7301. Our Eternal Friend

In our inner life
Everyone and everything will fail us,
Except our meditation.
Meditation is our friend,
Our soul’s old friend,
Our Beloved Supreme’s eternal friend.
If this friend ever leaves us,
We shall have nobody to take care of us,
Nobody!

7302. Your Friendship With Meditation

No matter how many mistakes
You make,
No matter how useless
You feel yourself to be,
No matter how many weaknesses
You consciously and unconsciously cherish,
If you can maintain your friendship
With your ever-loving, ever-inspiring
And ever-illumining friend, meditation,
Then you will, without fail,
Discover the true meaning of your life.

7303. Your Soul's Heights

You are a genuine seeker
Of the absolute Truth.
Therefore, the highest planes of consciousness
Will not and cannot forever remain
A far cry.
Continue walking along
The path of Eternity.
You will one day reach
Your soul’s glorious heights.

7304. A Lover Of Meditation

You are a lover of meditation.
That means you do believe
In an inner world,
For you have been there many, many times.
If you get joy from that world,
Your eagerness to meditate
Will carry you far, farther, farthest
Towards your destined goal.

7305. Failure Has Touched His Life

Abysmal failure has touched his life
Because he lives
Either inside his impulsive mind
Or inside his destructive vital.

7306. But I Must Also Say

I admit
I have a weak heart.
But I must also say
I have a very pure heart.

7307. I Am Always Disturbed

No matter what I do or say,
I am always disturbed
By the unwanted presence
Of my doubting mind.

7308. I Allow Myself

I allow myself
To do everything else
Except introduce myself
To my Lord’s Satisfaction-Smile.

7309. My Heart, Stop Crying

My heart, stop crying.
You have cried enough.
Now start smiling.

7310. Every Day

Every day
My Lord approaches me
With His self-giving Compassion-Light.

Every day
I approach my Lord
With my self-giving gratitude-delight.

7311. Lethargy Is So Useless

Lethargy is so useless
That it always enjoys performing
The stupid nothingness-dance.

7312. I Have The Right

I may not have the right
To think for you,
But I do have the right
To think of you.

7313. Your Aspiration-Flames

Your aspiration-flames must climb up
To the mountain-high throne of light.
Then only can you reach tomorrow’s
Immortality-Shore.

7314. A Life Of Constant Surrender

Only a life of constant surrender
Can soulfully and smilingly walk
Along the sunlit road.

7315. To Cherish Doubt

To cherish doubt
Is a certain way
To achieve self-destruction.

7316. I Want To Stand

I want to stand at the start
Of faith
And not at the start
Of understanding.

7317. It Can Easily Destroy

Be careful of your doubt-tiger.
It can easily destroy
Your tiny and tender faith-plant.

7318. A Shaky Foundation

An uncertain and unaspiring mind
Is the cause
Of a shaky spiritual foundation.

7319. Look Deep Within

Do not look around
To see if somebody else
Is making faster progress than you.
Just look deep within
And be grateful for whatever progress
You are making.
Just look high above
And be ready and eager
To make still faster progress.

7320. The Supreme Contribution

The great contribution
Of the human life:
Mind over matter.

The supreme contribution
Of the divine life:
Heart over mind.

7321. Be Practical Within

Be practical within.
You will immediately become
Earth’s perfect cry
And Heaven’s perfect smile.

7322. The Songs Of Beauty's Light

No life that yields
To ignorance-night
Can hear the songs
Of beauty’s light
And duty’s delight.

7323. You Rely Upon Nothing

You rely upon nothing,
Yet you think
You are doing something great
And becoming someone good.

7324. I Want You To Be Proud

My heart,
I want you to be proud of me
Not because I am perfect,
But because I am all gratitude
To my Beloved Supreme.

7325. Carry On The Struggle

Carry on the struggle.
You will eventually win.
Strive with vigour.
You will quite certainly win.
Depend entirely on God’s Grace.
You will immediately win.

7326. Two Deplorable Failures

My unaspiring heart
And my doubting mind
Are deplorable failures:
So feels my ever-loving
And ever-illumining soul.

7327. What My Mind Has

What my mind has
Is sheer stupidity.
What my mind is
Is God’s hidden Divinity.

7328. Each Moment

Each moment
Of prayerful surrender
And soulful gratitude
Brings perfection-light
And satisfaction-delight.

7329. I Use My Curiosity-Power

I use my curiosity-power
To see the beauty of the outer world.
I use my sincerity-power
To see the purity of the inner world.

7330. Love Your Heart More

If you really value
Your pure heart,
Then love it infinitely more
Than you love anything else.

7331. God's Thundering Victory-Dream

The silence-light
Of my gratitude-heart
Is God’s thundering Victory-Dream.

7332. An Experienced Wisdom-Reality

Although my mind
Is an experienced wisdom-reality,
It is nowhere near
God’s Illumination-Smile.

7333. He Who Strangles You

Rest assured,
He who strangles you
With fears and doubts
Will not be allowed to be with you
In the highest world.

7334. His Desire-Bound Life

His desire-bound life
Is completely lost
Inside his absurd hopes
And grave fears.

7335. Liberation Means

Liberation means
To soulfully claim
God’s Cosmic Vision
And consciously disown
Man’s tempting illusion.

7336. What Is Wrong In Asking?

Since you know
You cannot guide yourself,
What is wrong in asking
Your ever-ready Inner Pilot
To guide you?

7337. If You Are Painfully Aware

If you are painfully aware
Of your inner mistakes
But still maintain your eagerness
To do the right thing,
You will make far better progress
Than those who complacently fool themselves
By thinking they are already
Absolutely perfect.

7338. Do Not Cherish Unhealthy Ideas

Do not cherish unhealthy ideas.
If you feel that the world
Thinks ill of you,
Who knows,
Perhaps you are unnecessarily torturing
Your life’s purity-heart.

7339. Compromise

Compromise begins
In useless stupidity
And ends in lifeless futility.

7340. The Purification Of The Mind

The purification of the mind
Must follow
The enlargement of the heart.

7341. Severe Psychic Treatment

Severe psychic treatment is needed
For serious doubt-sickness.
God the Doctor tells this
To his spiritually sick children.

7342. God Voraciously Eats

Every day God voraciously eats
Your surrender-fruits
And proudly tells the cosmic gods
All about you.

7343. A Death-Challenging Warrior

You are a dauntless,
Death-challenging hero-warrior.
That means you soulfully care for
God’s Satisfaction in you.

7344. The Song Of Satisfaction-Smile

Your heart’s soulful readiness
And your life’s powerful fruitfulness
Sing the song
Of satisfaction-smile.

7345. Jealousy Hides

Jealousy hides
Only to be caught
For its eventual transformation.

7346. My Sound-Life

O my sound-life,
You may be insignificant,
But you are also powerful.
You have extinguished
My heart’s aspiration-flames.

7347. My Mind's Newness-Dawn

Beautiful is my mind’s
Newness-dawn.
Soulful is my heart’s
Oneness-day.
Powerful is my soul’s
Satisfaction-sun.

7348. One Aspiration-Flame

One aspiration-flame of my heart
Has illumined the road
That leads to my soul’s
Perennial smile.

7349. A Pure Instrument

Yesterday’s unconditional Grace
And today’s dauntless determination
Are turning me into a pure instrument
Who treasures God’s Protection-Feet.

7350. An Amazing Improvement

An amazing improvement:
My mind’s damaging frowns
Have now become
My mind’s lamenting sighs.

7351. The Capacity To Pray

God’s Compassion has given me
The capacity to pray.
God’s Forgiveness has given me
The capacity to aspire.

7352. If You Are Ready To Play

If you are always ready to play
The self-giving surrender-game,
Then God-realisation
Is within your easy reach.

7353. The Pinch Of Insecurity

Ignore the pinch of insecurity.
Lo, your mind’s brooding doubts
Have all disappeared.

7354. Utter Loneliness Awaited Him

Utter loneliness awaited him
When he unmindfully stopped
His morning meditations
And
His evening prayers.

7355. The Throne Of Heaven

For a God-lover,
The time-honoured throne of Heaven
Is not something to look at and admire
But something to sit upon and enjoy.

7356. Your Mind's Serenity-Seeds

I appreciate your mind’s serenity-seeds.
I admire your heart’s purity-plants.
I adore your life’s divinity-trees.
I love your soul’s Immortality-fruits.

7357. Be Faithful, Be Powerful

Be faithful to the fruitful:
Your loving soul.
Be powerful to the unfaithful:
Your doubting mind.

7358. Meditation And Satisfaction

Deception and meditation
Do not go together.
Meditation and satisfaction
Can and do go together.

7359. My Needs

Beautiful emptiness
My mind needs.
Soulful fulness
My heart needs.
Blessingful fruitfulness
My life needs.

7360. Your Soulful Face

Not your winning race
But your soulful face
Has transported me to Heaven.

7361. One Dedication-Drop

One dedication-drop from my life
Has destroyed ignorance
The betrayer
And won God
The Lover.

7362. My Silence-Life Creates

My silence-life creates.
My sound-life destroys.
God’s Compassion-Heart revives.

7363. My Heart's Beauty-Sky

My heart’s beauty-sky:
I know not where it is.
My soul’s divinity-sun:
I know not if it even exists.

7364. Your Heart's Insecurity

Your heart’s insecurity
Has concealed your soul’s
Spontaneous happiness.

7365. Your Doubt-Life

Your doubt-life has destroyed
Your hope-blossoms
And your enthusiasm-boughs.

7366. Your Service-Flower-Fragrance

Your service-tree
May not be exceptionally tall,
But your service-flower-fragrance
Is extraordinarily beautiful.

7367. Every Man Is A Blunderer

Today every man is a blunderer,
But tomorrow every man will be
The pioneer-founder
Of God’s ever-transcending Delight.

7368. Every Heart-Cry

Every heart-cry
Awakens the sleeping world.
Every soul-smile
Nourishes the searching world.

7369. Every Soul-Smile

Every heart-cry
Purifies my mind.
Every soul-smile
Enlightens my life.

7370. Tomorrow's Perfection-Face

Tomorrow’s perfection-face:
Is it my mental hallucination?
Is it my wishful thinking?
No, it is my promise-announcement.

7371. God's Compassion-Flames

God’s Compassion-Flames
I do not deserve,
But I do deserve
Earth’s sincerity-drops.

7372. God's Eternal Compassion-Flame

God’s eternal Compassion-Flame
Has at last illumined
My mind’s age-old confusion-game.

7373. God Is Never In A Hurry

God is never in a hurry.
If I long to be His choice instrument,
Then I must not be in a hurry either.
Today I imitate God;
Tomorrow I shall be as perfect
As God eternally is.

7374. A New Role

Take on a new role:
Play the role of a God-lover.
No more play the role
Of a man-hater.

7375. I Shall Not Allow

I shall not allow my body
To delay me.
I shall not allow my vital
To torture me.
I shall not allow my mind
To deceive me.
I shall not allow my heart
To talk to ignorance.

7376. Learn Only From Him

With a prayerful heart
Learn only from Him
Who is your own Eternity’s
Inner Pilot.

7377. Did You Say Hello To God?

Did you say hello to God this morning?
“I did not remember.”
Did you thank God this morning?
“I did not remember.”
Did you criticise God this morning?
“Yes, I did, I did.”

7378. My Troubles Are Beginning

My teeming troubles
Are all beginning now
Because I no longer feed my heart
With soulful cries.

7379. I Breathed A Silent Prayer

I breathed a silent prayer.
Now I see that my Lord
Will not forsake me
And that my world
Will not disappoint Him.

7380. Nothing Better To Do

Do you think
God has nothing better to do
Than to tell you all the time
That He loves you
Infinitely more than you love Him?

7381. I Do Not Know

Days passed by;
Months, too.
Yet I do not know
Why I did not pray
At my Lord’s Feet
And why I did not meditate
On my Lord’s Heart.

7382. Two Miracles In One Day

Two miracles in one day
I can hardly believe:
This morning
I saw God’s Face,
And this evening
I am touching God’s Feet.

7383. The Altar Of Aspiration

Your mind will be infected
With doubt
If you do not frequent
The faith-temple
And sit at the altar
Of aspiration.

7384. No Exaggeration Can Be Too Great

No exaggeration can be too great
When we try to describe
The self-transcending beauty
Of the Universal Soul.

7385. The Rules Of Heaven

The rules of Heaven
My mind does not want to learn
But my heart has already learnt:
Smile sleeplessly,
Love unconditionally.

7386. The Blending Of Old And New

The blending of old and new we observe
When a doubting mind
And a loving heart
Are lost in each other.

7387. Two Indisputable Facts

I am not departing even an inch
From the actual facts
When I say that I love God
More than I love myself
And that God has definitely told me
I shall soon be one of His choice instruments.

7388. The Right Thing

You are doing the right thing:
You should and you must value
Your heart’s breathless aspiration-cry.

7389. An Invisible Wound

An invisible wound I create
Inside my heart
Each time I become unmindful
Of my great promises
To the world.

7390. A Medley Of Smiles And Tears

A medley of smiles and tears
Can never be the answer
To man’s birthless and deathless
Self-enquiry.

7391. Two Broken Promises

You have broken both your promises.
Now you neither want to sit
At God’s Feet
Nor want God to live
Inside your mind.

7392. Your Inner Sun Will Reappear

Your mind-sky is overcast with doubts,
But their days are numbered.
Your inner sun will reappear,
For God has not sanctioned
And will never sanction
Doubt’s permanent rule.

7393. When The Veil Of Illusion Is Torn

When the veil of illusion is torn,
Each man sees that he loves
Only one Person,
God the Creator,
And serves only one Person,
God the creation.

7394. Meditate Here And Now

If you believe in God
And want to enjoy eternal oneness with Him,
Then meditate here and now.
Your present meditation will determine
Your future realisation.

7395. Let God Be Your Coach

Let God be your inner Coach.
If you can correct any defects
That your inner Coach finds,
Then rest assured,
Your inner speed will immediately increase
And you will please God
Far beyond your imagination.

7396. Selfless Service

Selfless service means thinking
Not of your little self
But of your largest Self, the Supreme.
Selfless service is undoubtedly
The great, greater and greatest opportunity
To make the fastest progress.

7397. If God Is Disgusted

If God is disgusted with you,
Then the story will end there.
But if God is simply disappointed,
It is not a hopeless case.
He will give you ample opportunity
To transform this disappointment
Into His true Satisfaction.

7398. The Only Life

For a spiritual seeker
The inner life is not only
More important than the outer life,
But is actually the only life.

7399. Because It Gives Him Joy

A child is ready and eager
To play all the time
Because it gives him joy.

A spiritual seeker should be ready and eager
To meditate all the time
Because it gives him joy.

7400. When I Speak To God

I fold my hands
When I speak to God.
God holds my hands
And caresses my eyes
When He speaks to me.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the seventy-fourth 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 Leonard Bernstein at the composer’s home in New York on 21 March 1979, after they listened to a choral rendition of a song written by Sri Chinmoy about Mr Bernstein. Following the meditation the Master said, “You are the Himalayan musician and the supreme lover of music …. Inside your music-world the world of aspiration and dedication is constantly growing.” In gratitude, Leonard Bernstein later composed a musical piece with the words, “Thank you, thank you, Sri Chinmoy. You brought Leonard Bernstein joy.”