Question: Isn't spirituality a way of escaping from our problems or difficulties?

Sri Chinmoy: We do not give up because the world is full of difficulties; we do not commit suicide because the world is full of difficulties. What we have to do is pay more attention to the spiritual life. Our path is the path of acceptance. We shall accept the outer life in a normal way, but we shall also do something which most people do not do, and that is pay full attention to the inner life as well. Real spirituality will demand acceptance of life as it is. Obstacles we don't deny, but the obstacles have to be surmounted. We are not saying to ignore them or run away from them. Far from it. But the advice I am giving is that if we can achieve light from above, then only can we conquer these outer obstacles. We are not avoiding them; we are not afraid of them. We are not trying to escape from the hard reality. But if we know that there is a medicine which can cure the maladies of centuries, then if we are wise we will take that medicine. That medicine is inner light.