9601. O My Heart's Pole-Star

O my heart’s Pole-Star,
I meditate on You,
Cherishing the lofty hope
That someday my life shall blossom
In excellence supreme.

9602. Your Heart Will Remember

Today if you are
All gratitude and surrender,
Your heart will remember
Yesterday’s happy songs
And grow into
Tomorrow’s happy dances.

9603. Destroy Your Self-Importance

Destroy your self-importance.
God will immediately grant you
His own Omniscience-Light
And His own Omnipotence-Delight.

9604. God's Vision-Transcending Smile

You do not need any skill
To enjoy the flights
Of God’s Vision-Transcending Smile.
Just surrender your will
Devotedly and soulfully
To His Will alone.

9605. Love-Day

Hate-night is personal.
Love-day is never impersonal
But is ever universal.

9606. Messages From The Gods

The oriental gods came to me
With the message
That silence is satisfaction,
Silence is all.

The occidental gods came to me
With the message
That sound is more than satisfaction,
Sound is more than all.

9607. He Who Is Called

He who needs
Is ultimately called.
He who is called
Is ultimately perfect.

9608. When I Go To Visit My Soul

When I go to visit my soul
Inside my heart’s silence-beauty,
I see an Eye that invites me to visit
My own transcendental palace.

9609. Those Who Have Denied Themselves

Those who have denied themselves
Will be able to carry a world-message
That will awaken
Slumbering humanity’s life.

9610. If You Live Only In The Heart

If you live only in the heart
And nowhere else,
Then you will never have to experience
The brutal torture
Of earth’s frightening bondage.

9611. Your Imagination-Power

Try to be conscious
Of your imagination-power,
For this power is nothing short of
God’s Promise-Hour
In you and for you.

9612. A Pleasure-Life

Since you unconsciously enjoy
A pleasure-life,
Can you not consciously try to make your life
A climbing and glowing prayer-tree?

9613. I Need Only One Assurance

I need only one assurance from my Lord,
And that assurance is that He will give me
The capacity to please Him
In His own Way.

9614. My Lord Has Told Me

My Lord Supreme has repeatedly told me
That no blunder of mine
Will ever dishearten Him.
Each blunder will only
Indefinitely delay my God-realisation.

9615. My Curiosity-Teacher

My curiosity-teacher has taught me
For a long time.
What I now need inside me
Is a necessity-student
And a sincerity-teacher.

9616. When He Ceased His Forward Journey

When he ceased his forward journey
Along Eternity’s Road,
It was nothing other than
His soul’s defeat.

9617. The Human Champions

Here on earth
God plays in and through His representatives,
The human champions.
There in Heaven
Nobody need represent God,
For God Himself is the Champion
In everything.

9618. The Birth Of Newness

Love is the birth
Of newness,
And newness is the birth
Of fulness.

9619. The Supreme Message

The supreme message
Of the spiritual heart:
Man’s utter helplessness
Will be transformed
Into perfect fulness.

9620. The Freedom-Right Of The Vital

The freedom-right of the vital
Is the slavery-night of the man
Who has developed a true hunger
For illumination-light.

9621. A Giving Life

Written words may not be immortal,
But a giving life
Shall always remain immortal
Inside humanity’s gratitude-heart.

9622. If You Surrender

If you surrender
To your future temptations,
The chaos of the seven lower worlds
Will immediately start frightening your heart
And threatening your life.

9623. What My Life Needs Now

To obliterate my painful and baneful past,
What my life needs now
Is a tornado-speed
To look forward,
Run forward
And become one, inseparably one,
With my ultimate destination.

9624. I Embrace My Silent Death

It is I who embrace my silent death
By pretending to know
What I should never know
And by pretending to become
What I must never become.

9625. To Plumb The Depth Of Delight

To plumb the depth of delight,
Never entertain a wait-and-see attitude.
At every moment
You have to sing, play and dance
In the core of silence-light.

9626. Do Not Fear Dark Misfortunes

Do not fear dark misfortunes,
Do not cherish wild regrets,
If you really care for
An auspicious heart
And a spacious life.

9627. God Is Waiting

God is waiting at your heart’s door
To support your hope’s beauty
And your life’s perfection-promise.

9628. Each Time I Soulfully Pray

Each time I soulfully pray,
A new world unfolds itself,
A new dimension fills me with astonishment
And I discover startling truths.

9629. Two Unanswered Questions

Two are the questions
That remain always unanswered:
Does God actually need me?
What will happen
If I become another God?

9630. Hope Is His All

All his life he has been feeding hope:
The beauty of hope,
The purity of hope
And the divinity of hope.
Hope is his all.

9631. The Cries Of The Finite

If you do not believe
In the power-splendour
Of your heart’s beauty,
The cries of the finite
Shall always follow you.

9632. God Will Inform You

God will inform you
Of His imminent arrival
Only when He sees
That you are ready
With your heart’s soulful
And innocent smile.

9633. Earth Needs Him

To cure falsehood,
Earth needs him.
But, alas, earth has nothing
To pay him.

To distribute truth,
Heaven needs him.
But, alas, Heaven is not giving him
Enough gratitude-power-light.

9634. Destruction's Feet

Destruction’s feet are challenging you
Because your desire-life fears
And is not ready to receive
A delight-flooded life.

9635. A Devotee Of The Pleasure-Life

If you are a perfect devotee
Of the pleasure-life,
You will not be allowed
To see God’s Eye,
Although it invisibly lives
Inside your very breath.

9636. Earth Is My Surrender-Splendour

In the morning
Earth is my suffering-sister.
At noon
Earth is my hope-builder.
In the evening
Earth is my surrender-splendour.

9637. You Will Be Blamed

O my heart,
If you excuse my mind
Time and again,
Then you will, without fail,
Be blamed by your superior,
My soul.

9638. My Heart's Ancient Realisation

My heart’s ancient realisation:
Death is not death
But a new life
With a new purpose —
To please God.

9639. A Mere Suggestion

To you, O earth,
A mere suggestion:
Be constantly conscious
Of what you are not receiving soulfully.

To you, O Heaven,
A mere suggestion:
Be constantly conscious
Of what you are not giving cheerfully.

9640. The Life Of Failure-Sighs

If you do not brave
The life of failure-sighs,
Then you can never expect
The infinite and immortal Satisfaction-Sky
Of God’s Heart.

9641. God's Unhorizoned Choice

My Eternity’s hungry heart
Is God’s unhorizoned Choice.
At last I swim
In the sea of wisdom-delight.

9642. God Does Not Mind

God does not mind at all
If I use His Eye
To see each and every human being.
On the contrary,
He deeply appreciates
My wisdom-light.

9643. His God-Given Self-Esteem

This world may damage everything
That belongs to him,
But it can never damage
His God-given self-esteem.

9644. I Shall Conquer You All

O hostile forces,
Your cannons are roaring,
Your bayonets are flashing
And your drums are rolling,
But I shall not surrender.
At God’s choice Hour
I shall conquer you all
With no exception,
Without fail.

9645. When I Swallow My Pride

When I swallow my tempest-pride,
God immediately grants me
His own Tongue to use freely.

9646. Each Time My Mind Wants To Escape

Each time my mind wants to escape
From the reality-life,
My heart sees nothing
But the cruel torture of death.

9647. What Your Life Is Made Of

You must never think
That your life is made of
Hopeless hopes.
No!
Your life is made of
The ever-illumining sun
And the ever-fulfilling sky.

9648. A Smile From God

What I need from my present life
Is a smile from God.
What I need from my future life
Is a dance from God.

9649. To Make Myself Really Happy

To make myself really happy,
I shall empty myself of ignorance-night.
To make my Lord astonishingly happy,
I shall empty myself of myself.

9650. Consciously On The Way

You are consciously on the way
To your goal.
That means at long last
Your soul is going to be
Triumphant.

9651. Everbody Is Longing For Happiness

Everybody is longing for happiness,
Even God.
Although He is all Happiness,
He wants to be even happier
By transcending Himself.

9652. When You Do Not Please God

You are nothing but an insignificant creature
When you do not please God
In His own Way.
You are dearer than the dearest
In God’s Heart
When you please God
In His own Way.

9653. Your Adamantine Determination

You can achieve something worthwhile
Either for God or for yourself
Only by virtue of
Your adamantine determination.
Without determination,
Your life is worse than useless.

9654. How Sad God Was

He had no idea how sad God was
At his lack of determination.
His life’s failure gave God
A most deplorable experience.

9655. Always Room For Improvement

There is always room for improvement.
Improvement is the mind’s enlightenment
And the heart’s fulfilment.

9656. If You Have To Make Any Mistake

If you have to make any mistake,
Then do it in the higher world,
Not in the lower world.
If you make a mistake in the lower world,
You will be destroyed.
If you make a mistake in the higher world,
You will be given a chance
To rectify it.

9657. Let Us See

Through meditation, dedication
And a prayerful inner life,
Let us see how far, how deep
And how high we can go.

9658. Chosen By The Supreme Himself

He was chosen by the Supreme Himself
To manifest the heights
Of spirituality and divinity.
But unconsciously, if not consciously,
He was unwilling to fulfil
His God-ordained tasks.

9659. A New Instrument

When he hesitated to fulfil
The Mission of his Lord Supreme,
The Supreme chose a new instrument
To awaken the slumbering world.

9660. Listen To Your Heart

O sincere seeker,
Listen to your heart
When it tells you
That you are pleasing God,
For then you will be able
To please Him more.

9661. His Hope-Sea Is Deep

He may not be a tall man,
But his ambition-mountain
Is unimaginably high.

He may not be a promising soul,
But his hope-sea
Is very deep.

9662. A Child's Question

A child’s question
Can be answered in one sentence.
The same question
Asked by an adult
Requires a thesis as an answer.

9663. When Dire Necessity Commands Me

When dire necessity commands me
To immediately change
The face and fate of mankind,
I vehemently stand against
My own old friends:
Concern, compassion, closeness and oneness.

9664. A Heart-Temple

My Lord Supreme
Has given me chance after chance
To please Him,
Yet I have not been able
To build a heart-temple
Inside my life-house.

9665. You Do Not Belong To Heaven

You do not belong to Heaven.
If you belong to Heaven,
Then where is your heart of delight?

You do not belong to earth.
If you belong to earth,
Then where is your face of beauty?

9666. The Eclipse Of Truth

If man wants to worship
The perennial Truth,
He can.
But usually he prefers to worship
The eclipse of Truth.

9667. When I Choose

When I choose
To forgive the world,
My divinity-sun immediately increases
Its unhorizoned power.

When I choose
To live the life of oneness-love,
My humility-moon immediately increases
Its beauty’s light and purity’s height.

9668. Heaven Knows How To Liberate

Darkness knows how to thicken.
Light knows how to brighten.
Earth knows how to bind
The divine in man.
Heaven knows how to liberate
The human from the animal.

9669. If You Want To Challenge

If your mind wants to challenge something,
Then let it challenge peace.
If your heart wants to challenge something,
Then let it challenge love.
If you want to challenge something,
Then challenge perfection.

9670. The Experience Of Humility

When God allows you to fail,
He does not want you to feel humiliated.
Since you are His chosen child,
God wants you to know
The experience of humility
And not the experience of humiliation.

9671. Both Must Be Transformed

Both your lethargic body
And your aggressive vital
Must be transformed, without fail,
Into a dynamic life.

9672. What Does Your Heart Feel?

Your mind thinks
That God is unreachable.
Your life believes
That God is quite distant.
And what does your heart feel?
Does it feel God is distant?
Does it feel God is unreachable?
Or does it feel God is where it is itself?

9673. The Life-And-Death Battle

The aspiration-flames of our inner life
Can win the life-and-death battle
With the desire-night of our outer life
If we need our Supreme Pilot only,
Every day, every hour,
Every minute, every second.

9674. If I Put My Beloved Supreme First

If I put my Beloved Supreme
Always first in my life,
When I pray to Him
To fulfil my undivine desires,
First He delays
And then He forgets to fulfil them.
When I pray to Him
To fulfil my divine aspirations,
He not only fulfils them
Infinitely sooner than my expectation
Or even my imagination,
But He also fulfils my innocent desires
With utmost Joy.

9675. Unlit Rooms

What are weaknesses,
If not unlit rooms?
You will be happy
Only when all the rooms
In your life-home
Are fully illumined.

9676. My Heart's Latest Discovery

My heart’s latest discovery:
God’s Heart is for
My own hidden larger self,
Humanity.

9677. The Soul's Divinity

Before the soul completes
Its final journey,
It manifests its divinity
On earth,
And this divinity is nothing else
But God’s Compassion-Light
And Satisfaction-Height.

9678. Your Vital-Room

My Lord,
Why are You staying inside
My frustration-vital
And not inside
My satisfaction-heart?

“My child,
Your heart-room has pleased me.
Now I want to live in your vital-room.
I shall illumine your vital-room
The way I have illumined your heart-room.”

9679. You Must Watch Your Words

You must watch your words.
Each word can reverberate
Inside your heart’s purity-temple
Or inside your vital’s impurity-cavern.

9680. Allow Not Your Mind To Enjoy

Allow not your mind to enjoy
The complicated affairs of life
If you want your heart’s beauty
To grow deeper and deeper
And your life’s duty
To go higher and higher.

9681. God Is My Known Friend

God is my known Friend:
This is the rich feeling
Of my heart.

God is my unknown Friend:
This is the vague opinion
Of my mind.

God is my unknowable Friend:
This is the totally helpless conviction
Of my life.

9682. Inseparable And Indispensable

The strength of passion-torture
And pleasure-torture
Are inseparable.
The love of illumination-perfection
And satisfaction-perfection
Is indispensable.

9683. A God-Adoring Heart

Always mix with a true God-lover.
It is he alone who can help you
Have a God-adoring heart.

9684. Do You Expect Me To Believe?

You say you do not believe
In God and His Compassion-Game.
Do you expect me to believe
That you are your own
Self-created vision-flames?

9685. Man's Sacrifice-Drop

Smaller than a mustard seed
Is man’s sacrifice-drop,
But it has the power
To bring to man eventually
The ecstasies of both
The inner world and the outer world.

9686. His Heart And Soul Sobbed

His vital and mind together sobbed
When he lost the outer race.
His heart and soul together sobbed
When he lost the inner race.

9687. Helpless, He Surrendered

The inner world was indifferent to him.
The outer world challenged him.
Helpless, he surrendered
To the dictates of ignorance-night.

9688. Why Not Trust Him?

You do not know yourself,
So why not trust him?
He will tell you
How you can see God
And how you can touch God’s Feet.

9689. I Prefer The Heart

I prefer the heart
That creates purity
To the mind
That creates obscurity.

9690. The Doom Of The Doubt-Life

The doom of the doubt-life
Is not only inevitable
But also visible.

9691. An Instant Touch

An instant touch
From the inner world
Can easily cure
Your fractured trust.

9692. The Luxury Of Baneful Doubts

My mind cannot afford
To enjoy the luxury
Of baneful doubts.

9693. A God-Realised Soul

A God-realised soul
Not only feeds his own inner hunger
But also sleeplessly tries to feed
The inner hunger of God’s entire creation.

9694. Stillness Has A Volcano-Power

Inner stillness
Has a volcano-power.
It destroys the smouldering anguish
Of the human heart.

9695. Strictness Or Soulfulness

To make my dry mind happy
What I need is newness.
To discipline my vital
What I need is either strictness or soulfulness.

9696. Time Is Sacrificing Itself

Time is sacrificing itself every day
So that the aspiration-life
Can be bettered at every moment.

9697. The World's Midnight-Silence

The world’s deep midnight-silence
Has seen him not only meditating
But also playing hide-and-seek
With his Lord’s Vision-Eye.

9698. God's Silence Preceded God's Sound

God’s Silence preceded God’s Sound
Amazingly.
God’s Sound is preceding God’s Manifestation
Slowly, steadily plus convincingly.

9699. You Can Never Reach Satisfaction

You can never reach complete satisfaction
In your heavenward journey
Without your heart’s aspiration-cry.

9700. I Shall Bridge That Inch

Only an inch separates
My gratitude-heart
From God’s Satisfaction-Heart,
And I shall bridge that final inch
With my heart’s purity-surrender.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the ninety-seventh 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 Nicolas Katapodis, the Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations, for his participation in a special programme honouring the Independence Day of Greece on 24 March 1980.

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-9629: FFP 199