Question: If I do not take action, am I getting bad karma because I am allowing a person to do bad things again?

Sri Chinmoy: At that point if you refer the matter to God, another type of wisdom is coming forward: “God, he has done something against me. Now You tell me what I should do. Shall I punish him? Shall I go and tell someone else, or shall I leave it up to You? You please decide what I am supposed to do.” This is the inner communication between the seeker and God. You say, “God, please decide. Please tell me what to do. I do not wish to remain indifferent in an ordinary way. God, You please decide what I should do.”

If someone is allowing another person to commit more misdeeds, he is doing the wrong thing. Again, he can say to God, “God, this fellow has done something wrong. Now I am begging You to do the needful.”

But if somebody is not doing anything — if he is not telling God and he is not taking any outer action — that is wrong. He is allowing the ignorance of the person to increase. Instead, he can tell God, “God, someone has given me a slap. I will do whatever You say. If You ask me to give him a slap, I will give him a slap. If You ask me to remain silent, I will remain silent. If You say I should tell some people who will take my side and give him another slap, I will do it.” You have to wait for God’s Advice. Many times we do not do this. We allow people to continue to do wrong things, and this is how ignorance is increasing.

Some people are increasing ignorance by not asking for justice. When there is a car crash, some people just ignore it. Then the mad driver will go on and commit a more serious crime.

You are a good driver, let us say, and your friend is a third-class driver who has destroyed your car. If you do not tell the police, then your friend will have a more serious accident. Whose fault is this? The first time it was not your fault, but your negligence, your unwillingness to do the right thing, will make your friend more undivine. Then he will have a more serious accident.

Ten metres in front of you, let us say, somebody is about to turn into your lane without signaling. But if you honk, then he will realise that he has done something wrong. Otherwise, tomorrow this fellow will turn only five metres ahead of someone, and the day after he will turn three metres ahead of someone else. That person is innocent, but he may be the victim of a crash.

Even if others are undivine and curse you, let them curse you. In that case they have committed a double crime. First they have done something wrong: they have gone ahead of you without notice. Then they curse you after you honk. Two things they have done wrong. At that point, God’s Justice will come in a totally different way. Even the next day, something may happen. While they are driving on the highway at 70 miles per hour, all of a sudden the car will stop. They have committed one crime: they have cut you off. The second crime is that they curse you. You think that they will go on making mistakes indefinitely. They may make eight, nine or ten mistakes. Then one day, while they are driving on the highway at top speed, the car may jump and crash, or they may be drunk and cause a serious accident.