There was a time
When I loved you,
O my thought-world.
But now I love
The beauty of a silence-mind
And
The purity of a gratitude-heart.
Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 9, Agni Press, 1981
Man has countless desires. When his desires are not fulfilled, he curses himself; he feels that he is a failure, hopeless and helpless. He wants to prove his existence on earth with the fruits of his desires. He thinks that by fulfilling his desires he will be able to prove himself superior to others. Yet, alas! he fails, he has failed and he shall fail. But God comes to him and says, "My child, you have not failed. You are not hopeless. You are not helpless. How can you be hopeless? I am growing in you with My ever luminous and ever fulfilling Dream. How can you be helpless? I am inside you as Infinite Power."
Then man tries to discover something else in order to prove his superiority. He tries to exercise his power violently, aggressively. He wants to derive joy from his superiority. He wants to prove to the world that he is important. In order to prove his eminence he adopts any means, and his conscience does not bother him. God, out of His Infinite Bounty, again comes to him and says, "This is a wrong choice. You cannot prove to the world that you are matchless, unique. What you actually crave from your superiority is joy, boundless joy. But this boundless joy will never be yours unless you know the secret of secrets. And that secret is your indivisible oneness with each human being on earth."
Then God continues. He says that He is Strong, He is Happy, He is Fulfilled just because He is totally one with each human being, with the entire universe. Only when one is totally united with the rest of the world can he truly be happy. And this happiness makes a man the unparalleled soul on earth. It is not power that makes us superior or makes us feel that we are priceless; it is our matchless oneness with God. Others do not need us because we have power. No, others badly need our soul's oneness. And this soul's oneness has to be brought into the oneness of the physical, the vital and the mind in an illumined and transformed way. We are great, we are greater, we are greatest only when we consciously feel our oneness with the entire world. And God is eager; He is sincerely eager to prove to the entire world that His aspiring, dedicated, devoted children are truly His Boundless Pride. We do not need to prove what we have and what we are. God is eager to prove to the world what His aspiring children, His dedicated, devoted, surrendered children have and are.
God will fulfil His task in us, through us, for us. Let us also try to fulfil our task. Let us try to have the conscious feeling of our indivisible oneness with each human being here on earth and there in heaven.
What Abraham Lincoln says about power is undeniably correct: "Nearly all men can stand adversity; but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
And to those who are trying to feel oneness with the entire world, Winston Churchill has something to say: "It is no use saying, 'we are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary."
Our heart's sincerity never fails. Our soul's concern never fail. God's Compassion never fails. When our heart is soulful, our soul is fruitful, our God is meaningful.
*October 1st, 1969*
State University of New York at Oswego, N.Y.