The Dance of Life, part 8

351. Never shall I fail

```

Failure

Is not falling down.

Failure

Is desiring to live

Where I have fallen.

I cry for Heaven.

Therefore

Never

Shall I fail.

I try for earth.

Therefore

Never

Shall I fail. ```

352. I am happy

```

I believe everybody;

Therefore

I am happy.

I love everybody;

Therefore

I am happy.

I think of God every day, everywhere;

Therefore

I am happy.

I am happy, I am always happy

Because

Heaven lives for the cries of my heart

And

Earth lives for the smiles of my soul.

```

353. Before Time kills me

```

I shall think of Time

Before

Time kills me.

I shall love Time

Before

Time kills me.

I shall use Time

Before

Time kills me.

I shall reveal God

Before

Time kills me.

I shall fulfil God

Before

Time kills me.

```

354. Mother's Day and Father's Day

```

Mother’s Day is great

Because

At least once a year

Children allow their minds

To think of their mother’s heart

And

Allow their hearts to house

And treasure their mother.

Father’s Day is great

Because

At least once a year

Each father tells his children

That he really wants to equal the

Heavenly Father in Compassion and Concern. ```

355. Only fault

```

His body’s only fault is that

It sleeps too much.

His vital’s only fault is that

It runs too much.

His mind’s only fault is that

It doubts too much.

His heart’s only fault is that

It believes too much.

His soul’s only fault is that

It has none, really none. ```

356. My God is angry with me

```

My God is angry with me

Because

I forget.

My God is angry with me

Because

I forgive.

What do I forget?

I forget the world’s

Dedicated service to me.

What do I forgive?

I forgive

My ignorance,

My flowing ignorance,

My increasing ignorance,

My undying ignorance.

```

357. God will be pleased

```

Serve in the physical world;

God will be pleased.

Fight in the vital world;

God will be pleased.

Watch in the mental world;

God will be pleased.

Love in the psychic world;

God will be pleased.

Surrender in the world of Light;

God will be pleased.

Become in the world of Perfection;

God will be pleased. ```

358. Nobody loves

```

Nobody loves

A great flatterer.

Nobody loves

A gross lover.

Nobody loves

A wicked man.

Nobody loves

An immodest woman.

Nobody loves

An indifferent Heaven.

Nobody loves

An unprogressive earth. ```

359. Food is God and God is food

```

India’s great Mahatma Gandhi revealed:

“To a man with an empty stomach, food is God.”

India’s great Nobody, Sri Chinmoy, reveals:

“My full stomach feels that God is food.”

Food is God

When I think of Gandhi’s

Countless hungry and starving children.

God is food

When I think of God’s

Countless dreaming, revealing and illumining children. ```

360. Your human life and your life divine

```

In your human life

You notice that the world

Is full of fools.

You are right, absolutely right.

But let me add just a little to your great discovery:

There is just one more fool than you think

And that is you,

And that is you.

In your life divine

You feel that the world

Is full of fools.

You are right, absolutely right.

But let me add just a little to your great discovery:

There is just one less fool than you feel

And that is you,

And that is you. ```

361. I understand

```

I perfectly understand God

Even without knowing His language.

I never understand man

Although I know man’s language thoroughly.

I always misunderstand

The language of love

Although it sounds

Sweet,

Soulful

And

Meaningful.

```

362. A usual thing

```

To err is a usual thing;

To forgive is an unusual thing.

To love is to forget all troubles;

To repent is to revive all troubles.

To own Light is to govern night;

To fear Truth is to disown God. ```

363. Fortune-teller and fortune-bestower

```

When man the fortune-teller

Promises me a bright future

My heart of gratitude

Makes his present immediately brighter.

But when God the fortune-bestower

Promises me the brightest future

My impatient heart of ingratitude

Questions God’s sincerity

And

Questions His motive. ```

364. When I think

```

When I think once,

I say what I intended to say.

When I think twice,

I hesitate to open my mouth.

When I think thrice,

I never fail to keep my proud mouth shut. ```

365. I thank you, Father

```

My Father tells me

What to do.

I ask Him,

How can I do it?

My Father shows me

How to do it.

I ask Him,

Why does He not do it for me?

My Father does it for me,

He does everything for me.

Then

What do I tell Him?

I tell Him,

Father, I am sorry,

I could have done it far better;

I could have done everything infinitely better.

Anyway, I thank You, Father,

Since Your intention was good. ```

366. The first and the last

```

The first woman

Tempted

The first man

To eat.

The last woman

Shall inspire

The last man

To be divine,

To be perfect,

To be supreme. ```

367. Twice to my rescue

```

My Lord

Came to my rescue twice:

Once when my admiring friends

Turned me into an ego-balloon,

Once when my enemies

Doubted my realisation,

The God-ordained boon.

```

368. Thinking and thanking

```

I stopped thinking;

Therefore

I don’t have to thank any more.

I stopped thanking;

Therefore

I don’t have to love any more.

I stopped loving;

Therefore

I don’t have to repent any more.

I stopped repenting;

Therefore

I don’t have to sleep any more.

I must act,

I must become.

I must act to become,

I must become to act.

```

369. We are all greedy

```

You are greedy.

I definitely know it.

He is greedy.

I unmistakably feel it.

I am greedy.

I modestly exaggerate it.

Your greed tempts me.

His greed instigates me.

My greed destroys me.

```

370. O Nectar-Son

```

You are your parents’

Earthly pride.

You are your spiritual parents’

Heavenly pride.

You are the Supreme’s

Immortal Pride,

Infinite Joy,

Eternal Life,

O Nectar-Son of humanity in the Heart of God,

O Nectar-Son of God for the soul of humanity! ```

371. The story of guilt

```

The body is guilty

For the things it has delayed,

For the things it has forgotten.

The vital is guilty

For the things it has accepted,

For the things it has rejected.

The mind is guilty

For the things it has suspected,

For the things it has believed.

The heart is guilty

For the things it has discovered,

For the things it has avoided.

The soul is guilty

For the things it has promised,

For the things it has omitted.

```

372. Impartial, neutral and partial

```

He is impartial

And

Not neutral.

Therefore, He is God.

He is partial

And

Not neutral.

Therefore, he is man.

God’s impartiality

Only a brave soul enjoys.

Man’s partiality

Only a sick soul enjoys. ```

373. The man of Eternity

```

My aspiration-candle

Is the man of the hour.

My realisation-lamp

Is the man of the day.

My revelation-moon

Is the man of the year.

My manifestation-sun

Is the man of Eternity. ```

374. No holidays

```

Her jealousy has no holidays,

His doubt has no holidays.

Her insecurity has no holidays,

His impurity has no holidays.

But

Her desire has a few holidays

And

His aspiration has nothing

But holidays.

```

375. You have no sense

```

Son, you have no sense.

Father, that is why I think of You,

Ceaselessly.

Father, You have no sense.

Son, that is why I am within you,

I am for you, unconditionally.

Son, let us not quarrel any more.

Bring the candle.

Father, let us not quarrel any more.

Light the candle.

Son, you look so beautiful!

Father, You are truly merciful,

You are truly thoughtful,

You are truly fruitful. ```

376. Where are you, Mother?

```

Inspiration,

I want you, friend.

Aspiration,

I need you, son.

Realisation,

I had you, Father.

Revelation,

Where have you been, daughter?

Manifestation,

Where are you, Mother? ```

377. The divine separation

```

Desire

Is your divine separation

From the mineral life.

Aspiration

Is your divine separation

From the animal life.

But

Realisation

Is your divine union

With the mindless mineral life,

With the heartless animal life,

With the soulless human life. ```

378. On God's behalf

```

I am sick.

But

My God is not sick.

Why is He not sick?

He just can’t afford to be sick.

If He too falls sick

Then who will look after me?

God does not sleep.

But

I sleep.

I sleep ceaselessly.

Why?

I feel that God needs some rest.

He deserves some rest

Since He works so hard

Day in, day out.

I have a sympathetic heart;

Therefore

I feel that it is my bounden duty

To sleep and rest on God’s behalf.

```

379. Addition and subtraction

```

I wanted to be really rich;

Therefore

Constantly I wanted to add

To my possessions.

God wanted me to be supremely rich;

Therefore

He most carefully subtracted

My possessions

From

My desire-life,

And

Most carefully added

My renunciation

To my aspiration-soul

And

Realisation-Goal. ```

380. Nobody knows where it is

```

My soul spreads happiness

When it enters into my heart.

My vital spreads happiness

When it leaves my heart.

Happiness:

Everybody knows what it is,

But

Nobody knows where it is.

Ah, I see the Face of happiness

In my sleepless heart,

In my deathless soul,

In my horizonless Goal. ```

381. Man, be careful of woman

```

Sri Ramakrishna said,

Man, be careful of woman.

Mother Kali said,

Son, your advice needs some explanation.

Mother, what I meant was this:

Man, be careful of the human in woman.

Son, still it is not quite clear to me.

Mother, let me simplify it for you.

What I meant was this:

Man, do not use your human eyes to see and corrupt

The divine in woman.

Son, now I understand your philosophy.

It is simply fascinating,

It is divinely illumining,

It is supremely fulfilling. ```

382. I have inherited

```

My sister Lily’s love and determination

I have inherited.

My sister Arpita’s concern and service

I have inherited.

My brother Chitta’s poetry and sacrifice

I have inherited.

My brother Hriday’s philosophy and wisdom

I have inherited.

My brother Mantu’s patience and detachment

I have inherited.

My sister Ahana’s music and immensity

I have inherited.

My mother Yogamaya’s psychic tears and surrender

I have inherited.

My father Shashi Kumar’s inner confidence and outer triumph

I have inherited. ```

383. Never

```

Never

He thinks out of fear;

Never

He fears to think.

Never

He loves out of fear;

Never

He fears to love.

Never

He becomes one out of fear;

Never

He fears to become one.

He thinks only of his life divine,

He fears only his ignorance,

He loves only his soul,

He becomes only his goal. ```

384. The stories of four friends

```

Inspiration is a runner

That starts its journey from you.

Aspiration is a kite

That comes out of you

And flies above you.

Intuition is a magnet

That pulls the world towards you.

Realisation is a sun

That shines always within you. ```

385. In my case

```

In my case,

My forgiveness is kind to me.

In my case,

My ignorance is kind to me.

In my case,

My Lord is kind to me.

My forgiveness lovingly says:

“I will give you infinite chances

To perfect your life.”

My ignorance cheerfully says:

“Don’t be in a hurry.

I have spoken to the Mother, Eternal Time, about you.

She will wait for you indefinitely;

So, you can take your own time.”

My Lord compassionately says:

“Son, you are a sick man,

You are a weak soldier,

You are a poor seeker.

Therefore

It is my duty supreme

To do everything within you,

Everything for you.” ```

386. Hidden treasures

```

Love is hidden

Even from those who express it.

Joy is hidden

Even from those who feel it.

Truth is hidden

Even from those who know it.

But

God is not hidden

Even from those

Who want Him not,

Who need Him not.

```

387. Four stories

```

The story of his vital

Is unreadable.

The story of his mind

Is yet unread.

The story of his heart

Will take time to read.

The story of his soul

Will never be read. ```

388. When

```

When doubt ceases,

Faith begins.

When fear ceases,

Courage begins.

When hatred ceases,

Love begins.

When jealousy ceases,

Oneness begins.

When faith ceases,

I am lost.

When courage ceases,

I am caught.

When love ceases,

I am useless.

When oneness ceases,

Everything ceases. ```

389. A reformed character

```

Woodrow Wilson said:

“I used to be a lawyer,

But now I am a reformed character.”

I say:

I used to be a doubter,

But now I am a reformed character.

I am now a staunch believer.

I used to be a man-hater,

But now I am a reformed character.

I am now a universal lover.

I used to be a truth-examiner,

But now I am a reformed character.

I am now a constant truth-learner.

```

390. O my dear friends

```

“All Americans lecture.

I suppose it is something in their climate.”

— Oscar Wilde

All Indians procrastinate too long.

I suppose it is something

In our climate.

All Englishmen think too much.

I suppose it is something

In their climate.

All Canadians follow too far.

I suppose it is something

In their climate.

O American friend of mine,

I wish to hear your lecture.

O Indian friend of mine,

Let us not sleep any more.

O English friend of mine,

I am sure you know

There is something far

Beyond thinking.

O Canadian friend of mine,

Your own goal

Is infinitely more beautiful

Than the goal of others. ```

391. My correspondence-guru

```

Dear Robert Frost,

To you I immensely owe.

You are my only correspondence-Guru,

And you shall remain so

Forever and forever.

You have freed me and enlightened me

From the correspondence-world.

I humbly repeat your message sublime:

“For God’s sake, don’t give up

Writing to me simply because I don’t write to you.” ```

392. When I write letters

```

When I write letters to God,

I tell Him how happy I am.

When I write letters to man,

I tell him how unhappy I am.

When I write to God,

I tell Him how fresh I am.

When I write to man,

I tell him how tired I am.

God’s replies are as follows:

“Dear son, since you are happy and fresh,

Then work hard and more for Me on earth.”

Man’s replies are as follows:

“Dear friend, since you are unhappy

And tired, we want to fire you.

We are looking for another instrument

To serve us,

To please us,

To fulfil us.”

```

393. A great lesson

```

I always get a great lesson

From my musical capacity.

It takes all my pride out of me.

I always get a great lesson

From my ceaseless barking.

It takes all my pride out of me.

But

My ever-compassionate Lord,

Out of His infinite Bounty,

Consoles me:

“My son, in your past incarnation

You were a musician of the highest magnitude.

Your soul does not want to eat the same fruit again.

My son, this is not your last incarnation.

I assure you, in your

Next incarnation, without fail,

You will turn over a new leaf.”

```

394. They talk

```

Joy talks, but it does not

Always

Tell the truth.

Love talks, but it does not

Always

Tell the truth.

Oneness talks, and it

Always

Tells the truth.

What is truth?

God’s first invention

And

Man’s last discovery.

```

395. His invitations

```

To cheer his divine birth

He invited the cosmic gods.

The gods simply flew down

To the earth to cheer him, love him, embrace him.

To mourn his human death

He invited his earthly comrades, earthly devotees, earthly adorers.

Some came late,

Some came not at all,

Some just sneered

At his audacious invitation. ```

396. The difference

```

O Lord Buddha,

Please tell me the difference

Between

Sujata’s sweetmeat

And

Chunda’s venom-meat.

“Brother, the difference?

Practically none!

Sujata’s sweetmeat

Helped me openly in unlearning

The lessons of Ignorance.

Chunda’s venom-meat

Helped me secretly in learning

The message of Nirvana.” ```

397. What did you mean?

```

O Saviour-Christ,

Please tell me,

What did you mean

By your strongest affirmation:

‘I and my Father are one’?

Tell me in what sense you and your Father are one.

“O dear brother,

Of all people, how is it that You, my wise brother,

Do not understand my simple message?

On earth I am my Father’s Face,

In Heaven I am my Father’s Eye.

In that sense we are one, inseparable.

This is what I meant when I said:

‘I and my Father are one.’” ```

398. Dear Naren

```

Dear Naren,

Did America love you?

“That I don’t know, Chinmoy,

But I loved America and forever shall love America.”

Dear Naren,

Did America satisfy you?

“That I don’t know, Chinmoy,

But I satisfied America beyond her imagination.”

Dear Naren,

What will be the fate of America?

“Chinmoy, I love you and bless you

For asking me such a divine question.

You know, brother,

America’s fate is exactly the way

You and your Supreme see it.

America’s fate is exactly the way

You and your Supreme feel it.

America’s fate is exactly the way

You and your Supreme shape it.”

```

399. Urgent business

```

Mother Mary, Please tell me, where is your son?

I have been searching and searching for him

In the ecstasy-sun of Heaven.

I have something most important

To discuss with him.

“Son,

Are you here?

For the last ten years

My Jesus has been searching and searching for you

In the ignorance-sea and hell-fire of earth.

He has left me a note saying

He has a piece of urgent business

With you on earth.” ```

400. My Lord, what will happen?

```

My Lord, what will happen if I deceive You?

“Son, I shall simply die.”

My Lord, what will happen if You deceive me?

“Son, nothing will happen to you.

Your ignorance-friends

Will console you, strengthen you,

To pay Me back in My own coin.

But in My case, if you, My all,

Ever deceive Me, I shall simply die,

Since I have no other friend and none to call My own.” ```

From:Sri Chinmoy,The Dance of Life, part 8, Aum Press, Puerto Rico, 1973
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/dl_8