The Golden Boat, part 4

1. The future of a man

```

The future of a simple man:

Success.

The future of a sincere man:

Progress.

The future of a humble man:

Glory.

The future of a pure man:

Enlightenment serene.

The future of a concentrative, meditative

and contemplative man:

Perfection supreme.

```

2. O bearer

```

O my mind,

O bearer of my human searching,

Gracious is your life.

O my heart,

O bearer of my human longing,

Precious is your life.

O my soul,

O bearer of my human receiving and achieving,

Magnanimous is your goal.

```

3. His desire to please God

```

His desire to please God

Ultimately failed.

His ambition to please God

Ultimately failed.

His aspiration to please God

Ultimately failed.

Finally

His surrender-heart pleased God

Openly,

Lovingly

And

Supremely. ```

4. She and the world

```

She plays merrily,

Therefore

The world likes her.

She speaks sweetly,

Therefore

The world loves her.

She sings melodiously,

Therefore

The world adores her.

She blesses divinely,

Therefore

The world constantly needs her.

```

5. Life is velocity

```

Life is velocity.

Therefore

I want to run fast, very fast.

Love is necessity.

Therefore

I want to love more, ever more.

Truth is reality.

Therefore

I want to achieve, only achieve.

```

6. When will you arrive?

```

Hope, my hope,

When will you arrive

At your goal?

Faith, my faith,

Have you not arrived

At your goal?

Love, my love,

When did you arrive

At your goal?

Light, my light,

You need the expansion

Of your goal.

```

7. My best days

```

My best days

In hell:

When I smash the pride of Satan.

My best days

In Heaven:

When I cry for God-realisation.

My best days

On earth:

When I cry for God-manifestation.

```

8. Violations

```

You violated

Your inner dignity.

Therefore

Reckless irresponsibility

Embraced you.

You violated

The secret teachings

Of the cosmic law.

Therefore

Even God did not near you

To save your life

Of untold deception.

```

9. The seed of perfection

```

Slowly grows

The seed of love.

Steadily grows

The seed of faith.

Unerringly grows

The seed of life.

Supremely grows

The seed of perfection. ```

10. What is it?

```

Speed, what is it?

Beauty’s light.

Love, what is it?

Duty’s pride.

Delight, what is it?

Necessity’s height. ```

11. A very special prayer

```

Lamentation-force

Is a very special prayer.

Silence-force

Is a very special concentration.

Delight-force

Is a very special meditation.

Perfection-force

Is a very special contemplation. ```

12. Thee I adore

```

O Protector of poor souls,

Thee I adore.

O Saviour of wicked souls,

Thee I adore.

O Liberator of earthbound souls,

Thee I adore.

O Transformer of fallen souls,

Thee I adore.

O Fulfiller of aspiring souls,

Thee I adore,

Thee I love,

Thee I invoke. ```

13. Heavy and light

```

Heavy

Is the weight of failure.

Heavier

Is the weight of success.

Heaviest

Is the weight of progress.

Light

Is the weight of hope.

Lighter

Is the weight of faith.

Lightest

Is the weight of love. ```

14. I am not alone

```

My progress is permanently

Protected by my Father’s Will.

My faith is permanently

Protected by my Mother’s Love.

I am not alone.

I am with my Father’s

Dream-boat Reality.

I am not alone.

I am with my Mother’s

Reality-fulfilled Dream.

```

15. Devotion-power and surrender-power

```

Insecurity’s length

And

Timidity’s breadth

Comprised his little world.

Then, suddenly, devotion-power

Became the light-giver

To his ignorance vast,

And

Surrender-power

Made him one

With the Transcendence-goal

Of the ever-transcending Beyond. ```

16. Your life

```

That was your life:

You deliberately forgot to aspire.

This is your life:

You spontaneously remember to aspire.

That was your life:

Hard you endeavoured to surpass God.

This is your life:

Hard you try to please God,

Even for a fleeting moment.

```

17. Like it or not

```

Whether you like it

Or not,

God will tell you many things.

Whether he likes it

Or not,

God has no time to talk to him at all.

Whether I like it

Or not,

God wants to embarrass me

By placing me on

His Transcendental Throne.

```

18. This is not my birthday

```

This is not my birthday.

My birthday was yesterday,

When God and I sang and played.

This is not my birthday.

O earth-pilgrims,

Why do you torture me

With earthly gifts?

I need only one Heavenly gift,

Love:

Love from God,

Love from God alone. ```

19. In the eyes of the Saviours

```

In the eyes of the Saviour Christ,

The world was an ignorance-night.

In the eyes of the Saviour Krishna,

The world was an ignorance-sea.

In the eyes of the Saviour Buddha,

The world was an ignorance-sky.

O ignorance-night,

Your futility hurts me.

O ignorance-sea,

Your insensibility hurts me.

O ignorance-sky,

Your indifference hurts me. ```

20. The opening

```

Faith is the opening

Of the wisdom-eye.

Love is the opening

Of the oneness-heart.

Service is the opening

Of the immortality-life. ```

21. Shun his company

```

His vital is a mixture

Of impure vanity

And

Dark superstition.

Therefore,

Shun his company.

If you mix with him

You are bound

To welcome

Your inner death.

Alas, what a troublesome world

His earth-life represents! ```

22. Fear, doubt and faith

```

To me,

Fear is a pardonable defect

Because it dies;

Doubt is an unpardonable defect

Because it always survives;

Faith is a radiant smile

Because it overrules

All blind human opinion. ```

23. Silence and sound

```

When the desire

To escape captured him,

He entered

Into a Himalayan cave.

Alas, peace and joy

Cared not for him.

He came back

To the sound-life

And discovered:

Silence is embodied perfection,

Sound is revealed manifestation.

```

24. Journey of Light and Delight

```

There was a time

When I endured

The indifference of ignorance-night.

But now ignorance

Endures my indifference-light.

There was a time

When I endured

The tortures of human boundaries.

But now they

Are no more.

They have disappeared

In my upward and inward journey

Of Light and Delight. ```

25. O builder

```

O builder of my soul,

Where are You?

O builder of my Goal,

How far are You?

O builder of my heart,

How kind are You?

O builder of my mind,

How fantastic are You? ```

26. I am coming

```

O abyss of oblivion,

I am coming to you

With my information-mind.

Please wait.

O palace of illumination,

I am coming to you

With my aspiration-heart.

Please wait. ```

27. Forgetfulness-monarch

```

O stormy vital emotion,

From now on my name shall be

Forgetfulness-Prince.

O sombre mental frustration,

From now on my name shall be

Forgetfulness-King.

O foolish psychic destruction,

From now on my name shall be

Forgetfulness-Emperor.

Yet

I shall run,

But with a vital new,

with a mind new,

with a heart new,

Beyond the length

Of extremity’s song.

```

28. Sky of Perfection-Dawn

```

From his tongue

Comes every possible

Absurdity.

From his eyes

Comes every possible

Futility.

Yet his ecstatic

Love-adoration for God

Saves him and lifts his life

Into the sky of Perfection-Dawn. ```

29. Every message

```

Every secret message

Is a Thought of God.

Every sacred message

Is a Will of God.

Every divine message

Is a Consciousness-Sun of God.

Every supreme message

Is a Perfection-

Manifestation-

Reality

Of God.

```

30. His body's shallow strength

```

When he thinks,

He thinks from his mind’s

Pygmy height.

When he speaks,

He speaks from his vital’s

Unmeasured length.

When he acts,

He acts from his body’s

Shallow strength.

```

31. Silence-sky, sound-sea

```

My weeping heart

Teaches me

God is an indifferent King.

My singing soul

Teaches me

God is a jovial Friend.

My loving Goal

Teaches me

God gives two gifts —

Morning’s silence-sky,

Evening’s sound-sea.

```

32. Conclusions

```

Human life is a dream.

Indeed,

This is your philosopher’s conclusion.

Human life is a game.

Indeed,

This is your lover’s conclusion.

Human life is a Reality.

Indeed,

This is your seeker’s conclusion.

```

33. Secrets

```

Top secrets

Everybody knows:

God is man’s Light,

Man is God’s night.

Open secrets

Nobody knows:

Man is another golden God,

Man is another black animal. ```

34. When I look at him

```

When I look at him

I see an aura of fear

Behind his head.

When I look at him

I see an aura of death

Around his face.

A mere mortal

He can never be.

An inner pain

Gnaws at him

Constantly.

His is a life of

Ill-fortune

And

Hermit-existence.

```

35. They learn more

```

Children learn more

When they are loved.

Parents learn more

When they are ignored.

Humanity learns more

When it is appreciated.

Divinity learns more

When it is rejected. ```

36. Our commitment

```

Life is our commitment

To equality.

Love is our commitment

To reality.

Peace is our commitment

To liberty.

Power is our commitment

To divinity.

God is our commitment

To Immortality. ```

37. His hunger for God

```

His body’s hunger for God

Was a stupid curiosity.

His vital’s hunger for God

Was a dauntless curiosity.

His mind’s hunger for God

Was a cautious curiosity.

His heart’s hunger for God

Was an illumined curiosity. ```

38. You are your will

```

Always control yourself.

A moment of impatience

Is a movement of self-destruction.

You are your own adamantine will.

In you and for you

Is your transcendental Goal. ```

39. A perfect fool

```

A perfect fool he is.

He began his life-journey

Badly and stupidly,

And it went on worse,

Strikingly worse.

Yet he fails to surrender

To reality’s light

And divinity’s height. ```

40. Luminous, precious, gracious

```

Luminous was she

Within her heart.

Precious was she

In the heart of her life.

Gracious was she

In the soul of her Goal. ```

41. You have a passion

```

You have a passion for Truth.

Therefore

Truth is within you.

You have a passion for Light.

Therefore

Light enlightens you.

You have a passion for Love.

Therefore

Love immortalises you.

```

42. A great competition

```

God and I

Entered into a great competition.

He pitted His Love

Against my teeming doubts.

Alas, He won.

I pitted my ingratitude

Against His flowing Compassion.

Alas, this time too, He won.

God, since twice I have lost to You,

I shall muster no more

Courage-light

To challenge Your superiority. ```

43. A complete innocence, a complete perfection

```

A complete innocence

Signifies an awakened life.

A complete perfection

Signifies an unconditional surrender-light

And transcendence-height

In the heart-nest

Of the seeker.

```

44. He became what he was

```

With bubbling enthusiasm

He launched into the path of yoga.

With doubting uncertainty

He walked along the path.

With his destructive impatience,

With his devouring personality,

He left the path,

Only to become once again

What he was before:

A monkey with a

Sesquipedalian tail.

```

45. Divinity's Smile and Immortality's Dawn

```

Doubt ends

When separativity ends.

Faith begins

When consciousness ascends

And reaches the free heights

Of divinity’s Smile

And

Immortality’s Dawn. ```

46. A golden link

```

Between

His heart of fear

And

His mind of doubt

A wide chasm creeps.

Between

His vital of aggression

And

His body of suppression

A wide chasm creeps.

But

Between his soul of service

And

His God of Love

No chasm creeps.

A golden link

Unites

God the Lover Supreme

And man the server divine.

```

47. Smile and go away

```

Short are the hours of pleasure-life,

Yet man wants it.

Long are the hours of happiness-life,

Yet man wants it not.

Smile and go away

From the hours of pleasure-life.

Cry and stay within

The hours of happiness-life. ```

48. Three voices

```

A deep warning voice solemnly commanded:

“Don’t speak to doubt.

Doubt is poison.”

A deep loving voice smilingly whispered:

“Mix with faith.

Faith is reality’s all.”

A deep illumining voice soulfully revealed:

“Drink the fragrance of love.

Love is all.”

```

49. The dawn

```

Silence

Is the dawn of time.

Sound

Is the dawn of will.

Man-success

Is the dawn of aspiration.

God-progress

Is the dawn of Perfection. ```

50. The golden ones

```

The golden Boat

Is beauty’s speed.

The golden Shore

Is divinity’s crown.

The golden Dream,

Reality dreams.

The golden Pilot,

Eternity claims. ```

Editor's preface to the first edition

This book of 50 poems is part of a four-part series written by Sri Chinmoy in the 22-hour period between 12:01 a.m. and 10:01 p.m. on 2 February 1974. It was printed by the group pictured in the photograph above the the preface.

From:Sri Chinmoy,The Golden Boat, part 4, Vishma Press, New York, 1974
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/gb_4