4801. Yearn for the sea of purity

Yearn with intensity
For the sea of purity,
If you want your life
To be as vast and as perfect
As the sky of divinity.

4802. Three Heaven-born messages

Three Heaven-born messages:
My heart shall feel God this morning.
My eyes shall see God this afternoon.
My Lord shall fully manifest Himself
In and through me this evening.

4803. His eyes cry in silence-light

His eyes cry in silence-night.
His heart smiles in silence-light.
His soul dances in silence-delight.

4804. The cheapest

Sincerity is the cheapest
Of all the divine qualities.
Yet it is so useful,
So fruitful,
So joy-giving
And
So God-loving.

4805. Yet everybody expects

Few seekers pray soulfully.
Fewer still meditate unconditionally.
Yet everybody expects,
If not demands,
Satisfaction-delight in infinite measure.

4806. Man admires truth

Man admires truth
The way his doubting mind
Admires his aspiring heart.

4807. Enthusiasm begins the journey

Enthusiasm begins the journey.
Determination continues the journey.
Surrender completes the journey.
Gratitude not only fulfils the journey
But also pleases God
In God’s own Way.

4808. Failures in the singing-world

There are two kinds of failures
In the singing-world:
Those who sing without having
A good singing voice,
And those who do not sing
In spite of having a good singing voice.

4809. Give freedom to your heart

You have given freedom to your mind.
Therefore, your mind causes worries for you
About the future.
Why don’t you give freedom to your heart?
Your heart will definitely prepare you
For the future.

4810. Perfect quietness of heart

If you have perfect
Quietness of heart,
Then you are bound to realise
That the Grace divine
Is never slow.

4811. Loving cures everything

Learning cures nothing.
Aspiring cures a few things.
Serving cures many things.
Loving cures everything.

4812. My victory is Yours

My Lord, do give me the capacity
To sincerely feel
That my defeat is entirely mine
And that my victory is unmistakably,
Unreservedly, plus unconditionally
Yours.

4813. Purity is the music

Impurity is the voice
Of a tornado.
Purity is the music
Of a running river.

4814. A precious truth-diamond

God loves me unconditionally.
This most precious truth-diamond
I shall carry every day
To my Lord Supreme.

4815. Rise like a pure candle-flame

Drag not your past with you.
With soulful thoughts
Rise like a pure candle-flame
To touch Heaven’s Perfection-Beauty.

4816. Your life will be cradled by God

If your heart is made
Of constantly multiplying loving deeds,
Then your life will be cradled by God
In His Eternity’s Satisfaction-Smile.

4817. The golden chain

My heart of gratitude
Is the golden chain
That binds my life
To the infinite Life
Of the Absolute Supreme.

4818. Unless you unfold your faith

Unless you unfold your faith divine,
How can you expect to be
A choice instrument
Of God the Compassion Infinite?

4819. The mightiest sound

If your heart owns
The bravest silence,
Then your life can create
The mightiest sound
To announce the Manifestation-Victory
Of your Beloved Supreme.

4820. What does failure do?

What does failure do?
Failure improves my life,
Strengthens my mind
And heightens my heart.

4821. Each soulful effort

Each soulful effort
And each resolute action
In the countless incidents
Of man’s human life and divine life
Is proudly treasured
By the Absolute Supreme Himself.

4822. Doomed to suffer

An ingratitude-heart
Is doomed to suffer
From the serious sickness
Of unbearable impurity.

4823. To transform my unlit life

I love and need
God’s iron Hand
In God’s velvet Glove
To transform my unaspiring and unlit life.

4824. To conquer its sleeping life

Why does the body want to meditate?
The body wants to meditate
Because it wants to conquer
Its sleeping life.
The body knows that meditation
Is the answer.

4825. To conquer its fighting life

Why does the vital want to meditate?
The vital wants to meditate
Because it wants to conquer
Its fighting life.
The vital knows that meditation
Is the answer.

4826. To conquer its doubting life

Why does the mind want to meditate?
The mind wants to meditate
Because it wants to conquer
Its doubting life.
The mind knows that meditation
Is the answer.

4827. To love the Supreme more

Why does the heart want to meditate?
The heart wants to meditate
Because it wants to love
The Supreme more.
The heart knows that meditation
Is the answer.

4828. To manifest the Supreme more

Why does the soul want to meditate?
The soul wants to meditate
Because it wants to manifest
The Supreme more.
The soul knows that meditation
Is the answer.

4829. The Supreme meditates

Why does the Supreme want to meditate?
The Supreme wants to meditate
Because in His entire universe
He loves to enjoy only one thing,
And that is meditation.
Therefore, He sleeplessly meditates.
In His transcendental Life
And in His universal Life
The Supreme meditates.

4830. God's Self-Transcendence Message

O God-seeker,
Be not complacent
With what you have and are!
Develop an ever-increasing hunger,
For even God Himself is obeying
His own Self-Transcendence Message.

4831. My purity

My purity is not only
The unmistakable absence of impurity
But also the visible presence
Of my Lord’s Satisfaction-Smile.

4832. You are a tree

You are a tree,
Yet you bear no fruits.
You are a flower,
Yet you are devoid of fragrance.
You are of God,
Yet you never care for God.

4833. For the world beyond

When you are in the world,
You tell the world
That you are for it.

When you are for the world,
You tell the world
Very carefully and very delicately
That you are for the world beyond as well.

4834. My soul, my heart

My soul promises.
My heart performs.

My mind doubts.
My heart suffers.

My life wanders.
My heart wonders.

4835. The voice of gladness

The voice of gladness only
Can make the infallible choice
Of fulness in soulfulness.

4836. A lifelong voyage

My heart’s aspiration-cry
Is a lifelong voyage
To Divinity’s Immortality-Shore.

4837. Only you are authorised

Nobody else, only you —
Your heart’s invincible cry
And
Your life’s invincible smile —
Are authorised by God to celebrate
The victory of His transcendental Peace
On earth.

4838. God's measureless Hours

When you are dependent on fate,
You embody useless fear.
When you are independent of fate,
You embody God’s measureless Hours.

4839. Your Heart's Golden Age

My Lord, dissolve my cherished pride
In my animal rage.
I really want to become a member
Of Your Heart’s Golden Age.

4840. You will be supremely happy

Punish your suspicious mind.
You will be divinely happy.
Prevent your ferocious vital
From attacking your soulful heart.
You will be supremely happy.

4841. What human life reveals

The potency of fear within,
The urgency of destruction without:
Alas, this is what human life
Inwardly and outwardly reveals.

4842. Forget the bitter past

Forget the bitter past immediately
If you really want to enjoy
Your inner life’s beauty
And
Your outer life’s prosperity
In the heart of the eternal Now.

4843. A reconciliation with God

Do not suspect the capacity
Of the outer world.
Do not doubt the beauty
Of the inner world.
Your long-lost spiritual breath
Will reveal itself to you
So that you can have
A reconciliation with God.

4844. Learn and love

Learn and love what you need.
You need aspiration-cries
In your heart.

Love and learn what you need.
You need dedication-smiles
In your life.

4845. You must not allow

You must not allow your faith-plant
To be uprooted by thunderbolt-doubts
Even when your aspiration
Has touched the abysmal abyss.

4846. Conceal and reveal

Conceal what you have:
Frustration-ocean.
Reveal what you are:
Aspiration-mountain.

4847. One step

From the quick magic
Of my heart’s surrender
To the abiding magic
Of my life’s transformation
Is but one step.

4848. The weapons of deception

If your mind uses
The weapons of deception,
How can it ever enjoy
The vastness of the sky
And
The stillness of the sun?

4849. Two favours

I love God.
God loves me.
After I offer Him my love,
I ask Him to grant me
A big favour.
After He blesses me with His Love,
He asks me to ask Him
For any favour I want.

4850. I talk to God

I talk to God.
God talks to me.
He also talks for me.
Alas, when shall I start
Talking for God?

4851. A well-read scholar

When a well-read scholar,
If he has an iota of sincere eagerness
To see the heart of Truth,
Meets with a soul-fed and fruitful God-seeker,
He must needs heave deep-felt sighs.

4852. A cheerful mind and a soulful heart

A cheerful mind and a soulful heart
Cannot see anything wrong
In the entire world.

4853. I cry for my perfection

O humanity,
I cry for my perfection.
Do you want to know why?
I do it only
For your great satisfaction.
Do you not believe it?
Then ask God
If I am telling the truth.

4854. Concealing your weaknesses

As you feel
You can conceal
Your weaknesses from others,
Even so, you think
You can conceal
Your weaknesses from God’s Omniscience.

4855. Spontaneous divinity

Spontaneous divinity
Is to the heart
What precious purity
Is to the mind.

4856. Heart-perfection

Faith is
What may unmistakably be called
Mind-perfection.

Gratitude is
What may unmistakably be called
Heart-perfection.

4857. Your perfect sincerity

Your perfect sincerity
Can be appreciated
With perfect sincerity
Only by another God-lover.

4858. Dangerous nonsense

My fear of God tells me
That it knows most accurately
How far away God is from my heart.
Indeed, this is dangerous,
If not ridiculous, nonsense.

4859. The serpent-mind

The serpent-mind
Climbs up only one ladder:
The ladder of self-deception.

4860. God's Compassion

God’s Compassion
Was once beyond the need
Of my desire-life.

God’s Compassion
Is now the only need
Of my aspiration-life.

4861. Unless you can summon

Unless you can summon your divinity
At your sweet will,
You will not be able to feel
The purity of a saint’s heart
And you will not be able to see
The beauty in a seeker’s eye.

4862. Galaxies of Light and Delight

Meditate at midnight
Soulfully and unconditionally.
God will grant you
His own galaxies of Light and Delight
For you to use at easy ease.

4863. A God-spreading life

You are pious.
That means
Yours is a truth-accumulating heart.

You are generous.
That means
Yours is a life-illumining soul.

You are gracious.
That means
Yours is a God-spreading life.

4864. Nothing as beautiful

There is nothing in man as beautiful
As his heart’s sincerity.
There is nothing in man as powerful
As his challenge to ignorance-night.

4865. You cannot speak ill

One thing is certain:
You cannot speak ill of the creation
And expect the Creator
Either to be pleased with you
Or to grant you a favour.

4866. What have I been doing?

If it is true
That writing makes a man perfect,
Then what have I been doing
For the last forty years?
Still perfection-realm
Remains a far cry,
Not to speak of satisfaction,
Which is nowhere to be found.

4867. How I can go back

Rudeness and gruffness have shown me
How easily I can go back
To my animal life.

Kindness and soulfulness are teaching me
How inevitably I shall go back
To my absolutely perfect divine life.

4868. I have simply no idea

I have simply no idea
What God is going to do
With my faithless friendship,
My heartless life,
My hopeless heart.

4869. I know your sweet secrets

I know both your sweet,
Encouraging and inspiring secrets.
You are happy because
You have uprooted your desire-tree.
You are perfect because
You always obey the commands
Of your inner monitor:
Conscience-light.

4870. Tomorrow's world

Your mind excels in power.
Your heart excels in love.
Your mind may govern today’s world.
But your heart will eventually and permanently
Conquer tomorrow’s world.

4871. Another existence-reality-robe

My purity is my divinity
In another existence-reality-robe.
My divinity is my Lord’s complete Satisfaction
In another existence-reality-robe.

4872. Unless your life is the hyphen

Unless your life is the hyphen
Between vigilance and self-discipline,
You will never be able to fight triumphantly
Against temptation-mountains
And frustration-seas.

4873. I wonder if it is the same person

Yesterday I saw the perils
Of my desire-life.
Today I am getting the thrill
Of my aspiration-life.
I wonder if it is the same person
Who is getting both these experiences.

4874. If you are a man of courage

If you are a man of courage,
Then only will God take the time
To prove to you
That there is nothing on earth
That can stand against His Will,
And that He cannot transform
Into a veritable blessing.

4875. He is eternally perfect

You love God
Because He is supreme.
God loves you
Because you are His Dream.

You need God
Because He is eternally perfect.
God needs you
Because you are His choice Project.

4876. Sadness reigns supreme

Sadness, sadness, sadness reigns supreme!
My mind is sad
Because others have fathomed my mind.
I am sad
Because I have not yet uncovered myself.
My heart is sad
Because it has not yet discovered God.
Sadness, sadness, sadness reigns supreme!

4877. The apparently easy road

If you choose to walk
On the apparently easy road, compromise,
That means your goal
Will always remain a far cry.

4878. The God-realisation fun-run

Many have joined
The God-realisation fun-run.
Some have succeeded
While others have failed.
Many more will run in the future,
And some will succeed
While others will fail.
Let me start now
And see if I can finish the race.
If I fail,
I shall cheerfully join
Those who will run in the future.
But once I start running
The God-realisation fun-run,
I shall never give up for good
Until I have finished the race
Successfully and satisfactorily.

4879. His is a heart that defies

His is a life
That ceaselessly cries
For the Light of the Beyond.

His is a heart
That bravely defies
Ignorance-torture.

4880. An illumining helper

If you want to contradict me
To guide me to perfection,
Then contradict.
If you are correct,
My heart will immediately choose you
As its illumining helper.

4881. Your heart's supreme glory

I tell you,
One day your heart will be reborn,
And that day of your heart’s supreme glory
Is fast approaching.

4882. To be closer to God

To be closer to God
I need two things:
A heart that knows
How to cry sleeplessly
And a mind that believes
In self-illumination.

4883. He has to surrender

He has experienced the beauty
Of his inner life.
Therefore he is happy.
He has now to surrender
The ugliness of his outer life
To his Beloved Supreme
So that both he and his Lord
Can be happy.

4884. Some will precede

We all fight the battle
Of inner freedom.
Naturally there will be some
Who will precede us
In our aspiration-height
While others will follow us
In our dedication-delight.

4885. Man's soul invents

Man’s heart discovers
The beauty of the creation.
Man’s soul invents
The perfection-seed of the Creator.

4886. The inner rose

He who sees the beauty
Of his inner rose
And he who smells the fragrance
Of his inner rose
Cannot be torn
By the thorns of human life.

4887. Only one cave

There is only one cave,
And that cave is my heart.
There is only one cave-dweller,
And that cave-dweller is
The self-transcending man
Inside my heart.

4888. God's Satisfaction-plane

Earth’s aspiration-plane
Flies fast,
And lands in Heaven.

Heaven’s Compassion-plane
Flies faster,
And lands on earth.

God’s Satisfaction-plane
Flies fastest,
Both from Heaven to earth
And from earth to Heaven.

4889. A powerless life

A prayerless heart
Is a powerless life.

A faithless mind
Is a goalless man.

4890. You are loved

You are loved
By both God and the prince of gloom.
God loves you because
You have a fearless heart.
The prince of gloom loves you because
You have a cheerless mind.

4891. How long will they last?

Your desire-waves —
How long will they last,
How long?
Nobody knows.

Your aspiration-sea —
How long will it last,
How long?
Both Heaven and earth know
And even I can know it,
If I care to.

4892. Show sympathy

If you feel that your mind
Is not past correction,
Then you can show sympathy
To your dubitation-mind
So that it will come
To your illumination-soul.

4893. Natural and supernatural

To give what you proudly have
Is natural.

To give what you soulfully are
Is supernatural.

4894. Your mind insisted

Your mind insisted
On creating a volcano-confusion
To frighten the world.
And now what is happening?
The volcano is destroying
Its stupid creator.

4895. You may not be wrong

You may not be wrong
When people badly criticise you.
Again, you may not be right
When people highly admire you.

4896. Your answer must be perfect

God comes to you every day
And He will continue doing so
Forever and forever.

But have you ever gone to see God,
Or will you ever go to see God?

I want you to answer this question.
You can take as long as you want to,
But your answer must be perfect.

4897. God's Compassion-Eye

God’s Compassion-Eye
Chides and corrects you
Precisely because it wants to
Inspire your inner life
And
Perfect your outer life.

4898. If you do not aspire

If you do not aspire,
That means either consciously or unconsciously
You enjoy your presence
Inside the living death.

If you aspire,
That means you want to enjoy
And you are enjoying your presence
Inside the deathless life.

4899. Go to God

Go to God
With a heart of sincerity.
He will tell you
What to do
To change your life.

Go to God
With a life of gratitude.
He will not only tell you
What to do
But also do it for you.

4900. If you love God

If you do not love God
And do not want to love God,
Yet want to do something for God,
Then your unsolicited help
Is nothing but presumptuous.

If you love God
And want to love God,
And therefore want to serve God,
Then your soulful service
Is more precious to God
Than you can ever imagine.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the forty-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 Mr Luigi Cottafavi, Director-General of the United Nations, in Geneva on 16 June 1980 for a discussion of religion and Indian culture.

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-4875: FFP 150 (revised version).