The Golden Boat, part 19

1. Hope entered

```

Hope entered.

He smiled and danced.

He became God’s Vision-Race.

Hope departed.

He cried and slept.

He became Eternity’s ignorance-face.

```

2. God's Grace

```

God’s unconditional Grace:

My soul’s illumining face.

God’s unconditional Perfection-shower:

My heart’s climbing tower. ```

3. My silence

```

My silence

Is the morning light

Of God’s God-Vision.

In God-Vision I have become

The angel-eye

Of Infinity’s Soul-Smile.

```

4. God thanked me

```

I prayed to God.

He thanked me compassionately.

I meditated on God.

He thanked me smilingly.

I surrendered my gratitude-life to God.

He thanked me lovingly.

I declared my sovereign equality to God.

He embraced me unreservedly. ```

5. My dark secret, my bright secret

```

I love myself only:

This is my dark secret.

I love God only:

This is my bright secret.

God blesses and perfects

My dark secret.

God fondles and treasures

My bright secret. ```

6. My eternal sunrise

```

My doubt’s desire-life

Is my slow, gradual death.

I know it.

My faith’s aspiration-life

Is my eternal sunrise.

I know it.

I love it.

I need it.

```

7. My beauty

```

Yesterday

I was despair-beauty.

Today

I am hope-beauty.

Tomorrow

I shall become surrender-beauty.

The day after tomorrow

I shall become God-Beauty. ```

8. Who are you?

```

Jealousy, do you know

Who you are?

In case you do not know

I shall tell you who you are.

You are the shameless weakness

Of humanity.

Doubt, do you know

Who you are?

In case you do not know

I shall tell you who you are.

You are the useless sickness

Of humanity. ```

9. Three worlds

```

A moment’s pleasure

Your vital-world wants.

Eternity’s joy

Your heart-world needs.

Immortality’s satisfaction

Your soul-world is. ```

10. My identity

```

Who was I?

Earth’s idle dreamer.

Who am I?

Earth’s slowest walker.

What shall I be?

My life’s frustration

And failure collector.

```

11. In silence

```

In silence you suffered

Because

You were too great.

In silence you suffer

Because

You are too good.

In silence you will smile, sing and dance

Because

The Hour of God before long will strike.

```

12. When I pray and meditate

```

When I pray

I enjoy the depth

Of God-Compassion

In my heart-world.

When I meditate

I enjoy the embrace

Of God-Concentration

In my soul-world. ```

13. The life of light

```

The life of night

Has only one destructive thing:

The poison of despair.

The life of light

Has not one,

Not two,

But three constructive things:

The love of light,

The path of progress,

The victory of aspiration.

```

14. Only one armour

```

There is only one armour

Against fate:

God’s transcendental

Silence-Grace.

There is only one armour

Against God-satisfaction:

Man’s ephemeral

Ingratitude-face. ```

15. The role of Time

```

The role of Time:

Duty, constant duty.

The soul of Time:

Beauty, illumining beauty.

The goal of Time:

Love-reality

And

God-necessity. ```

16. He is afraid of three things

```

He is afraid of three things:

Silence, sound and perfection.

When he is afraid of silence

Earth loves him.

When he is afraid of sound

Heaven loves him.

When he is afraid of perfection

The animal in him loves him

Plus

The human in him loves him;

But

The divine in him pities him

And

The Supreme in him forgives him. ```

17. Father and sons

```

Prayer says to God:

“Father, I have come to You.

What will You give me?”

“Son, I shall give you joy.

Look, I am massaging your feet.”

Meditation says to God:

“Father, You have come to me.

What can I offer You?

What will give You joy?”

“Son, you can massage My Head.”

```

18. Two blessings

```

Earth-ignorance

Blesses me

By forgetting me.

I am grateful.

Heaven-Justice

Blesses me

By forgiving me.

I am grateful. ```

19. The flame of courage

```

The flame of courage

Illumines me, my earth’s life.

I am grateful.

The flame of love

Fulfils me, my soul’s role.

I am grateful.

```

20. Only one food

```

His is the body

That cries for only one food:

Night, brooding night.

His is the vital

That cries for only one food:

Might, controlling might.

His is the mind

That cries for only one food:

Light, glowing light.

His is the heart

That cries for only one food:

Delight, flowing delight.

```

21. The ladder of life

```

The ladder of humility

Leads us to God-Heights of

Man-emancipation

And

Man-perfection.

The ladder of pride

Is uncertainty’s song,

Imperfection’s dance

And

Futility’s hush.

```

22. Two secrets

```

A heart-shattering secret:

My God-realisation

Will not take place

In this lifetime.

A life-illumining

And

Life-immortalising secret:

God’s Eternity

Loves me supremely

And

Needs me constantly.

```

23. A never-ending Now and an ever-ending now

```

He lives

In a never-ending Now

And

In an ever-ending now.

A never-ending Now

Is God’s choice for him.

An ever-ending now

Is the voice of his treasured

Ignorance-night.

```

24. In spite of what I am

```

A daily miracle:

The human in me prays to God

In spite of what I am.

A constant miracle:

God-Compassion dreams in me,

God-Joy loves me

And

God-Reality needs me

In spite of what I am. ```

25. Leave me not alone

```

O earth, leave me not alone.

I need you.

I need your heart’s

Aspiration-cry

To see the Face of God.

O Heaven, leave me not alone.

I need you.

I need your soul’s

Divinity-smile

To discover the Beauty of God.

```

26. Be not proud

```

Death, be not proud;

Life is aspiring.

Life, be not proud;

Death is approaching.

Death and life,

Be not proud;

The Lord Supreme is watching.

```

27. I love my heart

```

My heart of love

Is divinely beautiful.

I love my beautiful heart.

My heart of devotion

Is eternally soulful.

I love my soulful heart.

My heart of surrender

Is supremely fruitful.

I love my fruitful heart.

```

28. They need her

```

She embodies

The Eye of Heaven;

Therefore

Earth constantly needs her.

She embodies

The heart of earth;

Therefore

Heaven unreservedly needs her.

She heralds

God-perfection on earth;

Therefore

God supremely needs her. ```

29. Doubt-cure

```

If you are a doubter,

Then your faith in yourself

Will one day

Come to the fore

And cure you.

But

If you are doubt itself,

Then God alone

Can cure you

And that, too,

He will do at His choice Hour

And not at your hopeful hour. ```

30. Love me not, leave me not

```

My Lord,

Love me not

If You do not

Want to.

My Beloved,

Leave me not

Even if You

Want to. ```

31. Yesterday, today, tomorrow

```

Yesterday

My life was a thorn-crown.

I endured it.

Today

My life is a clown-frown.

I endure it.

Tomorrow

My life shall be a God-town.

The whole world will treasure it.

```

32. God and we

```

God has no Hands

Of His own.

We are His hands.

We have no eye

Of our own.

God is our Eye.

God and we

Have one thing

In common:

Oneness-Heart. ```

33. Yet God loves us

```

You are an artist

Who cannot draw;

Yet

God loves you.

Why?

Because you are pure.

He is a singer

Who cannot sing;

Yet

God loves him.

Why?

Because he is humble.

I am a seeker

Who cannot seek;

Yet

God loves me.

Why?

Because I am sincere. ```

34. My body and my heart

```

My body says to my heart:

“Beloved, I have only you.”

My heart says to my body:

“My sweet little chariot,

For you alone

God’s transcendental Crown

And

God’s universal Throne.” ```

35. Mine

```

Mine is the hope-sky

That keeps me alive.

Mine is the faith-moon

That guides me safely.

Mine is the promise-sun

That fulfils me unreservedly. ```

36. A broken life

```

Yesterday

I embodied a heap

Of broken hopes.

Today

I reveal the thoughts

Of an arid brain.

Tomorrow

I shall sit down

Quietly

And

I shall weep

Helplessly. ```

37. When he died

```

When

His body-vital-mind died,

There was silence in Heaven.

When

His heart died,

There was sound in Heaven.

When

He himself died,

Earth gave him earth’s heart-cry

And

Heaven gave him Heaven’s soul-smile.

```

38. God's Hospitality and man's hospitality

```

God’s Hospitality

Tells me:

I need not shout my faith.

Man’s hospitality

Tells me:

I must show

Not only

My heart of gratitude

But also

My soul of admiration.

```

39. When I am alone

```

Believe it or not,

My eyes do not see

When I look alone.

Believe it or not,

My heart does not breathe

When I live alone.

Believe it or not,

My God does not need me

When I meditate alone.

```

40. My pride

```

My yesterday was proud

Of its wild disbelief.

My today is proud

Of its blind unbelief.

My tomorrow shall be proud

Of its spontaneous belief. ```

41. O Silence

```

O Eye of Silence,

Your Eye is beautiful.

I need your transcendental Eye.

O Heart of Silence,

Your Heart is beautiful.

I need your universal Heart.

O Life of Silence,

Your Life is beautiful.

I need your immortal Life.

```

42. Your teachers

```

Let the sky

Become

Your teacher.

You will learn

How to serve.

Let the moon

Become

Your teacher.

You will learn

How to love.

Let the sun

Become

Your teacher.

You will learn

How to become.

```

43. The voice

```

Yesterday

I was the trembling voice

Of earth’s cry.

Today

I am the illumining voice

Of Heaven’s smile.

Tomorrow

I shall become the fulfilling voice

Of God’s Promise.

```

44. Like yesterday

```

God cares for me;

Therefore,

Like yesterday,

Today for me

Is another aspiration-experience.

I care for God;

Therefore,

Like yesterday,

Today for God

Is another satisfaction-dawn.

```

45. Hidden failure and hidden success

```

My hidden failure:

My dark ingratitude.

My hidden success:

My climbing love for God. ```

46. Reality of love

```

Intensity of love

My heart of gratitude

Embodies.

Immensity of love

My life of fortitude

Reveals.

Divinity of love

My soul of plenitude

Manifests.

Reality of love

My God of infinitude

Eternally is.

```

47. Three Gods

```

You are, at your best,

A different God.

He is, at his best,

An indifferent God.

And

I am, at my worst,

A transparent God.

```

48. Heaven-silence and world-sound

```

My life’s world-sound

Is my success-plant

Threatened and frightened

By earth-storms.

My heart’s Heaven-silence

Is my progress-tree

That shelters and feeds

Earth’s excruciating pangs. ```

49. They are dead

```

You have deserted your honesty.

Lo, God’s Duty-Tree

Which has been pleasing you

Is dead.

You have completely deserted your humility.

Lo, God’s Beauty-Flower

Which has been enlightening you

Is unmistakably dead.

You have deserted your purity.

Lo, God’s Spontaneity-Fruit

Which has been nourishing you

Is helplessly dead. ```

50. Victory

```

Human victory

Is always precarious.

Divine victory

Is always prosperous.

God’s Victory

Is always

Precious,

Gracious

And

Advantageous. ```

From:Sri Chinmoy,The Golden Boat, part 19, Agni Press, 1974
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/gb_19