3601. Obedience is the fruitful goal

Obedience is the blessingful seeker.
Obedience is the hopeful journey.
Obedience is the soulful road.
Obedience is the fruitful goal.

3602. My obedience

My obedience
Has God the eternal Purity.
My obedience
Is God the immortal Duty.
My obedience
Shall become God the infinite Beauty.

3603. The divine capacity and inclination

The human capacity and tendency
Is to confuse and complicate the truth.
The divine capacity and inclination
Is not only to unravel the truth
But also to keep it always straight, direct,
One-pointed and God-revealing.

3604. God-manifesting Light

In the outer world,
Light replaces darkness
And darkness replaces light.

In the inner world,
Light is replaced by more light,
More light is replaced by infinite Light
And infinite Light is replaced by
The ever-transcending
And God-manifesting Light.

3605. I have no time

I have no time to govern others’ lives.
Therefore, I secretly cry.
I have no time to govern my own life.
Therefore, I openly and untimely die.

3606. If you do not glow

I know
If you do not glow,
You will not allow me to grow.

I know
If you do not grow,
You will not allow me to sow.

I know
If you do not or cannot sow,
You will consider me your eternal foe.

3607. Your body annoys you

Your body annoys you because
It is blindness incarnate.
Your vital annoys you because
It is aggressiveness incarnate.
Your mind annoys you because
It is meanness incarnate.
Your heart annoys you because
It is weakness incarnate.
And you annoy them because
You have no real concern for them,
You have no time to transform them,
You have no eagerness for their perfection.

3608. Immediate neighbours

Self-examination and life-deception
Are always perfect strangers.
God-realisation and truth-revelation
Are eternally immediate neighbours.

3609. The inner conquest

The outer conquest makes you feel
Dubiously and, at most, partially happy.
The inner conquest makes you see
The beauty of happiness,
Makes you feel
The purity of happiness
And makes you one with
The divinity of happiness.

3610. We have undivine thoughts

We have undivine thoughts
Because we give them
Undue and undivided attention.
We lead undivine lives
Because we are afraid
Of the fire-pure transformation
That the divine life
Is graciously and anxiously
Waiting to grant us.

3611. Why cry?

Why cry,
Since you know how to smile?
Why smile only,
Since you know also how to sing?
And while singing,
Try to remember that dancing
Definitely and considerably adds
To the soulfulness and fruitfulness of singing.

3612. Your task, God's Task

Your task is to manifest God
Here on earth sleeplessly.
To His infinite Sorrow,
You are not doing it.
God’s Task is to inspire you
And energise you constantly.
To your wide surprise,
He is doing it constantly,
Cheerfully and self-givingly.

3613. If you are an unaspiring man

If you are an unaspiring man,
Then you are bound to spread two things:
Anxiety and fear.
If you are an aspiring seeker,
Then you are bound to spread two things:
Your heart of love
And
Your life of concern.

3614. If you know how to think properly

If you know how to think properly,
Then you do not have to attempt
To perfect others constantly.
If you know how to think properly,
Then your thought-perfection
And their life-perfection
Will always go together.

3615. The trouble-shooter knows

The trouble-maker thinks
That he can destroy the world.
The trouble-shooter feels and knows
That God’s Grace is always with him
And God’s Satisfaction is always for him.

3616. Remember what you said

Remember what you said to God:
“My Lord, I shall always
Fulfil You unconditionally.”

Remember what you said to man:
“My friend, I shall always
Help you unreservedly.”

3617. You can easily feel the truth

You cannot understand the truth
If you do not listen to the truth-knower.
But you can easily feel the truth
Even if you do not understand the truth.

3618. Divinity does not know

Humanity knows;
Divinity does not know.
Humanity knows how to hide
Its stark ugliness.
Divinity does not know how to hide
Its perfect beauty.

3619. The divine heart proceeds

The human mind succeeds in experiencing
Only what it sees.
The divine heart proceeds through experiencing
Only what it is.

3620. My mind's confusion

My life’s imperfection
Is nothing but my mind’s confusion.
My mind’s confusion
Is nothing but my heart’s
Lack of communication
With the Compassion-Flood
Of my Beloved Supreme.

3621. Delight is an unlimited capacity

Delight is an unlimited capacity
Which our heart has
And our soul eternally is.

3622. To say something deeper

To say something deeper,
Be someone higher.
To be someone higher,
Have something purer.
To have something purer,
Sleeplessly and unconditionally
Remain a self-giver.

3623. The highest progress

The highest success
Is to put an end
To teeming self-conflicts.
The highest progress
Is to transform the mind’s brooding night
Into the heart’s blossoming day.

3624. Try to belong to your heart

Try to belong to your heart.
Perfection-flood will be all yours.
Try to belong to your soul.
Satisfaction-ocean will be all yours.

3625. Do you want to win?

Do you want to win
In the battlefield of life?
Then, for God’s sake, do not run away!
Stay at least where you are now
Until the beauty of a new inspiration
Shows you the most powerful sun
Of eternal Day.

3626. Resist the power of darkness

Insist on bringing to the fore
What you inwardly have.
Resist the power of darkness within and without
That tells you
Yours is the long, longer, longest way
To reach the fulness of Perfection-Shore.

3627. One more way

If all the other ways have failed,
There is one more way to solve
All our teeming problems,
And that is by outlasting them
Once and for all.

3628. One way to win

There is only one way to win
In the battlefield of life,
And that is to surrender
To the express Will of the Lord Supreme.

3629. You will no longer tolerate

Tell your vital
That you will no longer tolerate
Its outrageous demands.

Tell your mind
That you will no longer tolerate
Its poison-doubt.

3630. No match for you

Do you want to show your strength?
Then prove to the world
That your own negative thoughts and ideas
Are no match for you.

3631. To know more

To know more,
Dive deep more.
To dive deep more,
Try to feel constantly
That sooner or later, without fail,
You will be able to make
Your unconditional surrender to God’s Will.

3632. What the world has for you

What the world has for you
Is nothing but artificial concern.
What the world promises to give you
Is nothing but superficial love.
Therefore, be wise, be careful!

3633. What the mind needs

What the mind needs
Is a powerful faith
To control its wild thoughts
And its doubtful pleasure-life.

3634. When unaspiring seekers meet

When an unaspiring seeker
Meets with another unaspiring seeker,
They have only one thing to say:
“God never cared for us
And will never care for us.”

3635. Preparing for a new game

An insincere seeker demands
That others think of him
As sincerity incarnate.
A sincere seeker pays no attention
To what others think of him.
Even when others say that
He is false,
He is treacherous,
He will not succeed,
He thinks it is all a joke.
He feels that God is playing
His transcendental Music
In a new way
So that he can make himself ready
For a new game.

3636. Imagination tells me

Imagination tells me
That God is infinite Power.
Aspiration tells me
That God is an eternal Cry.
Realisation tells me
That God and I are one,
Inseparably one.
God enjoys my repeated attempts
At self-perfection,
And I enjoy God’s Self-Satisfaction.

3637. We do not know

We do not know
Why we spend our time
Mercilessly speaking ill of others
Rather than divinely examining our own lives.

3638. You can conquer

You can conquer the outer world
With what you know
And by doing what you say.

You can conquer the inner world
Only by becoming a faithful instrument
Of your lofty ideal.

3639. No difference whatsoever

What is the difference
Between
Death and living in ignorance?
No difference whatsoever.
What is the difference
Between
Speaking ill of others
And helping yourself to go insane?
No difference whatsoever.

3640. The way to conquer

O my seeker-friend,
I am giving you a piece
Of unsolicited advice:
The way to conquer anything in life
Is either to conquer it powerfully
Or to surrender to it unconditionally.

3641. You can expect nothing

Since your vital is sense-ridden,
You can expect nothing
From the world of joy.

Since your heart is grief-stricken,
The world of satisfaction
Can expect nothing from you.

3642. Doubt fools the doubter in us

Doubt fools the doubter in us.
Torture fools the tormentor in us.
But pure love
Loves the sure lover in us.

3643. Live up to your Himalayan heights

Live up to your Himalayan heights.
Let the world criticism
Bark at you and bite you.
You will not be affected.
Before the world barks at you and bites you,
You will be carried by God Himself
To the remotest and safest haven.

3644. Stand against your lower self

If you do not
Stand against your lower self vehemently,
Then who can and who will?

But if you do stand against your lower self,
Then victory’s crown will be all yours
In a twinkling.

3645. A sea of silence-night

You have become a sea of silence-night.
Your illumination can never be
The real illumination,
Because your mind
Is forcefully suppressed
And your heart
Is unreservedly subdued.

3646. Uncover and discover

I do not have to invent anything
To see the Face of God.
I just have to uncover and discover everything,
Not only to see the Face of God
But also to see the Forgiveness-Heart of God
And treasure the Salvation-Feet of God.

3647. The world does not trust you

When you are in command of truth,
The world does not trust you.
When you are in command of peace,
The world does not trust you.
When you are in command of satisfaction,
The world does not trust you.
What can you do?
Just try to be in command
Of your heart of gratitude to your Pilot Supreme
For what He has given to you
And what He is to you.
Lo and behold,
The world will start trusting you.
Not only that, it will unreservedly love you.

3648. Absolutely mistaken

Just because my mind is not clear,
You think that my Lord
Will not answer my humble prayer.
I tell you, you are absolutely mistaken.

Just because my heart is not pure,
You think that my Lord
Will not fulfil my sincere prayer.
I tell you, you are totally mistaken.

Just because my body is not strong,
You think that my Lord
Will not answer my soulful prayer.
I tell you, you are utterly mistaken.

3649. God will definitely blame you

If you have not done
Anything remarkable for yourself,
God will not blame you.
If you have not done
Anything soulful for God,
God will not blame you.
But if you have not done
Anything meaningful for the world,
God will definitely blame you,
For this was the promise
That you made to Him in Heaven
Before you left for this world.

3650. You enjoy doubts

You enjoy doubts
Because you like
Your superficial mind.

You enjoy separativity
Because you like
Your artificial vital.

3651. Although I fail

Although I fail,
I try to love God in His own Way.
Although I fail,
I shall be happy only when
God fulfils Himself in His own Way
In and through me.

3652. Make no haughty demands

Make no haughty demands;
You will regret them later.
Make no lofty promises;
You will regret them later.

3653. The stillness of the mind

Unless and until you can really enjoy
The outer stillness of the mind,
Yours will be a life
Of worthless uncertainty.

3654. If it is too late

If it is too late
For your mind to unlearn,
Then it is undoubtedly too late
For your heart to become happy.

3655. It can never be too late

It can never be too late
To free your mind
From the meshes of doubt.

It can never be too late
To free your heart
From the prison of fear.

It can never be too late
To free your life
From the fetters of ignorance.

3656. My hope tells me

The difference between my hope
And my enthusiasm is this:
My hope tells me
That whether I am ready or not,
God is coming to visit me.
My enthusiasm tells me
That God is all expectation to see me;
Therefore, I shall have to run hurriedly
Towards His Palace.

3657. The human mind

In the morning
The human mind runs after
Worthless uncertainties.

In the evening
The human mind runs after
Useless realities.

3658. When I live in the heart

When I live in the mind,
I can never hope to own
Triumphant confidence.
When I live in the heart,
God helps me to see
The barrenness of possession
And
The fulness of renunciation.

3659. What is active devotion?

What is active devotion?
It is the beauty of inspiration-flow.
What is active devotion?
It is the purity of realisation-glow.

3660. Weighing your faults

You cannot weigh the faults of others
Unless you have learnt the art
Of weighing your own teeming faults.

3661. Unless you believe

Unless you believe in the unknown,
How can you eventually
Successfully grow into the unknowable?

3662. Saying good-bye

Either you are saying good-bye
To Mother Earth unconsciously
Without fulfilling your task on earth,
Or Mother Earth is saying good-bye to you
Consciously and deliberately
Without caring for your meagre contribution.

3663. Self-investigation

Self-investigation
Is a necessary light.
Self-criticism
Is an unnecessary burden.

3664. Willingness and readiness

Willingness
Is what your heart needs.
Readiness
Is what your Master’s hand needs.

3665. Something equally distributed

Fruitfulness is something
That God distributes equally
Between the Master and the disciple.

3666. Your obedience will teach you

Your cheerful and soulful obedience
Will teach you two things:
Your fruitfulness in God
And
God’s closeness to you.

3667. I appreciate your heart

I appreciate your mind
Because it has a sincere need
For self-mastery.

I appreciate your heart
Because it loves and needs
Only one thing: God-discovery.

3668. Totally lost

My vital wants excitement
But does not need it.
My mind needs enlightenment
But does not want it.
Such being the case,
I am totally lost between
The fruitlessness of the vital
And
The unawareness of the mind.

3669. The pretence-wings of the mind

You do not have to long for ecstasy.
Ecstasy will someday permeate
Your entire being.
Just do not remain under
The pretence-wings of the foolish mind.

3670. Do you want to be happy?

Do you want to be happy?
Then do not overestimate
The power of your mind,
And do not underestimate
The light of your heart.

3671. Your heart's oneness-role

Do you want to be a victor
In the battlefield of life?
If so, then tell your mind
That its division-role is about to end,
Since your heart’s oneness-role
Has already begun.

3672. If you can see the beauty

If you can see the beauty
Of God’s Compassion-Light
In God’s Eye,
Then God also will see the purity
Inside the heart
Of your gratitude-smile.

3673. Your worried morning

Your worried morning
Is the result of
The inadequacy of your aspiration-life.

Your defeated evening
Is the result of
Your constantly unwilling attitude
Towards your self-perfection.

3674. I do not deny

I do not deny
That you have a scholarly mind,
And you cannot deny
That you are an uninspiring life.

3675. Doubt is powerful and destructive

Doubt is powerful and destructive
When you cherish it.
Doubt is painful and blighting
Even if you do not cherish it.

3676. Two things almost unconquerable

Two things are almost unconquerable:
An indifference-mind
And
An interference-vital.

3677. Three things I desperately need

Three things I desperately need:
An enthusiastic heart,
An unsceptical mind
And
A realistic vital.

3678. An exceptional privilege

It is an exceptional privilege
To have the beauty of a serene mind,
The purity of a loving heart
And
The divinity of a humble life.

3679. A new form

Inspiration is a new form
Of aspiration.
Dedication is a new form
Of manifestation.

3680. The seeker who lives a hidden life

The seeker who faithfully lives
A hidden life
Will ultimately see revealed
The Satisfaction-Smile
Of the Absolute Supreme.

3681. You are lonely because

You want to know why you are lonely?
You are lonely because
You never want to hear
Your heart’s oneness-song.

3682. Refuse to surrender

What threatens you?
An impure thought.
Refuse to surrender to its voice.

What frightens you?
An impure thought.
Refuse to surrender to its choice.

3683. The secret of satisfaction

The secret of satisfaction
Is in knowing
Not what you think of yourself,
But what God feels about you.

3684. He who aspires

He who does not aspire
Sees every day as a new uncertainty.
He who aspires
Knows that every day
Is not only a new certainty,
But also a beautiful smile
Of God-manifesting divinity.

3685. I shall not avoid you

I shall not cleverly avoid you,
O my impurity-mind,
For I know what I should do
To transform you.

I shall not unconsciously avoid you,
O my insecurity-heart,
For I know what I should do
To strengthen you.

3686. Why do you listen?

Why do you listen
To your demanding vital,
Why?
Why do you listen
To your suspicious mind,
Why?
Your demanding vital and your suspicious mind
Are intimate friends.
Let them go in their own way.
You listen only to your soul’s inner dictates.

3687. Two perfect strangers

Two perfect strangers:
The earth-bound mind
And the Heaven-free soul.

Two immediate neighbours:
A self-giving heart
And a God-becoming life.

3688. The brightest dawn resides

The brightest dawn resides
Neither inside the darkest night
Nor outside the nearest night,
But inside the dearest Light.

3689. An earthly gift

Illumination is not an earthly gift
That we try to get, but fail.
Illumination is a Heavenly boon
With which we definitely succeed
And eternally proceed.

3690. Do not ignore your doubting mind

Do not ignore your doubting mind.
It fears no defeat.
Something more,
It will reach and destroy
Your satisfaction-heart
Unless you make brave attempts
To nip it in the bud.

3691. Not like you

I am glad that I am not like you:
The owner of self-preoccupation.
I am glad that I am not like you:
The lover of perfection-procrastination.

3692. A child's sweet hopefulness

A child’s sweet hopefulness
And God’s immediate fruitfulness
Are always found together
In a beautiful perfection-satisfaction-garden.

3693. A golden shower from Above

If you have a young mind
And if you have a vigorous vital,
Then every day you will be blessed
With a golden shower from Above.

3694. Our inner stillness

Our inner stillness
Helps us enjoy God’s Life-Breath.
Our inner stillness
Helps us manifest God’s secret Eye
And sacred Heart.

3695. What can poor God do?

What can poor God do
When man makes unreasonable claims?
What can poor man do
When God justifiably demands his gratitude?

3696. The question of questions

Here is the question of questions:
What is of more immediate need,
Earth’s receptivity-life
Or
Heaven’s Compassion-Flood?

3697. As I prefer knowledge-light

As I prefer knowledge-light
To ignorance-night,
Even so, I prefer my heart’s insecurity
To my mind’s ignorant security.

3698. An isolated and deserted life

An isolated and deserted life
May cause the heart to lose some of its fragrance,
But it cannot produce
An ultimate failure-reality
In God’s Cosmic Plan.

3699. The rising of my soul-rainbow

Painful yet beautiful
Is the sinking of my life-boat.
Powerful and blessingful
Is the rising of my soul-rainbow.

3700. Your heart's gratitude-plant

Give what you truly
Never want to give:
Your heart’s secret and sacred joy.

Keep what you truly
Never want to keep:
Your heart’s tiny, innocent gratitude-plant.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the thirty-seventh 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 greets David M. Thomas, the Liberian Ambassador to the United Nations, at a programme on 3 November 1978 commemorating the twenty-third anniversary of Liberia’s joining the United Nations. During the programme Ambassador Thomas said, “In my opinion, the period that is observed by the Meditation Group at the United Nations offers a good opportunity for spiritual communion. Man is no less spiritual than physical and therefore needs some time to commune with God, the divine Creator of the universe. This is most desirable.”