Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 6

501. This body

```

This body’s birth

Helplessly

Smiles at the fast-approaching death.

This body’s death

Ruthlessly

Roars at the fast-diminishing birth.

```

502. Not available

```

Rest-life not available on earth.

Never!

Pleasure-life not available in Heaven.

Never!

Dissatisfaction-life not available in God.

Never! ```

503. O my desire-life

```

O my desire-life,

Why do you force me

Always

To carry this heavy load

Of constant grief?

Why?

O my aspiration-life,

I am dying for you.

I really am.

Where do you hide?

How do you hide?

Why do you hide?

Why?

Why? ```

504. I remember

```

I remember with my tearful heart

My total failure-life.

I shall remember with my joyful soul

My complete success-life,

My perfect progress-breath,

My sweet Lord’s Himalayan

Satisfaction-Smile.

```

505. Nourish your searching mind

```

Nourish your searching mind.

You will be happy.

Nourish your serving heart.

You will be more happy.

Nourish your loving soul.

You will be most happy. ```

506. Scoffers and defamers

```

Scoffers and defamers:

Where are they?

They are everywhere.

Scoffers and defamers:

Who are they?

They are my own

Ignorance-loving brothers

And

Ignorance-feeding sisters.

```

507. O my mind-song

```

O my mind-song,

I have sung you many, many times.

I am now bored.

I now want to unlearn you.

O my heart-song,

I have not sung you even once.

I am now all eagerness.

I am now crying and dying to learn you. ```

508. Another God

```

Man’s birth tells the world

He can be another God.

Man’s death tells the world

He will be granted another chance —

No, chance after chance,

Until verily he becomes

Another God.

```

509. My dream, my reality

```

I am God’s supremely chosen instrument:

So runs my faultless dream.

I am God’s stark failure,

And I have been

Right from the beginning:

So runs my unquestionable reality. ```

510. My sound-life, my silence-life

```

My sound-life tells me

What I eventually can become.

My silence-life tells me

Who I eternally am. ```

511. I know not why

```

Two aimless eyes

Are torturing me.

One senseless mind

Is destroying me.

Yet I love to stay on earth.

I know not why,

I know not why.

```

512. No extravagant hopes

```

Because

You nurse no extravagant hopes,

Frustration-night will always fail

To arrive at your heart’s door.

Because

You nurse no extravagant hopes,

A life of satisfaction-bliss

Shall feed your lofty inner heights. ```

513. To brave the sound-life

```

To brave the sound-life

I sit at God’s Protection-Feet.

To brave the silence-life

I drink in God’s Perfection-Smile. ```

514. The mouth of my wild desires

```

The mouth of my wild desires

I shall boldly seal.

The heart of my high aspiration

I shall sleeplessly unseal. ```

515. My life-flute

```

My life-flute

Invites all.

My death-gong

Rejects all.

My God-silence

Satisfies all. ```

516. Beyond the sunrise-sky

```

Sail

Beyond the sunrise-sky.

Reach

The Pinnacle-Goal

Before the sunset-cry.

```

517. They cannot wait for me

```

On her way to see the Lord Supreme,

Mother Earth cannot wait for me

Because

I am too proud.

On his way to see the Lord Supreme,

Father Heaven cannot wait for me

Because

I am too impure.

On its way to see the Lord Supreme,

My soul-bird cannot wait for me

Because

I am too slow. ```

518. A new friend

```

O my body,

For you I have brought

A new friend: simplicity.

O my vital,

For you I have brought

A new friend: sincerity.

O my mind,

For you I have brought

A new friend: serenity.

O my heart,

For you I have brought

A new friend: purity.

O my life,

For you I have brought

A new friend: humility.

O my soul,

For you I have brought

A new friend: my surrender-seed.

O my God,

For you I have brought

A new friend: my perfection-fruit.

```

519. Three things I love

```

Three things I really love:

I love my body’s shadow,

I love my life’s meadow,

I love my soul’s plateau. ```

520. A new name

```

At last my searching mind

Has a new name:

Emptiness.

At last my crying heart

Has a new name:

Selflessness.

At last my smiling life

Has a new name:

Oneness.

At last my loving soul

Has a new name:

Fulness.

```

521. Where my journey begins

```

Where the reason-cloud ends

My journey begins.

Where the doubt-poison ends

My goal begins. ```

522. Loving You

```

My Lord, loving You

Means

Living once again.

My Lord, loving You

Means

Freedom from ignorance-chain.

My Lord, loving You

Means

Smiling in oneness-reign.

```

523. They know not

```

Fear knows not

How to sleep.

Hope knows not

How to die.

Gratitude knows not

How to live.

Perfection knows not

How to grow.

Satisfaction knows not

How to dawn. ```

524. Can this be true?

```

Can this be true?

No desire binds me,

No temptation haunts me,

No imperfection blights me.

Can this be true?

```

525. Life is nothing but this

```

My day tells me

That life is nothing but

A worrying mind.

My night tells me

That life is nothing but

A crying heart.

My God tells me

That life is nothing but

A loving smile.

```

526. A weeping God

```

A thinking mind

A sinking life.

A sinking life

A dying promise.

A dying promise

A weeping God.

```

527. Four elevators

```

Doubt-elevator never works.

Fear-elevator seldom works.

Confidence-elevator occasionally works.

Aspiration-elevator sleeplessly works. ```

528. One thing

```

One thing to see carefully:

Sincerity.

One thing to feel soulfully:

Purity.

One thing to offer unreservedly:

Gratitude.

One thing to become unconditionally:

Surrender. ```

529. God will be yours

```

Concentrate bravely.

God the Power will be yours.

Meditate soulfully.

God the Love will be yours.

Contemplate selflessly.

God the Bliss will be yours. ```

530. Destitute

```

Your mind is destitute

Of promise-seed.

His heart is destitute

Of gratitude-fruit.

My life is destitute

Of perfection-tree. ```

531. Only one thing

```

I have only one thing:

Hope.

I give only one thing:

Promise.

I am only one thing:

Experience. ```

532. A fleeting smile

```

A fleeting smile:

My beauty-face.

A lasting cry:

My hunger-height.

An undying nothingness:

My promise-life. ```

533. My Lord invited me

```

When my life was long in aspiration

My Lord invited me to see His Eye.

When my life was long in dedication

My Lord invited me to feel His Heart.

When my life was long in surrender

My Lord invited me to sit at His Feet.

When my life was long in gratitude

My Lord invited me to sing with Him. ```

534. My passport

```

Lord Supreme,

Your Compassion

Is my passport to Freedom-Light.

Lord Supreme,

Your Forgiveness

Is my passport to Perfection-Height.

Lord Supreme,

Your Blessing

Is my passport to Satisfaction-Delight.

```

535. Who else is utterly helpless?

```

Who else is utterly helpless,

If not I?

An urgent matter compelled me

To phone Heaven.

Heaven’s line was busy, as usual.

I phoned earth.

Earth was not at home.

I phoned my soul.

My soul told me that

My problem was too complicated,

And I should not bother it.

I phoned my Lord.

My Lord said, “Son, when will

You learn the supreme secret:

‘Self-help is the best help’?”

Now tell me, my seeker-friends,

Who else is utterly helpless,

If not I? ```

536. Two supreme secrets

```

My Lord told me a supreme secret:

“My child, I shall never scold you any more.”

I told my Lord a supreme secret:

“My Father-Friend, I shall never

Disappoint You any more.”

```

537. I have already answered

```

My Lord Supreme,

If I ever write You a soulful letter,

Will You answer me?

“Of course, My son, of course.

But My child, you do not have

To take the trouble of writing Me.

I have already answered you in fruitful silence:

I love you.

I really and truly love you.”

```

538. How could this be true?

```

My Lord Supreme,

You rang my alarm clock.

How could this be true?

You prayed for my salvation.

How could this be true?

You concentrated on my illumination.

How could this be true?

You meditated for my realisation.

How could this be true?

You contemplated on my perfection.

How could this be true?

You lived for my satisfaction.

How could this be true?

```

539. Do you know the way?

```

Do you know the way?

If so, do lead me

Compassionately.

Have you seen the Goal?

If so, show me the face of the Goal

Unconditionally. ```

540. It will help

```

Cry, My child,

It will help your heart.

Smile, My child,

It will help your soul.

Serve, My child,

It will help your life.

Love, My child,

It will help not only your goal

But also My Role.

```

541. My thoughts

```

Earth-gratitude,

You are my wasted thought.

Heaven-promise,

You are my perfected thought.

God-Compassion,

You are my liberated thought. ```

542. Audience with my Inner Pilot

```

When I had my first audience

With my Inner Pilot,

He said to me,

“You are indeed your fruitless doubt.”

When I had my second audience

With my inner Pilot,

He said to me,

“You are indeed your soulless faith.”

When I had my third audience

With my inner Pilot,

He said to me,

“You are indeed your goalless life.”

When I had my fourth audience

With my inner Pilot,

He said to me,

“You are indeed your sleepless aspiration.”

When I had my fifth audience

With my inner Pilot,

He said to me,

“You are indeed your selfless dedication.”

When I had my sixth audience

With my inner Pilot,

He said to me,

“You are indeed your endless surrender.”

When I had my seventh and last audience

With my inner Pilot,

He said to me,

“You are indeed My breathless Satisfaction.” ```

543. Attachment: what is it?

```

Attachment: what is it?

A fleeting thirst for the known.

Devotion: what is it?

An illumining thirst for the unknown.

Surrender: what is it?

A satisfying thirst for the unknowable. ```

544. They tell me

```

A purity-heart tells me

What I can eventually be:

Another God.

A oneness-life tells me

What I have always been:

A self-transcending God.

```

545. A human life

```

Insensitive

A human body is.

Aggressive

A human vital is.

Deceptive

A human mind is.

Unreceptive

A human heart is.

Unprogressive

A human soul is. ```

546. In your presence

```

O my mind’s impurity-day,

O my heart’s insecurity-night,

In your very presence

I become the perfect expression

Of sickening and undying disgust.

```

547. Do you know what you have?

```

Do you know what you have?

You have a high opinion

Of your absurd obstinacy.

Do you know what you are?

You are a perfect embodiment

Of stark lunacy.

```

548. Earth weeps, Heaven weeps

```

Earth weeps

For Heaven’s divinity.

Heaven weeps

For earth’s receptivity. ```

549. I am not alone

```

I was not alone in Heaven.

God’s Illumination-Eye

Lived with me.

I am not alone on earth.

God’s Compassion-Feet

Live in me.

```

550. Far beyond, deep within

```

Far beyond

Are the temptation-lands.

Deep within

Are the Compassion-friend,

Liberation-friend,

Perfection-friend,

Satisfaction-friend.

```

551. Deep and ancient

```

Deep and ancient

Are earth’s climbing cries.

Shallow and transient

Are earth’s winning smiles. ```

552. Yours is the heart

```

Yours is the heart

Of unperturbed faith.

Yours is the life

Of undisturbed joy.

Yours is the mind

Of unremembered night. ```

553. I shall return

```

I shall return to Heaven

With earth’s gratitude-flames.

To Heaven, this was the promise I made.

I shall return to earth

With Heaven’s satisfaction-sun.

To earth, this is the promise I shall make.

```

554. Pray for me, please!

```

Heaven, pray for me, please!

I need the dream

Of oneness-perfection.

Earth, pray for me, please!

I need the reality

Of fulness-satisfaction.

```

555. My needs

```

Lord Supreme,

Yesterday I needed

Your Forgiveness-Sun.

Lord Supreme,

Today I need

Your Compassion-Sea.

Lord Supreme,

Tomorrow I shall need

Your Love-Sky.

```

556. Wrestle with restlessness

```

Wrestle with restlessness.

Your mind wants to fly.

Wrestle with unawareness.

Your heart wants to dive.

Wrestle with uncomeliness.

Your life wants to shine. ```

557. Heaven's promise, earth's promise

```

Heaven has promised

To wait for me.

It will not

Permit this incarnation

To be a colossal failure.

Earth has promised

To keep me here

Until perfection becomes

My real name,

My only name.

```

558. Heaven's soul, earth's heart

```

Heaven’s soul

Is the beauty

Of a compassion-flower.

Earth’s heart

Is the duty

Of a dedication-tree.

```

559. God and I admire

```

Two great celebrities

I soulfully admire:

God’s Vision and God’s Beauty.

God blessingfully admires

My perfection-cry.

```

560. A strong love-bond

```

There has always been

A strong love-bond

Between

God’s Compassion-Sky

And

My helplessness-cry. ```

561. Promise and guarantee

```

My Lord God

Has promised me

That I shall one day become

A sleepless earth-server.

My Lord God

Has guaranteed me

That I shall one day become

A guileless Heaven-lover. ```

562. In the light

```

Yesterday

I did everything

In the limelight.

Today

I am doing everything

In silence-light.

Tomorrow

I shall do everything

In dedication-light.

```

563. When I disagree

```

When I disagree

With man,

He humiliates

My pride-horse.

When I disagree

With God,

He liberates

My stupidity-elephant. ```

564. My growing familiarity

```

Yesterday

My Lord Supreme

Made me familiar

With His Forgiveness-Sea.

Today

My Lord Supreme

Is making me familiar

With His Compassion-Wave.

Tomorrow

My Lord Supreme

Will make me familiar

With His Satisfaction-Drops. ```

565. Steer clear

```

Steer clear of those

Who tell you

That Heaven is an indifference-day.

I tell you unmistakably,

It is not true.

Steer clear of those

Who tell you

That earth is a somnolence-night.

I tell you solemnly,

It is not true.

```

566. What I need

```

From man,

What my heart unmistakably needs

Is his soulful face.

From God,

What my life sleeplessly needs

Is His fruitful Grace.

```

567. Secret and sacred truths

```

God told me

His secret Truth:

“My son, I love your heart’s

Sincerity-cry.”

I told God

My sacred truth:

“My Father, I love Your Eyes’

Immortality-Smile.” ```

568. God thinks of me

```

God thinks of me

Because

I am a helpless seeker.

I think of myself

Because

I am a hopeless fool.

Humanity thinks of me

Because

I am a tireless ant.

```

569. Something else, something more

```

There was a time

When I was ignorance-night.

Something else:

Life’s death-revolver.

Now I have grown

Into wisdom-day.

Something more:

Life’s death-solver. ```

570. Thanks to Heaven, thanks to earth

```

Thanks to Heaven,

I know how to serve devotedly

And smile soulfully.

Thanks to earth,

I know how to aspire sleeplessly

And surrender unconditionally.

```

571. Fierce wars

```

I have had

Fierce wars with teeming doubts.

At long last,

This morning the teeming doubts

Have surrendered their poison-breath

And

Dragon-smile.

```

572. Oh now is the time

```

Oh, now is the time for me

To enjoy the fragrance

Of Your golden Feet

In inseparable oneness with silence-breath

And prayerfully end

My mortal days. ```

573. Let me live on earth a little more

```

O my Boatman,

Let me live on earth a little more.

Let me succeed in bringing to the fore

My long-lost aspiration-flames

From the teeming clouds of years.

```

574. A traveller between life and death

```

Today

I am a traveller

Between

Life and death.

Tomorrow

I shall become a swimmer

Between

My life’s dedication-river

And

My Lord’s Satisfaction-Sea. ```

575. In the chosen ones

```

God’s Justice-Light

Indifferently tolerates

Imperfection-clouds

In the chosen ones.

God’s Compassion-Height

Smilingly liberates

Imperfection-clouds

In the chosen ones. ```

576. My earth-born diamond-tears

```

My earth-born diamond-tears

Can easily play hide-and-seek

With Heaven-revealed

Ecstasy-Smiles. ```

577. God's Love blessingfully shelters him

```

God’s Love blessingfully shelters him.

Man’s concern lovingly shelters him.

His own gratitude-sea soulfully shelters him.

```

578. Oh when my sadness is sweet

```

Oh, when my sadness is sweet,

I see God’s Compassion-Feet.

Oh, when my gladness is pure,

I see God’s Illumination-Eye. ```

579. The dauntless challenge

```

The flames of my ecstasy-heart

Have gladly accepted

The dauntless challenge

Of shameless ignorance-night. ```

580. An adventure of incomparable newness

```

His mind is a fog

Of unthinkable forgetfulness.

His heart is an orphan

Of unimaginable helplessness.

But

His life is an adventure

Of incomparable newness.

```

581. O knife of cynicism

```

O knife of cynicism,

What you truly are

Is a seed

Of helpless, hopeless, useless self-pity,

Plus soulless and godless unreality.

And yet something more:

Utter futility.

```

582. O belated worshipper

```

O belated worshipper,

You too can smile

Soulfully and powerfully,

For you have escaped

At long last

From the ruthless prison

Of age-old Night.

```

583. My immortal tear-drops

```

Totally exhausted,

My blue-gold dreams

Desire to sleep.

Never mind, no harm!

From now on

My heart shall treasure

My Eternity’s immortal tear-drops.

```

584. My soul-fire

```

My soul-fire,

Where can I find you, where?

My ignorance-mire,

When can I transform you, when? ```

585. Mine is the heart

```

Mine is the heart

That soulfully loves

Aspiration-sunrise.

Mine is the life

That unreservedly loves

Compassion-sunset.

```

586. God is my Coach

```

God is my outer Coach.

Therefore, I smile and smile

Before I succeed.

God is my inner Coach.

Therefore, I dance and dance

Before I proceed.

```

587. Three short-cuts to God-realisation

```

Three short-cuts to God-realisation:

My oneness-love for God,

My sweetness-devotion to God,

And

My fulness-surrender to God.

```

588. Aspiration is a cry¹

```

Desire is a cry

That is doomed to cry

Eternally.

Aspiration is a cry

That is destined to smile

Eventually.

```

FF 588-600. These thirteen poems were written on 24 September 1980.↩

589. Our thoughts, our deeds

```

Our thoughts make us know

What we unmistakably are.

Our deeds make others know

What we undeniably are. ```

590. Every moment

```

Every moment is a bridge

Between man’s wisdom-choice

And

God’s Illumination-Voice. ```

591. Temptation is powerful

```

Temptation is always powerful:

So says the human life.

Perfection is always available:

So affirms the divine soul. ```

592. The train of resolution

```

If we are travelling

On the train of resolution,

Then the satisfaction-destination

Is bound to near us. ```

593. Nothing to sacrifice

```

Who says

There is nothing to sacrifice?

Our wild impatience

Has to be sacrificed

Every day,

Every hour,

Every minute,

Every second. ```

594. Nothing to love

```

Who says

There is nothing to love?

Our purity-heart

Has to be loved

At every moment.

```

595. Nothing to remember

```

Who says

There is nothing to remember?

God’s Forgiveness-Sky

Has to be remembered

Always.

```

596. Secrets

```

Prayer is the secret

Of tremendous success.

Meditation is the secret

Of precious progress. ```

597. To invite God

```

I must examine myself

In order to understand myself.

I must transform myself

In order to invite God. ```

598. Good thoughts

```

When I think good thoughts,

I feel that man is not,

After all, so bad.

When I play with good thoughts,

God gives me His Vision-Beauty

And I give God my dedication-duty.

```

599. One code of life

```

There is but one philosophy:

God can be seen

With my aspiration-cry.

There is but one religion:

My life’s sunrise begins

With God’s Compassion-Beauty.

There is but one code of life:

I live to love God.

God lives to purify me and perfect me,

So that He can hoist His Victory-Banner

In the battlefield of my life.

```

600. What to do

```

Earth tells me

What to do.

Heaven tells me

What to become,

How to become

And why to become.

What to do?

I must cultivate patience

Infinitely more than I have.

What to become?

God’s Compassion-Choice.

How to become?

By virtue of surrender-light.

Why to become?

Because that is the only thing

That can satisfy

My inner life of aspiration-cry

And

My outer life of dedication-smile.

```

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the sixth 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

Jesse Owens, who won gold medals for the United States in the 1936 Olympic Games in the 100-metre and 200-metre dashes and the long jump, receives a plaque from Sri Chinmoy during a meeting in New York in November 1972.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 6, Agni Press, 1979
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ff_6