Talks I

Sri Chinmoy's talks at universities around the world and to his own students comprise the core of his writings. It is here that he presents many different aspects of his spiritual approach and highlights the central truths of all religions.

Spirituality

Spirituality, according to my knowledge, understanding and realisation, is a house, and God is the resident of this house. Now this is the realisation of the beginning seeker in me. But when the seeker in me is well-advanced, he says that the house and the resident of the house are one and the same. In the beginning, it is extremely easy for us to think of God as the Creator and not as the Creation, because when we look around we see that God’s Creation is full of imperfection.

Aspiration

Dear seekers, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to give a talk on aspiration. In the spiritual life, there is nothing and there can be nothing more important than aspiration. Aspiration is our inner cry for the highest Absolute. Aspiration is the eternal road. Aspiration is the eternal guide. Aspiration is the Transcendental Goal. A man of aspiration knows that what he has is human knowledge. Human knowledge is limited or unlimited ignorance. Aspiration is divine knowledge. Aspiration knows what binds us and what liberates us.

Fear and Courage

We are afraid of God. God’s infinite Vastness frightens us. God’s Transcendental Height frightens us. God’s immeasurable Depth frightens us. God is both Truth and Light. God the Truth tries to lead us to the perfect Truth. But, unfortunately, we feel that God the Truth is always examining us. We feel that since we are a mountain of falsehood, since we are making mistakes at every moment, God the Truth will punish us. But God is all Compassion. He does not punish us. On the contrary, He tries to illumine our mistakes and make us perfect. In the process of evolution, He tells us that falsehood is nothing but lesser Truth.

Happiness

Dear friends, dear sisters and brothers, dear seekers, I wish to give a short talk on happiness. You want happiness. He wants happiness. I want happiness. Everybody wants happiness in life, from life. Each Creation of God wants happiness. God wants happiness for Himself in and through His Creation. We want happiness and we need happiness. In this life of ours there are many things that we want but actually do not need.

I Need Peace

I need peace in my inner life of aspiration. I need peace in my outer life of dedication. Therefore, no more shall I allow my heart to enter into the insecuritycave. No more shall I allow my mind to enter into the thought-jungle. No more shall I allow my vital to enter into the destruction-arena. No more shall I allow my body to enter into the lethargy-world. No more shall I do these things, for I need peace in my inner life and in my outer life.

Is Death the End?

Death is not the end. Death can never be the end. Death is the road. Life is the traveller. The soul is the guide. When the traveller is tired and exhausted, the guide instructs the traveller to take either a short or a long rest, and then the traveller’s journey begins again. In the spiritual life, when an aspirant does not cry for a higher light, bliss and power, it is the birth of his death. In the ordinary life, when an unaspiring man wallows in the mire of ignorance, it is the real victory of death. What can we learn from the inner life which desires the extinction of death?

Love and Serve

Love and serve; serve and love. We love God. We serve God. When we love God, we see. When we serve God, we feel. What do we see? We see God’s Face. What do we feel? We feel God’s Heart. God’s Face inspires us. God’s Heart illumines us. Inspiration has many, many friends. Of all its friends, aspiration is by far the best. Illumination has many, many friends. Of all its friends, perfection is by far the best. Aspiration is our heart’s inner cry. Illumination is our life’s outer smile. The inner cry climbs high, higher, highest and tries to become devotedly, soulfully and unconditionally one with the ever-transcending Reality. The outer smile spreads all around and tries to manifest Divinity, Eternity, Infinity and Immortality.

Poetry-Poem-Poet

Prose you can write. Prose he can write. Prose even I can write. But God writes poetry through you, through him and even through me. Poetry is the short-cut to reach the subtle and tangible Goal of goals—Delight infinite. A poem starts in streaming tears and ends in soaring smiles. The poet beckons tomorrow’s dream-dawn and then transforms tomorrow’s dream-dawn into today’s reality-day. It is a deplorable mistake we make when we try to understand poetry. Poetry is not to be understood. Poetry is to be felt. Poetry is to be loved. To try to understand a poem is like touching a rose with innumerable thorns. To try to feel a poem is to lovingly hold a rose without a single thorn. And to love a poem is to grow immediately into the beauty and fragrance of the rose itself. The soul of the poet creates. The heart of the poet originates. The eyes of the poet initiate.