Question: Is there any way of finding out beforehand if a wish will be good for us?
Answer: That is the most difficult thing to say. It can only be done by training oneself, and that training is: always to have a good thought for everyone, a kind thought for everybody, to develop a consciousness of Justice within oneself, to have sympathy, to have goodwill for everyone in the world. If a person keeps this as a principle in his everyday life then every wish that will come to him will be productive of good results.

Question: Can we feel the accomplishment of a wish beforehand?
Answer: if one can feel the accomplishment of a wish beforehand it means that the wish is secure, that the wish is surely to be fulfilled. If with the wish you have got a feeling that this wish will come true, then it must come true. There is no doubt about it, because when you have that feeling it shows that you have no doubt, that there is nothing opposing it. Therefore that wish of yours is a promise at the same time.

Question: When Buddha said that we should have no desire, did he mean that we should have the attitude of a saint?
Answer: The Buddha never said that you should have no desire. The Buddha spoke of "the man who has no desire." it never was the principle of Buddha that you must not have a desire; Buddha was too wise to commit himself like this. What is meant is that we must develop so that one day we may reach to that stage where naturally we shall have no desires. But if we have a desire and say, "Because Buddha has said that we must have no desire, therefore we must throw it away," it is working against ourselves.

It is just like a man who, having heard that a saint had lived without food for a very, very long time and had experienced exaltation, would say, "Well, I shall give up my lunch every day if I can become spiritual by it." He may just as well have his lunch because he feels hungry. The one who went without food was not hungry, he had risen above it. We must have principles according to our stage of evolution, and never take principles higher than our stage of evolution, forcing ourselves to abide by them.

Question: Does it matter if one has several wishes at the same time?
Answer: Suppose one did salt and sweet and savory and pepper all together in the mouth, how would the taste be? It would come to nothing. And so each wish destroys the other. You may have five best wishes at the same time, but one wish will destroy the other; therefore there is not one wish that you will enjoy. Besides, it is only to one wish that you can give your greatest power.

Question: The other day you said, "The one who turns his back to the world - the whole world runs after him." How is this to be understood?
Answer: This can be understood by seeing two persons bargaining. For instance a peddler at the dock of Alexandria comes with an object, and you say, "How beautiful. I like it. How much will you take for it?" As soon as you have said this he wants you to give as high a price as he wishes to get from you. As soon as you turn your back and say, "I do not care for it", he comes after you and says, "Will you take it for half the price?" If you go still further and still turn your back, he will give it to you for the quarter of it. Exactly the same is the nature of this world; it is a greedy world. You follow it, it runs from you; you turn your back to it, it comes after you.