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Eternity's compassion-sweetness flows.

— photo by Bhashwar

I thank you¹

I thank You, O my Beloved Supreme, because You have given me the soulful receptivity to need You only. I thank You, O my Beloved Supreme, because You have given me the fruitful capacity to love You only.

I thank you, O my wise soul, because you know who I eternally am. I am a God-lover. I am a God-server.

I thank you, O my aspiring heart, because you love me.

I thank you, O my searching mind, because you think of me.

I thank you, O my dynamic vital, because you struggle for me.

I thank you, O my conscious body, because you suffer for me.

I thank you, O earth, because you have given me patience-light. Because of patience-light I still exist on earth.

I thank you, O Heaven, because you have given me promise-delight. My promise-delight is to manifest God unconditionally.

I thank you, O India, because in you, India, I achieved the beauty of God-Realisation.

I thank you, O America, because in you, America, I am entrusted with the duty of God-Manifestation.

I thank you, O East, because I am one of your God-worshipping flowers.

I thank you, O West, because I am one of your man-nourishing fruits.

I thank you, O my dear friends, because you inspire me to bring to the fore my good and divine qualities.

I thank you all, O my seeker-friends, because in me you see a simple instrument of God. I thank you all, O my seeker-friends, because in you I see the living Presence of my Beloved Supreme.

Finally, I thank myself, because I am all gratitude, within and without.

[Sri Chinmoy gave this soulful talk at a special Thanksgiving concert at the Ethical Culture Society in New York City on 27 November 1980.]

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Jasmine-heart

1

A lamp of God is the master key to open all our heart-doors.

2

Wisdom-light can and shall solve all human problems. To achieve wisdom light we all must pray for surrender-delight.

3.

My mind's impurity and my heart's purity are two neighbours. But they have never met and perhaps will never meet, for each is afraid of losing its own precious qualities.

4.

My Lord, my Lord, my Lord, my life is empty.

"My child, if your life is empty, then keep a dedication-flower inside your life."

My Lord, my Lord, my Lord, my heart is empty.

"My child, if your heart is empty, then keep an aspiration-flame inside your heart."

5.

My Lord, my Lord, yesterday I competed with the rest of the world. Today I am competing with my own self. Tomorrow I shall compete with Your eternal Compassion and infinite Forgiveness. My Lord, my Lord, do You ever compete with anything or with anybody?

"Yes, My child, I do. I compete every day with your unbelief and disbelief that you are another God. You feel that you are not another God . So I must compete daily with your ignorance-unbelief and disbelief."

6.

Silence, silence, silence. Silence awakens the sleeping seeker in me. Silence enlightens the aspiring seeker in me. Silence fulfils the self-giving seeker in me. Silence, silence, silence.

7.

My Supreme Lord, do take away from me my two old enemies: submission and domination. Submission-enemy compels me to submit to the strong in me. Domination-enemy compels me to dominate the weak in me. I do not want to submit. I do not want to dominate. What I need is illumination. What I need is perfection.

My Supreme Lord, I need Your Illumination to illumine the weak in me. I need your Perfection to perfect the strong in me.

8.

My human life has countless questions. But there are only two answers, the inner and the outer. The inner answer is illumination, and the outer answer is perfection.

9.

Communication in complete silence is the supreme Art. Only God and Truth have mastered this Art. Let me send my pure heart to learn this supreme Art from God and Truth. Communication in silence is not only the supreme Art but also the everlasting Satisfaction.

10.

My Supreme Lord, the evening has set in. At this hour please tell me how I can please You most soulfully.

"My sweet child, you can please Me most soulfully at this beautiful hour if you can pray to Me for the beauty of eternal peace, if you can meditate on Me for the beauty of inner peace, if you can contemplate on Me for the reality of eternal peace, peace, peace.

"Evening is all peace. I want your entire life to be inundated with peace, and for that what I need from you is a powerful smile and a powerful cry. A powerful smile I want to see in your soulful eyes, and a powerful cry I want to see in your cheerful heart."

11.

A pure heart can enjoy God's Love for a fleeting second, but God's Love enjoys a pure heart forever and forever.

Questions and answers

Question: Do your inner beings have names, or how do you identify them?

Sri Chinmoy: My inner beings all have names so that I can identify them. They have names, but I don't have to use their names. Through my inner vision I can identify them and call them.

Question: What is the best way to be in a divine consciousness when we're working very hard?

Sri Chinmoy: The best way to remain in a divine consciousness is to come out of the room every hour for three minutes. Each hour be alone for three minutes. At the end of each hour, no matter what is happening, for three minutes be alone and meditate. These three minutes will have tremendous power. If you can meditate for three minutes, then for an hour you can easily retain the peace, light and confidence you will get. You can be inside a room or in the street, but nobody should be with you or around you when you meditate. That will be the best way to remain in a divine consciousness during your work.

Question: What is the difference between determination and will power?

Sri Chinmoy: With will power we realise God. With determination we can perhaps win an outer race. Determination comes from the vital or mind. Will power comes from the central being. Will power is infinitely more powerful than determination. If you use your determination, then immediately it can be followed by frustration. But if you use will power, then all around that will power and inside that will power you will see God's Compassion. Once you use will power, even for two minutes or five minutes, you get tremendous Compassion, boundless Compassion from above, and this Compassion is nothing other than Light, divine Light. On the physical, vital and mental planes we use determination. On the inner, psychic, soul's plane we use will power.

Some people use only the word 'will', but I like to use the term 'will power', because there is no difference between inner will and power. When I say 'will' I see a seed, and when I say 'power' I see a tree. If we say 'power' without using 'will', that power can be vital, destructive power. Power does not have to be undivine, but immediately vital power comes forward. But if we say 'will power', then it is something divine. So I feel it is good to use 'will power' instead of just 'will'.

Question: How can we get will power from determination?

Sri Chinmoy: A child knows how to crawl. Then he can walk, and eventually he can run the fastest. But while the child is at the crawling stage, he never thinks of running the fastest. It is impossible for him. But through the natural process he grows up, and eventually he starts running. By natural continuous progress he is getting more and more capacity until he is in a position to run. Similarly, if you have determination and you continue to make inner progress, then one day you will be able to develop will power.

But the best way to develop will power is through union with God's Will. Daily there may be many unpleasant happenings in your life. If you can accept them cheerfully, then you can increase your will power. Again you can increase your will power by not being affected by the results of your actions. If something takes place, always try to see the positive side of the story. Suppose you are walking along the street, and somebody snatches away your wallet. With your determination you will try to shout or chase him, which is absolutely right on the outer plane. But at the same time, on the inner plane you can offer your gratitude to God that this thief has only snatched away your money, whereas he could have pushed you into the street, into the path of a car, or he could have stabbed you while taking your purse. If you can always offer this cheerful attitude, then you will develop will power. You tell God, "Because of Your Love and Compassion for me, only this much has happened. It could have been infinitely worse."

Question: If you hold a meditation, and the silent part is recorded on a tape, will the power of the meditation get recorded, and if we listen to the tape, will we have a good meditation with it, even though we can't hear anything?

Sri Chinmoy: Absolutely, absolutely. My silence is very, very powerful. It is all recorded there.

Question: How can I best inspire the new disciples in my Centre to be good disciples?

Sri Chinmoy: By example. As soon as they see you, they have to see divinity floating in your eyes, in your face. That is the best way to inspire them. When they look at you, immediately they should be able to see the difference between their face and your face, between their heart and your heart. Your own face, your own heart, your own life is the example. As soon as you see a good person's face, you are inspired. As soon as others see your face, your face will show the light that you have, the spiritual life that you lead. If they are interested in the spiritual life, then as soon as they see your face, they can see that you are leading a spiritual life, and immediately they will try to lead a better life, like your life.

Question: Guru, when you hear the divine music of the Beyond, when you want to express this music, do you feel that the instruments that you play — such as esraj and flute — convey properly what you want to convey?

Sri Chinmoy: Oh, no, they do not convey. Sometimes when I am playing my old songs, the tune is extremely soulful, but inside the soulful songs there is another melody which I am hearing. Inside the old tunes there is an inner melody which is infinitely sweeter, clearer and more beautiful, but I am unable to bring it out on the esraj. Sometimes I am playing so well, and people are thinking that today Guru is playing really well. But inside the tune that I am playing, sometimes I hear the same tune in an infinitely sweeter and infinitely more delicate form, but I am unable to play it.

But why should I blame the instrument? Some times my voice also does not convey what I want to convey. I can easily open the chakras at my sweet will — especially the throat centre, from where the good singing voice comes. But even then my voice may not express what I hear within. This is because the body is limited. No matter how much spiritual power you have, or what kind of genius you are, the body is all limitation, limitation. Sometimes I sing so soulfully; my body, vital and mind are all pleased. And the people who are listening are feeling that it is extremely soulful. But I feel miserable that I am unable to offer the music that I am hearing from within. It doesn't come absolutely correctly.

Question: Will the inner music ever be heard outwardly on earth?

Sri Chinmoy: It will be heard only in deep meditation, deep contemplation. At that time it is not the Gandharvas or the angels or celestial beings that we will hear. The real musicians have their own music in the inner worlds, and when they are in deep meditation or when they are in a very high consciousness, they hear that music. They may think the music is coming from somewhere else, from some other world, but it is their own music they are hearing, and they are unable to offer it.

Question: Will it ever happen that they are able to offer it?

Sri Chinmoy: The inner world is always — and will always remain — higher, deeper and better than the outer world. But in the process of time, as we are evolving, as everything is evolving, music will also become better and better, and the expression of music will become far better. The things that I am unable to express today will be expressed by me at some later date, or by future generations. What is really beyond our imagination today will someday be expressed by me, by you, by Tom, Dick and Harry. But unfortunately or fortunately, the inner world will also have a higher music at that time.

Always the inner world keeps one step ahead of us. And once some inner reality is expressed, we can't say that everything that was within has been expressed, because again God creates some totally new reality which is far better than the one that has just been expressed. All His inner worlds have an infinite supply of new creations. When we grasp a little, we feel that we have got everything. But there is a difference between the inner world and the outer world.

Question: I know it helps my meditation to have an inner cry, but when I have the inner cry I always feel that I can cry more. Then as I cry more and more, it becomes almost like a scream, and there is tension. But then if I back off, I feel that I am not doing my best. I want to have intensity, but I don't want to get tense. How do I know how far I can go with the inner cry?

Sri Chinmoy: There is no limit to the inner cry. You can just go on, go on, go on. But when you get something most delicious, you may not want to eat the whole thing. It is so sweet and so delicious, but you don't feel like eating the whole thing, because it pleases you to know that it is at your disposal. You can eat the rest at any time. There are two kinds of satisfaction. One is the satisfaction you get after eating the whole fruit, another is the satisfaction you get from knowing that you have something delicious to eat at some other time. As it is progressing, the inner cry becomes more intense. You may not be going to the limit of your inner cry, but you are feeling that you have gone to the length of it. Or instead of going to the length, you feel that you have covered a long distance and you have the capacity to cover the rest easily. So you get the joy even without covering the whole distance.

The core of India's light

//[Continued, from previous issues]//

Nada

The mystic sound

The mystic sound at once embodies both the unimaginable omnipotence of God and the indescribable impotence of man.

Nadi

Nerve

Each desire-cry weakens our subtle nerves. Each aspiration-cry strengthens our subtle nerves. Each gratitude-cry and each gratitude-smile liberates our subtle nerves.

Namarupa

Name and form

I have no name and I have no form. What do I have? I have Eternity's nameless vision. I have Infinity's formless Realisation.

Namrata

Humility

Humility's vision-eye always has a free access to God's omnipresent Reality.

Neti-neti

Not this, not that

Not this, not that. What do I need then? I need God's Forgiveness-Heart on earth and God's Satisfaction-Eye in Heaven.

Nidra

Sleep

A sleepless aspiration-heart is God's endless Satisfaction-Pride.

Nimesa

In a twinkling

In a twinkling God can open up my heart's door. Now, the paramount question is this: am I going to welcome Him alone or someone else alone, or am I going to welcome Him along with others? If I welcome Him alone as my only guest, then only in a twinkling I shall get the satisfaction-sun which will forever last in me and for me.

[To be continued]

Stories

The scholar and the hooligan

A great scholar was returning home from school one evening. As he turned a corner, quite unexpectedly he was accosted by a hooligan with a club. The hooligan was heavily drunk and was bragging about how strong he was.

"I am the strongest man in the world!" he shouted, "And to prove it, I will break your head."

The scholar said, "Oh, I am only a scholar. I spend all my time teaching my students, and I do not get any opportunity to develop my physical strength. You are obviously much stronger than I am, but I am notoriously weak; therefore, it will not prove anything if you strike me and kill me. But I will tell you how you can prove that you are the strongest man in the world."

"How can I prove it?" the hooligan demanded.

The scholar pointed behind himself and said, "Just before I turned that corner I met a man who also claimed to be the strongest man on earth. He looked very strong, and I believed him. But now I am seeing you, and you are definitely stronger than he is, although he says that he is the strongest."

"Who has the audacity to say that he is the strongest man on earth?" shouted the hooligan. "I shall kill him! Where is he?"

"He is just around that corner," answered the scholar. "Let us go and find him."

But the hooligan did not wait for the scholar to accompany him. Waving his club in the air and shouting threats at the top of his voice, he started running toward the corner. And immediately the scholar started running in the opposite direction.

So you see, if you have wisdom, you can escape even from this kind of animal destructive strength.

Songs

How far, how near

How far will you take me?
As far as you want to go.
I want to go as far as Silence-world.

How close will you make me?
As close as you want to be.
I want to be as close as Oneness-life .

Kali karali ma pralaya

/Kali karali ma pralaya/
/Pralay nachan/
/Rakta banya/
/Abar kena ma abhaya/

Mother Kali, Mother Karali,
Mother of the world-transforming and world-illumining
Fiery Dance,
O Mother, You are at once the destruction-flood
Of Concern-Light and Compassion-Ocean
For our heart's aspiration-flame.