The Dance of Life, part 18

851. The Buddha's problems

Lord Buddha,
Your first problem was suffering.
Your second problem was desire.
Your third problem was ignorance.
Your fourth problem was the absence of inner light.
All your problems
You solved
Eternally for yourself.
And now the Heart that
You left behind on earth
Is trying and crying,
Crying and trying
To solve the same
Giant problems.
As you succeeded,
So also your Heart
Will succeed,
Without fail.

852. Let us unite our possessions

Lord, since I am unable
To give up my desiring mind,
Is there any way I can get
Some benefit from this mind?
“Real benefit?
No!
Real progress?
No!
Take your present mind as unreality.
Then you will get
Whatever you want.”

What is real, Lord?
“Daughter, your aspiration is real.”
What else is real?
“My Compassion is real.”

Lord, what are we supposed
To do with my aspiration
And Your Compassion?
“Daughter, we are supposed
To unite our possessions
So that we can sing the song
Of perfect Perfection
Together.”

853. Do not convert and do not be converted

Do not convert.
Let him go in his own way.

Do not be converted.
You must go in your own way.

Do not convert.
His resistance-night
Will devour your inner joy.

Do not be converted.
Your resistance-night
Will devour his inner joy.

God will ask His Freedom
To love you.

God will ask your freedom
To feed Him.

Do not convert,
Do not be converted.

854. I silenced

I silenced
My mind with light.

I silenced
My vital with might.

I silenced
My heart with purity.

I silenced
My body with duty.

855. I am tired, I am ready

I am tired.
I am ready
To surrender to Ignorance.
But my Lord goes on
Asserting my cause.

I am fatigued.
I am ready
To surrender to earth.
But my Lord goes on
Asserting my cause.

I am exhausted.
I am ready
To surrender to Heaven.
But my Lord goes on
Asserting my cause.

856. Modern and ancient

Modern art
Is not as bad as you think.
Ancient art
Was not as good as you think.

The modern world
Is not as unaspiring as you feel.
The ancient world
Was not as aspiring as you feel.

Modern man
Is not as undivine as you believe.
Ancient man
Was not as divine as you believe.

Like ancient art,
Modern art embodies its beauty
In its own way.

Like the ancient world,
The modern world reveals its divinity
In its own way.

Like ancient man,
Modern man manifests his immortality
In his own way.

857. We are all insecure

You are insecure
Because
You are not loved.

He is insecure
Because
He is criticised.

I am insecure
Because
I am misunderstood.

Poor God is insecure
Because
He is not yet
Completely
And
Universally
Manifested.

858. First love God

First love God,
Then accept Him
Or
Reject Him.

If you accept Him,
He will surrender Himself
To your constant needs.

If you reject Him,
He will wait for you.
He will wait for you
To give Him another chance.

859. Out of pity and out of compassion

When
Persistence deserted him,
Defeat-King came to him
Out of pity
And embraced him.
Otherwise, Defeat-King would have remained
Quiet, absolutely quiet.
Therefore it is not proper
To curse the poor well-intentioned
Defeat-King.

When
Devotion deserted him,
Ignorance-Queen came to him
Out of compassion
And garlanded him.
Otherwise, Ignorance-Queen would have remained
Silent, absolutely silent.
Therefore it is undivine
To accuse the poor well-intentioned
Ignorance-Queen.

860. Father, be careful!

Father, be careful!
I am going to expose You
This time.
You have repeatedly told me
That in fifteen years’ time
I would realise You
And also far surpass You.
I have been with You
For thirty long, slow years,
Yet for me God-realisation
Is a far cry,
Not to speak of surpassing You.
Father, You are an impossible liar,
And I am going to expose You
Definitely,
Mercilessly,
This time.

861. My daughter

My daughter,
Of late I have been thinking and thinking
Of granting you a Transcendental Boon.
Just tell Me what you want.
“Father, my Eternally Beloved Father,
This is the Boon I would like
To have from You:
Please never, never dream
Of making me equal to You.
You know, Father,
There is only one thing on earth
That gives me infinite joy,
And that is to sit at Your Feet
And drink the Nectar-Delight
Of Your Eyes.
Your Feet are my only
Heaven and Haven.
If I equal You
My life of devotion will die,
My life of surrender will die.
To me, my devotion is everything;
To me, my surrender is everything.
Father, I pray and pray to You
To live above me at least a trillion miles
Forever
So that I can, through eternity,
Live at Your Feet
And
Treasure Your Feet.”

862. Nothing and everything

Noise proves nothing,
Fame proves nothing,
Triumph proves nothing,
Supremacy proves nothing.
Love proves something,
Oneness proves everything.

863. Something

Say something,
Do something,
Become something
At least.

I have already said
That I have realised
God fully.

I have already done
The work of total transformation
In myself.

Don’t you see
That I have become another God,
A real God?

864. A real disgrace

My soulful sincerity speaks:
I know nothing
Save and except
The history of ignorance.

I do nothing
Save and except
Wallow in the endless pleasures
Of ignorance-night.

I am nothing
Save and except
A real disgrace
To the aspiring world,
To my soul,
To my inner Pilot.

865. Chosen children of God

We are the chosen
Children of God.
We agree in everything.
Therefore,
We are harmonious.

We are the chosen
Children of God.
We believe in all religions.
Therefore,
We are unified.

We are the chosen
Children of God.
We feel the divinity in all.
Therefore,
We are precious.

866. Ability, necessity and reality

My only ability
Is that I have recognised
God’s capacity.

My only necessity
Is that I see the Supreme Lord
Smiling at me.

My only reality
Is that my soul is of God
And
My heart is for God.

867. His presence and his absence

His absence
Is the death of the feeble world.
His presence
Is the birth of the loving world.

His absence
Is the opportunity of the desiring world.
His presence
Is the reality of the aspiring world.

868. We can and we cannot

We can
Imitate him.
Certainly we can,
Any time
We want.

But
We cannot
Resemble him.
Not even
An iota of him.
No, never!

We can imitate him
Because
His heart-smile is for us,
Only for us.
We cannot resemble him
Because
His soul-treasure is infinitely more
Than ours.

869. Nobody is wrong

Nobody can be wrong
All the time.
Are we worse than
A dead clock?
No, never!
Even a dead clock
Is perfectly right
Twice a day.

Nobody can be right
All the time.
The cosmic gods are
Far better than us
And
Much higher than us.
Yet, I tell you,
They, too,
Make deplorable mistakes
Once in a while.

870. He

His actions
Interpret God.

His silence
Represents God.

He has reached
The Highest.
He stands beside
The Highest.

And you know
Where he started from.
He started from
The lowest,
The very
Lowest.

871. As God's daughter

You were born
As God’s daughter.

You are living
As God’s daughter.

You shall teach the world
As God’s daughter.

You can and you shall
Transform
The face of the whole world
As God’s daughter.

872. Wasted love

When
You talk about
Your wasted love,
You just increase
Your blind ignorance.

Love
Is never wasted.
Love
Can never be wasted,
For love is Infinity’s Life.

873. I never met

I never met a human being
Whom
I did not like.

I never met a cosmic god
Whom
I did not love.

I never met a hostile force
Whom
I did not destroy.

I never met a grateful soul
Whom
I did not adore.

874. They blow out

A restless man
Blows out
The lamp of his vital.

A careless man
Blows out
The lamp of his mind.

A senseless man
Blows out
The lamp of his body.

A useless man
Blows out
The lamp of his heart.

875. Expectation

Expectation
Knows not how to stop.

Expectation tells
His poor friend, Disappointment:
“Let us start again.”

Expectation tells
His fortunate friend, Success:
“Let us continue.”

The train of expectation
Never stops.

876. The twentieth century

Unknowable
Is twentieth-century art.

Unknown
Is twentieth-century love.

Knowable
Is twentieth-century imagination.

Known
Is twentieth-century frustration.

877. She

The equality of souls
She likes.

The liberty of hearts
She loves.

The divinity of human beings
She adores.

The immortality of Life
She is.

878. Please come back tomorrow

Father, please
Come back tomorrow.
I shall give You
Everything You want:
Pure love,
Sweet devotion,
Unconditional surrender.

I am not ready today.

Daughter, please
Come back tomorrow.
I shall tell you
What you eternally are:
Aspiration-tree,
Realisation-flower,
Perfection-fruit.

You are not fit today.

879. In love with God

In Heaven her soul
Is in love
With God’s Dream.

On earth her life
Is in love
With God’s Beauty.

In her heart
She is in love
With God’s Infinity.

In God’s Heart
She is in love
With God’s Reality.

880. I saw Him, I felt Him, I knew Him

I saw Him
When He was building
Castles in the air.

I felt Him
When He was crying
For a piece of bread.

I knew Him
When I gave Him
An iota of authority.

881. The ways of conversing with God

Blaming is Satan’s way
Of conversing with God.

Doubting is man’s way
Of conversing with God.

Begging is earth’s way
Of conversing with God.

Dreaming is Heaven’s way
Of conversing with God.

Dancing is the fairy’s way
Of conversing with God.

Self-giving is God’s Way
Of conversing with us all.

882. Incomplete, complete and perfect

A fighting vital
Is an incomplete animal.

A doubting mind
Is an incomplete animal.

A loving heart
Is a complete man.

An all-giving life
Is a perfect man.

883. We believe

You believe in everything.
Therefore
You are lucky.

He believes in nothing.
Therefore
He is lonely.

I believe in God only.
Therefore
I am safe.

God believes in everything.
Therefore
He is great.

God loves everything.
Therefore
He is good.

884. I listen

I listen
To the little voice within.
It is soulful and truthful.

I listen
To the loud voice without.
It is awful and hurtful.

I listen
To the loving Voice of God.
It is powerful and fruitful.

885. Love, devotion and surrender

Love
Is the key of life.

Devotion
Is the safe of the heart.

Surrender
Is the treasure of the soul.

Love
Is the Smile divine of God.

Devotion
Is the Cry eternal of God.

Surrender
Is the Pride absolute of God.

886. What you want, what you need

What you want
Is an admirer.
What you need
Is an instructor.

What you want
Is a life-giver.
What you need
Is a life-liberator.

887. Next to God

Next to God, of course,
I love you most,
O my unconditional surrender
To God’s Will!

Next to my unconditional surrender, of course,
I love you most,
O my God-discovery!

Next to my God-discovery, of course,
I love you most,
O my aspiration-light!
With you I started my journey;
With you I shall eternally continue.

888. Honest and dishonest

The body is drowsy,
But not dishonest.

The vital is clever,
But not dishonest.

The mind is wise,
But not always honest.

The heart is pure,
And always honest.

The soul is far beyond
Dishonesty’s net
And
Honesty’s heights.

890. He was and he is

The world fell
Beneath his sway.
Autocrat supreme
He became.

Now homeless he roams,
Friendless he cries.
He has now become
The Beggar-Emperor.

891. Joy

Dogs get joy
By barking and biting.

Men get joy
By fighting and stabbing.

Earth gets joy
By struggling and suffering.

Heaven gets joy
By dreaming and smiling.

Seekers get joy
By loving and surrendering.

God gets joy
By illumining and fulfilling.

892. When he spoke the truth

He lived in a peculiar world.
When he spoke the truth
Nobody believed him,
For truth was not spoken
In that particular world.
Bewildered, everybody stood against him.

And when he told lies
Nobody cared for him,
Nobody appreciated him,
Nobody loved him.
For he was not doing
Anything new
To add to their world.
Disgusted, everybody deserted him.

893. They are one

Truth and God are one,
God and Love are one.

Love and life are one,
Life and cry are one.

Cry and height are one,
Height and progress are one.

Progress and delight are one,
Delight and perfection are one.

894. Great singers

Swans sing
Before they leave the world.

Men sing
After they have left
Ignorance-sea.

Human doubt sings
Before the dawn of faith.

Human despair sings
After it has embraced
The life of Light.

895. His passport

He forgot
To feed his aspiration-flame.
Therefore,
His passport to Paradise
Was confiscated.

He has started now
To feed his aspiration-flame
Regularly and devotedly.
Therefore,
The Passport Officer Supreme
Has granted him
A new passport.
Also,
The Passport Officer,
On His own,
Has endorsed the names
Of all the higher worlds
For him to visit.

896. She lived and died

She lived.
She lived with despair
And
Died with hope.

She lived.
She lived with fear
And
Died with courage.

She lived.
She lived with doubt
And
Died with faith.

She was sure to discover in death
Everything that life
Denied her.

897. O how fruitful you are

Inspiration!
Inspiration!
O how meaningful you are.

Aspiration!
Aspiration!
O how powerful you are.

Realisation!
Realisation!
O how soulful you are.

Perfection!
Perfection!
O how fruitful you are.

898. The difference

The difference
Between
Liking and loving
Is the difference
Between
The tiny drop and the mighty ocean.

The difference
Between
Loving and surrendering
Is the difference
Between
A tiny hill and the Himalayas.

899. God descends

With the knowledge
Of the mind
Doubt enters.

With the wisdom
Of the heart
Faith appears.

With the might
Of surrender
Man ascends.

With the Light
Of Power supreme
God descends.

900. Do your duty

Do your duty.
If you do your duty well,
God will be proud of you.

Do your duty.
If you succeed,
Heaven will garland you.

Do your duty.
If you fail,
The world will embrace you.

Do your duty.
Do your duty,
And thus
Awaken your divinity.

The Sri Chinmoy Library