I wish to give a short talk on sorrow and joy. Sorrow is an inner experience. From this experience we come to feel that life has no meaning and no purpose, that we are travelling along a road that has no goal.

Joy is also an inner experience. From this experience we come to feel that life at every moment has some special meaning, that life has joy as its goal right from the beginning. Early in the morning the sun dawns. As soon as we look at the sun, we get joy. Then we pray and meditate. From our prayer and meditation we also get joy. Then the members of the family meet together and sit to eat. Here they get joy from the union of the family. Then each human being enters into his respective work. Work is nothing but self giving, and self giving is the best kind of joy.

What does sorrow do? In the beginning sorrow breaks our heart; then it strengthens our heart. In the beginning sorrow darkens our mind; then it illumines our mind. In the beginning sorrow takes away all the life energy from our vital; then it gives our vital a new hope, a new promise and a new light. It strengthens and inspires our vital with a new determination. Sorrow throws our body into a sea of helplessness; then it lifts our body up and teaches our body how to swim in the infinite sea of Light and Delight.

Joy, in the beginning, gives our heart infinite peace. Then it gives our heart continual confidence to do something higher, better and more divine. Joy, in the beginning, expands our mind, expands the vision of our mind. Then joy gives our mind the capacity to hold the whole world inside it. Joy, in the beginning, gives our vital the strength of a roaring lion. Then it looks around and inspires everyone who wants to lead a better life. Joy, in the beginning, gives our body the capacity to grow into something beautiful, luminous and fruitful. Then it gives our body the capacity to see, feel and talk to God inside itself.

We are living on this earth planet. The earth planet is full of sorrow. There are many reasons why our earth planet is full of sorrow. But the main reason is this: earth wants to realise the highest, the absolute highest, but it feels that it is simply impossible because there are millions and millions of people who do not want to lead a spiritual life.

Like the earth consciousness, Heaven is also unhappy. Heaven wants to manifest itself on earth. It wants to manifest God’s Peace, God’s Light, God’s Beauty on earth. But earth is not receptive at all. Therefore, Heaven is also unhappy.

On very rare occasions, when earth sees even one person who wants to lead a pure life, a life of aspiration and dedication, at that time earth is happy. When one person wants to go up, when one of her children is going up, earth feels extremely happy. Similarly, on very rare occasions, when one person is receptive, Heaven becomes very happy, because that person makes a pathway for Heaven to descend and manifest something of God’s Light.

God has two aspects. One aspect is His human aspect, the other aspect is His divine aspect. God is inside each of us. When He uses His human aspect He feels sad, because He feels it will take man such a long time to reach his goal. When He uses His divine aspect, He does not feel sad. At that time He is dealing with eternal time.

Man also has two aspects. One aspect is his desiring self, the other aspect is his aspiring self. When man lives the life of desire, he finds only frustration; and frustration is the harbinger of destruction. When man lives the life of aspiration, he eventually gets everything that God has and is: infinite Light and infinite Delight.

June 9th, 1976
YMCA
Rome, Italy