“Problems disappear
When the inner cries
Become stronger.”
– Sri Chinmoy
We sometimes feel that we have to enter into a problem in order to solve it. Yet when we focus on a problem and analyse it, we donate to it our precious awareness: strengthening and emboldening the problem, and increasing its hold over us. We have only to dive into our inner cry, and let it do its thing.
Just as light and darkness cannot coexist in the same space, even so the sleep of ignorance cannot persist when we are consumed with an inner cry for illumination. Rather than worry about our ignorance, we need only to treasure and nurture our inner cry.
Sri Chinmoy gave many illumining answers to the challenge of overcoming ignorance. Here are two of them:
“The only way for you to break your ties with ignorance is through your constant, conscious inner cry. When you pray, meditate and aspire, sometimes you do it consciously and sometimes you do it unconsciously. It is your obligation to be conscious all the time. When you pray and meditate you have to do it consciously. Your constant and conscious inner cry can alone free you from ignorance. It is the only answer.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“How can you overcome ignorance? It is through your aspiration that you can conquer ignorance. When you cry, you can’t sleep. Again, when you sleep, you don’t cry. When a child is really sleeping, he cannot cry. He has to awaken first. Similarly, if you can cry, then you cannot sleep. Always try to cry inwardly. The outer cry is for name and fame; the inner cry is for light, peace and bliss. If you can cry for peace, light and bliss, then ignorance-sleep will automatically leave you.”
– Sri Chinmoy