Devotion

...only by sincere devotion and dedication can one become close to his Master. Each person has to know who comes first and foremost in his life: whether it is the Master or any member of his family or any other person in the world. If the Master comes first in everything, in every action, then I tell you, that person is bound to establish an inseparable connection with the Master. If a seeker has become very devoted and has offered his unconditional surrender not to the Master's personality or individuality, but to the Master's divine Will, then that person will be part and parcel of the Master's inner circle. *** We enjoy Indian sweets and many other sweets. Each individual will have some sweets that he likes best and feels are most delicious. But devotion is infinitely, infinitely sweeter than the sweetest sweet that has ever been made by any human being, because devotion is made of God's ever-transcending Breath. Like us, God has breath, but His Breath is always transcending, transcending, transcending. Our human devotion is made of God's own ever-transcending Breath. Therefore, it has to be sweeter, infinitely, infinitely sweeter than any man-made sweets. When you have true devotion, you will feel what true sweetness is in your life. Otherwise, without devotion, nobody will be able to imagine real sweetness. Yes, I can! I certainly can!! I can jump into God's fond Embrace. Question: How can a disciple best please his Master? Sri Chinmoy: A disciple can best please his Master if he does not expect anything from the Master. He will give and give and give and offer himself totally and unconditionally. Only then will the Master be pleased with him. At that time the Master will give him infinitely more than he deserves. My Lord, I have taken shelter at Your Feet. No matter what You want to do In and through me, I am all ready. Question: How can one become a first-class disciple? Sri Chinmoy: By serving, serving in every way possible. How do you serve? You serve through aspiration. And how do you get aspiration? In the beginning, you have to exercise your imagination. Imagination is not a bad thing; on the contrary, it is a very important thing for the scientist, for the poet, for everyone. In any field of life you have to exercise your imagination. Then you can do something; you can become something. With your imagination, you will try to spread the Light of the Supreme, that Light that I bring down to you. For those who are first-class disciples, for those who are totally one with me, I know in the inner world what I am for them. Just like a potter, I shape their inner life every day. I take the divine clay and I just mould it. There are some disciples who have that kind of connection with me. Their inner progress, their life, their everything, not only in this incarnation, but in all future incarnations will depend on me: not on the human being in me but on the Supreme in me. It is not that I want to lord it over them or that I just have more capacity than they do. No! It is they and the Supreme who have wanted me to have that kind of oneness with them.