When I forget, when I remember

When I forget to think of God once, He smiles.

When I forget to think of God twice, He laughs.

When I forget to think of God thrice, He cries.

He smiles lovingly because I am helpless.

He laughs profoundly because I am hopeless.

He cries sincerely because I am shameless.

When I remember to think of God once, He blesses me.

When I remember to think of God twice, He caresses me.

When I remember to think of God thrice, He embraces me.

He blesses me, my life of aspiration.

He caresses me, my life of realisation.

He embraces me, my life of manifestation.

Sri Chinmoy, Songs of the Soul, Herder and Herder, 1971