The Dance of Life, part 6

251. Current events

God has at last found
A home on earth.
Man’s gratitude
Has agreed to grant God
A temporary shelter.

Man is tired of his frustration.

Human doubt is doubting
Its proud judgement
And sure assurance.

Man’s pleasure-life
Has realised its folly
And it now wants the joy-life
To replace its long-standing career.

252. My rights

I stood up for my rights.
My rights demanded
The life of universal acceptance
And the life of universal recognition.

I stand up for my rights.
My rights demand
My heart’s cry and my life’s smile.

I shall stand up for my rights.
My rights shall demand
The surrender-moon
From the world of aspiration-sun.

253. Adventure and progress

Truth-adventure
Is
Life-progress.

Life-adventure
Is
Soul-progress.

Soul-adventure
Is
God-progress.

God-adventure
Is
Mineral-progress
Plant-progress
Man-progress
Creation-progress
Creator-progress.

254. Where is the secret place of safety?

Where is the secret place of safety?
In the mind-pond?
No!
Where is the secret place of safety?
In the heart-lake?
No!
Where is the secret place of safety?
In the soul-river?
No!
Where is the secret place of safety?
In the self-sea?
No!
Where is the secret place of safety?
In the life of Love divine?
Yes!

255. My diary

In the early hours of dawn,
In the late hours of night
I write my diary.
My diary houses only one word:
Gratitude.
Gratitude to God’s Compassion,
Gratitude to man’s service,
Gratitude to the thought of my self-transcendence,
Gratitude to my self-enquiry,
Gratitude to my God-discovery.

256. Human and divine

A human communist
Is he
Who takes from some
And gives to others.

A divine communist
Is he
Who takes from himself
And offers to others.

A human socialist
Is he
Whom the vital of society loves.

A divine socialist
Is he
Who loves the heart of society.

A human god
Is he
Who lives in ignorance-sea.

A divine God
Is He
Who lives for ignorance-sea.

257. Oneness-light

One mouth spoke,
One hand wrote,
One hand drove.
Destination offered its pride sublime
To their perfection-height.
Perfection offered its pride sublime
To their aspiration-might.
Aspiration offered its pride sublime
To their oneness-light.

258. The dance

The dance of desires
Never ends.
Although the dancers
Become tired and breathless,
The dance of desires
Never ends.

The dance of fulfilment
Never begins.
Although man
Cries and sighs,
The dance of fulfilment
Never begins.

259. Your richest gain

Your richest gain
Was not in silver.

Your richest gain
Is not in gold.

Your richest gain
Shall not be in diamonds.

Your richest gain
Was in Realisation-seed.

Your richest gain
Is in Revelation-plant.

Your richest gain
Shall be in Manifestation-tree.

260. Eternally you can be happy

You are unhappy.
Therefore you walk
From the mental pillar to the vital post
And
From the vital post to the mental pillar.

You are happy.
Therefore you run
From your surrendering heart to your illumining soul
And
From your illumining soul to your surrendering heart.

You will be eternally happy
If you fly
From man’s dream-land to God’s Reality-sky
And
From God’s Reality-sky to man’s dream-land.

261. Man forgets

Man forgets
That his vital is swayed by desires.

Man forgets
That his mind constantly wanders.

Man forgets
That his days on earth are short.

Man forgets
That his real needs are very few.

Man forgets
That he has only God to call his own,
His very own.

262. Fourteen happy days

Tolstoy had fourteen happy days
During his entire earth-pilgrimage.

I still have not counted
My happy days on earth.
But I am so proud
To tell the world
That man, angel and God
Have kindly done the job for me.

Man’s conclusion: fourteen seconds.
Angel’s assumption: fourteen years.
God’s revelation: fourteen aeons.

263. I am of God and I am for God

Helpless is Time
When I sleep.

Useless is Time
When I doubt.

Hopeless is Time
When I despair.

Godless is Time
When I halt.

Measureless is Time
When I move.

Birthless is Time
When I am of God.

Deathless is Time
When I am for God.

264. Everybody has his allotted job

I don’t speak ill of myself.
Why?
I don’t want to take away
The job of my enemies.

I don’t speak well of myself.
Why?
I am afraid it won’t look nice
If I do the job of God.

265. My problems solved

Ignorance was my problem
Bondage was my problem
Weakness was my problem.

Fear is my problem
Doubt is my problem
Jealousy is my problem.

Love will be my problem
Light will be my problem
God will be my problem.

I have survived my past
I brave my present
I shall transform my future.

266. You are someone

You are someone worth knowing
Because
In you I see the knowledge of Socrates.

You are someone worth fighting
Because
In you I see the will of Napoleon.

You are someone worth loving
Because
In you I feel the heart of Christ.

You are someone worth pleasing
Because
In you I become divinely complete.

267. My needs

Yesterday my need was world-conquest.
I failed.

Today my need is my own survival.
I am failing.

Tomorrow my need will be a surrendered life.
I shall fail.

268. The science

The science of the Old Man said:
Look upward, see the Eye of God.

The science of the New Man says:
Look forward, see the Mind of God.

The science of the God-Man will say:
Look inward, become
The Heart of the Absolute.

269. Who makes my decisions?

Who makes my decisions?

In the morning
God makes my decisions.
Therefore I sing and dance.

In the afternoon
I make my decisions.
Therefore I try and cry.

In the evening
Satan makes my decisions.
Therefore I sigh and die.

270. At the entrance

He entered into the vital world
To feel its hunger wild.
At the entrance Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon,
Hitler and Stalin greeted
Him with solemnity.

He entered into the mental world
To feel its hunger great.
At the entrance Socrates, Plato, Aristotle,
Shankara and Madhava greeted
Him with a series of smiles.

He entered into the psychic world
To feed his hunger deep.
At the entrance Rama, Krishna, Christ,
Chaitanya and Ramakrishna greeted
Him with the warmest embrace.

271. Where do you sleep?

O Electricity,
Where do you sleep?
“I sleep in the clouds.”

O Beauty,
Where do you sleep?
“I sleep in God’s descending Grace.”

O God,
Where do You sleep?
“I sleep between
Earth’s ingratitude
And
Heaven’s indifference.”

273. Ramakrishna

He was born in a tiny
Obscure Bengali village in India.
He lived in a tiny corner
Of a big temple.
A Kali-worshipper he was.
A man-lover he became.
A world-teacher he is
And
Forever shall remain.

274. Without

Love without wisdom
Is today’s lover.
Wisdom without love
Is today’s saviour.

Beauty without duty
Is today’s choice.
Duty without beauty
Is today’s noise.

275. His personality and his individuality

No length, no breadth
His personality has.
No height, no depth
His individuality has.
Total and perfect isolation
His real name is.
He is a body
With no voice of the soul.
He is a soul
With no life of the body.

276. A sweet longing

A sweet longing have I
For the mainland of Reality.
No more shall I live
A life founded upon
Culled fictions.
Splintered, broken and smashed
Realities of life
No more can torture my intrepid heart.
From now in my mind
Only God-Reality will grow.
In my heart
Only God-Love will grow.
In my life
Only God-Embrace will grow.

277. His revelation

His eyes reveal
The mountain of false smiles.
His heart reveals
The river of cheap smiles.
His soul reveals
The sea of ugly smiles.
His Goal reveals
The beauty of empty smiles.

278. I touched

I touched
The tail of jealousy.
It threw at me
A garland of curses.

I touched
The eyes of doubt.
They gave me
A glass of venom-water.

I touched
The heart of fear.
It presented me
With incapacity-sea.

I touched
The soul of faith.
It offered me
God’s Garland of Roses.

279. O Armies

O Armies of Night,
You were the strength
Of my eyeless yesterdays.

O Armies of Light,
You are the strength
Of my soulful todays.

O Armies of Bliss,
You shall be the strength
Of my immortal tomorrows.

280. His life

His thought is a dream
Beyond repair.

His hope is a dream
Pregnant with despair.

His life is a dream
Past correction.

His soul is a dream
Ignorant of imperfection.

281. His inheritance

From God,
Promise-Land he inherited.

From man,
Hope-moon he inherited.

From life,
Failure-mountain he inherited.

From death,
Nothingness-night he inherited.

282. Forgotten, forgiven and unseen

O forgotten yesterdays,
Take back, take back
Your sorrow-treasure.

O forgiven todays,
Go back, go back
To your home of night.

O unseen tomorrows,
Come soon, come soon
To awaken my ignorance-dream.

283. The bride and the widow

You were the bride of a dream-boat.
You are the widow of a reality-shore.

You were the bride of a hope-dawn.
You are the widow of a despair-eve.

You were the bride of an illumination-sun.
You are the widow of destruction-fun.

284. In different kingdoms

In the animal kingdom
I was a holocaust of donkey-laughter.

In the human kingdom
I am a holocaust of frustration-advice.

In the divine kingdom
I shall be a holocaust of angel-illumination.

285. Necessity

God begged me
To start my life
With a fateful necessity.

God asked me
To continue my life
With a hopeful necessity.

God commanded me
To end my life
With a meaningful necessity.

286. Resurrections

My past is resurrected:
I was God the Vision-power.

God’s past is resurrected:
He was man the Will-power.

In the past
I lived under the Throne of God-Light.

In the past
God lived above the Throne of my Surrender-might.

287. A sin and a crime

Endless whispers of temptation
Alas, he shamelessly was.
Unbridled demands of passion
Alas, he supremely was.
Now
His forward look:
A sin against man.
Now
His backward look:
A crime against God.

288. O Yogi

O Yogi, when shall I love and seek God?
“You can love and seek God
Only after He has loved
And
Sought you as His own,
His very own.”

O Yogi, when will it be?
“The day you feel
Your soul-seed is of God
And
Your life-fruit is for God.”

289. Blessed

Blessed are the ugly;
They care for God’s Beauty.

Blessed are the poor;
They care for God’s Treasure.

Blessed are the weak;
They care for God’s Power.

Blessed are the pure;
They care for God’s Heart.

Thrice blessed are the surrendered;
They care only for God’s Existence-Light.

290. We all laugh

My immediate world
Laughs at my fragile silence.

The entire world
Laughs at my fragile promise.

In the morning
I laugh and laugh
At the fragile discoveries of my mind.

In the evening
I laugh and laugh
At the fragile dreams of my heart.

At night
I laugh and laugh
At the fragile realities of my life.

291. Only twice he loved himself

His rich life
Is a variety of absurdities.
He became God before he was born.
He married Heaven, his mother,
When he was a minute old.
He married earth, his daughter,
When he was a trillion years old.
He loved himself only twice:
Once when he denied his supremacy,
Once when he affirmed his total surrender.

292. I surrender

I surrender to joy
Because
Joy is power.

I surrender to love
Because
Love is a power sublime.

I surrender to oneness
Because
Oneness is the measureless power.

I surrender to God
Because
God is the absolute Power supreme.

293. God, do you think of me?

God, do You ever think of me?
“I do.”
When do You think of me?
“My son, I think of you
When you do not think of Me.”
God, why?
Why do You do that?
“My son, when you think of Me
I feel you are safe
And well-protected.
But when you forget to think of Me
I feel I am under obligation
To think of you,
To care for you
So that you do not go astray.”

294. Alas, it is too late

Why did I not take
Fighting lessons from Sri Rama?
Alas, it is too late.

Why did I not take
Playing lessons from Sri Krishna?
Alas, it is too late.

Why did I not take
Suffering lessons from the Buddha?
Alas, it is too late.

Why did I not take
Forgiving lessons from the Christ?
Alas, it is too late.

Why did I not take
Dancing lessons from Sri Chaitanya?
Alas, it is too late.

Why did I not take
Long-distance walking lessons from Sri Shankara?
Alas, it is too late.

Why did I not take
Crying lessons from Sri Ramakrishna?
Alas, it is too late.

Why did I not take
Struggling lessons from Swamiji?
Alas, it is too late.

Why did I not take
Surrendering lessons from Sri Chinmoy?
Alas, it is too late.

295. Waste of years

In his animal life
He was in love
With a wild waste of years.

In his human life
He was in love
With a sad waste of years.

In his divine life
He is in love
With the proud gain of years.

296. The memories of time

I was unrealised;
Therefore
I faded from the merciless memory of Time.

I was unrevealed;
Therefore
I faded from the unsympathetic memory of Time.

I was unmanifested;
Therefore
I faded from the indifferent memory of Time.

BUT NOW

Time shakes hands with me,
Time dines with me,
Time dances with me.

297. The desire of power

The desire of love-power
Raised him high, very high.

The desire of indifference-power
Dragged him down
Beyond his imagination.

The desire of thought-power
Killed his inner silence.

The desire of money-power
Fooled him, his life, his all.

298. Counsel

Smiling counsel
Cuts off one foe.
Friendly counsel
Cuts off ten foes.
Loving counsel
Cuts off ninety foes.
Sacrificing counsel
Cuts off three hundred foes.
Oneness counsel
Cuts off all foes.

299. Tax-exempt

Humility
Is exempt from fear-tax.
Nobility
Is exempt from jealousy-tax.
Generosity
Is exempt from doubt-tax.
Divinity
Is exempt from ignorance-tax.

300. Kill them

Shakespeare said:
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

My ascetic-fanatic friend says:
The first thing I do,
Let me kill all the singers.
They have no right
To destroy my Lord’s Ears.

The second thing I do,
Let me kill all the dancers.
They have no right
To destroy my Lord’s Eyes.

The third thing I do,
Let me kill all the loud God-worshippers.
They have no right
To destroy my Lord’s Silence-Peace.

The Sri Chinmoy Library