Question: The bad boy did not pray for protection, either.

Sri Chinmoy: That boy’s karma will come. Today he has done something wrong, but he has not been caught. When he does something wrong tomorrow, he may get a life-long jail sentence. We see only the unfortunate incident, but God says to us, “Your prayer is also an incident.” If someone accumulates more and more bad karma, eventually he will be caught. Again, if someone else prays and meditates over the years, he accumulates good karma. How else will an individual realise God?

Life is not justification; life is illumination. One cannot get satisfaction from justification. If I give you a slap and you give me a slap, there is no satisfaction for either of us. I have to pray to God to illumine me so that I will not give you another slap, and you also have to pray to God to illumine you so that you do not give me a slap. Life has to be used for illumination, and not for justification. Justification is only “tit for tat;” it does not satisfy either party at all. But illumination comes if we say, “I did something wrong, but I will not do it again.” Others may say that the victim was a fool; but if he is illumined, he will be prepared, and he will be fully protected.

Today or tomorrow, one country attacks another country, and the second country loses. Then secretly, secretly, after ten years the losing country attacks the one that defeated it. That is justification. Japan’s case was different. Japan was badly defeated in World War II. How quickly Japan’s economy grew after the war! In every way Japan jumped and made progress. Could other countries have done it? Materially, technologically — in so many ways, how fast Japan grew!

Wisdom can come to two parties in different ways. If they use their wisdom in those different ways, then there will be no clash. But if they do not use their wisdom in their respective ways, there will again be a clash.