8701. An Everyday Miracle

Every day you can create
A miracle in your life
Just by cherishing one positive thought:
“I will be able to conquer ignorance
And become a supremely chosen instrument
Of my Beloved Supreme.”

8702. A Single Negative Seeker

A single unwilling, lethargic
And negative seeker
Can slow the progress
Of all those on the same path.

8703. That Friendship Is Impossible

For the Supreme to please you
In your own way
Is for Him to make friends
With ignorance,
And that friendship is impossible.
But for you to make friends
With the Supreme
And please Him in His own Way
Is not a difficult task at all.

8704. Let Us Please The Supreme

Each moment on earth
We are pleasing someone or something.
Since we are always pleasing someone,
Why not let that someone be
The Supreme within us?

8705. The All-Important Question

He who does selfless service cheerfully
Is in no way inferior
To he who meditates soulfully.
Where one’s consciousness dwells
Is the all-important question.

8706. Outer Success

If outer success comes naturally,
Then welcome it.
But if you have to strive for it,
Then it is only temptation,
Which is the harbinger of destruction.

8707. Where Your Heart-Home Is

Your mind wants you to know
Where you were.
But I want you to know
Where your heart-home
Eternally is.

8708. Be Kind, Be Good!

Man says to God,
“Be kind, be kind, be kind!”
God says to man,
“Be good, be good, be good!”

8709. Be Quick, Be Patient!

Man says to God,
“Be quick, be quick, be quick!”
God says to man,
“Be patient, be patient, be patient!”

8710. Why Do You Have To Suffer?

Why do you have to suffer
In the stormy winter of the mind?
Just take a permanent vacation
In the sunny tropics of the heart.

8711. When You Serve The Supreme

When you serve the Supreme,
Do not allow
Any expansion of your ego.
Otherwise, He will be forced
To give you a zero
As your selfless service-grade.

8712. You Can Stay In God's Boat

You cannot stay
In the Supreme’s Golden Boat
With an ego larger than the largest.
You can stay in God’s Boat
Only by transforming your “I-ness”
Into oneness.

8713. If You Have Lost

If you have lost
Your enthusiasm,
You will ultimately lose
Your aspiration-race.

8714. The Divine Pathfinders

Even the divine pathfinders
Can be deeply disappointed,
For although they may have found
A new path,
Others may not want to follow them.

8715. The World Was Not Willing

He did not actually
Come before his time.
The time was right,
But the world was not willing.

8716. A Silent Man-Leader

A self-giving man-server
Will automatically become
A silent man-leader.

8717. Ego Can Grow

Ego can grow
Even in one who has nothing.
The poorest person on earth can say,
“I can manage without anything,
Whereas you cannot.”

8718. You Will Truly Appreciate Life

You will truly appreciate life
Only when you can see
That on a higher reality-plane
Everything is perfect.

8719. Listen Only With Your Heart

When your Beloved Supreme
Scolds you,
Listen only with your heart.

8720. Conquering Doubt

Conquering doubt
Is not just a matter of time.
Doubt can be conquered
Only by the cry from within
And the Grace from Above.

8721. The World's Receptivity

At times God sees
An imminent world disaster,
But what can poor God do?
He will definitely save the world,
But He must wait
For the world’s receptivity.

8722. The Cry Of A Sannyasin

You can be most receptive
When you echo the inmost cry
Of a true sannyasin:
“I am ready to give up everything
For my Beloved Supreme.”

8723. Offer Him The Result

It was the Supreme alone
Who gave you
The inspiration and determination
To do something good.
Will you not, therefore,
Offer Him the result,
And your gratitude as well?

8724. The Supreme Doctor

If you have faith in God,
Then the Supreme Doctor Himself
Can and will cure
Your imperfection-illness.

8725. Two Aspects Of God

In His transcendental aspect,
God is the Lord of nature.
In His universal aspect
God is nature itself.

8726. True Progress

True progress
Does not stop to look around
For appreciation.

8727. Inner Obedience And Outer Obedience

Inner obedience and outer obedience
Always go together.
If you are not listening
To your Master outwardly,
Then rest assured,
You are not listening to him
Inwardly, either.

8728. Use Your Time Wisely

At every second you can please
Either your faithful heart-reality
Or your doubtful mind-reality.
Therefore, use your time wisely.

8729. An Unimportant Action

There is no such thing
As an unimportant action
In a seeker’s life.
Each action has its own meaning
And value
At the proper time.

8730. Say No To Your Wrong Thoughts

If you say no to your wrong thoughts
And yes to your inspiration
To become God’s perfect instrument,
Then boundless receptivity
Will immediately be yours.

8731. Where Do You Stand?

You do not have to look at others
To see where you stand.
You are standing inside the Heart
Of your Beloved Supreme.

8732. We Become His

When we feel
That we are of the Supreme
And for the Supreme,
We become His,
And His Wealth becomes ours.

8733. Each Positive Thought

Each positive thought
Has the atom-bomb-capacity
To destroy the negative in us.

Each negative thought
Has the atom-bomb-capacity
To destroy our whole world.

8734. Only An Experience

When God deals with human beings
Who have limited receptivity,
For Him there is no failure.
It is only an experience.

8735. Be Not Complacent

To walk along the spiritual path
Is not an easy task.
Therefore, be not complacent,
For wrong forces can attack you
At any moment.

8736. His Goal

He does not believe in fate.
His goal is only
To transcend his limitations.

8737. Aim At The Unlimited

What is fate,
If not a limited reality?
A truth-seeker must always aim
At the unlimited Reality,
The infinite and immortal Supreme.

8738. The Soul's Will-power

The soul’s will-power
Can easily change the face
Of the body’s destiny.

8739. When I Was A Tiny Bud

When I was a tiny bud,
I was ready to give myself to God.
Now that I am a fully-blossomed flower,
God has already offered me to humanity.

8740. Your Two Spiritual Legs

Your two legs,
Aspiration and dedication,
Must both be functioning
If you want to run the fastest
In the spiritual life.

8741. Do Not Hide

Do not hide
In the Himalayan caves.
It is here on earth,
In the very heart of life,
That you have to conquer ignorance.

8742. Ancient Patterns Of Decay

Always be a climbing flame
If you do not want your life
To be caught in ancient patterns
Of demoralising decay.

8743. Discoveries

In the morning
I discover the beauty of peace.
In the evening
I discover the peace of beauty.

8744. To Offer Gratitude

For a human being,
To offer gratitude
Is as difficult a task
As asking the mind
To surrender to the heart.

8745. If Intensity Is Lacking

Even if you sit in meditation
Until an anthill grows on your head,
If intensity is lacking,
Your realisation will remain
A far cry.

8746. He Who Is Well-Established

He who is well-established
In his inner life
Does not need to possess
Anybody or anything on earth.

8747. Try To Please Your Master

If you have accepted a spiritual Master,
Do not delay in trying to please him.
If you are not inspired to please your Master
During his lifetime,
Why should you be inspired to please him
After he leaves this earth?

8748. While A Spiritual Master Is On Earth

While a spiritual Master is on earth,
At the foot of the tree,
He is like a child,
Giving out candy to all.
When he climbs back up
To the top of the tree,
He will throw candy only to those
Who really cared for his affection,
Compassion and concern.

8749. Every Wrong Thought

Every wrong thought
Is a leak in your life-boat.
Even if it is tinier than the tiniest,
Fix it immediately
Before it becomes larger than the largest
And causes your life-boat to sink.

8750. God Wanted Him To Discover

He lived an austere life
To discover the spirit of nature,
But God wanted him to discover
The original spirit of Delight
From which Consciousness and Existence came.

8751. If You Conquer Your Weaknesses

If you conquer your weaknesses
Even on one plane,
You have already started walking
On the road to your total perfection.

8752. Unless You Climb

Unless you climb upward
With your aspiration-cry
Every day, every hour,
Every minute, every second,
Your heart-paradise
Will remain empty
And your Beloved Supreme
Will remain absent.

8753. Because You Are Not Cautious

The world of negative thoughts
Envelops your mind
Because you are not cautious.

8754. The Ignorance-Challenging Power

I pray to God
For the ignorance-challenging power,
Not to lord it over others,
But to better manifest my oneness with them.

8755. One And The Same

Peace, Light, Bliss and Power
Are one and the same
On the highest plane of Reality.
Invoke one and, lo,
All the others are yours.

8756. The Ultimate Power

Not the power to conquer others
But the power to become one with others
Is the ultimate power.

8757. God's Song

A song sung
Without soulfulness
Can never be
God’s Song.

8758. Better Your Aspiration-Heart

Unless you consciously try
To better your aspiration-heart
And dedication-life,
Your entire being will be inundated
With fruitless and bitter memories.

8759. Give Ambition Its Due Value

Give ambition its due value.
In the ordinary human life
A person without ambition
Is worse than a solid wall.

8760. Self-Styled Obligations

Do not blame the poor
And innocent world.
It is you and nobody else
Who deliberately allowed yourself
To be surrounded
By self-styled obligations.

8761. I Want Both

You ask me which I want:
The spiritual life or the earthly life.
I want both,
But only if my earthly life
Will add to my spiritual life.

8762. Lord, Lift Me Up

Lord, lift me up
To the Himalayan heights.
Make me Your excellent instrument
To please You in Your own Way.

8763. Infinitely More Valuable

To meditate soulfully
For a few minutes
Is infinitely more valuable
Than to sit for hours and hours
With a restless mind.

8764. A Spiritual Pioneer

A God-realised soul
Is a spiritual pioneer
Who clears a path
For others to follow.

8765. A Most Delicious Inner Meal

Your Beloved Lord is offering you
A most delicious inner meal.
He alone knows how difficult it was
For Him to prepare it.
You have only to eat
To your heart’s content.

8766. Until They Are Illumined

Until your body, vital and mind
Are illumined,
They will never care
For your true happiness.

8767. If Your Vital Wants To Enjoy

If your vital wants to enjoy
The sound of success-hours,
Then your heart will not be able to enjoy
The silence of progress-days.

8768. When Will Humanity Learn?

For ages humanity
Has been trying to get joy
By dividing reality
And analysing the pieces.
When will humanity learn
That joy can be found
Only in oneness?

8769. If You Attempt To Work

If you attempt to work
Beyond your body’s limited capacity,
Your body will revolt.
Let the body’s capacity
Gradually grow and progress
In the soul’s effulgent light.

8770. If You Have A Divine Goal

If you have a divine goal,
Then the heart and soul
Of both Mother Earth
And Father Heaven
Will be divinely pleased with you
And supremely proud of you.

8771. His Wild Criticisms

His wild criticisms
Of his fellow seekers
Proved that he was not, after all,
A genuine truth-seeker.

8772. One Thing I Know For Sure

Today I may be undivine and imperfect.
But one thing I know for sure:
God will someday make me,
Without fail,
His divine and perfect instrument.

8773. The Temptation Of The World

True, the temptation of the world
Is powerful.
But even if for lifetimes
The soul does not make progress,
A day will eventually dawn
When once again it will start
Its progress-journey.

8774. A Higher Purpose

Just because the past
Has not given me everything,
God has created the present.
And even the present has a higher purpose:
To make the future better.

8775. Be Totally Sincere

Be totally sincere.
Otherwise you will be helplessly caught
Between your aspiration-cry
And your frustration-frown.

8776. Think Of Peace-Light

You think of problems.
That is why problems
Are thinking of you.
Can you not start thinking
Of peace-light?
Lo and behold, to your wide surprise
You will see that peace-light
Has always been thinking of you.

8777. To Study Nature's Beauty

To study nature’s beauty
Is good,
But to realise God the Beauty
Is infinitely better.
God created nature and then said,
“You and I are one.”

8778. A Difficult Task

The inner wealth you discover
Only when you calm your mind.
A difficult task, true!
But once you achieve it,
The inner world and the outer world
Become your intimate friends.

8779. Morning And Evening

The difference between morning
And evening is this:
Morning is preparation,
Evening is realisation.
Preparation is the seed,
Realisation is the fruit.

8780. Insecurity Means Separativity

Insecurity means separativity.
If you want to be secure,
Establish your true oneness
With God’s entire creation.

8781. Except For A God-Realised Soul

Except for a God-realised soul,
No human being on earth
Can unmistakably declare
That he is truly secure.

8782. Constructive Will-power

Constructive will-power
Can change darkness into light.
Destructive will-power
Can change day into night.

8783. No Such Thing As Luck

On the inner plane
There is no such thing as luck.
Whatever good happens in your life
Is the result of conscious or unconscious
Inner preparation.

8784. A Wave Of Unhappiness

A wave of unhappiness
Has entered into you,
Not because you are neglecting
Your prayer and meditation,
But because you are unconscious of
Your roaming vital-elephant.

8785. Do Not Be Afraid To Act

Do not be afraid to act.
If you act and succeed,
You will be able to declare:
“I have done it.”
If you act and fail,
At least you will be able to say:
“I tried.”

8786. Real Oneness With Others

Real oneness with others
Can only be founded upon
Mutual faith.

8787. He Was Such A Fool!

He was such a fool!
He wanted to possess someone
For his own security.
Alas, when he fulfilled his desire,
He saw that the one he possessed
Was infinitely more insecure than he.

8788. Think Of The Good Things

Think of the good things
God has done for you
And the good things
You have done for God.
Lo, the negative forces
Which are threatening you
Will all disappear!

8789. When Man Wants Something

When man wants something,
He cries and begs.
When God wants something,
He wills and creates.

8790. He Is The Supreme Himself

He is not an animal,
He is not a human,
He is not even a divine being.
In his highest Transcendental Consciousness
He is the Supreme Himself.

8791. Is God Not Still Imperfect?

God’s children are His true
Arms and legs.
If His arms and legs are defective,
Is God not still imperfect?

8792. A Vagabond-Life

The so-called freedom-life of earth
Is nothing other than
A vagabond-life.

8793. Only The Soul Is Real

The body is not real.
The vital is not real.
The mind is not real.
Only the soul is real.

8794. Blank With Nothingness

If your mind is willing
To be deluded,
Your heart will soon be
Blank with nothingness.

8795. In My Dream-Life

True, in my reality-life
I cannot do anything.
But in my dream-life I have transformed
This world of monstrous wilderness
Into a pure and life-enlightening garden.

8796. Loving The Compassion-Height

Human life need not swim
In ignorance-sea
If it starts loving the Compassion-Height
Of God the Creator.

8797. A World Of Simplicity

When your mind becomes
A world of simplicity,
Your life begins to enjoy
The satisfaction of Heaven’s
Unbelievable beauty.

8798. The Same Light-Forsaken Place

Your doubting mind
And your destructive vital
Will soon be found together
At the same light-forsaken place.

8799. My Heart Does Not Love God

My heart does not love God.
My mind does not need God.
Is it not ridiculous for me
To expect God to grant my life
Even an iota of His sleepless Delight?

8800. I Shall Not Live In The Past

I shall not live in the past.
Even if only one second ago
This world gave me a sad experience,
I shall not remember it.
No, I shall not!

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the eighty-eighth 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 thanks Bayard Rustin, civil rights leader and President of the A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund, for his participation in a programme honouring the late Olympic and human rights champion Jesse Owens, at United Nations Headquarters on 22 April 1980.