Excerpts Chapter 20
THE MEDITATION BOOK:
SOLVING PRACTICAL PROBLEMS
Curing human frustration
Question: What is the best cure for human frustration?
Sri Chinmoy: The best cure for human frustration is a state of consciousness which never expects anything from anyone, even from oneself. The moment we expect something, we are bound to be either fulfilled or frustrated. If the individual has a desire and this desire is fulfilled, he is then satisfied for a few days. However, even if the desire is fulfilled, he will not be satisfied for very long because other desires will come and take its place. This moment a fleeting desire is satisfied, but the next moment another desire is frustrated. This game goes on forever.
Expectation creates frustration, but if there is oneness in us with everything in God’s creation, then we become inspired. That does not mean we will become lethargic, and wallow in the pleasures of ignorance. Rather, we shall feel that we are not the doer, but that someone else is acting in and through us. We only expect if we feel that we are the doer. So, if we feel that we are not the doer, then we will not have expectations. If we can think of ourselves as divine instruments, we can feel that God is having an experience in and through us.
In our human life we feel that if we are successful, we have everything and, if we fail, we have nothing. In the divine life we don’t lose or gain, we only rediscover what we are. We should be interested only in rediscovering our birthright of Eternity and Immortality, and bringing to the fore what we are. Everything that God has and is is in us, so why must we expect? Only because we have separated ourselves from divine Light do we expect. If we know how to rediscover within ourselves infinite Peace and Light, then we don’t have to expect anything; we only have to claim them as our very own.
If we have expectation, we will always be frustrated. We should act only because God wants us to do something and we should feel that we are His instruments and He is working in and through us. When we act or speak only to please God in His own way without expectation, then only will we cease to experience frustration.
Protecting yourself with inner peace gained from meditation
Question: While I am in the office how can I control my emotions? There is so much injustice and nothing we can do to help ourselves.
Sri Chinmoy: You say that there is nothing you can do, but I am giving you a way to protect yourself. We have been meditating here for five or ten minutes. This meditation has real power. In your office there is much injustice. Injustice itself is a kind of negative power, a destructive power. Injustice is an undivine power and justice is divine power. Now injustice is creating suffering in your life. But there is something called God’s Light. You can be well protected by God’s Light and be unaffected by injustice. True, you cannot change the minds of the people who are causing this injustice, but you can protect yourself. They are striking you inwardly and because of your fear or your incapacity you don’t strike them back. But if you become very strong, very powerful inwardly, your strength will take you to some other place or will give them some illumination. God’s Compassion will save you from this kind of injustice if you enter into the spiritual life seriously.
Another way of saving yourself, which is quicker, is to have peace of mind. At our Tuesday meditation we bring down Peace, which is very solid. It is not something imaginary. You can feel Peace; you can swim in the sea of Peace when you meditate with us on Tuesdays. Here, too, on Fridays, we shall meditate and you will feel Peace if you join us. Injustice is undivine power, but Peace is an infinitely more powerful divine weapon. It is solid power. When you are in Peace, no human power can upset you.
When you have to defend yourself or protect yourself, try to use a higher weapon. If people say something and you retaliate on the same level, there will be no end to it. Again, if you simply swallow your anger they will continue to take advantage of you. But when they see and feel tremendous inner Peace in you, they will see something in you which can never be conquered. They will see a change in you, and this change will not only puzzle them but also threaten and frighten them. They will feel that their weapons are useless.
Peace is the most effective weapon with which to conquer injustice. When you pray and meditate your whole being becomes flooded with Peace. Then no matter what other people do, you will just feel that they are your own children playing in front of you. You will say, “These are all children. What more can I expect from them?” But right now, because they are grown up in terms of years, you become angry and upset instead. If you pray and meditate regularly, you will soon feel that your peace is infinitely stronger, more fulfilling and more energising than the unfortunate situation that they create.
Defending yourself
Question: Could you speak about the need for individuals to defend themselves?
Sri Chinmoy: Before you defend yourself you have to know whether you have done the right thing or not. If you have done something wrong, it will be a mistake to try to defend and justify yourself. If you have done something wrong, you have to pray for forgiveness to the Supreme in the individual who has been the victim of your wrong action. But if you are doing something right and if you are misunderstood or criticised or attacked, then you will try to defend yourself. If you are attacked, you should always try to be calm, quiet and tranquil within. Peace is the greatest strength; if you have inner peace, then you have a lion’s strength.
Since you follow the spiritual life and are devoted to Love, Truth and God, you will not exploit anybody. But if somebody wants to exploit you or harm you in any way, you have to protect yourself. Spirituality is not the same thing as stupidity. You have to be wise. There is no wisdom in surrendering to circumstances and saying, “I am helpless, what can I do?” There is no wisdom in remaining silent and waiting for the person who is harming you to reap the karma of his action if you yourself have the power to take action. How do you know that God wants you to give that person an opportunity to continue committing wrong acts? That person has deceived you or done something harmful to you, and God has awakened you so that you are aware of it. So it is your bounden duty to defend yourself.
This is called a sincere approach to reality. If you remain silent, the other person will go on exploiting you. His ignorance will increase and he will never open to the Light, and he will not give you a chance to open to the Light either. You will be continually at his mercy, and your own sense of justice will disappear.
To be sincere is to defend one’s inner cause. To be sincere is to breathe in divine qualities and breathe out undivine qualities. To be sincere is to see the truth as it is, on its own level, and to utilise the truth in its own way. When a new divine thought dawns, you try to execute it, and use it to build a castle of truth.
But ignorance cleverly comes into our mind and tells us to wait, since Eternity is at our disposal. If we listen to ignorance, we are not defending truth. Truth needs immediate recognition and acceptance. We accept the truth and we try to manifest the truth. Let us live the divine truth. In living the truth we will be justifying our own existence. By living the truth, we will be accepting our own inner Immortality, which is our birthright.