Question: Is the conflict that we are experiencing in our times a detour or a destructive force at work?

Sri Chinmoy: It is neither a detour nor a destructive force in our fast-progressing age. In the first place, there is no such thing as destruction. In Indian philosophy, the three aspects of God are Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver; and Shiva, the Transformer. Very often Shiva is known as the Destroyer. But God does not destroy. Rather He transforms. Perfection can be achieved. For this perfection, we have to go deep within. We see that what takes place is an inner transformation of human ignorance and doubt. If you have doubt, the apparent destruction of this doubt is actually its transformation. Everything that does not help us to run towards our Goal will be transformed into something positive.

The root of all man's problems is ignorance. But do you destroy a man in his ignorance? No, you transform him. God does exactly this. God has promised that He will transform our doubt, fear and ignorance. In our philosophy, no evil or sin exists on earth. We think of these things as ignorance. What some call ignorance can never be lasting. Ignorance will be transformed into knowledge. Undoubtedly there are negative forces in us and around us, in the cosmos itself. The source of the negative forces is ignorance. Negative forces try to cause the destruction of our inner possibilities. The force that comes from the inconscient level inside us will try to destroy all our inner possibilities.

When a negative force speaks from inside you, it will say, "You cannot be God's chosen child. Impossible! You have done millions of things wrong." The negative force will tell you that you cannot become the perfect instrument of God and that you cannot grow into His very Image. Only these two things the negative force can tell you.

Immediately you have to tell this force, "All right, I have done millions of things wrong, but that is none of your business. I am not taking shelter from you. I am not going to be under your protection, under your wings. I am under the protection of the omniscient and omnipotent Supreme."

The positive force will immediately tell you, "Yes, you already are an instrument, chosen instrument of God. You are growing into the very image of God because God Himself is evolving in and through you. Unfortunately, you are not aware of it. That is why you are suffering. And poor God has to wait for your conscious awareness of who He is and who you are."

Right now we give the negative forces the chance to attack us. But if we don't give them the chance, then the negative forces have to remain thousands of miles away from us. If we constantly harbour good thoughts, pure thoughts, divine thoughts, then the negative forces can never stay in us. Each moment we are thinking either good thoughts or bad thoughts, divine thoughts or undivine thoughts. If we cherish a divine thought, then negative thoughts will not be able to enter into us because they know well that the moment they enter they will be suffocated. There is no room left for them.

Unfortunately, human beings get immense pleasure in cherishing undivine thoughts. After cherishing a divine thought for five minutes, they find it necessary to invite an undivine thought. Who suffers from this practice? He who is conscious of his aspiration, never he who is spiritually asleep. For an unaspiring person there is no such thing as negative or positive thoughts. He cannot discriminate between what is negative and what is positive.

Every day you have to tell yourself, "I am evolving." At least for five minutes a day you have to exercise your positive thoughts, positive will, positive forces. You have to believe that in you the Truth is already embodied, in you the Truth will realise and reveal itself, in you and by you the Truth will be manifested. For five minutes a day everybody can do this. Then there can be no negative forces to disturb you or destroy your aspiration.