Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 33

3201. The shrine of my heart

```

Not fear,

Not worry,

Not doubt,

But aspiration-flames

Will today adorn

The shrine of my heart. ```

3202. O superiority-tree

```

O superiority-tree,

You have damaged my heart.

O inferiority-leaf,

You have damaged my life. ```

3203. A questioning mind

```

A questioning mind

Cannot give.

An unaspiring heart

Cannot receive. ```

3204. It was God's Plan

```

It was God’s Plan

Right from the beginning of time

To give our soulful faith

A splendid victory. ```

3205. O blissful independence

```

O blissful independence,

Will you ever be mine?

O peaceful oneness,

Will you ever be mine? ```

3206. My heart has succeeded

```

My mind has failed

In eclipsing my heart-image.

My heart has succeeded

In nesting in my God-Image. ```

3207. In my Lord's Heart

```

My Lord has His tomorrow’s Beauty

In my heart.

I have my today’s purity

In my Lord’s Heart. ```

3208. Newness satisfies

```

Newness satisfies my thirsty eyes.

Fulness satisfies my hungry mind.

Oneness satisfies my crying heart.

```

3209. Not a difficult task

```

Not a difficult task

To empty load after load

Of ignorance

When the mind is no longer

A slave to teeming doubts.

```

3210. When I became a candidate

```

When I became a candidate

For the path of love, devotion and surrender,

I inherited two invaluable possibilities:

God-Joy and God-Satisfaction. ```

3211. Your capacity for self-delusion

```

As long as you maintain

Your great capacity for self-delusion,

Your inner poverty-life

Cannot and will not leave you. ```

3212. Your Forgiveness-Sun

```

My Lord, someday perhaps

I shall be able to express

Your Compassion-Light,

But Your Forgiveness-Sun

Will always remain

Far beyond my expression. ```

3213. The smile of my eyes

```

The smile of my eyes

Has a beautiful soul.

The cry of my heart

Is a fruitful soul. ```

3214. My dream-eyes exist

```

My dream-eyes exist

Only for God the Beauty.

My reality-life exists

Only for God the Forgiveness. ```

3215. When I was a purity-heart

```

When I was a purity-heart,

My Lord taught me how to feel

Another’s joy.

When I was a certainty-life,

My Lord taught me how to feel

Another’s woe. ```

3216. Rather a quick death

```

I would rather die

A quick death,

Before I am ruthlessly forced to suffer

In ignorance-sea. ```

3217. I am ready to weep

```

I am ready

To weep a fountain of tears

Until I am completely engulfed

By my Lord’s Forgiveness-Sea. ```

3218. God Himself is suffocating

```

Because you are

A money-minded seeker,

Even God Himself is suffocating

Inside your totally false aspiration-life. ```

3219. The supernal mysteries

```

If you can weather danger-clouds,

Then the supernal mysteries

That lie behind the terrestrial vagaries

Will all be yours. ```

3220. If my doubt is mighty

```

If my doubt is mighty,

Then my faith is almighty.

If my outer smile is beautiful,

Then my inner cry is all beautiful. ```

3221. My soul's sacred smile

```

Alongside my heart’s

Secret and helpless cry

Shines my soul’s

Sacred and powerful smile. ```

3222. On the inimitable way

```

At long last

My heart is on the inimitable way

To God-realisation.

No more my poverty-stricken,

Earth-bound human life.

```

3223. I am realising you

```

Today I am realising you

As an adversary-threat.

Tomorrow I shall realise you

As an advantage-smile. ```

3224. Born to do something great

```

I was born to do something

Really great for God

On this planet.

How can I fail?

Why should I fail?

```

3225. I have buried my past

```

I have buried my past.

Therefore,

My Lord is extremely happy.

My Lord is blessing my mind

And beckoning my heart.

Therefore,

I am extremely happy, plus grateful. ```

3226. My heart and God's Heart

```

My heart is an eternal cry.

God’s Heart is an eternal Smile.

They live together and grow together

Inside a concern-cave

And inside a Concern-Palace.

```

3227. God's Grace-Kingdom

```

God’s Grace-Kingdom

Is my only home.

The rest of the world

Is nothing but a stopping place. ```

3228. A Source unknowable

```

My heart is an unknown smile,

My life is an unknown cry,

And I am an unknown query.

Why, why, why?

Because we have come all the way

From a Source unknowable. ```

3229. Sanctioned and guaranteed

```

Beauty is beauty

Only when it is sanctioned

And guaranteed

By God’s Eye.

Purity is purity

Only when it is sanctioned

And guaranteed

By God’s Heart.

Divinity is divinity

Only when it is sanctioned

And guaranteed

By God’s Feet. ```

3230. The weight of my ignorance-night

```

The full weight of my ignorance-night

Shall rest inside God’s Forgiveness-Sun

And not upon my trembling shoulders,

If not every day,

At least for today.

```

3231. How can fear torture me?

```

How can fear torture me?

How can doubt frown at me?

Do I not know that God

Has all of me

Inside His Protection-Light?

```

3232. A breathless whisper from afar

```

A breathless whisper from afar

Has transformed his poverty-stricken mind

Into an emperor’s measureless

Vastness-treasure. ```

3233. O divine Grace

```

Grace, O divine Grace,

Grace, O supreme Grace,

I am drawing heavily

And constantly upon You.

Without You I am sleeplessly

Bankrupt. ```

3234. My inevitable choice

```

O my doubting mind,

You were my hasty and mistaken choice.

O my self-giving heart,

You are my ideal, unmistakable

And inevitable choice.

```

3235. My Lord will give His Eternity

```

My Lord has no time to hear

My timid complaints against my superiors.

My Lord has no time to hear

My loud complaints against my inferiors.

My Lord has no time to hear

My well-modulated complaints

Against my equals.

But my Lord will cheerfully give

His whole Eternity

To hear my marathon appreciation of everyone. ```

3236. To develop beauty

```

To develop beauty

I meditate inside a moonlit cave.

To develop humility

I meditate inside a tiny cave.

To develop purity

I meditate inside a sun-bathed cave.

To develop power

I meditate inside a spacious cave. ```

3237. Imperturbable cheerfulness

```

My eyes need renewed cheerfulness.

My mind needs unchanging cheerfulness.

My heart needs sparkling cheerfulness.

My life needs imperturbable cheerfulness. ```

3238. An increasing brightness

```

My body does not like

Blinding brightness any more.

My vital does not like

Dazzling brightness any more.

My mind does not like

Artificial brightness any more.

My heart likes

Tranquil brightness evermore.

My life consciously needs

An increasing, rising

And enlivening brightness evermore.

```

3239. A winning boat

```

A desire-life is nothing better

Than a weather-beaten, frail and sinking boat.

An aspiration-life is nothing other

Than a staunch, racing and winning boat. ```

3240. A well-constructed bridge

```

O my mind,

You are a battered bridge

Between God and me.

O my heart,

You are not only

A picturesque but also

A well-constructed bridge

Between God and me.

```

3241. A noisy and hollow boast

```

My outer life is a noisy

And hollow boast.

My inner life is a vain

And intoxicated boast.

My Lord, do give me the capacity

To cease altogether my boasting-life. ```

3242. You are mercifully blind

```

My Lord, You are mercifully blind

To my ignorance-life,

And I am wilfully blind

To my aspiration-hunger. ```

3243. You enjoy perennial bliss

```

O my vital,

You enjoy dramatic bliss.

Therefore, I dislike you.

O my mind,

You enjoy unclouded bliss.

Therefore, I like you.

O my heart,

You enjoy only perennial bliss.

Therefore, I love you.

```

3244. Sorrow I share

```

Sorrow I share

To be soulful.

Joy I share

To be powerful.

Oneness I share

To be fruitful. ```

3245. I love everything

```

I love everything.

Therefore, I can use everything.

I use everything.

Therefore, everything is

Not only of me but also for me.

```

3246. Nothing less than the highest

```

My mind has always been a candidate

For the highest Truth,

My heart has always been a candidate

For the deepest Delight.

Nothing less than the highest,

Nothing less than the deepest,

Can ever satisfy me.

```

3247. Perfect revelations

```

A self-giving smile

And a life-transforming dance

Shall be the perfect revelations

Of my life today. ```

3248. My witnesses

```

I have started running

For Eternity.

Infinity and Immortality

Are my witnesses. ```

3249. I affirm what God affirms

```

I affirm what God affirms.

What does God affirm?

He affirms that God-realisation

Is my birthright.

I negate what God negates.

What does God negate?

He negates that I am a member

Of ignorance-society. ```

3250. Two smiles

```

My heart receives satisfaction-seed

With one smile

And gives satisfaction-fruit

With another smile. ```

3251. An exception

```

Death is a daily, unavoidable

Occurrence-reality.

Nevertheless, each man thinks

That he is an exception

Who will live forever.

```

3252. Everything is equally important

```

Everything is as important

And indispensable

As everything else in God’s creation.

Try to see the divine

In everything,

With everything

Plus, for everything.

```

3253. The seeker can escape

```

The world has its teeming snares,

But the seeker can escape them

By virtue of his

Sleepless inner confidence

And deathless outer vigilance.

```

3254. To proceed confidently

```

Do you want to succeed enormously?

Then adjust your outer mind.

Do you want to proceed confidently?

Then harmonise your inner life. ```

3255. Aspiration-power assures

```

Money-power procures

Earth-facilities.

Aspiration-power assures

Not only Heaven-qualities,

But also Heaven-quantities.

```

3256. Man is an imperfect instrument

```

Man is an imperfect God-instrument,

Longing intermittently,

Although unconsciously,

For his heart’s unknown cry

And his soul’s unknowable smile.

```

3257. Discipline is God-interest

```

Do not indulge;

Indulgence is self-interest.

Discipline yourself.

Your discipline is God-interest

For God’s and your mutual satisfaction.

```

3258. Sleep not

```

Sleep not, sleep not.

Your awareness will be eclipsed

By ignorance-night.

Stay awake, stay awake.

Your awareness will be intensified

By the power-manifestation of the vision-sun. ```

3259. Journey's end, journey's beginning

```

A God-seeker consciously ends his journey

In God-Satisfaction.

A God-lover unconditionally begins his journey

With God-Satisfaction. ```

3260. A God-seeker's aspiration-cry

```

A God-seeker’s aspiration-cry

I admire.

A God-lover’s surrender-smile

I love. ```

3261. You can earn your place

```

You can earn your place

In the ranks of Truth-seekers

And God-lovers

If your life becomes a purity-sea

And your heart becomes a vastness-sky.

```

3262. The flight of your gratitude-heart

```

The flight of your purity’s

Gratitude-heart

Is from time to Eternity,

And from the known to the Unknowable. ```

3263. Dining with frailties

```

Indeed, today you are dining

With all your frailties and foibles.

But tomorrow you can taste and devour

God’s immortal Nectar-Delight. ```

3264. Sing the self-offering song

```

Sing the self-offering song, sing!

Heaven on earth and earth in Heaven

Cannot and will not remain a far cry.

```

3265. Just transcend your mind

```

Just transcend your mind.

New horizons, new frontiers

Will appear before you

With the perfection-splendour

Of vision-realities.

```

3266. The roots of delight-tree

```

Every human being

In his soul’s progress-march

Will ultimately discover

The roots of delight-tree

That weave and unweave

Through the earth-bound life. ```

3267. God's choice Hour

```

At God’s choice Hour

The cosmos concealed itself in you.

At God’s choice Hour

The cosmos will reveal itself through you.

Lo, God’s choice Hour

Is fast approaching! ```

3268. Your soul-bird's plumage

```

Do not try to terminate

Your earth-pilgrimage.

Your soul-bird’s plumage

Will, without fail,

Decorate your life.

```

3269. Explore the Beauty of God

```

Explore the Beauty of God,

Explore!

Celebrate the Smile of God,

Celebrate!

Try, you certainly can.

```

3270. When I do something wrong

```

When I do something wrong

My conscience starts bleeding,

My consciousness starts descending

And I start destroying myself. ```

3271. My heart knows how to receive

```

I know that my heart

Knows how to receive.

Therefore, my life

Cannot and will not be empty. ```

3272. One kind thought

```

One kind thought of mine

Has the capacity to push aside easily

Ninety-nine unkind thoughts

Of unfortunate human souls. ```

3273. The height of my victory

```

My good will is itself

The height of my victory,

Even if I cannot or do not

See any satisfactory result from it. ```

3274. In God's Hands

```

My ignorance-load on my own head

Is a serious problem,

But in God’s Hands

It is the beginning of my transformation. ```

3275. My earthly and Heavenly quest

```

My earthly quest

For God-realisation

And my Heavenly quest

For God-manifestation

Started right from the morning of my life.

```

3276. Aspiration means self-development

```

Aspiration means self-development.

Dedication means self-improvement.

Realisation means God-ascendance

In man.

Manifestation means God-transcendence

With man. ```

3277. The songs of the eternal Now

```

I grow with my heart-river,

I wane with my mind-river.

Beyond these two rivers

Is my soul-river,

Whispering into my ears

The songs of the eternal Now. ```

3278. When I pray to God

```

When I pray to God,

He powerfully protects me.

When I meditate on God,

He lovingly promotes me. ```

3279. Purity can be a daily experience

```

Purity can be a daily experience —

No age limit to it,

No place limit to it.

The earth-bound, impure body

Can easily grow into

A Heaven-free pure soul. ```

3280. A safe investment

```

I shall deposit a very large amount

In the bank of human joy.

Indeed,

This is a safe investment. ```

3281. If the world is challenging me

```

If the entire world

Is challenging me,

Then I shall use its challenge

To intensify my God-hunger. ```

3282. Its own horrifying curse

```

To practise a pure life

Is imperative.

An impure life is its own

Horrifying curse. ```

3283. The life that will rise

```

Because he has an unswerving devotion

To the highest heights,

His will be the life

That will rise and rise

To supreme excellence.

```

3284. The hunger of possessiveness

```

The wild hunger of possessiveness

Knows no newness-dawn,

Oneness-sky

Or fulness-sun. ```

3285. What was that nothing?

```

In the beginning there was Nothing.

What was that Nothing?

God’s Perfection-Vision

Of His own tomorrow’s Dawn. ```

3286. Every good thought

```

Don’t be discouraged.

As almost every good thought

Had a bad past,

Even so, every bad thought

Can have a good future.

```

3287. A fruitful pilgrim

```

Once you have soulfully expressed

Your readiness for the sunlit path,

You are bound to become

A fruitful pilgrim on the path. ```

3288. What my mind needs

```

What my mind needs

Is an unwavering faith.

What my heart needs

Is an abiding faith.

What my life needs

Is a pure, blind faith.

And what I need

Is an unfeigned faith. ```

3289. Inexhaustible enthusiasm

```

My vital, you need

No flamboyant enthusiasm.

My mind, you need

No noisy enthusiasm.

My heart, you need

Increasing enthusiasm.

My life, you need

Inexhaustible enthusiasm. ```

3290. Fabulous fame

```

Fabulous, monumental

And even international fame

Could not sink his life-boat,

Because his is the heart

That loves and longs to treasure

Eternity’s aspiration-cry. ```

3291. My body needs calm confidence

```

My body needs calm confidence,

My vital needs sublime confidence,

My mind needs resolute confidence,

My heart needs abiding confidence,

My life needs invincible confidence

So that I can become

My infinite Lord’s

Eternally perfect instrument. ```

3292. If you make others happy

```

If you learn how to make

Others happy,

Then God will rush towards you

To grant you His irresistible Joy

And become your matchless

And deathless playmate. ```

3293. Pull down the confidence-sky

```

Pull not towards you

Past regrets.

Pull not towards you

Future fears.

Pull down towards you,

Pull down from Above,

Only the present confidence-sky.

```

3294. New hopes and old regrets

```

As new hopes and old regrets

Cannot live together,

Even so, confidence-light

And failure-night

Cannot live together.

```

3295. Confidence founded upon Grace

```

Confidence founded upon Grace

Will always live

Far beyond the snare

Of dark attachment-world. ```

3296. If you want to learn

```

If you want to learn the art

Of rejecting all anxiety,

Then shun the spots of commonness

In your blindness-mind. ```

3297. An inch beyond

```

If you are an inch beyond

The domain of tempting hope,

That means you have already gone

Far beyond

The domain of wild frustration.

```

3298. The pressure of small needs

```

To liberate yourself from the pressure

Of small needs,

You embrace exclusively

The science and technology-life,

Only to discover

That happiness is still a far cry. ```

3299. Because of your great capacity

```

Because of your great capacity

For self-delusion,

You will always miss

God’s Compassion-Eye

And

God’s Forgiveness-Heart. ```

3300. What can life do to me?

```

What can life do to me?

God’s Compassion-Light is with me.

What can death do to me?

God’s Concern-Height is for me. ```

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the thirty-third 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

Pictured on the cover is Shashi Kumar Ghosh, Sri Chinmoy’s beloved father, to whom this book is soulfully dedicated on the occasion of his centenary. The photograph of Sri Chinmoy, taken during his ashram days several years after his father’s death, has been superimposed.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 33, Agni Press, 1982
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ff_33