36. Sri Chinmoy's talk on Sudha's birthday12

Today is our dearest daughter’s birthday. We came from New York to Puerto Rico to observe her birthday. She is so precious to us in our lives of manifestation that we have come here especially for her. We arrived last night after midnight, and I will be leaving in an hour or so, also at midnight. But my concern for her, my blessings, my blessingful joy and pride in her, are measureless. That is why we came all this way to celebrate her birthday here.

Sudha is the life-breath of this Centre. She is a most solid pillar of the Chinmoy Centres, and she is also the pioneer disciple. She is our first and foremost disciple. This Centre is our first Centre, and she is our first and foremost disciple. And here, as Alo has mentioned, the Centre is in her hands in our absence; she is our direct instrument.

To Sudha, the Centre is everything. Love, sacrifice and devotion: these are the qualities, the divine qualities, that she has in abundant measure. That is why it is possible for us to have her as a divine instrument, to have her here, inspiring and guiding all the seekers.

“Sudha” means “Nectar, divine Nectar”. The gods, the cosmic gods, drink nectar and then they become immortal. From Sudha in our Centre, you get inspiration and aspiration. It is aspiration that immortalises the seeker in each of us. So these are the things, the divine things, the precious things that we get from Sudha.

On her two broad shoulders, we rest in confidence. We demand, we scold, we urge, we press her in many ways in expecting perfect perfection from her. We want her to be perfect, absolutely perfect in everything. She has to make this kind of sacrifice. She has to have love, devotion and surrender. She has to have a totally consecrated life, a life consecrated to the Supreme. She has done it, and she will be doing it.

So in her radiant example to all those who are coming here to this Centre, she is showing how they can be totally dedicated and totally consecrated, totally surrendered to God the Supreme in the spiritual Master.

Sudha is appreciated by all the members of the New York Centre. Each member is fond of her and proud of her. Why? Everybody sees in her the same burning flame of aspiration and dedication to the Supreme. From Sudha you get inspiration and aspiration in abundant measure. This Centre is extremely proud of her, extremely grateful to her. Sudha and this Centre are inseparable. As she cannot be separated from us and is inseparably one with us, so each disciple can claim like Sudha to be totally one with us, to be totally consecrated to the Supreme. When we think of Sudha, we experience divine pride in great measure.

On Sudha’s birthday in 1967, I wrote a birthday message for her on a beautifully decorated blackboard. It said, “Sudha, Nectar of the Guru, Nectar of the Supreme.”

Then in 1969, I came again on 19 July and wrote on the same board, “The Nectar-Fount of the Guru and the Supreme.”

She is eternally ours. She is in us, she is of us and she is for us forever.

The birthday part, the most important part, is over. Now I want to speak about something else. Every time we come here, I must bring in some strictness. You have to bear with me. I wish to be always strict and stricter.

Now, on the one hand, I am really pleased with you, with each of you here. We are really pleased with the sincere seekers who are coming regularly, faithfully and devotedly. I wish you to continue in this way. But if you lag, if you relax in your aspiration, if you fail to make progress, then I am sorry to tell you that this Centre will not be meant for you at that time.

Our Mission is progressing very fast: fast, faster, fastest. You yourself can see it. We are entering into the whole, wide world. That is what the Supreme wants. Now if you stay here at the Centre only for the sake of counting years: two years, three years, four years, five years; if you stay but you are making no real inner progress, then we feel that we have to say, “This place is not meant for you.” Last week at the New York Centre we asked thirteen persons to leave the Centre, thirteen in one day. They had been with us for three years, two years, one year and six months, etc. Why did we do that? Because they could not maintain our standard, and they were making no progress at all. They were just coming, with no aspiration whatsoever.

Now here in Puerto Rico, I wish to maintain the same high standard. How can we maintain the standard? Only on the strength of our aspiration. In our Connecticut Centre, I was not strict at first. Now I am becoming strict, and I have told them that in two months’ time, nobody will be allowed to come to the Centre with long hair, beard or moustache — beard especially. No drugs or anything like that. Our Connecticut Centre was famous for those things. But now we are becoming very strict.

In this Centre, in Puerto Rico, the standard is good; in fact, it is very high. But if you drop, if someone else lags, if a third person relaxes, if someone’s apiration has gone very low, and if I see that for months a person has the same low degree of aspiration, that is to say, a lack of growing aspiration or no aspiration at all, then when we come here in a few months’ time, those persons will not be here.

We really want Puerto Rico and New York to be of the same standard in the field of aspiration. In no way do I want you to be behind them or New York to be behind you. Run and run the fastest, just as you do in your sports, where you are doing well.

We are very pleased with your sports. This morning we saw your capacity and, for that, we thank each individual competitor, plus the instructor, Nadeshwar. He has taken great pains in teaching you, and I am most pleased and proud of him and proud of each of you.

In the spiritual life here, I want everybody to listen to Sudha, so that we can be proud of each of you. She is the spiritual leader of the Centre here. So please cooperate with her. Whatever she says, try to do it, and do not enter into any kind of argument or controversy with her. Rest assured that she won’t make any decision until she takes our permission. When it is a serious matter, she immediately phones us or writes to us, and only with our direct knowledge, approval and permission, does she tell you what to do. Then she will try to implement our decision. In serious matters, she speaks to us on the phone, and she will always let you know what we want. But in regard to the ordinary activities and general management of the Centre, please listen to her, so that you don’t enter into conflict. Jealousy and all these emotional reactions you have to conquer for the sake of your spiritual lives. However, as I just said, with regard to anything important or serious, she will ask us, and only with our express permission will she tell you what to do. She will be able to quote us at that time. She will say, “I asked Guru; I asked Alo, and they said this; this is their wish.” But in the everyday management of the Centre activities, in all that is going on, please listen to her. Then surely there can be no conflict between your aspiration and her guidance.

Now, to come back to my main point which I have not yet touched upon: Alo has come to Puerto Rico to take you, all our Puerto Rican children, to New York for our Athletic Competitions.

Now, here is my request to each competitor here: suppose a New York disciple has won in a particular event. Immediately try to identify yourself with that runner or jumper, and try to feel that it is you who have run the fastest; it is you who have done the very best. In that way, you get the greatest joy on the strength of your oneness. Then if somebody has stood last, either from this Centre, our Puerto Rican Centre, or from New York, immediately identify yourself with that poorest runner or thrower. Then what will happen? When you identify yourself with that so-called inferior one, you will offer your sympathy to him since he is weaker than you. You will become one with him. With the superior person, you will feel that it is you, with your enthusiasm, zeal and pride, who are entering into him and identifying yourself with him. That is your best achievement. If somebody wins or somebody loses or does not do well, you will feel that it is your best performance or your worst.

In that way, you will identify yourselves with your spiritual brothers and sisters in New York and Connecticut. It is one family. Here we are all one family. You are going there to New York, and I am most pleased and most proud. But with this kind of spirit, you will please go: brothers and sisters will be meeting together, not like Olympic or other sports people who sometimes compete with an undivine spirit. You will be seeing your own brothers and sisters; they will be seeing their own spiritual brothers and sisters in you. To compete in an undivine way is not sportsmanlike; it is nothing but a battle of egos. We shall not do that. We shall compete with inner identification and divine oneness.

So, dearest children, the real game, the real championships up there in New York will be to see how you identify yourselves with them and how they identify themselves with you. What I am telling you, I have already told them in New York: how to identify themselves with you. If you stand first, anyone from here, I have told them immediately to identify themselves with you, and then they will have the greatest joy and pride. Similarly, if you do very badly in one particular item, they will identify themselves with your poorest performance and become one with you. With the poorest competitor, you will identify yourself with your sympathy and concern; with the best, you will identify yourself with joy, enthusiasm and pride, for we are all one. You will please all behave in this way.

For your Guru and Alo, the real success will be in your inner attitude, not in your outer performance. Yes, if in the outer world you do well, I will be very pleased. But I will be more pleased and extremely proud of you if you have the feeling of oneness with your brothers and sisters of New York and Connecticut. You are all our spiritual children who will be giving us inner joy in their oneness and union. As for the performances as such, do your best; they will also try. Everybody must apply his or her best efforts; compete to your utmost capacity. In this way, humanity at large will know that in the physical world, we have acted with a spiritual consciousness.

[Sri Chinmoy’s talk continues after refreshments.]

I wish to tell you that no one can bind me with money. It is impossible. With material wealth, with outer gifts, no! With love, devotion and surrender, yes, you can bind me. If you have divine love and devoted surrender, at every second, you can bind me. People in our other Centres also have wanted to bind us by giving us thousands of dollars to run our so-called “Main Centre” in New York. We have also been offered land and property. But we have refused to accept these offerings because there was, behind them, a subtle unspiritual motive, a desire to bind and possess us. Some of those people have already left the Centre on their own initiative.

So here in Puerto Rico, people should not be under the illusion that so-and-so is very dear to us because he or she has given some money or is helping in some other material way. No, only devoted, obedient love, devotion and surrender can keep you close, closer, closest to me. By giving us material things, you cannot bind us. A true spiritual Master can never be bound by material things. He can only be bound by spiritual qualities which come directly from the aspiring soul.

To some extent, with material things, you can help us in manifesting our mission if you do it sincerely and selflessly. Moreover, where there is true dedication and devotion, the Supreme will supply you with the material things which you need in order to make your work for Him possible. He will bring material possessions to you. We shall soon see in all our Centres, especially New York and Puerto Rico, people who have both devotion and material wealth. But this does not mean that people who do not have material wealth and have only dedication and devotion are inferior. No. The truly superior ones are those who have constant inner aspiration and constant outer dedication. They are really superior. Again, those who have material wealth and are helping devotedly can feel that they are doing selfless, dedicated service. This has to be understood by each of you.

The first and foremost necessity is inner aspiration; along with inner aspiration, if you have material wealth and you offer it devotedly, then it becomes a divine service, a truly selfless action. In India, we called it Nishkama Karma, which means literally “Desireless Action”. Otherwise, you are only aggrandising your own ego. Your ego has to be transformed; it has to be transcended. So if any of you are under the illusion that if you give us this or that, you can become very close to us, you must understand that this is not the way spiritual Masters function. On the contrary, if there is no satisfactory inner progress, I eventually ask that person to leave the Centre. It is like a university; if you cannot pass your examinations and you make no progress, ultimately, after giving you many chances to improve, and seeing no change, they ask you to leave the university. Either you have to maintain a certain standard or you have to leave. We want both New York and Puerto Rico to maintain a uniformly high standard.

To maintain a high standard of this type in the spiritual life, inner aspiration and outer dedication are necessary. We will be proud of those who feel that their lives are totally dedicated to the Supreme’s Cause, as Sudha has done. Please try to do as she has done. Otherwise, there will be a false understanding, a total misunderstanding, and these misunderstandings will remain in your mind. So right from the beginning, I am telling you that if you want to be close to me, then dedicate yourself, heart and soul, inwardly and outwardly. But by trying to bind us outwardly, without inner communication, inner oneness, or an inner feeling of identification, it is simply impossible. You will be fooling yourselves.

So here, there are quite a few people like that, and I am telling them, I am warning them, that if within you, you do not have inner communication and oneness, then outwardly it is foolishness and stupidity to try to bind us with money. Try rather to go deep within yourselves and establish your oneness, your inner oneness with me on a very solid basis. Then you will be safe and secure, and we will also be confident in our oneness with you, and we will be most proud of you.

Next Friday at Columbia University in New York City, we shall be holding our highest meditation once again. Those who come here to this Centre at seven o’clock in the evening can join us spiritually. And if you like, I can ask Sudha to be here at seven. [Everyone assented enthusiastically.] So all those who want to come here and meditate at 7 pm this coming Friday, are most welcome. You will join us spiritually. Sudha will be here. We shall all meditate together.

And then the next thing — this is my request for the week: Alo has worked very, very hard in New York, and this week, after I have left, she will be here for a rest. I don’t want anyone to come here at odd hours and ask her, “Can we take you here or there?” If she needs anyone’s help, she will phone them. Otherwise, please do not bother her. Tomorrow is Monday; tomorrow there is no activity here at the Centre. Nobody should come. The day after tomorrow, Tuesday, there is nothing also, just for this week. Wednesday is the regular meditation. Thursday — packing. On Friday morning, Alo will be going with the Puerto Rican children to New York. So this week, there will be no selfless service at all. If she changes her mind about this or if she needs you, she will call. Otherwise, please do not come here under some pretext either in the morning or at noon or in the evening, and then stay here for two or three or four hours.

When we all go to New York, in addition to yourselves, so many people will be coming. About two hundred people will be there. More than a hundred people alone are participating in the sports. So many people to feed, accommodate and organise for their particular sport-items. So much work! So Alo has come here this time only for Sudha’s birthday and for relaxation. Please also do not bring her personal problems, or come here under some pretext, to talk to her for hours. It is very exhausting when you do that.

You know that when I am serious, I can be very serious. You know, too, that I am all love, all compassion, but again when I use my divine authority, I am very, very severe. So please listen to this request of mine.


MPR 36. AUM Centre, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19 July 1971.