Question: Why is there such a big difference between the capacities of various human beings?

Sri Chinmoy: In a garden, why should there be only one type of plant? Why should there be only roses? A rose garden is beautiful, true. But there are hundreds of plants producing hundreds of flowers — some big, some small, some white, some red, and so forth. All of them give us joy in their own way.

Suppose you are the most beautiful person on earth and somebody else is the most powerful person. You are beauty incarnate and he is power incarnate. Human nature is such that both of you are not satisfied. You will think that power is more important than beauty and he will think that beauty is more important than power.

Then God says to you, “I gave you beauty. Now try to create more beauty in your heart, in your mind, in your vital, in your body.” To the other person, God will say, “I gave you power. Now you can have more power in your heart, in your mind — everywhere.”

God wants you to be a rose, and God wants him to be a lotus. Then each of you can spread your unique fragrance. But you are not satisfied with what you have. You want to grab what he has, and he wants to grab what you have. Your dissatisfaction is the gap that divides you. Human life is always the story of dissatisfaction.

At times it may happen that God may give us more capacities in different fields. In your hunger for power, you cry and cry to God. Eventually, He may say, “All right, let me give him a little power. If I give him a little power, then he will work better for Me.” And to the one who is crying for beauty, if it is God’s Will, God may say, “Let me give him a little beauty. Perhaps he will do better work for Me.”

Then God says, “If I give them both a little more compassion, a little more light, then each one will be able to do more.” God started with one capacity, but if He wants to give you more capacities in different fields, then you will be able to inspire more people on earth. The more capacities you have in different fields, the more opportunity you are getting, from the spiritual point of view, to serve people.

If you go to a very big garden, you will see there all kinds of flowers. How do you know which flower is going to conquer your heart, the big ones or the small ones? All are needed.

Similarly, all the notes in the musical scale are needed, but I happen to like 6½ the most. That note gives me much more joy than 4½ or 5½. Those notes are also needed to go up to 6½, but as soon as I hear 6½, my heart absolutely melts. When I go up to 8 and then come down to 6½, how soulfully I can sing there! Whereas, if I come down to 4½, I find that it is a dry note. But again, all the notes are needed, all the three octaves are needed. If I press only 6½, what kind of melody will it be? So I use all the notes, but when I come to my most favourite one, I get the utmost joy.