A young child was asked to draw a picture of God. Her immediate reply was, “How should I know what God looks like?” She then proceeded to pick up a piece of blank paper with some kind of stain on it and explained she was going to use this mark as the starting point for a new drawing. Without thought, her imagination-power got straight to work on an absolutely unique creation.

In fact, one could argue it was a picture of God for it represents how He approaches each of His children, young and old alike. When we see through the eyes of a child like this, we are all heart. Imperfection does not exist, there is nothing which does not have its use.

Then we grow up, as we must. The mind takes over, ego and desire play their role, judgement begins and we are apt to see imperfection in the world around us. If our heart becomes sincere, we will eventually see our own imperfections looming large. It may be only a tiny mark upon an otherwise blank page, but we feel a world of limitless possibilities and achievements has all been lost. Then the mind can only tell us we are the real culprit and there is nothing more we can do.

At this point, to rediscover our joy we need a guide to life, for indeed this situation is like the Gordian knot of ignorance which has defeated many for untold millennia. Where can we find such a guide? In a spiritual master. Sri Chinmoy is one such teacher who exists only to remind us of our own soul’s commitment to divinity’s perfection here on earth.

If we believe in God, the Supreme Artist, then just like a child, He sees and feels His Creation is an evolving perfection, a timeless thing of real beauty. When any artist, from the humblest amateur to a world-proclaimed genius, paints a picture, it usually begins with a crude, rough simple sketch. Everything starts somewhere and the spiritual life is no different. With dedication, imagination and vision, as long as we do not give up, how far we can go!

Most kindly and gently, with utmost compassion, a spiritual master like Sri Chinmoy shows us we are not our real or imagined shortcomings. Wherever we are right now, we have only to commit to unlearning, little by little, piece by piece, all the wrong ideas about God which we have accumulated to date.

Systematically, slowly, but surely, we can renew our heart’s friendship with our soul, which is God’s direct representative in us. For this Sri Chinmoy recommends we cultivate our own heart-garden through meditation, love and service, for if the soul has a playground within us, it is in our own spiritual heart. And the soul knows exactly what we need – be it peace, compassion, light, bliss, love or joy. All of these divine qualities and more we can find within us.

“The supreme Art is to know the Supreme Artist intimately, within and without.
This knowledge, well-established, cannot but guide all our movements on artistic lines.
And this knowledge will be the basis of a perfectly beautiful life within and without.
Art in the most effective sense of the term is a sublime truth the draws our soul from within towards the Infinite Vast.” – Sri Chinmoy