Question: How can you attain inner serenity and peace when you look around and see war, poverty, hunger, drugs and death in the world?

Sri Chinmoy: If somebody is not satisfied with the outer world, then he should have the inner hunger to enter and dive into the inner world. I have twenty or thirty disciples who once upon a time used to take drugs. They did many wrong things, but they found that this was not satisfying to them. Then they felt the inner hunger. They were starved with inner hunger and they came to me and entered into the life of aspiration. They wanted to see if there was any truth, any light, any fulfilment there. And when they entered into the inner life, they found the answer. The individual has to see and feel if the outer life has satisfied him or not. If the outer life has failed him or disappointed him, at that time he may wake up and say, "This shore has disappointed me; now let me see what the other shore has to offer." So naturally he will try to enter into the inner world. Then, from inside he will bring forth his inner life. As we sow, so we reap. If I cry for light and dive deep within, then I see the light and grow into the light. The light that I see and possess becomes part and parcel of my inner life. Then I try to bring that light to the fore and offer it to mankind. At that time, mankind receives according to its own receptivity.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Perfection and transcendence, Agni Press, 1977
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