21. Denial and acceptance
You denied yourself even the bare necessities;    Therefore
You think you are great.
You may be right.
    Who knows?
He denies nothing that comes his way.
    I tell you
That he is right.
God is well-pleased with him.
I deny the things that God wants me to deny.
I accept the things that God wants me to accept.
    Why?
Because my acceptance-light
And my denial-might
Contribute to my God’s constant self-transcendence
    in me.
Sri Chinmoy, The Golden Boat, part 18, Agni Press, 1974