Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 40

3901. My heart's only choice

```

My Lord,

True, You do not show me Your Face.

But that does not mean

I cannot feel Your Heart.

My Lord,

True, I do not feel Your Heart.

But that does not mean

I do not know who You are —

You are my heart’s only choice.

```

3902. You call it self-command

```

You call it self-command.

I call it wisdom-light.

You call it wisdom-light.

I call it God-Delight. ```

3903. Our mental power

```

Each time we remember something,

We exercise our mental power.

Each time we rightly exercise

Our mental power,

We expedite God’s Hour.

Each time we wrongly exercise

Our mental power,

We delay God’s Hour. ```

3904. One of the true immortals

```

When you keep your mind on earth,

You become an object of pity.

When you send your mind to Heaven,

You become one of the true immortals. ```

3905. The world's useless gifts

```

The world has nothing to tell you.

The world has nothing to give you.

Yet you are eagerly waiting for

The world’s meaningless advice

And

The world’s useless gifts. ```

3906. A bright place

```

The existence of a dark place

Means there is somewhere a bright place.

Who knows,

That bright place could be

Your own tiny little heart.

```

3907. The heart's own illumination

```

If your mind admits

That it lives in confusion,

Then your heart will definitely

Have the capacity

To grant your mind

The heart’s own illumination. ```

3908. A spiritual Teacher knows

```

A spiritual Teacher knows

That his sea of compassion

Is another name

For his own perfection

Within and without.

```

3909. I have the heart to thank you

```

If I have the mind to thank you

For granting me liberation,

Then I also have the heart to thank you

For your satisfaction in me. ```

3910. A special way for me

```

My Lord,

You have a secret plan for me.

Therefore, I need You.

My Lord,

You have a special way for me.

Therefore, I love You. ```

3911. I am sailing

```

I am sailing the silver boat

Of my self-examination.

Soon I shall arrive

At the Golden Shore

Of my self-perfection.

```

3912. Free and perfect

```

Your doubting mind

Will be free

Only when you see the truth.

Your aspiring heart

Will be perfect

Only when you spread the truth.

```

3913. It seems that you are interested

```

It seems that you are interested

Only in immortalising

Your past defeats

And not in caring for

Your future victories.

```

3914. You do not have to worry

```

You do not have to worry

About suspicion.

Just do not live

Inside your binding mind.

You do not have to worry

About your aspiring heart.

Just lead a faithful life.

```

3915. You are haunted

```

You are haunted by the feeling

That people deceive you all the time.

Can you not be inspired by the knowledge

That God loves you dearly all the time? ```

3916. Your self-mastery

```

Your self-mastery

Is exceedingly powerful.

Your God-discovery

Is eternally fruitful. ```

3917. If you think you have problems

```

If you think you have problems

With your mind,

Then immediately try to feel

The ready-made solutions

Inside your heart.

```

3918. God the Compassion-Monarch

```

If you think you have problems

With your self,

Then can you not feel

That the problem-shooter

Is fast approaching you?

Lo, God the Compassion-Monarch

Is standing right in front of you.

```

3919. I try

```

I try to visualise

God the Beautiful One.

I try to seek

God the Powerful One.

I try to merge into

God the Bountiful One. ```

3920. God exists for me

```

I doubt;

Therefore, I am doomed

To exist only for myself.

I believe;

Therefore, God wants to and does

Exist for me.

```

3921. When you find

```

When you find

A faithful son in yourself,

You will find

A cheerful father in me.

When you find

A competent daughter in yourself,

You will find

A confident father in me. ```

3922. To see your bountiful face

```

My Lord,

Someday I would like to see

Your bountiful Face.

“My child,

Someday I would like to feel

Your soulful heart.” ```

3923. Wake up!

```

Wake up, wake up!

Your ignorance-night is flying away.

Look upward, inward and forward!

Your knowledge-day is dawning fast. ```

3924. When I run with God

```

When I run with God outwardly,

He gives me His blessingful Eyes.

When I run with God inwardly,

I give Him my awakened heart. ```

3925. Your eyes have the beauty

```

Your eyes have the beauty

Of a seer-poet.

Your heart has the purity

Of a God-intoxicated saint. ```

3926. Two misfortunes in life

```

There are only two misfortunes in life:

One is that we do not know

What to do,

And the other is that we cannot forget

What we have done.

```

3927. Your patience-tree

```

In between your failure-tree

And your triumph-tree,

The tree that is growing

Is known as your patience-tree. ```

3928. Oneness-satisfaction

```

Who says that gentleness

Is not real strength?

Who says that strength

Is not oneness-satisfaction? ```

3929. When my Lord pulls me

```

When my Lord pulls me,

I feel that my desire-life

Is extremely heavy.

When my Lord pushes me,

I feel that my aspiration-life

Is extremely light.

```

3930. My life likes to know

```

My desire-life likes to know

Where God is.

My aspiration-life likes to know

How God is.

My realisation-life likes to know

If God is pleased with me. ```

3931. If you care to make me happy

```

O my mind,

Give up your mechanical thinking;

O my mind,

Give up your artificial searching;

O my mind,

Give up your shameless doubting

If you ever care to make me happy.

```

3932. My mind wants only attention

```

The difference between my mind

And my heart is this:

My mind wants only attention from me

All the time,

But my heart wants

My soulful support. ```

3933. A perfect answer

```

A calm mind means

A perfect answer.

A perfect answer means

The enlightenment of earth

And

The satisfaction of Heaven. ```

3934. I try to please God

```

I try to please God

Because He knows that I can do it.

I try to please man

Because he thinks that I cannot do it. ```

3935. Who is really wise?

```

You have two persons inside you.

Tell me, which is really wise:

The one who always wants to see

Beauty inside you,

Or the one who always wants to see

Ugliness in others? ```

3936. Do you want to change yourself?

```

Do you want to change the world?

Then change yourself first.

Do you want to change yourself?

If so, remain completely silent

Inside the silence-sea.

```

3937. You want to love them

```

They want to destroy you.

That is what they think.

You want to love them.

That is what you know

And that is what you can and will do.

```

3938. If you want God the Quantity

```

If you want God the Quantity,

God may appear to you

As God the Quantity.

But if you want God the Quality,

God will not only come to you

As God the Quality

But also as God the Quantity.

```

3939. God wants one thing in your life

```

God wants one thing in your life

And you want something else.

He wants you not only to see

The limitless in yourself,

But also to see yourself

As limitless.

And what do you want?

You want to see only the small limits

Of your feeble possibilities.

```

3940. Surrender yourself

```

Surrender yourself

To the beauty of Truth,

To the purity of Light,

To the Divinity of God’s

Transcendental Height.

```

3941. If you run fast

```

In the inner world

If you run fast

You will outlast the bondage

Of ignorance-night.

In the outer world

If you run fast

3942. He still has a chance

```

When he is one

With his wild vital,

He thinks he is another God.

When he is one

With his pure heart,

He feels that he still has a chance

To become a truth-seeker

And a God-lover.

```

3943. Two compeers

```

I have two compeers

Deep inside my heart.

One is the dreamer

Of God’s Beauty universal.

The other is the lover

Of God’s Majesty transcendental. ```

3944. O my heart of beauty

```

O my heart of beauty,

O my heart of purity,

From this very moment

I shall never act against you. ```

3945. I shall follow you unreservedly

```

O my beautiful heart,

O my soulful heart,

O my prayerful heart,

From this moment on

I shall never speak ill of you.

I shall do what you do.

I shall say what you say.

I shall follow you unreservedly

And unconditionally.

```

3946. To live in the Eternal Now

```

To live in the Eternal Now

A seeker needs

The beauty of a child’s heart,

The purity of a saint’s mind,

The divinity of a yogi’s eyes.

```

3947. Before you can repair your mind

```

Why are you wasting your time

Trying to repair your mind?

Long before you can repair your mind

You will be compelled to retire

From the world.

```

3948. To be one's own teacher

```

To be one’s own teacher

Is to unconsciously welcome

Unwanted and even undeserved problems.

```

3949. There can be no strength

```

There can be no strength

Inside a confusion-mind.

There can be no beauty

Inside an anxiety-heart.

There can be no divinity

Inside an avarice-life. ```

3950. Surrender to the sky-silence

```

If you want to conquer

The thunder-sound of the outer world,

Then you must first surrender

To the sky-silence of the inner world. ```

3951. If I do not dare to fight

```

If I do not dare

To fight against ignorance

At every moment,

How will God,

My Beloved Supreme,

Share His Throne with me? ```

3952. Nothing is beyond repair

```

My Lord,

My heart is in unendurable despair.

“My child,

For Me nothing is beyond repair.” ```

3953. For my Lord's Compassion-Heart

```

For my Lord’s Compassion-Heart,

Nothing is too late.

For my mind’s confusion-night,

Everything is too late. ```

3954. When I come to you confidently

```

When I come to You confidently,

What will You give me, my Lord?

“My child, I shall give you

My bountiful Gifts unconditionally.” ```

3955. What you need to have

```

Life has given you

What you unconsciously wanted to have:

Frustration.

You can consciously get from life

What you need to have:

Illumination. ```

3956. I gave you what I had

```

My Lord,

Yesterday I gave You what I had:

My Himalayan pride.

Today I am giving You what I have:

My gratitude-plant.

Tomorrow I shall give You

What I shall have:

My ecstasy-sea. ```

3957. The power of a radiant sunrise

```

Your mind is crying

For the preconceived power of a sunrise

Which may not be truly illumining.

Your heart is longing

For the power of a radiant sunrise

Which is at once illumining and translucent. ```

3958. Two miracles

```

You want to see miracles.

Do you not know that every day

You perform two miracles?

Is it not true that every day

Your knotty mind thinks of God?

Is it not true that every day

Your haughty vital argues with God?

```

3959. Because you are extremely weak

```

Because you are extremely weak,

You think that God is not as powerful

As He should be.

```

3960. Your heart's satisfaction-house

```

Unless you open your mind’s belief-room,

You will not be able to enter

Your heart’s satisfaction-house.

```

3961. Your very old associate

```

My Lord, when will You

Wipe away my tears?

“My child, the day you give up

Your very old associate: fear.” ```

3962. A blessingful gift

```

You are entitled to enjoy life

Only when you feel

That it is a blessingful gift from Above,

And not a merited award. ```

3963. The journey's fulfilling initiation

```

Self-awakening is the journey’s

Fulfilling initiation.

Self-giving is the journey’s

Fulfilled culmination. ```

3964. This is your task

```

Do not contradict yourself.

That is others’ task.

Move forward,

Dive inward,

Fly upward

Quickly and confidently.

Indeed, this is your task.

```

3965. I am thanking you

```

I am thanking you,

O my desire-life,

For you have told me

That God is powerful.

I am thanking you,

O my aspiration-life,

For you are telling me

That God is merciful.

I am thanking you,

O my realisation-life,

For you are going to tell me

That God is beautiful. ```

3966. I shall forgive and forget

```

I shall forgive and I shall forget.

I shall forgive my past unwillingness

To meditate on God.

I shall totally forget

My very, very old friend:

Ignorance. ```

3967. My God-reliance manifests

```

My self-reliance liberates

The human in me.

My God-reliance manifests

The divine around me. ```

3968. Be not a rank fool!

```

Be not a rank fool!

Your ego-excitement is one thing

And your life-enlightenment

Is something else. ```

3969. Tell your mind

```

Tell your mind

What it needs

Is an inspiration-river.

Tell your heart

What it needs

Is an aspiration-fountain.

Tell your life

What it needs

Is a dedication-sky.

```

3970. What a mind you have!

```

What a mind you have!

Your mind is not happy

Unless it feels miserable.

What a vital you have!

Your vital is not happy

Unless it is despicable.

```

3971. How can you be happy?

```

How can you be happy

When you have a suspicious mind?

How can you be happy

When you have an infectious vital?

How can you be happy

When you have an irreligious heart? ```

3972. Do you know yourself?

```

Do you know yourself?

No!

Do you know others?

No!

Why not do the first thing first?

Know yourself.

Then see what happens later on.

```

3973. His heart wishes

```

His heart wishes

It had as much purity

As his mind thinks it has.

```

3974. The more you love the divinity

```

The more you love the divinity

Inside your life,

The sooner God’s Reality

Will flower inside your heart. ```

3975. To go beyond yourself

```

To like your mind

Is the first step.

To love your heart

Is the second step.

To go beyond yourself

Is the third and last step. ```

3976. He is not a poor man

```

He is not a poor man

Who does not have money-power.

But he is indeed a poor man

Who fails to be a God-lover. ```

3977. Wrongs and rights

```

A sincere man thinks more

Of his wrongs

Than of his rights.

An insincere man thinks more

Of his rights

Than of his wrongs.

I myself would like to think more

Of God’s Forgiveness-Light

Than of God’s Justice-Height.

```

3978. If you want to free yourself

```

If you sincerely want to free yourself

From attachment-jungle,

Then associate yourself with the seekers

Who have more faith in God

And more love for God

Than you have. ```

3979. The strength of fulness

```

Nervousness is quite often

The fear of newness.

Newness is quite often

The multiplying strength of fulness. ```

3980. Each good thought

```

Each good, pure and useful thought

Is a solid power

For our daily use.

```

3981. Unless you lead your own life

```

How can you be happy

Unless you lead your own life?

How can you be happy

Unless God gives you the wisdom-light

To claim Him as your very own?

```

3982. You are working for others

```

You are working every day

For others.

You have no time to work

For your own self.

No wonder you and your frustration

Have become inseparable! ```

3983. Your life's salvation-smile

```

You can conquer all frustration

If you can bring to the fore

More of your hidden capacity,

Which is your life’s salvation-smile. ```

3984. A clear mind

```

A clear mind needs

The beauty of a pure heart.

A pure heart needs

The divinity of a sure soul. ```

3985. Awaken the human life

```

The animal life and the human life

Are fast asleep inside you.

Do not awaken the animal life.

Only awaken the human life

So that it can be a good student

Of the divine life. ```

3986. Who is standing in your way?

```

Who is standing in your way?

None other than your demanding vital.

Whom else do you suspect?

Your shamelessly sleeping body. ```

3987. The end of your mind's confusion

```

Self-examination means

The end of your mind’s confusion.

The end of your mind’s confusion

Means the beginning of your God-satisfaction. ```

3988. Your own brother

```

If your sincerity

Is not your own brother,

Who else, then, can be?

If your purity

Is not your own sister,

Who else, then, can be?

```

3989. If you can think correctly

```

If you can think correctly,

Then your life will see perfectly.

If your life can see perfectly,

Then God will come to you

Not only freely but also immediately.

```

3990. Once you stop being frightened

```

Once you can stop being frightened

By your vital,

Nothing and nobody

Will ever be able to frighten you. ```

3991. Observe your actions

```

Observe your actions.

You will become brave.

Learn from your reactions.

You will become wise.

Surrender your actions and reactions

To God’s Will.

You will become perfect.

```

3992. How can you not succeed?

```

How can you not succeed

When you have an awakened mind?

How can you not proceed

When you have an illumined heart? ```

3993. If you want to expand your mind

```

If you want to expand your mind,

Then every day

Spend as much time as possible

With your heart. ```

3994. To transform your life

```

If you want to transform your life

Radically,

Then immediately give up

Your false sense of teeming guilt. ```

3995. If your life is real

```

If your life is real,

Then only

Your heart can be happy.

If your mind is free,

Then only

Your body can be happy. ```

3996. If you choose

```

If you choose

The enjoyment-world,

How can you refuse to accept

The rebuffs of the enlightenment-world? ```

3997. Do not be discouraged

```

Do not be discouraged.

If you are discouraged,

You will be enraged before long.

Once you are enraged,

Your aspiration-life

Will immediately be encaged. ```

3998. Awareness is strength

```

Awareness is strength.

Strength is unity.

Unity is the beauty of Infinity

And the reality of Immortality. ```

3999. Confidence is calmness

```

Confidence is calmness.

Calmness is fruitfulness.

Fruitfulness is the result

Of the seeker’s self-transcendence. ```

4000. Do you want to be fruitful?

```

Do you want to be powerful?

Then empty the doubt-poison

From your mind-vessel.

Do you want to be fruitful?

Then fill your heart-vessel

With the tears of your aspiration-cry. ```

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the fortieth 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

Indian Ambassador to the United Nations, Rikhi Jaipal, chats with Sri Chinmoy after presenting one of Sri Chinmoy’s paintings to UNICEF on behalf of the Indian Government on 29 March 1979. The painting became part of a travelling exhibit promoting the International Year of the Child. During the presentation Ambassador Jaipal said, “There can be no higher religion than our common allegiance to humanity, which is inherent in the Charter of the United Nations and which is the message that is implicit in the teaching of Sri Chinmoy.” When Sri Chinmoy later thanked Ambassador Jaipal for his kind words, the Indian diplomat said to him, “You are doing so much for America, this is the least I can do for you.”

From:Sri Chinmoy,Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 40, Agni Press, 1982
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ff_40