Do first things first.
Do not try to prove to the worldThat God exists.
Just try to see your total existenceInside God’s Compassion-Heart.
```If you have inner poise,
You will be able to seeImmediately
How much pretenceNot only the world around you
But also you yourself enjoy. ```If you are ready
To correct your life,Then you are bound to see
That God is more than readyTo direct His Dream-Boat towards you.
```You want to change the world.
The world wants to change you.Neither of you succeed
Or will ever succeedUnless you invoke
A third party, God,To transform both of you.
```Do not be a fool!
The divine Love of GodIs not going to satisfy you
Since you are already so satisfiedWith the temptation-love
Of the human life. ```When you defend the animal in yourself,
Do you not realise that you offendNot only the divine in you
But also the human in you? ```The ever-mounting flame
Of my heart’s aspiration-cryIs the source of my life’s
Ever-increasing joy and delight. ```“I am not responsible
For what I say and do.”This can never be the message
Of the illumined,Divine reality in me.
```Look at the clever human mind.
Outwardly it sneers atBut inwardly it admires
The beauty and purityOf the heart.
```Since you have learnt so well
The art of deceiving others,I am sure you will perfect your art
Until you can deceive yourself as well. ```My loving soul is always grateful
Because it is a living portionOf my Beloved Supreme.
My aspiring heart is always grateful
Because it has establishedIts inseparable oneness
With my soul.Alas, my useless mind
Has not established its onenessWith anything.
Therefore, my mind’s gratitude-lifeHas a fleeting breath.
```Even if my mind believes
For a fleeting secondIn the existence of my soul,
It may not be willingTo accept the soul’s dictates.
```If you pray and meditate
Soulfully,You will become strong
In the inner world.If you pray and meditate
Sleeplessly and unreservedly,You will become stronger
In the inner world.If you pray and meditate
Unconditionally,Only to please God in His own Way,
You will become stronger than the strongestIn the inner world.
```The fastest way to transform the vital
Is the way of wisdom:Think of the vital
As rarely as possibleOr, with tremendous determination,
Do not think of the vital at all. ```If you want to conquer the vital,
Feel that you have already conquered itOr will conquer it sooner than at once.
Then you will have the inner assuranceThat the victory-capacity is yours.
```First you think of your vital,
Then you bring it to the fore,Then you feed it generously.
No wonder your vital is nowDestroying your inner life!
```As long as you remember
That you cameFrom the Infinite Consciousness,
That you are of the SupremeAnd for the Supreme,
You will automatically haveInner and outer confidence.
```If you have something divine within,
It is only a matter of timeBefore it will manifest itself
And be received,Consciously or unconsciously,
By the entire world. ```The very presence of a spiritual Master
Is unconsciously receivedBy the unaspiring world
And consciously receivedBy the aspiring world.
```There is no such thing
As a sunlit frontier for the mind.There is only a pitch-dark fortress.
```I would rather embrace a quick death
Than gradually befriendLethargy-night and impurity-sky.
```O Lord Supreme,
You are the object of my meditation.You are my meditation itself.
You are the result of my meditation. ```If your heart’s likes
And your mind’s dislikesKeep you constantly angry with the world,
How can you see the beautyOf a satisfaction-dawn
Along the road of your life’sBirthless and deathless journey?
```India is not just a place.
India is not just a people.India is the celestial music,
And inside that musicAnybody from any corner of the globe
Can find the real significance of life. ```India is not Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist.
India is India.Its tolerance is more than ready
To freely house all religions. ```India holds and will forever hold
A special charm and a special beautyFor all spiritual seekers:
The illumining and fulfilling messageOf the soul.
```See India with your aspiring heart.
Then inside even its outer weaknesses,Inside its helplessness and hopelessness,
You are bound to feelIts heart-illumining
And soul-fulfilling uniqueness. ```To feel what India has and is
You must haveWhat you do not yet have:
A new vision, a perennial vision. ```The body of India
May be discouraging.The mind of India
May be disheartening.But the heart of India
Still maintains its pristine beauty and purityWhich will forever remain
Untouched by human ignorance. ```We have only to start our inner journey.
Even those who startOut of curiosity
May someday become great seekers. ```If you want to receive
Inspiration and aspirationFrom God’s creation,
Then always try to seeOnly its best aspects.
```When God observes His children,
He does not think.He only cries and cries
Because so many are lost. ```Only one gift of yours
God will forever treasure,And that gift
Is your inner and outer obedience. ```If “future perfection”
Is your permanent address,Then your life of complete satisfaction
Will always remain at a distance. ```Since you want to reject
Your doubtful mind,Why not make your rejection
A permanent one? ```If you find it difficult
To offer God your unreservedAnd unconditional obedience,
Try to offer HimYour cheerful obedience.
If that too is impossible,Then try at least to offer Him
Your unwilling, reluctant obedience.Today’s unwilling, reluctant obedience
Will eventually be transformedInto tomorrow’s unreserved
And unconditional obedience. ```Superficial and artificial
Outer obedienceWill never be able to give you
Natural and spontaneousInner obedience.
But inner obedience in its pure formIs bound to give you
Outer obedience. ```Yesterday’s little disobedience
And today’s little disobedienceAdd up, over the years,
To tomorrow’s giant failure. ```On God’s team
Every member has to play his role.If one member does not do his part,
It becomes the bounden duty of othersTo do it for him.
```The life of promise
Never disappoints us.It is the life of hope
That not only disappoints usBut at times destroys us.
```Death came from hell
To shake hands with himAnd say:
“Your heart of bountyI will not be able to house.”
```Curiosity took him to see
How bad the Master was.Lo, many years have passed by
And still he is sittingAt the feet of the Master.
Idle curiosity was the startOf his inner journey.
Illumining oneness will be the endOf his inner journey.
```The first message of the material world:
“Have more, have more, have more!”The last message of the material world:
“Since you have so much,Why not enjoy more, enjoy more, enjoy more?”
These two messages are nothing short ofThe complete ruin of your life.
```As darkness is totally different
From light,Even so, man’s desire-hunger
Is totally differentFrom man’s aspiration-feast.
```Until purity takes full possession
Of the human mind,The higher worlds
Cannot do anything properlyIn and through the human mind
For God-Manifestation on earth. ```Even as the world
Is progressing and transcending,God’s Transcendental Consciousness
Is ever-transcending. ```Who has abundant enthusiasm?
Only those who feel they areThe chosen children of God.
Every day God is trying to actIn and through these children
With His own boundless Enthusiasm. ```My soul exists only for God.
My heart exists for God and myself.My mind exists for itself alone.
```Earthly days advance
Only to make us feelThe serenity and purity
Of the departing nights. ```He who sees you praying and meditating
May not immediately follow you.But someday when he is full of misery,
He will remember that he sawSomething very special in you.
```Soulfully and powerfully invoke
Pristine peace and poiseDuring your daily meditation.
Once you have their tremendousInner strength,
The life of worry and hurryWill be totally unknown to you.
```I weep a fountain of tears
When I long to seeMy Lord’s Compassion-Feet.
I smile a fountain of smiles
When I long to seeMy Lord’s self-transcending Dance.
```God is your Eternity’s quest.
You are His Immortality’s nest.Only your heart’s peace
Can declare and guarantee this. ```If you cannot feel
That you have a child-heart,Then you are no better
Than a fossilized human being. ```There is not even one person
Who does not knowWhat he must do
Inwardly and outwardlyTo please the Supreme.
```It is not your broken heart
But your golden heartThat can play with the Smile
Of God’s ever-transcending Beyond. ```His mind is no longer
A slave of fears.His life is no longer
A slave of tears.Therefore, he now has God-Satisfaction
As his Eternity’s unparalleled compeer. ```Inner awareness
Brings enthusiasmAnd enthusiasm
Brings more inner awareness. ```My Lord Supreme, I know, I know,
You value only thoseWho value Your Vision
And Your Mission. ```An easy way to love God,
An easier way to satisfy GodAnd the easiest way to become another God
Is to sing and sing, dance and danceThe songs and dances of self-offering.
```If you want God to satisfy you,
Then you are not even a truth-seeker.If you want to satisfy God,
Then you are not only a truth-seekerAnd a God-lover,
But also a God-fulfiller. ```In the spiritual life
Everything you doIs important,
Every second of your lifeIs supremely important.
```Ask yourself every morning
How many thingsGod has asked you to do
And how many of these thingsYou have actually done.
Then feel that this dayIs the last day of your life,
And try to please GodAt least for this one day.
```When your entire being
Is surcharged with divinityBy virtue of your meditation,
Your very presence will inspire others. ```No matter what he is doing,
He carries within himSolid and powerful divinity
Which is freely availableTo the entire world.
```Those who consciously do the right thing
Will always getImmediate appreciation from God.
Those who consciously do the wrong thingWill always get
Immediate retribution.For their own good
God is very strictWith His spiritual children.
```If you cannot cheerfully receive
God’s Punishment-Illumination,Then your spiritual death
Is fast approaching you. ```Each day you get up early
To pray and meditate,You are running very, very fast
In your inner race.Each day you are unwilling
To get up early,You are walking slower than the slowest.
The inner victory is only for thoseWho run with the fastest speed.
```The day you get up early
To pray and meditate,You will see and feel
The progress you make.The day you do not get up early
To pray and meditate,You will feel and become
A sea of misery. ```As the countless drops
Of the boundless oceanOr the myriad leaves
Of a huge banyan treePeacefully remain side by side,
Even so, all human beingsWill someday live side by side
In a perfect oneness-world. ```You create receptivity in others
By becoming spiritually strong yourself.When others see your inner strength,
Naturally they want to follow you. ```If you keep a tape measure
Around your heart,You will immediately see
How much your heart expandsWhen God receives your gratitude.
```When you offer gratitude,
You give your most precious possessionTo your own highest Self: God.
```The joy that we get
From our body’s indulgenceCan never be real.
The joy that we getFrom our soul’s victory
Is not only realBut also sacred.
```If you do not separate yourself
From your Source,The world will eventually see
That you are a dropOf God the Ocean,
Part and parcel of His vast Existence. ```When you feel deep inside you
Something very beautifulWhich you have never felt before,
You will know that God has receivedThe sweet and charming fragrance
Of your heart’s blossomingGratitude-flower.
```Your soulful self-offering
Is your immediate hotlineTo the very depths
Of God’s Heart. ```Inwardly you can talk to God
As long as you want to.Therefore, talk, talk, talk!
Give Him all your sadness and frustrationAs well as your love and joy.
He will keep them all for youInside His divine Heart-Safe.
```He who shows sympathy
Towards your aspiration-lifeMust needs also be
A true truth-seeker. ```How to help a seeker-friend?
Meditate on your heart-flower.Then as silently as a divine thief,
Very carefully place that flowerInside his heart.
There it will blossomInto beauty, purity and oneness.
```When you offer anything to God,
Your immediate joyAnd God’s immediate Acceptance
Always go together. ```An aspiring heart
Is a grateful heart,For an aspiring heart
Knows and feelsWhat the soul is doing for it.
```The sun may be covered by clouds,
But eventually its full lightWill be revealed.
Similarly, if you becomeBright, brighter, brightest
In the inner world,Your inner light will not be able
To remain hidden. ```Every moment can be
An opportunity to meditate,No matter where you are
Or what is going on around you.It is all a matter
Of where your consciousness is. ```When your good qualities
Go and touch others,Their good qualities come forward
To receive from you. ```Always remember the joy you get
When you do the right thing.This joy will give you
The inspiration, aspirationAnd determination
To continue doing the right thing. ```Yesterday
By virtue of your determination,You did the right thing
And made yourself happy.Remember your yesterday’s happiness
If you don’t want lethargy-nightTo destroy today’s new determination.
```If you need intensity
In your aspiration-life,Just feel that countless flames of purity
Are burning inside the very depthsOf your heart.
```The earth-bound mind
Cannot and will not forever remainA confusion-jungle.
The aspiration-flamesOf the Heaven-free heart
Will eventually climb high, higher, highestAnd illumine the lightless jungle-mind.
```The psychic tears
Of your soul’s joyCan secretly touch
The inmost recesses of others’ hearts.Then only time will tell
What miracles they will work there. ```Even when we do not receive
Any outer appreciation,We may receive an inner award
Which we can value infinitely more. ```Creation means self-giving.
From oneGod became many
By freely giving Himself.When you create,
You give yourselfAnd become your larger Self.
```Unless God can bring His children
Up to His own highest Height,Where will be the successful ending
Of His Manifestation-Story? ```For a genuine truth-seeker
The outer life and the inner lifeAre one,
And that one lifeHas only one message:
God comes first,Spirituality comes first.
```The outer life is the body,
The inner life is the heart.What can one do without the other?
Wherever one goes,The other has to follow.
```We constantly cry to God
To give us this or that.But the moment we can say,
“Let Thy Will be done”,Our heart becomes
A flood of gratitude. ```We free ourselves
From the temptation-net,Only to be caught
By the expectation-net. ```He enjoyed the pleasures of this world
To his heart’s content,Thinking that in the evening of his life
He would be able to discipline himselfAnd make spiritual progress.
He was such a fool! ```Do not delay a moment!
Right from todayStart running along the path of aspiration,
No matter where you are now.How do you know
You will be inspired tomorrow?How do you know
You will even be alive tomorrow? ```My Lord Supreme,
The Pinnacle-HeightOf Your Transcendental Consciousness
Is my only cherished Goal.To reach that Height
Will be the culminating achievementOf all my past and future lives.
```From:Sri Chinmoy,Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 80, Agni Press, 1983
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ff_80