Question: In the spiritual life, which way will be best, to arrive at the truth in order to gain freedom, or to try to gain freedom in order to arrive at the truth?

Sri Chinmoy: Now the thing is that truth and freedom go together. We cannot separate freedom from truth. Where there is truth, there is freedom. But this truth is Truth with a capital “T”. In our ordinary life, we say, “This is true, this is false.” Truth here is measured. But when we think of the highest Truth, the Eternal Truth, we see that it exists in infinite freedom.

Now we have to find out what our soul wants first and needs first, even within our daily existence. If the soul wants Truth and we are not getting the opportunity to obtain it because we are bound by the family or by circumstances, at that time, you have to think of Truth first, and even if you don’t have freedom, you have to go to Truth first. Let me make this clearer to you. In your day-to-day life, your soul may make you feel, “This is the Truth; meditation is the Truth; God is the Truth; realisation is the Truth.” Now in spite of this inner conviction, if you feel that the family is standing in your way, friends are standing in your way, society is standing in your way, then at that time, do not think of freedom. Just try to go to the Truth first, because this is what your soul wants. Freedom will automatically come.

If your soul’s spontaneous urge makes you feel that Truth is the only thing that you need, then outer freedom is bound to come, because outer freedom will automatically come and assist your soul’s aspiration. But if you wait for the outer freedom to be offered to you by humanity, then you will never get it. Truth has its own infinite power and when we approach it without caring for the outer circumstances, the Truth itself will pave the way so that we can live in the Truth, feel the Truth and become the Truth.

So freedom you do not get from other people — from society, from humanity. You should not worry, but you should try to go directly to the Truth. Then Truth will automatically bring freedom to your life. If you wait to be given freedom from friends, relatives, humanity, then you will never get it. Truth will always remain a far cry. You yourself have to approach the Truth and then the Truth is bound to come to you.

Let us run towards the Truth without looking to the right or left, forward or backward. Run towards the Truth, the Golden Shore. Then you will see that God’s Truth will create freedom for you because Truth has infinite Power, the Power to make you free.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Earth’s cry meets Heaven’s smile, part 3, Aum Press, Puerto Rico, 1978
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ech_3