9801. A New Kind Of Winning

Discover a new kind of winning,
This time not for yourself
But for the entire world.
Consciously become what you eternally are:
Another God.

9802. I Water My Life-Garden Every Day

I water my life-garden every day
With my heart’s tears
So that I can soulfully sing
And powerfully dance
With my Lord Supreme
In His Vision-Transcendence-Light.

9803. Self-Dedication-Light

To permanently change his old habits,
Man needs an absolutely sincere wish
For self-dedication-light.

9804. A New Solution

I see a new solution
To my new problem.
My new problem is:
I do not know anything correctly.
My new solution is:
As long as I can love my Lord Supreme
Soulfully and devotedly,
I do not need anything more.

9805. My Heart's Unwavering Faith

My heart’s unwavering faith
Has given my mind’s meditation
The capacity to become
A silence-expander and delight-distributor.

9806. God-Wisdom-Hearts

Book-knowledge-minds
Know how to wrangle and strangle.
God-wisdom-hearts
Know how to grow and glow.

9807. Self-Styled Commitments

Although he is tremendously confused
About who he is,
He enjoys the intoxication
Of self-styled commitments
To all those who are around him.

9808. The Tide Of Self-Giving Love

Unless you launch your Heaven-free heart
On the tide of self-giving love,
Your earth-bound mind
Can never become faultlessly pure.

9809. God's Secret Love-Touch

Loneliness violently attacks the world
Every day,
Yet the world survives.
How?
Because God’s secret Love-Touch
Is everywhere.

9810. In The Dust

Your mind is in the dust,
But your heart is not of the dust
And your life is not for the dust.

9811. My Doubtful Past

My doubtful past cannot touch
My soulful present
And my fruitful future.

9812. A One-Man Show

If your mind wants to enjoy
Being a one-man show,
Then be careful.
You may eventually find yourself
In a barren wasteland.

9813. The Message Of A Blessing

The message of a curse:
I cannot and I will not.
The message of a blessing:
I have and I already am.

9814. A Successful Movement

Each movement need not be
A successful progress,
But each progress
Is a successful movement
Forward, upward and inward.

9815. Advantages And Possessions

His advantages have made him
Slowly and secretly lethargic.
His possessions have made him
Quickly and openly useless.

9816. Hunger Does Not Find Fault

As intense outer hunger
Does not find fault
With the food-preparation,
Even so, sincere inner hunger
Does not find fault
With God’s Vision-Manifestation.

9817. Turbulence And Silence

The turbulence of an intellectual mind
And the silence of a soulful heart
Do not care for each other,
Even in their resting hours.

9818. Changing And Transcending

The animal in me has changed.
The human in me is changing.
The divine in me has transcended.
The Supreme in me is ever-transcending,
Ever-illumining
And ever-perfecting.

9819. I May Begin The Journey

I may at most begin the journey;
God’s boundless Bounty
Will have to complete
My heavenward progress-life.

9820. Ascend And Transcend

Sleep instead of sighing
If you are clever.
Sing instead of sighing
If you are wise.
Ascend and transcend instead of sighing
If you are perfect.

9821. Only One Inner Teacher

I have only one inner teacher:
A gratitude-flame.
I have only one outer teacher:
A surrender-drop.

9822. I Can Have Security

I can have security
Only when I have implicit faith
In my Lord’s blessingful Message to me:
“My child,
I shall replace your insecurity-life
With confidence-light
If at least ten times daily
You can claim Me as your own,
Very own.”

9823. When I Want To Increase Purity

When I want to increase
My own heart’s purity,
I repeat my Lord’s Name
As powerfully as possible.

When I want to increase
Purity in my dear ones,
I repeat my Lord’s Name
As slowly as possible
And as quietly as possible.

9824. The Only One

Because of his unconditional surrender
To God’s Will,
He is the only one
Whom God has entrusted
With the opportunity and capacity
To celebrate His Perfection-Smile
In Heaven
And His Satisfaction-Cry
On earth.

9825. Stronger Than Logic

Stupidity is stronger than logic:
A sincere mind may know it.

Impurity is stronger than aspiration:
No sincere heart will accept it.

9826. Even My Soul Is Disgusted

I am half afraid to say
That even my loving
And illumining soul
Is totally disgusted
With my doubting mind.

9827. Your Mind Has A Monopoly

Your mind has a monopoly
On wisdom-light.
Your heart has a monopoly
On satisfaction-delight.

9828. If You Are Out Of Practice

If you are out of practice,
Then start praying to God
Most sincerely.
If you have been praying regularly,
Then start meditating on God
Unconditionally.

9829. Power Likes To Live Apart

Love likes to remain in a group,
Accessible and available.
Power likes to live apart,
Inaccessible and unavailable.

9830. Ask Earth's Aspiration-Heart

You want to know
How you can become perfect?
Ask earth’s aspiration-heart
And Heaven’s illumination-eye
To answer this question.

9831. A Top Secret

What I need from my Lord Supreme
I have told Him.
What He needs from me
He has told me.
We both have decided
That we shall keep our needs
A top secret from the world.

9832. God Is Waiting For You

Can you not see
That God is waiting for you
At His Table?
When will you eat His Food?
When will you drink His Nectar-Drink?
How long does poor God have to wait
Unnecessarily for you?

9833. How Can I Be Displeased?

He criticises my mind,
But he loves my heart.
How can I be displeased with him,
Since he immediately compensates?

9834. In Defense Of Earth

I speak in defense of earth:
It desperately tries to cry
To Heaven.

I speak in defense of Heaven:
It definitely wants to smile
At earth.

9835. An Immortal Song Of Joy

When the soul cannot properly
Manifest the Supreme,
It sings the song of sorrow.

When the soul is able
To manifest the Supreme,
This song of sorrow is transformed
Into an immortal song of joy.

9836. The Question Of Questions

My morning awareness
Asks the question of questions:
Who is God?

My evening awareness
Asks the question of questions:
Who is not God?

9837. His Life Stands Crucified

His life stands crucified
Between his crying desire
And his smiling aspiration.

9838. Change Your Mind

Change your mind
If you do not want anybody
To bind your life.

9839. Running Like A River

Each negative thought
Produced by my mind
Is running like a river
That enters into the sea of destruction
And adds to its destructive power.

Each immortal expression of will
Produced by my heart
Is running like a river
That enters into
God’s ever-increasing Silence-Peace
For the ever-increasing satisfaction
Of earth’s heart.

9840. The Golden Bridge

God the man was fascinated
When he saw man the God’s
Birthless and deathless Golden Bridge.
The Absolute Supreme,
Who is both God the man and man the God,
Is eagerly waiting for earth’s receptivity
To claim that Golden Bridge
As its own, very own.

9841. When The Divine Heart Loses

When the human mind loses,
Even to God,
It immediately starts weeping.

When the divine heart loses,
Not only to God
But also to any divine being,
It immediately starts smiling.

9842. You Will Be Perfect

You are happy
Now that you are not carrying
The burden of scholarship.

You will be perfect
The day you emerge dauntlessly
From your mind’s battleship.

9843. My Prayer Challenges

My morning prayer
Challenges the imperfection of my life.
My midday prayer
Challenges the uncertainty of my mind.
My evening prayer
Challenges the insecurity of my heart.
My nighttime prayer
Challenges the power of my own insufficiency.

9844. Your Battleground-Experiences

All your battleground-experiences
Must eventually be transformed
Into oneness-fount-experiences.

9845. The Life Of Austerity

The life of austerity
Is an old way.
This old way
Will not work any more.

9846. He Who Is Wise

He who is clever
Is useless in the spiritual life.
He who is earthly wise and divinely unwise
Is equally useless.
But he who is supremely wise
Is constantly perfect.
Who is supremely wise?
He who does not expect anything
From the ignorance-world,
His lower self,
But who expects everything from God,
His higher Self.

9847. Universal Oneness

Universal oneness
Is the divine necessity
Of the human life.

Transcendental fulness
Is the supreme necessity
Of the divine life.

9848. One World Can Bind Us

One world can bind us:
Fear.
One world can free us:
Love.
One world can place us on God’s Throne:
Surrender.

9849. My Heart's Climbing Preparation

Since God is His own
Self-giving Compassion,
I shall try to become my own heart’s
Climbing preparation.

9850. You Have Revealed To Me

My heart,
You have revealed to me
Many things.
Only one thing more do reveal:
The mountain-smile
Of your aspiration-cry.

9851. I May Not Know Many Things

I may not know many things,
But I do know one thing well:
My Eternity’s only indispensable necessity
Is my Lord’s Compassion-flooded Heart.

9852. Because Your Life Lives

Because your life lives
In forgotten promises,
Your heart is forced to live
In forgotten hopes.

9853. If You Compete With Yourself

If you compete with yourself,
God will give you the capacity
To transcend yourself.

If you compete with others,
Yours will be a blundering mind
And a suffering heart.

9854. Cast Aside Half-Truths

Cast aside half-truths
If you hope to climb up
The peace-crowned heights
Of God’s Immortality-fulfilled
God-Hour.

9855. Sacred God-Loving Thoughts

If your heart gives birth
To sacred God-loving thoughts,
Then only will your life
No longer remain a part
Of the universal aimlessness.

9856. The Temple Of Universal Silence

In tomorrow’s world
Many things will illumine humanity.
But the thing that will illumine
Humanity’s inner and outer life most
Is the transcendental temple
Of universal silence.

9857. Your Own Doom

You do not have to approach
Your own doom.
Just let your aspiration-flower
Fully blossom
Petal by petal.

9858. My Lord's Fulness-Smile

Each time I see newness
In my thought-world,
I see my Lord’s Fulness-Smile
Nourishing not only my Heaven-free soul
But also my earth-bound body.

9859. My Mind Derives Satisfaction

My unlit mind derives satisfaction
From ingratitude-thorns.
My illumined mind derives satisfaction
From a gratitude-flower.
I become ingratitude-thorns
When I want to defeat the world.
I become a gratitude-flower
When I walk with the world
And for the world
In my Lord Supreme.

9860. Newness, Oneness And Fulness

God’s Vision-Eye
Loves God’s Newness.
God’s Reality-Heart
Loves God’s Oneness.
God’s Immortality-Life
Loves God’s Fulness
In His earth-bound Cry,
Heaven-free Smile
And self-transcending Song.

9861. Inexhaustible Willingness

The fount of inexhaustible willingness
Is discovered only inside
The seeker’s heart of sleepless selflessness.
Selflessness in the inner world
Is God the Dreamer.
Selflessness in the outer world
Is God the Performer.

9862. My Heart's Sincerity-Cry

My heart’s sincerity-cry
May not be appreciated
By earth’s ignorance-life,
But it is fondly treasured
By Heaven’s wisdom-flooded soul.

9863. When My Mind Is Pure

When my mind is pure,
My Lord Supreme smilingly tells me
That I am great.

When my heart is pure,
My Lord Supreme fondly tells me
That I am great.

When my life is pure,
My Lord Supreme smilingly, fondly
And proudly tells me
That I am not only great
But also perfect.

9864. My Soul's Supernatural Capacity

O my mind,
It is high time for me to pierce
The fog of your confusion
With my soul’s supernatural capacity:
Its inseparable oneness
With my Lord Supreme.

9865. Identical And Indistinguishable

The Compassion-Eye and Forgiveness-Heart
Of my Beloved Lord Supreme
Are identical and indistinguishable.

9866. He And His Heart Every Day Run

He and his heart every day run
To reach the ultimate Goal:
The complete satisfaction of God
In His own Way.
While running, they never allow
Earthly emotions to join them.

9867. I Am Eager To Hear

My Lord, I have glimpsed many times
The immensity of Your Heart’s Concern.
Now I am eager to hear
Just a few earth-illumining
And life-fulfilling words.

9868. The Vision-Eye Of A Saint

The vision-eye of a saint
Plays with the beauty
Of the visible world
And with the divinity
Of the invisible world.

9869. Try To Trust The World

Try to trust the world
At every moment.
If you even secretly mistrust the world,
There shall come a time
When your heart may have to weep
A rain of sorrows.

9870. A Little Of Your Heart's Sweetness

A little of your heart’s sweetness
Can easily and unmistakably kill
The bitterness of your frustration-vital.

9871. A Contrary Experience

I am still inside the prison cell
Of the past.
I am totally blind
In my self-styled life.
My life is nothing but
A contrary experience
To my Lord’s Vision-Will.

9872. Something Unusual And Rare

You may not know everything,
But you do know something
Unusual and rare:
How to cheerfully commune
With your mind’s melancholy thoughts.

9873. Under The Compassion-Canopy

His is the mind
That is now completely engulfed
By impurity-flood.
His is the heart
That is now utterly shattered
By frustration-night.
Yet he does not want
His life to be sheltered
Under the Compassion-Canopy
Of the Absolute Supreme.

9874. Within Your Easy Reach

If you start serving your newness-heart
And stop serving your foolishness-mind,
Then God’s Oneness-Heart
Will be within your easy reach.

9875. The Evening Sunshine Of His Life

His heart of gratitude
For God’s Compassion
And his life of surrender
To God’s Will
Became the evening sunshine of his life.

9876. To Give Pleasure

To give pleasure to my Lord Supreme,
My soul and my heart
Must exert heavy pressure
On my mind of hesitation
And frustration.

9877. True Love Of God

True love of God
Grows in the soul,
Then glows in the heart
And finally flows through the body.

9878. A Man Is

A man is
What he says to himself.
A man is
What he does for humanity.
A man is
What God thinks of him.

9879. To Bring God Nearer

Your heart’s soulful dream
And your life’s powerful promise
Can bring God nearer to you
In an unprecedented way.

9880. A Yawning Gulf

Alas, there is a yawning gulf
Between his soul’s will
And his life’s most tragic fate.

9881. The Fire Of Deathless Happiness

If your mind enjoys
The breathless silence
Of the Unknowable,
That means God has already kindled
The fire of deathless happiness
Inside you.

9882. Envy's Loud Invasion

True, my Lord, I need You.
But I need Your Silence-Power more.
Why?
Because I want to silence
Envy’s loud invasion of my thoughts.

9883. Let Us Go And Rest

My soul,
Since you and I have worked very hard,
Let us go and rest for a while.

My body,
Since you are always reluctant to work
And I cannot force you to work,
You can rest until God’s Justice-Light
Descends upon you.

9884. O My Himalayan Hopes

O my sacred and Himalayan hopes,
I am missing you more and more
Now that I have irretrievably lost
My aspiration-heart
And my dedication-life.

9885. A Shattering Experience

O my body,
Add not anything more
To your ignorance-sleep.
God’s choice Hour has already struck.
If you do not respond now,
Yours will be
A shattering experience.

9886. Just Go Your Own Way

Let the whole world go its way.
You just go your own way.
Your way is to feel the divinity
In humanity’s heart
And to see the Immortality
In Divinity’s soul.

9887. My Love-Thoughts

Yesterday I discovered something new:
My love-thoughts.
These love-thoughts I shall broadcast
And my outer world I shall heal
With my soul-smiles.

9888. Where Is My Existence?

Where is my existence?
It is standing between
My heart’s weeping tears
And my soul’s enlightening smiles.

9889. Let Us Try To Manifest

O my soul,
Let us once more try to perfectly manifest
Our Beloved Supreme here on earth.
Are we not His chosen instruments,
Him to manifest,
Triumphantly and unprecedentedly,
In His own cosmic Way?

9890. Hope

Hope is not a momentary flicker.
Hope is Eternity’s slow, steady,
Illumining and fulfilling height.

9891. The Vision Of Power

The vision of power
Is very limited
In the outer world.

The power of vision
Is always unlimited
In the inner world.

9892. The Illumining Results

Every day
Early in the morning
And late in the evening
I sing through my heart-tears.
This is indeed the illumining result
Of my Lord’s and my joint efforts.

9893. My Hope, My Promise

My hope is
Heaven’s cheerful descent.
My promise is
Earth’s powerful ascent.

9894. I Never Dare To Think!

I never dare to think!
If ever I think,
I immediately drink deep
The joy of an empty hope.

9895. Your Heart Can Radiate Joy

Because your mind is free
From impurity-charges,
Your heart can now radiate joy
To all seekers
And even to non-seekers.

9896. If You Are Powerful

If you are powerful,
Then ask your mind to be happy.
If you are soulful,
Then ask your life to be perfect.
If you are self-giving,
Then tell God that everything you claim
To be your own
You have surrendered to His choice Hour.

9897. If You Become Sidetracked

If you become sidetracked
In your meditation,
You and your life will be without
The blossoming God.

9898. Your Body Obeys

Your body obeys
The law of inertia.
Your mind obeys
The law of doubt.
But your heart obeys
Only one pilot:
Your adamantine faith.

9899. My Blessingful Boon

My Lord,
You know that I am praying to You.
“My child,
I shall not deny your prayer,
But you must develop a purity-mind.
This is what is delaying
My blessingful Boon.”

9900. I Want To Run With You

My Lord,
I want to run with You
Sleeplessly and unconditionally,
But I cannot keep pace with You.
What can I do?

“My child,
Your very eagerness to run with Me
Is more than I need.
Sleeplessly think of running with Me;
Unconditionally meditate on running with Me.
Lo, sooner than at once
You and I will be easily running
Together.”

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the ninety-ninth volume in a series of ten thousand “flaming flower-poems” which Sri Chinmoy is placing devotedly, unreservedly and unconditionally at the Compassion-Feet of God, our Beloved Supreme. They stand as a supreme offering from the unfolding beauty of his flower-heart and the flaming heights of his realisation-sun. Indeed, a treasure-tower which will at once be claimed by humanity’s self-ascending cry and Divinity’s God-descending Smile.

Editor's note to cover photo

Sri Chinmoy meets with Payton Jordan, a champion sprinter and one of America’s all-time great coaches, on 4 June 1982. “You are a river flowing continuously and carrying all … the champions in the making … to the sea,” Sri Chinmoy told the former Stanford University coach. “Everybody that does anything is a champion,” Jordan replied. “And when they can feel proud of what they do, that is the most important thing in our teaching.” In recent years, Payton Jordan has offered Sri Chinmoy invaluable suggestions and videotaped demonstrations on how to improve his running. Sri Chinmoy calls Payton Jordan his Himalayan coach.