiles.

To help even one orphan — to give him a real education and to make him into a decent human being — is such a difficult task. And now you are dealing with hundreds of orphans! As the years pass by, you will have to deal with more people because they will see how compassionately you are doing things. I am sure that your organisation will grow very, very big. Like your hotel it will have so many branches in so many cities!

Now you are giving the orphans work in this hotel or that hotel in Thailand. But a day will come when you will have to send them to other countries because the good qualities that they have learned from you — the knowledge, wisdom, affection and self-giving service that you have offered to them — will be needed not only by Thailand but also by neighbouring countries. There are many countries that need this kind of service, wisdom, affection and compassion.

You have sown the seed. Now the seed has germinated, and it is becoming a tree. A day will come when it will be a very, very huge banyan tree. But we have to know that you are the source. To the source everybody will always remain grateful. You are doing so much for suffering humanity. If there are people like you to help suffering humanity, then God's creation is definitely being taken care of. These helpless children need your help at every moment, and your heart of compassion, love and affection is doing everything for them.

Mr. Vanasin Vongbhun: The hotel industry fits perfectly into this kind of project because in the service industry you do not need a lot of education. They do not have to get a bachelor's degree. When you have too much education, it is not good to be in the service industry.

Sri Chinmoy: More knowledge than we need is not good to have. It only creates problems. People who go to universities and get very high degrees usually live inside the mind. Then they become a dry tree without branches or leaves. But people like you, who live inside the heart, are like a tree that is full of fragrance — a tree that is offering its flowers and fruits to the whole world.

So higher knowledge is not needed by these children. They don't have to get the highest university degrees, not at all. Whatever knowledge is needed, you are giving them. You are giving them your heart, and this is what God wants from you, from me, from everyone. In my case, I did not even finish high school, but I have written 900 books in English and I have given talks at many, many universities. The knowledge that I have, I get from my heart — not from the mind.

Real wisdom comes from the heart. And what is that wisdom? To love and serve these poor people who are suffering. The knowledge that comes from the mind always has a superior feeling: "I am so clever; I am so great." But the heart's wisdom acts like a mother. When the mother deals with the child, she never thinks of herself as superior. She comes down to the level of the child so that she can deal with the child and the child can deal with her. Suppose someone has read 10,000 books and you have read only one book. Who cares for 10,000 books? The only book we care for is the book that says to love and be loved — and that book is written on the tablet of the heart. That particular book you have and I also have. You are giving me your heart-book and I am giving you mine. That is all we need.

All those who are getting your affection, love and concern may not outwardly express their gratitude. But in their hearts they feel it. Sometimes when people get tremendous help from someone, they become speechless. They cannot imagine how somebody can be of such service to them. What you are doing is far, far beyond the imagination of these poor little orphans, who so badly need help from you in so many ways.

You are involved in many activities and projects. These projects are like branches of your life-tree. The more branches our life-tree can have, the more flowers and fruits there will be. In your case, the flowers are these children, to whom you are giving an education and trying to raise as decent human beings. All these flowers come from your love and service. You are the tree, and the beautiful flowers and delicious fruits are your creations.