7201. A Masterpiece Of Devotion

The more I think of Him
And the more I speak of Him,
The more my heart is transformed
Into a masterpiece of devotion.

7202. His Is The Mind

His is the mind
That enjoys sleepless struggles.
His is the life
That enjoys useless unrest.

7203. Teachers

My soul taught my heart
How to fly.
My heart taught my mind
How to cry.
But my mind is now teaching my life
How to sigh.

7204. The Silence-God Of The Beyond

The Silence-God
Of the ever-transcending Beyond
Has opened my heart’s
Aspiration-room
And my life’s
Dedication-door.

7205. An Unappeasable Hunger

A desire-bound life
Is ruthlessly and inevitably seized
By the indomitable strength
Of an unappeasable hunger.

7206. You Cannot Judge

Your life can succeed
And your heart can proceed,
But you cannot be the judge
Of their success and progress.

7207. No Insignificant Work

There is no such thing
As insignificant work.
Therefore, we must needs do everything
With our heart’s love
And our life’s respect.

7208. My Heart's Silence-Tears

Sweet are my heart’s silence-tears.
How I wish I could keep them
Safe inside the happiness-palace
Of my soul.

7209. His Mind Never Proceeds

His mind never proceeds
Further than his long-treasured
Himalayan plans.

7210. Three Imperishable Sorrows

An impurity-mind,
An insecurity-heart
And a futility-life:
These are his
Three imperishable sorrows.

7211. To Preserve Is To Unveil

To preserve my heart’s
Burning faith
Is to unveil my soul’s
Sacred promise.

7212. The Aimless Contours

Alas, my mind does not want
To stop following
The aimless contours
Of the confusion-shore.

7213. Fly Like Your Soul

Do not encage your earthly minutes
If you want to fly
Like your soul
In the liberty-firmament.

7214. Liberal Imaginations

The imaginations
Of the human mind
Are quite liberal.

The realisations
Of the divine heart
Are quite conservative.

7215. The Panorama Of God's Sweetness

In a seeker’s gratitude-heart
God finds the panorama
Of His own transcendental Sweetness.

7216. If Your Faith Wavers

If your mind’s faith wavers,
How can your heart breathe in
Adoration for your Lord Supreme?

7217. You Have Discovered

My Lord,
I came to You with empty hands,
But You have discovered
My empty heart too.

7218. Man's Undeniable Name

Ingratitude is man’s
Undeniable name,
All due to his excess
Of ignorance-dream.

7219. A New Success

Each time I long for
A new success
And get a new success,
What do I see?
The usual disillusionment.

7220. Depression

Depression exhausts me.
Depression blinds me.
Depression strangles me.

7221. Let Me Give Credit

Let me give a little credit
To my life of outer sincerity.

Let me give a little more credit
To my life of inner purity.

Let me give all credit
To my Lord’s Compassion-Heart.

7222. An Unforgivable Fantasy

My strong desire
To bind the heart of humanity
And blind the eye of humanity
Is unfortunately and unmistakably
An unforgivable fantasy.

7223. Heaven's Ecstasy-Nest

My heart of unconditional oneness
With the Will of my Lord Supreme
Is Heaven’s ecstasy-nest.

7224. My Desires

My desires make my vital ugly,
My mind lonely
And
My life unfriendly.

7225. A Self-Giving Breath

My Lord,
Your boundless Bounty
Has granted me breath.
Now I am praying to You
To grant me a willingly
Self-giving breath.

7226. God's Secrets

Yesterday God taught me one secret:
How to transcend my mind.
Today God is teaching me another secret:
How to please Him
In His own Way.

7227. My Heart's Real Helplessness

My heart’s real helplessness
Someday, somehow
Will reach God’s God-Ecstasy.

7228. He Expects God To Satisfy Him

Since he satisfies God
In his dream-world,
He expects God to satisfy him
In the reality-world.

7229. Mother India Commands

My Mother India commands me
To learn that there is no such thing
As confusion.
Everything in God’s creation
Is on the clear road
To illumination.

7230. Mother India Announces

My Mother India announces
The synthesis between
Her mountain-high promises
And her ocean-vast hopes.

7231. Now My Heart Is Crying

There was a time
When my heart cried and cried
To find God.

Now my heart
Is crying and crying
Not to lose God.

7232. A Chosen Instrument Of God

A chosen instrument of God
Will undoubtedly become
An all-around excellent seeker.

7233. Man's Ingratitude

God’s Compassion-Eye
And God’s Forgiveness-Heart
Work even in the face
Of man’s inborn ingratitude.

7234. I Met God

The other day I met God
Walking down the street.
To my extreme happiness
He said to me
That His Heart of Compassion-Ocean
Would wash away
All my teeming imperfections.

7235. Seek God's Companionship

This world will try to corrupt you.
Before it can do so,
Try to seek God’s Companionship.
Do it as soon as possible!

7236. Some Special Rules

When great souls come down
They try to make some special rules
To better the consciousness
Of this eyeless and stone-deaf world.

7237. The Desire-River

The desire-river of our human vital
Finally enters into
The destruction-sea
And nowhere else.

7238. To See Tomorrow

I shall live on earth
To see tomorrow,
Not the way my vital desires
To see tomorrow
But the way my soul envisions
Tomorrow’s perfection
And tomorrow’s satisfaction.

7239. Be Patient With Yourself

Be patient with yourself
In exactly the same way
That God is patient with you.

7240. A Universal Man

A universal man
Does not have to claim anyone.
He is more than satisfied
That he has been claimed by everyone
And by everything.

7241. My Mind Says To My Heart

My mind, in a terrible rush,
Says to my heart,
“O heart, why are you so insecure
All the time?”
My heart quietly, very quietly,
Says to my mind,
“O mind, why are you so impure
All the time?”

7242. If You Want Perfection

If you want perfection,
Then long for truth.
If you want satisfaction,
Then long for constant self-giving.

7243. Hunger For World-Applause

His hunger for world-applause
Does not allow him to live
Inside his own heart-poise.

7244. The Quest For Truth

The very quest for truth
Is not only challenging and gratifying
But also illumining and fulfilling.

7245. Two Supreme Gifts

Two supreme gifts
From the Absolute Supreme:
A heart of oneness-duty
And a life of fulness-purity.

7246. God-Lovers Surprise Us

The soulful purity of God-lovers
Surprises all human beings,
Especially the intellectual giants.

7247. Choose Your Thoughts Carefully

Choose your thoughts carefully
At every moment
If you want your life-boat
To sail in the sea
Of light and delight.

7248. We Still Have Not Forgotten

You and I are two human beings
Who are now on our way
To transformation.
One day we shall become perfect.
How is it that we still
Have not forgotten
Our animal life
And find it so hard
To appreciate each other?

7249. No Time To Criticise

Those who serve the world constantly
Do not have time
To criticise others,
While those who do not serve
Others selflessly
Have endless time
To criticise the whole world.

7250. If You Think Of Ignorance

How can you live
In wisdom-delight
If you think always of the snares
Of ignorance-night?

7251. True Truth Tells Me

Falsehood tells me
That I simply cannot do it.
True truth tells me
That I have already done it.
Something more,
Since I have already done it,
I have not only become
But I am, eternally am.

7252. My Heart's Gates

God opens up my heart’s gates
Every morning
Only to see them in the evening
Automatically plus firmly closed.

7253. No God-Becoming

There is no self-offering
Without God-becoming,
No God-becoming
Without universal oneness-revealing.

7254. The Message Of Human Life

The eternal and uninterrupted message
Of human life:
Today’s cry is unknown;
Tomorrow’s unknowable.

7255. Your Foolish Insecurity

Give up your foolish insecurity.
It is destroying your heart’s purity,
Your soul’s beauty
And
Your inborn liberty.

7256. Why Have You Postponed?

My Lord, why have You postponed
Your visit?
Is it because I no longer
Have any special love for You?
Is it because You are tired of loving
The ingratitude-heart in me?

7257. Even The Unwilling Souls

A truth-seeker and God-lover
Has abundant capacity to awaken
Even the unwilling souls
From the world of lethargy.

7258. Consumed With Pride

If your mind is consumed
With disproportionate pride,
How can your heart be inundated
With oneness-delight?

7259. I Have Already Enjoyed

I have already enjoyed
My life’s ignorance-sleep.
Now I want to enjoy
Immortality’s infinite Deep.

7260. The Eternal Sufferer

My soul is the eternal sufferer
Caught between my mind’s confusion
And my heart’s frustration.

7261. I Am Giving You Back

My sweet Lord,
I am giving You back
My soft heart.
Will You not give me back
Your strong Feet?

7262. God's Cherished Friend

On the road of self-giving
The seeker is most generously blessed
With God’s cherished Friend:
Smile.

7263. Although You Are Roaming Blindly

Do not falsely and stupidly think
That God is not granting you
His Heart’s Compassion-Sky
Although you are roaming blindly
In the dark alleys of ignorance.

7264. Silence And Fulfil

Silence your endless
Earth-necessity
Secretly.

Fulfil your soulfully pure
Heaven-necessity
Immediately.

7265. He Knows Who Loves

He knows
Who loves.
He is right
Who does.
He is perfect
Who is God-revealing.
He is another God
Who is Truth-manifesting.

7266. His Revolt Continued

Although he was forced
To kiss the humiliation-dust of defeat,
His blind-elephant-revolt continued
Against the Wisdom-King.

7267. A Life Of Self-Sufficiency

A life of self-sufficiency
Will always remain
Beyond my imagination’s flight.

7268. Beauty

Beauty tempts the weak.
Beauty inspires the strong.
Beauty gladdens the Supreme.

7269. I Think Of God

I think of God
So that I can immediately become good.
God thinks of me
So that I can eternally be perfect.

7270. Each Desire-Bound Life

Each desire-bound life,
In a spiritual sense,
Is not only mischievous
But also treacherous.

7271. Each Pure Thought

Each pure thought
Is a perfection-builder
In man and for God.

7272. When I Am Weak

When I am weak,
I think of others’ capacities.
When I am strong,
I think of my own
Yet unnoticed incapacities.

7273. Ambition Wants To Befriend Him

Ambition cannot challenge him.
Ambition cannot even find him.
Yet ambition wants to befriend him.

7274. A Peerless Bridge

My faith is a peerless bridge
Between my heart’s soulful hope
And my Lord’s fruitful Self-Giving.

7275. Already Deeply Attached

Heaven is a place I cannot reach.
Why can’t I reach it?
Because my life does not want to.
Why not?
Because I am already deeply attached
To the place where I am now:
Hell.

7276. The Lamp Of The Mind

The lamp of the mind
Thinks it is most powerful.
The lamb of God
Knows that God alone is most powerful
And most beautiful.

7277. The Secret Of Contentment

The secret of contentment:
Give what you have,
Your mind’s poise,
And become aware of what you truly are,
A perfect choice and immortal voice
Of God.

7278. Harsh Words

Harsh words
Slay everybody
And delay everything.

7279. My Soul's Lustre-Surrender

In my soul’s lustre-surrender
I give to God
What God Himself needs
For His own Self-Transcendence
And His own earth-Manifestation.

7280. The Fragrance Of A Purity-Flower

You do not have to be
Completely versed
In any sacred book.
Just make your heart
The fragrance of a purity-flower.
Lo, God the Compassion-Satisfaction-Heart
Is fast approaching you.

7281. Rapture-Realisation

Rapture-realisation is not founded
Upon torture-experience.
Rapture-realisation is founded
Upon the oneness-manifestation
Of the aspiring heart.

7282. Three That Are One

A born sacrificer,
A God-lover and
A truth-seeker:
These three are inseparably one
In the same body.

7283. Nobody But God Himself

Nobody but God Himself
Encourages and energises me
To walk fast, very fast,
Along my realisation-road.

7284. A Surrender-Heart

A surrender-heart
Is purity’s smile
And beauty’s dance.

7285. Man's Companions

God and His Satisfaction-Smile
Always accompany man
On his aspiration-journey.

7286. God's Compassion-Readiness

What can God’s Compassion-Readiness do
If my body wants to sleep
And my mind wants to daydream?

7287. When I Do Not Aspire

When I do not aspire,
I enjoy the world’s thunder-noise.
When I aspire,
I love God’s self-transcending
Silence-Voice.

7288. Each Soul-Prayer Of Mine

Each soul-prayer of mine
Is my life’s heart-fragrance
Which pleases at once
Both Heaven and earth.

7289. Tremendous Confidence

As you have tremendous confidence
In your heart,
Even so,
God has tremendous Love and Fondness
For you.

7290. Each Unfulfilled Hope

Each unfulfilled hope
Of humanity
Is an unmanifested promise
Of divinity.

7291. Your Heart-Hotel

Have you reserved
The most special room for God
In your heart-hotel?
If so, then God is definitely
And gladly going to take it
At your highest rate.

7292. My Heart's Ecstasy-Palace

My heart’s ecstasy-palace
Is built upon the foundation of
God’s Self-Dedication-Palace.

7293. Forgotten How To Sleep

The impurity-elephant
Inside mankind
Has completely forgotten
How to sleep.

7294. Perpetual Necessity

Perpetual necessity means
The perfect revelation
Of an inner inevitability.

7295. Trust Your Hope-Dreams

Trust your hope-dreams;
They are harmless.
Trust your promise-realities;
They are peerless.

7296. God Wants To Know

God does not want to know
Why I cry
But He does want to know
Why I do not smile.

7297. My Words Shall Live Longer

My words shall live longer
Than my deeds.
Therefore, my words have to be
At once cautious and precious.

7298. It Is Enough!

Is my sincerity-mind enough?
Perhaps it is enough.
Is my surrender-life enough?
Definitely it is enough!

7299. Practising Self-Control

When I started practising self-control,
The animal in me frowned,
The human in me
Was totally dismayed
And the divine in me
Came to the fore to crown me.

7300. My Soul's Rainbow-Sky

Breathlessly I cry
And selflessly I try
Only to see my soul’s
Rainbow-sky.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the seventy-third 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 meditates with Pablo Casals at the Maestro’s home in Puerto Rico on 5 October 1972. After the meditation, Don Pablo said, “I am most grateful to you for granting me the most wonderful moment of my life. Bless you, bless you! Thank you, thank you!”

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-7264: FFP 124 (revised version).