Just as a baby is inspired and then learns to walk by observing the adults around them, and as a novice tennis player will learn unconsciously by watching and copying the very best players, so just mixing with spiritually more advanced seekers, can help bring to the fore and develop our own latent inner qualities and capacities.
Sri Chinmoy spoke and wrote many times of the advantages of mixing with and being in the company of spiritual people:
“Each spiritual person, if he is sincere, is a tremendous inspiration to the rest of the world. So if you have fear or doubt, although there are many ways to remove them, you can easily look for another spiritual person. If that person does not have fear, just talk to him; if the person does not have doubt, talk to him. At that time you gain the strength that he has. A seeker, a sincere seeker, is more than ready to give you his strength and faith.
“Everything is divinely or undivinely contagious. Not only does the sadness or depression of others affect us, but their happiness also can easily enter into us. It is not only possible; it is inevitable. If you stay with a bad person, his badness is contagious. If you stay with a good person, his goodness is also contagious. Why do birds of a feather flock together? Because consciously they help each other.
“Sometimes, some of you come here feeling very unhappy. But after you mix with your spiritual brothers and sisters in your spiritual home, then you become happy. From the spiritual atmosphere here you get happiness. You didn’t have happiness, but some individuals had it. By mixing with them, you have caught their happiness, like a contagious disease.”
– Sri Chinmoy