7501. Why Am I So Happy?

If you ask me
Why I am so happy,
Then I shall unmistakably tell you
That is what happens
When you live for God alone.

7502. You And Your Faith

Your mind may resent you
Because nowadays you are paying
Less attention to it.
But do not be a fool.
Do not again become a good friend
Of your mind.
Eventually there will come a time
When you will pay no attention at all
To your desire-bound, doubt-bound mind.
That will be the time
When you and your faith,
Like two little children,
Will play inside the garden
Of your soul.

7503. Unmerited Suffering

I know at least
One thing well:
Unmerited suffering.

7504. Do Not Tire God

If you really love God,
Then do not tire Him
With your endless complaints.

7505. A Dead-End Road

In the inner life
Insecurity is a dead-end road.
In the outer life
Doubt is a dead-end road.

7506. The Dance Of Division

Indecision is
The confusion-frustration-dance
Of division.

7507. The Beautiful Beginning

Simplicity is
The beautiful beginning
Of Divinity.

Sincerity is
The powerful beginning
Of Immortality.

7508. The Best Authority

A suspicion-mind
Is by far the best authority
On life-exhaustion.

7509. Aspiration Illumines

Aspiration illumines
The inner confusion.
Determination destroys
The outer confusion.

7510. My Lord's Silence-Eye

My prayer-life is fond of
My Lord’s Sound-Body.
My meditation-life is fond of
My Lord’s Silence-Eye.

7511. Impurity's Invasion

Impurity
Invades my mind
Only to pervade
My heart.

7512. My Prayer-Life Tells Me

My prayer-life tells me
What I can receive from God.
My meditation-life shows me
How I can manifest God.

7513. Undedicated Money-Power

Undedicated money-power
Is more dangerous
Than doubt-poison.

7514. At The Halfway Mark

At the halfway mark
Between life and death,
We are forced to watch
The oneness-dance
Of hope and despair.

7515. A Life Of Deplorable Indecision

A life of deplorable indecision
Walks along the slow road
Of destruction.

7516. The Only Question Haunting Me

Am I ever going to transcend myself?
This is the only question
That is haunting me.

7517. A Perfect Life

A great mind
Wants to know more.
A good heart
Wants to love more.
A perfect life
Wants to satisfy God more.

7518. When I Speak To Ignorance-King

It is only ignorance-night
That loves me
When I speak to ignorance-king.

7519. Remember!

Remember,
God is watching your mind!
Remember,
Your mind is ignoring God’s Heart!

7520. The Capacity To Please God

As long as God has given me
The capacity to please Him,
I do not have to think
Of pleasing myself.

7521. When I Fail To Aspire

When I fail to aspire,
My life becomes
A complicated calculation
And an impassioned frustration.

7522. How Can I Be Useless?

As long as I do not
Find fault with God,
How can I be useless?

As long as I love
And need God only,
How can I be useless?

7523. My Lord's Concern

My mind’s perfection
Is my concern.
My heart’s satisfaction
Is my Lord’s Concern.

7524. My Soul Knows

My mind does not know
What to say.
My heart knows
What to say.
My soul knows
All that my heart knows
Plus how and why to say.

7525. Sailing In The Same Boat

Your mind enjoys
Nerve-racking arguments.
My mind enjoys
Time-consuming arguments.
Alas, both our stupid minds
Are sailing in the same boat.

7526. To Walk Alongside

My mind powerfully pushed
My heart aside.
My heart lovingly invited my mind
To walk alongside.

7527. My Heart Wants To Know

My mind wants to know
If you are thinking of me.
My heart wants to know
If you are thinking of God.

7528. Your Mind Cannot Have Fear

Your mind cannot have fear
Because your mind
Is astonishingly clear.

7529. My Sincerity-Heart Is Confused

My sincerity-heart
Is confused, puzzled
And even unimaginably surprised
When people say
That I am perfect.

7530. My Self-Control

My self-control
Openly helps me
And secretly helps others.

7531. Deliberately Unprepared

Alas, my mind does not think
That it is deliberately unprepared
For God’s Compassion-Eye
And God’s Satisfaction-Heart.

7532. If Your Heart Knows How To Cry

If your heart knows how to cry
For oneness
With God the universal One,
Then you cannot have a lonely life.

If your life knows how to smile
At God the transcendental One,
Then you can never have a lonely death.

7533. Tragic News

This morning my Lord Supreme
Gave me two pieces of tragic news:
My mind consciously loves
Self-deception,
And my heart consciously enjoys
Self-limitation.

7534. Even Winning Has Its Problems

Even winning
Has its most deplorable problems,
For a winner becomes
An immediate victim
To exorbitant pride
And feels that God’s Help
Was, after all, not indispensable.

7535. Self-Styled Perfection

God-discovery is possible
Only when you have gone
Far beyond the domain
Of self-styled perfection.

7536. Although I Cannot Lead My Life

Although I cannot lead my life
To the Beauty of God,
I shall not allow my life to lead me
To the ultimate human despair.

7537. Two Viewpoints

A limited viewpoint:
Earth-bound nature has no chance
To be illumined,
And thus it will never be able
To satisfy God in God’s own Way.
An unlimited viewpoint:
At God’s Hour
Impossibility surrenders to possibility.

7538. A Self-Invented Self-Portrait

A self-invented self-portrait
Can please neither Heaven nor earth.
It can only please
The stupidity-unreality.

7539. Love Of Immortality

My mind needs
The inspiration of Infinity
From the Infinite.
My heart needs
The aspiration of Eternity
From the Eternal.
My life needs
The love of Immortality
From the Immortal.

7540. My Soul's Only Sacred Dream

My soul’s only sacred dream:
My body will be totally transformed.
My body’s only secret dream:
My body will breathlessly listen
To the dictates of my soul.

7541. Uphill Will-Power

If you are always thinking
Downhill thoughts,
How can you see the beauty and divinity
Of uphill will-power?

7542. No Right To Be

I have no right to be what I am now.
I have only the right to say
That my Lord Supreme loves me
Infinitely more than I can ever
Love myself.

7543. Silence Waves Its Wings

Silence waves its transcendental wings
When I drink deep
The nectar-delight of my gratitude-heart.

7544. His Life Is Dancing

Upon the rock of inner illumination
His life is dancing.
Therefore, earth is fond of him,
And Heaven is both fond of him
And proud of him.

7545. His Heart's Gratitude-Song

His heart’s gratitude-song
Is deathless
In its purity-beauty.

7546. The Source

The source of an ascending cry
Is the great heart of humanity.
The source of a descending Smile
Is the good Soul of Divinity.

7547. The Newness That Glows

Surrender is the newness
That glows.
Gratitude is the fulness
That grows.

7548. Two Major Mistakes

Two major mistakes in my life:
I blame my soul
When I do anything wrong;
I underestimate the Compassion
Of my Source
And the beauty of
My heart’s Godward journey.

7549. Do Not Be Afraid

Do not be afraid
Of doing great things.
Just regard these things
As quite normal and natural,
And do them spontaneously.
This is the only way
You can bring to the fore
God within you
For His own supreme Manifestation.

7550. To Adore God The Dream

To adore God the Dream
And to love God the Dreamer
Is the very beginning
Of the life that lives only for Him.

7551. I Pray To Receive

I pray to receive.
I meditate to achieve.
I love to become.
I have what God is.

7552. Nothing Helps Like Self-Giving

Nothing helps like self-giving
At every moment.
Nothing destroys like insecurity
In the physical world,
The vital world,
The mental world
Or even in the psychic world.

7553. I Must Give Him Another Chance

Although he is totally undivine,
I must give him another chance
To transform his life
Of complicated insincerity.

7554. He Thinks He Is A Saint

He thinks he is a saint
And therefore his mind does not have to
Search for God
And his heart does not have to
Pray to God.
Luckily, the world does not need
A saint like him.

7555. Destructive Happiness

The destructive happiness of an insane man
Is real torture
To the man whose sanity
Is in perfect order.

7556. A Sorrowful Experience

If you have a sorrowful experience
In your inner life,
Disappointment must not break your heart.
For you have deep within you
The wisdom to transform
This sorrowful and painful experience
Into a joyful and fruitful realisation.

7557. Lost Olympian Joy

When man forgets
His love for God,
His heart loses
Its Olympian joy.

7558. His Heart Will Be Blessed

Since he has successfully escaped
From the futile shallowness of the mind,
His heart will be powerfully blessed
By the fulness-beauty of his soul.

7559. Shock The Mind Into Waking

Shock the mind into waking.
Shock the heart into rising.
Shock the life into flying.
You will then be running fast
Along the sunlit road
To the perfection-temple.

7560. The Book Of Your Heart's Light

The book of your heart’s light
Is an excellent book.
Keep it always on your reading desk
To serve as your ever-ready reference book,
Especially when you enter into
The library of ignorance-night.

7561. Man's International Dream

A soulful oneness-experience
Is man’s international dream.
A powerful oneness-satisfaction
Is God’s universal Reality.

7562. A Breath Of Self-Effacement

A breath of self-effacement
Is the immediate birth
Of my life’s enlightenment-sky.

7563. If You Want To Succeed

If you want to succeed,
Allow not any disappointment
To set you back.
If you want to proceed,
Accept the invitations of a cheerful hope
And a fruitful promise.

7564. It Was You Who Chose Death

Alas, it was you who chose death
Long before you had any idea
Of the beauty and divinity of life.

7565. Heaven's Compassion

Heaven’s Compassion did not help me
Because I was too weak
To be helped.
Earth’s jealousy did not disturb me
Because I was too strong
To be disturbed.

7566. An Impossible Task

For a true seeker of the Infinite
It is an impossible task
To long for death
Before God-manifestation.

For an ordinary man
It is an impossible task
To strive to live
With a higher ideal in mind.

7567. A Heart Of Silence

A heart of silence
Teaches me how to swim
In God’s Compassion-Sea.
A mind of sound
Tells me that it can teach me
How to empty God’s Compassion-Sea.

7568. He Who Soulfully Listens

He who soulfully listens
Can powerfully speak.
He who powerfully speaks
Is a true messenger of God.
A true messenger of God
Ushers in God’s final Victory on earth.

7569. The Union Of Dreams And Reality

The union of my dreams
And God’s Reality
Takes place inside my perfection-cry
And God’s Satisfaction-Smile.

7570. More Pleasure In Defeat

Believe it or not,
He gets infinitely more pleasure
From the defeats of others
Than from his own teeming victories.

7571. The Meaning Of Loneliness

I have yet to learn
The meaning of loneliness,
Since my Lord Supreme
Has not created loneliness for those
Who serve Him unconditionally
In this lifetime.

7572. Man's Desire-Life

Man’s desire-life
Never expects to surrender
To God’s all-illumining Vision-Eye.

7573. Although God Is Infinite

Although God is infinite,
He prefers to live
Inside a tiny
Man-built nest.

7574. God Introduces Me

God introduces me
To His immortal Life every day.
I introduce God
To my immediate death every day.

7575. I Am Ready To Believe

I am ready to believe in everything
Except one thing,
And that is the radical transformation
Of my desire’s hot breath.

7576. Two Significant Things

Every day God does
Two most significant things for me:
He loves my innocence-life
And treasures my security-heart.

7577. A Whisper From My Insecurity-Life

A whisper from my totally helpless
Insecurity-life
Can completely ruin
The flower of my morning prayer
And
The fruit of my evening meditation.

7578. Earth's Soulful Love

Earth’s soulful love,
With sweet care and dear concern,
Asks man to sing
His own self-transcendence-song
Melodiously and perfectly.

7579. Your Soul-Power Can Baffle Death

Your soul-power can baffle death
If your heart invokes
The Compassion-Flood of God,
The universal Protection.

7580. Your Heart's Fading Flames

If you do not aspire every day
Soulfully and unreservedly,
You are bound to see unquestionably
Your own heart’s fading flames.

7581. The Flower Of Beauty

When your heart becomes
The flower of beauty,
Your life will produce
The fruit of earth-nourishing reality.

7582. What I Can Do For God

I shall see
What I can do for God
Since I am not doing
Anything worthwhile for man.

7583. Since I Love Man's Mind

Since I love even man’s treacherous mind,
I do not think it will be
A difficult task
For me to love God’s compassionate Heart.

7584. My Sincerity-Mind Tells Me

My sincerity-mind tells me
That I have not done anything great.
My humility-life tells me
That I have not done anything good.
My purity-heart tells me
That I have not done anything perfect.

7585. Determination

Determination within,
Determination without
At every moment!
Lo, unimaginable achievements
Are within your easy reach.

7586. I Want To Remind Myself

I do not want to know
What God thinks of me,
But I do want to remind myself
Of what I can do
To deserve God’s infinite Compassion.

7587. A Colossal Hope

Yesterday God-realisation
Was a colossal hope.
Today God-realisation
Is a free Heaven-climbing rope.

7588. Be Careful Of Your Commitments

Be careful of your silence-commitment.
Be careful of your sound-commitment.
If you are careful,
Then happiness will be your name.

7589. Be Prepared For Surprises

Be prepared for surprises.
Today God may invite you.
Be prepared to immediately accept.
Again, today the hostile forces
May invite you.
Be prepared to make the strongest refusal.

7590. Follow Your Intuition

You do not have to imitate
Others’ successes.
You do not have to learn
From others’ mistakes.
Just follow your intuition.
Your intuition embodies
The beauty of success
And
The purity of progress.

7591. Do Not Forget

As you climb the ladder of success,
Do not forget
It is your determination
That is enabling you to succeed.

As you climb the ladder of progress,
Do not forget
It is your surrender
That is enabling you to proceed.

7592. A Serious Mistake

It is a serious mistake
To broadcast your opinions all the time.
Keep your wise opinions to yourself
So you can escape the ridicule
Of the world
And also save the world
From having to tolerate your stupidity.

7593. Not A Difficult Task

First punish your unruly vital,
Then show it an illumining light.
You will see that it is not
A difficult task
To immortalise your life
Of self-dedication.

7594. Incomparably Sweet

An ordinary human life
May at times be sweet,
But the life of a soulful seeker
Is always incomparably sweet.

7595. Each Painful Thought

Each painful thought
That you are experiencing today
Is due to the pressure
Of your disobedience-life.

7596. My Life Of Hope

My life of hope is fast perishing.
Will my heart’s sky of sorrow
Also perish
Along with my hope-life?

7597. If Ever I Look Behind

If ever I look behind,
What do I see?
Purity?
No.
Sincerity?
No.
Love of God?
No.
I see only the constant birth
Of an all-devouring hunger.

7598. Your Poor Heart's Thirst

If your vital indulges
In selfishness,
Then your poor heart’s thirst
Will remain ruthlessly unquenched.

7599. You Resent Perfection

You unconsciously resent perfection.
Therefore, you don’t care to see
God’s Satisfaction-Smile
Inside His evolving universe.

7600. My Smiling Eyes Tell Me

My smiling eyes tell me
My Beloved Supreme
Is coming towards me.

My crying heart tells me
My Beloved Supreme
Has come.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the seventy-sixth 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 presents Ali Akbar Khan with a trophy after the musician gave a special concert for Sri Chinmoy and his students in Jamaica, New York, on 17 October 1973.

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-7573: FFP 184 (revised version).