Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 25

2401. The inner game

```

When the inner game begins

The player knows

That he does not play the game,

For he does not know the rules.

What he knows how to do

And what he spontaneously does

Is offer the beautiful surprise-smile

Of a witness-soul. ```

2402. My adamantine determination

```

Who can whitewash

My filthy and ugly mind?

Nobody!

What can whitewash

My filthy and ugly mind?

My adamantine determination

And my silver sincerity. ```

2403. Each new start

```

Each serious problem

Intensifies my God-loving heart,

Believe it or not.

Each sad failure

Purifies my God-serving life,

Believe it or not.

Each new start

Strengthens my determination

And

Lengthens my aspiration,

Believe it or not.

```

2404. A life of fulfilment-tree

```

I love you

Because yours is a heart

Of silver oneness-fountain.

I need you

Because yours is a life

Of perfect fulfilment-tree.

```

2405. The fire of wild separativity

```

Unless and until you extinguish

The fire of wild separativity,

You will never be granted

The moon-white feeling

Of oneness-love.

```

2406. How can he be alive?

```

How can he be alive

When his faith is not alive?

How can he be perfect

When his aspiration is not perfect? ```

2407. Fruitfulness triumphs

```

Madness-noon is contagious.

Sadness-night is contagious.

Soulfulness is spacious.

Fruitfulness is precious. ```

2408. His Child-Heart-Smile

```

Of all the things

That I have borrowed

From my Beloved Supreme,

His Eternity’s Child-Heart-Smile

I value and treasure most.

```

2409. To span the yawning gulf

```

To span the yawning gulf

Between God and man,

He has given up both

The seeds of his desire-life

And

The fruits of his aspiration-life. ```

2410. Live with a union-heart

```

Live with a division-mind.

You are bound to tremble

With a fear-filled life.

Live with a union-heart.

Lo, you have already started dancing

With a fear-free life.

```

2411. God gave me his Mind

```

Something new happened

This morning:

I came to realise

That God still loves me.

Something new happened

This evening:

God gave me His Mind

And took away mine

In exchange.

```

2412. Something new happened

```

Something new happened

This morning:

I meditated on the Supreme

Unconditionally.

Something new shall happen

This evening:

My life shall grow into

A gratitude-heart. ```

2413. His future friend

```

His ex-friend

Is ignorance-night.

His present friend

Is knowledge-light.

His future friend

Will be wisdom-delight. ```

2414. Hope is brightness-dawn

```

Hope is brightness-dawn.

Faith is fulness-noon.

Surrender is transcendence-day.

```

2415. His life as he sees it

```

His life as he sees it

Is a shivering fear.

His death as he sees it

Is a frightening tear. ```

2416. Only two things I do

```

Only two things I do:

I ask my heart

To obey my Lord,

And I ask my eyes

Not to fear to dine

With His Himalayan Glory. ```

2417. An Olympic seeker

```

If you claim to be

An Olympic seeker,

How can you bow before pain,

How?

Unbelievable!

Impossible! ```

2418. My golden future

```

Ever new, ever new!

My past is all dust.

My Lord does not want me

To enter into my animal past.

My Lord wants me

To enter into my golden future.

And what is my golden future?

My perfection-life

Inside His Satisfaction-Smile.

```

2419. They are all wrong

```

They are all wrong.

You are not stupid.

You just do not want

To understand life

The way they understand life.

And I tell you,

You do not have to!

```

2420. My soul and I

```

O my soul,

You and I

Shall go up together

To give Heaven

Earth’s tearing cry.

O my soul,

You and I

Shall go down together

To give earth

Heaven’s immortalising Smile.

```

2421. You make your own choice!

```

You make your own choice!

If you want to

Walk through the valley,

Then accompany your soul.

If you want to

Wallow in the valley,

Then accompany your vital.

You make your own choice! ```

2422. Do not weep for me

```

O Mother Earth,

Do not weep for me.

I shall someday and somehow reach

And sit at my Lord’s Feet.

O Father Heaven,

Do not weep for me.

I shall definitely come back to you

And bring all success from earth

For your satisfaction,

Even beyond your expectation. ```

2423. My communion with God

```

From my inner communion with God

I know that God wants me to be

As beautiful as He is.

From my outer communication with God

I know that God wants me to be

As powerful as He is.

```

2424. Minus is good

```

Minus is good.

Plus is also good.

Minus means emptiness.

Emptiness means readiness.

Plus means self-awareness.

Self-awareness means God-fulness. ```

2425. What do I mean?

```

What do I mean when I say

That I want to go?

When I say that I want to go,

It means that I want to fly

In my Lord’s transcendental Sky.

What do I mean when I say

That I want to stay?

When I say that I want to stay,

It means that I want to rest

Inside my Lord’s universal Nest.

```

2426. Someday

```

Someday God will forgive me.

It may be soon.

Someday I shall satisfy God.

It may take a little time. ```

2427. God will always come first

```

If God is what you want,

Then He can never come second.

He will always come first.

He will come

As your Confidant.

He will come

As your Advisor supreme.

He will come

As your only Friend.

```

2428. Yes or no

```

Yes or no.

Insulation?

Yes!

Isolation?

No!

Yes or no.

Perfection?

Yes!

Hallucination?

No!

```

2429. In the new hour ahead

```

In the new hour ahead

My heart shall cry for God.

In the new day ahead

My life shall smile with God.

In the new year ahead

I shall finally satisfy God. ```

2430. In the new year ahead

```

In the new year ahead

I shall start loving God

Unconditionally.

In the new year ahead

I shall not forgive myself

Under any circumstances.

In the new year ahead

I shall change my name

To a sleepless aspiration-cry.

```

2431. I learn from man

```

In my attachment

I learn from man

And his ignorance-night.

In my detachment

I learn from God

And His Compassion-Sun.

```

2432. Prisoners in my world

```

There are only three prisoners

In my world of consciousness-light:

My unaspiring morning,

My torturing noon,

My blighting night.

```

2433. God's transcendental Paradise

```

Tell the truth:

You love God only.

Feel the truth:

God loves you infinitely more

Than you love Him.

If you do not tell this truth

And if you do not feel this truth,

Then you will never be allowed

To make a trip

To God’s transcendental Paradise. ```

2434. Immortality's Oneness-Love

```

If you believe

That what God has for you

Is His sleepless Concern,

Then you can receive from God

What He eternally is:

His Immortality’s Oneness-Love. ```

2435. Too late to change

```

Too late to change

God’s unconditional Love for me.

Too late to change

God’s Forgiveness-Sun for me.

Too late to change

God’s faith in my

Complete transformation.

```

2436. To make yourself really happy

```

Two things you can do

To make yourself really happy:

Feed your faith daily

And

Starve your doubt permanently.

Do it,

Even if unconsciously,

But do it

Unmistakably!

```

2437. No orphan

```

Who says that I am an orphan?

I am not!

My soul is my wisdom-father.

My heart is my compassion-mother.

They are alive

And will forever remain alive. ```

2438. Don't make it too easy!

```

Don’t make it too easy!

Otherwise, nobody will value

The spiritual life;

Nobody will have a special hunger

For God-realisation.

Don’t make it too easy!

Otherwise, nobody will value

The work of nature’s transformation;

Nobody will value

The art of God-manifestation.

```

2439. Unless you unburden yourself

```

Unless you unburden yourself

From your conscience-guilt

You will never be allowed

To be in the presence of angels,

And your return journey

To your Abode of Peace

Will be indefinitely delayed.

```

2440. Self-confidence

```

Self-doubt is not sincerity.

Self-confidence is not only sincerity

But something more:

The perfect start

Of the self-perfection race.

```

2441. My life-transcending cry

```

My heart’s mounting,

Life-transcending cry

Shall no more tolerate

The indignities of time. ```

2442. Each step of purity

```

Each conscious step of purity

Is a precious milestone-victory

Along my heart’s aspiration-road.

```

2443. Barren thoughts

```

The barren thoughts

Of a doubting mind

Can totally destroy

The beauty-blossoms

Of your heart’s satisfaction-garden.

```

2444. Tired of thinking

```

Because his mind has now become

Tired of thinking,

He can easily untie

His lifelong ignorance-bonds. ```

2445. In love with a sweet dream

```

To be in love with a sweet dream

Is the beginning of a

Blossoming,

Illumining

And

Fulfilling

Reality.

```

2446. I shall arrest my thoughts

```

I shall arrest my thoughts

So that my body and soul

Can cheerfully and lovingly live

In my Lord’s fond Satisfaction-Nest. ```

2447. A trouble-free life

```

Do you want to have

A trouble-free life?

Then end self-deception

And begin self-perfection

Sooner than at once.

```

2448. His vital froze to stone

```

His vital froze to stone

With fear

When his mind rebuked it mercilessly

For befriending the temptation-snake:

Ignorance-night.

```

2449. Frequent meetings

```

Simplicity and sincerity

Every day meet.

Purity and humility

Every hour meet.

Surrender and gratitude

Every minute meet. ```

2450. Drop a tear

```

Drop a tear.

You will know

Where God is right now.

Drop a tear.

You are bound to know

Who God is eternally.

```

2451. Cosmic energy

```

Cosmic energy is Infinity’s Delight

In Eternity’s Source.

He who discovers this truth

Himself becomes the truth. ```

2452. Revolving memories

```

Revolving memories

Are purifying his mind,

Strengthening his heart

And

Heightening his life.

```

2453. Breathe a prayer

```

Breathe a prayer

From your tearing heart.

Lo, God’s Compassion-Flood

Is carrying you

To your satisfaction-shore.

```

2454. Wrongs and shames

```

Teeming wrongs

And damaging shames

Have totally destroyed

The soul-beauty of his heart-garden. ```

2455. What my sleeping eyes need

```

What my sleeping eyes need

Is a sweet dream.

What my crying heart needs

Is a soulful giver. ```

2456. I kneel for forgiveness

```

I kneel for Heaven’s forgiveness.

Alas, no forgiveness, no forgiveness!

I kneel for Heaven’s compassion.

Alas, no compassion, no compassion!

I kneel only for God.

Lo, He is here,

He is there,

He is all-where. ```

2457. Do not love despair

```

Do not learn to love despair.

If you do that,

Never will you be able to repair

The painful damage

To your poor life.

```

2458. A short-lived passion-smile

```

A short-lived

Passion-smile

Can easily and unmistakably give birth

To a long-lived, bitter

Frustration-cry.

```

2459. How can I be happy?

```

How can I be happy

When I see that the heights

Of my incapacities

Are unmistakably manifested?

How can I be happy

When I see that the heights

Of my capacities

Are floating in the sea of sleep? ```

2460. For transient fame

```

Just for a little transient fame

He tortured his silver purity-breath

And destroyed his golden humility-life.

```

2461. When I cry

```

When I cry,

I cry for the land

Of unlimited hope-opportunities.

When I smile,

I smile at the sky

Of unlimited achievement-realities.

```

2462. Man's descending dove

```

Do you know

Who man actually is?

Man is God’s climbing monkey.

Do you know

Who God actually is?

God is man’s descending dove.

```

2463. A oneness-song only

```

Not ancient riches,

But a oneness-song only

Can satisfy

His sleepless and treasured

God-hunger.

```

2464. Owing to outer pressures

```

Owing to outer pressures,

He forgot to touch

The Heart of God.

Owing to inner pressures,

He forgot to feed

The hunger of mankind.

```

2465. A fading name

```

A fading name

He has now become.

Why?

Because he has not offered

His gratitude-heart

To either earth-cries or Heaven-blessings

For his stupendous victory.

```

2466. An act of God's Will

```

The mind calls it

A revelation.

The heart calls it

An experience.

The soul calls it

An incident.

And I call it

An act of God’s Will. ```

2467. No other credential

```

When you love God soulfully,

You need no other credential

Save your own heart-flower.

```

2468. The sprinter of success

```

Aspiration is

The sprinter of success.

Dedication is

The runner of progress. ```

2469. Be not afraid of death

```

Be not afraid of death.

See it, take it

And treat it

As a return home. ```

2470. An aspiration-tree

```

What is an aspiration-tree?

A giant

Among the dwarf desire-plants!

```

2471. A pure thought

```

A sincere and pure thought

Is self-confidence —

Unshakable, inviolable and perfect.

```

2472. The breath of morning

```

What does the breath of morning do?

It awakens my sleeping mind.

What does the breath of evening do?

It strengthens my loving heart. ```

2473. Unburden yourself

```

Tell Him!

Unburden yourself!

If you tell Him your hidden thoughts,

He will make you independent

Of your misery-loaded fate.

```

2474. My Lord's blue-vast Eyes

```

When I see

My Lord’s blue-vast Eyes,

My pains melt

Into morning songs

And my joys melt

Into lasting memories. ```

2475. Human friendship

```

What is human friendship?

It is something that needs

Constant repair and constant care.

```

2476. Pray soulfully, meditate calmly

```

Pray soulfully, meditate calmly.

Otherwise,

The sickness of your impurity-mind

Will totally ruin

Your entire being.

```

2477. No work to do

```

I have no work to do!

A desperate situation,

A total destruction-battle within.

```

2478. The harvest of leisure-life

```

The harvest of leisure-life

Is destruction-death.

So have I heard

From the awakened mind

And the illumined heart.

```

2479. A spiritual surprise

```

Attention, America!

A spiritual surprise:

God has chosen you.

Accept cheerfully His Perfection-Delight. ```

2480. The sea of Illumination-Delight

```

How can your life

Be conversant with transformation

Unless your heart

Bathes in the sea

Of Illumination-Delight?

```

2481. If you have peace

```

If you have courage,

You will succeed.

If you have joy,

You will proceed.

If you have peace,

You will become. ```

2482. The giant progress

```

Love you give,

Devotion you feel,

Surrender you become.

Lo, yours alone

Is the giant progress.

```

2483. Doubt me not

```

Doubt me not

Once I leave this body.

It is you who will make me

The president of your aspiration-heart. ```

2484. If you fear not

```

If you fear not the roarings

Of the unknown tempest,

Then the unknowable Omnipotence

Will unfurl itself in your life. ```

2485. Every day set sail

```

Every day set sail

On a new imagination-voyage.

Sweet, rich and profound

Will be all your new discoveries. ```

2486. Becoming is liberating

```

Seeing is not liberating.

Feeling is not liberating.

Challenging is not liberating.

Becoming only is liberating. ```

2487. The inner sunshine

```

Purity is the seeker’s

Inner sunshine

To cure his outer life

Of its division-malady. ```

2488. An illumining experience

```

You call it

A shocking experience.

He calls it

An agonising experience.

I call it

A punishing experience.

God calls it

An illumining experience. ```

2489. Unmatched delights

```

Past defeats,

Past pains

And

Past humiliations

Can never match the delights

Of your present victory-crown. ```

2490. Yet I love you

```

I suspect you

Because you do not do what you say.

I suspect you

Because you are not what you say.

Yet I love you

Because someday you will be

As perfect as God.

```

2491. An ego-thrill

```

Since what your vital has

Is an ego-thrill,

How can you feel

The pure ecstasy

Of self-realisation?

```

2492. A face can reveal

```

A face can reveal

A secret thought.

A heart can reveal

A sacred soul.

A soul can reveal

A perfect God. ```

2493. Each positive thought

```

Each negative thought

Is the beginning of today’s

Unbearable self-torture.

Each positive thought

Is the beginning of tomorrow’s

Unimaginable God-rapture.

```

2494. If you hesitate to see

```

If you hesitate to see

Through others,

You will not be wise and secure.

If you hesitate to see

Through yourself,

You will never be perfect and happy.

```

2495. Meditation longs to give

```

The difference between

Prayer and meditation

Is this:

Prayer wishes

To receive and become,

Meditation longs

To give and become.

```

2496. I know that I can receive

```

I do not know who has given me

A tricky mind.

But I do know that I can receive

A pure heart,

A determined vital

And a smart body

From God.

```

2497. Your real strength

```

Now that you see through

Your real weakness,

Volcano-pride,

You are ready to discover

Your real strength,

Oneness-love. ```

2498. O my mind-guide

```

O my mind-guide,

You are just as lost as I am.

But my sincerity

Will someday find the way

Which leads to my destined goal,

Whereas your insincerity

Will, before long, lead you

To your destined grave. ```

2499. I can be smart

```

O my tricky mind,

You think you can fool me.

Do you never think

That I can be smart?

To my joy,

So I am already. ```

2500. My life's beauty-hunger

```

My life’s beauty-hunger

Is a secret paradise-soul.

My heart’s gratitude-feast

Is a sacred paradise-goal. ```

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the twenty-fifth 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 enjoys a warm reunion with Lakhan L. Mehrotra, who had been his boss at the Indian Consulate in New York when the Master first came to America. When this photo was taken in 1978, Mehrotra was India’s Consul-General in San Francisco. At one of Sri Chinmoy’s concerts which Mehrotra had recently attended, he offered the following spontaneous message: “... Sri Chinmoy belongs to that stream of thought and sentiment which has shown us the Light for ages... I consider those blessed who sit in his presence and who seek his presence and I know that even after I and you and everyone is gone, his voice and his message will be with us, for that is the Message Supreme to which I bow.”

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-2411: FFP 106 (revised version).

From:Sri Chinmoy,Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 25, Agni Press, 1982
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ff_25