Common questions about Sri Chinmoy’s path

Question: What is the process involved in joining your path?

Sri Chinmoy: If you feel that you can accept our path the first time you come here, then that is very good. Then you can start your journey immediately. But if you have come here for five or six times and still you do not feel anything in me or in our path, then I wish to tell you that this path will not satisfy you. After four or five times, it is useless to continue coming with the hope that this is your path. If you find it difficult to follow our path, I will never say that you are not sincere or aspiring. It is only that you are not meant for our path; you are meant for somebody else. So, if you are satisfied with us at the very beginning, then tell the Centre president that you would like to follow our path. But if you are not sure, then please come four or five times and try to decide. ¹

Question: How do I know if this is the path for me?

How will you know that this is your path? You will know if you get a kind of joy, peace and love that you do not find elsewhere. If you get peace of mind, inner joy, inner love and a kind of satisfaction here and nowhere else, then this is your path. But if you find that these are the very things that you do not get here, then this path is absolutely wrong for you. I will never say, “Oh, you are a fool. I have everything. How is it that you don’t get it?” I may have certain things, but if you do not appreciate what I have, then you can go to another Guru. Then, from him you can get the things that you need. But I have no right to say, “My things are better, far better than the ones he has.” No. You are the customer. You accept or reject. Again, the shopkeeper also has the right to say sometimes, “I don’t want to sell.” But in this case, if the spiritual Master does not accept a student, it is not because the student is bad, but because he will do far better if he goes to another Master. ²

I always look for quality and not quantity. I have come across thousands and thousands of seekers, many who were very sincere, but they were not meant for our path. Out of seventy thousand or more whom I have come across, I have accepted only seven hundred disciples. I feel that when I go to God, He will not ask me how many disciples I have; He will ask only about those who are meant for me. The Boss has asked me to do one particular thing and I will do that very thing. He will ask me about those for whom I am responsible and I will answer, “Yes, these are the persons that You asked me to take and I have done it.” I care for quality and not for quantity. We always say that it is quality that God appreciates.³

Question: How would you describe the people who have become your disciples?

Sri Chinmoy: I will describe them as my own spiritual children. My love for them is boundless and infinite. But I will not say that my children are by far superior to others. In an ordinary family, the parents will always extol their children to the skies. They will say, "My children are all divine. They are absolutely perfect perfection." But in my case I will say, "My children have imperfections, they have limitations, but they are trying. As other spiritual Masters have their spiritual children and are teaching them in a particular way, so also I have my disciples and I am teaching these children of mine in my own way." When it is a matter of comparison, I will not say that my children are superior to others. Only I will say that my children are eating the food that I have in my refrigerator. They like my food; so I am giving them this food. Others who do not like my food go to other Masters and eat their food. ⁴

Question: Are there any financial obligations to being your disciple?

Sri Chinmoy: I don’t tell any disciple that he is under an obligation to help me financially. Nobody will be compelled to help financially or to make any financial commitment. No. The commitment, the obligation I ask is aspiration and regularity. The real commitment is aspiration. If you can aspire and be regular, and if you can accept me and I can accept you, then all our problems are solved. ⁵

Question: How does one know whether they are ready for a spiritual path or not?

Sri Chinmoy: You can easily know whether you are ready for the spiritual path or not. When you are hungry you know that you have to eat. Your hunger compels you to eat something. In the inner life also when you are hungry for Peace, Light and Bliss, at that time you are ready. When you have that inner cry, that inner need for something, then you are ready for a spiritual path. ⁶

Unfortunately, in the West I very often come across people who say that they have been searching for a path and a Master but they haven’t found either. At this point I wish to say that their cry is not sincere, and they are not honest in their inner search. No sincere effort ends in vain. If someone makes a sincere effort, then I wish to say that his inner life and outer life are bound to be crowned with success. ⁷

Question: Does each individual have a specific path or are all paths relatively similar?

Sri Chinmoy: All the paths cannot be the same, only the ultimate goal will be the same. There are different roads, but each road leads to the same Goal. Each individual needs the guidance of a Master, and each individual has to discover his own path. Then he must follow only one path and one Master who is the leader or guide of that path. If someone constantly changes paths, then he will never reach his destination. ⁸

If my disciples are comparing my philosophy and another spiritual Master’s philosophy, they are doing the wrong thing. Comparison is not good at all. Each spiritual Master has the right to teach his students what to do and what not to do. We cannot make a comparison. There are so many individuals, and each one has his own road. There are so many roads. But if you are on one road and then you start comparing it with other roads, you are wasting your time. You should not look at the other roads.

You cannot be in two boats. One boat you have taken, but you are not paying attention to that boat; you are paying attention to another boat, looking at it and seeing whether that boat is more beautiful or it is going faster than your boat. That is only a waste of time. ⁹