Question: What kind of smile does God give when we ask Him for instant God-realisation?

Sri Chinmoy: When a seeker asks God for instant God-realisation, God smiles for two reasons. On the physical plane, God says, “You are such a rogue! You have not yet started yoga seriously. You have not yet embarked on the spiritual journey, and already you want God-realisation!” Many times I have told the story about the seeker who practised yoga for so many years. Then he asked the sage Narada to ask Lord Vishnu how many years it would take for him to reach God-realisation. When he heard that he had to take a few more incarnations, he became disgusted and gave up the spiritual life. Another fellow who was a drunkard asked the same question. The reply came, “As many leaves as there are on the tamarind tree, you have to take that many incarnations before you will achieve God-realisation.” This fellow was so happy — he was dancing with joy because one day he would realise God. It might take twenty million years, but he was so happy that at least he would get God-realisation.

On the one hand, God laughs because on the practical plane, the seeker has not even taken the spiritual life seriously, sincerely or intensely. On the other hand, God smiles because even though the seeker has just embarked on the spiritual journey, he knows what the ultimate Goal is. He knows that God-realisation is absolutely the highest. He is like a child who has not studied even the ABCs, but he is talking about his Master’s degree and Ph.D. God is amused that although the seeker is still in kindergarten, his goal is to reach the highest, to get the highest degree. He knows his ultimate Goal; he has got a glimpse of that Reality even at this stage. So on one hand, God is showing His amusement: “You idiot! You have not yet started!” On the other hand, God is so pleased: “Even though he is an idiot, he knows what the ultimate Goal is.”