9901. No One But You

My Lord Supreme,
No one but You
Will hear my heart’s gratitude-song.
No one but You
Will watch my soul’s surrender-dance.
No one but You
Will transform my dream-life
Into Your own Reality-Heart.

9902. Give Me A Large Heart

My Lord,
Give me a large heart
So that I can treasure
Your rich Smiles.

My Lord,
Give me a pure life
So that I can discover
The fountain of Your infinite Delight.

9903. Offerings

From tomorrow on
My morning meditation will be
The offering of my aspiration-plants,
My midday meditation will be
The offering of my dedication-fruits
And my evening meditation will be
The offering of my gratitude-heart
To You, my Beloved Supreme.

9904. He Who Dreams Of God

He who dreams of God
Does not have to live
In the hope-world.
His dream is the harbinger
Of fast-approaching God-Reality.

9905. A Different Drink

Forgive me, my Lord Supreme,
Forgive me!
I have drunk doubt-poison
Profusely and happily.
Now I want to change my drink.
I want to drink faith-nectar
Immeasurably and spontaneously.
Will You not give me another chance, my Lord,
Will You not?

9906. A Different Friend

Forgive me, my Lord Supreme,
Forgive me!
I have made friends
With tenebrous ignorance-night
Consciously and deliberately.
Now I want to change my friend.
I want to accept wisdom-light
As my new friend
Immediately and permanently.
Will You not give me another chance, my Lord,
Will You not?

9907. I Have Not Loved You

Forgive me, my Lord Supreme,
Forgive me!
I have not loved You
Sleeplessly and unconditionally.
Will You not give me another chance, my Lord,
Will You not?

9908. I Have Not Served You

Forgive me, my Lord Supreme,
Forgive me!
I have not served You
Soulfully and unreservedly
Inside the hearts of the pilgrim-seekers
Walking along Eternity’s Road.
Will You not give me another chance, my Lord,
Will You not?

9909. I Have Not Spoken To The World

Forgive me, my Lord Supreme,
Forgive me!
I have not spoken to the world about You
Confidently and convincingly.
Will You not give me another chance, my Lord,
Will You not?

9910. I Have Not Manifested You

Forgive me, my Lord Supreme,
Forgive me!
I have not manifested You here on earth
Concretely and satisfactorily.
Will You not give me another chance, my Lord,
Will You not?

9911. I Have Not Become

Forgive me, my Lord Supreme,
Forgive me!
I have not become
What You wanted me to become
Cheerfully and gratefully.
Will You not give me another chance, my Lord,
Will You not?

9912. His Life's First Prayer

His life’s first prayer
Was to grasp the life of plenitude.
His life’s last prayer
Was to become the breath of gratitude.

9913. Your Life Is Now Entitled

Since your heart
Has passed Eternity’s examination,
Your life is now entitled
To receive Infinity’s perfection.

9914. God Has Given Us The Mind

God has given us the mind
To enjoy imagination-feast.

God has given us the heart
To enjoy aspiration-feast.

God has given us life
To enjoy realisation-feast.

God has given us His very Existence
To become His universal Satisfaction-Song.

9915. Your Aspiration-Fire

Do not be afraid of your desire-life.
Just ask your aspiration-fire
To melt all your desires.
Your aspiration-fire embodies
God the infinite Power.

9916. My Vast Thought-World

My vast thought-world
Is for my Lord Supreme to read.
My tiny aspiration-room
Is for my Lord Supreme to live in.

9917. What Thrills My Mind?

What thrills my mind?
Sincerity’s song.
What thrills my heart?
Purity’s dance.
What thrills my life?
Divinity’s embrace.

9918. A Useless Stranger

In my heart’s world
Of light and delight,
My hesitation-frustration-mind
Is an utterly helpless
And useless stranger.

9919. My Body Unconsciously Protested

My body unconsciously protested
When I asked it to be wakeful.
My vital vehemently protested
When I asked it to be peaceful.
My mind cleverly protested
When I asked it to be soulful.
My heart cheerfully agreed
When I asked it to be helpful
To friends and foes alike.

9920. I Challenged Yesterday's Problems

I challenged yesterday’s problems
With my determination-power.
I am challenging today’s problems
With my aspiration-cry.
I shall challenge tomorrow’s problems
With my surrender-smile
To my Lord Supreme.

9921. A Beggar's Hunger

Every mind has its greatness.
Every heart has its goodness.
Every life has its fruitfulness.
Yet every human being is dying
Of a beggar’s hunger.

9922. You Can Wait For Perfection

As God is ready to wait
For His Satisfaction,
Even so, you can wait
For your perfection.

9923. Faith In Doubt

You say you do not have faith
In anything.
Do you not see
That you have tremendous faith
In your own doubt?

9924. The Very Last Step

A heart of gratitude
Is the next-to-last step
Before we reach Heaven.

A life of surrender
Is the very last step
Before we reach Heaven.

9925. How Can You Succeed?

How can you succeed in your outer life
When you do not have
The power of concentration?

How can you proceed in your inner life
When you do not have
The peace of meditation?

9926. Nothing Is As Perfect

Nothing is as imperfect and cheap
As my mind’s outer smile.
Nothing is as perfect and precious
As my heart’s inner cry.

9927. A Big And Real God

I believe in a big and real God:
My Beloved Supreme.
I do not believe in a small and false god:
My doubting mind.

9928. Wrong And Right Prayers

“God, give me!”
This is a wrong prayer.
“God, take me!”
This is a right prayer.

9929. Do Give Me A New Heart

My Lord,
My heart knows
That You have been waiting for me
For Eternity.
Do give me a new heart, my Lord,
So that I, too, can wait for You
Eternally.

9930. The Past And The Present

The past controls the present:
This is a human experience.
The past surrenders to the present:
This is a divine experience.
The past is transformed
And made into a perfect instrument
For the Supreme to use in His own Way:
This is a supreme experience.

9931. Divinity's Three Heaven-Free Homes

Humanity’s three earth-bound houses:
Passion, possession and frustration.

Divinity’s three Heaven-free homes:
Illumination, perfection and satisfaction.

9932. I Cry, I Smile

Each time I cry,
I purify my heart.
Each time I smile,
I simplify my life.

9933. Ascent And Descent

An invisible ascent:
My heart of ecstatic silence.
A visible descent:
My life of bombastic sound.

9934. Immeasurable Ecstasies

There was a time when I fed my mind
With unbelievable fantasies,
But now I feed my heart
With immeasurable ecstasies.

9935. They Are Incapable

I am sad that my mind is incapable
Of silence-light.
I am glad that my heart is incapable
Of indifference-night.

9936. My Heart Does Know

My life may not know
What God’s Compassion is,
But my heart does know
What God’s Forgiveness is.

9937. My Soul Came Down

My soul came down
From the Himalayan heights
To see the Protection-Feet
Of my Lord Supreme.

My life shall climb up
To the Himalayan heights
To see the Compassion-Eye
Of my Beloved Supreme.

9938. The Beauty Of God's Infinity

My mind is brave.
Therefore, it dares to imagine
The Beauty of God’s Infinity.

My heart is pure.
Therefore, it hopes to embody
The Love of God’s Immortality.

9939. My Destiny

My destiny laughs at me
When I tell the world
That I can become.

My destiny touches my feet
When I tell my Lord Supreme
That I am.

9940. Aspiration-Cry

My heart uses its aspiration-cry
To see the Face of God.
My mind uses its inspiration-smile
To feel the heart of man.

9941. Ready To Wait

A nobility-mind is ready
To wait for the world.
A magnanimity-heart is ready
To die for the world.

9942. A Divine Hero-Warrior

A divine hero-warrior
Does not accept any defeat,
Not because he is proud
But because his Inner Pilot
Has time and again told him
That he is His choice instrument
And that His Vision-Eye will succeed
In him
And His Satisfaction-Heart will proceed
Along with him.

9943. An Accident

My mind calls it
An accident.
My heart calls it
An experience.
My soul calls it
A life-transforming Touch of God.
My Beloved Supreme calls it
His inner Involution
And His outer Revelation.

9944. Your Heart-Tears

Your heart-tears
Have transformed your life.
Your heart-tears
Have satisfied God.
Your heart-tears
Have illumined mankind.
Your heart-tears
Can answer all the past, present
And future questions of the world.

9945. At Last He Is Healed

At last
He is healed of his self-doubt.
Now what is happening?
He is awakening
To his soul’s ecstasy-sun.

9946. A Rising Flame

Each aspiration-cry
Is a rising flame.
Each desire-smile
Is a sinking boat.

9947. Determination-Fire

Determination-fire:
This is what my mind
Precisely needs.

Illumination-sun:
This is what my heart
Soulfully needs.

Satisfaction-God:
This is what my life
Sleeplessly needs.

9948. To Acquire Innocence-Joy

To acquire innocence-joy,
What I need most in my outer life
Is a God-searching mind,
And what I need most in my inner life
Is a life-surrendering heart.

9949. Two Frightening Shadows

Two frightening shadows
Are chasing me:
One says
My heart does not love God;
The other says
God does not need my life.

9950. How Little Do I Know

How little do I know
Of my repeated failures
In the inner life.
But I do know
Of my major failure
In the outer life:
I have completely surrendered
To temptation-spear.

9951. Hearken Only To Time Eternal!

Hearken only to Time Eternal!
Your questioning mind is the dance
Of a very weak and flickering flame-light.

9952. I Do Not Want You To Enjoy

O my mind,
I do not want you to enjoy
Either the flight
Of fleeting thoughts
Or the train
Of unending doubts.

9953. My Life-Surrendering Heart-Tears

In my outer life
I have already wasted
And I may continue to waste
Many precious things,
But in my inner life
I shall never waste
The most precious thing:
My life-surrendering heart-tears.

9954. My Soul Was Born To Teach

My soul was born to teach.
My heart was born to learn.
My mind was born to unlearn.
My life was born to smile inwardly
And cry outwardly.

9955. One Foot Is On Earth

One foot is on earth
And one foot is in Heaven.
Therefore, he is equally
Heaven’s powerful eye
And
Earth’s tearful heart.

9956. Waiting For You

O my heart, look upward!
God and His Satisfaction-Eye
Are waiting for you.

O my mind, dive inward!
God and His Forgiveness-Feet
Are waiting for you.

9957. My Heart's Sorrows

My heart’s unspoken
And breathless sorrows
Are my life’s hallowed
And endless joys.

9958. God The Lover

God the Lover sleeplessly cries
With earth’s cries.
God the Beloved unconditionally smiles
With Heaven’s smiles.

9959. A Deep Desire

I have a deep desire
To teach my restless mind
How to rest.

I have also a deep desire
To be taught by my aspiring heart
How to cry.

9960. I Have Seen Many Things

I have seen many things:
God’s Compassion-Eye,
God’s Forgiveness-Heart,
God’s Protection-Feet.

I have been many things:
A life that enjoys ignorance,
A heart that enjoys ingratitude,
A mind that enjoys suspicion.

9961. My Mind Admires God

My mind admires God
Because He is powerful.
My heart loves God
Because He is beautiful.
My life needs God
Because He is merciful.
My soul reveals God
Because He is fruitful.

9962. Opinion And Dedication

O my clever mind,
You want me to succeed
With my stubborn opinion.

O my wise heart,
You want me to proceed
With my surrendered dedication.

9963. The Banners Of The East And West

If you want to hold the banners
Of both the East and the West,
First give to the East
Your heart of aspiration-love,
And then give to the West
Your life of dedication-smile.

9964. The Mist Of My Past Years

When I look into the mist
Of my past years,
My life of failure sees nothing but
A silver flow of orphan-tears.

9965. Real And False

His aspiration-heart is as real
As a supreme Dream of the Absolute.
His desire-life is as false
As a failure-experience of the soul,
God’s representative on earth.

9966. When You Walked With God

There was a time
When you walked with God,
But now you cannot even see Him walking.
Why?
Because your watching eyes
Deliberately wanted
To swim in the forgetfulness-sea.

9967. Am I God's Adopted Child?

Am I God’s adopted child,
That I have to worry?
Am I not entitled to
God’s spontaneous Affection,
Sleepless Love
And unconditional Fondness?

9968. My Life's Soulfulness-Beauty

My life’s soulfulness-beauty
Sees God.
My heart’s openness-purity
Receives God.

9969. The Natural And The Supernatural

The agreement between the natural
And the supernatural is this:
The natural will always remain
The root of the reality-tree,
And the supernatural will be
Its topmost branch.

9970. Prepare Yourself For Self-Mastery

Prepare yourself for self-mastery,
Since God has already prepared you
For self-discovery.

9971. My Life Smiles

In the morning
My heart cries through my eyes.
In the evening
My life smiles through my soul.

9972. The Banquet Hall Of Eternity

My ever-increasing gratitude-heart
And ever-transcending surrender-life
Are invited to dine in the banquet hall
Of God’s Eternity.

9973. My Inner Voice

My inner voice
Is my beauty’s flower.
My higher choice
Is my duty’s fruit.
My inner voice likes to sing
My Lord’s Perfection-Song.
My higher choice likes to dance
My Lord’s Satisfaction-Dance.

9974. My Lord's Compassion-Scale

I am my mind’s
Depression-weight.
My Lord is His Heart’s
Compassion-Scale.

9975. A Doubt-Wave

Your life has become a doubt-wave
In a confusion-sea,
Yet you always think
That you are definitely worthy
Of God’s arrival.

9976. The Mind Tries To Imitate

The mind tries to imitate
The purity-heart
In a distorted way.
The heart tries to imitate
The divinity-soul
In a self-giving way.

9977. My Inner Pilot Asks Me

My Inner Pilot asks me
From this very moment
Not to look even once more
At the ugliness of my doubting mind.

9978. My Heart Suffers More

My heart suffers more
From my mind
Than I suffer
From my vital.

9979. It Is Impossible

As it is impossible
For me to please God
Without my ever-mounting faith-flames,
Even so, it is impossible
For God to please me
Without His ever-increasing Compassion-Flood.

9980. Your Heart's Oneness-Delight

Your heart’s oneness-delight
Can alone try to perfect
The world’s division-dissatisfaction-life.

9981. A New Haven

His heart’s aspiration-mountain
And his life’s determination-volcano
Have formed a new haven
For earth’s ceaseless cries
And endless failures.

9982. God's Victory-Trumpet

I thank myself
Because I love God.
God thanks Himself
Because in me He has found
His long-lost Victory-Trumpet.

9983. The Landscape Listens

The landscape listens
To your heart’s soulful dictates.
Do you know why?
Because you have already appreciated
Its beauty’s life
In God’s Vision-Light
And its purity’s heart
In God’s Reality-Delight.

9984. Ride The Purity-Bicycle

Every day ride the purity-bicycle
Inside your heart.
If you do not do so daily,
You will not be able to proceed.
Not only that,
You will fall down, I must say,
Very badly.

9985. I Do Not Need Aspiration-Hunger

Even God’s Heart of Compassion
Immediately changed when I told Him
That I do not need aspiration-hunger
To appreciate His Perfection-Satisfaction-Meal.

9986. Scarcities

Your mind may have
A scarcity of ideas.
Your life may have
A scarcity of ideals.
But your heart can never have
A scarcity of self-transcending goals.

9987. I Do Not Imitate Others

I do not imitate others
To become their friend.
I just love their Source,
God’s Oneness-Love.

9988. My Life Passed Safely

Yesterday
My life passed safely.
Today
My heart is crying soulfully.
Tomorrow
My mind shall behave perfectly.

9989. Your Life-Boat

Your life-boat
Shall not remain unlaunched
Any longer,
For God’s Breath
Has finally been able
To touch your sleeping heart.

9990. Your Oneness-Heart Is Happy

Your oneness-heart is happy
Because it lives inseparably
With the entire world.

Your division-mind wants to be happy
Without enjoying the peace-beauty
Of the inner world.

9991. My Protector-Transformer

My Lord Supreme,
I am tired of constantly colliding
With my lower self.
Do become my only Protector-Transformer.

9992. A Living Miracle

I do not have to see
Any miracle,
For I myself have become
A living miracle.
Do you know how?
Just by taming
My explosive energy.

9993. There Is No Such Thing

O my mind,
There is no such thing
As instructive doubt.

O my heart,
There is no such thing
As constructive fear.

9994. Time To Become Acquainted

Never fear your own confusion-mind.
Just challenge it vehemently!
It is high time for you
To become fully acquainted
With your own true self:
Tomorrow’s God.

9995. Since You Do Not Invite Faith

Since you do not invite faith
Into your heart-room,
How can you expect to chase
The doubt-wolf from your life?

9996. His Sweet Heart-Smile

You think that God has to use
His infinite Power
To silence your mind.
But I tell you,
To silence your mind,
He needs to use only
His sweet Heart-Smile.

9997. Because He Did Not Want

Because he did not want
His insecurity-heart any more,
He started praying
To God the Infinite Power.

Because he did not want
His impurity-mind any more,
He started meditating
On God the Immortal Love.

9998. Our Heart's Gratitude-Length

What enables us to see God?
Definitely not our capacity-strength,
But our heart’s gratitude-length.

9999. Closeness, Fondness And Oneness

When my mind believes in
God’s Closeness,
My heart immediately feels
God’s Fondness
And my life sleeplessly feels
God’s Oneness.
God’s Closeness surprises
The human in me,
God’s Fondness immortalises
The divine in me
And God’s Oneness fulfils at once
The divine lover
And
The Supreme Beloved in me.
The divine lover in me
Is he who knows;
The Supreme Beloved in me
Is He who is.

10000. Ten Thousand Flower-Flames

O my sound-life!
I love you
Because you are
Powerful.

O my silence-life!
I need you
Because you are
Beautiful.

O my Beloved Supreme!
I at once love You
And need You
Because
Your Eye is my
Dream-Boat,
Your Life is my
Silver Journey
And Your Heart is my
Golden Shore.

O my Beloved Supreme Absolute!
In me is Your Eternity’s Transcendental Cry,
For me is Your Infinity’s Immortal Smile.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the one-hundredth and final 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

The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India, presents Sri Chinmoy with the decathlon championship in 1958.

Editor's note

Some poems in this first edition were later selected by the author for a special collection of 207 Flower-Flames (FFP). The author also chose to revise some of his original poems for this anthology:

FF-9928: FFP 206 (revised version).