Part VI

SCA 89-91. On 16 June 1994 Sri Chinmoy met with Lindsay Clennell, a film writer and producer, at Annam Brahma Restaurant in Queens. There Sri Chinmoy signed one of his drawings for Mr. Clennell. Here are excerpts from their conversation.

Mr. Clennell: Thank you very much. This drawing is a real inspiration. The power of inspiration that you have for people is very, very important.

Sri Chinmoy: I take it as God’s unconditional Compassion acting in and through me. I am trying to be of service to Him lovingly, devotedly, prayerfully and soulfully. I tell God, “I want only to be Your football. Kick me whenever You want to, and as hard as possible. My only joy is to be kicked by You.” So He is kicking me right and left, and that is how I am getting joy. These paintings are coming in and through His blessingful Kicks. God asked me where I want to be. He said, “Do you want to look at My Eyes or at My Feet?” I said, “I get more joy by looking at Your Feet than by looking at Your Eyes.” In the Mahabharata, our Indian epic, the Kauravas wanted to be by the head of Krishna, but the Pandavas wanted to be at the feet of Krishna. In my case, I get infinitely more joy by being at God’s Feet. I prefer the devotional aspect of life. The other day I was reading the Puranas, which is one of India’s sacred books. There Krishna was saying, “I am ready to give you liberation because it is easier to give you liberation than to give you devotion.” In liberation, the seeker goes his own way; the bird flies away. But if there is devotion, then there is a magnetic pull between the Master and disciple — the sweetest feeling — and the Master plays with the disciple-bird in the sweetest way. So I feel that the sweetness of devotion far surpasses the grandeur of liberation.

Mr. Clennell: That is a very beautiful thing to say.

Sri Chinmoy: I want sweetness. If there is a beautiful flower, I will like it more than a huge building. What good does it do for me to see a huge building with many rooms? But if I see a beautiful flower, immediately I say, “How beautiful, how pure, how simple, how sweet!” These are the qualities that I want to grow in my life: sweetness, purity, simplicity. The mind is drawn to vastness, but the heart always wants to see something very, very sweet and affectionate.

That is why I tell God, “Kick me as hard as possible. Then only can I claim You as my own. If You give me freedom, I will only misuse it. I will become like a bull in a china shop and destroy everything. But the more You kick me, the purer I will become.” It is like the gold pot that becomes bright, brighter, brightest each time the goldsmith strikes it.